Tangmunjeon - Chapter 403



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Tangmunjeon Episode 403

Hong Gyeon, the Heavenly Dog

Although it was winter, it was a warm day that made you wonder if spring was coming.

However, the weather in Sacheon is very temperamental, and it is similarly grumpy every year.

After a few days, it will change its attitude as if the warm weather was an illusion, and only after it gets cold once, will winter end. Even after spring comes, it will not forget to bring cold winds, making people button up their coat collars.

The only good thing was that since it was a recurring tantrum, no one was fooled.

‘It’s almost time to leave.’

As Dang Mu-jin started packing her luggage, Yoo Jin-kwang approached her.

“Are you ready to leave already?”

“Yes. When there are a lot of people, the movement speed tends to be slower than expected.”

“I know. But I think it’s a little early…”

Yoo Jin-kwang said that, but it didn’t seem like he really thought it was too early. He just wanted to stay in Seongdo a little longer and make some money.

Although Yu Jin-kwang is a pure martial artist, the world does not leave him alone to focus solely on martial arts.

The problem was that the Jeomchangpa was poor, the problem was that he became the leader of the poor Jeomchangpa, and the problem was that Yoo Jin-kwang was not irresponsible enough to throw away his position as the leader and focus only on training.

Even though Dang Mu-jin knew Yoo Jin-kwang’s true intentions, he had no choice but to speak.

“It’s much better to arrive a little early than to be anxious about being late because you’re trying to be on time.”

“I guess so.”

And Yoo Jin-kwang was not selfish enough to ask others to delay their schedules for the sake of the Jeomchangpa and their money-making.

As the soldiers of the Cheongseongpa, Amipa, and Jeomchangpa began to pack their bags, the Tang family quickly became noisy.

The people staying at the Tang family did not just sit there and watch. The Tang family prepared food for the people traveling long distances to eat.

Since Jang Il-nam and Wi Ji-nan-hyang were not participating in the Jeongma War, they quietly hid indoors so as not to be noticed by people.

No one could force Jang Il-nam and Wi Ji-nan-hyang to the battlefield, but Jang Il-nam and Wi Ji-nan-hyang knew that it was better not to create a sense of discomfort in this situation. They also liked to hide indoors alone.

Dang Mu-jin went to Sam-an-bul’s residence. Sam-an-bul was sitting on the floor as usual.

The party leader said.

“I’m planning to leave tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve packed everything.”

Dang Mu-jin’s gaze turned towards the inside of the room.

Sam-an-bul was a man of few possessions.

The luggage that Samanbul had now packed was limited to a few simple items on top of a bundle.

A simple burial. A slightly worn but clean set of monk’s robes. And a single prayer bead with unusually large beads.

Unlike the commonly seen 108-bead prayer beads, the Sam-an-bul prayer beads had only fourteen beads.

Of course, Dang Mu-jin did not know what the number of prayer beads meant.

“It’s brief.”

“If you want to be called a monk who has broken the precepts, you have to at least pretend to be a monk.”

As he spoke, Sam-an-bul stood up from his seat and looked behind him. Sam-an-bul’s warm gaze searched the small dwelling thoroughly.

“···When I first came here, I had no idea I would be staying for eight years.”

“If there are any worn parts, would you like me to touch them up a bit?”

“There’s no need for that. I’m not coming back.”

It was a story that sounded meaningful.

When Dang Mu-jin stared at Sam-an-bul, Sam-an-bul burst into laughter.

“After we defeat the Great Guardian Law, shouldn’t we return to Cheonsan and rebuild the Demonic Cult?”

“I thought you had turned your back on the Demonic Cult.”

“At first, I thought so too. But eventually, even those who ran away need a place to rest.”

“···What are you going to do, Hwayeonshinni?”

“That’s not for me to decide, it’s for Haryeong to decide.”

Sam-an-bul hoped that Hwayeon-shin-ni would come to the Demonic Cult after the Jeongma War ended.

However, Hwayeonshinni was a person with a clear opinion.

Hwayeonshinni always went where she wanted to go and stayed where she wanted to stay.

He was the kind of person who would never do anything he didn’t want to do, and who would do what he wanted to do no matter what anyone said. That’s why Sam-an-bul couldn’t force his thoughts and desires on Hwa-yeon-shin-ni.

“I told you that the leader’s inaction was extraordinary.”

