The Youngest Member of the Martial Alliance Chapter 158

Cheon Woojin walked slowly through the marketplace.

The sll of food wafted from here and there.

A grandfather walking hand in hand with his granddaughter.

A tense battle of wills between a custor trying to haggle down the price and a rchant trying to get even one more penny.

It was a truly everyday scene. Except for the fact that this place was the outer court of the Demonic Cult.

Cheon Woojin was inside the Demonic Cult.

The Demonic Cult, which was so large that it could be considered a single nation, was divided into an outer court and an inner court.

The inner court was a space where the leaders of the Demonic Cult, including the Cult Leader, the martial artists, and their families lived, and the outer court was a world of ordinary people who had nothing to do with martial arts.

"It's really ordinary."

In fact, even though it was the outer court, since it was still the Demonic Cult, he had thought that even ordinary people would be unusual.

For example, that the waiters had learned demonic arts, or that people intoxicated with poison and dicine were scattered on the streets.

Or perhaps he had imagined a chaos where those who shouted "Heavenly Demon's Second Coming, Unbelievers to Hell" were rampant.

But it was just as ordinary as any marketplace in the Central Plains. He felt a sense of incongruity in that scene. Although the people of the Central Plains trembled at the re ntion of the Demonic Cult, in the end, this place was also just a place where people lived, except for a very small minority.

Cheon Woojin stopped in front of a shop.

It was a small tavern located at the end of the marketplace, and the sll coming from inside was quite good.

Cheon Woojin, as if possessed by sothing, entered the tavern and ordered noodles. Often, when he got tired of the food he ate in the mountains with his masters, he would co down to the village like this and enjoy a simple al.

After ordering, as he was watching the custors in the tavern for a mont, a cheerful waiter quickly brought a large bowl of noodles.

"It's the special noodles!"

The waiter with a cheerful voice put down the bowl and stood for a mont, looking at Cheon Woojin.

Cheon Woojin, who had let out a chuckle at the old mory, took out a silver coin from his bosom and handed it to him. The White Master would always give the waiter a tip like this. Of course, the Black Master would click his tongue, saying it was a waste of money.

Unlike the words 'special noodles', the taste was ordinary.

Even that ordinariness made him feel that this place was not much different from the taverns in the Central Plains.

And so, by the ti he had eaten about half of the noodles.

A man entered, and the atmosphere of the tavern changed.

The families who had co to eat out together, the rchants who had co to fill their stomachs, and Cheon Woojin, who had entered as if possessed by the sll. The simple atmosphere that such people had naturally created froze, and a sowhat uncomfortable and oppressive air flowed through the tavern.

As expected.

Soon, a loud noise ca from where the man was.

The man swung his hand, and the cheerful waiter's cheek turned.

It seed he was dissatisfied that his order had not been brought out first. The smart waiter must have brought out the food in the order it was ordered.

The owner, who had rushed out from the kitchen, was an old man with white hair. He repeatedly bowed to the young man and apologized, saying that he had given the wrong order to the waiter.

The man could not bring himself to slap the cheek of the owner, who was of his grandfather's age, and just spewed out curses.

"Old man, don't you know how busy we are these days? As a follower of the cult, you have an obligation to actively cooperate with the cult's events, don't you?"

The man was wearing a red martial arts uniform, and on his chest were the characters 'Divine Cult'. It seed he was a person belonging to the ard unit of the Demonic Cult.

By the way, to be talking about the cult's events just for ordering a drink at a tavern. There were such people scattered all over, whether in the Central Plains or here.

Thinking so, Cheon Woojin soon averted his gaze and began to eat his noodles again. In any case, there was no need to unnecessarily interfere in the affairs that were happening within the Demonic Cult.

However, the regrettable thing was that since everyone was holding their breath and watching, the sound of Cheon Woojin slurping his noodles alone was particularly loud.

The sound of the noodles, half soup and half noodles, being sucked into his mouth seed to have stimulated the man's nerves.

He looked this way.

Cheon Woojin, while feeling his gaze, did not bother to make eye contact. It was because if he got into a fight with the guy, he would have no other choice. But there were always moth-like people who hastened their own demise.

"You're from the Central Plains, aren't you?"

At that, everyone in the tavern, including the owner and the waiter, looked at Cheon Woojin.

Thanks to that, Cheon Woojin also put down his chopsticks.

He scratched his head for a mont and contemplated. But no matter how he thought about it, there was no other choice.

If the Sima Hui Chief Strategist had known this, he would have lanted, 'No, with your martial prowess, you could have just avoided the situation! To say you had no choice is an excuse!'

Soon, Cheon Woojin, who had gotten up from his seat, walked out through the door at the back of the tavern. The back of the tavern had a warehouse and a small yard, so it seed like a suitable environnt to talk to the man.

Soon, the man, who had been ignored, followed him out, fuming.

"Where did a Central Plains barbarian co from, without fear, to the Divine Cult..."

The man collapsed. If he was a mber of the Demonic Cult's ard unit, he must have trained hard in martial arts. He probably never thought he would die while coming to a tavern to buy a drink.

But the deaths of martial artists were always like this, so there was nothing particularly unfair about it.

Thinking so, Cheon Woojin took off the man's clothes. Since it had co to this, he planned to wander around the Demonic Cult a little more, pretending to be this guy for a while.

While he was changing his clothes, the owner ca out cautiously with a worried face. He must have been scared, but seeing that he had followed him out of concern, he could feel what kind of person he was.

Of course, apart from that feeling, Cheon Woojin, who had been caught killing a body and taking its clothes, felt awkward for no reason.

"Ah."

"..."

The owner's pupils, who had seen the body and Cheon Woojin, trembled. Nevertheless, the reason he did not scream was probably thanks to the intuition and experience of an old man who had been doing business in one place for a long ti.

"...Are you really from the Central Plains?"

"Yes."

Cheon Woojin answered while putting on his pants.

At that, the owner's brow furrowed even more.

"Why did a Central Plains person co here without fear? Hurry up and run away. If they find out that guy has disappeared, the martial artists will soon start an investigation, and it will be a matter of ti before you are found out."

The owner was not a follower of the Demonic Cult, but just an old man who was worried about a young man.

Since the dead demonic person was a bad guy who often caused trouble, he might have felt even more grateful to Cheon Woojin for killing him.

But Cheon Woojin looked at the dead demonic person's face for a mont without answering. He then kneaded his own face.

"Heok!"

Even the experienced owner could not hide his surprise.

As Cheon Woojin touched his face, his facial bones creaked and were transford. Moreover, his outer skin was being molded softly like clay.

Even his arms and legs beca a little shorter, and starting from that, his whole body's physique beca smaller.

"How is it?"

"Uh, uh..."

The owner could not speak.

At that sight, Cheon Woojin was dejected.

It was the first ti in his life he had tried to use the art of disguise. Although he had never learned it, since he had often seen the Poisonous Hand and others do it, he had just tried to imitate it...

"Does it still not look like him?"

"I-it's surprisingly the sa."

Cheon Woojin's mood improved again.

As expected, learning and performing new things was always enjoyable.

He then glared at his Crescent Moon Staff for a mont. It was too big and hard, so there was no way to hide it on his body.

Cheon Woojin, who had been contemplating, dug a hole in the ground and buried his Crescent Moon Staff.

"Can I co back to get it later?"

"...You're coming back?"

"Yes, the noodles were good."

The owner let out a hollow laugh. Although he was happy about the complint on his food, what on earth was a Central Plains person who talked about the Divine Cult as if it were his own ho?

But the owner, thinking what did it matter if that young man didn't co back, soon nodded.

"First, I'll just finish the noodles I left and go."

"Go ahead. The custors have all run away anyway."

The mont Cheon Woojin and the demonic person had co out to the backyard, it seed that all the custors who had been watching had run away.

.

.

.

