Episode 816
Back to the Murim Alliance (2)
Kugu Palace!
The door opened and Yeon Ho-jeong and Paeyul came out.
“Tsk!”
Paeyul, whose entire body was covered in blood, spit out phlegm. There was no sign of fatigue at all.
“Are you okay?”
“There’s no need to do everything in your power to kill those idiots.”
“For something like that, my whole body is covered in blood.”
“It’s not my blood. “I know because I saw it firsthand.”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled and pointed to Pae-yul’s shoulder.
“I got cut.”
“….”
Paeyul looked down at his shoulder.
It was just as Yeon Ho-jeong said. There was a slight cut near the shoulder of the garment, and blood was seeping out from underneath it.
It was not the enemy’s blood, but his own blood. It was literally just a scratch, so it would be embarrassing to even call it a wound, but it was clear that those kids’ martial arts skills had touched his body anyway.
Paeyul’s face became distorted.
Yeon Ho-jeong said calmly.
“The short spear and short sword are certainly fast because they are short, but my senior’s martial arts basically cover a wide range. This is because it is based on extensive internal energy and high-level technical skills.”
“….”
“You’re probably not used to fighting in such a limited area.”
“…I have nothing to say.”
“Senior’s martial arts work has been completed. However, this must be seen as a difference in experience. “Once you get used to fighting in small spaces, you will be able to deal with them much more easily than you do now.”
It’s an obvious statement, but it really touched me because I heard it right after experiencing it in real life.
Paeyul, who was quietly looking down at his shoulder, asked.
“When did it happen?”
“You two are about to die.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? “It was successful.”
“I wasn’t in a state where I could hear anyone trying to stop me.”
“Nonsense. “If you had intervened…”
“I wanted to kill them all.”
Paeyul’s eyes sparkled.
“Are you using me as a weapon?”
“And the senior agreed to that.”
“When did I?”
“If you don’t like my senior’s personality, I’ll leave right away. Will you pull out your spear knife first?”
It wasn’t wrong.
Paeyul frowned.
“You seem to have changed something.”
“Is that so.”
“No matter how much of a promise he made to a sc*mbag, wasn’t he the kind of person who would keep his word at all costs? But did you just leave this alone?”
“That is an interpretation that was done according to the senior’s preference.”
“what?”
“I had no hesitation in dealing with the Three Religions. It’s not just the three religions. I have never kept my promises to those I judged to be my enemies. “Rather, I thought about how to trick it so I could easily kill it.”
“….”
“It is true that after becoming the successor to the Black Island Murim, he took off the mask he used to wear in the Murim Alliance. But nothing has changed. The method is the same. “It’s just that my appearance has become more oppressive and rigid.”
“I don’t think so.”
“I have no desire to correct my senior’s thoughts.”
“You…”
“If you don’t like seeing me like this, you can go back.”
“….”
“At least as long as you live as a minor master of the Mukryongbu, if it gets worse than before, you won’t be able to live a moderate life.”
Paeyul’s eyes as he looked at Yeon Ho-jeong became increasingly cold.
On the other hand, there was a strange sense of composure and curiosity in Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes as he looked at the loss rate.
“Before that, let me ask you something too. “Why did you change so much?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“I thought I had become stronger and more relaxed, but at times like this, I feel like I am much sharper than before.”
“what?”
“Didn’t you say this after the Jongnam War ended? “Actually, I didn’t want to fight. I should swing my sword for a better world.”
“…!”
“I remember it roughly meaning something like that, but am I wrong?”
Yeon Ho-jeong tilted his head.
“Somehow, the way my senior shows me now seems even worse than when I first met him. “I think I’m more sensitive than I was back then, when I thought it was enough to fight to my satisfaction.”
Paeyul’s face hardened.
Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.
“Everyone has the desire to achieve a proud victory as a warrior. But at least I’m not aiming for that fight. “The goal of my fight is the world itself.”
I don’t question whether that method is right or wrong. I just have my own line that says I shouldn’t go this far.
And you can use any rough techniques as long as you don’t cross that line.
“Senior, it would be better for you to return home soon. “There is no fight here where a senior can fully participate.”
“I…”
“There is no need to feel uncomfortable together. I just have to live for the world in my own way and my seniors in their way. “Isn’t that right?”
“….”
Paeyul looked at Yeon Ho-jeong without saying a word.
Yeon Ho-jeong briefly took the gun.
“If you make up your mind, we’ll have a drink then. “Thank you for your hard work today.”
Like that, Yeon Ho-jeong left, taking Byeok Je-mun and Han Jong-rim with him.
Paeyul stood there silently.
“uh? Seniors?”
Kang Ryang’s eyes, who were in the middle of training, widened.
“When did you come out?”
“Not long ago.”
“I see. But you’ve changed a lot, haven’t you?”
His already sharp expression looked even sharper as he lost weight.
Paeyul looked Kang Ryang up and down.
“You’ve made quite a bit of progress too.”
“It was a long way away. “Compared to my seniors, I am nothing.”
It wasn’t just something I said. Kang Ryang was able to see that Paeyul’s martial arts skills had grown so much that they could not even be compared to before.
I had no idea how long it had been since it closed and how much progress had been made. It occurred to me that the Jeongjong martial arts of the Jeong Sect were definitely different from the ferocious martial arts of the Black Sword.
“Do you have any alcohol?”
“….”
Kang-ryang, who was watching the defeat rate, grinned.
