“Then, I ask of you!”
“…Alright, Senior.”
As Black Cat watched Ho Cheon-an disappear on the Bicheongmacha, a feeling of unease washed over her.
Ho Cheon-an divided their group. One side was Black Cat and Miss Yeo Il-ye, who would convey the current situation to the members of the Sacheon Outcasts. The other side was headed by Ho Cheon-an and Tang So-yeol, who were going to meet Samayeom.
On the surface, everything seemed fine… but the feeling wasn’t good.
“Why do I feel so uneasy…?”
“Hoho, let’s go in.”
As Black Cat and Miss Yeo Il-ye entered, all eyes were on the Outcasts.
“Looks like Ho Cheon-an has returned.”
“Welcome!”
Black Cat slowly surveyed the Outcast Inn. She had spent quite some time at the Inn, so recognizing the Outcasts wasn’t hard. It seemed like everyone was present, even Yu Sa-yeon, who likely had a busy schedule.
“Hey, I heard there was some big commotion from the Tang Clan, what happened?”
As Jeong Sam questioned, Black Cat nodded and replied,
“I was going to talk about that. Could everyone gather around?”
The Outcasts exchanged confused looks at Black Cat’s serious request and pulled out other Outcasts from the room to sit at the dining area.
“So, what’s going on?”
“Isn’t it quite a big deal if Black Cat, not even Ho Cheon-an, is causing such a ruckus?”
In response to Jaso-gyeong’s joke, Black Cat forced a smile.
“It’s quite a big… deal.”
Black Cat relayed everything that had happened at the Tang Clan, including their attack, the revelation that the culprit was Jeong Cheol, and what Ho Cheon-an had said in his rage…
After hearing all of it, the Outcasts fell into silence before…
“That Ho Cheon-an, what does he think he’s doing!?”
“Tsk tsk. He really caused a big trouble!”
They erupted in anger.
Black Cat looked around, flustered. Jeong Sam and Yeo Jin-sang, who were closest to Ho Cheon-an, were practically bouncing off the walls.
“Bring me some alcohol! I’m so furious!”
“Me too!”
Suddenly, the Outcasts started calling for drinks, and the two were bewildered by the unexpected atmosphere when Yu Sa-yeon grabbed their hands.
“Hey, you two have had it tough, huh?”
“Um… this is quite bewildering.”
Black Cat and Miss Yeo Il-ye had expected the Outcasts to react with either admiration for Ho Cheon-an’s anger towards Jeong Cheol, or worry about what might happen because of Jeong Cheol.
But it was neither.
Yu Sa-yeon chuckled, as if she understood the two of them.
“Have you two heard the saying that floats around among the Outcasts?”
“What saying…?”
“The good die first.”
While they hadn’t heard it before, Black Cat and Miss Yeo Il-ye felt it conveyed a certain message.
“The Sacheon Outcasts might not be that extreme, but being an Outcast is a profession that swims in both blood and grime. Good-hearted and kind folks can easily be used and torn apart by wolves.”
“…Is that so?”
“Indeed!”
Jeong Sam, who was sitting at a nearby table, shouted.
“Has that guy suddenly grown a backbone now that he’s reached the peak? What gives him the right to say he will protect us!?”
“I knew he was a coward, but he sure knows how to retreat when it gets tough!”
Yu Sa-yeon shook her head at the Outcasts who were fervently condemning Ho Cheon-an.
“They’re all showing their care for Ho Cheon-an. They want him to live long as an Outcast. So they’re essentially pushing him to be ruthless…. because he’s, uh, awfully sentimental.”
“Who cares about what happens to Ho Cheon-an…”
“Shut it, you fools! You’re being too loud!”
Awfully sentimental. Miss Yeo Il-ye and Black Cat couldn’t help but agree.
As Yu Sa-yeon, with messy hair swept back behind her ear, continued, having subdued the chaotic Outcasts with harsh words.
“You two should have some understanding by now of what kind of person Ho Cheon-an is.”
“…That’s true.”
Yu Sa-yeon clicked her tongue, scanning the Outcasts.
“Do you know how deadly the atmosphere at this Outcast Inn was before Ho Cheon-an arrived? People would scowl as if about to devour their swords, while the kids too would have been scared silent, their faces like daggers all day.”
“Ahem…”
“Uhm…”
“A sixteen-year-old kid came here claiming he would be a Sacheon Outcast and changed that deadly atmosphere into what you see today. Everyone will feel indebted to Ho Cheon-an, even if they won’t admit it.”
Yu Sa-yeon pressed the Outcasts with piercing eyes.
Witnessing this, Black Cat and Miss Yeo Il-ye could somewhat feel the Outcasts’ unexpressed sentiments.
