novelraw Chapter 58 : Chapter 58
Chapter 58 : Chapter 58
Chapter 58 Wudang is Taiji (5)
At Ban Cheol-hwi’s urging, the group headed to the Wudang Sect’s dining hall long before the scheduled time.
Ban Cheol-hwi, settling in front of the still tightly closed door, smiled as if satisfied.
Baek-myo, with a pouting face, looked around and grumbled.
“Hey. Aren't you ashamed? Still, we are Wudang’s guests and representatives of the Murim Alliance. Is there a rule to come to the dining hall first and wait like this?”
“Don’t talk like you’re full. Do you say that not knowing that long lines form every evening at famous inns in the Central Plains?”
“No, is this an inn? Besides, it’s not even a meat dish, why do we have to go this far just to eat wild vegetables?”
— Creeeaak
At the sound of Baek-myo and Ban Cheol-hwi arguing, the dining hall door opened cautiously.
The Taoist, flinching in surprise upon seeing the group standing in front of the door, threw the door wide open.
“Aren't you the people from the Murim Alliance? No, why already…….”
“Is the food ready?”
At Ban Cheol-hwi’s sparkling eyes, the flustered Taoist nodded.
“It is, but…….”
“Then, may we enter.”
“Ah, well…… since it is ready…….”
Before the Taoist could finish speaking, Ban Cheol-hwi stepped over the threshold and entered.
Several tables were placed in the spacious hall, and on each table, freshly stir-fried wild vegetables and pickled pine needles were neatly set.
Ban Cheol-hwi, taking a seat at the frontmost table, gestured to the group.
“Please sit. Time is ticking.”
Ban Cheol-hwi quickly picked up his chopsticks and reached for the wild vegetables.
****
The wild vegetables were tastier than expected.
Baek-myo and Hyeon-dam, who were grumbling, widened their eyes in surprise after one chopstick-ful, and from some point on, they only diligently brought wild vegetables to their mouths.
Ban Cheol-hwi was savoring the taste even with his eyes closed, and his slightly swollen eyes trembling slightly seemed to indicate he was quite satisfied.
While the group was eating, Taoists entered the dining hall one by one and began to take their seats.
Whispers of the Taoists could be heard in the ears of Jaun, who was savoring the wild vegetables for a long time.
“Are those…… the Taoist masters who came from the Murim Alliance?”
“Seems so. Seeing them eating here.”
“It’s not even breakfast time yet, but they are already in here eating?”
“They must have been quite urgent. Look at those voracious chopsticks. It seems the Murim Alliance doesn't even provide meals properly.”
“Kuku. At that rate, they wouldn't even know if it went up their noses.”
Jaun turned his eyes to glance at the Taoists and then turned his eyes back to the table.
The voices of the Taoists continued in Jaun’s ears.
“By the way, one of them is said to be a scholar-daoist?”
“I heard he is a disciple of Mt. Zhongnan. Are they still raising scholar-daoists there?”
“Haha. Well? What use is a scholar-daoist in times like this……. According to rumors, that person is the only scholar-daoist even in Mt. Zhongnan.”
“Then what did a scholar-daoist come here to do?”
“How would I know. The other three were also just children without even titles. I heard one of them even learned martial arts at the Demonic Academy.”
“Demonic Academy, huh…… His aptitude must have been so lacking that he is studying demonic arts at the Murim Alliance.”
Jaun closed the senses he had expanded.
It seemed no good would come from listening further.
The Sword Immortal’s concern had become reality. Jaun, feeling Wudang’s atmosphere much stiffer and rigid than he thought, let out a small sigh.
It was when Jaun, thinking there was no need to listen, erased their conversation from his head and focused on eating.
He felt someone approaching the group’s table.
“Taoist masters.”
Hyeon-dam, with his mouth full of wild vegetables, opened his eyes wide and turned his head.
A young Taoist with a quite sturdy physique was standing before his eyes.
The Taoist continued speaking with a deeply frowning face, as if something displeased him.
“I clearly remember informing you of the meal time in advance yesterday, so why are you here? This poor Taoist searched for you for a long time. If you came to Wudang, shouldn't you follow Wudang’s instructions properly?”
“Senior Brother…….”
Dam-hyeon and Dam-hu, who followed behind the young Taoist, stamped their feet not knowing what to do.
“You guys stay still.”
The Taoist, blocking the two’s words, turned his head again.
