The Beggar Young Master of the Namgung Clan

Namgung Il was sitting alone in an empty room.

'That brat... how dare he do his job like this?'

In fact, until he had just arrived in Kaifeng, Namgung Il had been in a very good mood.

Because he could see the face of his cherished disciple after a long time, and he could also visit the Beggars' Sect that he missed.

But now, a quiet anger had settled in Namgung Il's two eyes.

"..."

The reason for his anger was simple.

Because he had returned after a long time, and the state of the headquarters was a mess.

Moreover, even the Dragon Head Hall, which could be said to be the center of the headquarters, had many parts that were broken and had been left unrepaired for a long time.

'Alright... let's hear the story first.'

It was a real relief that he hadn't met Gae Du-sik right away.

If he had, he might not have been able to contain his anger and might have shouted out of habit.

At least now, he was in a state where he had controlled his anger to some extent while waiting alone in the room.

'Maybe that brat had some kind of circumstance?'

Although he couldn't understand at all what kind of circumstance would make him leave the headquarters in such a mess, he could at least listen to the story.

If he heard the story and still thought it was a ridiculous excuse... then he couldn't predict what would happen.

Swoosh—

Just then, he felt a presence approaching.

Namgung Il immediately got up from his seat and stared at the door without a word.

Creak—

The door opened, and two people appeared.

One person was Jong Seo-eon, and the man in the lead was Namgung Il's disciple and the current leader of the Beggars' Sect, Gae Du-sik.

'He's still the same.'

That big mole on his nose. It was definitely Gae Du-sik.

Although his overall appearance might have changed a little from the Gae Du-sik in his memory, since that big mole had not changed, Namgung Il was immediately able to recognize Gae Du-sik.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"..."

"I am the leader, Gae Du-sik."

Still, it's quite nice to see his face.

Namgung Il waved his hand with a happy heart.

"Hey—it's been a long time..."

"...?"

"...I am Namgung Il."

Habit is a really scary thing.

Even if he was aware of it in advance, words would just pop out like this without him realizing it.

Namgung Il barely changed his words in the middle and naturally made a fist-and-palm salute.

"I've heard the gist of it. You helped my disciple a lot in the entrance exam, right?"

"It's not to the extent of being called help."

"Hoho, you're humble. Alright, have a seat for now."

The three sat down.

At the same time, Gae Du-sik discovered the empty table and turned his head towards Jong Seo-eon.

"Eon-ah, go and get some tea."

"Yes, I understand."

When Gae Du-sik gave the order, Jong Seo-eon immediately got up from his seat and left the room.

Soon, only the two were left in the room.

The one who opened his mouth first was Gae Du-sik.

"I was quite surprised when I heard that you had visited."

"..."

"I don't know if you know, but in the past, the Beggars' Sect and the Namgung Clan had a lot of exchanges. My master and the former head of the Namgung Clan were very close."

After the two had died, there had been no particular exchange between the Beggars' Sect and the Namgung Clan.

Since they had been busy taking care of their own affairs after the Righteous-Demonic War, they had naturally grown apart.

Still, Gae Du-sik knew well how close Do Yeoksan and Namgung Jeongung had been in the past.

"I also know that well."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, my father told me that the two were close friends in the past. So I wanted to come to the Beggars' Sect at least once when I had the chance."

When Namgung Il said that, a grin flowed from Gae Du-sik's mouth.

"You're the first person I've seen who says he wants to come to a beggars' den."

"..."

"Welcome. It will be more inconvenient than when you were at the main house, but please make yourself at home."

Gae Du-sik was planning to welcome Namgung Il as a guest with all his might.

Because in the past, on the contrary, the Namgung Clan had treated his master with great hospitality.

Of course, this alone would not be enough to repay him, but it would be to at least keep the minimum courtesy.

"Leader."

Just then, Namgung Il suddenly called for Gae Du-sik.

A seriousness that was implicitly mixed in his voice.

As if he had realized that Namgung Il's tone had changed, Gae Du-sik's gaze also became a little serious.

