Scholar Demon Venerable

Cheongun was puzzled, but he didn't say anything to the others. Now was the time to join forces rather than suspect each other.

'I'll have to tell Young Lady Jin later.'

Then wouldn't she take care of it herself?

"Thank you, Young Master Lee."

Jin Seolran said as she approached him, who was organizing his thoughts.

Kang Ho-poong, Namgung Ryong, and Zhuge Haemi also came with her, and fortunately, there were no injuries.

"I have to pay for the food I ate."

Cheongun said lightly and looked around.

The uninjured people were treating the groaning injured.

The porters and carriers also stepped forward to dig the ground to bury the bodies and clean up the surroundings.

"The damage is great. I think we'll have to reorganize our ranks in Anyang before we leave."

"It seems those guys were after something... Do you happen to know what it is?"

"Huh? Well. I only know that I'm escorting the goods entrusted by the Hebei caravan to Chang'an."

They are bandits that include a top-level master. They are not people who came after the goods of an ordinary caravan.

But Jin Seolran also didn't seem to know the details.

Cheongun also didn't ask any further. He didn't have time to waste by getting involved in this matter.

As Jin Seolran had said, the escort mission decided to spend a day in Anyang and reorganize their ranks.

Although there was a lot of regret in parting, Cheongun also couldn't delay any longer and headed to Kaifeng alone.

◈ ◈ ◈

Kaifeng was located on a plain near the Yellow River.

Along with Xi'an and Luoyang, it was one of the three ancient capitals of the Central Plains, and it was also the capital of several dynasties, including the Wei state of the Warring States period, the Liang, the Northern Song, and the Jin.

Although its power had greatly diminished now, it still served as a transportation hub due to the numerous waterways connected to the Yellow River.

In the southwestern part of that Kaifeng, there was a mansion district where several mansions were gathered.

From ancient times, the influential people and scholars of Kaifeng had lived in this mansion district.

You couldn't buy a mansion there just by having a lot of money. Because the learned scholars kept their distance from the rich merchants.

On the other hand, the wealthy wanted to get close to the learned. As a result, the wealthy naturally flocked to the west gate where the mansion district was located.

In particular, there was a famous academy in this mansion district. The Tianxiang Academy, one of the ten great academies in the world, was located here.

Late at night.

A figure suddenly appeared on a high pavilion near the Tianxiang Academy, which was looking down.

The figure, like when it first appeared, became a night bird and disappeared suddenly.

The Xuexian Pavilion, located deep in the inner courtyard of the Tianxiang Academy, was the office of the current owner of the Tianxiang Academy, Master Miaoqing, Wei Zhentian.

That was the place he had used before he became the headmaster.

Originally, the owner of the Tianxiang Academy had to move his residence to the Tianxiang Pavilion, but Master Miaoqing said it was troublesome and still worked there.

But the real reason was because of his disciple, Samwon Lee Cheongun.

"I don't know when my disciple will come, so shouldn't the master keep his place?"

Because of his beloved disciple who had suddenly disappeared one day, he often spent the night with his eyes open.

He had sent people to search the world, but he couldn't find him.

Thump!

"Where are you? Where!"

A middle-aged man with a neat and handsome beard slammed his hand on the table and made a frustrated expression.

He was the head of the Tianxiang Academy, Master Miaoqing, Wei Zhentian.

No one would believe that his age, which looked to be in his middle years, was past sixty. That was the reason why his nickname was Master Miaoqing.

"Whether you're dead or alive, just let me know. I will solve your difficulties even if I have to move His Majesty the Emperor."

His clenched hand trembled.

On the table, there were many letters saying that they had seen Cheongun. But when he checked, they were all lies.

It had been over a year since he had disappeared, so it would not be easy to find his whereabouts now, but he had no intention of giving up.

When he inquired at the imperial palace, they said that the Jinyiwei who were accompanying him had also disappeared. In the worst case, he might see his disciple's corpse.

"No matter what the cost, I will surely find you."

