Chapter 1490
I didn’t come looking for you? (5)
“There’s someone behind the Sect Leader?”
Baek Cheon muttered. Everyone’s gaze on Luju was filled with suspicion.
“Is there really a hidden mastermind? Could it be the Evil Sects? Jang Ilso?”
“Has this guy lost his mind in Gangnam? No matter how things are, does the Beggars Sect seem so weak to you? Overtaken not even by Demonic Cult, but by someone like Jang Ilso?”
“…Sorry. Lately, everything makes me think of Jang Ilso first.”
“If there were a hidden mastermind, it would be easier. Just capture and behead them.”
“Then what?”
“This isn’t about some hidden mastermind. That Sect Leader might be real, but it’s not the true Sect Leader. Neither fake nor real. He is just here.”
Listening seriously to Chung Myung, Baek Cheon looked around at his fellow disciples. He then smiled contentedly. Sure enough, Yoon Jong and Jo Geol were looking back at him with the same expression.
‘Don’t worry, Sasuk. We don’t understand either.’
‘I’m grateful to have you all.’
Exchanging a warm, brotherly glance, Baek Cheon sighed with a sense of futility. At that moment, Chung Myung spoke again.
“Do you know the best way to hide the truth?”
“Isn’t it that thing about hiding seven parts of the truth or something?”
“Hide it among the truth.”
“Huh?”
“Those who deal with information usually operate that way. They don’t hide the real truth among fakes. Instead, they hide the real truth among other truths. That way, people typically only try to verify the truths they see.”
“I think I understand. If someone met the Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect here and heard what he had to say, they wouldn’t even consider that there’s something else hidden behind it, right?”
“Exactly. At most, they’d try to verify if that person is indeed the real Sect Leader.”
Baek Cheon quietly closed his mouth. He had been thinking along those lines himself. A quick glance at the others showed their expressions were similar.
‘This isn’t our fault.’
‘Honestly, it is quite suspicious.’
‘You need something to believe in first!’
Understanding their thoughts, Chung Myung smirked.
“By trying to confirm if this man is the real Sect Leader and looking into the internal conflicts of the sect, you’d fall right into the trap. None of that matters.”
“…What matters is what’s behind it.”
“Yes.”
Chung Myung stared directly at Luju.
“What do you think? Isn’t that the truth?”
Chung Myung smiled, but Luju did not. He had composed himself and now looked calm and unbothered.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Hmm?”
“I am the Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect, and I make the decisions for the sect. Let’s leave your delusions at that. These baseless stories…”
“The evidence is more than sufficient. It’s the evidence you provided.”
Luju fell silent, his gaze on Chung Myung sharp and probing. After a moment, he asked, as if genuinely puzzled.
“I provided evidence?”
“Yes.”
“…What evidence did I provide?”
“Your words are all plausible. But one crucial element is missing. All your logic revolves around one certainty.”
“And what is that?”
“The certainty that the world will inevitably turn into hell. The certainty that a war will break out that will cause all beggars to die.”
Luju’s eyes wavered for a split second.
“If the beggars had suddenly become incompetent after the Yangtze River incident, your words might have merit. But that’s not the case. This didn’t happen over the past few years. It started much earlier. It progressed so slowly that the beggars didn’t notice anything unusual.”
“That…”
“Understand?”
Chung Myung’s words were sharp.
“According to you, you’re just a coward terrified of an event that might never happen, making yourself incompetent in the process.”
Luju silently stared at Chung Myung. Chung Myung shrugged.
“Well, fine. Let’s concede that possibility a hundred times. The Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect doesn’t always have to be competent.”
“Watch your words…”
“But that’s not what’s suspicious. The real issue is with the things you’ve said.”
“…What?”
“I found your comments about me very interesting. They were typical of someone who only knows people through information.”
“What’s strange about that? It’s the truth.”
“Yes, it’s true, so it wasn’t strange. Until you started rambling about Lee Songbaek.”
Luju’s face stiffened. Chung Myung began to chuckle.
“You know the person ‘Chung Myung’ better than the person ‘Lee Songbaek’. Yet, you didn’t hesitate to say ‘from what I know’ about Lee Songbaek, but referred to me as ‘heard about.’ This means only one thing: you didn’t evaluate me yourself. You merely accepted someone else’s evaluation.”
“…”
“Isn’t that right?”
Luju didn’t show overt agitation, but Baek Cheon noticed. He saw the faint tremble in the hand resting on the desk. Luju couldn’t even think to hide that hand beneath the desk, a sign of his inner turmoil.
“Isn’t that a bit far-fetched…”
“Wait. The most important part is yet to come.”
Chung Myung glared at Luju.
“The reason I think someone is behind you, yet not a hidden evil mastermind, is simple. Your anger is genuine. But to me, it’s quite laughable.”
“Why is that?”
“Why are you angry? You’ve never experienced it firsthand, nor have you been forced to make sacrifices.”
“…”
“Resisting wrongs and harboring grudges are different. Yet you speak as if you were the victim who endured everything you describe. You, who have lived through an unprecedented period of peace.”
Luju tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand.
“Are you saying my anger is wrong?”
“No. It’s justified. Of course, it’s justified. But… something being justified doesn’t always make it natural.”
“…I don’t understand.”
“You wouldn’t. You can’t. People who understand anger with their head can’t truly grasp it.”
But even if the whole world can’t understand, Chung Myung can.
The anger Luju emits is akin to the resentment he has toward this world. That’s why it’s peculiar. Luju hasn’t experienced what he’s talking about. So how can he empathize with that emotion?
