The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 65

I asked the people who had been captured.

"Is there anyone among you who has enough energy to run and knows the geography of this area well?"

Fortunately, two men stepped forward, and I asked them to deliver the news of this place to the nearest Beggars' Sect branch or Martial Arts Alliance branch.

Then, I approached my senior brothers, who seemed to have finally caught their breath.

"Are you all okay now?"

"Yes. We're fine."

Although he answered simply, there was a strange excitement in Senior Brother Uncheol's voice.

When I looked around at my senior brothers, they were all in a similar situation.

I let out a small laugh and asked, "How was it, fighting like this?"

"Fighting..."

My senior brothers looked at each other. Although they didn't say it, their thoughts must have been similar.

Senior Brother Uncheol spoke as if he were representing everyone.

"We were stronger than we thought."

At Senior Brother Uncheol's words, the other senior brothers all nodded.

And I also nodded along.

"That's right. You senior brothers are strong. But, you know you shouldn't be complacent just because of that, right? These guys are just weak Unorthodox Faction scum. When you officially enter the martial world, it will be even harder to find those who are weaker than them."

Perhaps because I spoke too firmly, the expressions of my senior brothers, who had been strangely excited, sank.

I wondered if I was discouraging them too much from the start, but it's much better than dying from complacency.

"Still, you did well. Let's just clean up and leave."

"Yes. We have a place to go."

Without me even telling them, the people all cleaned up the arena, cleaned, removed the corpses, and checked if the living were properly bound.

It seemed that everyone had a lot of things piled up here.

I looked at them and thought.

'This is a place where the Black Society is involved.'

The Black Society is a fairly large group for an Unorthodox Faction.

As much as it is large, there are also many masters.

And above all... they are the guys who were crushed by my hands.

If I were to pick the best thing I did in my past life, it would be that I didn't hesitate to crush and punish the bad guys.

If you ask me why I did such a thing, there's only one answer I can give.

Because I didn't like those kinds of guys.

Perhaps because I had crawled up from the bottom?

I didn't like those who tormented people who didn't know martial arts and lived a bottom-of-the-barrel life.

And those kinds of guys are usually Unorthodox Faction guys.

I crushed the guys I could beat, and I ran away from the guys I couldn't beat, then came back after building up my strength and crushed them again.

As I repeated such things, I naturally became known as an orthodox master.

Although it's true that my nickname, the Self Taught Sword Master, has a mocking meaning, it also had the meaning of praise for me, who had crushed the Unorthodox Faction guys alone and made a name for myself in the martial world with my own strength.

'Then what happens? Do I have to kill the guy I killed once again?'

Of course, I think I'll know what it feels like when I face that situation directly, but still, I have a feeling that it will feel bad.

No, in fact, even if I'm not killing the guy I killed again, I always felt bad when I killed people.

It's the same now.

The captured people are cleaning up the corpses, and it doesn't feel good to see that.

When I often pondered my identity, the elder of the Beggars' Sect, Meng Guang-gai, one of the few people who had treated me favorably in my past life, had once told me.

That because of my tendency to feel bad when an innocent person dies, I am a person of the orthodox faction.

In fact, I didn't have much of a sense of chivalry, nor did I ever draw my sword for justice.

The reason I ran away from the Un family in the first place was because I felt that if I lived in a nameless rural family like this, I would waste my life in vain without being able to do anything.

In that situation, Elder Meng Guang-gai's words held my center, and the center that was caught at that time became the driving force that made me risk my life to stop those guys when the Demonic Cult invaded later.

Of course, I only ended up in a mutual destruction with someone like Mok Hwa-shin.

"You two, come here."

I called the only two standing among the Geoungbang members, that is, the ones who had drawn the winning lottery ticket.

The guys, as if my words were a heavenly command, rushed to me.

"Look over there. Do you see those people?"

I pointed to the side where the kidnapped people were gathered, hugging each other and shedding tears.

"What do you see?"

"......"

"You're not going to answer?"

"I see people."

"Yes. You see people, right?"

The two of them nodded at the same time.

Perhaps because they were also human, they seemed to feel a pang of conscience seeing the people who were genuinely happy to be released from the Geoungbang.

"Do you know what you've done?"

"......"

"If you don't answer one more time, I'll make you kneel down there just like them."

"Ah, I know. I have committed a mortal sin."

"A mortal sin? Then do you want to die right now?"

"...Please spare me."

I was going to make him kneel if he didn't answer this time either, but the answer came out the moment my patience was about to run out.

"Yes. You have to answer well like that."

I patted their shoulders as if they were commendable.

Although I looked ten years younger, they accepted it very naturally.

What does age matter in the martial world? In this kind of wilderness, if you have a lot of money or strong martial arts, you're the big brother.

"I'll tell you a way to live."

"Please tell me."

"Check if all those people over there return home safely. In a little while, whether it's the Martial Arts Alliance or the Beggars' Sect, someone will come and try to send the people home. You check if that measure has been properly carried out. If every single one of them returns to where they should be, your job is done. It means you're free."

As I spoke, I examined the expressions of the two.

Naturally, they have troubled expressions.

