The Lazy Young Master of the Jin Clan

"Damn it... what the hell happened?"

Ju Giltae couldn't understand the current situation.

The eleven martial artists, excluding the three who had been beaten to a pulp by him.

They were masters who were ranked high even in the Hongjung Sect.

But they were struggling against four young men wearing shabby plain clothes.

They should have been superior in numbers and skills.

Moreover, the man who appeared to be the leader of the young martial artists had not moved a single step.

He was just watching the fight with a dry gaze.

"Why are they fighting like such morons!"

Ju Giltae was frustrated.

The martial artists of the Hongjung Sect were swinging their swords clumsily, as if they were drunk.

"Fight properly! You morons!"

At Ju Giltae's shout, the martial artists of the Hongjung Sect gritted their teeth.

But the martial artists were frustrated.

‘Where the hell is it coming from!’

Their sword techniques were not unfolding properly.

Before the forms could even connect, a small stone that flew from somewhere restricted their movements.

As their flow was cut off, their sword techniques naturally became clumsy, and their internal energy, which had lost its way, caused internal injuries.

Thanks to that, the eleven martial artists could not bring out their full skills.

Meanwhile, the four next-generation talents of the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple were continuously surprised by their own performance.

Especially Sangsuk and Yu Useon, whose martial arts were relatively inferior, were surprised by their own skills.

Of course, it wasn't that they had suddenly made a dramatic growth.

‘Wow! So this is how you do it?’

Jin Sohyun, who had seen Cheon Yerang and, more recently, Kang Cheon cut off the flow in the sparring match, was imitating it.

At first, he couldn't get the hang of it, but after trying it a few times, it was manageable.

‘Is it about time?’

Jin Sohyun, who was observing the sword techniques of the Hongjung Sect martial artists, aimed for the moment their sword techniques were about to catch the flow and threw a stone.

Because of this, the Hongjung Sect martial artists' flow was cut off by the stone that had flown in out of nowhere.

Thanks to that, the martial artists who had suffered internal injuries staggered.

And there was no way Peng Ogyeong and Un Bang would miss this.

"Hyaap!"

"Haap!"

The two swung their saber and sword at the same time and knocked down the Hongjung Sect martial artists one by one.

"We... can win!"

At first, they thought Jin Sohyun was crazy.

—What are you doing? Get to work, right?

The four, who had been pushed into the fight by Jin Sohyun, had literally fought to survive.

But when they actually fought, it was manageable.

No, they could win.

"Come at me! This body is... ack!"

Peng Ogyeong, who had been hit on the back of the head by a stone, looked back with teary eyes.

Jin Sohyun covered his mouth with his index finger.

"Ah."

Peng Ogyeong, who had belatedly realized his mistake, nodded his head.

"Anyway, come at me! You vicious brats!"

As his confidence grew, the attacks of Peng Ogyeong and Un Bang became even rougher.

The fight was one-sided.

In less than half a shichen, the eleven Hongjung Sect martial artists had fallen to the ground.

As the last martial artist was hit by Peng Ogyeong's kick and fell, Ju Giltae bit his lip.

"You! What's your identity!"

"What do you mean? We're just passing farmers."

"Nonsense! I've never even heard of farmers who have learned martial arts!"

"Wow! Congratulations. You learned something new today."

"You son of a bitch...!"

Ju Giltae was angry, but he couldn't draw his sword.

The outcome was decided, and the winners were, ridiculously, farmers wearing shabby plain clothes.

As Ju Giltae was taking care of the fallen Hongjung Sect martial artists, Jin Sohyun asked with a dry voice.

"Hey. I have something to ask."

"What?"

Jin Sohyun asked with a face that showed no particular emotion.

"Are you guys an unorthodox faction?"

***

The martial artists of the Hongjung Sect staggered out of the Deungho Sect.

Ham So'eon, who had been watching them silently, approached from behind Jin Sohyun.

"Thank you for your help."

"It's nothing."

"But..."

Unlike his words of gratitude, Ham So'eon's face was not bright.

Rather, it was dark with a shadow cast over it.

