CH 195

Their first impression of the Wudang sect was that it was truly gigantic.

The appearance of huge temples such as the Shangqing Temple1, Yuzhen Temple2, Yuxu Temple3, Zixue Temple4, and Taihuo Temple5 was intimidating.  

Wu Jang-rak and his party were overwhelmed by the majesty of the Wudang sect.

“Oh!”

“Is this the Wudang sect?”

“I heard that they are one of the sects with the longest history along with Shaolin.”

Since it was nighttime, they couldn’t see the full appearance of the sect in detail, but thanks to the torches and moonlight placed here and there, they were able to at least distinguish the outline.

The place where Woo Pyeong led the group was a huge temple that seemed to have been built recently. The temple was called Qingliu Temple. It was built solely for the guests who would attend the birthday party.

Qingliu Temple was large and spacious enough to accommodate hundreds of guests at the same time. It was so vast that those who did not know of its internal layout would get lost.

Woo Pyeong gave the most isolated area in Qingliu Temple to Wu Jang-rak and his party.

The monks from the Shaolin Temple immediately went to their own lodgings. They wanted to protect the Buddhist scriptures themselves.

It was originally the mercenaries’ job to protect the Buddhist scriptures. But now that the Shaolin Temple monks took over their roles, they had nothing to do.

Ko Il-pae and Seol Hajin thought it was better.

Now that things have led to this point, they can now terminate their contract with Wu Jang-rak and relax. They thought it would be better for them to just enjoy the birthday event in the Wudang sect.

So they went ahead and asked Wu Jang-rak to terminate their contract. Wu Jang-rak also easily agreed to their proposal since it was valid and reasonable.

The contract of the mercenaries was terminated, and they were paid their original remuneration.

Ko Il-pae had asked for an amount less than what was written in the contract since their job ended early, but Wu Jang-rak gave everything he had originally promised.

After  Wu Jang-rak’s unexpected consideration, the mercenaries went into their own dwelling.

Seol Hajin waved the pouch containing the money to Pyo-wol and said,

“What do you think? Would you like to go to Dazhou with me? Don’t you think you can live with me for a while?”

“Leave it. That’s not even enough.”

“Tch! You’re being expensive.”

Seol Hajin wrinkled her nose at Pyo-wol’s refusal. But it wasn’t a bad look.

In the first place, she did not even think that Pyo-wol would accept her offer. It’s just a little bit sad that her relationship with Pyo-wol will end like this. 

As soon as the Wudang sect event was over, she planned to return to Dazhou, where the Mercenary Guild was located. 

After they parted ways, she wasn’t sure when she would meet Pyo-wol again. If it was another man, there was a chance that he would come back feeling sorry for her, but Pyo-wol had little chance of doing that.

Pyo-wol’s not the type to feel sorry for a woman nor was he the type to have lingering feelings. 

To Pyo-wol, she was just a passing relationship.

Parting here at Wudang Mountain was likely to be their last meeting.

Seol Hajin stared at Pyo-wol for a while before speaking.

“If you happen to pass by Dazhou in the future, come visit me at the Mercenary Guild. You’re always welcome.”

“Okay.”

“Anyway, it’s been fun being with you.”

Seol Hajin waved to Pyo-wol and went into her room.

Pyo-wol looked towards the direction of her room for a while and then looked up at the sky.

* * *

Zixue Temple was the largest area in the Wudang sect. It was composed of several halls and among them, a group of people with fearsome momentum were gathered in the largest hall.

The old warriors with long beards were the Wudang sect’s leader and elders. 

The warrior with an outlandish appearance sitting in the center was Chongjin , the current sect leader of the Wudang sect. To his left and right sat Gong-jin, Un-jin, and Jeong-jin.

Across from Chongjin, there was an old taoist with long eyebrows. The taoist body was flowing with cold air like frost. He was the Wudang sect’s Number One Sword, Sang-jin.

Except for Il-geom, who was ranked higher than the elders, there was no martial artist in Hubei Province, let alone in the Wudang sect, who could match Sang-jin.

Chongjin looked at the elders with a serious expression.

“So you still haven’t figured out the cause of So-yeol’s death?”

“We apologize.”

Gong-jin replied with an apologetic expression.

Gong-jin is the second-in-command of the Wudang sect. He is a taoist just right below Chongjin. Although he does not possess excellent leadership like Chongjin nor have superior martial arts like Sang-jin, he was respected by many for his gentle personality and outstanding intelligence.

