My Younger Siblings Are the Greatest Masters in the World - Chapter 24

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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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24.

 

Hwa Seonhwa also told him about how Seol Mujin raised the triplets he found on the mountain.

 

“That’s remarkable.”

 

“It’s remarkable but also pitiful. What kind of life must he have lived until age twelve to not tolerate even a single mistake?”

 

“Master Ruju who embraced such a child is also remarkable.”

 

“Sir.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“If you’re not going to take responsibility, don’t seduce me.”

 

“Ah… no, that’s not what I…”

 

“I’m joking.”

 

“Make your jokes sound like jokes…”

 

As if rescuing Go Bongsu, Seol Mujin’s voice was heard from outside.

 

“Come in quickly!”

 

Seol Mujin greeted them and sat beside Hwa Seonhwa.

 

Though they were clearly complete strangers, the two strangely resembled each other and looked like mother and son.

 

“I should have come to pay my respects earlier, but thank you once again.”

 

When Seol Mujin bowed his head, Go Bongsu waved his hand.

 

“I’m not the one who should receive thanks, I should be the one apologizing. The government officials arrested an innocent person.”

 

Since he had fought and injured someone, strictly speaking, he wasn’t innocent.

 

However, there wasn’t a single government office that would arrest someone because a thug got hurt in a thug fight.

 

Just as the government and Murim don’t interfere with each other like well water and river water, there are implicit rules between the government and the underworld.

 

“If I could have done my job properly, this wouldn’t have happened.”

 

After Go Bongsu finished complaining and emptied his cup, Hwa Seonhwa refilled it for him.

 

“Public duties don’t seem easy.”

 

“I expected it, but the hazing is quite severe.”

 

It’s common for new magistrates to suffer hardships because of existing government officials.

 

“The fact that Jinan’s government office is incompetent and corrupt is widely known.”

 

“You’re throwing daggers while facing an incompetent magistrate.”

 

“It’s not your fault, sir. Just live comfortably and leave like the previous magistrate, patting the gisaengs’ bottoms.”

 

“What if I don’t want to do that?”

 

Seol Mujin asked.

 

“Did you come to see me because of that?”

 

“In all of Jinan, you’re the only person I can trust and consult with.”

 

Since Seol Mujin had been living in Jinan for six years, he roughly knew how the government operated.

 

And the person who knew Jinan much better than Seol Mujin was Hwa Seonhwa.

 

So Hwa Seonhwa spoke.

 

“If you want to do your job properly, you need to cut off the heads of the Six Departments first. Especially the Personnel Department.”

 

She scratched Go Bongsu’s itch for him.

 

“I’d like to do that too, but bad order is better than good disorder.”

 

“Just cut him and put someone suitable in his place.”

 

“The problem is I don’t know anyone suitable.”

 

Seol Mujin said to Hwa Seonhwa.

 

“How about Elder Bang Donguk? Since he was a clerk in the past, he should be good at the work.”

 

Bang Donguk had been a clerk but was driven out by the previous magistrate and now lived as a scribe writing letters for others.

 

“When that gentleman was at the government office, it at least functioned like a government office.”

 

“Is he a suitable person?”

 

“He was too honest and incurred the previous magistrate’s displeasure, so he was dismissed.”

 

Hwa Seonhwa’s words about being ‘too honest’ bothered him.

 

“There is such a person.”

 

“Since Scribe Bang is honest, he should get along well with you, sir.”

 

No, that’s not right.

 

He needed to make a moderate living, but it would be troublesome if the clerk was too honest.

 

“Hmm! Whether such a person would want to work again…”

 

Seol Mujin stood up and said.

 

“Let me ask him once. He lives not far from here, so I’ll bring him.”

 

“No, there’s no need to go that far…”

 

Go Bongsu tried to stop him, but Seol Mujin had already left the room.

 

Hwa Seonhwa poured alcohol into an empty cup and said.

 

“Scribe Bang is a capable government official. Especially honest.”

 

That’s exactly why that honesty is the problem!

 

A capable and moderately corrupted official would be perfect!

 

He didn’t know it would be this frustrating not to be able to voice his inner thoughts.

 

His house must have really been close, as Seol Mujin returned within two quarters of an hour.

