Tangmunjeon - Chapter 254



Only Noblemtl

Episode 254: The True Words of the Lord

The joint force’s unmanned Maeng Sang-ryang received an important mission and went out to the joint force with one of his colleagues.

It was an important mission, but not a great one. It was just a matter of carrying a lot of water between a nearby stream and a dam.

Even in these times when we have been ordered to minimize external movement, this is something that cannot be avoided.

‘shit.’

Water duty was one of the jobs that Meng Sangryang hated the most.

Just two buckets connected by a long pole are quite heavy.

However, when you fill a bucket with water, it doesn’t end up being quite heavy. It’s much heavier than carrying and moving a normal person.

What’s even more humiliating is that with every step you take, the water ripples and rocks your body from side to side.

To support that weight, you have to walk with your back and shoulders tight.

As a second-rate martial artist, Maeng Sangryang was much stronger than an ordinary person who had not learned martial arts. However, even if he only walked around for a couple of minutes while holding a bucket of water, his entire body would be drenched in sweat.

To make matters worse, the two people in charge of water this afternoon were both unmanned personnel above Maeng Sang-ryang.

What this means is that it’s obvious that the afternoon water guys will pass their work on to the morning water guys.

‘It’s hard work and not rewarding. Shouldn’t the authors who need water just bring it to me?’

Maeng Sang-ryang and his colleagues walked silently without making a sound.

If you open your mouth, there’s a good chance something annoying will come out, and it’ll likely lead to an argument.

‘I wish there was a rule that anyone who passes the responsibility of water to someone else should be beaten half to death.’

As he walked back and forth between the stream and the public dam three or four times, inwardly cursing the watermen in his mind, Maeng Sangryang discovered a shadow appearing like fog in a dark part of the forest.

He was a man wearing black clothing and a mask. The only part of his body that was exposed was around his eyes.

However, Meng Sangryang quickly realized that his opponent’s inaction was extremely high.

In order to survive, a Sapha Muin must know how to gauge the skills of his opponents, and a master has a different vibe.

In this situation, it would have been very likely to result in an attack if they had ignored the other person and passed by, so Maeng Sangryang and his fellow water handlers immediately put down their buckets and bowed.

“hello!”

The man in black looked in the direction where Meng Sangryang was, then used a mysterious and secret method to approach Meng Sangryang.

Maeng Sangryang was extremely nervous. No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t look like it was first-class.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

However, the man in black did something that Meng Sangryang had not expected. He snatched the water bucket that Meng Sangryang had put down and placed it on his shoulder.

“oh···!”

Maeng Sang-ryang was very flustered. It was because he thought Go Soo was playing a trick on him.

If the water bucket breaks, Meng Sangryang will be in for a lot of trouble.

As Maeng Sang-ryang hesitated, the man in black spoke in a kind voice.

“I’m glad I didn’t have anything to do. I’ll help you out a little.”

“yes?”

“You little brat, your clothes are soaked with sweat and your steps are heavy. Just follow me and take your time and get some fresh air.”

Maeng Sang-ryang couldn’t tell if the story was true or a joke.

However, it was impossible to disobey the master’s instructions. Maeng Sangryang rolled his eyes and followed the man in black.

With his shoulders feeling light and his body feeling refreshed as the sweat dried, Meng Sangryang quickly felt better.

After walking a little, the man in black asked.

“I’ve been seeing some Jongnampa unmanned agents wandering around the lower village lately. Is there a problem?”

“Yes? Yes. I heard that a thief showed up and they’re trying to catch him. It doesn’t seem like they have a problem with us.”

“Us?”

When the man in black asked briefly, Maeng Sangryang continued to add to his story.

“Oh, yes. I’m still not familiar with the name ‘Gongdongpa’. Besides, do you know what happened to those authors who used to do bad things to protect the pride of Gongdongpa? The name itself is a bit off-putting.”

“Hmm.”

The man in black nodded and put down the water bucket.

‘Are you going to listen only up to here?’

Maeng Sangryang shook his shoulders, which had become lighter, and bent his back, thinking about carrying the water bucket again.

However, Meng Sang-ryang, who was bending down, saw a strange sight. At the edge of his vision, he saw unfamiliar feet.

The feet of a black-clad master. And two feet that don’t belong to anyone.

‘···Who is it?’

Even that one wasn’t the end. A strong hand appeared behind Meng Sangryang and covered his mouth.

Meng Sangryang realized that something was wrong with the situation and groaned, twisting his body with all his might.

