No matter how I look at it, he seems to have gone mad. Gu Chil gazed seriously down at Christian. Did all the beating drive him mad?
He got hit a little harder than usual. Although the leader was usually a little excessive, he'd beaten Christian like he was trying to teach him a lesson—even getting attacked by a dog wouldn't mess him up this bad. The people who normally tried to stop him didn't even bother today, seeing how he had absolutely manhandled Christian. Gu Chil wasn't surprised.
"So what you're saying is… I'm a beggar?"
Was he beaten on his head or his body? A beggar, asking if he was a beggar? What madness was this? Gu Chil was certain… this guy had turned weird. No, he'd turned horrifyingly weird.
He normally slacked off, so Gu Chil knew that one day he was going to get a real beating—it was just bad luck that today was the day. That was the iron rule of the beggars: If you don't find food with your own hands, you either die a dog's death, starve to death or get beaten.
Normally, people would come back to their senses after their beating. Normally. Instead, the complete opposite was happening in front of Gu Chil.
"Is it true? Am I really living in a place like this? It can't be true."
"…Are you blind or what?"
"Huh?"
"It shouldn't be hard to figure it out by looking at what you're wearing."
Christian lowered his eyes; he saw all kinds of fabrics and rags. It should have been normal clothing, but it was… rags. Any normal person would nod their head and go back to work, but not Christian.
"Don't I have a name or something?"
"Since when did beggars have names?" Gu Chil heaved a sigh. "Just a crude one. You're Cho Sam."
"…Sounds just like a beggar's name." Look, even his name was poor. "To be a beggar. This kind of beggar…"
The other beggar stared blankly at him.
"And age—am I around sixteen?"
"Since when did beggars keep track of their age?"
"That makes sense."—Unlike everything else. Everything about Cho Sam had changed, from the way he spoke to the way he moved. On top of that, he had no idea what was happening around him. It was far too much to be caused by a concussion.
"Then, what year is it?"
"…Beggars count the days. You ever seen a beggar who counted the years?"
"Sounds like a true beggar."
Gu Chil rubbed his eyes. A beggar's life was always tired and stressful, but this was so much worse than usual.
"Then, I have one more question."
"… You've been asking for a while now."
"Do you know who the Dark Sovereign is?"
"You were mumbling about the Dark Sovereign earlier, too. Why are you suddenly looking for him?"
"Answer me first."
"Of course I know him. Everyone knows. He was the leader of the Abyssal Cult, who was defeated a hundred years ago."
"What?"
"Boss—"
Cho Sam shot forward and grabbed Gu Chil by the collar.
"One hundred years have passed since the Dark Sovereign was slain? ONE HUNDRED YEARS? Does that really mean a century has passed since then? A centuryyyyyyy?"
"… That's right." Seems like Cho Sam got hit real hard.
"Tell me the truth, don't even think about lying."
"What good would come out of lying to you?" Gu Chil pulled Cho Sam off of him. Soon, Cho Sam's freed hands were scratching furiously at his head.
He's gone mad. There was no other explanation after seeing that. He wasn't confused or rattled by the beating—he'd just lost his mind. Gu Chil had never seen someone's face express so many shades of "flustered".
"A hundred years, you say?"
"Do you want me to say it again?"
"…I need to head back."
Christian raised his head to the sky. He thought that seeing the clean blue sky would offer him some kind of comfort, but all he could see was the black ceiling of the tent. It was a dark as Christian's mood.
"A hundred years have passed since then?"
Gu Chil snapped.
"It's not like you're old or something, so why do you keep repeating the same thing!? It's been a hundred years! The Orders had a big fight with the Dark Sovereign on top of the Iron Mountains and took his head off! Right! It was a hundred years ago!"
"…I get it." That was why he was so depressed.
The guy who thrashed Christian earlier seemed like he was high-ranked. In that sense, the guy in front of him now could also be higher-ranked than Cho Sam.
In the beggars' circle, was it? Unfortunately, it wasn't anything great—it was practically impossible to feed and shelter all of their people. It was said that the group took in all beggars, but their funds were limited.
Most of them were plain street beggars. The higher-ups gave them numbers for names, and their clothes had no knots. Roaming on the streets, these beggars would have a better idea of what happened in the world of martial arts than any practitioner. Gu Chil's words were reliable.
"Huh. Crazy. One hundred years, huh." Everything would have changed—now it was just a matter of accepting he'd been reincarnated into the body of another child.
But… Couldn't I have just been reborn right after my death? After a hundred years, everyone who knew Christian must be dead. That aside, all the people he'd known died on top of the horrible mountain.
He was all alone.
No matter how twisted things can get, this is just too much. Then, the White Peak—
"Ah! Hold one—the Order of the White Peak…!?"
When Cho Sam hopped up from the floor and started shouting at him, Gu Chil wasn't even surprised anymore.
"Order of the White Peak! What happened to the Order of the White Peak?"
"What do you mean?"
"What happened to the Order of the White Peak!?"
"White Peak?"
