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Chapter 21
Book 1 Chapter 21: The Message That My Death Brought (3)
Translator: Hwarang
Editor: Kidyeon, Jay
The next day, I decided to visit the inn once again.
I was curious about the current state of things.
Was it because I was still attached to my previous life? Of course not.
I was completely satisfied with my current life. Rather, I’m both happier and more lively now than I ever was as the Mengju.
I decided that, in this life, I’d help my clan rise up while raising my cultivation. However, there were some faces in the Alliance that I couldn’t forget. I was worried that Kal Sa Ryung and Baek Pyo, as well as my other loyal subordinates, would be impacted due to this new installment.
The inn was abuzz with chatter about me. Some cursed the way I governed, but no one was able to say anything negative about my skill as a martial artist.
“I didn’t know how he was the Mengju, but as a Martial Artist who was known as the ‘Strongest Under the Heavens, he’s someone who should be respected by everyone.”
One elderly man responded, “I personally saw him fight.”
When they heard this, everyone present began to gather near the old man. Even I decided to listen to him.
“Do you all know of the fight between the Mengju and the Evil God?”
“Of course we know of it. We’ve heard stories all about it.”
“Yes, but most of them aren’t true.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I was there.”
I laughed in silence because everything that this old man had said were lies.
The day that I fought against the Evil God there shouldn't have been anyone present, due to the fact that I had killed the Evil God and his subordinates while I had everyone from the Alliance remain on standby some distance away.
Since this was the period when I was still soaring through the skies of Kang Ho, how could this old man have seen the fight from that sort of distance? If he had been able to, I would’ve been able to sense his presence.
“The Evil God looked monstrous—as if he was born to fight. He was insanely large, reaching a height of almost three metres, and had fists the size of a human’s head. And of course, he was insanely strong too.”
The Evil God was insanely large, with fists the size of a human’s head?
All I could do was laugh silently at what this old man was saying.
When I first saw the Evil God I was surprised.
He had a pretty small stature, reaching only 1.5 metres in height. He even had an innocent face that made him look ill-suited for fighting.
Just because he was an evil god didn’t mean that he was going to simply swing his fists around wildly. He used a small dagger as his weapon of choice.
However, what that old man said wasn’t entirely false; he was indeed insanely strong.  At that point in my life he was the strongest opponent that I had fought against.
Of course, I encountered stronger opponents later in life, but he was someone who I would remember, since he was one of the top five fighters that I had ever fought.
I couldn ’t remember how many times I almost died to his dagger, which had only missed my vitals by a hair. He was someone who deserved the title ‘Evil God’.
“I still remember their fight as if it was yesterday, especially the final moments. The Mengju showed the world his godlike skills at that point. As he dodged and countered the Evil God’s fist he soared up into the heavens like a Dragon. That scene was the most memorable moment of my life. “
Everyone was moved after they heard the old man’s story.
“I’m honored. I could die happily if I saw that fight.”
“I want to buy your eyes.”
“Oh sword god!”
Listening to stories like this wasn’t too bad. Hearing a story about how I finally delivered the final blow to the Evil God, I became a bit embarrassed. This only reinforced that I too was a human.
But there was someone among the crowd who looked unsatisfied.
“So what if he’s a Sword God?”
“Oi, watch what you say.”
“Haven’t you heard the rumors?”
“What rumors?”
“The rumor that he received protection fees.”
“Is that true?”
Everyone, including me, was surprised.
I instantly wanted to get up and shout ‘Stop spouting nonsense!’, as I had ever received money in that sort of manner.
“Why wouldn’t he have? He was that strong.”
When I heard the way he was speaking, I could tell that what he was saying was based on his own feelings, not some rumor.
Shit. I really wanted someone to say something against him, but everyone was agreeing and nodding their heads.
“If it’s Mengju... he probably could have…”
“Wasn’t Chunhajin the strongest Mengju?”
“He died without being able to spend all that money….”
I wouldn’t mind them spouting other rumours, but this crossed the line.
‘It’s not true! You fools! If I had really wanted to, I could have, but… So don’t spread false rumors!’
“How much do you think he made? A hundred thousand? A million?
I couldn’t hold back my sigh.
I truly loved Kang Ho… But I don’t know if Kang Ho even knew of my feelings.
Someone with a clear voice suddenly asked, “Can you prove it?”
This voice belonged to someone that I knew.
Everyone looked towards where the voice had come from. Surprisingly, it was Song Hwa Rin.
Out of all these people, she was the one who spoke out against this man.
Everyone was dazed by her beauty.
Some recognized her, but it seemed that the person who had made the false claim didn’t know who she was. His only thought was, ‘How could such a beautiful woman exist?’
“Do you have any proof that he was extorting money?”
When he heard her question, the man became somewhat nervous
“Are you close to the Mengju?”
“No.”
“Then why are you complaining?”
“I just wanted to tell you not to spread false rumours without knowing the true nature of the one that you’re talking about.”
Her voice was calm yet dangerous.
“Let me ask you again. Do you have any proof of him extorting others?”
“I a…. it’s only a rumour that I heard.”
“Spreading false rumours about the Mengju is a crime. If I were to tell the Alliance, you could be taken into custody.”
The man got scared when he heard her. He had nothing else to say after she said that he could be taken into custody.
“I apologize for rashly speaking.”
Song Hwa Rin quickly sat down at one of the stalls, no longer minding the man.
“Excuse me, I make my order here?”
One of the waitress rushed over to her.
After giving her a final glance, most of the crowd dispersed. They didn’t want to cause trouble by staring at her for too long.
While all of this was happening, I sat on my stall with back turned to her so that she couldn’t see me. However, I was grateful since she had defended me.
After a while, her dishes came.
“Didn’t I only order noodles?”
She was confused when she received a dish with meat alongside her noodles.
The owner replied with a smiling face, “This is a special service that I’m giving you.”
“Why are you treating me like this?”
“Because I think the same thing as you, Lady. I think that the Mengju who passed away was an honorable person. Because of him, we were able to live and prosper without fear. He brought peace to Kang Ho.”
“Oh, so that’s why. But I’ll have to apologize.”
She replied with something that took the owner by surprise, “I think you have mistaken me. I don’t like the Mengju who passed away at all.”
“What?”
The owner’s eye became round. What kind of awkward situation was this?
“But didn’t you just defend him?”
“I simply don’t like people spreading false rumours about others.”
Now that I think about it, she hadn’t said a thing about whether or not she liked the Mengju.
“In fact, I rather dislike the previous Mengju.”
I decided to ask something.
“Why?”
She turned around to face me. She seemed surprised that I was even here.
“How long have you been here?”
“A long time.”
“Did you follow me?”
I shook the empty wine bottle in front of me.
“I could have. If I knew that you were coming here.”
She understood that I had come here first.
“I heard about the Yang Clan.”
“We were lucky to get out of it without spilling any blood.”
“I’m glad that all of you are alright.”
After our exchange, she turned back around.
I didn’t really want to extend our conversation, but I was still curious.
“Why do you hate the previous Mengju?”
This was something that I really wanted to know.
She turned back towards me, but didn’t tell me the reason.
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