The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 282

I led Hong Sa-ik and continued to walk.

It wasn't that I had a specific destination in mind when I took him.

The goal was to get as far away from that tavern as possible for now.

In fact, I could have carried Hong Sa-ik and performed a movement technique, but I didn't go that far.

It was out of consideration for Hong Sa-ik's pride.

"Excuse me... where are we going..."

After walking for quite a long time, Hong Sa-ik called me.

I turned around, gave him a smile, and then said, "We're just walking for now. I usually walk when I'm angry. If I keep walking, get some fresh air, and look at the surrounding scenery, my mind strangely calms down."

"Ah... because of me..."

"I'm not angry because of you, Hong martial artist. I'm angry because of the bastards who treat you like that."

"......"

He continued to follow me after those words.

I walked a little further without telling him to follow, and a rather large pond appeared.

Although it was a place with no one managing it, the surroundings were neatly organized, and it was a place where quite a lot of fish like carp lived, a place I had quite liked even in my past life.

Even back then, when I had something to think about, I would often walk here from the Martial Alliance, and seeing this pond still looking the same now, I feel good for no reason.

"Shall we sit there for a moment?"

"Yes..."

"To be honest, you regret it a little, don't you?"

"What?"

"How much time you've invested in those bastards until now, and now you've followed a Taoist nobody you just met today, and you're probably thinking, 'What should I do now? Should I give up my dream as a martial artist? Should I go back to my hometown now?'"

"N-No."

"No? Even I would have naturally thought that."

What I just said were actually things I had thought about in the past.

The thought that it would be better to just go back home and live, rather than coming out to the martial world with a dream of glory and suffering like a dog.

Still, if I go back home, although it's just a handful, I have property and land, so I won't have to beg for food... that kind of thought.

"Hong martial artist. Would it be alright if I examined your body for a moment?"

"My... body?"

"Yes. If you don't want to, I can't help it."

"No."

Although Hong Sa-ik hesitated, he turned his back to me, and I, infusing my energy into his Myeongmun acupoint, examined his body for a moment.

Although it is definitely a good bone structure, to be honest, it is a body that cannot be called a once-in-a-millennium talent bestowed by the heavens.

If so, it meant that what made this person defect to the Demonic Cult and become a great master was not just talent.

'Luck, opportunity, effort, and... even malice.'

All of that must have applied well to each other for him to become so strong.

However, as I took my hand off his back, I said this, "Whew. It's a more amazing bone structure than I thought."

"Is that so?"

"Yes! I can definitely see the talent. I can understand at once why those bastards dragged you around like that."

For the first time, a very faint smile appeared on his face.

Born as a martial artist and hearing that his talent is outstanding, who in the world would be displeased, but he seemed to be even more delighted.

"You don't have to say such empty words. To be honest, I also know well that my talent is ordinary."

He, clenching and unclenching his fist, continued, "Still, since I was young, I have grown up thinking that my perseverance and effort are not inferior to others... no, that I can work twice as hard as others. That's why, with my meager strength, I was able to be somewhat active in the last Dragon and Phoenix Assembly with just the unremarkable martial arts of our Hong family... and thanks to that, I caught the eye of Young Master Seo Mun and was able to live in Kaifeng like this."

For the first time, he began to speak at length.

I wanted to shout at him that Seo Mun-jong-tak didn't want a friend, but a sturdy and obedient slave, but I barely held back.

Because now was the time to listen to Seo Mun-jong-tak's story rather than for me to speak.

"Young Master Seo Mun would often say this to me. 'Sa-ik. If you only had the opportunity to learn advanced martial arts, you would grow tremendously. I have never seen a person who swings a sword for as long as you in my entire life. I wish I could speak well to my father and have you accepted as a member of our family...'"

He said that and bit his lip weakly.

"That was the beginning. He... no, the bastard tempted me by throwing the bait of advanced martial arts, and I fell for it and have lived, being treated like a servant... no, a cripple worse than a servant, by those bastards."

Those bastards from earlier were even more vicious than I thought.

To catch a kind and naive person and use them as their servant... I shouldn't just end things with those bastards here, I have to show them a lesson somehow.

Someone might ask if I'm not an apostle of justice, and if it's not just being nosy.

But it is being nosy, and in the long run, it is also for the sake of the martial world.

Although they might give up on Hong Sa-ik now because of me, humans are originally bastards who forget their own faults well.

It is clear that if Hong Sa-ik leaves their side, it won't be long before they create a second Hong Sa-ik, a third Hong Sa-ik.

And it is unknown if they will also walk the same fate as Hong Sa-ik and point their swords at the orthodox faction.

So I have to give them a good scolding so that they can never do this again.

"As expected... I don't think I was a match for the martial world."

Even while I was thinking, Hong Sa-ik was continuing to tell his story.

"Thank you so much for waking up the foolish me. I will now return to my hometown."

