◈ Local War (1)
Starting with the traces left on the mountain, we moved on for the second day, following the traces of the landowner.
‘Should I go back like this?’
Mujin was lost in such worries.
Unlike the obvious traces that had been left on the mountain at first, the traces became very faint as we chased after them.
Time was wasted trying to find the faint traces and infer their movement path, and now the traces were almost completely gone.
Mujin, who felt that it would be impossible to chase them away even if he tried to buy time like this, made a decision.
“I give up the chase. I think it would be best for us to return to Maeng.”
The eyes of those who were searching the surroundings for traces were focused on Mujin.
Everyone had a look of regret on their face, but no one rebelled.
All of them felt that it was now difficult to find traces.
Mujin looked at the faces of those who had suffered through two days of working through the night and shouted.
“Since the raid has already started, we will stop by a nearby county to rest for a day and then return to Maeng.”
“All right!”
Even though I failed in my mission, I did the best I could.
The mood wasn’t too bad, as there were no casualties or deaths, only a failed attempt to assassinate the landlord.
They headed to the nearby county, all in the guise of a green forest and open roads.
Fortunately, there was a fairly large yard, so accommodating nearly two hundred people was not a big problem.
However, no matter how large the castle was, two hundred people could not stay in one place, so they split up into groups and chose guest rooms.
And Mujin, along with Mu-gyeong, Mu-gung, and several of Jegal Se, including Jegal Jin-hee, headed to a large guest house.
Among the two hundred warriors, there were Shaolin disciples, including the three Musabae warriors, but Mujin insisted on having a separate guest house with them.
‘If I can’t eat as much as I want on a day like this, what kind of suffering is that?’
This was because if you shared a guest house with Shaolin’s private tutors or private tutors, you wouldn’t be able to eat meat or drink alcohol, so there couldn’t be anything more uncomfortable than that.
Immediately after entering the guest house, Jegal Jinhee asked Mujin a question.
“What will Monk Mujin do?”
The question was asking what should come first: bathing or eating.
“First, find a room and rest. We will eat first.”
Jegal Jin-hee nodded at Mu-jin’s suggestion and moved inside with Jegal Se-ga’s warriors, guided by Jeom So-yi.
The one who was hanging out with Mujin while he was transformed into an open road was Jegal Jinhee, who was already secretly worried, so she was the one who was most in need of a bath.
And right after all of Jegal Se-ga’s people headed to the inner quarters, Mu-jin ordered food from another Jeom-soi.
“Give me seven of the most confident dishes here. And three bottles of bamboo leaf tea.”
“Yay~!!”
Despite his appearance as a rascal, Jeomsoi also responds cheerfully to the cheerful orders.
To be exact, it may be because of the hermits who came with the cheerful orders.
Since there was no one to watch, Mujin waited for the food and drinks with an excited face, thinking that he could enjoy the drinks and meat to his heart’s content.
Although Mugung and Mugyeong did not show it openly, a faint smile did not leave their lips.
Although he wasn’t wearing the Shaolin monk’s robes for the secret mission anyway, Mujin, who knew the truth, couldn’t help but laugh.
‘You guys are all done for.’
And after a while.
A table full of various foods, including meat and seafood, was laid out in front of the three men, and next to it were bottles and glasses of alcohol.
Mugung tried to act polite, but he began to shovel in a mouthful that would take three spoonfuls for most people, befitting his large size. Mugung, who couldn’t break his habit, secretly took meat and drank alcohol like a swindler.
And Mujin.
Crunch crunch.
He was fighting and destroying food.
The customers sitting next to me are leaving.
“Here, give me one more of each of the same! And this time, three bottles of Sohongju, please!”
Whether new customers were seated or not, Mujin ordered new food and ate what was left.
Mujin was completely absorbed in the delicacies he had not been able to enjoy for a while, but a story he could not ignore came out from the seat next to him.
“Hey, have you heard the news?”
“Huh. That news… … . The hottest topic these days is the Jeongmu Alliance story.”
“Hey. Looks like you already heard.”
“Hey, my friend. How can a merchant go about peddling without even hearing such news?”
