Chapter 46 Training (2)

Chapter 46: Training (2)

The respected headmaster of Apcheon Gymnasium once said:

Those who strive may not always succeed, but every single one who succeeds has strived.

At the time, I just thought, “Oh, okay,” and let it pass. But after experiencing this kind of training, I finally understood what he meant.

‘Seriously, do we have to go this far?’

If learning martial arts up until now was like instant coffee, then training with Baek Gung-baek was like T○P.

Anyone who went through this kind of training would naturally hear, ‘Hey, you too! You can become a master,’ unless they were completely untalented.

The training itself was simple.

It was just sparring.

The problem was, if you let your guard down even for a second, it felt like a real fight—enough to break a bone.

Thanks to that, my desire to train plummeted. I was lying in bed after breakfast when…

Clunk.

“How did the Master of the Outer Hall…?”

“The Qing Family Cleaning Service greets Master North Palace.”

That devilish Baek of the North Palace had crawled his way to our house after all.

And what’s more.

“So you’re Soso. I’ve heard of you from Lord Cheongbaek, the Spring Commander. They say with ten years of training, you’d be a talent worthy of the ranks of the Divine.”

“Oh my. That’s too kind.”

“My lady, it’s been a long time.”

“Yes, has the Master been well?”

“Except for losing sleep over the Dongpo pork you made—I’ve been quite well.”

“It… couldn’t have been that good… I’ll invite you soon and serve it again.”

“I’m always welcome.”

With just a few words, he managed to win over our house’s cryptic figures to his side.

Watching that process left me utterly dumbfounded, my nose blocked, and feeling like my blood vessels were clogging up.

‘Seriously, isn’t he treating men and women way too differently?’

What a blatant sexist.

As I peered outside through the door, Baek of the North Palace stated his purpose for visiting the house.

“I came looking for Team Leader Jin. We were supposed to train together, but for some reason, she’s nowhere to be seen.”

Then, the cleaning lady pointed her finger toward the pavilion where I was staying.

“Team Leader Jin is probably lying down and sleeping in that room… Shall I wake her?”

Thinking about it now, the reason her first impression was so bad was probably because she looked like a traitor.

I wanted to execute the traitor right then and there, but my urgent priority was to escape from Baekgong Baek’s grasp as quickly as possible.

Bang.

The moment I made up my mind, I launched myself toward the wide window.

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck.’

I stepped forward with the Jeonwangbo, imbued with desperate resolve.

Using the powerful recoil felt at my toes as leverage, I surged forward in an instant.

“Gah!”

“Huh!”

The vagabonds huddled in the alleyway gasped and ducked.

Had this been the marketplace, it could have caused a major incident.

But right now, such things didn’t register in my mind.

“Where the hell are you going?”

It was because of Bukgung Baek chasing right behind me.

“Huh!”

Thud.

The terror of feeling like a giant was chasing me from right behind made me stomp my feet even harder, propelling myself forward.

But just a moment later, as soon as I reached the hills outside the outer city walls, I stopped dead in my tracks.

“Huff, huff.”

Drip, drip.

Sweat poured down like a waterfall.

His legs trembled as if he might collapse at any moment, but there was no time to rest.

He didn’t know when North Palace Baek might catch up.

Thump, thump.

He immediately began digging into the ground to hide.

It was the same method he’d used when fleeing Dan Yun earlier.

‘Even North Palace Baek wouldn’t search underground!’

He was confident.

Confident he could escape his grasp.

Filling his fingers with qi, he dug into the earth. In less than ten seconds, he had a spot to lie down.

Just as he was about to cover himself with dirt and activate the Gui Shi Da Fa…

“Aren’t you a bit too young to be covered in an earthen blanket?”

Bukgung Baek’s shadow fell over him.

“······!”

He snorted.

The corners of his mouth twisted as he looked down at me.

Thud.

A small black sphere fell toward my head.

Its power was enough to shatter my skull if it connected.

I slammed my left elbow into the ground, using the rebound to roll across the floor.

Boom.

The small black sphere exploded on the dirt floor where my head had just been.

Seeing that, I choked up involuntarily.

If he’s my superior, why come to my house? Where in the world is there such abuse of power?

Unbearable rage made me snap.

“······Hehe, coming to my house is a bit much, don’t you think······. I do have a private life, you know…“

”And lying in bed during work hours is acceptable?“

Well, that’s true.

Lately, I haven’t been going to work properly, so I guess I’ve lost my sense of attendance.

”Khm, how about taking a break today? You worked hard yesterday too…”

“Martial arts is something you can’t reach even if you spend your whole life pursuing it. How can resting make sense?”

No, how can that come out of your mouth when you spend all day drinking?

“I thought even you, Lord, had distanced yourself from training…”

At my remark, Baek tapped his head with his finger.

“At my level, meditation is more beneficial than physical movement.”

“Then why now…?”

“Sometimes moving the body helps too.”

With that, Baekgong Baek charged.

I summoned every ounce of strength to face him.

SMACK!

* * *

I got beaten like a dog.

And today, maybe because I tried to run away, I got hit even more than usual.

“Guh! You bastard. I’ll never forget this humiliation.”

Holding my limping leg, I walked for ages before finally reaching home.

I wanted to go straight inside and rest, but I couldn’t.

“Hey, hey, move aside.”

If I didn’t get treated, tomorrow would be even worse.

After shooing away the rabble gathered in front of the Cheongjang Muwonje branch, he opened the door and entered. The cleaning lady sighed as she greeted him.

“You’re back all battered and bruised again today.”

And whose fault was that?

“Isn’t it because Young Lady Cheong betrayed us?”

