I Am the Youngest Disciple of the Martial Arts World’s Mastermind
Chapter 49
Chapter 49
I am the Youngest Disciple of the Murim’s Hidden Mastermind
Episode 49
Ryang nodded, immediately concealing his presence and leaping onto the roof.
After a brief pause, I began walking in the opposite direction with light steps, heading toward the bridge on the outskirts of town as if nothing had happened.
“Whew.”
As I leaned against the bridge railing to catch my breath, I looked down to see a cluster of beggars living in shacks beneath the bridge—a common sight in any town.
Suddenly, memories of my own days as a beggar came flooding back.
‘I wonder if there’s a Wangcho here too…’
It was while I was watching the beggars under the bridge that it happened.
“Found you just before you slipped away. Hey there, little one.”
“…?”
At the end of the bridge, four warriors with swords strapped to their waists called out to me.
Identical nameplates hung from the ends of their waist belts.
It was the same insignia I had seen engraved on the lanterns of the inn across from the place Ryang and I had visited.
“Yes? Me?”
The moment I replied with a purposefully dim-witted and bright voice, the warriors surged forward, cornering me and shoving me into a deserted alleyway.
It was a dead end—no passersby, and not even a beggar in sight to witness.
“Oh…?!”
I looked up at the warriors with wide eyes. Despite the intimidating atmosphere they had cultivated, they laughed heartily as if they had no intention of threatening me.
“Oops, sorry if we startled you.”
“Wh-who are you?”
“We’ve been watching you since you were at the Unpung Inn. You only had a single bowl of thin noodles there.”
Unpung Inn? That must be the name of the inn run by the descendant of the Unhyeol Sect.
“Yes…”
As I gave a naive nod, the man with the deepest grin among the warriors spoke.
“Aren’t you still hungry after eating only that?”
“I am hungry, but…”
“I thought so. I’m the proprietor of the inn across the street, and I came looking for you because I couldn’t stop worrying about you.”
Ho-oh.
“Put your luggage down for a moment and come have some dumplings.”
The man reached out forcefully toward the bundle slung over my shoulder.
“It’s heavy, isn’t it? Let me carry it for you.”
“No! It’s okay!”
Startled, I clutched the bundle tightly.
So this is a ploy to steal my things!
I put strength into the hand holding the bundle and pulled back; it didn’t give way immediately. Since it was just a matter of taking something from a child’s hand, it seemed he hadn’t used any internal force.
“Hmph.”
Perhaps surprised that I could hold my ground, the man’s brow furrowed in annoyance. He lunged with a rough hand once more, growling.
“…I said I’d carry it.”
“I don’t want…”
As I spoke, I began forming a plan in my head.
Should I knock them out like I did the bandits?
There are quite a few of them, but fortunately, being in a deserted alley has its perks.
If I take them down one by one…
But before I could finish the thought—
“Oh.”
Twitch. I felt something swelling inside my robes.
Something slippery, heavy, and hot suddenly burst forth from my chest.
Simultaneous with its appearance, the warriors—including the man who had been grabbing my bundle—were violently slammed against the wall.
“Ugh!”
“Ack!!”
They hit the wall with such force that their eyes rolled back, and they lost consciousness instantly.
It happened so fast they likely didn’t even realize what had hit them.
“…Hah.”
Even though I wasn’t the target of that power, my legs gave out, and I slumped to the ground.
My heart hammered against my ribs, and my breath came in ragged gasps.
I mean, there was only one thing that could have jumped out from inside my open collar.
The lizard.
Yes. What had emerged from my robes was a strangely familiar white reptile.
The hard scales covering the hide of the now-massive white lizard shimmered eerily even within the shadows of the deserted alley.
The enlarged lizard had such an incredibly long torso that, had it not been for its four short, thick legs, I would have mistaken it for a snake.
Looking up at the lizard as it raised its head high toward the sky, I muttered unconsciously.
“…A dragon?!”
Is that a dragon?
At my murmur, the lizard whipped its head around to look at me.
