"I believe it is right for Great Hero Baek to receive it."

"No matter how I think about it, it is not my item."

Divine Nun Jihwa tried to hand over the booklet, and Baek Yoonjun twisted his body to avoid receiving it.

Although it looked wondrous from a distance, the pathetic struggle continued for a long time up close.

"Phew, if you insist so much, I have no choice. Amitabha."

In the end, it was Divine Nun Jihwa who gave up.

'I did it!'

Baek Yoonjun inwardly let out a cry of victory.

"Then, let's set aside the issue of ownership for now and move on to another story."

The ominous words of Divine Nun Jihwa that followed.

The small Baek Yoonjun, who was shouting cries of victory in his own mental world, froze as if swept away by an ice age.

At the moment of crisis, Baek Yoonjun's thoughts surpassed the realm of zero.

"If you need me, please call me anytime."

He uttered words he didn't mean and then ran away.

By Baek Yoonjun's standards, since it was not polite to perform his lightness skill to its fullest in front of others, he performed it a little faster, and as soon as he was out of Divine Nun Jihwa's sight, he performed it to its fullest.

Baek Yoonjun's figure, which shot out, was like watching the Naro-1 rocket soar.

Although Baek Yoonjun was already fast with his lightness skill, with the addition of the wondrousness of the lightness skill that could be called the peerless divine art of the divine thief he had obtained from the secret cave, he had become even faster and even more secretive.

As if that alone was not enough, Baek Yoonjun began to flap his arms like a bird.

Although it was an ugly sight at a glance, thanks to Baek Yoonjun's natural appearance, it was a movement that even looked elegant.

'Faster! Even faster!'

Although it seemed his speed had become even faster due to that strange flapping, it was of course just his imagination.

And so, Baek Yoonjun, who was madly drawing out his homing instinct and running like crazy, suddenly stopped his steps at a thought that came to him.

'I forgot! My secret cave!'

He had forgotten the existence of the secret cave he had painstakingly made.

Baek Yoonjun immediately turned his direction and performed his lightness skill to its fullest towards the secret cave.

Baek Yoonjun, who was shooting out at super high speed, reached the vicinity of his self-made secret cave and discovered that there was a beggar-like tent near the entrance of the secret cave.

'Beggar-like' was not intended as a disparagement, but it was a tattered, real beggar-like tent.

And inside that tent.

"Keuk. Kkeuk."

The beggar boy, whom he remembered had definitely entered the secret cave, was groaning with various minor injuries.

"Did bandits rush in or something? Why is he in this state?"

It was Baek Yoonjun, who could not think that the secret cave he had made was the cause, even if he died.

* * *

Although no one wants to become a beggar in the world, there are people who become beggars.

In the current era, there were quite a lot of them.

And now, the life of a boy was also like that.

Hong Yungae.

He was a boy with a name that the surrounding beggars evaluated as truly beggar-like.

Hong Yungae had a dream.

Although it was a dream he couldn't even remember now, at least it was not to become a beggar.

But for a young boy who was left on the street without parents, there were no options.

He had begged not to starve, checked his competitors like himself, and sometimes even had physical struggles.

Although he was continuously pushed back in the competition because he was young, because he was young, it was easy to evoke sympathy, and he had barely managed to live by begging.

But even for him, a very difficult time came.

No, a difficult time came for all those in the Central Plains who were not nobles or officials.

Famine and disease that had spread nationwide.

Numerous people died on the streets.

In such an environment, Hong Yungae had somehow survived.

And so, one day, as he was barely surviving, starving, the beggars gathered.

Although dozens, hundreds of beggars had died on the streets, there were many beggars.

The beggars united tightly under the name of a group.

Although no one recognized them.

It was an era where if they didn't unite, they had no choice but to starve to death or be beaten to death, so they had no choice but to unite.

They had no choice but to unite and search for a means of survival.

The beggars were ignorant.

They did not have the talent to earn a living.

The reason why even a serf who did not even have his own land looked down on beggars was because the only thing they knew how to do was beg.

But by uniting, they were able to do something.

Listening to the rumors or stories of the marketplace and chattering about them.

Since it was a vast Central Plains, although the truth was uncertain, the rumors of a distant place were enough as a reward for begging.

Also, by uniting, they were able to prevent being beaten to death for no reason to some extent.

But a beggar was a beggar.

