The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 83

Fortunately, the White-Faced Gentleman, Lee Mun-hak, was sleeping well when we went downstairs.

Gwak Seok-san put his hand on his neck and checked his condition by examining his body here and there, and then he looked back at me and said, "Did you cut his wrist with your sword?"

"That's right."

"You did well. Your skills are clean, and you've done a good job with the first aid. It seems you could have killed him, but why didn't you?"

"I had already subdued him and even pressed his vital points, so I thought I could kill him at any time. I was going to ask my Master what to do and then act."

Gwak Seok-san looked at me with narrowed eyes.

It was a gaze as if he was trying to see through my identity.

But what can he find out just by looking like that? I really did catch Lee Mun-hak alone.

"I've never heard of a child like this in Wudang. Amazing. Did you raise him well? Or did an outstanding child become your disciple?"

Gwak Seok-san, perhaps because he was joking, didn't even listen to the answer and looked at the bundle that Lee Mun-hak had been packing so diligently.

Oh no, I was going to pack the bundle separately, but I couldn't because I was helping with the fight, so I left it as it was.

Although I was heartbroken because I knew roughly how much that money, elixirs, and other things were worth, I stood nonchalantly, pretending that it was nothing.

After Gwak Seok-san checked the contents of the bundle one by one, he called me.

"Hey. Little Taoist."

"I'm Unhwi."

"Right. Unhwi. Why didn't you take these first?"

"I didn't even think of taking them. Because I could still hear the sound of fighting from upstairs."

"Really?"

He suddenly smiled after hearing my answer.

It's not the stiff expression he had until now. It would be more accurate to say that it has become somewhat soft.

He first took out a wooden box from the bundle and then handed it to me.

"Take it."

"Pardon?"

"My arm hurts. Hurry up and take it."

I took the wooden box in a hurry, and he flicked two gold coins towards me.

I reflexively moved my hand like lightning and snatched both gold coins.

Gwak Seok-san let out a small laugh and then threw two coins to my Master, and then took out two more and put them in his own bosom.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't the goods obtained during battle be reported to the Martial Arts Alliance first, and then a reward should be received later?"

"Well, that's right."

At my Master's point, Gwak Seok-san nonchalantly arranged the bundle and then slung it over his shoulder.

"The bill inside is worth fifty taels of gold. We've worked so hard tonight, so we should at least take this much. I have to buy food and drinks for my branch guys too. Besides what we've taken separately, I'll report it well to the Martial Arts Alliance, so don't worry."

"Then the elixir you gave me is..."

Gwak Seok-san looked at me and tilted his head.

"Elixir? What elixir are you talking about? Hyeon Yang. Have you seen an elixir?"

"No, you..."

"I don't know. If someone picked it up, the person who picked it up will use it well."

He said nonchalantly and then lifted the White-Faced Gentleman onto his other shoulder and moved his steps.

Just before leaving the room, he said to me and my Master, "The official reward for this matter will be sent to the Wudang Sect separately later. Since we've uprooted the Black Society, which was a nuisance in this area, the Martial Arts Alliance should take care of the aftermath. As the branch chief of the Martial Arts Alliance, I express my gratitude."

Since he was holding a bundle in one hand and Lee Mun-hak in the other, he couldn't do a fist-and-palm salute, so he greeted by bowing his head slightly.

And we responded with a fist-and-palm salute.

"If we have a chance, let's see each other again."

He left the room without hesitation.

***

"You've worked hard. But..."

On the way back to the Eungnam Merchant Guild.

My Master looked at me and said. His gaze was on my clothes, which were cut and torn here and there.

There are quite a few dangerous places where it was cut.

Places where I could have been fatally wounded if the sword had gone just an inch deeper.

"I won't fight so dangerously in the future. But I did it because I judged that I could catch him alone."

"Yes. Fortunately, your judgment was correct this time. But in the martial world, there are many who hide three-tenths of their strength. If your judgment goes wrong, there's a high probability that what returns is death."

My Master said in a voice mixed with worry and reprimand.

To be honest, it was a little dangerous for me this time too.

Although I wouldn't have been seriously injured or killed, there was a sufficient possibility of getting major and minor injuries.

Literally, I was lucky not to get hurt.

If I had been grazed by a sword somewhere, I wouldn't have been able to train until the wound healed, and that would have been detrimental to my growth.

"But you did well this time. If it weren't for that judgment, we would have let Lee Mun-hak get away."

I barely held back the laughter that was about to come out.

I'm confused whether my Master is praising me or telling me not to do it again.

In fact, it's not just me who is confused, but there's a high possibility that my Master, who is speaking, is also confused.

Perhaps because my Master also felt that, he let out a small laugh and then continued, "For now, let's go back. It's not over yet."

"That's right. In a way, it might just be the beginning."

We started running towards the Eungnam Merchant Guild.

The Black Society is not the real culprit of this incident. Strictly speaking, they are just hired people. The real culprit is the Baekma Merchant Guild.

That's why I didn't kill the White-Faced Gentleman, Lee Mun-hak, but kept him alive.

He must have spoken directly with the head of the Baekma Merchant Guild, and that will be important evidence.

Even if that's not the case, he will be able to testify that the Baekma Merchant Guild had requested the Black Society to attack the Eungnam Merchant Guild.

If the guy had no attachment to his own life, he would never give such testimony, so it would have been cleaner in many ways to kill him.

But since he's a guy who cherishes his own life so much, if I offer to trade his life for information, he might even tell me things I haven't asked for.

After running with our lightness skill for a long time, we were able to arrive at the Eungnam Merchant Guild.