“I heard.”

“It won’t be an easy fight.”

“I know.”

“So, sir, please leave separately.”

“separately?”

When Sam-an-bul asked again, Dang-mu-jin answered.

“Wouldn’t it be faster if you moved alone? While the others head straight to Gongdongsan, Elder Samanbul, go through Junggyeong and meet Elder Hwayeonshinni.”

Although Dang Mu-jin had said it with the utmost care, Sam-an-bul shook his head.

“No. There’s no need for that.”

“You don’t have to worry about the unarmed people from the Demonic Cult, I can just lead them for a while.”

“That’s not the problem.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“When Ha-ryeong heard that I was participating in the Jeongma War, he got even angrier than you’d think. He probably still hasn’t calmed down.”

“···.”

As Dang Mujin stood there hesitantly, Sam-an-bul patted Dang Mujin on the back with his large hand.

“This is not a problem you need to worry about. There is a lot to do before you leave, so go back quickly and focus on what you have to do.”

“All right.”

The party returned trudging back.

But I didn’t feel comfortable leaving without saying anything.

Dang Mu-jin asked General Wang to send a brief letter to Hwa Yeon-sin-ni.

*

“Can I come in?”

“of course.”

When Dang Mu-jin finished packing, the first person to appear was Mok Wan-ah.

Mokwan-ah spoke to Dangmujin in a slightly anxious voice.

“You said it would be dangerous this time?”

“It’ll be no problem.”

The story went like this, but Dang Mu-jin did not think that the journey would be smooth.

The journeys we set out on, thinking nothing would happen, were always dangerous.

How much more dangerous would a journey be if you set out on it knowing it would be dangerous from the start?

“I had a bad dream last night.”

“I’ve always said the same thing before. I came back safe and sound.”

“still···.”

“You don’t have to worry.”

Dang Mu-jin spread his arms and gently hugged Mok Wan-ah.

Mokwan-ah was tense and stiff, but after a while, her stiff back and shoulders relaxed.

How many times has this dream story and situation happened before?

But now, Mokwan-ah wasn’t as at ease as before.

Eventually, Mokwan-ah started telling the story again.

“I heard people talking about the Great Guardian Law… no. I also vaguely heard how strong the leader was. They say it was to the point where even Elder Namgung Jincheon gave up.”

“That’s true. We’ll have to meet to know for sure how strong it is.”

Mokwan-ah placed both her hands on Dangmujin’s right hand. Then, she looked straight into Dangmujin’s eyes and said.

“The important thing is that you come back healthy. Nothing else matters. Okay?”

Dang Mu-jin smiled faintly.

“What? Do you think it would be good if I ran away and abandoned people? I’d be called a coward.”

“Yeah, that’s okay.”

Although it was said as a joke, Mok Wan-ah nodded.

“People’s opinions don’t matter at all. If people hate you, just hide yourself deep in the mountains.”

He looks much more anxious than usual.

While Dang Mu-jin was pondering how to respond, he sensed another presence outside the door.

“What? Looks like there’s a baby inside? I don’t think it’ll be a problem if they go in, right?”

As expected, it was Danseolyeong’s voice. Dangmujin answered immediately.

“Of course not. Come in.”

Knock knock-

Danseolyeong opened the sliding door and came inside.

Danseolyeong seemed to have guessed what was being discussed just by looking at Mokwanah and Dangmujin’s expressions.

To break the tense atmosphere, Dang Mu-jin asked Dan Seol-yeong first.

“Seol-yeong, you too, like Wan-ah, have come to see me because you have something to say, right?”

“yes.”

“Okay. Tell me anything.”

“Did I ever say anything else? This time, come back without any regrets, without any lingering feelings.”

Although it is a story about a husband who is leaving, the story of Dan Seol-yeong and Mok Wan-ah has a completely different direction.

However, it was not a question with a correct answer. Everyone simply expressed their feelings in their own way.

When Dang Mu-jin laughed without a word, Dan Seol-yeong asked back.

“what’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing. It’s just something like that.”

Dang Mu-jin smiled a little and then looked behind Dan Seol-yeong and Mok Wan-ah. Dan Seol-yeong didn’t close the door when she entered the room, so she could see clearly beyond the door.

The eldest daughter, Dang-yeong, was seen walking around with Dang-i-ryeong and Dang-hae-won.

