Hyeonjilmusin - Chapter 74



Only Krnovel

74. All is one, one is all (2)

I remembered the first time I entered a shaman sect. The leisurely Taoist priests and the simple but neatly maintained buildings. The lush mountains and the proud young disciples. I thought, this is the real martial arts sect.

“Hey, hey. Are those mushrooms edible? I don’t think so.”

“I just eat something light and cleanse myself with a morning ritual.”

“What kind of Sacheon Party are we?”

But what about now? I see Taoist priests walking around with their shoulders hunched over, buildings with spiderwebs under their eaves, mountains that look messy because tree branches haven’t been pruned properly, and sullen young disciples.

“Haha. I won. Give me a piece of Byeokgokdan.”

“I think I’ll die if I don’t eat that… … .”

“Give it to me. A bet is a bet.”

“That’s too bad.”

Now, as I walk through the streets of the shamanic village, I feel once again that a certain amount of money is absolutely necessary to live a minimal life.

Look. The young disciples are not able to tell the difference between poisonous and common mushrooms, so they eat them carelessly, and they bet on a single grain of rice cake, and their pride is hurt.

If I say this, you might point your finger at me and call me a cheap merchant, but aren’t most love and friendships built on money? The reason why the shamans have come to this is because they have completely ignored that fact.

When I entered the palace, the sight of the disciples was truly spectacular.

Those who ate poisonous mushrooms or made bets on the wall were the ones with energy.

“No, death penalty!”

“… … Priest.”

As soon as I entered the palace, the first thing I saw was Myeongseong lying on the ground. He looked lifeless, his lips were dry and cracked, and he looked like a squid that had been pulled out onto the land.

“I was trying to work hard because I was a Taegeuk instructor… … .”

I supported Myeongseong’s head and placed it on my lap. Myeongseong let out a gasp. His bones were touching, probably because he hadn’t eaten proper food. He had trained in Taegeuk Gumsu during that time, so he was exhausted like this.

Since Myungsung, the eldest of the executioners, couldn’t stand it, what happened to Myungkyung and Myungjin? I carried Myungsung on my back and hurriedly went inside.

“Death penalty, death penalty!”

“Huh? Priest.”

Inside the building, Myeong-gyeong was sitting at the table. A tray was filled with tree bark and roots.

“When did you come?”

“Just now. I saw Myeongseong-saeng collapse outside.”

“Ah, there it is again.”

Myungkyung’s reaction was unexpectedly indifferent.

“I’ve been seeing a lot of people fall down like crazy these days. I don’t really know why.”

Myeonggyeong stuffed the roots into her mouth without even shaking off the dirt. It was surprising how she could eat something like that and still have an expression of savoring the taste.

“it is delicious?”

“huh.”

I remembered that I bought something delicious for Myeong-gyeong a long time ago. I thought that I didn’t say it was delicious because it was delicious, but that I might have said it was delicious because she was a child who could eat anything deliciously.

“But where is Myungjin Sa-hyeong?”

“behind.”

“yes?”

As soon as I turned around, I was startled. Myungjin was lying there in a shabby state. The already insignificant death sentence made me feel even more depressed because he had no strength.

“That’s a surprise. Make some noise and move around.”

“I don’t have the strength to do that.”

Myungjin gave a vague answer and slumped down on the table.

It seemed like a plague of apathy was spreading within the non-partisan faction. Even though I was a Hubei god, I couldn’t cure it. This was something that required a fundamental improvement in the constitution.

“Where is the teacher?”

“You’ve been going out of the main temple a lot lately. It’s about time you came back.”

I felt a presence from outside, perhaps it was not the nobleman of Cheonghwado. However, I paused for a moment after seeing the person who came in.

“……who are you?”

Those words came out of my mouth without me knowing.

The man looked more like a beggar of the liberal movement than a shaman. The water running down his face, his hair disheveled, and the sleeves of his robe were torn and hanging loose.

A bullet flew right over my forehead. I knew who it was by the impact.

“Master?”

“You don’t even recognize a teacher as great as heaven. You’re really delusional.”

Cheonghwa passed me by and poured food on the table. It was something that could be called food, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and chestnuts. Myeonggyeong and Myeongjin immediately picked them up and ate them greedily.

“I want to leave some of my fame behind.”

“Wasn’t it neat when you came to Muhan?”

“Who would do a favor to a person wearing neat silk clothes?”

“Good deeds? Are you begging?”

Cheonghwa, who realized her mistake at my words, covered her mouth with her hand.

“It was a secret.”

But Myung-kyung and Myung-jin didn’t react at all. It seemed like I was the only one shocked that the heavenly teacher was going around begging.

“Master, it’s okay. I kind of knew it.”

“huh?”

Myeong-gyeong, who was sucking the sweet potato peel off her finger, said nonchalantly.

“There’s no way these foods would suddenly appear out of nowhere.”

“… … .”

Cheonghwa’s face turned red, as if she didn’t know that her disciples would find out about her shame. I quietly walked behind her and patted her on the shoulder.

“It’s okay, Master. It was a noble thing.”

“That was the dignity of a non-partisan that was emphasized so much. Now, you’ve fallen to the very bottom.”

“If you don’t have money, your dignity falls. There’s a reason why they say that the cost of maintaining dignity is money.”

Cheonghwa sighed at my words. It was such an obvious fact, but it was strange that she hadn’t known about it until now.

