Chapter 1506
There are people you can deal with using words. (1)
Pung Yeong Shin Gae’s fist trembled slightly. Was all of this truly his fault? As Geomjon had said, was this the result of his actions?
He wanted to shout out in denial, to claim that this wasn’t what he intended. But he couldn’t bring himself to deny it.
“Feelings cannot be calculated, that’s why they’re feelings.”
Chung Myung’s cool voice echoed, piercing through Pung Yeong Shin Gae’s ears.
“You guys… No, they said those who stake everything on empty bravado are pitiful.”
“…”
“Indeed. It’s sad. Pitiful. But that’s what made this place the Beggars Sect. That’s what gave it value. Look. Is this the Beggars Sect you wanted to protect?”
Pung Yeong Shin Gae closed his eyes tightly.
He could see in the eyes of the elders approaching him – the same calculating gaze he had seen in the eyes of the younger ones, who were willing to deceive themselves for their own gain or safety.
At this point, Pung Yeong Shin Gae couldn’t help but realize. Whether he and his Master, Hyeon Pung Shin Gae, had truly preserved the Beggars Sect itself was uncertain, but they had certainly changed what the Beggars Sect had originally meant to protect.
The people gathered here were no longer the Beggars Sect’s warriors of the past, who could sacrifice everything for the righteous cause. They had become accustomed to weighing their interests and pulling themselves out of danger, no more than mere merchants.
Could such a gathering of people truly be called the Beggars Sect anymore?
Just as they did not know and understand him and Hyeon Pung Shin Gae, those two also did not know how the Beggars Sect was changing. Even though they were watching each other from such a close distance.
Can one really blame the beggars? No, it’s impossible.
Whatever the circumstances, it was none other than Pung Yeong Shin Gae himself who instructed to prioritize one’s own safety and the interests of the sect.
Ten years, another ten years, and then tens more.
Over the long years, what they had been doing slowly eroded the Beggars Sect overflowing with righteous blood and sweat, leading to the present.
“…Geomhyeop.”
He couldn’t bring himself to lift his head in front of Chung Myung.
However, unfortunately for Ping Yeong Shin Gae, there was not even enough time to fully regret and repent.
“What are you waiting for, Cheonggu Dae? Didn’t you hear me telling you to capture him immediately?”
“Yes!”
With the shout of Ilho Shin Gae, beggars rushed into the main hall, surrounding Pung Yeong Shin Gae and moving in.
And then.
“Please wait a moment.”
Baek Cheon, who had been silently observing the situation, spoke up. Ilho Shin Gae frowned.
“Vice Sect Leader, step back. If you step back now, you will not be held accountable for bringing in this treacherous man into the Beggars Sect.”
Baek Cheon smiled faintly.
“Did you say ‘accountable’?”
In an instant, Ilho Shin Gae’s expression changed as he realized his slip of the tongue in the heat of the situation.
“Would it be acceptable for me to interpret Elder’s words as the official position of the Beggars Sect?”
“Vice Sect Leader…”
“Is it the Elder’s message that the Vice Sect Leader of Hwasan can be held accountable by the Elder of the Beggars Sect.”
There was no overwhelming force. He didn’t exude intimidation, nor did he assume an aggressive stance. Baek Cheon simply stood tall and straight, looking directly at Ilho Shin Gae.
But at that moment, the elders present in the main hall felt an overwhelming pressure that defies common sense. They were only facing a young swordsman who had barely reached half their age.
“Is that correct?”
Ilho Shin Gae silently bit his lower lip, without saying a word.
It was difficult to answer hastily.
To deny would be to concede and comply, while to affirm could escalate the situation into a confrontation against Hwasan.
Instead of Ilho Shin Gae, who was lost in thought, it were the elders accompanying him who spoke up.
“Vice Sect Leader! This is unacceptable! Not only did you bring someone impersonating the Sect Leader, but now you dare to pressure the Elder of the Beggars Sect!”
“No matter how you justify it, or the fact that you represent Hwasan, this is not something that can be tolerated.”
Baek Cheon subtly turned his gaze towards them, causing the elders to flinch. However, contrary to their concerns, Baek Cheon calmly nodded.
“Indeed… it’s not a falce statement. If the person I brought truly impersonated the Sect Leader, then I should apologize. Not just me, but Hwasan and Cheonumaeng should formally apologize to the Beggars Sect as well.”
“Naturally…”
“However.”
Baek Cheon’s voice resonated clearly within the main hall.
“If the person I brought indeed is the Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect, who should apologize then?”
“W-what do you mean…?”
“As the Vice Sect Leader of Hwasan, I assure you on behalf of Hwasan Sect that the man here is Pung Yeong Shin Gae, the Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect.”
The shocked elders widened their eyes momentarily, almost as if their eyes would pop out.
“W-what do you mean by that!”
“Anyone who denies that this man is the Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect must clearly prove it before Hwasan!”
The faces of the elders turned pale, some even turning a sickly shade of blue. Even Ilho Shin Gae himself stared blankly at Baek Cheon as if taken aback by the situation.
They weren’t the only ones bewildered by the situation.
“…Sahyeong.”
“Why…?”
“Was this the plan from the beginning?”
“…At least I didn’t hear about it. And…”
Yoon Jong subtly glanced at the expressions of Five Swords and chuckled.
“It seems like the other guys didn’t hear about it either.”
“…But why is Sasuk acting like that?”
“I understand.”
Yoon Jong’s eyes confidently turned towards Baek Cheon’s back.
“There’s simply… no need to argue. When something is right, do we really need a reason to affirm it?”
“…But if things go wrong, we might not come out of it alive, right?”
“That’s true. But well, it’s not like that’ll happen overnight, right?”
