Chapter 75:

Chapter 75:

“Chief Officer Geum, the Sangdanju is looking for you.”

“Let’s go together.”

As Geum Pyo-gu looked at the group of warriors who had come to find him, his pupils momentarily shook.

It was already past the time when the situation should have been resolved, yet the Sangdanju was looking for him.

Surely, it wasn’t that Ryu Seol-ho had already been recognized as the Sangdanju and that they were calling him by that title.

‘Does this mean... failure?’

The moment of failure would inevitably lead to the plan being discovered. It was a scheme that could only be carried out by using his position.

However, he had believed it would surely succeed, so he had willingly taken the risk.

‘First, assess the situation and then... decide the next action...’

As Geum Pyo-gu’s thoughts reached that point, he shook his head.

The first principle as a spy:

– If there is a risk of your identity being exposed to the enemy, you must commit suicide without hesitation.

He couldn’t disregard this principle, which Agent 1027 had foolishly ignored.

With a swift decision, Geum Pyo-gu bit down on the poison he always kept in his mouth.

“!!!”

“Save him! We need to take him to a physician immediately!!”

As dark red blood suddenly flowed from Geum Pyo-gu’s mouth, the warriors who had come to take him urgently moved.

“...It’s too late.”

However, by the time they grabbed Geum Pyo-gu, he had already breathed his last.

* * *

After Ryu Ji-gwang ordered that the Chief Officer be brought to him, about a quarter of an hour had passed.

The warriors who had gone to capture Geum Pyo-gu returned, carrying a bundle of papers along with his body.

“What... happened here?”

“When we arrived, he committed suicide without hesitation.”

“Hmm...”

At their reply, Ryu Ji-gwang felt a chilling sensation at the back of his head. Although he had suspected, he never imagined that Geum Pyo-gu, who had served for over forty years, would choose betrayal.

‘No, if it were mere betrayal, he wouldn’t have taken such measures.’

If it had been simple betrayal, he would have begged for his life, spouting nonsense about being temporarily insane or asking for forgiveness.

He wouldn’t have chosen to commit suicide so hastily.

At that moment, other warriors appeared in the banquet hall, carrying another corpse.

“Upon inspection, it’s confirmed that he was indeed one of Ryu Seol-ho’s bodyguards.”

As they lifted the corpse with the broken neck for display, Ryu Ji-gwang’s gaze naturally turned to his second son.

“!!!”

Unable to move or speak due to the pressure exerted by Hyun-gwang, Ryu Seol-ho could only communicate with his eyes.

‘Yes... That’s the look of a traitor caught in the act.’

The increasing likelihood that his second son had indeed orchestrated this, caused Ryu Ji-gwang to feel a throbbing headache.

At that moment, one of the warriors who had brought the papers along with Geum Pyo-gu’s body handed the bundle to Ryu Ji-gwang.

“These are the personnel details of the guards assigned around the banquet hall and the deployment orders issued by the Chief Officer this morning.”

Ryu Ji-gwang quickly skimmed through the documents handed over by the warrior, then turned his gaze towards the banquet hall.

“That one. That one. And that one over there.”

He pointed at several of the men subdued by Hyun-gwang. They were the sub-chiefs involved in this incident. After pointing out the four sub-chiefs, Ryu Ji-gwang closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them.

“And capture the Nanchang sub-chief.”

He gave the order, pointing to his second son.

* * *

That evening.

While Ryu Ji-gwang was busy cleaning up the mess at the banquet hall and dealing with the rebels and spies, Mu-jin and Hyun-gwang had returned to their assigned quarters.

“Are you feeling any better?”

Hyun-gwang asked with a sorrowful look in his eyes. Mu-jin, trying to appear cheerful, replied with a brave face.

“As the physicians said, I just need to rest for a few days. There were no fatal injuries, Grandfather.”

“Mu-jin! You shouldn’t move!”

As Mu-jin tried to get up to talk with Hyun-gwang, Ryu Seol-hwa, who had followed him here to take care of him, hurriedly held him down.

“Seol-hwa is right. Just lie down and rest.”

“...Understood.”

Hyun-gwang looked at Mu-jin, who was trying to appear unhurt, for a moment before speaking.

“I should have acted a bit faster.”

“I was the one who asked you to protect the banquet hall. I’m just grateful that what I feared didn’t happen. It was a valuable experience in many ways. Haha.”

‘Hyun-gwang Monk is a detached person, yet he was so angry about Mu-jin’s injury. And considering that he even called Mu-jin his grandchild, the bond will not break even if Mu-jin were to leave the monastic life. So, if Seol-hwa and Mu-jin were to be together!’