When I looked to the side, my colleague who was fetching water with me was also twisting his body in the same situation.

“Ugh, ugh!”

“Be quiet, Emma!”

A hand appeared from somewhere and touched Meng Sangryang’s acupoint.

Maeng Sang-ryang and his colleague lost consciousness and collapsed.

Namgung Myung took off his mask and said.

“Did you hear what they were saying? Those Sapha guys were right.”

“Yes. Now it’s certain.”

Thanks to Namgung Myeong’s efforts, Dang Mujin and his party kidnapped two members of the Gongdongpa gang.

Now that we have confirmed through proper questioning that the common faction has fallen into the hands of the Sapha unmanned faction, there is nothing to be afraid of.

Dang Mu-jin and his party took care of the two people and returned to the blacksmith shop without being noticed by anyone.

*

The four returned to the forge and waited for time to pass.

As time got quite late and the surroundings became dark, the Jeongpa unmanned forces began to appear all over Pyeongnyang County.

They didn’t even hope to capture the rumored Shinto. They were only dispatched to at least find out the Shinto’s whereabouts.

Dang Mu-jin looked out of the blacksmith shop and waited for the people who had been waiting to approach.

Before long, two masters of the Jongnam sect appeared.

Since we’ve talked about this before, and since the Jongnam faction isn’t a weak faction, it’s a good place to start the conversation.

Dang Mu-jin approached the two Taoists and spoke to them.

“hello.”

“Is this the blacksmith’s party? What’s going on?”

“Yes. It’s very important.”

The masters of the Jongnam faction laughed. What good would it do for a young blacksmith to tell such an important story?

However, Namgung Myung, Hong Geol-gae, and Hyeon-gong appeared from somewhere and put their arms on their shoulders. The faces of the Jongnampa Taoists turned pale.

“What, what is it? Who are you?”

The two warriors of Jongnampa were warriors with outstanding skills, close to first-class rather than second-class.

But they didn’t notice anything until three young men approached them and put their arms around their shoulders.

If the opponent had harbored hostility, they would have died immediately. Sweat broke out on the backs of the two Taoists.

That wasn’t the end. At the same time, the party’s momentum also changed.

Dang Mu-jin spread out his golden staff, shook off the hand of the Jongnampa Taoist monk, pulled out the sword from the monk’s waist, and lightly swept the sword with both hands to check its condition before putting it back into the monk’s scabbard.

The master of Jongnampa desperately waved his hands to retrieve the sword. However, he did not touch the sword even for a moment until it came out of its scabbard and was put back in.

The two were so shocked that they almost lost their breath in front of the overwhelming gap in skill.

It is natural that their attitude has become polite.

The Jongnampa Taoists asked.

“Wow, who are you?”

Dang Mu-jin said with a serious expression.

“I ended up hiding my identity. But please rest assured that I do not intend to cause any harm.”

“I asked who you were! How could you do such a thing at such a young age…!”

“My name is Dang Mu-jin.”

The two of them recalled their memories for a moment, then remembered where they had heard the name Dang Mu-jin.

“Dang Mu-jin… No way, Yi-ryong!”

Most martial artists who excel in martial arts don’t pay much attention to the nicknames and names of people floating around, but the younger ones tend to know the names of new masters by heart.

Dang Mu-jin answered calmly.

“Some people call me that sometimes.”

The two Taoists of the Jongnam faction were people who could walk around with considerable strength in their necks wherever they went.

But that’s not because their skills are overwhelming. Their skills are not lacking, but what’s more important is the reputation of Jongnampa.

On the other hand, Dang Mu-jin was different. Wasn’t he a doctor and a martial artist who had made a name for himself and a nickname in the Central Plains martial arts world with his skills alone, without any particular background?

Just meeting celebrities in person was no ordinary thing, but there was something even more concerning. The identities of the three people surrounding the two Taoists.

A Taoist asked hesitantly.

“Then who are the other three?”

Dang Mu-jin introduced them one by one, pointing at them with his finger.

“That guy is Namgung Myeong, the eldest son of Namgung Jincheon, the swordsman of Namgung Sega. Next to him is Hyungong, the Seungryonggeom of the Mudang faction. The last one is Gyucho…”

Hong Geol-gae glared at Dang Mu-jin with fierce eyes.

Dang Mu-jin took a step back and introduced Hong Geol-gae again.

“That guy is Hong Ju-san, the vice-captain of the Central Division of Gae-bong and the chief of the Central Division of Gae-bong. Those close to him often call him Hong Geol-gae.”

