Wudang Sacred Scriptures-Chapter 105

The man in scholar’s robes was none other than I Gwol, Captain of the Black Death Division.

I Gwol cautiously looked around in all directions, then let out a sigh of relief.

Surviving last night’s chaos had been nothing short of a miracle.

When Hyeonam Dojang of the Wudang Sect appeared and the Wudang Daoists subsequently drew their swords, I Gwol had flattened himself to the ground and crawled like a worm.

Thanks to the torches being knocked over and extinguished during the battle, no one noticed him crawling.

No—more likely, they were too busy fighting to pay him any mind.

As soon as he spotted a hollow filled with fallen leaves, he dove into it without hesitation. Then, carefully, he pulled more leaves over himself, covering his entire body.

It was something no proper martial artist would ever do—but he had never claimed to be a martial artist, so he had no qualms about it.

Thanks to the Wudang Daoists being in a hurry and retrieving the bodies roughly, he wasn’t discovered. That too was sheer luck.

But that luck had ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) followed his quick thinking and swift action.

In any case, Captain I Gwol had survived. And as a bonus, he’d gained invaluable intelligence.

“To think Wudang would send out the Pursuit and Execution Squad...”

Once again, I Gwol felt a chill run down his spine at Wudang’s ruthlessness.

“They erased the entire Black Death Division in a single night...”

In any case, things had now escalated into a proper whale fight.

A war between the Demonic Cult Alliance and the Wudang Sect!

And he had ended up playing no small part in it.

“If I try to run now...?”

The Demonic Cult Alliance would certainly chase him down to piece together what had happened.

Captain I Gwol knew better than anyone how persistent and merciless the Cult could be.

“Haah... Just like the Lord said, a shrimp’s back really is splitting in a whale fight.”

He deeply regretted not following the Lord of the Black Death Division’s advice. But it was far too late for that now.

“I’m already riding the tiger.”

His only option was to cooperate fully with the Demonic Cult Alliance and try to profit from it.

No—if he wanted to survive, he had no choice.

After eavesdropping all night, ears wide open, he had gathered an incredible amount of information.

“From now on, it’s a race against time. News of this incident spreading is just a matter of when.”

I Gwol sprang to his feet and began sprinting along the mountain path.

A flurry of crows descended upon the spot he’d vacated.

Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!

The raucous cries of the crows chased after the back of Captain I Gwol of the Black Death Division.

****

As the door to the Guandi Temple opened, a savory aroma wafted up into his nostrils.

“What is this...?”

Chwi Dugae’s eyes widened.

“Yellow Dog!”

Chwi Dugae rushed toward the campfire like a man possessed. More precisely, toward the large pot set atop it.

Inside the boiling pot, without question, was the meat he revered above all else in this world.

That brilliant yellow fur clinging to patches of skin.

“Heavens above!”

These days, yellow dogs had vanished entirely from Aknyang Fortress—rare and almost impossible to find. Yet here it was, sitting in the pot and cooking to perfection.

Gulp.

Saliva flooded his mouth as Chwi Dugae quickly scanned the inside of the Guandi Temple.

“What the hell? Leaving such a precious dish unattended—where did everyone go?”

It was unthinkable.

This was no way to treat yellow dog meat.

Above all else, someone might steal it and run off. In fact, he himself had done that more than once in his youth.

Back then, the senior beggars would kill and eat a dog among themselves without giving the younger ones so much as a bone, and it had infuriated him.

“Afterward, when they caught us kids sneaking a separate bite, we got beaten nearly to death.”

Maybe that was why yellow dog meat had always haunted him.

“Anyway... where the hell is everyone?”

Chwi Dugae opened his inner senses and even activated internal energy to sweep the surrounding area of the Guandi Temple. But he sensed no presence at all.

“Even if the sky falls, you don’t leave food unattended. Tsk tsk! What the hell are that cave-dwelling Daoist and those Hao Clan mongrels up to?”

