Who threatened Cheonma Hara with a knife - Chapter 137



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Who threatened to call me Cheonmahara with a knife? Episode 137

Clean up (2)

The headquarters of Cheonmasingyo, located on Cheonmandaesan Mountain.

A little off center, there was a fairly large manor.

In that manor, middle-aged and elderly warriors sat alone, lost in thought or reading books, or gathered in groups to converse or play games like baduk.

The official name of the place, which exudes an atmosphere similar to that of Dohwaryeong, is Jangrowon (長老院).

Those who have served in the church for decades and have reached high levels, serving as vice-chairmen of armed forces or holding executive-level positions in organizations.

However, in the end, they were unable to overcome the wall and became the leader of a military unit or an organization, and they had to step down from the field, giving up their positions to those who were more capable than them.

These were people who were simply recognized for their hard work and were treated as elders within the Cheonmasin Church, and were called ‘Elders.’

An unexpected guest came to the elders’ house.

As the main door of the presbytery suddenly opened wide, the eyes of the elders who were enjoying their leisure time individually or together turned towards the main door.

Without saying a word, they bowed and paid respect to the guest who had come without saying a word.

“Meet the master of Manma!!”

The people who suddenly came to the main gate were Cheonma, his shadow, Eunwigakju, and Cheonma’s great disciple, Wi Jinhak.

While bowing to the Heavenly Demon who had come without notice, everyone gathered in the elders’ house had similar thoughts in their minds.

‘Why is Your Majesty here?’

‘… I can feel the movement around the walls of the presbytery, so it seems like something is wrong.’

As the saying goes, “The back wave of the Yangtze River pushes the front wave,” these are elders who have been pushed out by the younger generation, but they are also those who have experience taking on important responsibilities.

Naturally, most of the elders could sense the presence of people beginning to surround the elders.

And the Heavenly Horse walked forward, passing by those who bowed to him.

Since Cheonma would have normally ordered them to get up, the elders who bowed felt cold sweat run down their backs without realizing it.

As expected, it was because of my intuition that something wasn’t going well.

Cheonma, along with Eunwigakju and Wijinhak, passed the elders and approached the pavilion located in the center of the elders’ house for a moment.

Suddenly.

As if they couldn’t wait for the Heavenly Horse to come in, the door to the pavilion opened and several old men appeared.

These were the people in charge of managing the presbytery, including the head of the presbytery.

As soon as they opened the door and stepped out, they greeted the Heavenly Horse with prostration, just like the other elders.

“Meet the master of Manma.”

Only then did Cheonma stop walking, and without even giving an order to get up, he simply looked at the elder who was lying face down on the floor.

“… … .”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the presbytery for a moment.

The elder asked, lying face down and bowing his head.

“Your Majesty, may I ask why you are here?”

“I have come to ask you something.”

“Please inquire.”

Cheonma asked the elder, who was still lying face down without raising his head.

“Why did you try to kill Ichimoku?”

“!!!”

The ones who responded to that question were the other elders around him.

The sweat that ran down their foreheads as they trembled while lying face down without realizing it began to soak the floor.

It was a strange thing.

The Heavenly Horse had not yet unleashed the Heavenly Horse Divine Art, and the heavy, sticky magical energy characteristic of the Heavenly Horse Divine Art had not yet pressed down on all sides.

Even though they had not raised any momentum, the elders began to tremble in fear at some point.

Since they had been devoted to the Cheonma Sect for several decades, everyone knew the true nature of Cheonma.

In that atmosphere, the elder monk, who still could not raise his head because he did not have permission from Cheonma, answered.

“… Since you came here in person to ask questions, it seems that it was Vice Minister Yoo who opened his mouth.”

At those words, which were no different from admitting the charges, a cold silence descended upon the presbytery once again.

All the elders who had been prostrated were at a loss as to what to do, and a hot aura began to boil over Wei Jin-hak’s body.