He wished and wished that his beloved disciple was alive.

Hwiiing.

A gust of wind flowed in through the window.

The candlelight that was illuminating the room flickered and swayed.

And a man was standing in front of him.

"Who are you?"

Wei Zhentian asked in a calm tone.

The person who had appeared was a man who seemed to have just passed his coming-of-age. It was a face he had seen somewhere, but he couldn't remember it right away.

But wasn't the man raising both his hands above his head and giving a big bow to Wei Zhentian?

Wei Zhentian quietly watched the man's actions.

'Who is it that is giving me a kowtow?'

The man's action was a etiquette called kowtow, which belonged to the three bows of the nine bows.

It was a formality when paying respects to a superior between a monarch and a subject, a parent and a child, and a master and a disciple, but it was strange that a strange man was performing that etiquette.

Wei Zhentian, who had silently waited until the man's kowtow was over, looked at the man who had finished the etiquette and was sitting on his knees neatly and asked.

"Who are you, sir, that you are giving me a kowtow?"

The man looked at such a Wei Zhentian and said in a low, wet voice.

"Master..."

Wei Zhentian's whole body trembled, his eyes wide.

"You, you are..."

It was a voice he had always heard.

Even if countless people were talking, he could recognize that voice at once.

"G-good heavens."

Wei Zhentian calmed his trembling body and slowly stood up from his seat. Then he approached Cheongun, who was bowing his head and sobbing, and hugged him as if to wrap him.

"You've returned. I thought I had not forgotten you for a moment... This foolish master is sorry for not recognizing you at a glance, Cheongun."

"Master."

Cheongun's voice trembled slightly.

The Hyeokryeon family should not know that he was alive yet. So he had come to see his master under the cover of night.

He had vowed not to cry even if he met his master. Because he knew that his master would be even more heartbroken.

But it was no use.

Tears flowed down his face on their own.

Wei Zhentian raised Cheongun's body with his trembling hands and sat him on a chair.

Then he waited for Cheongun to calm down and had many thoughts.

Finally, when Cheongun stopped his tears, Wei Zhentian opened his tightly closed mouth.

"You must tell me everything from the beginning without leaving anything out. Do you understand?"

A light flickered in Wei Zhentian's two eyes, emitting a brilliant light.

He was one of the three great scholars praised in the world.

Such a person was making a stern expression in front of his disciple.

'No matter who it is, no matter what happens... I will never stay still.'

Wei Zhentian's fist on the table was clenched.

He steeled his resolve.

He had a brush that could mock the world, and he had the power of the head of the Tianxiang Academy.

"Yes, Master. As for what happened..."

Cheongun told him in detail what had happened so far.

That he had entered the Imperial Palace Armory and learned martial arts, that he had received the Emperor's order and become a Pacification Envoy, and even what Hyeokryeon Hui had said before he took the final examination.

He just didn't talk about the part about the Blood Emperor.

When Wei Zhentian heard the part about being attacked and the identity of the attacker, his face turned red as if it would burst.

"Haha. You've been through a turbulent life where your life changed in that short time."

Wei Zhentian let out a long sigh.

His heart ached when he thought about the pain his disciple must have received. He even thought that all of this had happened because of him.

"I'm sorry. I knew that Hui was tormenting you... it's my fault for not taking action."

"No. Hui was a disciple of the Divine Strategist Scholar. At that time, even you, Master, would not have been able to stop him."

The Tianxiang Academy taught academics with several masters.

It was divided into a main master who took care of matters outside of academics and a sub-master who only taught academics.

Cheongun's main master was Wei Zhentian, and Hyeokryeon Hui's main master was the Divine Strategist Scholar, Sima Kuangdao.

"No. I was pushed by the power of Sima Kuangdao's family, the Sima family, and could not protect you."

In the Tianxiang Academy, there were scholars whose fame was renowned throughout the world as teachers. Among them, there were also people from the Zhuge family and the Sima family, which were famous in the world.

