The Owner Of The Thousand Gold Coins Is A Military Official - Chapter 77

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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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Chapter 77

Postponing his conversation with Mother for now, Cheongun headed straight to his grandfather.

Bringing both Sinui and his master along.

“….”

“…Why do you have that expression?”

His condition was not good.

Even before leaving, it hadn’t been this serious.

Was this when he lost his life?

He couldn’t know that much since he hadn’t looked into it in detail in his previous life.

‘I hope going to the Demonic Sect was the best choice.’

While recruiting others certainly required that minimum level of power, in the case of the Demonic Sect, that requirement was considerably high.

What he had accomplished this time was just barely short of the level Cheongun had in mind.

Since internal affairs had gone relatively well, the matter was resolved more easily than expected.

“Who are these people?”

When Cheongun said nothing, Grandfather spoke first.

“You must have heard of them. I’ve brought Sinui and his master.”

“…Huh? Who did you bring?”

Grandfather’s eyes completely changed.

If moments ago they held the look of someone preparing for the final moments of a person named Cheongin, now they burned with determination at just the mention of Sinui.

“Oh my… I apologize for receiving two distinguished guests so rudely.”

“Not at all. How could you say such a thing?”

“Since we’ve come, you can treat us properly later, can’t you?”

“Master. Let me examine him.”

“Yes. I’ll step aside for a moment…”

Master of Sinui looked at Cheongun.

His expression wasn’t very good.

Understanding his intention, Cheongun came outside with him.

“Is his condition not very good?”

“…Listen without getting excited.”

Unexpected words came first.

Though brief, Master of Sinui had been with Cheongun and understood what kind of person he was.

For such a person to tell Cheongun not to get excited.

“Did you see me as that type of person?”

“…Such people. I’ve seen many.”

“I understand. Please don’t worry.”

“Your grandfather… has been poisoned.”

“Poison…?”

By whom?

When?

Countless questions briefly arose and disappeared.

The places where Grandfather spent his time were entirely within Cheongeumjang.

At most, he occasionally made time to go to inns with the Hobeop.

Since Grandfather’s martial prowess was by no means low, ordinary poison wouldn’t be easy to use.

“What kind of poison is it?”

“I don’t know.”

A poison that Master of Sinui didn’t know.

Naturally, Sinui wouldn’t know its identity either.

“Then the one staying now…”

“Won’t know either.”

“Are you… certain?”

“I’m certain. You can seek help. Since he’s your grandfather, you should do everything you can.”

It was Dangmuryang, called Dokje.

A poison that even such Dangmuryang didn’t know.

This wasn’t the level of an ordinary poison.

“Does that mean… you cannot detoxify it?”

“…That’s right.”

“Are you saying we must wait for death?”

Contrary to that worry, Cheongun was calm.

However, he was excessively calm.

As if he was temporarily suppressing everything he should pour into emotions.

“Not that. We can prevent it from worsening.”

“Is that possible when you don’t know what poison it is?”

“Who do you think we are?”

Though saying that while not knowing the poison felt somewhat lacking.

“Do I need to find an antidote?”

“Not that either. Even without an antidote, if we can just identify that poison, we should be able to make an antidote.”

This place was Cheongeumjang.

And the Patriarch of the Tang Clan was here with them.

If they could just identify the poison, materials for the antidote were readily available.

“Can’t you even guess where the poison is from?”

“It’s not a poison from Gangho.”

“You mean it’s not a poison from Gangho?”

“That’s right. And the poisoning itself seems to have happened quite long ago.”

It had been killing him very slowly so that no one would suspect.

Even in his previous life, Cheongin hadn’t died of old age but had been poisoned by someone.

And after that, Cheongeumjang would gradually lose its power.

The current Patriarch Cheongjin wasn’t an incompetent person, but there was one important thing.

There were things he couldn’t inherit from his father who had built this Cheongeumjang.

The relationships Cheongin had built with others were exactly that.

“Outside of Gangho means…”

Namman, and the Imperial Court.

Besides these, existences too wicked to be called Gangho would belong here.

Cheongun, who had been lost in thought for a moment, spoke.

The current Cheongun had moved somewhat away from tranquility.

Once suspicion begins to bloom, unless completely uprooted, it survives tenaciously like weeds and grows larger.

“The Imperial Court.”

“….”

He didn’t deny Cheongun’s words.

It meant he had been expecting it.

“The new emperor’s enthronement was recent, but they seem to have been preparing from before.”

“That’s right. From the Imperial Court’s perspective, Cheongeumjang would be like a thorn in their eye.”

Though it might be quite exaggerated, rumors of having more wealth than the Imperial Court don’t arise for no reason.

How dare there be something superior to the Imperial Court where the Son of Heaven resides?

It would be absolutely unacceptable.

The Imperial Court knew.

That dealing with the Former Patriarch rather than the current Patriarch would create more gaps in Cheongeumjang.

“You’re not thinking of going to the Imperial Court, are you…?”

Having abundant initiative and being unable to distinguish recklessness are different things.

Actually, the Demonic Sect itself could be seen as somewhat reckless, but it was still the same Martial World.

“Not yet. No.”

“Huh… ‘not yet’…”

It was a distant matter anyway.

Was the principle of non-interference between government and martial arts truly the Imperial Court’s respect for the power of the martial world?

