Tangmunjeon - Chapter 346



Only Noblemtl

Episode 346: The night of the public mountain, Dangmujin asked the man of honor.

“Aren’t you the head of the Gongdongpa faction, Sang Gwal-do? Why are you in Gyeju and not Gongdongsan?”

“I had to leave the communal area for a while because something came up.”

Unless something very serious had happened, the communal faction would not have abandoned the communal mountain and settled in another place. How could the main group become a communal faction when it is not a communal mountain?

The chief secretary stared at Dang Mu-jin intently, waiting for the next question.

If he said one more word here, he would surely get entangled in a headache, but Dang Mu-jin had to ask the next question because of the atmosphere.

Dang Mu-jin reluctantly tried to float the boat.

“that···.”

However, the Shang Gwal Do-in overlooked the existence of one person. Next to Dang Mu-jin was Hyeon-gong.

Like Dang Mu-jin, Hyun-gong also sensed that something troublesome was about to happen.

However, there was one difference between Hyun-gong and Dang Mu-jin. Hyun-gong’s thoughts were more specific than Dang Mu-jin’s, and he even calculated the profit and loss in a short space of time.

‘It is certain that the Gongdongpa is involved in a troublesome matter.’

‘It’s only natural that if you solve a tiring task, a big price will follow.’

‘But I’m concerned that a high-ranking official with such a high distribution is taking such a humble stance. There may be a difference in their level of inaction, but it’s not something that would make them bow down so low.’

‘Is there something wrong? It must mean that you can’t offer a reasonable price.’

‘The food is not good, and the buildings around it are small and shabby. The situation is becoming clear.’

‘I guess we can say that the Gongdongpa is almost ruined?’

‘There’s no need to look good to the person in charge.’

Hyun-gong, who had made up his mind in an instant, took the story in Dang Mu-jin’s place.

“Oh, you must be very worried.”

“Yes. I guess···.”

“But it would be impolite for an outsider to ask such sensitive questions about the situation of the joint faction. I hope that Jang Moon-in will overcome this difficult situation.”

Although the tone was quite polite, it conveyed the message that he should leave without bothering anyone.

The manager was greatly embarrassed.

‘···This isn’t it?’

As soon as the Shang Gwal Do-in heard that Dang Mu-jin and his party had appeared in Gyeju, he immediately invited Dang Mu-jin and his party. He planned to treat them to a meal, explain the situation of the Gongdongpa, and naturally ask for their help.

However, the plan went awry as soon as Hyun-gong opened his mouth. He was in a situation where he had to turn back without even being able to explain the situation, let alone ask for help.

The man in charge thought desperately.

But no proper solution came to mind, because although he was talented, he was not a very intelligent person.

Furthermore, since he was a person who thought that taciturnity was a virtue of a Taoist and was sparing with his words, his speaking skills were even worse.

In the end, the chief of the group chose a way of speaking that was at least halfway there. He spoke honestly about all the circumstances.

“Please wait a moment.”

Hyun-gong answered as if he was a little annoyed.

“Why are you doing that?”

“This may be a bit of an awkward topic to hear while eating, but… Could you please take your time eating and listen to my story?”

Hyun-gong raised his chin and looked at the person called Sang-gwal-do-in.

‘The inaction of the Sangbaldoin is not that high even among the peak Naburangs. It’s around five and a half or six points.’

‘It seems like the joint faction is almost ruined, so even if I’m a long-time writer, I can’t give more than six points to the background.’

At best, the skill of a general is twelve points.

The gap with Hyun-gong is a whopping six points.

And in Hyun-gong’s experience, if the difference was more than five points, there was no repercussion for yelling at the other person.

Ahem, ahem.

When Hyun-gong suddenly cleared his throat, Dang Mu-jin was overcome with an ominous intuition.

‘no way···?’

In the end, Dang Mu-jin spoke again on behalf of Hyeon-gong.

“It’s not that hard to hear the story. What happened?”

Hyungong made a displeased expression, but Dangmujin completely ignored him.

Thanks to that, the storyteller was able to continue the story without any hesitation.

“As I told you earlier, there was a problem with the communal mountain. That’s why I left the communal mountain and stayed in Gyeju for a while. Of course, I plan to return to the communal mountain, but…”

“What is the problem?”

“Let me get straight to the point. There has been a rebellion in the communist faction.”

“···A rebellion?”

A rebellion not only in a country but also in a sect was something I had never heard of.

However, because the situation of the commonwealth was so unique, there were some parts that stood out.

