I Became the Hidden Ruler of the Martial World

Baek Yoonjun, who was watching Hong Yungae's appearance from the hut outside the village.

'What's with him?'

He was dumbfounded.

-I was trying to get through it quietly if possible.

Hong Yungae, seen through Baek Yoonjun's unique third-person sense, was scanning the pawnshop with a triumphant look like an absolute master.

'Could it be that that brat was actually an incredible master, and I was being deceived by his appearance?'

Hong Yungae's appearance was so dignified that it gave rise to a ridiculous misunderstanding.

-Oh, great hero! I'm sorry for not recognizing you!

And the owner of the pawnshop, as if he had completely fallen for Hong Yungae's appearance, had lost all of his previous dignified appearance and was bowing obsequiously.

And Hong Yungae, who was at that place.

'To think that such a rich-looking person is bowing to me.'

He felt a strange emotion stirring within him.

Hong Yungae's back straightened even more.

"Then, let's just say we misunderstood each other, and will you pay a fair price for the night-luminescent pearl?"

Even his tone of voice had changed from his usual clumsy one to a stiff, martial artist-like one.

Seeing that, the pawnshop owner was busy bowing repeatedly.

"Of course! I'll exchange it for you right away."

"Ah, please give it to me minus the price of this staff."

Hong Yungae was very pleased with the staff he had just swung.

'This much should be fine, right?'

-It's fine.

'Ugh, you scared me! Were you watching everything?'

-If I hadn't been watching, how would I have helped you?

At Baek Yoonjun's voice that came into his head, Hong Yungae hastily looked around, but he couldn't find any trace.

"Here, the calculation is done... hmm? Great hero, what are you looking around for so much?"

"Ahem. It's nothing."

Hong Yungae hastily took the money pouch that the pawnshop owner held out and quickly left the place.

'Ah! I didn't check how much he gave me.'

Having left the pawnshop, Hong Yungae quickly headed to a secluded place and there, he examined the money pouch that the pawnshop owner had handed him.

As Hong Yungae opened the money pouch, a brilliant golden light flashed.

"A gold ingot?!"

For Hong Yungae, it was a gold ingot he had only heard about in words.

'Oh, I thought it was heavy for some reason!'

Hong Yungae, whose mind was going blank, hastily scanned his surroundings and then stored the money pouch containing the gold ingot in his bosom.

'No one saw, right?'

Hong Yungae became anxious.

As a beggar, Hong Yungae was a status where it was hard to even see an iron coin.

Since he had seen a gold ingot that he had only heard about in words, it was no wonder that he couldn't come to his senses.

'H-how can I eat with this in my bosom?!'

In the first place, it was a strange thing for a beggar to confidently enter a place like a tavern, but for a beggar with a gold ingot in his bosom to enter a restaurant was of course absurd.

Hong Yungae hastily left the village and arrived at the place where Baek Yoonjun was.

"Master! No, great hero!"

"Just call me master, roughly."

"Yes, master! Th-this!"

Seeing Baek Yoonjun, Hong Yungae hastily held out the money pouch containing the gold ingot.

Since Baek Yoonjun had been watching Hong Yungae with his senses for a long time, he knew that what was in the money pouch was a gold ingot.

'Damn it! Why did it have to be gold?!'

To him, gold was an incredibly burdensome substance.

"Get it away."

Baek Yoonjun performed his lightness skill to its fullest and avoided the money pouch that was being held out.

Although Hong Yungabe was briefly surprised by Baek Yoonjun's movement, which was hard to even follow with his eyes, he soon came to his senses and held out the money pouch to Baek Yoonjun again.

Of course, Baek Yoonjun immediately avoided the money pouch.

At Baek Yoonjun's incomprehensible action, Hong Yungae shouted with a dumbfounded heart.

"No, this is not a thunderbolt bomb, but a gold ingot!"

"I know."

At Baek Yoonjun's nonchalant reaction, all sorts of questions began to fill Hong Yungae's mind.

'Why is he avoiding the gold ingot? Could it be that he thinks the word 'thunderbolt bomb' and the word 'gold ingot' have the same meaning?'

Hong Yungae repeatedly held out the money pouch to Baek Yoonjun.

The indomitable will to live even by crawling on the floor, a common talent of most beggars, was being displayed in a useless place.

"Gold ingots don't explode!"

"I know."

"Then why are you avoiding it?"

"Then why are you holding that out to me?"

At Baek Yoonjun's question, Hong Yungae froze again and just blinked his eyes.

It was because he was flustered by a very natural question.

"What beggar in the world carries a gold ingot?!"

"There's one right here."

"No, a burdensome item like this should naturally be held by someone like you, master!"

"What kind of dog-eating-grass logic is that?"

The one who passes it on and the one who avoids it.

The struggle, which looked as if they were passing a thunderbolt bomb to each other, continued for a while.

"Pant, pant."

