Chapter – 83
“I will join up in Anhui.”
Hyunje left the inn first, volunteering to deliver a message to the Anhui branch of the Martial Alliance.
Yuyeon watched Hyunje’s figure disappear outside the window, feeling strangely curious.
Hyunje had always been the type who rarely involved himself in martial affairs—so socially distant that even his own sect, Wudang, once considered him lacking in social skills. It was surprising enough that he suddenly joined the Sipjehoe, and since the Huangrim gathering he had been acting unusually proactive.
“Life is full of surprises,” Yuyeon muttered softly.
He glanced at Kang Yu.
“Then we should head out soon—”
“No.”
Kang Yu tightened the bundle on his back.
“You’re still not in good shape. Rest here. I’ll go alone.”
“I can still move.”
“It’s fine.”
Kang Yu headed toward the room door.
“Honestly, you might only slow things down.”
“……”
Yuyeon fell silent at Kang Yu’s words.
The tone was sharp, but he understood.
Kang Yu was saying this because he worried about him.
Yuyeon smiled faintly and called out as Kang Yu left the room.
“By the way… are you going to keep carrying that around?”
“What?”
Yuyeon pointed at Kang Yu’s chest.
“The clerical robe.”
The red Buddhist relic wrapped in the bundle.
Kang Yu tightened the Seven Great Martial Relics even more.
“I like it. Strong and sturdy.”
“……”
Yuyeon had been worried about the relic, but he reasoned that Kang Yu must have his own intentions.
“Then I will rest without shame.”
“Please do.”
After leaving Yuyeon’s room, Kang Yu entered the room next door.
When Yeon Baekrim stepped outside, Kang Yu lowered his posture.
“Let’s go.”
“…Where now?”
“I’ll explain on the way.”
“……”
Yeon Baekrim grimaced but climbed onto Kang Yu’s back.
On a pleasant, sunny day,
Eok Sam, the head of the third branch of the Jiangxi Beggars’ Union, was returning from a trip outside.
It had been for a general meeting of branch leaders—something not held in years.
Over the distant hill, he saw various makeshift huts.
This was the third branch of the Beggars’ Union in Jiangxi Province, where Eok Sam served as branch leader.
After descending the hill, he entered the hut he had not visited in three months.
The familiar smell almost hit him, but someone called from behind.
“Excuse me, sir.”
“Hm?”
He turned. It was a young man.
“Who are you?”
“Hello. My name is Kang Yu. Are you the leader here?”
“Leader?”
Eok Sam quickly examined the young man’s appearance—habit from years of begging.
A pale face that looked half-starved.
Limbs that made it hard to tell if the person was male or female.
Dirty clothes and worn-out shoes.
Eok Sam’s tone immediately hardened.
“You look like someone trying to join the Beggars’ Union. Go apply at the recruitment post. How dare you come straight to the branch.”
“Apply?”
“You’re here to become a White Beggar apprentice, aren’t you? Anyone can see you’re broke.”
“I’m not. I came to find a friend and ask for a favor.”
“A friend?”
“The old beggar said the Beggars’ Union is the best at finding people, so… just a moment.”
The young man suddenly rummaged through his sleeve.
“Where did it go?”
Eok Sam tapped the applicant’s shin.
“Hey. If you need something, go to the recruitment post. Don’t come here demanding favors like this.”
“Oh, found it. It must have rolled up to my elbow.”
“Found it or not, get lost—”
Eok Sam froze mid-kick.
He noticed something dangling from the young man’s wrist.
A familiar item.
A Beggars’ Union knot.
“One… two…”
Eok Sam’s breath caught.
Eight red-and-blue knots.
Eight knots—the mark of the Beggars’ Union’s successor.
“Ah, no…!”
The number of knots alone was shocking, but there was something else that stunned him.
Years ago, the general meeting had been called because of the retirement of the Union Chief, whom Eok Sam respected like heaven itself.
After the shocking announcement, only high-ranking members gathered for a somber drinking session.
There were no fine wines or beauties.
They simply sat around a small fire and shared sour mare’s milk in begging bowls.
“I have something to say,” the Union Chief began when everyone was slightly drunk.
“There is a child I gave eight knots to.”
It was expected. The chief, who always cared about the union’s future, would not retire without reason.
But what came next was unexpected.
“However, that child will not lead the Beggars’ Union.”
“Pardon?”
“The union is not the child’s burden. The world is.”
The Union Chief continued:
“Treat the child as you would treat me. If the child asks for help, stop everything and help. If situations conflict, prioritize the eight knots over the union’s rules. The child’s will is the union’s purpose.”
When the words ended, murmurs spread through the gathering.
Prioritizing the eight knots over the union’s rules?
It was a farewell that broke the thousand-year tradition of the Beggars’ Union.
Was it a joke in his usual playful manner?
Or words spoken in drunkenness?
Everyone exchanged uncertain glances.
Then the Union Chief added something that proved his sincerity:
“If the child tells you to die—die.”
“……”
Eok Sam bowed deeply to the owner of the eight knots, honoring the Union Chief’s final command.
On a late night with no stars,
“A signal fire?”
“Yes.”
A huge beacon blazed atop the Wuyi Mountains of Jiangxi.
