CH 194

The guest house was busy this morning.

Wu Jang-rak’s subordinates came out of a room while carrying a chest containing Buddhist scriptures. 

Bo-kyeong stood beside them. He was watching if anyone dared to have other thoughts. 

The mercenaries had a puzzled look at the sudden appearance of Bo-kyeong. However, when they heard that he was the second-generation disciple of the Shaolin Temple, everyone accepted his presence.

If there’s anything unexpected, it was that they thought they’d head straight to Shaolin Temple. But here they are now being invited to attend the Wudang sect leader’s birthday party. 

However, there was not a single mercenary who expressed their dissatisfaction. It was as difficult for a mercenary like them to get a chance to see the inside of a prestigious sect like the Wudang sect.

If they can see inside the Wudang sect, it will be their lifelong pride.

But there was one problem.

If they stay for a few days in the Wudang sect, then their schedule will be greatly delayed. But, of course, it didn’t matter to the mercenaries.

It was much more beneficial for them to get this opportunity to visit the Wudang sect rather than for them to be on time with their schedule.

The faces of the warriors preparing to climb Mount Wudang were full of excitement.

It was the same with Seol Hajin.

She was in a good mood since morning. Good things keep on happening from one after another.

Yesterday, she had her old grievances resolved with her senior brother in the Golden Island sect, and today, she had the opportunity to visit the Wudang sect. 

The corner of her mouth could not stop rising. With a pleasant smile, Seol Hajin looked around the inside of the inn.

When she saw Pwo-wol and Soma descending the stairs, Seol Hajin approached them and asked,

“Did you hear? We’re going to the Wudang sect today.”

“Yes.”

“You’re going too, aren’t you?”

“Hmm…”

“What’s up with your answer? Aren’t you going with us?”

“I’m still thinking about it.”

“Why? This is a good opportunity. When else will we ever get another chance like this to visit the Wudang sect?”

Seol Hajin’s face was full of excitement. She tried to persuade Pyo-wol with a coquettish voice, but Pyo-wol did not give a definite answer.

It was then.

A sudden commotion broke out at the entrance of the inn.

Two Taoists entered the inn. The moment the taoist entered, the movements of the people in the inn suddenly stopped.

“Hm?”

“It’s the Wudang sect.”

The mercenaries instinctively recognized that the taoists who had just entered the inn were from the Wudang sect.

Bo-kyeong also recognized the identities of the taoists and hurriedly approached them.

“Namu Amida Butsu Buddha! Bo-kyeong of the  Shaolin Temple greets Taoist Woo Pyeong.”

“Oh, why is monk Bo-kyeong here? Where is Master Un-il?”

Woo Pyeong recognized Bo-kyeong at once. 

Since the Shaolin Temple and the Wudang Sect often visit one another, most of the main disciples knew each other’s faces.

Woo Pyeong was one of the first generation disciples of the Wudang sect, while Bo-kyeong is a promising member of the Shaolin Temple, so they were bound to be familiar with each other’s faces.

Bo-kyeong answered Woo Pyeong’s question,

“Under the strict order of my master, I am guarding something that would become the treasure of our sect.”

“Treasure?”

“It’s a Buddhist scripture written in Sanskrit. It’s an original copy from the West. It might not be a valuable item for other sects, but it’s a priceless treasure for our sect.”

“I see.”

“Did you come here knowing that we were here? You didn’t need to visit us, since we would definitely be climbing Mount Wudang soon.”

“Ah! I’m sorry. But I came here to meet another person.”

“Pardon?”

“Let’s talk later. You can talk to my disciple first.”

Woo Pyeong pushed Tae Kwang, his disciple, to Bo-kyeong.

Tae Kwang was a very talkative person, and since he had met Bo-kyeong a few times, they got along well.

Woo Pyeong passed by Bo-kyeong and headed for Pyo-wol.

He immediately brought up the matter.

“Help me.”

“……….”

“A third-generation disciple died last night at the main sect.”

“So?”

“The cause of death is unclear. No one in the main sect has been able to figure out how he died.”

A sad light was evident on Woo Pyeong’s face.

Last night, a third-generation disciple’s body was found in the Scripture Pavilion.

The third-generation disciple was tasked to bring food for Woo-sung, the person managing the Scripture Pavilion. But when he did not come out after a long time, the other taoists who found it strange, went in. And that’s when they found the body.

Because of that, the Wudang sect was turned upside down.

It was unusual for a person, who just entered Scripture Pavilion, to be found dead shortly after.