Still shoving food and drinks into my mouth, my hearing naturally became focused on their conversation.
The political alliance has been noisy lately.
Are you saying that something happened while they were out on their mission?
As I was moving around here and there, following the traces of the landowner, I couldn’t properly exchange messages with Maeng, so I couldn’t help but be even more curious.
Very kindly, the two of them satisfied Mujin’s curiosity.
Completely unexpected and completely unwanted.
“That’s true, but isn’t it surprising in many ways?”
“It’s surprising. The new alliance created by Gupaebang and Odaeseaga collapsed in less than a year.”
“What is a year? You couldn’t even last three months. And the rumor is that there was only one person who attacked Jeongmu Alliance.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a harsh cough erupted, making the guest leave.
“Coolook! Cackle… … .”
Mugung, who was pretending to be polite and stuffing meat into his mouth, was caught in a rage.
On the other hand, Moo-kyung was frozen in the same position as he was secretly poking his chopsticks into the meat.
As the guests’ attention turned to Mu-gung’s loud coughing, Mu-jin let out a small sigh and got up.
Mujin approached the two merchants sitting next to him and calmly opened his mouth.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help it because we were close. Could you tell me more about the Jeongmu Alliance? I’ll give you a generous reward.”
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When Mujin held out the silver coin and said this, the two merchants kept talking nonstop as if they were wondering what kind of windfall this was.
A rumor that has recently begun to spread rapidly throughout the Central Plains.
The story goes that the Jeongmu Alliance’s buildings were completely destroyed, two-thirds of those in the Alliance at the time were killed, and all survivors, including the Alliance leader, fled somewhere.
And as I mentioned earlier, there is shocking news that one man single-handedly brought down the group called Jeongmu Alliance.
The two merchants who suddenly made a fortune chatted excitedly, but at some point they had no choice but to become quiet.
The man who had offered them silver, the man who had been coughing so loudly just a moment ago, and even the quiet man who had been with them.
This was because all three of them stood there with their mouths shut and miserable expressions on their faces.
The two merchants, who had noticed that the three were martial artists, looked at them with anxious faces, wondering if something had happened.
The three men of Mujabae had no time to consider the merchants’ feelings.
* * *
The three of them were shocked by the news and were at a loss for a while.
While I was out on a mission for a short time, I lost my place to return to.
Of course, the three Musabae members could return to Shaolin, but there was no place left for them, who were from various sects, to return ‘together’.
“First, let’s check if the rumor is true.”
First, Mujin mentioned the possibility that the rumors told by the merchants were false.
but.
“Your Majesty!! Maeng-i, Maeng-i has collapsed!”
People who were resting in other guest houses came to Mujin in a hurry, looking as if they had just heard shocking news.
Seeing that everyone was saying the same thing, it seemed very likely that the rumor was true.
Even if the rumors were false, it seemed as though something had happened to Maeng.
“I can’t grasp the exact situation right now, so for now, take a rest today.”
It was an ambiguous situation where it was difficult to make a decision. Since everyone was physically and mentally exhausted from the chase that lasted several days, Mujin ordered them to rest first.
And the next morning.
Fortunately or unfortunately, a guest came to visit Mujin.
He was a middle-aged man with a beggarly appearance.
No, he wasn’t a beggar-like man, just a middle-aged beggar.
“I am the drunkard who is the owner of the open house.”
It was a stroke of genius that Mujin stayed here with his two hundred men to rest.
Because there were so many of them, they stood out, so when they heard the news, they quickly tried to contact them.
The drunkard briefly explained the situation of the Jeongmu Alliance.
As rumored, the Jeongmu Alliance has collapsed. And there is even news that Hyeoncheon and Jegalmu-hwan have escaped and begun to reorganize the alliance.
“We are reorganizing the alliance in the outer county of Shaanxi Province, where the former stronghold of the Murim Alliance still remains.”
“… … So, how much damage was there? Was it really true that one third of the population was killed as rumored?”
To Mujin’s question, Chui Geul Gae nodded with a heavy face, as if he found it difficult to answer.