Eok Sam adjusted the beacon gate, scattering the smoke across the sky.
Soon, another column of smoke rose from a distant ridge.
The smoke spread to all directions and filled the horizon.
Eok Sam bowed his head.
“As you can see, every beacon has Beggars’ Union scouts. Even if the target is elusive, mobilizing all union members should not take long.”
“How long will it take?”
“Five days for the signals to spread across the realm. Another five days to search and locate the target. Depending on the location, five more days to return the signal—so about fifteen days in total.”
“Fifteen days…”
Too slow.
Grandfather Jin had apparently already found the person known as the “Mysterious One.”
“Is there a way to shorten the time?”
Eok Sam pulled out a map of the beacon routes with a troubled expression.
Though it was normally confidential, he hesitated not at all.
“Beacons must sometimes rely on letters due to mountains and rivers. The Wuyi Mountains crossing Jiangxi are home to many birds of prey, so messages in that region must be delivered by hand. That part alone consumes much time. Even fifteen days is the minimum estimate—so it cannot be done faster.”
Kang Yu memorized the map of the beacons at a glance.
“If fast messengers replaced the carrier pigeons, how much time could be saved?”
Eok Sam blinked.
“Y-you don’t mean to do it yourself?”
“Yes, I might.”
Eok Sam inhaled sharply.
“Depending on the discovery point and the level of lightness kung fu, at least thirty percent could be reduced.”
“Hmm.”
Thirty percent of fifteen days is about five days—leaving ten days.
Still late, but if he moved faster, it could work.
“Sorry, but could you mark the sections that use carrier pigeons? I’ll handle those parts myself.”
Eok Sam carefully explained the branching points of the beacons.
He even taught Kang Yu the code for deciphering the signals so he could recognize discoveries at any time.
After receiving all the information, Kang Yu bowed.
“Thank you. There really is a reason people say friends are valuable.”
“Oh, it was nothing. I misunderstood you at first—”
“I understand. Martial artists can be like that.”
“Eh?”
Kang Yu bowed again and then carried Yeon Baekrim, who had wandered off to enjoy the moonlight.
“I’ll come back to greet you properly later.”
“Huh!”
Eok Sam gasped.
With that level of lightness kung fu, the search time would surely shorten.
He bowed toward the night sky and continued lighting the beacons until dawn.
In the deep night with no stars,
“Ugh!”
Yeon Baekrim barely swallowed something that nearly came back up.
It had been three days of running around without sleep.
He should have gotten used to it by now, but he still could not adapt to being carried through the sky faster than a bird.
“C-come on, Kang So-hyeop.”
“Yes?”
Kang Yu turned back while running through the sky.
Yeon Baekrim finally swallowed the contents of his stomach.
“Are you not hungry?”
“……”
The thought of food made him nauseous, but he could not think of a way to stop the monster immediately.
He also had questions.
“Shall we rest now? We’ve covered most of the area.”
Soon they landed at a nearby inn.
While waiting for the food he had ordered, Yeon Baekrim asked Kang Yu:
“So what exactly are we doing?”
“What?”
“I will help without conditions, but I should at least know what I’m helping with.”
In truth, he had been too dizzy from being carried around to ask, but he could not say that.
Kang Yu felt pleased.
It was rare for the divine dragon to ask questions first.
“We need to find the leader of the Five Elements Cult.”
“Five… Elements Cult?”
Yeon Baekrim’s spine tingled.
“I’ve never heard of it. It’s not some alias for the Demon Sect or Blood Cult, is it?”
“A different name for the Demon or Blood Sect?”
“Y-yes.”
“No. As far as I know, the Five Elements Cult is just the Five Elements Cult.”
“……”
After hearing Kang Yu’s answer, Yeon Baekrim felt relieved.
Even if the martial world’s takeover scheme existed, it was a gold-level mission.
And since other martial artists were joining, he had worried it might be extremely dangerous.
But it sounded like they were dealing with some obscure sect, not a major threat.
Martial artists valued honor but also tended to exaggerate things—like tearing down an old building and planting a new tree for show.
They often made small matters big to gain reputation.
It was a familiar theme from martial dramas.
“Then it’s nothing serious.”
“In the end, it’s not our main job.”
“……”
The main task of the gold-level unit was investigation and infiltration—sometimes even assassination.
But this mission was not their main duty?
Yeon Baekrim’s gaze sharpened.
It became clear.
Since he had never heard of the Five Elements Cult despite knowing martial history,
the organization was probably nothing more than a small neighborhood group—perhaps like a laundry club or old men’s chess circle.
He recalled the second rule of the Divine Sword’s code:
Rule Two: Do not fight anyone.
And the fifth rule:
Rule Five: Rules exist to be broken.
Flexible thinking had kept him alive so far.
If he acted too timidly, the monster might suspect him.
Something similar had happened at the orphanage:
—“I actually doubted you. I wondered if the divine dragon was just a loud fraud. I thought you might be lying to people. You never ran in races, and you always fainted when carried. I even planned to fight you once I escaped the dream…”
Yeon Baekrim’s eyes darkened.
He must not raise suspicion until he escaped the monster’s side.
The Five Elements Cult was just a grand name for something small—similar to himself.
If given a chance, he planned to act more proactively.
