Chapter 13

As Do Pyeong-su was about to leave the house he remembered Mao Liang’s grumbling.

It’d be enough to threaten and step on him this time as well, but if that guy goes crazy and bounces, it will give him a headache.

Earlier, there were no regrets of killing, but from now on Mao Liang will be asked to steal things occasionally.

“Darn, whom am I regretting about killing? What do I do?”

As he said so, he remembered the four hundred silver taels that he had randomly thrown into the room.

For him, it was a profitable trade if he exchanged the silver taels that was good for nothing with the thousand-year-old ‘fleece flower root’.

Clang!

Mao Liang who trembled as soon as he saw Do Pyeong-su, was confused seeing the pouch that was thrown onto the table.

“What’s this?”

“You said you wanted money, didn’t you?”

“Looks like you’ve brought a few hundred coins with you.”

Seeing the size of the pouch, it should carry about five hundred coins.

Receiving another request by getting paid less than a silver tael.

‘You damned!’

Mao Liang who opened the pouch swearing on the inside stared open-mouthed in astonishment. This silver gleam fully spreads from within the pouch!

“How….how much is this?”

“I haven’t counted, but since the abolition said that it’s four hundred silver taels, there should be four hundred silver taels.”

“Abolition?”

“You don’t have to know. Is that money enough?”

Mao Liang bowed at a right angle.

“Master! If there is anything, just tell me! I’ll steal it swiftly, accurately, and nicely!”

Ha Seok-mun held out four porcelain bottles that looked luxurious.

“I think I have to ask you a difficult favor.”

“What kind of a favor is it that it’s taking that long?”

“The next order is in five days. I just want you to put the Sagi wine one by one in here and deliver it to the Western Transportation Company”

As it was the biggest transportation company in Hangzhou, Geom Woo-bin was aware of it too.

“Western Transportation Company?”

“That’s right. It is supposed to be delivered by the Wolha Kisaeng house, but for some reason, you were assigned as the delivery person.”

“Why would they specifically call me?”

“I’m curious about it too. Will you be able to do it?”

“Of course, I have to do it. They’re our biggest customers.”

“They’re the customers who notice your favor the most. Hahaha!”

“Then, I’ll see you in five days!”

Geom Woo-bin walked out of the Wolha Kisaeng house and was on his way back home.

As he got out of town and reached a secluded path someone suddenly blocked his way.

“Sniff sniff! I’m getting an aromatic scent from somewhere.”

An old shaggy-haired beggar who was covered in shabby clothes was sniffing and spinning around Geom Woo-bin.

“This is a human scent that’s coming because people smell good. Commoner, you seem to be a really good person.”

Though the opponent was a beggar, Geom Woo-bin wasn’t disrespectful.

“He’s just an ordinary, ordinary kid.”

“No, no! There’s no way he can be an ordinary kid. I’m getting such a good smell.”

“Isn’t it the smell of liquor, and not people?”

“Huh? Can liquor smell this good? Is there such liquor in the world? Can you show me?”

The beggar was already drooling with a surprised expression.

Geom Woo-bin took out four small bottles from his chest area.

It was a sample that he always carries around in a relatively smaller bottle than the bottle Sagi wine was originally in.

“To be honest, the liquor smell wouldn’t even come out as it is sealed, but grandfather, you seem to have an outstanding sense of smell.”

“Hahaha! My nose is similar to that of a dog. Hahaha! As-, as you already showed it to me, how about letting me taste it a little?”

The old beggar’s gaze went back and forth constantly towards Geom Woo-bin and the liquor bottle.

“I can give you about one bottle.”

“One-, one bottle?”

“As I’m also a dealer, please understand. Which one would you like to have?”

Geom Woo-bin spread out the four bottles of wine in front of him.

The old beggar No Dae-sul’s hands were shaking.

Choosing one among the four bottles was a cruel choice for him.

“Don’t-, don’t be like that, give me all four-….”

Geom Woo-bin cut him off firmly.

“No!”

