The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 84

Wang Hyeon-seong's voice was restrained, yet it was full of dignity.

I listened to his voice and my eyes sparkled.

Is it because he's from a good family? Or it seems he was born with it.

A group led by people like this usually doesn't fall apart easily.

Still, I couldn't understand sending Jin Tae-jin away like this, so I was about to say something, but my Master slyly grabbed my wrist and shook his head.

He was telling me not to interfere. I sighed inwardly and remained silent without saying anything.

"Hyeon-seong! I think there's some misunderstanding. Would you listen to my story for a moment?"

"No. There's nothing to listen to. In fact, I knew for a long time that your heart had left the Eungnam Merchant Guild. But... I didn't know you would come out so directly. How can you point a knife at the neck of a close friend you've known for decades? And you send an assassin to the old man in the safe house, knowing what he means to me?"

"I gave a prior notice not to harm you and old man Gyu-sam. I was just trying to take over the merchant guild. I had no intention of harming you."

I snorted inwardly.

If I hadn't arrived in Xiangyang on time, the Black Society martial artists would surely have tortured the old man to find out where he had hidden the bills and the account books.

And after finding that out, they would have naturally killed him to silence him.

I was so dumbfounded by the ridiculous words that I was about to say something, but Wang Hyeon-seong said, "You know how I feel about the Eungnam Merchant Guild, don't you? You were just trying to take over the Eungnam Merchant Guild? Harming the Eungnam Merchant Guild is ultimately harming me. Why on earth did you do that? Have I ever made you feel disappointed even once?"

"Disappointed...? Haha... no, you have never treated me like that even once."

"Then why on earth!"

Jin Tae-jin let out a deep sigh.

He looked at me, my Master, and Yeo Jong-su one by one and then said, "The world doesn't acknowledge me. The Eungnam Merchant Guild was definitely created by you and me together, but the world only praises you. I wanted to be acknowledged like you."

"Who says they don't acknowledge you? I wouldn't have come this far without you!"

"Everyone! What's the point if only you think so? Everyone thinks I have no role in the Eungnam Merchant Guild. So... I thought the world would acknowledge me if I did this. You have a place to go back to even if you fail, don't you? Since you're a descendant of the Jeongsan Wang family, if you ask them for help, you can open a merchant guild again several times, can't you?"

"......!"

Wang Hyeon-seong, perhaps because he was at a loss for words, couldn't even reply to Jin Tae-jin's words.

It seems he had no idea that Jin Tae-jin had such thoughts until now.

And he seemed to be shocked that he had even brought up his own background and said that.

"Tsk tsk. How pathetic, so pathetic."

"Unhwi-ya."

At my words, both Wang Hyeon-seong and Jin Tae-jin turned to look at me.

My Master reprimanded me, but I still have to say what I have to say.

"Even though you have contributed a lot to growing the Eungnam Merchant Guild to this extent, I know why people don't acknowledge you. A man's heart is so narrow that he's a complete wimp, and on top of that, he's a lump of inferiority complex and has low self-esteem. You're a really shabby and pathetic human being."

"What did you say?!"

"Seeing you get angry, it seems you're angry at hearing such words? If you asked me to curse, I could curse for two nights and three days, but since I'm with my Master, I'm holding back this much. How can a person be so pathetic?"

He was about to say something, but I waved my hand as if I didn't want to hear it and continued, "Do you know who the most pathetic person in the world is? It's those who just blame others without even trying to face them properly. I'm saying this because the story of the Jeongsan Wang family came up. You probably know best, right? That Uncle Wang Hyeon-seong has been staying up all night to grow the Eungnam Merchant Guild, and has devoted all his personal life to the work of the merchant guild."

"......"

"And. That he has grown the Eungnam Merchant Guild to this extent without any help from his family."

"......"

"And that even though he's a person like you, he still calls you a friend and always talks about how good you are at external sales wherever he goes."

"......"

"And finally, that even though he knew you were committing all sorts of embezzlement, misappropriation, and even betrayal, he didn't root you out and just watched!"

Although my words continued, Jin Tae-jin couldn't even make a single excuse, as if he had no mouth.

And since I was only telling the truth, Wang Hyeon-seong also didn't say anything and just listened to my story silently and stared at Jin Tae-jin.

"Phew... Guild Master Wang. Are you still going to spare this guy?"

"...Yes. I want to. As I said before, this guy's contribution to bringing the Eungnam Merchant Guild this far is not small."

He pointed at Jin Tae-jin and said 'this guy'.

For some reason, it sounded as if he was drawing a line in his tone, saying that their friendship was over.

"If that's the Guild Master's will... I will do so as well. It's right for the Guild Master to decide on the affairs of the merchant guild. I will not argue about that matter anymore."

Both Wang Hyeon-seong and Jin Tae-jin. Even my Master, who had been listening to what I was saying silently, was surprised and looked at me.

Perhaps they didn't even think I would let it go like this.

"Hwi-ya, are you serious? I was thinking of doing as you say in this matter as much as possible... are you okay with it?"

"Yes. I'm fine. I'm serious. How can I argue about what happened in the merchant guild?"

I looked at Wang Hyeon-seong and said, "Then, Guild Master. Is the punishment for this guy's merchant guild ending with expulsion?"

"Expulsion... expulsion. Strictly speaking, since we are not a sect, I don't know if the word 'expulsion' is appropriate, but it is my sincere wish that I don't want to see this guy anymore."

"Then from now on, Jin Tae-jin is not a member of the Eungnam Merchant Guild, right?"

