Tangmunjeon - Chapter 253



Only Noblemtl

Episode 253: From Today Onwards, You Are a Thief

The story of Yalul Dal-eum fit well with the circumstances confirmed by Dang Mu-jin and his party so far.

A master of the Sangyudo clan who succeeded Muryangja as the chief priest, but stepped down from his post after only one year.

Baek Ya-hyo, who suddenly appeared as the leader of the Gongdong faction after taking down the Sangyudoin.

A group of people who stopped outside activities around the same time.

‘The situation is almost certain. What should we do now?’

It is crazy to bravely rush into a communal area.

The power of the Gongdong faction cannot be underestimated. Even if Baek Ya-hyo, the leader of the Gongdong faction, were alone, it would be difficult for Dang Mu-jin and his party to handle the situation, so it is impossible for Baek Ya-hyo to be the only person in the Gongdong faction.

Even if they can’t do it, it’s clear that there are a few more top-notch experts.

The next thought that occurred to me was, ‘Why not just go back to the party headquarters and ask for help?’

But after thinking about it for a moment, I realized that wasn’t a very good idea either.

It was impossible to ask Jang Elder, who had settled the life of the Sapha warriors, to pick up his sword again, and Dang Mujin was not in a position to tell the Demonic Cult warriors, including Sam-an-bul, who to fight or not to fight.

Furthermore, there was no reason for the Demonic Cult’s warriors to get involved in the problems between the righteous and evil factions.

‘I think it would be best to gather solid evidence and ask for help from the surrounding sects.’

If only the Gongdongpa could be convinced that the Sapha people had eaten them, the other sects and factions would not be able to stay still.

This is especially true for factions that are not far from the Gongdong faction, such as Jongnam faction or Hwasan faction.

‘There is enough evidence that the Jongnam faction and the Hwasan faction had no choice but to take action…’

Nothing came to mind. Dang Mu-jin and his party diligently walked around the area near Gongdongsan to find solid evidence.

*

Dang Mu-jin and his party neglected their work at the blacksmith shop while they were inspecting the surrounding area of ​​the public corporation.

After a few days, Myosun came to the blacksmith shop to ask for food.

“Hey you guys, what happened? I keep hearing rumors that the blacksmith shop is empty.”

“I haven’t started work yet. I still need a lot of things, so I’m running around getting them. Don’t worry.”

Although Dang Mu-jin made a few excuses, Myo-sun’s expression was still serious.

“If you have any problems, don’t hide them and tell me. I can help you with most problems.”

“Can you help me?”

Because Myosun’s confident attitude was amusing, Dangmujin asked back without realizing it.

The attitude of readily stepping forward to help even when it is not his job strangely resembles Hong Geol-gae.

“Yeah. Looks like you still have some concerns, huh?”

“It’s not that there are no worries at all, but it’s not at a level that’s difficult to handle.”

As Dang Mu-jin was playing the janggu for no reason, Myosun looked over the situation of Dang Mu-jin and his group and the blacksmith shop.

“When you start a new business, it’s common for troublemakers to show up and make a fuss. You have to catch those guys in advance so that you don’t have to worry about anything later.”

“Okay. I’ll tell you if I need help.”

Dang Mu-jin smiled happily. It was because he liked Myosun’s attitude of wanting to help in any way possible.

After the conversation with Dang Mu-jin was over, Myo-sun now spoke to Hong Geol-gae.

“Oh, right. Someone disappeared from the shack. Do you know where they went?”

“Huh? The person disappeared?”

Hong Geol-gae also acted like a fool.

“Yes. He can’t even move on his own, so there’s no way he would’ve disappeared on his own… It seems like someone definitely took him away. If you happen to find out where he went, please tell me.”

“okay.”

Although Yul Dal-eum was lying across the wall, Hong Geol-gae answered without showing it.

Dangmujin and Honggeolgae wanted to bring the other people in the hut to the blacksmith shop and take care of them.

However, there was not enough space for people to live in the blacksmith shop. Furthermore, if a rumor spread that people from the shack were living in the blacksmith shop, the community would likely find it suspicious.

In the end, there wasn’t much that Dang Mu-jin and Hong Geol-gae could do.

All I did was send Honggeolgae to the shack to take care of him so he wouldn’t get bedsores and give him a little more food.

I wanted to find a way somehow, but there was still no breakthrough in sight.