“Do I have to seriously pick only one? This is harder than asking a sensualist to pick one person out of Yang Guifei, Diaochan, Circe, and Wang Zhaojun!”

There are pros and cons to each of the Four Beauties of China, but Sagi wine is a liquor where each of it has its pros but there are no cons to be found.

“Grr! I’m a decisive person by nature, but the difficulty in making such choic-….”

Eventually, No Dae-sul lowered his head along with a deep sigh.

“You just pick one bottle for me. If I pick, I’d surely regret losing the opportunity to try out the rest of the drinks.”

Geom Woo-bin willingly handed over a bottle.

“Pacheon wine?”

“Oh? Is this Pacheon wine?”

Geom Woo-bin smiled as he checked the name on the bottom of the bottle.

“Wow! How did you know? I just gave you a random drink. Excessive drinking is harmful to the body. When you drink Cheongju wine make sure to have it with a good side dish.”

Geom Woo-bin greeted and moved away walking at a quick pace.

No Dae-sul tucked the liquor bottle into his waist and stared blankly at Geom Woo-bin who was walking at a distance.

“It’s strange. No matter how much I look at him, it doesn’t seem like he’s a student of those wicked hostlers.”

No Dae-sul who was contemplating his thoughts headed towards the Hangzhou town showing off his Qinggong skills.

The brighter the place, the darker the shade was.

In one of the fanciest places of Hangzhou, more people were living in starvation than those who eat.

Even in misery, there was a class, so this place where rain and snow can be avoided was even better.

No Dae-sul found a dugout hut under the bridge, which was better.

Inside the dugout hut, eight beggars were clustered together to catch fleas.

“Wow! Awesome! Look at this blood!”

“Hey! Compared to what I caught yesterday it’s not even half as good.”

The young beggars who were chattering loudly stared blankly at No Dae-sul who entered the dugout hut.

“Who are you?”

They were all members of the Beggar’s sect, but not everyone knew how the Chieftain looked like. However, only one of them knew No Dae-sul.

So Gi-cheon stood up in shock and fell onto his knees with a thud.

“Glad to see you, master!”

“Master? You had something like that?”

“If it’s true that you’re a student of our Chieftain of the Beggar’s sect, then….”

So Gi-cheon said in a small, but a voice that everyone could hear.

“It’s the chieftain! Greet him immediately!”.

Although the little beggars belong to the Beggar’s sect, the name chieftain was as unrealistic as the Buddha or the Gods of Heaven & Earth.

They were hovering around and didn’t know what to do, but No Dae-sul swished his hand.

“That’s enough. All of you stay out except for just thirty.”

All of them didn’t know who thirty was, but except for So Gi-cheon, everyone went out.

No Dae-sul looked around at So Gi-cheon and said.

“Now you’re pretty much a beggar, I see.”

“It’s all thanks to you, master.”

“What’s it that I have done?”

So Gi-cheon almost replied, ‘I know, right?’

He became a student of that great Beggar’s sect chieftain by hearing the words, ‘from today onwards you’re my thirtieth secret student.’

That was the end of it.

Nobody knew that So Gi-cheon was the chieftain’s student, so, he wasn’t treated well. Despite being a student of the chieftain, So Gi-cheon lived like the other young beggars.

“You look like you’re curious about something.”

He’s amazingly good at reading one’s innermost thoughts.

“Umm…. as you say thirty whenever you call me, I know that I’m the thirtieth student, but how many more students have you got after me?”

“After you? You see….”

So Gi-cheon was convinced looking at No Dae-sul’s words fading out in the end.

‘He doesn’t know! He doesn’t know! A master who doesn’t even know how many students he has!’

“You’re asking something that’s not important.”

“Then why do you have a lot of students like this? Martial arts don’t even teach half a loaf.”

“According to the student, the more the better it is. Do you know why one has to have many kids?”

“Because they don’t have anything particularly to do at night?”

Flick!

No Dae-sul’s laughter faltered from the back of So Gi-cheon’s head, which he was holding as he got smacked on his forehead.

“Hahaha! This little fellow already knows such things. You are very bright, I see. Anyways, that’s the cause of having kids, not the reason.”