As Jin Sohyun was puzzled, not knowing the reason, Ham So'eon said. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Come inside for now. It seems we have a lot to talk about."

"Yes."

Jin Sohyun obediently followed him and entered the meeting room of the Deungho Sect, not the reception hall.

There, the three elders of the Deungho Sect, including the sect leader Ham So'eon, were gathered.

Although the four, who could be considered the pillars of the Deungho Sect, were gathered in one place, their expressions were all dark.

Jin Sohyun, who had been observing the situation for a while, asked with a small voice.

"Did I make a mistake by any chance?"

"That's not it."

As Ham So'eon hurriedly replied, one of the elders raised his voice.

"We can't say that's not it either!"

The elder, who had a long beard that reached his chest, stared at Jin Sohyun with a face full of worry.

"We are grateful that you helped the Deungho Sect, which was in a difficult situation. But... the direction of the help was not right."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Whatever the reason, Ju Giltae will appear again with the masters of the Hongjung Sect. The Hongjung Sect is a sect with over five hundred disciples... a considerably large sect among the minor sects."

As the long-bearded elder finished speaking, the elder with a clearly visible crown of his head continued.

"That's why our sect requested mediation from the Martial Arts Alliance in the first place. If a war were to break out between the two sects... the Deungho Sect could never defeat the Hongjung Sect."

After hearing the two elders' stories, Jin Sohyun finally realized what he had done wrong.

‘In the end, the fight got bigger because of me.’

Jin Sohyun, who was wondering how to handle this situation, bowed his head in front of Ham So'eon.

"Thank you."

As the sect leader bowed his head, Jin Sohyun waved his hands.

"No, it's alright. After hearing about it, it seems you've gotten into trouble because of me."

"In the first place, this whole mess is because of me. My mistake... has ruined everything."

"What happened?"

"There's nothing to hide now."

Ham So'eon slowly began to tell the story of the past.

It was a hot summer night.

Ham So'eon, who had put down his silk robe and was wearing plain white clothes, had left the sect and had headed to the marketplace.

There was a tavern that Ham So'eon frequented, and it was Ham So'eon's hobby to drink at the tavern, pretending to be a commoner, even hiding his identity.

That day too, Ham So'eon was enjoying his own kind of elegance, drinking a bottle of white liquor.

At that time, he met that man.

"Did you come alone?"

A young man.

Although his eyes were sharp, his personality was open and friendly, so the two quickly became close.

And so, Ham So'eon and the man had developed into drinking buddies who exchanged cups of liquor every day for over a month.

In the meantime, the man had brought some liquor.

The liquor, in a turquoise bottle, looked luxurious at a glance.

"What is this?"

"Haha! Brother Ham! This is the liquor that the emperor is said to drink. I had a very hard time getting it, so let's enjoy it together."

Ham So'eon had enjoyed the liquor with the man without any suspicion.

But.

Ham So'eon, who was usually called a heavy drinker, had lost consciousness from the rising intoxication as soon as he drank the liquor.

"When I opened my eyes, it was my bedroom. I heard that that man had brought me here."

"Who is that man?"

Ham So'eon closed his eyes tightly and then opened them.

As if he were recalling a terrible past that he didn't even want to remember.

Soon, a completely unexpected name came out of Ham So'eon's closed mouth.

"It's Ju Giltae."

"That brat from before?"

"Yes. He had approached me from the beginning, aiming for the ancestral mountain of the Deungho Sect, and while I was drunk, he had put my seal on the contract without my permission. On a contract I had never even seen!"

Ham So'eon let out a groan and was angry.

Although it was true that he had been wronged, there was no way to prove it.

It was because the seal on the contract was clearly Ham So'eon's.

"But why is the Hongjung Sect aiming for the ancestral mountain of the Deungho Sect?"

An ancestral mountain meant a mountain where the graves of one's ancestors were.

In other words, it meant that the elders of the sect were buried on the ancestral mountain of the Deungho Sect.

But why was the Hongjung Sect coveting the ancestral mountain of the Deungho Sect?

Even the sect leader, Ham So'eon, did not know.