“If it’s a Honggeolgae… then it’s a Gyuchogae!”

Hong Geol-gae made a sad expression.

But reality is harsh. The strange nickname Gyuchogae will stick to Honggeolgae like carp poop and won’t be easily removed.

However, to outsiders, titles like Deputy Commander of the Central Command or Commander of the Central Command don’t sound all that impressive. They’re also hard to remember.

The masters of Jongnampa were greatly embarrassed, because all the people introduced by Dangmujin were of great skill.

A situation where you are suddenly surrounded by young big shots.

The two Taoists took on a very respectful attitude in front of the younger Tang Wujin.

“By any chance, why have you come to us?”

Hyun-gong took a step forward in place of Dang Mu-jin.

“Do you know that there was a meeting at Mt. Mudang a while ago?”

“Hmm. I know.”

“We also attended the meeting. However, no matter how we looked at it, there was something suspicious about the Gongdongpa, so we stayed in Pyeongnyang-hyeon to find out what was going on with the Gongdongpa.”

“If it’s suspicious, then what… No, do you need the help of the Jongnam faction?”

Hyun-gong shook his head.

“It’s a little different. The reason I came to see you now is because I have something I must tell the masters of the Jongnam sect. I heard that the masters of the Jongnam sect came all the way to Pyeongnyang-hyeon to find out about Shintu’s whereabouts.”

“you’re right.”

“There happened to be someone among us who was tracking Shintu’s movements. This guy, Namgung Myeong.”

When Hyun-gong pointed to Nam-gung-myung, Nam-gung-myung had a much more serious expression on his face than usual. To ordinary people who didn’t know who Nam-gung-myung was, it seemed like a pretty believable sight.

“While Shinto was causing a big commotion in the Central Plains, this guy was secretly following his movements to catch him. I don’t know for sure, but this guy must be the one who watched Shinto’s every move the closest.”

“Hoo! Have you found out anything?”

“It’s not just that.”

It’s like unexpected, high-level information just rolled in on its own.

The expressions of the two Taoists brightened greatly. If this matter is resolved well, they may also receive great rewards.

Maybe I could get some useful elixirs or precious herbal roots, or maybe I could get a chance to learn martial arts from one of the biggest names in the Jongnam faction. Either one was something I desperately wanted.

“What kind of income did you have?”

“This guy, Namgung Myung, was chasing after Shintu, and subdued two men in black who appeared to be Shintu’s henchmen.”

Hong Geol-gae disappeared into the blacksmith shop for a moment, then dragged the two people in and placed them on the floor.

Both of them were wearing masks and black clothing. It was an outfit that was clearly suspicious to anyone.

The two Taoists of the Jongnam sect were almost out of breath with joy.

“Ohh, ohhhhh!”

The two Taoists’ admiration was so loud that the other sects and warriors wandering around also came closer secretly to see what was going on.

Among them were some masters of the Hwasan faction, and several unmanned people from some unknown country.

Hyun-gong continued his explanation with a tongue that was smooth as if it had been oiled.

“Namgung Myung caught these thugs after receiving Shintu’s items. Thanks to that, he was able to recover some of the precious secrets. Is there anyone here who knows the owner of the secrets?”

Hyun-gong took out the secret book from the arms of the two men in black and showed it to the people. The cover of the secret book had the title written on it kindly.

The people who gathered read the title and answered.

“Hwaheopaehonkang (化虛覇閽罡) is a martial art of the Hwangbo family. Samjeoncheolseonkwon (三戰鐵扇拳)? I’m not sure which martial art this is. However, it is not a martial art of the Jongnam family.”

“It’s not even the martial arts of the Volcano Sect.”

Hyun-gong deliberately showed them only the secrets of the wrong sect instead of the item they were looking for.

If you get what you need right away, you can go back without getting involved in the work.

However, the unmanned members of the political faction thought that even this much was a huge gain and were delighted in a loud voice.

“Unfortunately, it’s not ours, but it’s a huge clue. Now that we’ve found Shinto’s henchman, we can say that we’ve reached Shinto’s chin. Have you seen where Shinto went?”

Hyun-gong had a very dark expression on his face.

“That’s exactly the problem.”

“Yes? Why are you doing that?”

“Because the place where they were caught was Pyeongnyang-hyeon, Gongdongsan.”

People were all shocked.

“Then… is Shinto a member of the Joint Forces?”

“I don’t intend to make a definitive statement. The Gonghap faction is also a prestigious political faction. However, given the circumstances, I think it would be right to keep all possibilities open.”

