Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Where to Go First? (2)
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As soon as Myeong Tae-seong spoke, I immediately pictured the Medicine King Hall in my mind.
At that moment, Gong Son Mu-gyeol cleared his throat and stepped forward.
Myeong Tae-seong hurriedly bowed his head and stepped back.
"Ahem. Those people... The reason we limited each department to one visit pass was because the cadets found it burdensome, and yet those same people, who know that better than anyone, hand out a bunch all at once and cause us trouble."
They were figures whose mere titles made people across the world exclaim "Ah!" in recognition. With requests for visits to their departments pouring in, there simply wasn't time to inspect every single one, forcing a choice among them.
It's like renowned seniors lining up new recruits and saying, "Pick the top five in order of who you like best."
It could certainly be burdensome for some cadets.
Not for me, though.
Someone of Gong Son Mu-gyeol's caliber would have sized me up the moment we met.
He must have gauged my personality to some extent by then.
But he's bringing it up anyway to spare the other cadets any sense of deprivation.
It would be a problem if jealousy or envy arose among the cadets because of them.
And sure enough.
After broaching the subject, Gong Son Mu-gyeol emphasized once more that receiving a pass didn't restrict one to only touring that department of the Murim Alliance.
"...So if there's a department you truly wish to visit, don't hesitate just because you didn't get a pass—go knock on their door. And Cadet Eon Yong-un?"
"Yes."
"The overtures from all these seniors might not be entirely welcome. If it gets overwhelming, feel free to toss those passes away without a second thought. I'll take responsibility."
He pointed out my predicament again while granting me the freedom to choose.
He seemed so carefree, yet he was meticulous in so many ways.
To repay Gong Son Mu-gyeol's kindness, I offered a respectful clasped-hands salute and spoke.
"I'm fine. I know I can't tour every department right away due to scheduling, but there are systems like short-term assignments or apprentice recruitment during breaks."
"True enough."
"I'll cherish the passes as tokens of goodwill from the Alliance's seniors and seek instruction from them when the opportunity arises."
"Hahaha. You sure know how to speak prettily. I worried for nothing. Well, I think I've said all I need to. Secret Branch Chief?"
Gong Son Mu-gyeol smiled pleasantly at my words and immediately called for the Secret Branch Chief beside him.
The Secret Branch Chief was essentially the Murim Alliance Leader's chief secretary in modern terms.
"Yes, Alliance Leader."
True to his role in handling confidential matters, he seemed to communicate telepathically. Without any specific orders, he began his duties the moment his title was mentioned.
"Secret Branch Chief Guk Do-jin here. The passes we're distributing now are from the Alliance Leader's office. They temporarily certify your affiliation with the Murim Alliance and grant you the right to an audience with the Leader. They serve as a kind of identity token. The Alliance Leader just said you could discard visit passes, but you absolutely cannot discard these. Understood?!"
"Yes!!!"
"The Alliance Leader and I will now hand them out one by one. Flip yours over, and you'll see the date and time for your audience with the Leader marked. Memorize it and avoid scheduling other department visits at that time."
After issuing those instructions, the Secret Branch Chief approached me first, pulling a silk pouch from his sleeve and opening it himself.
- Looks like he's telling you to put all those visit passes in there.
Probably.
- Tsk tsk. Preparing that pouch in advance means he anticipated you'd get a pile of them.
Well, he's the first to know the ins and outs of the Alliance.
- Anyway, that Nangong family geezer looks foolish now, kekekeke! What was that about jade and stone this or that?!
I ignored my master's cackling laughter, which threatened to tug at my lips, and calmly dumped the passes from the other departments into the pouch with a clatter.
The Secret Branch Chief even pulled the drawstring closed for me, so I expressed my thanks.
"Thank you."
"No trouble at all."
As I thanked the Secret Branch Chief, Gong Son Mu-gyeol approached me.
The Chief handed him a pass engraved with "Murim Alliance Leader's Office."
Gong Son Mu-gyeol took it nonchalantly on the surface but sent me a mental message.
[Sorry about that.]
[If it's about the seniors showering me with passes, it's truly no issue.]
[Not that. I mean the Central Committee Vice Chairman matter.]
The Central Committee Vice Chairman—Nangong Uk, that old man?
[Why would you apologize for that, Alliance Leader?]
[The Murim Alliance may look grand, but strip it down, and it's mostly mediating fights between righteous sects, subduing particularly nasty fiends from the unorthodox paths now and then—that's the bulk of it. Nothing special.]
[Isn't that a bit harsh? My peers have been looking forward to this tour day.]
[Haha, was it? But what can you do? That's reality. Still, those who hold long posts at headquarters, even in places like the Central Committee, often forget that reality. They come to us with disputes begging for resolution and start deluding themselves that the martial world is in their grasp. That delusion leads them to treat their clans as near-royal houses, even princes among their kin.]
As he spoke, Gong Son Mu-gyeol personally fastened the pass to my belt and continued.
[That weasel-like old Nangong Uk already seemed offended by your string of successes. Sure enough, on the way out, I saw him pulling some petty scheme against you. I was about to chew him out, but you handled it so well I got curious how you'd play it and just watched.]
[It was certainly petty.]
[Indeed. Protecting young sprouts from such fools is part of my job, so since I failed, this is my apology. I've been thinking about it for a while, but today's events will prompt me to send word to the Nangong family soon—it's time to replace their representative.]
