****
"Lay disciple Muk Hwi-young is sentenced to serve at our sect's Gokjeongak (Pavilion of Complete Wealth) for the time being. The time to receive education as a lay disciple will be guaranteed."
Cheong-hyeon chewed and spat out his words as if he were displeased.
Because of that, I knew that the punishment was decided by Cheong-hwa, not Cheong-hyeon.
Looking at Sagong-hyeon and his followers, they didn't have very satisfied expressions either.
They also seemed to think my punishment was light.
And that was the same for me as well.
'They aren't kicking me out for this?'
They had kicked me out before for smuggling in spring pictures, yet they were letting it slide when I blatantly threw sand during a spar.
It was a baffling sentence for me, as I had been planning what to do once I got outside.
"Must be nice? Not getting kicked out."
Cheong-hyeon blatantly mocked me.
I tried hard to ignore his glare.
I didn't want to get on Cheong-hyeon's bad side any further here.
"Lay disciple Muk Hwi-young, I shall follow your command."
I knew where Gokjeongak was.
It was the pavilion located right past Haegeomji (Sword Unbinding Ground), which could be considered the main gate of the Wudang Sect.
As for what kind of place it was, it was the pavilion in charge of the Wudang Sect's finances.
It was a place that managed the donations—which were essentially protection fees—from the shops near Gyunhyeon, and the voluntary sponsorships—which were essentially bribes—coming in from all over the country.
It was placed on the outermost edge because it was the task closest to the secular world.
Because of that, it was also a group that was treated as outsiders within the Wudang Sect.
Martial artists looking down on money wasn't a new phenomenon, after all.
'Is money lowly? Earning money in a lowly way is the problem.'
Of course, I knew the reason they used the pretexts of donations and sponsorships.
It was because protection fees and fundraising were forbidden by national law.
As long as the Imperial Family's fierce surveillance was active, not even the Wudang Sect of the Nine Great Sects and One Union could blatantly collect protection fees.
For that reason, even the Unorthodox Faction didn't dare to use the term protection fee.
"Still, I am curious if you will be able to keep up with Wudang's education. Even if you are a lay disciple, we do not carelessly attach the name of the Wudang Sect to anyone. You will definitely need time to practice individually, but you will have to spend all that time serving at Gokjeongak."
"I will work hard."
"Working hard isn't enough. You must do well. As you know, lay disciples have periodic evaluations. If you do not meet our standards at that time, we will immediately send you down the mountain."
"Yes. I understand."
Cheong-hyeon clicked his tongue, clearly displeased about something.
To be fair, throwing sand during a lay disciple's spar was said to be an unprecedented event.
There were many inflexible people in the Orthodox Faction, so it was an act that could easily earn their hatred.
Anyway, it turned out well.
Just finding out the criteria for leaving was a huge harvest.
I was going to leave Mount Wudang, and to do that, I just had to make a complete mess of the first exam.
Wasn't it truly simple?
Of course, it would be even better if I could leave before then.
"……Today, we will delve deeper into the oral traditions of the Three Talents Mental Method. The Three Talents Mental Method is known as a low-rate martial art of the streets, but it is actually a profound martial art capable of containing pure inner energy……."
Yawn. I was already starting to get sleepy.
I closed my eyes without hesitation.
Since my goal was to leave anyway, there was no need to carefully listen to something I had no interest in.
When I suddenly opened my eyes, the boring lecture on oral traditions had already ended.
I had only intended to pretend to sleep, but it seemed I had actually fallen asleep.
"Are you just openly sleeping?"
As I woke up, Jeon Oh-soo laughed next to me.
Looking around, everyone was already looking at me pathetically.
I made a remark I didn't even mean for no reason.
"You could have woken me up."
"Jinin Cheong-hyeon told us not to wake you. He said the Wudang Sect doesn't force unqualified people to tag along. But aren't you the only one losing out if you don't listen?"
"Why am I the one losing out?"
"Still, you paid a lot of money to become a lay disciple, so you should at least learn something before you go."
"Well."
The reason I had to go outside was obvious.
It was because I was destined to never earn the official title of a Wudang Sect lay disciple, no matter what I did.
To become a Wudang Sect lay disciple, one had to win a fight against a third-generation disciple of the Wudang Sect.
Even a third-generation disciple had the skills of a second-rate master.
If one had average martial talent, they could rise to become a second-rate master, but I didn't even have that average martial talent.
Naturally, in my past life, I had also tried to learn something called martial arts after I acquired money.
I bought and tried to learn profound martial arts circulating in the Black Market, and I even took in renowned martial artists as my masters, but I absolutely lacked talent to death.
My body's flexibility, the speed at which I gained muscle strength, my agility, and every talent related to moving my body were lacking.
It wasn't like my comprehension of martial arts was good, either.
It was only after vainly pouring money into martial arts for several years that I humbly admitted it.
I was a guy who had talent for business, but a guy who lacked talent for martial arts.
"But you look like you have martial talent, it's a shame."