The first one to be knocked out was Hong Yungae.

Since it was a martial artist and an ordinary person, it was a natural result.

'I won.'

Although Baek Yoonjun was intoxicated with a slight sense of victory, he did not show it on the outside.

On the other hand, Hong Yungae was engulfed in despair.

It felt as if the gold ingot in his bosom was pressing down on him as if it weighed a thousand catties.

'R-rather than carrying something like this!!'

In the end, Hong Yungae chose a method that was impossible in common sense.

Hong Yungae threw the money pouch containing the gold ingot on the floor.

"I'd rather throw away a heinous item like this than carry it around!"

Seeing such a Hong Yungae, Baek Yoonjun intuited.

'This brat is the same kind as me!'

Although at a glance, the species called beggars seemed to be a bold species that begged on the street with a thick skin, if they did that, they were likely to die quickly.

The beggars who survived for a long time were beings who were wary of everything and were timid, and Hong Yungae was also like that.

Baek Yoonjun looked at Hong Yungae and the money pouch with complicated thoughts.

'Tsk, I have no choice.'

Although Baek Yoonjun could survive on his own even without money, the young beggar in front of him was not.

In the end, Baek Yoonjun, who had taken a step back, let his internal energy flow, floated the money pouch, and then stored it in his bosom.

"I'll keep it, so you use it."

And at the same time, he made a suggestion.

'If I'm not the one using it, I won't have to deal with people face-to-face, right?'

It was by no means a sound logic.

"Huh? Th-I'll do that."

But since Hong Yungae did not have the head to grasp such an unsound logic, he accepted it without thinking.

Hearing that answer, Baek Yoonjun inwardly shouted with joy.

With the urgent matter resolved, Baek Yoonjun this time turned his gaze to the staff that Hong Yungae was holding.

A staff that seemed to be made of green jade.

Although jade breaks easily, that staff had not broken even when it had struck a person.

Baek Yoonjun felt a slight interest in that staff.

"Let me see that for a moment."

"Here you go."

Baek Yoonjun, who had received the staff that Hong Yungae had obediently handed over, tapped the staff with his finger and measured its strength.

'Oh? Look at this? It looks like jade, but it's very sturdy.'

By Baek Yoonjun's standards, it was a rather sturdy staff.

It also fit well in his hand, and it felt like a staff for beating something.

'This is really.'

In Baek Yoonjun's mind, the martial art he had engraved in the cave came to mind.

'It's a staff for the Dog Beating Staff Technique!'

The staff technique he had used to smash the heads of the dog-like bandits.

Baek Yoonjun held the staff and performed the Dog Beating Staff Technique.

'Keu, it's on a different level from a fishing rod. Are there no passing villains?'

Since it was more comfortable for Baek Yoonjun to smash the skulls of villains than to trade something with a gold ingot, it was a thought he could have.

Baek Yoonjun, who was looking around for a moment with his eyes flashing, licked his lips.

'Tsk, there are none.'

Although bandits and beasts were things that popped out when he was bored, on that day, there was nothing around.

Baek Yoonjun, who was scanning his surroundings with eyes full of regret, made eye contact with Hong Yungae, who was also looking at him with eyes full of regret.

'What's with this brat's gaze?'

As a result of observing closely, Hong Yungae was not looking at Baek Yoonjun, but at the staff held in his hand.

At that gaze, a sense of embarrassment rose thickly in Baek Yoonjun.

"I'm not taking it. Take it."

"Thank you! Master!"

As Baek Yoonjun held out the staff, Hong Yungae's eyes flashed, and he immediately snatched the staff.

At that, Baek Yoonjun was so dumbfounded that a hollow laugh came out.

"You brat, do you like it that much?"

"Of course! Didn't you see me knock down a man the size of a house with this?"

Although he wasn't the size of a house, Hong Yungae was just proud of the fact that he had knocked down a man a head taller with a staff.

Hong Yungae looked at the staff as if he were looking at a sacred object.

And so, Hong Yungae, who had been examining the staff for a long time.

"Does this staff also have a name?"

"Seeing that it was rolling around in a pawnshop, it doesn't seem to be important, so it probably doesn't have a name."

"Oh!"

At the words that it had no name, Hong Yungae cheered.

"Then what name should I give my beloved weapon?"

Hong Yungae was very excited and asked Baek Yoonjun.

'I was wondering why this brat was so excited, so it was because he wanted to give the staff a name?'

Remembering how he had given a name to a kettle that was rolling around in his house in his childhood, Baek Yoonjun let out a hollow laugh.

'Since he's asking me, it means he wants to give it a name but can't think of anything. Is there a good name?'

Baek Yoonjun thought quite seriously about the name of the staff.

'Hmm, I can't think of a good name either... Ah! That staff is a perfect match for the Dog Beating Staff Technique, isn't it? Then, as expected!'