*

While Dang Mu-jin and his party were secretly inspecting Gongdongsan Mountain in search of evidence to persuade other sects.

At some point, unfamiliar martial artists began to appear in Pyeongnyang-hyeon and wander around the area.

At first, I suspected that the Gongdongpa was gathering the Sapa’s unmanned forces to start a show of force, but that didn’t seem to be the case. The martial artists’ attire was similar to what I had seen at Mt. Mudeung.

They didn’t even come from just one sect or family. They were sect warriors who gathered from various sects and families.

Dang Mu-jin approached the two martial artists wearing the same clothes and asked them.

“Excuse me, elders, why have you come to Pyeongnyang-hyeon?”

The two martial artists did not realize that Dang Mujin was a martial artist.

The way martial artists gauge each other’s martial arts skills is through posture, gait, and habitual behavior.

In other words, if such factors can be controlled, it means that experts can hide their skills from beginners.

One of the two martial artists glanced at Dang Mujin and then turned his head away as if he was not interested.

“You don’t need to know.”

However, the reaction of the martial artist nearby was different. He scolded my fellow martial artist and said,

“I don’t need to know. I have to ask around carefully because I don’t know where a clue might pop up.”

“A clue?”

“Yeah. You said you were the party leader? Have you seen anyone suspicious around here?”

“When you say suspicious person, what kind of person are you talking about?”

“Well, maybe a stranger showed up. Or maybe there’s an author who sneaks around at night. Things like that.”

The martial artists were going around trying to catch thieves. I could guess what was going on. Namgung Myung had been caught.

Dang Mu-jin spoke vaguely, as if he knew nothing.

“Well, I’m not sure since my friends and I are newcomers who have only recently settled in Pyeongnyang-hyeon. You don’t suspect us, do you?”

“No. It must be someone who showed up at least two weeks later than you. Anyway, if you find out anything, tell me. I’ll definitely give you a reward.”

“It seems like you’re trying to catch a big thief. What on earth did you steal?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

Most likely it will be a treasured sword or a secret weapon.

Among them, the possibility of an emergency weapon was high. It was something that others valued, and it was small and light, so it could be useful to Namgung Myung.

“Then what kind of thief is he? If I knew that, I would be able to look into it more closely…”

“I don’t know. No one has ever seen the thief’s bare face.”

“Ahem.”

“Actually, I don’t even know if they’re in Pyeongnyang-hyeon exactly. All I’ve heard is that they’re heading west. There aren’t many towns as big as Pyeongnyang-hyeon to the west, so they’re just waiting here.”

Fortunately, Namgung Myung’s face didn’t seem to be revealed.

But the problem was that he left behind a clue. Dang Mu-jin secretly wished that Namgung Myung would just disappear and not come to Pyeongnyang-hyeon.

*

But things you hope won’t happen always happen.

That very evening, a masked man approached the blacksmith shop. It was Namgung Myung.

Dang Mu-jin sighed.

“Namgung Myung. I told you that if you step on my tail, we won’t know each other anymore.”

But Namgung Myung answered confidently.

“It’s okay. I’ve never shown my face, and I haven’t left any clues as to who I am. And you were the one who left the clues telling me to come here.”

“Oh, come in first. And that backpack… Are you sure it’s all stolen?”

“okay.”

Dang Mu-jin’s story stopped.

Namgung Myung was carrying a backpack as big as a small sack. It was hard to believe that he could make such a large backpack using only stolen goods.

“···How many places have you been raiding?”

“Enough to leave me with no regrets.”

Namgung Myung entered the blacksmith shop smiling happily and unpacked his backpack.

Indeed, the backpack was filled with each sect’s secret weapons and equipment.

Namgung Myung seemed to have secretly hoped that Dang Mujin would see him and be impressed, but all Dang Mujin could give in return was a deepened sigh.

“That must be something to be proud of.”

“Of course I am proud. I can confidently say that I am the greatest swordsman in the history of the Central Plains.”

As soon as Namgung Myung’s voice was heard, Hong Geol-gae and Hyeon-gong also appeared little by little and looked at the items that Namgung Myung had brought.

It was literally a breathtaking sight. If even one tenth of these items were discovered, it would be a great achievement in the martial arts world.

“By the way, how did you end up being followed? You usually just dodge around pretty well.”

“I robbed too many places at once, and there were too many eyes watching me. I couldn’t hide the direction I was moving.”

“You should have done it in moderation instead of being greedy.”

