Chapter 170: Mind Method Practice
It seemed Sister Seol-ah had also followed when Old Man Jong moved.
‘Did she hear everything?’
It was a conversation mixed with sensitive details. At worst, it could have sounded as if I were a demon of the Demonic Cult.
However, thinking about it carefully, it was not as though there was no loophole to escape through.
This was because most of it had been glossed over vaguely.
‘It is a relief that I did not move according to my initial thoughts…’
Because I had abandoned the thought of suppressing him with force, the fact that I was the real Heavenly Demon was not revealed either.
I was confident I could pass off whatever words came out.
I braced myself fully, calling to mind various scenarios and their corresponding replies.
“Cheong-un.”
Sister Seol-ah’s hands pinched both my cheeks.
“Do you know what kind of face you make when you are lost in thought?”
‘Huh? This is not what I expected…’
My embarrassed mouth froze just like that.
“Will you tell me someday?”
“…Yes.”
“Right, that is enough. I trust you.”
A supporter filled only with positivity, without any doubt or rejection, stood before me.
As Sister Seol-ah gently hugged me, her hair brushed past the tip of my nose.
A sweet scent drifted from Sister Seol-ah, who embraced me with a build smaller than mine.
Sister Seol-ah, who squeezed her embracing arms tightly, let go of me and smiled softly.
“It would be best to end the walk here. Shall we head back together?”
“…I think I have a bit more to think about.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
Carrying a trace of lingering regret, Sister Seol-ah waved and walked away.
She probably would not watch me from afar this time.
‘It stung.’
Sister Seol-ah’s consideration stabbed at my chest.
“…Why are there only good people around me like this?”
There were simply too many people around me whom I could consider a sign of a successful life even if I only had one of them in my lifetime.
“Haaaa…”
Because my breath suddenly grew rough, I took a deep breath of the cold air.
A refreshing coolness took the place of the sweetness that had lingered at the tip of my nose until a moment ago.
“I am lucky.”
What comes lightly departs lightly.
I must strive even harder to prevent such an ending.
To live up to these expectations.
I must become stronger.
To answer these feelings.
My chest grew hot, as if my heart were set on fire.
“Master Heavenly Demon.”
[What is it?]
“Do you happen to have anything to teach me?”
[Hhng?]
As if he were getting excited, the end of his voice rose slightly.
[Can you handle it?]
It was a warning that set off alarm bells in my survival instincts the moment I heard it.
Given that Master Heavenly Demon spoke this way, it was bound to be a tremendous power.
“I will just do my best.”
If effort was my share, teaching was the masters’ share.
It was the same when I received teachings from Master Zhang Sanfeng or Master Bodhidharma.
The masters always arranged a wealth of learning before me appropriately.
[Hmph! From now on, you will also have to practice the Scripture-Refining Mind Method diligently.]
Although his attitude was prickly like thorns, he seemed to secretly like it.
Perhaps it was because I had to practice Master Heavenly Demon’s martial arts diligently from now on.
Twitch, twitch.
Sang-hwa also cheered me on energetically.
There are this many people supporting and backing me up.
It was not because I alone was outstanding that I reached this point.
‘As expected, I am lucky.’
In the mountains at night where the sound of grass insects echoed, I was grateful for all of this.
***
The next morning.
Looking at the sunlight inevitably rising in the east, Byeok Ji-sim clicked his tongue briefly.
“Tsk! How annoying…”
Even the sunlight that brought light to the world could provoke irritation depending on a person’s mood.
Considering that point, it was easy to infer that Byeok Ji-sim’s state of mind was extremely uncomfortable right now.
Byeok Ji-sim, who always showed only a broad-minded appearance in front of external gazes, fully revealed his emotions in his private space.
“Dammit! A huge variable has burst out. A force that cannot be simply ignored has entered the interior…”
He had never thought there would really be madmen to reply to that invitation.
The Baek Family Escort.
The thorn that suddenly popped out rubbed Byeok Ji-sim the wrong way.
“Surely the plan will not go awry, right?”
“It would be troublesome if that happened. Both to you and to me.”
Before he knew it, a man clad in black martial robes stood before Byeok Ji-sim.
Perhaps because this was not the first time, Byeok Ji-sim showed no sign of surprise at the sudden appearance of the man.
“Is the preparation going well?”
“I have done everything that could be done. I have drawn in every single place that could be won over. The rest will have to be obtained by force.”
“That is a relief at least.”
“A relief? This is not the time to be complacent, is it?”
The man in black also seemed to be someone with nerves as sharp as Byeok Ji-sim.
Byeok Ji-sim, who was riled up by the words extended as sharply as his on-edge nerves, returned to his usual broad-minded appearance and put up an iron wall on his face.
“Though there was an unexpected intervention, if the plan were to collapse due to a variable of that level, does it not mean there was a problem with it from the start?”
“…If a problem occurs, it is our fault?”
“I did not intend to go that far, but you seem to know it well yourself.”
To anyone’s eyes, it was a relationship of enemies sharing the same boat.
Whether they felt that further conversation would yield no good results, the dialogue between the two vanished for a moment.
“Well, although a variable occurred, we can just make it so it cannot act as one. The fatigue of a journey is no joke; in a situation where Green Forest brothers are all around, could they have rested properly? Besides, though they pretended to be broad-minded, they must have stayed awake all night in tension because of what they did yesterday.”
“Their physical condition is not normal?”
“No matter how trained a martial artist is, they must rest properly to relieve fatigue. Moreover, if they cannot let go of their tension, mental fatigue is bound to accumulate, so even if their bodies were made of iron, there would be no way to endure. Well, if worst comes to worst, placing a small gift in their food could also be a method.”
It made sense within standard logic. The man in black also nodded and closed his mouth.
However.
“What on earth is this stupid…”
On the face of Byeok Ji-sim, who had his subordinates spy on the situation of the Baek Family Escort, the mask of broad-mindedness was shattered to pieces.
The man in black glared at Byeok Ji-sim and sneered.
***
Even though we were in the midst of bandits, there was no particular tension.
“Will these fellows provide breakfast?”
“Do not expect it. Even if they do, the food coming out of a place swarming only with men is bound to be predictable.”
“As expected?”
“Indeed. It would be a relief if a roughly roasted pig’s hind leg came out.”
The core of the conversation going back and forth was the worry over what to eat for breakfast.
Finding tension in this situation was also a laughable matter.
“As expected, the food our Seol-ah cooks is the best?”
In the midst of that, Uncle Baek Jin-seong subtly egged on Sister Seol-ah.
Perhaps everyone thought similarly, as they stared at Sister Seol-ah with eyes full of expectation.
“Shall I show off my skills then?”
Receiving everyone’s expectations, Sister Seol-ah put on an apron and headed toward the kitchen prepared in one corner of the building.
It was indeed a surprising matter considering how Sister Seol-ah had been back in Samyang County.
For she had rarely treated the members of the Baek Family Escort so warmly as she did now.
Somehow, while I felt a bit sorry, I was also looking forward to it on the other hand.
‘Is it because I struggled all night? I am very hungry.’
What I learned from Master Heavenly Demon last night was certainly extraordinary.
Should I call it a dreadfully exhaustive martial art?
Furthermore, while throwing that at me, he said that since he had passed on everything to be passed on, he had to go to work and I should handle the rest on my own.
“Are you really going?”
[I have to do my work too.]
“Ayy~ Master Zhang Sanfeng and Master Bodhidharma stayed by my side all along even when they had work.”
[Shut up! Do you know how it feels to have to go to work in the middle of the night!!]
Perhaps because he disliked being compared to Master Zhang Sanfeng or Master Bodhidharma, he flared up at my words testing him.
“How should I say… even that place called Heaven is truly…”
Although it was something I had felt when speaking with Master Zhang Sanfeng or Master Bodhidharma, seeing even Master Heavenly Demon react like that made it somehow feel even more real.
‘Besides, this thing I was taught overnight… somehow feels like preparation for working overtime in heaven…’
Suddenly, my mouth felt bitter.
Unless I quickly cleansed my mouth with something delicious provided by Sister Seol-ah, it felt like it would remain bitter all day long.
In the midst of that, the outside suddenly began to grow noisy.
“Come out! You brat!”
It was a voice so loud that it made my ears ring.
Since it was the voice of someone who had left a strong impression, I could recognize it at once.
“Did that gentleman not get beaten up enough yesterday?”
It was undoubtedly Ak Gun-pae, the Chief of Georok Fortress.
Since he had been ruthlessly trampled on by the Divine Monk, he should normally be groaning and lying in bed for a few days, but he was causing a disturbance from the crack of dawn.
Needless to say, the expression of the Divine Monk, who had been looking forward to breakfast, also turned rapidly bad.
“Heh! Heh! Heh! Guiding a sentient being who asks to be sent to a good place to the Pure Land is indeed the duty of a Buddhist disciple.”
The Divine Monk stepped forward as if he had found a good pre-meal exercise.
I also followed closely behind him for now.
“I told you to come out! You bra—”
The mouth of Ak Gun-pae, who had been shouting energetically, shut tight in an instant.
“Did you not call? See, I have come out.”
“N-Not you! Georok Fortress does not fight with Shaolin disciples! So the one over there…”
“But this child is also a Shaolin disciple?”
“Sha-Shaolin? Huh? No! Th-That cannot be! He is surely a Wudang Sect disciple? Huh?”
Perhaps because Shaolin lay at the foundation of the martial arts Ak Gun-pae had learned, there seemed to be a somewhat peculiar internal rule in Georok Fortress.
Guessing based on the explanation Master Zhang Sanfeng had given me about the Green Forest, it seemed to be a place created by a Shaolin chivalrous hero who had left to do what he deemed right.
It seemed he had thought I was associated with the Wudang Sect, but he had ended up tripping over his own words.
‘Will things work out a bit more easily this way?’
This was because, in any case, if there was a rule not to fight with Shaolin disciples, he must not fight with me.
Though I had not registered my name on the Monastic Registry, I was strictly a honorary disciple of Shaolin.
Wavering in a contradictory situation of self-contradiction, Ak Gun-pae looked back and forth between the Divine Monk and me, then soon formed a determined expression and gripped his massive axe.
“Even so, I cannot back down!”
“Inevitably?”
“Yes! I have a duty to keep! To repay the blood spilled by my family! My brothers!”
“Oh?”
He was simple and honest. Knowing he was no match for the Divine Monk, he was still stepping forward to fulfill his duty to his subordinates.
It was the typical appearance of a hero risking his life for loyalty.
However, to my eyes, it did not look entirely good.
“Your brothers are not the only ones who spilled blood.”
At the time of the raid on the Namgung Clan’s merchant group, the blood of those whom Ak Gun-pae called brothers was indeed on my hands.
But they had also harmed the people of the Namgung Clan’s merchant group.
Discussing one-sided loyalty in the face of that is not fair.
“Mmh…”
This too seemed to leave him at a loss for words, as Ak Gun-pae bit his lips tightly.
Then.
“Ten exchanges! Duel with me for ten exchanges! If we do not decide the outcome within that, I shall forget all grudges!”
Ak Gun-pae took a step back and created a compromise of his own.
“Ten exchanges…”
Under these circumstances, it was difficult for this side to simply back out either.
It seemed the opportunity to test the teachings obtained from Master Heavenly Demon last night had arrived sooner than expected.