"Is that so. That's actually a scam."
"A scam?"
The Martial Talent Shop was a scam, what else.
It was a talent purchased from the shop, not my own talent.
My desire to leave had also grown firmer because of the product's efficacy.
I could certainly supplement my martial talent at the Martial Talent Shop, but I ultimately needed money to buy the products.
However, there was no way to earn money while being a lay disciple of the Wudang Sect.
At most, it was just making a few pennies by selling grass flutes to kids.
"Instead of doing that, I'd rather go out and sell hot gukbap."
"Why bring up gukbap all of a sudden?"
"There's a reason."
Jeon Oh-soo tilted his head, but I had no obligation to tell him more.
He wouldn't believe me even if I told him anyway.
After the education ended, it was time for self-study.
Unlike the first day, there were no kids fooling around with Tai Chi.
Each of them went on to practice the basic Three Talents Mental Method and Three Talents Fist Method.
Of course, I was not given such time.
Even if I had been given the time, I wouldn't have done it anyway.
"I came to pick you up."
"……I could have gone by myself."
Cheong-hwa had specifically come to escort me.
"I will also be teaching the lay disciples from now on. So I am currently affiliated with the Outer Courtyard. Of course, I also belong to Gungdogak (Pavilion of Profound Dao), which researches our sect's martial arts."
Once martial artists of the Wudang Sect reached a certain level of seniority, they would belong to a group existing within the Wudang Sect and work there.
The place in charge of lay disciples was the Wudang Sect's Outer Courtyard, and Cheong-hwa had taken a position there.
"Since you sent me to Gokjeongak, I thought you were someone from Gokjeongak."
"It's fine with me, but do not say that to other people. Since Gokjeongak is a group that handles money, it is inevitably somewhat disrespected. Those words could sound like an insult to someone. In the Wudang Sect, saying someone is like a person from Gokjeongak is the exact same as calling them a money grubber."
"Ah, I see. I will keep that in mind."
I answered like that while cursing inwardly.
Was handling money a sin or something?
People who couldn't even live a single day without money were acting incredibly holier-than-thou.
"Then what should I do? Cleaning?"
"There is someone else who does the cleaning, so that's fine…… You will take on the role of a messenger."
"A messenger?"
"Yes. Since it is a place related to finances, it interacts with all the pavilions."
Interacting with all the pavilions.
A chill ran down my spine.
Mount Wudang was a massive faction, being one of the Nine Great Sects and One Union.
It had that many pavilions.
For instance, the Samcheonggwan (Three Purities Temple), where the Sect Leader and elders resided, was located at the very top of Mount Wudang on Cheonjubong (Heavenly Pillar Peak), also known as Geumjeong (Golden Summit).
To climb up from the Outer Courtyard located halfway up the mountain, one would have to walk for a full two shichen.
"I feel like the Wudang Sect will be paralyzed if I become a messenger."
"Haha. Do not worry. You are not the only messenger."
"I think it will be a massive nuisance to the other messengers."
"That doesn't matter. We just squeezed you into the existing organization. If anything, it will be helpful."
Cheong-hwa smiled and countered every word I said.
I thought to myself.
I would be in big trouble if I got wrongly tangled up in this.
Martial artists would absolutely never think of it, but I was a commoner who could lose my footing and fall.
"Of course, I am not telling you to do it right away from today. You will need to learn the geography a bit, too."
Cheong-hwa laughed heartily and dragged me, who was out of my wits, to Gokjeongak.
Inside Gokjeongak, there was a map of Mount Wudang and the locations of each pavilion written down.
There were a staggering more than ten pavilions alone.
There were even pavilions located in places where one had to climb rock walls, making me wonder what crazy thought process went into building them there.
Roaming around such places as a messenger.
It made no sense at all.
While pretending to earnestly listen to Cheong-hwa's explanation, I made a decision.
To flee in the middle of the night.
I didn't want to end my preciously gained second life by falling to my death.
<><><>
Honestly, who would even monitor a mere lay disciple fleeing in the middle of the night?
Even though there were many people who wanted to enter the Wudang Sect, there was no one who wanted to leave.
Therefore, even if there was a lot of security for coming in, the security for going out would be weak.
I neatly folded the light blue robe of the Wudang Sect lay disciples and changed into my usual clothes.
Perhaps the mental exertion from the first education was too great, as none of the kids woke up.
I thought about at least saying goodbye to Jeon Oh-soo, but I didn't want to needlessly stir up trouble.
'We'll see each other if it's fate.'
I tied my knapsack to my waist and quietly slipped out of the building where the lay disciples were sleeping.
The darkness cast over the mountain path was too thick for the moonlight to shine through.
Were there no lanterns because martial artists could see the path well even in the dark?
Damn martial artist bastards.
Even if Mount Wudang wasn't an incredibly rugged mountain, it was high enough to end one's life while descending at night.
I called up the Martial Talent Shop.
It was to see if there was any item useful for my current situation.
