I Am the Youngest Disciple of the Martial Arts World’s Mastermind
Chapter 20
Chapter 20
The Youngest Disciple of the Murim’s Hidden Mastermind
Episode 20
“Mmm.”
I took a bite of the dumpling Danhwi had cooled for me while glancing at the merchants lining the stalls.
‘None of them can take their eyes off us.’
Even though Danhwi’s stunning looks were hidden, the merchants were staring at him with bloodshot eyes.
The cause was the silver Danhwi was tossing around.
With a single point of my finger, Danhwi would buy up every item on a stall.
‘And as expected…’
In between them, I saw people watching Danhwi with eyes very different from the merchants.
They exchanged hand signals in the dark alleys before vanishing somewhere. Thanks to my elevated vantage point on Danhwi’s shoulder, I saw everything.
I tapped Danhwi on the shoulder, leaned down, and whispered into his ear.
“Young Master Dan, I’d like to rest for a bit.”
My heart hammered against my ribs.
‘From your high seat, you’ll notice people who stand out. If you catch anyone acting unnaturally or looking out of place, tap my shoulder and say, “Young Master Dan.”’
‘Do you think I can find them?’
‘Of course. No one reads people better than a beggar. You’ve got the experience, after all.’
It was exactly as Danhwi had said.
When I spoke the prearranged code, Danhwi nodded naturally.
“Understood. My Lady, it must have been a long journey to Hwangun County. I shall escort you to the inn.”
As we rounded the corner, we came upon a street lined with inns.
In the gathering twilight, the attendants were coming out one by one to hang lanterns.
Among them, one inn stood out more than any other on the street.
‘Wow, it’s even bigger than the one we stayed at in Dongting Lake.’
Just as I was marveling at the sight.
“……?”
Danhwi, with me still on his shoulder, walked toward that very inn without a moment’s hesitation.
“Huh?”
Startled, I tapped his shoulder again.
“Hwi, Young Hero Hwi. Are we staying there?”
Danhwi nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Yes. This inn is sponsored by our merchant guild.”
So the guild wasn’t just a cover story? It actually exists…?
While I was reeling from the shock, Danhwi strode forward, passing under a very luxurious wooden plaque that read: Cheonun (天運) Inn.
As I glanced at the patrons having their meals, an attendant bowed to us and guided us politely.
“Welcome. Shall I prepare a room? Or would you like to dine first?”
Danhwi replied in a low voice.
“A room, please. I have arrived with the young lady of the Cheonun Merchant Guild.”
“Ah, the lady and the warrior we were expecting. We have prepared a special suite. Please, follow me to the second floor.”
“Very well. Let us go, My Lady.”
Danhwi lowered me from his shoulder and took my hand as we headed to the second floor.
Only after confirming that the suite was empty and soundproofed did I finally…
“…Phew~!”
I let out the breath I’d been holding.
“Heh.”
Danhwi chuckled as if he’d expected this and lightly peeled off the human skin mask, setting it down. Then, with his usual charming face, he leaned back deeply into the chair and crossed his legs.
Wow, how did he do that?
The Danhwi I’d seen all day was completely different from the great hero who had toyed with Wangcho while fluttering his fan, or the mischievous version of himself back at Cheongsanbong.
To think he could perfectly change his mannerisms and way of speaking just by wearing a mask….
“How can you become such a different person!?”
“You’ll get good at it too.”
Danhwi gave a short laugh. Ignoring the wine bottle already on the table, he pulled a flask from his robes and took a drink.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be as good as you, Young Hero Hwi….”
“It’s because I’ve been trained for a long time.”
“What kind of training?”
I replied absentmindedly to Danhwi’s words as I looked around the room.
The place we stayed at in Dongting Lake was nice, but this inn was not only larger—the bedding looked twice as luxurious.
He watched me scurrying around the room, and instead of answering my question, he wiped his mouth and asked:
“Kaaah. So, Soso. Didn’t you notice anything strange?”
“Uh….”
Is it okay to say it?
As I hesitated, Danhwi set the flask down completely and spoke.
“I’ve cast a sound-blocking technique so no one can eavesdrop. Don’t worry and speak your mind.”
If that was the case… I slowly opened my mouth.
“The town was huge and full of life… but I saw people who seemed strangely shadowed.”
“Oho, who specifically?”
“The people selling things. The man who gave me the dumpling—I saw bandages under his sleeve. He looked like he was hurt.”
