Chapter 204: Chapter 204
Murong Jae-hwa’s class was not the only one that received a suspension notice.
The White Tiger Sword Formation class for the coordinated formation, the theory class on the Five Phases Qi, including Ice Arts and Fire Attack, and more.
Every class Jin So-un had created received a suspension notice.
And from a representative delegation that had not even been formally inaugurated yet.
“This has gone far beyond crossing the line! Of course, I know this kind of threat is nothing to Young Master Jin, but……!”
At Seong Mo-ran’s words, even the usually calm Eun-ho could not hide his agitation.
“Eldest Senior Brother. We must file a formal protest against this.”
“……”
However, Jin So-un merely sat quietly with both hands on the table, covering his mouth with them.
Those who had been agitated felt an inexplicable chill from his gaze.
‘Is Eldest Senior Brother going to do it again……?’
‘Is Young Master Jin going to do it again……?’
Was it because half his face was hidden?
Even while looking at Jin So-un’s face, Namgung Seon-hwa could not quite grasp what he was thinking.
At that moment, Nam Hwa-seong shot to his feet.
“Fucking hell! This makes no sense! Just say the word, Representative Jin! So that you don’t have to step forward, I’ll go break the legs of every Orthodox Path Association bastard!”
Looking up at the huffing Nam Hwa-seong, Jin So-un opened his mouth for the first time.
“Spy, stay still.”
“F-fucking hell, I told you I’m not a spy!”
Jin So-un usually threw out the word “spy” like a frivolous joke, but this time, he uttered it with an indifferent expression.
Feeling uneasy, Namgung Seon-hwa calmed everyone’s excitement.
“Wait…… We need to think about this a little calmly. If they are going this far, that means they have something they believe in.”
At Namgung Seon-hwa’s words, the people who had been showing their agitation began regaining their reason one by one.
“Sister Seon-hwa is right. In any case, if this is decided by the participation rate of the Academy students, we have the advantage.”
At Hong Sa-ryeon’s words, Jang Woo-jae nodded.
“That is true, of course, but according to Lady Namgung, they have already finished talking with the Training Masters. They probably borrowed the power of their clans.”
“……”
“The best option would be to disband them, but if that is not possible, we need to mobilize more people for our event than they do. That way, even if the Training Masters step forward, they will lose their justification.”
The number of those who had begun supporting Jin So-un had not changed by a very large margin.
“Should we say it is a little over half, roughly……?”
What Eun-ho was estimating was the number of Academy students everyone in this representative delegation expected would participate in the event.
“It would be good if the Righteous Path Association members who went to Sichuan this time stepped forward too.”
“The members of the lay-affiliated martial sects will step forward, but I’m worried whether the key figures of the Righteous Path Association will.”
“Representative Jin…… what are your thoughts?”
At Jang Woo-jae’s words, everyone’s expectant gazes began gathering on Jin So-un.
He had no choice but to admit it.
He did not want to admit it, but he had no choice.
This feeling of his nose itching for no reason.
‘Hmm…… The fragrance still lingers.’
I had not known. I had not known that tea was so fragrant.
The Seven-Colored Flower was definitely delicious tea.
I could understand why the high officials and nobles of Beijing sought Seven-Colored Flower instead of Junshan Yinzhen or Longjing Tea.
When I first swallowed it, I thought it was only bitter, but throughout the day, the faint fragrance of the Seven-Colored Flower drifted around in my mouth.
Even the next day, and the day after that, the taste of the Seven-Colored Flower was superb enough to come to mind.
If I followed my thoughts, I would have gone to Jegal Jeong-gi again and gotten more Seven-Colored Flower from him, but in any case, they were people currently opposing our representative delegation.
With so many eyes watching, I could not exactly go visit him.
Just in case, I asked the Head Maidservant whether she could obtain Seven-Colored Flower, but the Head Maidservant reacted as if she had seen seven colors and eight colors and absolutely refused.
Apparently, ten blossoms of Seven-Colored Flower cost as much as an ordinary household’s monthly food expenses, or something like that.
It was not that I had no money, but I had not lost my mind enough to spend money on that kind of thing.
‘How can I drink Seven-Colored Flower without paying my own money?’
While I was worrying about that.