“What’s the reason?”

“We don’t know which one will be the filial piety. First of all, you give birth to many of them and if one of them becomes filial piety, then, wouldn’t old age become easier? Even a student is similar to that. First of all, you bring in a lot, and among that, the one who shows the promise of success would grow bigger, and later, he will become one among those who serve liqu-…. no, he will contribute to the Beggar’s sect, so, the more the students, the better it is.”

“If that’s to happen, shouldn’t you be teaching at least something for the students?”

“No, no. If I teach the wrong fundamentals for a person like you, you won’t be contributing, but you would crush the shit out of it. So, first of all, I’ll make students and then see their behaviors. Though it seems like I’m not noticing, I’m watching all the students from somewhere. With these hawkish eyes!”

So Gi-cheon stared blankly into No Dae-sul’s eyes.

More than hawking eyes, it was close to pollack eyes that makes one lose their taste.

“What was the reason you revealed yourself without just constantly watching through your hawk’s eyes?”

“To find out if you showed the promise of success as a student. What is the meaning of beggar?”

He was tired of the answer, ‘A bastard who scrounges ‘.

That’s the right answer, but he shouldn’t have thrown such a question to hear such an obvious answer.

So Gi-cheon swallowed his saliva in anxiety and answered.

“A person who had the pride of a dog.”

“Huh? What kind of bullshit is that?”

“It means that, as I don’t have the pride like a dog, even if it’s an offering given by a child, I should be thankful and eat it well.”

No Dae-sul burst out laughing looking at So Gi-cheon.

“Fella! Look at the richness in that expression! It looks like you’ve got the talent to be successful as a beggar in the future!”

No Dae-sul suddenly stopped laughing and made a serious expression.

“I’ll give you a test. In case you pass this test, you can officially become my student.”

“If I officially become your student will I be able to learn martial arts from you?”

“Of course! That’s why there is a word called ‘officially’ in front of ‘student’.”

“What kind of a test is it?”

“There is an eight-year-old kid. Go and bring a coin by begging from that guy.”

“There’ll be many eight-year-old kids in Hangzhou as much as there are fleas in your clothes….”

“He’s a guy named Geom Woo-bin.”

“Are you talking about Soju-seon?”

“Do you know him?”

“If one doesn’t know Soju-seon in Hangzhou these days, then they’re not a person from Hangzhou.”

“The deadline is three days.”

“Cheap food is the only thing I can eat spending all my money in Hangzhou these days.”

Geom Woo-bin held the dumplings and smiled innocently.

“Uncle, your dumplings are the tastiest. By the way, uncle, do you know about the Western Transportation Company?”

“Is there someone who doesn’t know the Western Transportation Company, which is the biggest transportation company in Hangzhou? The Wife of the Namgung Se-ga family’s head is the younger sister of the Western Transportation Company’s owner, so even the support was very strong.”

As the talk about Namgung Se-ga came up, Namgung Hye-yeon naturally came to his mind.

‘Is it Namgung Hye-yeon who asked me to deliver the drinks?’

However, he only met her once and he had no specific relationship with her. But, besides that, he couldn’t think of a reason as to why the Western Transportation Company asked him to deliver the drinks.

“Thank you for the meal!”

“Alright. Come very often!”

Geom Woo-bin who left the restaurant came across a familiar face.

It was the little beggar he had saved while he was being beaten by the children who were practicing martial arts.

“Hehehe! Mr. Soju-seon, please give this beggar only one coin.”

In the past, he refused it even when he offered, but now he’s asking for a coin with a humble expression. Geom Woo-bin giggled at that sight and threw a coin into his begging bowl.

Clang!

The emotion that was seen on the little beggar’s face didn’t seem like he received one coin but around one hundred silver taels.

“Mr. Soju-seon, thank you! You will receive all the blessings in the world for the rest of your life!”

Geom Woo-bin tilted his head looking at the little beggar who walked away greeting.

“Did I realize something about the beggar?”

And soon, the little beggar was forgotten from Geom Woo-bin’s mind.