Hearing my words, both men appear in front of me at the same time.
The wind makes theirs and my hair flutter. These people are trying to scare me off by showing off how good they are, but I know better than anyone about how fast they are.
I glare at the two as I ruffle my messy hair.
“Showing off?”
The Demonic Gentleman chuckles.
“You are an interesting one. Weren’t you taught to respect your elders.?”
I nod.
“Never learned that.”
The man becomes silent.
“…”
As his partner is embarrassed, the beggar now speaks.
“You didn’t learn it? Do you know that people like you should read and learn a lot? No. You didn’t learn anything. Not learning isn’t a sin either.”
The Demonic Gentleman then snorts.
“Fine. This can happen too. But it sounds like you climbed quite a few cliffs. Let us do this. Let us compete to see who can climb the cliff faster. I will then respect you.”
The beggar chimes in as well.
“Nice. That sounds like a good way. You two should compete.”
These people are eager to show off their skills like children. It must be because they saw me do this climb just moments ago.
I look at them with my arms crossed.
“Let’s compete.”
To be honest, I am not someone to shy away from competition either.
Moreover, these people are older than me and have trained for longer. This is especially true for those who only aim to be swift.
If I compete directly against such people, there is a clear chance of me losing.
Regardless, I just need to go a little further to recruit at least one of them into my sect.
The Demonic Gentleman then asks.
“Why? Scared? I did think you might be.”
I speak back as if I have fully grasped their skills.
“Looking at you two… you must have trained yourself to death. Then you should be pretty fast. This beggar here is a free-spirited man who must have increased his speed using internal and external skills. It is probably rare for him to have enemies. The other person, however…”
I point to the Demonic Gentleman.
“Here. Your clothes are clean from head to toe. It is amazing. How should I say this? You aren’t the type to run wild. Like a gentleman walking with a stiff posture and leisure, you must be tapping into the internal qi and someone who is fast.”
As I speak, both of their expressions change.
“…!”
The two look at each other in shock as I finish my words. They can’t help but be surprised as everything I say to them is correct.
The old man has a shocked look on his face.
“Aren’t you quite observant? Quite good at it, strangely. You can tell all that by just looking?”
The well-dressed man is silent.
“…”
The old man then asks.
“Then what are you? I wonder…”
“Actually, I do want to compete with you two, but…”
The impatient old man then says.
“Then let’s compete. It is simple. Why complicate things which are simple?”
I reach out my hand and wave it to the side.
“As if.”
“Why?”
I continue to shake my hand and say.
“I’ve only practiced martial arts in earnest for less than 3 years.”
“What?”
“…!”
This time the two of them are shocked, maybe even surprised at this. To be honest, I don’t think they would believe me if I reduced the time any further, so I limited it to three years.
The old man mumbles.
“No way. You are a great warrior, though?”
I shake my head.
“No, that isn’t what is important. I learned martial arts to face someone, not to compete with your type of people. Since it has only been three years since I began to train, there is no way I can beat both of you. It won’t happen. By looking at the two of you, your footwork is superior to mine. I’ve already noticed it, so what should we do? But…”
As I continue to use words to blur my intentions, the old man begins to look frustrated.
“But what? Tell me quickly. Why do you keep talking and blurring your words? So frustrating. I am becoming bored.”
I glance at the old man.
‘Why is this man so slow at understanding?’
This old man has one of the fastest legs in Kangho. That’s probably why he doesn’t have the patience to wait for others.
“But…”
The old man looks at me and nods.
“Right. But… say the following words.”
I go straight to the point.
“About footwork.”
“…”
“It is a fascinating study.”
“Don’t say silly stuff. What now?”
The Demonic Gentleman then says.
“Do you know what you are saying? Shut it. Let me tell you something. If you stay still, it is difficult to talk. Tch….”
The old man becomes silent as I continue.
“… at an important time to practice martial arts, what should I say about the training I occasionally do to let my stomach settle down? This might not sound the best…”
The old man shakes his head.
“N-No. Do not drag this out.”
I nod my head.
“I feel frustrated, running makes me feel refreshed, and the madness around me seems to die. And I have subordinates, and I need to kill my enemies, so it would be right for me to focus more on martial arts.”
The Demonic Gentleman nods his head.
“That isn’t wrong. That said, it is shocking that you are this skilled with footwork after learning martial arts only for three years on your own.”
The old man, too, nods his head.
“My words exactly. If it is three years, then we…”
As the Demonic Gentleman glares at him, the old man goes silent. How can they reveal the existence of their society to a person they’ve met just once?
I pretend to care.
This is because building my internal qi to go after footwork is important. So what I am saying is the truth in a way. But I am saying these words because I know their reaction.
The Demonic Gentleman then asks.
“Your sect?”
I give him an answer.
“I am a man who learns martial arts alone. There is an affiliation, but that would be ambiguous since I am a captain.”
“Really? Captain of which faction?”
I shake my head.
“Brothers, I cannot tell that.”
The old man frowns.
“No, why do you have so many secrets?”
“I have a lot of enemies.”
The gentleman shows some interest and asks.
“And your enemies?”
I began to play with their curiosity.
“I cannot let you know.”
“Why?”
At this point, I choose to act like some great man with tremendous power and information.
“Looking at you two…”
The old man says impatiently.
“What now? What do you see now?”
“You are a warrior of the Beggars Union, and anyone can see that.”