If they got on the wrong side of those with even a little bit of martial power, they would die like bugs on the street.

They also died in droves from an unknown plague.

And for Hong Yungae, such a day came.

He had gotten on the wrong side of a being called a martial artist, or a murim-in.

A crisis where the beggar group that Hong Yungae belonged to was about to be wiped out.

It was then that he appeared.

A martial artist with a white robe, white hair, and a black sword.

In the Central Plains, that attire was quite a common attire.

Because there were quite a few people who admired a famous martial artist of the past and imitated it.

Until then, Hong Yungae had not thought much of it.

He had thought that one more person who would be pitifully beaten to death had increased.

But the moment he drew his sword and swung it, the path of his sword was vividly engraved on Hong Yungae's retina.

The sword path of the martial artist in white flowed like a gentle breeze and cut down the martial artists who were intimidating Hong Yungae's group in one stroke.

From Hong Yungae's perspective, it looked as if he had lightly brought down Mount Tai, which he could not dare to do anything about.

After that, the man in white looked at him, smiled bitterly, and then disappeared without a trace.

From then on, a single desire took root in Hong Yungae's chest.

Martial arts.

The power to bring down Mount Tai even if it blocked his path.

The power to at least not be unjustly beaten to death.

Hong Yungae wanted martial arts.

But martial arts were not something that could be easily obtained just by wanting them.

Moreover, for the shabby beggar Hong Yungae, it was something that was hard to obtain, to the point of being 'absolute'.

Hong Yungae's longing only deepened.

Recently, a place called the Shuhan Sect had supported the beggars of that region, so he had kicked away the beggar life, which had become a little easier to breathe, and had wandered in all directions.

By doing so, he had heard more rumors about martial arts, and his longing had only deepened.

And so, the place Hong Yungae had headed to was a deep mountain.

It was because he had heard a story from the marketplace about discovering a secret cave in a deep mountain and becoming a peerless master by entering it.

And so, as he wandered in the mountains, being chased by a group of bandits and by beasts, Hong Yungae had somehow survived.

As a result, he had accidentally discovered a cave in the mountains that had been artificially decorated.

Hong Yungae realized that it was not a natural cave, but a secret cave left by some unknown master.

Although the night-luminescent pearl embedded in the wall emitted a strong light like the sun, not the faint green light he had heard of, other than that, it looked similar in form to the secret cave he had only heard about in rumors.

Moreover, near the entrance, a phrase that looked extraordinary at a glance was engraved.

Since Hong Yungae did not know how to read, although he did not know what that phrase said, feeling that it was extraordinary, he followed the guidance of the brilliantly shining night-luminescent pearl and set foot in the secret cave.

And he had tasted a bitter taste.

The path, which had been straight through when he had set foot in it, had become winding and had made him wander as soon as he had set foot in it.

After wandering for a long time, when Hong Yungae came to his senses, he had returned to the entrance without realizing it.

After setting foot in the secret cave a few more times, Hong Yungae had a premonition that this work would not end in a day or two, and he had gathered his non-existent belongings and built a small base.

And so, Hong Yungae's challenge began again.

But now he had reached his limit.

All the food he had somehow gathered had run out, and there was no sign of progress in finding the path of the secret cave.

Having hit a limit, Hong Yungae had thought about giving up the secret cave for a while and finding a nearby village to regroup.

But he was constantly engulfed in the ominous imagination that while he was away for a while, someone would monopolize the treasure in this secret cave.

In the end, Hong Yungae, without eating or drinking, gritted his teeth and continued to challenge the secret cave.

The minor injuries he had gotten so far had become infected, and he was dying from exhaustion due to not eating or drinking.

'Am I going to die like this?'

And so, in front of Hong Yungae, who was foreseeing his death, a figure appeared.

That figure was the same as the martial artist with a white robe, white hair, and a black sword that Hong Yungae had admired.

* * *

Baek Yoonjun began to treat the beggar boy for now.

No matter how much Baek Yoonjun avoided getting involved in various things, since he seemed to have done nothing wrong, and he was the only customer of his secret cave, he couldn't just watch the beggar boy die.

After treating his body, realizing that the beggar boy's exhaustion symptoms were quite serious, Baek Yoonjun, as a temporary measure, infused his own internal energy to prevent his condition from worsening.

'He seems to have been starving for a long time, so I should make him eat and drink.'

He quickly went around the surroundings and secured food and drinking water.