“Young Master Jin! You are not having any bad thoughts, are you?”
When I came to my senses and looked around, everyone was looking at me with worried expressions.
‘What is going on?’
And only then did I remember.
Jegal Jeong-gi had apparently issued suspension notices for the lectures I had created.
Why did that man keep doing useless things and making life bothersome for others?
Well, in our previous meeting, he had tried to plant guilt in me, but did guilt take root just because someone tried to plant it?
To put it bluntly, in a desert where drought continued day after day, even weeds could not grow.
And in the face of an avalanche in the dead of winter, it was only natural that even splendid flowers would freeze to death.
Did he think I would feel guilt because I fought back against people who attacked me?
He looked down on me far too much.
Were bastards raised preciously inside the Five Great Clans just hopeless after all?
To reassure the representative delegation, who must have been flustered by the sudden situation, I looked at each of them in turn.
“Do not worry. I will never be shaken by such shallow provocation.”
“……”
Hm? But the eyes looking at me were somewhat suspicious.
Especially Eun-ho, who had been with me since childhood, had a look of bewilderment in his eyes.
What was this atmosphere?
“Eun-ho. Why are you looking at me like that?”
At my question, Eun-ho’s expression became even stranger.
“Eldest Senior Brother, um…… Do we look like we are worried about you?”
“Hm?”
Then if you were not worrying about me, who were you worrying about……
At that moment, Nam Hwa-seong cut in.
“See! That bastard definitely doesn’t know how dangerous and strange he is! I knew it from the moment he casually brought back the Blood Cult Young Cult Master’s head……!”
What was this bastard saying now?
I was about to snap back at Nam Hwa-seong’s nonsense when……
All the representative delegation members around me nodded at his words.
Seriously, what was this atmosphere?
This time, Seong Mo-ran opened her mouth.
“Young Master Jin, um…… no matter how angry you are, bringing back all the heads of the temporary representative executive staff is, if possible, not……”
No, what were these people saying right now?
Only then did I realize the cause of the strange atmosphere.
They were not worried that I might be put in danger by the schemes of Jegal Jeong-gi and the Orthodox Path Association.
‘Are they instead worried that I might go too far?’
Should I be grateful that they trusted me, or should I be dumbfounded that they saw me as a bloodless, tearless madman? Tsk.
To reassure the executive staff in “a different sense,” I began speaking.
“Ahem. Do not worry. Taking heads is quite bothersome too, you see. In any case, those bastards have backers, so cleaning up afterward would be troublesome as well……”
“……”
Hmm. I was joking, so why did everyone’s faces look even paler?
At any rate, after soothing the hearts of the executive staff as their representative, I recalled Jegal Jeong-gi’s appearance.
He pretended to be completely at ease, but that only seemed like a defense mechanism of puffing himself up to hide his impatience.
What in the world had made him so desperate to seize the representative position?
‘Most likely, that has been completed in the Jegal Clan, right?’
If so, his sudden and decisive movement now was somewhat understandable.
An event that could shake the world under heaven was about to happen.
He probably thought that taking one Academy Representative position was nothing by comparison.
While I was lost in various thoughts, determination appeared on Namgung Seon-hwa’s face.
“I will look into it a little more first.”
Unlike the other executive staff, her face seemed to show concern for me.
This made me feel strangely awkward.
“It is fine……”
Bang—
Before I could say anything, Namgung Seon-hwa swiftly left.
“It is fine, though……”
In truth, I had already roughly outlined how to clean up Jegal Jeong-gi and the fake representative delegation from the beginning.
Even so, I was pleased by her intention to run around in every direction to help me.
Then, suddenly, a good idea came to mind.
Bang.
“Eldest Senior Brother?”
Had I slammed the table too hard?
My palm stung.
“I will go meet Jegal Jeong-gi for a moment.”
“W-what are you going to do after meeting him? You are not going to smash his head, are you? If you do that now……”
What in the world did people think of me?
“I need to have a conversation with him.”
No one would think I was going to drink Seven-Colored Flower, right?
“L-Lady Namgung…… I clearly told you, did I not? I said it would be troublesome if you did this……”
The man kept looking around, carefully checking whether there were people nearby.
If he were caught together with Namgung Seon-hwa, he did not know when he might be kicked out from inside the Orthodox Path Association.
