Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Translator: Penny
Chapter 51
"Hey, before you remove the stone, build a foundation first! What are you messing with that for? What the hell are you shoveling for? Get out of my way!"
Zhuge Munhyeon led the work of clearing away the rubble, sweating profusely.
Naturally, no one could just sit back and do nothing.
The moment anyone was distracted, the sharp-eyed Zhuge Munhyeon would bark out a scolding order.
"Hey, are you just messing around? Everyone else is working! Is that shovel just for decoration?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
The workers in front of the Secret Cave couldn't escape Zhuge Munhyeon's senses.
He skillfully directed the work like a puppet master, controlling the excavators' movements as they cleared the debris.
Thanks to this, the debris was cleared in an instant.
As the cleanup was completed and pedestals were erected in various places, Yeonghwa couldn't help but be surprised.
A place that was just a little while ago filled with dirt and rocks...
"Wow! Indeed! That's amazing. The progress is so fast!"
"Even if you're naturally talented, it's difficult. It's a lot of work. Very few people can keep a worksite so neat and tidy in an instant. That kid was born to be a field supervisor."
"It looks like it. Well, I guess I'll be going now."
"Yes?"
"What more could there be? Munhyeon possesses such exceptional talent, and Baekmu, who has long held the position of Great Forgemaster of the Zhuge family, is also present. I can trust him with this service. Thanks to him, I think I can handle the pending matters at Yuzhen Palace."
"Okay, I understand. I will take responsibility and complete the repairs."
"Thank you."
Baekmu, who had returned after seeing off the departing Yeonghwa, grinned widely.
In that short period of time, progress had advanced again.
From digging with a pickaxe to quick analysis and coping methods for geology.
"Munhyeon-ah."
"Yes?"
"Have you ever had any experience dealing with people?"
I have. Ten thousand? Or more?
He looked down at the swarm of majestic warriors of the Demonic Cult from atop a high cliff, controlling their every movement with a single finger.
But Zhuge Munhyeon said with a humble expression:
"Perhaps it's because of my experience commanding battles during the Yanghyeon Branch incident. I was in charge of the raiding party, commanding Brothers Munho and Gwan Hwipyeong."
"Haha, how can that compare?" Baekmu laughed, rubbing his chin.
Only four people? And the raid team operation? That's nonsense.
Without any prior experience commanding a large group of people, it would be impossible for such a task to be so easy. Yet Zhuge Munhyeon managed it with skill, as if he had been commanding others for years, even though it was his first time.
Meanwhile, none of his individual abilities were lacking. He was a natural.
There might be people with extensive knowledge of mechanisms, but there were none who were skilled at such basic labor.
Of course, it wasn't just Zhuge Munhyeon's skills and work that satisfied him.
The more experienced a worker became, the more stubborn he grew, often ignoring those less skilled than him. Meanwhile, those with higher status but less experience were even more likely to be ignored.
But look.
He took control of the situation in one breath, making the work proceed smoothly.
If this goes well, my relationship with the Wudang Sect will grow closer, and my wishes may finally be heard by my family. I've already considered the location. Chief Foreman of the Heavenly Craft Workshop. It's a position that directly assists the Workshop Master himself.
What if he happens to be the son of the head of the household? I heard that he said he didn't want to become a scholar, even though he was asked about his intentions several times since he was young. Then, of course, he must follow in his footsteps.
Meanwhile, isn't he a direct descendant? The techniques of the mechanisms, which have been treated as subordinate techniques or appendages to the formation, will finally come to the forefront. At its core, it is a system of mechanisms, not a system of formations.
Originally, it should have been under the Heavenly Craft Workshop, not the Byeongju Hall. The person who will be the starting point is none other than Zhuge Munhyeon. Wouldn't the Head of the Byeongju Hall object? His son is mentioned, how could he?
Financial support will undoubtedly be plentiful. With this, the reconstruction of the Zhuge family begins with the Heavenly Craft Workshop.
"Hehehe, that guy is a lucky charm for the Heavenly Craft Workshop. A lucky charm. I was already worried because I didn't have anyone to leave the succession to. I worked hard, and heaven helped me. I will definitely put that guy in the Heavenly Craft Workshop."
