Hyeonjilmusin - Chapter 134



Only Noblemtl

134. Aftercare (5)

“Wait a minute. I think we’re on the wrong mountain.”

Tomorrow caught me on my back. But we are not fools. In the first place, the only mountain this big near Gyunhyeon was Mt. Mudangsan.

“why?”

“In my opinion, this is fake.”

“There’s also a non-partisan sign?”

I pointed to the signboard of the Mudangpa sect. There was a large gate decorated with gold and blue and the words “Daemudangpa” were written in gleaming gold.

“I think it’s a scam. Look closely. It might not be the neutral party, but the Moobap party.”

“… … What is that.”

But I also understood why Myeongil was reacting like this. In fact, Yeo Hong-yang next to me had her mouth wide open.

“Huh. This walnut tree is expensive. They used it as a whole tree. And what is that golden dancheong? It’s the most expensive of all dancheong.”

Yeo Hong-yang, being the merchant that she was, immediately started to estimate the value. In fact, I had already finished calculating it.

‘You spent some money.’

The reason I wasn’t too surprised was because I was the one who gave the money to Cheong-ui.

The money I gave to Cheong-ui was a thousand nyang. With a thousand nyang, not only could the building be renovated, but it could also be completely torn down.

What I found curious was another part. Originally, the shaman disciples had been standing in the place where this gate used to be. But there was no sign of a bird, let alone a sign.

“Did you go to the bathroom?”

“No. I told you, this isn’t a shamanistic sect. It’s a shamanistic sect.”

Still, Myeongil was in denial of reality. He thought that his non-partisan faction could not be this cool and splendid.

At that moment, I saw two people coming down from a distance, groaning. When I looked closely, I saw that they were Myeongyeop and Myeonggyeong.

Soon, Myeong-yeop and Myeong-gyeong also recognized us. Myeong-yeop recognized me and smiled, and Myeong-gyeong ran straight to me.

“Wow! Priest!”

“What? Why did you grow so tall?”

I picked up the running mirror and spun around. The mirror slapped my wrist.

“You should greet me politely. I’m a death sentence.”

“Still having fun, right?”

Myungkyung didn’t say anything. I’ve never seen anyone who didn’t like this. I spun it around a few more times, and when Myungkyung started to look a little dizzy, I put her down on the ground.

“You’re here.”

Meanwhile, Myeongyeop also became closer to us. Unlike Myeonggyeong, I politely gave Myeongyeop a prize.

“The disciples of the world, Mukhwiyeong and Yeohongyang. The three great disciples will return tomorrow.”

“Yeah. It’s good to see you here. It really took a long time.”

“I think so.”

I looked at Myeonggyeong’s tall height again. Looking closely, Myeongil next to me seemed to be a bit taller as well. Since we were always together, I hadn’t noticed Myeongil growing taller.

“How long has it been since we set out?”

“Has it been a little over half a year?”

“Wow, time flies.”

“That’s right. Look at the sign that changed.”

Our heads turned and we headed toward the signboard. It was such a splendid signboard that even tomorrow we wouldn’t believe it.

“I know there was a lot of debate among the private school teachers about whether it was right for a Taoist sect to decorate its signboard so extravagantly. Well, the Hwasan sect, which is also a Taoist sect, is much more extravagant than this.”

“That’s true. The clothes and swords are well maintained.”

Since I brought the craftsmen, the clothes and swords have become neater and better in quality. Myungyeop smiled as if he was satisfied.

“That’s right. I don’t know how people lived like that in the past.”

“That’s how people are. They can’t use bad things after using good things. They look for something better.”

I was laughing when suddenly a question I had forgotten came to mind.

“But isn’t this place no longer open?”

“What? Hey, hey. Why are you doing something so inefficient?”

“yes?”

“Look next to the pillar.”

On the pillars on either side of the signboard were some kind of geometrically shaped stone towers. I knew right away what they were.

“That’s true.”

“Yeah. Now we don’t have to use people to make a fuss. It’s better to use that time to train martial arts. When people come and go, we get a message from them. That’s the formation.”

“Oh. That’s amazing. The world has really become a better place.”

