Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 108

108. Expansion of the Murim Alliance Branch

Creak.

The unpleasant sound escaping from Dang Seol-yeon’s red lips was not Young Ho-jun’s imagination.

“Um… that seems like a bit of an overreach.”

Young Ho-jun said with an awkward expression.

“I cannot deny that the Divine Monk [a highly revered and influential figure in the Murim world] is the backbone of the Murim Alliance, but the Murim Alliance is not his alone. Besides, when you think about it, we are the rightful successors of the Murim Alliance…”

“It is precisely that complacent judgment.”

Dang Seol-yeon’s sharp voice cut off Young Ho-jun’s words.

“That has brought about a situation like today’s.”

Clink.

Dang Seol-yeon put down her teacup. She looked straight at Young Ho-jun with her shining eyes and said.

“Yes, the Murim Alliance is ours. But the Divine Monk has brought another person before us. A hidden child with the grand title of successor to the Sword Saint [a legendary and supremely skilled swordsman].”

“Hmm.”

Young Ho-jun groaned.

The name of the Sword Saint resonates throughout the heavens and earth. It is only natural that the Divine Monk would step forward to confirm his successor.

But what if the Divine Monk intends to make that successor the master of the Murim Alliance?

The influence of the Divine Monk Bul-yeong, who founded the Murim Alliance and ended the war between righteous and evil, still lives on throughout the Murim world.

Could the elders and leaders of the great sects truly reject the Divine Monk Bul-yeong’s decision to the end?

Or would they rather accept the decision and try to gain other benefits instead?

Therefore, Young Ho-jun could not simply dismiss Dang Seol-yeon’s words as mere speculation.

However, it was also true that he could not readily accept it.

“But if you say that, can’t we also be called the Divine Monk’s children? The Murim Alliance, which the Divine Monk risked his life to create, is precisely us…”

“That’s why I said I hate it.”

Dang Seol-yeon’s eyes were resolute.

“It’s like someone you knew as your father, someone you respected, suddenly brings in a half-sibling one day and tries to hand everything over to them.”

That was a very accurate analogy.

Young Ho-jun was silent for a moment.

“…Still, I think your words are too much of an overreach.”

“It doesn’t matter what you think.”

Dang Seol-yeon smiled.

“Because the Murim Alliance will now be divided into two. Those who accept the Divine Monk’s will and those who oppose it. I’m very curious to see which side you will be on.”

Young Ho-jun gave a bitter smile.

“What are you planning to do?”

“Me?”

At her question, Young Ho-jun nodded.

“Yes. From what you’re saying, it sounds like you’re about to run to the Secretariat right now and grab him by the collar.”

Dang Seol-yeon smiled.

“I don’t do such vulgar things. But in the end, will it be similar?”

“If it’s similar…”

“I have to confirm it.”

Dang Seol-yeon said, moving her red lips.

“Whether he is a person worthy of being the successor to the Sword Saint, and whether he is qualified to carry on the Divine Monk’s will.”

Young Ho-jun wore a puzzled expression.

“How are you going to confirm that?”

“There are many ways…”

Dang Seol-yeon wore a captivating smile.

“Very many.”

Young Ho-jun frowned.

“If you’re plotting something strange…”

Dang Seol-yeon’s eyebrows furrowed.

“What do you think of me?”

Seeing her genuinely displeased, Young Ho-jun immediately apologized.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I…”

“I like destroying opponents with schemes, but what we need to confirm now isn’t the opponent’s strategy.”

Young Ho-jun couldn’t hide his awkward smile.

As expected, she is Dang Seol-yeon, the snow flower of the Dang Clan, the Dangmun Seolhwa [a poetic epithet signifying her beauty and status within the Dang Clan].

The Dang Clan is famous for its poison, hidden weapons, and cruel mind.

“You can look forward to it.”

Dang Seol-yeon smiled.

“I’ve prepared a suitable opponent for him. It will be a perfect opportunity for the successor of the Sword Saint and the one who will carry on the Divine Monk’s will to prove himself.”

Young Ho-jun frowned and pondered for a moment.

Since the names of the Sword Saint and the Divine Monk have been mentioned, there are not many opponents who can be compared to them.

It is the other three people called the Hwanwoo Five Venerables [five highly respected and powerful figures in the Murim world].

“Could it be…”

“Let’s not talk about this anymore.”

Dang Seol-yeon cut off Young Ho-jun’s words.

Rustle.

Dang Seol-yeon rose from her seat and looked down at Young Ho-jun.

“I got carried away by the atmosphere and said too much. Ah, and.”

