The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 55

Thud—

At the rather heavy sound, the gazes of the senior brothers who were resting by the fire all turned to me.

"Wh-What is this?"

"Can't you tell by looking? It's a wild boar."

"No, I mean, why the wild boar?"

"Why? We have to eat it."

"Eat it?"

As if my matter-of-fact tone felt unreal, Senior Brother Uncheol asked me several times.

I had easily beaten the wild boar, drained its blood, and even cleaned its entrails before carrying it on my back.

"If you've made a fire, you should naturally grill meat. Don't you even know such a basic thing?"

"Grill meat... we're not supposed to eat meat..."

"Hey. This isn't the Wudang Sect. Although it's still Mount Wudang."

"Still..."

"Then don't eat, Senior Brother. If you say one more word, I'll eat without you."

Gulp—

At my words, my senior brother shut his mouth tight.

Only the sound of him swallowing his saliva, which echoed like thunder, spoke for his feelings.

I first found a wide, flat stone and scrubbed it clean in the valley water.

I was a little hesitant because it was the water Senior Brother Unmi had washed in a little while ago, but since it was flowing water, I figured it wouldn't matter.

I placed the stone on the fire, and while the stone was heating up, I skinned the boar on the spot and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces with a knife.

"Watch carefully. I'm only doing this today. From next time, you senior brothers have to take turns. Got it?"

"Uh, okay."

The senior brothers couldn't answer me clearly.

It must have been the first time they had seen flesh and meat being separated and meat being prepared right in front of them.

That's probably why they're watching what I'm doing in a daze.

After I was done preparing the meat to some extent, I gently placed my hand on the stone I had placed on the bonfire.

"Ah, it's hot. If I hadn't put my internal energy on it, I would have gotten a burn for sure."

Fortunately, the stone was heated just right for grilling meat.

I picked up the prepared meat and gently placed it on the stone plate.

Sizzle—

At that moment, an ecstatic sound echoed.

The sound of grilling meat is always good to hear.

And the smell that wafts at the same time as the sound.

The smell of grilling meat is enough to drive a person crazy.

As proof of that, the expressions of the senior brothers, who had been wondering if it was okay to do this until just a moment ago, all changed.

They can't take their eyes off the meat and are flaring their nostrils.

Gulp—

There are no words, only the sound of them repeatedly swallowing their saliva echoes.

"I think it's all cooked now."

I picked up a well-cooked piece of meat, blew on it to cool it down, and then put it straight into my mouth.

As expected of meat. Especially pork, it's really delicious.

As soon as I put it in my mouth, the oil that melts in my mouth makes me happy.

"It's well-cooked. If you don't want to eat, say so now. Then I won't give you any."

After speaking, I looked back at my senior brothers, and no one moved.

Even Senior Brother Uncheol, who had shown some reluctance at first, had his eyes already turned.

I let out a small laugh, spread a large leaf like a plate, and then put the cooked meat on the leaf.

"If you break a branch and peel the bark well, you can make chopsticks."

As soon as my words ended, they each made a pair of chopsticks and sat in front of me again.

If they had moved so quickly during their usual training, I would have yelled less.

"Now. Eat slowly. There's plenty of meat."

But my senior brothers, as if my words were meaningless, rushed to the cooked meat in an instant and put a piece of meat in their mouths one by one.

At that moment, the senior brothers' eyes widened like lanterns.

"It's, it's delicious!"

"Such a taste in the world. Sob. To think that meat was this delicious."

"I even regret the few years I spent on Mount Wudang. Why can't we eat meat in Wudang...!"

The senior brothers ate the meat while shedding tears.

I can fully understand that feeling.

Because when I ate meat for the first time after leaving Wudang with my master, tears welled up in my eyes without me realizing it.

"You're going to eat more, right?"

At my words, my senior brothers nodded their heads desperately.

"You'll follow my words even better from now on, right?"

Nod, nod!

"You'll train even harder too?"

Nod, nod!

"You won't complain even if I tell you to go down a cliff like today, right?"

Nod... nod, nod!

