Tangmunjeon - Chapter 319



Only Noblemtl

Episode 319 Wanted

The party led by Dang Mu-jin buried Representative Yang in a sunny place and then departed.

I would have liked to bury Rep. Yang in his hometown or at his family home instead of in a state funeral, but I couldn’t do that because the body wasn’t in good condition.

Congressman Yeom spoke with a pretended liveliness.

“I have to get on a boat, so I guess I’ll have to go to Wuchang now?”

“That’s right.”

Congressman Yeom looked gloomy as he felt the loss of his lifelong friend.

But at the same time, Rep. Yeom tried not to show his gloomy mood. On a trip like this, if even one person gets depressed, the whole atmosphere tends to sink.

Congressman Yeom was a man of deep consideration, as expected of an adult.

In order to soothe Rep. Yeom’s troubled mind, Dang Mu-jin began teaching Rep. Yeom about poison.

“This is called Ma-Hwang. Have you seen it?”

“Isn’t it a medicinal herb used to ward off cold air? I’ve only seen the legalized version, though…”

“As you know, Ephedra is full of yang energy, so if you take it without controlling it, your pulse will race and you will experience damp heat and chest pain. Also, the toxicity of Ephedra itself cannot be ignored, but if you use it with a warm poison, its effectiveness will be doubled, so that is the true value of Ephedra as a poison.”

It all started with the poisonous plants and mushrooms most familiar to lawmakers.

What Dang Mu-jin realized while teaching Rep. Yeom about poison was that there was so much to teach him about poison.

If he were not a member of the National Assembly, he would have only explained the effects and usage of the poison. However, Dang Mu-jin explained everything to Assemblyman Yeom, starting with the name of the poisonous plant, its shape, properties, and how to distinguish it from similar plants. All of this would be the foundation for the poison attack.

Congressman Yeom diligently mastered poison.

The roots of poisoning overlap a lot with medicine, so I learned it very quickly. In the case of some weak poisons, I even felt the properties by directly ingesting the poison with my body.

‘If I had a baby, I could have learned more.’

While teaching poison to Rep. Yeom, Dang Mu-jin finally realized that he had been neglecting poison until now.

Up until now, I thought that the poison that the devil had organized was enough. However, after talking with Representative Yeom, endless possibilities came to mind.

Just as an herbalist prepares a medicine to enhance its efficacy and reduce its toxicity, it may also be possible to remove the efficacy from a poison and only strengthen its toxicity.

It may be possible to create new poisons by mixing poisons that retain only certain properties.

The field of toxicology was like a white snowfield where no one had left a footprint. Because there were few researchers, there were so many possibilities left behind.

‘I knew too little about poison even though I was practicing poison.’

Dang Mu-jin wanted to return to the party as soon as possible.

*

Three days later, the party of Dang Mu-jin arrived near Wuchang in the late evening.

“Can we rest in Wuchang tonight and then leave on a boat tomorrow or the day after?”

“okay.”

And then the group saw a strange sight. A few people were wandering around the outskirts of Wuchang as if they were on patrol.

He proudly wore a sword on his waist and his strangely swaggering demeanor made it clear that he was a martial artist.

Hong Geol-gae spoke.

“Is something wrong?”

“What’s going on?”

“Maybe the Sapa group from the south attacked Wuchang. Something like that could happen.”

“That might be the case.”

As Dang Mu-jin and his party were about to enter the warehouse, watching the fire from across the river, someone called out to them.

“Hey, over there!”

It is common sense to stop when called. The party of Dangmujin stopped quietly and looked at the other person.

The opponents were two people, a young man and a young woman.

The man was wearing a rather stylish hero hat on his forehead. Looking at the way his hair was carefully arranged so that it didn’t stick out, I wondered if he had feelings for the woman next to him.

The man confidently called out to the party of Dang Mu-jin, but the party of Dang Mu-jin looked a little nervous when they saw the sword on his waist.

However, there are not many men who can show their weakness in front of a woman they like. Just like Namgung Myung did on the boat a long time ago.

