◈ Episode 4. The Humiliation of Excessive Desire
The eyes of the iron ark Yuk Mu-bong, who was drinking alcohol, widened.
“Who did you hit?”
Chilbo, kneeling under the table, bowed his head with a pale face.
“Ma, Ma, Madorim’s······ little prince······.”
At that moment, the door opened wide and a subordinate came rushing in, out of breath.
“My lord! The Madorim people have arrived!”
“What the f*ck.”
Yuk Mu-bong, who had thrown down his glass, suddenly stood up.
The front yard of the wire cage, lit by torches.
Woogasan, standing next to Jinmu Rip, was dumbfounded.
A person who bravely set out to get his guest house back got beaten like a dog and rolled around on the floor.
The belated appearance of the Sangho Army was equally absurd.
“Little Prince.”
Jinmu-rip’s handsome face was so swollen that it was difficult to recognize its shape.
“Where did Judea go?”
“I’ll be back soon. Just stay still.”
As the two heads of the circle turned intricately, the door of the pavilion opened and Yuk Mu-bong and his subordinates came out.
“Seniors of Madorim, what are you doing here at this hour?”
Yuk Mu-bong heard the general situation as he came out, but he decided to ignore it until he saw the other person’s reaction.
But the moment he saw Jinmu Rip’s miserable appearance, he had a feeling that things would not go as he had intended.
‘How did it end up like that?’
For a moment, I was under the impression that I was being tortured.
On the other hand, his subordinates who were said to have been in the guest house were all intact and unharmed.
Since Jinmu Rip had asked them to do so, Sangho-gun and Uga-san only looked at Yukmubong and did not open their mouths.
The two people could not see Jinmu-rip’s face as he took a step forward in the heavy silence.
“Are you the young prince of Madorim?”
Yuk Mu-bong asked, but Jin Mu-rip did not open his mouth.
Sangho-gun glanced at Jinmu-rip’s back and thought.
‘What on earth are you thinking?’
Woogasan had similar thoughts, but Jinmurip turned around without saying a word.
“I’m going back.”
Before coming here, the two Wonju had been instructed by Jinmu Rip never to open their mouths, so they turned away without saying a word.
The expression on the face of the Iron Ark’s Yuk Mu-bong hardened.
Although Madorim’s power is not what it used to be, it is not so great that even the Iron Curtain can dare to look down on it.
No matter how much the Grand Inspectorate is behind them, they will not lend a hand in a fight without a just cause.
There are plenty of people in Chongqing who can replace him, so he might even get punished for rashly provoking Madorim.
He instinctively decided that he shouldn’t let the little prince go like this.
“for a moment······.”
The moment Yuk Mu-bong reached out, Jin Mu-rip fell to the ground.
“Little prince!”
Yuk Mu-bong bit his lips tightly and covered his eyes with his hands.
‘Oh, what a shitty situation.’
***
An annex to the wire house.
When the doctor brought by Yu Dae-ha examined Jin Mu-rip, Sang-ho asked urgently.
“How are you?”
The congressman, who had been looking at Yudaeha out of the corner of his eye, spoke with a serious face.
“It’s not good. I don’t know where or how I got hit, but my energy and blood are distorted and if this continues, I could end up a wreck.”
“What?”
Yuk Mu-bong’s expression became serious at the shouts of the soldiers who broke through the door.
‘This is crazy.’
Chimi bit down hard on the toilet.
Even though it was their territory, it was by no means an ordinary thing for them to have brought Cho Pyeong-cheon’s grandson, who didn’t even have a weapon, to such a state.
Besides, when he thought about the look in Jinmu-rip’s eyes that had been glaring at him just a moment ago, he didn’t think he would just let it go.
There was some conversation going on inside, and after a while the door opened.
“It’s getting late, so I’ll escort the doctor home safely. The rest of us should go back to the headquarters and get treated.”
“yes.”
Yu Mu-bong, who had brought out the congressman, left the annex before he could ask anything.
“Let’s go back. We must go and report to the Supreme Being.”
“Okay.”
Sangho-gun, carrying Jinmu-rip on his back, and Wooga-san, with a hardened expression, came out of the room.
“The little prince······.”