Since it seemed he had been starving for quite a long time, thinking that he shouldn't be fed just anything, Baek Yoonjun immediately carved a bowl from a nearby stone, lit a fire with Samadhi True Fire, put something easy to digest in the bowl, and boiled it to make porridge.

"Ugh, who are you...?"

By the time the porridge was all boiled, since the beggar boy had come to his senses, Baek Yoonjun immediately created a cool wind in the porridge bowl, cooled it appropriately, and then handed it to him.

"Eat first."

Seeing the food, the beggar boy's eyes went wide, and he took the bowl as if snatching it and then poured it into his mouth.

"Eat slowly."

"Hoo-up. Th-thank you."

As the food went in, perhaps because he had only then come to his senses, the beggar boy, with his mouth full of porridge, awkwardly bowed his head towards Baek Yoonjun.

'Since he's not a martial artist, he's not performing a fist-and-palm salute, huh?'

Baek Yoonjun, who had received greetings almost exclusively with a fist-and-palm salute until now, felt a sense of novelty.

Baek Yoonjun waited quietly until the beggar boy finished his meal and then handed him a gourd filled with water.

"Drink."

"Thank you!"

The beggar boy, who had greedily emptied the porridge, emptied the water gourd that Baek Yoonjun had handed him in one go and then immediately prostrated himself on the floor.

"Thank you! Great hero!"

"Get up."

Baek Yoonjun immediately raised the prostrated beggar boy.

The beggar boy, who had gotten up, unable to defy his firm words, was continuously fidgeting and glancing at Baek Yoonjun.

Since Baek Yoonjun was weak in this kind of atmosphere, he introduced himself first.

"I am Baek Yoonjun."

"Ah! I haven't introduced myself to my benefactor. This humble one is called Hong Yungae!"

As soon as Baek Yoonjun heard Hong Yungae's name, he unconsciously uttered the words.

"How beggar-like."

"Yes, this humble one's name is a little very beggar-like."

"No, that's."

Baek Yoonjun was flustered that the words had popped out unconsciously and immediately corrected himself.

"It's a name that suits a beggar very well."

"Since I was a beggar from birth, it's not a wrong statement."

At Hong Yungae's words, who was laughing good-naturedly, Baek Yoonjun had no choice but to shut his mouth.

'To think he was a beggar from birth. It reminds me of the old days.'

Baek Yoonjun was also an orphan in this place who didn't even know who his parents were.

It was just that, thanks to accidentally catching the eye of the owner of a nearby tavern, he had been able to work as a waiter.

'If it weren't for the boss, I would have been a beggar too.'

Of course, even then, since his homebody introvert nature was even worse than now, he had no memory of working properly.

'I remembered when I went down the mountain sometimes and stopped by, but the tavern was gone, and I couldn't see the boss anywhere.'

Although the waiter life was not particularly comfortable, it was a not-bad memory among the things he had experienced in this neighborhood.

'My situation was much better than his.'

And so, as he recalled the old memories, Hong Yungae's situation did not seem like someone else's business to Baek Yoonjun.

'On top of that, for now, he's the first and only customer of the secret cave.'

Baek Yoonjun, whose evaluation of Hong Yungae had leaned towards favorable, carefully asked.

"What are you doing here?"

"Ah, th-that..."

Of course, it was a question he was asking while knowing.

Baek Yoonjun was thinking of accepting Hong Yungae's answer appropriately and then revealing that he was the creator of the secret cave and helping him.

Hong Yungae, who had received the question, mumbled, glancing back and forth between the entrance of the secret cave and Baek Yoonjun.

"As for what this humble one was doing..."

And so, after mumbling for a moment, Hong Yungae, as if he had decided something, opened his eyes wide and firmly told Baek Yoonjun.

"This cave here seems to be a secret cave left by some master, and I was in this state after continuously challenging it.

I continued to challenge it without even knowing my own place. The master who left the secret cave probably laughed at me continuously."

Hong Yungae told Baek Yoonjun his situation, looking at the entrance of the secret cave with eyes full of regret.

'He's coming out so seriously, so I can't even say that I'm the person who made this secret cave.'

At Hong Yungae's very pitiful gaze, Baek Yoonjun couldn't bring himself to answer that he had made this secret cave.

'Should I just help him in a way that he can pass this secret cave?'

He decided to help Hong Yungae pass the secret cave.

(End of Chapter)