“It’s not simply a matter of adding more strings.”
Bu Eunseol shook his head.
“I created additional joints so the puppet could move naturally, then reattached the threads there.”
The boy tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
“Then why didn’t they make the puppet like this from the beginning?”
“When you add many joints, the movements become far more complex, and the pressure on the fingers increases dramatically.”
Bu Eunseol gave a faint smile.
“With a puppet built this way, almost no one can control it properly. That’s exactly why no one makes them like this.”
“But for me, it feels much easier to move! It’s really amazing!”
The boy let out an excited cry.
Ever since Bu Eunseol added the new joints, he could now freely perform movements he had never been able to achieve before.
“It works! I can do it too!”
With every motion of the boy’s fingers, the puppet reproduced elegant techniques as flawlessly as a living martial master in combat.
Watching the display, Bu Eunseol nodded slowly.
‘Indeed.’
Controlling a wooden puppet normally involves lifting it, pulling or releasing the attached strings to complete each motion.
But the boy went beyond that.
With his long fingers, he delicately maintained the puppet’s balance while precisely controlling speed and rhythm, making every action flow together as naturally as water.
“How in the world…?”
The boy turned with a bright laugh—only to freeze with his mouth open.
The man who had just been standing in front of him had vanished without a trace.
“G-Ghost?”
But when the boy looked back down at the wooden puppet in his hands, he saw the increased number of strings and the newly refined joints.
It was no dream.
“Was a divine spirit sent to help me?”
Looking around at the surrounding forest, the boy hurriedly knelt and bowed repeatedly in all directions.
“Thank you! Thank you very much!”
Then, brimming with excitement, he began practicing puppet movements again.
***
“Waaaaah!”
Cheers erupted from the marketplace.
The puppet show performed by the bald man Shim Heung and the boy had begun receiving tremendous acclaim.
In particular, the boy’s manipulation of the Righteous Heavenly Emperor puppet made it seem as though a tiny living martial master had truly appeared.
Even when Shim Heung’s Demon Emperor puppet attacked somewhat sluggishly, the boy blocked every technique with such astonishing precision that onlookers could hardly believe their eyes.
It felt exactly like watching a genuine duel between martial masters.
Not only ordinary spectators but even martial artists who practiced the arts burst into cheers and praise.
“Hahaha!”
After the performance ended, Shim Heung burst into laughter at the sight of the heap of coins piled in the basket.
He could scarcely believe it.
While he had briefly stepped away, the boy’s skill had improved by leaps and bounds.
Someone had added new joints and strings to the boy’s wooden puppet.
When he asked who had done such a thing,
“A divine spirit helped me!”
The boy gave what sounded like nonsense, but that hardly mattered.
Not only could the puppet now perform natural movements it had never managed before—it moved with even greater precision than Shim Heung himself, despite his decades of experience controlling wooden puppets.
“My eyes weren’t wrong after all!”
Shim Heung shouted in exhilaration.
At this level, there was no longer any need to wander from place to place enduring hardship.
They could simply stay in one location and perform—the crowds would keep coming endlessly.
All that remained was sitting on a cushion of money.
“Um, Master.”
At that moment, the boy approached Shim Heung.
“Now… may I eat something?”
The boy clutched his growling stomach and pleaded.
Whenever the puppetry was unsatisfactory or the day’s earnings were poor, Shim Heung would starve him.
The only proper food he had eaten in recent memory was some corn porridge two days earlier.
“Fine, eat.”
Despite the mountain of coins he had received, Shim Heung tossed the boy a single cold dumpling.
“Thank you!”
The boy hurriedly caught the cold dumpling and began tearing into it.
Just then—
Thud, thud.
A tall, handsome man slowly approached the alley where they were resting.
It was Bu Eunseol.
“Who the hell are you?”
Shim Heung quickly hid the coins he had been counting and shouted sharply as Bu Eunseol drew near.
“This is where we’ve set up our business. Ordinary people aren’t supposed to come in here.”
To anyone’s eyes, Bu Eunseol—who had reached the realm of Indifferent Tranquility—looked like a frail scholar.
Moreover, with his Demon-Killer Sword concealed and a fan in hand, he appeared no different from the spoiled son of a wealthy family.
“Divine… Divine Spirit?”
The boy’s eyes widened in shock.
“How are you here…?”
“Divine spirit?”
Shim Heung frowned. The boy quickly explained, “He’s the one who fixed my puppet.”
At that moment, Bu Eunseol spoke.
“Are you this child’s master?”
“That’s right. So?”
“I’ll buy him.”
“What?”
Bu Eunseol pointed at the boy.
“I’m buying the child.”
“Hahaha…”
Shim Heung stared blankly for a long moment before bursting into loud laughter.
Then he abruptly stopped and glared fiercely.
“Talking nonsense?”
Pointing at the wooden puppet standing to one side, he sneered.
“Look here. Do you have any idea how much money I’ve spent raising that kid until now?” He roared, “And how much money he’ll earn for me in the future? Talking such rubbish…”
Shim Heung’s words trailed off.
