“Ah, that was a great meal.”

“I can’t eat another bite either.”

Noh-sam also pushed out his belly, stuffed.

After such a satisfying meal, the two rose from their seats.

“Was the meal to your liking?”

Unlike ordinary inns or taverns, they greeted the pair with formality.

Thanks to this, Gyo-ha and Noh-sam were in a good mood.

But only for a moment.

Noh-sam’s eyes widened when he took the bill from the proprietor.

“…Why is it this much?”

At this, the owner cocked his head and spoke.

“Aren’t you paying for your companion’s share as well?”

“Companion…?”

“The young master from earlier.”

Noh-sam knew at once who he meant.

“…Didn’t he pay separately?”

“He only paid for one order of Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork. He said his companion would cover the rest.”

“No way. That was our first time meeting him today!”

When Noh-sam started, the owner gave him a dubious look.

The way they’d exchanged greetings earlier, the way he ordered the dish.

And when he offered to pay, they’d even traded a nod.

They’d even eaten without raising any question.

By all appearances, it was hard to call them strangers.

As they hesitated without paying, the server and other patrons began to glance their way.

The owner wore an embarrassed look but didn’t let go of his suspicion.

Then the one behind, Gyo-ha, spoke up.

“We’ll pay.”

“Young master?”

“If we don’t pay, won’t that trouble them too?”

“Even so—”

After a moment’s hesitation, Noh-sam took out the purse.

He couldn’t refuse when the owner of said purse, Gyo-ha, had put it that way.

“…Even so, isn’t this far too expensive?”

Noh-sam shot him a skeptical look.

Wondering if the youth might be in cahoots with the owner.

To that, the owner answered as if it were only natural.

“Upstairs we only serve Geumchon-cheong and Baekhwaro.”

Geumchon-cheong and Baekhwaro. Noh-sam had only heard of these two high-class liquors by name.

In that case, the price made sense.

In the end, Noh-sam handed over the money.

---

Outside, Noh-sam bowed his head to Gyo-ha.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve handled it better.”

He’d let himself be taken in even though Gyo-ha had been wary.

On top of what had happened earlier, this as well—it was clearly his fault.

The thinned purse looked pitiful.

The inn was paid in advance, so that was fine, but at this rate even hiring a single wanderer would be dicey.

But Gyo-ha himself was all smiles.

“No, it’s fine.”

At that, Noh-sam tilted his head.

He sensed this wasn’t just to comfort him.

“Because this gave me that.”

“That, meaning?”

“What was it called again? Hmm…”

Propping his chin, Gyo-ha seemed to recall and his eyes flashed.

“Justification! A justification!”

What was justification doing being mentioned all of a sudden?

As Noh-sam goggled, Gyo-ha laughed and went on.

“Master had said this. Unlike those from unorthodox sects who live as they please, people from the stuffy orthodox sects need a justification before they hit someone.”

Those words were true enough, but they weren’t something you’d expect from a Taoist’s mouth.

Even so, Noh-sam still couldn’t see why justification had come up.

Gyo-ha smirked at him.

“That fellow from earlier. He was quite strong.”

“Huh?”

That dandy-looking youth?

As Noh-sam reacted, Gyo-ha nodded.

“He was probably the strongest in that tavern. I think.”

He licked his lips as he said it.

He qualified it with “I think,” but with Gyo-ha’s senses, it was believable.

From the moment he saw the youth, no one else drew his eye.

“I wanted to ask him for a single bout anyway. And with this money, it might even be possible.”

So he had been carefully waiting for an opening.

Ever since the square. That’s how he’d noticed the youth watching the pickpocket boy.

“Now I won’t need to ask.”

He had his justification.

“If he’s in this town, we’ll cross paths again.”

Then he could challenge him without the slightest hesitation.

Fighting that one youth was far more appealing to Gyo-ha than taking on the three in the tavern.

Seeing his eyes gleam, Noh-sam let out a short laugh.

Grinning, Gyo-ha pursed his lips again.

“…Still, I’d like to try fighting some wanderers too.”

You never know.

And there was no telling when they’d see the youth again.

At that, Noh-sam nodded and spoke.

“Then tomorrow I’ll look around town for work that pays.”

They had to look for the youth anyway, so staying in town was better.

“Yes!”

As Gyo-ha nodded vigorously, a question struck him.

“…By the way, weren’t you going to look for junior brothers?”

Right now he seemed to be looking for opponents rather than juniors.

“…Ah.”

Gyo-ha exclaimed belatedly,

as if he’d forgotten until now.

Noh-sam’s eyes narrowed.

Flustered, Gyo-ha waved his hands.

“O-of course I’m going to look for juniors too!”

“Juniors too,” not “juniors,”—at that, Noh-sam snorted.

Finding juniors might be no more than a pretext, as he’d said.

---

The next day.

Gyo-ha trained as usual.

Only the place had changed—from mountain and cliff to the inn’s backyard.

Noh-sam left alone to gather information that might make money.

In the midst of training, Gyo-ha straightened.

Then, with a dissatisfied look, he gazed at his arms.

He had so much strength he felt an ache in his hands.

“…It’s gotten faster.”

His internal energy was filling more quickly.

At this rate, he might really have to jump off a cliff.

“Young master!”

Noh-sam came running, out of breath.

Only then did Gyo-ha turn his head.

Then, seeing the sky had already grown dark, he sighed.

