Chapter 103
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 103
Chapter 103. Man-gyeol's Decision (4)
Following Pal-gap's words, he went outside and saw four people dressed in indigo-colored clothes.
The words “Hyung-mun” were embroidered on their clothes.
It was the Hyung-mun sect.
The Jingmen Sect is a Taoism-based sect that is closer to a family clan.
However, it is not a sect that is great enough to be included in the Nine Sects One Union.
Furthermore, their sword skills are not exceptional, nor do they possess outstanding inner arts.
However, they had something that no one else could match: their sword technique.
Their sword technique, which resembled the mountain range of the Hyeongmun Sect, was so impressive that even the Namgung Clan recognized it.
When I stepped forward, they looked at me, tilted their heads for a moment, and then approached me with smiles on their faces.
“Are you Seonhaengmi-rang?”
I couldn't help but sigh at the flattering title that made me feel uncomfortable.
I couldn't even say yes...
At that moment, Pal-gap quickly stepped forward.
“Yes, this is Sun-hyeok-mi-rang.”
“Oh! I see!”
“Nice to meet you.”
Chuck!
They bowed with clasped hands.
“We are disciples of the Hyeongmun Sect.”
“We are Eun Seo-ho, the head of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“Actually, we heard that Man-gyeol-ui-seon is here, so we came to see him.”
“Why are you looking for Man-gyeol-ui-seon?”
“That's the thing.”
The oldest-looking member of the group replied.
“It's because an epidemic is spreading in our sect.”
Huh?
What does this mean?
An epidemic is spreading among the sects?
As far as I know, once you reach a certain level of martial arts, you are immune to most epidemics.
That is why my two bodyguards and I are fine.
Well, Pal-gap is a bear, so...
Some of the employees who came here with me also contracted the contagious disease.
They were able to quickly recover with the medicine I brought from Seolhoncho.
Could it be that those who contracted the contagious disease were not very skilled?
I asked them.
“If it's not too much trouble, could you tell me the skill level of those who contracted the disease?”
“It's hard to say for sure, but it seems that the severity of this epidemic has nothing to do with one's level of cultivation.”
What does that mean?
In any case, it seemed that the first thing to do was to find Man-gyeol.
“Follow me.”
A short time later.
After finishing treating the patients, Man-gyeol talked with the disciples of the Hyeongmun sect.
They mainly discussed the patients' conditions.
“This is strange.”
“What do you mean?”
“From the symptoms, it seems to be the same contagious disease that is spreading here...”
“You seem concerned that even a master could contract this disease.”
“Yes, you are right.”
After thinking for a moment, Man-gyeol made a decision.
“I must go and see for myself.”
He looked at me and smiled.
“Looking at your face, I can see that you want to come with me.”
“You caught me.”
I replied shamelessly, and Man-gyeol-ui-seon said.
“All right, come with me. But you must come alone.”
“Just me?”
“The others are sick and could be in danger.”
Pal-gap objected to that.
“Then isn't our young master in danger too?”
“Your young master is fine.”
“What?”
“That's all I'm going to say, so stop asking questions.”
“...”
So Man-gyeol and I went to the Hyungmun Sect in Hyungmun Mountain.
.
.
.
I looked back.
I saw a steep cliff.
I was walking on a narrow path. That meant we had to carry our luggage.
Ah, this is hard.
“Is it hard?”
“No, it's fine.”
I couldn't say it was hard because of what Man-gyeol-ui Seon said.
That was because Man-gyeol-ui Seon was also walking on the narrow path carrying a load as big as a mountain.
“You have good stamina. I'm going to die.”
“...”
“Youth is great. Hahahaha!”
I should have just said that it was hard.
Half of the disciples of the Hyungmun sect were walking ahead of us, and the other half were following behind us.
There was some distance between us, so now was my chance to ask what I wanted to know.
“Elder, I have a question.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Why did you say it was okay for me?”
