Chapter 39
Chapter 39
- Training, Training!
The first day, I ran.
I spent the whole day running after Dang Jung, who was leisurely walking, and the sun set over the mountain peaks surrounding Chengdu.
The second day, I ran too.
The third day was the same.
I woke up and ran, ate and ran, collapsed saying I was going to die, and ran whenever I made eye contact with Dang Jung.
Barely returning to my quarters, I would lie down like a corpse, and Dang Jung would appear and press on my arms and legs.
"It's called Thrusting Palace Acupressure."
After that, I could run perfectly fine the next day. Whatever trick he used, I didn't even get a single blister on my feet.
If I had muscle pain, I would complain, but I woke up feeling refreshed, so I couldn't even whine.
Like that, I ran with all my might for a week.
Dang Jung, who had been leisurely watching me run up the mountain peak, jumped down from the tree and said.
"It seems like your leg strength has improved a bit."
"I really hope so."
I want to stop running now.
Dang Jung chuckled at my grumbling and came over to pick me up.
"Now that you're used to running, you have to climb cliffs."
"Excuse me?"
What am I climbing? Did I hear wrong? Say it's not true. Quickly.
I stared at Dang Jung with wide eyes, but he didn't care about my reaction.
Dang Jung, who went down the mountain I had climbed for half a day in one go, placed me at the bottom of a steep cliff.
Then he said nonchalantly.
"Grandfather will be up there, so come on up."
"Excuse me?"
I looked back and forth between Dang Jung and the cliff. Just by looking at it, it was easily over 10 stories high.
"How am I supposed to climb this?"
"By crawling."
Elder. Are you crazy?
Deokju, who had been silently standing by, added worriedly.
"Elder. The cliff is too dangerous for Young Miss to climb. If she falls in the middle..."
"I'll catch her before she falls, won't I?"
You should just not create a situation where she falls in the first place. I'm going crazy.
"Grandfather. This doesn't make sense. How can I climb a cliff..."
What? Where did he go?
As I looked around for the disappeared Dang Jung, Deokju whispered.
"He's on top of the cliff."
Only then did I see Dang Jung sitting on a tree protruding from the middle of the cliff, looking down at me.
He gestured with his hand as if to say, 'What are you doing not coming up?' with a sullen face.
I wanted to cry.
* * *
Climbing a cliff with my bare hands was a new ordeal.
"Ugh!"
Every time my foot slipped, I heard the sound of pebbles rolling down,
"Hic!"
"Young Miss. You mustn't look down."
If I looked down at my feet even without realizing it, I would get goosebumps at the dizzying sight.
I struggled to suppress the urge to cling to Deokju and cry, and took one step at a time towards the top of the cliff.
Deokju, who had suddenly ended up climbing the cliff with me, watched me carefully and swallowed his groans every time I groaned.
What on earth is this! Martial Artists are all crazy!
I grabbed a protruding rock and asked Deokju with a groan.
"How far have I climbed?"
"You've only climbed one hal."
I felt a sting at the tip of my nose at the overly honest answer. Our pure Deokju didn't know how to tell a white lie.
I thought I had climbed quite a bit, but it was only one hal. Should I just give up and lie down?
As I hung on the rock, unable to climb up or down, Dang Jung, who had been watching, clicked his tongue and approached me.
Crossing the cliff with no place to set foot as if walking on flat ground was like a mountain goat climbing a cliff.
"Let go of your hands."
"I feel like I'll die if I let go here."
"Grandfather will catch you, so let go."
"You'll really catch me, right?"
"I said let go."
Dang Jung urged.
Trembling, I closed my eyes tightly and let go of my hands. I screamed involuntarily at the sensation of my body falling.
"Aaaaaah!"
Dang Jung snatched my waist as I fell and gently placed me on the ground.
"Let's stop here for today. You're too weak. I'll have to boil some crucian carp for you."
My eyes widened at the welcome words.
"Then can I rest now?"
"No. You have to study. Go to your quarters. Dang-un will be there."
Dang Jung replied indifferently as if to say, 'Don't talk nonsense.'
"......Yes."
I pouted and headed to the detached palace.
* * *
Dang-un, whom I hadn't seen in days, was smiling as always. He waved at me without caring about my appearance covered in dust and sweat.
"So-hye, you're here. Did you have a good training session? Sit down."
As I sat down on the chair without even washing, Songji quickly brought me a wet towel. Judging by her expression, it seemed like she wanted me to at least wipe my face.
Dang-un, who had waited for me to hurriedly wipe my face, smiled with his eyes.
"Today, we'll be reading the Book of Changes. Your brother will read it to you first, so listen."
"Yes."
"Heaven is high and earth is low, so Qian and Kun are determined. Arranged according to low and high, nobility and baseness each have their place..."
Was it because I had used up all my energy in the morning? I started to doze off before even an hour had passed.
I tried to lift my heavy head, but my body wouldn't listen. Dang-un's gentle voice gradually faded.
"......So-hye. Are you sleeping?"
Dang-un lightly tapped my shoulder as I nodded off.
Tsk.
I hurriedly wiped away the drool, but it was after I had made eye contact with Dang-un. I had been caught sleeping red-handed, but he didn't get angry and smiled gently.
"It seems like the training was tough. Shall we stop here for today?"
"Yes!"
I nodded excitedly. I was so tired that I wanted to lie down on the floor right away.
Dang-un, who had closed the book at my answer, slowly adjusted his pifengui.