In Bu Eunseol’s hand, dozens of banknotes had already been fanned out.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol extended a single note.
“One… one thousand taels?”
“Will this suffice?”
Shim Heung’s hand trembled as he reached for it.
But seeing Bu Eunseol’s refined aura and expensive robes, he tried to push his luck once more.
“Hmph. A mere thousand taels isn’t enough to take my disciple…”
He fell silent again.
The stack of notes before him had doubled.
“T-Two thousand taels?”
“If I raise it any higher, even I can’t do much.”
When Bu Eunseol turned to leave,
“Oh! The God of Wealth has descended!”
Afraid Bu Eunseol might change his mind, Shim Heung hurriedly snatched the notes and bowed obsequiously.
“Judging by how skillfully you handled the puppet, you must be in the same line of work, yes? Heh heh heh.”
Even if one performed puppet shows for thirty years, two thousand taels was an unimaginable fortune.
He quickly shouted toward the boy in the corner,
“You idiot! From now on, you follow this gentleman!”
“Master…”
When the boy lowered his head, Bu Eunseol asked Shim Heung,
“Is it really all right for me to take your disciple?”
“Disciple? What disciple? I just picked up a beggar because he looked like he had nimble hands.”
Fearing Bu Eunseol might ask for the notes back, Shim Heung glared and shouted, “Stop talking nonsense and go with him already!”
Despite the harsh words, the boy bowed politely.
“Stay healthy, Master.”
But Shim Heung, utterly shameless, waved his hands dismissively.
“Master? Just go. Hurry up.”
The boy bowed once more with utmost courtesy, then followed Bu Eunseol.
“What is your name?”
As they left the marketplace, Bu Eunseol asked. The boy looked embarrassed.
“It’s ‘Stupid.’”
All the time Shim Heung had kept him, he had never bothered to give the boy a real name—he had simply used him like a dog.
“We have a long journey ahead. First, let’s fill your stomach.”
Bu Eunseol took the boy to an inn and ordered food.
He requested only chicken noodle soup and some simple vegetables, but the boy ate with an expression of overwhelming gratitude.
From the looks of it, he had scarcely eaten proper meals while under Shim Heung’s control.
After eating noodles for a while, the boy met Bu Eunseol’s gaze and quickly bowed his head.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
Seeing how frightened he was just from making eye contact, it was clear the boy had long been subjected to severe violence.
“Eat comfortably.”
Though Bu Eunseol’s face remained impassive, his eyes were warm. Gathering courage, the boy asked, “But sir… why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“If you had revealed your martial arts, you wouldn’t have needed to spend so much money.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed.
“You think I practice martial arts?”
“Aren’t you a martial artist, sir?”
Bu Eunseol was slightly surprised.
He had merely used a throwing knife to carve additional joints and thread strings through them. He had displayed no martial arts whatsoever.
Moreover, having reached the realm of Indifferent Tranquility, no one—not even an expert at the Limitless Realm—could sense his internal energy unless he actively used it.
So how had this boy realized he was trained in the martial arts?
“Why are you so certain I practice martial arts?”
“I knew the moment you threaded the string.”
Under Bu Eunseol’s steady gaze, the boy shyly lowered his head.
“If you hadn’t trained in martial arts, sir, there’s no way you could have passed the thread through such a tiny hole in one try.”
The boy possessed not only naturally delicate senses and finger strength… but also remarkably keen powers of observation.
“The reason is simple.”
Bu Eunseol gazed calmly at the distant sky beyond the window.
“Truly wicked people never know the meaning of satisfaction.”
“Huh?”
The boy blinked, unable to grasp what Bu Eunseol meant.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eunseol looked at the boy’s gaunt cheeks and hollow stomach, then suddenly stood up.
“Let’s get going.”
The boy, still clutching his chopsticks, hurriedly spoke.
“P-Please wait just a moment, sir. I’ll finish quickly.”
More than half of the chicken noodle soup remained, and he hadn’t even touched the vegetables yet.
“Put down the chopsticks.”
“B-But…”
At that moment, a cold starlight flashed in Bu Eunseol’s eyes.
“I greatly dislike having to repeat myself.”
At the firm words, the boy reluctantly set the chopsticks down.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
Even so, he couldn’t help glancing regretfully at the still-half-full bowl of noodles and untouched vegetables.
But Bu Eunseol paid no attention and led the boy out of Chengdu.
After walking for some time, they reached a steep mountain path.
The sharp incline left the boy panting, tongue practically hanging out.
“Huff… huff…”
The boy looked at Bu Eunseol walking ahead.
Though his pace seemed extremely slow, it was far faster than an ordinary man’s, and his strides were perfectly even, as if measured with a ruler.
‘He has so much money—why didn’t he rent a carriage?’
When Bu Eunseol had shown the banknotes, there were easily dozens of them in his hand.
Yet after spending the astronomical sum of two thousand nyang to buy a beggar like him, why walk on such a hot day without a carriage?