In response to my question, Man-gyeol glanced back at me and continued.
“Black dragons are naturally resistant to disease.”
“...!”
Although he answered indirectly, it was clear.
Man-gyeol had realized that I had the constitution of a dragon.
“But the warriors who were with me in the village did not contract the epidemic.”
“That must be thanks to the creature in your sleeve.”
“You mean Geumryeong?”
“That energy was the same. I suspect that it had an effect.”
“Then why didn't you let me come with you?”
“I don't say things I'm not sure about.”
From his words, I could tell that he was worried about Pal-gap and the guards and had allowed only me to follow him.
I did it for my people, so I have no complaints.
In fact, I am grateful.
“By the way, how do you feel?”
“What do you mean?”
“The feeling of being called a ‘good-looking man.’ I've been getting compliments everywhere I go.”
So Immortal Qi... was your doing?
“Fame is troublesome, but it has its uses. It makes things possible that money cannot.”
He wasn't wrong.
Gaining a title meant that his fame had increased.
And in my past life, I realized how foolish it was to say, “Money can solve anything.”
There were things in this world that money couldn't buy.
It was fame that solved those problems.
That's why I was embarrassed, but I didn't say I didn't like it.
I might be able to use it someday.
But the Hyeongmun Sect...
There is a reason why I said that their sword training was not “great,” but “was great.”
In my past life, the Hyeongmun Sect disappeared without a trace.
So the Green Forest Bandits in the neighborhood rose up and collected tolls from those who passed by.
As a result, the Eunhae Trading Company was also robbed many times.
I still wonder why the Hyeongmun Sect, which was quite famous in this area, disappeared.
After walking for half a day, a disciple of the Hyeongmun Sect said, “We're here.”
“We're here?”
“Yes. Do you see that rock in front of us?”
“Yes, I do.”
In front of us stood a rock that looked like a gate, and there were steps leading up through it.
“Once we pass that rock, we'll be there in no time.”
Hearing that, I felt hopeful and moved forward.
Once we passed the rock, we saw a building right next to us.
“You're really amazing.”
Turning my head, I saw one of the disciples looking at me and saying that.
“You're talking to me?”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“Actually, the road from our village to your sect is very rough and long. This is the first time I've made it here in half a day.”
“Really?”
“It usually takes a day.”
“...”
I looked at Man-gyeol. I hurried because Man-gyeol hurried.
Man-gyeol looked at me with a puzzled expression.
I smiled and replied.
“I couldn't stop walking when I thought of those who are suffering from illness in your sect.”
“Oh! You are truly a noble man.”
“Thank you very much.”
They looked at me with expressions of gratitude at my reply.
And so we arrived at the Hyeongmun Sect.
But then.
“Uh... Senior Brother, you're here?”
“Senior Brother...”
“I'll tell him inside.”
The disciples of the Hyeongmun Sect looked as if they were about to die. I turned my head and looked at the disciple who had come with me.
“It seems that while we were down in the mountains, the epidemic worsened.”
We headed toward the Sect Leader.
I had heard that not only the Sect Leader, but also the law enforcers and those called gatekeepers were lying in bed.
Soon, we entered the building where the Sect Leader was staying.
“We have brought Sect Leader Man-gyul and Master Seon-hyeok, Young Master Eun-seo, and Mister Gong.”
“Ugh... Thank you for coming.”
“You seem very unwell.”
The Sect Leader smiled awkwardly and replied to my words.
“I'm sorry to show you this.”
“No, it's fine.”
Man-gyul, who had been watching quietly, said.
“Then I will check his pulse.”
“Yes, please do.”
Man-gyul examined the Sect Leader's body and checked his pulse on his wrist.
Then he nodded.
"It is indeed a contagious disease. If you take medicine for a few days and rest, you will recover quickly.“
”Thank you."
After stepping back from Sect Leader, Man-gyeol began to examine everyone else.
