That’s Not A Bad Deal.

Even until they left Lanzhou, Bong Seok did not hide how displeased he was.

The Mount Hua Sect disciples also began to frown at his behavior.

However, since Gyo-ha and Seo Jong-dae said nothing about Bong Seok’s behavior, they endured it.

After leaving Lanzhou, the group began sleeping outdoors.

There was no need to worry about food.

“I will go hunt!”

As soon as it was time to eat, Gyo-ha dashed off.

“Th, then we will go too.”

The Mount Hua disciples tried to follow, but by then Gyo-ha had already vanished into the brush.

Should they go after him?

As the Mount Hua disciples hesitated, Seo Jong-dae waved his hand.

“There is no need to worry.”

This happened every time during their training travels.

The Mount Hua disciples looked at one another. In the end, their sahyung Jeon Pyeong stepped forward.

“We will go hunt as well.”

They too had camped outdoors while coming from Mount Hua to Lanzhou. They were Taoists, yet the Mount Hua Sect was not as strict with rules as Wudang or Shaolin.

Naturally, they did not forbid eating meat.

However, they were not able to eat meat every time while camping.

Martial arts and hunting were two different things.

Just as they were about to move, a figure suddenly emerged from the brush.

“Eut-cha.”

It was Gyo-ha, already setting down a deer.

“Wh, when did you…”

“A deer, is it? We are fortunate today. Next time, we will do the hunting.”

There was no need for that.

Seo Jong-dae shook his head, yet he did not bother stopping them.

They would realize it in time as well.

Just as Seo Jong-dae had.

There was never a time when Gyo-ha failed a hunt.

‘He is less a hunter and more a beast.’

The mountains were no different from Gyo-ha’s playground.

After setting down the deer, Gyo-ha checked their numbers.

“Mm, will this not be enough?”

He was instead wondering if he should have caught more.

“It is enough.”

“It is plenty.”

Seo Jong-dae and the Mount Hua disciples shook their heads.

“We will do the butchering.”

When Jeon Pyeong spoke, his juniors stepped forward.

They drew small knives from their sleeves.

For the Mount Hua Taoists, the title swordsman suited them better than Taoist.

As if to prove that reputation, they stripped the hide in an instant.

“Oooh.”

Their work was so clean that even Gyo-ha exclaimed in admiration.

Meanwhile, Seo Jong-dae lit a fire.

Then he took a pouch out of his bundle, and Gyo-ha’s eyes sparkled when he saw it.

“What is that?”

“Uncle Noh-sam gave it to me.”

Unlike for Gyo-ha, he was not actually an uncle to Seo Jong-dae, yet after staying with Gyo-ha that way of addressing him stuck.

Noh-sam himself did not mind at all, so they kept calling him that.

It seemed that Noh-sam also still found the title of chief steward awkward and preferred being called uncle.

Inside the pouch were several smaller pouches.

Roast, broth.

Seeing the small writing on them, Seo Jong-dae admired it.

‘He looks like a bandit, yet he is meticulous.’

Seo Jong-dae had also bought some simple seasonings at the market in preparation for camping.

However, he had not prepared them this professionally.

Seo Jong-dae opened one pouch labeled roast.

When he began to roast the deer, a delicious smell drifted out.

They swallowed their saliva without thinking.

When he glanced to the side, Bong Seok was drooling.

His way of sitting there as if it were only natural was incredibly irritating.

However, Seo Jong-dae was not particularly worried.

Seo Jong-dae knew Gyo-ha well. Despite his vacant-looking face, he was far from meek.

‘There is no need for me to step in.’

As the meat cooked, everyone gathered around the fire.

And as expected.

“Ahem. Let me have a taste.”

As soon as the meat was done, Bong Seok reached out. The Mount Hua disciples stared in disbelief, but Bong Seok ignored them.

There was no such thing as face for a beggar.

However.

Gyo-ha grabbed Bong Seok’s hand.

“Why are you eating this?”

It was a sincere question, not malice.

“…Hah, for a disciple of a prestigious sect, you are being petty about food, are you not?”

Bong Seok turned the blame back on him.

