Chapter 1488: I Didn’t Come Looking For You? (Part 3)

The startled Five Swords exchanged glances.

'What did he say?'

'He said he was going to kill someone.'

'Who? The Sect Leader?'

'Is that guy really insane?'

Those who were taken aback turned their attention to Chung Myung at once.

'This guy means business.'

Yoon Jong could immediately sense it.

This was not a simple threat. If a proper answer did not come out of the mouth of the Beggar's Union Sect Leader right now, Chung Myung was genuinely ready to take action. The countless experiences of looking at that back told the story.

"Sasuk!"

Startled, Yoon Jong finally sought out Baek Cheon. He was the only person here who could see that guy face to face.

'We have to stop him!'

The opponent was the sect leader of the Beggar's Union. Although it was not officially confirmed yet, the man claimed so.

Someone like that getting cut? With Chung Myung's sword? It was not an incident that could be resolved with a mere accident, perhaps even surpassing the invasion of the Evil Tyrant Alliance.

"Sasuk. First, we need to..."

"Wait."

Yoon Jong's two eyes shook briefly.

"But..."

"I know what you mean, so just wait."

Yoon Jong ultimately closed his mouth. He couldn't easily present a strong disagreement against Baek Cheon's firm stance.

'What on earth...'

An anxious, resigned gaze turned toward the front again. Chung Myung's back remained indifferent, and Master Lu's eyes were dimly watching.

After a long silence, Master Lu spoke.

"Your words..."

Although it sounded calm at first, the Five Swords noticed a subtle wavering in the voice.

"Are you saying that I'm deliberately making the Beggar's Union ineffective?"

"..."

"I am the sect leader of the Beggar's Union."

Lee Songbaek looked at Chung Myung with a slightly puzzled look.

In fact, it might be strange for a disciple of Soutehrn Edge to entertain such thoughts, but Lee Songbaek almost completely trusted Chung Myung. He was convinced that there was a reason behind everything Chung Myung did.

But even for Lee Songbaek, this inquiry seemed too strange.

If that person really was the sect leader of the Beggar's Union, he would want the Beggar's Union to be competent. Why would any leader deliberately make their sect inefficient?

Feeling a misunderstanding, Lee Songbaek reluctantly spoke up.

"Hey... Dojang. This seems..."

"Correct."

However, at that moment, the calm voice of Master Lu silenced Lee Songbaek.

'What?'

Did he hear it wrong? Not only Lee Songbaek, but everyone was surprised and focused on Master Lu.

"Indeed, he can't be judged hastily. It's as I heard."

Chung Myung's gaze and Master Lu's gaze entangled in the air.

"There were those who picked up on the decline of the Beggar's Union, but they merely ridiculed my incompetence. You are the first ones to accurately grasp my intentions. Impressive."

Yoon Jong's mouth slowly opened.

'What is he talking about?'

Why would the sect leader of the Beggar's Union deliberately make the Beggar's Union inefficient?

"Enough with the obvious. It's become a pointless argument."

Chung Myung cut in with a cold tone.

"What I want to hear is the reason. The reason behind the actions you've taken."

"A reason..."

Master Lu slowly turned his body.

Then, sitting in the chair doing official business, he leaned back, relaxing.

"That's something I should be asking in reverse, Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword."

"Why should the Beggar's Union be competent?"

Chung Myung's eyes sank.

"Answer me. Why must the Beggar's Union be competent? And why should I, as the sect leader of the Beggar's Union, make sure that the Beggar's Union is always competent? For what purpose?"

"What bullshit are you talking about?"

"So that you can conveniently use it when you need to?"

When Chung Myung didn't respond, Master Lu chuckled.

"You probably know too. The Beggar's Union is a faction that rose to fame in Kangho solely through its intelligence... Unlike the Hao Sect, we don't particularly learn martial arts for secretive maneuvers. We just run around quickly, using our ears."

Chung Myung stared at Master Lu without responding.

"The significance of the existence of numerous beggars lies solely in those ears. Otherwise, they're just a large group to reasonably block opponents with numbers."

"What..."

"In reality, you must know, Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword."

Master Lu spoke quietly. Somehow, his voice sounded a bit disappointed and hollow.

"The competence you're talking about comes solely from the beggars' will to risk their lives. The will to see the enemy with my own eyes and listen to the enemy's words with their own ears, even if it means their necks are slit. Without that spirit, the Beggar's Union is nothing more than a group of clueless beggars. Do you understand the significance of that?"

Again, Chung Myung did not respond. Master Lu's face suddenly contorted, and he spoke as if spitting out the words.

"What you're talking about, the competence of the Beggar's Union, is solely derived from the blood of beggars."

Yoon Jong's body trembled. But Master Lu continued, seemingly indifferent to their reactions.

