My Younger Siblings Are the Greatest Masters in the World - Chapter 100

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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100.

“Fortunately, we prevented a disaster.”

“How did the matter you went to handle turn out?”

“It seems to have gone well enough. Let’s go inside to discuss the details.”

Yeonji-ru in broad daylight was as quiet as a tavern with no business.

Hwa Seonhwa came running out to greet Seol Mujin.

After quickly scanning Seol Mujin’s entire body to confirm he wasn’t injured anywhere, Hwa Seonhwa let out a sigh of relief.

She knew Seol Mujin was a rare master, but no matter how capable a child is, it’s natural to worry when they travel far.

“Shall I prepare a drinking table?”

From Yeon Seobi’s question, one could tell how Ju Cheonmyeong had been living.

Seol Mujin said.

“Since we need to talk with clear minds, tea would be better than alcohol.”

They settled in the Third Floor Lotus Room.

“First, you must be most curious about who annihilated His Highness’s army?”

“Did you find out?”

“Bae Cheonman was involved, but he was more of an intermediary. The one who supplied the gunpowder and the one who detonated it on site were separate people.”

“Who were they?”

“The supplier appears to be Gwak Sugyeong, the Regional Military Commissioner of Hubei Province.”

Ju Cheonmyeong’s face contorted with a deep frown.

“Gwak Sugyeong? Are you saying that bastard really gave gunpowder to Bae Cheonman?”

“Do you know him?”

Ju Cheonmyeong gulped down the still-hot tea in one go, then burst into coughing fits saying ‘Ah! Hot!’

Seol Mujin waited for Ju Cheonmyeong’s commotion to subside.

After rinsing his mouth with cold water, Ju Cheonmyeong said.

“He’s someone I put effort into recruiting to my side. He said he’d consider it positively, then stabbed me in the back?”

“The problem is whether the Regional Military Commissioner is the only enemy His Highness has in Hubei Province.”

Ju Cheonmyeong scratched his wrinkled brow with his index finger and said.

“You’re worried about the Regional Military Commander who’s the head, too.”

“Though the Regional Military Commissioner is a high-ranking official, could he have taken out gunpowder without the Regional Military Commander’s knowledge?”

Gunpowder was one of the items strictly managed even within the military.

“So you’re saying we should consider Hubei Province as having fallen into enemy hands?”

“We should always think of the worst-case scenario and act accordingly, so we won’t panic later.”

“We’ll have to deal with Gwak Sugyeong first.”

“Since it’s a military matter, Your Highness should handle it as you see fit.”

Ju Cheonmyeong tapped the table with his index finger in a rhythmic pattern.

That index finger certainly had many uses.

Scratching his brow, tapping the table, and probably picking his nose too.

And that index finger pointed toward Seol Mujin.

“You take care of it.”

“What? Take care of what?”

“Gwak Sugyeong.”

“So what exactly about Gwak Sugyeong am I supposed to take care of?”

“We need to find out whether the Regional Military Commander is in the same boat as Gwak Sugyeong, and if so, who owns that boat.”

“How?”

“That’s for you to figure out.”

Ju Cheonmyeong poured tea into Seol Mujin’s cup as he continued speaking.

“You’re the only one who can do it.”

“Do you really lack talented people around you that much?”

Ju Cheonmyeong’s hand holding the teapot hesitated.

In a way, it was an incredibly rude question.

Saying there were no people around implied Ju Cheonmyeong’s incompetence.

“It’s because my thinking was short-sighted. I only thought about gathering scholars, but didn’t consider the importance of having people for covert operations. In fact, I thought it would be nice to have martial arts forces, but it didn’t matter if I didn’t. I suppose I was too naive?”

“You don’t seem like a naive person though?”

“Then I’m incompetent.”

Acknowledging one’s mistakes isn’t easy.

Especially for someone of Ju Cheonmyeong’s exalted status, like heaven above heaven.

“May I ask you something?”

“Coming from you, you could ask ten things.”

“Why did you expose Hwanggeum-i, no, Ilheon-i? It doesn’t seem like it was simply because you couldn’t contain your affection.”

Seol Mujin thought that must be it.

If it were simply that, then Ju Cheonmyeong would be incompetent as he claimed.

He couldn’t think of it any other way than completely exposing one’s weakness to the enemy.

