Chapter 394: The Story of a Man
“I had no idea.”
Tang Mujin replied, but the old man, Sae Honnoong, didn’t find it particularly strange.
“Well, you’ve been away from Sichuan for so long. Even your accent has faded.”
“Could you tell me more about the Great Protector?”
When Tang Mujin asked, Sae Honnoong smiled, his face creasing with age.
“We can’t stand here chatting at the gate forever. Let’s get settled first.”
”…Understood.”
Tang Mujin entered the Tang family estate, with Hyeon Gong and Mr. Im following closely behind.
As soon as Tang Mujin appeared, the bustling courtyard fell silent, and everyone paused to greet him with respect.
“Welcome back.”
Tang Mujin returned the gesture with a slight bow.
“Yes, I’m back.”
Neither Tang Mujin nor Hyeon Gong found this scene unusual.
But Mr. Im felt differently. It was strange and overwhelming to see everyone, from doctors to blacksmiths, and even martial artists who wouldn’t normally meet his gaze, showing such deference to Tang Mujin. Yet, it was also thrilling, as if he had become someone important.
While Mr. Im was still flustered and looking around, someone approached him. It was Mr. Wang, the steward of the Tang family estate.
Having been a merchant traveling to the Western regions, Mr. Wang felt a sense of familiarity with Mr. Im, who was a peddler.
Moreover, he instinctively recognized that he could command Mr. Im.
Mr. Wang spoke to him.
“You must have come with the Master, right?”
“Uh, yes…”
“Follow me. I’ll show you where you can stay.”
Still bewildered, Mr. Im followed Mr. Wang.
Tang Mujin quickly dealt with urgent matters and headed to the residence of Sam Anbul.
“I’m coming in.”
With those words, Tang Mujin opened the door. The modest room of Sam Anbul was already filled with people.
There was the host, Sam Anbul, and Jang Il-nam, along with Hyeon Gong, who had come to listen, and the storyteller, Sae Honnoong. Even Hwa Yeonshin was present.
Unlike the others who were seated normally, Hwa Yeonshin was perched comfortably on Sam Anbul’s crossed legs.
When Tang Mujin looked at her, Hwa Yeonshin hastily offered an excuse.
“The space is cramped, you see. You need a place to sit too, don’t you?”
Though the room was indeed small, her explanation lacked conviction. Her posture was far too familiar and relaxed to be merely due to lack of space.
Once Tang Mujin found a seat, Sae Honnoong began his tale.
“After the Great Protector declared himself the leader, Sam Anbul stayed at the Tang estate. But I wandered the central plains. Partly because I wanted to see the world, but also to learn more about the Great Protector.”
“Ah, so that’s why you left. But it couldn’t have been easy to track someone else’s movements.”
Sae Honnoong chuckled softly.
“It wasn’t as hard as you’d think. The Great Protector wasn’t one to hide his past. Especially in his youth. I just went around confirming the stories he told me, checking if there was more to them.”
Sae Honnoong shifted slightly to get comfortable, then launched into his story.
“I’ll weave together the tales I’ve heard from the Great Protector over nearly twenty years since he first joined the cult, with what I’ve confirmed during my travels across the central plains. Though it’s a mix of two stories, it shouldn’t stray far from the truth.”
Sae Honnoong was a natural storyteller. Even before he truly began, everyone was already listening intently.
“Well, it’s best to start a story from the beginning…”
With a voice as languid as an old man’s, Sae Honnoong began recounting the life of a man.
Not far from the city of Chengdu in Sichuan, there’s a large embankment called Dujiangyan.
Because it was easy to get drinking water and one could also fish or dive for fish, there were always many beggars around Dujiangyan.
Among the many beggars near Dujiangyan was a young boy called Yeonchu. His name, a nickname really, came from surviving on the small fish left behind by other beggars.
When Yeonchu was about seven years old, having survived on those small fish, he finally began to beg.
At first, Yeonchu’s begging seemed to go quite smoothly. After all, the younger the beggar, the more likely they were to receive alms.
But it wasn’t long before the older beggar children, around ten years old, began to see Yeonchu as a thorn in their side.
The first reason was that the more money Yeonchu earned from begging, the less the people of Chengdu would give to others. The second reason was that standing next to a mere seven-year-old, the ten-year-olds no longer seemed young or pitiable.
As a result, Yeonchu was beaten by the other beggars every other day and had his earnings taken from him.
That day, too, Yeonchu was being beaten by the other beggars. But it was much worse than usual.
Children can be more cruel than adults. Unlike adults, they don’t know when to stop or how to gauge the severity.
Yeonchu was filled with the thought that he might really die this time.
