Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: The Phantom Ledger
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Woo Moon-heum, who had returned from the Hyuncheong office, couldn't sit still for even a moment.
He couldn't shake off his anxiety and was biting his nails for the first time since he was five years old.
Killing Geumjeoksan and Gong Sacheok to silence them had gone completely up in smoke.
Those loose-lipped bastards had already spilled everything.
In that situation, there was no need to rashly kill them anymore.
Because the Qingyang Merchant Group traded in gunpowder, it had drawn attention from far higher up than the Hyuncheong office.
If they died in the midst of that, those higher-ups would surely dig into the matter to the end.
And,
'That guy's expression.'
Woo Moon-heum couldn't forget Jinmu's expression.
He had openly directed a sinister smirk right at him.
There was clearly some scheme behind it.
'Damn it... what the hell am I supposed to do about this.'
He had tried to eliminate his son's rival, only to get his own weakness perfectly seized in return.
Woo Moon-heum was stuck, unable to act one way or the other.
"Clan Leader."
"What!"
Woo Moon-heum snapped irritably at the maid's voice from outside, and the door opened without permission.
"It's me."
"...!"
Jinmu.
He had come.
Before Woo Moon-heum could hide his fluster, Jinmu sat in a chair and asked,
"I have urgent business. Could you clear the room?"
"...."
"Come on."
Woo Moon-heum glared at Jinmu, who grinned cheekily, then shouted outside.
"Who's out there?"
"Yes, Clan Leader."
The maid's voice replied.
"No one enters until I say so."
"Yes."
After issuing the order, Woo Moon-heum sat across from Jinmu, glaring at him.
After a long staring contest, Woo Moon-heum spoke first.
The dirtier the person, the more impatient they got.
"Hahaha. I didn't expect you so soon."
Woo Moon-heum masked his expression and tried to awkwardly laugh it off while gauging the situation.
But,
"Quit the fake-ass smiling bullshit."
"...."
"Fuck. We're past the point of pretending between people who know better, right?"
He switched straight to informal speech.
Jinmu looked at Woo Moon-heum with a languid expression and snorted.
He knew.
He clearly knew everything.
"You bastard... what are you thinking?"
"Do I have to be thinking something specific?"
"Wh-what?"
"Hey, Clan Leader Woo. Or should I say Woo Moon-heum."
Now he was calling him by name outright.
"You little shit, how dare you!"
"Ha, you still got the mind to quibble over age at a time like this?"
"What...."
"Listen up. To secure your son's and clan's glory, you tried to kill one First Generation Disciple and two Second Generation Disciples of Wudang."
"Sh-shut your mouth, you punk. You said it yourself that...."
"The one who needs to shut up is you."
"What?"
"You think I'd come here directly without any proof?"
"...."
"Over just a few words from those guys?"
Woo Moon-heum's pupils trembled faintly.
"Gong Sacheok had the ledger."
"Le-ledger!?"
Woo Moon-heum shot to his feet in shock.
"L-lies! Don't lie."
Of course it was a lie.
A ledger?
As if such a thing existed.
He'd only learned in the Hyuncheong office that the U Clan was Jinhye's family.
But he absolutely couldn't show it.
All threats started from making the opponent believe them.
"Does it sound like a lie?"
Jinmu smirked mockingly as he stared straight at Woo Moon-heum. His expression began changing by the second.
Pretty effective.
"...What do you want."
"The position of Wudang's Great Disciple."
"Th-that's."
He'd thought of him as just a rival, but he never imagined he'd state it so boldly.
"Need time to think? What if I show the ledger to the authorities and Wudang, and tell them the U Clan was behind the hit on me and my sworn brothers? Oh, and that Jinhye knows all about it too."
At Jinmu's words, Woo Moon-heum's face twisted in despair.
Blackmail.
The kind that pierced right through his fears.
Damn it, this kid had their weakness in a vise grip.
He wanted to kill him right then, but that was difficult too.
Everyone already knew Jinmu was staying at the U residence.
If he died, all suspicion would fall on the U Clan. He couldn't ignore the demand either.