Ryu Ji-gwang envisioned a perfect scenario in his mind.

But that was a matter for the distant future, and the current situation was more pressing. He needed to settle the accounts of what had happened today first.

He believed that maintaining relationships required reciprocating favors. He was a merchant, after all.

On the other hand, he was worried that Hyun-gwang, being a near-enlightened monk, might refuse any compensation.

“Hahaha. Compensation should be simple.”

“What kind of compensation do you desire?”

“Money.”

“...Pardon?”

Hyun-gwang needed money to obtain what Mu-jin required.

A substantial amount of money.

“Hahaha. Having saved the lives of the entire Cheonryu Sangdan family, how much should I ask for? I’m afraid I’m not very good with numbers, being a monk unfamiliar with worldly matters. Hahaha.”

Watching Hyun-gwang laugh heartily, Ryu Ji-gwang felt a cold sweat run down his back.

* * *

A few days later.

After receiving emergency treatment, Mu-jin returned with Hyun-gwang to the musculoskeletal treatment clinic where the Shaolin disciples were.

Cheonryu Sangdan was in the midst of organizing and purging spies, making the place chaotic, so they left the Sangdan. Even Yeon Ga-hee and Ryu Ji-gwang couldn’t stop them.

When Mu-jin returned, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, the Shaolin disciples at the clinic were all shocked and astonished.

Leaving a simple remark to those disciples, “Take good care of Mu-jin,” Hyun-gwang took a thick bundle and headed towards Mount Song.

Thanks to his injuries, Mu-jin, who was now receiving the utmost care from the masters, was currently...

“Burp.”

...thoroughly enjoying a ‘nourishing meal.’

“Mu-jin... No matter how much blood you’ve lost, eating meat might be a bit dangerous, don’t you think?”

“I am a patient. A patient. Didn’t the Abbot change the Shaolin regulations? He allowed meat consumption for ‘severely injured’ patients!”

The regulation had changed during Hyun-gwang’s treatment. Specifically, for ‘severely injured’ patients, it allowed the consumption of meat obtained from ‘dead animals.’ No matter what, killing living animals for meat was not in line with Shaolin’s principles.

Regardless of the circumstances, Mu-jin was enjoying a lavish array of nourishing foods, including various meats, fish, and some vegetables, piled high enough to break the table legs.

“That’s right! Mu-jin Monk is a patient right now!”

Beside Mu-jin was Ryu Seol-hwa, the person who brought these lavish dishes, glaring at the Shaolin disciples.

“Instead of bothering Mu-jin Monk, why don’t you go check on other patients?”

“Ugh.”

“Ah, yes, understood.”

Overwhelmed by Ryu Seol-hwa’s fierce aura, the Shaolin disciples eventually rose to attend to their clinic duties.

“Mu-jin Monk, please eat and rest comfortably.”

“Hahaha. Thank you, Benefactor Seol-hwa.”

Smiling brightly at Mu-jin’s words, she stood up.

She also had a female guest she was expecting today.

A few hours later.

After finishing her duties for the day, she walked towards the pavilion where Mu-jin was resting with a spring in her step.

‘I wonder what food I should bring him for dinner. Hehe.’

Thinking about the nourishing food, her face flushed again. It was because of what her father had told her that morning.

‘Stay by Mu-jin’s side and take care of him as best as you can. Try to make him interested in the secular world.’

Although he didn’t say more, she could easily imagine it. Mu-jin taking an interest in the secular world, leaving the monastic life, and living happily with her.

Just imagining it made her face flush with blood, and with slightly trembling hands, she cautiously opened the door.

“...Mu-jin Monk, what are you doing right now?”

In response to her question, asked with a suddenly sullen face, Mu-jin answered with a bright smile.

“Ah. I was doing leg exercises. I feel like I’ve lost muscle since I’ve been resting for a few days.”

Sweating profusely from his forehead, Mu-jin responded cheerfully as he bent and straightened his legs.

Building muscle is easy, but losing it is just as easy. After resting for a few days, Mu-jin felt as if the muscles he had painstakingly built over three years had vanished.

Moreover, since he had replenished plenty of protein with the nourishing food that Ryu Seol-hwa brought in the morning, he thought it was time to replenish his muscles.

At least, that was what Mu-jin thought.

“...You’re exercising while you’re still injured?”

“Hahaha. Except for the wounds on my arms and back, I’m fine. So, leg exercises should be okay, right?”

With that cheerful answer, the blood rushed to Ryu Seol-hwa’s head again, but for a different reason this time.

“Are you crazy!? Lie down and rest immediately!!”

Her rare shout echoed through the musculoskeletal treatment clinic.