“…What do you mean by that?”

Zhuge Yeogang barely managed to open his mouth.

His expression was a sight to behold, as if the words were so shocking.

But Cheon Mubaeck was calm.

“It’s just as I said. Young Lady Zhuge’s help is absolutely necessary for this trip to Wudang.”

“Absolutely?”

People usually don’t express certainty in everything they do.

How can one be certain when they don’t know how the world will turn out?

Cheon Mubaeck was simple yet firm. At that sight, a strange light flickered in Zhuge Yeogang’s eyes.

“For what reason?”

“I received advice from the grand clan head, and to follow that advice, I need someone skilled in formations and mechanisms.”

“Anyone with the Zhuge name is skilled. Even Seohu is knowledgeable about mechanisms.”

Cheon Mubaeck shook his head firmly.

“It’s not just about being skilled, but about being unparalleled.”

Zhuge Yeogang closed his mouth. He looked at Cheon Mubaeck’s eyes in silence.

Cheon Mubaeck, seeing Zhuge Yeogang, thought he would give his permission.

‘Since I mentioned the grand clan head’s advice.’

In fact, the reason Cheon Mubaeck was insisting on taking Zhuge Seola was because of his meeting with Zhuge Seon.

Zhuge Seon had given him some advice based on his knowledge, and one of them was something that Cheon Mubaeck thought was worth using.

“…Is that really the reason?”

A gaze that looked back and forth between Cheon Mubaeck and Zhuge Seola with a somewhat suspicious look.

“Yes. That is the reason. While discussing various things about the installation of the Guardian Array of Wondrous Questions, I have confirmed Young Lady Zhuge’s competence, so I absolutely need her help.”

“Umm…”

A somehow sharp gaze reached Cheon Mubaeck, but Cheon Mubaeck was calm.

“Hoo. I understand.”

“…This thief.”

After Cheon Mubaeck and Zhuge Seola left, Zhuge Yeogang, who remained in his office, contorted his face and burst into anger.

“A person I need? This bastard, where does he think he’s taking my precious daughter like that!”

Zhuge Yeogang was dumbfounded.

He wanted to curse and kick him out right away, but he couldn’t give a stern order on the spot. Was it because the opponent was the benefactor who had saved Zhuge Seola? Was it because of the moniker Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero that was famous in the martial world?

Not at all.

‘That bastard’s eyes…’

Eyes that held a firmness that would not allow any rebuttal.

He couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth.

He was not seized by fear or consumed by his aura.

‘Somehow, it felt like it had to be that way.’

Is there absolute justice in the world?

Smart people tend to see the world with a somewhat cynical view.

Zhuge Yeogang was also that type.

He thought that absolute justice would not be established.

But Cheon Mubaeck’s eyes seemed to say.

As if he was a person who had received a sacred heavenly mandate, he felt a weight that did not waver as he moved towards his goal.

It was as if he was strongly asserting that there was not a single thing wrong with what he was doing, and that it was a natural justice.

Zhuge Yeogang had nodded his head without realizing it.

“What is this…”

By the time he came to his senses, he had already given permission to send Zhuge Seola to Wudang, so he couldn’t take back the words he had once spoken.

What was more unfair was the sight of his daughter, whose face had turned into a carrot, unable to say anything in that situation.

When had he ever seen her so shy?

Zhuge Yeogang, who was over forty, recognized at once what kind of emotion that was.

“This thief with only a handsome face, what on earth did he do in the Sword King Valley?”

No wonder. Zhuge Seola had been so insistent on going to install the Guardian Array of Wondrous Questions herself.

Zhuge Yeogang’s chest felt tight and stuffy.

“Why are you like that? He seemed like a reliable young man.”

At the calm voice of Lady Ma, who was pouring tea next to him, Zhuge Yeogang, unlike usual, felt a surge of anger.

“What do you mean by that! Reliable! Looking at his pale face, there’s more than one or two sly corners, isn’t there? In my opinion, that guy has dozens of cunning snakes in his heart. No, a cunning old fox is sitting right there.”