"I have something to ask."

"What is it?"

"..."

Namgung Il momentarily swallowed his words.

In fact, he had wanted to ask why the headquarters had become such a beggar's den, but in this position, he couldn't just ask that openly, could he?

Namgung Il belatedly realized that.

'It's frustrating. What should I ask?'

Even if he said, 'I am your master,' Gae Du-sik would not believe him.

If he said that his master had come back to life and had appeared in front of him as a person from the Namgung Clan, would he believe him?

Even if he were in the opposite position, he would have thought it was a ridiculous nonsense.

"That..."

"...?"

It was then.

Suddenly, the sound of urgent footsteps was heard, and Jong Seo-eon opened the door and entered the room.

"Master!"

"What's the commotion?"

"Y-you need to come outside for a moment."

When Jong Seo-eon said that, Gae Du-sik glanced at Namgung Il.

Soon, he got up from his seat and walked towards Jong Seo-eon.

Jong Seo-eon whispered something in Gae Du-sik's ear in a voice that Namgung Il could not hear.

"...!"

As soon as he heard the story from Jong Seo-eon, Gae Du-sik's expression momentarily distorted.

From the atmosphere, it seemed that something serious had happened.

Just then, Gae Du-sik looked at Namgung Il and opened his mouth.

"I'm sorry, but could you wait here for a moment?"

"Is something wrong?"

"There's a problem that needs to be resolved urgently. It's nothing serious, so don't worry and just wait for a moment."

"...I understand."

When Namgung Il answered, Gae Du-sik and Jong Seo-eon immediately left the room.

'What on earth is going on?'

Although Gae Du-sik had said it was nothing serious, Namgung Il was naturally concerned about that sight.

For him to leave a guest unattended like this, it must be a quite serious matter... Namgung Il instinctively knew that there was some kind of problem in the Beggars' Sect now.

"...I can't just stand still."

Muttering, Namgung Il finally got up from his seat.

* * *

A lot of people were gathered at the main gate.

A group that looked like outsiders and the beggars of the Beggars' Sect standing on the opposite side.

Just by looking, the people standing at the entrance did not look very welcome.

"This place always stinks whenever I come."

Just then, the man standing in the center of the group of outsiders said, covering his nose with his clothes.

A potbelly that would probably make it impossible to see his toes if he stood up straight.

The name of the man who was fat all over his body was Man Cheok-su.

"They all look like they haven't even eaten properly."

"..."

"Aigoo, beggars. Don't come any closer. I think the smell will rub off on me."

Man Cheok-su said and waved his hand at the beggars as if he were chasing away a bug.

Seeing that action, the beggars' faces couldn't help but distort, and Man Cheok-su and his gang laughed as if they found it amusing.

Thud— Thud—.

Just then, Gae Du-sik and Jong Seo-eon walked towards the entrance from a distance.

"You're finally here."

"..."

"Leader Gae! Why are you so late? I thought my neck would break from waiting."

A rude tone.

No matter how much, since they could not stand the behavior of insulting the leader, the beggars all tried to rush at Man Cheok-su.

However.

Thud—

When Gae Du-sik raised one hand, the beggars had no choice but to stop moving.

"...What's going on here?"

Gae Du-sik asked, revealing his uncomfortable feeling.

"What's going on? Is there any other reason for me to come here?"

"..."

"Of course, I came to get my money. Now, have you prepared the money?"

When Man Cheok-su asked, Gae Du-sik quietly called for someone.

Soon, a beggar came forward from behind and held out a sack to Gae Du-sik, and Gae Du-sik threw the sack in front of Man Cheok-su.

Thud—

With a heavy sound, the sack fell to the floor.

Soon, a man from Man Cheok-su's side came out and picked up the sack that had fallen on the floor.

Jingle—

The man who had picked up the sack immediately began to check the inside on the spot.

And a moment later, the man confirmed the amount in the sack and whispered in Man Cheok-su's ear.

"...Is that so?"

Man Cheok-su's gaze turned to Gae Du-sik again.

"Leader Gae, what is this? The amount to be paid by today was surely five thousand gold, right?"

"..."

"But the amount in here seems to be less than half of that."

"...Give me some more time."

When Gae Du-sik said that, Man Cheok-su's lips curled up.

"Time? How much more do you want?"

"Ten days, then I will pay the rest of the amount."

"Ten days... wait a moment."

Man Cheok-su said and took out an abacus from his clothes.

Click— Clack—.

The beads of the abacus went up and down mercilessly.

Gae Du-sik and the beggars watched him in silence.

A moment later, as if he had finished his calculation, Man Cheok-su held out the abacus.

"Then prepare this much by then."

When he confirmed the amount that Man Cheok-su had presented, Gae Du-sik couldn't help but be astonished.

"No... why are you telling me to prepare so much money?"

"Isn't that natural? Since you couldn't prepare the full amount today, more interest has been added for ten days."

"That's too ridiculous! There's no way I can prepare that much money in just ten days!"

"But what can you do?"

Grin—

"That's your problem."

"..."

"In the first place, the condition was like that when you borrowed the money, so if you're going to blame someone, blame yourself."

When Man Cheok-su said that, Gae Du-sik could not say anything.

As he had said, the Beggars' Sect had borrowed money from Man Cheok-su.

But at that time, when he had borrowed the money, he had never thought that the debt would increase to an unmanageable level like this.

"..."

The place where Gae Du-sik had borrowed the money was a place called Gaejeongmun.

"Leader, I heard that the Beggars' Sect's situation is difficult these days."

"...To tell you the truth, it is a little."

"If it's okay, would you like to borrow some money? I'll only take this much interest."

The one who had approached first was Man Cheok-su.

At first, Gae Du-sik had borrowed money from Man Cheok-su at a low interest rate, and he had paid it all back within the set period.

However.

That was the trap that Man Cheok-su had dug.

"Lord Man, can I borrow some money again this time?"

"Hmm... but our side is not in a good situation right now either..."

"Please, I'm begging you."

"Ahem, if you say so, I can't help it. Then the interest will be a little higher than last time, is that okay?"

Since he had paid it all back last time, he would be able to pay it back this time too.

That thought was a huge source of trouble.

"Leader, is it okay if we change the conditions a little this time?"

"How so?"

"I'll explain it to you step by step."

The interest that Man Cheok-su had first presented was not that high.

But when he came to his senses, the interest had already grown enormously.

Only then did Gae Du-sik realize the scariness of compound interest.

"Man Cheok-su... you deceived me."

"Deceived you? I explained everything."

"You explained everything! You left out all the important parts and spoke cunningly!"

"Isn't it the fault of the one who stamped the seal without even checking properly?"

Man Cheok-su said with a sly smile.

Although it was unfair, it was a situation where he had nothing to say.

As he had said, Gae Du-sik knew well that it was his own fault for being ignorant in this area.

"Then I'll come back in ten days."

"..."

"If you can't pay it back then, the main gate won't be safe either."

To dare to touch the main gate.

For any sect, the main gate was the face of that place.

Because the first thing that outsiders saw was the main gate.

So no matter how difficult the situation was, Gae Du-sik had thoroughly managed the main gate of the headquarters.

"Man Cheok-su!"

That statement just now was no different from dirtying the face of the Beggars' Sect.

In the end, Gae Du-sik, who had lost his composure, shouted.

Just then, something flew at Man Cheok-su's face.

Splat—

A stench that stimulated the tip of his nose.

Man Cheok-su confirmed what was on his face and immediately shouted.

"D-dog poop!"

"...?"

"Who on earth threw dog poop on my face!"

Just then, a person walked out in front of Man Cheok-su.

"It was me."

"...?"

"I did the same thing you just did, how do you feel?"

"What...?"

"For reference, I was very disgusted."

Namgung Il said with a cold expression.

(End of Chapter)