The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 26

The Shaolin Temple is a temple located on the middle of Mount Song's Shaoshi Peak in Henan Province.

The name Shaolin Temple itself originated from the meaning of a temple (寺) in the forest (林) north of Shaoshi (少) Peak.

Since it is such a famous temple, to explain it briefly, the Shaolin Temple has been called the number one sect of the orthodox faction since ancient times, is skilled in the eighteen kinds of weapons and the seventy-two arts, and is also called the origin of all martial arts.

Moreover, not only as a martial arts sect, but also as a noble temple, it is a place where countless common people who do not know martial arts come and go.

Just as the Wudang Sect has a Taoist gate and a martial gate, the Shaolin Temple also has both martial monks who have learned martial arts and ordinary monks who have not.

"Why. Don't you want to go?"

"Ah... it's not that I don't want to go..."

My expression crumpled a little as I thought about the Shaolin Temple, and the Martial Uncle, who noticed it, asked with a worried eye.

In fact, it's understandable, since I didn't have very good memories of the Shaolin Temple in my past life.

'Because there are many so-called 'kkondae' [old-fashioned, stubborn people] among the monks of the Shaolin Temple.'

Since Wudang is a sect based on Taoism, even if the Martial Uncles or Martial Granduncles are strict, they basically have a gentle nature.

But the monks of the Shaolin Temple I met were all stiff and too serious.

They didn't discriminate against me because of my humble origin, but it felt like they were trying not to get close to anyone.

It also felt like they were building a wall of their own.

"Then you can stay here. It's something I can do on my own."

"No! I want to go too. Please take me with you!"

But, the fact that I didn't get along with them in my past life is a separate matter.

Since I realized that I should interact with as many sects and martial artists as possible through my meeting with Zhuge Ling a few days ago, I shouldn't kick away such a good opportunity.

"Really? I understand. Then I will tell the Sect Leader so."

A subtle smile bloomed on Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang's face.

He's definitely happy to go with me.

He didn't seem like that kind of person at first, but he's surprisingly affectionate.

Watching him quietly, I realized that he is a person who likes people and is affectionate on the inside, but because he is too shy, he is the type of person who is misunderstood as a sharp and stiff person.

"But, what are you going for? And when are we leaving?"

"We're leaving in ten days, and as for what we're going for... it's a little hard to tell you right now."

"Is it some kind of top-secret mission?"

"Haha. It's not like that. But, for some reason, I think it would be more fun if you went without knowing."

"Fun?"

Although I asked back with wide eyes, Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang just smiled.

Since it didn't seem like he would answer even if I probed further, I just decided to give up asking.

"It'll take a lot of preparation to get there. If we're going by horse, we'll have to get the horse gear fitted to my body in advance."

"Horse? You thought we were going by horse?"

"Of course... don't we have to ride a horse? It's so far from here to Mount Song."

"Haha! Unhwi-ya. By any chance, have you ever seen a single horse in our Wudang?"

I racked my brain, and I realized that I really hadn't seen a single horse until now.

If there were horses, the tasks of the third-generation disciples would have included cleaning the stables or feeding the horses.

"Then are we running there?"

"Yes. Aren't you happy? It's a good opportunity to combine footwork training with stamina training. From Wudang to the Shaolin Temple, it's a month's walk for an ordinary person. It's a distance that takes a week by horse. Our goal is to arrive at the Shaolin Temple within ten days."

"Ha... haha..."

I had forgotten for a moment...

That Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang is as serious about training and getting stronger as I am.

"If we arrive at Wudang according to my plan, your footwork and stamina will surely have improved by one stage. Don't you think so?"

"That's definitely true..."

"You said it once. That at the end of pain, muscle and strength return. I was really impressed at that time."

The Martial Uncle is saying this much, so I can't back out here.

I raised one arm and said confidently, "Alright! I'll do my best to follow you, Martial Uncle."

"Yes. Try to follow me."

