Episode 114. If you tell me to withdraw, I will do it.
-I’ll go with you.
Namgung Yeon’s words were short but powerful.
At first, I heard someone else’s voice behind me and turned around.
Then, the moment I realized that it was Namgung Yeon’s voice, I just blinked blankly.
A beautiful voice I hear for the first time.
But that was something I could never have imagined: ‘I’ll go with you’!
It’s as if we’ve been discussing the issue together for a long time and finally decided.
At that moment, Namgungcheon shouted.
“No? Why you, Yeon!”
He was even more surprised because he knew that Namgung Yeon would put his words into action.
Gucheonnodo Simtong let out his usual ‘hehe’ laugh with a mischievous expression, Namgungcheon jumped as if he had been struck by lightning, and Yeongjeok looked absent-minded.
Namgung Yeon couldn’t understand his brother’s reaction.
For example, for her, getting involved in something related to a famous church was not a choice but a necessity.
Because you have to give back as much as you receive.
My family was murdered and my family was torn apart, so how can I just leave it like that?
However, Chilpaimon is still not moving even after seeing what Yumingyo has done. They have a lot to protect, so they can’t rush into a big fight.
At that moment, the unexpected Nokrim drew his sword first. And that too through Yeon Jeok-ha, who was close to him. It was a place where he had to go even if he had to grab onto his trouser hem.
Yeonjeokha, who came to his senses late, said.
“Sister, I don’t have any complaints.”
“huh.”
Namgung Yeon answered straight away like a child who has just opened his mouth.
Namgungcheon, who had been sitting with a blank expression, spoke in a firm tone.
“Come on. I’ll go too.”
“Please.”
Namgungcheon was secretly hurt by his indifferent tone of voice.
Namgung Yeon repeatedly gave him assurances, so why did he say, “Yes, please do so”?
“Hehehe… … .”
There’s no one I like, not even the old man who’s been smiling gloomily next to me.
Finally, Namgungcheon got up from his seat.
“Oh, I’ll go cool down a bit and come back.”
“Master, I will also go out and have a drink.”
Simtong remembered the hardships he had endured while waiting for Yeonjeokha, and this time he decided to go to Juru.
Two people left the guest room one after another.
As Yeonjeok-ha scratched his head and searched for words, an exclamation of ‘Ah!’ escaped from his mouth.
“Hey, sister.”
“huh.”
“When I was in Gaebong, I met a little beggar.”
He told me in detail what happened to the little beggar he had beaten that day.
“… … But that guy said he wanted to follow that beggar instead of me. Wow, even thinking about it now, it’s ridiculous. Why on earth would he do that? Do I have a bad impression of him? Well, I guess I hang out with thieves… … .”
“Huh!”
A laugh escaped Namgung Yeon’s mouth.
It was admirable that he, who lived in the forest, tried to save a young beggar.
“The opening may look rough, but the discipline is strict. The camaraderie is also strong. I don’t think they would hit a child to bully him. It’s not that I don’t like you, it’s just that there was no reason for you to follow them.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“The club you cut with, was it by any chance black?”
“yes.”
“Then I guess I’m right. So-Gwang-Gae is a quirky person, but he’s never bullied anyone. On the contrary, he’s more of a caring and caring person.”
“His name is So-Gwang-Gae?”
“Yeah, the only beggar with a black ironwood club in Gaepoong is So Gwang Gae.”
“How do you know all that without even looking?”
“You have a good memory.”
Namgung Yeon lightly tapped my head as he spoke.
“Wow! You can memorize something like a book just by looking at it once?”
“No, not to that extent. Sometimes you have to look twice.”
Namgung Yeon shook his head with a bitter expression.
I just don’t like the idea of seeing the same thing twice just to memorize it.
***
Mid-January.
The palace southeast of Jeongju.
Waryongjang.
The signboard for Waryongjang was finally hung in the newly renovated garden.
With the arrival of Baek Mi-ju, Waryong Swordsman Yeon Mu-baek and his wife, and Yeon Seung-baek, Waryongjang took root in Jeongju.
On the day of the plaque unveiling ceremony, not only the Baek family head and Yang family head but also people from the Jungwon Sangbang attended to congratulate the new head of the household, Yeonmu Baek.
