Their first impression of the Wudang sect was that it was truly gigantic.
The appearance of huge temples such as the Shangqing Temple1, Yuzhen Temple2, Yuxu Temple3, Zixue Temple4, and Taihuo Temple5 was intimidating.
Wu Jang-rak and his party were overwhelmed by the majesty of the Wudang sect.
“Oh!”
“Is this the Wudang sect?”
“I heard that they are one of the sects with the longest history along with Shaolin.”
Since it was nighttime, they couldn’t see the full appearance of the sect in detail, but thanks to the torches and moonlight placed here and there, they were able to at least distinguish the outline.
The place where Woo Pyeong led the group was a huge temple that seemed to have been built recently. The temple was called Qingliu Temple. It was built solely for the guests who would attend the birthday party.
Qingliu Temple was large and spacious enough to accommodate hundreds of guests at the same time. It was so vast that those who did not know of its internal layout would get lost.
Woo Pyeong gave the most isolated area in Qingliu Temple to Wu Jang-rak and his party.
The monks from the Shaolin Temple immediately went to their own lodgings. They wanted to protect the Buddhist scriptures themselves.
It was originally the mercenaries’ job to protect the Buddhist scriptures. But now that the Shaolin Temple monks took over their roles, they had nothing to do.
Ko Il-pae and Seol Hajin thought it was better.
Now that things have led to this point, they can now terminate their contract with Wu Jang-rak and relax. They thought it would be better for them to just enjoy the birthday event in the Wudang sect.
So they went ahead and asked Wu Jang-rak to terminate their contract. Wu Jang-rak also easily agreed to their proposal since it was valid and reasonable.
The contract of the mercenaries was terminated, and they were paid their original remuneration.
Ko Il-pae had asked for an amount less than what was written in the contract since their job ended early, but Wu Jang-rak gave everything he had originally promised.
After Wu Jang-rak’s unexpected consideration, the mercenaries went into their own dwelling.
Seol Hajin waved the pouch containing the money to Pyo-wol and said,
“What do you think? Would you like to go to Dazhou with me? Don’t you think you can live with me for a while?”
“Leave it. That’s not even enough.”
“Tch! You’re being expensive.”
Seol Hajin wrinkled her nose at Pyo-wol’s refusal. But it wasn’t a bad look.
In the first place, she did not even think that Pyo-wol would accept her offer. It’s just a little bit sad that her relationship with Pyo-wol will end like this.
As soon as the Wudang sect event was over, she planned to return to Dazhou, where the Mercenary Guild was located.
After they parted ways, she wasn’t sure when she would meet Pyo-wol again. If it was another man, there was a chance that he would come back feeling sorry for her, but Pyo-wol had little chance of doing that.
Pyo-wol’s not the type to feel sorry for a woman nor was he the type to have lingering feelings.
To Pyo-wol, she was just a passing relationship.
Parting here at Wudang Mountain was likely to be their last meeting.
Seol Hajin stared at Pyo-wol for a while before speaking.
“If you happen to pass by Dazhou in the future, come visit me at the Mercenary Guild. You’re always welcome.”
“Okay.”
“Anyway, it’s been fun being with you.”
Seol Hajin waved to Pyo-wol and went into her room.
Pyo-wol looked towards the direction of her room for a while and then looked up at the sky.
* * *
Zixue Temple was the largest area in the Wudang sect. It was composed of several halls and among them, a group of people with fearsome momentum were gathered in the largest hall.
The old warriors with long beards were the Wudang sect’s leader and elders.
The warrior with an outlandish appearance sitting in the center was Chongjin , the current sect leader of the Wudang sect. To his left and right sat Gong-jin, Un-jin, and Jeong-jin.
Across from Chongjin, there was an old taoist with long eyebrows. The taoist body was flowing with cold air like frost. He was the Wudang sect’s Number One Sword, Sang-jin.
Except for Il-geom, who was ranked higher than the elders, there was no martial artist in Hubei Province, let alone in the Wudang sect, who could match Sang-jin.
Chongjin looked at the elders with a serious expression.
“So you still haven’t figured out the cause of So-yeol’s death?”
“We apologize.”
Gong-jin replied with an apologetic expression.
Gong-jin is the second-in-command of the Wudang sect. He is a taoist just right below Chongjin. Although he does not possess excellent leadership like Chongjin nor have superior martial arts like Sang-jin, he was respected by many for his gentle personality and outstanding intelligence.
When Lee So-yeol died, he was the first to run to the body to inspect it. But he couldn’t figure out how Lee So-yeol died.
It was the same with the other elders.
Even Sang-jin, the Wudang sect’s Number One Sword, couldn’t figure out what the cause of Lee So-yeol’s death was. He wasn’t even sure if Lee So-yeol’s death was because of murder.
That’s how mysterious Lee So-yeol’s death was.
It was even more unsettling since the place where he died was in the Scripture Pavilion.
Although all the martial arts books were moved a few days ago, the Scripture Pavilion was still located in the middle of the Wudang sect. The fact that a healthy third-generation disciple died in such a place made Cheongjin and the other elders uneasy.
Chongjin, who had been struggling for a while, opened his mouth,
“Why don’t we postpone my birthday party? It’s not necessary to do it at this time, right?”
“I’m sorry, senior brother! But invitations have already been sent out. Many people have already entered the vicinity of our sect. It would be difficult to cancel it now.”
“That’s right, sect leader Chongjin! This birthday party is a meaningful event that not only celebrates your birthday, but also emphasizes the power of our sect. If we cancel it just because one person died, our sect will lose face.”
“And if we cancel this now, the more we have to hold events to show off the strength of our sect.”
The elders unanimously objected to Chongjin’s opinion.
As a result, Chongjin’s agony inevitably deepened.
It was then.
“This is Woo Pyeong, your disciple. May I come in?”
Woo Pyeong’s voice came from outside the door.
“Come on in.”
After receiving Chongjin’s permission, Woo Pyeong cautiously came inside. Feeling the elders’ gazes pouring on him, Woo Pyeong tidied up his clothes.
“Did you have a good time at Baokang?”
“Yes! I had a good trip thanks to the sect leader’s consideration.”
“Heh heh! I’m glad.”
“I heard that So-yeol died inside our sect.”
“So you’ve heard the news, too. That is also the reason why we’re here gathering like this. We’re currently discussing countermeasures since we have yet to get to the bottom of it.”
“You still haven’t figured out the cause of So-yeol’s death?”
“Hoo…!”
Chongjin let out a deep sigh instead of answering.
It was easy to guess what the status of the situation was just from his reaction.
Woo Pyeong hesitated for a moment, then carefully brought up the matter.
“Actually, my disciple met someone by chance while going down the mountain. I came here because I thought it would be a good idea for him to examine So-yeol’s corpse.”
“Who is the person you met for you to say that? If even Sang-jin could not figure out So-yeol’s cause of death, how could that person figure it out?”
Chongjin’s gaze was directed at Sang-jin .
Sang-jin is the Wudang sect Number One Sword. His pride was quite hurt because even he couldn’t find out the cause of death of Lee So-yeol.
Sang-jin asked,
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