Hyeon-dam, watching that scene, shrugged his shoulders and looked back at Jaun.
“Who are you?”
At Jaun’s question, the Taoist answered with a frowning face.
“I am called Nam-jin, a first-generation disciple of Wudang. And also your guide for today.”
“We finished getting ready early in the morning so we moved first. We didn't hear that a guide was coming.”
“If you visit another sect as guests, it would be good to observe at least the minimum courtesy. I clearly heard that yesterday and today’s schedules were conveyed.”
Jaun, looking at Nam-jin who had a disapproving expression, tilted his head.
‘There wasn't a single word about a guide.’
Since Jaun had been remembering every word of the Taoists just in case there was a clue about the missing persons, he could be sure.
“That is, Senior Brother…….”
“Quiet!”
Nam-jin, shouting loudly towards Dam-hyeon who opened his mouth again, looked at the group with a stiff expression.
There were many questionable points.
Judging by the nervous complexions of Dam-hyeon and Dam-hu, it seemed this sturdy Taoist was pushing recklessly regardless of the facts.
Jaun couldn't understand why he was acting rudely in this manner.
Just as Jaun was about to open his mouth to properly understand the situation, Nam-jin banged on the table with his hand looking at Ban Cheol-hwi who was savoring the wild vegetables with his eyes closed.
“You there, scholar-daoist of Mt. Zhongnan. I heard you are someone who has read some texts, but how can someone who knows courtesy keep his eyes closed when a person is speaking?”
At those words, Ban Cheol-hwi, slowly opening his eyes, looked up at Nam-jin.
“Oh my. You are not a rogue of the Unorthodox Sect, but a Taoist sect representing the Murim and a holy ground of Taoism, so how can you persecute people like this? And during a reverent meal time at that! Is treating people who came to support Wudang like this what you call courtesy?”
At Ban Cheol-hwi’s words, Nam-jin scoffed as if absurd.
“Ha. Support, you say. Looking at the faces of the people sent, it seems the Murim Alliance had no intention of providing support. Didn't they just send you to save on food costs for useless personnel?”
At Nam-jin’s words, young Taoists sitting behind burst into laughter.
“Anyway, receiving the order of the Inner Affairs Hall Master, I will guide you from now on, so I hope you act strictly according to my instructions in the future. This is not a place for you to wander around carelessly like that.”
From beginning to end, a quarrelsome tone continued.
It seemed to be a silent protest that they sent support unworthy of Wudang’s status.
On one hand, it was frustrating, and on the other hand, it was bitter.
While Jaun was pondering what the right thing to do was, Ban Cheol-hwi rose from his seat.
Ban Cheol-hwi, walking slowly next to the table, looked Nam-jin up and down and opened his mouth.
“Listening and listening, you are crossing the line. Did you say you are Taoist Master Nam-jin? Let me ask you one thing. It is said that even a dog is not disturbed when eating. Do you know what we call a Taoist who hasn't even realized such common sense level of Tao ?”
At Ban Cheol-hwi’s unexpected question, Nam-jin couldn't answer.
In the meantime, Ban Cheol-hwi, taking one more step forward, said with a smile.
“Those who do not know the laws that even a dog would know are called exactly lowborn bastards .”
At Ban Cheol-hwi’s rough words, the air in the dining hall froze as it was.
“Hey. What are you saying right now?”
Baek-myo hurriedly grabbed Ban Cheol-hwi’s arm.
Quietly shaking off Baek-myo’s arm, Ban Cheol-hwi continued speaking.
“Generally, if one is a Taoist, there should be a proper Tao in treating people. Right now, your behavior is without Tao and is simply vulgar. How can I not call you a lowborn bastard.”
At Ban Cheol-hwi’s words, Nam-jin let out a vain laugh.
It was true that he tried to provoke the group following the Inner Affairs Hall Master’s order.
It would be fine if the group left Wudang with uncomfortable feelings, and it would also be fine if they became insincere in the investigation of the missing persons case due to bad feelings.
It was an argument started with such intentions, but Nam-jin, who never imagined the opponent would answer in this way, flushed red.
“Say that again?”
“I said lowborn bastard.”
At Ban Cheol-hwi’s words, Nam-jin swung his hand with all his might.
— Slap!
Still, perhaps because he couldn't raise a weapon against someone who didn't know martial arts, Nam-jin stopped at slapping Ban Cheol-hwi’s cheek.