Because the author was the one who tried to kill the youngest priest. However, even though he was angry, he could not come forward.

It wasn’t just because I could control my anger while in the room. It was because the stern Master’s interrogation was continuing.

While Wi Jin-hak was just glaring at the elder master with eyes that seemed to be about to kill him, the elder master opened his mouth again.

“May I please stand up and answer your question?”

“Do so.”

As Cheonma answered in a calm tone, no, as if he was holding back his anger, the elder monk calmly got up.

“Did you ask why I tried to kill Prince Pal?”

“That’s right.”

“After the Lord of Manma ascended to heaven. It was because I wanted to become the next leader. Isn’t it a long-standing tradition of our new religion to kill each other to become the leader?”

Perhaps because he had received the expected answer, Cheonma asked again.

“Ilmok is still too young to be the leader. Are you really saying that you didn’t know that killing a child who doesn’t even aim for the position of leader is something that has nothing to do with the tradition of our new religion?”

For some reason, the elder turned his gaze to that question.

It wasn’t to avoid the eyes of the Heavenly Demon.

His eyes were turned towards Wei Jin-hak, who was glaring at him as if he was going to kill him.

“It was a decision made with one person in mind, not eight.”

When he was suddenly mentioned, a look of doubt appeared on Wei Jin-hak’s face.

“If that foolish Confucius becomes the leader, we don’t know what kind of disaster will befall our new religion. That’s why I wanted to deal with the Confucius Pal, who is in danger of becoming his greatest supporter, first.”

At the elder’s subsequent words, Wei Jin-hak’s face turned even redder.

It wasn’t just because of anger.

‘Because of my foolishness, you targeted the youngest?’

Even though I was already feeling angry, I had overcome it and my pride was touched, and I was instantly struck by the devil.

However, Wei Jin-hak, who had already overcome the side effects of the magic and entered a state of de-magic, barely managed to restrain his rampage and began to control his mind.

Cheonma spoke to the elder monk, wondering if he knew the condition of the great disciple.

“That’s sophistry. If Jinhak is truly foolish, he won’t listen to Ilmok’s advice, so it’s meaningless. On the other hand, if Jinhak listens to Ilmok’s advice, then the foolishness you mentioned won’t be a problem.”

As he spoke, the terrible magical energy of the Heavenly Demon God’s Art finally began to flow out from the center of the body of the Heavenly Demon.

“You were just blinded by your position as the leader and tried to kill the child who would brighten the future of the new religion.”

While the magical energy of the Heavenly Demon Sect is weighing down the entire Elder’s House.

The elder, who was heavily exposed to magic, barely opened his mouth, enduring the pressure that was crushing his entire body.

“A child who will brighten the future of the new religion… I didn’t know that the Supreme Being held the eight Confuciuses in such high esteem.”

“You don’t know the changes that child has made in just a year and a half. You are truly foolish.”

The elder’s face suddenly turned pale.

It wasn’t just because of Cheonma’s crude criticism. It was because he was being crushed by Cheonma Shingong’s magical energy, and his internal injuries were gradually getting worse.

The elder said, blood beginning to flow from the corner of his mouth.

“May I, a foolish mortal, make one last request?”

“Tell me.”

“I did this out of greed, so please appease my anger with my life.”

Immediately after Cheonma, who seemed lost in thought for a moment, nodded.

The amount of blood flowing from the elder’s mouth increased rapidly.

In addition to his injuries, he committed suicide by chewing off his own tongue.

The elder’s face quickly turned pale, and everyone in the elder’s house looked at the elder who was slowly dying.

As the excessive bleeding made it difficult to see the form of the Heavenly Horse, the Elder Lord thought.

‘…Where did it go wrong?’

Everything was going smoothly until he got entangled with the youngest prince.

That’s why I couldn’t understand it even more.

Even though I clearly told him to be cautious due to his repeated failures, why was his identity exposed?

