Chapter 356 – Where is the Doorkeeper? (2)
I felt my spine freeze.
The absolute master appeared as if he had been waiting for me. The possibility of him being a hostile opponent was much higher than him being a friendly one.
Honestly, I wanted to keep my distance right away, but if the opponent was really at the pinnacle, even moving rashly was dangerous.
“This… seems like someone who has been teasing a young man too much. Relax.”
Gulp.
The old man said it as if to reassure me, but how could I be reassured when he was right in front of my nose?
In a situation where I couldn’t even blink my eyes comfortably, the old man’s shoulder moved slightly.
As if something had climbed on him, I quickly turned my body to the opposite side of the old man and fell off from his grip, trying to exert my strength, but the old man’s hand was faster.
“Ugh…!”
“Young man with a quick temper. Didn’t I tell you to relax?”
I only received a couple of blows to my right arm with his left elbow, but my momentum, which had crossed over to my throat along with the tingling shock, lost its strength and scattered.
And as that hand tried to grab my right arm, I shook my arm and pushed it away with my left hand.
Since my left hand was supposed to touch the ground, it had to fall heavily on my shoulder, and I had no time to feel the pain as I bounced up, but I had to keep an eye on the old man who was just standing on the saddle, watching me.
“I think I played too much. Shouldn’t we stop here?”
Played too much?
To summarize it in one sentence, the old man’s behavior was too strange. If he had approached me with dignity, it would have been different, but he pretended to run away even though he was not even a beggar.
But apart from that, I had to admit that the old man had many opportunities to take advantage of my weaknesses and harass me. And in the end, the old man didn’t even lay a hand on me.
“No, it’s my fault for not recognizing you, senior.”
So, at least for now, there was no point in making an enemy out of this old man. He received my polite encirclement and looked embarrassed.
“Huh, did you recognize me?”
“Yes, aren’t you the senior of the Yunjung sect, Master Yeongun? I could barely recognize you after seeing your divine technique that seemed to be riding on clouds.”
“Huh…”
The old man, Yeongun, wiped his beard and nodded his head, but in fact, it was impossible to recognize a person just by that.
I have seen few absolute masters so far.
I have seen all three of the Samjon, and among the five Jojols, there were only Geomjo and Gumjo.
Chapter 356 – Where is the Doorkeeper? (2)
Since he wasn’t holding a sword, the sword hilt and sword guard were missing, and since he had hair, the Sollim sect’s fist and palm techniques were missing.
Jo Pae may not always be in a good mood, but I heard that he was relatively disadvantaged, so he would look younger, and the divine technique that Master Unjeol mainly used was the Kunryun’s Unryongdaepal technique.
Just by looking at his movements that seemed to be riding on clouds, you could roughly estimate his skill level.
‘He might have some unknown ultimate technique, so I was a little scared, but since he’s coming out like this, he’s probably not someone else.’
“I don’t know how Senior Noh recognized me as a Bultong disciple, but it’s an honor to meet you.”
“…No, I don’t know who you are. Who are you?”
I suppressed my face from contorting. He approached me first and doesn’t even know who I am?
“When I saw you, I thought of someone, but I can’t remember who it was, so it’s frustrating. But when I saw your divine technique, it looked familiar. Who are you under?”
“Um…?”
As the conversation progressed to this point, I realized that I still couldn’t relax.
If he’s a master at the level of Unjeol, there’s a good chance he’s had contact with Sabu. Even if I try to break his bones while shouting, “No, that’s the Blood Demon’s martial arts?!” it wouldn’t be strange at all.
“By the way, who were those people earlier? They didn’t seem to be under Kunryun, but…”
“Who are you talking about?”
Of course, I had already decided on a story to catch him. I learned this martial arts from someone other than Sabu, and Sabu will be amazed by the existence of his fellow disciple that he didn’t even know existed.
But when it came time to answer, I was a little hesitant, so I turned the conversation in a different direction, even though it was a bit unnatural.
“Oh, those guys. I don’t know them either. I picked up something they carelessly dropped on the ground and it caused a commotion.”
“What?”
It seemed like he was a little confused.
On the other hand, Yeongun spoke confidently, admitting his mistake, unlike earlier, so I didn’t know what to say.
“So… um, Senior, they unfairly took money from you…”
“Hmm, let’s see what the young friend is saying. It was just something that fell on the ground, so who knows who the owner is.”
So, they stole it, right?
‘Aren’t you a monk?’
A monk who clearly has a Buddhist name and even has a Buddhist nameplate, confidently declaring that he stole something. For a moment, I was speechless.
“Oh, my little brother. What’s the big deal in life? Even if those clearly bad guys took some money from them, what’s going to happen if you take some of it back?”
Perhaps my gaze was quite sharp, as Yeongunja started to come out brazenly.
It was clear that he had taken it from honest people, but he shouted loudly that using it for something useful would be better for the victims.
It’s not my place to say anything, but can a person who has been stealing and eating millet be so brazen to come out like this?
“Huh! That’s really not making sense! Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure I asked you first, why are you questioning me? Quickly reveal which door you belong to!”
It was true that I had forced the conversation in a different direction to avoid answering something uncomfortable.
But this old man also seemed to be trying to avoid the situation because it was unfavorable for him.
“I learned martial arts from a teacher, without any special lineage to speak of.”
“Oh… What about your teacher’s fellow disciples?”
“He didn’t tell me. He said that knowing the names of worldly things was not important…”
But what can I do? Even if I try to force the issue too much, it’s dangerous.
I answered obediently, but in reality, I didn’t say anything. Yeongunja was stroking his beard, lost in thought.
His appearance was so amazing that he looked like a venerable monk, so I was nervously on guard when his clear, shining eyes looked back at me.
“Hmm, I see… I understand.”
Yeongunja, who had been on the saddle of words until now, nodded his head and slowly descended to the ground as if floating.
‘Is it okay if we don’t talk about it anymore?’
After all, my martial arts lineage is the same as the Do-mun’s lineage, so from Yeongunja’s perspective, it was probably just a question asked out of curiosity, and not an important issue.
As the old man descended, showing off his divine technique, I flattered him a little and added some compliments.
“I heard that the Kunryun’s divine technique is one of the best among the nine sects, and it really is. It feels like my eyes have been opened.”
“Well… it’s not that great, but… ahem, ahem…”
“It’s a great pleasure to meet you, Senior Noh, but I have somewhere to go now… It’s a shame, but I have to go…”
“I see!”
I was planning to adjust my stomach and quickly take the horse and leave, but Yeongunja suddenly snapped his fingers.
“Where are you going, by any chance?”
“What?”
Out of nowhere, I started to feel uneasy about the situation.
It seemed like things were about to get messy.
“I’ve thought about it, and… even though I deceived you, didn’t you already receive help from me twice? In other words, you’ve received a favor.”
“I don’t mind at all. On the contrary, I’m just a busybody who interfered unnecessarily, and it’s not arrogant of you to want to repay me. Senior Noh, you are truly a respected figure among all the martial artists.”
I actually thought he was just an old man who picked pockets, but I did my best to dodge the situation.
“Well, that’s true, but… listen to me. I will accompany you on your journey and teach you some things. Those who receive my teachings are few and far between, even in the martial arts world.”
Of course.
“I don’t deserve such an excessive reward. Above all…”
“Oh, come on, listen to me until the end. Of course, it will be beneficial for you, but there are also parts that will benefit me. I clearly said that your martial arts were impressive, didn’t I?”
“…?”
“Do you know how amazing it is that I can remember someone else’s martial arts? That means the owner of that martial art must have been a great master.”
That was true. He was someone who would show off the legendary empty-handed technique whenever he was bored.
“Is it reasonable that I can’t remember such a person? But as I teach you, I’m sure I’ll be able to recall my memories.”
Wait, what?
“Well, wait a minute, but how can you teach a disciple of another sect… shouldn’t you get permission from your master?”
“I’m not going to teach you my martial arts or try to steal your martial arts. I’ll just teach you what I can. Isn’t that enough to be allowed without seeking permission from your master?”
That could be possible. Even if I memorized the appearance of a plant-eating animal, it would be impossible to leak my martial arts without directly teaching it.
But for me, it was a situation full of discomfort. The place I was going was a branch of the demon sect, and it wasn’t a good feeling for my martial arts to be revealed.
I felt uneasy about the situation all of a sudden.
It seemed like things were about to get messy.
“I would have gladly told you my martial arts name if you had asked. But you didn’t even bother asking, assuming that you wouldn’t know it anyway. I have a bad feeling that you’ll say something like ‘try it, you son of a bitch’ after finding out later.”
“Besides, there’s no shortage of people who can teach me martial arts.”
The risk outweighed the benefits, so I naturally declined his offer.
“I can’t accept such a generous offer. Thank you very much, but I’ll have to decline…”
“Is that so? Well, do as you please.”
“Excuse me?”
I was taken aback by Yeongunja’s sudden response and asked him again.
“I said do as you please. I’m not someone who is so eager to teach someone who doesn’t want to learn.”
“…I’ll keep your offer in mind and thank you for your kindness.”
I expressed my gratitude once again and discreetly checked Yeongunja’s reaction, but he didn’t seem to be upset.
Even though I declined his offer after he showed me kindness, he didn’t seem to be bothered by it. I soon found out why.
“Instead, I’ll accompany you on your journey.”
“Excuse me?”
“Since I happen to have some money, there won’t be any inconvenience on our journey. You can rest assured.”
“That’s stolen money.”
So this old man with a bald head…
“I’ll be going to the demon sect, so wait for me for a moment. It won’t matter if you leave now. Even if a young man rides a horse while an old man with a hunched back walks behind him, who would say anything?”
It felt like I had received a warning to watch my back no matter what happened.
“Oh, by the way, do you need anything else from the demon sect? I can buy it for you on my way back.”
As I watched Yeongunja’s innocent smile, I felt a strong urge to punch him in the face if I had the strength.