Cheonyeong, who had left Mandeok Estate, headed straight for the main road.

"Captain, where are we going?"

"I don't know."

At Yongcheon's words, Cheonyeong thought for a moment.

What should he do first?

Should he go to the creditors and take back the house deed?

Or, should he go to those he knew in the past, have them stand as witnesses in court, and get a name tag from the court first?

No.

He still vividly remembered what they had said and done when his family was ruined.

They were cold-hearted.

Even though they had received so much help from his father.

"I don't want to go to those guys and ask for a favor... hmm, then what should I do first?"

The beginning of all plans is to reclaim Mandeok Estate.

Because he needed a place to settle down first.

But he hadn't expected the Beggars' Sect to be using the burnt-down house and land as their branch.

"Look at that."

"They're strange beggars."

"I know, right. Animal skins..."

By the way, people's gazes have been sharp since a while ago.

It can't be helped.

Clothes made of animal skins.

Shabby appearance.

Even to his own eyes, they are very peculiar beggars.

"Heh, I know what I have to do first."

"First thing to do?"

"Yeah. First, let's wash up and change our clothes. And fill our stomachs."

"Huh? We're eating?"

"Yeah. We have to eat proper food now."

At Cheonyeong's words, smiles spread across the children's faces, and their Adam's apples bobbed as if they were swallowing their saliva.

"Th, then are we having a drink too?"

At Chunil's words, Cheonyeong looked at him.

Does this bastard have an ancestor who died because he couldn't drink?

Why is a young kid so obsessed with it?

But Cheonyeong, who let out a small laugh, nodded his head.

"Yeah, let's have a drink too."

"Wooooo!"

Just as the children were filled with anticipation, Yongcheon tilted his head and said.

"But captain."

"Yeah?"

"Do we have money?"

"Money?"

"Yeah. To drink, eat... and buy clothes, we'll need quite a bit of money."

The atmosphere of the cheering children cooled down as if cold water had been poured on them.

Come to think of it... they don't have money.

"What does it matter?"

"Huh?"

As Chunil stepped forward confidently, the children tilted their heads and looked at him.

"You guys, have you forgotten what we used to be?"

"What we used to... be?"

"Ha, these guys... they say a frog can't remember its tadpole days. Who are we?"

"We're..."

"The vagrant gang that ruled the streets of Inhoe!"

"Vagrant... ah!"

At Chunil's words, the children exclaimed as if they had realized something.

Is realizing you were a vagrant something to exclaim about?

And did you ever rule... the streets?

"That's right! We can just beg!"

"Of course! If we beg and gather money first, everything will be fine."

"But, what if we get into a fight with the vagrant gangs that occupy this area?"

"What does that matter? Have you forgotten the past four years? We were trained by the captain."

"Kugh!"

The children, thinking of the arduous training, grimaced and groaned.

Seeing their contorted faces... it must have been very hard.

Well, he had intensively taught them the basic assassin training he had learned in Jingagu...

Like running all day, climbing cliffs with bare hands, climbing mountains with stones on their backs, enduring after eating poisonous plants, surviving in a wolf's den... etc.

"Yeah! With the hunting method we've learned so far! We won't lose to other vagrant gangs!"

"That's right! Let's take this opportunity to unite all the vagrant gangs of Ganyang with the captain!"

"That's a good idea! Let's do that. We'll become the masters of the Ganyang vagrant gangs!"

"Furthermore, let's help our captain unite all the vagrant gangs in the world!"

"Wooooooo!"

At the sight of the children, who were each spouting a hopeful word and strengthening their resolve, Cheonyeong let out a deep sigh.

Why the hell are you uniting over something like that?

And uniting the vagrant gangs?

Making me the master?

Then what?

The number one vagrant king of the world, something like that?

"Haa... you damn things."

Cheonyeong sighed as if the ground would collapse.

They say a person knows as much as they have learned, and thinks as much as they know.

After wandering the vagrant gangs and then entering the mountains, they had only trained...

It's a mistake.

I should have taught them how to read first as a personal accomplishment.

"Hey guys."

"Yeah! Captain!"