If the ledger came to light...
Caught between a rock and a hard place, surrounded on all sides.
"Well? Made your decision?"
"What kind of help do you want?"
"Jinhye's full support."
Woo Moon-heum's face contorted.
The U Clan's plan to make their son the Great Disciple was washed away forever.
"Depending on the help, I can promise Jinhye the Sect Leader position."
"S-Sect Leader?"
Woo Moon-heum's face twisted again.
Absurd.
Why would he aim for Great Disciple if they handed Sect Leader to Jinhye?
But there was no lie in Jinmu's expression.
"Ridiculous... Someone aiming for Great Disciple is giving away the Wudang Sect Leader position?"
"Wudang Sect Leader? Whatever."
"...."
"I just need to become Great Disciple. Nothing more."
Woo Moon-heum looked utterly incredulous.
Wudang Sect Leader?
Why take on such an annoying role?
What Jinmu wanted was solely the Two Forms Heart Art.
And using it as a stepping stone to seize the Justice Alliance beyond Wudang.
The Wudang Sect Leader position was just a stepping stone and an annoying duty.
Better to set up a spineless, vile puppet like Jinhye and control things from behind.
Not knowing Jinmu's true goal, Woo Moon-heum finally spoke after a long pause.
"How can I trust you?"
"Trust me how?"
Jinmu stared at Woo Moon-heum's face quietly before replying.
"Hey, Woo Moon-heum. That's not an option. What I'm saying isn't a request—it's a notice. Refuse, and I'll smash the entire U Clan right here."
"Wh-what did you say?"
Arrogant to the extreme.
First Generation Disciple or not, he wasn't even in his thirties yet?
Woo Moon-heum was already mid-Peak Realm, and the U Clan had countless warriors.
What gave him the confidence to be so cocky?
"Just so you know, I'm not offering this because I need the U Clan's help. I just don't want the hassle."
"You brat, just because you have a bit of skill..."
Suddenly, Woo Moon-heum's face twisted.
Jinmu's chilling expression and the pressure filling the room.
'Urk! Th-this.'
A thick killing intent that raised goosebumps poured from Jinmu's body, along with suffocating pressure.
"Why do you think Gong Sacheok attacked the Qingyang Merchant Group instead of killing me?"
"...."
Woo Moon-heum was crushed by Jinmu's aura, unable to speak. His heart shrank at the brilliantly blue-glowing eyes.
Was he... actually afraid?
Of this young Taoist?
"Gong Sacheok didn't spare me—he couldn't kill me."
"N-no way..."
"Well, you wouldn't know unless you experienced it."
Jinmu stood from the chair, his expression even colder.
Crack.
"...!"
Just standing released tangible killing intent that stirred the air everywhere.
Suddenly.
Bam!
The table between Woo Moon-heum and Jinmu splintered in half under the intense pressure and sank.
"Ugh..."
Even channeling all his internal energy, Woo Moon-heum couldn't withstand Jinmu's pressure.
In contrast, Jinmu's face looked utterly serene.
'No way, Tan'gi? No, beyond that realm?'
He couldn't believe it.
Jinmu was far too young for that.
Click.
Jinmu's hand lightly rested on Woo Moon-heum's shoulder.
Crack! Crack!
The chair beneath him shattered under the horrifying force, and Woo Moon-heum collapsed to the floor.
"Kuh..."
As Woo Moon-heum groaned under the pressure, Jinmu's face drew close.
'Gasp!'
The gaze looking at him.
The eyes of someone who had killed—cold, indifferent eyes forged through the asura fields of war, not just one or two kills.
And Jinmu whispered coldly in his ear, sending chills down his spine.
"Don't expect help from Jinhye."
"...."
With that, his hand lifted, and the pressure filling the room vanished.
"See ya."
Jinmu waved lightly and left the residence.
But,
Even after Jinmu disappeared, he couldn't move.
His breathing was ragged, heart pounding like it would burst.
His fingertips trembled, and his shaky legs had no strength.
Jinmu, Wudang's First Generation Disciple.
He wasn't a Taoist, and certainly not someone he could handle.