If Cheon Mubaeck had heard this conversation, he would have burst into laughter, saying that the man really knew how to read faces.

But Lady Ma glanced at Zhuge Yeogang with sullen eyes.

“Seola is twenty now. You know I was twenty-one when I married you, right?”

“…!”

“Seola is all grown up too. Rather, I feel like it’s too late. Isn’t it the first time? Isn’t it cute that a child who used to read books every day, immerse herself in formations, and practice martial arts is shy in front of a man?”

“Cute! That’s the problem, isn’t it? A child who has never properly fallen in love, a child who has not experienced many people, is head over heels…”

“It’s better than some strange guy. At that age, to stand up and chase the demonic path alone as a hero. Considering that even the great Azure Sky Sword God revealed himself to the martial world at the age of thirty, is there such a young man now?”

Lady Ma’s voice was calm. It was a special medicine that calmed a person’s emotions, as if drinking a warm tea with a good scent.

“And how thoughtful he is. He even bought an accessory of my taste and your favorite wine as a gift, didn’t he?”

It was a slightly playful voice.

Zhuge Yeogang was a smart person.

Why wouldn’t he know that Lady Ma’s words were right?

But it was an emotion he had never experienced, and he couldn’t help but be emotional when it came to family.

“Hmph. That’s also a problem. It means he’s calculating.”

“Calculating? I thought Cheonghyeonjin of Mount Hua had sent a letter saying that he was a hero who threw himself into it solely for the sake of justice…”

“That’s being deceived. It’s all a calculation. From Shaolin, from Mount Hua, from the Flying Sword Sect. Now he’s even established the Justice Alliance, right? The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero’s influence is in all of it. That guy, he’s a cunning fellow who has decorated his exterior like a hero but is sly on the inside, a real fox.”

“Geez… why is this man acting like such a child.”

When Lady Ma finally clicked her tongue and trailed off, Zhuge Yeogang made an unfair expression.

“No, why are you like that? I’m telling you my eyes are certain.”

“Yes, yes. I understand. If you keep doing that, you might be hated by Seola.”

“Hated? Surely Seola wouldn’t choose that scrawny guy over me…”

Zhuge Yeogang shook his head and jumped up from his seat.

“This won’t do. Since Father cherishes Seola more than I do, I have to tell him this. That a thief is about to snatch Seola, whom Father raised in his arms with so much care.”

Although Lady Ma let out a deep sigh, Zhuge Yeogang trusted his intuition.

‘A sturdy young man, my foot. It felt like an old man was sitting right inside him.’

Zhuge Seon, who was smarter than him, would understand this feeling.

When he went to the rear garden and told Zhuge Seon what had happened and his impressions, Zhuge Seon’s expression also became serious.

“That guy, he said that Seola, not Seohu, was absolutely necessary to go to Wudang?”

“That’s right. If his intention is to drag our clan into the fight against the Blood Demon Valley, it would be in his plan for Seohu to go…”

“Ha, that guy. He’s a scary one.”

“That’s right. He’s a really scary guy.”

“Clan Head.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Catch that guy.”

“…What?”

“Make him a person of the clan so that he can’t go to other clans or sects.”

“Make him a person of the clan?”

Zhuge Yeogang’s face contorted strangely.

“What are you doing? Send Seola to Wudang, making sure she sticks close to that guy. As for the guard, appropriately, yes, keep that guy Muyong with her.”

“No, Father. What is that…”

At the dumbfounded reaction, Zhuge Seon waved his hand. Then he crossed his arms and smiled strangely.

“That guy… what did he discover from what I told him, and what is he thinking?”

At Zhuge Seon’s incomprehensible muttering, a look of confusion appeared on Zhuge Yeogang’s face.

* * *

The next day, Cheon Mubaeck told Zhuge Yeogang that he would be leaving for the Wudang Sect right away.

It was not polite to leave just one day after coming to the Zhuge Clan.

