My Younger Siblings Are the Greatest Masters in the World - Chapter 150

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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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150.

“Within five feet, I can’t be confident either, but from one zhang and beyond, I’m confident I won’t die.”

It wasn’t just Dang Gongseong who was surprised.

“Do you really think so?”

At Dang Choein’s question, Seol Mujin nodded.

“Of course.”

“But you didn’t seem stronger in martial arts than Gungju…”

“Because I didn’t have a sword. Now that I say it, it sounds like a pathetic excuse.”

Jegal Jaeryeong spoke.

“I believe what my brother says. He fought evenly with Gungju, whose specialty is palm techniques, using only bare-handed combat. Even while inhaling the Intoxicating Fragrance.”

“I’ll acknowledge that. And you probably won’t experience Mancheonhwawoo again.”

Dang Choein took out Mancheonhwawoo from her sleeve and handed it to Dang Gongseong.

“It’s broken.”

“What?”

Dang Gongseong’s face contorted as he examined Mancheonhwawoo.

“How did this happen?”

“Two uses seems to be the limit of Mancheonhwawoo’s durability. The first was a test shot, and it broke after I used it the second time.”

“Oh no! What are we to do about this? The uncle who handled the molding has passed away, and the blueprints are also lost…”

Dang Gongseong hastily shut his mouth after saying that much.

He had inadvertently revealed the Dang Clan’s secrets.

“If you made it once, why can’t you make it twice? The problem is the materials. Ten-thousand-year cold iron isn’t exactly easy to obtain.”

“Sigh! Come to think of it, we couldn’t retrieve the hidden weapon lodged in Gungju’s body either. Anyway, when you return to the family, be prepared to face your elder brother’s wrath.”

“If I get scolded a bit and Cheonwoo returns alive, it’s a profitable deal.”

“It might not end with just a bit of scolding. Breaking the Dang Clan’s rules isn’t a small matter.”

“Surely you won’t kill me? At most it’ll be confinement, and I won’t be leaving the house anyway while making a new Mancheonhwawoo, so it’s all the same to me.”

Seol Mujin asked.

“Did you find out where Sogaju is being held?”

The Sichuan Dang Clan must have followed the elderly monk they met at the abandoned temple.

“We lost track in Xinlong County.”

“Xinlong County is in Sichuan Province, not Western Sichuan, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

“They never intended to harm Sogaju from the beginning.”

“What do you mean?”

“If they planned to kill Sogaju, they would have taken him to Western Sichuan, not Sichuan Province which is under the Sichuan Dang Clan’s influence. At this rate, Sogaju will be at the Sichuan Dang Clan by the time we arrive.”

“You’re being too optimistic based on just fragmentary facts.”

“We’ll know when we arrive.”

The journey, slowed by Jegal Jaeryeong’s injury, reached the Sichuan Dang Gate in ten days.

“Sister!”

The first person to welcome Dang Choein was Sogaju Dang Cheonwu, who had been kidnapped.

Dang Gongseong, who hadn’t believed Seol Mujin’s words, couldn’t help but be surprised.

Jegal Jaeryeong said to such Dang Gongseong.

“He’s the best tracker in the Central Plains, I told you.”

“I have no choice but to acknowledge Sir Seol’s abilities.”

Family head Dang Gongmun also welcomed them with a bright smile.

However, that smile didn’t last even a quarter-hour.

“You, you, you took Mancheonhwawoo? And it’s broken?”

“That’s what happened.”

“Is this something that can be brushed off with ‘that’s what happened’!”

Looking at the furious Dang Gongmun’s momentum, it seemed he might kill Dang Choein immediately, but such an ominous event didn’t occur.

Dang Choein was the only person in the Sichuan Dang Clan who could remake Mancheonhwawoo, and even if that weren’t the case, he couldn’t kill his daughter.

As a result, it became a situation where Mancheonhwawoo and Dang Cheonwoo were exchanged, just as the elderly monk had wanted.

Regardless of what happened to Mancheonhwawoo, Seol Mujin was treated as an honored guest.

Having rescued Sogaju, he could be called a benefactor of the Sichuan Dang Clan.

After a splendid banquet, Seol Mujin had a private meeting with Dang Gongmun.

