Star Instructor, Master Baek-Chapter 333: The Portrait

TL: FoodieMonster007

Before the shock from the news that the Blood Cult had attacked the Namgung Clan could even subside, another sensational new headline had already begun to sweep across the murim.

Treason in the Murim Alliance! Azure Dragon Hero Exposes Blood Cult Spy.

This alone was breaking news, but a series of astonishing follow-up news about the events that took place at the Murim Alliance began to spread like wildfire.

Azure Dragon Hero Saves Poisoned Beggars' Gang Chief from Brink of Death!

Azure Dragon Hero Cuts Down Blood Cult Poison Elder!

Azure Dragon Hero Is Actually the Legendary Sword Saint’s Successor!?

Many people didn't believe it at first, finding the stories too far-fetched, until the rumors were backed up by solid testimony from the Beggars' Gang Chief.

"Everything we said is true. We have even appointed the Azure Dragon Hero as an Honorary Beggar. He is now a brother to us, so from now on, anyone who persecutes the Azure Dragon Hero will be considered to be persecuting the Beggars' Gang," the Chief of the Beggars' Gang declared passionately.

This was only the beginning. Whenever beggars throughout the murim went out to beg on the streets, they boasted about their newfound brother.

"The Azure Dragon Hero is our brother and fellow beggar!"

"He's the only man allowed to put his spoon in a beggar's rice bowl!"

"I call him Hyung-nim, you know?"

With the members of the Beggars' Gang bragging so proudly, people had no choice but to believe them eventually.

Of course, those beggars had never sought the consent of the person involved.

"Fucking crazy beggar scum…" Baek Suryong grumbled, barely suppressing his rising murderous intent as he strode down the street. Despite his usual shamelessness, he felt so embarrassed that he wanted to kill himself from the rumors echoing from all directions.

Thank goodness I put on a human skin mask before entering the city.

He had recently arrived in Xi'an, the heart of Shaanxi. This area was traditionally the territory of the Mount Hua Sect and the Zhongnan Sect, but these days, everywhere he went, people were talking about the Murim Alliance and the Azure Dragon Hero.

"I heard that the Murim Alliance went through quite the ordeal?"

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"Yes. The Azure Dragon Hero has pulled off yet another incredible feat, slaying a second Blood Cult Elder…"

"Wow! I wonder if any orthodox master has acted more aggressively against the unorthodox in the past few decades than him."

"His fame is growing by the day. Right now, the title of Ten Supremes no longer seems like an exaggeration."

As soon as he entered an inn, his ears were bombarded with all kinds of ridiculous rumors. Baek Suryong formed a barrier around his eardrums with his qi and quickly approached the innkeeper.

"A room, please."

He went straight to his room, changed into a neat white scholar's robe, and held a folding fan in one hand. Since his face had already been changed to an ordinary one with the human skin mask, when he looked in the mirror, he saw only a frail-looking scholar before him.

Good, I should be able to blend in anywhere like this.

He left the Azure Dragon Sword at his waist. Many scholars and commoners carried swords for show, so it wouldn't look strange.

Leaving the inn, he immediately headed toward the Beggars' Gang Xi'an Branch.

On the way, he was stopped several times by beggars who told him, "The Azure Dragon Hero is the beggars' brother…"

Goddamned beggars. No, thinking about it, this is all Namgung Su's fault. He's the one who caused this mess by saying unnecessary things to the Beggars' Gang Chief.

Baek Suryong vowed to pay his rival back someday.

As it turned out, the Beggars' Gang Xi'an Branch was located under a bridge.

A beggar lying on a straw mat, picking his nose, glanced briefly at Baek Suryong. "Who're you? This ain't a place for a scholar like you."

Baek Suryong took a letter from his robes and handed it to the beggar. "Please deliver this to your branch manager."

The letter, which emitted a faint, stale odor, was infused with a special stench used only by members of the Beggars' Gang at the branch manager level or higher. He had received it from the Chief before he left the Murim Alliance.

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"This is…!"

A short while later, after confirming the contents and handwriting of the letter, the Xi'an Branch Manager rushed out of his shack in one bound. The protagonist of the rumors currently rocking the murim was standing before him.

Looking deeply moved, he opened his mouth wide and shouted, "Azure Dra… Mmph!"

Baek Suryong clamped the branch manager's mouth shut with the folding fan. At the same time, he shoved the cursed beggar back into the shack, smiling with narrowed eyes. "That should suffice to prove my identity, so shall we talk inside?" he threatened, subtly releasing his killing intent.

"Mmph, mmph!" The Branch Manager nodded vigorously. Fortunately, he wasn't so stupid that he didn't realize that Baek Suryong was working undercover.

Baek Suryong removed the fan.

"…P-Please come inside."

After entering the hut, Baek Suryong was treated lavishly… by beggar standards. The boiled rice water with visible rice grains floating in it was practically indistinguishable from Longjing tea in the Beggars' Gang.

"Brother, we have been eagerly awaiting your arrival. The Chief informed us you would be coming this way."

"Ah, yes…" Baek Suryong grimaced. Even the unnecessarily dramatic tone rubbed him the wrong way. He wanted nothing more than to finish his business and get out of here as soon as possible. "What about the item I requested?"

"Here you go." The Branch Manager handed over a map that had been rolled up in a corner of the shack. It marked the locations of all the old bookstores in Xi'an.

Baek Suryong quickly scanned it. It's only been a few days since I left the Alliance. Color me impressed, or should I say, as expected of the world's top information organization?

Before leaving the Murim Alliance, he had asked the Chief to look into the old bookstores in Xi'an, citing the need to find a certain book. Immediately after, he had made a beeline for Shaanxi using his movement arts.

No matter how fast the Beggars' Gang's messenger pigeons were, the Xi'an Branch Manager had probably received the Chief's message only a day or two ago. Nevertheless, he had already found and compiled the information that Baek Suryong wanted.

"I heard you were looking for a specific book from an old bookstore? If you tell us the title, we might be able to find it for you…"

"This is sufficient. I will look for the book myself." Baek Suryong tucked the map into his robes and smiled.

I can't exactly tell him that I'm actually searching for the other White Ice Bangle, the sacred treasure of the North Sea Ice Palace.

The Branch Manager grinned mischievously, revealing his yellowed teeth. The expression on his face was as if he had understood what kind of book Baek Suryong sought. "Fufu. Everyone has a secret hobby or two. I hope you find something to your tastes. My lips are sealed, so don't worry."

Does he think I'm looking for some kind of ancient porn book? I oughta just…

Suppressing the urge to punch the cheeky asshole, Baek Suryong rose to his feet. "Well then, I shall be on my way."

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The Branch Manager quickly protested, "Since you're here, won't you stay for a meal? It's almost dinnertime…"

He brought over a rice bowl from the corner, containing a mixture of cold rice and some unidentifiable side dishes.

"…I already ate," Baek Suryong said firmly through gritted teeth. If Namgung Su had been standing next to him, he would have beaten the bastard to a pulp.

"Oh dear, what a shame…"

Baek Suryong spun around and promptly left the shack.

Behind him, the Branch Manager called out with a genuinely disappointed expression. "Please visit again! I'll treat you to a proper meal… Wow! He's fast!"

Before he could finish speaking, Baek Suryong had already vanished into the distance.

Baek Suryong came to Xi'an with two goals. One was to track down the White Ice Bangle that the Ice Moon Goddess had supposedly given to her lover, and the other was to visit the Black Tortoise Academy and meet the Dark Heaven Goddess.

Finding the remaining White Ice Bangle is my first priority. Without it, I won't be able to visit the Ice Palace. The Black Tortoise Academy can wait.

Baek Suryong unfolded the map he had received from the Beggars' Gang, planning to begin his search starting from the nearest old bookstore marked on the map. It was the reason he was dressed as a scholar today.

"She definitely mentioned that they met at an old bookstore."1

"We met at the bookstore where he worked. I was wearing a veil and a black hat to avoid drawing attention to myself, when a delicate-looking man approached me and handed me a lantern. He told me that reading in the dark could harm my eyes, just as it had harmed his."

Baek Suryong recalled the warm smile on the Ice Moon Goddess's face when she spoke about her lover.

"…I hope he's still alive."

Fifty years, no, if he added the years that Eun Yerin had been kidnapped by the Blood Cult, over sixty years had passed. It was too long, far too long, to wait for just one person.

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"He was an ordinary person…no, he was quite frail for a man. He spent his days reading books…because that's just who he was."

That man had probably married another woman long ago and had children. It wouldn't be surprising if he even had grandchildren by now.

"When we escape this place, the first thing you must do is hold your wedding. I will attend it with my son."

"This Big Brother won't miss it either!"

"I will attend as well."

Baek Suryong smiled bitterly, recalling the conversation he had with his masters long ago.

"We all promised to attend Master Eun's wedding together."

Back then, they had needed such conversations just to endure life in prison. They had desperately clung to the hope that one day they would escape that hell and live the life each of them yearned for.

"When I escape from this place, I'll go live with him in a faraway place, somewhere no one will find us."

The Ice Moon Goddess' wish was ultimately not granted, but Baek Suryong still wanted to convey her message to her lover.

I want him to know how much she missed him until the very end.

Before he knew it, he arrived at the first old bookstore marked on the map.

He asked the owner of the old bookstore, "Excuse me, by any chance, did someone named Moon Yul work here in the past?"

The only clues he had about the Ice Moon Goddess's lover were that he once worked at an old bookstore and his name, Moon Yul.

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The elderly owner thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Moon Yul? Doesn't ring a bell…"

Baek Suryong asked again, "Do you know anyone with a similar sounding name? Or someone from the Moon family…"

"Well… I've been doing business here for twenty years, and I don't think I've ever heard that name before."

"…Thank you."

Baek Suryong left the bookstore without lingering. Xi'an was a big city. He hadn't expected to find the man on his first try. Even if he spent a whole day, it wouldn't be easy to visit all the bookstores marked on the map.

WHOOSH!

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When there were no people around, he used his movement arts.

Just like that, he visited the old bookstores marked on the map, crossing them off one by one. The answers he got everywhere, however, were mostly similar.

"Moon Yul? Never heard the name."

"I've lived in Xi'an for thirty years, and I've never heard of an old bookstore owner with that name."

"Stop asking useless questions, if you're not buying, then get out!"

He spent more than half the day visiting Xi'an's old bookstores one by one. Before long, the sun set below the horizon, and night fell.

I guess this is the last one for today.

Abandoning his expectations, Baek Suryong entered the final old bookstore. Small oil lamps were lit inside the shop. The shop owner was an elderly man who looked troubled to see a customer arriving so late.

"My apologies, but we're about to close for the day."

"Sorry for the late hour. I just need to ask one quick question. By any chance, do you…" Baek Suryong's voiced trailed off mid-sentence.

His eyes widened as he stared blankly at the wall behind the sales counter.

"…Master Eun?"

A portrait of the Ice Moon Goddess Eun Yerin was hung on the wall. In it, she wore a happy expression the likes of which he had never seen before.

Refer to chapter 227. ↵