"That's right. I will now strip Jin Tae-jin of all the rights and positions he had in the Eungnam Merchant Guild. This guy is now... a stranger."

At Wang Hyeon-seong's firm words, Jin Tae-jin's eyes shook wildly.

But, even so, he did not have a desperate face.

It seems he thinks it's fortunate that he was only kicked out after being caught doing such a thing.

Jin Tae-jin, who had been sitting on the floor until now, stood up from his seat.

Perhaps because he had been crumpled up in the closet for too long, his legs were trembling, but perhaps because he thought he had to get out of this place quickly, he tried to move his steps.

When he was almost at the door, he looked at Wang Hyeon-seong and bowed his head.

"I... I'm sorry. My heart was too small compared to yours. Thank you so much for showing me such mercy. I will never set foot in Hubei Province again in my life."

And he turned his head, looked at me and my Master, and bowed his head even deeper and said, "I am grateful for the mercy you have shown me, Taoist masters. I apologize for causing trouble unintentionally."

He greeted politely and was about to leave the room slyly.

"Wait a minute. Who said you could go?"

"......?"

"You seem to want to think that I showed you mercy and let it go. Not a chance."

"You clearly said you wouldn't argue about the merchant guild's affairs anymore..."

"That's the merchant guild's affair. We still have more to calculate, don't we?"

When I glanced at my Master, a sly smile appeared on his lips.

He had an expression as if he was thinking, 'Of course'.

I glared at Jin Tae-jin again and said with internal energy in my voice, "The sin of trying to kill the innocent and weak third-generation disciples of Wudang who were coming down from the mountain using the Geoungbang thugs."

"Heo-eop...!"

"The sin of ordering the Black Society guys to attack the Eungnam Merchant Guild and the Xiangyang safe house, even though you knew that the martial artists of our Wudang Sect were together!"

Teol-seok—

As I spoke and took a step forward, Jin Tae-jin, who had been stepping back without realizing it, lost his strength and collapsed on the spot.

"And the sin of trying to subdue us and take us hostage to threaten my Master! To summarize it in one sentence... the sin of daring to point a sword at the disciples of the great Wudang Sect."

Jin Tae-jin's body began to tremble like a leaf in the wind.

Now that I had said it so directly, it seemed he was finally realizing what he had done against the great sect that was one of the pillars of the Nine Factions and One Sect.

"The Wudang Sect has never just let such a thing go, and it will be the same in the future. You will be taken to the Wudang Sect and pay for your sins there."

"N-No way. Hyeon-seong! Please save me. If I go to Wudang, I will surely die!"

He shouted at Wang Hyeon-seong at the top of his lungs, but Wang Hyeon-seong's gaze was cold.

Wang Hyeon-seong said in a cold voice, "If you were a member of our merchant guild, I could have at least pleaded on your behalf as a sponsor of the Wudang Sect, but how can I ask them to save someone who is not a member of our merchant guild?"

"Hyeon-seong...!"

That's right. Since he had been kicked out of the merchant guild a little while ago, Wang Hyeon-seong had no reason or justification to save him.

"Yeo Jong-su!"

"Yes, Great Hero."

"Subdue this guy right now and tie him up."

"Yes, I understand!"

At my words, Yeo Jong-su quickly made Jin Tae-jin kneel down, and brought a thick and long rope from somewhere and tied his hands and legs tightly.

Still, perhaps because he had learned martial arts, his actions were so swift that Jin Tae-jin couldn't even resist.

"Guild Master. Is there a place like a prison where we can lock this guy up?"

"Since this is a merchant guild, there is no separate prison, but there is a small empty warehouse near my office. How about that place?"

"A warehouse is enough. Unless someone comes to rescue him, he won't even be able to untie the rope on his hands."

Of course, no one will come to rescue Jin Tae-jin.

The Baekma Merchant Guild will now have to prove that they have no relationship with Jin Tae-jin to avoid the wrath of the Wudang Sect, so they will never come to rescue him, and the Black Society has been annihilated.

Perhaps because Jin Tae-jin also knew that fact, despair appeared in his eyes.

"Yeo Jong-su. Follow the Guild Master and lock Jin Tae-jin up there. And guard the front so that no one can enter that place."

"I understand, Great Hero!"

Wang Hyeon-seong said with a puzzled face, "Aren't you going with me?"

"For now, the situation is over, and we can't just attack the Baekma Merchant Guild right away, can we? For now, I think my Master and I need to rest a little."

"Ah... I didn't think of that. Please rest for now. I will come and see you again in the morning."

Wang Hyeon-seong greeted me and my Master politely and then left the room with Yeo Jong-su, taking Jin Tae-jin with him.

I wondered if I had been too arbitrary, so I glanced at my Master.

"You did well. It was a good judgment. The best thing about it is that we can rest a little now."

My Master said with a grin.

Well, we've been running around since early evening without a rest.

And we've also fought several times. Even my Master and I, who have good stamina, are bound to be tired.

Especially since I haven't rested properly since I came here from Xiangyang and have been moving continuously, I feel like I'll fall asleep right away if I just close my eyes.

I staggered to a corner of the room and roughly lay down.

I didn't even have the strength to go up to my room, so I decided to sleep here.

My Master, perhaps because he still had some strength left, took out a blanket from the chest and covered me with it.

"Sleep well. You've worked hard."

With those words, I fell asleep.

"You were the real treasure of the Wudang Sect. You protected not only people, but also the future of Wudang..."

In my sleep, I heard my Master stroking my head and saying something, but for some reason, I feel like I won't remember it when I wake up.

(End of Chapter)