Smiling, Dang Seol-yeon said.

“Even if you don’t like the other person, isn’t it too much not to even touch the teacup?”

The teacup placed in front of Young Ho-jun was still as it was.

He had only savored the aroma, and Young Ho-jun had not drunk the tea even once.

“I know that too, but I don’t really like medicine.”

Young Ho-jun shrugged and replied.

“Especially if it’s from the Dang Clan.”

Dang Seol-yeon wore a sneer.

Suspecting poison from the Dang Clan no matter what was already a familiar reaction.

However, she also did not deny Young Ho-jun’s words.

Swish.

Dang Seol-yeon turned her body. Young Ho-jun’s voice caught her.

“Ah, of course…”

Young Ho-jun said with a smile.

“If you personally prepared it for me, even if it’s a deadly poison, I would gladly drink it.”

Dang Seol-yeon’s red lips held a subtle smile.

“That day will never come.”

Spat, spat.

Dang Seol-yeon moved her steps and left the pavilion.

Even after she disappeared, Young Ho-jun did not get up from his seat for a while.

Looking at the scene of the setting sun turning Hangzhou all red, Young Ho-jun was quietly pondering Dang Seol-yeon’s words.

***

It has been a month since the Murim Alliance selected new secretaries.

During that month, the task given to the new secretaries was to memorize unfamiliar terms and names.

Of course, memorizing itself is not a difficult task for most of them, who are from literary backgrounds.

The problem was that there were a great many things to memorize.

“It’s not necessary to memorize everything.”

The senior secretary said calmly, with a look of exhaustion on his face.

“But Murim people live and die by their pride. Moreover, if they are important enough to enter the Murim Alliance, their reputation and pride are also great. If you, as a Murim Alliance secretary, don’t recognize such people, you can’t blame anyone even if your head is cut off on the spot.”

The expressions of the new secretaries all distorted at the seemingly indifferent words.

This was because they could tell that the expression ‘head being cut off’ was not just a figure of speech.

“Of course, the other person’s reputation may not be a big deal at times.”

The senior secretary sighed and continued.

“But even so, it’s no excuse for not recognizing them. It’s the people with swords who make that judgment, not secretaries like us.”

In other words, there is no clear standard and no place to appeal.

The new secretaries were feeling firsthand that their situation had changed greatly from when they were scholars.

The days when they held their heads high as scholars of learning were already gone.

“But it’s not all bad.”

The senior secretary gave a self-deprecating smile.

“Just the name of Murim Alliance secretary will be enough to make most people not ignore you. If I hadn’t been the chief secretary of the Murim Alliance, I wouldn’t have met my current wife.”

No one in the Jianghu Murim [the martial arts world] can ignore the name of the Murim Alliance.

Not to mention ordinary small and medium-sized sects, even prestigious families who make a name for themselves in each province are wary of the Murim Alliance.

So in a way, the secretaries were gaining a lot just from the name of the Murim Alliance.

“So everyone, memorize diligently.”

The senior secretary’s calm words were quite persuasive.

However, the new secretaries could only sigh as they looked at the thick books in front of them.

Memorizing those endless names and nicknames, even with the appearance descriptions being poor, was a headache just to think about.

“Ugh, this is killing me.”

During the break, the large Ahn Soo-jae sighed and grumbled.

“I don’t think I’ve ever studied this hard, even when I was preparing for the civil service examination.”

“The person who’s really dying is me, Brother Ahn.”

Jo Doo-shik, who was next to him, shook his head with bloodshot eyes.

“My head just won’t turn. It’s throbbing, it’s really killing me.”

“Is it any wonder your head hurts when you drink so much every night?”

Pyeon Eo-doo, who was neatly dressed, chided.

However, Jo Doo-shik said with a good-natured smile.

“Oh, you don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s only because I drink that it turns this much. Haven’t you heard the story? The Divine Monk had nine people in a debate even when he was drunk. That’s all thanks to the power of alcohol, the power of alcohol.”

When the Divine Monk Bul-yeong was called a strange monk, he was famous for his eccentric behavior that was not like a monk.

One of them is the debate he had with nine people while drunk.

The Divine Monk Bul-yeong debated with nine people at the same time, each with nine different topics, but he never missed or confused the topic of the debate, and by the time dawn broke the next day, he had received surrender declarations from all nine people.

Then he looked for alcohol again, so you can see why he was called a strange monk.

“That’s a story about people like the Divine Monk, isn’t it? People like us have to work hard anyway…”

“Oh, so Brother Pyeon is studying all night long.”

Pyeon Eo-doo’s face flushed at Jo Doo-shik’s words.

