Translator: Nox

I Am the Youngest Disciple of the Martial Arts World’s Mastermind

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The Youngest Disciple of the Murim’s Hidden Mastermind

Chapter 29

“Are you not curious about what she asked of me?”

“She likely asked you to keep it a secret from me anyway.”

“…That is correct.”

“Haha.”

Hyeonhak studied the face of Cheong-ui Sanin, who was smiling lightly, and asked in a low voice.

“However, to fulfill that request, I must descend from Cheongsanbong.”

“Ah… you mean yourself personally?”

“Yes.”

“And are you confident you can restrain yourself?”

“I will try my best.”

“Try?”

When Cheong-ui Sanin stopped laughing and looked at Hyeonhak, the disciple added as if in excuse.

“Is the Heart Demon not the most difficult thing to suppress?”

“I see now; this tonic was a bribe.”

“It was not.”

Cheong-ui Sanin stared blankly at the cup containing the dark medicine before speaking as if he had no choice.

“Very well. Though there are still five years remaining, it seems you shall be going on an outing thanks to Soyoung.”

“Does that mean…”

“I grant you leave. Only for this once.”

It was the answer Hyeonhak had been waiting for.

Cheong-ui Sanin shook his head as if helpless.

“It is enough.”

“Are we finished? You may go now.”

“Yes. I wish you a peaceful night.”

Hyeonhak bowed deeply and slowly backed out of his Master’s room.

Click.

“…….”

After closing the door and stepping outside.

Hyeonhak slowly raised his lowered head in the darkness.

He was smiling with an expression he had never once shown in front of Soso.

“Hehe.”

Had something delightful not occurred in the midst of his tedious cultivation?

The first disciple of Cheong-ui Sanin: Hyeonhak.

Unlike the persona he usually maintained, he was a man who had been abandoned by his parents for no other reason than his naturally cruel disposition.

And during his last journey through the martial world, he had committed such excessive slaughter that his Master had forbidden him from traveling the jianghu for eight years.

But thanks to his youngest junior sibling, that restriction had just been lifted, however temporarily.

“Ah……”

Even if it wasn’t quite the same as slaughtering those of the Demonic Cult, he hoped his little junior sister would provide him with something entertaining to do…

Hyeonhak walked away, his face clouded with a faint sense of anticipation.

---

“Ugh.”

Why did a sudden chill just pass by? Is there a draft?

I was rolling around on the mat spread across the floor.

Creak— suddenly, without a hint of a presence, the door opened.

“Hey.”

“Uh…?”

It was a familiar voice.

Lying flat on my stomach, I barely managed to lift my head and muttered.

“That’s strange…? Why am I hearing Sahyeong Gwangeum’s voice here…?”

“What?”

“Sahyeong Gwangeum is a lazybones who never comes down from Jinmyeonggak…”

As if to reward my intentional bewilderment, an immediate reply came back.

“Do you want to die?”

“Nope.”

It really was Gwangeum.

Seeing him make a gesture of slitting his throat, I grinned and quickly sat up straight.

“Ah, it’s heavy.”

Thump. Gwangeum sat down across from me, laboriously setting down a mysterious bundle he had been carrying under his arm.

What is that? The sound it made was no joke.

While glancing at the bundle with curiosity, I asked the question I was most curious about first.

“But really, why are you here?”

Usually, I was the one to go looking for Gwangeum; he had never come looking for me.

Gwangeum, who detested beating around the bush, got straight to the point as expected.

“I heard you ran into the Demonic Cult?”

“Ah, yes.”

“How do you manage to run straight into the Demonic Cult the moment you leave Cheongsanbong? Do you actually want to die?”

“N-No! Why would you say it like that! I didn’t know because Master didn’t tell me!!”

“Don’t you dare blame Master for this.”

Whack! Without a moment’s hesitation, Gwangeum rapped me on the head with his fist.

“Ow!”

I reflexively clutched the spot and pouted, though truth be told, it didn’t hurt as much as the sound suggested.

Is this Gwangeum’s own way of showing concern?

Before, he seemed to have an ‘I don’t care if you live or die’ attitude…

But it still makes me grumpy!

While I sat there with my lips sticking out, Gwangeum grumbled as he began to untie the bundle.

“If you go and die like that, who’s going to learn the mechanisms and formations? Who’s going to help me clear the snow off the arrays when winter comes? Huh? Did you finish studying the book I gave you last time?”