Within eyes shimmering with a mystical blue light, vertically slit pupils stared intently at me.
“Ah…”
I swallowed hard, meeting its gaze.
I hadn’t realized because it was so small before, but it had eyes like that.
In that moment, just as I felt I might be drawn into those mysterious depths—
Lick.
“Ugh.”
The lizard extended a massive tongue and gave me a very light lick. In an instant, it shrank back to the size of my palm and settled comfortably back into my arms.
“…”
I sat there dazed for a moment, completely flabbergasted.
I didn’t feel like getting up at all.
So, just now, this lizard… transformed into a huge dragon?
And whether it struck them with its tail or summoned a violent wind, the warriors had been sent flying into the wall to knock themselves out without even being able to draw their swords or let out a single scream.
“…”
And all because of this lizard currently rustling against my chest.
After squirming around for a good while longer, the lizard finally found its spot and went still, seemingly satisfied.
“…Whew.”
I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart.
What was that just now?
Seeing the lizard grow as large as a dragon and then shrink in the blink of an eye…
Words Danhwi had once said to tease me naturally came to mind.
‘An imugi close to ascension can adjust its size at will; it can become as large as Cheongsanbong or as small as the palm of your hand.’
…Have you ever heard a story like this?
If someone sees an imugi ascending and shouts, “It’s a snake!”, the imugi fails to become a dragon and falls from the sky.
The hidden meaning is that an imugi must gain not only spiritual power but also the virtue of people’s recognition to ascend.
But there is another hidden meaning to this story that people often don’t know.
Divine creatures are bound to look miraculous once they pass a certain stage. A divine creature so pathetic that it still hears the word “snake” even after reaching that level can never truly ascend.
And the thing I just saw…
‘…It really looked like a dragon…’
Having seen the form of an imugi close to ascension, I felt I understood what that meant.
I swallowed hard and stole a glance at the slight bulge in my robes.
Back then, Danhwi definitely said…
‘It might swallow a kid like you in one bite.’
He wasn’t just saying that to scare me.
‘He was telling the truth!’
At that size, it really could swallow me if it felt like it.
Fortunately, that didn’t happen this time, but…
‘…Maybe if I hadn’t given it jerky beforehand, I would’ve been eaten!’
When I pulled my outer robe slightly open to look at the lizard, it blinked its blue eyes at me and opened its red mouth wide in a yawn.
And simultaneously.
Rumble.
“Oh.”
The sound of thunder began to echo from somewhere.
Raindrops started falling one by one onto my head.
Outside the alley, I could hear the startled outcries of people.
“Wait, where did this rain come from out of nowhere?”
“Good heavens! There’s a fire over there!”
“Is the sky watching over us? What on earth is happening?”
I waited until the crowd rushed past the alley before carefully stepping out.
‘…A fire?’
It didn’t take long after scanning the surroundings to understand the people’s commotion.
“Gasp.”
The inn where I had eaten the noodles was engulfed in flames.
However, dark clouds had gathered strangely thick only above the Unpung Inn, pouring down rain to extinguish the fire.
Townspeople gathered to witness this bizarre spectacle, along with several other warriors carrying swords who stood nearby, mouths agape in shock.
“…”
Each of them had the same nameplate hanging from their waist as the men who had dragged me into the alley.
‘I guess… that’s how things turned out.’
Quickly assessing the situation, I retraced the local geography in my head and headed toward the nearest forest.
I wandered for a while searching for any sign of presence.
“…Soso?”
“Ryang! I knew you’d be here.”
I found Ryang standing with his sword drawn.
As expected, several warriors wearing the same nameplates lay collapsed in front of him.
Could it be…?
“You didn’t… kill them, right?”
When I asked cautiously, Ryang raised his sword without a word—he hadn’t even drawn it from the scabbard.
“You didn’t. Good job!”
To suppress so many opponents without even drawing his blade… His skill was truly formidable.
I gave Ryang’s head a vigorous, smiling pat before approaching the men who were leaning against a large tree, unconscious.