“True.”
Listening to the murmuring voices, Pung Yeong Shin Gae looked at Five Swords absentmindedly.
It wasn’t just Yoon Jong and Jo Geol. Chung Myung also seemed bewildered by Baek Cheon’s sudden actions, rather than feeling any particular dissatisfaction.
Even though Baek Cheon declared that he would completely oppose Ilho Shin Gae’s intentions in the middle of this grand meeting of the Beggars Sect.
‘These people…’
Amidst the confusion, Ilho Shin Gae finally spoke again.
“Vice Sect Leader, can you take responsibility for those words?”
The gazes of Ilho Shin Gae and Baek Cheon clashed in the air.
“If this person is the Sect Leader, it would imply that I and the elders of the sect have lied. Can Vice Sect Leader take responsibility for that?”
“No, Elder.”
Baek Cheon smiled faintly and nodded.
“It seems we need to make things clear and move on. If this person truly is the Sect Leader, then it’s the elders who have lied. Not just you, Elder, but all the other elders as well.”
Ilho Shin Gae’s pupils trembled faintly.
Baek Cheon turned to the other elders, not the one affected by this situation.
“You can’t cover the sky with your hand! I will clearly convey what I know and what I have seen and heard here.”
“What arrogance!”
Ilho Shin Gae burst out angrily.
“Hwasan could be a sect trying to lure the Beggars Sect into Cheonumaeng! Who can prove that you are not plotting in such a situation!”
“Amitabha. What’s so difficult about that?”
At that moment, Hye Yeon quietly stepped forward from behind Baek Cheon.
“If it’s not Hwasan, is there anything you can prove?”
“Hye Yeon of Shaolin. You…”
Ilho Shin Gae bit his lips.
“You have already been excommunicated from Shaolin! And your affiliation with Hwasan’s Five Swords and their intentions are widely known. How can we trust you!”
One of the Five Swords who had been listening burst into laughter.
“Now the Monk is practically being treated like a part of Hwasan.”
“But isn’t it kind of true?”
“Maybe he should grow his hair out.”
“That would be a bit awkward, don’t you think, Sahyeong?”
In truth, Ilho Shin Gae’s point was sharp and valid.
In the eyes of the people, Hye Yeon was already considered halfway a member of Hwasan. Advocating for Hwasan’s defense from his mouth would inevitably lose its power.
But still.
“Well, what can we do?”
“Yeah, nothing we can do about it.”
“Sorry, but…”
The eyes of Five Swords, Hye Yeon, and Pung Yeong Shin Gae slowly converged on one person.
The person who received all their attention flinched momentarily, perhaps startled by the collective gaze. But after a brief moment, as if having made a decision, he nodded heavily and stepped forward.
“Well then…”
Standing beside Hye Yeon, he thumped his chest and spoke.
“I too, alongside Hwasan, assure that this person is indeed Pung Yeong Shin Gae, the Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect.”
“You…”
“Jongnam’s Lee Songbaek.”
Lee Songbaek looked directly at Ilho Shin Gae and spoke firmly.
“I dare not claim to represent Jongnam, but as a swordsman, and as a person of the Just Sect, I assure that this person is the Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect.”
The blood drained from Ilho Shin Gae’s face.
Of all people, it had to be Jongnam.
Even though the young swordsman didn’t claim to represent Jongnam, the fact that Jongnam’s member aligned with Hwasan’s cause was not to be taken lightly.
If Hwasan and Jongnam were in agreement on something, no one in the world would doubt that it’s the truth. The entire world knew that if these two sect had even the slightest disagreement, they would be at each other’s throats for a century.
Ilho Shin Gae swallowed dryly, his voice cutting through with a chilly tone.
“What right do you have to vouch for them? Besides, Hwasan wouldn’t even bother consulting Jongnam’s intentions.”
At his words, Lee Songbaek tilted his head slightly, a hint of confusion in his expression.
“I find it difficult to understand what you mean.”
“What…?”
“I may not be the wisest person, but I’m not foolish enough to not know right from wrong. What does the sect’s stance have to do with vouching for what I have seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears?”
A tremor passed through Ilho Shin Gae’s eyes.
It was a rhetorical question. There was nothing to add or subtract from it. But how could there be people so stubborn in the world? Even a solid argument needed to be pushed through.
“What will you do?”
Baek Cheon glared at Ilho Shin Gae sharply.
“Hwasan, Shaolin, and Jongnam have vouched for this person as the Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect. Will you continue to make such unfounded claims?”
“…”
“Or will you now admit that this person is the Sect Leader and rectify the situation?”
Ilho Shin Gae scanned Baek Cheon, Hye Yeon, Lee Songbaek, and even Pung Yeong Shin Gae without missing a single person. Then he looked back at the elders. His confusion was evident.
The wandering gaze finally landed on Chung Myung, halting abruptly. Ilho Shin Gae, who had been silently staring at Chung Myung for a while, seemed to have made a decision as he slowly opened his mouth.
“There are two types of correct information.”
His tone had suddenly changed.
Ilho Shin Gae, who had been trying to restrain the situation as much as possible, was now nowhere to be found. In his place stood the elder of the Beggars Sect, exuding an aura of intimidation, as if to prove why he earned the title Gungu Ilho.
“One is what was true from the beginning. And the other is… what eventually becames true.”
“Elder!”
“Since it has come to this, there’s no other choice. We must eventually make the information that the Sect Leader is dead… true.”
Thud!
Ilho Shin Gae’s shout erupted like the roar of a beast.
“Don’t let them escape! And bring me the head of the imposter pretending to be the Sect Leader!”
The main hall began to erupt into chaos in an instant.
Comments