At the call of the exhausted Cheonyeong, the children whipped their heads around.

"Just give the order! Which alley should we start with?"

At their active appearance, with their will to beg burning brightly, Cheonyeong sighed repeatedly and said.

"You're going to beg?"

"Yeah! The captain just wait! We'll take care of it."

Yongcheon's confident expression... is truly pathetic.

"Hey guys."

"Yeah!"

"Are the things you're carrying on your backs decorations?"

"Huh?"

At Cheonyeong's words, the children looked at the bundles they were carrying on their backs, tied with vines.

What did the six of them eat while living in the mountains all this time?

When you catch an animal, of course, the fur is left, and when you dig for edible grass, you sometimes find high-quality medicinal herbs.

In other words, they had been living as wild ginseng diggers and hunters without even knowing it.

And the byproducts of that were full in their backpacks.

Gathered for four years...

"Listen carefully. From now on, we're not begging. We're not vagrants anymore."

"We're not vagrants? That's a statement that denies our identity... Then? How do we make money?"

It's a pathetic question.

After giving so many hints...

Cheonyeong, who was too exhausted to even have the energy to explain, just shook his head and started walking.

"...Follow me. Just."

"We're not... begging?"

"..."

"Then what about food?"

"Then what about alcohol?"

At the children who asked with faces full of disappointment, Cheonyeong clenched his teeth, smiled, and said.

"Shut up."

"..."

"If you say one more word, I'll sew all your mouths shut."

"Hup!"

At Cheonyeong's threat, full of laughter, the children covered their mouths with both hands and were surprised.

They know.

The past four years.

How much harder their training became when Cheonyeong smiled so brightly.

Since he was not a person who made empty words... he might really sew their mouths shut.

The children didn't say a single word and just followed Cheonyeong silently.

* * *

One of the city alleys that stretched out like a spider's web.

Cheonyeong, who had stopped at the entrance of the alley, stared at the long market inside and said.

"You guys wait here."

"Wait?"

"Yeah, wait. Until I call you."

"Alright."

Cheonyeong, who had left the children, headed straight into the market.

The reason is obvious.

What's the first thing you have to do to buy or sell something?

First, decide on the item.

This is already decided. What they have are medicinal herbs and animal skins.

So second, you have to know the exact price of the item.

So you don't get ripped off.

Especially with their current appearance, it's perfect for being taken for a fool.

Because beggars are often implicitly ignored.

So he's going to do some market research.

How much their items are worth.

Even if Cheonyeong has lived for over thirty years and has often been called a prodigy, he can't know the market price of fur, can he?

Cheonyeong, who had been wandering around the market for a long time, asking about this and that, approached a shop.

"Hmm, is it a wolf skin?"

As he said that and touched the wolf skin laid out on the stall in front of the shop, the owner suddenly shouted.

"Hey! You! Where are you touching the precious skin with your dirty hands!"

"..."

"Get your hands off!"

I was surprised.

Why are you shouting?

The shop owner, who rushed over and slapped his hand away, pushed Cheonyeong away with a displeased expression.

"Damn it! The customers I want don't come, and some beggar comes and... get lost! Don't disturb my business!"

He's cold-hearted.

But he's used to this.

Despite the owner's cold treatment, Cheonyeong smiled brightly and asked.

"How much... is this?"

"What?"

"This wolf skin."

At Cheonyeong's question, the shop owner squinted one eye and looked at him, then sneered.

"Why? Are you buying it?"

"If the price is right."

"Heh, heh heh heh!"

The shop owner burst out laughing.

"I've seen all sorts of crazy people in my life."

"..."

"A beggar like you... what? You're buying a precious wolf skin? I've heard all sorts of things. Don't disturb my business and get lost!"

Despite the shop owner's shouting, Cheonyeong just smiled.

Well, he wasn't particularly angry.

This kind of reaction was within his expectations.

"Hmm, it's strange. It doesn't look that precious."

"What?"

"That's right. The most important thing for a skin is how well the original shape is preserved, but if it's damaged like this..."

"Huh?"