"Yes!"
"What's White Peak?"
"…Huh?" Christian boggled at him. He didn't know White Peak? A beggar didn't know?
"Come on, don't play with me. What's the current situation of the Order of the White Peak?"
"Order of the White Peak?" Gu Chil tilted his head.
He didn't know? Really? About the Order of the White Peak?
"T-the… one of the Nine Great Orders… Order of the White Peak, you don't know about it? Hah, you…"
"One of the Nine Great Orders? What nonsense are you spouting? There is no Order of the White Peak in the Nine Great Orders."
"…There isn't?"
"Cathedral, Wudang Clan, Diancang Sect, Qingcheng Sect, Kongtong Sect, Southern Island Sect, Emei Sect, Southern Edge Sect, Kunlun Sect, and the beggars' union. There are ten now."
"So-Southern Island Sect? Those good-for-nothing bastards are in the Ten Great Orders? Ah—no, that doesn't matter. Then Order of the White Peak isn't one of them?"
Gu Chil sighed. Cho Sam only heard what he wanted to, no matter what he said. Gu Chil's patience was wearing thin.
"O-Order of the White Peak isn't a part of the Great Orders? No, that could be possible. But you—you don't know Order of the White Peak? Even when a rich man becomes poor, he can last for three years with his luxuries! But you, a mere beggar, don't know about the Order of the White Peak?"
Calling him a beggar didn't really capture the consequences of what he said. Well, he could starve to death.
"Does that make any sense?" Christian shook Gu Chil by the shoulders. "Any sense at all? You really don't know White Peak? White Peak? Order of the White Peak?"
"…White Peak." Gu Chil's could feel a headache setting in.
"Right! White Peak!"
"Come to think of it," Gu Chil tilted his head. "I remember hearing there was such an order in the Shaanxi province."
"Yes! That's right! White Peak, in Shaanxi!" Christian's eyes were wide.
"From what I know, it's doomed."
"What?" Christian's heart stopped.
"I don't know if there was an Order of the White Peak in the Great Orders or not, but I heard stories about how their elite warriors were killed in the war with the Dark Sovereign. I don't know for sure—if you want to know more, ask the others."
What did that mean? Order of the White Peak has fallen? White Peak? The Order of the White Peak?
"This beggar, feeding me lies!"
Gu Chil turned his gaze upwards. Even when he told the truth, Christian just cursed him. This was why Gu Chil hated helping people.
"No! Not a chance! I can't believe that!" Christian shoved Gu Chil away and jumped to his feet. "I need to go and see for myself!"
"Hah!" Gu Chil shouted at his back. "If you don't come back by dinner in the evening, the boss will kill you for real this time! Don't waste your time with needless things, and get back to work!"
But Cho Sam just left.
"…What is that bastard going to do now?" Gu Chil shook his head, absolutely baffled by the change in his behavior.
"…Huh." Was this the face of a merchant who'd lost his entire fortune? That was certainly what Christian's face looked like.
When he thought about it, with all the knights of the White Peak killed in the battle with the Dark Sovereign, a decline in power was inevitable. During that time, they could have been pushed out of the Great Orders. But no matter how hard he racked his brains, how could the White Peak be pushed out and the beggars' union come into the Great Orders in just a hundred years!? How did that make sense? How could beggars, who knew nothing of martial arts, be included…?
Somehow, the beggar he talked to didn't know, so Christian went asking. But no matter who he grabbed, the result was the same.
"White Peak? Are you talking about the mountains over there? What about it?"
"Order of the White Peak? Did White Peak have a martial arts school?"
"I've never heard of such an order."
"How dare a beggar touch my sleeve—do you want your arms cut off? Let go of my sleeve this instant!"
Ah, not that last one.
No one knew. Not a single one.
"This makes no sense!" How did the Order of the White Peak turn out this way? There would always be numerous famous orders, but none would be as renowned as the White Peak. It would be a bit of an exaggeration to say that all of the most famous swordsmen come from the White Peak. Still, no one would disagree that the White Peak was one of the three most famous, along with Woodang and Namgung.
But people didn't know it existed?
"Argh…"
There was one positive response, at least.
"Order of the White Peak? I think I've heard of it. Weren't they famous in the past? From what I heard, they slew the Dark Sovereign and then collapsed. Are they still there?"
Collapsed? The Order of the White Peak?
"What kind of bullshit was he spouting?" It would be more realistic to say that the Imperial palace burned down and the Emperor fled.
Order of the White Peak has fallen! Order of the White Peak!
Maybe I should be glad it's me who was resurrected. Christian recalled the strange expression Brother Julian wore in his last moments. If he were alive to hear this news, he would have vomited blood and died again.
"No, no!" Christian leapt from his seat. "I need to see it with my own eyes!"
The Order of the White Peak had existed for hundreds of years, no matter how horrible a state it was in. He had to see it.
"I'm going to White Peak!" His blue eyes blazed with passion.
This was the moment the butterfly's wings birthed a tidal wave.