The two men sitting across from each other in the reception room filled with subtle tea fragrance exchanged small talk for a while.

Most of it was time for Dang Gongmun to ask about Seol Mujin.

“What does Sir Seol want from our Dang Clan?”

Dang Gongmun brought up the main topic with that question.

“Isn’t the Sichuan Dang Clan the undisputed ruler of Sichuan Province?”

“With the Ami Sect and Qingcheng Sect also present, I dare not claim that title.”

“I understand your influence on the government offices is also considerable.”

“We do conduct various businesses together.”

“I heard your friendship with the Provincial Inspector is quite substantial.”

“We occasionally exchange greetings, that’s all.”

“Which way does the Sichuan Province Provincial Inspector’s favor lean?”

The answer to that question came after a brief pause.

“I don’t pay attention to such matters, so I wouldn’t know. As you know, Murim and the government maintain a non-interference relationship.”

“You must know that boundary is meaningless in current times.”

“Is that so? The Sichuan Dang Clan still maintains that boundary.”

“Then it’s time to break it down.”

“To be honest, the Sichuan Dang Clan doesn’t want to jump into the imperial succession struggle. We surely won’t see anything good come of it.”

Seol Mujin took a sip of the cooling tea and spoke.

“Family head, you’re right. However, the martial sects of this era are like ships tossed in a storm. They can’t even think of catching fish; survival is their best option. What can be done? We must blame the storm.”

“Do you think we can survive by siding with Samhwangja Jeonha?”

“It’s a matter of doing one’s best and leaving the rest to heaven. I simply do my utmost.”

“Is it really true that four of the Odaesega families have decided to help Samhwangja Jeonha?”

“Don’t you trust the letters from the three families?”

“It’s hard to believe easily. From what Jaeryeong told me, Sir Seol is at the center of uniting those four families.”

“It just happened that way.”

“To think someone who isn’t even a Martial Artist could draw four families to one side. I can’t help but admire it.”

There was no doubt about Seol Mujin’s abilities.

Just killing Gungju of Podallap Palace to rescue Dang Cheonwoo proved that.

‘They say heroes emerge in turbulent times. Could this person be that hero?’

While Seol Mujin had the bearing of a hero, sometimes crafty individuals wearing a hero’s mask appeared.

In any case, Seol Mujin’s words about martial sects being like ships in a storm were correct.

Sichuan Province being such a remote region might lessen the impact, but even being hit by the very edge of the waves could sweep them away.

So they had to decide: stay still and hope the waves would luckily pass them by, or take the helm and navigate through the storm themselves.

“As Sir Seol knows, this is a matter of the family’s survival. I cannot decide easily.”

“Naturally, deep consideration is needed. That doesn’t mean you have unlimited time.”

“By when must I decide?”

Seol Mujin looked steadily at Dang Gongmun before speaking.

“If you make a decision, are you confident that decision won’t waver?”

Why did Seol Mujin’s question feel so heavy?

I’ll give you enough time to think.

But that decision cannot be reversed.

That’s what Seol Mujin was saying.

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll give you sufficient time.”

“How much?”

“Until the storm hits the ship.”

“When will that be?”

“How would I know that?”

***

Sometimes there are those who have such perverted desires.

If it’s one in a thousand or ten thousand people, then in a place like the Demonic Sect where over thirty thousand live, there could be three or four such individuals.

The problem is that among those three or four, there’s an instructor.

And if there’s misfortune for that instructor, it’s that he was caught by Seol Ryeoseon and Seol Changho while trying to commit such shameless acts.

Seol Mantong, who was snoring and sleeping obliviously, didn’t wake up, but the two with sharp hearing noticed the instructor taking away a young girl.

If it had been murder, they might have forced themselves to turn a blind eye.

But to pass by such shameless acts unknowingly—the conscience that had already formed wouldn’t allow it.

So they quietly slipped out of the tent and dealt with it at the corner of the building where the instructor resided.

Seol Ryeoseon killed the instructor, and before the kidnapped girl could notice, Seol Changho pressed her pressure points.

Seol Ryeoseon leaned her back against the building wall and let out a long sigh.

“What trouble in the middle of the night.”