Zhuge Munhyeon, unaware of Baekmu's scheming, pressed on with his work.
There's nothing you can't do.
At first, it was a bit annoying, but once he started, his heart began to pound.
It wasn't because the work was going well.
The secret of the Virtuous Celestial.
Aren't I standing right in front of it now? Soon, the unbroken part of the entrance will appear. Then I can meet him. The Virtuous Celestial, Yu Gilcheon. Even though his physical body has vanished, the traces he left behind remain intact.
It was hard not to feel anxious when confronted with the remnants of unfulfilled dreams right before his eyes.
But he had to be careful.
A collapsed dam could collapse again with even the slightest mistake. If he went inside and it collapsed, he'd be trapped.
"There, reinforce it a little more."
"Yes!"
Baekmu nodded without realizing it, watching him point out even the parts that were easy to miss.
I raised them all by myself without anyone telling me to. I raised them all.
It was just as the sun was setting after a long day of work.
"Stop!"
Suddenly, Zhuge Munhyeon shouted loudly and stopped the workers.
A single iron bar protruded from the rubble.
To some, it was just something to be pulled out, but to the members of the Zhuge family, it held a completely different meaning.
"Great Forgemaster!"
"Yes! We finally cleared the rubble."
He turned his head to look, and Baekmu approached him with a very tense expression, perhaps because he had seen the iron bar.
It was a trace of the mechanism.
This was the entrance.
"Munhyeon, step aside for a moment. I'll handle things from here on out."
"Yes."
At Baekmu's words, Zhuge Munhyeon immediately retreated.
He wanted to clear his mind and head inside immediately, but he was afraid something could go wrong. Even though it had collapsed, he needed to check if the mechanism was still functional.
"Okay, it's dangerous. All excavators, please step back. This is a collapsed facility, so it's difficult to predict."
"Yes!"
The excavators fell far behind. Only Baekmu and Zhuge Munhyeon remained near the Secret Cave.
"Hmm, the gears are still engaged."
"Does this mean it works?"
"That could be true. First, we need to look into what part it is."
"Yes."
Baekmu, carefully touching the iron bar stuck in the ground, called to the scholar from Byeongju Hall who was waiting nearby.
"Check. The gears seem to be jammed, so it couldn't have been pushed in from the inside."
"Yes, Great Forgemaster."
Yang Hun, who was in charge of designing the mechanisms for the Byeongju Hall, and Yeo Mungi, his assistant, descended the stairs carrying a bundle of rolled-up paper.
Dozens of old sheets of paper spread out on the floor were held down by a paperweight, and several books were opened.
These were materials related to the mechanisms and formations established in the Secret Cave of the Virtuous Celestial long ago.
Because it was such an old event and no records were kept at the Virtuous Celestial's request, it took quite some time to analyze it.
By measuring the distance from the building's entrance to where the iron bar was found and searching for relevant information, the types of installed mechanisms and formations were narrowed down to a few.
"Well, it looks like a pin."
"A locking pin?"
"Yes."
"It'll be around the middle."
"Perhaps, based on our analysis, yes."
"But if it was installed this way, wouldn't it be the type that prevents external intrusion?"
"It's an internal unlocking method."
"Tsk, this is the worst."
Baekmu frowned at Yang Hun's words.
"Why? Is there a problem?"
"That is..."
As Baekmu struggled to find an explanation, feeling increasingly frustrated, Yeo Mungi, who was standing next to him, spoke calmly.
"Do you know there are two main ways to disarm a mechanism?"
"Oh! Could it be that the mechanism is like that too?"
"Huh."
I already knew because I studied it. When an installer, rather than an intruder, wants to disable the system, they use methods that disable the axes from both the inside and outside. However, if it's internal, it's a bit tricky. Because the end of the axis is inside it, you have to go inside the formation to unlock it. If the axis is touched from the outside, the formation will go wild, causing infinite changes. That is, the same goes for mechanisms. What is installed internally means that the effect will not disappear unless the person inside releases it. However, if you enter without permission, the mechanism will exert its original power and attack the intruder.