“The world was like this originally. We were the ones who couldn’t enjoy it.”

“Is this formation Zhuge Liang’s?”

“Why would we use their stuff? There are many other great sects.”

“That’s true.”

Myungyeop smiled. Now that I think about it, both Myungyeop and Myungkyung seemed to have gotten a bit bigger. It’s not that they gained weight, but it’s just that their bodies were built to look good.

“Anyway, I think everyone will like it. Let’s go up.”

Myeongyeop led us up to the Mudangpa.

From the outer garden and the inner garden, buildings began to appear one by one. It was clear that not only the signboard had changed, but the entire building had changed.

The building wasn’t completely torn down and rebuilt, but it was neatly cleaned up, with no traces of ivy or spider webs. It seemed like they probably hired someone to renovate the entire building.

As I climbed up Mt. Mudang, I met many disciples one by one. They recognized me and were all happy to see me.

“Oh, Whiyoung! You’re back?”

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

“Does your skin look a bit tanned?”

“That’s because I keep wandering around.”

“Hey, hey. Don’t say things like that in front of the private tutors. Especially the Qingyu private tutor. They’ll turn a blind eye to you for being unbecoming of a Taoist.”

I continued to climb up, joking with my disciples.

Certainly, the party had changed a lot while I was gone. From the appearance of the buildings to the complexions of the people. It was definitely something to see if you had money.

After returning from a long trip abroad, it was natural that we had to see Jang Moon-in. Myeong-yeop guided us to Samcheong-gwan.

Yeo Hong-yang also learned a lesson from being a lay disciple, and she was able to climb up the cliff of Samcheong-gwan. Of course, Myeong-il and I barely made it to the top of the cliff in time to yawn.

When I entered Samcheong-gwan and knocked on the door of Jangmun-in-sil, there was an answer from inside.

“Come in.”

I opened the door and went in. As soon as Cheong-ui saw us, she smiled kindly.

“You’re here. I just heard you’re here.”

“You’re quick.”

“It is the job of the long-sentence writer to master everything in the text.”

That must be really tiring. Well, it’s the same for the upper class. They had to take control of everything at their own level.

“Okay. Did you finish your work well?”

I rolled my eyes at Qingyi’s words. Thinking about it, it was quite a hectic trip to Gansu.

In the middle, he met the Jingui Guards and the Xuan King, learned the truth about the Xuan King’s magic, received supplies from Gansu, and even gave water to the Shang King.

“Yes. I had some income.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“I saw it on my way up. The non-partisan faction has changed a lot.”

“Haha. If you spend that money and it doesn’t change anything, that’s the problem. Money is good after all.”

“That’s not something one would expect from a Taoist.”

“I just said this not as a Taoist priest, but as the head of a sect.”

Cheong-ui got up and grabbed the kettle. He just grabbed the kettle by the body, and steam immediately started pouring out of the kettle’s spout. That was how a master brewed tea.

While the teacher was working, Myeong-il suddenly got up and walked over to Cheong.

“Let me help you.”

“Then, please take out the teacup next to you and put some tea leaves in it.”

“yes.”

Now that I think about it, Myeongil’s teacher was Jang Moon-in. Neither of them are very talkative, so they would probably be very quiet when teaching. However, the silence between them was not awkward at all.

Myungil placed teacups in front of us and laid out tea leaves. Cheongyi poured hot water into the tea leaves. Soon, the fragrant scent of tea spread throughout the room.

“The tea leaves are also good. Is it Huangshan Maofeng (黄山毛峰) in Anhui?”

“Huh. You recognized me right away.”

“If a merchant can’t even recognize tea leaves, he should go out and die.”

“Oh, my. I want to maintain the dignity of a Taoist.”

Cheong-ui said that, but he seemed to have already given up and did not say anything more.

“How was your day? Did you learn a lot?”

“yes.”

“Tell me what you’ve learned.”

“Gangho is… … .”

Myung-il trailed off. I thought I knew what he was thinking without even looking at his face. He was probably thinking about the boy he had killed and his older sister.

Soon Myeongil finished speaking with a sigh.

