After a long time, I arrived in Sacheon City.
The scene was the same as ever, with countless people bustling about, and merchants raising their voices to sell their goods.
“It looks peaceful.”
“I’m glad it seems no big trouble has happened yet.”
Yeo Il-ye and Hyeok Gi-rin exchanged a few words while gazing out of the window of Bicheongmacha at the scenery of Sacheon City.
Those who hadn’t stayed long in Sacheon felt reassured by the sight outside.
However, having lived in Sacheon for a long time, I could feel the difference in the air surrounding the city.
There was an underlying sense of unrest hidden among the crowds and the business bustle.
“Hmm.”
I would figure out the city’s atmosphere from now on, but the real problem started now.
“We’ve arrived.”
We reached the Outcast Inn.
Clank!
“Ugh…”
I heard the sound of the safety latch of Bicheongmacha being released, and I let out a groan. The Black Cat and Yeo Il-ye pushed me from behind with smiles on their faces.
“I’m excited to meet everyone after such a long time.”
“What are you hesitating for? They’ll all welcome you enthusiastically.”
When I sent word that I was leaving the Outcast Inn, the Black Cat and Yeo Il-ye, who had become part of the Outcasts, shared in the kind of treatment I received.
I tried to hold onto the carriage’s doorframe, but with the two of them determinedly shoving me, I had no choice but to get dragged out.
Riding the momentum, the Black Cat and Yeo Il-ye took hold of my shoulders and shoved me into the Outcast Inn.
Bang!
With a loud crash from the door flinging open, I was pushed inside the Outcast Inn. Naturally, everyone’s gaze focused on me, the noisy newcomer.
Everyone blinked in surprise as they stared at me.
In response, I adjusted my lowered posture to avoid falling and cleared my throat.
“Ahem, it’s been a while, everyone.”
Jeong Sam, who was staring blankly at me, muttered.
“…Catch him…”
I ignored Jeong Sam’s mumbling with gritted teeth and spoke again.
“Have you all been well?”
“Get that guy! Catch him!!”
Oh crap.
*
Yu Sa-yeon burst into laughter at the sight of me.
“You look hilarious.”
I, Ho Cheon-an, am no ordinary person! A Peak Expert, at that.
While the outcasts inside the Inn tried to catch me with all their might, it was all in vain. How foolish of them to think they could catch Ho Cheon-an, a true Peak Martial Artist!
“Hahahahaha!! You’re so slow! Even trying to catch me!”
“Ugh, here we go again!”
“What the heck did he eat outside?!”
“Form a siege formation!”
“What does that even mean?”
“Just do it!”
Well, of course. What could those rascals do by charging at me?
It’s been almost a year since I left, but nothing has changed one bit. Meanwhile, Jeong Cheol is making a ruckus outside; how could he possibly survive like this?
You guys definitely need me around.
I was laughing while looking at the same ragtag group as always.
Splat!
Suddenly, my feet froze.
“…Huh?”
When I turned around, the Black Cat was grinning widely.
“Senior, you haven’t forgotten I’m also a Sacheon Outcast, right?”
“What the heck.”
I hurriedly tried to lift my frozen feet, but it was too late. While I dodged Jeong Sam’s flying kick, there was no way to avoid the wrath of the other Outcasts stacking up behind me.
I was stomped on, and my entire body became bruised. Yu Sa-yeon was cackling at my battered face.
Sighing, I decided to change the subject with a question.
“…How’s Sacheon these days?”
“Well… I’d like to say it’s the same as always, but a lot has changed.”
Yu Sa-yeon sighed lightly.
“How’s the personal matches going?”
“Um… It’s more or less being operated, but there are a lot of complaints. Given the purpose of the personal matches, we can’t discriminate against the Outcast Martial Artists, yet some internal sects of Sacheon City are raising that issue and with the influx of Outcast Martial Artists, the interest in matches has cooled down, it’s complicated.”
Yu Sa-yeon sipped from her cup as she spoke.
“But what I really want to ask you isn’t that, right?”
“Um…”
Honestly, what I really wanted to hear about was the current situation of the Outcasts. In the chaos caused by Jeong Cheol in this Sacheon City, how are the Sacheon Outcasts surviving?
Having rushed to Sacheon City straight from the Array Formation without even hearing a rumor, I knew nothing about the current situation of the Outcasts.
I figured I could find out about the Outcasts’ situation once I got here, so I hadn’t bothered to look into it.
Yu Sa-yeon looked at me with a smirk.
