Chapter 270
Chapter 270
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 270
Chapter Title: So There Was a Way Like This (2)
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At the sight of the corpses bursting out of their coffins and rising, Professor Han Young clapped his hands with a smack and gaped.
"Well, I'll be. So there was a way like this?!"
Yin Ha-seong and Wu So-rung, standing nearby, chimed in enthusiastically.
"Right! If we use the corpses, we can move them all at once in a big haul!"
"And no security issues either!"
I nodded and replied.
"Exactly. My handwriting isn't good enough to leave as records anyway, so it's better for me to handle transporting to the library rather than copying. Still, I'll need two people to help watch the surroundings, one at the front and one at the rear of the corpse procession. Ha-seong and So-rung, you two stay behind."
"Yes, sir!"
"Got it!"
"Professor, since you've come to help anyway, it might be better if you assist with the inside work."
At my words, Professor Han Young nodded and posed a question.
"Ah, but do you know Master Minghan?"
Minghan.
The term for the five who practically ran the Wudang Sect's affairs: the Wudang Five Heroes.
Minghan was the dharma name of the youngest among the first-generation disciples under the sect leader's master lineage.
'He was a good guy.'
While the other four had swept away like a cold wind, he had approached Jeong-hyeon to offer encouragement.
"When the academy was attacked, all the Wudang Five Heroes visited, didn't they? I greeted them then."
"Then there shouldn't be a problem."
"So Master Minghan is in charge of the Wudang Mountain library?"
"Correct. Head to Golden Boy Peak, and Master Minghan will be waiting. Just follow his guidance to shelve the materials."
"Understood."
After finishing my talk with Professor Han Young, I loaded the materials from the Anti-Magic Alliance onto the backs of the corpses.
And in preparation for emergencies, I placed So-rung with me at the front and Ha-seong at the rear.
Then we set off toward Golden Boy Peak on Wudang Mountain, leading the corpses.
"Follow me!"
The thudding footsteps of the corpses began echoing through Wudang Mountain like an aftershock, and some time later.
As we neared Golden Boy Peak, Wu So-rung whispered discreetly.
"...Big Brother Eon. Isn't that Golden Boy Peak?"
"Yes."
"Someone's there?"
"Professor Han Young said Master Minghan would be... Hm?"
However, the one waiting was not Master Minghan.
Master Minghan had a round, affable face, but the man waiting for us had sharp features at first glance.
The man wore a stiff Taoist cap, had piercing eyes, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
- ...Doesn't look like that long-nosed Minghan.
'My master had the same thought.'
Transmitting that thought to my master, I cupped my fists toward Golden Boy Peak and spoke.
"Eon Yong-un of the Murim Academy greets the senior."
"Who do you think I am to call me senior?"
"I greeted you from afar when you visited the academy before. Aren't you one of the Wudang Five Heroes?"
"Sharp eyes you've got. I am Mingil."
Mingil.
The one in charge of Wudang's training halls.
His swordplay and temperament alike were said to steal one's soul, earning him the moniker Soul-Stealing Sword.
'The Black Path folk called him that because crossing him meant losing your life.'
He was second in rank among the Wudang Five Heroes.
I immediately acted as if I knew him.
"So it was Senior Soul-Stealing Sword."
Mingil nodded and spoke.
"I heard the thudding and wondered what was going on, but you're transporting loads with corpses. They call you the Dragon alright—quite the unique idea."
"With hands short on labor, this method came to mind. But I was told Master Minghan would be here—why are you waiting, senior?"
"Is there a problem?"
There was no problem.
I might have been wary if it were someone else.
But the Wudang Five Heroes had fought their all against the Demonic Cult, and Mingil here had even died in battle.
"Not a problem per se—just confirming what I'd heard."
"My junior was summoned by the sect leader for other matters, so I was asked to wait instead. Does that answer it?"
"Yes."
With the minimum confirmation done, I lined up the corpses in front of the library building on one side of the peak.
"Line up!"
And we began moving the materials inside.
"Yin Ha-seong. Wu So-rung. Manual labor from here."
"Yes, sir!"
"Got it!"
How much time passed like that?
Master Mingil sidled over to me.
And cleared his throat unnecessarily before speaking.
"Ahem. Jeong-hyeon... how's that kid doing these days?"
Perhaps because no other Wudang disciples were around besides himself.
Master Mingil's voice inquiring after Jeong-hyeon didn't sound particularly cold.