‘They say you live well by being frugal.’
The boy nodded, recalling some saying he had once heard.
‘That’s how he became rich—by developing a lifelong habit of thrift.’
Just as the boy congratulated himself on figuring it out and took another step—
“Ah!”
He clutched his stomach and cried out involuntarily.
A sudden, twisting pain erupted in his guts as if they were being wrung out.
“S-Sir…”
The boy’s face turned pale; he staggered.
“P-Please wait just a moment. My stomach hurts so much…”
Bu Eunseol nodded.
“Stop walking and rest for a bit.”
“Ughhh… Sir… I feel like I’m going to die.”
The pain in his abdomen now felt as though his intestines were being ripped out entirely.
Yet Bu Eunseol spoke nonchalantly.
“It’s because oily food you’re not used to entered your stomach. But since you ate only a very small amount, there shouldn’t be any serious problem.”
‘Ah…’
Only then did the boy understand.
Bu Eunseol had stopped him from finishing even half the noodles—not to torment him, but because he already knew the boy hadn’t eaten properly in a long time.
He had deliberately limited the portion to prevent any serious upset.
“Ughhh…”
Another wave of abdominal pain hit, and the boy hunched over, clutching his stomach.
About half an hour passed.
Gradually, the pain in his stomach began to subside.
Just as Bu Eunseol had said, after a little time, the agony faded completely without any treatment.
“Sir… I’m fine now.”
But Bu Eunseol seemed not to hear; he was gazing at the distant sky.
After standing silently for a long while, he murmured softly, “So they thought this spot would be suitable.”
“What do you…?”
Rustle, rustle.
From far off, the grass parted, and dozens of sturdy men emerged.
“M-Master?”
Leading the group was none other than Shim Heung, the boy’s former master.
“Heh heh heh. Not very surprised, are you?”
Ignoring the boy entirely, Shim Heung looked at the calmly standing Bu Eunseol and let out a sinister laugh.
“A rich young master, huh? Quite the guts you’ve got.”
Bu Eunseol glanced at the men standing behind Shim Heung and gave a cold snort.
“So you used the money I gave you to hire killers.”
“Exactly.”
Shim Heung grinned broadly.
“I saw at least tens of thousands of taels in your robes. Spending two thousand taels is hardly a bad investment.”
“Investment?”
Shim Heung curled his lip.
“A fool who pays two thousand taels for a ragged beggar like him—surely he wouldn’t mind if this old man took all that money for himself, right?”
“Are you talking about them?”
“Of course.”
Shim Heung laughed confidently.
The people he had hired were no ordinary killers.
He had spotted members of the Ghost Sect passing through the area and immediately offered them two thousand taels to take the job.
“Foolish.”
Bu Eunseol let out a derisive breath.
“Do you really think killers who cut people down like butchers would be satisfied with a mere two thousand taels?”
Looking at the Ghost Sect assassins, Bu Eunseol clicked his tongue.
“After killing me, they’ll kill you too to silence you and take all the money.”
“What?”
Only then did Shim Heung sense something ominous and glance back at the killers.
They didn’t refute Bu Eunseol’s words; instead, they bared yellowed teeth in grins.
The murderous glint in their eyes made it clear they truly intended to do exactly that.
“Gentlemen… surely you’re not going to do as he says, right? You are renowned men who shake the martial world.”
As Shim Heung approached, bowing and scraping,
Thwack!
The leader of the assassins struck Shim Heung hard across the face.
“Argh!”
Several teeth flew out as Shim Heung rolled on the ground in agony.
“Looks like he’s learned some martial arts.”
Without even glancing at the screaming Shim Heung, the leader curled his lip.
Thud, thud.
He slowly advanced, staring straight at Bu Eunseol.
“Judging by the look of you, you probably wasted money learning trash martial arts at some neighborhood dojo.”
Seeing Bu Eunseol stand without the slightest trace of fear, he grinned, showing yellow teeth.
“You must think we’re just some cheap killers anyone can hire with pocket change—especially since trash like him brought us.”
“……”
“Heh heh heh. We are genuine Ghost Sect assassins. We only approached because that fool was waving a thousand-tael note at some Black Alley thug looking for killers.”
The leader sneered.
“No need for long speeches. Hand over all the money you have, and we’ll let you live.”
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol simply wore a strange, subtle smile.
Watching the scene, the boy finally understood everything and began to tremble.
‘So that’s what it was.’
The reason the young man had ostentatiously shown off the stack of banknotes in front of his master earlier… he understood it now.
‘He deliberately created a justification to kill them all…’
Only then did the boy realize that Bu Eunseol’s martial arts were extraordinarily profound, and that he was a master who followed his own ironclad rule: he would not raise a hand against ordinary people—or even martial artists—without proper justification.
That was why he had deliberately provoked his master’s vile greed with an enormous sum of money, luring him into trying to kill him.
And now, he was about to deliver a punishment more severe and impartial than any heavenly retribution—human justice.
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