I Can’t Stand This. Really. (5)

“Who did all this in the first place!”

“We have to save the kid…”

“So that was the only way to save the kid!?”

“I can’t think of any other way, so what do you want me to do…”

“With no plans like this! Who was it sasuk, who said we should send!”

“You.”

Tang Soso flinched at Yoon Jong’s indifferent accusation.

“Me, when did I!”

“No, I heard it too. You were the one who said we should send him.”

“The sahyung thought the same! Am I the only one who did wrong?”

“Oh ho. So that’s how it’s going to be?”

The disciples furiously criticized each other as if they were about to tear one another apart.

Hae Yeon, quietly watching that warm scene, smiled faintly and nodded.

“I always feel this way, but the benefactors really get along well.”

Chung Myung, who heard that, also smiled contentedly.

‘I should stop hitting my head now.’

Does that sight make him say such a thing? If you took them to a battlefield they’d probably ring a wooden fish and call it a festival.

“Because they firmly believe their words could never hurt each other, they can even say such harsh things, can’t they?”

“Isn’t it more like a will to make sure they leave some wound no matter what?”

“Haha. Amitabha. As expected, the benefactor speaks quite entertainingly.”

It was a painful thing. Even if you told them the truth they couldn’t accept it. Is it because they grew up comfortably within Shaolin’s cozy fence?

This is why kids should be rolled around in the rough fields.

“Wait.”

Suddenly Baek Cheon, as if cutting through the chaos, spoke with a serious face.

“Instead of continuing this commotion, shouldn’t we come up with practical measures? We don’t even have the travel funds to return to Mount Hua immediately, so we need to make money somehow.”

“Wow. Re.ally. new. fact. I had no idea.”

“What you’re saying is true, but is it right for a sasuk to be the one saying that?”

“Kk, ahem.”

Baek Cheon cleared his throat with a reddened face as if about to explode.

“So what are you going to do about it? Are there any stick-skills?”

“I don’t have any.”

Sssslip.

“W-why draw the sword. Put it away and let’s talk first, samae.”

You’re really scary. Really.

Yoon Jong, looking at the mess, sighed deeply and turned to Chung Myung.

“Isn’t there any way?”

“Do these guys think I’m some kind of magic club? Just hit it and answers will come out?”

“I don’t think that far, but…”

Yoon Jong narrowed his brow slightly and glanced at Chung Myung with a sidelong look.

“I don’t think you came all this way without even carrying a back pocket.”

“Oh?”

“Now that you mention it.”

“That bastard might have money, don’t you think?”

The disciples of Mount Hua all narrowed their eyes and looked at Chung Myung. But Chung Myung, receiving that gaze, was nothing short of confident.

“Now, think about it. This time the Sect leader gave us plenty of money.”

“So?”

“I can use someone else’s money, but would I use my own money?”

“Hm. That’s right. Let’s discuss other measures.”

“Let’s.”

“…At least think a little.”

Even though he was the one who said it, Chung Myung felt oddly sad at how easily it was accepted. What on earth did these guys think of him?

“Then what do we do? Is there really no way?”

Chung Myung shrugged his shoulders.

“Money is something you can make.”

“Huh? You have a way to earn money?”

“There are many ways to make money. But why make money?”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung grinned, the corner of his mouth curling.

“It’s not that we don’t have money now. We just didn’t bring it.”

“That may be so, but…”

In fact, Mount Hua was by no means a poor sect anymore. Even if all the travel funds they brought were gone, returning to Mount Hua would instantly replenish it.

The only problem was there was no way to access that money so far away.

“So rather than wasting time trying to earn money, it’s better to borrow it.”

“Borrow? You’re saying borrow money?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. If you think about it, that’s right though.”

Baek Cheon, frowning in thought, quickly became despondent.

“But who would lend us money? They don’t even know where Mount Hua is.”

“Ah, geez. Such grudge-holding.”

Chung Myung twisted his face and clicked his tongue.

“Borrow from whom? Borrow from the rich guy. Preferably the richest person in this town.”

Everyone narrowed their eyes.

“That Lord Song person?”

“As expected, Chung Myung wouldn’t just take getting ripped off for money and stay silent.”

“What will you do? Ambush? Infiltrate? Or threaten?”

“…Are you all insane. What kind of threat are you talking about!”

“Huh? Then? Just openly ask to borrow? Why would that person lend us money?”

“When did I say I’d borrow money from Lord Song?”

Jo Gul tilted his head and asked again.

“You said borrow from the richest person in town. Isn’t that Lord Song?”

“Nope.”

“…Not him? Then who is it?”

Chung Myung snorted and sprang to his feet.

“I don’t know who exactly, but I know where. The sahyung might know too?”

Everyone looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

“Haaaaaawn.”

Beggar Sun-Hak yawned lazily.

“A fly’s going to get in my mouth. Branch Leader.”

“Hmm. So what if it does.”

Beggar Sun-Hak, lying on the straw mat, scratched his back vigorously.

Contrary to the name Sunhak (quick badger), his plump back rippled a little each time he gestured. From appearances alone, the name lazy pig would have been more appropriate than Sun-Hak.

But Beggar Sun-Hak had his reasons.

Was his nickname ‘quick badger’ meaningless? He hadn’t been this chubby since the start. In his youth he was quicker and more diligent than anyone.

All the problems started when he came to this Henan as Branch Leader.

‘There’s nothing to do.’

Beggar Sun-Hak yawned again, stretched out.