The problem is that none of the Wudang sect’s masters have been able to find the cause of his death. All of those masters who examined the corpse had extraordinary insight and knowledge. And yet they could not figure out the reason for the third-generation disciple’s death.

On the surface, his death seemed natural. But the taoists knew better since the situation didn’t make any sense. 

The probability of a healthy child, capable of martial arts, to die of natural causes in an instant is lower than the probability of the Wudang sect being struck by lightning dozens of times in succession. 

Furthermore, it was an incident that occurred right before the birthday of Cheongjin, the Wudang sect leader. So the entire Wudang sect was in a frenzy.

“I’m begging you. If you manage to find out that child’s cause of death, I will definitely pay you back for this favor.”

“Was he a child you cared for?”

“It was a child I had my eyes on. I thought I’d make him Tae Kwang’s disciple first and then teach him personally in the future. If you reveal the child’s cause of death, I’ll bet on my honor that I’d grant you any request.”‘

“Where did the child die?”

“In the Scripture Pavilion.”

“Scripture Pavilion?”

“It’s a place where precious books collected by the sect are gathered.”

“Precious books?”

“From miscellaneous books to books that tell the history of Jianghu. There are also books that are not easy to find being kept there.”

“What about martial art books?”

“It was originally stored in the Scripture Pavilion, but before the sect leader’s birthday party, those books were moved to another place in case of an unexpected situation.”

Hundreds of people were formally invited to Chongjin’s birthday party. Adding their entourage and other uninvited guests, at least a thousand or more people would be in the Wudang sect.

It could not be guaranteed that among them, there were no people who coveted the Wudang sect’s martial arts techniques. So, all the booklets containing their martial arts secrets were moved to another place three days ago for safe keeping.

“Isn’t killing people your forte? People like you kill people in unimaginable ways, so won’t you be able to easily figure it out?”

“How can you put your trust in me, who is an assassin?”

“I have no choice right now. So I’m begging you like this. Please help us reveal the child’s cause of death.”

Woo Pyeong’s voice contained desperate emotions.

If Pyo-wol refused, he was ready to kneel.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

“Really?”

“In return, let me inspect the Scripture Pavilion as I please.”

“Okay!”

Woo Pyeong happily accepted Pyo-wol’s offer.

He immediately went back to Tae Kwang and informed him that Pyo-wol will go with him. 

Bo-kyeong, who was next to Tae Kwang, looked at Pyo-wol with a puzzled expression.

‘Who the hell is he to make Woo Pyeong look like that?’

Looking at the atmosphere, it seemed that Woo Pyeong was paying great attention to Pyo-wol. It wasn’t just Woo Pyeong. Wu Jang-rak was also watching Pyo-wol.

He couldn’t figure out why the warriors who had a reputation for being strong were showering Pyo-wol with great attention. 

When it was confirmed that Pyo-wol would climb Mount Wudang, the person who was elated by the news the most was Wu Jang-rak. His mental burden has finally been released.

Pyo-wol and Soma packed up their things and soon came down.

Then Seol Hajin approached and asked,

“I’m surprised.”

“What do you mean?”

“With your personality, I know you’d never go to a place with so many people. What are you planning?”

“I’m not planning anything.”

“Huh! You can’t fool me.”

Seol Hajin snorted.

She felt it while accompanying him to this place, but there was never a coincidence in what Pyo-wol did.

At first, she thought it was a coincidence, but when she reviewed the situation later, she found that most of the things went according to Pyo-wol’s intention.

The small things that Pyo-wol did came together to create big results. Seol Hajin did not believe Pyo-wol’s words because she had seen such a situation several times.

‘If you look closely at that handsome face, there must be a fox with nine tails.’’

* * *

The party left Baokang and headed for Wudang Mountain.

The closer they got to Wudang Mountain, the more they saw armed warriors. They were all warriors heading to Wudang Mountain.

There was a common glow of excitement on their faces.

Decades have passed since their locked door was opened, but only a handful of people were still able to set foot in the Wudang sect.

After experiencing a few major disasters, the Wudang sect learned a great lesson. It was to never make the mistake of showing everything about themselves. 

After this event, they weren’t sure when they would be let inside of the Wudang sect group again. Because of that, all the warriors living in the Hubei province headed for the Wudang sect.

Thanks to this, all the guest houses located under Wudang Mountain enjoyed a temporary boom in their business. There were no vacant rooms available and every guest house was crowded with people.

Woo Pyeong clicked his tongue as he looked at the warriors.

