Tangmunjeon - Chapter 420



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Tangmunjeon Episode 420

Light Flame

Dang Mu-jin slowly organized his thoughts about Gwangyeom-ra.

After asking the Taoists of the Amipa and Cheongseongpa, it seemed clear that Gwangyeomra had tried to kill the Great Guardian Law. In the midst of the entangled fight, when the Great Guardian Law shouted, the atmosphere among the Demonic Cult members became chaotic. Based on the circumstances, it was also clear that Gwangyeomra had lost his connection to the Demonic Cult.

Furthermore, it was clear that bringing Kwangyeomra as an ally would be of great help.

This goes beyond simply removing one of the best masters from the Demonic Cult, but also adds one more best master to the Righteous Sect.

Also, since Gwangyeomra was one of the high-ranking figures in the Demonic Cult, there was a high possibility that he would know various important information.

But there was one very, very big problem.

The fact that Gwangyeomra incurred a lot of resentment during the last Jeongma War.

Even if other sects were like that, there was nothing Tang Wujin could do about Shaolin Temple’s problems. Didn’t he surprise attack and kill the divine monk named Guang Yan?

Even the Sam-an Buddha, who killed a monk and ran away decades ago, has not been forgiven to this day.

It didn’t seem like the Three-Eyed Buddha would be forgiven in the future. The only thing the Shaolin Temple could do was to ignore the Three-Eyed Buddha because of Dang Mujin’s face.

Moreover, would it be possible for Gwangyeomra, who killed Shinsung, to be accepted in the martial arts world?

The conclusion was so simple.

‘It’s impossible.’

Guangyanla and Shaolin Temple are like water and oil.

Even if by some miracle, Guangyeomra is accepted by the Jeongpa Martial Arts Society, in return, the Jeongpa Martial Arts Society will lose Shaolin Temple.

Even the martial artists of the Jeongpa would not turn their backs on Shaolin Temple to accept Kwangyeomra, so the chances of Kwangyeomra being accepted into the Jeongpa martial arts community were virtually nil.

The next day, Dang Mu-jin went to the alley where he had met Gwang-yeom-ra. As expected, Gwang-yeom-ra was waiting for Dang Mu-jin in the same alley.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to Dang Mu-jin.

‘If you give them a little hope and tease them, they might be a little more usable…’

But soon the party leaders changed their minds.

If they had only treated each other with ill will, then that might have been possible, but it felt a little awkward to treat Kwangyeomra like that.

Besides, Gwangyeomra was not stupid. He could trick her for now, but it was clear as day that he would be caught before long.

In the end, Dang Mu-jin told Gwang-yeom-ra the whole story.

“···That’s what happened.”

Gwangyeomra nodded with a calm expression, but did not answer.

“Gwangyeomra. While you’re at it, why don’t you just run away and live somewhere where the Demonic Cult can’t find you? Someone like you won’t starve to death anywhere.”

That was the best alternative that Dang Mujin could come up with. However, Gwangyeomra could not easily accept Dang Mujin’s suggestion and held his head in his hands.

How much time has passed like that?

Gwangyeomra took a deep breath, then exhaled deeply, raised his head, and looked at Dangmujin.

It looked like he had just emerged from the water after a long day of swimming.

And with the eyes of someone who has finished thinking long and hard.

“The head of the party.”

“Speak.”

“It’s okay if I’m not accepted into the Jeongpa martial arts world. It’s okay if I lose my life. But I want to repay my blood debt.”

“···Why on earth?”

“I’m going to start with an old story. Don’t tell anyone else.”

When Gwangyeomra tried to use his luck, Dangmujin immediately stopped him.

“No. Just don’t talk.”

“···why?”

“In my experience, stories that start like that almost always end in a frustrating way.”

“I’m not asking you to take responsibility. After you’ve heard everything, you can refuse my request. Just don’t tell anyone else. If it’s beneficial to you, then it’s beneficial. It won’t harm you.”

Dang Mu-jin thought for a moment and nodded. Well, that’s what it is.

Besides, I was curious about what Kwangyeomra was trying to say.

Gwangyeomra began to speak with his eyes half-open.

“There is only one person in the Demonic Cult who knows my real name. It is the previous leader. Now that the previous leader is dead, no one knows my name.”

“Could it be that you are the son of the previous cult leader?”

“That’s not it. Let me introduce myself first. My name is Zhuge Ruwen, born in Longzhong, Hubei. I lived in my hometown for over ten years before joining the Demonic Cult.”

Her name was Jegal Yeomun. Her name was ordinary, but her surname was very unique.

It was the first time that Dang Mu-jin, who had wide feet, had met someone with the surname Jegal.

“You committed suicide early. What crime did you commit at such a young age?”

Kwangyeomra shook his head.

“I didn’t join the Demonic Cult because I committed a sin. I’ve already committed many sins since joining the Demonic Cult, so it’s not that important…”

“You went to the devil’s cult without committing a sin? Why?”

“The Zhuge family has many problems. No, no one calls them the Zhuge family. They are not well-off enough to be called a family. They only live in the Yongzhong area. No matter how generously you look at it, it is only a clan village.”

As he spoke, Gwangyeomra closed his eyes. He placed the large sword that did not match his slender body a little way away.

He looked defenseless. It may be because he trusted Dang Mu-jin, but at the same time, it also seemed like he was letting something down.

“The Zhuge clan is small in number, poor, and unable to learn. Even if they secretly learn to read, they must not read the lines. If they are caught learning to read, their wrists will be broken. I heard that they also had martial arts, but these are now out of practice. If they are caught learning martial arts, their dantian will be broken. Because of this situation, they could not even rise to the lowest official positions.”

“Your wrists are broken and your danjeon is shattered? Why?”

“It’s because of Samase.”

The story of Kwangyeomra paused for a moment. Beyond that silence, countless emotions echoed.

And Dang Mu-jin thought, Sima Se-ga pops up every once in a while when he forgets.

At the same time, Dang Mu-jin was able to guess the relationship between the two families just by looking at the clues of Sima Shiga and Zhuge Yuwen. It is doubtful whether that is really the reason.

“The Sima family’s military men often came to Yongzhong to inspect the Zhuge clan’s people. It is because of them that they cannot learn to read or write or learn martial arts.”

“Did Zhuge commit some terrible crime against Sima Shi?”

Dang Mu-jin asked, hoping that his guess was wrong. However, Gwang-yeom-ra shook his head.

“Mistake? No. It’s because of the ill-fated relationship between our ancestors. The ill-fated relationship between ancestors whose faces we don’t even know. The ill-fated relationship between ancestors whose names we only heard. Using that as an excuse, the Sima family has been tormenting our Zhuge clan for hundreds of years.”

“···Hundreds of years.”

“Yes. It would have been better if they had killed us, but Samasega didn’t even do that. They just enjoyed watching us live like insects, blocking all the ways for us to crawl up. My father’s father. My grandfather’s grandfather, and even before that for a long time…”

After a long pause, as if overcome with emotion, Gwangyeomra spoke again.

“I didn’t want to live like that. But if I left the village on my own, the villagers would be upset. That’s why my parents thought about it and made a grave for me. They said that if people from Sima Se came looking for me, they would tell them that I died from an epidemic. I don’t know if Sima Se was fooled. That happened when I was eighteen.”

Dang Mu-jin nodded slightly, and Gwang-yeom-ra continued telling the old story.

“I went to the Demonic Cult after suffering for two years. And then I found a new life. I learned martial arts, and even learned letters, albeit late. After staying like that for quite some time, the leader… No, it was the Great Guardian Dharma at that time. Anyway, he asked me. Do you want to follow him?”

“You agreed.”

“Yes. It was an action that even an animal would not do to abandon the previous sect leader who accepted me. However, my hatred for the Sima Sega family was even greater. The idea of ​​destroying the Jeongpa martial arts world did not sound so sweet. I thought that I might be able to trample on the Sima Sega family.”

Gwangyeomra said that and quietly looked at Dangmujin.

With eyes filled with very complex emotions.

“And, I heard a surprising story a while ago. The Sima family was practically wiped out. I also heard the general story of how it was wiped out.”

Gwangyeom got up from his seat and bowed to Dangmujin without saying a word.

It was a gesture of gratitude towards the benefactor who had relieved Jegal-ssi of his resentment on his behalf.

Once Kwangyeomra fell down, he remained down for a long time without getting up.

Dang Mu-jin looked back on his relationship with Gwangyeom-ra.

The two had a long history of ill-fated relations. At first, they were just trying to kill each other, but at some point, Gwangyeomra’s attitude toward Dangmujin began to change little by little.

Dang Mu-jin thought that it was because he and Hyun-gong had skillfully deceived Gwang-yeom-ra. Or, he thought that it was because their interests aligned.

That was largely true. But even considering that background, at some point, Gwangyeomra’s attitude toward Dangmujin became so friendly that it felt a little strange.

I think it was around the time when they got entangled in Kunlun Mountain.

Gwangyeomra secretly relayed the situation within the Demonic Cult to Dangmujin, and despite being suspected by his subordinates, he stopped the Demonic Cult members who were trying to attack the Danggajang. In the end, he even surprised the Great Guardian Law.

Even though the surprise attack ended in failure, would it have been possible for Kwangyeomra to command the Demonic Cult warriors again without any resistance even if the surprise attack had been successful?

