“Chief Officer Geum, the Sangdanju is looking for you.”
As Geum Pyo-gu looked at the group of warriors who had come to find him, his pupils momentarily shook.
It was already past the time when the situation should have been resolved, yet the Sangdanju was looking for him.
Surely, it wasn’t that Ryu Seol-ho had already been recognized as the Sangdanju and that they were calling him by that title.
‘Does this mean… failure?’
The moment of failure would inevitably lead to the plan being discovered. It was a scheme that could only be carried out by using his position.
However, he had believed it would surely succeed, so he had willingly taken the risk.
‘First, assess the situation and then… decide the next action…’
The first principle as a spy:
– If there is a risk of your identity being exposed to the enemy, you must commit suicide without hesitation.
He couldn’t disregard this principle, which Agent 1027 had foolishly ignored.
With a swift decision, Geum Pyo-gu bit down on the poison he always kept in his mouth.
“Save him! We need to take him to a physician immediately!!”
As dark red blood suddenly flowed from Geum Pyo-gu’s mouth, the warriors who had come to take him urgently moved.
However, by the time they grabbed Geum Pyo-gu, he had already breathed his last.
After Ryu Ji-gwang ordered that the Chief Officer be brought to him, about a quarter of an hour had passed.
The warriors who had gone to capture Geum Pyo-gu returned, carrying a bundle of papers along with his body.
“What… happened here?”
“When we arrived, he committed suicide without hesitation.”
At their reply, Ryu Ji-gwang felt a chilling sensation at the back of his head. Although he had suspected, he never imagined that Geum Pyo-gu, who had served for over forty years, would choose betrayal.
‘No, if it were mere betrayal, he wouldn’t have taken such measures.’
If it had been simple betrayal, he would have begged for his life, spouting nonsense about being temporarily insane or asking for forgiveness.
He wouldn’t have chosen to commit suicide so hastily.
At that moment, other warriors appeared in the banquet hall, carrying another corpse.
“Upon inspection, it’s confirmed that he was indeed one of Ryu Seol-ho’s bodyguards.”
As they lifted the corpse with the broken neck for display, Ryu Ji-gwang’s gaze naturally turned to his second son.
Unable to move or speak due to the pressure exerted by Hyun-gwang, Ryu Seol-ho could only communicate with his eyes.
‘Yes… That’s the look of a traitor caught in the act.’
The increasing likelihood that his second son had indeed orchestrated this, caused Ryu Ji-gwang to feel a throbbing headache.
At that moment, one of the warriors who had brought the papers along with Geum Pyo-gu’s body handed the bundle to Ryu Ji-gwang.
“These are the personnel details of the guards assigned around the banquet hall and the deployment orders issued by the Chief Officer this morning.”
Ryu Ji-gwang quickly skimmed through the documents handed over by the warrior, then turned his gaze towards the banquet hall.
“That one. That one. And that one over there.”
He pointed at several of the men subdued by Hyun-gwang. They were the sub-chiefs involved in this incident. After pointing out the four sub-chiefs, Ryu Ji-gwang closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them.
“And capture the Nanchang sub-chief.”
He gave the order, pointing to his second son.
While Ryu Ji-gwang was busy cleaning up the mess at the banquet hall and dealing with the rebels and spies, Mu-jin and Hyun-gwang had returned to their assigned quarters.
“Are you feeling any better?”
Hyun-gwang asked with a sorrowful look in his eyes. Mu-jin, trying to appear cheerful, replied with a brave face.
“As the physicians said, I just need to rest for a few days. There were no fatal injuries, Grandfather.”
“Mu-jin! You shouldn’t move!”
As Mu-jin tried to get up to talk with Hyun-gwang, Ryu Seol-hwa, who had followed him here to take care of him, hurriedly held him down.
“Seol-hwa is right. Just lie down and rest.”
“…Understood.” Follow current novᴇls on Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
Hyun-gwang looked at Mu-jin, who was trying to appear unhurt, for a moment before speaking.
“I should have acted a bit faster.”
“I was the one who asked you to protect the banquet hall. I’m just grateful that what I feared didn’t happen. It was a valuable experience in many ways. Haha.”
“…That escort warrior must have been quite skilled.”
At Hyun-gwang’s words, Mu-jin recounted his duel with the escort warrior.
A life-and-death struggle with a formidable opponent who wielded sword energy freely, someone far superior to him.
Ryu Seol-hwa, who was taking care of Mu-jin and listening alongside him, turned pale at the vivid account, realizing once again how close Mu-jin had come to death.
On the other hand, Hyun-gwang’s expression was quite complex. While he was naturally worried about Mu-jin, he also felt a sense of pride.
‘If Mu-jin’s account is accurate, he faced someone as skilled as any second-class disciple.’
