◈ Who is the Fool (4)
A large inn located near Dongjeongho Lake.
The inn with the signboard [Pungwolgaekjan] was one of the famous inns of Dongjeongho.
And the place was currently being leased by the Hwangbo family.
Because two hundred people suddenly came to the Jeongmu Alliance, there was no room in the Alliance building to accommodate them.
Among them, the top floor of the Pungwol Inn was used as a place where the direct line of the Hwangbo family lived.
Hwang Bo-ak raised his glass to the moonlight reflected on Dongjeong Lake outside the window of the Pungwol Inn.
“Hahaha. Son. How was your training at the Jeongmu Alliance?”
At his father’s question, Hwang Bo-tae lifted the glass his father had poured him.
‘Um… … Didn’t you say that drinking alcohol is bad for your muscles?’
For some reason, Hwang Bo-tae naturally recalled the warning Kwon-jae had given after today’s training.
‘I’ve had no problem drinking alcohol since I was young, so I guess it won’t matter?’
He soon drank his wine, forgetting the warning from the counselor.
As the alcohol took effect on my tired body that had trained to its limits, I felt like I was getting tipsy faster than usual.
“The training was much harder than I thought, Father. Hahaha.”
He laughed heartily and told me about the training he had had today.
“What the!! Are you saying that that guy discriminated against our Hwangbo Se family!”
While drinking happily, Hwang Bo-tae suddenly saw his father get angry and poured some alcohol into his father’s glass.
“I thought so at first, but I guess I was mistaken.”
He explained that Kwonje had undergone the same level of training as them, and had even undergone external training that was so difficult that they could not even follow it.
“Hahaha. I thought I could go anywhere and be strong, but it seems I was a frog in a well.”
As he looked at his son, who was smiling innocently and explaining, Hwang Bo-ak felt strange.
Listening to it, it really felt like he was teaching foreign skills to the young people of Sega.
But, I felt bad.
The biggest reason was Hwang Bo-tae’s honesty.
‘You think he’s stronger than me?’
Hwang Bo-tae blurted out his thoughts without much thought, but for Hwang Bo-ak, who was born a businessman and whose daily life was to show off his strength, it was strangely hurtful.
Just then, a middle-aged man who had been quietly listening to the conversation between the two rich men calmly opened his mouth.
Unlike the sturdy Hwangbo Buja, he was of average build, but he looked somewhat small because he was sandwiched between the two rich men.
“Brother. It seems like Kwonje is being territorial.”
“Hmm~? Did it feel like a burden to you as well?”
Hwang Bo-ak, who had been holding back his anger because he felt like he would look like a petty man if he got angry here alone, reacted as if he couldn’t handle the man’s words.
“Why not? Kwonje is from Shaolin, just like the current leader, Hyeoncheon. Since you are aiming for the leader position, Hwangbo Se is definitely trying to harass the people from his clan.”
It was a sharp insight that accurately captured Mujin.
However, the innocent Hwang Bo-tae tilted his head in puzzlement.
“You taught me too diligently to say that, Uncle.”
“Our nephew is too naive. The original saying is to mix one lie into nine truths to deceive someone, so they are just ‘pretending’ to teach properly in order to fool the naive nephew. If they weren’t trying to discriminate and harass you in the first place, would there be a need to conduct separate training like that?”
Hwang Bo-tae looked confused at the sharp remark from the man who called him uncle.
This was because what my uncle said seemed both right and wrong.
But unlike Hwang Bo-tae, Hwang Bo-ak, who was listening with him, was already completely taken in by his words.
“I think the same as you! How dare a young brat, still in his infancy, try to make fun of our Sega!”
Hwang Bo-ak, whose face was flushed red as if he were drunk, drank his alcohol like water, forgetting about the beautiful scenery outside the window, and asked.
“You tell me, what should I do with that damned brat?”
The moment the man was about to answer Hwang Bo-ak’s question, he felt a presence from the door.
“My lord. General Zhuge Liang has come to see you and has something to tell you.”
As soon as the man standing guard at the entrance finished speaking, the three of them who had been drinking together looked at each other.
“What should I do?”
The man answered Hwangbo-ak’s question.
“I think it would be better for you to meet first. Just in case, we will leave the place for now.”
When Hwang Bo-ak nodded as if he understood, the man added a word as if he was concerned about something.
“Zhuge Wu-hwan is a man like a snake. Brother. Just have a brief conversation about the purpose of his visit, and if the conversation gets too long, it would be best to kick him out.”
“Hahaha. Don’t worry.”
Hwang Bo-ak answered confidently as if telling people to trust him and shouted toward the entrance.