In the meantime, I had something to do.
I had to make porridge for everyone to eat.
It was fortunate that the Hyeongmun Sect was not a Buddhist sect. Otherwise, I would have had to find another way to provide them with nutrition.
As I was busy, Man-gyul approached me.
“It smells delicious.”
“Would you like some?”
“I don't even want to look at porridge right now.”
“I thought you wanted some.”
“It's just the smell.”
With that, Man-gyeol sighed and sat down on a pile of firewood next to him.
But there was something unusual about his expression.
“What's wrong?”
“There's a problem.”
“What?”
“I don't know if it's a good thing or not, but when I heard the symptoms, I thought it was the contagious disease that's going around the village.”
Could he be saying that?
“Are you saying it's not?”
“Yes.”
He couldn't understand what he meant by saying it wasn't an epidemic.
“But you told Sect Leader earlier that it was an epidemic.”
“I did. But I said it was an epidemic, not that it was the epidemic spreading from Uichang.”
“...”
“Anyway, this is a big problem. An epidemic that only affects those who have mastered martial arts...”
“What?”
“Currently, the only ones who haven't contracted the disease are the trainees. Those who haven't officially started training yet would have the weakest physical strength, so what does it mean that they haven't contracted it?”
“Then?”
“Yes, this is a disease that only affects those who have mastered the inner arts.”
“Is that possible?”
However, this was completely new to me.
I had never heard of it in my previous life.
There were two possibilities.
Either it didn't exist in my previous life, or I didn't know about it.
Come to think of it...
In my previous life, Man-gyeol's sword also disappeared at some point.
In my previous life, I had searched high and low for a doctor to cure my illness caused by Hyunryongseong.
However, I couldn't find any trace of Man-gyeol's sword anywhere.
But that period seems to be similar to when the Hyeongmun sect disappeared...
Could something have happened in my previous life that I don't know about?
Man-gyeol shook his head and said.
“This is my first time seeing this. In any case, we must stop this disease from spreading. If it spreads elsewhere...”
“There will be chaos in the martial arts world.”
“Yes, I must find a cure quickly.”
Two days passed.
Man-gyeol-ui-seon was busy using various medicines and acupuncture.
“Look over there.”
“Huh?”
I saw a young disciple washing dishes diligently beside me.
Was he seven years old?
He was washing the dishes skillfully with his small hands.
“Senior Brothers, they will recover, right?”
“Are you worried about the others?”
“Yes.”
“Don't worry. Man-gyeol is a very skilled physician. That's why he's called ‘physician,’ isn't it?”
“I guess so.”
“Come to think of it, we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Eun Seo-ho. What's your name?”
“My name is Hong Joon.”
“Hong Joon? That's a nice name.”
“Actually, I was an orphan. The second Moonho took me in as his disciple.”
The Hyungmunpa has a unique position called Moonho.
As the name suggests, it means to guard the door.
However, this was different from the role of a law enforcer.
While the law enforcers were responsible for protecting the sect, the gatekeeper was responsible for protecting the future of the sect.
In other words, they were responsible for finding talented disciples and training them.
I agree that disciples are the future of a sect.
“By the way, once I start training officially, the gatekeeper who took me in said he would give me a new name.”
“I wonder what name you will receive?”
“Actually, I already know.”
“You know?”
“It's a secret. My senior brother told me.”
“Really?”
“Yes. My name is Koo-shi.”
Koo-shi?
That means pigeon poop, doesn't it?
No matter what, how could he name his own disciple pigeon shit?
“That's not what it means.”
“What?”
“It means pigeon shit. Your senior brother was just joking.”
“Is that... really so?”
“Don't worry. You'll get a much better name than that. Or I'll give you a good name.”
The boy, who had been crying at my words, quickly smiled.
That Senior Brother of yours is such a kid. How could he play such a prank?
At that moment, I realized that I remembered hearing the name Koo-shi before.