“They say that God himself moved.”
“… … .”
Only after the drunkard’s explanation was Mujin able to understand the situation.
‘Damn. Was it a mistake to think that I couldn’t move because I was worried about the imperial family’s reaction?’
But now was not the time to just regret things like this.
“Let’s get ready right away and head to Shaanxi Province!”
After a day of rest, Mujin and his party headed to Shaanxi Province with light bodies.
However, compared to my light body, my mind was extremely heavy.
* * *
After traveling for several days, they were able to arrive in the outer county of Shaanxi Province.
There, construction was underway to rebuild the collapsed Murim Alliance.
However, the atmosphere was completely different from when the political alliance was formed. This was because the situation was no different from that of defeated soldiers.
And strangely enough, the gloomy atmosphere brightened up a little with Mujin’s appearance.
“It’s a recommendation!”
“The King has returned!”
There, those in charge of construction and surveillance with unhappy faces welcomed Mujin upon seeing him.
No, it wasn’t just Mujin.
“The anti-horse, non-retirement small group!”
“The great swordsman Geumgang Iljang and the Ice Flower Jegal Sogaju have also arrived!”
They were the ones who shouted out the nicknames of the group that returned with Mujin.
In the midst of this confusion, Mujin and his group dispersed and headed towards the new location of the alliance.
And there, Hyeoncheon and Jegal Mu-hwan, who had heard the news that Mu-jin had returned, were waiting.
“Your Majesty!”
“Mujin-ah. I’m glad you’re safe.”
Hyuncheon, whom I met after ten days, seemed to have aged ten years in the meantime.
On behalf of Hyeoncheon, who seemed to be suffering greatly, Jegal Mu-hwan and Mu-jin shared stories of what they had experienced together.
“I’m sorry. In the end, we failed to catch the landlord.”
“It’s just that they reacted quickly. It was better that they gave up the chase quickly. If they had kept chasing the landlord and had not been able to contact us, the commander would have been in danger.”
Mujin understood what Jegal Muhwan was trying to say.
Since Cheonju had started to operate openly, if Mujin had been chasing the landowner for a long time, in the worst case scenario, he might have been attacked by Cheonju like Maeng had been.
“So then, what do you plan to do now?”
Mujin, who had somehow figured out the situation, asked. The collapse of the fortress had already happened, so now was the time to discuss what to do next.
“Maybe they’ll start a full-scale uprising now.”
“If it’s an uprising, does that mean it’s a rebellion?”
“It may not be a rebellion, but I will aim to unify the martial arts world.”
“???”
When Mujin made a face of incomprehension, Jegal Mu-hwan added an explanation.
“As you will know from hearing the news of Meng this time, the martial arts of Cheonju can be said to have reached the heavens. No one can deny that he is the best in the world. However, his goal is to become the emperor of the empire. The position of ‘emperor’ is not a position that can be obtained by excelling alone.”
“Is it because of the imperial army?”
“Because he needs someone to carry out his orders. Even if the Lord of Heaven’s martial arts are excellent, how can he rule this vast Central Plains alone?”
“ah…….”
“Perhaps the reason why they planted subordinates here and there in the Shincheon clan or disguised themselves as small and medium-sized clans to carry out their work was not simply to hide their power. It was probably to create a force that could exert influence over the entire Central Plains even after they waged war against the imperial family.”
“… … It seems that the Shincheon clans and underlings who have been carrying out corruption throughout the Central Plains will begin their activities openly.”
Zhuge Wuhuan nodded.
“Now that the Lord of Heaven has blatantly revealed himself, they won’t be able to waste any more time. However, it’s impossible to handle the entire Central Plains with just the underlings and vassals who have been working in secret. Just like the Black Swordsmen, the Shincheon warriors who have risen up will try to swallow up the nearby sects in each region.”
After hearing the entire explanation, a picture naturally formed in Mujin’s head.
A battle will unfold between Shincheon, who is trying to swallow up nearby sects and use them as his minions, and those who are trying to stop them.
“Is there a local war going on throughout the Central Plains?”
That too, a war that drenched the entire central plains in blood.
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