Having decided on the name of the staff, Baek Yoonjun.

"How about the Dog Beating Jade Staff?"

He voiced the name he had thought of with great confidence.

"What? The jade staff that beats dogs?"

But Hong Yungae's reaction was not very good.

At the not-so-good reaction, Baek Yoonjun's feelings were hurt.

'No. If you don't know the meaning, you might have that kind of reaction.'

But thinking that it was a reaction that came from a childish heart, Baek Yoonjun decided to understand with a broad mind and began to explain.

"What do you usually call a villain?"

"A bad guy? Isn't it?"

"Try saying it a little stronger than that."

"A very bad guy?"

At Hong Yungae's answer, Baek Yoonjun became very frustrated.

"Don't you usually call them a dog-like bastard?"

Since he was frustrated, he ended up voicing the answer himself.

Hong Yungae, who had heard Baek Yoonjun's answer, had a look of not understanding at all.

"Uh, that's right?"

"Right! The jade staff that beats down that dog-like bastard! Isn't it a pretty good name?"

"Oh!"

Only then, as if he had understood what Baek Yoonjun wanted to say, did Hong Yungae let out a sigh of admiration.

"Such a deep meaning! I like it!"

At the very good reaction, Baek Yoonjun, with a pleased heart, added a bonus.

"On top of that, the martial art you will learn is also the Dog Beating Staff Technique. Isn't it a perfect match with the Dog Beating Jade Staff?"

"Ooooh!! There was a deep meaning that this humble one could never grasp!"

Hong Yungae cheered greatly.

Looking at such a Hong Yungae, Baek Yoonjun also became very pleased.

And so, after the pleased situation passed.

"Then now."

Baek Yoonjun, who had returned to reality, held out the money pouch in his bosom to Hong Yungae.

"Go and exchange it."

"What?"

"You can't use it as it is, can you?"

"Th-that's true, isn't it?"

With a face where the previous cheer was gone, Hong Yungae took the money pouch.

"I'll keep it, and you'll use it, so it's only right that you exchange it, isn't it?"

"I guess so?"

In the end, Hong Yungae, pushed by Baek Yoonjun's sophistry, trudged back to the village.

Having entered the village, Hong Yungae, with bloodshot eyes, repeatedly looked around and held the Dog Beating Jade Staff tightly in his hand.

'I beat up that big man before! I'll beat down any dog-like bastard who's after the money pouch with the Dog Beating Jade Staff!'

Hong Yungae, who had entered the pawnshop, scattering a fierce aura.

"G-great hero? Why have you come again?"

At such a Hong Yungae, the pawnshop owner was flustered.

Hong Yungae was very pleased to see the pawnshop owner, who was flinching at the sight of him.

'I am strong! Much stronger than that uncle!'

The pleased Hong Yungae's back straightened, and his expression became solemn.

"It's hard to use it as it is, so please exchange it."

Hong Yungae solemnly threw the money pouch at the pawnshop owner.

"If you were going to use it right away, you should have told me. I'll exchange it for you right away!"

The pawnshop owner, confirming that Hong Yungae had not come to pick a fight, was relieved and hastily exchanged the gold ingot.

"Here you go. Please check it."

"Ahem, I trust you did it well."

Hong Yungae, who knew that the gold ingot was precious but did not know its value, put the money pouch that the pawnshop owner had handed him into his bosom as if nothing had happened.

Having taken the money pouch, Hong Yungae was about to leave when his gaze fell on the Dog Beating Jade Staff held in his hand.

'Since it was an item that was here, wouldn't this uncle know about the Dog Beating Jade Staff?'

Hong Yungae let out a big cough and turned his head towards the pawnshop owner with a solemn face.

At that, the pawnshop owner was flustered, wondering if there was a problem.

"Great hero, is there a problem?"

"It's not that."

Hong Yungae carefully held out the Dog Beating Jade Staff to the pawnshop owner.

"Do you know about this staff?"

"Uh... that's..."

The pawnshop owner, who had been mumbling for a long time after seeing the Dog Beating Jade Staff, carefully whispered in Hong Yungae's ear.

"It's not certain, but there's a rumor that that staff is the Green Jade Buddha Staff, a divine object that was lost from Shaolin."

"What?"

At the unexpected words, Hong Yungae's solemnity was almost broken.

'The Green Jade Buddha Staff? The Green Jade Buddha Staff that I know?'

Originally, listening to rumors and selling them was a beggar's means of livelihood.

Although it was a long time ago, the rumor that Shaolin had lost a divine object was a rumor that Hong Yungae had also heard.

'R-really?'

Hong Yungae's eyes began to tremble like an aspen tree.

"It's probably not true, but it was a difficult item to dispose of because of the rumors, so since you, great hero, said you would take it, I sold it to you cheaply."

The pawnshop owner, who did not know Hong Yungae's heart, laughed very good-naturedly.

(End of Chapter)