Fortunately, the merchant guild is not much different from usual.

Goods come in, goods go out, and escort agency people come and go. As my Master and I let out a sigh of relief and were about to enter the merchant guild, we saw several people in a distant alley.

Even from a distance, since they were martial artists with swords at their waists, we were tense for a moment, but when they came close enough to identify their faces, we even felt glad.

Because they were the escort martial artists of the Eungnam Merchant Guild.

"Martial Artist Yeo Dong-gyu!"

"Taoist masters. Did you finish your business well?"

"Fortunately, things went well. It's been quite a while, why are you only coming now?"

"I was checking if there was anyone around the mansion, and I was checking one by one if there were any survivors among the Black Society members and taking them to the doctor. There were about five or six who were alive. They are seriously injured and unconscious now, but who knows, we might get some small information when they wake up, right? And as for the dead, I called the undertakers to have them embalmed. Although we met as enemies, it was hard to leave them to be eaten by wild animals as a martial artist."

At his words, my Master smiled brightly and nodded.

"You did well. As a disciple of Wudang, I should have taken care of those things, but you, martial artist, have finished them well."

"Actually, the two of you did all the fighting, and we just watched, so we should at least do this much, shouldn't we? We are also on a salary."

Perhaps because he was joking, he smiled brightly and returned to the merchant guild with us.

Although Yeo Dong-gyu must have been tired, he said that the merchant guild security should be carried out as usual, so they set their turns and returned to their respective guard positions.

He also went to the main gate as he usually did, put his hand on his scabbard, and began to guard the surroundings.

We greeted him with a look and then walked towards our quarters and talked.

"He's a good martial artist. I was a little worried because he was a wanderer, but he's also very responsible."

"Yes. His martial arts are not to be trifled with. It seems he has some story."

"I don't know if I'm qualified to say this, but I think it would be better to have those people stay at the Eungnam Merchant Guild as much as possible."

"I think so too. I don't know what Guild Master Wang will think."

As we were talking like this and went in front of our quarters, a familiar figure was loitering in front of the quarters.

As soon as we saw him, we unfolded our footwork and flew in front of him.

Then he saw us and shouted happily, "Taoist Master Hyeon Yang! You've come? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No. Fortunately, I'm not hurt anywhere. And Hwi here is also..."

Perhaps because he had just spotted me, Wang Hyeon-seong's eyes widened and he asked me, "How is Taoist Master Unhwi here? Did something happen while transporting the goods...?!"

Come to think of it, after I had returned from Xiangyang in a hurry, I hadn't had a chance to tell Wang Hyeon-seong what had happened there yet.

Because as soon as I returned to the merchant guild, Jin Tae-jin and Yeo Jong-su had come here, and I had immediately led the merchant guild martial artists and run to the mansion where the Black Society guys were waiting.

"The item you asked me to deliver was delivered properly to the person who was waiting. But a small problem arose, so I came back first."

"You went to Xiangyang and came back in this short time?"

"That's right. For now, let's go to my Master's room. I'll explain on the way up. There's someone waiting for you, Guild Master."

"For me? Is it someone I know?"

"Yes. It's someone you know very well. Because it's Jin Tae-jin."

"Jin Tae-jin...? Why is that guy in the Taoist master's room...?"

I first started to move my steps in that direction. Wang Hyeon-seong, perhaps because he wanted to know what was going on, stuck close to my side, and I began to explain to him step by step what had happened.

He had a look of disbelief from beginning to end.

Especially when I told him that Jin Tae-jin had come to my Master's room and told him to betray him and join the Baekma Merchant Guild, his face was filled with not only surprise but also a sense of futility.

But although he was futile, he did not have an expression of betrayal, and as I had expected, it seems he had vaguely guessed Jin Tae-jin's betrayal.

"Great Hero. You've come! I'm glad to see you healthy again!"

"Did anyone come looking for me?"

"No. No one. I was guarding this person well."

Yeo Jong-su spoke confidently and burst open the closet.

Inside it, Jin Tae-jin was well tucked in, in the same shape I had crumpled him into.

"Oh dear..."

Wang Hyeon-seong, who saw him, sighed.

Just by him being here, he had realized that everything I had said so far was true.

Of course, it's not that he didn't believe me before, but hearing it as a story and seeing it in person are completely different matters.

"Master. Should I wake Jin Tae-jin up?"

"Yes. We have to hear what he has to say in this situation."

"Understood."

I took him out of the closet and tapped the vital points I had pressed again to release the pressure points.

His paralyzed body loosened, and his eyelids trembled, and then... he opened his eyes.

"Wh-Where is this..."

He rolled his eyes around for a moment to figure out what was going on, and then his eyes met Wang Hyeon-seong's.

"H-Hyeon-seong..."

"Is it true? Did you really conspire with the Baekma Merchant Guild to bring down the Eungnam Merchant Guild?"

"Th-That's..."

"So you also dragged in the Black Society, and you tried to break the agreement with Wudang somehow... was it all your plan?"

At Wang Hyeon-seong's sharp words, Jin Tae-jin couldn't answer anything.

But for Wang Hyeon-seong, that seemed to be a sufficient answer.

He trembled his tightly clenched fists and then said, "Leave."

"Leave?"

"Leave right now. If I had my way, I would call the martial artists and have you beaten right away, but because of our old friendship, I'm giving you a chance to leave."

"Hyeon-seong...!"

"Don't call me that! I hope we never see each other again. And I hope you don't even come near Hubei Province and Sichuan Province. If I see you next time... I'm really not planning to leave you alone."

(End of Chapter)