HDCLSSRS Ch 7

Chapter 7 I Need to Get Out of Here. (7)

 

Baek Ryeoil sharply raised his senses and stomped the ground. His feet, faster than the wind, grazed across the grass like a whisper. With a light leap, he unleashed explosive propulsion.

He had to confirm it for himself.

The existence of someone he couldn’t define.

‘Hm?’

Baek Ryeoil, who had been executing his master-level movement technique without restraint, suddenly came to a halt.

He narrowed his eyes and looked around.

‘The tracks here… split apart.’

They had scattered.

As Baek Ryeoil glanced around, his gaze fixed on a certain spot. After brushing aside the fallen leaves and dried twigs that covered it, damp earth appeared—clearly disturbed recently.

Without hesitation, he began to dig. What emerged from the hole was Seong Muyeon’s clothing.

Baek Ryeoil grinned.

‘Clever.’

He had used his head quite well.

He must’ve taken off his clothes to throw off any potential tracking techniques.

But in this world, there existed a thing called “Ten-Thousand-Mile Tracking Incense,” and once it was applied, you could be tracked from over ten thousand li away.

Of course, he had already applied the incense to Seong Muyeon in advance, but since no one else could detect it besides himself, it didn’t seem like Seong Muyeon had known or taken precautions.

There were also traces of the bodyguards scattering in all directions, but those were traps.

‘Too bad. It wasn’t on the clothes—it was on the hair.’

Baek Ryeoil’s sharp gaze quietly fixed on the village below the mountain. The scent was pointing toward that village.

At that moment, a feast was in full swing inside the beggars’ den in the village below the mountain. A new face had joined the beggars’ den.

He was a beggar with the surname Seong, and he looked so worn and battered that he had wandered around the marketplace looking half-dead. The beggars kindly shared food with him and gave him a place to sleep along with a straw mat.

The so-called feast consisted only of some scavenged food and leftover alcohol dregs, but to the beggars, it was a gourmet banquet.

“Hahaha! Brother Seong, you sure know a lot of funny stories!”

“I like him, I really do!”

That beggar, of course, was Seong Muyeon.

“Brother, how about joining our Beggars’ Gang?”

“Come on, don’t say such hurtful things! I’m not a real beggar! I’m going to make a fortune soon, open a proper shop, and live like a proper man! I’ll get married and have, like, seven bunny-like kids!”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure thing.”

The beggars replied indifferently, wearing expressions like, ‘There he goes again.’

When Seong Muyeon huffed and turned his back in annoyance, a few beggars handed him some hidden rice cakes to cheer him up.

‘…This is surprisingly a good fit for me?’

Though he was only pretending to be a beggar, he hadn’t planned on actually entering a beggar’s den. But once inside, he found the beggars to be kind, warm, and generous. What was supposed to be a short stay to avoid the rain was quickly turning into a permanent settlement.

He was beginning to understand the saying that when you have nothing, there’s nothing to protect, and when there’s nothing to protect, all your worries disappear.

As Seong Muyeon was enjoying the idle lifestyle of the beggars, a beggar suddenly came running in.

“What’s going on? Why so rushed?”

“Pant, pant. The Elder says to gather!”

“The Elder? Why?”

“How would I know?”

“Ugh, how annoying.”

The beggars belonging to the Beggars’ Gang groaned and slowly got up. Only Seong Muyeon remained sitting idly in the den.

“Brother Seong, you should come too.”

“Eh? Why? I’m not even a member of the gang.”

“Don’t be like that. Come see what the vibe’s like.”

When Seong Muyeon looked at him suspiciously, the beggar waved his dirty hands.

“Don’t look at me like that! No one’s forcing you to join. Just see how it feels. If you like it, then you can think about it.”

“Well, I guess…”

Since he was bored anyway, Seong Muyeon followed the beggars.

The Beggars’ Gang was one of the great sects that held up the center of the martial world. It was among the top ten sects of this vast land, and its prestige reached the heavens.

Seong Muyeon was secretly a bit excited.

How would a gathering of a Nine Schools and Eight Sects sect be conducted?

But the excitement didn’t last long.

“…So this is the meeting?”

Filthy beggars, with grease marks running down their faces, gathered in twos and threes in a dirty back alley. There weren’t even proper seats—they just sat right on the ground like… well… beggars.

‘Beggars are beggars, after all.’

Losing interest quickly, Seong Muyeon plopped himself down wherever, his eyes dull. He just wanted the meeting to end quickly so he could return to the cozy beggars’ den, throw a straw mat over himself, and take a nap.