The Martial Uncle answered with a meaningful expression, and seeing that expression, for some reason, I felt a sense of fear and shivered.

'Is this how the senior brothers feel when they see me?'

For some reason, it was a moment when I could understand the feelings of the senior brothers a little.

***

"So, you're leaving for the Shaolin Temple in ten days?"

"Yes. That's what's going to happen. I don't know how long it will take."

"Hmm... yes. That's really sad. To think we have to train without you."

Senior Brother Uncheol, who spoke with an endlessly dejected voice and eyes.

But, he can't control the twitching corners of his mouth.

If even that stone-like Senior Brother Uncheol is like that, I wondered what the other senior brothers would be like, so I secretly turned my head.

'They're going to die of happiness.'

They're all already looking forward to it and excited, so their expressions are quite a sight.

"You must be very disappointed. Because I, who will lead the training, won't be here."

"Yes. We'll train the same whether you're here or not. But, it will definitely be a little disappointing without you."

It has already been several months since I started sharing a room with these people.

During that time, Senior Brother Uncheol has changed a lot.

He was originally a person like iron, just like his Taoist name, but as he began to compromise with the world little by little, his acting skills have now improved like that.

"Then I'd like to make a proposal until I get back."

"Huh? A proposal?"

"Yes. Hey, senior brothers, could you all come over here?"

At my call, Senior Brothers Unshik, Unjeong, and Unmi approached hesitantly.

They seemed to feel a sense of fear at my smiling expression right now.

They naturally stood in a line in front of me, and I looked into each person's eyes and opened my mouth.

"It's nothing special, but if you all really train hard without skipping a single day, I was thinking of giving you a two-day break when I get back."

"A break?!"

Unshik, who had been sending an anxious gaze, was so surprised that he asked back with wide eyes.

"Yes. Rest is as important as training, right? So you just do the Yuyeop Hall group training, and for the rest of the time, you can rest happily in your room."

Gulp—

I don't know who it was, but I heard a loud gulping sound.

Just the two words 'rest' are already making their bodies react.

"But, you're not even here, so how can you know if we train every day? We could just not train and then lie and say we worked hard."

At Senior Brother Unjeong's valid question, I smiled brightly.

Because that question was exactly what I was waiting for.

"That depends on your conscience, Senior Brothers."

"Conscience?!"

As if it was a word they never expected to come out of my mouth, they all asked back in surprise.

"Yes. Conscience. But it's probably a little different from the kind of conscience you're thinking of, Senior Brothers. If any of you conscientiously tells me that someone skipped training... the others won't have a break, and I'll give the senior brother who told me a three-day break from training."

"Th-Three days!"

"Of course, I'll keep it strictly confidential who told me. And I'll secretly give the senior brother who made the conscientious confession... no, the break, without anyone knowing, so don't worry about that."

As soon as my words ended, they all turned their heads and made eye contact with each other.

'Hehe. Their minds must be in chaos.'

I swallowed my laughter inwardly and quietly watched their reactions.

Among the senior brothers who had been confused for a long time, the one who came to his senses first was, as expected, Senior Brother Uncheol.

"Unhwi-ya. I would normally follow whatever you say. But isn't this telling us to watch each other? Our relationship as senior and junior brothers should be based on trust, but if we do that, we'll end up suspecting each other..."

"Wait a minute, Senior Brother."

I called the senior brother in a cold voice.

Senior Brother Uncheol flinched, stopped talking, and looked at me.

"That sounds like you were planning to skip training from the start if I wasn't here...?"

"What? N-No, that's not it..."

"If not, then you can just all train hard together and then rest for two days together, right?"

"...Yes. That's right."

The senior brother had a shocked expression for a moment, and then he hardened his face and nodded his head.

The reason his expression hardened was not because he was dissatisfied with my words.

It had only been a few months since he had said he would do his best to get stronger, but he seemed to have lost that initial resolve and was only thinking about resting, so his face hardened in disappointment with himself.