They worried about Ho Cheon-an in their own way.
“I, too, and these folks too, don’t want Ho Cheon-an to carry such burdens.”
“That’s right.”
Yeong Ji-hu-yeol rarely spoke up.
“The situation has reached a point of no return, but even so, we need to come up with our own measures and convey them to Ho Cheon-an.”
Jaso-gyeong also spoke up.
“It’s nothing to worry about. Someone will figure something out when it’s time. Isn’t that how everyone has survived to become a Sacheon Outcast?”
“Exactly!”
“Right!”
Yu Sa-yeon shrugged, “So it seems.”
“…Is that so?”
Amid a suddenly lively drinking party and the raging Sacheon Outcasts, Black Cat and Miss Yeo Il-ye rolled their eyes awkwardly.
“It’s quite hard to understand…”
Miss Yeo Il-ye’s honest feelings. Having grown up in a sect, she found it hard to grasp why the Sacheon Outcasts were so angry. She agreed that Ho Cheon-an had jumped into something too big for him given his current level.
She also understood that it could lead to worry and anger. But this was a bit… not the kind of feeling she expected.
Miss Yeo Il-ye observed Black Cat’s expression. Even Black Cat, a Sacheon Outcast herself, couldn’t comprehend the Outcasts’ intense reactions and blinked in confusion.
The two were floating, unable to immerse themselves in the emotions of the Outcasts.
However, neither Miss Yeo Il-ye nor Black Cat was about to leave.
“Hey you two! Do you know what that guy did when he said he wanted to be a Sacheon Outcast?”
“What about that guy! What was his first mission?”
Leading the way were Jeong Sam and Yeo Jin-sang, launching into tales of Ho Cheon-an’s early days!
It was the perfect bait to lure in Black Cat and Miss Yeo Il-ye.
The two looked at each other and nodded.
“Let’s hear what we can hear!”
The past tales and embarrassing moments pouring out of the Sacheon Outcasts!
From being stuck while trying to squeeze through a hole, to being turned down by a courtesan, to messing up a gambling technique and getting tied to a tree with a stick!
Truly, a youthful adventure of Ho Cheon-an unfolded before them, as Black Cat and Miss Yeo Il-ye listened intently.
“Guack…!”
Bang!
As Jeong Sam rambled on while downing drinks, he knocked his head on the table. Watching him, Yeo Jin-sang chuckled, while Yu Sa-yeon shook her head.
Yeo Jin-sang looked at the two with glazed eyes and said,
“Take care of him well.”
“Pardon?”
“That guy. He… he’s just kind of strange.”
The two realized that the “guy” Yeo Jin-sang was referring to was Ho Cheon-an.
“It’s hard to admit but, cough, he’s different by nature. He’s been improving at an alarming rate! I thought, how can someone like him become a legend like Jeong Cheol? But he hit the wall of the elite and tumbled down!”
“Right, right!”
Intoxicated, Jaso-gyeong chimed in. Being a strong and sturdy person, Jaso-gyeong could handle his drinks. As he was tidying up those who had passed out from the drunken revelry, he lifted up Jeong Sam and added,
“Given that talent and his age, he could’ve entered a decent sect, so why did he choose to be an Outcast?”
“That’s just what I’m saying!”
His extra comment made Jaso-gyeong carry the unconscious Jeong Sam away, prompting Yeo Jin-sang to turn back to the two and begin another outpour of frustration.
“After stagnating for about two years, he just plopped down! He was like a meddler who didn’t care about training, suddenly getting addicted to gambling!”
“Hmm…”
“Could have been someone with potential just lying around like a fool living as a Sacheon Outcast! It was driving me crazy!”
With that, he pretended to blow off steam, going “Hah!” as he dramatically collapsed backward.
“…Um. Honestly, I don’t really understand.”
Miss Yeo Il-ye said, a confused expression etched across her face as she fiddled with her blindfold.
“It may be presumptuous for me to say this, having pointed my sword at the Outcasts, but… living as a Sacheon Outcast isn’t a bad thing.”
“That’s…”
“It’s not a good thing.”
Just as Yu Sa-yeon trailed off with a rare hesitation, Yeong Ji-hu-yeol grabbed Yeo Jin-sang by the nape of his neck and interjected.
“While each of the tales of how one became a Sacheon Outcast is different, the commitment in their hearts is the same. They want to break free from the bounds of being an Outcast and rise up. They seek to practice martial arts, gather wealth, and aim for a better, new life. Being a Sacheon Outcast isn’t a destination but a stepping stone for a leap forward.”
“…Is that so?”
