The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 242

A little while later, when I returned to the manor.

In front of the lodging, Monk Il-won and a man were talking about something.

As I got a little closer, I realized who that man was. He was Jeong Il-hak.

"So I have to meet Taoist Master Unhwi quickly. Please let me meet him."

"Ahem... why are you keep doing that when I told you that Taoist Master Unhwi is not here now?"

"Aren't you lying right now? Isn't Taoist Master Unhwi avoiding me because he doesn't want to meet me?"

"Why would a poor monk like me lie? He will come if you wait a little, so please wait quietly."

Jeong Il-hak was eagerly looking for me, but it seemed that Monk Il-won had unfortunately been caught by him.

I, in order to quickly rescue Monk Il-won, revealed myself.

"You were looking for me?"

"Hmm? Taoist Master Unhwi. Why are you coming from that direction?"

"Because I was out of the lodging?"

"That can't be..."

"See? Didn't I tell you that the poor monk didn't lie?"

When Monk Il-won answered in a slightly annoyed voice, Jeong Il-hak had no choice but to apologize to him.

"I'm sorry, monk."

"Hmm. I'll go in now. Please have a good talk with Taoist Master Unhwi and go back."

"Yes, monk."

Monk Il-won strode into the lodging.

In fact, I seemed to know why Jeong Il-hak was so sure that I would be in the lodging.

'He's constantly getting information from the servants.'

When I went to the lodging, I went in without hiding my appearance, and when I went from the lodging to the inn where Minister Jeong was staying, I had left this manor by hiding my presence as much as possible.

So, as far as the servants who don't know martial arts know, they would know that I had entered the lodging and had not come out.

'I'll have to be careful of my eyes and ears when I'm walking around the manor.'

Thanks to that, I learned one new thing.

"Taoist Master Unhwi, I've been looking for you for a long time. Can I talk with you for a moment?"

"We can talk... but what's the matter?"

I, pretending not to know, said to him.

Although I have a rough idea of what he will say.

"It's my personal matter. I want to ask for your help urgently... will you help me?"

"Why should I?"

"Th-That's because the Wudang Sect is also the leader of the orthodox faction, and aren't you, Taoist master, the one who was originally helping my father? So you can help me too, can't you?"

I, with a light snort, looked at him.

He, as if he wanted to look like a good person as much as possible, is maintaining a smile even while his lips are trembling.

'A bat-like human.'

I'm to the point where I'm amazed at his incredibly fast change of attitude.

But, he, whether he knows what I'm thinking or not, continued to speak.

"Of course, I'm not just asking for your help. If you help me with this matter, I will do everything you ask me to do. If you ask for money, I will give you money, and if you want a position, I can get you a position just below the county magistrate in any region!"

He said eagerly.

I, in a rather cold tone, said to him, "You'll do everything I ask... it seems to be a very serious matter? Are you feeling a threat to your life?"

"Th-That's right! My life is in danger. Please help me, thinking that you are saving a dying person!"

"If it's not a big deal, I was going to not interfere, but since your life is in danger... what's the matter?"

Only then does Jeong Il-hak's face relax.

Even though I haven't said I'll help him yet.

"Actually, I am now under the threat of murder."

"Yes? You too, young master?"

"Th-That's right."

"Who are you being threatened by?"

"That is... from the Left General of Luoyang, Jin Baek."

"Yes? Jin Baek? No, isn't he the most likely person to have murdered Minister Jeong now? But that person is also aiming for you, young master? He is truly... a heinous person."

I, deliberately speaking in an exaggerated voice, and he, nodding his head repeatedly.

I can almost hear his head turning.

Jeong Il-hak seems to be thinking that he can pass the blame for what he has been tormenting Minister Jeong with until now to Jin Baek.

"But actually... Jin Baek's subordinate is nearby."

"What did you say?!"

"He is threatening me to give him our family's heirloom. Since it was an item that my father was supposed to give him, he says he deserves to receive it from me..."

He said to me with a very pitiful expression.

The way he cleverly mixes truth and lies is even abominable.

But I, suppressing my emotions as much as possible, and pretending not to know anything, said to him, "Then isn't it a matter of just giving him the family heirloom?"

"That is the best way. But as you know well, didn't someone murder my father and run away with the family heirloom?"

"So?"

"Please help me catch that culprit. If you catch the culprit and get the family heirloom back, as I said earlier, I will do anything for you."

I, with narrowed eyes, looked at Jeong Il-hak.

'It seems he has no intention of repenting even in this situation.'

Although a child doesn't grow up as one pleases, I don't know how such a son came from under a person of character like Minister Jeong.

Well, Jeong Yi-hak seems to be a decent person, but why is the eldest like that?

"Okay. I will do my best to catch the culprit. And I have a method in mind."

"Is that really true? May I ask what that method is?"

"It's not difficult to tell you. But to use that method, there is something you have to do, young master..."

"Whatever it is, if it's something I can do, I will do it."

"Anything?"

"Anything!"

I, looking at him, smiled and nodded my head.

Although he had a slightly anxious expression, since I had a smiling face, he had no choice but to smile back awkwardly.

***

And the next evening. I called Jeong Il-hak to Minister Jeong's quarters.

Jeong Il-hak, who didn't know at all why he was being called here, had a very anxious look, and I said to him, "This is... isn't this my father's quarters? Why did you call me here?"

"It's all for the sake of catching the culprit and finding the family heirloom.

