The Youngest Member Chapter 61

The darkest hour of the day, just before dawn.

The Black Tortoise Unit, having cleared the black market, was returning to the alliance, maintaining their formation.

The masked individuals who had been guests, the rchants who had sold stolen goods, and the martial artists of the Xiangyang Society who had organized it were sent to the Henan branch of the Martial Alliance.

Although they had thoroughly checked the confiscated items, there was nothing that looked like a treasure map.

At best, there were stolen goods from the Western Regions and Donggyeong, and strangely shaped weapons that were said to have been used by a master with a nickna he had never heard of.

A few bolts of silk and strangely shaped dicinal herbs were all.

Well, there was no way a black path sect of the Xiangyang Society's level would handle the treasure map of the Three Great Talents of the White Path.

Thinking so, Cheol Jiak clicked his tongue.

Zhuge Lin, who was running alongside him, watched his expression and then said cautiously.

"It wasn't certain that there was a treasure map in the first place. The mission was to check because there was information that there might be."

"Still, I can't help but feel disappointed."

"Well, we don't know yet."

Zhuge Lin, who said so, turned her head and looked at the rear of the formation. The newcors, Cheon Woojin and Song Yiyeon, were running with a lot of things on their backs, which were the items confiscated this ti.

Since there were tis when a treasure map did not take the form of a map, she was thinking of handing over the confiscated items to the military affairs departnt for review first.

"By the way, shouldn't we help them a little?"

Zhuge Lin said as if she felt sorry for them. Cheon Woojin was a monstrous newcor, so he looked fine even with all that luggage, but Song Yiyeon, who was next to him, was breathing quite heavily.

It even seed like he was drooling a little...

As if he had heard Zhuge Lin's words, Song Yiyeon's face lit up.

However, Cheol Jiak firmly shook his head.

"That's what newcors do."

"Co on, you're just making them train their movent skills."

"Ahem, anyway."

Zhuge Lin looked at Song Yiyeon's desperate gaze for a mont and then squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head.

In the anti, Cheol Jiak lowered his voice and said so that only Zhuge Lin could hear.

"Lin'er, take good care of your body first. Don't overdo it unnecessarily, and if there's a problem, tell

right away."

"Co on, I'm still fine. I'm a deputy commander, after all."

Although she said so, Zhuge Lin's cheeks were slightly flushed. Cheol Jiak, who was looking at her with concern, soon let out a complicated sigh.

As the two fell silent, a silence fell.

Cheon Woojin, who had been silently listening to the conversation from the rear, looked at Zhuge Lin blankly.

'Is it a severed pulse?'

As befitting the daughter of a prestigious family, Zhuge Lin seed to have a sufficient amount of internal energy. However, the fact that the flow of her ki was constantly being cut off was a typical symptom of a severed pulse.

Although it was a fact that even a decent master could only know by checking the pulse, to Cheon Woojin, who was born with an unusually sensitive sense of ki, her body was clearly visible.

However, there was sothing strange to see it as a simple severed pulse.

It was the fact that the flow of her internal energy was not completely blocked.

Originally, a severed pulse ant a body that could not operate internal energy because so of the ki ridians were blocked from birth.

However, although Deputy Commander Zhuge Lin was unstable, she was sohow operating her internal energy. It was possible if she had taken a spiritual dicine and had broken through with overwhelming internal energy, but no matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem like she had that much internal energy.

It was possible that she had acquired a severed pulse that gradually blocked her ki ridians later in life.

However, that was not all that was strange.

'The speed of her internal energy operation is very slightly slower than her steps.'

That was sothing that no famous doctor could know, and it was a part that only Cheon Woojin could grasp.

If it were a severed pulse, the internal energy would be completely blocked, or even if it were not completely blocked, the amount of operation should only decrease, there was no reason for the speed itself to slow down.

But, now, compared to the steps that Deputy Commander Zhuge Lin was taking, the reaction speed of her internal energy was slightly slow.