Is it because he has a lot of information? Because he knows the history of the Beggars Sect? That makes no sense. Just look at how the elders of other sects, who know their histories, behave.
“So the conclusion is obvious. Whether or not you are the Sect Leader doesn’t matter to me. What matters is that someone else is responsible for bringing the Beggars Sect to this state.”
Luju shook his head.
“That’s a ridiculous delusion.”
“…”
“I know another answer. I wasn’t as smart as you to handle things well. I’m also emotional enough to be deeply angered by past events.”
“….”
“I can’t listen to your nonsense any longer. Just leave. I’m sick of this.”
“I was going to anyway. I have no interest in chatting with a scarecrow.”
Proving that he meant what he said, Chung Myung turned away without hesitation.
“Just make sure to deliver this to your master.”
“And what should I tell them? Your nonsense?”
“No.”
Chung Myung cast a sharp glance back, his voice icy.
“Running away won’t change anything.”
“…”
“Just that one sentence will do. They’ll understand.”
He nodded to his companions.
“Let’s go. We’ve wasted enough time.”
“…Are we really leaving?”
“He’s just a carrier pigeon. The message will be delivered.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“Who cares?”
Chung Myung’s nonchalant reply hung in the air as he headed towards the door.
“Then!”
Luju’s voice halted him. It was a voice brimming with intense emotion, starkly different from before.
“What will you say to those who are dying for that worthless cause?”
“Nothing at all.”
Chung Myung stopped abruptly and spoke.
“I couldn’t say anything. That’s why I’m doing this.”
“…Doing this?”
“I’m searching for the words. I’m desperately struggling to say that their deaths weren’t in vain.”
Chung Myung stared into the void for a moment, as if looking beyond the door, then smiled quietly.
“Don’t mind me. It’s nonsense. I must be getting old.”
He waved his hand dismissively and began to walk away.
“Let’s go.”
“…Okay.”
Although the final exchange was incomprehensible, it was clear they couldn’t do anything more here. The group nodded and followed Chung Myung out.
“…Wait.”
But Luju stopped Chung Myung once more.
Chung Myung glanced back at him. Luju, biting his lip and glaring at Chung Myung, muttered.
“…Why…”
“Hmm?”
Chung Myung’s gaze shifted away from Luju and focused upward.
Tap. Tap.
The sound was faint but distinct.
Something was knocking from above, on the ceiling where they stood.
“…They say it’s darkest under the lamp. Turns out there’s another lamp under the lamp.”
“Huu.”
Luju sighed deeply and shook his head.
What part of their conversation reached up there?
“Since you insist, I’ll let you meet them.”
“…Oh?”
“But you should be careful.”
“Is that a threat?”
“…You’ll understand once you meet them.”
Still seated, Luju triggered something under the desk.
“Oh?”
“Wow…”
“There was a mechanism here?”
As everyone marveled, a line appeared on one side of the ceiling. Soon, a long staircase began to descend.
“…So this isn’t all of the seventh floor?”
“From outside, it certainly looked that way.”
“They must have extended the space beneath the eaves. I didn’t even notice.”
Tang Soso bit her lip in frustration at not having realized it.
“Go ahead.”
With the stairs fully lowered, Luju gestured toward them with his chin. Five Swords looked at the stairs and the dark space above with some unease.
“…This isn’t a trap, right?”
“And if it is? Let’s just go.”
“Ugh. This feels unsettling.”
Everyone watched Chung Myung for a cue. He seemed entirely unfazed, already stepping onto the stairs.
“…Does that guy have nerves of steel?”
One of the Five Swords muttered as they hurried to follow.
As they ascended, the reason this space had gone unnoticed became clear. Even Chung Myung, who was on a shorter side, had to stoop. The ceiling was that low. Unlike the opulence of the lower floors, this secret chamber was so dilapidated that it was questionable if anyone could live there.
“This place is…”
Chung Myung’s attention was drawn to something. In one corner of the chamber was a solitary bed. On it lay an elderly man with white hair, looking as if he could pass away at any moment.
“…this person is?”
Chung Myung was momentarily at a loss, staring at the frail, withered figure of the old man.
The elderly man’s bony hand slowly rose, making a weak gesture that seemed to indicate they should come closer. Without a word, Chung Myung approached the old man’s side.
The man’s face was deeply wrinkled, covered in age spots, and his skin was as dry and brittle as a desert. His entire body was so thin, resembling a withered branch. It was clear at a glance that he did not have much time left.
It is the former Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect? Or is it the former elder? How should one possibly talk with such a person?
As Chung Myung pondered, the old man’s eyes slowly opened. Old man’s cloudy gaze met Chung Myung.
Chung Myung began to speak.
“I…”
But he couldn’t finish his sentence. Would he be understood? Even as their eyes met, the person before him didn’t seem alive. He didn’t even dare hope for a conversation. It was as if that person was merely clinging to life.
What use was a Sect Leader if this was the situation? There seemed to be no way forward. And at the moment Chung Myung tried to exhale amidst the overwhelming sense of resignation.
“…Geom…”
The voice of the old man cracked as if his throat were splitting apart. A puzzled expression crossed Chung Myung’s face.
Why mention a sword[geom]… What did he want to say?
“…Jon.”
Chung Myung widened his eyes in astonishment.
Crack!
His hand, which had been lightly resting on the old man’s bed, grasped the frame so hard that it cracked.
Confusion, doubt, and a faint fear stormed through Chung Myung’s mind.
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