My Younger Siblings Are the Greatest Masters in the World - Chapter 164
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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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164.
Seol Mujin truly trampled on the fallen magistrate mercilessly.
“If you can’t be a benevolent official who soothes the people’s pain, at least don’t become a corrupt official who sucks their blood! It’s because of bastards like you that the people fall into misery and villains run even more rampant! You worthless magistrate!”
“Aaaah! Please… stop…!”
Seol Mujin didn’t hit the magistrate with enough force to make him lose consciousness instantly.
He needed to feel maximum pain, after all.
The screams grew louder and the beaten areas swelled up, increasing in size.
When he was so beaten that he was too exhausted to even moan, Seol Mujin stopped hitting him.
His nose was broken, teeth had fallen out, and his eyes were torn, bleeding profusely.
His exposed arms and legs were covered in red bruises, causing him to groan in pain with the slightest movement.
Seol Mujin pointed at one of the government officials and spoke.
“Chair.”
The startled official hurriedly ran over and brought a chair.
Sitting in the chair, Seol Mujin asked the magistrate.
“Name.”
The magistrate’s answer came immediately.
“Go, Go Jaebog.”
With missing teeth and a torn mouth, his pronunciation came out strangely.
“Right, Magistrate Go. I really hate asking this kind of question, but I have no choice but to ask you. Do you know your crimes?”
His eyeballs rolled around in his nearly closed, swollen eyes.
It seemed he didn’t know.
Smack!
This time his palm struck the cheek.
Go Jaebog collapsed with a thud and painfully spat out a molar.
Probably half his teeth had been knocked out by now.
“How can a person who doesn’t reflect on himself be qualified as a magistrate? He’s someone who would have nothing to say even if he died.”
Being beaten nearly to death made him keenly realize that Seol Mujin wasn’t someone who would end things with mere threats.
So Go Jaebog prostrated himself flat and said.
“How, how could I not know my crimes?”
When facing death, pride was utterly useless.
He had to stay alive to be able to seek revenge or do anything.
“My crime is… accepting bribes.”
Depending on the amount of bribes, he could face up to the death penalty, but if he didn’t confess his crimes, he felt like he would die right now.
“Taking bribes is understandable. How many officials in the Central Plains haven’t taken bribes?”
“That, that’s right, isn’t it?”
“The problem is that the bribes you took shouldn’t have caused suffering to innocent people. How about it? Have you ever turned a blind eye to innocent people’s suffering after taking bribes?”
He had never even thought about such things.
He would overlook the crimes of those who gave him bribes and grant their requests when needed.
The lives of innocent people were not even in Go Jaebog’s consideration.
“I, I don’t know.”
Smack! Smack! Smack!
His hands flew out consecutively and Go Jaebog couldn’t even sit up, collapsing with a thud.
Seol Mujin’s voice fell upon the fallen Go Jaebog.
“The crime of turning a blind eye to Seonchangpyo Country’s evil deeds after taking bribes, and going even further to collaborate with them. That’s why you’re in this state now.”
“You’re right! Those Seonchangpyo Country bastards are evil! I too committed a mortal sin by collaborating with them! I’ll resolve everything right now!”
Go Jaebog was desperate to save his life.
“How do you plan to resolve it?”
“That, that is…”
A thought emerged from his frantically working mind.
“I’ll find and provide relief to the innocent people who suffered damage from Seonchangpyo Country!”
“You should also provide proper compensation. I heard the Seonchangpyo Country father and son are dead and the mistress went to her family home. You should dispose of their property and distribute it fairly.”
“Of course I’ll do that.”
“You should also return the bribes you received.”
“What? Ah, yes! I understand!”
He wasn’t sincere.
Once he escaped this crisis, he would make sure to exact proper revenge on the one who did this to him.
“You’re planning to seek revenge on me after escaping this crisis, aren’t you?”
“What? No, no! How could that be possible!”
“You can try to get revenge if you’re able. But would that be possible?”
Seol Mujin leaned forward and whispered so only Go Jaebog could hear.
“Nation-Protecting Spear. You must have heard that epithet, right?”
It was a name he didn’t like but found useful.
Useful enough to make Go Jaebog’s body instantly stiffen.