“Give them some time, like a light shower, and bring them here!”
“Respect your name!”
Immediately after that, the man left the drinking party with Hwang Bo-tae.
And the gisaengs who came to the inn under the man’s instructions cleared the table of drinks and set up a new table of drinks.
As if the three of them had never drank together before.
And when the rough preparations were finished, Zhuge Wu-hwan came there with the Huang Bo-se family’s military personnel.
“What has the General, who is so busy with construction, been doing all this?”
In response to Hwang Bo-ak’s question, Jegal Mu-hwan sat down in his seat with his characteristic smile on his face.
“I’m thirsty from waiting, can we have a drink and chat first?”
“Ahem. I see.”
Jegal Wu-hwan naturally picked up the bottle of wine, poured a full glass into Huang Bo-ak’s glass, and then poured some into his own glass.
“You asked why I came?”
“exactly.”
Instead of answering right away, Zhuge Wuhuan sighed deeply and drank his wine.
“Whew. I was feeling suffocated, so I came here to get a drink.”
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“What do you mean, stuffy?”
“If I come here to see you and tell you that I am frustrated, who do you mean? Of course, it means the current leader.”
“Huh?”
The corners of Huang Bo-ak’s mouth twitched at Zhuge Wu-hwan’s words.
At that obvious reaction, Zhuge Wuhuan smiled inwardly.
The easiest way to approach and flatter someone was simple: just badmouth the person they disliked.
“Since Shaolin was the center when the alliance was founded, we had no choice but to support the current leader, but the current leader is not a person fit for the position of leader.”
“Big. How is that so?”
As Hwang Bo-ak tried to fake his composure with a cough, Jegal Mu-hwan started gossiping to Hwang Bo-ak.
“The problem is that you keep talking nonsense every day. That’s why monks who practice the Way in the mountains are no good. Ah. Since you’re a monk, you must be practicing Buddhism instead of the Way.”
“I see, there was such a problem.”
As expected, Zhuge Wuhuan decided to slightly modify his strategy in response to Hwang Bo-ak’s reaction of trying to maintain his composure.
“But the character I dislike the most is not the leader.”
“If so, who has the biggest problem?”
“It’s the guy named Mujin who believes in the leader and runs wild.”
“Are you talking about the recommendation?”
“Whew. The nickname Kwonje is too good to be true. If he wasn’t the leader’s favorite, he would be kicked out of the alliance right away.”
“Hahahaha. Was he really that hopeless?”
When he saw that the reaction was more intense when he cursed Mujin than when he cursed the leader, Hyeoncheon, Jegal Wuhwan quickly thought about it.
‘Wow. Looks like Kwonje’s anger has worked.’
He realized that the bait to catch the fish was ready and started moving his mouth nonstop.
“It’s not enough to say that he’s a loser. Do you know how much Shaolin values him just because he’s so good at martial arts?”
“How arrogant that guy is. He still has a reputation for being a bit of a post-secondary strategist, but he ignores me, the Commander-in-Chief of the Meng Army, just because I have some martial arts skills.”
“Even now, he sometimes looks at me with suspicion, and his eyes are filled with murderous intent, no different from threatening to kill me if I catch him doing something. How can a disciple of the sect be so murderous?”
As we were gossiping, it turned out that it was not a made-up story, but rather Jegal Wu-hwan who was spewing out curses full of selfish intentions.
Huang Bo-ak, who sensed Zhuge Wu-hwan’s sincerity, was unconsciously adding his own spin to it.
“Huh. How can a young kid be so arrogant!”
“It’s all because of the leader who unconditionally protects that damn bastard just because he’s good at martial arts!!”
Zhuge Wuhuan, who was completely excited, now started to curse not only Wujin but also Xuantian and Shaolin.
Even so, he continued to pour and sip alcohol into his own glass and Hwang Bo-ak’s glass.
“I have no way to control this anger, so I have come to see you. Please accept my drink, my lord.”
Hwang Bo-ak, whose face had suddenly turned red along with Zhuge Wuhwan, joined in on Zhuge Wuhwan’s gossip in his characteristically loud voice.
“That damned brat, I’ll make sure to take care of him sometime, General.”
“Hahaha. The general has had a hard time!”
Now that the tug-of-war to catch the fish called Hogu was more or less over and all that was left to do was pull it, Zhuge Wuhwan spoke with a drunken look on his face.
“If that’s the case, how about you punish that little brat and then take the position of leader?”
“Hahahaha. I want to do that, but how can I do it as I please?”
“Hehehe. I, Jegal Mo, will help you, my lord. I was the commander-in-chief of the Murim Alliance, and if I, the commander-in-chief here, support you, it’s only a matter of time before you become the leader.”
