My Younger Siblings Are the Greatest Masters in the World - Chapter 146

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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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146.

“Dozens of palace servants who tried to dissuade him from using evil arts also died. To stop Gungju’s heinous acts that would anger both heaven and earth, there’s no other way but to kill him. If Gungju continues to practice evil arts, it will become an indelible stain on Podallap Palace’s thousand-year history. That’s why we want to kill Gungju.”

Seol Mujin said.

“If that’s true, there are more than enough reasons why Gungju should die.”

“So please, I beg you. Give me Mancheonhwawoo. Once I kill Gungju, I’ll return it to the Sichuan Dang Clan.”

Dang Gongseong shook his head.

“Impossible. No matter what happens, Mancheonhwawoo cannot be handed over to anyone outside the Dang Clan.”

Having confirmed the Sichuan Dang Clan’s firm stance, there was only one way to save Dang Cheonwu.

“Ten days. I’ll kill Gungju within that time. Then release Sogaju.”

“Who are you to make such a bold promise?”

“To save an innocent maiden and Dang Cheonwu, who I am doesn’t matter.”

“Can you really kill Gungju?”

The elderly monk’s voice was full of disbelief.

“If I fail, then you can kill Sogaju or do whatever you want with him.”

Dang Gongseong asked Seol Mujin.

“Master Seol. Are you saying we should let this wicked man live and send him away?”

“Which is more important – saving Sogaju or killing this monk?”

“Of course saving Cheonwoo is more important, but…”

“Then the discussion is over.”

Seol Mujin said to the elderly monk.

“You must keep your promise to release Sogaju if Gungju dies within ten days.”

“If Gungju dies, we have no reason to harm Sogaju.”

“If that promise isn’t kept, not only you but Podallap Palace will disappear as well.”

“I’ll take those words seriously.”

Seol Mujin turned around.

“Let’s go.”

As Seol Mujin left the abandoned temple, the elderly monk said.

“Gungju’s martial arts have transcended human limits.”

As Seol Mujin silently descended the mountain, Jegal Jaeryeong asked.

“Do you have a way to kill Gungju?”

“I’ll have to go to Podallap Palace and find one.”

“You promised to kill Gungju without having a clear method?”

“Because he has to die.”

“Of course, killing Gungju is the best way to save Cheonwoo, but shouldn’t we consider other methods too?”

“Sogaju isn’t the only reason Gungju must die. Even without Sogaju, Gungju has to die.”

“What?”

“A thousand innocent maidens. If such a person remains alive, how many more evil acts will he commit? That’s the biggest reason Gungju must die.”

Jegal Jaeryeong, who had been quietly watching Seol Mujin, said.

“Brother, you’re a true hero.”

“Huh? No, what hero. I’m just doing what any person should naturally do.”

“Isn’t that what makes a hero? Someone who does what any person should naturally do. These days, it’s hard to live such a life for various reasons.”

“That’s especially true in times of chaos.”

“Let’s go to the Sichuan Dang Clan first and plan our strategy.”

***

Hwang Dugong’s gaze toward Ilwolgung carried ninety years of regret.

Looking at Ilwolgung from the outside like this made him feel as if those long years he spent in Mingjiao were being denied.

He had devoted his entire life to Mingjiao, yet here he was, staring at his home like a cast-out dog.

He had never once desired power, yet he was suffering this fate because of power struggles.

What an absurd situation.

Hwang Dugong turned his gaze to the three hundred children gathered in the clearing.

Ninety years ago, he too had been one of those children.

It was so long ago he couldn’t even remember, but watching these kids made him wonder how he had survived the Valley of Death.

They had been rolling around on the dirt ground for two hours straight under the name of physical training.

Their clothes, far too thin to ward off the cold, were torn everywhere, and the blackened scabs clinging to them spoke of the children’s suffering.

‘Poor things.’

At the end of that thought, he let out a bitter laugh.

“I’ve grown old too.”

He felt he had become much softer.

There was a time when he was called the Iron-Blooded Blade.

Though some called him a bear.

‘Should I just leave?’

He had to admit it.

His affection and loyalty toward Mingjiao weren’t what they used to be.

He first became disappointed in Mingjiao and began to dislike the Cult Leader when Samtaesang was imprisoned in the underground prison.

Samtaesang was someone who shouldn’t have been treated that way.

He was Samtaesang who had supported Mingjiao like a sturdy pillar, remaining loyal his entire life.

He shouldn’t have been imprisoned in the underground prison just for opposing the Cult Leader.

He learned that Samtaesang had been imprisoned in the underground prison four years after it happened.

From the moment he raised his voice saying they should be released, he fell out of the Cult Leader’s favor.

The reason Hwang Dugong wasn’t imprisoned in the underground prison like Samtaesang was probably because he wasn’t considered much of a threat to the Cult Leader.

Instead, he was banished.

What would happen if he left Mingjiao like this?

Mingjiao’s standard for traitors was clear.

Track them to the ends of the earth and execute them.

That was the only standard, and it had never failed to be upheld.

Of course, there were still traitors they hadn’t caught yet.

But no one called that a failure.

They were still pursuing them and would continue until they found and killed them.

It was like a rain ritual that continued until it actually rained.

Hwang Dugong, who was about to turn away, stopped his gaze on the children again.

More precisely, on three of them.

The children rolling around at the very front.

They were called Seol Changho, Seol Mantong, and Seol Ryeoseon.

Having the same surname by coincidence, they were said to have been captured from the same neighborhood.

After losing their parents to bandits and wandering the streets, they were harvested on the Day of Harvest.

One might suspect they were siblings since they shared the same surname, but there were no siblings in the world who looked so different from each other, so they must be friends.

In any case, those three stood out even among the three hundred children.

No, they were superior to any children brought in on past Days of Harvest.

In the past, he would have rejoiced that future pillars of Mingjiao had arrived, but now his first thought was ‘If those children had trained at a proper sect, they would have become excellent martial artists.’

This was because his heart had left Mingjiao, and he had developed compassion.

Muttering “It’s because I’m old” once more, Hwang Dugong headed toward his quarters.

It was a house not far from the field where tents were pitched.

Even if it was better than other houses in Myeonggyo Fortress, it was utterly shabby compared to his quarters in Ilwolgung where he used to stay.

Not that he had any particular complaints about it.

A soft bed and silk bedding couldn’t make him happy.

‘If only Samtaesang were here at times like this.’

Though they were both Elders, Samtaesang received respect second only to the Cult Leader.

That’s why he could oppose the Cult Leader so openly.

Though it didn’t end well for him.

The fact that Samtaesang was imprisoned in the underground Thunder Prison was officially a secret, but now it wasn’t even a secret anymore.

However, whether Samtaesang was alive or dead had not been officially confirmed.

The prevailing theory was that they had died, though rumors also circulated that they had dramatically escaped.

Of course, those rumors were merely the wishful thinking of a few who hoped it was true.

Escaping from the underground Thunder Prison without outside help was nearly impossible.

And Samtaesang, who had obediently entered the underground Thunder Prison on the Cult Leader’s orders, wouldn’t have escaped.

So they must have died in that frigid place.

If only he knew the date of their death, Hwang Dugong could at least hold a memorial service for them, which he found deeply regrettable.

He could hear the voices of instructors shouting at the children.

Though he had told them not to treat them too harshly, the instructors would let it go in one ear and out the other.

The office was cool.

It was because he had left the window open when he went out.

As he was about to close the window, he looked down at the courtyard where a tree stood alone, not a single leaf clinging to its branches.

“You’re just like my situation.”

Even as he felt self-pity at his own wretchedness, when he heard the instructors’ shouting from afar, he would mutter, “I’m living in luxury.”

He had already lived his full lifespan and could still have warm meals in a heated room.

But for those children on that field, hell would soon unfold.

In three days, the Valley of Death would finally begin in earnest.

One hundred days, then another hundred days.

It was a painful valley that would only end after those hundred days had been repeated ten times.

At least half of them would die in that valley.

And he had nothing to offer the dying children.

“Damn Mingjiao.”