Soon, the owner who had entered the tavern sent the waiter ho, saying that today's business was a bust anyway, so he should go ho early.

Although the waiter refused, saying how could he leave the old man and that guy alone, as soon as Cheon Woojin, who had disguised himself as a demonic person, entered the tavern again, he bowed his head as if nothing had happened and went ho.

Originally, there was nothing more important than one's own life.

Soon, Cheon Woojin looked at the quiet tavern, sat down, and began to eat his noodles. The owner, thinking that he was exactly the sa as the dead demonic person, watched the scene.

"Can I sit for a mont?"

"Yes."

Cheon Woojin, who had answered, ate his noodles again.

At that, the owner, who had brought dumplings from the kitchen, placed them on the table and sat down cautiously.

"Is a war really about to break out? The atmosphere has been unsettling since the Cult Leader passed away. Recently, not only , but also people have been so anxious that they can't even sleep properly."

It seed that the death of the Cult Leader, which the Demonic Cult had tried to hide, was now all known. Well, since it had been conveyed to the Martial Alliance by the Postal Hall, there was no reason to hide it anymore.

"Well. I don't know either."

"It would be great if a war didn't break out. Why do martial artists like to fight so much? What on earth can they gain?"

The owner let out a deep sigh.

At that sight, Cheon Woojin's impression of the Demonic Cult changed once again. He had thought that the people who lived under the influence of the Cult Leader would blindly follow the doctrine even if they had not learned martial arts.

But they were not much different from the old n of the Central Plains who sat in taverns, badmouthing and worrying about the emperor.

"Martial artists originally like to fight. It's human nature to want to show off what one has."

"At least, you shouldn't harm soone."

Cheon Woojin, having nothing else to say, just picked up a dumpling and put it in his mouth.

In the anti, the owner's complaints continued.

"It's a dumpling I learned directly from my deceased father. Our family is not wealthy, but we have been running a tavern in this place for three generations. But, if a war breaks out... I'll have to close the business and run away to so countryside."

He was afraid of getting caught up in it for no reason. This was the attitude of an ordinary person towards war.

"The Cult Leader passed away too early. If he had lived a little longer, the second young master would have beco the young cult leader, and there would have been no need to worry about a war... It will probably be the third young master or the fifth young master. People say that if the young cult leader cos from one of those two, a war will surely break out."

Cheon Woojin was a little surprised. To think that the owner of a tavern at the end of this outer court knew the personalities of not just the Cult Leader, but also the young masters.

It was a surprising thing, considering that there would be few tavern owners in the Central Plains who knew the emperor's na.

Well, the White Master had said that a true era of great peace was one where the people lived without even knowing who their ruler was.

In other words, it ant that the Demonic Cult was a place that was not peaceful enough for its people to pay all their attention to the next cult leader and be anxious.

The ones who created such an atmosphere would be the very few leaders who ruled this land. Those who put forward the principle of 'the strong survive, the weak perish' and treated the weak like insects.

Cheon Woojin suddenly beca curious.

Apart from those leaders, what kind of person did the people who really lived ordinary lives in this land want as the young cult leader?

"It seems the second young master dislikes war."

"That's right. Even though he is of a noble status that reaches the heavens, he is a person who pays attention to whether a small tavern in the neighborhood is running well and whether there are any problems. Before the atmosphere beca as unsettling as it is now, he would occasionally co all the way here and check himself."

"I see."

In any case, the deceased Cult Leader was a person who had not started a war for a long ti. It was certain that if he had lived a little longer, the second young master would have had a high probability of becoming the Cult Leader.

While Cheon Woojin was thinking so and becoming a little more curious about the person called the second young master.

"Are you making the liquor? Why isn't it here yet?"

A man entered the tavern and shouted. It was a man wearing the sa martial arts uniform as the dead demonic person.

He stopped when he saw Cheon Woojin. Cheon Woojin also looked at him for a mont without a word. And so, a rather awkward silence flowed through the tavern.

(End of Chapter)