“I have a good guy in reserve. “I’m getting bored with cutting, would you like a drink?”
“okay.”
After a while.
“There are no snacks.”
“No work.”
Paeyul coolly emptied his glass and looked at the bottle with admiration.
“What kind of alcohol is this? “It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?”
“This is the drink served at my brother Sobuju’s coronation. “It tasted so good that I bought a few bottles.”
“….”
“Why are you doing that?”
There was no need to mention the loss rate.
“I feel a little like that.”
Kang Ryang seemed to be able to guess his thoughts.
Because of his very rigid personality, he was a loser who did not get along well with people around him. The person who drank the most was Kang Ryang.
“Isn’t it strange that the eldest son of the Sixth Generation became the successor to the Heukdo Martial Army?”
“Is it just weird? To be honest, I almost fainted when I came out of the closing room and heard the news. It’s not something to just laugh about. “It’s a major incident.”
“Of course.”
“There were many cases where masters from prestigious political factions moved to Heukdo. But most of them lived dishonorable lives. Even now, people who have committed unforgivable crimes, such as murder and plunder, commit themselves to the dark island to save their lives. “But he’s not that kind of guy.”
“Well, he’s a man who has done quite a few crazy things.”
“Are you saying you weren’t surprised?”
Kang Ryang spoke honestly.
“I was surprised. And I had complicated feelings.”
Paeyul also understood Kang Ryang’s feelings.
For Kang Ryang, Yeon Ho-jeong was the first sworn brother he met in Kang Ho. In fact, he was someone who trusted and followed him like his own blood, and his current development was also thanks to Yeon Ho-jeong.
He is a teacher, brother, and benefactor. Such a person became a disciple of Yang Cheon, Marshal of Cheolcheon.
‘If you think about it, this guy must have been worse than me.’
He was a man who lived with the utmost pride and determination. However, the shock of seeing someone I cared for like a family member become my enemy’s disciple must have been indescribable.
‘Still, you accepted it?’
The process would have understood and acknowledged this situation anyway. There was no sign of confusion or delusion in Kang Ryang’s eyes right now.
Paeyul sighed.
“I was angry at that guy.”
“I understand.”
“I thought that no matter how far we left, we would breathe and live in the same area. But it’s not enough to be the minor head of the Mukryongbu, so you can say things like that…”
“What did you say?”
Paeyul told the exact same conversation he had with Yeon Ho-jeong.
In most cases, he wouldn’t say something like this, but the current situation seemed very frustrating.
Kang-ryang tilted his head.
“Did you?”
“I do not know. Like he said, I might have changed too. There is also a desire to show off this growing power. But…”
“You couldn’t catch it, right?”
“…what?”
Kang-ryang said as he filled Pae-yul’s cup.
“Brother. I want to catch my senior, but I don’t think I can. But I think my senior will get angry if I explain the situation. “Isn’t that why you said that?”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, even though that guy is usually extremely honest, he always gives such a clumsy response once in a while.”
The loss rate was frustrating.
“What do you mean?!”
“Isn’t your senior an elder of the Jeomchang faction?”
“…uh?”
“An elder of the Jeomchang faction who accompanies the successor of the Black Island Murim. “How will the world view Jeomchang?”
Paeyul opened his mouth without realizing it.
“Senior might not have anything to do with it. Even the Jangmun of the Jeomchang faction may not have an issue with this. But are all Jeomchang writers like that?”
“…!”
“Seniors are different from us. My sister, I, and others were with my brother from the beginning. But you’re not a senior, right? Moreover, my senior is a prestigious elder who is in charge of one of the pillars of the political sect, the Nine Great Gates Sect.”
“….”
“My brother trusts his senior. My senior also trusts me. However, there are also walls that cannot be resolved through personal trust.”
“…Right.”
“Fortunately, the name Yeonhojeong is popular throughout the world, so there wasn’t much of an uproar. But seniors are different. That is also because of the difference between the nine generations and the six generations.”
That was a sharp point.
Most of the old groups began as religious or righteous groups that gathered together based on the wishes of the people. Therefore, their sense of weight is incomparable to that of worldly shamans.
On the other hand, the six generations are different. Although they are of the same political faction, they have a strong tendency to pursue practical interests because they are literally family members.
The way the world views them is bound to be different. It is because Yeon Ho-jeong has made such great contributions and his reputation is so high, but if he had been from the Gupa Ilbang, the world would have been completely turned upside down by now.
That was the difference between the old family and the six generations.
“I don’t know how much your senior has changed, but it’s clear that he doesn’t think he should be with you. “It is not a problem of seniority, but a problem of whiteness and blackness.”
“….”
“My brother probably treated me coldly on purpose too. “Of course, this is just a guess.”
Paeyul’s eyes deepened.
Kang-ryang chuckled after emptying his glass.
“I also remember what my senior said. “It means that he wasn’t fascinated by the fight itself.”
“….”
“I think there will be work to be done to achieve the world that seniors want and the goal that seniors must pursue.”
“….”
“But even if we work in different fields, I don’t think the goals pursued by you and your senior will be very different. In the end, aren’t we trying to end this pointless fight and move forward for a better world?”
“…But I thought we could be together.”
“We can’t be together forever, right? That goes for me too.”
Kang Ryang looked up at the ceiling.
“Someday, there will definitely come a moment when things become awkward with you.”
“….”
“And my brother and I decided to take it.”
Yeon Ho-jeong suddenly became the successor to Heukdo.
So many things changed because of that one person’s choice.