“Your, Your Excellency is…!”
“Shh! There’s no benefit in others knowing. Of course, if you don’t handle things properly after I finish my business and return, everyone will know. That I’m a Geumeuiwi commander and just how terrifying things I can do to you.”
“I’ll handle it for sure! Really!”
A Geumeuiwi commander was not a rank that a mere magistrate could compare to.
Seol Mujin stood up and said.
“You’d better do your job as magistrate properly. I’ll be watching.”
Go Jaebog prostrated himself flat.
“I understand.”
After looking down at the back of his head for a moment, Seol Mujin left the government office.
It wasn’t as refreshing as he had thought.
It just felt like he had kicked away a small stone that was in his way.
Now it was time to go solve the Qingcheng Sect problem.
Seol Mujin headed to the inn where his companions were waiting.
Since he had killed the Qingcheng Sect leader’s younger brother, it seemed he would have to approach things differently than before.
“How did it go?”
Hwangbo Cheonak asked as soon as Seol Mujin sat down.
“Somehow it’s become impossible to resolve things amicably with the Qingcheng Sect.”
“What do you mean? What happened at Seonchangpyo Country?”
“I ended up killing the head of the escort agency and his son.”
The three people were shocked speechless.
They thought it would end with just giving them a good beating, but he had killed them!
Knowing that Seol Mujin wasn’t someone who killed carelessly made it even more shocking.
“How did it come to that?”
“Because they were people who deserved to die. If killing one villain can save a hundred good people, shouldn’t we kill them?”
Jegal Jaeryeong said.
“That’s martial artist logic. Brother says he’s not a martial artist, yet acts like one.”
“Officials who enforce national law are the same. The original purpose of punishment is to make an example of one to warn a hundred.”
Namgung Hyemin asked.
“What’s done is done, but what do you plan to do going forward? Since you killed the Qingcheng Sect leader’s younger brother and nephew, the Qingcheng Sect won’t stay quiet.”
“There’s no reason to fear them.”
Since it was Seol Mujin dismissing one of the Nine Great Sects, it didn’t sound like empty boasting.
“But it seems impossible to bring the Qingcheng Sect to our side.”
“I plan to meet with the sect leader first. If the sect leader turns out to be no different from Seonchangpyo Country’s head, I have no intention of being on the same boat.”
“Then you’d become enemies, which would be troublesome in many ways. You can’t just think about the Qingcheng Sect alone.”
Jegal Jaeryeong said.
“The Nine Great Sects have a sense of solidarity regardless. They may fight over interests, but they also lend each other strength when external enemies appear. Brother’s case is somewhat special, but if you later try to bring other Nine Great Sects to our side, the Qingcheng Sect issue could become an obstacle.”
“We’ll deal with that when the time comes. So anyway, I think it would be better if I went to the Qingcheng Sect alone.”
Hwangbo Cheonak objected.
“That’s problematic. I don’t think things will end with just words at the Qingcheng Sect.”
“That’s exactly why I want to go alone. If a fight breaks out at the Qingcheng Sect, it’ll put your families in a difficult position.”
Though they were far from being heirs to their families, they were still in positions where they could represent those families on the outside.
If the three of them ended up fighting at the Qingcheng Sect, it could escalate into a conflict between the Gudaemunpa and the Odaesega.
“Even so, going alone is too much. I know you’re strong, but you can’t fight the entire Qingcheng Sect.”
Even the greatest master under heaven fighting alone against one of the Gudaemunpa would be like carrying kindling into a fire.
“I have no intention of fighting the entire Qingcheng Sect. I’m not a murderer, and I can’t kill all those orthodox sect members.”
Jegal Jaeryeong asked.
“Does that mean you could win if you fought the entire Qingcheng Sect?”
“Well, I’d have to fight to know that.”
The three looked at Seol Mujin with expressions that said, ‘What is this nonsense?’
The very idea of discussing victory or defeat while fighting the Qingcheng Sect single-handedly was absurd.
“Do you think you’re the greatest master under heaven, oppa?”
“Absolutely not. I know who the greatest master under heaven is, and that person is much stronger than me.”
“Who is that person?”
“There is someone. Anyway, for that reason, I’ll go to the Qingcheng Sect alone.”