Dang Mu-jin asked.

“What’s going on?”

The man wearing the hero’s hat answered, walking a tightrope between confidence and politeness.

“There are people on wanted list, so we need to confirm their identity. Please cooperate.”

“Oh, please do so.”

As Dang Mu-jin stood up with her shoulders straight, the man carefully examined her face.

The man was holding a piece of paper with the Yongmo Pagi written on it, and he looked at the Dangmujin and Yongmo Pagi alternately with a slightly suspicious expression.

Dang Mu-jin glanced at the contents of the paper.

[A man in his late twenties. A lively-looking man. His eyes are clear, his actions are careful, and he has a subtle elegance. He is a person of high status, so treat him with respect.]

[A member of parliament of similar age and neat appearance. Speaks the Sacheon dialect.]

[A Taoist in his late twenties. He has a serious look and a weighty air. He sometimes has a habit of smiling sinisterly.]

[the poor.]

[A woman with yellow hair and a brown neck.]

‘···.’

There was a sense of awkwardness in the content.

Even on the Yongmo Pagi, there was a simple portrait drawn with a fine brush, but only Namgung Myeong’s portrait was drawn with special care. It was even somewhat beautified compared to the real thing.

The funny thing is that the most important information about the party was missing, such as their names and nicknames.

The man with the hero’s hat was like that until he saw Dang Mu-jin, but he became a little tense when he saw Hong Geol-gae, relaxed a little when he saw Assemblyman Yeom, and then froze when he saw Seol-hwa.

I don’t know about other people, but if you search the entire Central Plains, there aren’t many women with yellow hair and necks.

The man wearing the hero hat spoke.

“Uh, uhm. You’re not the person I’m looking for. Please pass.”

The tone of speech became subtly polite. At the same time, the sound of Hyun-gong’s voice penetrated my ears.

– That guy is lying.

Dang Mujin’s head turned violently. Yongmopagi clearly described Dang Mujin and his party.

Another important clue was that Namgung Myung’s description was written at the top, was written most favorably, and his portrait was painted with the most effort.

All the clues pointed to one conclusion.

‘Namgung Jinya is chasing Namgung Myeong.’

Then why on earth does the man with the hero gun pretend not to know the group?

It’s simple. He doesn’t have the confidence to catch the group on his own, so he pretends not to know and tries to call people over. He must have sent some kind of secret signal, or something, because he could see people slowly approaching from afar.

After collecting his thoughts, Dang Mu-jin looked back and shouted.

“Run away!”

With that shout, the group each fled in their own way.

Dang Mu-jin unfolded the Bulyeongseonhabo while carrying Assemblyman Yeom, Namgung Myeong melted into the darkness, and Hyeon-gong unfolded the Jeunjong while holding Seol-hwa’s hand.

Hong Geol-gae staggered around, performing the Chwipalseonbo, perhaps flustered by the unexpected situation, but soon came to his senses and performed the Manri Chupungsinbeop, a method of opening up and running away.

The man wearing the hero’s hat shouted loudly.

“Catch him, catch him! Even if you miss them all, catch that one!”

However, it is impossible for these haphazard people to keep up with the religious teachings of the party leaders.

Soon, Dang Mu-jin and his party disappeared from the pursuers’ sight, and the man wearing the hero’s helmet had a dejected expression on his face.

*

After about half an hour had passed, the party gathered again outside of Wuchang.

Rep. Yeom spoke carefully.

“···What’s going on? Did something big happen?”

Congressman Yeom looked extremely anxious. He had never committed a single crime in his entire life, so the very act of running away was extremely unfamiliar to him.

Hyun-gong shook his head.

“I haven’t told you until now, but there is actually a fugitive in our group.”

“···anyone?”

“I’m Namgung Myung. Namgung Myung is running away from Namgung Se-ga.”

Congressman Yeom let his imagination run wild as he became lost in thought. The name of the Namgung family was too heavy for an ordinary congressman to handle.