"It would take quite some time to find and unlock them one by one."
"Yes?"
"Isn't there nothing we can do? The Wudang Sect wants the Clear Yang Sword... For now, let's stop the work. I need to meet with the Master of Yuzhen Palace and tell him that it will take a while to neutralize the mechanism."
"Longer? Then when will it be...?"
"Well, it could take as little as a month, or as long as a year."
"A... a year?"
"Yes. They say repairing a collapsed structure requires patience. Remember that. Safety is paramount."
"..."
"Then, first, set up a perimeter fence and put up signs. I'll go see the Master of Yuzhen Palace."
Baekmu patted his shoulder and left the worksite.
The workers began driving stakes and setting up a boundary line in unison.
Zhuge Munhyeon's eyes trembled as he looked at the entrance to the cave.
I came all this way... Should I wait another month, maybe even a year?
Night fell, darkness enveloping every corner.
The Wudang night was even darker than other places, as the torches remained unlit to avoid the risk of forest fire.
The only things illuminating the surroundings were the moon and stars in the sky and the dim lights illuminating the pavilions.
Following Zhuge Munhyeon's usual advice that one should not stop training even for a small light, Zhuge Munho and Gwan Hwipyeong had just finished their training and were about to begin their training in formation.
However.
Why is his face like that? Damn, what doesn't he like now? If this continues, won't the training become too intense?
Now, Gwan Hwipyeong, whose heart pounded at the slightest change in Zhuge Munhyeon's expression, looked at Zhuge Munho with natural ease.
Brother, just ask him, he thought.
Looking into those eyes, Zhuge Munho thought:
Do you think my heart is made of iron?
"Ahem! Break's over! Let's get into formation."
"..."
Gwan Hwipyeong couldn't help but sigh at his brother's swiftness in slipping into the formation.
Yeah, I think it would be better to practice the formation. Because if you stand out for no reason, you never know what kind of trouble you might face.
Swish, swish, swish.
The Jinbu Hermitage pavilion was quiet.
Zhuge Munhyeon, who had his chin resting on his hand, had an annoyed expression on his face.
"A year? A year?"
It was said that it could be, at most, but the thought kept lingering in his mind.
How can I wait for that? If I hadn't come at all, I wouldn't have known, but I came to the Wudang Sect anyway and even cleaned up all the debris at the entrance to the cave. It's right in front of me! All I have to do is go inside!
"This isn't it. This isn't it."
No matter how he thought about it, it was like that.
Safety is a piece of shit... I've never worried about my life in my life.
"Yeah, I said I just needed to find the Clear Yang Sword anyway. I said I didn't need anything else."
Zhuge Munhyeon muttered softly, his eyes bloodshot from the force of his gaze, which had been strained to glare at the empty darkness.
When faced with a problem, he quickly rationalized it because he knew the solution was clear.
"Yes, fate. Why wait for it? If you just sit still, will heaven help you? No, that's not true. It's said, 'Man proposes, God disposes.' If you don't prepare yourself, why would heaven help you? Fate... isn't something you wait for, you create it yourself."
Was it because he had made up his mind to do so?
A voice heard from somewhere stoked his greed.
Go! Go and check it out!
Zhuge Munhyeon had already woken up, holding an iron shovel in his hand.
Then, with a bewildered expression, as if intoxicated by a strong fragrance, he walked away and disappeared into the darkness toward Yangfu Hermitage.
No one knew where he had gone.
The Daoist Attendant, who was supposed to be guarding the palace, returned in the evening. Since they had become close friends, there was no one else around to keep watch over them.
Those who stayed together were practicing within the formation to avoid any potential misfortune.
Yeah, it's not like I'm putting anyone in any particular danger. Just break through the formations and mechanisms and find the Clear Yang Sword.
The Wudang Sect searched for the ancestral weapon, and he searched for something that Yu Gil-cheon might have left behind.
He was formerly the Heavenly Demon, and he was the type of person who would do whatever he wanted to do, and he had no patience.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny