Chapter 7: A Familial Childhood Friend (1)

The training conducted together by Master Zhang Sanfeng and Master Bodhidharma was terrible.

To what extent was it terrible, you ask?

[If you push yourself even a little bit more there, you’ll become a cripple.]

“…Yes.”

For instance, they said the training I was currently doing was like pouring water up to the limit of what my current body could handle.

A situation pushed to the brink where it might or might not overflow due to surface tension.

The moment even a single drop was added and the water overflowed, they said I would have to prepare for a permanent injury.

Although I did not realize it myself, it meant I was precariously riding the line right before becoming a cripple.

I did not realize it because it was overwhelming enough just to follow what they taught, but when I found out, it sent shivers down my spine.

Common-sensically, it was only natural that training close to the limit carried the risk of injury.

Thinking so, it was only right to feel afraid.

However, strangely enough, I did not feel afraid.

[What happens if your breathing gets disrupted? Shall we make the theme of your future training ‘A Leisurely Cripple’s Life’?]

[By refining the body, one can gather the essence; by refining the essence, the mind is gathered. If you bind the Three Essences and Five Hearts into one, you can easily reach the True Understanding. What does it mean? Hoho, these are words to be planted deep in your subconscious, so investigate the meaning later. It is a mantra that will subtly aid you when you gradually open the gates of enlightenment in the future. Rather than that, our disciple, seeing that you still have enough consciousness to ask back, it seems we can roll you some more.]

The moment I went even slightly astray, a barrage of words would pour out.

Yet they drilled things into me from time to time.

Those teachings touched not just the domain of my consciousness but even the domain of my subconscious.

It was to the extent that to someone else, it might look like a malicious brainwashing.

I accepted all these teachings with desperate effort.

It was a difficult task, but there was something that helped.

The Earth Essence Art.

A martial art called the Heavy Earth Divine Art, according to Master Zhang Sanfeng.

While the Clear Brightness Mind Method embraced the mind and spirit, the Heavy Earth Divine Art embraced the body. Like the vastness of the earth that embraces all.

Thanks to that, the speed at which my body recovered increased.

They said it would have the efficacy of strengthening the foundation, but since the level of the two masters was so high, I had no idea where the standard of that so-called foundation lay.

While practicing the Heavy Earth Divine Art, I could already feel power flowing through my body to the extent that even I could notice it.

Not long ago, I was startled to discover the identity of the power that had so naturally settled in my body.

It was Qi.

What martial artists called internal energy.

Master Zhang Sanfeng and Master Bodhidharma were not merely refining my body. By refining the body, they grew my internal energy, and by growing the internal energy, they refined the body.

Instead of the method generally known to accumulate internal energy—sitting cross-legged and regulating breaths—they bound the body and internal energy into one, creating the drive for one to grow whenever the other grew.

It meant that while others stacked internal energy solely through sitting and regulating breaths, I was doing physical tempering and internal energy training together.

Moreover, this was not simply one plus one.

As the two pulled each other up, the efficiency increased fiercely by several to dozens of times.

Or so I had thought.

[Internal energy accumulation? Ah! I suppose it could feel that way to you.]

“Pardon?”

[No, it doesn’t matter if you know it as such for now. It would be hard to understand even if I explained it now.]

Although there were incomprehensible conversations in between, unfortunately, I did not have the leisure to spend much time on them.

Besides, the truly surprising thing was not that.

[It is all merely a foundation anyway.]

[What we are looking at is not simply the depth of internal energy. We are looking beyond that. Do not attach meaning to each and every thing that does not require obsession. After all, everything you are building up now is just the foundation.]

Honestly, it sent shivers down my spine.

I even felt afraid.

Where on earth was the eye level of the two masters?

Where were they looking, and what would my appearance at the end of it be?

Fearful, trembling, and.

Thrilled.

I even had the thought that I wanted to see with the same vision that Master Zhang Sanfeng and Master Bodhidharma shared.

Although, considering my current level, it would only sound like an absurd statement.

One day, definitely!

[For Shaolin Fist, the entire body can be said to be a weapon. Starting from the head, to the fist, the palm using the hand, the fingers that grab, bend, and pierce, to the shoulders and elbows, hips and thighs, knees and feet—all connected in an organic form and extending outward is the essence of Shaolin Fist. The hands lead, the eyes follow, the body conforms, and the footwork establishes. When the shoulder and thigh become one, the elbow and knee, the hand and foot unite to gather the mind-intent, energy-spirit, and physical strength into one, only then can it be said that the form of Shaolin Fist is complete.]

“……”

I am sorry for saying something absurd.

Is this Sanskrit?

