Chapter 3

Chapter 2. What the hell is going on here? (2)

'I guess I must be crazy.'

Kuchil (口七) looked at Chemyeong with a serious expression.

'Is he out of his mind from the beating?'

He did get hit pretty hard.

Wangcho usually hit people a bit too much, but today he seemed to have really gone all out. Even when butchering a dog on a hot day, he wouldn't hit that hard.

Usually, people would try to stop Wangcho, but today, they were all intimidated by his momentum and couldn't even think of stopping him. So, it's normal for someone to be groaning in pain by now...

"So, you're saying I'm a beggar?"

'Is his body fine, but his mind gone?'

The beggar is asking if he is a beggar.

Is there such a beggar?

Clearly, this guy is acting strange today. No, he's very strange.

He usually acted a bit sly, and I thought he would get a good beating someday. Today just happened to be his unlucky day, but his usual behavior was similar. Even if it wasn't today, he would have gotten a good beating eventually.

If you can't beg for your own food, you either starve to death or get beaten to death. That's the iron rule of the beggar's world.

Dogs and people both regain their senses after a beating. That's normal.

But right now, Kuchil is seeing something different.

"Are you really a beggar living in a place like this? There's no way."

"…Are you blind?"

"Huh?"

"Just by looking at what you're wearing, it's not hard to figure out who you are."

Chemyeong lowered his head. A patchwork of rags came into view. It was called clothing because it was on his body, but if it were discarded, it wouldn't even be recognized as clothing.

A normal person would nod and leave at this point, but Chemyeong didn't know how to give up.

"You don't have a name, do you?"

Kuchil sighed deeply.

"Beggars don't have names. They just make them up and call them. You're Chosam (草三)."

"…That sounds like a beggar's name."

Look. His condition is really bad.

"Of all things, a beggar. What a beggar-like situation."

"…"

"About sixteen years old?"

"How would a beggar know his age?"

"That's true."

There are more than just a few strange things.

His tone and every action are different. It's hard to believe these changes are due to a severe beating. Moreover, he's asking questions as if he knows nothing.

"Then, what year is it now?"

"…I've never seen a beggar who counts the days. Are you telling me to count the years?"

"You really sound like a beggar."

Kuchil rubbed his eyes. A beggar's life is always tiring and hungry, but at this moment, he feels twice as tired as usual.

"Then, I have one question."

"…You've been asking questions all along."

"Are you Chonma?"

Kuchil's eyes narrowed.

"You were talking about Chonma earlier, why are you suddenly asking about him?"

"Answer me first."

"I know. Who doesn't know Chonma? He's the great master who died a hundred years ago."

"What?"

"Great master…"

At that moment, Chosam lunged at Kuchil, grabbing his collar.

"Chonma has been dead for a hundred years? A hundred years? Did you just say a hundred years? A hundred years?"

"…"

It seems he's really gone crazy.

"That's right."

"Is it a fact without a single lie?"

"What do I have to gain by lying to you? I'm just a beggar with no family."

Chemyeong, who had been glaring, opened his mouth and then released Kuchil's collar in shock. He then started scratching his head frantically.

'He's definitely crazy.'

Looking at his face, there's no other way to think. He looks dazed and out of his mind. Kuchil realized for the first time that a human face can express such a wide range of 'confusion.'

"A hundred years?"

"Should I repeat it?"

"…I think I'm going crazy."

Chemyeong looked up with a defeated expression.

He hoped seeing the blue sky would comfort him, but all he saw was the black ceiling of the shack, as gloomy as his current mood.

"A hundred years have passed?"

Kuchil, now annoyed, shouted.

"Are you a parrot or something? Why do you keep repeating what I've already said! A hundred years have passed! The martial arts alliance of Central Plains fought a major battle with Chonma on the summit of Mount Ten Thousand, and in the end, they beheaded him. That's the Great Mountain Bloodshed, which happened about a hundred years ago!"

"…I understand."

That's why he's going crazy.

Chemyeong looked at Kuchil with a hopeless expression.

'If he were just a regular beggar, I wouldn't know.'

The guy who was enthusiastically beating Chemyeong earlier was a member of the Beggar Sect. This means the guy in front of him is also a member of the Beggar Sect.

Isn't it usually called the Ten Thousand Beggar Sect?

But the Beggar Sect isn't a wealthy organization, and it can't feed and house all ten thousand disciples. Despite being known as a valuable sect, it has its financial limits.

Most of the ten thousand beggars are just regular beggars like Kuchil. The Beggar Sect gives them the name 'Mujokkai' (無結?), meaning 'untied beggars,' and treats them as disciples in a loose manner.

These beggars, who roll around in the streets, are more knowledgeable about martial arts information than ordinary civilians.

So, it's somewhat credible. If he knows the exact fact that the alliance from various sects climbed the mountain, there's no doubt.

"Huh. Crazy. A hundred years."

A time span that could change the landscape five times over.

Now, he has to accept it. He has been reborn in someone else's body.

But…

'Couldn't they have made me be reborn right after I died?'

If a hundred years have passed, everyone who knew him must be dead. Even if it hadn't been a hundred years, most of those who had a close relationship with him would have died on the mountain, but this is a different situation, isn't it?

Even if Chemyeong is a martial artist, he wouldn't have only had relationships with other martial artists. Among the people he knew, there were merchants and civilians. But with a hundred years having passed, it's safe to assume they are all dead.

He feels isolated from the world.

'No matter how twisted the situation, it can't be this twisted. If this is the case, then Huashan…'

"Wait! Huashan!"

Chemyeong suddenly jumped up and shouted, causing Kuchil to close his eyes in resignation.

It's not surprising anymore.

"Huashan! What happened to Huashan?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What happened to Huashan!"

"Huashan?"

"Yes!"

"What's Huashan?"

"…What?"

Chemyeong's eyes widened.

You don't know Huashan? A beggar from the Beggar Sect?

"Come on, stop joking. What's the current situation of the Huashan Sect?"

"Huashan Sect?"

Kuchil tilted his head.

You don't know?

You don't?

The Huashan Sect?

"Are you saying you don't know the Huashan Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects? Hey, you…"

"Nine Great Sects? What nonsense. There's no Huashan Sect in the Nine Great Sects."

"…There isn't?"

"Shaolin, Wudang, Zhongnan, Diancang, Gongtong, Qingcheng, Ami, Hainan, Kunlun, and the Beggar Sect. These are the ten sects."

"Hainan? Those island villagers are part of the Nine Great Sects? Wait, that's not the point. Is Huashan not part of the Nine Great Sects?"

Kuchil sighed deeply.

'Should I call a doctor?'

It seems something needs to be done. He's really out of his mind.

"Is Huashan not part of the Nine Great Sects? Fine, let's say that's possible! But you don't know Huashan? Even a rich family can fall in three years, but a beggar from the Beggar Sect doesn't know Huashan?"

The guy has the spirit to call someone a beggar, so he probably won't starve to death, but he might get beaten to death.

Chemyeong now lunged at Kuchil, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him.

"Does this make any sense? Does this make any sense?"

Kuchil's head was shaken helplessly.

"Really, you don't know Huashan? The Huashan Sect? Huashan?"

"…Huashan."

"Yes! Huashan!"

Kuchil tilted his head.

"Come to think of it, I've heard there was a sect in Shanxi."

Chemyeong's eyes widened.

"Yes! Shanxi, that's right! The Huashan Sect in Shanxi."

"From what I know, it went bankrupt?"

"…What?"

He felt his breath catch in his throat.

"I'm not sure if the Huashan Sect was part of the Nine Great Sects, but I've heard that a famous sword sect called Huashan was completely destroyed in the Zhengma Battle. I'm not sure about the details. If you want to know more, ask the elders…"

What nonsense is this? Huashan went bankrupt?

Huashan? Huashan went bankrupt?

"This beggar is saying something ridiculous."

Kuchil looked up at the ceiling with slightly moist eyes.

Telling him everything he knows only results in insults. This is why they say you shouldn't take in black-haired beasts.

"No! I can't believe it!"

Chemyeong pushed Kuchil away and jumped up.

"I have to check it myself!"

As Chemyeong ran out, Kuchil shouted.

"Hey! If you don't beg properly by evening, Wangcho will beat you to death! Don't waste time and get to work!"

But Chemyeong didn't even hear Kuchil and left.

"…What's wrong with that guy today?"

Kuchil, unable to understand Chemyeong's sudden change, tilted his head.

* * *

"…Huh."

Is this what a merchant looks like after losing all his wealth?

Chemyeong, sitting in a corner of the market, had a look of despair on his face.

At first, he thought a beggar wouldn't know anything.

Thinking about it, since the Great Mountain Bloodshed, where the first and second-generation disciples of Huashan were wiped out, the sect's influence could have declined.

During that time, it could have been expelled from the Nine Great Sects.

But no matter how much he thought about it, could the Huashan, which once dominated the world, become a sect unknown even to beggars in just a hundred years?

A sect unknown to beggars? The sound of it is just strange…

Anyway, he thought this beggar might not know, but others might.

But asking anyone resulted in the same answer.

- Huashan? Are you talking about the mountain in Shanxi?

- Huashan Sect? Is there a martial arts sect on Huashan?

- I've never heard of such a sect.

- You beggar, are you trying to grab someone's sleeve? Do you want to die?

Ah, except for the last one.

No one knows.

No one knows.

"Does this make any sense?"

What kind of sect is Huashan?

There are many sword sects in the world, but none are as famous as Huashan. While it might be a bit presumptuous to