Yang Yi-hwa, the wife of Yeonmu Baek, looked around at the guests gathered in the inner quarters and said.
“Don’t you think you’ve come from Baekgajang too many times?”
Yang Yi-hwa, who was from a wealthy family, secretly watched Baek Ga-jang with a wary eye.
In Luoyang, she didn’t know anything and just watched, but Jeongju was different. She hoped that Yeonmu Baek would get his hands on Jeongju’s Waryongjang.
It was in hopes of doing so that Yanggajang gave him money.
“Don’t worry about it. The White Tigers are back, so it just looks like that.”
Contrary to what he said, Yeonmu Baek’s expression was not good.
The Baekhodae that returned from Baekgajang had an unclear affiliation.
They were even more so because they were people who only followed Baek Mi-ju’s orders from the beginning.
“It’ll be okay if you get a new disciple.”
Of course, it’s all just wishful thinking.
In fact, he cannot even decide on his own to take in disciples.
This is because Baek Mi-ju holds the finances of Waryongjang in check.
Since it costs money to recruit and teach disciples, everything must be discussed with Baek Mi-ju.
The Yang family only helped rebuild the Waryongjang and did not provide any further assistance. The Yang family was not in a good enough position to do so.
In contrast, Baek Ga-Jang fully supported Baek Mi-Ju.
It was because she wanted to hold the Waryongjang in her hand like in Luoyang. It was for this reason that she returned the Baekhodae and sent separate support money to Baek Mi-ju.
Yang Yi-hwa glanced at her husband.
“This time, Gaga, please come to the forefront. Isn’t it time for you to do so?”
“I will try my best to receive disciples.”
Yeonmu Baek felt ashamed of himself for being able to say nothing else.
But reality was on the mother’s side.
It would take at least a year to raise disciples comparable to the twenty-five Baekho-dae members. And that was assuming their mothers would allow it.
***
The day after the unveiling ceremony of Waryongjang.
As if they had been waiting, the four characters ‘Samjangbullip’ struck the Jeongju martial arts world.
In every inn, restaurant, bar, and even tea house, people would talk about the Three Precepts whenever they gathered.
To summarize the content, it was ‘denying the very existence of Baekgajang, Yanggajang, and Waryongjang.’
The Green Forest gave two guidelines for action in that method.
-First, all the green forests seize the wealth from the superiors who employ the disciples of the tripartite monks.
-Second, the Sapa of Jeongju will take away the commercial rights of Jeongju that the Samjang holds.
It was said that Samjangbullip was superior to all others by order of Yeonjeokha, the general patrolman of the Green Forest.
If it had ended there, I might have said, ‘What the heck?’ But surprisingly, since Pacheonma-gun guaranteed it, Samjang Bulrip gained absolute authority.
Jeongju branch of the Justice League.
The courtyard was bustling with people from Baekgajang, Yanggajang, and Waryongjang who had gathered early in the morning. Everyone had come running to deal with the Samjangbullip.
The four people sat across from each other in the meeting room, and the atmosphere was tense.
They were the Jeongju branch head of the Justice League, Seungun Swordsman Ma Cheon-deok, the Baek family’s leader, Mucheon Swordsman Baek Seung-ho, the Yang family’s leader, Lee Hwa-shin Chang, Yang Ju-hwan, and the new head of the Waryong Chapter, the Waryong Swordsman Yeon Mu-baek.
An enraged Yang Ju-hwan slammed the table.
Bam!
“Ma Daehyeop! We have been helping the Justice Alliance as if it were our own! But how can we just sit back and watch the madness of the Nokrim!”
Baek Seung-ho also said something.
“The Green Forest is persecuting the monks with such injustice, and I am really going to just watch!”
Ma Cheon-deok said with a forced smile.
“I am not unaware of your feelings. I have already asked the head of the Shaolin Temple for assistance in this matter. Master Hyeonbaek has said that he will meet with the Pacheon Demon Army, so please wait a little longer.”
However, Yang Ju-hwan looks dissatisfied.