[If you put it that way, this lowly martial scholar humbly accepts your apology, Alliance Leader.]
[Good. So much to discuss, but everything's wrapping up. We'll save the rest for your audience.]
[Yes, sir.]
[Oh, by the way—about that department you mentioned visiting first. The Medicine King Hall, perhaps?]
[Huh? Yes. How did you know?]
[I figured you'd pick it nine times out of ten.]
How did he know that?
He has no idea I'm a possessor.
He couldn't know I was after the Golden Bed Technique, and it seemed like some misunderstanding from his deductions, but it wasn't worth pressing.
There's an audience later anyway, so I can ask then.
As I thought that, the knot on my visit pass was securely tied.
Gong Son Mu-gyeol patted my shoulder with what seemed like immense pride and chuckled.
"Welcome to the Murim Alliance."
"...? Thank you for your warm reception, Alliance Leader."
The twenty cadets each received their Murim Alliance Leader's Office visit passes.
My temporary role as leader of the tour group was immediately lifted.
From now until the end of the tour period, cadets were free to visit any department and learn whatever they wished.
Yet, perhaps accustomed to following my lead on the journey from Hubei to Luoyang, my peers didn't scatter right away. Among them, Yong-myeong spoke up.
"When you were talking to that Strike Force Division Leader senior earlier, it seemed like you already had a department in mind. Is that right, brother?"
"Yeah. I'm heading to the Medicine King Hall first."
At my words, my Eon family juniors, who followed my lead regardless, and Dang Ok-gi, whose goal was the Medicine King Hall from the start, nodded.
But a few from Blue Bamboo Pavilion and Paeng So-jin furrowed their brows.
"Medicine King Hall?"
"I heard going there is a waste of time if you're unlucky. You're suggesting we go anyway?"
Their reactions weren't incomprehensible.
Medicine King O Gyun-cheon.
He was infamous among cadets for sending visit passes only to stand them up.
Word of mouth warned that the Medicine King acted on whims, so you were liable to get ghosted and waste a precious day—best to avoid the Medicine King Hall unless necessary.
The truth is a bit different.
In reality, the Medicine King elder didn't stand people up on a whim.
He hides flawlessly using his Longevity Reversal Technique and Bone Shrinking Art, observes their character, shows himself if they seem promising, and skips if they look yellow-bellied.
I knew that.
It was for everyone's benefit, and I had a clear plan with the Golden Bed Technique, so I had no reservations.
"Sister So-jin, if you want to find your answers, just quietly follow along."
"Eon Yong-un, you...! Haa... Fine."
"What problem-solving did you two do? What answers are you seeking?"
"You don't need to know, pig."
"Always 'you don't need to know.' Then don't call me ignorant."
I silenced Paeng So-jin first.
Then I addressed the others.
"Anyway, Sister So-jin's convinced. Anyone else opposed? Raise your hand. You all know I'm not one to force anything. Go on, confidently raise them."
I wasn't angry.
If anyone opposed, I planned to persuade them at eye level in various ways.
"Gok Jun-pyeong? I saw your hand twitch just now. Got a complaint?"
"...Huh? No... It was just... Ah! My, my arm itched, so I lifted it for a sec?"
"Next time we're discussing this, hold back even if it itches."
"...Yeah."
"Jun-pyeong just had an itchy arm. Hm. Any other opinions from Lady Je-gal?"
"If I voiced one, wouldn't you use your victory from the crisis finals against me?"
"Exactly."
"I can't accept my win over this Je-gal Seol-ji being wasted like that. Besides, I was planning to go to the Medicine King Hall anyway—just not on the first day, and only when word confirmed he was in residence."
"So everyone's agreed?"
Having decided democratically, I led the tour group to the Medicine King Hall.
"I'm sorry. The Medicine King elder is currently out."
As expected, the medical maiden guarding the hall told us the elder was away.
"When will he return?"
"Sometimes he comes back quickly after leaving, but other times it's three days, or even half a month while handling business."
An impatient cadet might have already thought, "Knew it," felt stood up, and turned away.
Maybe even gotten angry.
But I was certain.
As the maiden said, the Medicine King elder did leave for days to gather herbs or save lives.
But if he were truly away indefinitely, he wouldn't have sent the pass.
Visit passes required the department head's permission to issue.
The fact that the Medicine King Hall had sent me one meant the elder wasn't away vaguely—he was testing our character, me and my peers.
I presented the pass and spoke.
"We've already set our first day for the Medicine King Hall. Since the elder sent the pass, he likely hasn't gone far."
"Ah. That makes sense."
At my words, the maiden presented two options.
"Hm. In that case, would you like to wait in the hall's guest pavilion? We'll serve herbal tea and refreshments. You must be tired from the long journey, so rest a bit, and the elder should return soon. Or you could check the Benevolent Mercy Pavilion. He stops by there whenever he's out."
The Medicine King Hall's guest pavilion and the Benevolent Mercy Pavilion.
The former was a space prepared for visitors to rest.
The latter was where the elder's disciples treated poor patients without charge, lacking home, clinic, or funds.
No need to agonize.
At a glance, the pavilion seemed the sweeter choice. We'd just arrived in Luoyang from Hubei, so resting wouldn't draw criticism.
It was a perfectly reasonable suggestion.
But since the Medicine King was gauging our character, the answer was set.
"Then we'll head to the Benevolent Mercy Pavilion."