"Huh? Senior Brother Unmi. Your nod had a little hesitation in it."

"Ah, no. It was because my neck hurt. My neck!"

"Well. I'll believe you."

I smiled benevolently and continued to grill the meat.

Again, the plate made of leaves was piled high with meat.

The moment the senior brothers were about to rush to the meat again.

"Wait."

At my words, the senior brothers stopped their movements as if time had stopped and looked at me.

Their appearance was both funny and commendable, so I let out a small giggle without realizing it.

"Since you all listened to me well, I'll teach you a way to eat it more deliciously."

"More deliciously?"

"You mean it can get even more delicious than this?"

"Does such a thing even exist?!"

I took out a small pouch from my bosom and shook it.

"What is that?"

"I knew this would happen, so I stole... no, I got a little from the dining hall."

When I tilted the pouch over my palm, white powder flowed out from inside.

Senior Brother Unjeong saw this at a glance and, without realizing it, let out a sharp cry.

"Salt!"

"Salt?!"

"It's salt!"

"Correct."

I sprinkled the salt I had brought from Wudang on the plate and then handed it to my senior brothers again.

"Try it."

At my words, the senior brothers, this time too, extended their chopsticks to the meat plate in perfect unison.

"......"

"......"

They put the meat in their mouths, but no one could speak.

They were all just shedding tears with moved faces.

"Hwi-ya... I. I'm so happy. To think that such a world existed."

"Thank you. Thank you. I will be loyal to you for the rest of my life."

"This isn't a dream, right? Is it okay for me to be this happy?"

"Everyone, stop being so dramatic and eat. If you don't eat quickly, I'll assume you're done eating and stop grilling. Eating well is also a part of training. Are you all going to eat half-heartedly?"

At my words, everyone stopped their tears as if by magic.

And now, with determined expressions, they picked up their crooked chopsticks made of wood.

"No. I will eat with all my might."

"This is also a part of training? I'll eat hard."

"I always train hard, don't I? I'll do my best."

After that, the senior brothers really started to eat hard with all their might, and I also grilled the meat hard to match them.

After the senior brothers had eaten their fill to some extent, they took turns grilling the meat with me, and I was also able to start eating properly, and in the end, we ate the entire wild boar that day.

***

Yesterday, since we were full and had a fire going anyway, we camped for a day at the place where we had caught and eaten the wild boar.

The senior brothers seemed to be in a good mood after leaving the Wudang Sect until then.

Of course, they had to be.

Because they had eaten delicious meat that they had never tasted in their lives, used the starry night sky as a blanket, and fell asleep next to a bonfire while feeling the cool breeze.

But, happiness was only for that moment.

If there's something that comes, there's something that goes.

The price for eating delicious meat to their heart's content had to be paid with their bodies.

"Can't you keep up quickly? Straighten your back, stretch your legs! We just have to go for another dagyeong (about 15 minutes). It's only half a shijin!"

"Keu-euk!"

"Heok, heok!"

"Uwe-e-ek!"

We were on our way from the campsite to the village in a duck walk.

A duck walk is like that.

At first, you wonder what's so hard about it, but after doing it for a little while, you can't stand the pain in your legs, back, and even your neck.

But, there's no exercise like this for strengthening the lower body and back.

Because being hard means you can develop your body that much faster.

"The turbid qi accumulated from eating meat doesn't go away easily. You have to move your body as much as possible while circulating the incantation I taught you. If you slack off, I'll make you roll around more until all the turbid qi is gone, so let's do it properly when we do it. When we do it!"

Even though it was clear that turbid qi would accumulate, the reason I confidently showed my senior brothers the taste of meat was because I believed in the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic.

The Muscle-Tendon Change Classic that I learned and improved increases the effect of polishing the body several times when you circulate it while moving your body hard.

The body grows by consuming enough meat, the waste products from that are all expelled by the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic, and you can even grow by moving your body at the same time... a situation that is truly killing three birds with one stone.

'Is this why they say that a ghost that died after eating well looks good?'

Although it seems like a slightly different situation, anyway, my senior brothers followed me, each expressing their hardship in their own way.