Hyeon-dam and Baek-myo, with stiff expressions, sprang up from their seats.
Ban Cheol-hwi, clutching his cheek, looked at his scholar's cap that had fallen to the ground.
“……Raising a hand against a guest. Wudang has really gone as far as it can go.”
— Slap!
“Watch your mouth!”
Once again, Ban Cheol-hwi’s other cheek turned. Ban Cheol-hwi, quietly rubbing both his cheeks, glanced at the chopstick container on the table.
Ban Cheol-hwi, fiddling with the chopstick container here and there while looking at his scholar's cap fallen on the ground, opened his mouth.
“Touching the scholar's cap means I no longer need to treat you as a scholar, right?”
Ban Cheol-hwi, scratching his cheek which had turned red before anyone knew, grinned looking at Nam-jin’s face.
Subsequently, he threw the chopstick container he was fiddling with straight at Nam-jin.
— Clatter
The fallen chopsticks rolled on the floor.
“……What kind of behavior is this right now? Instead of apologizing, you are causing a scene?”
Ignoring Nam-jin shouting at him, Ban Cheol-hwi took out a fan from his bosom and pulled out one of its ribs.
“Long ago, when Taoist Master Zhang Sanfeng opened Wudang, he said, ‘Wudang is Taiji and Wuji, and it must be a place that contains the Three Talents under the Three Pure Ones .’”
Ban Cheol-hwi threw the fan rib he was holding onto the table with a thud, sticking it in.
“I will ask you. I don’t even hope for you to contain the Three Talents like Taoist Master Zhang Sanfeng said. Do you perhaps understand even the Nine Palaces properly?”
“What on earth are you talking about! Shut up and apologize properly right now!”
Ban Cheol-hwi, looking at Nam-jin once, lowered his gaze and slowly stroked the fan rib stuck in the table.
“Scholar of the Way Ban Cheol-hwi of the Mt. Zhongnan Sect. I will dare to test if you are qualified to be a Taoist of Wudang. I will verify if you are a lowborn bastard or a true Taoist, and apologize or whatever after that.”
Ban Cheol-hwi snapped the fan rib placed on the table, bending it to one side.
Simultaneously with Ban Cheol-hwi’s action, Jaun flinched at the energy rushing into the surroundings in an instant.
Nam-jin’s expression hardened.
Nam-jin, hesitating with a flustered expression, looked around in all directions and bit his lip tightly.
“What kind of sorcery is this!”
Nam-jin, looking around here and there, began to wave his hands here and there.
Then, when nothing was caught in his hands, he suddenly began to walk in circles on the spot.
‘It’s a formation.’
Jaun looked at the chopsticks surrounding Nam-jin and the fan rib stuck in the table.
‘In that short time, and even in this narrow space, to create a formation with chopsticks.’
Jaun looked back at Ban Cheol-hwi’s face anew.
Centering on the formation Ban Cheol-hwi unfolded, energy was fluctuating here and there according to rules.
“A person who claims to have learned Wudang’s martial arts is wandering around unable to escape from a simple Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation . It is only pitiful and pathetic. If the sages of Wudang knew, they would lament bitterly.”
At Ban Cheol-hwi’s words, Nam-jin, who kept spinning in circles on the spot, shouted loudly.
“You……! Will you not withdraw this sorcery immediately!”
At Nam-jin’s words, Ban Cheol-hwi slowly approached him who was spinning in circles.
“For a disciple of Wudang to call a formation sorcery. It seems there is nothing more to find out.”
— Slap!
Ban Cheol-hwi’s hand slapped Nam-jin’s cheek upwards.
“Seeing this, it seems you are not a proper Taoist, so I should fold away my apology. By the way, aren't you the surplus personnel of Wudang? With skills that don't even understand the Nine Palaces, how can you belong to Wudang?”
Nam-jin, fiddling with his cheek with a dazed expression, realized the reality that he was slapped by Ban Cheol-hwi and stopped on the spot.
Raising his energy with a coldly hardened expression, Nam-jin opened his mouth.
“……You just insulted me and insulted Wudang. You must have done it prepared for the consequences.”
Nam-jin raised his energy and spewed it out in all directions.
— Whoooosh
The energy Nam-jin spewed became a fierce wind and swept through the dining hall.
The chopsticks placed on the floor scattered here and there in the wind, and soon the formation broke.
At the same time, Nam-jin’s eyes found their direction and returned.