 

A middle-aged man with a scholarly air appeared behind Seol Mujin.

 

Bang Donguk bowed toward Go Bongsu.

 

“My name is Bang Donguk.”

 

“I’m Go Bongsu. Sit over there.”

 

He had to find some fault and send him away somehow.

 

“You were a clerk in the past?”

 

“That’s correct.”

 

“The proprietress here and Lord Mujin recommended you as capable. They especially mentioned your honesty.”

 

Bang Donguk sighed.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m grateful for your consideration in calling me here, but it seems difficult for me to return to government service.”

 

Huh? This is like getting something without even trying?

 

Seol Mujin, who had brought him, was surprised.

 

“Why? You said you wanted to return to government service.”

 

“That’s right. May I have a drink too?”

 

When Seol Mujin poured for him, Bang Donguk emptied the cup in three gulps.

 

Bang Donguk, who had said ‘It’s too precious a liquor to drink in one gulp,’ asked Seol Mujin.

 

“You must think honest officials are good officials, right?”

 

“Isn’t that obvious?”

 

Bang Donguk smiled bitterly.

 

“That might be true for the people. But would it be the same for honest officials? An official’s monthly salary is only a few coins. It’s barely enough for a family of four to survive. In this harsh world, even that much should be appreciated, but do the official’s family members think the same way? When other officials earn dozens or hundreds of nyang through backdoor money?”

 

Seeing corrupt officials living in luxury inevitably caused feelings of deprivation.

 

“Choosing honor over money was my choice as an official, but my family never chose poverty.”

 

“But it’s still better than a scholar’s earnings.”

 

“Of course it is, but if I became an official again, I… wouldn’t have confidence in staying honest.”

 

Go Bongsu’s ears perked up.

 

So he asked.

 

“What do you mean by not having confidence in staying honest?”

 

“Exactly what I said. I would probably become a corrupt official. I’m certain of it. You employed me because I was honest, but if someone like me becomes corrupt, I would be committing a grave sin against you, sir. A scholar should sacrifice his life for those who recognize him, so how could I stab you in the back? Though I may have fallen, I cannot do such a thing. So today I’ll just have a drink and be on my way.”

 

Here was a candidate official ready to become corrupt.

 

He even had ability.

 

Someone who could become his right-hand man when he knew no one in Jinan.

 

Go Bongsu, anxious that Bang Donguk might leave, quickly asked.

 

“Are you saying you’d become a corrupt official who sucks the people’s blood?”

 

“I don’t think I’d become that evil.”

 

“A moderately corrupt official? Not major embezzlement that would harm the government office’s finances?”

 

“I’m too cowardly to take much. But why are you asking such things…?”

 

“Hmm! There’s an old saying that water too clear attracts no fish… no, clear water attracts no fish. If you only emphasize integrity, you might lose human warmth.”

 

Bang Donguk just blinked and waited for Go Bongsu’s next words.

 

“When parents are at peace, the household is harmonious. As long as there’s a heart that cares for the people, small flaws in officials can be tolerated.”

 

Somehow it sounded like typical words from a corrupt official.

 

“The person I trust most recommended you to me when I’m isolated and helpless. So how about you help me out?”

 

“What? Are you saying you’ll employ me as an official?”

 

“Since your previous position was in the Personnel Department, you can return to that position.”

 

“But I’m honest…”

 

“Right now ability takes priority over integrity! We need to save the people who have fallen into misery!”

 

To hell with integrity!

 

“The government office won’t change just because I join.”

 

“I’ll have to deal with the rest one by one. Surely there can’t be so few suitable talents in this vast Jinan.”

 

Having been a government official for twenty years, he knew plenty of officials.

 

How could there be no capable officials among them?

 

But under an incompetent leader, only incompetent subordinates gather, so truly capable officials were stuck in minor positions.

 

“I can recommend suitable talents, but the problem is the government soldiers like constables and runners. They’re in cahoots with the corrupt Six Departments, and if we touch the Six Departments, the soldiers will surely rebel.”

 

“I’ll cut them all out too.”

 

“The officials’ resistance won’t be ordinary, you know? Even if you dismiss the soldiers, how will you maintain public order while they’re gone?”