“Betrayal? What are you talking about? When the world-renowned Ten Thousand Defeats is teaching martial arts, is sleeping it off really the right thing to do?”

“······. Just treat me. I’m in agony.”

“Are you really a peak master? It just looks like you’re getting beaten up every day.”

“I’m confused myself lately.”

Honestly, the more I sparred with North Palace Baek, the more it felt like all that grueling training at the Ascension Pavilion was being negated, and it was agonizing.

“Lie down first.”

Following her guidance, I lay down, and Young Lady Cheong spoke again.

“You need to take off your top to apply acupuncture or moxibustion.”

“But men and women shouldn’t sit together after age seven…”

“When did you ever call me a woman? And who was it walking around shirtless every morning to wash their back? What’s this about men and women not sitting together after age seven? Maybe if it was the lower half…”

“Your head must be rotten.”

Smack!

“Ouch! How dare you do that to a patient?”

“Because you suddenly started talking nonsense! We’re running out of time, so hurry up and take it off.”

Seriously, can’t I even make a joke?

The treatment, which began in a tense atmosphere, finally ended after an hour.

During that time, Cheongjosu drained the congestion, applied acupuncture, and applied a highly effective ointment to the wound.

Feeling much better, he sat up, and she handed him a bowl.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a new herbal decoction I developed for trauma. I added the Cheongjang secret formula, so it should definitely work.”

“……Has anyone actually taken this?”

“Since it was developed yesterday, Chief Jin is the first.”

“Then I’ll take it next time.”

As if I’d volunteer for a free clinical trial.

“Please don’t refuse…”

“Huh! I know my own body better than you. I don’t need to take medicine.”

My repeated refusals made the cleaner start to get heated.

“I told you it’s good for you?! It’ll cure you in one shot! Just one!”

“Well then, I’ll leave you to it.”

Ignoring her desperate pleas, I entered the room and lay down on the bed.

Exhausted from the day, my eyes closed without me realizing it.

‘I should eat before sleeping…’

* * *

Hap! Hap!

The sound of battle cries echoed from afar.

Opening my eyes, I saw a wide open field dotted with single-story pavilions.

In the center of the field, a dozen or so children were striking down a scarecrow.

‘Mukryongdang…?’

The scene of Mukryongdang from the time I lived in the past.

I soon realized where I was.

‘It’s a dream.’

Otherwise, there’s no way I’d have returned to the past.

Seeing this familiar scene, I sat down in a corner and began watching the children train.

‘The elders of Mukeongdang were cute once, too. Now they all look so fierce…’

The case of reversal wasn’t far off.

Had I been watching for even a moment?

An old man suddenly appeared before me, as if plopped down, and I focused my gaze on his face.

I couldn’t help it.

“Grandpa?”

The person who became family to me when I was all alone, my family having all died from the plague.

“Heh heh, how have you been?”

Because he was the Taeeul Jin-in of Mokryongdang, Hyun Geomja.

Seeing the person I’d missed so terribly appear before me left me speechless.

Then Hyun Geomja spread his arms wide and said.

“We meet after so long, what are you doing?”

“Grandpa!”

I threw myself at him.

Was it because I hadn’t seen him in ten years?

Or was it because I was in a dream, making my mental age younger?

Tears poured out like a waterfall.

Hyun Geomja placed his hand on my head.

An action he often did back then.

The difference was that I had grown so tall he had to raise his hand high just to reach my head.

“That little brat has grown into such a fine young man. How fleeting time is.”

His proud gaze made me stop crying and smile.

“You’ve grown well.”

“See? I told you I could live well even without becoming a Taoist master.”

“Ew, why bring that up now? It’s already a regret that I died without making you a Taoist master.”

“Hehehe.”

I sat side by side with Hyun Geomja and began sharing stories.

From the past at the Ascension Pavilion to the recent battle with Mak Juwang.

Though it was quite a long story, Hyun Geomja listened with a constant smile.

“……So you say you can’t live because of that good-for-nothing bastard, North Palace Baek?”

“That good-for-nothing? What? Should this old man go beat him up a few times?”

“Heh heh, it’s fine. The day will come soon enough when I’ll beat the crap out of him myself. Huh? Is it already this late?”

Snapping back to reality and glancing around, I saw the moon had risen in the sky.

That was when it happened.

Shhhhh.

The entire view of the Moksryongdang, which had filled my vision, began to vanish like a sandcastle collapsing.

“······!”

Hyun Geomja rose from his seat and met my gaze.

Sensing the end, I too stared intently at his face.

“Will we meet again?”

“Of course. Where would you find a grandfather who wouldn’t come when his grandson wishes to see him?”

Swoosh.

Hyun Geomja’s body began to scatter, starting from the bottom.

“Mujeon.”

“Yes.”

A voice filled with tears burst out before I could stop it.

Hyun Geomja smiled benevolently, as if understanding, and said.

“Everything is contained within you.”

Thud!

With those final words, I woke from sleep with the shock of the world collapsing.

“Gasp!”

Creak.

“I called you several times to eat, and you’re still…”

Myohyang, who had just opened the door to enter, rushed over, startled.

“Why are you sweating like this? Are you feeling unwell?”

“Ah, no. I’m fine.”

In that moment, through the door Myohyang had opened, I saw the scene bathed in a crimson sunset glow.

“Sister, how long did I sleep?”

“Not long. About an hour?”

“Only that long?”

It definitely felt like half a day had passed…

“I’ve prepared dinner, so come out and eat quickly. You seem to be working hard lately, so I made something special for you.”

“Thanks, sis.”

“You’re welcome.”

After Myohyang left, I replayed the conversation I’d had in my dream.

‘Everything is contained within you.’

The last words of the Sword Saint echoed in my ears.