Finally, Yeonchu, sobbing, pleaded with the other beggars.
“Please, spare me, brothers!”
But the beating didn’t stop easily.
Just as Yeonchu’s consciousness began to fade, one of the young beggars spat at him and said,
“Kid, you need to know your place. What makes you think you can just waltz into someone else’s territory with your weak self?”
”…”
“Does it make you mad?”
On any other day, Yeonchu wouldn’t have admitted it. He had enough sense for that.
But that day was different. Young Yeonchu found the situation unbearable.
When Yeonchu nodded, choking back sobs, the young beggar laughed mockingly.
“What are you gonna do about it if you’re mad? You’re weak, and I’m strong. I’ll always be a few years older than you, and that means I’ll always be stronger.”
In that short, clumsy exchange, young Yeonchu realized something.
The rule of the world was that the strong beat the weak.
Though it took a different form, it was what the martial artists called the survival of the fittest.
His body ached, but Yeonchu’s heart felt a little lighter.
He understood why he was being beaten and realized the solution.
At the same time, Yeonchu had a bold thought.
Tomorrow, instead of begging for coins or food, he would beg for strength.
The next day, despite his aching body, Yeonchu asked around to find out who the strongest person in Chengdu was.
The adults all gave the same answer. The head of the Qingcheng Sect’s Chengdu branch was the strongest in the city.
So Yeonchu sat down in front of the Qingcheng Sect’s branch wall.
“What’s a beggar doing here… Get lost.”
Yeonchu was chased away several times by the people of the Qingcheng Sect’s branch, but he kept sneaking back.
The people coming and going from the Qingcheng Sect’s branch frowned at the sight of a seven-year-old beggar, but they didn’t hit him, so he wasn’t afraid.
One of the people who took pity on Yeonchu was a young Taoist, barely ten years older than him.
The young Taoist approached Yeonchu and asked,
“Hey, kid. I’m Hwang Ryeong, an instructor at the Chengdu branch. What’s your name?”
“I’m Yeonchu.”
“You’ve been hanging around here for days. Want to come in for a warm meal?”
The mention of food made Yeonchu’s stomach growl, but he shook his head.
“No, thank you.”
Instructor Hwang asked again.
“If you’re not hungry, why are you begging?”
“I need something else.”
“Something else?”
“Please teach me martial arts.”
It was a difficult request for a mere instructor, not even the head instructor, and a rookie at that, to accept. How could he teach martial arts to a beggar who wasn’t even a disciple?
But Hwang Ryeong had a soft heart. He couldn’t bring himself to coldly refuse the young boy’s plea.
After pondering for a while, Hwang Ryeong said,
”…Come to that alley over there after sunset. I’ll teach you a little, just a little. But you mustn’t tell anyone.”
Yeonchu nodded immediately.
From then on, Hwang Ryeong met Yeonchu in the back alley every day.
He taught Yeonchu how to take a beating with less pain, how to throw a small punch, and even brought him lukewarm rice. He also taught him simple characters.
Over a year passed like that.
But Yeonchu was still young and weak. No matter how much he learned, with his small, unripe body, he couldn’t hope to take down beggars twice his size. Yeonchu was far from satisfied.
However, Hwang Ryeong thought differently.
Even with his limited perspective, it was clear that Yeonchu had extraordinary talent. Yeonchu learned martial arts faster than Hwang Ryeong, who was considered a prodigy, had ever done.
As the second year of teaching Yeonchu approached, Hwang Ryeong made a bold decision.
“Yeonchu.”
“Yes, Instructor.”
“Tomorrow at dawn, go to the east of the village and wait. There will be a merchant with five wagons. I’ve given him all the money I’ve saved as an instructor, so if you tell him my name, he’ll take you to Luoyang in the east.”
“What?”
“You’re still young and lack strength, but your talent is exceptional. You shouldn’t settle for just beating up a few beggars.”
Yeonchu was young. He didn’t have the courage to leave with strangers to an unfamiliar place.
So Yeonchu shook his head.
“That’s enough for me. I want to keep learning from you.”
“I can’t teach you any more martial arts.”
“Why not?”
“I have to return to the main sect of Cheongseong now. If it gets out that I taught you martial arts without you even being registered as an official disciple, both of us will face severe punishment.”
”…”
Yeonchu, on the verge of tears, asked Hwangryeong, “Then, what changes if I head east?”
“The former branch leader of Seongdobunta, Master Jeongak, retired last year and returned to his hometown in Luoyang. He held me in high regard and turned a blind eye to me teaching you martial arts. He might teach you even more. No, I’m sure he will.”
Hwangryeong said this as he embraced Yeonchu tightly. “You can become stronger. Grow into someone great.”
Yeonchu etched those words into his heart.
However, Yeonchu’s journey to Luoyang was anything but smooth.
The caravan he joined happened to cross paths with the Green Forest Bandits, and they were particularly ruthless, even for bandits.
“We’ll pay the toll!” The caravan leader offered a hefty pouch of money, but the bandit leader sneered.
“You think I came all this way for pocket change?”
The caravan leader closed his eyes tightly and pleaded, “Take it all. Just spare our lives.”
“How do I know you won’t call for reinforcements?”
The bandits charged, swords flashing. Blood splattered, and screams echoed through the desolate mountain path, with no one around to witness the horror.
As the bandits rifled through the goods, they found Yeonchu hiding among the cargo. One of them raised his sword without hesitation, but the deputy leader intervened.
“Killing a kid is bad luck. Remember last time? And the time before that? We killed a kid, and the authorities showed up soon after.”
“So what do we do with him?”
“Shackle him and make him do the grunt work.”
Life became even harsher than when Yeonchu was a street beggar. Back then, he at least had the excuse of begging in someone else’s territory when he got beaten. The bandits, however, needed no reason to beat him.
Yet, paradoxically, Yeonchu didn’t feel as hopeless or wronged as he once might have.
‘It’s just because I’m powerless.’
That was enough for him. Yeonchu was naturally easygoing, and that simple reasoning allowed him to endure.
A month passed, then a year, and eventually five years. Yeonchu endured without complaint.
Having never known comfort, he didn’t find his situation particularly difficult or distressing. He cleaned the bandits’ gear, did their laundry, cooked, and carried their loads.
Over time, the bandits stopped beating or harassing him. Few people dislike a child who works diligently without complaint, and the bandits were no exception.
As nearly six years went by, Yeonchu’s life took another turn.
“Dammit, it’s a master!”
“Kill them all!”
“Please, spare us!”
A group of young martial artists stormed in and slaughtered the bandits. It took only a handful of them to defeat over twenty bandits, and the fight was over quickly.
Watching the scene, Yeonchu thought, ‘There really are people stronger than the bandits. Amazing.’
He felt no sympathy for the bandits. Just as he had endured six years without resentment, he assumed the bandits would feel no injustice. This time, they were simply the weaker ones.
Once the dust settled, a young martial artist with a heroic air approached Yeonchu, sword drawn.
“Are you with them?”
A woman among the five martial artists smacked the back of his head.
“Idiot. How could a kid like that be part of their gang?”
“But, Nanhyang…”
“Look at his calloused hands and shackled ankles. He doesn’t seem like one of them. He looks like a kid they forced to work. Hey, what’s your name?”
“I’m Yeonchu.”
“How long have you been caught up in this? Judging by your condition, it hasn’t been just a day or two. It can’t have been over a year, right?”
“It’s been nearly six years.”
”…What?”
If a child who didn’t even look in their teens spoke of six years, how long had he been living like this?
“Where are you from?”
“Sichuan Province, Chengdu.”
“That’s far… What about your parents?”
Yeonchu shook his head. He didn’t know their names or faces.
The beautiful woman sighed deeply and handed Yeonchu a few coins from her pouch. It was a fortune that most people wouldn’t touch in a lifetime.
The men beside her were aghast.
“If you give him all that, what about us? We set out on this martial journey, and now we’ll have to wander around like beggars for months?”
“How can we ignore such a dire situation? We can manage without money, but this child can’t.”
The woman crouched down to meet Yeonchu’s eyes.
“Take this money and settle down somewhere. If you don’t waste it, it should last you a few years.”
“Thank you.”
Yeonchu bowed his head, and the five martial artists left with satisfied smiles.
Left alone, Yeonchu pondered.
‘What should I do now?’
Should he settle in a nearby village as the woman suggested?
No. Yeonchu still had something to do. He needed to go to Luoyang and meet Master Jeongak.
Having grown considerably, Yeonchu set off for Luoyang.
Less than a fortnight later, Yeonchu encountered another group of bandits.
They took all the money he had.
Yet, Yeonchu didn’t feel wronged this time either.
In fact, he considered himself lucky. After all, he was still alive.
The journey didn’t feel particularly arduous. Poverty was something Yeonchu was all too familiar with.
He walked on, undeterred.
And so, nearly eight years after leaving Chengdu, Yeonchu finally arrived in Luoyang.
‘It was a bit of a struggle, but I made it in the end.’
Just as a heavy fishing rod catches bigger fish, and a slowly drawn net gathers more, the hardships and delays would surely bring good fortune.
Yeonchu’s steps became light and buoyant, as if he were dancing.