“Ah,”

So he was worried about his successor.

“I’m almost done, you know…”

Seriously, his cranky personality is something else.

My eyes narrowed at Gwangeum, who had clearly come here just to nag me. The contrast was even sharper because I was anxiously waiting for Hyeonhak to go rescue Ryang with me.

Just then, Gwangeum pulled something out of the opened bundle and tossed one of them at me.

“That’s why you have to be careful. Take this.”

“What?”

Swish— It flew toward me with a rather menacing sound, and I caught it with both hands in a daze.

“Ugh.”

Wow, it’s quite heavy. This is…

“……?”

“It’s a self-defense tool.”

It was an iron fan.

Paper was pasted over the outside so it looked like an ordinary folding fan, but the weight of the iron construction couldn’t be hidden.

“Heh. It’s heavy.”

“Check. Next.”

Seeing my arm trembling and dipping downward from the weight of the fan, Gwangeum nodded and tossed the next one.

“How about this?”

“Oh.”

This one is a bit lighter.

No wonder the bundle was so heavy. It seemed he hadn’t brought just one.

Surprised by this unexpected thoughtfulness, I looked back at him, and Gwangeum crossed his arms, gesturing with his chin.

“Your wrist is still drooping with that one too.”

“I can manage it, though…”

“Do you want to break your wrist while swinging a fan?”

Speaking nonchalantly, he tossed the next fan.

It was only after changing fans four times that I finally found a weight that suited me.

It felt like holding five ordinary fans at once, but since I had been steadily practicing my external arts, this much wasn’t heavy.

“Whoa…”

So they have things like this at Cheongsanbong.

While I was marveling at the blades of the iron fan, which looked exactly like a normal folding fan, Gwangeum lined up the fans I hadn’t been able to swing easily and began to explain.

“The first iron fan you held is the weight that allows for the most efficient use of the built-in mechanisms. The one you can use now has only a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the effectiveness.”

“That’s it?”

My mind raced. Not a quarter, but only a sixteenth?

It was disappointing that the power was reduced that much.

“Then wouldn’t it be better to just use the first one?”

“Even though you stumbled the moment you picked it up?”

“…Yes.”

“Even if the power is slightly less, you must keep in mind the weight that fits you. Don’t neglect your physical training either.”

“Yes!”

I nodded quickly.

Since Master had emphasized this several times as well, I could understand.

Gwangeum took the iron fan I had chosen, gave it a light twist to disassemble it, and showed me the interior.

“If you press this mechanism, a poisonous mist is sprayed, so be careful not to inhale it yourself…”

Mid-sentence, Gwangeum suddenly fell silent.

I met his gaze awkwardly as he stared intently at me.

“…Why?”

Why did he stop the explanation? After glaring at me for a long time, Gwangeum let out a deep sigh and spoke.

“You’re so clumsy I don’t know if I can trust you with this.”

“Hey, why!”

“Let’s just stop talking.”

Shaking his head, Gwangeum ignored all my complaints and continued the explanation.

“If you twist and thrust it like this, a needle comes out. It’s coated with a paralyzing poison. I’m not sure if I should trust you with poison, though.”

“Hehe, I’ll use it carefully.”

There was no need to irritate the person giving me a gift.

When I grinned to appease him, Gwangeum reassembled the iron fan with an expression that suggested he had much more he wanted to say.

“The most important thing is…”

Finally, clack. Gwangeum folded the fan and stretched out his arm.

Then, as if aiming a gun, he pointed it toward the open door…

Zip.

“……!”

Something shot out from the tip of the fan silently, yet so fast my eyes couldn’t even follow it.

“…Whoa.”

What was that?

“Phew.”

Gwangeum blew out the faint smoke rising from the tip of the fan.

Could this be…

I quickly poked my head out the door, and there was a clean, round hole pierced right through the center of the tree just outside.

“……!”

Gwangeum explained calmly.

“It fires an iron marble silently to pierce the target. It is the most powerful function of the iron fan.”

No wonder he aimed it like a gun; it really is a gun powered by internal energy!

“At this weight, there is a limit to the amount of qi the internal mechanisms can handle, so this is the maximum power.”

Even if it’s the maximum, it’s incredible…

It pierced a thick tree! It could probably even… a person…

“Ugh.”

I inadvertently imagined a person being hit by that marble and squeezed my eyes shut. How gruesome.

“What are you doing?”

Gwangeum scolded me for my reaction.