Fortunately, even though Zhuge Yeogang made a displeased face as if he had heard something from Zhuge Seon, he did not stop him.

Thanks to that, Cheon Mubaeck headed straight for Wudang.

Zhuge Seola was accompanied by only one guard, and Cheon Mubaeck also moved with Neung-heo and Yusu of Wudang.

“The reason you need me is because you need my help, right?”

“That’s right.”

Somehow, Zhuge Seola’s expression changed strangely.

“Is that the only reason?”

At the somehow subtle voice, Cheon Mubaeck quickly turned his head.

“That’s also a reason, and it’s also a justification to persuade the clan head.”

“So there’s another reason?”

Zhuge Seola’s eyes sparkled.

That’s right.

‘Zhuge Seohu is also meticulous…’

If they created a scene where the Zhuge Clan helped Wudang, the relationship between the two sects, which had been relatively smooth, would inevitably become much closer.

Moreover, if the Zhuge Clan helped with the disgrace that the former sect leader had become a Bidara?

‘The alliance will be strengthened.’

If Wudang and the Zhuge Clan formed a solid alliance against the Blood Demon Valley in Hubei…

Perhaps that was the most important reason. Using the formation was still just Cheon Mubaeck’s plan, so there was a possibility that it wouldn’t work.

“That’s fine. Then that’s enough.”

“…What do you mean?”

“It was a very good justification. And using my grandfather’s advice as an excuse to persuade my father was also effective. As expected, you must have prepared a good bribe. It’s very effective.”

“…”

Cheon Mubaeck, who didn’t understand what she was talking about, just left the inwardly satisfied Zhuge Seola alone. He thought she was cute, like a kitten.

“The matter of Wudang seems to be urgent, so let’s go quickly.”

As they used their lightness skill, they covered a huge distance in just a few days.

But since they needed some rest, they decided to stay at an inn when they got close to Mount Wudang.

In fact, Zhuge Seola, who was so exhausted that she could barely speak for the first time, brightened up.

“Ugh, I was dying to wash!”

Before Cheon Mubaeck could even turn his head to look, Zhuge Seola quickly entered the inn.

Perhaps because she didn’t want to show her messy appearance, she seemed to run in as if she couldn’t even make eye contact.

Cheon Mubaeck shrugged his shoulders.

“Let’s rest a bit and leave when the sun rises.”

Cheon Mubaeck also needed a short break.

When he only operated the Heaven-Shaking Soul Art, the lower dantian would be stimulated by that energy and flinch, and if he didn’t manage it every time, it would be a great strain on his body.

‘At this rate, it will cause a conflict in my body for a long time. I have to manage it somehow soon.’

He filled the bathtub with hot water that felt like it would cook his body and got in, and when he circulated the Ice White Divine Art, the supreme yin energy in his lower dantian, which had been showing signs of running wild, gradually calmed down.

While he was enjoying a short break like that.

Something was caught in Cheon Mubaeck’s senses.

‘The world has become quiet.’

The sound of insects crying from outside the window, the chatter of people coming and going in the inn, all of it suddenly seemed to disappear.

Cheon Mubaeck expanded his senses further.

Since he had just calmed down the supreme yin energy, there was no strain in opening the upper dantian wide.

His wide and deep extrasensory perception went beyond the space inside the inn.

The sound of Neung-heo collapsing on the bedding and snoring,

The sound of Yusu reciting the Taoist scriptures, and even the flow of qi as Muyong sat cross-legged and circulated his qi.

And beyond the wall, even the faint sound of Zhuge Seola humming and splashing water.

Among those numerous noises, Cheon Mubaeck’s eyes flashed.

‘A sword.’

Even if a sword was not drawn, there was an inherent resonance that the sword had.

The sound of the sword was caught in his extrasensory perception.

‘An ambush…’

A strange smile appeared on Cheon Mubaeck’s lips.

Again, he had stepped onto the knife’s edge called the martial world.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep