"Tang Cheonyeong has appeared in Won River."

"Won River?"

"Yes."

"Hmm... and the people who came with him?"

"Well, they say he appeared alone."

"Alone?"

"Yes."

"Then, what about the dancer named Eunhyang and her dance boy?"

"They were not seen."

"Surely not the boatman either?"

"Yes, after leaving the northern ferry, he disappeared without a trace."

"Heo!"

It was absurd.

What on earth had happened at Dongting Lake?

Although it was a guess, the dancer named Eunhyang and the dead assassin must not be unrelated.

If so, it was clear that he would also have a connection with Tang Cheonyeong.

But the boatman... wasn't he an unrelated person?

If they had disappeared.

"Murder to silence?"

"There is a possibility."

"Hmm... it's hard to be hasty. Looking at his past actions, he wasn't a person who took life lightly. My senior brother said that he even accepted the warriors of the Yin Hand Chamber, who were tied by a past grudge, as people of the Tang Family's estate."

"But even after searching the entire outskirts of Dongting Lake, mobilizing the vagrant gangs and the Kyuhwa, we couldn't find any trace of them."

"Hmm..."

Baekta's face hardened at Hwandong's words.

As he said, the possibility of murder to silence was sufficient.

But it wasn't certain.

Since the river of Dongting Lake was a place where their eyes and ears could not reach, he could not determine the situation with just an inaccurate guess.

"Chief Nam, has there been any contact from him?"

"That's a bit strange."

"What is?"

"According to the carrier pigeon beggar... he said not to talk nonsense."

"Huh?"

"He said that from now on, if he asks for a favor for a useless matter, he will not forgive him even if it means being at odds with the Beggars' Sect."

"What's that?"

Had Nam Gwangro suddenly gone mad?

He clearly knew the location where he had hidden his funds...

"This punk, really!"

Baekta, who had gotten up in a fit of anger, sat down again as if he had thought of something.

"No, no. Something is strange. Nam Gwangro can't suddenly change his attitude like this."

Baekta's brow furrowed.

"There is one thing that bothers me."

"It bothers you?"

"Yes, according to the Night Cats, there was quite a commotion near Gunsan Island last night."

"What kind of commotion?"

"They say there was a tremendous roar that could be heard from afar, and water splashed several times."

"A roar and a splash of water?"

"Yes, and they say the signal flare of the Gunsan Stronghold was also fired before that."

"Then! Are you saying Tang Cheonyeong clashed with the Gunsan Stronghold?"

"It seems... that's the guess."

"Hmm..."

His thoughts deepened.

Water bandits, Tang Cheonyeong, a dancer, a boatman.

But the connection was insufficient. He had to know something to tie the knot and make a deduction.

The most suspicious thing was Nam Gwangro's reaction.

If a fight had broken out between Tang Cheonyeong and the stronghold, it couldn't have been this quiet...

"What did Tang Cheonyeong look like when he was found in Won River?"

"He was a mess."

"A mess?"

"Yes, he was soaked in water and was bleeding. He said he bought new clothes at a cloth store."

"Soaked and wearing new clothes?"

Baekta chews on Hwandong's words.

He swam even though he was injured?

From near Gunsan Island to Won River...

And circumstantially, there was a fight with the water bandits.

But the Gunsan Stronghold is quiet.

"Could it be that Chief Nam has joined hands with Tang Cheonyeong?"

"Pardon? That Lord of the Xiang River? No way. And didn't you say Tang Cheonyeong was injured?"

"No, there's a possibility." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"..."

"But how did he win Nam Gwangro's heart? How on earth... to win Nam Gwangro's heart, he would have had to solve his troubles."

Baekta's eyes narrowed as he thought hard.

"It's the hidden funds."

"Pardon?"

"That's the only possible inference. Tang Cheonyeong must have taught Chief Nam a way to safely store his hidden funds."

"Such a thing?"

"Yes, that must be it. Otherwise, Chief Nam, who values his hidden funds as much as his life, couldn't have suddenly changed his attitude."

Baekta was making a deduction that was close to the truth with just a few circumstances.

"Dammit, if this is the case, it seems it's impossible to use Chief Nam in the future."

"Does that mean... the hiding method that Tang Cheonyeong taught him is a near-perfect method?"

Hwandong wears an expression of disbelief.

Baekta, who had smirked, asked.

"Do you know what the Thirteen Classics are?"

"The Thirteen... Classics?"

"Yes. They are the thirteen classics that scholars study. The number of volumes alone is over a hundred."

"But why that?"

"My senior brother said that Tang Cheonyeong was so smart that he had mastered all those many classics by the time he was eight."

"Pardon? Is that possible?"

"Amazing, right? They say that even among those who take the state examination, it's rare to find someone who has mastered all the Four Books and Five Classics."

Hwandong clicked his tongue at Baekta's words.

Although he had thought he was unusual, he had not known that Tang Cheonyeong was that good.

"He looked no different from a good-for-nothing, and he had no manners..."

"It must mean he knows how to hide his inner self. To the point where even I can't predict it."

Hwandong sighs at the sight of Baekta's eyes sparkling with a faint smile on his lips.

There it was again.

That expression he made when he thought of someone he considered a rival.

If it was the Baekta that Hwandong knew, his mind would be filled with only Tang Cheonyeong right now.

He would feel a thirst for curiosity.

He would surely dig into him like crazy, thinking of the ecstasy he would feel when his thirst was quenched.

"He joined hands with the Lord of the Xiang River... what an interesting fellow. I underestimated him and got a good blow. I've suffered a great loss, having lost even the Lord of the Xiang River. But now I know. Tang Cheonyeong is not someone to be treated lightly."

Hwandong sighs again as Baekta mutters to himself and falls into thought.

"What should we do with the kids? Should we tell them to keep following Tang Cheonyeong?"

"No, no. That won't do."

"Pardon?"

"Think about Chief Nam's actions. If a story about hidden funds was exchanged and Tang Cheonyeong presented a solution, he would have already found out that I was watching him."

"Then what?"

"We have to back off."

"Back... off?"

"Yes, is there a need to poke the grass and startle the snake? It would be troublesome if he got into a friction with the Night Cats or the beggars who were following him. The surveillance on him is solely my will and has nothing to do with the Beggars' Sect."

"That's true, but Tang Cheonyeong is not of such a high status that he would protest to the Beggars' Sect..."

"Why not? He is a person who ate up Ganyang, which is located in the east of Sicheon, in just one year of its establishment. And no one is unaware that that place has been the territory of the Unorthodox Faction for generations."

"..."

"And yet the Unorthodox Faction is quiet. I heard that Ghost Hand No Gwanyeong acknowledged him."

"Pardon?! That Ghost Hand?"

This time, even Hwandong could not help but be surprised.

The Ten Greats of the Sicheon Unorthodox Faction. No Gwanyeong.

His name had been known throughout the world for a long time, as much as his great skill.

Some said that his true skill was much greater than the public's evaluation.

"If it weren't for that Ghost Hand, the Blue Serpent Sect, which was the backer of the Yin Hand Chamber, couldn't have been so quiet."

"He was a great man."

"Yes, do you know the eldest son of the Sicheon Lee family?"

"Th-that Lee Cheongik?"

"Yes."

"Why Lee Cheongik...?"

"They say he asked Tang Cheonyeong for guidance."

"Pardon!?"

In addition to the surprised scream, Hwandong even shot up.

"You're making a fuss."

"But, isn't Lee Cheongik a person who is evaluated as a rising star who will lead Sicheon in the future? One of the top among the Twelve Dragons of Sicheon!"

"That's right."

"For such a person to ask for guidance... this is on the level of a monster. How could such a person not even have a rumor about him until now?"

"Well. I was also half-convinced after hearing my senior brother's words. I couldn't tell at all from the outside."

"My, my... the world is a wide place."

"Yes, so I'm going to believe in his future."

"His future?"

"Yeah, it seems that he will be able to compete with our Beggars' Sect with just the name of the Tang Family's estate. Although it's still vague."

"To that extent?"

"Hwandong."

"Pardon?"

"It seems I'll have to follow him myself."

"Yourself?"

"Of course. Can you call yourself a beggar if you share delicious food? Keuk keuk. There's no need to go around. We'll all know each other now."

Baekta licked his lips with his tongue and smacked his lips.

"If his purpose was the dancer or the dead assassin, he should be preparing to return to Sicheon, but he appeared in Won River. There must be another purpose."

"..."

"Hwandong, please take care of the back."

Hwandong sighs again as Baekta gets up and walks away.

Who would stop him?

No, there was no way to stop him in the first place.

Baekta was one of the people mentioned as a future leader of the Beggars' Sect, and he had the authority to act individually whenever necessary.

But.

"Eunha."

Hwandong, who had been following Baekta's back, which had disappeared before he knew it, calls softly, and a human figure suddenly appears beside him.

Eunha, one of the Night Cats of the Beggars' Sect.

He was the strongest among the Night Cats assigned to Baekta.

"Don't get too close, just watch from a distance. He might become the future master of the Beggars' Sect."

Eunha, who had nodded at Hwandong's words, disappeared as silently as he had appeared.

"Hah, for now, I'll have to search the vicinity carefully. I'll have to find out what the situation was before he came back."

Hwandong just sighs deeply.

What a fate.

Although a beggar's nature is laziness, he has to be diligent on his own like this.

What could he do?

This was all his fate for choosing the wrong person to be his master.

* * *

"Hey! Brother Tang!"

"..."

"Really, you're here and there. You were on the northern street until yesterday, and today you're in Won River in the south. Ha ha!"

Cheonyeong's face contorted as he was eating at the sound of a friendly call.

Brother Tang?

He knew who it was just by hearing the voice.

The Beggars' Sect Dongting Lake North Branch Leader, Baekta.

That damn punk.

A chatterbox.

But Cheonyeong, who had put down his chopsticks, instead wore a smile and greeted Baekta.

"Hey, who is this? Isn't it Lord Baekta?"

Baekta, who was approaching, flinched and stopped at the sight of Cheonyeong's response.

"Although your face is clearly happy to see me, why are your fists clenched so tightly..."

"Of course, it should be. Seeing that you've come all this way to find me, is there a need for words?"

"Ha ha, let's talk anyway. I'm a person who believes in peace."

"Then let's do it peacefully."

"I think there's a lot more strength in your fist than before."

"Because I'm so happy to see you."

Seeing Cheonyeong's reaction, Baekta, who knew that he already knew what he had done, scratched his head and wore an embarrassed expression.

Why hide it?

If he hid it any longer, he would only be branded as a suspicious person.

He would continue to be wary of him...

"I'm really sorry about last night. It's just the way I do things."

"So that's why. Because of the way you do things, the esteemed Beggars' Sect mobilized water bandits to watch people?"

"Aigoo, don't even mention it. Thanks to that, I lost Chief Nam, whom I had been using well. I've also suffered a great loss."

"I'll add the medical bills to that loss, so why don't you come over here?"

"Ha ha! You're joking."

"I'm serious."

"..."

"I said come here. Hurry?"

Cheonyeong clenches one fist and beckons with the other hand.

"Ahem ahem, if you were offended, I apologize. I have committed a great discourtesy. Family Head Tang."

"Shut up, just call me Brother Tang. Ah, if I get beaten... will I start cursing?"

"Aish, why did you injure a Beggars' Sect member? That was your handiwork at that time, right?"

Although Baekta was guessing as if he were sure, Cheonyeong readily admitted it.

What's the point of hiding it when he seems to know anyway?

"You're alive, aren't you?"

"That's my ability."

As Cheonyeong did not back down, Baekta, who had been hesitating for a long time, spread one finger and said.

"One bottle of alcohol!"

"..."

"Two bottles?"

"..."

"Dammit, in addition, I promise you the inn lodging fee and a few pieces of information you want."

"Information?"

"How about it?"

Cheonyeong, who had been glaring at Baekta's bargaining for a moment, relaxes his fist and says.

"Hmm, I'll think about it if it includes heaven-grade information."

"H-heaven-grade?"

Heaven-grade was the most secret and expensive information that the Beggars' Sect handled.

"Hmm... then just one."

Cheonyeong, who had been glaring at him, smirked at Baekta's answer and said.

"That's enough to allow you to sit down."

"That's enough? It's a heaven-grade. It's not a matter of just allowing you to sit..."

"Then, shall we continue?"

"Tch, let's sit."

One piece of heaven-grade information.

Although it wasn't needed right away, it wasn't bad.

It could be said that Baekta had been generous.

But was a mere branch leader of a status to give heaven-grade information?

...Oho. This punk, he really has a separate identity.

Anyway, the intention was bad, but the result was good.

He had also achieved the result of building a friendship with the water bandits, and the heaven-grade information he had just obtained would surely be helpful later.

Also, he had a favor to ask of Baekta.

Of course, he would never forget the debt for trying to dig into his background and would definitely collect it.

Baekta, you've been caught badly.

I'm a person who stews beef bones until they dissolve in the broth.

(End of Chapter)