"I'm sorry. I got swept up in the atmosphere and..."

"You don't have to be sorry to me. In fact, even if you skip training, it's no loss to me."

"I see... I should be sorry to myself."

"That's right. As expected, you understand right away even if I just say it roughly, Senior Brother Uncheol."

When I spoke with a pleased face, Senior Brother Uncheol, with a face mixed with half embarrassment and half renewed determination, said to me as if making a vow.

"Don't worry about Wudang. I'll take these guys and train them even harder than when you were here."

"Good. I only trust you, Senior Brother."

I exchanged a heated gaze with Senior Brother Uncheol.

When I glanced at the other senior brothers with a sidelong glance, their faces seemed to have turned a little yellow.

'Once Senior Brother Uncheol's passion is ignited, he's much more extreme than me.'

But actually, I also have something to say.

'Am I doing this for my own good? Everyone is doing it for their own good.'

But, even while thinking this, just the fact that I had thwarted the senior brothers' outrageous plan made me feel like a smile was about to leak out.

But I can't show my smiling face to the senior brothers.

"You guys talk for a bit. I'm going to the room next door."

"Yes. I understand."

I naturally left the room and headed for room number eight.

Of course, I was planning to make the same 'proposal' to room number eight as well.

My lips were filled with a hidden smile.

***

Ten days passed like an arrow, and the day to leave for Shaolin with Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang arrived.

I barely managed to stop my room's senior brothers who wanted to see me off and headed for Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang's residence.

Since I was nominally going as Martial Uncle Hyeon Yang's attendant, I had more things to pack than I thought.

"I've packed the Bigu Dan, and I've gotten some silver from the general affairs office. I don't know if it will be meaningful, but I've also packed a map, and the flint is safely in my bag... is this everything?"

I'm not the type to pack a lot when I go on a long journey.

If I needed something while running, I would go down to a private house or a village in the middle and solve it with money.

Food, clothes, and a place to sleep, all of it.

But after becoming a Taoist of Wudang, there are more than one or two inconveniences.

'The donations coming in must be more than a few pennies, so I don't know why they're so frugal.'

I had lived in the Martial Arts Alliance for quite some time, so I knew very well how much work Wudang did for the Martial Arts Alliance.

Thanks to that, the huge distribution of money coming from the Martial Arts Alliance.

And as the main mountain of Taoism, the amount of donations received from believers must be enormous, but I have no idea where all that money is being used.

'Of course, it doesn't seem like the Martial Granduncles or Martial Uncles are using that money either.'

By the time I was vowing to find out where that money was being used someday when I reached a high position in Wudang, the Martial Uncle came out of his quarters.

"You're already here."

The Martial Uncle also seemed to think similarly to me when going on a long journey, as his attire was light.

"Martial Uncle, don't you need to pack food or a change of clothes or anything like that?"

"Yes. What's the need to pack them? We have to keep running, so if you want to put down your luggage, you can put it all down."

"As expected! Then I just need to pack the silver, right?"

"No? We don't need silver either."

"...Why?"

"If we're hungry, we can just eat the grass we can eat in the mountains. And if we need to rest, we can just sleep on a tree. And if our clothes get dirty, we can just find a stream, wash them, and then dry them with our internal energy."

"......"

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn't even answer and just looked at the Martial Uncle.

For some reason, sincerity was showing on the Martial Uncle's face.

"Hahaha! Alright, the footwork training starts now. Try to follow me!"

Pabak!

The Martial Uncle suddenly stomped his feet, and then he immediately unfolded his footwork and started running towards the bottom of Mount Wudang.

"Ah! Wait a minute. You told me to put down my things!"

Although my voice must have been heard, the Martial Uncle didn't stop, and in the end, I had to move my legs with the bundle on my back.

"Let's go together!"

It seems it will be quite hard to catch up with the Martial Uncle.

(End of Chapter)