The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 119

Mo Yong Baek-jin, who heard my words, didn't move right away.

He has a dumbfounded expression.

"P-Powder? Why?"

"Why, what do you mean why? Because it's strange."

"What's strange about it?"

"Ah. Stop asking and just give it to me. I've been trying to help you since a while ago, haven't I?"

When I spoke in an annoyed voice, Mo Yong Baek-jin glared at me for a moment, and then he handed me a flat iron box from his bag.

He listens well when I get angry.

Click, and when I opened it, it was full of white powder.

"Why do you, a man, do something like this? Makeup is for women."

"The white powder has a completely different meaning from women's makeup. Originally, it is a tradition of our family that the royal family must have a white face. Therefore, when we stand before others, we must maintain a white face as proof of our royalty."

"Then does the head of the Mo Yong family also put this powder on his face?"

"That's right. Didn't I just say? All royalty must do it."

I rubbed the white powder with my fingers and smelled it, and then I asked him, "What is this made of?"

"Various ingredients are needed. Dragon bone, white true flower powder, pearl powder, and so on..."

"Just hearing about them, they sound like very expensive ingredients. Who makes it?"

"There are artisans in the family who specialize in making the white powder."

"Artisans? Do you know who they all are?"

"Of course... I know. I know all the members of my family."

"Is that so?"

I took a good amount of the powder with my finger and put it straight into my mouth.

"Wh-What are you doing!"

He was so surprised that he instantly came up to me and snatched the iron box.

Since I was going to give it back to him anyway, I let him take it without a word.

And slowly, slowly, I rolled the powder in my mouth as if I were savoring it.

'It tastes so bad.'

It's not made for people to eat, so it might be natural that it tastes bad.

But I endured it and continued to roll my tongue.

I didn't just taste it, but I began to inject a very small amount of internal energy into my mouth.

Gradually weaker, and thinner. And at some point.

Although it was a very small amount, I could feel my internal energy scattering in my mouth.

I opened my eyes wide and picked up a soft piece of cloth that was within reach, and then I spat out the powder I had been holding in my mouth.

"You, you crazy...!"

What I thought was a piece of cloth was Mo Yong Baek-jin's top.

Perhaps because it was made of very high-quality silk from the Mo Yong family, it was very soft.

Now it's a complete mess because I spat out the powder mixed with a lot of saliva.

"What are you doing!"

"Ah. Sorry, sorry. But it tasted so bad that I couldn't stand it."

"Do you know how much this silk is worth?! This is made by spinning thread from silkworms that only grow in Jilin Province..."

"No matter how expensive it is, I don't think it's more expensive than finding out the reason why your internal energy isn't accumulating."

"......!!"

Mo Yong Baek-jin stopped talking.

He has an expression of disbelief.

He can't even say 'how?' properly, and he just stares at me for a long time, and then he looks at me and says in a low voice, as if he's squeezing it out of his throat, "If you're trying to insult me..."

"Insult? Why would I do something so troublesome?"

"Then... no, then..."

Perhaps because he realized from my expression that I was telling the truth, he began to look confused.

"Are you curious? Shall I tell you?"

"How could a young Taoist like you find out in a day what the elders of my family didn't know..."

I shrugged my shoulders and answered, "Because I'm not a member of your family. So there are things I can know."

He had a dejected expression, and then he returned to his original arrogant-looking face.

"If you tell me the real reason, I will surely repay you someday."

"Repay? How will you repay me?"

"If you ask for gold and silver treasures, our family will show the utmost sincerity, and if you ask for a large piece of land, we can grant you a fief. It's safe to say that almost all the land north of Liaoning Province is our family's land. And if you want an elixir... I can even get you a ten-thousand-year-old snow ginseng."

Everything Mo Yong Baek-jin just said.

In fact, they are very tempting. Especially the money and the ten-thousand-year-old snow ginseng.

But, what I really want is not that.

"That's enough. I have many places to get money, and as for the land... what would I do with that land? The ten-thousand-year-old snow ginseng is very tempting, but I'll decline because I might get sick if I eat it wrong."

In fact, I might just digest it all like the Small Rebirth Pill. Ahem.

"Then what do you want?"

"Let's be friends."

"What...?"

"And fix that rude personality of yours, you bastard. You're arrogant, and when you lose your reason, you don't see anything. Look at the spar earlier. You were so angry that you didn't even see the people who didn't know martial arts behind me, right? You're going to be the head of the Mo Yong family. Isn't the head of the family someone who embraces everyone from the top to the bottom?"

"Someone who embraces...?"

"A monarch who reigns will not last long. Keep that in mind and become the head of the family. That's enough of a reward."

Mo Yong Baek-jin couldn't answer and just stared at me.

He seemed to have an expression as if he didn't know what I was thinking.

"Okay... we're a little different in age, but I'll be your friend."

I looked at him and smiled brightly.

Since I've established such a relationship with Mo Yong Baek-jin, who will become the next head of the Mo Yong family, it's no different from having a reliable supporter when the war with the Demonic Cult breaks out in the future.

No, at least I don't have to worry about the northeast anymore.

Because the Mo Yong family, which reigns there, will protect my back.

"Good. Then, friend. I'll tell you the reason why your internal energy hasn't been accumulating. The reason is... this white powder."

"The white powder?"

"You royalty put this on all the time, right? Do you put this on as soon as you open your eyes in the morning?"

