Chapter 573:
The place where the storm had passed seemed like it would be quiet.
But in the wake of the storm came the aftershock.
The people of Luoyang, having realized they had survived a crisis that could have killed them, wanted to share their experiences and what they had witnessed with others.
Perhaps it was their way of finding solace. After all, nearly dying without knowing it, then being saved without knowing it—such experiences don’t come easily.
People gathered as if enchanted.
And then they began to recount what they had seen.
“So at that moment!”
A loud voice echoed among the people filling the tavern.
“That green cloud!”
“Cloud? Can you call that a cloud? How can you call smoke that spreads across the ground a cloud?”
“Cloud is the most appropriate term.”
“That’s true. It really did look like a cloud.”
“Anyway, that green cloud came rushing in like whoooosh…”
The beggar who had been speaking loudly shook his head vigorously.
“Keu, I’ve never seen such a terrifying sight in my entire life. I’ve wandered all over town and seen all sorts of things. But such a scene…”
The beggar shuddered as if the mere thought made his flesh crawl.
“Just looking at it, I thought, ‘Ah, even brushing against that would kill me. If I get caught in that, I’ll be meeting the King of Hell right away!’ So what could I do? I started recalling all the sins I’d ever committed. When I thought about it carefully, I realized I couldn’t die. So I ran like mad.”
Laughter erupted.
In the boisterous atmosphere, the beggar who had gulped down his drink to wet his throat wiped his mouth with his sleeve and continued.
“I ran until my legs felt like they’d tear apart. Actually, my pants did tear a bit. As you can see, these pants aren’t in great condition. The crotch split right open. Want me to show you?”
“Don’t show us, you fool!”
“You’ll blind our eyes! Don’t do it!”
The beggar stuck out his lips.
“As if you all live so cleanly. Anyway, even though I ran until my legs… no, until my pants were tearing, that damn cloud wouldn’t get any farther away. Instead, it was getting closer. That cloud was creeping up behind me, rumbling closer and closer… keu.”
The atmosphere grew increasingly intense.
“The closer it got, the more I realized it. That this wasn’t ordinary smoke. Of course, you could tell just by looking at it, but as the smoke gradually got closer… how should I put it, that tingling sensation kept seeping into my spine…”
The beggar who had been urgently pouring alcohol down his throat lifted the bottle high. Drops of liquor fell from the empty bottle.
The beggar licked his dry lips and glanced around.
“My throat’s so parched I can barely speak…”
“Ha, that beggar bastard… Here you go!”
“Tavern keeper! Bring more alcohol, alcohol! And roast up a duck leg too!”
The beggar who received the bottle grinned as he opened it and drank.
“Keu, now I can speak properly.”
“Hurry up! Quickly!”
“So, that tingling sensation was coming through my spine… Wow, I thought if I got caught in that, they wouldn’t even be able to collect my bones. Sure enough, when I looked back, a dog that hadn’t managed to escape got caught in it…”
The beggar shuddered.
“I’d never seen such a sight in my life. The dog just melted away.”
“Come on, that’s nonsense. No matter what, melting doesn’t make sense, does it?”
“What?”
The beggar pounded his chest as if frustrated.
“Were you here? You weren’t here, were you?”
“Me? I… I wasn’t at the scene, but…”
“Did you go to the Righteous Alliance?”
“No… I didn’t go.”
“Then keep your mouth shut!”
The beggar slammed the bottle down on the floor with a thunk.
“You didn’t see how half of that high Righteous Alliance wall had melted!”
“…Is that really true?”
“What’s the point of saying it, you have to see it with your own eyes. There must be people here who went and saw it.”
Sure enough, people began raising their hands frantically.
“I saw it! It was completely destroyed!”
“I thought it had burned. But it had melted there, melted!”
When the beggar frowned slightly, the person who had objected quietly lowered his head.
“Anyway, so…”
The beggar took another sip of alcohol and shuddered with a keu.
“I literally ran until sweat filled my shoes. But even so, the distance wouldn’t widen at all. Just when I was thinking, ‘I’m really going to die. This is as far as I go’!”
“That person!”
“Right, that person!”
The beggar nodded.
“Exactly! Suddenly, one person leaped over that green poison smoke. Kwa, were there people here who saw that sight?”
“I saw it!”
“Of course I saw it!”
Instantly, the tavern became noisy. Everyone was busy recounting what they had seen. It had been such an intensely striking sight.
“I thought he was crazy.”
“He wasn’t in his right mind! Leaping into a place like that!”
“He couldn’t have been a normal person.”
Statements were pouring out that would have made the person foam at the mouth and flip tables if he had heard them. After risking his life to save them, was this really what they should be saying?
The beggar grinned.
For some unknown reason, he seemed to be enjoying this situation immensely.
“Anyway, that crazy guy… no, that person just leaped in without warning!”
The beggar’s voice rose.
“Could a person with ordinary courage leap into such a place? Ordinary people couldn’t do such a thing. It’s not a matter of ability. The size of his guts was extraordinary. Anyway, that person leaped in while emitting pure white light, then suddenly dropped down into the poison smoke…”
Gulp.