“But how can this happen so suddenly?”

No matter what, they are Taoists of the shaman faction with high reputations. They receive escort requests from places like Sangdae, and they must have gotten money and valuables while traveling the world of martial arts, so I couldn’t understand why they suddenly changed into a group that eats only the bark of a tree.

“It seems that Jegal Se-ga has put a lot of pressure on the upper class. The moment they ask you to be an escort, you should be prepared to lose all ties with them.”

“Oh. So all our business has come to a halt?”

“That’s what Cheongsu said.”

I never thought that the lofty position of a shaman who usually has no contact with the upper class would turn into such a poison.

On the other hand, since the Zhuge Liang clan had close relations with the Sanggye clan, it was perhaps a natural result.

“Don’t the other true people have any money saved up?”

“This is all I have left. Anyway, I only saved it to feed my disciples delicious food while they were on their journey, so there wasn’t much.”

“Why are you all so upright? Even the current disciples are threatened. If you don’t donate, you’ll be kicked out.”

“I bet you would allow a long execution.”

That bastard’s dignity. Even now, the disciples of the secular clan will be aware of it, and if they are pressured here, the reputation of the shamanist faction will also hit rock bottom. The pressure of the Jegal family was more effective than expected. Perhaps it is because they are not a group that uses their brains well.

“Then I should step forward.”

“What can you do?”

“I was targeted by Jegal Se-ga anyway.”

“No matter what… … .”

It seems that the part about what you can do with just one new top is omitted. But the Master doesn’t know. What kind of person I am.

I left the palace and headed straight to the Gokjeongak. Everyone in the Gokjeongak area was on forced leave. It was only natural since there was no money to go to the shamanist faction.

Of course, Cheongsu, the owner of the Gokjeon Hall, was also lying there glued to the chair with blank eyes.

“What the heck is this?”

That’s what I said the moment I saw Gokjeon Gakju Cheongsu. Of course, Cheongsu wasn’t the type of person to just sit there gloomy.

“What the heck, you punk? You came here after such a long time and you’re starting a fight all of a sudden?”

“No matter what, we suddenly found ourselves in such dire straits. When running an organization, it’s only natural to have some extra money to prepare for emergencies.”

“The elder brother said that instead of saving up for an emergency fund, he should help people in need. He said that was non-partisan.”

“ha…….”

Actually, I know. It’s not the fault of the owner of the Gokjeon Footnotes, Cheongsu. Rather, Cheongsu was a bit more conscious when it came to handling money.

The problem was the elders and the chief priests of the shamans. In some ways, they were people who were doing a good job of keeping up with the duties of a Taoist priest, but in my view, they were people with an old-fashioned way of thinking.

“How’s the warehouse rental business going?”

“That’s impossible since the higher-ups are watching Jegal Se closely.”

“Then you should think about starting a new business or something. Are you going to tease the people at Gokjeongak like that?”

“What kind of new business is this? Gokjeongak is not a place to do business. Jang Moon-sa-hyeong will also oppose it.”

“Oh, I feel so suffocated.”

Cheongsu and I sighed at the same time. We exchanged glances.

Now was not the time for us to fight amongst ourselves. Cheongsu was the person in the shamanist faction who was closest to my thoughts.

“However, Jang Moon-sa-hyeong and the non-partisan faction also think that this should not continue.”

“That’s enough.”

If dignity was more important than the lives of the disciples of the shaman sect, I would have had a hard time too. But I was not a Taoist priest whose Qing was so tightly shut.

“There are two things we need to do right now.”

“Two? Is that all you can do?”

“If you look at it broadly, that’s right. One is to improve the lives of the disciples of the non-partisan faction right now. The other is to resolve the conflict with the Zhuge family, which is the root of this situation.”

“Easier said than done.”

Cheonghwa said indifferently. After all, these people knew nothing about how to make money. What would a swordsman who has only wielded a sword know? In that regard, I, an expert in this field, had to be very alert.

Nonetheless, the cooperation of non-partisan people, especially the distribution of listeners, was necessary.

I didn’t tell Cheongsu, but in fact, my goals were threefold. The last one was to improve the constitution of the party itself, which had brought about this situation.

Even now, the shaman faction clearly had the power to escape this crisis. Nevertheless, for the sake of dignity, didn’t a famous person like Cheonghwa go down to Gyunhyeon and beg?

In some ways, I thought that changing the perception of the shamanistic adults might be more difficult than destroying the Jegal family.

“Okay, tell me. But when it comes to money, you’re a few levels above me.”

“Let’s start by robbing the rich disciples.”

“It’s obvious. Haven’t I ever thought of something like that?”

Cheongsu’s eyes frowned.

“The lay disciples are also people we must protect. If they suffer because of us, how can that be wrong?”

“That’s because I think we’re collecting donations.”

“Then what is it?”

“We receive investments. From both lay disciples and lay sects.”

“What difference does that make?”

“There’s a huge difference. We let them choose the shaman. We just have to show them the future of the shaman.”

The shamanist faction does not regularly collect money from the secular faction in order to maintain its integrity. Perhaps this could be said to be the identity of the Taoist faction, but realistically, money was needed to run the organization. And I wanted to improve its constitution.

“… … Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“But would they take the risk and choose to be independent?”

“You are ignoring the independents too much.”

I laughed.

“There is only one non-partisan, right?”