The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 66

Since no one was particularly injured except for Senior Brother Unmi, we decided to leave the Geoungbang immediately and head back to the Eungnam Merchant Guild.

Just before leaving, Mok-woo stopped us and tried to give us the treasures collected from the Geoungbang, but we stubbornly refused.

Of course, it's true that I like money a little, no, a lot, but when I thought that that money was compensation for the time they had been kidnapped, I just couldn't accept it.

Just before leaving the main gate of the Geoungbang, Senior Brother Unjeong approached me and said, "Hwi-ya. Shouldn't we have waited until people from the Martial Arts Alliance or the Beggars' Sect came?"

"Why?"

"Why? What if, by any chance, one of the Geoungbang members we tied up unties himself and oppresses them? And we don't know how the two who mixed in with the people will turn out."

"First of all, I checked each and every one of the bindings myself, so you don't have to worry too much. As for those two... we have to trust them, right?"

"Trust? Can you trust them?"

I slowly nodded.

To be honest, if you ask me why I trust them, I have nothing to say.

But it could be called my intuition, or it could be said that I want to believe them.

"You can't go through the martial world killing all the enemies you meet. You kill the ones who need to be killed, you enlighten the ones who need to be enlightened, and you have no choice but to give up."

"Ah..."

I didn't say anything special, but Senior Brother Unjeong suddenly made a sound as if he had realized something and fell into thought.

To be honest, I was more flustered.

Did he really realize something from that short story?

In fact, since Senior Brother Unjeong has a serious side to him usually, I just let it be.

As soon as we left the gate of the Geoungbang, I stopped walking and began to look around.

Although my senior brothers were wondering why I was doing that, perhaps because they now thought that there was a reason for all my actions, they didn't ask why.

I looked around carefully and...

"Come out. Don't hide like a rat. Did you think I would forget about you?"

"Ah, no!"

Before my words could even end, Yeo Jong-su popped out from the bushes.

I looked at the man with a displeased expression.

No matter how much I think about it, the expression 'rat' I used just now suits him so well.

From the beginning, he has been consistently thinking about how to survive and only thinking of ways to escape.

He's a guy I can't trust at all.

But I don't know why he didn't run away.

"Why did you wait here instead of running away?"

"W-Was it okay to run away?"

"Are you crazy?"

"Ah, no. I thought I would be caught soon even if I ran away with all my might. I thought that if I was caught while running away, I would really be a dead man..."

I let out a small laugh without realizing it.

He's a guy whose head works really well for survival.

Because if he had run away one more time, I had made up my mind to chase him to the ends of the Central Plains and kill him.

"Yes. It was a good thing you didn't run away. I don't know if you heard the sounds from outside, but your sect is finished."

"Yes. I have a rough idea of the situation..."

"Then that's good. I'm thinking a little now. What to do with you."

"Please spare me! I've told you all the information I know, and I've served you to the best of my ability all the way to the Geoungbang. I did it all because I wanted to live. Great hero! Please spare me!"

Yeo Jong-su said, kneeling.

Tears even welled up in his eyes. I narrowed my eyes and looked at the man.

It's unsettling to just let him live, but that will to survive is real.

In fact, it even makes me wonder if the reason Yeo Jong-su had pledged his loyalty to the Unorthodox Faction was to survive.

"Yes. A promise is a promise, so I'll let you live."

"Thank you! I'll live a good life without doing anything bad wherever I go!"

"Who said I'd let you go?"

"Great hero! Whether I go to the Martial Arts Alliance or the authorities, it's the same as telling me to die. Please..."

"When did I say I'd send you to the Martial Arts Alliance?"

"Pardon?"

"Do you know of the Black Society?"

"The Black Society! Ah, I know. They are the ones who come to the Geoungbang once a month to collect tribute."

"Do you know where they are located?"

"I don't know that much."

I hit the man's forehead with my palm as he spoke with a stupid expression and said, "Is it all over if you don't know?"

"Ah, no!"

"Find out. And gather as much information about the Black Society as you can. And bring it to the Eungnam Merchant Guild."

"Great hero. The Black Society is the one that rules this area..."

I tilted my head and said, "I thought I told you. Don't talk back."

"Eup..."

"How you find out is up to you. Instead, I'll give you plenty of time. One month. During that time, gather as much information about the Black Society as you can and bring it. I know you can run away. But if you can run away, try running away. See if I can find you or not."

"......"

The man is rolling his eyes here and there.

He must be calculating in his head. Whether to pretend to listen to my words and then run away, or whether he should follow my orders.

Since he's a guy whose every thought is focused on survival, just talking like this won't do.

I took out a water bottle from my satchel and sprinkled it from Yeo Jong-su's head to his toes as if I were watering a flower pot.

"......!"

Yeo Jong-su seemed very surprised, but he couldn't say anything to me.

After carefully sprinkling the water, I said, "Do you know what I just sprinkled on you?"

"Isn't it water?"

"No? It just looks like water, right? This is something called Manlihyang made by the Sichuan Tang family. Have you ever heard of it?"

Yeo Jong-su's pupils shook as if there was an earthquake, and then he nodded.

"If you've heard of it, you'll know well. This Manlihyang is made to react only to my energy. So it means that if I raise a specific energy, I can know where you are. Do you understand?"

"Yes, great hero."

"If you understand, then go. It's your freedom to test whether I can really find you. But, I hope you think carefully about what the price of that freedom is."

"...I understand."

He nodded with a firm face.

He seems to have resigned himself.

"Then go. See you at the Eungnam Merchant Guild."

"Yes, great hero."

He answered and then disappeared into the forest.

After a little time passed, when I judged that he had gone far away, I began to walk, leading my senior brothers.

Then, Senior Brother Uncheol, who had been making a scary face behind me until now, approached me and said, "Hwi-ya. Was it really Manlihyang?"

