Chapter 64 : That Person is My Master
Namgung Il placed the heavy sack he was holding in his hand in front of Gae Du-sik.
"...What is this?"
"Open it."
"..."
When Namgung Il said that, Gae Du-sik cautiously opened the tied sack.
At that moment, his expression was colored with astonishment.
Looking at the gold coins inside the sack, Gae Du-sik was at a loss for words for a moment.
"Th-this is, what on earth..."
"I haven't counted it exactly, but it should be about one hundred thousand gold."
"...!"
At those words, Gae Du-sik couldn't help but be surprised once more.
One hundred thousand gold. That was the same amount as the debt that the Beggars' Sect currently owed to Man Cheok-su.
'Don't tell me he really got one hundred thousand gold!'
Namgung Il had said in front of people before that he would pay off the Beggars' Sect's debt.
But Gae Du-sik, just like Man Cheok-su, had thought that it was absolutely impossible for Namgung Il to get one hundred thousand gold in just five days.
He had thought that he was grateful to Namgung Il for just saying that for the sake of the Beggars' Sect... but for him to really get the money like this, Gae Du-sik didn't know what kind of reaction he should show.
"Did you really... get the money?"
"Didn't I say it? I'll pay off the Beggars' Sect's debt."
"..."
"The Beggars' Sect no longer has any debt."
When Namgung Il said that, Gae Du-sik momentarily felt a surge of emotion from within.
The lump of debt that had been bothering him for the past few years.
Thinking that it had suddenly disappeared overnight, Gae Du-sik didn't feel that this was reality at all.
"Thank you so much. How on earth can I repay this grace..."
"You don't need to repay it."
"..."
"Just as the former leader of the Beggars' Sect and my grandfather did in the past, I just want to have a friendly relationship with the Beggars' Sect."
"Ah..."
A low exclamation flowed from Gae Du-sik's mouth.
'Thank you, Master.'
Gae Du-sik thought that all of this was thanks to his master.
If it weren't for his master, Namgung Il would not have visited the Beggars' Sect, nor would he have resolved such a large debt like this.
Of course, in another sense, it was truly thanks to his master's grace that he was able to pay off the debt, but Gae Du-sik said to Namgung Il without noticing that fact at all.
"You are a benefactor of the Beggars' Sect. This is a fact that cannot be denied no matter how you say it."
"..."
"Our sect will remember that for the rest of our lives."
If you receive a grace, repay it. That was one of the creeds of the Beggars' Sect.
Since Namgung Il also knew that well, he did not answer those words any more.
"Then I will take this and go to Gaejeongmun."
For now, paying off the debt is the priority.
Moreover, since there was also a bet between Namgung Il and Man Cheok-su, Gae Du-sik was about to hurry up and take the sack and go to Gaejeongmun.
Just then, seeing that, Namgung Il asked, as if he were puzzled.
"Why are you going there?"
"That's of course... I'm going to pay off the debt."
"The debt is already all paid."
Hearing those words, Gae Du-sik couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
What on earth did he mean by the debt being already paid?
Since the money to pay off the debt was right in front of him, Gae Du-sik, of course, did not understand those words.
"What on earth do you mean by that? The money is right here."
"This is the money that Man Cheok-su gave me."
"Man Cheok-su gave you money?"
And that, a large sum of one hundred thousand gold?
Gae Du-sik was even more at a loss as to what that meant.
"Didn't you tell me last time? That Gaejeongmun uses all sorts of vicious methods to steal the martial arts of other sects."
"I... did."
"So I gave him a little lecture. And then, as if he had come to his senses, wouldn't Man Cheok-su turn over a new leaf?"
"..."
"This money is what Man Cheok-su gave me as a token of his gratitude."
For that Man Cheok-su to have turned over a new leaf.
Man Cheok-su was famous in Kaifeng for being a despicable and vicious person.
Especially, the evil deeds he committed without regard for means and methods to grow his sect were to the point where it could not be said to be a sect that pursued the right path.
If it weren't for the debt he owed to Man Cheok-su, Gae Du-sik had been planning to punish Man Cheok-su's evil deeds someday.
"He asked me to convey his apologies to you, Leader. This is the interest that he had unfairly taken so far, excluding the principal, returned to you."
"..."
"Also, he said that he would separately apologize and compensate the sects that he had committed evil deeds to so far. And that he would dissolve Gaejeongmun with this incident as an opportunity."
It was truly surprising.
If those words were true, it meant that Man Cheok-su was sincerely reflecting on his past behavior.
Gae Du-sik was momentarily curious about what kind of magic Namgung Il had used.
"How on earth did you make that brat turn over a new leaf?"
"Are you curious?"
"I am."
"Then can you answer my question first?"
It didn't really matter.
Even if it weren't for that, Gae Du-sik would have answered most questions.
Because Namgung Il was a benefactor of the Beggars' Sect.
As long as it wasn't a question about the martial arts or top secrets of the Beggars' Sect, Gae Du-sik said, planning to answer.
"Go ahead."
"Last time, you said that the Beggars' Sect is now divided into two factions."
"..."
"Can you tell me the reason why it was divided into two like that?"
Namgung Il thought that he would be able to hear the reason now.
The reason why the Beggars' Sect was divided, which he did not know.
As the former leader of the Beggars' Sect, and since it was related to his disciples, Namgung Il had to hear the reason.
"...I have a junior brother. His name is Gang Du."
"..."
"Right after my master passed away in the Righteous-Demonic War, I, his senior brother, became the leader. But I was not a proper successor, and at that time, I was too young, so it was too much for me to bear all the responsibilities of a leader alone."
After a moment of thought, Gae Du-sik opened his mouth.
The story after his death, which he did not know.
Namgung Il focused and listened to Gae Du-sik's words.
"So I naturally came to rely on Gang Du for many things. In that situation, the only person I could rely on was my junior brother, who had the same master."
"..."
"And so, I came to be in charge of the Dirty Clothes Faction, and Gang Du came to be in charge of the Clean Clothes Faction."
"..."
"At that time... I shouldn't have done that."
At that moment, strength entered Gae Du-sik's fist.
A look that felt quite angry even from the outside.
Although he was talking about Gang Du now because of Namgung Il, in fact, the emotional rift between the two was so deep that he didn't even want to bring up that name.
"Leader, the Beggars' Sect has now entered a transitional period. In accordance with that flow, we must now change the martial arts, which can be said to be the essence of the sect."
"...The martial arts that can be said to be the foundation of the Beggars' Sect are only the Beggar's Staff Style and the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms."
"Are you still saying that? The Beggar's Staff Style and the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms have already disappeared from this world!"
Gang Du insisted that the martial arts of the Beggars' Sect had to be overhauled from the foundation.
It was already an old story that the Beggar's Staff Style and the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms were called the secret arts of the Beggars' Sect. Since they had not been properly passed down in this generation, the two martial arts were not able to exert their true power.
Realistically, it was impossible for Gae Du-sik to master the two martial arts in the current situation.
For that reason, Gang Du thought that it would be better to create a martial art that could become a new foundation for the Beggars' Sect rather than insisting on the two martial arts.
However.
"The secret arts of the Beggars' Sect are only the Beggar's Staff Style and the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms."
"..."
"I will surely master those two martial arts with my own strength. So I must connect the secret arts of the Beggars' Sect that have been passed down from the past to the next generation."
Gae Du-sik's thoughts were different.
He was in a position where he had to continue the lineage of the Beggar's Staff Style and the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms by any means, and that was a position that completely conflicted with Gang Du's opinion.
"...How long are you going to cling to the past?"
"..."
"Look at reality! Now is the time when the Beggars' Sect needs a new cornerstone!"
"What are you talking about! One of the duties of a leader is to continue the inner strength of the Beggars' Sect. But far from fulfilling that duty, you're saying we should lay a new cornerstone? That's absurd!"
The hearts of the two who were thinking of the Beggars' Sect were the same. But their methods were too drastically different.
From that time on, a crack began to form in the relationship between the two, and in the end, the factions were divided around the two, resulting in the current situation.
"...And so it became the current form."
"..."
"The world seems to know to some extent that the Beggars' Sect has been divided like this... but they don't know that there is such an inner story."
Namgung Il had been keeping his mouth shut from a while ago.
'This... in the end, it seems it's also my fault that the Beggars' Sect was divided.'
Although he had talked at length until now, in the end, if one were to look at the cause, it was that this had happened because the transmission of the Beggar's Staff Style and the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms had not been done properly.
In the first place, if they had been properly transmitted, Gae Du-sik would have mastered the two martial arts, and Gang Du would not have raised such a complaint.
'Don't tell me I was the cause!'
Namgung Il was so shocked by that fact.
He felt guilty enough for having neglected the Beggars' Sect until it was divided into two, so how great would the shock be when he found out that the cause was him?
Of course, it wasn't that he had done it on purpose, and it was a part that Namgung Il himself could not do anything about, but that did not comfort his heart.
"You, why are you like that?"
"...Pardon?"
"You seem to have some kind of worry."
"...Leader, do you perhaps not resent your master?"
When Namgung Il suddenly asked, Gae Du-sik tilted his head.
"Resent my master? What on earth do you mean by that?"
"In the end, didn't this happen because you couldn't properly receive the transmission of the martial arts... if only that duty had been properly fulfilled, the Beggars' Sect would not have been divided into two in the first place."
Namgung Il was speaking as if he were revealing his own fault.
No, it would be right to say it was his fault.
Although he had fought the Blood Demon by sacrificing his life for the world, in the end, that had come back as a headwind for the Beggars' Sect.
Especially from the point of view of Gae Du-sik, who had become the leader, Namgung Il thought that it could be quite resentful.
Even if Gae Du-sik were to curse at him now, saying that he resented his master, Namgung Il felt that he would not be able to say anything.
Thud—
Just then, Gae Du-sik suddenly slammed the floor with his fist. At the same time, his two eyes were glaring at Namgung Il.
"Resent my master... even if it's you, if you say such a thing to my master, I will not forgive you."
"...?"
"I have never resented my master. On the contrary, I always think of him with pride."
"..."
"If someone asks me who my master is, I will confidently say this."
At that moment, Namgung Il was feeling an emotion he had never experienced before in his life.
"My master is a hero who saved the world."
"..."
"The Beggar King, Do Yeoksan. That person is my master."
Namgung Il was so shocked that he could not say anything.
But soon, his head slowly lowered.
'...This brat, he's become quite eloquent after becoming the leader.'
Namgung Il was lowering his head to hide the tears welling up in his eyes.
'Thank you.'
The fact that he had sacrificed his life at that time was by no means a futile thing.
At the fact that the person who had told him that for the first time in his life was his disciple, Namgung Il felt as if tears would come out without him realizing it.
"Leader... then would you perhaps want to become his disciple in your next life as well?"
"Why are you suddenly asking that?"
"Just... it has no particular meaning."
Namgung Il had asked that because he wanted to continue this inexpressible emotion a little longer.
But.
"I'll have to think about that a little."
"...?"
"Becoming his disciple in my next life is a bit..."
"..."
Hearing that answer, the tears that were on the verge of flowing dried up as if it were a lie.
(End of Chapter)