“How did you know? Ah, I get it. Right, I am from there.”
And I then look at the other person.
“…”
The man looks at me in anticipation.
“Right. Which side do I belong to, according to you?”
I look at the man and sigh.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
Actually, I do know.
“Unfortunate. From the clothes, the eyes, the form, and breathing, you look like a warrior of a prestigious Orthodox Sect…”
“But…”
“Somehow, the aura which you exude seems different. This means that you aren’t from the Orthodox side. And if you are a disciple of a leader… it doesn’t seem like that. And if it isn’t one of those three…”
The old man asks.
“Why are sect families excluded? There are warriors as skilled as him in there too.”
I ask him back.
“Have you ever seen the young master of such a sect’s family walk around in such robes?”
“I have not.”
“If you haven’t, then I will tell you. People of those sect families wear similar clothes and have similar haircuts. They even put powder on their faces to deceive women. We don’t see that on the Unorthodox side either. I don’t know. Rarely, I don’t know about this.”
As I continue to talk, the Demonic Gentleman smiles. I then look at them as they both look happy.
“…”
The old man says.
“Fine. Ugh…”
The Demonic Gentleman snorts and smiles.
“Anyway, young friend, you are good, I would like to see more of you, but I cannot force you.”
The old man nods as well.
“Unfortunate.”
The man continues.
“Are you planning to continue training in the future?”
I shake my head.
“I am sorry, but I am being treated right now.”
“Treated?”
The old man looks worried.
“No, but why? You look fine, so treatment for what? This young man is sick?”
I take a deep breath.
The old man’s words are so fast, seeking understanding as he looks at me with shocked eyes.
I grab my chest with my hand.
“I am suffering from insanity due to madness. And…”
The old man asks.
“And?! What?!”
I tap at my dantian.
“I learned unharmonious martial arts, so my mind fluctuates. The extreme polar qis are imbalanced, and, in particular, the yang qi is affecting my whole body and causes outbreaks.”
The Demonic Gentleman looks at me with shock.
“No… wait… did you say you have the yin and yang qi in extremes?”
I look at them and continue my serious act.
“Can that not happen?”
“No, it is a rare thing.”
“I learned from a physician who I know that my body is a Yin Yang Body.”
The men look even more shocked.
“Yin Yang body?”
The old man says.
“Oh, shocking. That is a body that has to be destined by heaven… is this why you achieved this level of mastery in just three years? What do you think? Is it possible?”
The demonic gentleman shuts his eyes, leaving me to wonder.
This man has extensive knowledge of martial arts. He must have read many martial art books and must understand how rare having such a body is.
The man then asks.
“Then maybe…”
I respond to his silent question right away.
“It is difficult. How can I hand my body to someone I am meeting for the first time? It is quite difficult.”
The man pulls back his hand.
“Right.”
I let out a sigh and look out over the gorge.
“Man. Again… What a beautiful place this is. After being filled with madness and further training here, I wanted to run. It is just a gorge, right? I wanted to call this the peace-giving gorge. I want to visit various famous mountains which have rough terrains. If only I could raise the level even more and take a huge leap… martial arts are known to not end, and if there is an infinite realm that cannot be counted as the end for footwork, I want to touch that. What do you two think?”
The old man nods in admiration.
“You are right. There is no end to footwork. My name is the Dull Man, as there are still a few people faster than me.”
I nod my head as he gives out his title.
“Dull Man hyung, nice to meet you.”
My tone changes as the old man smiles.
“Ahm, this is nice.”
Because of his affiliation to his sect, the other man cannot give out his name. Naturally, if he gives out his title at this point, then anyone would know what group he belongs to.
And the Demonic Gentleman asks.
“How can that be resolved… according to the physician?”
I cross my arms and begin to act further.
“He said it is quite difficult.”
“Say it.”
I deliberately reveal the name of Moyong Baek as he has credibility.
“Moyong Baek said that this madness within me is caused by the dissonance between the two qi. He said that this can only be solved through a reaction that starts by balancing my body, dantian, and qi in succession. So I first learned martial arts before improving my internal qi with Yang energy. There were a few changes. However, after using that method, I have no choice but to deal with my body constantly. I would need to cut bones and cough up blood. He said this is the way to correct the disharmony within me.”
I look at the sky with distant eyes.
And the man says.
“Right. You are in quite a strange state.”
The man who is curious about my Yin and Yang state looks like he might die from curiosity. The old man just looks like he wants to compete.
This psychological warfare is going well. A truly nice battle.
But more importantly, it’s time to finish it.
As I have turned myself into a mystery, I decide to leave.
“Then, let’s meet again. I have a lot of work to do.”
The Demonic Gentleman frowns.
“Little brother, wouldn’t it make sense to tell us your name? It isn’t like we have any bad intentions toward you.”
The old man speaks in a nervous tone.
“That is right. I am a man of the Beggars Union. I cannot stand it when I am treated like this. And the name of Beggars Union isn’t so light, right?”
I nod my head and say.
“Of course, I will think about it.”
I turn my back to them to do my best with all my might. I stretch out like a man using both my external and internal qi. This is to impress those two.
Instead of moving away at tremendous speed, I choose this timing to reveal my identity.
“Low Down Sect leader…. That is…”
My words can’t be ignored despite my fast speed.
Anyway, they have enough intelligence that they wouldn’t miss this. They will be able to find me.
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