Cheongun didn’t think so.

Someone like Geomma.

From the Demonic Sect to the Nine Sects and One School, the Five Great Sects, and so on.

The very fact that they had established mutual non-interference with these massive forces spread across all of the Central Plains made Cheongun think it was respect for the Imperial Court, not the martial world.

“Let’s pretend this conversation never happened.”

“Yes. I understand.”

When they returned to the room, they could see Sinui providing treatment.

Strictly speaking, it would be fair to call it preservation rather than treatment.

Just keeping him alive in his current state.

“…”

Cheongun looked at his grandfather in that condition, and even in the midst of it all, his grandfather showed him a gentle smile as if to reassure him.

‘It’s because of me.’

These weren’t words spoken simply out of a sense of responsibility.

Cheongun remembered how his grandfather had ventured outside Cheongeumjang when he said he would personally obtain all the elixirs meant for him.

Even then, it hadn’t been much of a concern.

However, that was most likely when he had been poisoned.

That time when he had been away from Cheongeumjang for so long.

It was a strange feeling.

Like someone had destroyed something precious right before his eyes.

In his previous life, the only thing precious to Cheongun had been his own body.

Perhaps that’s why this was the first time he was experiencing such a feeling.

And it wasn’t particularly pleasant.

“I’ll take my leave now.”

There were no words directed at his grandfather.

Nothing like “get well soon” or “pull yourself together.”

But those who had lived long lives could see certain things.

The suppression of emotions.

Especially for his grandfather, seeing Cheongun like this was the first time throughout all the years he had watched him grow up.

Coming outside, Cheongun briefly encountered his father and mother.

“I heard you brought Sinui and his master.”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“…You’ve worked hard. You accomplished what your father couldn’t.”

“It’s merely the difference between having a position and not having one, so please don’t concern yourself with it, Father.”

“I see. How did Grandfather seem to you?”

What should he answer?

That he was poisoned?

Because of him, no less?

A laugh escaped him.

It was a laugh born of absurdity.

Not something about saving his own life, but that this had happened over mere elixirs.

It seemed he had hoped for compensation for what he hadn’t received before.

Cheongun himself, that is.

“It looks like it will take time. Sinui will give you the details.”

“I see, understood. You should rest as well. Haven’t you been moving around quite a bit lately?”

“Understood.”

Rest.

Had there ever been a day that Cheongun could call rest?

Even now, there were many things to do.

First, the numerous martial arts he had newly observed.

He needed to redefine these.

Therefore, Cheongun immediately returned to his chamber.

Regardless of the current situation, wasn’t this truly delightful?

Using what he had newly observed as a foundation to create something new, or perhaps modify existing techniques.

Cheongun preferred the latter over the former.

Cheongun’s swordsmanship was now clearly divided.

The Jeganggeombeop, which focused on exploiting the opponent’s openings rather than offense and maximizing the efficient use of internal energy.

And the Palyu Sword Style, which penetrated the flow of internal energy and twisted its essence.

These could be seen as sword techniques that directly reflected what kind of life Cheongun had lived in his previous existence.

While there was the Geumui Sword Style, Cheongeumjang’s swordsmanship itself was difficult for Cheongun to consider as martial arts for advancement.

“The definition of martial learning. The most interesting moment.”

Things he hadn’t seen even in his previous life.

With countless tasks remaining, Cheongun was a bit more excited than usual.

His grandfather’s matter would be buried for now, as he had said earlier.

Now was not the time.

He needed to properly distinguish between tasks that should be done someday and tasks that needed to be done right now.

Otherwise, it might produce results worse than doing nothing at all.

What needed to be done now was for Cheongun to become even stronger.

Originally, power existed around him in various forms, but it wasn’t yet time to use the power called Cheongeumjang.

However, while he couldn’t use the power of that name, he could use what could truly be called power.

Inexhaustible gold was something everyone needed, after all.

“First, I should organize the martial arts I observed.”

Simply remembering them in his head didn’t suit Cheongun.

The flow of internal energy he had seen, the body movements.

He recorded everything one by one – the shape of the feet when stepping during technique execution, the twisting of muscles, and so on.

This was a more necessary process because they were high-level martial arts.

Seeing and imitating?

If one understands the flow of internal energy and grasps its essence, it’s not difficult.

However, now he was in the process of gathering the essence he had understood and grasped into one.

Imitating an opponent could be said to be purely in the realm of talent, but creating something new included not only talent but also the realms of effort and patience.

Or so Cheongun thought.

Since Cheongun could easily imitate as well, this was a judgment from the perspective of someone capable of both.

Cheongun’s definitions filled the books.

Whether this was truly the real definition contained in the martial arts Cheongun had observed was unknown.

But this was something that could be learned.

He just needed to dismantle and analyze the essence contained in each technique one by one, and establish Cheongun’s own definition.

What had been created by gathering everything in this way were the Jeganggeombeop and Palyu Sword Style.

“Pokdanma and Geomma. Even Cheongsoso’s ice techniques…”

In addition, though they were substitutes, since they were twins, there were Hwanghwondoma’s blade techniques and Cheonyugjong’s swordsmanship, and so on.

To encompass all of these into one.

Before the start of the next plan, this was Cheongun’s greatest goal.

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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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