“Among the four princes, who do you think has an heir?”

Before Seol Mujin could answer, Ju Cheonmyeong provided the answer himself.

“None. My eldest brother has been bedridden for a long time, so though he’s married, he hasn’t produced an heir. My second brother has no news of children at all. The youngest isn’t even married yet. In the current situation, having a son can be a weakness, but above all, it’s also a great weapon. To the ministers who haven’t made up their minds yet, it would appear as a tremendous advantage.”

The concept of imperial succession was different from that of common people’s children.

What if the emperor were a seedless watermelon?

Future chaos was as clear as fire.

In that sense, Ju Cheonmyeong, who had a son, was proven talent (?).

“If Your Highness becomes emperor, will you make Ilheon-i the crown prince?”

This matter held the fate of Jang Jangsim and her son.

If Ju Ilheon didn’t become crown prince, the probability of a bad ending was very high.

Though his mother’s origins were humble, he was still the emperor’s eldest son.

From the crown prince’s perspective, he would be as unsettling as a sword at one’s throat.

Would someone with power just watch a sword at their throat?

Ju Cheonmyeong could understand what Seol Mujin was thinking.

“Is that an important matter to you?”

“Jang’s Wife is our benefactor. Ilheon-i is like a younger brother to me.”

That was answer enough.

“I don’t think the eldest son must necessarily become emperor. If that were the case, what I’m doing now would be ridiculous. But Ilheon-i will certainly have an advantage. As all eldest sons do.”

“Even though Jang’s Wife’s origins are as a courtesan?”

“Her status can be hidden. When an emperor wants to hide something, he can make even Taesan invisible.”

“It seems even an emperor cannot make a courtesan into an empress.”

“That would be difficult even for an emperor. But I guarantee she’ll enjoy luxury for life.”

The rosy future of Jang Jangsim and her son was only possible if Ju Cheonmyeong became emperor.

If Ju Cheonmyeong’s dream was frustrated, only death awaited Jang Jangsim and Ju Ilheon.

Seol Mujin asked about something that suddenly came to mind.

“Was I also a consideration in making Ilheon-i visible?”

“Hm?”

Seol Mujin, who had been staring intently at Ju Cheonmyeong, shook his head.

“Never mind.”

“Will you take on this task?”

“I need to think about it. If I can’t find a good method, then it’s not a job for me.”

“If you’re not capable enough, you won’t take it on. That’s a very you-like answer.”

“Do you happen to know someone called Scholar Jong Jaegyeong?”

Ju Cheonmyeong, who was bringing tea to his lips, startled.

“Jong Jaegyeong?”

“Yes. Bae Cheonman didn’t know which imperial family member was at the end of the string he had caught. So when I investigated the officials involved, that name came up.”

“You’re saying Jong Jaegyeong? Jong Jaegyeong…”

“Who is it?”

Ju Cheonmyeong said like a sigh.

“Someone insignificant. If only he weren’t the close friend of the Minister of the Left.”

“The Minister of the Left?”

“Eldest Brother’s father-in-law.”

“Are you saying the First Prince might be behind Bae Cheonman?”

“That’s unlikely. Ambition is like a tower built on hope. But Eldest Brother has no such thing as hope. He’s so frail that it wouldn’t be strange if he died tomorrow. That’s also why he wasn’t appointed as Crown Prince.”

“I’ve been hearing about the First Prince’s frailty for quite some time. But he’s still frail. What if he’s still frail ten years from now?”

“Are you suggesting Eldest Brother is hiding his true condition?”

“I wouldn’t know. Please don’t ask me to investigate that far.”

Ju Cheonmyeong chuckled.

“It would be too shameless of me to burden you with that as well. You focus on the Hubei Province matter.”

“I haven’t even said I’d take it on yet.”

“Right. Of course.”

Ju Cheonmyeong nodded half-heartedly, seeming convinced that Seol Mujin would take on the Hubei Province matter.

“Did you find out anything else?”

“The masterminds are Bae Cheonman and Gwak Sugyeong, but the ones who actually carried out the work were a martial arts sect called Seungho Gate.”

“So they also brought in a martial arts sect.”

“From the government’s perspective, they’re convenient pawns to use and discard.”

“I’ve never thought that way.”