“Sharp. Why do you think that is?”
Usually, in these cases….
“Is there an unorthodox sect collecting protection money? But in a town this large….”
“Correct.”
Danhwi snapped his fingers.
“You hit the mark. This town is technically under the jurisdiction of the Zhuge Clan—those smart bastards are supposed to protect it. But they’ve been negligent lately, and the Black Way thugs have started running rampant.”
The Zhuge Clan? Wait, could this be….
I ignored the world-building lore surfacing in my mind and asked Danhwi in a high-pitched voice.
“Then what are we going to do?”
“We’re going to give the Zhuge Clan a little boost.”
Danhwi smirked as he put the human skin mask back on.
“Wow! Then we’re on the good side, right?”
“For now.”
I struggled to climb up into a high chair, marveling inwardly.
I knew it.
[The Zhuge Clan was the first to notice the Heavenly Demon Cult’s return to the jianghu.
Because there were many incidents in Hubei involving Black Way groups impersonating the Demonic Cult, the clan had studied the cult’s characteristics to distinguish between them.]
A script from the game’s world-building came to mind.
Since the Black Way thugs were currently impersonating the cult, it meant the Heavenly Demon Cult hadn’t officially emerged yet, so I could breathe a sigh of relief for now.
I used to think it was a bit of a plot hole—how the Zhuge Clan, who lacked martial might, managed to defeat the thugs posing as the Demonic Cult….
‘The Murim’s hidden mastermind helped them, didn’t they?’
“Kid.”
“Yes!”
I looked at Danhwi as he rose from his seat.
Having returned perfectly to the persona of ‘Young Hero Hwi,’ Danhwi narrowed his eyes and smiled at me.
Even with the plain face of the human skin mask, he looked strangely handsome.
“Now, when you hear ‘Thump, Clatter, Bang’ in that order from below, come down. Got it?”
“Yes!”
Click. After Danhwi closed the door and left, I pressed my ear against it and focused my senses.
…And truly, after a few minutes had passed.
Thump, Clatter, Bang!
The sounds came in the exact order. Now!
The noise was growing louder by the second.
I hurried down the stairs. From below, I heard a woman’s loud, angry voice.
“Do you have any idea who I am!?”
Oh. Is it the Zhuge Clan?
Since he said this town was Zhuge territory, anyone who would speak like that must be from that family.
The moment I reached the bottom of the stairs, a rare sight inside the inn unfolded before my eyes.
In the middle of the wrecked dining hall, a woman wearing a face veil had hidden weapons drawn, and a man in a bamboo hat stood in front of her, guarding her with a sword.
If that side was the Zhuge Clan….
I turned my gaze to the other side.
“Hah? It is you lot who have clearly never heard the name of the Demonic Cult!”
A group dressed entirely in black stood there, nodding their heads with arrogant bravado.
“How dare you interfere with the Demonic Cult’s business!”
“We don’t feel like making a scene either. There should be a wealthy guest here—just hand him over and we’ll leave!”
Wow, they must have followed us after seeing those silver pieces earlier.
Even though they were pathetic for people impersonating the Demonic Cult…
“…The Demonic Cult?”
The Zhuge Clan side looked flustered.
Even though ten years had passed since the end of the Orthodox-Demonic Great War, the Demonic Cult’s infamy remained high.
The damage the Righteous Faction sustained in that war was greater than the glory of their victory. Since the Heavenly Demon Cult had retreated to the Hundred Thousand Mountains with the promise that they would return one day, the mere mention of their name was enough to make anyone tense.
But you can’t fall for it! Just as I was about to stomp my feet in frustration, a familiar voice rang out.
“I have never heard that the Heavenly Demon Cult refers to themselves as the ‘Demonic Cult.’”
It’s Danhwi!
Exactly. There’s a mistake that people impersonating the cult always make: the members of that cult never call themselves ‘Demonic.’
“…What?”
Standing in the middle of the chaotic hall, Danhwi drew the collective gaze of both the Zhuge Clan and the fake cultists as he strode toward me and stood by my side.
“I am a guard of the Cheonun Merchant Guild. You’ll have to pay the price for causing a disturbance in the Cheonun Inn and frightening the young lady.”
So that’s why he told me to come down now.
“Young Hero Hwi, I’m scared….”
Without even a hint of sincerity, I grabbed a handful of Danhwi’s sleeve and whimpered, pretending to be on the verge of tears.