***

They went to Lapsil, where Podallap Palace was located, and gathered information.

First, they needed to confirm whether the elderly monk’s words were true.

It took less than an hour after arriving in Lapsil to confirm the Gungju’s atrocities.

“I’m getting married the day after tomorrow!”

“How dare you! Is marriage more important than receiving the grace of Gungju, the Living Bodhisattva!”

On their way from arriving in Lapsil to reaching the inn, they saw five women being dragged away by monks like that.

Of course, not everyone was being taken by force.

Women with deep faith in Podallap Palace actually clicked their tongues at the resisting women.

“Tsk tsk tsk… How can she defy the noble Gungju’s command like that?”

“Exactly. Think of all the grace Gungju has bestowed upon us until now.”

Though Xinjiang was barren land, Lapsil was as prosperous as any fortress in the Central Plains.

Perhaps because Xinjiang was so barren, many people gathered to live in Lapsil, which was at least livable.

So if one set their mind to it, they could somehow gather a thousand virgins.

Seol Mujin, Jegal Jaeryeong, and Dang Choein, the eldest daughter of the Sichuan Dang Clan, had come to Lapsil together.

Dang Choein, who was twenty-five this year, was unusually still unmarried by Central Plains standards.

With her natural talent for creating hidden weapons, she had devoted her life to creating Mancheonhwawoo, her family’s secret wish.

If not for Dang Choein, the Sichuan Dang Clan would still not have completed Mancheonhwawoo.

When Dang Choein, who had lived her entire life within the walls of the Sichuan Dang Clan, said she would accompany Seol Mujin, everyone in the Dang Clan was shocked.

Of course, there was strong opposition, but Dang Choein silenced it by saying, “I have the right to do as I please.”

Perhaps because of Dang Choein, fifty elite members of the Dang Clan also joined.

The Dang Clan elite, disguised as a merchant group, moved separately from Seol Mujin’s party.

Seol Mujin, who had secured a room at the inn, opened the window to survey the outside.

There were no particular signs of anyone watching them.

As Seol Mujin closed the window again, Dang Choein asked him.

“You’re a Geumeuiwi Deputy Commander?”

Throughout the entire journey to Lapsil, Dang Choein hadn’t said a single word to Seol Mujin.

She maintained such a consistently expressionless face that it was confusing whether he was traveling with a person or accompanying a wax doll.

“That’s right.”

“Hmm. That’s troublesome.”

Jegal Jaeryeong asked.

“What’s troublesome about it?”

“A Geumeuiwi Deputy Commander probably wouldn’t envy becoming a son-in-law of the Sichuan Dang Clan.”

“What?”

“Being a son-in-law of the Dang Clan is good, isn’t it?”

Women of the Sichuan Dang Clan family don’t leave the Dang Clan even after marriage.

This is to prevent the Dang Clan’s martial arts, poisons, and hidden weapon crafting techniques from leaking outside.

So men who wouldn’t become sons-in-law couldn’t marry women of the Dang Clan.

“Who, who would I marry to become a son-in-law?”

“Me, who else?”

“You?”

“Why? Do you think I’m too old?”

“Of, of course not.”

“I’m joking. Just joking.”

Jokes made with such an expressionless face never look like jokes at all.

Dang Choein said.

“From what I can see, that monk’s words seem to be true, so what are you going to do now?”

Jegal Jaeryeong looked at Seol Mujin.

“Your intention to kill the Gungju hasn’t changed, right?”

“Of course.”

“What about the method?”

“Whether to go through the main gate or through the window.”

Podallap Palace has over three thousand warrior monks. A frontal attack would be reckless when we don’t even know their martial arts level. Sneaking in through a window wouldn’t be easy either, since we don’t even know where the Gungju’s quarters are.”

“That’s why we need to gather information.”

“If we go around asking about Podallap Palace, we’ll definitely attract attention. Especially during times like these.”

“We could also kidnap a palace servant to interrogate them, or infiltrate to find out.”

Dang Choein said to Seol Mujin.

“Seol Podoo, you have quite a pretty face, don’t you?”

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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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