CRD 27

Chapter 27

The Family’s Secret Place (2)

Jingwang spoke up.

“Gwanhyeon.”

“Yes, Chief Jo.”

“Disband the members.”

“Understood.”

“And Jonghwan…”

At that moment, Moyongbi interjected.

“You’ve hit him enough. No need to call a doctor. Half a day will be fine.”

Jingwang nodded.

“Disband them then.”

“Yes.”

With that, the entire Hwajeomjo left the training ground.

During the disbanding, a few of the swordsmen glanced at Moyongbi. Their eyes were a mix of disbelief, surprise, and a strange hostility.

“Master.”

“Yes?”

“Would you walk with me for a moment?”

“Sure.”

Jingwang walked down a narrow path behind the training ground.

Moyongbi silently followed. He seemed to have something he wanted to say.

In fact, if it were about saying something, Moyongbi had far more to say.

‘Why did he keep watching that scene?’

Though they hadn’t had a proper conversation yet, Jingwang was clearly a serious man.

Of course, personality and skill don’t always match.

Moyongbi glanced at Jingwang’s walk.

‘His steps aren’t stable.’

Though far more stable than the other members, it wasn’t what you’d call the walk of a master.

‘Not top-class, but his physical strength is good, and his joints are much more flexible than the others.’

Someone like Moyongbi could roughly estimate a person’s level just by the way they walked.

‘With this, he should easily see how sloppy the members’ postures are.’

At that moment, Jingwang spoke.

“You’re strong.”

“This strong…”

He still carried the memories and enlightenment of the days he was called “Gwangmabu” and “Gwangma.”

Though his body and the situation now made direct comparisons meaningless, his whole body had been through the peaks of the Taesan range—it was nothing short of intense.

“I didn’t tell the members, but I know. You healed the Acting Head of the Family’s condition with your energy.”

“That’s right.”

Jingwang stopped walking.

“Master.”

“Speak.”

“Did you… really find it?”

Find what? Sense? Sanity?

“You weren’t lying to me then, were you?”

Huh? The atmosphere was strange.

Moyongbi could sense the excitement in Jingwang’s voice. It was unlike his usual stoic, iron-masked personality.

Then Jingwang turned around.

Moyongbi instinctively stepped back a couple of paces. Jingwang’s gaze was burning hot.

‘What… is this guy?’

Exaggeratedly, it looked like a lover’s gaze.

Moyongbi instinctively prepared to go into combat. Not that he would, but if this guy tried anything, he would have immediately neutralized him.

Fortunately, Moyongbi’s worry was for nothing.

“I must tell you now, I was really disappointed in you, Master. And… I thought I could no longer trust you.”

“Huh?”

“But now I understand clearly. Even when pretending not to care, how much you valued the family!”

Huh? Something was off.

The once serious voice was now frighteningly overexcited, almost intoxicated.

Clenching his fists, Jingwang said,

“You’ve finally repaid the Acting Head’s trust! Heaven has helped the family! No, the devotion of the Acting Head and Master has surely reached Heaven!”

“Hey, hey, send a word before opening the main gate!”

Moyongbi was confused. He had no idea what Jingwang was talking about.

“Hmm, Chief Jo? Calm down first…”

“Master!”

Jingwang grabbed Moyongbi’s hand.

Moyongbi’s face contorted as if seeing a disgusting insect.

‘What are you doing, you crazy fool!’

He restrained a knee strike with extreme patience.

Jingwang shook his hand fervently, his weight only half of Moyongbi’s, and Moyongbi was swaying like a reed in the wind.

“Well done! Truly well done! Now the family can rise again, right?!”

“R-rise?”

“Not immediately, of course. Building power isn’t easy.”

“Yeah… that’s true.”

“But for the Mu family, the most important thing is strength! Power! And that power comes from martial skill!”

Jingwang’s fiery eyes became moist.

Moyongbi nearly fainted internally. This guy seemed even more emotional than him, despite having mastered Brain-Mind Martial Art.

“Now that Master has obtained the ancestor’s relics, it’s as if the predecessors are protecting everyone!”

Moyongbi’s eyes widened.

‘Ancestor’s relics?!’

Suddenly, what was he talking about?

‘Does he know my identity?’

No way.

If not, how could he mention the ancestor’s relics?

“Even the Black Tiger Hall matter must have been about investigating the relic. I was very worried, but if you’ve found Moyong’s treasure, Black Tiger Hall won’t be a problem!”

He hadn’t been told that Black Tiger Hall had already fallen.

But Moyongbi focused on the “Moyong’s treasure” part.

‘Wait… so this means…?’

Even amidst the confusion, something began to click.

‘The ancestor’s relic? So Jongjoson tried to find a Moyong family relic in Black Tiger Hall by borrowing money?’

Jingwang let go of Moyongbi and knelt.

“However, obtaining the relic doesn’t immediately grant such skill. Master must have been hiding his abilities for a long time.”

“Uh… huh?”