The three daughters stared intently in the direction where Dang Mu-jin was. Dang Mu-jin thought that the three daughters would come to him just like Dan Seol-yeong and Mok Wan-ah had done.

However, the three children only stared blankly at Dangmujin for a moment, showed no particular interest, and toddled off somewhere.

This situation just got funnier.

“ha ha ha!”

When Dang Mu-jin burst into laughter again, Dan Seol-yeong said with a displeased look.

“···Why on earth are you doing that?”

Dang Mu-jin laughed a little more, then brought up a story that both Dan Seol-yeong and Mok Wan-ah would like.

“Once this is over, I will just stay in the castle and be quiet.”

“That’s very true. Didn’t you say something like that last time?”

“This time, for real. You left home and went around here and there, saying you were going to sort things out and help others. But in the end, you just ended up getting more work done.”

Dan Seol-yeong, who heard that story, answered indifferently.

“I see you’ve finally figured it out. People have a tendency to ask new favors from people who help them with their work. The problem is, by the time you get back, you’ll probably have forgotten that realization…”

Dang Mu-jin shook his head.

“It probably won’t happen. If you think about it, all the times I’ve been away from home in the past few years have been because of this.”

“If that’s the case, then that’s good.”

Danseolyoung said that and laughed playfully.

*

Dang Mu-jin led his party and left Danggajang. They then headed north via Hanjung.

The common green forest sword didn’t even show itself. It was natural. A person in his right mind wouldn’t block the path of nearly a hundred martial artists.

Some quick-witted merchants followed the group at a reasonable distance. It was a great strategy to prevent any mishaps.

The only thing that bothered me was that the atmosphere between the Jeomchangpa Taoists and the Samanbul was not very friendly, but fortunately, the Jeomchangpa Taoists did not openly hostile toward the Samanbul. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my comrade.

In the end, the group arrived at Gongsan Mountain without any trouble and a little faster than expected.

I had a feeling that the Gonghappa, which had had to overcome difficult times several times, would be in shambles once again, but the Gonghappa seemed to be in relatively good shape.

People were rubbing their tired legs and murmured.

“I already feel like something is about to start.”

“Fortunately, the condition of the joint wave appears to be fine.”

At that time, Sang Gwal-do, the head of the Gongdongpa faction, came out of the gate and greeted the group.

“Thank you for coming such a long way. Please come this way.”

It seemed that the Sangkwaldoin had successfully resolved the internal strife within the Gongdongpa faction.

Besides, the atmosphere of the Sanggwaldoin was strangely different from before.

Should we say that he had the atmosphere of a liberated monk, or a Taoist monk about to ascend the throne? Hyun-gong asked the Taoist monk Sang-gwal.

“It seems you have attained enlightenment.”

“Other people said the same thing.”

Of course, this did not mean that the Sangbaldoin had entered the realm of the supreme.

The current status of the Sang Gwal Doin is at the very beginning of its peak. It can be said that it is at the bottom among the heads of the famous Myeongmun Jeongpa.

The enlightenment that the monk Shang Gwal obtained was not about ignorance, but about the Way.

“What happened?”

“I just realized that life is no different from a simple spring.”

“···Thank you for your hard work.”

Regardless of the efforts of the Sangbaldoin, unmanageable calamities would frequently strike the communal faction.

If I tried to clean it up, it would be swept away, and if I tried to clean it up again, it would be swept away again.

As a result of repeated difficult situations that could not be overcome with a mindset that was filled with evil and a desire for revenge, Sang Gwal Doin came to a realization half-involuntarily. That was the only way he could endure without going crazy.

This time, Dang Mu-jin asked the Sang Gwal-do-in.

“It looks like we weren’t the first ones.”

“Yes. Rather, people who had been staying far away came early. They came from the Moryong family and Jinju family, and they arrived a few days before the opening. There are still many empty buildings, so you can stay wherever is convenient. It’s a blessing in disguise…”

It was a sad joke that whenever a calamity struck, many of the Gongmunpa’s Taoists died, so they could receive many guests from other places.

Dang Mu-jin and Hyeon-gong smiled bitterly at Sang-gwal-do-in.

The merchant quickly disappeared, and the people dispersed to unpack their belongings.

Dang Mu-jin and Hyeon-gong started looking for Hong Geol-gae without deciding on a room.

Since there are open islands here and there, there must be a Honggeolgae somewhere.

