Chronicles of the Lazy Sovereign Novel - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

First impression?

Did I say first impression?

It was pretty intense.

There will never be a first impression more intense than that.

When I was a little beggar, I once saw the Ghost Bloodseeker, a famous murderer from the north of the river.

After seeing that horrible figure completely covered in blood, I thought I would never be shocked to see a person again, but the moment I saw that guy, those thoughts immediately shattered.

What?

Martial arts?

It wasn’t that kind of thing.

No, I’m telling you, it wasn’t.

It wasn’t that kind of surprise… let’s see, how should I explain it?

It was an astonishment at an existence that mercilessly crushed my pride in a field where I thought I would never be left behind by anyone.

What do I mean?

Anyway, it’s hard to explain in words.

But it was really incredibly intense.

Really intense, really.

***

Jang-il was extremely puzzled at the moment.

‘Let’s see…’

When had he been so nervous before?

When did you first see the Ghost Bloodseeker in the past?

– No, it’s not that.

Or when he found out that the beggar who had welcomed him when he had nowhere to go was actually an old man of the Beggar Sect?

«It seems a little more severe than that».

When did you discover that Jeong-chil, the fool who couldn’t even order food and who was always scolded and kicked, was actually the only lost son of a high-ranking official?

“Mm, this is definitely an even bigger shock than that.”

Jang-il looked at the person who had left him so bewildered.

A beggar.

It was difficult to express it differently.

He was nothing but a beggar.

The problem was not that I was a beggar, no one would be surprised to see a beggar.

Especially someone like Jang-il, who lived entangled with beggars every day, could confidently say that there was no reason to be surprised to see another beggar.

The problem was that this absolutely impossible and unacceptable thing was happening right now.

How did this happen?

The beggar I could now see in Jang-il’s eyes was qualitatively different from the huge masses of beggars I had seen countless times before.

Yeah, different.

Anyone could see that he was not any beggar. He was literally a real beggar. Jang-il felt an unimaginable reverence when he saw a beggar among beggars.

First, those clothes!

The clothes of beggars are usually dirty and patched, which makes them almost equal to rags. Those who do not get adequate clothes sometimes find sackcloth out there and wrap with it roughly to walk.

That is why the clothes of beggars had to be necessarily similar to each other.

Some people perceive individuality in beggar’s clothing, but since that individuality has only purposeless results, beggar’s clothing does not represent a person’s characteristics.

At least that’s what Jang-il had thought so far.

But the beggar before his eyes wore clothes of a different dimension.

“It’s like he’s been wearing those clothes all his life while wandering around all kinds of remote, treacherous places.”

The clothes of the beggar before him seemed to possess the dignity of an antiquity that transcended history and tradition.

Well, that was good.

The clothes might be a little more dirty and worn out.

I could conclude that those strange pieces of cloth, floating on the subtle boundary between rags and clothes, while maintaining the shape and purpose of the garments in an extremely ambiguous manner, were a type of clothing that could exist in this world.

However, the hands and feet that were revealed among those rags were definitely ambiguous to call them those of a beggar.

Should I describe it as the feeling of having emaciated bones barely covered in skin when walking?

If you sprayed water on a mummy to make it swell a little, it would probably feel exactly like that.

If that mummy had been lying on the ground instead of standing, Jang-il would have called the children without hesitation for a moment to remove the body.

The problem was that now the body was standing and looking at him.

“Mmm…”

Jang-il tasted this new surprise.

Moreover, the dirt attached to the hands and feet of the mummy seemed not to have touched the water for at least several years, even to its beggar-to-panger standards.

As much as beggars live without washing, as long as there are streams and rains, it is impossible to live without touching water. And as much as beggar is one, there is a basic desire for cleanliness, so they do not spend time without washing.

But the beggar visible before his eyes was mercilessly destroying that common sense.

Besides…

The face that appeared through a hair that had clearly not been washed in several years and hung long was more than emaciated; it was almost skeletal.

‘Should I call him a supreme beggar or should I call him a ghost?’

Jang-il was extremely baffled.

Even for him, who occupied the position of branch chief of a subdivision of the Beggar Sect, being before his eyes was a true supreme beggar he had never seen before.

Even if you were to go to the main seat of the Beggar Sect, there would be no beggar looking like a beggar.

Having lived as a beggar and destined to live as such, Jang-il was moved to feel that his common sense about beggars was shattered. He felt the humiliation of seeing his pride and self-esteem as a beggar completely crushed by someone who was not even a member of the Beggar Sect, just a common beggar.

While Jang-il was still not recovering from shock, the strange beggar’s mouth slowly opened.

“Excuse me… is this the Beggar Sect?”

Jang-il nodded unconsciously with his head.

While he was doing so, he trembled with a strange feeling.

The beggar visible before his eyes was of a difficult age to guess.

But to possess such dignity as a beggar would take many years.

The strange thing was that the voice he heard was surprisingly rather thin and clear.

Judging only by the voice, barely of age?

But judging from his appearance, he seemed to be at least fifty years old.