An ordinary man might have worried something serious had happened—but Chwi Dugae, completely enchanted by the food, couldn’t think clearly.

He should have questioned why Kwak Yeon—someone from a Daoist lineage—had prepared such a vulgar(?) dish.

Still, time passed, and no one returned.

“If I keep boiling it like this, the meat will just fall apart—that’s no good.”

Dog meat had to be boiled just right for the flavor to shine.

“Guess I’ll take it out myself.”

Chwi Dugae lifted a chunk of meat from the pot and placed it on the wooden altar before the statue of Guan Yu.

Just looking at the steaming meat made him feel delirious.

Even the statue of Guan Yu seemed to glare down at him with bulging eyes, salivating.

“Chwi Dugae, hurry up and offer this lord a bite!”

If he didn’t offer a piece right away, it seemed like the Green Dragon Crescent Blade would come swinging down.

“Anyway, if it cools down too much, the meat will get gamy...”

“Seriously, where did everyone go?”

Just as he grumbled, Chwi Dugae paused to think.

“They must’ve boiled the yellow dog just for me. That cave-dwelling Daoist made a sour face when I mentioned dog meat—no way he’d want to eat it. That means it’s fine if I eat just a little!”

Convinced he had nothing to be ashamed of, Chwi Dugae ripped off a leg and began eating.

“Damn! This is the real deal! Loaded with peppercorn and fennel—no foul smell at all.”

It was so delicious he couldn’t stop. Chwi Dugae was completely immersed in yellow dog ecstasy.

Just as he finished scarfing down one leg in the blink of an eye—

Screeeak!

The door of the Guandi Temple creaked open, and Chwi Dugae turned around, dog grease all over his mouth.

Kwak Yeon, Elder Jo Cheon-yang, and Gwaa stood at the doorway, staring at him with blank expressions.

Chwi Dugae grinned.

“Just checking if it was done.”

“Rear Beggar, isn’t there a bit too much bone left for that?” Kwak Yeon frowned.

Chwi Dugae gave an awkward smile.

“Hey, it’s rude to nitpick in front of food. Besides, filling an empty belly is a righteous deed, wouldn’t you say?”

“A righteous deed through one chunk of dog meat, huh... well, I’ve got nothing to say to that.” ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Kwak Yeon led Jo Cheon-yang and Gwaa to the fire.

“Rear Beggar, since you’ve already started, go ahead and eat in peace.”

“Can I? Then I won’t say no.”

Chwi Dugae resumed devouring the meat with gusto.

“Mm! Chomp! But what’s with this sudden meat feast? Slurp! Must’ve taken some serious prep work—what with the pot, the spices, and all. Slurp, slurp!”

“Isn’t it dangerous to go wandering around guesthouses?”

“Slurp! Chomp! True enough. Chomp! Got way too many things stirred up lately. Slurp! But more importantly—how’d you manage to get your hands on this precious yellow dog? Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!”

“Gwaa bought it from Seojeong Street.”

“Slurp! Oh, Gwaa did...?”

Chwi Dugae paused mid-bite and looked at Gwaa.

“Hey, kid—you’ve got an eye for meat! Well done, truly! But Elder Jo, why aren’t you eating? Ah! Is it too hot to handle? Then allow me to tear off a piece for you.”

When Chwi Dugae offered him some meat, Jo Cheon-yang declined politely.

“My stomach’s a bit unsettled—meat isn’t sitting right with me right now.”

Chwi Dugae then held the meat out to Kwak Yeon.

“This is a rare delicacy you’ll never find in the mountains—go ahead and try some.”

Kwak Yeon shook his head.

“No matter how I think about it, I just can’t bring myself to eat dog meat.”

“Bah! Turning down the king of meats! Then why go to all the trouble of buying and boiling it?”

“I figured I’d need to restore my strength for tomorrow... but now that it’s in front of me, I just can’t bring myself to eat it.”