"You're returning to your hometown? Could you talk with me for a little longer?"

"Talking is not a big problem..."

I sat him down in front of me and looked straight into his eyes.

Of course, when I brought Hong Sa-ik out from them, I had already thought about what to do with him before I brought him.

"Hong martial artist. If you had the opportunity to learn advanced martial arts, do you have the confidence to work hard without sparing your body?"

"Why are you suddenly asking that..."

"Please answer me first. Do you have the confidence to work hard?"

"Of course. I have endured all sorts of humiliation under those bastards. But if all I have to do is work hard... there is nothing easier for me than that."

"Really? Then let me ask you one more thing. If you could learn better martial arts and go to a better environment, are you prepared to completely abandon your family and be reborn as a new person?"

Hong Sa-ik looked at me for a moment... and then nodded his head vigorously.

"I had already made up my mind to leave my family a long time ago. As I said earlier, I was even thinking of becoming a member of the Seo Mun family."

"Then I'd like to make you a proposal."

"A proposal?"

"Well. To be honest, it's not something I can do as I please. First of all, I have to get permission from my master and the other elders... how old are you now, Hong martial artist?"

"I am twenty this year, the age of majority."

"I don't know if it's possible at such a late age... but how about coming to our Wudang Sect?"

"Yes...?!!"

Astonishment filled Hong Sa-ik's eyes.

As if he had heard a ghost story he shouldn't have, his eyes widened and he couldn't close his mouth.

What I just said must have been that shocking.

"Th-That means..."

"As I said a little while ago, it's not something I can decide on my own. But for now, since my master is nearby, let's try talking to him together."

"Ah... ah...!"

Hong Sa-ik, whose appearance suggested he would never shed tears, has tears welling up in his eyes.

"It's too early to cry yet. We don't even know if it will work out, so why are you crying already?"

"N-No. Whether I can really enter Wudang or not... just hearing those words is so moving. After coming out to the martial world, I have always been pushed around by others... this is the first kindness I have ever heard."

I clicked my tongue and patted his back.

I understand his feelings.

I want to say I understand everything, but in his view, my situation would be one where I couldn't understand him, so I didn't say anything.

I just waited for him to finish crying and patted his back.

But for a moment, Hong Sa-ik's back and the back of the self-reliant swordsman Unhwi overlap.

Although I am comforting Hong Sa-ik, in fact, I might have been comforting my past self.

"Thank you so much."

"If you're done crying, let's go to my master. He is a wise person, so he will surely give us a way."

"It doesn't matter if it's impossible. Thanks to you, I have gained hope."

"Then shall we go back to our inn? To see my master."

"Right now?"

"The sooner the better. If we just worry and waste time, it's the same as losing a day of training in Wudang. Get up quickly!"

"Yes, yes!"

I immediately started to go back to the inn, and Hong Sa-ik stood up with a start and followed me.

Although he can't see it, right now, I am full of smiles.

'It's a relief if he doesn't want to run away.'

I wonder what kind of expression he will make if he really goes to Wudang.

He said he was confident in his efforts, but I wonder if his efforts can really work even in our Wudang.

Since I'm this curious, I have to try to persuade my master somehow.

***

"Take this and go straight to the Wudang Mountains. If you say I recommended you, they will put you in the Yuyeop-dang."

But contrary to my thoughts, my master wrote a letter of recommendation without asking this and that.

"Th-Thank you."

"But there is one thing you must keep in mind."

"What is it?"

"If the person who enters our Wudang with my letter of recommendation does not do well, I will be the one to be blamed. And I greatly dislike being blamed in that way. So just don't do what I dislike."

"Ah... I understand, great hero!"

"What great hero. When we meet in Wudang next time, call me elder."

"Sob... yes!"

In the end, Hong Sa-ik shed tears again.

To be honest, although I was the one who brought him, I was also a little dumbfounded, so I asked my master, "Master. Is it okay to let him into Wudang without asking anything like this?"

"You're the one who brought him, aren't you? Then there's no need to worry too much for now."

"Still, shouldn't you ask how we met and why I want to put him in Wudang?"

"The reason is obvious. You must have picked him up while wandering around the Kaifeng floor, and since his character seems decent and you see his talent, you must have said let's put him in."

I let out a hollow laugh at the all-too-obvious answer.

"Aren't you worried?"

My master also, looking at me, smiled broadly and then said again, "Worried? To be honest, I don't think I should be the one to worry, but that child should be. Because if it were me, I wouldn't want to live the Yuyeop-dang life even if they let me."

At those words, I burst out laughing.

Because my master was thinking the same thing as me.

I laughed once more, looking at Hong Sa-ik, who was making a bewildered expression at our reactions.

The reason I can laugh so loudly right now is not simply because this situation is funny.

The fact that there is a person who trusts me this much made me smile even more.

(End of Chapter)