A Cup of Deadly Wine
"Yes, Master!!"
As soon as Cheongmyeong Jin'in's words left his lips, both Seong-il and Handan answered in booming voices.
But I don't know a damn thing about any of this...
The moment that thought hit him, Seong-il darted over to Handan and began pleading in an earnest tone.
"S-Senior Brother! This is my first time traveling far from the sect, so... would it be all right if I followed you around and packed my bags with yours?"
At his junior brother's adorable request, Handan laughed and replied.
"You rascal. Now that you mention it, the only times you've been outside since joining three months ago were those few drinks you had with me, right? Don't worry! This senior brother of yours will take care of everything!"
With Handan's help, Seong-il packed his belongings and set off with Cheongmyeong Jin'in toward Pokso Temple. After two full days of walking, they reached a village dock, boarded a boat, and had been traveling along the river for a day and a half when Cheongmyeong Jin'in finally spoke to his disciples.
"Children, we've reached Jeongju dock! From here, Pokso Temple is only half a day's walk away. Put in just a little more effort."
Seong-il nodded silently and followed Cheongmyeong Jin'in without complaint.
Whew... The main story's about to kick off any moment now.
While Seong-il was lost in thought, the group arrived at Pokso Temple. A young novice monk came out to greet them and spoke up.
"Greetings! By any chance... are you Cheongmyeong Jin'in of the Sodang Sect?"
"Indeed. I am Cheongmyeong. Since you recognize me, it seems the abbot already informed you of my visit. May I see him right away?"
The novice monk's face clouded with slight discomfort at Cheongmyeong Jin'in's request.
"The abbot is currently handling an unfortunate matter at the main hall."
"Unfortunate...?"
When Cheongmyeong Jin'in looked at him with puzzled eyes, the novice's face flushed red as he explained.
"T-to tell the truth, my senior brothers caused an accident. The abbot has gathered all the monks to discuss their punishment. If you would kindly wait in the guest hall until the meeting ends, we would be most grateful."
Was there an event like this?
Seong-il and Handan exchanged curious glances but didn't press the matter and followed the novice to the guest hall.
"Master, may my junior brother and I take a look around the temple grounds?"
Cheongmyeong Jin'in smiled at Handan's question.
"Go ahead. But you must not behave in any way that violates etiquette."
"Of course!"
While touring the modestly sized but charming Pokso Temple with Handan, the two began chatting casually.
"Muhak, you're eighteen this year, right? Have you ever had a drink?"
So the supporting character Muhak is eighteen in this game? That makes him two years younger than me.
As a former college student, Seong-il had obviously drunk before, but it felt wrong to admit that the freshly adult Muhak had any experience with alcohol. He shook his head.
"No. I've never tried it, Senior Brother."
"Oh no! To think you've never tasted something so wonderful! When you drink, all the worries of the world melt away and it feels like the Great Dao itself is approaching you! That's why we Taoists must learn the Great Dao through alcohol! I'll teach you myself one of these days!"
Great Dao my ass. You damn alcoholic... Drink that stuff and I'll get poisoned and die. Do I look crazy? No way in hell am I drinking.
While Seong-il was thinking this, someone shouted in agreement with Handan's words.
"Oh! This patron may be a Taoist, but he clearly knows his stuff!"
Before them stood a short, stocky monk and an enormously fat one built like a mountain. The pair approached Seong-il's group and spoke.
"Hello there! We saw some unfamiliar Taoist priests walking by and were watching out of curiosity. But when the one in front said something so excellent, we couldn't help but come over! Do you gentlemen enjoy drinking?"
"Oh! You too, monks? You clearly know your business!"
Monks and Taoists bonding over their love of alcohol... These people are insane.
Seong-il stared at the three in utter disbelief as they continued their passionate discussion about drink.
"Kya! Take one sip of alcohol and bite into some well-seasoned meat skewers and it's just like the Buddha's own teachings!"
When the fat monk said that, Seong-il looked around in shock.
Is this bald bastard out of his mind...? How can he say something like that out loud inside a temple?
But Handan was enthusiastically agreeing with everything they said, so Seong-il couldn't refute them. Instead, he gradually found himself chiming in. Before he knew it, he'd been completely swept up in their pace and was chatting excitedly with them for quite some time.
"By the way, what brings you patrons to our temple?"
When the sturdy monk Hyemyeong asked, the now-relaxed Seong-il answered smoothly.
"Grandmaster Wongang urgently requested a meeting with our master, Cheongmyeong Jin'in, so we ended up coming here."
"Oh! You mean the Taiji Sword Cheongmyeong Jin'in!"
Having only been in this world for three days, Seong-il had no idea about Cheongmyeong Jin'in's title. He simply smiled awkwardly to dodge the question.
"Oho! As expected of such a man...!!"
When the other party took his awkward smile as confirmation and kept exclaiming in admiration, Seong-il quickly turned the questions back on them before they could dig deeper.
"Speaking of which, why are you monks standing around here? I heard all the monks in the temple were gathered for a meeting..."
At his words, both monks stiffened, sighed simultaneously, and answered.
"Sigh... The truth is my senior brother and I were caught secretly drinking a few cups in the village right outside the temple."
These crazy bastards... If you're going to drink, at least go somewhere far away. You did it in a village only thirty minutes away on foot...?
While Seong-il stood speechless at their absurdity, the monk continued with a wronged expression.
Wait! Does that mean these baldies are exactly...?
The moment Seong-il realized their identities, the other main character Hyemyeong continued aggrievedly.
"So the furious abbot went to the tavern to confirm the facts, but that disloyal owner blurted out without thinking that we're regulars! After everything we've bought from him over the years!"
"Hah! What a truly disloyal fellow!"
Why the hell is Handan agreeing with them...?
"Just for a few pieces of meat and one cup of alcohol, he says he'll excommunicate us or make us face the wall for three years..."
Handan spoke with pity in his voice.
"Ah... Chasing away worldly desires through a single cup of wine could be considered a form of ascetic training! This is too harsh!"
You lunatics... I've officially given up trying to understand any of you.
As Seong-il sighed inwardly so they wouldn't notice, Hyemyeong continued with a wronged tone.
"Honestly, it's not like we're the only ones drinking in the temple... Just the other day I saw the abbot secretly buying several bottles himself! As fellow drinkers, why is he being so harsh only on us...!"
Probably because you've done it more than once or twice, you bald idiot.
While Seong-il listened to their conversation with disdain, the novice monk who had guided them earlier returned and spoke.
"Uncle Masters. The abbot has finished discussing the punishment, so he asks that you move to the Main Hall."
The novice led Hyemyeong and Hyewon away, then turned to Seong-il.
"Cheongmyeong Jin'in says he will chat with the abbot for now. During that time, the two of you should wait in the guest hall!"
Once everyone had left and they were alone, Handan looked at Seong-il with a strange expression and muttered.
"Oho... So the abbot bought several bottles of alcohol not long ago...? And right now all the monks in the temple are gathered for a meeting...?"
Seong-il felt a chill run down his spine and quickly stopped him.
"Senior Brother. You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, right?! You absolutely cannot steal that alcohol!"
"Me? No way~ Aigo, my stomach suddenly hurts. I'll just visit the latrine for a moment. You wait here, junior brother!"
Seong-il grabbed his sleeve and desperately tried to hold him back.
"Senior Brother! You can't do this! Senior Brother!!"
But Handan was so strong that he shook Seong-il off in an instant and vanished somewhere.
You crazy bastard... That stuff will kill you!
Whether aware of Seong-il's desperate feelings or not, Handan soon returned with a bottle of alcohol and two cups in hand.
"Junior brother! Junior brother! Didn't I say I'd teach you something good? Come on, don't be shy! Just try one cup! I'll give you an experience that'll blow you away!"
Seong-il's face filled with horror as he thought.
According to the original scenario, this is where Muhak couldn't withstand his senior brother's pressure, drank a cup, got poisoned, and died.
Handan gives Muhak a cup, then while trying to drink himself, the Demonic Cult's ambush begins.
...Fuck. That means the attack is coming any second. I have to stop this guy from drinking no matter what!
Seong-il desperately refused the alcohol and tried to stall and persuade him.
"Senior Brother, this really isn't right. From the circumstances, this isn't just anyone's alcohol. It's what the abbot of Pokso Temple bought! Stealing and drinking something like this is definitely wrong. Let's just buy some at the tavern in the village ahead instead!"
"You don't understand! Master and Grandmaster Wongang will finish their conversation soon. When would we have time to go to the village? You want to get caught and beaten to death? The opportunity is right now, junior brother!"
But Seong-il, who knew the entire backstory, continued refusing with everything he had.
Just when he thought he was successfully stalling for time, the situation took an unexpected turn.
"Tsk. Then I'll just drink by myself."
What!? This wasn't in the original event!
"Senior Brother, no! You absolutely cannot drink that!"
Seong-il threw his whole body forward to stop him, but he couldn't match the movements of a martial arts master like Handan.
In the blink of an eye, Handan shoved him aside, climbed a tree, filled the cup to the brim, and began drinking.
"Kya! This is excellent. How have I lived without something this good!"
You crazy bastard! That's poisoned wine! Poisoned wine!!
Worried that revealing too many details might make him suspicious, Seong-il couldn't explain the truth. All he could do was stare blankly at Handan with a half-despairing expression.
Mistaking that look for regret, Handan grinned at him.
"The boat has already sailed, junior brother~! You should've drunk when I offered."
As he chuckled and continued speaking, a sharp cry rang out from inside the temple.
"It's an attack!! An attack!!"
After that shout, roars and screams filled Pokso Temple. Sensing the dangerous atmosphere, Seong-il yelled at Handan.
"Senior Brother! Something dangerous seems to be happening!"
At Seong-il's urgent voice, Handan's usual playful expression vanished. His face sharpened as he prepared to use his martial arts.
"Khuk...!"
At that moment, Handan clutched his chest and began vomiting blood.
"Khuk... Cough... Cough..."
Even with zero medical knowledge, Seong-il could tell the blood was a very bad sign. He rushed over urgently.
"Senior Brother! Are you all right?"
"Wh-what is this? D-don't tell me there was poison in the wine?! If that's the case...!! Master... Master is in danger! Junior brother! Run to safety immediately! I'm going to Master!"
Despite his terrible condition, Handan ran toward the abbot's quarters to help his master.
Watching him go, Seong-il calmly recalled the story and analyzed the situation.
First, when the Pokso Temple ambush event begins, the Demon Cult controls both the front and rear gates, right?
If I go that way, I'm definitely dead. So the only ways to survive are to jump into the well like the original Hyemyeong and Hyewon, or to go to Cheongmyeong Jin'in like Handan did, receive the wooden box, and escape.
Seong-il's mind raced as he continued thinking.
Should I hide in the well...? That would be the safest option... But Handan's poisoned now, which wasn't in the original story.
If Handan dies with Cheongmyeong Jin'in, we'll lose the crucial story item, the wooden box, and the entire plot will derail. So joining up with Cheongmyeong Jin'in seems like the right choice...
Still, with zero combat ability, my only advantage is knowing the game story...
With the story already this badly twisted from the start, wouldn't joining them cause even bigger problems...?
But knowing how important the wooden box was, Seong-il pushed down his fear and ran toward where Handan and Cheongmyeong Jin'in were.
Before long, a burning temple and countless dead monks' corpses appeared before him. Terror surged in his heart, but he brainwashed himself that this world was nothing but a game and forced himself forward.
"Cheongmyeong Jin'in! Hand over the wooden box you received from Grandmaster Wongang! Do that and I'll not only spare you but give you the antidote as well!"
"Shut your filthy mouth! You vile wretch! How dare a worm who cowardly uses poison for a sneak attack demand anything from me!"
Cheongmyeong Jin'in roared in fury, treating the man in black's words as beneath consideration.
"Haha! What wouldn't I do to kill the trash that dares defy the Demonic Cult's will! Since you refuse to return our cult's property, I'll tear you limb from limb and feed you to the dogs! Then I'll retrieve it myself!"
The two men hurled abuse at each other from dozens of meters apart. Seeing this, Seong-il ran to his only lifeline, Cheongmyeong Jin'in.
"Master! Are you all right!"
At Seong-il's shout, Cheongmyeong Jin'in's face showed a complicated mix of bewilderment at why his disciple hadn't fled to safety and relief that the boy was still alive.
"Muhak! Come to my side at once!"
Seong-il ran desperately without hesitation and leaped to his master's side. Seeing this, other men in black drew their blades and charged to capture him, likely thinking it would be easier to threaten the young disciple.
Cheongmyeong Jin'in unleashed a transcendent power from his sword, striking them with overwhelming force.
"You bastards!"
Overwhelmed by his terrifying aura, the men in black panicked and retreated. The moment they pulled back, Cheongmyeong Jin'in struck a nearby pillar with his sword, collapsing the entire building.
Huh...? He destroyed a ten-meter-tall building with one sword strike?!
Thinking the collapsed structure blocked the enemy's view, Cheongmyeong Jin'in grabbed Seong-il, tucked him under his arm, and began running at incredible speed.
"What about Handan! Where's Senior Brother Handan?!"
"I'm here."
Handan's face had already turned black. He appeared beside them, vomiting blood as he ran alongside his master and Seong-il.