What were the duties of the Beggars’ Union Bunta? Externally, of course, it was managing the local beggars. Mediating disputes among them, and making sure they didn’t starve too much (some starvation is inevitable. They’re beggars.)

But the really important duty wasn’t that. As the Beggars’ Union is a faction of the murim world, the top priority of every Beggars’ Union Bunta was to gather information on the martial sects in the region.

But Henan had no martial sects.

After the Shandong Evil Family, which once ruled Shandong, had been half-ruined by the great calamity, Shandong literally became unowned territory.

There were no sects worth the Beggars’ Union’s careful attention; at best, there were tiny evil sects squabbling over whether to kill or spare each other.

Thus, within this Shandong, there was no difference between the Beggars’ Union and an ordinary beggar. Everyone was equally a beggar.

But because of the nature of the Beggars’ Union Branch, tribute nevertheless came from the beggars, so the Branch’s beggars didn’t have to beg with their own hands. So what does that mean?

‘What do you expect, you end up like pigs getting food from the pigsty.’

The previous Branch Leaders who took over the Henan Branch mostly couldn’t stand this useless reality and ran away from Henan.

But Beggar Sun-Hak was different. He didn’t think this life was particularly bad.

‘As long as there’s a little lack of money and some dirt to endure, isn’t this like immortals’ play?’

For someone, that lack of money and filth might be crucial factors, but not for Beggar Sun-Hak. So there was no real reason for him to hate this life.

Yes, this place might be a paradise allowed only for beggars.

Beggar Sun-Hak certainly thought so—until the young kid he’d never seen before appeared and started spouting absurd words.

“So…”

Beggar Sun-Hak blinked. Then he started digging at his ear vigorously.

The young kid in front of him frowned as if blatantly disgusted, but Beggar Sun-Hak didn’t even dare point out the rudeness. The words he had just heard were too ridiculous to bother over such a triviality.

“U-um, so the little hero…”

“Young Taoist.”

“Yes. The, the young Taoist… you mean the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, right?”

“That’s right.”

“The one from Mount Hua who defeated Shaolin’s Hae Yeon at the National Martial Tournament?”

“Yes. This is that Hae Yeon.”

“Amitabha. Pleased to meet you, patron.”

“…”

Beggar Sun-Hak, who had been calmly staring at the smiling Hae Yeon, raised his head and looked at the collapsing hut’s ceiling.

What sin had he committed for the heavens to subject him to such harsh trials?

“Well… yes. Let’s say that’s the case for now. There’s no way to verify it now, so for the time being… yes.”

No sooner had he finished than the young Taoists behind him started whispering.

“But why can’t you verify it? Can’t you tell by the face?”

“Maybe he’s not famous enough.”

“Even if we aren’t known, shouldn’t monk Hae Yeon be known?”

“If you think about it, monk Hae Yeon also first showed his face at the martial tournament. He might not know.”

“Maybe this place is just incredibly incompetent? From earlier, it looked like they don’t even work.”

“Hmm. That argument has merit. That could be the case.”

I can hear everything, you lot….

The guys behind were annoying, but that wasn’t the important thing now. He had heard something a hundred times more important and strange.

“But that those people would ask me for…”

Beggar Sun-Hak swallowed his dry saliva.

“They asked… to borrow money.”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung nodded confidently, and Hae Yeon and the other disciples looked away awkwardly at the hut ceiling.

Seeing the awkward mood, Beggar Sun-Hak felt a faint sliver of hope. The one staring straight at him was surely a madman, but the others still seemed to be wearing masks of reason.

The problem was that madman.

“Young Taoist, uh… as you can see, we are beggars.”

“Yes.”

“You’re asking to borrow money? From beggars?”

“Yes.”

“So beggars…”

“Ah, I said so already. How many times do I have to say it?”

“…”

Chung Myung nodded several times indifferently. Realizing there wasn’t a shred of hesitation in that nod, Beggar Sun-Hak felt his sense of common sense crumble within him.

“Is asking beggars to lend money even something that makes sense? You crazy people!”

“Instead of ‘people’, please correct it precisely to ‘person’.”

“We were opposed to it.”

“Honestly, do you think we came here because we wanted to?”

Watching the Taoists protest as if wronged made Beggar Sun-Hak feel even more sick inside.

“Don’t flap your bellies and squawk for no reason.”

Chung Myung leaned back leisurely in the chair provided by the Bunta, picked at his fingernail with his thumb, and spoke nonchalantly.

“I said we’ll pay it back. Don’t you trust Mount Hua?”

“That’s not the issue! We are beggars!”

“I know. If you have eyes you can plainly see this is a hut; surely you don’t think we don’t know that.”

“Ah, someone who says they know… ugh…”

Beggar Sun-Hak’s neck began to stiffen on its own. Usually relaxed enough to be called a lazy pig, meeting this guy for even a short moment reminded him how hot-tempered he’d once been.

When Beggar Sun-Hak couldn’t continue from astonishment and choked, Baek Cheon, watching the situation, quietly whispered into Chung Myung’s ear.

“Chung Myung, we came because you said to come… but honestly this feels wrong. Let’s just go back.”

“Ah, it’s fine, I told you.”

“Why would you lend money to beggars who don’t have any money.”

“Beggars don’t have money.”

“Right? Yeah. So…”

“But.”

Chung Myung smirked.

“The Beggars’ Union has a lot of money.”

“Huh?”

“What does it matter if they’re beggars or not. If they have money, they might lend it.”

Chung Myung looked at Beggar Sun-Hak and grinned wickedly.

“Isn’t that so?”

“…”

Beggar Sun-Hak involuntarily flinched.