"Look here. The hunter who sold this must have been terrible at his job."

Cheonyeong said, pointing at the wolf skin with his hand.

"It looks like a wolf of about three years or less... look here. You see the hole? This is an arrow mark. Judging by the number of holes, he shot at least five arrows. And the way he pulled out the arrows is a mess. He tore the skin so much while pulling out the arrowheads. Tsk tsk."

"...?"

"Oh my, now that I see it, you even secretly sewed up the torn part. It's a complete low-grade product. To sell something like this as precious... I should go somewhere else."

After appraising it for a long time, as Cheonyeong turned to leave, the bewildered owner hurriedly followed him.

"Why are following?"

"You..."

"What about me?"

As Cheonyeong got annoyed, the owner stared at him.

He's clearly a beggar...

How does he know so much about fur?

And he even knew about the secretly sewn torn part.

It would be troublesome if a rumor spread.

"You, come here."

"Why?"

"I said come here!"

The owner grabbed Cheonyeong's hand and pulled him hard.

Well, I've attracted enough attention now.

Cheonyeong, who was smiling slyly inside, was led by the owner's hand and stood in front of the stall again as if he had no choice.

"You, are you really going to buy it?"

"I told you. I'll buy it if the price is right..."

"Hmm."

The owner thought for a moment.

A beggar buying a wolf skin?

No matter how low-grade it is, there's no way he has that much money...

But!

What is a merchant?

Whether it's a beggar or a rich person, they are those who will sell anything if there's a profit.

And who knows?

Maybe this beggar received a large sum of money from a kind-hearted rich person.

For now, the owner, who decided to believe that the beggar in front of him had the intention to buy, revealed the price of the wolf skin.

"This, it's one silver coin."

"Huh? For such a low-grade product?"

"Look at this guy. Do you think wolf skins are easy to get? A product of this quality is only handled by a shop like ours."

"I don't think so..."

"Hey! Has this guy only been deceived all his life? If you don't believe me, go around and look. We're the only ones who handle wolf skins. In other words, it's a monopoly."

The owner's confident expression is understandable.

He had already gone around the market.

In the first place, he had approached this place knowing that it was the only one that handled wolf skins.

"Hmm, if possible... I want to buy a product without any flaws."

"A product without any flaws?"

"Yes."

"You're talking nonsense. You don't know anything about hunting. I've been in this business for over twenty years, but I've never seen a product without any flaws, you bastard. You don't even know anything..."

At the owner's words, Cheonyeong smiled and said suggestively.

"What if there is?"

"What?"

"What if there's a skin with only a mark from cutting the belly, without any arrowhead marks like this?"

"Nonsense! If there's such a skin, I'll buy it first."

"You'll buy it?"

"Of course! No matter how much it's a wolf skin, a product of that quality would fetch at least five silver coins."

"Five silver coins?"

"The minimum is five silver coins, you bastard."

"Hmm, I see."

Cheonyeong nods his head.

I know the price of the item...

"If I have it, can I sell it here?"

"What?"

"I'm just worried it might disturb your business."

At Cheonyeong's words, the shop owner laughed as if he was at a loss for words.

You have to have something to sell.

A beggar who seems to have only the skin he's wearing.

He's just a crazy person.

"Tsk, I thought you were really going to buy it... I got my hopes up for nothing. Get lost."

"I'm asking if I can sell it."

"Alright, if you have it, try selling it."

"Okay. Then."

The owner waved his hand as if he was annoyed and turned around.

Seeing him looking for something, he seems to be trying to ward off the bad luck he brought by sprinkling salt.

But should he do that?

He clearly said five silver coins, right?

Cheonyeong smiled triumphantly.

"I'm just saying this in case... if I give you the priority, will you buy it?"

"..."

"A wolf skin without a single arrow scar."

"What?"

"If you buy them all, I'll throw in some rabbit skins as a bonus."

Cheonyeong smiled brightly.

Well, now the bargaining begins.

"You... what's that?"

The owner makes a dumbfounded expression.

What do you mean, what?

I'm saying that from now on, I'm the merchant, customer.

(End of Chapter)