Episode 406:


    I once asked Hao Wen to investigate the Xuan Shi Gate.


    The Hyeonsamun was a sect from Gamju, located in the southern part of Gangseo, and was a powerful martial arts faction in the region.


    Because he had been active as a member of the affiliated sect for a long time, his name was somehow known to the world.


    ‘Well, if you look at the whole of the Central ins, there is no history of producing a master who left his name in the history of martial arts in a mid-sized sect.’


    There was one reason why I was interested in the Hyeonsamun sect.


    Because I wanted to know what Hong Seong-hyeon thought of his recluse.


    He did not reveal his provincial name when introducing himself in public.


    Although he did not reveal it openly, everyone knew that he was reluctant to reveal his religious affiliation in front of others.


    Right now, I had no memory of ever hearing his name, except when he reached the finals of the Yongbong branch.


    So there was a time when I had doubts.


    I wonder if Hong Seong-hyeon is trying to sever his ties with the monk.


    However, the information sheet sent by Haomun contained information that waspletely opposite to my guess.


    ‘I never thought that such a sect would exist.’


    The Hyeonsamun was an incorruptible martial arts sect that is hard to find these days.


    Not only did he never touch anything that deviated from the right path, but it was rare for his disciples to boast about the power of their sect.


    They only received minimal protection fees and most of the funds for the operation of the n were supplied by themselves.


    Since they did not have a separate business and managed it, talented disciples were sent abroad and earned money, and that was the reason why Hong Seong-hyeon decided to join thepany.


    ‘Should we say that it is a sect that shows what a proper Taoist school is like?’


    Members of the n had a frugal life ingrained in them and were more interested in self-discipline and building virtue than in worldly affairs.


    Naturally, Hong Seong-hyeon had no history of being persecuted by the monks or disciples.


    Rather, he was proud of the fact that he was a disciple of Hyeonsamun and clearly revealed a strong sense of bond and belonging.


    ‘What more can I say, since I sent all my sry as a private letter, leaving only the bare minimum living expenses.’


    The reason why he did not go around promoting the sect he came from was simple.


    Because that was the monk’s teaching.


    In other words, it was an expression of his will to clearly distinguish between public and private matters.


    Although this is a basic story, all members of the Murim Alliance were on equal footing regardless of origin.


    If the upper and lower sses were divided, it had to be based on the rank system.


    No other elements were allowed to intervene.


    This was clearly stated in the official regtions.


    It could be said to be the minimum device needed to maintain the framework of arge organization.


    To put it bluntly, shouldn’t a man from five generations ignore his superiors and disobey orders because of his birth?


    In the same context, the monks rmended that one refrain from asking questions of other monks and not reveal one’s background.


    One rmendation was literally just a rmendation.


    There were only a handful of people protecting it.


    ‘I literally just cover my eyes and say goodbye. At least theye up with an effective policy. Hwang Bo-jin, Pang Moon-hwan, Namgung Jong-hyun. There are countless people whose origins can be guessed just by their names.’


    Under these circumstances, if you faithfully follow the rules, you are considered a good person.


    The monks from the old school were willing to use the name value of the monk to gain an upper hand inpetition with other monks, and the monks from the medium and small school also actively promoted themselves to raise the status of the monk.


    Of course, if there had not been even superficial rules and rmendations, the organization called Murimmaeng itself would not have been established.


    At least this much attention was needed to ensure that the minimum line was being maintained.


    ‘Hong Seong-hyeon was one of the few blind disciples who followed superficial advice.’


    I had no idea how surprised I was when Hong Seong-hyeon first appeared at the Sacheon branch.


    Because he was a promising talent who advanced to the finals of the Yongbong branch.


    He must have made a mark in front of the public. If he had put his mind to it, he could have been sessful in the main event.


    [No, why is he here?]


    [I applied right away because they were recruiting people to be assigned to the Sacheon branch.]


    Nevertheless, he applied without hesitation to a job with an unstable future.


    It must have been a decision he could make because he values the values he believes in more than the wealth and fame that everyone desires.


    When I think about it now, I can’t tell you how thankful I am.


    Even though he could have gotten a job with much better conditions, he decided to work for me voluntarily.


    [I followed in the footsteps of the branch manager and applied to the Sacheon branch.]


    [I have been working hard to prove my worth under the branch manager. Now, won’t you give me a chance?]


    Of course, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t very greedy.


    There were several times when he asked me to give him a chance to contribute in order to prove his ability and value.


    However, there has never been an action outside the boundaries of the rules.


    ‘He is the person who will be Hong Seong-hyeon’s executioner.’


    The man in front of me, who introduced himself as a disciple of Master Hyeonsa-mun, momentarily looked like Hong Seong-hyeon.


    I already recognized it when I first saw it.


    That everyone here, including him, has upright tendencies.


    “Do you want to hear a story about Hong Sohyeop from me?”


    “That’s right.”


    “Do you want to pay tribute or do you want to find out the truth?”


    “It’s electronic. Please do not misunderstand, as I am by no means trying to interrogate the Daehyup.”


    “Aren’t you resentful? “The person who dragged Hong Sohyeop into a dangerous battlefield was none other than me.”


    “It is not appropriate to say that I was dragged away. “It was the will of the priest himself.”


    “…….”


    “Also, the one whomitted the mistake was the Demonic Cult, not the Daehyup. “We are not foolish enough to be blinded by sadness and mistake the object of our resentment.”


    The expression that one’s words are filled with good energy is probably used in times like these.


    Chayoon’s seal.