“Look! Even now, as I tell you to wait, the disciples of the Yang family are being driven out of the upper quarters! They are flocking to the main house and asking what is going on, so how can I know the answer? Even the inn that the Yang family used to run has been taken away. So what more do you want me to wait for? Until we are all ruined and thrown out on the streets?”
“The Baek family is in the same situation as the Yang family. Don’t just tell us to wait, show us some action! What did we do wrong to deserve our very existence being denied? Is this something that can be resolved through dialogue? Shouldn’t we stop it by turning the Justice Alliance into a Murim Cheop?”
In fact, what Yang Joo-hwan and Baek Seung-ho wanted was not a conversation, but a fight. They felt that it would be difficult to get back what had already been taken away through conversation.
Ma Cheon-deok just let out a deep sigh.
I am not unaware of Yang Ju-hwan and Baek Seung-ho’s feelings. However, I am only the head of the Jeongju branch. The Murimcheop was not my area of jurisdiction.
“The Shaolin Temple said they would hurry, so the results will come out today or tomorrow. There is intelligence that the Pacheon Demon Army is still in Jeongju, so please wait a little longer.”
Yeonmu Baek carefully stepped in.
“Ma Daehyeop, the person who guaranteed the existence of the Tripitaka Koreana is said to be Pacheonma-gun. How can we have a conversation?”
“If Ambassador Hyun Baek protests, I don’t think he will be stubborn. If negotiations break down, the only thing that will happen is war, and we believe that he does not want war.”
“What do you think Pacheonma-gun wants?”
“It’s not that the head of the Shaolin Temple himself said he would move to find out just that. So let’s just wait a little longer, just a little longer.”
The conversation went round and round and came back to where it started.
Yang Ju-hwan and Baek Seung-ho glared at Ma Cheon-deok with glaring eyes, but that was all. They knew that Ma Cheon-deok had no decision-making power, so they didn’t say anything else.
In the end, the heads of the three clans had no choice but to sit in the Jeongju branch and wait for new news to arrive.
***
Settlement.
Teahouse (tea house) Soyang (tea cultivation).
Around noon, a dozen or so unmanned personnel suddenly came rushing in and forced all the seated guests out.
The soldiers surrounded the tea house like an iron wall, preventing anyone from passing by.
Has it been a while?
An old monk wearing yellow robes entered the tea house.
Then, as a sudden gust of wind blew in, the warriors covered their eyes with their palms.
The moment they took their hands off each other again, the teahouse door slammed shut with a ‘clank’ sound.
When the Pacheonma Army Seokmuhae appeared like a ghost, Hyeonbaek Daesa was the first to show his awareness.
“Amitabha Buddha, Master Seok. It’s been a long time. Your health has improved a lot since I last saw you.”
Ambassador Hyun Baek looked at Seok Mu-hae with meaningful eyes.
He was once a member of the Shaolin Temple, so he was affectionately called a geosa.
“Haha! Looking at the ambassador’s expression, I can see that the harmony has deepened. How is the lawless master?”
“Thanks to you, sir, I am doing well.”
“But what made the Ambassador want to see me?”
“Hahaha. You’re still in a hurry. Then let’s cut to the chase and get to the main point. Please withdraw the Samjangbulip. If the Jeongui Maeng and the Nokrim fight, only the Yuminggyo will benefit.”
“You only know one thing, but you don’t know the other. The reason I guaranteed the existence of the Tripitaka Koreana was to fight against the famous religion. I’m trying to do something that even the Chilpai sect couldn’t do, so are you stopping me?”
“Oh, I think there is some misunderstanding. That monk is definitely a member of the Justice Alliance.”
“I sent a general patrol to eliminate the famous sect hiding in the green forest. They are at least twelve horsemen. They are masters that even my twelve disciples cannot handle.”
Seok Mu-hae told Yeon Jeok-ha that he did not know their true identity, but he guessed that they were Yu Mingyo.
“What does that have to do with Samjang… ? No way?”
Ambassador Hyun Baek’s mouth suddenly opened as he was thinking about something.
“Yes. The monk was caught by our general patrol. It was the condition of the general patrol leading the fight against those guys that the monk was not allowed to go forward. However, if you tell me to withdraw, I will.”
Wuxia,