"I don't know either. The Hongjung Sect just says that they want the ancestral mountain, so they want us to sell it to them."

"Hmm."

Jin Sohyun's instinct as a merchant told him this.

It was suspicious.

There were no merchants in this world who did business at a loss.

If the world were that full of compassion, there would be no one who starved to death or were swindlers.

‘Something smells fishy…’

Jin Sohyun, who had come out of the meeting room, looked at the Deungho Mountain, their ancestral mountain, which was the strong support of the Deungho Sect.

—Our ancestors, who founded the sect at the foot of the Deungho Mountain, created the Deungho Sect, taking the name of the mountain.

As Ham So'eon had said, the Deungho Mountain was the ancestral mountain and symbol of the Deungho Sect.

Jin Sohyun scratched his head and let out a short sigh.

He had a bad feeling that this request would be long.

"Hyung!"

At the boy's voice, Jin Sohyun turned his head.

Ham Mun had been showing his unsparing respect for Jin Sohyun and his party ever since he had seen them defeat and chase away the martial artists of the Hongjung Sect.

"Mun-ah."

"Yes!"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Just say the word!"

"There are a few things hyung needs. Can you get them for me?"

Ham Mun, who had heard the necessary items from Jin Sohyun, nodded his head vigorously.

"Just leave it to me!"

As Ham Mun ran off with quick steps, Jin Sohyun returned to the guesthouse and lay down on the bed.

He had to laze around as much as possible before he got busy.

"Ugh... what a hassle."

***

"So, you failed to threaten them and came back beaten up, is that it?"

"It's clear that the Deungho Sect has brought in masters from the outside. So we should also bring in masters and..."

"Shut up. You incompetent and useless brat! To a mere Deungho Sect... tsk!"

At Ju Gilseok's cold gaze, Ju Giltae lowered his head.

"The head will be back soon, so wait quietly in your place. Don't act up."

Ju Gilseok, who had finished speaking unilaterally, left the place.

Bang—!

Ju Giltae, who had punched the wall, trembled with anger.

"A brat who does nothing but lick our father's feet... to think he's acting all high and mighty just because he was born before me."

Ju Giltae found it hard to contain his anger.

In the first place, it was his own work that he had acted as a younger brother he didn't even like for a whole month and had put Ham So'eon's seal on the contract.

How much effort had he put in to take away the ancestral mountain of the Deungho Sect?

He was only one step away, but five brats he didn't even know had interfered with him.

"That pretty-faced brat."

Among them, the most annoying brat was, by far, Jin Sohyun, who appeared to be the leader of the five.

"By the way... what did he mean by that?"

Ju Giltae suddenly recalled the last question Jin Sohyun had left.

—Are you guys an unorthodox faction?

A question asking whether they were an orthodox or unorthodox faction.

Ju Giltae had confidently said that the Hongjung Sect was an orthodox faction and had then left the Deungho Sect.

In fact, if one were to distinguish between orthodox and unorthodox, the Hongjung Sect was closer to an unorthodox faction.

But even if it was to worry about the Martial Arts Alliance's involvement, the Hongjung Sect had to pretend to be an orthodox faction.

"Whatever. It's enough to just kill that brat with my own hands soon."

Ju Giltae decided to put aside his thoughts about Jin Sohyun.

Anyway, when the real fight began, the Deungho Sect would be destroyed in half a day.

And the insolent brats who had interfered with him would also die.

"You messed with the wrong people!"

As Ju Giltae huffed and puffed and entered his room, a black-clad man appeared next to the estate of the Hongjung Sect.

A man in a black tight-fitting suit that only assassins or thieves would wear.

"Wow! It's high, so high."

Jin Sohyun, who had come to the Hongjung Sect wearing a black tight-fitting suit, covered his face with a mask.

Now all that was left was to wait for night to fall.

A while later, when the sun had set and dusk had fallen in its place.

A black figure jumped over the wall of the Hongjung Sect with nimble movements.

Soon, Jin Sohyun's pupils began to shine with a blue light.

The blue light, which had been watching the Hongjung Sect for a while, shone even brighter.

"Found it."

(End of Chapter)