I Am the Youngest Disciple of the Martial Arts World’s Mastermind
Chapter 47
Chapter 47
The Youngest Disciple of the Murim’s Hidden Mastermind
Chapter 47
‘Should I tell him the truth? That a lizard crawled inside my clothes?’
No, but what could Ryang even do about it…?
My thoughts spun in circles before eventually returning to the starting point.
“…….”
In the end, I forced a smile and shook my head.
“Yeah, I’m fine….”
I couldn’t say it.
That I screamed like that just because of a lizard….
I’d deal with it on my own later.
Living on Cheongsanbong, it wasn’t like a small bug getting into my clothes was a rare occurrence. It wasn’t something to make such a fuss over just because it was a lizard.
‘I was just so startled….’
“…Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
“Yeah.”
I took a deep breath and nodded as if it were nothing.
The lizard had stopped moving at some point. Perhaps it would crawl out of its own accord by the time we descended the mountain.
“…Is that so?”
Ryang, however, showed no intention of taking his eyes off my face. My scream must have sounded quite urgent.
I licked my lips and feigned innocence.
“I told you, I’m fine. I just lost my footing.”
“I see.”
As I nodded and rotated my arms to prove I was okay, Ryang seemed relieved and handed me a human skin mask along with an iron fan.
“Take these too.”
“Huh? How did you find them? I left them in my room.”
“I ran into Martial Uncle Gwangeum on the way. He told me to give them to you. He also mentioned they were a bit heavier now because they’ve been modified.”
I took the iron fan and gauged its weight.
It felt subtly heavier than the one I had been using recently.
He must have put some care into it, knowing I was headed out on a mission.
But wait….
“…Sahyeong Gwangeum did?”
“Yes.”
“He didn’t say anything else to you, did he?”
It bothered me that those two had run into each other alone again.
I had clearly confirmed earlier that Ryang wasn’t the type to be intimidated by Gwangeum, but still….
“Hmm….”
Ryang let out a meaningful hum before finally nodding with a faint smile.
“He urged me to protect you well.”
“…….”
There was a hundred percent chance that Gwangeum’s “urging” hadn’t been that polite.
“I see….”
But it didn’t seem like Ryang would tell me the truth even if I pried.
Just what kind of power struggle were these two engaged in?
I nodded awkwardly and lowered my gaze.
“…….”
The spot on my chest where the lizard had stopped moving.
Whether this thing was an imugi on the verge of ascension or some kind of spirit lizard, it definitely seemed to have intelligence.
‘…It won’t cause a scene at a critical moment, will it?’
Seeing as it didn’t flee even when I shook my body, it felt like it had climbed onto me with some sort of intention from the start.
I tried my best to forget about the lizard and clenched my small fists.
“Alright. Let’s head out right away!”
A small village in Shaanxi. The young owner of a lonely inn let out a faint sigh today as he stared at his empty establishment.
Though he was called an innkeeper, it was such a small place that he served as the cook as well.
“Sigh.”
Another day without luck….
Since the large inn across the street opened, even the regular village customers had stopped coming.
He knew the reason. His close friend, Mr. Hwang, had pulled him aside and spoken cautiously.
The inn across the street had joined hands with a group called the Daeobang, and they were intimidating customers, telling them to use only that establishment.
Perhaps soon, when he became too destitute to endure, he would only be able to do business like before after paying protection money to the Daeobang.
“It’s not easy….”
The innkeeper, who had been sighing while sweeping, was looking at the bustling inn across the way when—
“Hello.”
“……?”
A voice came from below.
“Oh.”
Looking down, he saw two children standing side by side.
They looked to be only about eight to ten years old, and their entire bodies were grimy with dirt as if they had been through quite an ordeal.
Still, seeing the bundles on their backs, they didn’t look like beggars.
“…Welcome. Sit wherever you like.”
The innkeeper suppressed his flustered heart and guided the two children to an empty seat.
“Thank you!”
“Let’s eat here.”
“Okay. I want somyeon.”
The children chattered with energetic voices as they sat down, and one held up a single finger toward the innkeeper.
“One bowl of somyeon, please!”
Just one.
“…You’re only ordering one?”
“…Ah. Yes…. Um, is that not allowed?”
The girl’s spirit dampened immediately.