“It’s hard to explain. I used to think it was easy to explain.”

Cheong-ui smiled brightly at Myeong-il’s words.

“I don’t know what happened, but you learned well.”

“Actually, this happened, Master.”

Myeongil told us what had happened. The boy had tried to swindle us first, and had even pulled a sword on me and cut me, but he met his older sister waiting for him at the entrance to the village.

Cheong-ui nodded calmly after hearing everything.

“That happened.”

“The boy was definitely a black boy. But he was said to have paid for his mother’s medicine. He also had an older sister waiting for him. What should I do in this situation?”

“There is no way to tell you what to do. However, you should not feel ashamed of yourself in light of the teachings you have learned.”

Cheong-ui smiled bitterly.

“They say there is no grave without a story. We are also human, so we cannot understand everyone’s circumstances.”

In the end, Cheong-ui couldn’t give a clear answer to this question. It was natural. This was a question without an answer.

We reminisced about our long-awaited meeting. It was only when we had finished drinking tea that Cheong-ui and Yeo Hong-yang spent the next day together.

“Would you like another drink?”

“It’s okay. I just think it’ll be too much if I drink more.”

“I guess you are far from being a Taoist.”

“You just found out now.”

Cheong-ui shook her head and filled her teacup with hot water again.

“So, is there anything you would like to say?”

I said. There must have been a reason why I sent Yeohongyang and Myeongil first. Cheongyi nodded.

“Did you run out of money?”

“Even though I’ve had a taste of money, I’m not corrupt enough to say something like that to you.”

“Hey, what kind of depravity is it to love money? Then what kind of devil am I?”

“It does need purification.”

Cheong-ui coughed in vain. It seemed as if the joke had ended there.

“What I’m going to say from now on is confidential.”

“Oh, yes.”

“I heard that the Hwasanpa’s twenty-four-handed plum blossom sword technique was circulating in the market. I don’t know if that’s true or not. The Hwasanpa themselves claim that it is.”

I pinched my thigh to keep myself from showing my surprise. It was absolutely true. I saw it with my own eyes.

Fortunately, Cheong-ui did not notice my confusion and continued speaking.

“That’s why we’re also being a bit cautious. If the Taegeuk Hye Sword were to be taken outside, wouldn’t that be a big deal? That’s why I’m telling you. Since you’re a person from the upper world, I want you to find out if the Jeongpa martial arts were really leaked, and if so, how it happened.”

Cheong-ui said. A drop of sweat seemed to run down his back.

But I couldn’t say that it had already been taken out here. Even if I did say it, I planned to find out about it first and then say it.

I said, trying my best to calm my pounding heart.

“okay.”

“Yes. It is said that the seasonal energy of several sects other than the Hwasanpa has leaked out. According to the investigation of the Murim Alliance, that is true.”

“I have to be careful.”

“We need to be careful. That’s why I think the Murim Alliance will probably summon the sects.”

“why?”

“I think they’ll probably teach us how to manage the sect’s archives, or some useful formations for guarding. And they said there’s an important announcement, but I don’t know what it is.”

“The Murim Alliance does that too.”

Well, what would the Murim Alliance do if they didn’t do something like that? In these peaceful times, they have to do something like that to make their presence known.

“Yes. And I plan to send you and Cheonghwa to the Murim Alliance.”

“Me?”

“okay.”

“why?”

It was a bewildering thing for me. There are so many disciples from the main temple, and yet you are a lay disciple, leaving them all behind.

Cheong-ui opened her mouth.

“I just want to let other people know that you are a nonpartisan person.”

“I’m a non-partisan person.”

“Because other people are just ordinary disciples.”

Ah. That’s what it was. It wasn’t just a simple disciple of the shamanist faction, but he wanted to show the close relationship between me and the shamanist faction. If that was the case, I welcomed it. It was also something necessary for running the top.

“Then let’s do that.”

“Okay. You must be tired. Go and rest.”

I bought a lottery ticket and left the long room.

I wanted to rest too, but I couldn’t rest.

Because I had to find the person who leaked the Taegeuk Hye Sword.

It was the final cleanup of what happened in Gansu.