The Lazy Young Master of the Jin Clan

Chapter 60 : Not a Speck of Light

It was a night when the moonlight shone brighter than ever.

The roof tiles of the tall, elegantly curved pavilion were made of blue-cornerstone, giving them a bluish tint, and the unique hue of the tiles revealed its true value when it received the moonlight.

The blue tiles held the moonlight that rose in the late evening and gave off a mysterious color of silvery blue.

A sight that could only make the viewer stand with their mouth agape, lost in a trance.

A place more beautiful at night than during the day.

A place that even the passing moon looked at with jealousy.

That place was the White Moon Palace.

Two people walked along the path, following the light cast by the moon.

As they passed the pillars supporting the tall pavilion and walked on the path laid with blue silk, the moonlight shone above their heads.

The place where the man and woman arrived with light but not frivolous steps, without even the sound of footsteps, was a place where a middle-aged man was sitting in a grand chair, wetting his throat with a cup of wine that held the moon.

"You've come."

"We greet the Palace Lord."

The two answered in one voice and knelt on one knee.

The moonlight still lingered above their heads.

"Raise your heads."

The man and woman raised their heads.

The faces of the two, with the moonlight lingering on them, were exceedingly beautiful.

The man was very handsome, possessing both thick lines and gentleness.

But his appearance was not as much as the woman sitting next to him.

The saying 'a beauty under the moon' seemed to have been made for this woman.

Her large eyes shone with a blue light as if blue-cornerstone had been embedded in them, and her face was perfect in every way, as if the heavens had created it by choosing only the most beautiful parts.

Of course, even to her, who was perfect, there was a speck of a flaw.

It was a faint scar on her white neck.

However, a scar of that degree seemed meaningless to a woman with perfect beauty.

The White Moon Palace Lord, who was looking down at the two, opened his mouth.

"The Martial Arts Alliance has opened four Daoist temples called the Four Divine Daoist Temples. You two will enter the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple among them. I have already spoken to them, so there will be no problem with your admission."

"We will follow your command."

Although there were questions, they did not ask.

In the White Moon Palace, the Palace Lord's word was the law, so to have doubts in front of the law was no different from treason.

As the woman wearing a thin silk robe filled his cup, the Palace Lord lifted the cup and drank the wine.

"The gossips say that the reason the White Moon Palace Lord does not let his children out into the world is because they are not worthy of it."

The faces of the two who were looking at the Palace Lord hardened slightly.

"I do not care about the words of the gossips. Dogs are just dogs, no matter how much they bark. Those who are born as dogs from birth can never become tigers. But you were born as the children of a tiger."

The White Moon Palace Lord, Cheon Yushin.

Although he had already reached the age of sixty, his appearance looked to be only in his early forties.

Although it could not be called huge, his large and solid build was still the same, and the brilliant light felt from his gaze showed that he was still in good health.

"Go. Prove that there is one palace above the Nine Sects and Five Families."

"We will follow your command."

The Palace Lord's command was given.

This was to prove that the White Moon Palace was above the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families.

To prove that the two were the number one swords under heaven who would succeed Cheon Yushin.

Cheon Gaseong, who had entered the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple after receiving a command more precious than his life, turned his dry gaze towards Jin Sohyun.

"Haaam—!"

The one who was yawning and staring blankly at the empty air with a bored gaze.

'A strange fellow.'

On the day of the entrance ceremony, he had been about to gouge out his two eyes because he was staring at Cheon Yerang with a sinister smile.

It was because he had thought that a mere bug from a merchant family dared to covet Cheon Yerang.

But after receiving his warning, Jin Sohyun had completely averted his gaze from Cheon Yerang.

He didn't even glance or look secretly.

At first, he had thought he was just scared, but the actions Jin Sohyun showed after that were different.

'He ate the poisoned food without a care, and he was not caught in the surprise attack prepared by the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple.'

Did he use money?

No, that's not it.

The Martial Arts Alliance was not an existence that could be moved by money.

That meant that Jin Sohyun had something that even Cheon Gaseong had not seen.

'A martial artist hides about thirty percent of his skills. Is this fellow hiding his true skills?'

If he was hiding his true skills in his laziness, then Jin Sohyun was not as easy a person as Cheon Gaseong thought.

Cheon Gaseong's gaze towards Jin Sohyun naturally became sharp.

Meanwhile, Jin Sohyun, who was receiving his gaze, felt a tingling at the back of his head.

'Hmm? What's with this guy again?'

He had known from the first day that Cheon Gaseong's personality was eccentric.

The fellow who had been quiet for a while was now glaring at him as if he were looking at an enemy, so Jin Sohyun felt as if the back of his head would be pierced.

