The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 244

Jeong Il-hak, after apologizing to Minister Jeong for a long time, staggered out of the room at Minister Jeong's words to leave.

Before coming here, I had asked Senior Brother Un Cheol to follow Jeong Il-hak for a while when he came out.

Because I couldn't know what he might be plotting outside, pretending to have given up everything here.

And I descended into the room.

Minister Jeong and Ryu Ju-guk looked at me.

"Should I call this a relief, or not... It really turned out as the Taoist master said..."

Minister Jeong said in a trembling voice.

He had been pretending to be calm until now, but it seemed he couldn't easily believe that his son had tried to harm him.

That appearance looked so pitiful that even Ryu Ju-guk looked at him with eyes of comfort.

"For now, it's been sorted out somehow, right? Martial artist Ryu, please speak well to the general."

"I will try my best. But it is true that if I say I will finish the matter like this, the justification to tell the general is lacking, so it doesn't seem easy."

As Ryu Ju-guk said with a slight frown, Minister Jeong said to him.

"Martial artist Ryu. Then how about this? I can't give you the original, but I will make a copy of the Art of War of Wu Zi. In fact, what's important to the Left General is not the object itself, but its contents, isn't it?"

"Hmm... a copy. If you go that far, I will try to speak well to the general."

At Minister Jeong's proposal, Ryu Ju-guk's face seemed to become much more comfortable.

To be honest, the one who would be in the most trouble if he couldn't bring anything back was Ryu Ju-guk, but thanks to Minister Jeong, he now had something to say to his superior when he returned.

"Then I'll have to clean up the things I've done. Because you even held a funeral for me, minister."

"That's... well, you can just say that you faked your death as the rumor you spread beforehand said. Thanks to that, you can say you caught the culprit who was threatening your life, can't you?"

Minister Jeong said so and smiled a very comfortable smile.

It seemed to be because the end of this matter had been reached somehow.

He is looking at me with very affectionate eyes.

It must be because I stepped up and solved everything when he didn't even think he could return to his home, to his room.

At that time, the door opened, and someone came straight into the room.

It was Minister Jeong's second son, Jeong Yi-hak.

"Father!"

"Yes. Yi-hak. You've suffered a lot because of me."

"No. I haven't done anything. I'm just sorry that I couldn't relieve you from that pain all this time."

"It's alright. Don't say such things and let me see your face. I don't think I've ever seen you with a clear mind until now."

Minister Jeong and Jeong Yi-hak faced each other.

Both of them seem to be overwhelmed by this situation.

"Then I'll go to my lodging now. I should start preparing to go back."

"Are you saying you're leaving already?"

"Yes. I'd like to stay a few more days, but I've already spent too much time. I have to go back to the Wudang Sect now."

"I see... well. I can't keep you here forever..."

Jeong Yi-hak smacked his lips as if he were disappointed.

"But you're not leaving today, are you?"

"No, minister. I'll probably leave tomorrow at the earliest."

"I see. There is still one last thing left, so I was thinking it would be good if you could watch over it."

"That's right. There's still one important thing left."

Minister Jeong and I looked at each other and nodded.

Even though we caught Jeong Il-hak, there is still one most important thing left.

I don't know what choice Minister Jeong will make yet, but I decided to wait and see what decision he will make for now.

***

And on a deep night after about an hour had passed.

In a fairly large open space right next to Minister Jeong's manor, a large number of people were gathered.

And at one end, a wooden platform was placed, as if it had been brought there at some point.

"What is it? Why on earth did they call us?"

"I don't know either. Is there something else going on in this chaotic situation..."

"Did the first young master gather us? To declare that he will become the head of the family today?"

"Hey, you. No matter how much he is the first young master, do you think he would gather us to say such things when it hasn't even been a few days since our master passed away?"

The servants gathered in the open space were murmuring.

All the servants and martial artists working at Minister Jeong's manor were gathered here.

Not a single person was missing, so there were enough people to fill the large open space.

The servants and martial artists were clustered separately without being told to, and the atmosphere of the martial artists was much worse than that of the servants.

"I'm just saying this just in case, but they didn't call all of us here to hold us responsible, did they?"

"No way. The opponent was a master to the extent that we don't even know how he entered the manor. There was no way for us to do anything."

"But isn't it true that the minister had been threatened on a daily basis? In the end, it was us who didn't acknowledge it and treated it as if he had brain degeneration..."

"What are you trying to say now? Then are you saying that this place was created by the first or second young master to interrogate us?"

"To be precise, isn't it highly likely that it's the second young master? As for the first young master... he might have ended up getting what he wanted..."

"Ahem! Watch your mouth. If you say such things wrongly, you will be severely punished."

I, climbing up a large tree planted right next to the open space, listened to everything they were saying.

Among them, there were many people who couldn't distinguish between what to say and what not to say, as if they were anxious about this situation.

Thanks to everyone talking at once, it wasn't easy to understand, but I still concentrated and listened to all their stories.

Fortunately... I feel that there are no humans as evil as I was concerned about.

"Oh, he's coming out. Who's going up to the platform?"

"Is it the first young master? Or the second young master?"

"It's neither of them. His build is a little smaller. That person is... huh, heok!"