[ Dark Adaptation – Grade 9 ]
[ Price: Eighty Nyang of Copper Coins ]
Fortunately, I found an item that fit my price range and seemed to fit my current situation.
I took out a bank note from my knapsack pocket.
It was the one-hundred-nyang bank note given to me by Jinin Cheong-hwa.
'Do bank notes work too?'
Just like when I bought agile movement, I wished in my mind to purchase it.
However, the bank note did not disappear.
I wished for it several times, but the bank note remained unresponsive.
'You only take cash despite what you are? Damn shop.'
Even among merchants, there were occasionally people who didn't trust bank notes.
The Wuhan Bank was a bank with decent reliability, yet it wasn't accepting this.
I sighed.
The thick darkness looked even more daunting.
Suddenly, I remembered the torches at the training ground near the Outer Courtyard.
Since it was the training ground, it was close and not dangerous.
I immediately headed to the training ground with quick steps.
Fortunately, the torches were right there in their places.
Of course, they weren't left lit.
I pulled out one of the torch poles stuck in the ground.
Fortunately, it was still coated in oil.
I tried to make a fire by striking two nearby stones together.
It didn't work well at first, but after continuous attempts, it caught fire.
"Phew."
Now that I was holding a torch, it was a frontal breakthrough.
Escaping under the cover of the night like an assassin was complete nonsense for me anyway.
I had no choice but to confidently march forward, using the thick-skinned face I had developed during my merchant days as a weapon.
Holding the torch, I walked on the main road as much as possible.
They said a noble man walks the main road.
It was absolutely not because I was afraid of slipping if I took a narrow and rough path.
Even with a torch, descending Mount Wudang was an incredibly difficult task.
The darkness in the mountain that could be illuminated by a single torch was only about five or six steps ahead at most.
I walked taking almost half-steps.
It was because I felt like I would immediately fall if I took large steps.
Walking with such short, quick steps caused an immense drain on both my physical and mental stamina.
"Hold on. Who goes there?"
While walking like that, looking only at the front of my feet, a cold piece of metal suddenly touched my neck.
Rather than being scared, I was actually glad.
Because it meant I had finally descended to a place where there were guards.
"Gasp."
For now, I let out the most flustered voice I could.
In front of the torch, Wudang Sect disciples wearing blue robes were looking at me with suspicious eyes.
"Who are you to be coming down from the main mountain at this hour?"
"I, I am just an ordinary herb gatherer. I came into Mount Wudang to gather herbs, but I accidentally dozed off on a tree stump and am only descending at this hour, sirs."
Servility and bewilderment mixed into my voice.
This level of voice acting was a basic skill for a merchant.
Since the Wudang Sect disciples also had eyes, they would at least know that I hadn't learned martial arts.
"An herb gatherer? Goodness, I've never seen an herb gatherer fall asleep while gathering herbs."
"Haha, I didn't know I was that stupid either."
"You aren't perhaps a spy from the Demonic Cult, are you?"
"Oh my, how could you say such a scary thing. I am just an ignorant commoner who knows nothing."
The Wudang Sect people didn't really have their guard up against me.
There might have been people who had seen me passing by, but who would remember the face of a mere lay disciple one by one?
"Hmm. It is a bit strange, but should we just let him down?"
"I don't think there will be any particular problems."
The Wudang Sect people conversed among themselves.
I was nervous inside, repeatedly chanting 'please'.
"It doesn't look like he's hiding anything in particular either."
"That is correct. What could I possibly have to hide?"
I opened my knapsack and showed them the dirt-covered grass roots.
I had gathered them in advance before meeting people.
Of course, they weren't herbs.
However, unless they were Daoists who personally concocted pills, there was no way they could distinguish herbs in the dark.
"Alright. Go down carefully."
'It worked!'
Only then did the Wudang Sect martial artists sheathe their swords.
I bowed my waist deeply.
"Thank you. Sirs."
"What do you mean, Sirs."
I was about to bid them a warm farewell and come down.
At that moment, another person's voice was heard from the darkness.
"That's right. What do you mean 'Sirs' to these kids? They are around the same age as you, after all."
Someone came out from the darkness, letting out a laugh.
The backs of the Wudang Sect martial artists straightened up in an instant.
"We greet Sasuk Cheong-hwa!"
The resounding voices woke the silent Mount Wudang.
The person who came out was Jinin Cheong-hwa.
"Yes. You are standing guard well."
"Th-Thank you!"
The Wudang Sect martial artists made deeply moved expressions.
For a Sasuk to come out at this hour and encourage them.
It was something that couldn't possibly happen.
Right, it was something that couldn't possibly happen.
Why on earth was Cheong-hwa here?
I couldn't understand it at all.
"Where are you going in such a hurry? Hwi-young-a."
Cheong-hwa approached me with a benevolent smile.
And coming right in front of me, he bent his waist and whispered in my ear.
"Did you think I wouldn't know that you wanted to leave our sect?"
Cold goosebumps spread from my spine all the way to the crown of my head.