“The sword moves you displayed against Jonghwan! The Taesan-like sword technique, moving in one path and one point without the slightest tremor! That’s impossible without intense training!”

Then why did you leave the members alone?

“Hey, Chief Jo.”

“I thought while walking here. Why did Master hide your strength? Did you not trust the Acting Head and us? I thought… maybe. But then I quickly found the answer.”

This guy! Let me speak too!

Jingwang lifted his head.

Beneath his stoic mask was the face of a loyal retainer.

His eyes, full of genuine trust in Moyongbi, reflected relief from built-up tension, yet no greed or malice.

‘This guy…’

Moyongbi’s eyes wavered.

‘…what a burden.’

Still, it was moving.

Even during the Leader’s era, there were a few like this. They were temperamental yet loyal to the death.

Jingwang’s face reminded Moyongbi of those loyal followers.

Different in nature, yet their aura was the same—red-hot like steel heated to extreme temperatures.

“Even if a bird is large, it cannot dominate the sky without wings. Perhaps you feared word of your abilities would spread to surrounding sects and Ho Yeon’s family?”

Moyongbi’s eyes turned cold at the mention of Ho Yeon’s family.

“Ho Yeon family…”

“I must humbly say, I am honored that Master revealed his power even now, but now is a time to build a solid foundation…”

“Chief Jo.”

Jingwang’s earlier overly emotional tone had changed.

“Yes, Master.”

Moyongbi sank onto the ground.

“You said ancestor’s relics, right?”

“Eh? Ah! Yes!”

Moyongbi thought for a moment and asked casually,

“When did I mention that?”

Jingwang answered smoothly.

“When the eldest young lady—or rather, the Acting Head—went to Myeongjing Hall not long ago.”

“Hmm, was that so?”

“Yes! Master said that in childhood, the previous Head mentioned a secret place. One of the ancestors made it in case of emergencies.”

It was easy and comfortable to just let him recount without asking further.

But wait—one of the ancestors made a secret place?

“Of course, the Acting Head heard it too, but thought it was ridiculous and didn’t believe it. But Master believed the previous Head’s words were not lies…!”

“Which ancestor did he say?”

Jingwang answered as if it were obvious.

“A forgotten name in the world, a stolen crown of glory. Your Jongjoson ancestor.”

“…?”

“….”

“Jongjoson ancestor??”

Moyongbi blinked like an ox.

Jingwang continued smoothly,

“Though the world calls him Ho Yeon, that is not true. Not only I, but the entire family knows this…!”

“Wait! Wait!”

“Yes, Master.”

“You said… Jongjoson ancestor? Did you say that?”

“Yes.”

Moyongbi’s jaw dropped.

Su-jeong, Bi, and Su-hyang’s parents belong to the elder tiger family. Their father is Elder Heon, so if he said grandfather, it would mean Heon’s elder brother. Then, if he said Jongjoson (cousin-grandfather), that would mean… me?

‘I made a secret place? And in Hubei?’

This was absurd.

“Your ancestor Moyongcheon?”

“Yes!”

Moyongbi shouted unconsciously.

“Confirm it! Are you sure you said it was… Moyongcheon, not me?”

Only then did Jingwang look puzzled but confirm.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Not my elder brother?”

“Yes?”

Damn it! It was confusing and ridiculous.

But could it be my elder brother?

After becoming head and stabilizing Liaoning, my elder brother spent almost all his time in the north.

Sure, you could consider much of Hubei as north, but at least in Moyongbi’s memory, he never came south.

Maybe he secretly sent family guards, but if it wasn’t detected by the martial arts alliance’s info network, it could only have been a handful. Could such a small group make a secret place and store relics?

‘Then it really is me?’

But I never made a secret place!

Jingwang, noticing Moyongbi’s glances, spoke cautiously,

“Regardless, Master has found the ancestor’s relic. This is great fortune for the family. I have no regrets even if I die.”

“Right now, I feel some regrets, so quiet down.”

“Yes!”

Moyongbi’s face grew serious.

‘I think and think, but there’s nothing like that…’

Could it be that Da-ho, hoping the children wouldn’t give up even in tough times, told them a false story?

‘No way. Da-ho is too sincere to give his children false dreams or goals.’

‘Then Da-ho really believed that I left a secret place in Hubei?’

He didn’t remember.

‘Of course not, because I never did!’

After being drafted by the Martial Arts Alliance at the start of the war, he became the youngest leader in less than five years.

After that, it was a nonstop series of battles. He couldn’t even leave family property or supplies behind… how much planning…

‘Huh?’

…Martial Arts Alliance? Supplies?

Wait a minute…

‘Da-ho, could it be…?!’

Moyongbi recalled the end of the war.

“If I die or go missing, don’t act recklessly. Stay put. I’ll probably be at the An family.”

“Eh, how could you say that, Uncle?”

“I said if, didn’t I? Don’t worry, it won’t happen.”

Moyongbi’s eyes went wide like a full moon.

“It… exists!”

‘I have something that can be called my legacy!’