Yuk Mu-bong carefully opened his mouth, but the two people who had received Jin Mu-rip’s request left the annex without even opening their mouths.
From the moment they entered the manor until now, there hasn’t been a single word of conversation.
For Yuk Mu-bong, that was even more maddening.
‘If Chopyeongcheon steps in using this as an excuse, there’s no way the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office can intervene. This is driving me crazy.’
I felt like cutting off the heads of the eleven men in the inn and offering them to Madorim.
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***
The quiet morning in Madorim was turned upside down.
This is because the little prince who went out last night came back beaten up by the iron bandits.
It was absurd and even infuriating that a human being like Sogongja was insulted by a mere black bandit.
But no one knew the reason, because the people who had been to the iron room kept their mouths shut at Jinmu-rip’s request, which sounded like an order.
The parties gathered at Taegyeongwon (太京垣), where Taesangrimju Chopyeongcheon resided.
Naerimwonju Sangho-gun, Oerimwonju Uga-san, Jinmu-rip sitting with a swollen face, and Yoo Dae-ha, who followed as an escort, sat down.
Woogasan, who was watching Chopyeongcheon’s reaction, was truly restless.
Because his own tests have brought the little prince to that point.
‘I thought you would give up when you found out it was impossible, but what kind of guts did you have······.’
The reason he had an escort was because he needed someone to advise Jinmu Rip on reality and make him give up.
‘I never thought I’d take Yudaeha, who was in a state of despair.’
Woogasan forced himself to hold back a sigh.
If it had been possible in the first place, he would have stepped forward and taken the guest house himself.
If we had stepped forward without any justification, it could have escalated into a war with the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, so even today, several years after the inn was taken away, we have just stood by and watched.
Chopyeongcheon, who had been lost in thought and silent, asked Jinmurip.
“I heard that your blood and energy are distorted and that it is a very dangerous situation. Can I move?”
Instead of answering, Jinmu-rip glanced at Yu Dae-ha.
Then Judae opened his mouth carefully.
“Your Majesty is in good health except for his injuries.”
Sangho-gun asked with a puzzled look on his face.
“What does that mean? Didn’t you hear what the congressman said yesterday?”
“He is not a member of the National Assembly. He recruited a talented member of the Peking Opera and paid him money to perform the role.”
“what?”
Sangho-gun and Uga-san’s eyes widened.
What on earth were your intentions in making me act like that?
Chopyeongcheon asked.
“Does that have anything to do with the Oerimwonju test?”
Woogasan’s heart sank at Chopyeongcheon’s words.
When he, resigned, was about to open his mouth to ask for forgiveness, Jinmu-rip spoke first.
“No, I just wanted to drink.”
Ugasan’s eyes sparkled.
‘Little Prince?’
As Ugasan’s expression changed strangely, the voice of the messenger was heard from outside.
“Lord of the Supreme Being. I would like to see the Iron Ark.”
A smile appeared on Jinmu-rip’s lips.
“You came.”
After a while, the Iron Ark’s Yuk Mu-bong came in with a pale face.
“It’s been a long time, Your Majesty.”
The opponent was the leader of the Black Swordsmen who had beaten up the grandson who had been brought in with difficulty. Chopyeongcheon’s eyes could not have been kind.
“What shame have you for coming all the way here?”
Yuk Mu-bong, who was oppressed by Chopyeongcheon’s oppressive prayer, flinched and shook his shoulders.
“I came to ask for forgiveness for the unpleasant incident last night.”
Yuk Mu-bong slowly knelt down and bowed respectfully.
“Last night’s incident was absolutely unintentional. It was the work of my drunken subordinates who did not recognize the young prince, so please be lenient.”
Chopyeongcheon glanced at Jinmurip and felt that there might be some hidden intention in his grandson’s expression.
Chopyeongcheon handed over the initiative of the conversation to Jinmurip.
“What do you think? Whatever you wish, I will do it as you wish.”
As Jinmu-rip limped out, Yu Dae-ha’s expression became subtle.
Because I saw him eat a big breakfast like everyone else and walk around confidently.
Jinmu-rip, who had come out with difficulty, looked at Chopyeongcheon and spoke respectfully.