“S-yes, but…”

Jang-il was again saddened by his pride that crumbled moment by moment.

It was essential for beggars to discern instantly the status, age and psychological state of an opponent only from the momentary appearances.

Only then could one prevent his alms bowl from being destroyed while begging.

Jang-il’s pride in having achieved mastery in at least this field was instantly shattered and fell to the ground.

“I came because I have something to ask.”

“…what?”

Jang-il’s response came out irritated.

When people see an existence that is beyond their range of understanding, they naturally become cautious.

“Well, there’s plenty…”

Jang-il looked up and down at the beggar in front of him and snorted.

“Money?”

“Do I have to pay money?”

Now, now.

What kind of beggar doesn’t know how the world works!

The information has to be quick to be a beggar.

If the information is slow, it wouldn’t be strange if you were beaten to death like a beggar.

How many beggars had seen blood after going to homes that usually gave good food, without knowing that there had been a death in the family, asking for food and finding their bowls completely shattered and their whole body bruised?

The Beggar Sect has a lot of information because beggars are very sensitive to information.

“So is there something free in this world? Do you want me to share information without paying a penny with child beggars who can’t even eat and have to beg?”

“That is certainly problematic.”

“I would like to do it for free as we are in the same industry, but here too the principles are principles.”

“The same industry?”

“Since we are both beggars.”

The strange figure shook his head.

“I am not a beggar.”

“…”

Jang-il got sad.

A perfect beggar, whom he had never seen in his twenty years of life and who never thought he could see, now denied that he was a beggar.

“A supreme beggar?”

“I’m not.”

“A beggar king?”

“I’m telling you, I’m not.”

Jang-il got angry.

Anyone can see you’re a beggar, but you say you’re not!

But the strange figure was also angry.

Calling a beggar a normal person, how I look like a beggar to you!

Jang-il frowned at the beggar’s reaction.

This reaction was definitely strange in some way.

“…When was the last time you saw a mirror?”

“Five years ago?”

Jang-il nodded.

That made sense.

Seeing him, he hadn’t even approached a stream in five years. If he didn’t know what he looked like, I’d say he wasn’t a beggar.

But that wasn’t the truth.

Now was the time to tell this beggar the truth.

You’d better admit it now. You’re clearly a supreme beggar to anyone who sees you. Of course, it won’t be easy to admit it, but if you let it go, everything becomes more comfortable.

“I tell you I’m not a beggar!”

“Uf, anyway, if you don’t have any money, I can’t give you any information or anything, so go ahead.

The strange figure seemed a little nervous and hesitated before slowly opening his mouth.

There’s no other way?

“Then go beg or something to make money.”

“I’m not even a beggar, why would I beg?”

It’s not that beggars beg; if you beg, you become a beggar. Looking at you, it seems you haven’t even eaten porridge, so take advantage to learn to beg. I say it because I feel sorry for you. If you just put a basket in front of where you sit, you’d make a fortune with that face. Why waste that talent?

“It doesn’t matter, just show me the method.”

“The Method…”

So, Jang-il came up with a brilliant idea.

“…Do you want to work a little?”

“What kind of work?”

A very easy and comfortable job. You just have to sit down! No, you just have to lie down. If you do that just two days, I will give you the information you need! But I can’t do anything difficult!

The supreme beggar nodded slightly with his head.

“Well, that’s fine.”

“Really?”

A smile crossed Jang-il’s lips.

The supreme beggar, no, Wei Yan-ho, was sad.

Very sad.

‘This isn’t right…’

Jang-il kept his word.

Wei Yan-ho really didn’t have to do anything.

He just had to sit properly, and if even that bothered him, he could lie down and just turn around.

No, rather, if he slept, Jang-il was delighted.

However, Wei Yan-ho became infinitely sad.

When he lay down, Jang-il fell down in front of him and lamented.

Your son is incompetent!

“…”

You can’t eat or porridge for five days now, Father, I’m sorry, all those who pass by here, please help me, our father!

There was no need to scream loudly.

People who were interested in seeing Jang-il crying in beggar’s clothes looked at Wei Yan-ho lying there and all dried up the moisture in their eyes as they tried to take money out of their wallets and leave.

Wei Yan-ho’s appearance seemed to have something that people simply couldn’t overlook after seeing him.

Not only weeping women, but even warriors who seemed not to bleed a drop even if they were punctured with a needle, forcibly concealed their contorted faces as they pulled coins out of their sleeves, threw them to the ground and disappeared as if they were fleeing.

Some people even lamented strongly and ran home specifically to raise money for charity.

In an instant, copper coins were stacked like mountains in front of Jang-il and Wei Yan-ho.

Then Jang-il collected the accumulated money properly, expected it to pass a while and then cried again looking for his father, and once again the coins piled up like mountains.

After repeating this several times, the coins had accumulated to the point that they could no longer fit in the bag they had brought.

It was a very successful begging session.

But Wei Yan-ho just stared at the sky.

‘This isn’t right…’

Wei Yan-ho became infinitely sad.