No matter how exceptional Mu-jin’s talent was, it hadn’t even been three years since he started learning martial arts. He shouldn’t have been able to face such a skilled opponent.
Winning against such a formidable foe was already surprising enough, but what impressed him the most was Mu-jin’s strategic judgment. To overcome his lacking proficiency, he led the fight into a hand-to-hand battle, his strongest suit, and willingly took a severe injury to his arm to close the distance.
‘I just intended to watch over this child until he established his foundation…’
Choi Kang-hyuk’s desire, which he thought he had abandoned, kept resurfacing. No, the single regret he had not let go of was growing unnecessarily large.
Having attained an immense enlightenment, Hyun-gwang realized he did not have much time left to remain in the world.
‘If it’s Mu-jin… perhaps I could quicken the pace a bit more.’
Perhaps it was his own desire. However, this was also a decision for Mu-jin’s sake.
Considering the incidents Mu-jin kept getting involved in and the dangers entangling him, Hyun-gwang had a strong intuition that more perilous situations would continue to arise for Mu-jin.
Given his intuition had reached a level of proficiency, it was almost prophetic.
For Mu-jin to withstand those ordeals even after he left, it was necessary to accelerate his skill development.
‘It seems necessary.’
Watching Mu-jin, who was trying to smile brightly, Hyun-gwang made a resolution.
Ryu Ji-gwang, who had taken care of the commotion at the banquet hall, was alone with Hyun-gwang in the lodging provided to Hyun-gwang and Mu-jin.
“I have nothing to say to Monk Hyun-gwang and Novice Mu-jin.”
“Do not worry about it. I am the one who couldn’t control my anger and ruined Lady Yeon’s precious banquet. I am the one who should apologize.”
“My mother is fine. She seemed a bit startled during the day, but she has calmed down a lot now.”
Although Ryu Ji-gwang replied calmly, inside he was torn apart.
‘Is this also my karma?’
Recently, he had started to care for his family, but was it impossible to undo the neglect of the past few decades?
While Ryu Ji-gwang was lost in such thoughts, Hyun-gwang spoke with a profound expression.
“I may have severed ties with the secular world and may not be well-versed in worldly laws, but there is one thing I do know. In the secular world, those who indulge in opium are punished, but the greatest punishment is reserved for those who distribute and supply opium.”
Though it might seem out of place to suddenly bring up opium, Ryu Ji-gwang could easily grasp Hyun-gwang’s point.
“…I may not be able to bring back a child who is already addicted, but I will not forgive those who dared to offer opium to my son.”
Ryu Ji-gwang, who had always maintained a calm demeanor, answered while grinding his teeth.
It had been the same with Hong So-hee, who had approached Ryu Seol-hwa, but this incident had made it clear.
He didn’t know which organization it was, but there were some damned bastards who had infiltrated deeply into Cheonryu Sangdan.
And he would uncover which group it was by interrogating those they had captured.
“I will not let this matter slide, especially for the sake of Novice Mu-jin, who was injured by being involved in our family matters.”
“…Though my grandson is hurt, how can it compare to the pain of losing a son?”
Hyun-gwang replied in a deliberately calm tone.
Ryu Ji-gwang had said that a child addicted to drugs could not be brought back, which meant he had decided to give up on his second son, Ryu Seol-ho.
‘If only they had targeted me alone…’
When it became certain that Ryu Seol-ho was the main instigator, Ryu Ji-gwang had even thought that.
A child kills their parent. How misguided must the parent’s education have been, or how much resentment must the child have harbored to do such a thing?
As a father, he might have grieved for raising such a child, but he would not have blamed the child.
However, Ryu Seol-ho had crossed the line. He had not only targeted his father, Ryu Ji-gwang, but also his siblings and his grandmother, Yeon Ga-hee.
With a deep breath, Ryu Ji-gwang steadied his mind once more and spoke to Hyun-gwang.
“Since Mu-jin was injured in this incident and Hyun-gwang Monk has been of great help, I wish to repay your kindness in any way I can. Please, if there is anything you desire, let me know. I will mobilize all the resources of the Sangdan to fulfill your request.”
As he said this, Ryu Ji-gwang wondered what kind of request Hyun-gwang might make.
‘If he refuses the reward, how should I persuade him?’
The worst-case scenario would be if Hyun-gwang refused any reward at all. The abilities Hyun-gwang displayed at the banquet far exceeded Ryu Ji-gwang’s expectations.
‘Supreme Swordsman of the World. No, I even doubt if that could be called martial arts at all.’
It was an ability that made one think, if Buddha truly existed, it would be . Thus, Ryu Ji-gwang wanted to continue his association with Hyun-gwang.
‘Seol-hwa is doing very well.’
His daughter was performing her duties brilliantly. In the adjacent room where Ryu Ji-gwang and Hyun-gwang were having a private conversation, Ryu Seol-hwa was tending to the recuperating Mu-jin.