“Don’t worry. I’m still okay.”

Namgung Myung showed the stolen items to his group and then packed his backpack again. Numerous secret weapons and swords were packed into his backpack like useless junk.

This time, Hong Geol-gae asked.

“What are you going to do with the things you brought this time?”

“It doesn’t matter if you return all the emergency supplies. I read it here and there while moving around, so I almost learned it all.”

Namgung Myung was quick to learn martial arts. And the speed at which he stole and learned martial arts from other schools was even faster than the speed at which he learned Namgung Se Ga’s martial arts.

“···Okay. Let’s leave aside the emergency. What about the weapons?”

Namgung Myung answered in a cold voice.

“I wonder if my standards have grown, but even among the things I’ve kept hidden away as treasured swords, there aren’t many that are useful. I like the swords I’ve been using the most. Looking back, I don’t know if the sword of the swordsman Yeo Dong-bin is particularly good. To be honest, there’s no place to use it.”

“Then, it’s okay if I return everything I’ve stolen so far.”

Namgung Myung nodded slightly to Hong Geol-gae’s question.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“···Then why on earth were you stealing?”

“It’s hidden so well that people end up stealing it just out of curiosity. If you had just thrown it out on the street, no one would have even glanced at it.”

Namgung Myeong’s story was not much different from the stories of people who love mountains.

There was a mountain there, so I climbed it. There was something there, so I stole it.

To Namgung Myung, stealing is a problem of that kind. It is a matter of instinct and habit, not reason.

Hyun-gong said in an anxious voice.

“Then why didn’t you return it and bring it all the way here? You’ll be done with it once you taste it. You should have returned it right away.”

After being guaranteed the position of the next eldest son, Hyun-gong became a little arrogant, but at the same time a little timid, because he had a lot to lose.

“I did think about returning them, too. My original plan was to go back in the same direction I took while stealing the items and put them back one by one. But there was a problem.”

“What problem?”

“Once it was robbed, it would have been left open, but now that the stuff has been robbed, the security has become tighter. This is like locking the barn door after the horse has bolted. Anyway, because of that problem, I had no choice but to bring all the stuff back.”

“You should have just abandoned it and come back.”

“I thought about that too, but I thought it would be a bit empty. I don’t know about other people, but I should brag to you guys.”

It’s hard to understand Namgung Myung’s thoughts. Is there any reason to brag about something like that?

At that moment, a noise was felt outside. The martial artists were looking around to find clues about the ‘Shintu’.

If by any chance those people come into this forge, the lives of the four people in Dangmujin’s group will be over. It’s a dizzying feeling.

Even though Namgung Myung is the one paying the price for his crimes, the other three must feel like thieves even though they didn’t steal anything.

Fortunately, the drones did not enter the forge but passed by, chatting amongst themselves.

Hyun-gong said in a voice full of impatience.

“We’ve seen everything. Quickly, go out and throw it away in a suitable place.”

“really?”

“Of course. It’s obvious what would happen if you were caught carrying that around.”

Namgung Myung became noticeably gloomy, perhaps because he was not very pleased with the reaction of Dang Mujin and his party.

It seems that the party really knew how to admire and praise.

Namgung Myung asked while carrying the load on his back.

“By the way, why did you guys come all the way here and get stuck here?”

“Ah, that’s···.”

Dang Mu-jin told the whole story.

The meeting of Mudeungsan. A top-notch expert who suddenly appears. No matter how you look at it, he is a suspicious leader of the communist faction.

The discovery of Yul Dal-eum in Pyeongryang-hyeon, and the Gongdongpa taken over by the Sapa warriors.

Namgung Myung said after hearing the explanation.

“···So, you need evidence that can involve other sects in this matter?”

“okay.”

Namgung Myung thought for a moment, then clapped his hands together as if a good idea had occurred to him.

“This is a good thing. It would be a waste to just throw away the things I brought. Let’s put them to good use.”

“how?”

“Do you really need evidence? First, let the other sects move and search the common sect thoroughly, and then you can find evidence little by little and show them to them.”

As expected, it was nonsense. Hyun-gong let out a deep sigh.

“If that were possible, I would have done so. How are you going to make the other sects move?”

Namgung Myung pointed with his finger in the direction of Gongdongsan Mountain.

“Just catch a few of the Communist Party members. Now, these items were stolen by the Communist Party members. Let’s turn the tables on them.”