“Honestly, you’re surprised, right? You thought everyone would be in dire straits, but here they all are, living just fine.”
I couldn’t argue with Yu Sa-yeon’s words and lifted my cup.
I had honestly expected that the Outcasts would be in quite a pickle. With Jeong Cheol causing such an uproar outside, the Sacheon Outcasts living in the heart of the city would surely face oppression.
However, the Outcasts were lively enough to throw a welcome party for the Black Cat, raising quite a fuss.
It was hard to find any shadow of gloom on the faces of the guys drinking with Hyeok Gi-rin, Tang Do-yeon, Tang So-yeol, and Yeo Il-ye, all under the alias Hwang So-wol.
“Is the personal matches challenging at the moment? Then the income of the Outcasts should be stable, right? The outside gaze won’t be pleasant either.”
Yu Sa-yeon simply laughed at my curiosity.
“Why not check for yourself?”
And the next morning.
I could clearly see the reason.
“Ho Cheon-an! You really are back, right?”
“Black Cat Miss! Let’s only take on one request! I’ll give you a commission of just 5 pennies!”
Intermediaries surrounded me and the Black Cat. I felt like I had traveled back to before the Sacheon Martial Arts Tournament, and I couldn’t snap out of it as the intermediaries shoved requests into my hands.
[Protect Okgane’s Cloth Shop]
[Protect the shop owner and goods]
[Note: Compensation clause in case of damage!]
[Request to eliminate the Chicken Head Faction]
[An Outcast faction appearing in the Soyong road area]
[Estimated about 10 people, including 5 first-rate experts]
[Escort request for the daughter of the Sayong family]
[Street escort for the daughter and 2 others, including a conflict]
[Looking for a female expert or married male martial artist]
“This is….”
No, this is just a standard Outcast request, isn’t it?
Stunned by the unexpected requests from me and the Black Cat, the busy intermediaries seemed to think we were wasting time and handed us a thick stack of requests, saying to come back if we were interested in processing them.
“Um…”
Based on my habits from my Outcast days, I stuffed the stack of requests into my arms and peeked out the window.
In front of the Outcast Inn, a long line stretched out. Various people eager to entrust requests to the Outcasts were everywhere.
I rubbed my eyes and looked outside again. Unsurprisingly, the crowd outside hadn’t changed one bit.
“So? Surprised?”
Seeing Yu Sa-yeon poking my cheeks, I asked back.
“How is this even possible?”
The Sacheon Outcasts were fake villains for all intents and purposes.
And now, genuine bad guys roamed Sacheon City.
The people of Sacheon, falling for the Outcasts’ act, weren’t foolish; they had just never experienced true villains before.
Now that the people of Sacheon should be experiencing real evil, they had surely realized that the Sacheon Outcasts were mere fake villains.
However, that doesn’t mean the accrued resentment has disappeared.
Though the Outcasts didn’t commit serious crimes, they shamelessly engaged in petty antics to maintain their act, and the people of Sacheon cast scornful looks in their direction.
The chasm of resentment between the people of Sacheon and Sacheon Outcasts was quite deep.
Yet, the scene in front of me was perplexing.
As if such a chasm didn’t exist, the people of Sacheon were lining up to hire the Outcasts.
Yeo Jin-sang patted me on the shoulder and remarked.
“How is this possible, you idiot! It’s possible like this!”
At Yeo Jin-sang’s words, several Outcasts chuckled. I gazed at the laughing Outcasts and thought, maybe I had been too drunk on my arrogance that I underestimated their capabilities.
Honestly, I found it hard to believe that these guys had resolved the resentment they built with the people of Sacheon, but since it unfolded right in front of me, I couldn’t dismiss it.
Or perhaps, while meeting the Unknown Elder, I realized my arrogance, but the shock I received during that process hadn’t yet faded.
I truly couldn’t gather my thoughts these days.
With the premise I believed in being shaken, it became difficult to be certain about anything. Just how arrogant had I been? I might continue to struggle with such confusion until I solidify that baseline.
Or maybe I had lost my sense of reality after spending what felt like several years in just six months.
“I can’t seem to gather my thoughts. It seems you’re overthinking things. Why not tackle a request and clear your head?”
At Yu Sa-yeon’s laughter-filled comment, I pondered for a moment before nodding.
Anyway, having returned to Sacheon City because of the Outcasts, my priority was to grasp the current situation. So taking on one or two requests while experiencing the atmosphere of Sacheon City wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Ah, what a return it is; Ho Cheon-an is back!
