The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 240

I moved to a different location to talk with Ryu Ju-guk for a while.

Ryu Ju-guk, if you really want to be picky, is a martial artist with quite strong martial arts.

And the fact that his martial arts are strong is in line with the fact that he can grasp his opponent's skills better.

Right now, Ryu Ju-guk would have grasped my skills to some extent.

Although he doesn't know exactly, he only needs to know this one thing.

'Right now, even if I die and come back to life, I can't catch him.'

If you just make him realize that fact properly, your opponent will never treat you carelessly. And that is a characteristic that is more prominent in the government army than in the martial artists.

Although martial artists, even if their skills are not up to par, they tend to charge in first, or there are many who rush in thinking they can win with their improvisation in a real fight rather than their objective skills.

But the government army generally aims for safety.

Thinking about the status, honor, wealth, etc. that they have accumulated, they can never risk their lives in a fight.

"So... what is there for us to talk about?"

Ryu Ju-guk, as if he wanted to prove that he was different from the other riffraff, came out stronger than I thought.

I decided to protect his last pride.

Because I judged that we wouldn't be fighting to the death right now, and that if I cooperated with this guy, I could end this matter more easily.

"For now, let's share the facts that we each know."

"Facts?"

"You said earlier that you were tailing Jeong Il-hak because you were worried he might be plotting something, right?"

"That's right."

"But I don't really understand that point. I was wondering if there was a reason for a martial artist of your level to be following that guy Jeong Il-hak so closely. It's not like Jeong Il-hak has learned martial arts, and when he comes out of the Hanlin Academy, he's just a scholar who doesn't know how to fight."

He looked at me without a word.

His eyes were a mixture of surprise, a little bit of admiration, and conflict.

'For now, it's certain that this guy has some other reason.'

I thought from his attitude that the Left General, Jin Baek, had another reason for chasing Jeong Il-hak.

For now, it doesn't make sense to have a master of that level attached to Jeong Il-hak.

What on earth is Jeong Il-hak that he has such a high-level person attached to him?

At first, I thought that perhaps he was tailing him to prevent him from running away.

But for that purpose alone, Ryu Ju-guk's martial arts are too good.

If it was really to watch Jeong Il-hak, he could have sent a martial artist who was weaker in martial arts but specialized in stealth.

"So let's share the facts that we each know. Who knows? It might be helpful to each other."

"... The general told me not to trust martial artists..."

He muttered lowly and then let out a deep sigh.

"Okay. I can't tell you everything, but it seems there is some value in talking for a while."

"Good thinking. What is your purpose for being here?"

"Actually, there is no lie in what I said earlier. It is to watch Jeong Il-hak."

"So why are you watching him?"

"Because there is a suspicion that Jeong Il-hak may have betrayed us and joined another side."

"Another side?"

This is the first time I've heard this story.

At my gesture to tell him the next story, Ryu Ju-guk opened his mouth again.

"As you may already know to some extent, Jeong Il-hak was able to get a position in the Hanlin Academy by asking my master, the Left General, with the promise of giving him the family heirloom. The Left General's role was very large in him becoming a Reader-in-waiting without any special achievements."

"I expected that much. And now he has to give the family heirloom to the Left General, but since the master of this manor and the head of the family, Minister Jeong, is not giving up the family heirloom, Jeong Il-hak is in a very difficult situation, right?"

"That's right. So the Left General told Jeong Il-hak that if he couldn't keep his promise, he would have to pay a corresponding price."

"What price?"

"Whether it's money, other things, or... life."

It seems these guys also think of human life as a fly's life.

I, with a slight frown, asked, "Can't you receive it a little later? In fact, if time had passed, this manor would have become Jeong Il-hak's. Why are you doing this now?"

"There is no time."

"What time?"

"Although you may not understand at all, for people like us who are in official positions, the most important thing is honor. But the general, in order to get Jeong Il-hak into the Hanlin Academy, went around saying sorry to many people. But he did not receive a corresponding price. If this matter were to become a rumor, the general might become a laughingstock."

"Even so, isn't killing him a little too much?"

"Moreover, Jeong Il-hak is now trying to betray us and join another side. I don't know how he made a connection with the Grand General of Beijing, Eom Su-hwang, but it seems he is trying to collude with him and ask him to get rid of us."

I, grasping the general situation, nodded my head.

To put it simply, Jeong Il-hak is a bat-like guy.

It seems he has a habit of sticking to whichever side is more advantageous to him.

"If Jeong Il-hak really tells Grand General Eom Su-hwang such a story, what will happen to our Left General's face?"

"So you're tailing him to prevent him from meeting a suspicious person, or at least to find out who he is meeting."

"That's right. Then it's your turn. What are you doing here?"

"Well. I'm doing various things, but to summarize it in one sentence, it would be this. I'm protecting the family heirloom of this family."

"The family heirloom? Before you entered the Wudang Sect, were you originally a member of this family?"

"No. I just came here at someone's request."

"Just a request?"

Ryu Ju-guk asked back in a dumbfounded tone.

"It's not just a request. Just as honor is important to people like you who are in official positions, for us martial artists, trust is just as important. I'm here to protect that trust."

"Hmm... it's not that we don't know about trust."

"Who said anything?"

"But it seems you couldn't protect that trust."

"What do you mean?"

"I heard that Minister Jeong has passed away by someone, and the family heirloom is gone. Aren't you struggling because you can't find that culprit?"

I nodded my head.

Because if Ryu Ju-guk, who had been secretly gathering information about the surroundings, was thinking this way, I thought there was a high possibility that Jeong Il-hak was also thinking that way.

But, I thought there was no need to let Ryu Ju-guk know that.

"Since you told me the truth, I'll also tell you the truth. Actually, Minister Jeong is alive."

"What did you say?"

"And of course, the family heirloom is also safe somewhere."

"By any chance, did you fake Minister Jeong's death?"

"That's right. I went this far because I wanted to catch Jeong Il-hak."

"How are you going to clean this up later..."

I, shrugging my shoulders, said, "I have a plan for that. It's none of your business."

"But... why are you telling me that? If you had kept it a secret until the end, I would have thought Minister Jeong was dead."

"I wanted to tell you that you don't have to go to the trouble of looking for the family heirloom. As I said earlier, I will protect the family heirloom no matter what. Whether it's from Jeong Il-hak, or from you."

“……”

He is silent.

The declaration of a powerless person is just a bluff, but when a powerful person says this, it becomes a kind of declaration.

"Hearing that, I don't understand even more."

"What?"

"If that's really the case, you shouldn't have told me that even more. Jeong Il-hak, trying to find a culprit who doesn't even exist, will search this area like a mouse, but in the end, he won't find anything. Because that culprit is something that has no substance. Then in the end, Jeong Il-hak will have no choice but to return to the Hanlin Academy. Then I will also naturally follow him. Then no one will know about Minister Jeong and the family heirloom, so why did you tell me that?"

A small laugh naturally came out.

Because what Ryu Ju-guk said was quite sharp.

As if to prove that just because he was from the government army, and just because he was a military official, he was not completely closed-minded, it was a very reasonable suspicion.

"You're sharper than I thought. If you can think of that much on your own, I guess I can really get to the main point."

"What was the conversation we had until now, that you're only now getting to the main point?"

"Until now, it was a stage to check whether you would be helpful or a hindrance to me if I were to join hands with you for a while."

"What...?"

I, lightly ignoring Ryu Ju-guk's dumbfounded question, continued with what I had to say.

"Actually, when we first talked, you said that you didn't really need the family heirloom, but that you just had to give Jeong Il-hak a corresponding punishment, right?"

"... If I can get the family heirloom, that's the best."

"But that's impossible, right? Because I won't give it to you. So the only remaining option is a suitable punishment."

"Is that so? You're overly confident."

"I thought I was being humble. Considering the gap in our martial arts right now. To put it a little harshly, if I were to kill you right now and bury you somewhere in the back mountain, you would disappear from this world. It means that if I were a rough martial artist, I might have drawn my sword right away."

Although Ryu Ju-guk frowned, there was nothing he could do.

Because what I said was too true.

If he had officially come here on behalf of the Left General, my act of killing Ryu Ju-guk could have been seen as a declaration of war against the Left General, Jin Baek, but right now, Ryu Ju-guk is here secretly.

If I were to kill him here without a trace, there is nothing Ryu Ju-guk can do.

"So join hands with me when I'm interested in punishing Jeong Il-hak. You know what I'm trying to say, right?"

Ryu Ju-guk nodded his head.

"How do you plan to punish Jeong Il-hak?"

"I've thought of various things, but I don't think killing him is the right thing to do. If he dies, how sad will Minister Jeong be?"

"But, you have to think about our face a little. He got the position of Reader-in-waiting with an item he didn't even have, but if nothing happens, how ridiculous will we look?"

"That's why I'm talking now. Let's take away what is as precious as life to Jeong Il-hak."

"As precious as life?"

"Jeong Il-hak is serious about power, to the point where he joins hands with you and extends his hand to Grand General Eom Su-hwang. He is anxious to get ahead in any way possible."

Ryu Ju-guk, as if he were thinking for a moment, eventually expressed his agreement with my words.

"That's right. It's rare to find someone with such a strong desire for power."

"That's why I'm saying, how about making him quit the Hanlin Academy on his own?"

"On his own?"

"And although it won't be as much as the family heirloom of this family, I'll make him pay a compensation that is not disappointing in terms of money. Wouldn't that protect your face to some extent?"

"If it's that much... the general will also be able to accept it to some extent."

"Good. Then from now on, just follow what I say. Then the results will naturally follow."

He, in a daze, answered that he would.

I felt like I had obtained a useful subordinate, even if it was only for a limited time.

(End of Chapter)