No. That wasn’t the case. The moment he aimed his sword at the Great Guardian Law, Gwangyeomra crossed the path of no return.

Tang Jin thought that Gwangyeomra, who had been abandoned after being tossed around between the Demonic Cult and the Righteous Cult, was a fool. But that was strange.

Kwangyeomra always said that the Great Battle of Jeongma would most likely end in the victory of the Demonic Cult.

Even while talking like that, Gwangyeom-ra was unable to cut off his relationship with the political faction, or more precisely, his relationship with Dangmujin, and was hesitating. He did so even though he knew that the risks were much greater than the gains.

If Gwangyeomra hadn’t been kind to Dangmujin, Gwangyeomra wouldn’t have been in this situation.

However, Gwangyeomra did not bring up such a story. He did not try to erase his debt to Dangmujin.

Instead, he spoke while lying down.

“I apologize for not being able to express my gratitude in time because I heard the news too late. And for not being able to completely give up my personal glory and make a decision in time. I want to apologize for all of that. It may already be too late, but…”

Dang Mu-jin let out a deep sigh.

Even though I learned about Gwangyeomra’s past, it didn’t solve the problem.

“···So, what do you want from me? I can feel sorry for you, but I can’t convince others to accept you. Eunwon isn’t something that can be erased by others.”

Kwangyeomra knelt down, placed both arms on the ground, and raised his body slightly.

“I know it’s late. But I want to repay my debt, even if it’s late.”

“Is that possible?”

Although the circumstances were dire, Dang Mu-jin thought that Gwangyeom-ra’s story was not realistic.

A blood debt is called a blood debt because it is too heavy to be repaid with money and there is absolutely no way to erase it.

It’s easy to create resentment, but it’s not easy to erase it, even if you dedicate your whole life to it.

“I’m not saying that I’ll repay my debt and live an upright life. I’ll repay it even if it means giving up my life. If I die without repaying my debt, I’ll become a fool who tried to betray the Demonic Cult, was used, and died, and will be forgotten and disappear.”

“For what?”

“If I have paid off my debt and have anything left over, please let that credit be passed on to the people of Yongzhong.”

Are you going to use even my life to pay off the debt?

It was the kind of story that only a swindler with nothing but glamour would tell, but Gwangyeomra’s story did not sound like a lie.

“The people of Yongzhong are poor, but they are naturally kind and exceptionally clever. There are few people as crooked as I am. I am foolish because I only learned the ropes late in life, but if the people of Yongzhong study from a young age, they will all be able to do their share. If only the Zhuge clan can rise, it will be a great help to the martial arts world of the Jeongpa.”

As he spoke, Gwangyeomra struck his forehead hard against the ground. Thump.

It wasn’t just once. Kwangyeomra repeatedly hit his head several times. Thump, thump, thump-

The forehead of the Kwangyeomra was torn and bleeding. No, not only was the bleeding secondary, but it was so severe that I was worried that his head would crack and he would die.

But since Kwangyeomra knew that this was his last chance, he didn’t stop.

Finally, Gwangyeomra looked at Dangmujin with a face red with blood.

“Give me the opportunity to repay my debt by taking on the most difficult task in the most dangerous place. Give me the opportunity for the Zhuge Liang of Longzhong to rise up.”

After thinking for a while, Dang Mu-jin let out a deep sigh.

“···I’ll tell you that I fooled one of the Demonic Cult’s fools. But there’s nothing more I can do for you. Whether you get beaten to death as soon as you meet the monks of Shaolin Temple, or you get used and then abandoned to death. I won’t get involved in that.”

Dang Mu-jin stood up as he spoke like that.

“Do your best.”

After saying that, Dang Mu-jin left.

Gwangyeomra lay still until Dangmujin left the room.

*

Three days later, a hemophiliac came to see Dangmujin.

Just like when we first met, he covered his face with a bamboo hat and, for the first time in a long while, he was wearing a martial arts uniform.

It was a familiar sight, but at the same time unfamiliar.

Anyone who knows the face behind the mask will feel that way.

The hemophiliac said to Dang Mu-jin.

“I’m leaving.”

“You didn’t come here intending to leave alone, did you? Let’s go together.”

The party leader also stood up from his seat.

The marching troops have already been prepared, the Demonic Cult members have withdrawn from Sacheon Castle, and the Tang families have entrusted themselves to the Northern Expeditionary Force.

There was nothing to be hesitant about now.

Hong Geol-gae, who had come naturally, stood next to Dang Mu-jin. Then, Gwangyeom-ra Jegal Yeo-mun followed the three from a little distance.

Hong Geol-gae asked Dang Mu-jin in a casual manner.

“But why is that author, Gwangyeomra, following me?”

“···There is something like that.”

Hong Geol-gae didn’t ask any further questions.

The four people left Sacheon like that.