“Anyway, I’m planning to leave Seungho Gate to the Namgung Family and Hwangbo Sega. They’re fellow martial arts sects and there’s bad blood between them. And there’s also the Jegal Family.”

“Isn’t the Jegal Family on our side?”

“It seems they’re playing both sides. We can’t blame them for that. It’s human nature to side with the more promising option, isn’t it?”

“Still, it’s annoying.”

“I’ll handle the Jegal Family matter myself.”

“You’re not even a martial artist, so why are you concerned about the Jegal Family?”

“I’m not entirely without connections to them.”

“I see. Anyway, you found out quite a lot in such a short time. I really do have an eye for talent. Hehehe… On such a pleasant day, I should have a drink.”

“I’ll pass on daytime drinking.”

Seol Mujin stood up.

“Leaving already?”

“There’s someone I’m curious about.”

The person on Seol Mujin’s mind as he left the room was Namgung Hyemin.

The face of the most beautiful woman in the world was covered with scars.

It was no different from the world’s greatest master losing their martial arts.

So he couldn’t fathom how great her heartbreak must be.

Not that he particularly intended to comfort her, since his words wouldn’t provide any consolation anyway.

In the end, Namgung Hyemin would have to overcome it herself.

Creak—!

As he was coming down the second floor stairs, a door ahead opened and the courtesan Hwa Yeonchun came out.

“Oh my! Mujin-i!”

From her disheveled appearance, it seemed she had just woken up after being with a customer.

Yeonji-ru had four rooms where customers could stay overnight, and the room Hwa Yeonchun came out of was one of those four.

“You got up late.”

He was about to pass by after saying that, but Hwa Yeonchun pointed into the room and said.

“He said he was your acquaintance, an elderly gentleman with quite the stamina… Oh my! What am I saying to you…”

“My acquaintance?”

“Yes. He said he knew you well?”

“An elderly gentleman?”

Hwa Yeonchun lowered her voice.

“Still, he had good stamina. Hehehe…”

One person came to Seol Mujin’s mind, but he immediately shook his head to erase that face.

‘What am I thinking!’

That was absolutely impossible.

Then who could it be?

Seol Mujin glanced into the room, but couldn’t see the face because of the bulky blanket.

Seol Mujin was about to just pass by.

There were occasionally people who falsely claimed connections with him to receive better treatment at Yeonji-ru.

But then ‘that person’ suddenly sat up.

“Aaah!”

Seol Mujin genuinely screamed.

The person who revealed his bare body was Bongwon Daesa.

Bongwon Daesa, who had been blinking sleepy eyes, smiled when he saw Seol Mujin.

“I thought I might have heard wrong in my sleep, but it really was your voice.”

Seol Mujin was so shocked that he just gaped like a fish.

Bongwon Daesa was the former abbot of Shaolin Temple and a monk who received the world’s respect under the name of Living Buddha.

“Why, why, why are you here in such a state?”

“Did I come somewhere I shouldn’t have?”

Seol Mujin gestured for Hwa Yeonchun to leave.

Only after confirming there were no listening ears did he address Bongwon Daesa.

“Yeonji-ru doesn’t seem like a place for you to visit, Master? And what’s with that appearance?”

Bongwon Daesa fumbled to put on the clothes hanging on the rack.

“Since I as a Buddhist died, whatever I do is merely the actions of one worldly person. And I had forgotten because it’s been so long, but I suddenly remembered.”

“What?”

“My secular name that I used until I was eight. Hwang Unhwa. Call me that from now on.”

The secular name wasn’t important at all.

“They say honey water is good for hangovers.”

“Just drive it out with internal energy.”

“The alcohol was expensive, so it would be a waste.”

That’s something a thirty-year drunkard would say.

“Why did you suddenly decide to fall into corruption?”

“You call this corruption. To me, it’s simply severance. Severance from Buddhism.”

“So why suddenly…”

“From when I broke the precept against killing, perhaps my connection with Buddhism was already severed. I just pretended to be a Buddhist out of lingering attachment. Now I truly feel relieved.”

Bongwon Daesa, whose secular name was Hwang Unhwa, stretched with an expression of feeling unburdened.

“It’s not that you feel relieved because you let it all out refreshingly last night, is it?”

“Hm?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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