Instead of answering, I took out the water bottle from earlier and drank the water gulp by gulp.

"Kyah. It's refreshing. Surely not? It's just ordinary water."

"Ah. I see..."

He trailed off and then, without another word, began to walk silently behind me again.

It seems Senior Brother Uncheol has become a little more afraid of me.

***

We walked for a while without a word.

I didn't particularly tell my senior brothers to walk while training.

Since it hadn't even been a day since the fight, I didn't really want to go that far.

Instead, I naturally increased my speed.

Since we had wasted two days because of the Geoungbang incident, we needed to walk that much faster.

"The sun is setting, so shall we rest for the night?"

"Let's do that."

"Wait here for a moment. I'll go and find a suitable place."

Without me even telling him, Senior Brother Unsik shouted and ran into the forest.

He went to look for a flat open space.

"I'll look too."

Senior Brother Uncheol ran into the forest on the opposite side, and Senior Brother Unjeong sat down on the spot and continued the thoughts he had been having since earlier.

Naturally, only Senior Brother Unmi and I were left.

"Senior Brother."

"Yes, Unhwi-ya."

"It must sting a lot."

"Well... it does."

"I don't know if I should say it's a relief, but the swords the Geoungbang guys were using were sharp. Since you were cut cleanly, the wound will probably heal quickly."

I said it as a form of comfort, but a dark shadow was cast over Senior Brother Unmi's face.

I was about to say something else, wondering if it hurt that much, but Senior Brother Unmi said to me, "Hwi-ya..."

"Yes, Senior Brother."

"Am I that weak?"

"Pardon?"

I wondered what kind of random thing he was saying, but my senior brother's eyes are serious.

It seems he felt a lot from the fight earlier.

So I also told him honestly.

"Yes. You're very weak."

"Ha... I see."

He sighed as if the ground would collapse.

I smiled slightly inside. The sigh he is letting out now is a kind of signal.

A signal that he is ready to become strong in the future.

My senior brother, as if he were pouring out the words he had been holding back, looked at me and said, "When I was fighting the Geoungbang members earlier, I was honestly scared. Swords were flying around in front of my eyes, and the thought that I could die if I was stabbed by one of them made me so scared that my body wouldn't move properly. Senior Brother Uncheol must have had a hard time because of me. Because he blocked all the swords that were flying at me."

"That's why he's the most senior among us. The Sect Leader also chose him as our representative, didn't he?"

"Still... I actually thought that Senior Brother Unsik and I were not that different. But seeing it today, the difference in skill was too great. My senior brother calmly saw the flying swords and blocked them, but I was just barely deflecting the swords that came near me. Then, when a sword grazed my arm, I finally came to my senses. At first, I didn't even know it hurt. But then it started to hurt more and more, and my arm started to lose strength."

Although he seemed fine at first, my senior brother's voice began to tremble more and more.

I approached him, put my hand on his back, and patted him.

Perhaps because it was the first warm touch he had received from me, he looked at me with slightly surprised eyes.

"Say more. Let it all out."

"Sob... so... I really thought I was going to die. I was really scared. If you hadn't trained me, I would have died without being able to block the first flying sword. Heong..."

Senior Brother Unmi finally burst into tears.

I remembered that my senior brother was a young Taoist who hadn't even reached the age of majority yet.

Since he had overcome a life-threatening crisis in his first fight, it was understandable that he would cry.

And it must be even more so because it seemed that the other senior brothers had fought with ease, while he seemed to have had a life-and-death battle.

I patted his back and opened my mouth.

"Senior Brother. Cry more. It's okay to cry more. Because originally, the weak can't do anything but cry."

"......"

At my words, my senior brother slowly stopped his tears and looked at me.

Even if I think about it, it's a little strange for a comforting word.

But, I'm just saying what comes to my mind right now.

"How weak are you, Senior Brother? You must have felt it best yourself, without me having to answer separately. But do you know what's most important?"

"What is it...?"

"It's that you're alive now, Senior Brother. As long as you're alive, the weak can become strong at any time. Of course, that method will be very hard and tedious. Sometimes, you might be disappointed and frustrated with yourself because of the talent of someone close to you. But, what can you do? You just have to walk one step at a time, silently."

"......"

Senior Brother Unmi's eyes, looking at me, are shaking.

In fact, there was another reason why I was speaking so frankly.

Although it might have seemed to ordinary people that Senior Brother Unmi was training like crazy, to be honest, he didn't meet my standards.

He did as much as I told him, but he didn't work harder than that.

Of course, the amount I make them do is enormous, but the other senior brothers figured out their own shortcomings and worked harder on those parts.

We started training together, but there's a reason why only Senior Brother Unmi was injured in this fight.

"Yes... I think I finally understand what you were talking about usually."

"I've told you so many things, so I don't know which story you're talking about."

"The story that in a real battle, the result depends on the training you've accumulated usually."

"Ah. That? How was it. You definitely felt it today, right?"

Senior Brother Unmi nodded.

There were no more words.

Perhaps the fight he had today could have changed my senior brother's life in the future.

I hope my senior brothers don't die in this harsh martial world.

I hope they survive until the end, defeat the Demonic Cult, save the martial world, and live until the moment their heavenly mandate is fulfilled.

"Then train hard. Even more from now on."

"Yes."

My senior brother nodded.

With this incident and conversation, my senior brother seems to have changed a little too.

Perhaps in his past life, my senior brother would have been killed here.

But he met me, and his fate was twisted, and he survived.

If a fate twisted a little like this, in the end, couldn't it twist the fate of the entire martial world... and couldn't everyone survive?

Although it was a vague hope until now, seeing Senior Brother Unmi change, I felt that it was slowly turning into a conviction.

(End of Chapter)