Mo Yong Baek-jin nodded his head and answered, "We must maintain a white face when we show ourselves to the people. The servants and handmaidens who work in our mansion are also people in the end. We must not show our bare faces even when we stand before them."

"Then it's even more certain. A very weak poison that scatters your skills is mixed in this powder."

"A poison that scatters your skills?!"

"Yes. It's a medicine that scatters your internal energy. I don't know who made it, but it's a very elaborately made poison that scatters your skills. It doesn't touch the energy you have, but it interferes with the accumulation of new internal energy. It seems that they have been experimenting for a very long time to find the right amount for you... You said you know who the people who make this powder are, right?"

Mo Yong Baek-jin nodded his head with a bewildered face.

It seems he has someone in mind.

"If you don't grow further, if you don't become the head of the Mo Yong family in the future, is there any connection between the person who will benefit the most and the person who makes the white powder? If that's connected, the story becomes simple."

"Heo..."

Mo Yong Baek-jin let out a dejected sigh.

That sigh was full of regret. It seemed he had someone in mind.

"A branch family..."

"A branch family?"

"One of the branch families of our family has been making and managing this white powder for generations. And... if I don't accumulate internal energy and can't become the head of the family due to lack of skill, the one who will benefit the most is also the branch family. Because if I can't become strong enough to control all the martial artists of the branch family... according to the family law, the next head of the family must be chosen from the branch family."

"Then the words you said earlier that you must become the head of the family, by any chance?"

"That's right. They are still coveting the position of the head of the family."

"Then it's settled. The reason is clear, and we know the method."

He slowly nodded his head.

"But are you sure? That a poison that scatters your skills is mixed in here?"

"I'm sure. Otherwise, why would I have even put this tasteless thing in my mouth? Although it's a very small amount, most people wouldn't feel it, but I'm a bit sensitive to energy. I definitely felt the poison that scatters your skills."

"I understand."

He suddenly walked towards the door.

"What. Where are you going?"

"I'm going back to the Mo Yong family."

"Suddenly? What about the Nangong family?"

"The reason I was going to the Nangong family in the first place was not to congratulate the great-grandfather of the Nangong family, but to see if I could find out the cause of my problem if I met him. But thanks to you, I've found out everything, so there's no need to go."

"So you're going to the Mo Yong family right now?"

"Yes. This is a problem that I must report to my father as soon as possible. This is not just my problem alone. The branch families may have gathered... and planned to usurp the position of the head of the family."

"No, how are you going to go in the middle of the night?"

"I'll go by lightness skill when it's dark, and I'll ride a horse when it's bright."

Looking at his expression, I realized that I couldn't stop him, and there was no reason to stop him.

"Okay, go. I hope you get good results."

Mo Yong Baek-jin nodded his head and was about to leave... but he walked to the bronze mirror on one side of the wall and wiped his face with a cloth hanging next to it.

Thanks to that, the white powder was wiped away, and his bare face was revealed.

"Although it's against the law, I can't keep putting this on."

"You've thought well. If you meet a stream, just wash your face."

"Yes. If you ever have a chance to come to Liaoning Province, be sure to visit the Mo Yong family. Not only me... but my father will also treat you as a benefactor of the family."

"I understand."

"And... thank you."

He left his last words and then left the room without even listening to my answer.

"Good. With this, I think I've sufficiently compensated for blocking his path in my past life, right?"

Although I was the one who helped him, I feel strangely refreshed.

Come to think of it, the martial arts competition hosted by the Mo Yong family was probably a competition that the head of the Mo Yong family held as a last resort to make his son, whose growth had stopped, feel confident.

And I just happened to participate in that competition and won.

I don't remember well what happened to Mo Yong Baek-jin after that, but he probably disappeared into the back alleys of the martial world.

His personality would have gotten worse due to continued failure, and the head of the Mo Yong family, concerned that he would tarnish the family's honor, might have hidden him.

"I hope they find out who did it."

I burst out laughing to myself with a refreshed heart.

***

The next day.

We passed the morning and decided to depart only after having lunch.

Although Zhuge Yun had only rested for a day, his face had returned to its shiny state, and Zhuge Ling... was still beautiful.

And my senior brothers seem to have gotten up at dawn today and trained.

"Did you all rest well? From here to the Nangong family, we'll be running without any breaks in between, is that okay? Looking at the distance, it seems it will take about five days."

At my explanation, everyone nodded their heads with a face full of determination.

As expected, the effect of one day's rest was considerable.

"Wait a minute, I'm getting ready to leave. I'll be back after I pay."

I made the group wait and then went to the waiter and asked him to calculate the price of the food and rooms we had.

But, instead of asking me for money, he handed me a neatly folded piece of clothing and said, "Taoist master. The young master who left yesterday has already paid for everything."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes. And he also said that there are dirty clothes in the room, so he asked me to wash them well and deliver them to you today."

"What about the lunch today?"

"He paid generously, so there seems to be no need to pay more. We are a rather conscientious shop."

I let out a small laugh and took the silk clothes from the waiter.

It was the very clothes I had spat the white powder on yesterday.

Thanks to the waiter washing and drying them cleanly, I could take them with me right away.

"He was a more decent guy than I thought."

I muttered to myself, thinking of Mo Yong Baek-jin.

I look forward to a reunion with Mo Yong Baek-jin someday in the future.

A reunion with a friend I made in a day and broke up with in a day.

(End of Chapter)