Like a reaper come to kill him, or a tiger with jaws wide open.
Gulp.
Unknowingly, the saliva pooled in his mouth painfully slid down his throat.
"Clan Leader!"
After Jinmu entered and ordered no one in, the maid reported, and Jo Bang rushed in.
Traces etched everywhere in the room.
The desk split in half.
The broken chair and Woo Moon-heum slumped with a dazed, lost expression.
"Clan Leader!"
Only at Jo Bang's second call did Woo Moon-heum regain his senses and mutter weakly.
"Br-bring... writing materials... Send a letter to Jinhye."
"Pardon?"
Jo Bang couldn't comprehend what was happening.
The next day, Jinmu left the U residence and returned to Wudang.
The trip down had taken quite some time, but the return was much quicker.
He set out in the morning and arrived at Wudang by evening.
Jinhyeo had heard he was coming and was waiting outside the Purple Empyrean Palace gates.
"Junior Brother Jinmu!"
"Huh?"
Jinmu gave a puzzled reaction to Jinhyeo's warm welcome.
"You punk, 'Huh?' to your senior brother's greeting?"
Jinhyeo playfully grabbed Jinmu's shoulder and ruffled his hair.
Should I hit him once more?
As Jinmu seriously pondered, Jinhyeo pulled him into a warm embrace.
"You did well."
"...."
"Kid, you properly upheld Wudang's prestige."
What the hell is he talking about?
And get off me now, you bastard. You're not even soft-chested, it's gross.
Contrary to Jinmu's wishes, Jinhyeo held him tightly for a long while.
Then,
"You all did well too. Look how much you've grown."
Jinhyeo looked warmly at Cheongsang and Cheongu.
"Come on in. The Sect Leader, elders, and senior brothers have been waiting for you since earlier."
What? Why? Such a pain...
Jinmu scowled irritably but had no choice but to follow.
He was a Wudang Taoist, after all.
As Jinmu's group entered the Purple Empyrean Palace's grand hall with Jinhyeo, everyone greeted them warmly.
Of course, some weren't pleased.
Jinhye, standing behind Myeonggong, glared at Jinmu murderously.
His secret message from his father must have arrived by now.
Really, no need to have spared the U Clan.
Even now, gouge out those eyes!
As Jinmu scowled back at Jinhye,
"Jinmu, report your return prostrate."
His master Myeongjin said with a pleased face.
"Yes, Master."
Jinmu still couldn't defy his master's words. Damn Taoist boy memories. When would they fade?
"Wudang's First Generation Disciple Jinmu greets the Sect Leader and elders."
Jinmu knelt with Cheongsang and Cheongu and bowed. Myeonghyeon nodded.
"I already heard of your exploits from Lord Ji Hyeon of Dan River District."
These guys get news fast.
"Had it not been for you, we would have been blind to the Qingyang Merchant Group's true nature and committed a grave error. Well done."
"Not at all. It was only what a Wudang disciple should do."
"Moreover, you eradicated all the ruffians plaguing Dan River District's back alleys, spreading Wudang's name far and wide. Truly commendable."
The elders nodded in satisfaction at Myeonghyeon's words.
Seeing Myeongjin pleased made his chest swell with pride somehow.
Lame-ass Taoists, liking this stuff.
Well, not bad, I guess.
"That said, we can't use the money the Qingyang Merchant Group left... We should return it to the authorities as proper."
Amid the joy, Myeongseon, Lord of Origin Harmony Hall handling sect finances, spoke regretfully.
"But I heard... you received bounty money..."
"...."
What the hell is this bastard saying?
You wanna ask me for money?
I'll kill you...
"Hoho, no worries, senior brother. It's a shame about the Qingyang Merchant Group, but isn't this bounty Jinmu received for capturing the ruffians for the sect? Jinmu, bring the money you received to Elder Myeongseon."
Who! Why! What the fuck!
But he couldn't defy his master Myeongjin's words.
Against his will...
"Yes, Master."
Jinmu shed bitter tears deep in his heart at the words he absolutely didn't want to say.