Chapter 176: Chapter 176
“…Heo-eo.”
Jang Geon and Jang Yeon assuming somewhat similar stances and facing each other. Seeing that sight, Jang Un beside them cupped his forehead and let out a sigh. It was because people at the pier, already surprised by the Murim Alliance’s operation, were widening their eyes once more upon seeing the two of them.
However, before Jang Un could stop them, Jang Yeon straightened her stance, stood up, and shouted loudly.
“Hey! You! Did you really intend never to return home again!”
Jang Geon also slowly dissolved his stance and stood upright. He playfully shrugged his shoulders.
“Your habit of speech is unchanged as ever. Do you act like that toward your husband as well?”
“My married life is my business! So answer what I asked, you bad bastard! Did you really intend never to return home at all!”
“If I had intended to return, I wouldn’t have left like that in the first place.”
At Jang Geon’s somewhat dry response, Jang Yeon kept her mouth tightly shut for a moment. Then, with a slightly trembling gaze, she looked into Jang Geon’s eyes.
“…Bad bastard. Even so, not coming to my wedding…”
Facing those eyes, Jang Geon felt at a loss for words after a long time. While he hesitated like that for a moment on how to answer, Jang Yeon abruptly turned her body around. Behind her, a man presumed to be her husband was coming over huffing and puffing, heavily laden with even the luggage she had tossed aside. Jang Yeon approached him and snatched the luggage away.
Seeing that, Jang Un subtly gestured to the rickshaw pullers. The rickshaw pullers quickly approached the two, received the luggage, and loaded it into the rickshaw cargo compartments. Giving the luggage to them, the man wore a good-natured smile and scratched his head.
Jang Yeon introduced him with a pouting tone.
“He is my husband.”
“Haha… Greetings, elder brothers. I am called Baek Ri-gang.”
“Mmm. Welcome. I am Yeon’s eldest brother Jang Un, and that one over there is her second brother Jang Geon.”
Jang Un stepped forward and accepted the greeting. Baek Ri-gang repeatedly bowed his waist, feeling awkward. However, perhaps because he was originally tall and handsome, rather than servile, he appeared polite. Seeing him, Jang Un said nothing, but still repeatedly nodded his head, as if he liked that appearance.
Having nothing to say due to pouting Jang Yeon, Jang Geon merely stepped back a pace and nodded his head. Seeing the two siblings’ demeanor, Baek Ri-gang merely let out a somewhat awkward laugh and scratched the back of his head.
Exchanging simple greetings, they boarded the rickshaws and began moving to the Jang Family Merchant Guild. Baek Ri-gang looked fascinatingly at New Sichuan’s mode of transport, the rickshaw, and was surprised that the owner of that business was Jang Un. Pretending to be sulky with Jang Geon, Jang Yeon also looked at the rickshaw as if it were interesting.
Crossing the complex streets of New Sichuan, the rickshaws came to a halt before long in front of the Jang Family Merchant Guild. Unloading all the luggage of the Jang Yeon couple, the rickshaw pullers departed with smiles. Even though they had already received their daily wage, Jang Un gave a little extra tip. Seeing them pull the rickshaws away with bright expressions, it seemed they intended to finish today’s work and go to some tavern.
Sending the rickshaws away, Jang Yeon looked at the Jang Family Merchant Guild with curious eyes.
“Didn’t you say you were expanding your business steadily in New Sichuan? The merchant guild is smaller than I thought.”
“This place only handles intermediate work. The workshop and sales outlet are both separate. Of course, it’s not that we don’t sell goods here, but doing everything here would mean bad location and the building is smaller than expected. Rather than expanding this guild building, it was better to set up a separate place slightly away. And expanding the business like this makes it feel as though the entirety of New Sichuan is the merchant guild’s front yard, so it feels worth working hard.”
When Jang Un explained thus with a smile beside her, Jang Yeon quietly observed him.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No. I just wanted to show you as you are now to the clan elders. Then they wouldn’t make those nagging complaints every time.”
Jang Yeon spoke thus and smiled pleasantly. Jang Un merely chuckled embarrassedly. The clan elders did not view the New Continent business expansion entirely favorably. What they particularly disliked was that Jang Un had taken even the children along.
Just then, the children in the yard were poking their heads out over the wall at the human presence heard outside. Seeing her nephews and nieces, Jang Yeon completely forgot her pouting expression until now, called the children, and ran inside.
“These little critters!”
“Wow! It’s Aunt!”
“It’s Aunt!”
As the children raised a fuss, Madam Yeom, who was naturally preparing a meal, also came out to look, and soon the residence became boisterous with greetings and laughter. Afterwards, Jang Yeon, who already knew about the Dan Sang-woon couple and their children through letters, even unpacked presents prepared for those kids.
The children found it interesting upon seeing wooden dolls with multiple joints that moved. However, it was not the level of joy Jang Yeon had expected, which was only natural because to the children who used to play with toys crafted by Dan Sang-woon, except for being well-carved, they did not seem particularly special wooden dolls.
Added to that, what flustered Jang Yeon even more was Seo-ha’s presence. There was no mention of Seo-ha in the letters received before departing from the Central Plains. So there was no wooden doll handed to Seo-ha while given one by one to the other children. She hurriedly provided a comb she cherished as if it were a present originally prepared. Fortunately, Seo-ha seemed to like it.
Perhaps thanks to that, Jang Yeon was not even surprised when Jin Gyeon appeared later. She merely smiled quietly, poked Jang Geon’s side softly, and asked who that monk was.
Afterwards, only after the meal continued was Jang Yeon able to receive introductions to Jin Gyeon and Seo-ha. Adding those two to the existing family members, it was now truly no different from a large extended family.
Afterwards, the meal naturally led to a drinking session, and meeting his younger sister after a long time, Jang Un repeatedly drank wine poured by Baek Ri-gang. It was a drinking session with nothing bad about it. However, Jang Yeon maintained the pouting attitude she had shown Jang Geon at the pier. Of course, anyone at that table could tell that it was pretending to be sulky. Since not attending her wedding was the same for Jang Un sitting beside her, her demeanor was clearly a protest aimed at Jang Geon, who had not sought her out for a long time.
Time passed, breaking up the drinking session for the children to be put to sleep. And until then, Jang Yeon and Jang Geon subtly ignored each other and avoided sharing words.
Seeing that, Jang Un merely shook his head gently.
“When they were young, those rascals were so close…”
Madam Yeom and Jin Gyeon merely smiled, while the Dan Sang-woon couple found Jang Geon’s new demeanor, which had seemed transcendental, amusing. Only Jang Yeon’s husband, Baek Ri-gang, was wearing an embarrassed smile.
In the end, while that night passed, Jang Geon and Jang Yeon did not properly share words, let alone reconcile.
“Were the two of you originally on bad terms?”
Early the next morning, when Jang Geon began Seo-ha’s training, he blinked both eyes at the words Seo-ha, who was slowly unfolding Tai Chi Chuan, suddenly brought up.
“…With whom?”
“Mmm, so… with Sagu.”
Jang Geon laughed at the term Sagu brought up by Seo-ha. Since she was his master’s sister, the term Sagu was not wrong. It was just that Jang Geon laughed wondering where Seo-ha had heard such a word.
“Why?”
“Seeing you yesterday evening, you didn’t talk much… and even this morning you avoided each other. As if it were a bit uncomfortable.”
Seo-ha was asking while looking at Jang Geon with her Tai Chi Chuan movement abruptly paused in the middle. Though the stopped stance might be uncomfortable, the child’s expression was very comfortable and natural. Though basic movements, it meant she was already proficient in Tai Chi Chuan. It was an admirable sight.
Watching her, Jang Geon thought she must have really been curious if she brought up words first while training, so he slowly answered her.
“Rather than being on bad terms… she’s just very sulky.”
“Why?”
“…Because I had no contact for several years.”
“Then isn’t Master the one at fault?”
Jang Geon had nothing to say. That was correct. In fact, it was a matter that would end if Jang Geon simply apologized saying he was sorry for having no contact during that time.
“Well… maybe because it’s been so long. Saying that single word ‘sorry’ is a bit hard.”
Looking at Jang Geon with bright, sharp eyes as he answered thus, Seo-ha spoke.
“It’s just like Sang and Yeong. Those kids fight over petty things too and can’t apologize first, so they don’t talk for several days.”
“Is that so?”
“But Yong-a and Yong-jung aren’t like that.”
“…Yong-a and Yong-jung?”
Seo-ha nodded her head.
“They always have the person at fault apologize first and take care of each other. So sometimes it seems Sang and Yeong envy that too.”
Listening to Seo-ha’s story, Jang Geon opened both eyes wide, then burst into a hearty laughter.
Seo-ha seemed to hope that Jang Geon and Jang Yeon, meeting after a long time, would get along well like the Dan siblings. Jang Geon was happy at his disciple’s concern and worry, yet felt sorry for the child’s past, which compelled her to be so thoughtful. He also felt uneasy in a corner of his heart for causing worry to his young disciple. The thought also occurred that he wanted to go to Jang Yeon right away, apologize, and finish sharing the old stories they couldn’t finish yesterday.
And at that moment, Jang Geon was suddenly able to decide how to create Seo-ha’s internal cultivation method.
The very first internal method he had learned was the common Three Treasures Art, and afterwards, even when he obtained other internal methods, he merely referenced them and did not abandon that Three Treasures Art. Therefore, the Three Treasures Art, which was a basic respiration method, had become an internal energy completely different from the beginning through Jang Geon’s numerous experiments and reproduced martial arts accumulated over a long time.
It was like even if drawing a painting of dozens of scrolls, its beginning starts from a single dot. The Three Treasures Art was a cultivation method that could not be more suitable for Jang Geon, who wished to reproduce martial arts that did not exist or had failed to grow in this world until now.
However, that did not suit Seo-ha either. Seo-ha was a teenage girl, not an old-souled child remembering a past life like someone else. Jang Geon’s Three Treasures Art was a martial art that only Jang Geon could learn and use. If Seo-ha were to learn it, it would go astray terribly even if slightly off.
Fortunately, Jang Geon had a next goal that could be called a target. That was not simply a martial art imitating the movements of beasts or natural phenomena, but a Philosophical Martial Art expressing and revealing human thoughts and emotions through martial arts.
Already, Tai Chi Chuan also fell into the category of such Philosophical Martial Arts. Tai Chi Chuan rotating and dividing into Yin and Yang. The Primal Chaos Manual was included there, as was the Imperial Sword Form.
Observing the emotions he currently felt from a step away, Jang Geon felt that all of it stemmed from his relationship with Seo-ha, a mind leaning on each other like the character for ‘human’. Jang Geon decided to weave that into martial arts.
“Right. Then I should apologize first. Since I am sorry for not contacting even once during that time.”
When Jang Geon spoke thus with a soft smile, Seo-ha subtly assumed a shy expression. And she silently began to unfold the paused Tai Chi Chuan again. Watching Seo-ha, Jang Geon organized his thoughts, then suddenly approached the training hall door and threw it wide open. Following Jang Geon’s sudden movement, Seo-ha’s eyes turned round.
In front of the training hall door, Jang Yeon was squatting down. As if intending to do morning training, clad in neat martial attire, she had been peeking through the crack of the training hall door.
“…Didn’t you say you’d apologize?”
However, far from being flustered by Jang Geon suddenly throwing the door open, sitting squatted as she was, she looked up at Jang Geon with a subtle smile. Seeing that slick, sly appearance, Jang Geon shook his head.
“Mmm. I don’t feel like doing it anymore.”
“What? Why!”
“Well.”
“Ah, what is it! Are you playing with me!”
Sitting squatted, Jang Yeon shouted loudly and stood up. Seeing Jang Yeon, Jang Geon diverted the subject.
“Why did you bring martial attire?”
“…Why else. I brought it to train. Except when docking at islands in between, I couldn’t train properly inside the ship, so my body felt stiff.”
She spoke thus blithely and strode over to Seo-ha’s side. Facing Seo-ha, she immediately erased her pouting expression, smiled beamingly, and spoke.
“I heard you are learning Tai Chi Chuan? How much have you learned? Want to have a light spar with me?”
“…In the Tai Chi Chuan way?”
“Right. In the Tai Chi Chuan way… That Tai Chi Chuan way that ruined my military entry exam.”
When saying the latter part, Jang Yeon subtly glared sideways at Jang Geon. Jang Geon merely shrugged his shoulders once and said nothing.
Seo-ha looked at Jang Geon with eyes seeking permission, and when Jang Geon nodded his head, the two faced each other and assumed the unique stance of Tai Chi Chuan. The stances of the two were somewhat similar yet slightly different. Seeing that, Jang Yeon looked slightly puzzled, then soon realized something and glared at Jang Geon again.
Leaving that gaze behind, the two soon stuck close and began a struggle of pushing each other away using palms and forearms.
However, initially using only hands and forearms to softly push and pull each other, the two gradually began to grow intense as time passed. Beyond arms, using shoulders and bodies to push the opponent away was natural, and bringing feet that didn’t move initially close to the opponent to try to collapse their balance occurred as well.
Naturally, both failed to stay pinned in place and deal with each other, coming to move bit by bit. Rotating to their respective rights, the two ended up turning two circles.
And the moment Seo-ha’s intensely focused movements crossed beyond a certain degree to become fierce, Jang Yeon softly stepped back, ending the spar.
“Ah…”
Wearing a dazed expression for a moment, Seo-ha soon made a fist salute to Jang Yeon in greeting. Sparring in Tai Chi Chuan with someone other than Jang Geon felt novel, and her face was flushed. Jang Yeon accepted that greeting naturally with a commendable expression.
However, when that face returned to Jang Geon, it turned into an expression full of pouty anger.
“…It became a bit different?”
“Mmm. A lot of time has passed.”
“Then is this the completed version now?”
Jang Geon calmly faced Jang Yeon. However, hearing whether it was the completed version, he eventually slid his eyes away subtly.
“…I shall teach you again.”
Only then did Jang Yeon nod her head as if satisfied. Seeing her, Jang Geon gently shook his head while chuckling softly. Suddenly having two disciples to teach, he didn’t feel so bad. Watching the two of them, Seo-ha also wore a bright smile.