'I did as he said, so what's his problem this time? Should I just punch him once?'

Jin Sohyun felt like punching Cheon Gaseong's head once.

Although Jin Sohyun's nature could be said to be good, he was not so naive as to stay still even after being hit first.

'Ah! Let's just leave it. It's not like it's really being pierced.'

However, Jin Sohyun, whose whole body was dominated by laziness, tried to ignore Cheon Gaseong.

'Why is my brother...?'

Cheon Yerang was bewildered.

It was because Cheon Gaseong, who did not even treat people as humans if they were not from the White Moon Palace, was glaring at Jin Sohyun as if he would kill him.

'Is it because of me?'

Could it be because she had exchanged gazes with Jin Sohyun on the first day?

'Come to think of it... why did I...'

It was a strange thing.

Cheon Yerang was born a genius.

It was the same for her older brother, Cheon Gaseong.

If he was born a genius of martial arts and swordsmanship, she was born with a genius brain.

Thanks to her outstanding memory, she did not forget what she had seen and heard once.

Thanks to that, she could remember all the contents of a book just by recalling it, without having to read it twice, and this amazing memory also applied to people.

In other words, she never forgot a person she had seen once.

'He's not in my memory.'

Cheon Yerang had no memory of seeing a person named Jin Sohyun.

Even if it were a passing acquaintance, she would have remembered his face.

But why was her gaze going to a person she had never seen before?

'Why?'

Although Cheon Yerang knew that her gaze would be poison to Jin Sohyun, she found it difficult to easily avert her gaze from him.

In the meantime, Siu, who had finally succeeded in running all one hundred laps around the training ground, walked over, staggering as if she were exhausted.

"Heok... heok... Young Master."

"You've worked hard. I thought you would collapse from exhaustion in the middle, but you managed to finish."

"I... I don't think... heok... I'm suited for this place."

Siu, who had bowed her head to Jin Sohyun, immediately walked in front of Gwak Myeong.

"Head of the Daoist Temple... I think I must... leave the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple now."

"Not permitted."

"E-Even if someone like me is here! I won't be of any help!"

"I will be the judge of that. And there is no dropping out from the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple. If your limbs are shattered or you become a vegetable, then I will let you go."

"..."

Siu, whose whole body was limp, returned.

"Young Master."

"Yes?"

"Let's run away together. With your fast feet, you can jump over the walls of the Daoist temple."

Jin Sohyun's ears perked up at Siu's proposal.

Even though it had only been three days, he felt like he was going to die from the hassle.

"That's not a bad idea."

"Right! So...!"

"I do not recommend it."

Zhuge Ming came over, smiling, in front of the two who were planning to run away from the Daoist temple.

"You two have not read the entrance guide of the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple."

"Was there such a thing?"

"Hahaha! I thought so. The students who have entered the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple are forbidden from going outside for one year after entering. Also, if you leave the Daoist temple without permission, you will be pursued by the Martial Arts Alliance. Surely you're not thinking of running away for the rest of your lives, avoiding the eyes of the Martial Arts Alliance and the Beggars' Sect, are you?"

At Zhuge Ming's explanation, Jin Sohyun and Siu felt a chill run down their spines.

The Blue Dragon Daoist Temple, which they had entered without much thought, felt like a prison without bars.

"Of course, they say that an exit permit is issued with the permission of the head of the Daoist temple... but from what I've seen, our head of the Daoist temple doesn't seem like he would issue an exit permit so easily."

As he had said, Gwak Myeong was not an easy person.

"That's right! He's very strict and merciless!"

As Siu said, huffing and puffing, Gwak Myeong's face, which had turned away, turned towards her.

"Hic!"

The startled Siu hid behind Jin Sohyun.

"Haha. Anyway, since you've entered once... leaving the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple will be after one year."

Unlike the leisurely smiling Zhuge Ming, the word 'despair' appeared on the faces of Jin Sohyun and Siu.

Jin Sohyun's voice trembled.

"O-One year?"

Without knowing his feelings, Zhuge Ming was cheerful.

"Yes!"

***

Fifteen days had passed since the one hundred and one students had entered the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple.

In the meantime, many changes had occurred to the young officials, and one of them was that a dark shadow had appeared under their eyes.

Nod— Nod—

Even though it was time to circulate their qi, most of the officials were shaking their heads back and forth, trying to get some much-needed sleep.

The reason the officials were like this was simple.

It was because they were afraid of getting black lines on their faces due to the instructors' surprise attacks.

Especially Siu, who was not a martial artist, had stayed up all night with her eyes open, and although she had tried to get some much-needed sleep during the qi circulation time, even that was not enough.

Of course, not all the officials were like that.