But Hyun-gong frowned.

“The atmosphere is strange.”

“Why? Is there something strange?”

“Look at the expressions on the faces of the people who are open.”

Dang Mu-jin looked at the open roads.

At first glance, there was nothing particularly strange about it.

“I don’t know?”

“Take a closer look.”

Soon, Dang Mu-jin noticed something strange.

Open-minded people usually sit together and chat noisily.

But now the open-minded people were not getting along together and were slightly distancing themselves, and their gazes towards each other did not contain complete faith and trust.

It wasn’t a completely hostile gaze, but I felt a strange sense of distance and competition.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know either. Ask Hong Geol-gae and he’ll find out.”

Dang Mu-jin and Hyeon-gong searched for Hong Geol-gae with the intention of surprising him.

And before long, Dang Mu-jin and Hyeon-gong spotted a familiar face.

However, it was not the face I had expected. Because it was not the Gyuchogae Hongjusan, but the Cheonryeonggae Honggyeon.

“···?”

Dang Mu-jin and Hyeon-gong were a little flustered, but they quickly understood the situation.

Leading the Open Doors and participating in the Jeongma War seems like a role more suited to the Open Doors’ Dragon Head and Ark than the General.

Dang Mu-jin and Hyeon-gong approached ‘Cheonnyeonggae Hong-gyeon’ with playful expressions on their faces.

Cheonryeonggae Hong-Gyeon found Dangmujin and Hyeon-Gong and got up from his seat with a happy expression.

“Aren’t you the great swordsman of the dragon dragon, Dangmujin, and the great swordsman of the Seungryong sword, Hyeon-gong?”

Unlike the usual Honggeolgae, ‘Cheonryeonggae Honggyeon’ was very polite and courteous towards Dangmujin and Hyeon-gong.

Externally, Cheonryeonggae Hong Gyeon was not known to be on close terms with Dang Mujin or Hyeon Gong, and it was only known that he was in his twenties or sixties, so this was a natural reaction.

Dang Mu-jin also showed appropriate manners.

“It’s been a while. This is the first time we’ve met since I came to Wuchang.”

It was a conversation with no special content.

However, the Gaebongdo people who were by Cheonryeonggae Honggyeon’s side straightened their shoulders as if they were very proud of the fact that Dangmujin and Hyeon-gong recognized their ark.

But what was more interesting was the reaction of the open-minded people gathered a little further away.

Those open-minded people looked blatantly displeased.

Dang Mu-jin and Hyeon-gong immediately focused all their attention on hearing.

Through the left ear of both people, the sound of someone whispering to the person next to them flowed in.

“···Those Bangju-pa guys, they don’t even know that our Hong Gun-ta-ju is closer to them and they are acting so arrogant.”

“That’s because you’re short-sighted. Those who ignore the Six Heavenly Kings and only care about the number of knots while flattering the Ark are all like that.”

And in my right ear, I could hear the beggars next to Hong-Gyeon Cheonryeong-gae whispering.

“Those guys who are full of guns, you must have wanted the Ark to be ignored by the heroes, right?”

“That must be it. They’re short-sighted enough to think that martial arts are everything.”

“I wonder what kind of expression the Lord of the Ark will make when his inaction surpasses that of the General.”

Hong Geul-gae may be dull, but there’s no way he wouldn’t have sensed this atmosphere.

Dang Mu-jin looked at the red dog Cheonryeonggae.

“···.”

Maybe it was because of his mood, but Hong-Gyeon seemed strangely happy about this situation.

‘···What happened?’

While Tang Mujin was confused, Hyeon-gong sent a message to Tang Mujin.

– That Hong Geol-gae guy, it seems like he’s deliberately making the two groups compete.

Dang Mu-jin could vaguely guess Hong Geol-gae’s true feelings. Wasn’t the situation of the people staying at Danggajang similar?

– Are you trying to make them achieve by making them compete? That’s pretty smart.

However, Hyun-gong’s reply came a little late.

– It seems like they’re just trying to make Hong Gyeon and Hong Geol Gae praise each other competitively…

– Hey, even if it’s Hong Geul-gae, there’s no way that would happen.

As Dang Mu-jin spoke, he glanced at Hong-gyeon.

Looking back, Hong-Gyeon’s expression seemed a little too happy.

Dang Mu-jin’s eyes darkened.