"Something seems insane about this."
Guchil (口七) looked at Chung Myung with a serious expression.
"Did he lose his mind after getting hit?"
He had definitely been beaten pretty badly.
Wang Cho had a tendency to hit people a bit excessively, even on normal days, but today, he seemed to be purposefully beating him. Even on a dog-hunting day, the beating wouldn't be this intense.
Usually, there would be someone who'd try to stop Wang Cho, but with the intensity of the beating today, no one could muster the courage to intervene.
In a situation like this, a person would normally be writhing in pain by now, but...
"So, you're saying I'm a beggar?" Chung Myung said, his voice calm, yet it carried a strange force.
'Is his body fine, but his mind completely gone?'
A beggar was asking if he was a beggar.
Is there any other beggar like this?
Clearly, something was off about him today. No, a lot was off.
Chung Myung had always had a lazy attitude, and Guchil had always thought he'd one day get a serious lesson in discipline. It was just that today was unlucky for him, but on normal days, his slacking around was pretty much the same. Even if it wasn't today, someday he would have ended up being badly beaten.
The rule in a beggar's life is: If you can't even beg for food yourself, you either starve or get beaten to death.
Whether it's a dog or a human, once you get beaten, you normally come back to your senses. That's the natural order of things.
But right now, that wasn't happening.
"Is this really the life of a beggar?" Chung Myung murmured, puzzled.
"...Don't you have eyes?" Guchil responded, clearly frustrated.
"Eh?" Chung Myung tilted his head.
"Just look at what you're wearing, and it's not hard to figure out your identity."
Chung Myung looked down at his clothes, which were tattered rags pieced together with different types of cloth. They could barely be called clothes. If they were abandoned, no one would even recognize them as garments.
Normally, someone would nod at this point and walk away, but Chung Myung wasn't one to give up easily.
"Don't you have a name?"
Guchil sighed deeply.
"Do beggars even have names? They just make something up to call each other. You're called Chosan (草三)."
"...It really sounds like a beggar's name," Chung Myung commented bitterly.
Look at that. His condition was far from good.
"Of all things, a beggar..." Guchil muttered, not knowing what else to say.
"How old are you, around 16 or so?" Guchil asked.
"How would a beggar know their age?" Chung Myung retorted.
"That's true," Guchil agreed, but the whole situation felt odd.
Everything about this was strange. From the tone of his voice to his actions, it all felt like the result of a heavy blow to the head. But even so, wasn't his current confusion just too much?
"What year is it right now?" Chung Myung asked, as if testing the waters.
"…I never thought I'd see a beggar counting the years. Are you asking me to become a beggar counting the years?" Guchil snorted, trying to suppress his irritation.
"Really beggar-like," he muttered.
He rubbed his eyes in frustration. A beggar's life was always tiring and hungry, but right now, he felt more exhausted than ever.
"Then let me ask you something."
"…You've been asking questions the whole time."
"Are you not a Heavenly Demon?" Guchil asked suddenly.
Chung Myung's face contorted with confusion.
"You keep mentioning the Heavenly Demon. Why are you looking for him?"
"Answer me first."
"I know. Who doesn't know the Heavenly Demon? He's the great leader who died a hundred years ago."
"What?" Guchil's eyes widened.
"The Heavenly Demon... died a hundred years ago?" Chung Myung repeated, his voice sharp with disbelief.
Chung Myung suddenly lunged at Guchil, grabbing him by the collar.
"You're telling me the Heavenly Demon died a hundred years ago? A hundred years? Did you say one hundred years?!"
"..."
It seemed like he had really lost his mind.
"Yes, that's what I said."
"Is this the truth with no lie in it?"
"Do you think I have anything to gain by lying to you? You're nothing but a beggar!"
Chung Myung stared at Guchil, his eyes widening in realization. Then he suddenly let go of Guchil's collar and began scratching his head in agitation.
'He's definitely gone mad.'
Looking at him, it was the only conclusion that made sense. He seemed dazed and out of his mind, like he was in shock. Guchil had never seen such an expression on someone's face. It was a mix of complete confusion.
"A hundred years ago?" Chung Myung muttered again.
"Do you want me to say it again?"
"...I'm losing my mind here."
Chung Myung raised his head, his face filled with hopelessness. Looking up at the sky would have been comforting, but all he could see was the dark roof of a dilapidated hut, much like the state of his heart.
"A hundred years ago, you say?" Guchil yelled, finally losing his patience.
"I'm not talking about the ancient days! The sect alliance from the central plains fought the Heavenly Demon at the top of the Shiba Mountains and took his head! That was about a hundred years ago, the Big Mountain Bloodshed! You know about that, right?!"
"...I get it."
This was getting maddening.
Chung Myung stared at Guchil, his face full of disbelief.
'If only I didn't remember all of this...'
The man who had just beaten him earlier was from the Open Gate. That meant the person standing before him was also connected to the Open Gate in some way.
Normally, Open Gate disciples were referred to as "beggars," but they weren't just random beggars. They knew more about the martial world than most commoners, which made them valuable.
'Is this really happening?'
Chung Myung couldn't believe it.
Guchil rubbed his temples as if processing the situation. "The truth is, things have changed, and it's a lot to grasp."