The two men and women with the Cheon family name from the White Moon Palace had not allowed a single surprise attack so far.

Since they were the children of the White Moon Divine Lord, the man closest to being the number one under heaven, it was a natural thing in a way.

The problem was Jin Sohyun.

"You've never faced him?"

"That's right."

The instructor in charge of Jong Ryeo'ak and Jin Sohyun nodded and said as if he didn't understand.

"I've never seen him come out, but when I go in, he's not there either."

"He doesn't come out, but he's not seen..."

The thing that made this possible was a high-level concealment technique.

As far as was known, Jin Sohyun's master was the Flying Sword Hero, Kang Cheon.

'There's no way Elder Kang would have taught his disciple a concealment technique.'

Could it be that a high-level concealment technique was necessary to learn the Flying Sword Technique?

The instructors of the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple, who specialized in surprise attacks, had never once seen Jin Sohyun.

"Well, we'll find out soon."

Hiding one's skills would not last long.

The Four Divine Daoist Temples were not ordinary Daoist temples.

This was not just a space to train martial arts, but a place to nurture 400 elite martial artists.

A place to forge the sword of the Orthodox Martial World that could stand up to anyone.

Gwak Myeong, who was looking at the officials, smiled coldly.

"Prepare the Dark Cave."

***

Jong Ryeo'ak, who had finished his qi circulation, blinked and yawned.

"Damn it..."

Jong Ryeo'ak, who had not been able to sleep properly every night because he was afraid the instructors would launch a surprise attack, felt his stomach churn as he looked at Jin Sohyun, who had smooth and elastic skin.

'How does this brat avoid it?'

Jin Sohyun, whom he had been watching, would fall asleep as soon as he lay down on the bed and would not wake up until the bell announcing the morning assembly rang.

'He's not affected by poison, and he's not caught in surprise attacks? Could it be!?'

Jong Ryeo'ak's gaze, which could not find an answer from Jin Sohyun, naturally turned to Gwak Myeong.

'Did the Jin Family bribe them?'

The thoughts of Cheon Gaseong and Jong Ryeo'ak, who had judged that the Martial Arts Alliance could not be moved by money, were different from each other.

'His family is the wealthiest in Shanxi, right? The Jin Family must have contributed money to establishing the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple. Otherwise, a riffraff from a merchant family and a maidservant wench couldn't have entered the Daoist temple.'

Jong Ryeo'ak had already completely forgotten that he had been severely beaten by Jin Sohyun on the first day.

He was convinced that Jin Sohyun's family had bribed the Martial Arts Alliance.

"A cunning brat."

At Jong Ryeo'ak's mumble, Jin Sohyun looked at him with a bored face.

"And you call yourself a martial artist."

"No."

"What?"

"I'm not a martial artist. I don't want to be one either."

Even if he were given a billion gold, Jin Sohyun did not want to become a martial artist.

It was a hassle, and he had no thought of fighting with anyone.

"Then why did you crawl into the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple?"

"I didn't come because I wanted to."

'The family bribed them and forced this brat to enter the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple. Hmph! A mere merchant family, trying to imitate a martial family, I see.'

While Jong Ryeo'ak's hatred for Jin Sohyun was deepening, Gwak Myeong revealed himself on the platform.

"Everyone, come forward and check your numbers."

At Gwak Myeong's instruction, the officials came over and checked their names and numbers on the bulletin board.

After all the officials had finished checking, Gwak Myeong said.

"The number in front of your names is the order."

"May I know what order it is?"

At the question of Zhuge Ming, who could not hold back his curiosity, Gwak Myeong opened his mouth with a meaningful face.

"Follow me."

Following Gwak Myeong, who was walking ahead, the one hundred and one officials moved.

The place they arrived at after walking for about one koku was a building with a peculiar shape.

It had a door but no windows, and the shape of the building was a strange sight, like an overturned cauldron lid.

"The name of this place is the Dark Cave. It is a place where the enemy you will have to face for the rest of your lives is."

"The enemy we will have to face for the rest of our lives?"

Most of them tilted their heads, not understanding Gwak Myeong's words.

"Are you curious about what that is?"

At Gwak Myeong's question, the officials answered in unison.

"Yes!"

"Then go in and check. Inside, there will be a wooden plaque with the same number as the one you have. Bring it out. It's a very simple task."

Only then did the officials realize that the number assigned to them was the order.

"Go in. I will give each person one koku of time."

The entrance of the Dark Cave, which had been closed, opened.

The space of a black curtain, without a single speck of light, opened its mouth towards the officials of the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple.

The vitality disappeared from the faces of the officials who faced this.

"You want us to... go in here?"

(End of Chapter)