98 — So Heartless.

The gazes that had been fixed on the two of them turned away.

They were strange men walking around half-naked. Nothing good would come from getting involved with them.

Only a few who seemed to be martial artists glanced at them cautiously from time to time.

But the strange men.

Gyo-ha and Namgung Hyeok didn’t care in the least.

Without even thinking to dry themselves off, they reached for the food that had been brought out.

It had been a long time since they had eaten a proper meal.

After they finished eating in a rush, Namgung Hyeok opened his mouth.

“We’re starting to run out of money, so we should stop by a city.”

After paying for the meal and the room, their purse was left hollow.

“A city? Not a bandit stronghold?”

“A bandit stronghold?”

Gyo-ha and Namgung Hyeok tilted their heads as they looked at each other.

It was because they couldn’t understand what the other meant.

Namgung Hyeok was the one to speak first.

“I was thinking we would borrow money from the money house in the village…”

Gyo-ha blinked.

Even though he had lived in the mountains, Gyo-ha knew that money houses didn’t lend money easily.

Gyo-ha’s gaze went to the side.

To Namgung Hyeok’s sword.

That sword was the only thing worth putting up as collateral.

But he knew very well that would never happen.

“Do you mean the Hell King Stronghold?”

He meant the loan sharks. At that, Namgung Hyeok shook his head.

“We can borrow in the Namgung Clan’s name.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Gyo-ha nod. There was no more certain collateral than that.

However, one question still remained.

The only thing Namgung Hyeok had brought with him was a single sword.

“What if someone else tried to borrow like that?”

How would they trust that person was really from the Namgung Clan and lend them money.

This time it was Namgung Hyeok who tilted his head.

“Who would dare do such a thing? If that ever happened, the clan would repay the money first and then go find that person, but there has never been such a case.”

Just as he said, who would dare impersonate the Namgung Clan.

The way Namgung Hyeok stated it so matter-of-factly struck Gyo-ha anew.

It was an attitude that said it didn’t matter even if they never got the money back.

‘He really is a young master from a rich house.’

Namgung Hyeok thought for a moment and then spoke.

“If that is difficult, we can go to the Beggars’ Union. Though that side is not particularly preferred.”

The Beggars’ Union.

Weren’t they beggars?

Gyo-ha understood even less.

At Gyo-ha’s reaction, Namgung Hyeok showed a look of surprise.

“Brother, you really have no interest in anything but martial arts. It’s impressive.”

He had no idea why he was being looked at with such admiration, but Gyo-ha nodded anyway.

“I thought you would of course know, since you are close with a Beggars’ Union disciple.”

Was he close with a Beggars’ Union disciple?

At Namgung Hyeok’s words, one face came to Gyo-ha’s mind.

“Sister Yeom Hong? I wouldn’t say we are close.”

They had only traded with each other.

“By Yeom Hong, do you perhaps mean Senior Wild Flower Wolf, the Xiangzhou branch leader?”

Gyo-ha nodded.

Flowers and Wolf.

Words that didn’t seem like they should be used together were in that nickname.

He had never heard the nickname Wild Flower Wolf before, but it suited her.

“So you even had a connection with that Senior. I was talking about Young Hero Bong Seok.”

“…Ah.”

He had forgotten.

He had not thought the title ‘young hero’ would feel this awkward.

If it was Bong Seok, then he could certainly say they had a connection.

“The Beggars’ Union is not as poor as people think. Because they must buy and sell information, each branch holds a certain amount of money. Of course, since it is money purely for trade, personal use is forbidden.”

Gyo-ha let out a gasp.

Thinking about it, it was only natural. Beggars’ Union disciples collected information themselves, but there were also times they bought information from others.

They would need money for that.

Of course, they could not collect that kind of money just by begging.

It was clearly money earned by selling information.

“Then who is richer, the Beggars’ Union or the Namgung Clan?”

Namgung Hyeok simply smiled without answering.

It was not that the question was rude that he refused to answer.

By now, through his experiences, Namgung Hyeok had come to understand Gyo-ha.

He knew that Gyo-ha had asked purely out of simple curiosity.

Face or calculation didn’t enter his mind at all.

The reason Namgung Hyeok didn’t answer was that there was no need.

From Namgung Hyeok’s smile, Gyo-ha could tell the answer.

The Nine Sects One Union.