If the Beggars' Sect or the Martial Arts Alliance comes, they will be treated the same as the Geoungbang members who are kneeling now.

If they are sent to the Martial Arts Alliance, if they are lucky, they will be locked up in a prison and come out after living for several years, and if they are unlucky, they will be executed.

"Of course, I'm not telling you to greet them as you are. Wait here for a moment."

I left them standing and approached the survivors.

Among them, there was a man who looked the oldest, and that man seemed to be naturally taking on the role of the leader of these people.

I bowed to him and said, "Is your body hurt or in pain anywhere?"

"Ah...! Taoist master."

He, as if he was not originally a person related to the martial world, bowed to me politely, knowing the etiquette.

His body was sturdy, and his muscles were well-developed, so he seemed to be a person who mainly did physical work.

"Thanks to you, I'm fine. I am Mok-woo, who used to run a blacksmith's shop in the Huainan region."

"You were a blacksmith. As I said before, I am Unhwi of the Wudang Sect."

"Thanks to Taoist Master Unhwi, we all survived. The reason we have no injuries is... because those demons killed and buried all the injured and sick people. Only those who were useful could survive."

He was so angry that even as he said that, he glared at the kneeling people and ground his teeth.

"Do you know who those two standing over there are?"

"Those two are... two of the central squad's martial artists."

"You know them."

"Because we who were captured lived in the same pavilion as them."

"Then is there anyone among those two who was particularly mean to people or harassed women?"

"Hmm..."

He looked at the two carefully and then opened his mouth.

"No. The two were low-ranking members of the central squad. They were not particularly bad-tempered, so I don't have any bad memories of them. Of course, since they are Geoungbang members, I think they are the same kind of people..."

I nodded.

Still, this is a pass. It's not giving a chance to a terrible villain, but giving a chance to a less evil person.

"Can you do me one favor?"

"It's a favor from my benefactor, so if it's something I can do, I'll do anything."

"You must be curious why only those two are standing and the rest are kneeling. I promised to save them and give them a chance."

"A chance...?"

"Yes. A chance to live a new life."

"Then the favor you're asking of me is...?"

"Those two will wear ordinary clothes and mix in with you. At that time, can you guarantee their identity, sir? If you just say that they were people who worked with you at the ironworks, the rest they will do on their own."

"Hmm..."

He frowned as if he was troubled.

But, he soon nodded.

As if he was a person of a magnanimous nature, he said to me, "It's not such a difficult thing. Surely, even if they are human, they won't betray the grace of saving their lives and harm us."

"I'll speak to them well about that. It must have been a difficult decision, but thank you for listening."

"Not at all. Don't worry about it. If you ever happen to stop by near Huainan, please visit the Mok-woo Ironworks. I was a blacksmith who was recognized for my skills in the neighborhood. Thanks to that, I was kidnapped by the Geoungbang master and made swords here..."

He made a bitter expression and then continued.

"So I want to make you a fine sword. If I return home safely, I will immediately make a sword that suits the Taoist master, so please be sure to stop by anytime."

"Thank you for just your words. If fate allows, we will meet again."

I exchanged a brief greeting with him and then approached the two who were standing with tense expressions and told them the story I had with Mok-woo.

Finally, a flush of color began to return to their faces.

They really felt that they had survived.

"But... if you ever bully those people, or live a similar life again, or if even one of them doesn't return home and you run away..."

Kka-deuk—

I deliberately clenched my fist so that the sound of my bones cracking echoed and said, "I'll chase you to the ends of the Central Plains and tear you to pieces. You don't think I can do it? Then try me once."

"N-Never. That will never happen."

"Actually, I wanted to quit this Unorthodox Faction a long time ago. I just couldn't say I would quit because I was afraid of the Geoungbang master."

"It's a similar situation for me. I will live diligently. I will not waste the new life you have given me!"

The two said desperately.

Although their thoughts might change in the future, it seemed that they were speaking sincerely for now.

"What are your names?"

"I am Jo Yeong-dal."

"And you?"

"Jang Pal-san."

"Good. Jo Yeong-dal, Jang Pal-san. I hope I only hear your names for good things from now on. I'm serious."

"I will keep that in mind."

I pointed to the side where the people were gathered and said, "Go and change into clothes similar to what those people are wearing, and mix in quietly."

"Yes, great hero."

The two who had run to the pavilion for a moment appeared wearing shabby clothes and mixed in with the people, but no one was flustered.

Because Mok-woo had already explained everything to everyone.

If there were people who had been directly harmed by those guys, at least one of them would have protested, but it seemed that there was really no one who had been directly tormented.

I watched them for a while and then approached my senior brothers.

All four of them seemed to have regained their energy.

The reason my senior brothers were tired was not really because they lacked stamina, but because of mental fatigue.

"Everyone's eyes look fine. Let's get going now. We've wasted too much time. My master will be waiting."

"Yes. Let's move."

"Is everyone okay?"

"Of course. We're fine. It feels like we've just finished our morning training."

"That's right. If you tell me to fight like this, I feel like I can do it for several more hours."

My senior brothers said bravely and stood up.

Still, perhaps because they had crossed the line of death once, they all seemed to have become more manly somewhere.

(End of Chapter)