“Hahaha. It’s a story that I can believe just by hearing it.”
“Hahaha. My lord will become the leader, and I will be content to simply guard the position of commander-in-chief.”
At Zhuge Wuhwan’s words, Huang Boyue smiled with a drunken expression as if he was in trouble.
“Hehehe. That might be a bit difficult. The general staff is our son, Ae-woo… .”
Jegal Mu-hwan swallowed his anticipation at the thought that the information he was looking for had finally come out, but Hwang Bo-ak did not continue speaking.
Immediately after saying ‘Son Ah-woo’, he realized that he had said something useless while drunk.
But instead of digging into it or digging into it like a sewer, Zhuge Wuhwan pretended not to hear it and just let it go.
“Hahaha. This is our first time drinking together, so you may not trust me yet. For now, I need to prove my abilities first.”
After that, instead of trying to forcibly extract information, Zhuge Wuhwan talked about miscellaneous things and drank a couple more glasses before getting up.
“I will return next time with important news for the position of the leader, my lord.”
“Hahaha. Please take a look.”
After saying his final farewells to Hwangbo-ak and Po-kwon, Jegal Mu-hwan left the guest house and staggered towards the head of the Jeongmu Alliance.
It wasn’t an act. In reality, he was incredibly drunk.
It was impossible to drink and secretly get drunk while facing Hwang Bo-ak, who was better than him.
But even though he was drunk, his sharp mind continued to formulate plans for the future.
As far as Zhuge Wuhwan knew, none of Huang Bo-ak’s younger brothers or cousins used the name ‘Huang Bo-son’.
If so, it must mean that among those with the surname Son, there are people who are close enough to be considered brothers.
‘First, I need to return to the blind spot and then order an investigation into the Biyeonggak.’
The net that Zhuge Wuhwan had thrown was falling towards the fishing rod that was controlling the tiger.
* * *
The next morning.
As Mujin was about to leave his quarters to conduct external training, someone came looking for him.
“… … What brings you here from so early in the morning until midnight?”
Mujin tried hard to swallow the words, “With that look?”
That was understandable, as Zhuge Wuhwan came to see Wujin with a half-dead face.
But even without being asked, his expression showed the words, and Zhuge Wuhuan answered.
“I have a bit of a hangover, so please understand. Oh, the reason I came today is because I just stopped by to say hello after receiving a lot of help from Kwon-je last night.”
“… … What do you mean, you received my help last night?”
“There is something like that.”
– And sooner or later, we will be able to find out who the people who came into contact with Hwangbo Se-ga were.
With those words, Zhuge Wuhuan hurriedly walked away as if he had said everything he wanted to say.
“Ugh… … .”
Covering his mouth with one hand.
Mujin, who was looking at the back of her with a bewildered expression, headed towards the training ground with a hollow laugh.
There were some people who arrived there before Mujin and were warming up, and there were also many people who arrived after Mujin.
And just as the training was about to begin, Hwangbo Se-ga’s unmanned forces also arrived in droves.
Mujin, who saw the person standing at the front, frowned without realizing it.
“… … What brings you here, my lord?”
It was because, ridiculously enough, Hwang Bo-ak came to the training ground in person.
“Hahahaha. I asked my master, and he said that Kwon Je’s external skills are really outstanding, so he came to see me in person.”
“… … Then, does your Majesty wish to train with you as well?”
Although it was an absurd situation, Mujin asked sincerely.
Mujin had no intention of leniently treating his opponent like the head of the Sega family.
But the answer he got was one step further than Mujin had expected.
“Hahaha. I guess it would be a bit difficult for my junior to teach me, since it would be burdensome. However, I also came here because I heard that my junior’s external skills are excellent, so how about this? Let’s compete with each other in external skills from now on.”
“Am I speaking to you, my lord?”
“Hahaha. Don’t feel too burdened! From your perspective, you have nothing to lose. Who would take issue with losing to me, the head of the Great Hwangbo Family?”
Mujin couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the sight of Hwangbo-ak, who acted as if he had never even thought about losing to an outsider.
On the other hand, the young warriors around them, regardless of their sect or faction, all looked at the two with expressions full of anticipation.
The battle between the head of the Hwangbo family, whose business was famous throughout the Central Plains, and the new powerhouse Kwon Je, who showed off his incredible strength yesterday, was an external battle.
It was a duel that the young warriors could not help but be interested in.
“… … You want to compete with Mujin in external power?”
“It looks like my waist is folded in half.”
“Amitabha.”
Except for the Shaolin monks.
Fantasy, Wuxia, Fusion,