To exaggerate, it was like running in water. If it were like that, even if she used the sa movent skill with the sa internal energy, she would be more tired.

It was as if...

'Poison?'

There was a similarity to when one was hit by a paralysis poison and the operation of one's internal energy was hindered.

Suddenly, Jang Woopyeong, who was running alongside Song Yiyeon and subtly lifting his luggage from behind, asked.

"Well, Deputy Commander is very pretty, isn't she?"

"..."

As Cheon Woojin looked at him as if he were dumbfounded, Jang Woopyeong shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, everyone is like that at first when they see the deputy commander. But a romantic feeling towards a colleague, especially a superior, is strictly forbidden by the alliance's laws, so keep that in mind..."

Before those words could even end, Cheon Woojin increased his speed and headed for the front of the formation. As Cheon Woojin went ahead with truly light steps, the Black Tortoise Unit mbers let out an exclamation.

Zhuge Lin also looked at that movent as if it were quite strange and asked.

"Why?"

"Is it a severed pulse?"

"W-what?"

Zhuge Lin stopped in her tracks.

Since there was no order from the unit commander to stop the formation, the Black Tortoise Unit mbers passed the two who had stopped.

The hair of the two fluttered in the wind.

In the midst of that, Zhuge Lin looked at Cheon Woojin blankly and then asked in a low voice.

"How did you know that, junior Cheon?"

Even Zhuge Lin, who usually did not show her emotions on her face, was clearly flustered at this mont.

Except for the unit commander, no one else knew about the severed pulse. Because although she got tired much faster than others, there was no major problem in displaying her skills for a short period of ti.

Cheon Woojin answered nonchalantly.

"I can see it."

"What do you an..."

She was about to say that it was nonsense, but when she thought about it, the newcor Cheon's actions had never made sense so far, so she shut her mouth.

Soon, Zhuge Lin nodded her head slightly.

"Yes. It's a severed pulse. I've had it since I was very young."

Zhuge Lin, who said so, slowly walked in the direction that the Black Tortoise Unit mbers had run.

Cheon Woojin also matched her speed.

After a mont of awkward silence, Zhuge Lin's words continued.

"Thanks to that, I'm out here in the Martial Alliance now, and my father has had a harder ti."

Cheon Woojin tilted his head. Since he did not know about Zhuge Lin and her family's situation, the answer sounded abstract.

At that sight, Zhuge Lin, who let out a smirk, said in a deliberately cheerful voice.

"The real power of the Zhuge family now is not my father, the family head, but my uncle, Elder Zhuge Seong. It was always like that. My father had a weak personality, and my uncle was strong-willed and had great ambition."

"I see."

Cheon Woojin nonchalantly nodded his head. Because it was a common thing in a family with power.

"But the only daughter he had happened to have a severed pulse. And of all things, my uncle Zhuge Seong's son, that is, my cousin, was born with a martial talent called a Heavenly Martial Body."

Even just hearing this much, he could understand.

The position of family head was hereditary.

However, the Zhuge family was a respectable martial family.

The only daughter of the family head had a severed pulse, and the son of the ambitious elder had a Heavenly Martial Body. Such a fact must have added more fuel to the elder's burning ambition.

"So you were kicked out?"

"Hey, what do you an kicked out? I ca out on my own. On my own."

"I think you said you were kicked out before."

Zhuge Lin narrowed her eyes and looked at Cheon Woojin.

"Shut up! But do you know what?"

"What."

"That guy is not a Heavenly Martial Body."

It was certain that he was born with martial talent.

Uncle Zhuge Seong had married a woman from the Hebei Peng family.

The people of the Zhuge family were generally characterized by their small physique and gentle disposition, but perhaps because of the mixture of the Peng family's blood, his cousin was very large and had a brave personality.

Since he was born with only the advantages of the two Five Great Families, the intelligence of the Zhuge family and the physique of the Hebei Peng family, how could he not have martial talent?

Zhuge Lin had also been discouraged when she saw him growing day by day.