Some smart person said that someone who speaks in a way that is hard to understand has a strong tendency to be a fraud.

No, not that Master Bodhidharma is like that.

[If you follow Shaolin training, even a tiny pinky finger becomes a weapon. So it means you just trust that weapon, charge in indiscriminately, and beat them up. Anyway, that gentleman tends to speak in a difficult way.]

“Aha.”

When Master Bodhidharma spoke, it was something incredibly difficult, but when Master Zhang Sanfeng explained it, it was easy to understand.

[Your explanation feels a bit too condensed.]

[But it’s not like it’s wrong, is it?]

[Hoho.]

Looking at it this way, it felt like Master Zhang Sanfeng had better qualities as a teacher.

What is this lingering discomfort?

[Your eyes look a bit rebellious?]

“No way. You know how much I respect you, Masters.”

When looking only at the times they taught martial arts, they were people I couldn’t help but respect.

That is, if I only looked at the times they taught martial arts.

Personally, as the times I got nagged at kept increasing, it felt like I was developing a bit of a temper, though even to me, this just seemed like a spoiled complaint, so I would let it pass. But on the other hand, there was a somewhat uncomfortable part.

For example.

“Yah!”

Perhaps feeling sad that I, who had returned after a long time, was only focusing on martial arts training, my younger brother, who had been lingering around, started coming to my side and copying the training I did at some point.

Like a puppy in need of attention.

A younger brother whose cute appearance made his cuteness stand out no matter what he did. There was a magnetic pull to him that could not be ignored.

Perhaps because of his natural flexibility, he did the Supreme Ultimate Fist quite well.

In the end, except when I was training my body and internal energy precariously at the limit, I did not keep my younger brother away but practiced the Supreme Ultimate Fist together with him nearby.

For some reason, both of them were strangely favorable toward my younger brother.

They even whipped up a health-promoting Supreme Ultimate Fist for my younger brother and taught it to him.

Since it was simple enough for a young child to learn, I taught it to my grandfather and parents as well.

Hearing that practicing it steadily would allow them to live a long life free of disease, my grandfather and parents learned it eagerly. Indeed, they were at an age to start worrying about their health.

Moreover, my parents were still active.

To make a half-joke, if the two of them became much healthier through this, I might end up with another younger sibling.

…Surely not?

“Brother!”

“Yeah?”

“Like this!”

Anyway, my younger brother often came when I was training and copied the routines of the Wudang Supreme Ultimate Fist as if showing off.

[Oh my, look how cute he is.]

[Hohoho.]

The two masters enjoyed watching my younger brother as if looking at a grandchild.

They said while Yeon Cheong-un was a disciple who was rewarding to raise, Yeon Cheong-u was a child who was delightful to watch.

A cute child acting cute was naturally delightful to watch.

Not just because he was my younger brother, but there was really no other younger brother like him.

Because if I listened to the friends I knew in the neighborhood and my childhood friends, they would say that siblings like younger brothers, older brothers, or older sisters were enemies from past lives reincarnated.

“You’re doing well.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Hehe.”

Giving a bright smile that seemed to smell of sunlight at Yeon Cheong-un’s praise, Yeon Cheong-u rushed over and hugged me tightly.

Yeon Cheong-un, catching his younger brother who lunged at him without avoiding him, smirked.

“My body smells, you rascal.”

“It’s fine! I like your smell, Brother!”

“Good grief.”

If one could smell their own sweat, it meant it was in a really severe state. At that point, others would hesitate to even come near.

My younger brother clung to me, saying it was fine.

It was one-sided affection.

No one would dislike receiving such affection.

Especially if it was a child as bright as sunlight like my younger brother.

In the end, I gave up on pushing my younger brother away and allowed it with a relaxed expression.

[What a picture-perfect pair of brothers.]

Watching the brotherly affection between the two, Master Bodhidharma spoke in a voice filled with warmth.

However.

[What are you doing all of a sudden?]

[Are they not picture-perfect brothers?]

[So, you are drawing a picture?]

Excuse me? Master Bodhidharma? What do you mean by drawing all of a sudden?

[If it looks good, that is enough, so why complain.]

[Bullshit.]

My thoughts exactly.

Setting aside that I had unintentionally shown plenty of brotherly love, it felt a bit strange that they were capturing such a thing in a drawing.

However, as a disciple, I could not say it with my own mouth, so I could only agree with Master Zhang Sanfeng’s words.

[Hey, draw one for me too.]

Only agree… Excuse me? Master Zhang Sanfeng?

Why are you suddenly changing your attitude? Yes?

What kind of drawing was it anyway?

Tell me, why are you doing this to me?

“Hehe.”