‘Hyun-gwang Monk is a detached person, yet he was so angry about Mu-jin’s injury. And considering that he even called Mu-jin his grandchild, the bond will not break even if Mu-jin were to leave the monastic life. So, if Seol-hwa and Mu-jin were to be together!’
Ryu Ji-gwang envisioned a perfect scenario in his mind.
But that was a matter for the distant future, and the current situation was more pressing. He needed to settle the accounts of what had happened today first.
He believed that maintaining relationships required reciprocating favors. He was a merchant, after all.
On the other hand, he was worried that Hyun-gwang, being a near-enlightened monk, might refuse any compensation.
“Hahaha. Compensation should be simple.”
“What kind of compensation do you desire?”
Hyun-gwang needed money to obtain what Mu-jin required.
A substantial amount of money.
“Hahaha. Having saved the lives of the entire Cheonryu Sangdan family, how much should I ask for? I’m afraid I’m not very good with numbers, being a monk unfamiliar with worldly matters. Hahaha.”
Watching Hyun-gwang laugh heartily, Ryu Ji-gwang felt a cold sweat run down his back.
After receiving emergency treatment, Mu-jin returned with Hyun-gwang to the musculoskeletal treatment clinic where the Shaolin disciples were.
Cheonryu Sangdan was in the midst of organizing and purging spies, making the place chaotic, so they left the Sangdan. Even Yeon Ga-hee and Ryu Ji-gwang couldn’t stop them.
When Mu-jin returned, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, the Shaolin disciples at the clinic were all shocked and astonished.
Leaving a simple remark to those disciples, “Take good care of Mu-jin,” Hyun-gwang took a thick bundle and headed towards Mount Song.
Thanks to his injuries, Mu-jin, who was now receiving the utmost care from the masters, was currently…
…thoroughly enjoying a ‘nourishing meal.’
“Mu-jin… No matter how much blood you’ve lost, eating meat might be a bit dangerous, don’t you think?”
“I am a patient. A patient. Didn’t the Abbot change the Shaolin regulations? He allowed meat consumption for ‘severely injured’ patients!”
The regulation had changed during Hyun-gwang’s treatment. Specifically, for ‘severely injured’ patients, it allowed the consumption of meat obtained from ‘dead animals.’ No matter what, killing living animals for meat was not in line with Shaolin’s principles.
Regardless of the circumstances, Mu-jin was enjoying a lavish array of nourishing foods, including various meats, fish, and some vegetables, piled high enough to break the table legs.
“That’s right! Mu-jin Monk is a patient right now!”
Beside Mu-jin was Ryu Seol-hwa, the person who brought these lavish dishes, glaring at the Shaolin disciples.
“Instead of bothering Mu-jin Monk, why don’t you go check on other patients?”
“Ah, yes, understood.”
Overwhelmed by Ryu Seol-hwa’s fierce aura, the Shaolin disciples eventually rose to attend to their clinic duties.
“Mu-jin Monk, please eat and rest comfortably.”
“Hahaha. Thank you, Benefactor Seol-hwa.”
Smiling brightly at Mu-jin’s words, she stood up.
She also had a female guest she was expecting today.
After finishing her duties for the day, she walked towards the pavilion where Mu-jin was resting with a spring in her step.
‘I wonder what food I should bring him for dinner. Hehe.’
Thinking about the nourishing food, her face flushed again. It was because of what her father had told her that morning.
‘Stay by Mu-jin’s side and take care of him as best as you can. Try to make him interested in the secular world.’
Although he didn’t say more, she could easily imagine it. Mu-jin taking an interest in the secular world, leaving the monastic life, and living happily with her.
Just imagining it made her face flush with blood, and with slightly trembling hands, she cautiously opened the door.
“…Mu-jin Monk, what are you doing right now?”
In response to her question, asked with a suddenly sullen face, Mu-jin answered with a bright smile.
“Ah. I was doing leg exercises. I feel like I’ve lost muscle since I’ve been resting for a few days.”
Sweating profusely from his forehead, Mu-jin responded cheerfully as he bent and straightened his legs.
Building muscle is easy, but losing it is just as easy. After resting for a few days, Mu-jin felt as if the muscles he had painstakingly built over three years had vanished.
Moreover, since he had replenished plenty of protein with the nourishing food that Ryu Seol-hwa brought in the morning, he thought it was time to replenish his muscles.
At least, that was what Mu-jin thought.
“…You’re exercising while you’re still injured?”
“Hahaha. Except for the wounds on my arms and back, I’m fine. So, leg exercises should be okay, right?”
With that cheerful answer, the blood rushed to Ryu Seol-hwa’s head again, but for a different reason this time.
“Are you crazy!? Lie down and rest immediately!!”
Her rare shout echoed through the musculoskeletal treatment clinic.