Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: A Lesson in True Guidance
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Jinmu's group arrived at the Bangcheon county office, a small county at the entrance to Dangang District, as evening was drawing near.
Never mind the luggage—they had been carrying people on their backs, so even as martial artists, they could only walk a little faster than ordinary folk.
They had suggested taking a break, but...
"Think of this as part of your training!"
Jinmu dismissed the idea outright, and in response, Cheongsang and Cheongu redoubled their efforts and kept walking.
"Rest up for a bit."
Only after Jinmu, who had handed over the Ten Dams Two Evils to the clerk, entered the county office with him did Cheongsang and Cheongu finally get a chance to rest.
"Senior Brother..."
After catching their breath for a while, Cheongu called out to Cheongsang with a serious expression.
"Was Grand Senior Uncle's action the right one?"
"..."
"Leaving aside the Ten Dams Two Evils, to treat those two men so brutally..."
"Cheongu."
"Yes."
"I was actually impressed by Grand Senior Uncle's demeanor."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Those guys we saw earlier. They were street thugs despised by everyone."
"..."
"Do you think they'll go back to their wicked ways?"
At Cheongsang's question, Cheongu thought for a moment before shaking his head.
He had clearly seen their expressions as they fled.
Fear. Terror.
Their eyes were completely broken.
Having fled in the opposite direction from Dangang District, it seemed they would never return.
"I lost my entire family to bandits."
Cheongsang suddenly shared his own story. Cheongu had heard it before.
It was a grudge that lingered in Cheongsang's heart.
"They killed innocent villagers and my family without reason, massacring them mercilessly."
He had been young.
After losing his family to bandits and becoming an orphan, he had been taken in by Pure East Hall Master Myeonghwa.
"At that time, Grand Senior Uncle Myeonghwa led a campaign to suppress the bandits and turned them over to the authorities."
"..."
"Do you know what happened after that?"
"..."
"They bribed their way out of jail. And I heard they're brazenly back to banditry."
"Senior Brother..."
"I have no desire to forgive them until the day I die. That's why I've trained even harder with the sword."
Cheongu's chest tightened.
"Grand Senior Uncles Jinso and Myeonghwa only told me to temper my heart. But what about Grand Senior Uncle Jinmu?"
"..."
"I just thought he had superior talent. I figured if I stuck close and learned from him, I'd grow much stronger—strong enough to kill those bandits with my own hands someday."
Cheongsang's words continued.
"But today, I learned what true guidance really means."
"Ah!"
Listening to Cheongsang, Cheongu recalled the day's events.
Now that Cheongsang pointed it out, Jinmu's actions finally started to make sense.
Guidance.
It meant awakening and leading others.
Jinmu had guided them.
He judged those who sought their lives and pressured them to "commit crimes," instilling even greater fear.
He must have intended to engrave in their minds: "If you sin, I will surely find you and judge you."
Though different from Wudang's benevolent guidance, it was undoubtedly far more effective in setting them on the path to reform.
There were such people.
Those who walked through hell themselves to bring light to the world.
In Cheongsang's eyes, Jinmu was one such person.
"Ah, Grand Senior Uncle bears such noble intentions."
Cheongu finally spoke in admiration.
"It was cruel, but with immediate and certain power, he reformed them. I don't know why he spared vicious scum like the Ten Dams Two Evils, but there must be a profound reason."
Cheongsang's eyes burned fiercely.
"Today, I resolved to follow Grand Senior Uncle from now on. No matter what he says, I must become his disciple. To uphold that heart which walks through hell to guide the wicked..."
"Ah! And I didn't realize..."
It was a misunderstanding.
Cheongsang was completely wrong from start to finish.
But it was the best interpretation they could come up with without knowing the full story. Regardless of Jinmu's true intentions, Cheongsang burned with zeal on his own, and Cheongu was moved on his own.
"Add one more nyang."
"Heavens, has the Taoist priest grown greedy? It's fixed at ten nyang."
The clerk made a troubled face as Jinmu clung to him like a leech.
"Come on, didn't you see outside? The kids are hurt! One got stabbed here, their clothes are all shredded..."
"Well, one did get hit, but the other's face is so bashed up it's hard to tell..."
"Hey now, would a Wudang Taoist lie?"
"Ah, that's not what I..."
"We worked hard to catch them."
"Sigh, really... Fine, fine. Just put this down for now..."
"Ah! Haha, my mistake."
As Jinmu laughed and backed off, the clerk hiked up his nearly slipping pants and straightened his crooked hat.
"Here."
The clerk sighed heavily and pulled out one more silver nyang, which Jinmu swiftly pocketed in his money pouch.
"Heh heh, you'll be blessed for this."
"What a strange Taoist. In my fifteen years as clerk, you're the first of your kind."
The clerk shook his head, and Jinmu smiled and bowed.
As he turned to leave...
"Oh, wait."
"Yes?"
"By any chance, do you know Ipallyong?"
"Ipallyong? That Eight Dragon Faction's?"
"That's the one."
"Know him? That slippery eel is always dodging us..."
"How much?"
"...?"
Too direct?
The clerk stared blankly at Jinmu.
"I mean, he must have a bounty."
"Ah, twenty nyang."
"Twenty!"
Jinmu's eyes sparkled with excitement.
He was surely a vile, wicked bastard.
Definitely.
And quite commendable, too.
'Gotta fill my belly first. Sorry, Pallyong.'
Jinmu apologized in his heart to Ipallyong, whom he'd never even met.
"No way? You planning to catch him?"