The innkeeper waved his hands in a panic.
“No, it’s not that it’s not allowed….”
With her large eyes quickly welling up with tears, the girl spoke in a small voice.
“The inn across the street said that if there are two people, we have to order two bowls….”
“Hey, why are you crying? Don’t cry. We’re fine. If it’s not okay, we’ll go somewhere else….”
The boy comforted the girl and made as if to stand up.
Startled, the innkeeper quickly ushered the two children back into their seats.
“No, no! Sit, sit! Of course one bowl is fine.”
“Really…?”
“Of course!”
So that was why they had come to his inn.
It seemed the inn across the street was so heartless they had driven away children who didn’t look like profitable customers.
‘…They do look like they lack money.’
Looking at them objectively, with their grimy clothes, they didn’t look like they had the money for a plate of dumplings—no, not even for a single one—let alone a bowl of somyeon.
However….
“…I happen to be the best somyeon craftsman in all of Shaanxi. I’ll make it delicious for you, so just wait a moment!”
“Wow. Thank you!”
How hard could it be to whip up a single bowl of noodles?
He didn’t want to live heartlessly like the inn across the street.
Hadn’t his late grandfather always told him to live generously?
Even though he had left the martial world, he kept righteousness in his heart.
Rolling up his sleeves and heading into the kitchen, the innkeeper began to prepare the noodles with more enthusiasm than he’d had in a long time.
“It’s going to be delicious, right? It’s been so long since we’ve had noodles.”
“Hehe. You take the first bite.”
“No, I’m fine just having the broth.”
The sound of the children whispering reached all the way into the kitchen.
‘…Those rascals.’
Looking at them again, they seemed like siblings, and it was heartwarming to see the boy taking such good care of the girl.
“…….”
Must they be very hungry?
After a brief internal struggle, the innkeeper prepared two bowls of somyeon and brought them out.
“Gasp…!”
The girl swallowed hard the moment she saw the noodles.
The innkeeper set the bowls down with a proud smile.
“Eat up.”
“…We only ordered one….”
As the boy spoke hesitantly, the innkeeper gave his own chest a hearty thump and said,
“Hey now. This big brother isn’t so poor that he can’t give you two a bowl of noodles. Eat well, grow up healthy, and pay me back later.”
“…Thank you!”
“We will eat well!”
The girl and boy glanced at each other before bowing their heads in unison.
The innkeeper wore a satisfied smile and watched the children eat the noodles with gusto for a moment before returning to the kitchen.
“…….”
And a short while later, the children, having cleared their bowls completely, held out some iron coins along with something wrapped in a cloth bundle to the innkeeper.
“…? What is this?”
“Um, we don’t have much money…. But we found this book in the mountains!”
“Please accept this as well. Thank you so much!”
After bowing deeply, the children quickly ran off.
“No, this is fine—!”
Though their pace didn’t look that fast, they disappeared into the distance as faint dots before he could even think of catching them.
Wiping his brow, the innkeeper opened the bundle with a bewildered expression.
“What on earth is this…?”
I read the contents of the mission scroll once more.
As it was my first mission, the task was very simple.
Ten years ago, countless minor sects were wiped out during the Orthodox-Demonic Great War.
Among them was the Unhyeol Sect, a small sect in Shaanxi that had passed down a unique style of thrusting swordsmanship for generations.
Though not well known among the great sects, it was a school with its own deep traditions and unique martial arts.
The person I had sought out was the last successor of that Unhyeol Sect.
A young man currently running an inn in Shaanxi.
My first mission was to find the young man, who was likely living his life having forgotten the memories of the massacre ten years ago, and deliver the secret manual of the Unhyeol Sect to him under the guise of a coincidence.
Though he was called a young man, he would have been around our age when the Unhyeol Sect was destroyed ten years ago, so if he was running an inn now, he would be nearing the age of twenty.
During the long journey to Shaanxi, I went over our cover story with Ryang every time we made camp.
“Once we arrive in Shaanxi, we’re siblings. Got it?”
“Yes.”
Ryang nodded, handing me a roasted mountain bird on a skewer before adding,
“And we lost our parents during the Orthodox-Demonic Great War.”
“Exactly! And we’ve been wandering ever since.”
I took the delicious-smelling meat with a bright grin.