Dang Mu-jin intervened and explained.

“You don’t have to worry so much. It’s not like I committed any serious crime or anything. Even the Yongmo-bi I saw earlier said to treat Namgung Myung with respect.”

“···Could you explain what’s going on?”

“You can just think of it as something that happened because I was immature.”

Namgung Myung glanced at Dang Mujin. However, Dang Mujin’s story was an undeniable fact, so he could not refute it.

Hyun-gong sat quietly in thought.

‘Just now, the guy with the hero gun shouted, ‘Catch that one!’

‘Considering the circumstances, it is clear that ‘one person’ refers to Namgung Myung. The reason the appearances of the rest of the group were recorded was probably because there was a high probability that they would be accompanying Namgung Myung. It is safe to assume that the only person Namgung Se-ga is looking for is Namgung Myung.’

‘How to deal with it?’

‘You just have to throw away Namgung Myung.’

‘What about the aftereffects?’

‘He’ll probably be a bit angry at first, but he’s a simple-minded guy, so if you try to persuade him and make excuses, he’ll probably get over it.’

‘I guess I can score points with Namgung Jinya.’

The worries and concerns that had faintly remained in Hyun-gong’s heart completely disappeared.

Just as Hyun-gong was about to state his opinion, Dang-mu-jin spoke first.

“I can’t just abandon Namgung Myung. What should I do now?”

Hyun-gong looked around. Everyone seemed to agree with Dang Mu-jin’s story.

Hyun-gong decided not to reveal his plans to anyone else.

At that time, Namgung Myung spoke.

“Muchang is a huge city, so not everyone will be looking for me. I think we should first check how far our group’s disguise has spread.”

“How are you going to check that?”

“We have reverse magic.”

“Oh, right!”

The group’s gaze was focused on Hong Geol-gae, the person most familiar with reverse magic.

Facial muscle immobilization is a skill that uses internal energy to fix the muscles of the face.

If you are not good at using your internal energy or are not familiar with reverse magic, you will not be able to maintain your changed face for long.

However, Hong Geol-gae’s reverse technique can be said to have reached a stable stage. Wasn’t it a reverse technique that wasn’t even used in the non-competition competition?

Namgung Myung asked Hong Geol-gae.

“Can you do it?”

*

After a while, a beggar appeared on the outskirts of Wuchang.

If the beggar had been an ordinary beggar, it might have been suspicious. The beggar was included in the group of Dang Mu-jin.

However, the man and woman wearing hero’s hats who had encountered Dang Mu-jin and his party earlier did not suspect the beggar. The beggar’s face was quite famous.

“Hey, you!”

As the woman shouted in a new voice, the beggar looked aside with a deep expression.

Even the man wearing the hero’s hat couldn’t hide his surprise.

“Oh, by any chance. You!”

“···Do you know me?”

“How could I not know! The winner of the last martial arts competition, Hong Gyeon Daehyeop!”

Hong Geol-gae smiled happily, enjoying the feeling of becoming a celebrity.

Even though his expression changed, the magic did not work.

Hong Geol-gae asked leisurely.

“You recognize me. I’m embarrassed. By the way, what brings you two to this remote outskirts?”

“I was cooperating with the wanted warrant issued by Namgung Se-ga.”

Hong Geol-gae answered with a dismissive tone.

“Huh. A wanted poster for the Namgung family. Looks like someone has committed a serious crime?”

“He didn’t seem to be a criminal, and he seemed to be looking for someone important. In fact, I had the good fortune to run into him a little while ago, but unfortunately I lost track of him.”

“Oh, thank you for your hard work. I hope you get good results.”

“yes.”

Hong Geol-gae leisurely shook off the two men and entered the room.

Now, I can go back and check if there is anyone inside the Wuchang looking for Namgung Myung. I might be able to shake off the people outside the Wuchang under the cover of darkness.

However, Hong Geol-gae’s face hardened as he looked around the inside of the building. This was because there were many posters depicting Namgung Myeong’s face posted here and there.

‘It won’t be easy.’

If Namgung Myung was the only person whose Yongmo Pagi was recorded, it would have been enough to teach him the reverse magic. Especially since Namgung Myung is quick to learn martial arts.

But the problem is that Namgung Myung is not the only person recorded in the Yongmo Pagi. Everyone except for Assemblyman Yeom, who has dropped out of the wanted list, will have to use the reverse magic to avoid suspicion.

‘···No. That won’t work either.’

Yongmo-pa-gi includes a story. Even if you pull or stretch the muscles of the face with reverse magic and fix them, you cannot hide the yellow hair that is characteristic of Saekmok-in.

For a moment, he thought that if he just threw away the rumor, all his problems might be easily solved, but Hong Geol-gae shook his head and shook off the evil thoughts. That was not the righteous way of a warrior.

Just as Hong Geol-gae was about to return to the outskirts with the sad news, he realized that the gazes of the people looking at him were not ordinary.

To be precise, not everyone’s gaze was strange. Only one group of people were looking at Hong Geul-gae meaningfully. Beggars.

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

As Hong Geol-gae made a subtle expression, a beggar with three knots approached him.

Samgyeolgae. It’s a powdered level.

He seemed to be well over forty years old, but he bowed his head respectfully before Hong Geol-gae.

It was a strange situation for anyone to see. Unlike the five-knot Honggeolgae, the ‘Honggyeon’ had two open knots.

‘···Because I’m the winner of the non-competition tournament? No. That can’t be. The one with the higher status within the open world is that person. Could it be that their identity has been revealed?’

What would happen if rumors spread throughout the Central Plains martial arts world that he had lied about his martial arts skills and won the martial arts competition under the guise of a master? Just imagining it was dizzying.

Hong Geol-gae asked in great confusion.

“Father, what is going on, Lord Bunta?”

Hong Geol-gae has finished preparing himself mentally.

If the opponent calls him ‘the central shareholder, the five-legged Hongju Mountain’, he is ready to ignore him at any time.

Then the lord answered.

“Since I have met someone of high rank, it is right to humble myself.”

“You’re of high rank! I’m only two-”

“No. Get six more knots and become the eight-legged follower.”

Since it was a completely unexpected story, Hong Geol-gae asked back a little stupidly.

“···yes?”

The headmaster explained.

“There is a rumor going around that Prince Hwahwanogae will choose Hong Gyeon as his successor. In fact, Prince Hwahwanogae has come all the way to Wuchang to find the great swordsman Hong Gyeon.”

It was a dizzying story to hear. Hong Geol-gae hurriedly picked up the story.

“A successor! It’s the first time I’ve heard of it. And besides, I… Wouldn’t Gyuchogae Honggeolgae and Daehyeop be more suitable for the position of successor? I heard that at such a young age, you’ve surpassed the barrier of transcendence!”

Hong Geol-gae was truly grateful that he had no friends by his side.

If my friends heard that, it was self-praise that would have made them laugh for about thirty years.

After hearing that story, Buntaju shook his head.

“Of course, the great swordsman Gyuchogae is the greatest warrior in the Gaebo. However, His Majesty the Bangju seemed to be burdened by the idea of ​​making the great swordsman Gyuchogae, who is more skilled than himself, his successor. The successor is the Bangju’s successor, but isn’t he also his disciple?”

“···.”

“I heard this story from afar… It seems that His Majesty the King was planning to put Hong-Gyeon in the position of the second king and hand over the position of the king to the great swordsman Gyu-Cho-Gae.”

If things continue this way, won’t it mean that I have to become the ark and make myself a disciple?

If that happens, it will be an instant before your administration is exposed to the world.

Of course, the servant of Mu-chang reached out his hand without knowing Hong-geol-gae’s true feelings.

“Follow me. Hwahwanogae is desperately looking for Hong Gyeon Daehyeop.”

Hong Geol-gae looked at the hand and trembled in fear.