The beggar swallowed dry saliva. With just that one motion, the people in the tavern couldn’t help but tense up.
“The moment he entered, the poison smoke began to churn and writhe. Then suddenly he burst through the poison smoke and started circling around it!”
The beggar threw the bottle to the floor.
“A fierce wind came rushing! Dust rose in all directions! Light flashed! It was so bright I couldn’t look at it properly. Keu, can you imagine such a scene? That must be what it looks like when heaven and earth turn upside down. I thought the world was collapsing. A person started circling around the poison smoke while emitting light from his body! It was truly a sight you could only see in dreams.”
“That’s right!”
“It was amazing! Yes, absolutely amazing!”
Exclamations poured out.
The beggar’s words had heightened the atmosphere, but those who had witnessed that scene truly felt that way. Would they ever have another chance in their lifetime to see such a wondrous sight?
“It really seemed like sorcery.”
“Sorcery?”
“Wasn’t it sorcery? A person controlling wind and commanding light—if that’s not sorcery, what is it? I thought a celestial immortal had descended from heaven to save us.”
“Hey there!”
The beggar got angry.
“I’m in the middle of talking!”
“Hee hee, that storyteller got his feelings hurt. Alright, fine. Continue talking.”
The beggar, who caught the coins thrown as an apology, grinned and continued.
“It wasn’t sorcery! It was martial arts! That was martial arts!”
“Martial arts?”
“That’s right! Do you know who accomplished such an amazing feat?”
“…Well?”
Come to think of it, they hadn’t thought about that fact. They knew someone had saved them, but they hadn’t heard any other stories since then.
“Hu hu, listen well. The name of the person who wielded a light-emitting sword and pushed back the Poison Demon’s poison smoke to save Luoyang is none other than Wei Yan-ho.”
“Wei Yan-ho? You mean Light Sword Wei Yan-ho?”
“That’s right!”
The beggar slapped his knee with a thunk.
“The second son of the Guangdong Wei Family?”
“Exactly!”
The people murmured.
“But can that Wei Yan-ho really accomplish such a feat? I thought Alliance Leader Kwon Geuk had returned…”
“Come on, if you just look, can’t you tell? In the current martial world, who else besides Wei Yan-ho is a master who emits light?”
“That’s true, but.”
Rumors about Wei Yan-ho had already spread throughout the martial world. They had heard countless times that he possessed tremendous skill and that his sword emitted light.
But was it really that Wei Yan-ho who had displayed such divine prowess in yesterday’s Battle of Luoyang?
“At such a young age?”
“What does age matter? Age isn’t important. Skill is what matters! Wei Yan-ho already defeated the Poison King, didn’t he?”
“…That’s right.”
“And then he defeated even the Heavenly Current Sword Demon. When the Demonic Cult ran wild at Mount Hua before, wasn’t it Wei Yan-ho who stopped their rampage?”
The people nodded with serious faces.
Now that they heard it, Wei Yan-ho had indeed accomplished many things.
“People don’t know well, but the one who prevented the bloodshed at Mount Na in the past was also Wei Yan-ho.”
“Really?”
“Of course. At that time, the one who slayed the Twin Demon Ghosts and resolved the situation was Wei Yan-ho—this is a rumor that’s widely spread among those in the know. There must be people here who’ve heard it too, right?”
Sure enough, people began nodding their heads.
“See. Look, I tell you. How long has it been since Wei Yan-ho emerged in the martial world? Yet in that time, he’s already built up such achievements. And with this incident, Wei Yan-ho has saved at least hundreds of thousands of lives. What should we call such a person?”
“…A hero.”
“That’s right.”
The beggar grinned.
“They say troubled times call forth heroes. He may not be a hero yet, but if there’s someone troubled times will call forth, wouldn’t it be him?”
“Still, even so…”
“Even so, what!”
The beggar straightened his shoulders.
“Just wait and see. When this war ends and the day comes to praise someone’s name, you’ll remember my words. The beginning of heroes is always like this. Someone no one could imagine suddenly appears and solves all the world’s problems. There’s nothing to lose, so let’s just watch. Whether he’ll truly become a hero, or…”
Bang!
Just then, the tavern doors burst open and a swarm of beggars came pouring in. The people were startled by this sudden disturbance and looked toward the entrance.
“Which beggar bastard is begging without permission! And not even street begging, but taking over a tavern and taking money for drinks? I’m going to break your legs today!”
Among the beggars who entered with threatening momentum, a beggar with a large frame pushed through while sticking out his belly.
The eyes of the beggar who had been telling stories and receiving donations met those of the large-framed beggar.
“Master So Geol-gae?”
“…”
“…”
The large-framed beggar looked the bottle-holding beggar up and down, then opened his mouth with a blank expression.
“What exactly are you doing here right now?”
“…”
So Geol-gae—that is, Jang-il—waved his hand with a subtle look.
“Go.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said go.”
“…”
The beggars who had entered exchanged glances, then backed out the way they had come. The beggars filed out, and the door closed with a thunk.
Jang-il watched this scene quietly, then opened his mouth again.
“Where was I in my story?”
“…”
The atmosphere had turned cold.