Chwi Dugae’s mouth curled into a sly grin.

“Well, no helping it then. Gwaa, you have some. I’d feel ashamed hogging it all myself.”

As he held out a chunk of meat to Gwaa, Kwak Yeon spoke.

“In the Beggars’ Guild, this precious food is not shared with just anyone. Accept it.”

Chwi Dugae blushed slightly.

“Jeez, it’s just a piece of meat. No need to drag the whole Beggars’ Guild into it...”

“Thank you, Rear Beggar!”

Gwaa immediately accepted the meat and popped it into her mouth.

“......?”

Only then did Chwi Dugae sense something odd and turned to look at Kwak Yeon.

Kwak Yeon avoided Chwi Dugae’s gaze and spoke to Gwaa instead.

“Now that you’ve shared food with the Rear Beggar, you’ve become part of the same household. There must be no concealment between family.”

“Hm? Same household?”

And seeing Gwaa’s face stiffen, Chwi Dugae felt even more uneasy.

“What kind of bullshit is this now?”

Elder Jo Cheon-yang also addressed Gwaa.

“Gwaa, the longer you wait, the harder it becomes to ask for forgiveness. Besides, the Rear Beggar is the future Head of the Greatest Guild Under Heaven—he’s magnanimous. Don’t be afraid, and ask for forgiveness.”

“Well, it’s nice to be praised, I suppose...”

Still, something about the way they were setting this up gave Chwi Dugae a nagging feeling of dread.

With both of them encouraging her, Gwaa carefully opened her mouth toward Chwi Dugae.

“I played a little prank on you the other day, Rear Beggar.”

“Mm?”

“I’m really sorry. Back then, it just looked like you were bullying Daoist Kwak too much...”

“Back then...? At the guesthouse restaurant...”

Chwi Dugae’s expression slowly lost color as realization dawned.

“At the guesthouse, I may have slipped just a little bit of Thousand-Day Dream into your drink...”

In a flash, Chwi Dugae understood why he had blacked out in a drunken stupor that day.

He had been drugged with Thousand-Day Dream.

“Holy—!”

He had been outwitted by a brat who still had wet ink behind the ears.

Kwak Yeon spoke calmly to Chwi Dugae.

“Rear Beggar, the child is summoning great courage to apologize.”

“Grrgh...”

Chwi Dugae held back a curse bubbling up from his throat and replied with effort.

“It’s all right. Kids can do foolish things sometimes.”

“Rear Beggar, thank you so much!”

“The Rear Beggar is the future Dragon-Head of the Greatest Guild Under Heaven. He’s not the type to fuss over a thing like that.”

At Kwak Yeon’s comment, Chwi Dugae forced himself to nod.

“Yeah... it’s fine.”

“Thank you, thank you so much!”

“But... how much did you actually put in? Just this much?”

Chwi Dugae pinched his fingers together.

“More than that.”

“Then... this much?”

He spread his fingers wider.

“More than that...”

“Then... this much?”

Chwi Dugae, stomach churning, held up one entire open palm. That alone would’ve been enough to send someone into a coma.

But then...

“Two of those.”

“Two meaning... both hands full?”

Gwaa nodded.

Grrrrgle...

Chwi Dugae trembled.

That amount of Thousand-Day Dream could knock out ten bears.

It now made perfect sense why he hadn’t come to his senses that day and simply passed out cold.

“You little shit!”

So that’s why they’d boiled the yellow dog meat.

That’s why everyone had left the space empty.

“That damned cave-dwelling Daoist bastard...!”

As Chwi Dugae glared daggers at him, Kwak Yeon smiled faintly and said,

“Rear Beggar, congratulations.”

“...?”

Chwi Dugae blinked in confusion at Kwak Yeon’s unexpected words.

“What the hell am I being congratulated for? It’s not my birthday or anything.”

“I’m simply offering early congratulations for a good thing that will soon happen.”

“What good thing is supposed to happen to me?”

Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om