“Before Ho Cheon-an appeared, this Inn had an atmosphere that could bite steel. That’s only expected when you think about the purpose the Outcasts came here for. While I sought to climb up without blood on my hands, I came here searching for a way out. But what about the others? They’re all nothing but wolves, and even if they achieve their goals here, the moment they expose themselves or show a weakness, these beasts will chew on my back.”
“Therefore, in this Inn, they restrained themselves and avoided talking to each other, like hedgehogs, wary of one another. The fact that no one tried to change the deadly atmosphere means they would be out as soon as they achieved their goals.”
Black Cat and Miss Yeo Il-ye blinked.
It was a story infused with lingering distrust unimaginable in the current atmosphere of the Outcast Inn.
Looking at the two, who appeared puzzled as to whether they should be hearing the Outcast Inn’s stories at all, Yeong Ji-hu-yeol smiled bitterly.
“Ho Cheon-an turned that kind of Outcast Inn into a space filled with humanity… like a fellow who lived as an Outcast as if he’d live that way his whole life. So everyone is drinking and expressing their anger. They thought that as long as they lived here as Outcasts, they’d get to see Ho Cheon-an until they finally distanced themselves from the life of an Outcast, but here he suddenly went and disappeared…”
Yeong Ji-hu-yeol then fell silent, his face filled with disappointment.
“Disappeared?”
“…I misspoke. Please take care of the rest, Innkeeper.”
“Hey, hey!”
While Yeong Ji-hu-yeol fled, carrying Yeo Jin-sang,
“Haaa, why is he suddenly babbling out loud when he’s normally so quiet…”
“Ho Senior is leaving the Inn?! What does this mean? Why?”
Seeing Black Cat asking insistently, Yu Sa-yeon put her hands on her head, looking distressed.
“What kind of treatment do the Sacheon Outcasts receive in Sacheon City?”
“They’re not treated well, but what does that have to do with Ho Senior leaving…”
“It does.”
Yu Sa-yeon sighed lightly as she continued.
“Why haven’t the Sacheon Outcasts been merged into the Outcast Faction despite being treated similarly?”
Black Cat’s expression hardened. Realizing that Black Cat had arrived at the answer, Yu Sa-yeon pushed on.
“Because there’s no representative. They remained as individuals rather than a collective influence. The Head Bandit, the leader, the sect leader, the chairman… practically, while I’m treated like a representative of the Sacheon Outcasts, I insisted on my title of the Innkeeper for that reason.”
“…Jeong Cheol aims to incorporate the Sacheon Outcasts under his influence as his followers… and the Honorable Person becomes another contender against him.”
“Exactly.”
Only then did Miss Yeo Il-ye recognize the contradiction within the current situation.
Jeong Cheol was already consolidating the Sacheon Outcasts into a single faction.
…If Jeong Cheol declared himself the official representative of the Sacheon Outcasts, then if Ho Cheon-an managed to defeat him, he would also earn the right to be seen as a representative!
The symbolism.
If Ho Cheon-an defeated the legendary Nangya Sword Jeong Cheol, he would gain sufficient symbolic weight to represent the Sacheon Outcasts.
It didn’t mean Ho Cheon-an would actually become the representative of the Outcasts. That wasn’t what mattered.
The entirety of the world would regard Ho Cheon-an as the representative of the Sacheon Outcasts, and as long as Ho Cheon-an remained an Outcast, people would view the Sacheon Outcasts as a united faction.
And that consequence…
“Isn’t what the Honorable Person desires?”
At Miss Yeo Il-ye’s words, Yu Sa-yeon raised her cup wordlessly.
With this, Miss Yeo Il-ye and Black Cat finally understood Ho Cheon-an’s resolve and feelings.
Even if Ho Cheon-an succeeded in stopping Jeong Cheol, he could not return to being an Outcast.
What Ho Cheon-an truly wanted was for the Sacheon Outcasts to follow the path they envisioned.
If Jeong Cheol bound the Outcasts together with his symbolism, Ho Cheon-an had to shatter that bond.
Only if Ho Cheon-an defeated Jeong Cheol and renounced his position as a Sacheon Outcast could he shed the doubts and emerge as an individual.
Miss Yeo Il-ye and Black Cat finally grasped why the Outcasts were so furious and drinking.
The drinks they consumed were farewell drinks for sending Ho Cheon-an off, and their loud anger and uproar were their own version of a farewell ceremony.
“Either way, no one can break his stubbornness, so trying to stop him is futile. Just pass on a word or two.”
“…Yes.”
“I’ll keep his treasured martial arts novel safe for him. He should come back to claim it someday.”
Miss Yeo Il-ye and Black Cat nodded silently, and Yu Sa-yeon smiled while lifting her cup.
“Please take good care of Ho Cheon-an from now on.”
The three cups clinked together.
Clear liquor swirled within.