“Could it be that the demonic cult’s spies have invaded the commonwealth again?”

“That’s not it. But something equally serious happened. Do you remember Mu-Ryang-Ja?”

“yes.”

It is impossible not to know. Wasn’t he Baek Hyang-ah’s teacher and the six-year-old master who was stabbed to death by Yoo Jin-gwang?

As a result, the relationship between the Jeomchang faction and the Gongdong faction was still icy. Of course, there was a high possibility that the icy relationship would continue in the future.

The old man spoke in a whisper, his expression heavy with meaning.

“The remnants of the Infinite Forces have revolted.”

The chief of staff looked at Dang Mu-jin and his party with an expression full of anticipation.

Since Dang Mu-jin and his party had intervened in Muryangja’s death, I thought they would actively step forward this time as well.

But the party leadership’s response was lukewarm.

“Oh, yes. I see.”

The chief inspector checked Dang Mu-jin’s reaction, but that was the end of it.

‘···Shouldn’t there be a slightly more intense reaction?’

The Sang Gwal Doin thought that Dang Mu-jin and his party had special feelings for Muryangja and had intervened in the fight between Muryangja and Yu Jin-gwang.

However, that was a misunderstanding that arose because the Shang Gwal Do-in did not know the full context of the situation. Dang Mu-jin and his party only got involved in the fight because Muryangja was trying to kill Yu Gwan-il and Yu Jin-gwang.

Even after the life-or-death battle, Dang Mujin did not harbor any ill feelings toward Muryangja.

Emotions don’t arise in an instant. Muryangja died before Dangmujin could properly feel ill feelings.

Dang Mu-jin also believed that Muryangja had paid the price for his sins with his death.

The chief secretary continued the story with the intention of somehow persuading the party.

“Do you know that the Communist faction has experienced several major incidents? As the new leader of the Communist faction at the time, I vowed to wipe out all the evildoers of the Sa-pa.”

“Yes, I know.”

Dang Mu-jin remembers that scene.

The man in question cut off the flesh on his forehead where the Sapha warriors had forcibly tattooed him.

The large scar left on the Shang Gwal Doin’s forehead was because of that.

“Some of the guys who were silent at that time started talking nonsense. They said that we should rebuild the Hwanggol-gak and guide the Sapha-unin like we used to. Does that make sense? How long has it been since the lineage of the Gongdong-pa was almost cut off?”

The man continued his story with his face flushed red, showing how angry he was.

“So I told them to stop talking nonsense, and then they arbitrarily elected a new leader!”

“···.”

At first glance, it seems that the larger the group with many vested interests at stake, the more internal strife there is likely to be.

But the reality is always the opposite. The smaller and more precarious the group, and the less there is to share, the deeper the conflict. It is inevitable that a precarious communal group will experience internal strife.

Of course, Dang Mu-jin did not want to get involved in this matter.

“The circumstances are dire, but it doesn’t seem like we can help you.”

“How could that be···!”

The chief of staff tried to persuade Dang Mu-jin in a strong tone, but when Dang Mu-jin and his group focused their gaze on him, he stopped talking without realizing it. This was because Dang Mu-jin and his group felt scary all over again.

Even in the past, the inaction of the Dangmujin party was far beyond the level of ordinary posthumous index.

But now it is not that far off. It is no exaggeration to say that half of the top players in the political world are by Dang Mu-jin’s side.

When the chief of police seemed to have calmed down a bit, Dang Mu-jin explained his situation.

“If it’s an external problem, then that’s fine, but this is an internal problem within the Communist faction. Those who are currently occupying the Communist Mountain want to honor the traditions of the Communist faction, and the Sanggwaldo people want to remember the favors of the past. Since both sides have valid reasons, we, as outsiders, cannot rashly take sides. It’s not normal for an outsider to interfere with the future of the Communist faction.”

Even Dang Mu-jin’s story was completely true. That’s why the chieftain answered with a sly grin.

“···Is that so?”

The persuasion was successful. However, when the chief of staff finally gave in, sympathy began to well up in Dangmujin’s heart.

Sang Gwal Doin was a man who lost his older brother, Sang Yu Doin, to the warriors of the Sapa and the Demonic Cult, and after suffering all kinds of hardships himself, he became the leader of the Gongdong faction while harboring resentment.

And now, just as they were about to do something, the communist faction split in two. No, it might be more accurate to say they were kicked out. It really is a strange life.

Dang Mu-jin asked Sang Gwal-do-in, intending to listen to his lament.

“By the way, how did Jang Moon-in get kicked out of Gongdongsan? The Gongdongpa Taoists have been going through a lot of hardships until recently, so there probably weren’t many who opposed Jang Moon-in’s opinion. Even if opinions were divided, it’s natural for the opposing sides to split up.”

The manager answered ambiguously.

“As you said, the number of those authors is not that many. However, their achievements are slightly superior to ours… Of course, it’s not that they lack talent or that they lack effort. The problem is that many of them who were favored by Muryangja have joined them. Since they grew up receiving Muryangja’s favor, they intend to carry on Muryangja’s will.”

The story seems a bit superficial. Is there any reason to bring up the topic of inaction here?

Hyun-gong thought for a moment, then explained the situation to the public.

“Have you tried to solve the problem with a knife?”

“···.”

The wise man shut his mouth. It was such an accurate observation.

When problems arise in the martial arts world, they often resolve them through combat.

This is true not only when problems arise with outsiders of the sect, but also frequently occurs within the sect.

For example, this is the case when two people with different opinions have similar distributions and there is no superior to mediate the situation.

As the head of the clan, Sang Gwal Do-in tried to suppress opposing opinions by using his authority as a chief of the clan, but ended up losing the clan. It was an unexpected turn of events.

Hyun-gong clicked his tongue.

“If you’ve lost in a duel, there’s nothing you can do. Just give up.”

“But it’s unfair. I’m more talented and I put in more effort.”

“Then why did you lose?”

“Because the Sangpyeong guy was good at juggling, he took a lot of elixirs since he was little. On the other hand, I lived my life building a wall around elixirs···.”

It seems that the Taoist priest who drove out the Sanggwal Taoist priest was Sangpyeong.

I heard that because many of the Gongdongpa’s masters have been dying one after another in recent years, there are only two masters left in the Gongdongpa. The Sanggwal master and the Sangpyeong master.

With no third top player to take sides, it was a perfect situation for a fight to break out.

The manager continued his story in a rambling manner.

“···I’ve never even smelled an elixir. But my skills were better, and that guy Sangpyeong must have secretly taken some elixir recently, and his internal energy was filled with yin energy, so I was just a hair away···”

While I was casually listening to the conversation, the expression ‘yin qi’ sounded particularly clear.

The martial arts of the Gongdongpa are full of life and the atmosphere is cold.

However, even though the atmosphere was cold, it did not mean that the internal energy was yin. As with other Taoist schools, the internal energy method of the Gongdongpa also sought to harmonize yin and yang.

Dang Mu-jin asked the chief secretary.

“Can you tell me a little more about that sound?”

*

Neither Sanggwaldoin nor Sangpyeongdoin seemed to know much about the yin energy contained in their martial arts. They just assumed that they had taken a strong elixir of yin energy.

However, the party led by Dang Mu-jin could not let go of their doubts.

Baek Hyang-ah, a disciple of Muryangja. A person of Sangpyeong Do who was favored by Muryangja. And a suspicious dark energy. Anyone can see that it is a coincidence.

Dang Mu-jin and his party went straight to Gongdongpa in Gongdongsan.

“I am Dang Mu-jin from Sacheon-seong. Is Jang Moon-in inside by any chance?”

When Dang Mu-jin asked the Taoist guarding the main gate of the public sect, the Taoist hesitated and answered.

“Please wait a moment.”

The Taoist disappeared into the shamanic sect, then quickly came back out and spoke.

“The long-serving manager has left for a moment. Also, the situation at the joint office is complicated and we are not currently accepting guests. Please come back later.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The party of Dang Mu-jin seemed to be retreating obediently, but they began to talk while hiding somewhere a little away from the main gate of the communal area.

“No matter how you look at it, isn’t it a bit suspicious?”

Hyun-gong answered Hong-geol-gae’s question.

“If the situation of the joint faction is complicated, there’s no way Jang Moon-in would have left the joint faction headquarters. Furthermore, it’s strange that he went inside and came out to tell us that Jang Moon-in wasn’t there. Most likely, Jang Moon-in told us to just let us go.”

There was a brief pause in the conversation.

Namgung Myung handed out black masks to his three friends without consulting them. Dang Mujin, Hyeon Gong, and Hong Geol Gae also received the masks without any hesitation and put them on.

Looking back, there was never a time when the party of Dang Mu-jin did not enter because someone told them not to.

There was always one question: should I go in bare-faced or masked?

Seolhwa spoke in a worried voice.

“Are you trying to sneak in?”

“that’s right.”

“Is that okay?”

“It’s okay as long as you don’t get caught.”

Because she had to tell a story with difficult words, Seolhwa spoke slowly and clearly.

“But it’s suspicious. It’s strange to anyone who sees an intruder appearing right after you tell them not to come in.”

“It’s okay, I won’t leave any evidence. Suspicion alone won’t cause any problems.”

For suspicion to lead to a dangerous situation, one of two prerequisites must exist.

Either you left no evidence or you have no power.

The party of Dang Mujin was neither of the two. They had the power and the confidence to not leave behind any evidence. They even planned to leave the story outside to prevent the hair from falling out.

The group waited for a while until the sun set, and then, as if it were a given, they climbed over the fence of the communal area.

Namgung Myung, who was climbing over the wall, looked very excited.

What’s strange is that Dang Mu-jin also felt a strange sense of excitement.

‘···.’

Dang Mu-jin looked at Hyeon-gong and Hong-geol-gae. As expected, Hyeon-gong and Hong-geol-gae also looked secretly excited.

‘It’s a dark and sinister thing. It’s being contaminated by Namgung Myung.’

Dang Mu-jin took a deep breath to calm his mind, then intentionally aroused a feeling of guilt and held it in a corner of his heart.

Dang Mu-jin and his friends explored every nook and cranny of the community.

There was nothing to get in the way.

The group had a lot of experience in going in and out of the Gongmunpa, and there was only one top-class person among the Gongmunpa’s unmanned members at the moment. If they were careful with the Sangpyeongdoin who claimed to be the leader, they wouldn’t get caught.

The first- and second-class Taoists did not notice even when Dang Mu-jin and his party passed right behind them.

While searching through every nook and cranny of the communal area, Dang Mu-jin and his party discovered a peculiar person.

A man with a wooden frame was sitting on the floor and looking at the stars in the sky.

Dang Mu-jin lowered his voice and asked his friends.

“Have you ever heard that there is a color person in the communist faction?”

Hong Geol-gae and Hyeon-gong answered.

“no.”

“If it had existed, we would have known during the last war.”

Even the color-blind man was not a bearded man from the Daeshik-guk or Pasa area.

Her hair is yellow and her eyes are blue, just like a snow flower.

The level of inaction was not low. At least it seems to have passed the climax.

Namgung Myung said, tapping Dang Mujin on the side.

“Hey, there’s your friend over there.”

“···Who is my friend?”

“Weren’t we friends? Let’s be friends from now on. The world is tough, so we should be friends with people who are going through hard times.”

Dang Mu-jin did not respond to Namgung Myeong’s nonsense and instead gathered his thoughts.

‘The Master of the Sangkwal said that there is only one master at the peak of Gongdongsan right now. It can’t be the Master of the Sangpyeong, who is the head of the Gongdongpa faction, that Saekmokin.’

I had a gut feeling that this colored man might hold some important clue.

Dang Mu-jin said.

“There’s still a lot of night left. Should I go out and tell Seolhwa? Or should I bring Seolhwa back in and ask her if she knows that colored tree person?”

However, Namgung Myung did not choose.

Instead, I propose a better, simpler solution.

“Let’s steal that.”

A tone as if pointing at an object. Dang Mu-jin asked back.

“···That?”

“okay.”

At the same time as that answer, Namgung Myung’s new form melted into the darkness. It was a sight I had seen several times before.

But the secrecy was incomparable to that of before.

Dang Mu-jin also couldn’t tell where Namgung Myung was. He could only vaguely feel something moving in the darkness.

Only then did Dang Mu-jin realize.

Namgung Myeong learned the art of stealth and the art of enlightenment that Muyeonggaek used in the past Jeongsa Daejeon.

After a while, the figure of Namgung Myung appeared behind Saekmok-in, who was looking at the stars.

But even though the figure was revealed, there was no sign of it, so the poor Saekmok-in didn’t realize that a person had appeared behind him.

Namgung Myung’s two hands approached secretly and grabbed Saekmokin’s crown and chin.

“···!”

The color-blind man was startled, but it was too late when he was caught.

Namgung Myung forcefully snapped Saekmokin’s neck.

Woodduck.

Saekmokin fainted and fell down. Namgung Myeong put his finger in front of Saekmokin’s nose to check if he was breathing, then carried Saekmokin and approached the group.

“Let’s go out.”

The group quickly stole one of the colored sticks and escaped from the communal area.