“Really. Coming all the way here and doing all sorts of things.”

“What do we do with the corpse?”

“I’ll go bury it in the mountain, so you lay this child in the barracks. When she wakes up, she’ll think she had a nightmare.”

They thought it would roughly end like that.

Until the window above Seol Ryeoseon’s head opened.

Startled by the clattering sound, the two looked up at the window higher than their height.

The face that appeared at the window was clearly visible due to the bright moonlight.

“Hwang Dugong!”

Hwang Dugong, whose name was called by Seol Changho, gazed down at the two people, one corpse, and the unconscious girl.

He tried to gauge what on earth this was about, but it wasn’t an incident that could be understood through guesswork alone.

“It seems you’ll need to explain what happened here.”

When the two remained silent, Hwang Dugong’s mouth opened again.

“If you can’t explain, you’ll have to die. Even if you do explain, the probability of death is high. Will you explain and then die, or just die?”

Should we just run?

Could we escape?

What about the sleeping Seol Mantong?

All sorts of thoughts flashed through their minds.

Should we kill Hwang Dugong?

Could we kill him quietly without waking the other Demonic Sect members?

Seol Changho shook his head slightly toward Seol Ryeoseon.

It was a gesture saying they shouldn’t kill Hwang Dugong.

“The weather is cold. Decide quickly.”

What lie could get us through this?

No matter how much they wracked their brains, no suitable lie came to mind.

They understood the feelings Seol Mantong had when he suddenly struck Seol Mujin’s jaw in the past.

Seol Changho spoke.

“Since the weather is cold, shall we go inside and talk?”

Hwang Dugong looked at Seol Changho with an expression that said ‘Oh ho! Look at this guy?’

Seol Ryeoseon grabbed the instructor’s corpse and the girl in both hands.

“I’ll bury this guy and take the child back, so Changho, you handle the talking well.”

It wasn’t a situation that could be passed off with lies anyway.

Hwang Dugong asked.

“Trying to slip away?”

Seol Changho climbed up to the window sill.

“After all the hardship we’ve endured so far. It would be a waste to run away now.”

Seol Changho, who entered the room, looked around and clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk… What kind of state is this room in for someone who’s a Fifth Elder?”

Hwang Dugong was dumbfounded.

“I’m Third Elder though?”

“Huh? Ah! Since we disappeared, you must have moved up. But if three disappeared, you should be Second Elder, so why Third Elder?”

Hwang Dugong thought, ‘What kind of conversation is this?’

Seol Changho spoke while reviving the embers in the brazier.

“No need to make such a dumbfounded expression. I’ll explain everything.”

Hwang Dugong asked Seol Changho, who was placing a tea kettle on the brazier.

“This doesn’t seem like a situation that can be explained.”

“The brazier’s heat is quite lacking.”

Seol Changho grabbed the tea kettle and drew up his martial power.

Then the water inside the kettle quickly boiled.

Seeing this, Hwang Dugong made a shocked expression.

A mere eight-year-old child using heat manipulation to boil water in a kettle!

If someone had told him this, he would have smacked the back of their head to sober them up.

“You still drink Seol Herb Tea, right?”

“Y-yes, but how do you know that?”

“How long have I spent time with you.”

Even if they had spent a lifetime together, it wouldn’t exceed eight years, would it?

Hwang Dugong, having composed his surprise, watched Seol Changho’s actions.

Having seen him use heat manipulation, he didn’t forget to draw up his martial power in advance to prepare for any emergency.

Making Hwang Dugong’s wariness meaningless, Seol Changho simply prepared the Seol Herb Tea.

Rinsing the tea with warm water twice and steeping it in the third water showed he knew how to drink Seol Herb Tea.

Seol Changho blew on the hot tea and sipped the bitter-tasting Seol Herb Tea.

“A memory suddenly comes to mind. Long ago, I once scolded you for drinking Seol Herb Tea. It seems like more than thirty years ago.”

“How old are you…”

“I asked what taste you found in drinking this bitter tea, and you smiled and said.”

Hwang Dugong still couldn’t grasp what Seol Changho was talking about.

Nevertheless, his memory went back to very long ago.

He had only once in his lifetime talked about Seol Herb Tea with someone.

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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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