Although it was inferred through the Vice-Minister that it had been made known, the Elder Master was unable to know specifically what had happened in the Magic Hall.

To avoid suspicion, he also kept his guard up and cut off communication.

There is only one thing we can infer.

‘This time, it must have been the youngest prince who did it.’

Now lying on the floor due to lack of blood, I could vaguely see the figure of Ichimoku beyond my vision which had become completely dark.

However, his consciousness was already clouded and he could not continue his thoughts.

Only one thought came to mind.

‘I’m so glad I can end it with my own death.’

With that thought, the consciousness of the Presbyterian Church disappeared.

For a moment, I looked down at the elder who was lying on the floor, bleeding continuously from his mouth.

Cheonma, who confirmed that his life was completely over, withdrew the magic energy of Cheonma Shingong and gave an order.

“Clean up this place.”

“Jeonmyeong!”

As soon as the Eunwigakju’s answer fell, the Eunwigak warriors surrounding the elders entered the elders’ quarters and began to remove the elders’ corpse and clean up the bloodstains.

* * *

That night.

“I see you, Master.”

Wi Jin-hak, who came to Cheonmajeon upon Cheonma’s call, bowed and paid respect.

“Get up.”

After saying that, Cheonma stared at Wi Jin-hak’s face for a moment.

Cheonma asked, looking at the face that seemed to have a hint of worry.

“Does the elders’ words bother you?”

“… Yes, Master.”

Although he hesitated to answer, Wei Jin-hak answered honestly. He now knew that there was no point in telling useless lies.

Cheonma nodded once at Wi Jin-hak’s honest answer and said.

“If so, do you remember the answer this old man gave?”

Cheonma noticed that the great disciple was in a state of mental confusion. However, the words he spoke to the elder monk were not words he had made up to appease the great disciple.

“That is the true heart of this old man. Didn’t Il-mok also say it? A leader is just someone who has to utilize the right people in the right places. He doesn’t need to become a genius himself.”

“I think so too, and I am gradually controlling my mind, Master.”

Is there a difference between thinking on your own and hearing it from a teacher you look up to? Wei Jin-hak answered with a much more relaxed expression.

Perhaps because the great disciple’s expression had become slightly more relaxed, Cheonma asked an unexpected question.

“Do you understand why this old man ended this matter with the life of one of the elders?”

Wi Jin-hak, who had been pondering the question for a moment, carefully opened his mouth.

“I thought it was meant to end this incident as a warning. A warning to prevent innocent young followers from being killed in the struggle for the position of the leader, including the youngest priest.”

It was the answer I found while recalling the image of my teacher whom I had observed as a disciple for the past several decades.

It was also because he reformed the teaching methods of the Magic Academy, and because his master did not want his followers to die in vain.

“In the same sense, if we were to track down and punish all those who followed the elders, I wonder if it would be because too many believers would have to be killed.”

Cheonma nodded.

“If you think about it from Ichimoku’s perspective, that’s the right answer. If you think about it from your perspective, try to come up with an answer.”

“…?”

Wi Jin-hak had a puzzled expression.

It would have been regrettable for a disciple who could not easily find an answer, but Cheonma simply looked at Wei Jin-hak with a relaxed expression as if he was just waiting.

So, instead of asking his teacher for an answer, Wi Jin-hak calmly pondered over and over again.

After quite a long period of silence, Wei Jin-hak cautiously opened his mouth.

“I think they are trying to test me.”

“It’s a test… Why do you think so?”

To his teacher’s indifferent response, Wei Jin-hak answered with what he had been deducing for a long time.

“The Elder’s ultimate goal is to push me out. If he punishes everyone associated with him, even those who were after me could be purged. If that happens, I will likely ascend to the position of the next leader without anyone’s interference. I believe he ended things with the life of one Elder.”

Surprisingly, Cheonma nodded to Wei Jin-hak’s reasoning.

It meant that those who were after the first disciple were deliberately left alive.