Hyun-gong went around and around talking. But there was no one in the room who did not understand what he meant.

At that moment, the masked men lying on the floor began to twist their bodies wildly. It seemed like the blood clots had been released.

The two masked men shouted loudly, as if they had heard the conversation going on between the people.

“Hey, you piece of shit! That shit ain’t ours! We didn’t steal anything!”

This was something that even the party members had not expected. It was an unfortunate incident that occurred because Hong Geol-gae’s acupuncture was immature.

But Hyun-gong wasn’t at all flustered.

“conflict!”

Hyun-gong kicked them while shouting at them.

“You don’t feel remorse for your sins, and you keep telling obvious lies to escape this moment!”

They kept on writhing in pain as they were kicked by Hyun-gong, but they didn’t stop talking.

“That’s nonsense! I’ve never seen anything like that!”

“How can those guys, wearing black clothes and masks, run away with secrets from other sects and be caught at the scene, so shamelessly act innocent? The evidence is so clear!”

“When did we…! And when did you put this damn thing in these black clothes?”

There is no need to argue any longer.

As Hyun-gong gave instructions with a nod, Nam-gung-myeong and Hong-geol-gae rushed in again and stabbed the two men.

The two black-clad men who had been lying on the floor lost consciousness again.

But a small doubt began to grow in the minds of those around him. This was because one of the last things the man in black had said was on their minds.

Of the two black-clad figures sprawled on the floor, one was small in stature, while the other was chubby.

And the black clothes on the short one were a little loose, and on the fat one, they were too tight and looked very unpleasant. It was as if two people were wearing the same clothes.

Hyun-gong said calmly.

“There is no need to listen to the villain’s story.”

“···.”

But the doubts that had taken root in people’s hearts did not easily disappear.

Hyun-gong took a deep breath and smiled faintly. His expression somehow seemed to put his mind at ease.

“I’m not a particularly great person, but there’s one thing I’m proud of. Thanks to the teachings of Youngbo Jinin, the leader of the Mudang sect, I’ve never lied in my entire life. Thanks to that, the elders of the Mudang sect call me the Hyeon-gong of Jeong-eon (正言). I’m much more proud of that name than the embarrassing nickname of Seungryonggeom.”

“This is the true nature of the Duke of Jeong-eon!”

Hyun-gong met people’s eyes with his mouth tightly shut and his eyes wide open.

There was not a single bit of delusion in those eyes. It was as if a clear light was radiating from both eyes, illuminating the dark evening.

The people gathered were captivated by Hyun-gong’s gaze.

‘Well, there’s no way a man with those eyes would lie.’

Of course, you can’t completely accept a person’s innocence just by looking at their eyes.

However, the presence of Dang Mu-jin, Namgung Myeong, and Hong Geol-gae around him also added strength to Hyeon-gong’s story.

If Hyun-gong had been alone, he might have told a series of subtle lies.

However, there are three young heroes of the Jeongpa faction who are not inferior to Hyungong by his side. Even their affiliations are all different. Danggajang, Namgungse, Gaebong, and Mudangpa.

Doubting Hyun-gong’s words is not much different from suspecting that all four young heroes who will be responsible for the future of the party are conspiring to lie.

Anyone who saw it would see that it was an idea with extremely little realism.

The master of Jongnampa coughed in vain.

“Ahem! I never doubted it at all, so don’t worry about it. Above all, there are two emergency supplies here. The evidence is so clear that no one can doubt it.”

People nodded in agreement with the story of the Jongnampa Taoist monk.

Finally, the master of Jongnampa lowered his voice and spoke to Dang Mujin and his group.

“But it would be too hasty for the people gathered here to go into the common sect and ask about the whole story. Please wait a moment. I will return to the temple and bring back people with sufficient capabilities.”

Hyun-gong, who was listening to the story, nodded with a satisfied expression.

“Ubiquitous! This is truly a story worthy of the masters of the Jongnam faction. We will stay here and observe the movements of the Gongdong faction, so please return to your respective temples and pass on the news. We desperately need your help to protect the justice of the Central Plains martial arts world.”

The masters of the Jongnam and Hwasan factions, as well as the other martial artists, wore determined expressions.

It was a rare situation in the history of martial arts where they were involved in a major incident. For the first time in their lives, they felt like big shots.

This moment of talking with the young heroes was heart-warming, and I was excited to return to the temple with the valuable information I had gained.

People hurried their steps toward their respective temples.

And while they were running without stopping, Dang Mu-jin and his party lay down in the inner room of the blacksmith shop and fell asleep.