"U-Unhwi-ya."

Senior Brother Uncheol, who had been following me quietly right behind me, called me.

"Why, Senior Brother?"

"I've been thinking, but don't you think the speed we're going at is too slow?"

"Speed? Well... it's incredibly slow."

My senior brother is right.

Because we're going down in a duck walk, a distance that would take a couple of shijin if we used footwork, even if we've been going down for a whole day, it will take another day to reach the village.

"It's not that I really want to stop this duck walk, but didn't the Sect Leader ask me to take good care of you? As far as I know, they're waiting for us at the inn in the village below the mountain, and at this rate, I'm worried we won't be able to make it on schedule. It's the first time our 'Un' generation is standing in front of the common people, so we might give a bad impression from the start."

Senior Brother Uncheol spoke for an unusually long time.

He must have been really tired.

I barely held back the twitching corners of my mouth and said, "So, you're saying that if we continue this duck walk, we'll be late for our appointment, so we should go quickly, whether by walking or running?"

"That's right."

As if he thought we could come to an agreement, my senior brother looked at me with desperate eyes.

But, I looked at him, smiled brightly, and said, "If that's the problem, you don't have to worry at all."

"R-Really? Did you contact the village in advance? When on earth..."

"I've been with you senior brothers the whole time, so when would I have gone to the village?"

"Then?"

"Don't you remember? We came by a shortcut."

"A short... cut?"

Senior Brother Uncheol's eyes widened slightly.

"We didn't come down along the mountain path, but straight down through the cliff, didn't we? Don't you remember? I told you that if we did that, we could save two days."

"Two days...! Then those two days..."

"That's right. It means we won't be late at all even if we go slowly like this."

Senior Brother Uncheol's pupils are shaking.

He probably has nothing to refute my words.

Because to persuade me, he has to be logical, but the only logic my senior brother had has been shattered.

"Now! We'll rest after walking a little more, so let's put in a little more effort. If you can't get rid of all the turbid qi, the divine energy won't be able to settle!"

I shouted excitedly and took the lead, stomping my feet in a powerful duck walk.

Since I'm leading the way and showing them myself, my senior brothers will have no choice but to follow.

But seeing them all following me with such dead faces is... far from sad, it's even funny.

***

"Welcome... no, what is this, Taoist masters!"

A waiter who was greeting us listlessly, was startled and came out.

Senior Brother Uncheol, who is our leader in public, stepped forward and answered him.

"Nothing... happened."

"No, your appearances are a mess, but you say nothing happened. Did you meet a tiger in the mountains? I thought you were from the Beggars' Sect, not Wudang."

"Ahem. For now, could you give us a bath and a place to rest? Here is the token of Wudang."

Senior Brother Uncheol showed the token he had received from the Wudang Sect to the waiter.

The waiter checked it and then, as if he had heard the story, guided us familiarly.

After taking us to a pretty good-looking room, the waiter said, "When you're done washing up and come down, we'll have a meal prepared for you, Taoist masters."

"Thank you."

But the waiter winks at Senior Brother Uncheol.

Wondering why, I stared at him, and the waiter, even though there was no one to hear, lowered his voice and said, "Here, shall we serve a special dish to you Taoist masters as well?"

"A special dish?"

"You must have a hard time eating only vegetables in the mountains all the time, don't you? As a reward for always using our inn, we'll secretly serve you some meat so that the other guests won't know..."

"Meat?!"

Senior Brother Uncheol shouted so loudly that the waiter was startled.

"No, what if someone hears..."

"Don't even think about putting meat on the table. We've been through hell because of that... anyway, whether it's secretly or openly, if anything resembling meat is on the table, I won't stand for it. Well... thank you for your consideration. Ahem."

Senior Brother Uncheol, perhaps embarrassed for suddenly getting angry at him, cleared his throat and hurriedly went into the room.

And just before closing the door, I heard the waiter say in a small voice, "They are truly true Taoist masters! What a shameful thing I have done..."

His eyes were full of respect and sincerity.

(End of Chapter)