The Mount Hua disciples clicked their tongues as if they had expected it. It was not the first time that Beggars’ Union disciples acted that way.

Moreover, Bong Seok was worse than most Beggars’ Union disciples.

He tried to quietly pull his hand back, but it did not budge.

Instead, the grip only tightened.

‘What kind of strength is this.’

Bong Seok’s face twisted.

“So why are you eating it? You have not done anything.”

Gyo-ha tilted his head.

He truly asked because he did not understand.

This was not a matter of Kunlun or Beggars’ Union. It was simply a primal question.

Seo Jong-dae beside him chimed in.

“That is right. You said you would do nothing but provide information, so you should only provide information.”

Those were words Bong Seok had said himself.

However, Bong Seok still had his pride.

“How can you treat someone who has come to help like this!”

“Who are you helping?”

Gyo-ha spoke as if he truly found it strange.

There was something Bong Seok was mistaken about.

This was compensation.

It was the mistake the Beggars’ Union had made toward Kunlun.

“Go back and tell the branch leader that we do not need his help.”

“…”

Bong Seok’s eyes trembled. What would happen if he returned like this?

No matter how he was recognized as a talent of the later-generation, this was a refusal of the branch leader’s order.

His judgment was swift.

“Tch, how stingy. Fine, fine. I will find my own food and eat, all right.”

Grumbling, he quietly pulled his arm free.

At that point, even Gyo-ha did not stop him.

“If you eat all that, your stomach will burst. It will burst.”

It looked like a lot for five people to eat.

Despite his words, his eyes never left the meat.

It seemed like an amount the five of them would not be able to finish anyway.

What was left would come back to him.

However, that was only Bong Seok’s misconception.

After a short while, Gyo-ha sucked the grease off his fingers.

The meat was all gone, leaving only bones.

Everyone except Gyo-ha and Bong Seok wore satisfied expressions.

“I never imagined we would eat something like this outdoors.”

“It is better than most restaurants.”

Even Seo Jong-dae, who had roasted the meat, admired it.

‘Uncle Noh-sam sure knows his stuff.’

However, Gyo-ha pouted.

“Uncle Noh-sam’s tasted better.”

“If you are not satisfied, you do it next time.”

Seo Jong-dae scolded him. They looked more like friends than senior and junior.

It was different from how they had praised him as the great sahyung at the Beggars’ Union branch.

The Mount Hua disciples watched that scene as if it were fascinating.

“If I cook, it will taste worse.”

Gyo-ha knew his own skills well.

“Then do not complain.”

“Okay.”

Since it was true, Gyo-ha nodded. Yet Seo Jong-dae was also curious about Noh-sam’s cooking.

Gyo-ha patted his stomach.

“It is still a bit lacking. I should catch a rabbit later.”

The bare white bones.

Bong Seok stared blankly at the bones.

However, Seo Jong-dae nodded as if he had expected this.

What he had said earlier about it not being enough had been true.

From the start, Gyo-ha had not counted Bong Seok among them.

It had been a slightly insufficient amount for five.

Leaving the clearly disappointed Bong Seok alone, Seo Jong-dae spoke.

“Let us move now. We should find a place to stay before the sun sets.”

The smell of meat filled the area. Before long, beasts would gather.

It was not suitable for sleeping.

For that reason, the Mount Hua disciples stood up as well.

The group started moving again.

Only Bong Seok looked at the bones with lingering regret before turning away.

“Grrrgle.”

The sound came from someone’s stomach.

Everyone heard it, yet they all pretended not to and kept walking.

The same situation continued the next day and the day after that.

Even Bong Seok, feeling stubborn, went out to hunt.

However, most of the time he came back empty-handed.

Bong Seok had never gone far outside Lanzhou before. Hunting would not be easy.

Besides, the fact that his competition was Gyo-ha was the bigger problem.

Before Bong Seok even spotted game, Gyo-ha would already return with prey.

His speed was astonishing.

The Mount Hua disciples, who had said they would go hunt in his place, soon ended up just quietly waiting.

When Bong Seok finally brought back a single bird, the group had already finished eating and was getting ready to leave.

Naturally, they did not wait for Bong Seok.

Without having eaten properly, even following the group became difficult for him.

And on the fifth day after leaving Lanzhou, he exploded.

“I do not care anymore. Either give me food or beat me to death and go!”

True to his nature as a beggar, he threw himself onto the ground.

However, the gazes that turned to him were cold.

Seo Jong-dae shook his head.

‘He still has a long way to go.’

Perhaps because he was a beggar, he was used to hunger.

No, his survival instinct was strong.

He had not eaten a proper meal, yet he had been picking and eating grass or tree bark along the way.

An ordinary person would have fallen ill long ago, but he endured well, as expected of a disciple of the Beggars’ Union.

That was why he could still act like this.

Seo Jong-dae was about to suggest ignoring him and going on, but Gyo-ha was staring fixedly at the sprawled Bong Seok.

Only then did Seo Jong-dae realize.

‘His patience has finally worn thin too.’

And as expected, Gyo-ha quietly walked over to Bong Seok.

“Are you hungry?”

“Of cour…”

Seeing Gyo-ha ask with a strangely kind smile, Bong Seok gave him a suspicious look.

“What is it?”

“If you promise me just one thing, I will make sure you get food.”

At Gyo-ha’s words, Bong Seok narrowed his eyes.

He stared as if to say what trick is this.

What would he make him do? Was he going to use him like a servant?

With a firm expression, Bong Seok opened his mouth.

“You think you can buy my freedom with mere food…”

“One fight a day.”

“…Huh?”

At the unexpected condition, Bong Seok closed his mouth.

He had almost answered right away, but then he recalled what he knew about Gyo-ha.

‘He defeated Darkshadow Mountain Ghost, did he not?’

On top of that, he had sent a Beggars’ Union disciple of his martial uncle’s generation flying with a single blow.

That man had been a Two-Knot Beggar like Bong Seok.

‘Not at my level though.’

Even among Two-Knot Beggars, there were levels.

Darkshadow Mountain Ghost had only been famous in the past. Now he was nothing but an old has-been.

When he glanced to the side, Mount Hua disciples were also watching with interest.

‘…That’s not a bad deal.’

And even if he lost, it would not be a loss.

The opponent was the successor of Kunlun.

If he won, his position would rise, and he would get food on top of that.

There was no reason to refuse.

However, he did not want to accept immediately.

He also knew why the other wanted to spar.

‘He wants to fix my bad habits.’

He might act thick-faced, but he was not without awareness.

If anything, because he was a beggar, he was good at reading people.

He also knew full well how he looked to others.

He simply kept that attitude because he did not feel he lacked anything.

‘So what if I take a few hits.’

Even as a disciple of the Beggars’ Union, he was a beggar. He was used to being hit.

Training in the Beggars’ Union was a bit harsher than in other sects.

Even the way they admitted people was like that.

The senior beggars would throw a sack over you and beat you until you fainted.

Naturally, he had grown used to being beaten.

“Once every two days. With meals and lodging.”

At Bong Seok’s words, the group made dumbfounded faces.

A beggar asking for lodging.

An awkward look came over Gyo-ha’s face. He had control over meals, but lodging was something he had to discuss with the Mount Hua disciples.

It was even more troublesome since Jeon Pyeong had been covering all expenses so far.

When Gyo-ha showed his distress, Jeon Pyeong spoke.

“I do not mind. I already felt sorry since it seemed like we were only being treated.”

Once Jeon Pyeong gave his permission, Gyo-ha nodded.

“All right!”

As soon as Gyo-ha agreed, Bong Seok rose to his feet.

He brushed a finger under his nose.

“Bring it. But meals start today. If you do not like that, the deal is off.”

Before they knew it, Bong Seok was speaking casually.

They had already finished their meal and had been about to leave.

Bong Seok’s demand was all but unreasonable.

Gyo-ha nodded as if it did not matter.

Then he scanned Bong Seok from head to toe.

Was he trying to gauge his level?

Soon after nodding, Gyo-ha took a small gourd bottle from his bosom.