When Cheongun was young, the influence of his master, Wei Zhentian, could not follow that of Sima Kuangdao, who was from the Sima family.

"Please don't say that. The reason I was able to grow up like this is solely thanks to your grace, Master."

"Thank you for understanding."

The two exchanged various stories after a long time.

Most of them were stories about Cheongun's personal affairs and future plans.

"In a matter like this, you have to use a clever plan. First, make it so that they can easily predict and deal with it. The key to this plan is to make them think they are smart. And then you set a trap. For example..."

Lee Cheongun, who had heard all of Wei Zhentian's plan, could not help but be impressed.

"It's an exquisite idea. As expected of you, Master."

"You could make the mistake of alerting the enemy by beating the grass, so you need to be especially careful in that part."

"I understand, Master."

"Ah! And you have to be careful about using the Beggars' Sect. I hear that the current leader is rumored to be a mad dog rarely seen in recent years."

"I will pay special attention."

Cheongun thought of a person when he heard the nickname of the Beggars' Sect leader.

'I wonder if he's doing well?'

Peng Docheon of the Hebei Peng family, who was famous as the Mad Dog of the Imperial Capital. And the mad dog of the Beggars' Sect.

If the two of them fought, who would look more like a mad dog?

He was curious.

[Hmm...]

The Blood Emperor just listened quietly to the two's conversation.

As he listened, he found himself nodding his head. He repeatedly let out exclamations of admiration.

Then in the end, he shook his head at the two's evil plan (?).

[I wondered who this guy resembled, and he resembles his master. You devilish guys.]

* * *

Besides the Tianxiang Academy, there is another famous place in Kaifeng.

When talking about the righteous faction, the term "nine sects and one gang" was often used. Among them, the nine sects referred to the nine great sects, and the remaining one gang was the Beggars' Sect.

That Beggars' Sect had its headquarters here in Kaifeng.

In the headquarters of the Beggars' Sect, dozens of beggars were sitting in a circle and having a meeting.

A beggar in his thirties said with a bothered expression, chewing on a bone with no flesh on it.

"I hear there's a rumor that strange people are wandering around Kaifeng these days... have you heard?"

"Did you hear too, leader?"

"Hehe, I've already sent the kids to watch."

Since Kaifeng was where the headquarters of the Beggars' Sect was, there was nothing that could escape the eyes of the beggars.

In particular, if an outsider came in and settled down or if they did any strange behavior, a report would immediately go up.

The beggar called the leader looked at a beggar of a similar age and then spat out a piece of bone from his mouth and asked.

"Ptui! Is there anything wrong with the west gate?"

"No, there's nothing particularly strange."

At the leader's question, the beggar called the Drunken Beggar, who had a gourd bottle in his mouth, answered.

The leader narrowed his eyes and confirmed again.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Good heavens, have you only been deceived all your life?"

"Uh. Because you were talking nonsense after drinking, I sent the kids in the opposite direction and they got completely smashed by the underworld guys. It's only been a week, don't you remember?"

A week ago, there was a fight with the underworld guys at the east gate inn.

The Drunken Beggar had come running and made a fuss, saying there was a fight and they had to go to the west gate. He had asked him in detail what was going on, but this guy was drunk and talking nonsense.

In the end, he had rushed to the west gate, but there was nothing, and several beggars had been seriously injured in the fight that had taken place in front of the east gate inn.

The Drunken Beggar scratched his head and showed his yellow teeth.

"Hehe. That was because I was drunk..."

Hwiik, thwack!

"Aigoo! A beggar is dying."

The bone that the leader had been chewing on hit the Drunken Beggar's head.

Although the Drunken Beggar screamed that he was dying and jumped up and down, the others ignored the Drunken Beggar and looked at the leader.

Because this kind of scene between the two was not a matter of yesterday or today.

The leader said to the beggars who were looking at him with a bored expression.

"Just tell me the important things."

"Yes, as you know, leader, about a year ago, the scholar Lee Cheongun of the Tianxiang Academy and the Jinyiwei went missing."