 

Go Bongsu’s gaze turned toward Seol Mujin.

 

Seol Mujin, who belatedly felt Go Bongsu’s gaze, asked.

 

“Why are you looking at me?”

 

***

 

“Constable? Big brother is becoming a constable?”

 

“It’s just constable in name, they said I can come to work whenever I want.”

 

“Huh? You don’t even have to come to work but still get paid?”

 

The Triplets looked bewildered.

 

“I just need to go when needed and beat up the right guys. Most of them will probably be corrupt officials.”

 

The Triplets still had faces that said they didn’t understand.

 

“It seems the existing Government Officials are ostracizing the New Magistrate so he can’t do his job. They commit all the corruption themselves and only give the Magistrate pocket change. So he wants to clean out all those Government Officials.”

 

Only then did Seol Changho nod his head.

 

“So he’s going to clean out the existing Government Officials and run things directly himself.”

 

“He’s not that corrupt of a person.”

 

“The only uncorrupt officials are dead officials.”

 

Seol Mantong said.

 

“Still, I don’t like the idea of big brother being a Government Official.”

 

The Government Office called Martial Artists criminals who only relied on strength, and Martial Artists called Government Officials cowards who only relied on their official robes.

 

“Master Ruju told me to do it.”

 

Hwa Seonhwa had never once demanded anything from Seol Mujin.

 

Someone who gives like a mother but expects nothing like a stranger is called a benefactor.

 

The Triplets had no choice but to accept when they heard Hwa Seonhwa wanted it.

 

“If Master Ruju recommended it.”

 

They thought positively.

 

“There’ll be things to learn at the Government Office too. Like catching criminals or Tracking Technique… The Government Office is good at that kind of stuff.”

 

And the next day, as soon as he went to the Government Office, Seol Mujin came face to face with a corpse.

 

The corpse placed on an oiled Birch Wood Bed had a bluish tinge, as if quite some time had passed.

 

The naked corpse was a man in his early thirties.

 

Below the neck, over a dozen stab wounds gaped open across his entire body.

 

The person examining the corpse was an emaciated man in his mid-forties.

 

In terms of being thin, he looked like he might weigh less than the corpse.

 

“Clerk Yi Bang Donguk earnestly asked me to take good care of you.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“He said you’re a very smart fellow who would be of great help to my work.”

 

Since he didn’t know who was speaking, he couldn’t give any proper response.

 

“I’m Detective Gwak Nogun.”

 

A detective was someone who conducted investigations, a position much higher than a constable.

 

“I’m Seol Mujin.”

 

“A constable?”

 

It’s still an unfamiliar title.

 

“Yes.”

 

“How do you think this fellow died?”

 

“It looks like he died from being stabbed with a knife.”

 

“Not an answer even a blind man could give.”

 

Seol Mujin closed the distance and examined the corpse.

 

The corpse smelled of old meat, but Seol Mujin didn’t mind.

 

“May I touch it?”

 

‘Look at this fellow.’

 

He heard the boy was seventeen years old.

 

He was just a greenhorn, yet he wasn’t afraid of the corpse and even asked if he could touch it.

 

“Of course.”

 

After spreading open the wound to examine it, Seol Mujin said, ‘It looks like a dagger rather than a short sword.’

 

“How do you know that?”

 

“If it were a short sword with a blade on only one side, the shape of the wound would be different from this.”

 

“Where was he stabbed first?”

 

“Can you tell that just by looking at the corpse?”

 

“They often say the dead don’t speak. But that’s wrong. The one who speaks most about a crime isn’t the witness, but the dead person.”

 

After examining for a long time, Seol Mujin shook his head.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

He hadn’t expected him to get it right.

 

It was impossible from the start for someone doing their first forensic examination to figure out such a thing.

 

“Here.”

 

Gwak Nogun pointed to a wound on the right side of the corpse with a short stick.

 

“A vital spot where the kidney is located – death comes instantly upon being stabbed. But what about the other places?”

 

There were also wounds on the shoulder, right chest, the side near the armpit, and thigh.

 

But they weren’t vital spots that would cause instant death from stabbing.

 

“Still don’t understand why this was first?”

 

“Ah!”

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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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