However, looking at it now, he was not a Heavenly Martial Body.

'The real Heavenly Martial Body is here.'

The monstrous newcor who was blinking his eyes with a blank expression next to her. How could one call soone like Zhuge Hyeon a Heavenly Martial Body in front of such a guy?

Zhuge Lin, who had a strange smile, asked playfully.

"How is it? What are your thoughts on hearing the deep inner story of soone else's family?"

"Well..."

He had no particular thoughts. However, if he said so, the deputy commander's eyes would narrow once more.

"It's a pity."

"You're lying. You don't have any particular thoughts."

"..."

He felt a pang of guilt. As expected of the daughter of the Zhuge family, she seed to be quick-witted. His White Master had also said not to lie carelessly in front of soone with a strong Zhuge bloodline.

Cheon Woojin turned his head slightly.

He could see the Black Tortoise Unit mbers who had gone ahead.

"Jang Woopyeong!"

As Zhuge Lin shouted, Jang Woopyeong, who was subtly lifting Song Yiyeon's bundle from behind, was startled and let go.

At that, Song Yiyeon's center of gravity was thrown back, and his waist staggered as if he would fall.

"Oh, oh...!"

Although he tried his best to put strength into it, his balance did not return easily.

Cheon Woojin, who saw this, approached in an instant and lightly pushed Song Yiyeon's back. At that, Song Yiyeon's posture beca stable again as if nothing had happened.

"Oh, thank you. Young hero."

Song Yiyeon gave a thumbs up.

Cheon Woojin nodded his head and said.

"Put down the bundle."

"Huh? It's fine. Anyway, since it's the training that the unit commander ordered, I'll work hard..."

"Assassins."

The mont Cheon Woojin's words ended.

Swoosh-!

From the darkness in all directions, a sharp sound of tearing air was heard, like soone's scream.

"Hidden weapons!"

Cheol Jiak shouted, and the Black Tortoise Unit mbers skillfully drew their swords. The martial artists, who had taken a stance in an instant, looked around with tense faces.

At the end of the long sound of tearing air, sothing began to sparkle.

For a mont, it looked like the starlight that decorated the night sky.

"Damn it..."

It was not one or two hidden weapons. It looked like there were dozens, hundreds of them. At this rate, it was safe to say that the Xiangyang Society had attacked with determination out of resentnt for the black market.

The Xiangyang Society was a black path sect that used poison. There must be poison on all those nurous hidden weapons.

The Black Tortoise Unit mbers all bit their molars hard.

Facing the hidden weapons that were pouring down like rain, they thought that it was unlikely that everyone would be able to return to the alliance safely tonight.

Jang Woopyeong grabbed Song Yiyeon's sleeve and stepped forward. No matter how much stronger his junior was than him, he was a guy who still lacked real combat experience.

'I'll protect him.'

Jang Woopyeong's two eyes sank more tragically than ever before.

It was right around then that a cold wind brushed past his side and stretched out.

Swoosh-!

The wind grew in size as it went forward, and eventually, it made the wave made of hidden weapons ripple. Under a single ray of moonlight, the hidden weapons fluttered here and there and sparkled.

That sight looked exactly like a wave being swept away by a huge typhoon and breaking helplessly.

"W-what..."

Jang Woopyeong, who had made up his mind for once, let his sword hang in vain.

The gust of wind had already pushed away all the hidden weapons, and as if it were not satisfied, it was crazily digging up the huge trees and the hard-packed dirt floor with rocks around it.

Rumble-!

It was truly a natural disaster.

There were no other words to explain it.

Everything in all directions, centered on the ground where the Black Tortoise Unit was standing, was breaking and scattering. As the radius widened, red blood gradually mixed in, and soone's desperate scream was heard.

Naturally, the one who had created this strange and frightening scene was...

Jang Woopyeong turned his head slightly.

"What. Where did he go again?"

The monstrous newcor who was clearly the culprit who had caused the gust of wind.

Cheon Woojin had disappeared.

(End of Chapter)