"But we can't just play around, can we? It would be good to tell you about the ways of the Jianghu instead of studying. What would be good..."
Dang-un, who had been fiddling with the bead ornaments on his pifengui, let go as if he had an idea.
"Yes. Today, the story of the Murim Ten Supremes would be good."
"The Murim Ten Supremes?"
"That's what they call the ten ultimate experts known as the Ten Great Masters of the World. Grandfather is one of them."
"Yes? Grandfather?"
"That's right. Isn't it amazing that the family elder you see every day is one of the top experts in the world?"
Dang-un, who nodded, continued.
"Elder Penglak, who visited a while ago, So-hye, you saw him too, right? Like his alias, the Fierce Tiger Saber Emperor, he's an expert who has pacified the world with his saber. It's said that if you're torn by the Fierce Tiger Saber Emperor's saber, you'll be tattered like you've been torn by a tiger's claws."
I nodded, recalling the image of Penglak laughing heartily. That elder looked like he could tear people apart with his bare hands.
"On the other hand, there are also those who are doctors and have sublime martial arts. Ghost Hand Divine Physician, Im Seolyak, is an expert between the righteous and the evil. As you can tell from his alias, he's a famous doctor in the Central Plains whom any patient would want to meet. I wanted to meet him too, but our paths didn't cross."
A bitter look flashed across Dang-un's face and disappeared. Dang-un, who changed his expression, asked as if giving a quiz.
"You know about the Nine Sects and One Gang, right? Do you also know which of the Nine Sects are Taoist Sects?"
"Uh... Taoist Sects? Aren't they Wudang and Huashan?"
If my memory was correct, the sect that the protagonist cursed as a Malco Taoist was always either Wudang or Huashan.
"You know well. Both Wudang and Huashan that So-hye mentioned are Taoist Sects. Although they are less well-known than the two sects, Kunlun, Gòngtóng and Qingcheng are also historically deep Taoist Sects."
"There are more than I thought."
"Of course, if you were to pick the number one Taoist Sect in the world, it would definitely be Wudang. Because the best swordsman of this generation is in Wudang."
"Who is it?"
"It's the Taiji Sword Immortal, Taeheo Jin-in."
I've heard of the Taiji Sword Immortal. He was Namgung Hwi's rival and the master of Jinseong, the future Wudang's best swordsman.
Jinseong seemed to have a pretty big role in the novel. I wonder what he's doing now.
I, who was curious about Namgung Hwi's rival whom I didn't even know, suddenly became curious.
"Do all Martial Artists use swords?"
"There are many who don't. Even Grandfather rose to the Ten Supremes with his Poison skill, didn't he? There are also experts who have reached the realm with spears. Have you heard of Spear King, Ak Jibaek?"
"I know that the Shandong Ak family is famous for their spears."
"The Ak family's spear techniques are very famous. Among them, Senior Ak's spear techniques are so fast that they can't be seen. I've personally met Senior Ak a few times. He's active in the Murim Alliance."
"The Murim Alliance?"
The one that always fills its own sect's selfish desires and collapses when the Demonic Sect invades? Is it a little different here?
"Yes. The headquarters is in Wuhan. There's also a branch in Sichuan, so So-hye will be able to go. If you ever meet Senior Ak, be careful with your words."
"What words should I be careful with?"
"He hates it when people say that spears are inferior to swords. He also hates those who are caught up in political games and neglect their martial arts. Among them, it seems like he hated the words 'She was a woman?' the most."
She was a woman?
As I opened my mouth wide, Dang-un flicked my forehead.
"So-hye thought the same thing? Be careful. If those words come out of a man's mouth, he'll be punished."
"What kind of punishment?"
"He'll hang them on a swing in the courtyard and hang them on the top of the pavilion for two hours."
Wow, he's hot-tempered.
"If you're careful about that, he's a good senior, so don't worry. If you're polite and courteous, he'll treat you well."
I shrugged my shoulders.
Will I ever meet him? I'm not going anywhere near the Murim Alliance.
But it was an interesting story that woke me up completely.
Isn't Dang-un's true calling a teacher? He explains the story of the Murim as if reading a fairy tale.
As Dang-un noticed that I was interested with my eyes wide open, he rested his chin on his hand and opened his mouth.
"If Senior Ak's story comes up, the story of the Heaven Sundering Sword Demon, Jaunbi, can't be left out. They were once inseparable friends, but they're famous for being at odds with each other."
"Did they fight? Why?"
"It's because of the Heaven Sundering Sword Demon's lover."
A love affair? As I tilted my head, Dang-un smiled and continued.
"The Heaven Sundering Sword Demon's lover was a groom. He was a scholar who started working as a groom because his family went bankrupt, a literate man."
"He wasn't a Martial Artist?"
"That's right. He was a very ordinary man. However, it's said that he wrote poetry well. That's why he met the Heaven Sundering Sword Demon. People are attracted to people who are the opposite of them, aren't they? The Heaven Sundering Sword Demon was the same. He fell in love with the man who recited beautiful poems to him, who didn't know how to write."
A love story between a swordsman and a scholar. It's a complete romance novel.
"The man also fell for the strong swordsman. He wanted to be helpful to the Heaven Sundering Sword Demon. But it wasn't easy for a groom to be helpful to a powerful Martial Artist. After much thought, the man went to the Lowborn Sect."
"And then? What happened then?"
I stared at Dang-un with sparkling eyes.