"N-No! How can this be?!"

When a person appeared on the platform, all the servants began to gasp.

There were even some people who sat down on the floor.

Because the person who went up on the platform was none other than Minister Jeong.

From the perspective of the servants and martial artists, it would be natural for them to be so surprised that they would faint, since Minister Jeong, who they thought was dead, suddenly appeared alive.

The atmosphere froze rapidly.

The murmuring people couldn't even make a sound, as if their mouths were glued shut, and thanks to that, even though Minister Jeong spoke in a not-so-loud voice, it was enough for everyone to hear.

"Everyone... you must have thought I was dead, right?"

“……”

"I'm sorry for deceiving everyone. I apologize. But... it was an unavoidable thing to catch the culprit who has been tormenting me until now, and who might have tormented me in the future. I was originally alive. I had faked my death."

After he spoke calmly and a little more silence passed, at some point.

"Th-Thank goodness, manor lord!"

"It's a great relief that you are alright!"

"I-I didn't believe it from the beginning!"

"Manor lord! Congratulations, manor lord!"

They began to shout eagerly to say at least one more word each.

It must be that they are showing such appearances to pretend to be happy, pretending not to be, because they each have many things to feel guilty about.

At that time, when Minister Jeong raised his hand to calm them down, silence came again.

"So I finally found out who the culprit was."

“……”

I can almost hear everyone swallowing their saliva.

Some servants and martial artists who didn't know this situation were looking around because they didn't know why the surrounding atmosphere was like this, but those who had been deceived by Jeong Il-hak and had been handling the formation every day must have their hearts pounding and cold sweat breaking out by now.

"But, this time, I decided to let it go once. Originally, I was going to find all those who had contributed even a little to tormenting me, interrogate them, and hold them responsible... but in the end, it must be my lack of virtue that such a thing happened..."

Minister Jeong said in a bitter voice.

In fact, this could also be a somewhat frustrating conclusion, but I decided to consider this the best way.

Because this manor has to go back to normal right away, and for the manor to go back to normal, people are needed.

Jeong Il-hak had already confessed that he had succeeded in recruiting nearly eighty percent of those servants and martial artists.

If eighty percent of the servants and martial artists suddenly disappear, it is a matter of course that the manor cannot be maintained.

So Minister Jeong is trying to show a forgiving attitude by showing mercy to them.

And as the ground hardens after the rain, on the contrary, if this happens, those who had gone over to Jeong Il-hak might become loyal to Minister Jeong again.

"So I will let this matter go without holding anyone responsible. You all should not be agitated either, and I hope you will do your respective jobs well in your respective positions. The reason I am letting this go is not because I have forgiven everyone. I am trusting you one more time. But if you betray this trust again... then I will not leave you alone."

“……”

At Minister Jeong's cold voice, no one could answer.

He, without saying any more to the servants and martial artists, turned around and went into the manor, and the remaining people could not say a word, remaining there.

It is the same for some who do not know the situation, who are not saying anything because of this atmosphere.

Despite his old age, Minister Jeong's authority was great.

To the extent that he had captivated everyone here with just a few words.

'If Minister Jeong just keeps his mind straight, I won't have to worry much in the future.'

I, leaving them like that, killed my presence and returned to the manor.

Because there was one thing I had to do at the manor.

***

After returning to the manor, I headed for the pavilion at the northernmost end of the manor.

A man was waiting for me there, and it was Jeong Il-hak.

When I entered the room, he, slightly shrinking his neck and shoulders, said to me first, "Taoist master. You've come?"

His tone had become polite and respectful.

It seems he has realized that this whole thing was my plan.

"Have you thought it over well?"

"Of course. I will follow all of my father's and the Taoist master's words. I will return my official position and give up all the property I have accumulated... and I will also cooperate with the Taoist master in everything."

"You've thought well."

Minister Jeong decided to take Jeong Il-hak back.

No matter how much he was a hateful child, since he was going to give up everything, it was Minister Jeong's will that as a father, he should take him in and feed him.

It was a character that made me understand why Minister Jeong was respected and acknowledged by people.

"Then there's something I want to ask first."

"Please say anything."

"This formation. From whom did you learn this formation? Compared to a general formation, it is difficult to install and not easy to operate. It doesn't make sense that you learned such a formation on your own... you must have learned it from someone. Or someone else might have installed it for you. Right?"

"... That's right. There was someone who installed the formation for me. I gave him money in return."

"And?"

"Yes?"

"I don't think he would have installed such a formation just for money. What else did you promise to do?"

"I can't deceive you, Taoist master..."

Jeong Il-hak, with a deep sigh, said.

"When I become a central official of the court. I promised to do something then. But now that that's out of the question... it has become an irrelevant matter, though."

"What did you promise to do?"

"There is a religious group called the Cheonjishingyo, and they asked me to help create an atmosphere of recognition for it, not to exclude it as a heretical cult."

"Cheonjishingyo?!"

I was at a loss for words for a moment.

Because Cheonjishingyo was the name that the Cheonmasin'gyo, that is, the Demonic Cult, had used to eat up the Central Plains in a moderate way before invading the Central Plains with force.

(End of Chapter)