Seol Mujin wasn’t asking for their opinion; he was informing them.
But Hwangbo Cheonak and the others had no intention of backing down either.
“We absolutely won’t let you go alone. You can never go by yourself unless you kill us first.”
At Hwangbo Cheonak’s firm words, Namgung Hyemin and Jegal Jaeryeong also nodded with resolute faces.
“Why are you trying to invite danger?”
“Because you’re jumping into danger.”
“You really want to come with me?”
“We should try to prevent fighting if possible.”
“I’m not sure if that will work.”
Namgung Hyemin said.
“Of course it won’t be easy. The sect leader lost his brother and nephew. But justice will prevail. If we make that point clear to the Qingcheng Sect, we might be able to resolve this rationally.”
Jegal Jaeryeong let out a long sigh.
“Haah—! I was trying to persuade the Qingcheng Sect and bring them to our side, but that’s completely out the window now. How about we just don’t go?”
Hwangbo Cheonak said, “That’s also one way.”
“If we do that, the Qingcheng Sect will come to Jinan where I am, seeking revenge.”
“That would be less dangerous than going to the Qingcheng Sect.”
“That’s just postponing today’s problem until tomorrow.”
The three were amazed by Seol Mujin’s audacity.
Seol Mujin seemed truly determined to fight the Qingcheng Sect single-handedly.
While Hwangbo Cheonak and Namgung Hyemin could only guess, Jegal Jaeryeong could clearly sense Seol Mujin’s resolve.
In any case, since the three’s will was so firm, Seol Mujin had no choice but to decide on their accompaniment.
Thus, they headed toward Zhongjiang County, Sichuan Province, where the Qingcheng Sect was located.
***
Yang Chang-sun, the sect leader of the Qingcheng Sect, couldn’t believe the contents of the letter that had arrived by carrier pigeon.
His younger brother Yang Changmok, who had faithfully sent letters of greeting once a month, was dead!
Yang Chang-sun hurriedly sent a carrier pigeon to Podong County and received a reply that very day.
“Seol Mujin?”
The capable disciple at the Qingcheng branch in Podong County immediately informed him of the culprit’s identity.
He said that this person had killed his brother and nephew, and even invaded the government office, beating the magistrate like a dog on a hot summer day.
Elder Baek Chungseok, who was with him, was startled when he heard the name Seol Mujin.
“The culprit is Seol Mujin?”
“Is that a name you know, junior brother?”
“Senior brother sect leader must have heard of him too. The Spear of National Salvation.”
“Seol Mujin is the one who suppressed the rebellion with a single spear? As I recall, he’s with the Geumeuiwi?”
“If it’s not someone with the same name, that’s him.”
“Why would a Geumeuiwi officer kill my brother and nephew?”
“I have no way of knowing that much. In any case, this has become troublesome.”
Yang Chang-sun crumpled the small letter in his hand and said.
“There’s nothing troublesome about it. No matter if he’s a Geumeuiwi figure, I can’t let the one who killed my brother go unpunished.”
“I understand senior brother sect leader’s feelings, but the opponent is from the Geumeuiwi. I hear he has deep connections with the Third Prince. We must be cautious about touching such a person.”
“If the sect leader of the Qingcheng Sect can’t even take revenge because he fears government officials, the Murim Dongdo will look down on our Qingcheng Sect!”
Yang Chang-sun used the Qingcheng Sect as a shield rather than acting as an individual.
Baek Chungseok wasn’t unsympathetic to Yang Chang-sun’s feelings either.
Though they lived far apart and didn’t see each other often, they were brothers who had such good affection that they faithfully exchanged letters of greeting once a month.
With such a brother dead, wanting revenge was natural.
But the opponent was too formidable.
“Shouldn’t we first hold your brother’s funeral?”
“With his enemy still alive and breathing with bright blue eyes, how could Changmok have gone peacefully to the other world? I won’t hold a funeral until I’ve avenged him!”
Yang Chang-sun’s eyes grew increasingly red with rage as he raised his voice.
“Find out Seol Mujin’s whereabouts immediately! Mobilize all of the Qingcheng Sect’s intelligence network to find that bastard!”
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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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