    Regardless of his level of martial arts, he was a person who could not be taken lightly.


    Even though they were the same disciples, the age difference between him and Hong Seong-hyeon seemed significant.


    It was inevitable that Hong Seong-hyeon was a person who studied martial arts under the oldest elder within the Hyeonsamun.


    As such, the distribution was quite highpared to age.


    It could be said to be a simr case to Cheonwoo Dojo or Changin Dojo.


    He was not the representative talent of Hyeonsamun for nothing.


    “The content of the letters sent so far can be enough to infer how much the priest respected and followed the Dragon King Daehyup. “I trust the priest’s insight.”


    “……Hong So-hyeop, or rather Cha Seong Dojang, was one of my most trusted and trusted members.”


    It was a fact without a single lie.


    It wasn’t for nothing that I entrusted him with the role of adjutant.


    In Cheonan Gambu, there were many people with higher martial arts skills and outstanding abilities than Hong Seong-hyeon.


    Nevertheless, the reason I made him my closest associate was because he was trustworthy and had been with me for a long time.


    “Everyone in the department recognized Seong Cha and respected his position.”


    “…….”


    “This should be enough to answer the first question.”


    In Cheonan Gambu, there were not only 100 great experts, but also many disciples of the nine great ns and blood rtives of the five great families.


    There is no need to tell you what it means to be recognized by all of them.


    “The evil beast that killed Cha Seong Dojang is Lord Ma.”


    “Umm…”


    “At that time, Dojang Cha Seong was dealing with a warrior belonging to the Heavenly Demon Pce due to exhaustion, but he was unable to withstand the sudden attack of the religious leader and died.”


    He calmly conveyed the facts as they were.


    No unnecessary exaggeration or rhetoric was added.


    There was a gloomy look on the faces of the wise men and women.


    I exchanged nces with each of them and continued talking.


    “His end was neither grand nor dramatic. But I can tell you this one thing for sure.”


    “……?”


    “Everyone was saddened by his death and is still saddened by it.”


    In the end, one of the young disciples couldn’t hold it back and shed tears.


    Master Chayun nced at the masters from the corner of his eye and spoke in a calm voice.


    “Has the funeral been held?”


    “I haven’t taken it yet. However, the body was stored well to prevent it from rotting. A joint funeral to honor the souls of the deceased members is scheduled to be held three dayster. “I hope all of you here will attend the event.”


    “Will the funeral be held inside the Murim Alliance?”


    “That’s right.”


    “Then I think it would be difficult to attend. As I said, we were denied stay by the Murim Alliance. “There was some friction during the protest process at the time.”


    “Don’t worry about that part. “We will take action to ensure that no one treats you poorly.”


    “You don’t have to go that far. We just…”


    “Even the deceased Cha Seong Dojang would like you to be with us on your final departure.”


    “…….”


    Chayun Dojang’s mouth was tightly shut.


    Deep inside, he also wanted to pray for the soul of the dead priest.


    “Please don’t turn me into a ruthless person. “I have no intention of making people who came tomemorate the death of the capital punishment turn away in solitude.”


    “If you say that, I understand. “I will attend.”


    Chayun Dojang slowly nods his head.


    I nodded with a soft smile on my face.


    The sad night deepened.


    * * *


    The morning after Hyeonsamun’s disciples left.


    When I went to work, I was met with a familiar face.


    “I was so busy yesterday that I couldn’t even say hello to you properly.”


    “It’s something that can’t be helped. “Weren’t you called to Maengjubu as soon as you arrived?”


    “Please sit down. “There are many stories I would like to hear from Sima Sohyeop.”


    “……It’s hard to get used to it. “The manager calls me by the Sima family name.”


    “If you want, I can call you Damun again.”


    “no. This is my decision. “Please just call me Sima Yun.”


    “All right.”


    Sima Yun, a member of the Cheonan Ganbu and first deputy, sat across the table from me.


    He seemed a little thinner than thest time I saw him.


    It was questionable whether I had eaten well or not.


    “I have heard that small cooperatives have been very active.”


    “I’m embarrassed. “It’s nothingpared to the manager’s performance.”


    “I was just beaten up by the religious leader. “Can it bepared to the aplishments of Sohyeop, who drove the irond giant into a corner?”


    “well. I ended up missing it, so I don’t think it means much. “By the way, why are you mentioning the feat of catching the Bungcheon Demon Emperor and the Cheonak Army?”


    Let’s hope the conversation continues for a while.


    Sima Yun quickly changed the topic.


    “I heard that you have secured the book found in Reporter Cheon’s secret building.”


    “Rather than saying that he secured it, I would say that Jegal Soje took care of it. Would you like to take a look at the contents?”


    “yes.”


    As soon as we met again, fearing that someone might be a loser, I burst intoughter at the sight of him showing strong interest in the records left by Reporter Cheon.


    I handed him the book I took out from my pocket.


    Sima Yun opened the book and looked at its contents, narrowing his eyes.


    “Can you interpret?”


    “I think it’s possible.”


    The writing in the book is a secretnguage that only reporter Cheon can interpret.


    However, Simaun expressed confidence, saying that it was possible to interpret it just by taking a quick look.


    Indeed, he was a talented person who followed Reporter Cheon’s progress.


    “……Boss.”


    “Why are you doing that?”


    “It will take time to interpret the content perfectly, but for now, I will tell you one thing I know for sure.”


    “……?”


    “It is said that the ritual vessel that the manager destroyed is a sacred object of the Demonic Cult.”


    “…What do you mean? It’s a new thing?”