"We'll see."
"Don't bother. We've tried a few times, but the bastard's skilled in martial arts and hides like a loach everywhere."
Skilled in martial arts?
Ridiculous.
No one was unaware that Dangang District was Zhuge Family territory.
Unless the Evil Hegemony Heaven picked a fight, the Zhuge Family's hold on Dangang District was unshakeable—no room for others to expand.
In other words, no matter how strong, he was just a twenty-nyang alley thug.
And where those types hid was obvious.
Gambling dens, night markets, red-light districts.
Sweep through, and he couldn't escape.
He wanted to check it out quick. Had questions to ask, and side income to boot.
Jinmu grinned slyly and headed outside.
"That guy... He'll get stabbed one day, tsk tsk. Wudang doing bounty hunting. Come to think of it, it's been ages since Taoists showed up in Dangang District..."
The clerk gazed at the door Jinmu had exited through, tilting his head.
"Anyway, what an odd Taoist."
Leaving the puzzled clerk behind, Jinmu emerged with a bulging money pouch from the bounties. Cheongsang and Cheongu came running up like arrows.
"Grand Senior Uncle!"
"Huh?"
Why are these guys' eyes like that?
Did something happen while he was gone?
"We respect you, Grand Senior Uncle!"
"..."
Jinmu tilted his head at Cheongu's words.
Though unsaid, Cheongsang's expression was the same.
Have they lost their minds?
Well, they did suffer.
Jinmu smacked his lips, looking at the two who had walked at least two shichen laden with luggage and people. They must be delirious from exhaustion, hunger, and fatigue.
They'd earned a meal, and night was late—better fill up before heading to the Qingyang Merchant Group.
"Alright, let's go."
"Pardon? Where to now?"
"Food. Gotta eat dinner."
"Ah!"
"Today, special treat! First day out, so I'll let you have properly cooked meat!"
"Ooh! Meat!"
Cheongu's face lit up with madness in an instant.
This meat-obsessed Taoist punk.
"Let's go!"
"Woooh!"
Cheongu let out a bizarre yell and hurried after Jinmu.
Cheongsang chuckled at the sight.
Cheongu was one thing, but Jinmu really was an enigmatic person.
The place they soon reached was an inn not far from Bangcheon County's center.
Sea Moon Pavilion.
A rundown inn outside the village.
Surrounded by mountains on all sides, and they name it 'Moon over the Sea'? Wishful thinking?
Jinmu chose this place over the central inns for a reason.
Bangcheon County to the Qingyang Merchant Group in Dangang District's heart wasn't far, but as night fell and they planned to rest, he had heard rumors about Sea Moon Pavilion.
The taste was so-so, but...
'All-you-can-eat meat!'
They served meat until you dropped from eating.
Cheap! Plenty! Taste...
Who cared.
These were guys who thought grilled wild boar was delicious.
Who savored camp food like it was gourmet.
Just having proper dishes would make it the best in the world.
"Here!"
Jinmu's group entered the inn and called the waiter.
"Welcome!"
As rare Taoists, it was natural for eyes in the inn to focus on them.
Wudang Taoists hadn't shown themselves in Dangang District for a while.
Taoists living ascetic lives in the mountains, cut off from the secular world, always seemed mysterious.
But had they suffered some calamity? One's robes were torn to shreds, his body covered in scabs.
Heavens, what on earth happened to those Taoists...?
"This is the place that does all-you-can-eat meat, right?"
Huh? Meat?
At the word "meat," people's gazes turned puzzled.
"It is, but why would Wudang Taoists...?"
"Good."
Jinmu nodded at the waiter's question.
Drool was already flowing endlessly from Cheongu's mouth. Cheongsang pretended otherwise, but his eyes bulged with anticipation too.
Today, I'll teach you all what 'taste' means.
"Meat! Lots of it! Don't stop!"
"Pardon?... Ah, yes."
The waiter blinked before reluctantly dashing off at Jinmu's words.
And...
Those tiger-nosed Taoist bastards!
Young Taoists scarfing meat!
People frowned and glared as the Taoists tossed aside asceticism like dog food.
But who was Jinmu?
"Here! A bottle of liquor too!"
He never cared about stares.
As food arrived, Cheongu gingerly tasted a bite with his chopsticks.
"Ooooh!"
At the unprecedented flavor, Cheongu exclaimed in ecstasy and shoved food into his mouth wildly.
Cheongsang competed fiercely, and Jinmu watched approvingly while refilling their cups.
These kids are hooked on the spices.
"Sob sob, Grand Senior Uncle. Is this really meat?"
"Delicious. So delicious."
Jinmu nodded satisfyingly at Cheongu and Cheongsang's reactions.
Eat up, my little ones.
All-you-can-eat!
"Tsk tsk, Wudang's going downhill."
Ignore that noise.
"Young Taoist punks like that—seen it all."
"Even so, they're Wudang... Maybe imposters?"
"Pah! Ruined my appetite when I thought I'd eat. Let's go!"
Ignore the stares and eat alone like a rhinoceros horn!
As people cursed Jinmu's group, a pair of eyes watched them stealthily.
"Grand Master, aren't those the ones the young master mentioned?"
"Mm. Looks like the Eight Dragon Faction failed. Good thing I came just in case. Tsk tsk."
A man with bird-like eyes clicked his tongue and rose, his group following him out of the inn.
"Chusaeng."
"Yes."
"Find Ipallyong and learn exactly what happened. I'll head straight back to the Group Leader."
"Understood."