Unlike the Buddhist sects, the Taoist sects and the Beggars’ Union were involved in worldly affairs.

Naturally, they didn’t stay away from wealth either.

Even so, they could not be compared to the Five Great Clans.

They were powers of influence even before they were Murim sects.

They didn’t have to be mindful of people’s eyes like the Nine Sects One Union did, so they took part in countless interests.

The Namgung Clan also directly ran several businesses.

Gyo-ha let out a “Heh” of admiration.

But he soon lost interest, and Namgung Hyeok changed the subject as if he had expected it.

“By the way, Brother, what did you mean by a bandit stronghold?”

“Ah… When I ran out of money, I robbed bandit strongholds. My master told me to do that too.”

In truth, Yun Heo hadn’t said it like that.

He had only said that even bandits had their uses. It was Gyo-ha who had decided their use was as wallets.

At Gyo-ha’s words, Namgung Hyeok’s eyes quivered.

“As expected! That’s so like you, Brother!”

Seeing Namgung Hyeok’s admiration, Gyo-ha’s expression brightened.

“Right? Other people look at me strangely when I say that.”

“It’s not strange at all. They must be jealous of you, Brother. You can save the common people, earn money, and even cultivate. It’s truly killing three birds with one stone. Why did I never think of that?”

Watching Namgung Hyeok blame himself, Gyo-ha smiled in satisfaction.

He could understand why people liked flattery. He hadn’t known being acknowledged by someone could feel this good.

Excited now, Gyo-ha began talking about how he robbed bandits.

Every time, Namgung Hyeok chimed in.

Thanks to that, the people around them were giving them strange looks, but neither of them paid any attention.

Gyo-ha had never cared about people’s gazes, and Namgung Hyeok was used to being the center of attention.

“Ah, right. That doesn’t mean I kill them all.”

“…Of course. There must be those who became bandits against their will. They are all common folk too.”

Namgung Hyeok nodded.

Having said that much, Gyo-ha realized one thing.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any bandits lately.”

Even though they had traveled only by mountain paths, they hadn’t run into any bandits.

“It’s probably because of the war.”

“Ah.”

Gyo-ha realized it belatedly.

Because of the war, the people of Murim were on edge everywhere.

“Unless they are at least part of the Green Forest, it isn’t easy to move around in the current situation.”

To ordinary people, bandits were terrifying, but to the people of Murim they were no different from commoners.

They were just ordinary people holding weapons.

Of course, there were bandits who had learned martial arts.

But in the current situation, if they messed with the wrong person, there was no telling what would happen.

It would be like smashing open a beehive just because you wanted the honey.

Gyo-ha nodded.

‘Right, we are in the middle of a war.’

He had forgotten for a moment. It still didn’t feel real.

Yet it was far too quiet for that.

‘Is it not as serious as I thought?’

However, it didn’t take long for him to realize that was a delusion.

With bandits not operating, they had to look for a large town, one the size of a city.

Small villages had neither money houses nor merchant guilds.

As they searched for a city and stepped onto the main road, they saw bodies strewn across the ground.

“…They are wanderers.”

The corpses of wanderers. They looked to have been dead for about two days.

Gyo-ha quickly scanned the surroundings.

And he was able to grasp the situation.

“At least twenty or more people fought here.”

But there were only seven bodies.

Judging by the amount and traces of blood, there was no way only seven had died.

“The ones belonging to sects or groups will have had their bodies collected.”

Those who belonged to sects or organizations.

They had taken their bodies away and left the hired wanderers where they fell.

“Heartless.”

Gyo-ha spat the word out bluntly.

The expression on Namgung Hyeok’s face beside him was sour as well.

“We cannot be certain yet, so let us go to the village.”

At Namgung Hyeok’s words, Gyo-ha started to move, then looked back at the corpses.

His hesitation was brief.

“Brother?”

Namgung Hyeok looked at Gyo-ha in puzzlement as he walked toward the bodies.

Gyo-ha squatted down and began digging into the ground with his fingers.

His fingers cut through the earth like soft tofu.

It was the Ink Blood Claw¹.

Namgung Hyeok looked at Gyo-ha with wide eyes.

He had never imagined someone would use martial arts just to dig the ground.

For Namgung Hyeok, who had been taught never to show his martial arts carelessly, it was a novel shock.

If the Darkshadow Mountain Ghost had known his martial arts were being used to dig dirt, he would have been appalled, but fortunately the Darkshadow Mountain Ghost was already dead.

Of course, even if he were alive, Gyo-ha would not have cared.

Seeing what Gyo-ha was doing, Namgung Hyeok also picked up a scabbard lying on the ground and started digging.

But digging the earth with a scabbard wasn’t easy.

After hesitating for a moment, a look of resolve rose in Namgung Hyeok’s eyes.

Soon a heat haze was rising from the scabbard.

Once the two of them started digging like that, they were able to dig out the earth in no time.

When Namgung Hyeok tried to dig deeper, Gyo-ha stopped him.

The pit wasn’t deep.

It was only just enough to put the bodies in and cover them.

“Will animals not dig them up?”

At Namgung Hyeok’s words, Gyo-ha scratched his cheek.

He had thought of that as well.

However.

“Someone might come to look for them.”

“Ah.”

If it was too deep, they would be hard to find.

Gyo-ha took a branch and stuck it into the ground in front of the grave.

Then he hung the belongings the dead had carried on the branch.

Of course, anything that could be sold for money, such as swords, was already gone.

Those who had collected the other bodies, or some other people, had surely already taken them.

Gyo-ha closed his eyes and recited a Taoist scripture.

At the sight of him, Namgung Hyeok also bowed his head in silent prayer.

“Come on, let’s go.”

“Yes, Brother.”

Namgung Hyeok looked at Gyo-ha’s back as he walked ahead.

A broad back.

He didn’t know why, but it somehow felt larger than before.

---

The village’s atmosphere was worse than they had expected.

The villagers watched the strangers with eyes full of fear.

On top of that, they could feel eyes here and there watching them.

There were no children to be seen, even though they should have been running around at that age.

After the two of them went around looking for a money house, they were able to learn the reason.

“The Taedong Gate and the Jeokmu Hall, it seems.”

“Do you know them?”

“Nope.”

Namgung Hyeok shook his head.

Judging from the name, the Taedong Gate sounded like a Taoist sect, but it was closer to the unorthodox side.

Its sect leader’s name was simply Taedong.

“So he must have founded a sect using his own name.”

It wasn’t rare, especially for unorthodox sects.

In contrast, Jeokmu Hall was made up of the descendants of a master who had once made a name for himself.

Strictly speaking, they were closer to the orthodox side.

If even Namgung Hyeok didn’t know their names, neither was a major power.

“The aftershocks of the war have reached even a place like this.”

Namgung Hyeok spoke with a stiff face.

The two of them didn’t belong to the Murim Alliance or the Evil Heaven Alliance, but they couldn’t say they were unaffected.

Letting out a sigh, Namgung Hyeok changed the subject.

“More importantly, the fact that there’s no money house is a problem.”

“It’s fine. We can just sleep outside.”

The only thing that changed was that they were now in a city, not the mountains and forests.

Nothing else was different.

After saying that, Gyo-ha paused for a moment.

“Mm, is it a bit much to sleep outside in a city?”

He glanced at Namgung Hyeok. Gyo-ha didn’t care, but Namgung Hyeok was a young master of the Namgung Clan.

When it was just the two of them it was one thing, but they should be careful in a crowded place.

Understanding what Gyo-ha meant, Namgung Hyeok thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter. I saw a Beggars’ Union disciple earlier, and he didn’t seem to recognize me.”

That was only natural.

When people said ‘Namgung Hyeok,’ he was practically the future of the Namgung Clan.

There was no way someone like that would walk around half-naked like a beggar.

It would be stranger if someone recognized him.

“By the way, is it all right not to help?”

Though Jeokmu Hall didn’t belong to the Murim Alliance, they did proclaim themselves orthodox.

That point weighed on Namgung Hyeok as well, and he furrowed his brow. As a member of one of the Five Great Clans, he couldn’t simply turn away.

However, they couldn’t rush in to help without even knowing the situation. Moreover, Gyo-ha didn’t belong to the Murim Alliance at all.

“Let us see how things stand first.”

If it was just a struggle over interests, there was no reason to get involved.

At Namgung Hyeok’s words, Gyo-ha nodded as well.

However, events didn’t unfold according to their will.

Because in one corner of the village, someone recognized Namgung Hyeok as he was roasting potatoes over a campfire with Gyo-ha.