The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 237

Jeong Il-hak, who had collapsed to the floor after hearing that Minister Jeong had been murdered by a robber.

I almost scoffed at him, but I barely held it back.

He seems to be more saddened now than when he first entered here after hearing that his father had died.

Although Jeong Yi-hak seems to have a very upright personality, I don't know how a brother and a younger brother can be so different.

"The culprit... have you found out who the culprit is? Yi-hak-ah. Have you told the authorities?!"

"No, older brother. I haven't told them yet."

"This is...! You are a military official, aren't you? If you are a military official, you should naturally have connections in the imperial army! You should mobilize the imperial army to find the one who harmed our father, and you should get the family heirloom back from him, shouldn't you?!"

Jeong Il-hak, as if his anger had suddenly flared up, shouted at Jeong Yi-hak.

If you look at it without knowing anything, it would seem like a cool older brother who is scolding his younger brother who is doing nothing about his father's unjust death.

But now that I know the truth, it is extremely ugly. Jeong Il-hak is probably so angry because the family heirloom that he should have had has disappeared.

'Now, Jeong Yi-hak. Since you've done well so far, just say what you've prepared. Let's see how Jeong Il-hak reacts.'

When I sent such a look to Jeong Yi-hak, as if he had noticed, he nodded his head and then opened his mouth.

"Older brother. To be honest, I think I know who the culprit is."

"What?! Then we should go and find him right away. Why are you doing this? Aren't you angry that our father has suffered an unjust death?!"

"That is... I think you, older brother, can also guess who the culprit is. Didn't our father always say? That the Left General of Chang'an, Jin Baek, sends an assassin every night to threaten our father..."

"What? Th-That is..."

"If I were to tell you everything honestly... I have always thought that what our father has been saying so far was all because of his dementia, and I have dismissed it as nothing. But now that this has really happened... if I had known this would happen, I should have stayed by my father's side and protected him, even if it meant giving up my official post... I regret it so much, older brother..."

Jeong Yi-hak had an expression as if he were about to cry at any moment.

"Yi-hak-ah..."

Jeong Il-hak, as if he had been completely taken in by that expression, called his younger brother's name vaguely for a moment, and then he seemed to have come to his senses.

"Ah, no. But that can't be."

"Yes? Why. Why can't that be?"

"Th-That is... actually, I have recently gotten to know the Left General well, and he is not that kind of person."

"He's not that kind of person? Then what our father has been suffering from until now...?"

"There must have been some misunderstanding. I think so."

But, Jeong Yi-hak, with a very stubborn expression, shook his head.

"Although that person, Jin Baek, may have been good to you, older brother. The fact that he is the enemy who killed our father and took his things does not change. As soon as our father's funeral is over, I will go to Luoyang and hold him responsible and get the family heirloom back."

"What?!"

"Perhaps my older brother is more suitable for the position of head of the family than I am. It is not right for you, older brother, to ascend to the position of head of the family without the family heirloom. I will go."

"No. No. Yi-hak-ah. There's no need for that. The Left General, Jin Baek, is a scary person. What if something happens to you too?"

"Don't worry. The martial artists of the Wudang Sect and the Shaolin Temple who are here have said that they will go with me. Although it is the law that the martial world and the imperial court do not interfere in each other's affairs, the moment our father asked these people to help him directly, it is natural that such a law does not apply, isn't it?"

"No, that's not what I mean..."

I can almost hear Jeong Il-hak's head turning.

And that's understandable, because from what I have gathered, the Left General, Jin Baek, has not been directly involved in this matter at all.

Everything was done by Jeong Il-hak, using the name of Jin Baek.

But if Jeong Yi-hak suddenly goes to the Left General, Jin Baek, and tells him to take responsibility for ruining our family, then while investigating the truth, he might find out that Jeong Il-hak has been using his name.

'And from what I have found out separately, his personality is said to be very cruel.'

Of course, there is also a Hao-men here, and in the information about him that I obtained by paying a considerable amount of money, it was written in detail how greedy and cruel Jin Baek was.

He is said to have strongly punished those who stole or borrowed his money or things and did not return them, and now that I think about it, the reason why Jeong Il-hak was trying to give it to Jin Baek even by threatening his father seems to be precisely that.

"Then what is the problem? By any chance, older brother...! It can't be that, can it?!"

"Wh-What do you mean?"

He, as if a thief were caught, reacted greatly to Jeong Yi-hak's words and asked back.

"By any chance, are you protecting him because he is the person you are currently connected to? The enemy of our father?!"

"N-No. That's really not it. Although I think power is important, I am not such a bad man as to protect my father's enemy. I'm just saying that because I really think he is not the culprit."

"Do you have a reason for thinking that?"

"Even when I met him a while ago, he asked me to ask my father if there was any way to get the Art of War of Wu Zi. If he had been planning this, he wouldn't have had to say that to me, would he?"

"He might have deliberately planned it that way to avoid your suspicion."

"No. It can't be. And if he had really wanted to have the Art of War of Wu Zi by any means, he would have done it on the first day, not tormenting my father for several months. That's his personality."

"If you say so... it seems it's really not him."

At Jeong Yi-hak's words, which seemed to be barely convinced, Jeong Il-hak let out a sigh of relief.

He, as if he had suddenly thought of something, opened his mouth.

"Ah! Then can I look around the house for a bit? I also want to go to my father's quarters."

"Yes. It's okay. But why..."

"There is a member of the Imperial Guard among the people I became close to in the government. So I have heard various stories about investigations. So there are many things I can find out."

"Do you have connections in the Imperial Guard? Older brother, you are truly... amazing."

"Well. That's about right. Then let's say goodbye to our father a little later. Because if we can't find out who the culprit is, we won't have the face to see our father."

"I understand, older brother."

Jeong Il-hak was about to take all of us and leave, and at that time, Jeong Yi-hak opened his mouth to him again.

"Older brother."

"Why?"

"I'm sorry for everything until now. I didn't think you would be so proactive in our father's affairs. I just thought you had lost interest in the house..."

"It's true that I hated my father. But when I heard that he had really passed away, since I am also a human, I am very sad. Catching the culprit as soon as possible is the only way to repay even a little of my unfilial piety to my father, isn't it?"

Jeong Il-hak said in a heartfelt voice.

If you had heard it without knowing, it is a sincere tone and content that would have made you completely deceived.

Of course, now that I have a rough idea of all the facts, my stomach is starting to boil.

"Then shall we really set off? Evidence is something that can disappear at any time, blown away by the wind, or stepped on by people's feet. It is important to go as soon as possible. For now, just you follow me."

"Yes, older brother."

Jeong Il-hak took Jeong Yi-hak and went outside.

We, after waiting for a while until their presence had completely disappeared, finally opened our mouths.

"Senior brother. What do you think?"

"You were right. I felt like I could hear his head turning."

"What about you, monks?"

Monk Il-jik answered first.

"I don't know the ways of the world well yet, so I don't know if I felt it correctly... but if a father has passed away, I don't think he would be able to think so rationally, but I thought he was very calm."

"I had a similar thought. I don't know if that person is originally such a cold-blooded person, or if he is like that because of the family heirloom that has disappeared now, but it was not a reaction that a person who has lost his father would show. What about you, Monk Il-won?"

"A very appropriate word comes to mind right now, but since it is a worldly word, it is difficult to say it out loud."

"What kind of word is it?"

"You will probably think it is appropriate if you hear it."

"Then please say it."

"Senior brother. May I say just one word?"

Il-jik, as if asking why he was asking such a thing, told him to do as he pleased, and Monk Il-won continued, "Although it seems I am being too direct... he is a scoundrel."

"Cough."

"Ahem..."

At the more direct word than I had thought, I was surprised and, while inhaling, got stuck, and Monk Il-jik cleared his throat.

Monk Il-won, as if he had expected us to have this kind of reaction, had an expression that showed he didn't care at all.

"As a Buddhist, I shouldn't say this, but just looking at his behavior now, I want to shave his head, take him to the sect, and make him practice wall-gazing for decades until he repents for all his sins. Especially the attitude he showed today was also very disrespectful. In the end, he didn't even open this coffin lid, did he? Doesn't that mean that he is not interested in his father's death at all?"

Monk Il-won seems to be strangely excited.

In general, people get angry when they see someone who makes the worst choice in a situation similar to their own.

Then does it mean that Monk Il-won also has some story related to his father when he was in the secular world?

"Anyway, let's wait for a while now. To see what kind of plausible excuse he will make to his younger brother."

"By the way, I was very worried about what to do if he asked to open the coffin, but what were you going to do if that had happened?"

I, looking at the tightly closed coffin lid, said.

In fact, that inside is empty.

Because Minister Jeong has been evacuated to a good inn outside the manor.

I haven't told him yet that his eldest son seems to be the culprit.

Because I thought that he shouldn't receive a big mental shock when his body is not well.

"Then I was going to answer that he can't see it now."

"If he asks for the reason?"

"I was going to say that it is the etiquette of our Wudang Sect when holding a funeral. That the coffin cannot be opened until all the procedures are over. But to be honest, I didn't think he would want to open the coffin and see his father directly."

"Why?"

"In the end, although he was killed by someone else's hand, the person who wanted his father to die the most was Jeong Il-hak himself, wasn't it? If he were to see his father's body in this situation... the guilt he is trying so hard to suppress might explode, right? He probably won't be able to forget it for the rest of his life."

"Even so..."

"Because he has such a selfish personality, he was able to do such a thing. Since you must have been tired from standing all this time, shall we sit down and rest for a bit? I'm already looking forward to what kind of story he will come back with."

I, after saying that, went to a corner and sat down.

And I praised myself inside.

For barely holding back when I saw Jeong Il-hak's shameless face and wanted to hit him hard.

(End of Chapter)