"...Yeah. He's working hard."
Maybe that's why.
As I answered, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
'Ah. Should've brought Jeong-hyeon along.'
I put that thought into immediate action on the next ascent.
"Ha-seong, help inside this time and call Jeong-hyeon out."
"Yes, sir!"
Thus, hoping to improve relations between Wudang and Jeong-hyeon as we climbed.
Regrettably, waiting at the library was Master Minghan, who had always treated Jeong-hyeon like a sore thumb.
"Oh? I heard from my senior that the Dragon himself was transporting them. Jeong-hyeon, you're here too?!"
"...Greetings, Martial Uncle."
"Yes, yes. I hear you're called Sword Dragon now? Went to the North Sea and drove out the Demonic Cult scum?"
But this didn't seem so bad either.
'The kid wilts whenever he nears a Wudang temple, so having an elder who dotes on him isn't bad.'
Mingil was the type whose words didn't match his heart, and Jeong-hyeon was earnest.
At this stage, forcing things might hurt Mingil's feelings and wound Jeong-hyeon instead.
'Better leave them be without forcing a breakthrough.'
In any case, the atmosphere toward Jeong-hyeon in Wudang had softened a bit.
I patted Jeong-hyeon's shoulder.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Not sleeping at all was indeed too much.
Thus, sorting out the mess Jeon Yeon-ji had made took exactly one more day than I'd expected.
"You've worked hard for five days straight."
In the meeting room now free of mountains of paperwork, I opened my mouth to discuss the Liaodong trip.
"Those who might catch on already have, but I have business outside. Destination: Shenyang. Officially, to represent the student body in congratulating the Moyong Family's patriarch on his eightieth birthday."
At my words, Brother So-cheon rarely furrowed his brow and spoke.
"Those Moyong bastards are infuriating whether old or young—why bother going there?"
Yong-myeong startled and elbowed Brother So-cheon's side.
"Brother So-cheon! Silver Fox's master is from the Moyong Family too!"
"Oh? Then exclude Professor Moyong Lin."
"...Not 'exclude'—you should apologize."
It was then that Yin Xia Lian, who had been listening, chuckled and spoke.
"Young Master Pang means no harm, so it's fine. But going to Liaodong is necessary. As you said, they've always expanded their influence and wealth amid the chaos of the realm. That's exactly why we must go."
She was right.
They'd deliberately blocked the Han Iron Path to trouble the North Sea Ice Palace, and in the original story, they'd watched idly while Hebei was under heavy attack, eyeing future territorial gains.
As I thought that, Yin Xia Lian continued.
"We need to see with our own eyes just how much wealth they've amassed. Note the guests coming and going, the thickness of the beams, the splendor of the feast—all of it."
Then Jeon Yeon-ji spoke up.
"Lady Ha's words are spot on. If the Ten Thousand Great Mountains are the demon right before our eyes, the Moyong Family is the knife at our back."
She unfolded a paper, sketched a map of the Central Plains, circled the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and the Moyong Family's location, and said.
"We need to keep tabs. And prepare countermeasures. Of course, we can't do it alone... But since you pushed this after meeting Alliance Leader and Prince Chu, I figure you have a plan, Yong-un?"
I nodded and replied.
"Can't discuss it at this stage, but first, we need to pick who goes on the Liaodong trip. I've thought it over while handling assignments and student council duties—some should stay to manage council affairs."
Jeon Yeon-ji nodded.
"Then I stay."
"Right. Brother So-cheon stays too. He hates it, and the Moyongs won't like him either—no need to go."
"Got it."
"Yong-myeong stays to help Jeon Yeon-ji."
"Yes."
"Cheon Jang-ho, you're coming."
Representing meant balancing the four dorms' reps, and we might need Beggars' Sect intel.
From Unmae, he was perfect.
"W-Why me?!"
"Don't want to?"
"Of course not... I mean, it's a tough call. Follow Yong-un and who knows what hardships—who'd jump at that?"
But Cheon Jang-ho voiced reluctance.
"Tch, a beggar turning down an eightieth birthday bash."
"Sure, an eightieth means legs breaking from feasting... Wait, no—nearly slipped. You bringing it up first reeks of something. What's the real deal? My beggar instincts aren't dull."
"You always reek."
"......"
"Of course there's more. Jeon Yeon-ji mentioned it? Can't tell someone who won't go, but it's nothing tough. With all the famous elders gathering, what could go wrong?"
"......"
"Just one thing: after this Liaodong trip, Prince Chu's residence might invite us again. Royal cuisine is something else. Remember that."
Wu So-rung smacked her lips and spoke.
"It really is different. Cheon, you should've gone—melted in my mouth."
"...I'm in. Fool me twice."
Nodding at Cheon Jang-ho's reply, I turned to Nangong Yun.
"Gong-yun, you're coming too."
"...Khm."
"What? You hate it?"
"No. Good... Just a cough. Not at all."
Having selected reps from the other dorms, I looked toward where Cheong Juk-gwan sat.
"Dang Ok-gi. Not researching lately?"
"Ack! You punk! You giving me time?!"
"Giving you some now—research."
"Kyaaah!!!!"
"Senior Ye Hae-su, stay and handle the gazette, and keep Jeon Yeon-ji from overdoing it."
"Got it, junior."
And finally, to Yin Ha-seong.
"Ha-seong, you stay too. Manage morning training. Planning to drill the council heads before we go—need a seasoned instructor blowing the whistle. Right-hand man's job, no?"
"Then the red hat too?"
"...Use yours. I matched them all."
"Yours feels different, bro."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Meanwhile, in Hebei's Protection County, the Hebei Three Heroes' regular meeting was about to begin.
Notably, Southern Jiang Merchant King Eun Se-pyeong was joining again.
"Lord Eun, come on in."
"Patriarch Pang. Thanks for the invite. I came to finalize grain shipments to the government offices, but with the Moyong Family's banquet too... I planned to stay in Hebei, but staying at your estate saves me housing worries."
"What housing worries for the Southern Jiang Merchant King? Just don't complain it's cramped."
"As if. Is Patriarch Seok well?"
At Eun Se-pyeong's greeting, Seok Geum-pil grinned broadly.
"I'm fine. But why greet only me? No word on Patriarch Eon's well-being?"
"What reason would Patriarch Eon have to be unwell? With Yong-un elected student council president over all four dorms."
"Well, now that you mention it."
At the mention of Eon Yong-un that slipped out.
Eon Jeong-ung couldn't control his twitching lips or flaring nostrils.
Pang Mu-hyeok pointed accusingly.
"Just yesterday you were sighing so hard at Yong-un's name that Hebei sank two inches. Now your mouth's flapping like a flag. Careful, or you'll get lockjaw."
The regular meeting started more cheerfully than usual.
After a few rounds of drinks.
Eun Se-pyeong asked.
"Have you prepared gifts for the Moyong Family's eightieth?"
Pang Mu-hyeok answered first.
"That narrow-minded old miser sent an invite, so I'll go, but fuss over gifts? Planning to grab the first thing at market and toss it."
"Hahaha. Should've done that myself."
"Oh ho. Bad blood with the Moyongs too, Lord Eun?"
"Hard to say ill will— in merchant circles, today's foe is tomorrow's friend. But many have lost out thanks to the Moyongs."
It was then Eon Jeong-ung spoke.
"I put some thought into it. Brought it to show Brother first anyway—want to see now that it's come up?"
With that, Eon Jeong-ung unwrapped the silk-covered item.
The gift was a splendid sword with embedded jewels.
Pang Mu-hyeok stuck out his lips three inches and snatched it.
"Isn't this a treasured sword? You've never given me one!"
Shing—
He drew it from the scabbard, checked, and stammered toward Eon Jeong-ung.
"'G-Greatest Sword Under Heaven' engraved? Jeong-ung, what does this mean?"
"Calm down, Brother."
"Do I look calm?!"
"The kids' North Sea mess? All from Moyong greed. That greed stems from the patriarch."
"So why gift a treasured sword—with 'Greatest Sword Under Heaven'?!"
"Look closely. It's ornamental. Meaning: shed the greed and spend your days like a decorative sword."
At Eon Jeong-ung's explanation.
Pang Mu-hyeok coughed awkwardly, embarrassed.
"Ahem. Used to think Yong-myeong emulated you, but now it seems Yong-un... Or not, Brother Seok?"
"Was just thinking the same."
The name making Eon Jeong-ung's lips twitch emerged, but this time his furrowed brow didn't relax.
"Sitting idle won't do. They eyed Hebei while colluding with Jin River Fortress, no?"
"Right. Idle means they see you as a pushover."
"......"
"......"
Eun Se-pyeong, listening, spoke then.
"That gift? More impact if your rival Patriarch Pang gives it. His face would be priceless."