Unaware of the situation, my younger brother just smiled cutely and rubbed against my chest.

Brother, now is not the time.

You are being sold(?) in the heavens!

***

Although I felt very sorry to the two masters who had bestowed so much upon me, I developed a slight sense of vigilance toward them after that incident.

“Brother!”

Today as well, my younger brother came to hug me after training.

In the end, I was unable to push away my younger brother’s affection.

[Fufu.]

[Hoho.]

The voices of the two masters who fell silent with strange laughter.

Of course, this vigilance was ongoing.

It seemed they harvested(?) another one today.

If I told anyone that Master Zhang Sanfeng and Master Bodhidharma were this kind of people, I would be the only one treated as a madman.

I wondered if someone would come to crack my head open if it reached the ears of the Wudang Sect or Shaolin.

‘Let’s just think of it as tuition.’

Hearing their stories, it was said that there was no such existence as a child in the heavens where the two of them resided. Come to think of it, that made sense.

Although there were beings who looked like children, they were actually older than Master Zhang Sanfeng and Master Bodhidharma.

And they supposedly had no manners either.

It was hard to imagine, but Master Zhang Sanfeng told me to imagine my younger brother discussing the Analects of Confucius and giving a smirk whenever he got stuck on an answer.

Hmm! That indeed sounded very obnoxious.

Thinking that way, I could understand why the two of them were crazy about my younger brother.

So gradually, I came to accept it.

Since they were people I would never meet in person in my life anyway, what did it matter if they drew a few pictures?

Thinking positively, seeing that Master Zhang Sanfeng, who had even used the word ‘bullshit,’ suddenly changed his attitude, it might be a very well-drawn picture.

As they say, all’s well that ends well. If a drawing good enough to make Master Zhang Sanfeng change his attitude was being distributed in the heavens, I might lose a bit of face, but wouldn’t there be some benefits? Since those who would get their hands on it were immortals, they might share some blessings.

“Huh?”

While recalling a few thoughts close to idle thoughts, I felt a strange sensation and turned my gaze.

I looked toward an empty space.

‘Something felt ticklish.’

Ever since I mastered listening force, there were times I felt this sensation.

While I paused training and tracked the presence, the owner of this presence appeared.

The corners of my mouth curled up slightly upon confirming who it was.

Baek Mu-ho.

A friend who could be called a childhood friend whom I grew up playing with in the neighborhood.

Unlike his manly appearance, he was a slacker, so he was often told he couldn’t live up to his looks. Yet he was also easygoing, so his social circle was quite wide.

He was also the child of a quite influential family in Samyang County.

Baek Mu-ho’s father was the Chief of the Baek Family Escort, the only escort agency in Samyang County, and most of the logistics flowing through this county were traded through the Baek Family Escort.

Since it was a turbulent world where the confrontation between the Orthodoxy and the Demonic Path had not vanished, merchants could barely move without escort agencies, and naturally, the influence of escort agencies in the current Martial World was bound to be large.

The Baek Family Escort was the only escort agency here in Samyang County, and Baek Jin-seong, Baek Mu-ho’s father and the Chief of the Baek Family Escort, was a renowned expert from the Mount Hua Sect as a lay disciple.

Being the eldest son of such a household, yet not showing off and humbling himself to appear easygoing, he was a friend who couldn’t help but be popular.

He seemed to have come to visit after hearing that I had returned home.

Considering I had returned suddenly, it would have been right for me to visit Baek Mu-ho first.

‘But it is still a bit awkward.’

There was a reason why visiting this fellow’s house as someone expelled from the Wudang Sect was slightly uncomfortable.

Because one of the reasons I decided to become a martial artist was at his house.

Thus, feeling grateful and glad that my friend had come to visit first, I was about to smile widely…

“Did you poop your pants?”

The cheapness of this first sentence uttered in our meeting after a long time.

“Ugh, this smells like someone resolved ten years of chronic constipation.”

“…Yeah, glad to see you too.”

This kind of talk was only possible because we were close.

We could speak bluntly because we were close.

Just as I thought so and tried to let it pass.

“What, this isn’t the reaction I expected?”

He must have been expecting a different reaction. Looking suspiciously at me for accepting his words quietly, Baek Mu-ho suddenly flashed his eyes as he looked at Cheong-u next to me.

“Cheong-u, you shouldn’t be there. That’s not your brother. It’s a stinky monster disguised as your brother. Run away quickly.”

It seemed his playfulness had worsened in the time we hadn’t met.

Should I say he had gotten stupider? Or that his nonsense had increased?

“You really need to taste some sweat.”

Spewing stench just like this bastard said, I lunged forward.