“We’ve already passed mealtime?”

“That’s not what’s important right now!”

Was there anything more important than food?

Catching his breath, Noh-sam shouted at the puzzled Gyo-ha.

“There is!”

“There is what?”

“There’s something where you can fight and make money!”

At that, Gyo-ha’s eyes sparkled.

Thump.

In a blink, Gyo-ha was standing before him.

To Noh-sam, it looked like he’d teleported.

Under that intense gaze, Noh-sam stepped back.

Each time he retreated, Gyo-ha moved in; at last Noh-sam cleared his throat and spoke.

“Mudo doesn’t just have a wanderers’ market—it also has an arena.”

“An arena?”

“Yes. A gambling hall where they stage fights and take bets.”

“Oh, I know! Like with chickens or dogs, right?”

He’d seen it when he was young. Noh-sam nodded, then discreetly scanned their surroundings.

Only after confirming no one was around did he lower his voice.

“But the arena here is a different kind.”

Watching Gyo-ha blink, he went on.

“People are the ones that fight. Wanderers.”

“Ooh.”

An exclamation slipped from him; his interest was piqued.

“They say wanderers come from far away for it—it’s a fairly large arena.”

That was why a wanderers’ market had sprung up in Mudo.

It was far from Lanzhou, the provincial capital, so official influence was weak.

And it lay on the route between Shaanxi and Sichuan.

Naturally, wealthy merchants came and went.

“Can I enter too?!”

He wanted to participate—badly.

Gyo-ha’s eyes began to blaze.

“There’s an entry fee, and those without renown have to pass a preliminary test. We have enough for the fee. The problem is registration ends today. If you want to participate, we have to go now.”

That was why he had come running.

No sooner had he finished than Gyo-ha’s stomach growled.

“…Then what about food?”

Noh-sam shook his head.

“Miss this and it’s three years until the next one.”

“Let’s go!”

He didn’t hesitate.

Fighting was more important than hunger.

Gyo-ha followed Noh-sam out of the inn.

---

They passed the square and entered an alley.

Noh-sam kept glancing about yet moved quickly.

The houses sagging along the alley hardly deserved to be called buildings.

The better ones had rough roofs and walls of nailed planks.

Some places used branches and torn cloth as a roof.

There were, of course, no thatched cottages.

Under the ruddy sunset, the lane itself lay in shadow.

The residents didn’t so much as glance at the strangers.

Some even averted their eyes, as if afraid of inviting harm.

Seeing Gyo-ha looking at them, Noh-sam, realizing, spoke up.

“It’s an unlicensed venue, so they hold it where it won’t draw eyes.”

That was natural.

They hadn’t banned matches in his old village either, but you couldn’t exactly do it openly.

But it wasn’t exactly a sight for a child like Gyo-ha.

In his excitement at finding work, it was a mistake to bring him along without so much as a proper explanation.

Contrary to Noh-sam’s worry, Gyo-ha felt nothing much.

He’d been a beggar to begin with.

And the cave he’d lived in with his master could hardly be called proper.

So he didn’t feel any particular pity for them.

Besides, the sun wasn’t even down yet.

‘Isn’t it better to beg outside than starve in here?’

That was all he thought.

He just couldn’t understand it.

Even if you got beaten, you had to fill your belly to live tomorrow.

Then a question occurred to him.

“By the way, how did you find this place, Uncle?”

It wasn’t the sort of place you could find just by word of mouth.

“Ah, I tailed some wanderers earlier.”

Gyo-ha’s eyes widened.

He quickly waved his hands.

“If they’d been real Murim people, I’d have kept my distance. They looked like drifters blinded by money.”

Not proper Murim folk.

Even so, they lived by the blade. It wasn’t easy.

“Besides, I’m good at remembering routes.”

Noh-sam shrugged as he said it.

Gyo-ha couldn’t help but be impressed.

Under that look, Noh-sam, embarrassed, added,

“I’ve done something similar before. With the knack, it’s doable.”

“Oh.”

“Young master, we’re almost there.”

“Ooh!”

Still exclaiming, Gyo-ha turned his head.

At the end of the alley lay a big open lot.

Rough-looking men were gathered there.

They were different from the wanderers at the tavern.

Yet they fell short of being called Murim martial artists.

Gyo-ha had met such people when he was little.

They were people who were said to be from the Black Path.

He remembered because two beggars had been beaten to death for begging.

According to Master Yun Heo, they were closer to bandits and thieves than a Murim organization.

The men bustled about.

As Gyo-ha and Noh-sam approached, they scowled.

“What?”

“Uh, we heard there was a match.”

“You?”

Noh-sam, who was being looked up and down by the man, quickly shook his head.

“Not me, but the young master here.”

Startled by his build, the man then saw his face and snorted.

“These days everyone’s a ‘young master.’”

Noh-sam was about to snap back but shut his mouth at Gyo-ha’s calm face.

Right, what they said didn’t matter.

The man waved them off.

“The trials have already started. Come back next time.”

Next time” meant three years.

Just as they were about to be disappointed, another man from behind came up.

“Hold on.”

He whispered something to the first man.

At that, Gyo-ha’s ears perked.

They spoke quietly, but they couldn’t fool Gyo-ha’s ears.

‘Earlier, the head said… short on… numbers…’

Gyo-ha’s eyes shone.

After a bit more talk, the two looked back at Gyo-ha and Noh-sam.