“That is why I am asking. What exactly did Jegal Jeong-gi prepare that he is so confident in? What did he prepare to come out this blatantly?”
“I do not know that either.”
The man, who had roughly ended the conversation, tried to hurry away, but Namgung Seon-hwa blocked his path and began asking persistently.
“You are afraid of Brother Gi-pyo, but you are not afraid of me?”
“……”
“You are aware that the hierarchy between the direct line and collateral line of the Namgung Clan is being reorganized, are you not?”
“……Haa.”
The man looked around, then lowered his voice as much as possible and began speaking.
“I heard something new has been prepared by the Jegal Clan.”
“Something new?”
“Yes. At the same time, Formation Masters who install ultimate formations……”
While Namgung Seon-hwa was completely focused on the man’s words.
The man who had stopped speaking was looking behind Namgung Seon-hwa in shock.
“What are you doing?”
“……I, I, t-this is……”
A powerful Qi Wave narrowly passed by Namgung Seon-hwa and struck the man in the chest.
Guh.
“Bleeegh!”
The man, ambushed before he even realized it, vomited blood.
“What is this!”
Namgung Seon-hwa tried to flick her hand out and respond immediately, but she stopped dead when she saw her opponent.
“Brother…… Gi-pyo.”
There stood Namgung Gi-pyo, his gaze sharper than usual.
‘Ah…… why……?’
I visited the fake representative delegation, but the Seven-Colored Flower did not come out this time.
Jegal Jeong-gi definitely had a tendency to show off……. Did he run out of Seven-Colored Flower?
“What brings you here today?”
“What business?”
I had been staring blankly at the Junshan Yinzhen, then raised my head and saw Jegal Jeong-gi wearing a triumphant expression.
What should I say?
Would he serve it to me if I said I came to drink Seven-Colored Flower?
“……Hmm. What business, you ask…… Why do you think I came?”
Jegal Jeong-gi, who had been rubbing the table round and round with his finger, shifted his gaze to me.
“Well. If you came because of the lecture suspension notice, I wonder whether there was really any need.”
Jegal Jeong-gi certainly seemed a little lacking compared to Jegal Cheon-gi.
He deliberately pointed at me with his chin and continued speaking.
“If you maintain the representative position, the notices we sent will have no effect at all.”
But then, why had Jegal Cheon-gi in my past life spent his years locked away in Prison, while Jegal Jeong-gi had been able to rise smoothly through the Murim Alliance with his clan’s support?
“Are you that confident?”
At my question, Jegal Jeong-gi gestured around him and said,
“If I were not, would I have spent this much money?”
Looking at the representative office Jegal Jeong-gi had decorated, the furniture and finishing materials were indeed all high-class.
In particular, the chair he seemed to use for work looked ordinary at first, but when I sharpened my eyesight, it was clearly a luxury item crafted with careful attention even in places that could not be seen.
Oh, that was nice.
“The chair is unusual……”
“Heh heh. You noticed? That chair is a special chair used only by those above the proper third rank even in Beijing. It is commonly called a masterpiece.”
Wow, it really was nice.
“……If the fake representative delegation is disbanded, what do you plan to do with these facilities?”
A laugh slipped from Jegal Jeong-gi’s mouth.
“Well. I have not thought about such things.”
If all those items were discarded after the fake representative delegation was disbanded, my heart would ache.
How much did all this cost?
Waste was like an enemy that had to be guarded against.
Frugality and thrift were also related to character and morality.
And I had quite good character, you see.
“If the fake representative delegation is disbanded, how about leaving the facilities behind? In any case, you will have nowhere to take them and use them.”
“……”
For the first time, Jegal Jeong-gi’s face stiffened.
“Are you relying on the Mount Heng Sect? That will not happen. If you see what our Orthodox Path Association has prepared……”
“If you are that confident, how about promising to leave them behind?”
At my proposal, Jegal Jeong-gi leaned back and tried to put on airs.
“Hah hah! Are you perhaps confident in Distinguished Guest Invitation? Unfortunately, you will not be able to receive the Namgung Clan’s help……”
He really was a bastard whose only skill was running his mouth.
I deliberately cut him off.
“So are you going to leave them behind, or are you going to disgracefully take them with you?”