“Ahem, is everyone here?”

What looked like the head beggar paced at the front—it seemed he was the Elder of this region’s Beggars’ Gang.

“Elder! What’s the sudden gathering about?”

“In times like this when it’s hard to even fill our stomachs from begging all day, what’s the point of a meeting?”

“Uh, my stomach hurts really bad. Can I leave early?”

Someone said this while clutching their stomach, only to be met with a sharp glare from the head beggar.

“I know the sudden call surprised you, but it won’t take long, so just sit tight.”

After clearing his throat, the Elder spoke with grave dignity.

“A special request has come in today.”

At those words, the beggars’ eyes changed. Their loose attitudes vanished, and they all focused sharply on the Elder.

The mood shifted so suddenly that Seong Muyeon, like a straw bag stuffed in the middle of them, could only roll his eyes around awkwardly.

“A special request, you say? From one of the major sects?”

“Yes.”

“What is the nature of the request?”

“They’re asking us to find someone.”

The Beggars’ Gang was composed of beggars, and beggars were everywhere. That’s why the gang was also a hub for information picked up while begging. In a way, it was like the search engine of the martial world.

“Find someone? Who?”

At a beggar’s question, the Elder furrowed his brow.

“Well… it’s a man just under six cheok tall, pale skin, slim build, looks like a woman—”

“I told you, that’s not it!”

With an irritated shout, a large hand shoved the Elder aside and stepped forward.

“Gasp.”

Seong Muyeon sucked in a breath.

Broad shoulders, thick black hair tied in a single knot, coal-dark eyebrows. And… eyes glaring fiercely.

It was none other than Baek Ryeoil.

Seong Muyeon quickly ducked his head and hid behind the beggars.

“He’s not effeminate! His arms and legs are long! I said his waist is slender, not that he looks like a girl! Sure, he’s skinny and not very manly, but still, he’s a manly guy!”

‘…What is he even saying?’

Seong Muyeon was dumbfounded. The beggars scratched the backs of their heads and looked at each other, as if they didn’t understand Baek Ryeoil either.

“And his skin is smooth like porcelain! His chin is sharp! His nose stands tall and firm! With two nostrils!”

“…Are there people with three nostrils?”

“Shut it! Anyway! His lips are plump and cherry-colored!”

“……”

‘…Is he describing me?’

Seong Muyeon thought it’d be better to drown in a puddle than listen to this nonsense. He subtly lifted only his eyes and looked for an escape route. The place was packed with beggars. Since they were all sitting on the ground, it would be hard to leave without drawing attention.

“If anyone has seen someone like this recently, come forward now!”

Baek Ryeoil’s voice rang in his ears like a thunderclap.

“Someone who arrived in this village not long ago!”

Having barely crawled behind a large beggar, Seong Muyeon kept inching along the ground.

“Someone who talks smoothly and acts sly!”

He almost kneeled onto another beggar’s hand. The beggar, noticing Seong Muyeon crawling, spoke to him.

“Brother Seong, where are you off to? Nature’s call?”

“Uh, yeah… that’s right…”

The beggar just shrugged it off and turned back toward Baek Ryeoil.

“A person who looks pale like a sick man! Has anyone seen someone like that?!”

The beggar who’d spoken to Seong Muyeon suddenly snapped his head around and stared at him. Then he started mumbling.

“…Just arrived recently, talks smoothly…”

Seong Muyeon frantically waved his hand. Please, for the love of—

The beggar’s eyes widened.

“Pale sickly man! Mmph!”

Seong Muyeon slapped a hand over his mouth like a lightning strike, but it was already too late.

He saw it. The beggars parting like a wave on either side.

And at the end of that path stood Baek Ryeoil.

Baek Ryeoil’s lips curved into a long arc.

“Well now… there you are.”

“Heek!”

Seong Muyeon bolted. Stepping and leaping over the beggars, he quickly fled the scene.

‘That ghost-like bastard! How the hell did he figure it out?!’

He had been sure Baek Ryeoil would chase Ilgwang or the Black Shadow Squad! It seemed his expectations were off.

As he turned into an alley, a market street crowded with people came into view.

He squeezed into the crowd.

“What the—! It’s a beggar!”

“Get lost, you stink!”

‘I don’t stink! It’s just dirt!’

There was no time to feel wronged. With Seong Muyeon pushing roughly through, fruits scattered, people fell—it was chaos.

The already noisy marketplace became even louder thanks to the commotion.