It wasn’t wrong to study all night, but Pyeon Eo-doo hurriedly made excuses.

“Why, why are you only picking on me? I heard that Brother Woon goes out at the crack of dawn and studies secretly…”

Woon Hyeon, who was watching from the side, was startled by the sudden arrow.

These days, Woon Hyeon was training every morning in the empty lot that the Divine Monk had told him about.

For Woon Hyeon, it was the only comfort in the monotonous and difficult life of a new secretary, and a time to find peace of mind.

But he never imagined that Pyeon Eo-doo would know about it.

“Every morning? What’s going on, Brother Woon?”

The large Ahn Soo-jae immediately asked Woon Hyeon.

Woon Hyeon was embarrassed. Perhaps it was because of his past experience of being treated as a strange person in the imperial palace.

“No, that’s…”

Woon Hyeon stammered. Then Jo Doo-shik stepped in to mediate with a smiling face.

“Come on, come on. If you ask him like that, Brother Woon will be surprised, won’t he?”

With a kind smile, Jo Doo-shik said to Woon Hyeon.

“I’m not trying to argue. We’re just wondering if there’s any reason…”

Woon Hyeon then realized that it wasn’t just the large Ahn Soo-jae who was curious.

Pyeon Eo-doo, who was particularly sensitive to such matters, was also looking at Woon Hyeon.

It seemed that everyone already knew that he was going out every morning.

“Ah, that’s…”

Woon Hyeon forced a smile.

“It’s nothing. I’m just taking a walk to clear my head… Haha.”

He didn’t particularly want to hide it, but he didn’t want to let them know either.

Even if he told the truth, he knew what kind of reaction he would get.

‘Training without a sword, they’ll definitely think I’m a strange person.’

Most scholars don’t just gloss over anything.

If he said he was training in swordsmanship, they would definitely ask him this and that, and eventually he would end up talking about personal matters.

It was true that Woon Hyeon felt close to them, but he didn’t want to talk about such things yet.

Moreover, he was most worried that he might not be able to train if this was known to others.

Even the fact that Woon Hyeon was going out in the morning was already known to everyone, wasn’t it?

Of course, except for Ahn Soo-jae, who was indifferent to everything.

“Ah, that’s what it was.”

Jo Doo-shik nodded with a smile.

It wasn’t a very convinced expression, but it meant that he would let it go for now.

“By the way, the training period is almost over, when will we be officially assigned?”

The new secretaries selected for the expansion of the Murim Alliance branch were still officially on standby.

It has not yet been decided who will go to which branch or which department they will work in.

“That’s already over.”

Pyeon Eo-doo said indifferently. He, who had worked in a merchant group, was always well-informed about rumors.

“It’s already over?”

“Where am I going?”

Ahn Soo-jae and Jo Doo-shik reacted immediately.

Pyeon Eo-doo shrugged.

“I don’t know. I just heard that it’s been roughly decided.”

Jo Doo-shik frowned.

“I see. If it’s been decided, they should send us out quickly, why are they making us do such useless things?”

Jo Doo-shik said with a dissatisfied expression, tapping the books in front of him.

That was what all the new secretaries were feeling.

The senior secretaries say that now is a good time, but training is boring and difficult for everyone.

“Well, isn’t it a fight over rice bowls [a metaphor for competing for positions and resources]?”

The answer was given by the large Ahn Soo-jae.

Pyeon Eo-doo frowned, and Jo Doo-shik asked with a surprised expression.

“A fight over rice bowls?”

“There’s only one reason why the powerful guys are dragging their feet. They can’t make a decision because they’re fighting over rice bowls among themselves. Is the Murim Alliance delaying the expansion of the branch because it doesn’t have the power?”

Ahn Soo-jae said firmly.

He himself is said to be a blockhead who couldn’t even pass the Hyangsi [the first level of the imperial examination], but he sometimes says things that hit the nail on the head.

The same was true now.

Jo Doo-shik nodded.

“That’s right. The expansion of the Murim Alliance branch must be a matter involving the interests of many sects…”

“If they drag on like this, they’ll eventually come to an agreement, pretending they can’t win. Thanks to that, only we will suffer. The guys above are all doing similar things in the end?”

There was no respect for the Murim Alliance in Ahn Soo-jae’s grumbling tone.

The other new secretaries who were listening turned their heads away, and Pyeon Eo-doo also frowned.

But Ahn Soo-jae didn’t care.

Woon Hyeon had nothing to say, so he just kept silent.

In the meantime, only Jo Doo-shik was trying to ease the atmosphere by forcing a smile.