"Is that really true? What on earth are you doing..."

"What you have to do today is very simple. You just have to sleep here for one day."

"What does that mean?"

"I have spread a rumor around here from yesterday to today. That Minister Jeong is actually alive, and that the Art of War of Wu Zi that someone took was a copy. And I spread a rumor that Minister Jeong, who was thought to have passed away, will return to his quarters from today."

Jeong Il-hak's eyes widened.

He, with surprised eyes, asked me, "Will people believe that? That a deceased person has come back to life..."

"Since he didn't die from the beginning, I also spread the word that he faked his death to escape the immediate danger and to find out who the culprit was. The reaction of the people around me wasn't bad, was it? They said that if it was the wise Minister Jeong, he could have done that."

"I... see. Then you're saying that I should be the bait by sleeping here today?"

"Exactly. If you just sleep here for one day, someone will approach, right? Since he heard that Minister Jeong is alive, and that the family heirloom he stole is a fake. Then I can just hide and catch that person, right?"

Only then did Jeong Il-hak nod his head.

Because he understood what my intention was in using him as bait.

"For now, if we can just catch the culprit somehow, we can interrogate him and find out where the family heirloom is."

"That's it."

"That's a really good idea. But please protect me. What if the culprit sneaks into the room without you, Taoist master, knowing and threatens me too?"

"Don't worry about that. Not only me, but the other martial artists who came with me will also guard this place like an iron wall today."

"Shaolin and Wudang... I'm reassured. I'll trust you."

Jeong Il-hak, after saying that, entered Minister Jeong's quarters.

Although I don't know if he can really sleep there, for now, I have succeeded in getting him into the room.

I, after he went in, waited for a long time and then slowly began to move.

For now, I hurriedly took a nail and fixed all the doors and windows.

So that he can't run away.

Since I didn't hit the nail with a hammer, but drove it into the wood using my internal energy, there was almost no sound.

And so, after finishing the preliminary preparations, I waited for the time to come.

And as time passed, when the dark darkness fell around, I finally began to act.

***

Meanwhile. Jeong Il-hak, who was lying on Minister Jeong's bed, could not fall asleep easily because of his anxiety.

'What if someone comes and kills me while I'm sleeping? I don't even have the real Art of War of Wu Zi... if he gets angry because he realizes he was deceived and goes on a rampage, I have no way to respond. I should have brought at least one sword...'

But even if he regretted it, he couldn't help it.

He, trusting Unhwi, had no choice but to keep his eyes closed, trying to fall asleep, which wouldn't come.

It was then.

He heard a very small sound in his ear, as if the hem of a garment were brushing against something.

Although that sound started very faintly, he felt as if it were getting louder as time passed.

And now, as if he had no intention of hiding it, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from the ceiling.

Jeong Il-hak, startled, sat up straight on the bed.

'He's here!'

He thought that what was to come had come.

As Taoist Master Unhwi had said, the opponent had completely taken the bait.

He felt a ray of hope even in this anxiety.

Now that it has been confirmed that someone has come, Taoist Master Unhwi will catch that guy.

Although that young Taoist seemed to have no manners, his martial arts seemed to be very strong.

Although he did not know martial arts, he was a man with a good intuition.

But the sound of people moving busily did not stop.

Jeong Il-hak began to be filled with anxiety. If it was this much, he should have been caught long ago, but whether Unhwi had left his post, for some reason, the sound of footsteps began to get louder and bolder.

-Give me the family heirloom you have.

At that time, a man's voice brushed past his ear.

Jeong Il-hak, startled, looked around.

But, of course, no one was in sight.

-If you don't give it to me, I will kill you right now.

Although the voice continued to be heard, there was no one around. He began to fall into extreme fear.

The opponents are the ones who have already killed his father. Whether they kill one person or two, it will not be a problem for them.

"Ugh, ugh-ah-ah-ak!"

Jeong Il-hak, screaming, ran to the door and tried to open it, but for some reason, the door would not open.

He, who was filled with even stronger fear, also tried to open the window, but even the window would not open.

He was trapped here.

"Wh-Why...! What is this!"

He was on the verge of falling into a panic.

The thought that he might be murdered like this began to dominate him.

But right at that moment.

He felt a presence as if someone had come down into the room from the ceiling.

He, who couldn't even turn around at once in fear, slowly, slowly turned around.

"H-Heok!"

He let out a big gasp.

Because what he saw was his father, Minister Jeong.

"Gh-Ghost...?!"

To think that his deceased father was in front of him, he could only think of it as a ghost at that moment.

The assassin who was aiming for him, and his deceased father. He, in this very unrealistic situation, rather regained his composure.

"F-Formation!!"

He shouted.

"The formation I installed stimulates a person's fear and creates the most frightening situation. This is all an illusion, it's fake...!"

Jeong Il-hak shouted as if he were hypnotizing himself.

But he thought of one strange thing.

"But that doesn't make sense. I dismantled all the formations while I was walking around yesterday!"

He shouted, almost screaming.

In the meantime, the ghost of his father is getting closer and closer to him.

When Minister Jeong reached right in front of Jeong Il-hak.

Jeong Il-hak, who was slapped on the cheek by Minister Jeong, felt a great pain as if a spark had flashed in front of his eyes.

He, for a moment, caressing his cheek, realized.

That the father in front of him now... was not an illusion created by a formation, but real.

(End of Chapter)