“There is a rumor going around Chungkyung that a young prince of Madorim was beaten to death by a group of black thugs. How can I, a poor man like me, live to see the heavens when I have tarnished the honor of the Rim? I would like to cut off his head, but I do not have the ability to do so, so I feel like taking my own life.”
Chopyeongcheon’s gaze towards Yukmu Peak became fiercer than ever.
“Go back. I will personally find the wiretapping unit and hold them accountable.”
In the world of martial arts, asking for responsibility is like declaring war.
Yuk Mu-bong, who had become thoughtful, quickly took out a silk envelope from his bosom.
“We admit all of our mistakes! Please accept the small amount of money I have brought for the medical expenses of the little prince.”
Jin Mu-rip snatched the envelope and threw it away without even looking at its contents.
“I have never experienced such humiliation as last night in my life. I have become the laughing stock of Chongqing, and do you think this can be resolved with a few pennies? Whether I die or you die, I will never forget my grudge until one of us dies.”
Jinmu Rip’s threats sent a chill down Yuk Mu-bong’s spine.
Now that the truth is clear, we can no longer expect the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office to protect us.
Yuk Mu-bong could never send Jin Mu-rip away like this.
“My lord! I was wrong. If there is anything you want, just tell me!”
Jinmu-rip glanced at Uga-san at the earnest cry of Yuk Mu-bong, who was holding onto the hem of his trousers.
Ugasan, whose eyes met mine, trembled without him knowing it.
‘For this······ the little prince is absolutely out of his mind.’
***
No matter how important your business is, nothing is more important than your life.
Only after handing over the Qingha guest cup was Yuk Mu-bong finally able to receive Jin Mu-rip’s forgiveness.
Yuk Mu-bong, standing in front of Chopyeongcheon, had no time to think about what it meant to pass over the guest house located on Seobuk-ro.
If the price for beating up Madorim’s little prince ended up being one guest, then I thought it was a cheap deal.
This is because the amount of the voucher he brought was higher than the value of the guest’s cup.
Yuk Mu-bong, who had been bowing repeatedly, returned with a relieved look on his face.
As he left, Chopyeongcheon asked.
“Was the test given by the Lord of Oerimwon the one who invited Cheongha?”
Woogasan looked at Jinmurip with a dark expression.
If he had driven the young prince to the brink of death just to test his abilities, it seemed inevitable that he would be punished by the Supreme Lord.
But Jinmu-rip shook his head as if he had no idea what was going on.
“no.”
Woogasan couldn’t read Jinmurip’s thoughts at all. When his expression became complicated, Chopyeongcheon asked again.
“So what was the test?”
As everyone’s eyes were focused on him, Jinmu-rip’s swollen face moved as if he was smiling.
“Changing people’s hearts. That’s the answer to the test I think.”
***
Woogasan followed Jinmurip as he left Taegyeongwon.
“Little Prince.”
“what?”
“That······.”
Woogasan hesitated, unable to continue speaking.
His expression and attitude had become much more polite than before.
Woogasan, who had been thinking for a moment, asked with difficulty.
“You went through all that humiliation just to pass the test?”
“Does it matter?”
“The world of martial arts is a place where lives are at stake because of pride.”
Yu Dae-ha, who had been following Jinmu-rip, was also curious about that. Wasn’t he also trying to leave Madorim because of his pride?
No matter how purposeful he may have been, Jinmu Rip’s methods were something that no martial artist could have imagined.
Jin Mu-rip, who read the two people’s thoughts, laughed in a pitiful manner.
“If a man has a purpose, how can he avoid excessive desires? If he can’t even get back the guest house that was taken away by the black bandits because he’s worried about what other people think, then if he just shows off his pride, will glory come to him on its own?”
Jinmu-rip, frowning deeply, poked his temple with his index finger.
“Wake up. If you’re hanging on to a tree branch while falling, you have to hold on to it to get back up. Unless you’re curious about the bottom of the cliff, face reality.”
Woogasan, who was a fool to the core, could not fully accept Jinmurip’s words.
But I wasn’t so foolish as to not understand what those words meant.
I had a vague sense that a change was needed to regain my former glory, but until now there had been no opportunity to do so.
‘Am I getting old too?’
Ugasan felt like Jinmurip was the wind.
It was a wind of change blowing through the stagnant Madorim.