“……”
After being cut off two or three times, Jegal Jeong-gi also showed an unpleasant expression.
Still, there was no helping it.
I quite liked the facilities here and the Seven-Colored Flower.
I swept my gaze around once more with a plain look.
“Of course, it would be good if you left all consumables inside the facilities as well.”
Then I added as if doing him a favor.
“Ah, since things have come to this, I will publicly announce that the Orthodox Path Association donated them.”
“……Very well.”
Watching Jegal Jeong-gi tremble while still trying to curl his lips into a sneer, I nodded in satisfaction.
“Oh, right! And why is it Junshan Yinzhen today instead of Seven-Colored Flower? Surely you have not run out of Seven-Colored Flower?”
Jegal Jeong-gi’s face crumpled like paper.
But what could he do?
I had originally visited to drink Seven-Colored Flower.
“What are you doing?!”
At Namgung Seon-hwa’s words, Namgung Gi-pyo sneered.
“There was a rat, so I dealt with it.”
“……”
“You are doing things unlike yourself too. Acting as a spy, are you? Did that bastard order you to do it?”
“A spy? That is too much, Brother.”
Tsk.
Namgung Gi-pyo clicked his tongue in displeasure.
“I heard the stories. You have been stirring up the Academy for some time, have you not? And for that Jin So-un bastard?”
“I was simply moving for the legitimate Academy Representative Delegation.”
“Moreover, you even tried to sell out Grandfather for that bastard.”
“……What are you talking about right now?!”
“Do you like that bastard enough to betray your clan?”
“……”
Namgung Seon-hwa bit her lip hard.
“The Namgung Clan has traditionally acted within the Orthodox Path Association as a member of the Five Great Clans. Not only the people of the Namgung Clan, but also the members of its lay-affiliated martial sects all belong to the Orthodox Path Association.”
Namgung Gi-pyo stared piercingly at Namgung Seon-hwa.
“And yet someone who calls herself the direct line of the Namgung Clan betrayed the Orthodox Path Association and sold out her clan for her man……. Are you not ashamed!”
Namgung Seon-hwa also knew very well what people were saying behind her back.
Even so, she had not responded because she knew it could never become the orthodox argument.
Joining the Orthodox Path Association was not an obligation.
And everything the Orthodox Path Association did was not justice either.
Was that not clear just by looking at everything they had done to drag down Jin So-un, the legitimate representative?
Nevertheless, words that gouged at her heart to her face became wounds to her.
Even though she knew that standing with Jin So-un was right, a faint sense of guilt that she had betrayed others constricted her at the same time.
Namgung Gi-pyo had exquisitely pierced that weakness of Namgung Seon-hwa’s.
“Shameless bitch.”
As if her Numbing Acupoint had been pressed, Namgung Seon-hwa could not move at all even at Namgung Gi-pyo’s curse.
Only a deep sense of humiliation made her face flush red.
THUD.
At that moment, with a dull sound, Namgung Gi-pyo collapsed with a strange expression.
“W-which bastard was it!”
Namgung Gi-pyo struggled and tried to get up quickly.
However.
THUD.
With another dull sound, Namgung Gi-pyo covered his face and screamed.
“GRAAAAGH!”
Through the scream, calm footsteps could be heard.
“This guy is completely insane. There’s nothing he won’t say to Lady Seon-hwa.”
The person who appeared with that familiar delinquent voice was none other than Jin So-un.
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Hello. This is Jeokseolmok.
Thank you very much for giving Jin So-un such overwhelming interest until now.
Thanks to you, I have also been deeply moved every day as an author, because I have been able to write Jin So-un’s story with joy.
Recently, after COVID followed by enteritis, I fell into a deep Qi Deviation and suffered from poor physical condition.
Perhaps this was reflected in the work, because it seems readers also felt a little disappointed.
Fortunately, I met a highly renowned Divine Physician, consumed the Westerners’ Spiritual Medicine, and overcame my Qi Deviation, so now I think I only need to properly regain my condition.
I will work to put Jin So-un’s story back on track again.
I hope you will continue to enjoy Jin So-un’s story.
Oh, right. One more chapter will be uploaded in about an hour today.
Thank you always.
Sincerely, Jeokseolmok