First-Rate Warrior Gathering People (6)
People cheered.
They had escaped a bleak future whose ending they could not know, and had returned to the ordinary lives they could no longer even remember having enjoyed.
At this moment, there was no distinction between slash-and-burn farmers and village people.
The villagers ran to the village, saying they had to bring pigs and cows, while the people who remained on Mount Geummok brought out cauldrons and bowls from among the broken furniture, saying they would prepare a feast.
Before long, jars of liquor appeared, and the people could not stop laughing, as if drinking sweet liquor without even a side dish.
“Come here, our warrior lord.”
The old herb gatherer held my hand as if welcoming his own child and would not let go, and Village Chief Heo continued shedding tears in front of me.
While the people were enjoying themselves, the people of the Jegal Family, excluded from this feast, were examining the Iron-Armored Black Python.
“What is this…!”
Jegal Jeong was still stunned, as if he could not believe what he was seeing with his own eyes.
“What in the world did you scheme!”
As if cold water had been poured over the festive scene, a chill instantly settled around us.
The people who had been laughing and drinking began glaring at the Jegal Family one by one with eyes full of contempt.
“Explain in detail how you caught it.”
I freed myself from the hands of Village Chief Heo and Old Man Gang and stepped before Jegal Jeong.
“The Iron-Armored Black Python is one of the demonic creatures murim people avoid. Do you know why?”
It was not that they could not catch it in the first place.
It was a target they wanted to avoid as much as possible.
“Because although it is difficult to catch, it has no spirit core, and most of its internal organs and flesh contain poison harmful to humans.”
The concept of catching prey with poisonous bait was one of the oldest traditions of hunting, but since the Iron-Armored Black Python already carried poison and had resistance, that method could not be used either.
“I know that.”
“So I detoxified it.”
“Detoxified?”
“The herbs I put inside the bellies of the wild boars dissolved in the Iron-Armored Black Python’s stomach and mixed together. The herbs mixed together then become a powerful poison to the Iron-Armored Black Python.”
In the murim world, which had lost countless warriors to the Righteous-Demonic War, civilians had no choice but to handle matters that should have been handled by warriors.
“You are saying it can be caught simply by feeding it detoxifying herbs?”
“It does not work if they are fed at random. The order is also fixed.”
The method of killing the Iron-Armored Black Python with detoxification was a poisoning method invented by the Divine Medicine Hall in the middle of the Righteous-Demonic War.
Naturally, it was not yet a concept that existed.
“That makes no sense…”
Jegal Jeong gritted his teeth in frustration.
The Jegal Family warriors were the same.
Rather than joy at the Iron-Armored Black Python being caught, they were filled more with resentment that the other side had easily solved a difficult problem for them.
“You call this absurd method hunting!”
As if agreeing with Jegal Jeong’s words, the spell masters and warriors of the Jegal Family nodded faintly.
But there was something Jegal Jeong was not seeing.
It was the expressions of the villagers.
“…”
“…”
The villagers’ faces were now becoming like those of people who had met an irreconcilable enemy.
Beyond anger, they were even scattering killing intent.
There was no way the tone that denied the actions of the person who had solved their suffering in one stroke would sound pleasant to them.
Just as Jegal Hyeonun noticed this and tried to restrain the people of the Jegal Family, I shouted toward the villagers.
“Please pay attention for a moment.”
The people’s gazes gathered on me.
Jegal Hyeonun also closed his mouth after starting to speak and looked at me.
“In truth, the reason I caught the Iron-Armored Black Python was because the Jegal Family asked me to.”
The villagers looked at me as if wondering what absurd thing I was saying all of a sudden.
“When the handling through the Murim Alliance kept being delayed, one person from the Jegal Family could no longer stand by and said the people had to be saved, then asked me to catch the Iron-Armored Black Python.”
Now even the people of the Jegal Family were looking as if they had no idea what I was talking about.
“That person said, ‘One Iron-Armored Black Python is ruining the lives of hundreds of people. We can no longer wait for the Murim Alliance.’”
I paused for a moment to focus everyone’s attention, then pointed at Jegal Jeong.
“I am saying this because I worry that, while it is good to express gratitude to me, you may not know whom you should truly thank. Grand Elder, could you please step forward for a moment?”
The people’s gazes gathered on Jegal Jeong.
Jegal Jeong, looking completely dumbfounded, did not know what to do, then slowly came forward.
“This is the person who asked me to make sure I caught the Iron-Armored Black Python.”
Murmuring began to grow among the villagers.
At that moment, Jegal Jeong gritted his teeth and spoke in a low voice.
“What do you think you are doing?”
“Is it not good if everyone benefits?”
“What?”
Jegal Jeong was a timid person, but his desire for honor was high.
The reason he returned directly to the family after finishing his mandatory service in the Murim Alliance in his younger days was because he had no confidence that he could stand out among the dragons and phoenixes of that era.
“With this matter, the grand elder’s name will ring loudly throughout Hubei Province as a chivalrous hero who always looks after the common people.”
“…”
Unlike his furrowed brow, the corners of Jegal Jeong’s mouth twitched, as if he liked it just thinking about it.
Seeing that, I spoke toward the slash-and-burn village people.
“Ah, and the Jegal Family has also agreed to compensate all the damage the slash-and-burn farmer village suffered during the hunt.”
“What?”
Just as Jegal Jeong was about to say something to me,
“Oh my! Elder!”
Village Chief Heo burst forward, crying.
“I knew you would not abandon us. Thank you so much. Thank you so very much.”
As Village Chief Heo sobbed, Jegal Jeong also forced an awkward smile and said,
“Huh huh, why are you getting up? Did I not… did I not say that I would certainly help?”
“Thank you so much. Thank you so much. At the very least, I will be able to raise my granddaughter without shame before my son and daughter-in-law who passed before me.”
At the heartfelt sight of the two, the villagers watching began nodding one by one.
“Well, of course the Jegal Family under heaven would not have just stood by blankly.”
“That is right. In any case, do we not live thanks to the Jegal Family too?”
As the mood reversed, the villagers gradually approached the people of the Jegal Family.
“Warriors over there, please taste this liquor. I brewed it last year, and it tastes fine.”
“Hey! Go catch more pigs and cows! They are warriors, so they must eat a lot!”
Even the people of the Jegal Family, while unable to understand the situation, began acting naturally.
“Compensation, you say. What is that supposed to mean?”
“Please just do it. How much could it cost to build a few houses in a slash-and-burn farmer village, when you are so rich?”
“…”
“And does this not look good?”
When I pointed to the sight of the villagers and the Jegal Family’s people mingling, Jegal Jeong remained silent for a long while.
“Grand Elder, please accept a cup of liquor from this old man.”
When Village Chief Heo approached and offered him liquor, Jegal Jeong hesitated, then drank it.
“Hm? This tastes good.”
“I made it with cornelian cherry fruit. If it suits your taste, I will send you one jar every year.”
“Huh huh.”
Then, together with the old herb gatherer, the three began exchanging cups of liquor.
“Huh…”
Seeing that, Jegal Hyeonun let out a faint sigh.
“What exactly are you?”
His gaze was like that of someone seeing a new creature for the first time.
#
“From the moment you easily caught the Iron-Armored Black Python, I had already expected the grand elder’s reaction. He is not someone who would ever release Cheongi easily.”
Jegal Hyeonun and Jin Sowoon were on their way to the Golden Prison where Jegal Cheongi was confined.
In the end, Jegal Jeong had reluctantly permitted Jegal Cheongi’s dispatch.
After being treated with respect in front of all the villagers, he could not shamelessly ignore everything and insist on unreasonable claims.
Because of that, Jegal Hyeonun’s curiosity toward Jin Sowoon grew even greater.
“But I could not predict your actions at all. From when exactly were you planning this?”
“I thought of it from the moment you came to observe me.”
“Huh huh! They say Black Flame Dragon’s head is faster than the foot of the Trace-Less Divine Thief.”
“…”
The sight of Jin Sowoon slightly furrowing his brow whenever the byname was mentioned looked even more endearing to him.
Perhaps he thought the byname “Dragon” was still too much for him.
“In any case, even so, how did you make the villagers think to honor the grand elder? What if the elder had been someone who did not care about such gazes?”
Jegal Hyeonun asked questions endlessly, as if he had met a close friend after a long time.
Jin Sowoon explained step by step without showing even the slightest sign of annoyance.
“Looking at the wealth and clothes worn by the grand elder, I felt he was someone with a desire to show off. And in the process of how he treated Village Chief Heo, I felt he also had a strong desire for honor. But the villagers living near Mount Longzhong seemed to hold quite a lot of hostility toward the Jegal Family.”
“That is all the result of my lack of virtue.”
“Well… I would not say that is necessarily true. In any case, when someone who came to monitor me arrived with spell masters and warriors, fully dressed in every possible formality despite not going to war, I felt he also wanted to be revered by the people. So I acted accordingly.”
Hearing the interpretation of the whole process made Jegal Hyeonun admire him even more.
The principles of all things in the world seem obvious when one does not know them, but once one comes to know them, one cannot help but be amazed.
That was exactly how Jegal Hyeonun felt right now.
“…In my view, you should have been a disciple of the Jegal Family, not the Taeul Sect.”
“I am grateful for the words alone.”
“To think there truly was someone who could win the grand elder over. I experienced it myself, yet I still cannot believe it.”
“…Mm, he was certainly very different from the chief strategist.”
“…Hm?”
At the sudden mention of Jegal Somyeong’s title, even Jegal Hyeonun stopped walking.
“You know my father… no, the chief strategist?”
“Ah, yes. I met him once before at the Iron Sword Sect.”
“…Did you also judge him from afar back then?”
“No. At that time, I met him separately and spoke with him…”
“The admission plaque!”
Jegal Hyeonun cried out in shock.
Then Jin Sowoon’s eyes widened as if asking how he knew that.
“You were the owner of that admission plaque!”
“…How did you know?”
Of course he knew.
Because of that, there had been an uproar among the prominent figures of the murim world.
It was about which sect the person acknowledged by Jegal Somyeong belonged to, a man so stingy in judging people that he had never once given an admission plaque even to members of his own family.
“D-Did Namgung San not go looking for you?”
Jegal Hyeonun was now even stammering.
Originally, he had heard that Namgung San, who belonged to the Dragon-Phoenix Association, had taken the plaque after earnestly asking for it, in order to have his younger sister evaluated and to decide whether or not to give it to her.
However, he had only heard up to the point that someone acknowledged by Jegal Somyeong had taken the admission plaque midway, and that Namgung San had left home to retrieve it.
People’s attention had been focused on who exactly could be facing Namgung San, the rising star of Anhui Province.
“Yes.”
“Surely it was not taken from you?”
“I do not let what is mine be taken.”
“Huh.”
What he had seen so far had already been surprising enough.
But seeing even more things he had not known made him feel as if he might fall over from shock.
“Come to think of it, the Taeul Sect disciple who saved the daughter of the Wang Estate was then…”
Jin Sowoon scratched the back of his head as if embarrassed.
Even without an answer, Jegal Hyeonun could tell what it meant.
He had heard that Wang Geumsan, the current head of the Wang Estate, was desperate to take someone as his son-in-law.
He had never imagined that person would be the young man before him now.
“What exactly are you?”
“I am a disciple of the Taeul Sect.”
That was the problem.
He was a disciple of the Taeul Sect, yet the things he had accomplished, his actions, his words, and his thoughts were all extraordinary.
If someone who had achieved this much with the Taeul Sect’s martial arts were to gain even stronger martial power, Jegal Hyeonun could not even imagine what he would become.
‘Wait, the Jegal Family’s martial arts are not bad either…’
As that thought continued, Jegal Hyeonun lamented the fact that he had no daughter.
“Truly, I envy your father and the sect leader of your sect so much.”
“I do not know about the sect leader, but I do not think my father would think that way. Haha.”
Seeing him burst into hearty laughter, it seemed his relationship with his father was also good.
Truly, he lacked nothing, and the more Jegal Hyeonun looked at him, the more desirable he seemed.
‘Yes, since he will be taking Cheongi along anyway, I can continue building a connection with him during that time. If needed, there are girls in the family who are of marriageable age…’
While Jegal Hyeonun was unfolding his own wings of imagination like that,
the two arrived at the Golden Prison.
The warriors who had been guarding the area around the Golden Prison had all withdrawn from the moment Jegal Cheongi’s dispatch was decided.
“Cheongi, your guest has come.”
Creeeeak.
The hinge that had not opened for a long time made a loud noise as it opened, and inside, Jegal Cheongi, dressed neatly, was kneeling on one knee with his fists cupped.
“This humble one, Jegal Cheongi, greets my lord.”
“…”
“…”
At Jegal Cheongi’s incomprehensible behavior, Jin Sowoon and Jegal Hyeonun looked at each other.
Jegal Cheongi spoke as loudly as he could.
“In the old days, Liu Bei Xuande merely visited three times to obtain our great ancestor. Yet to use a lowly murim junior like me, you caught the Iron-Armored Black Python. How could I remain still? I will serve you as my lord for the rest of my life, so please do not cast me aside, Great Hero Black Flame Dragon.”
Jegal Hyeonun was flustered by Cheongi’s sudden behavior, but he could understand it to some degree.
He had said he would not avoid danger in order to make use of him, someone who had lived his whole life being denied by the family he was born and raised in.
How deeply must that wounded heart have been comforted?
“…”
Before an important incident that might determine his son’s future, Jegal Hyeonun said nothing and only looked at Jin Sowoon.
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