“Tsk tsk! That doesn’t mean everyone can enter the Wudang sect.”

No matter how wide the Wudang sect was, the number of people it could accept was fixed. The number determined by the Wudang sect was 1,000. They couldn’t accommodate more than that, so they had to stop some from entering. 

The warriors who did not receive an invitation from the Wudang sect will still be able to enter and leave according to their status or sect affiliation.

The more certain the status and the higher the reputation in Jianghu, the higher the probability of them entering the Wudang sect. Especially those belonging to the top sects in Jianghu, they were given priority access.

It was as difficult as picking stars from the sky for the rest of the warriors to enter the Wudang sect.

In that respect, Wu Jang-rak and his party were lucky.

This is because Woo Pyeong, a first-generation disciple of the Wudang sect, was directly guiding them inside. In addition, Bo-kyeeong, a promising member of Shaolin Temple, is also with them, 

This allowed them to freely pass through the gates without undergoing the necessary procedures and inspections.

As they got closer to Wudang Mountain, the number of warriors increased exponentially. 

When we finally arrived at the foot of Wudang Mountain, it seemed that the whole street was full of warriors. The warriors who arrived late were in trouble because they couldn’t find a place to stay. 

If Wu Jang-rak and his party had come late, they would have been in the same situation as them.

“We have no reason to stay here, so let’s go straight up to the Wudang sect.”

“Okay.”

Wu Jang-rak immediately nodded at Woo Pyeong’s words.

The sun was about to set.

It was impossible for them to find a place to sleep given the state of affairs and especially with their large number. It would be better for them to climb Wudang Mountain now even if they arrived late at night.

Under the leadership of Woo Pyeong, the group climbed Wudang Mountain.

Fortunately, the road to the Wudang sect was well paved, and disciples of the Wudang sect were stationed all over the place.

The disciples of the Wudang sect had their torches lit as they guided Woo Pyeong and the others to the Wudang sect. Thanks to this, the party was able to reach the Wudang sect before nightfall. 

Next to the sect’s gate was the famous Sword Pond.1 

There is a legend that warriors who visit the Wudang sect should release their swords in honor of Jang Sam-bong, the Wudang sect’s ancestor.

Although that practice has become obsolete in this era, there are still many people who think of the legend of the Sword Pond whenever they come to the Wudang sect.

The Sword Pond was guarded by the second and third-generation disciples of the Wudang sect.

Anyone might wonder who would dare to come late at night and forcibly enter the Wudang sect. But there are more people in the world who don’t have common sense. 

There were those who recklessly begged them to let them through or insisted that they wanted to see the Wudang sect.

Because of that, the disciples of the Wudang sect couldn’t rest properly even in the middle of the night and had to stand guard in order. This is also the reason why they had dark circles and in their eyes.

The person in charge of the warriors standing guard tonight was Tae-yeol, a second-generation disciple.

“Senior brother!”

Tae Kwang was the first to run to Tae-yeol.

Tae-yeol warmly welcomed Tae Kwang whom he hadn’t seen for a few days.

“Oh, it’s Tae Kwang. Senior brother is also here.”

“You must have had a hard time.”

Woo Pyeong patted Tae-yeol on the shoulder.

Tae-yeol’s troubles were shown on his tired face. 

Lee So-yeol’s sudden death was enough to shake the disciples of the Wudang sect. Although Lee So-yeol hadn’t been officially listed as a taoist yet, given his talent, it would be natural for him to become an official disciple of the Wudang sect.

Those who were most hurt by Lee So-yeol’s death were the people who were responsible for the security of the Wudang sect, like Tae-yeol.

No signs of intrusion from the outside have been found, but if it is found that Lee So-yeol was murdered, then they would feel that they are responsible.

“I’m sorry. This happened because I wasn’t vigilant.”

“How is it your fault? It hasn’t been revealed yet that the child’s death was a murder, so don’t blame yourself too much.”

“Thank you.”

Tae-yeol’s expression became a little relieved at Woo Pyeong’s consolation. Then he turned his gaze towards the people behind the Woo Pyeong.

“Who are they?”

“These are the guests who came with me. Since they are my guests, I will guide them directly to the sect.”

“Then, they simply need to write their name in the guest book.”

“Okay..”

Wu Jang-rak and his party took turns writing their names in the guest book, and finally it was Pyo-wol’s turn.

Pyo-wol held up a brush. And he wrote his name vigorously in the guest book.

Pyo-wol.

It was the first time for his name to appear in Jianghu’s official records.

Thank you for reading~