When Lee So-yeol died, he was the first to run to the body to inspect it. But he couldn’t figure out how Lee So-yeol died.

It was the same with the other elders.

Even Sang-jin, the Wudang sect’s Number One Sword, couldn’t figure out what the cause of Lee So-yeol’s death was. He wasn’t even sure if Lee So-yeol’s death was because of murder.

That’s how mysterious Lee So-yeol’s death was.

It was even more unsettling since the place where he died was in the Scripture Pavilion.

Although all the martial arts books were moved a few days ago, the Scripture Pavilion was still located in the middle of the Wudang sect. The fact that a healthy third-generation disciple died in such a place made Cheongjin and the other elders uneasy.

Chongjin, who had been struggling for a while, opened his mouth,

“Why don’t we postpone my birthday party? It’s not necessary to do it at this time, right?”

“I’m sorry, senior brother! But invitations have already been sent out. Many people have already entered the vicinity of our sect. It would be difficult to cancel it now.”

“That’s right, sect leader Chongjin! This birthday party is a meaningful event that not only celebrates your birthday, but also emphasizes the power of our sect. If we cancel it just because one person died, our sect will lose face.”

“And if we cancel this now, the more we have to hold events to show off the strength of our sect.”

The elders unanimously objected to Chongjin’s opinion.

As a result, Chongjin’s agony inevitably deepened.

It was then.

“This is Woo Pyeong, your disciple. May I come in?”

Woo Pyeong’s voice came from outside the door.

“Come on in.”

After receiving Chongjin’s permission, Woo Pyeong cautiously came inside. Feeling the elders’ gazes pouring on him, Woo Pyeong tidied up his clothes.

“Did you have a good time at Baokang?”

“Yes! I had a good trip thanks to the sect leader’s consideration.”

“Heh heh! I’m glad.”

“I heard that So-yeol died inside our sect.”

“So you’ve heard the news, too. That is also the reason why we’re here gathering like this. We’re currently discussing countermeasures since we have yet to get to the bottom of it.”

“You still haven’t figured out the cause of So-yeol’s death?”

“Hoo…!”

Chongjin let out a deep sigh instead of answering.

It was easy to guess what the status of the situation was just from his reaction.

Woo Pyeong hesitated for a moment, then carefully brought up the matter.

“Actually, my disciple met someone by chance while going down the mountain. I came here because I thought it would be a good idea for him to examine So-yeol’s corpse.”

“Who is the person you met for you to say that? If even Sang-jin could not figure out So-yeol’s cause of death, how could that person figure it out?”

Chongjin’s gaze was directed at Sang-jin .

Sang-jin is the Wudang sect Number One Sword. His pride was quite hurt because even he couldn’t find out the cause of death of Lee So-yeol.

Sang-jin asked,

“Who is the person you’re bringing?”

“His name is Pyo-wol.”

“Pyo-wol?”

Sang-jin frowned.

He couldn’t guess his identity just by hearing his name.

It was the same with other elders.

Woo Pyeong wondered if it was okay to reveal Pyo-wol’s identity. But his troubles did not last long. The sect leader and the other elders already pressured him with their eyes.

He trusted in the common sense of his superiors. He knew that even if they knew Pyo-wol’s real identity, they weren’t the type who would act rashly.

“He is… the reaper of Sichuan Province.”

“Reaper?”

“Is he the one who caused the blood shed in Chengdu?”

People in the hall murmured. The identity of the person mentioned by Woo Pyeong was shocking.

In particular, Sang-jin ‘s reaction was more dramatic.

“Did you really bring the man who brought down the Emei and Qingcheng sect?”

“Yes, Junior Uncle.”

“Why did you bring such a vicious person into our sect?!”

Bang!

Sang-jin hit his armrest. Then his armrest turned into dust before flying away. He glared at Woo Pyeong with ferocious eyes, as if he was about to devour him.

Woo Pyeong hastily explained,

“He was more reasonable and communicative than we all thought.”

“He is a person who caused great harm to the Emei and the Qingcheng sect. How could you guarantee that he won’t harm our sect as well?”

“Given the result of our sect’s secret investigation, it was determined that this happened because the Emei sect had made a big mistake.”

“It doesn’t matter who is the cause of the incident. What really matters is that two prestigious sects, the Emei sect and the Qingcheng sect, suffered a huge blow. Those two sects that once entered the Gudaemun faction with our Wudang sect, they are not very much left to us. But to bring the person who fatally wounded those two sect into the clean Wudang sect. Are you out of your mind?!”

“Junior uncle! Please calm down and listen to me.”

“No!”

Sang-jin ‘s eyes were filled with murderous intent.

He refused to listen to anything Woo Pyeong would say. 

At that, Woo Pyeong made a frustrated expression. He knew that Sang-jin was an upright man, but he didn’t know that he would be this inflexible.

Thankfully, Chongjin intervened and saved the situation from escalating any further,

“Calm down, Sang-jin.”

“But—”

“Is Woo Pyeong someone the type to make a mistake? He must have brought him in because he has something in mind. Shouldn’t Woo Pyeong also be given a chance to explain himself? Let’s listen to him for a moment.”

“Alright.”

No matter how much he is called the Wudang sect’s Number One Sword, there was no one who would dare disobey the words of the sect leader, Chongjin.

Chongjin looked at Woo Pyeong,

“Now, let’s talk about it. For what reason did you bring him here?”

“As we secretly know from the results of our investigation, he is clearly an assassin. He certainly caused great damage to the Emei and Qingcheng sect.”

“So?”

“That alone demonstrates how different he is. Although the Qingcheng sect and Emei sect are weaker than our sect, the potential of those two is recognized by everyone. But Pyo-wol managed to deal with these two sects alone. He’s not just incredibly strong. He is also good at stealth and slaughter. Especially when it comes to stealth, he is unrivaled.”

“You’re talking in a roundabout way. Just say what you want to say.”

“An assassins’ eyes are different from ours. They can see what we normally cannot see.”

“Your idea is to use him to find out the cause of So-yeol’s death. Is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm…”

Chongjin murmured.

The assassin, Pyo-wol.

Information about him had only been obtained a few months ago. The information came in long after the blood shed in Sichuan had taken place.

It wasn’t easy to get thorough information about Pyo-wol. The Hao clan refused to cooperate, so their sect had no choice but to investigate on their own.

If the Qingcheng sect and the Emei sect were not part of the traditional sects like they were, the Wudang sect would not have investigated on its own.

The Wudang sect felt a strong sense of crisis at the sudden closing of gates of the two sects, so they investigated the truth on their own.

As a result, they were able to find out about a man named Pyo-wol. 

But they didn’t find out much.

They only know of his name and his beautiful appearance that could rival a woman. 

And that his assassination methods were beyond imagination.

If he really made up his mind and attacked the masters of the Wudang sect, no one would dare to be confident of their survival. So the Wudang sect judged that Pyo-wol’s level of risk was equivalent to that of a strong person. That is why Sang-jin reacted so sensitively.

“Can you be sure that he won’t harm our sect?”

“I’ll be watching from the side.”

“He’s a dangerous man. In a way, he can be more dangerous than the Eight Constellations.”

“I’ve observed that he’s not the type to care much if it doesn’t harm or concern him. He won’t be hostile to us not unless our sect is hostile first.”

“Can you guarantee it?”

“I’ll risk my life to make sure he doesn’t have other thoughts.”

“Hmm…”

At Woo Pyeong’s answer, Chongjin frowned.

The elders whispered in low voices.

A look of bewilderment was evident on their faces. 

This was the first time in the long history of the Wudang sect that an assassin would be invited inside their sect.

Naturally, arguments ensued inside the hall.

At that time, Chongjin opened his mouth.

“I’ve decided. We’ll leave this job to him.”

“Senior brother!”

“Sect leader!”

The elders looked at their sect leader in surprise. 

However, Chongjin continued his speech with a firm expression,

“Shouldn’t we admit it by now? That we can’t find out the cause of one of our disciple’s death with our own strength. So if we can’t, we’ll have no choice but to borrow the power of an assassin.”

“If this fact is known to others, the Wudang sect will lose face.”

Sang-jin raised his voice, but Chongjin did not waver, 

“What is the importance of a Wudang sect’s face in front of a person’s life? Even though he is a vicious assassin, it is difficult to punish him because he has not done any harm to our sect. If so, wouldn’t it be better to use him instead?”

“You will regret this decision, senior brother!”

“That’s enough, Sang-jin. I’ve already made my decision. My decision will not anymore be overturned. It doesn’t matter if it’s a black cat or a white cat, as long as it can catch the rat involved in this.”

So many talks… can’t wait for the action.