"To become a competent Beggar's Union, all I have to do now is simple. Push them, dead or alive, into Gangnam, station them around the Evil Tyrant Alliance, and find the enemy's location by digging through the blood spilled by beggars. This has been the approach the Beggar's Union has taken in the past."

Master Lu shrugged.

"So, what remains?"

"..."

"Blood of the Beggar's Union. For its will, the Beggar's Union doesn't hesitate to shed blood. What else is left besides those damn four characters?"

Master Lu's voice gradually intensified, and suppressed anger seeped out like an uncontrolled torrent.

"People all talk so easily. They say casually, stating this is what the Beggar's Union should do. Even if there is a risk of sacrifice, we must find out."

"..."

"Would they say the same if the sacrifice were the life of a member of their sect?"

Master Lu chuckled coldly.

"No, they couldn't do that. Their lives would be too valuable. But the lives of a few beggars are nothing in Kangho."

"That, that's not true."

Yoon Jong couldn't help but speak, and Master Lu shot him a cold look.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Then, didn't you resent us when we lost track of Jang Ilso?"

Yoon Jong was momentarily speechless.

"Really?"

A strange smile appeared on Master Lu's lips.

"Some people say that beggars' lives are equally important. But when a crisis comes, everyone eventually shouts with one voice. Saying that information is important, that we must find the enemy's whereabouts. Otherwise, more people will die."

"..."

"So, go to Gangnam where the enemy is infested and stick to them."

Yoon Jong felt his breath catch for a moment. He wanted to deny it, but he couldn't. What he felt here wasn't important at all.

What if Yoon Jong insisted that using beggars' sacrifices to obtain information was unacceptable? The world would never accept it. They would continue to demand it as if it were obvious. They would ask the Beggar's Union to secure more information.

At that moment, Chung Myung's calm voice interjected.

"So, is that why you did this?"

Chung Myung chuckled.

"Being sick is a good excuse. If you lie in bed, you don't have to meet or pressure the leaders of other sects, do you?"

"I won't deny that."

"In the past, you were the one who dissuaded those who would not have hesitated to jump into enemy territory."

"That's right."

"You were the one who diverted the Beggar's Union from moving together, and you are also the one who watched them split and reveal their teeth to each other."

Master Lu nodded silently.

"But was the reason for all this just...You said it was because you didn't want to do things for others?"

"You're wrong, Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword."

Master Lu shook his head firmly.

"I just wanted to save even one more beggar. That's all."

"..."

"We're just beggars. A place where those living in the lowest place in the world gather to avoid further persecution. But even that last thing the world has left us, they want us to give up. Our lives."

Chung Myung's lips twitched.

"The ones gathering the information you desire are not highly-ranked experts within the Beggar's Union. They are those who beg and live somewhere in the village, worrying about having enough to eat for the day. Is it really fair to demand even their lives?"

Master Lu, with his sharpened tone, continued.

"If it's truly necessary, you, who have enough, should handle it. Why do you expect us to do that for you?"

"And in return, what has the Beggar's Union taken from us? Are you going to wipe your mouth now?"

"So you're not saying you're going to give it away!"

Master Lu suddenly shouted like thunder.

The air around them suddenly tensed, and the eyes of Chung Myung and Master Lu clashed intensely.

Master Lu, who had been trembling his shoulders for a moment, realized that he had become agitated and let out a deep sigh.

"Sorry. That wasn't supposed to be a cause for anger."

He massaged the corners of his eyes with hands that were faintly trembling.

In that tremor, there was the pressure and mental pain he had felt.

"Maybe I just wanted to say this to someone else. That might be why I didn't stop you from coming up here."

Master Lu sighed and raised his head.

"Go back."

"Sect Leader."

"You must have thought of finding me and returning the Beggar's Union to normalcy in the upcoming war. You probably believed that the Beggar's Union should play its role."

"..."

"And, of course, you were confident in that. You've done whatever you wanted until now. I acknowledge your abilities."

Master Lu glared at Chung Myung with cold eyes.

"But I will never be fooled by your words and logic. I won't sacrifice the lives of beggars for the information you need. If what you really want is that, just cut my throat right here. Then maybe you can achieve that. In Kangho, where there are many who want to return the Beggar's Sect to its past state."

With his head held high, Master Lu asked slowly.

"Did you get an answer?"

"..."

Chung Myung clenched and then released his fist. His open mouth, which seemed to be about to say something, closed tightly again.

He couldn't figure out what to say.

No matter what, even if he had to endure any blame, he would try to save the lives of beggars. How could he refute this?

At the moment when Chung Myung closed his eyes as if resigned to a kind of resignation, Lee Songbaek, who had been listening to the conversation seriously, spoke clearly in a voice.

"I find it difficult to understand."

His clear and sharp eyes stared directly at the haggard Master Lu.