Chapter 19
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Praise Makes Even a Child Dance
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Praise makes even a child dance.
Ha Yuseong examined the rock.
The rock was massive, easily taller than a grown man.
And its surface was covered with countless fist marks.
It was impossible to even imagine how many times a fist had been thrown to leave so many imprints.
Perhaps thousands, or even tens of thousands of punches had been delivered.
There must have been a good reason for such a young child to undergo such grueling training.
Ha Yuseong didn't rashly ask why.
He didn't need to know, after all.
Ha Yuseong wasn't interested in the child's past.
The information written in the mission directive was more than enough about his past.
What Ha Yuseong was curious about was the future.
Therefore, Ha Yuseong made a proposal to the child.
“My name is Ha Yuseong. Seeing this rock, it looks like you've trained your fist techniques quite diligently. How about you and I make a bet?”
“A bet?”
“That's right. A bet where the person who leaves the bigger fist mark on the rock wins. If I win, you go home today.”
The child, Neung Baekdo, frowned. He had hoped for something different, but the same words as every other adult came from this one's mouth.
This man, too, must have come to scold him for his wrongdoing.
“Are you just trying to tell me I'm wrong, too?”
Neung Baekdo hung his head low, staring at the ground.
Ha Yuseong took Neung Baekdo's face in his hands and forced it up. The boy's cheeks puffed out, creating a rather funny and cute expression.
“Mmph?”
Seeing this, Ha Yuseong let out a small chuckle before continuing seriously.
“If I lose, I will leave the Murim Alliance.”
Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo were the ones shocked by those words.
“Brother!”
“Senior!”
Ignoring their reactions, Ha Yuseong continued.
“The countless fist marks engraved on the rock. These are not easily made. I could tell the moment I saw them. This place must be very important to you. So, for it to be a fair bet, shouldn't I also wager something of equal value?”
“Are you serious about what you just said?”
“I am.”
Neung Baekdo looked up at Ha Yuseong.
An unwavering gaze, looking straight at him.
It was different from the looks he had received from countless adults before.
The person before him now saw him not as a pitiful little boy who had lost his mother early, but as a proper martial artist.
“Five years!”
Neung Baekdo suddenly shouted.
“I've been punching this rock for five years to break through it!”
Breaking through the rock. That was the best way Neung Baekdo could think of to prove himself.
He believed that earning his father's approval was the only way to comfort him.
-Come here, my dear.
His mother was sick.
His father was often away on business and couldn't come home.
His mother knew her condition better than anyone.
-Baekdo, listen carefully.
At the time, Neung Baekdo couldn't understand why his mother was telling him such things.
-If your mother is no longer in this world, you must be the one to support your father. You and he are the only family you have in this world.
A short while later, his mother passed away, and only then did Neung Baekdo understand the meaning of her words.
After his mother passed away.
His father, who had never lost his fortitude in any situation, crumbled.
Utterly.
That happened when Neung Baekdo was only four years old.
Neung Baekdo snapped out of his brief reminiscence.
Why, of all times, did that memory surface now?
Neung Baekdo looked at the man named Ha Yuseong.
Despite his rather mature way of speaking, his appearance suggested he wasn't very old.
With a slight exaggeration, one could even say he was a boy not much older than himself.
‘Ah.’
Neung Baekdo let out a silent exclamation, as if he'd realized something.
Yes. It was because of that gaze.
The reason he had become so emotional for a moment.
His mother's gaze was there.
The only one in this world.
Who had trusted him without a shred of doubt.
That gaze.
It was the first time since his mother passed away that he had received such a look from someone.
A gaze that seemed to acknowledge him as an individual.
-Can you do it?
Neung Baekdo said.
“Fine.”
The bet was on.
***
Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo couldn't easily accept the situation of this suddenly established bet.
But the situation was unfolding regardless of whether they understood it or not.
The bet, made one way or another.
He wasn't sure if his brother was serious, but in any case, he had succeeded in moving the heart of that ill-mannered brat.
No matter which way it went.
Namgung Yuya examined the marks left on the rock.
Soon, he was certain.
That brat, though young and ill-mannered, judging by the marks on the rock, when it came to martial arts...
Hae Myo muttered, as if reading Namgung Yuya's thoughts.
“He's a genius.”
Hae Myo's gaze was fixed on the rock.
The rock was dented here and there, as if a great wind had passed over it.
That meant only one thing.
“To be able to emit a fist wind at that age.”
Namgung Yuya nodded unconsciously at Hae Myo's words.
At most five or six years old.
How many children in this martial world could have achieved enough to emit a fist wind at that age?
Namgung Yuya thought he had to stop his brother.
No matter how great Ha Yuseong was, it didn't seem likely he could win this bet.
Namgung Yuya didn't want to part with Ha Yuseong just yet. But just as he resolved to stop him, the bet was already starting.
***
Ha Yuseong pulled two blades of grass from nearby.
“The one who picks the longer one goes first.”
“Got it!”
Neung Baekdo chose the grass on the right.
Ha Yuseong naturally took the one on the left.
Ha Yuseong checked the length of the grass and spoke.
“Looks like I'm second.”
“I'm first!”
Neung Baekdo stood confidently before the rock.
“Don't you dare take back what you said.”
“Of course.”
Neung Baekdo took a slow, deep breath.
As he focused like usual, the world began to turn white.
Soon, the world, except for the rock and Neung Baekdo himself, became completely white.
A silent world.
Just me and the rock.
A heightened concentration, more than usual.
He felt like he could do anything.
With every breath he took, in and out, his senses were sharpened.
Neung Baekdo thought that right now, he could pierce through that massive rock.
Neung Baekdo thrust out a fist.
In that instant, wind stirred from his fist.
“As expected!”
“Fist wind!”
Namgung Yuya and Hae Myo couldn't hide their surprise as what they had expected actually happened.
However, the scene that unfolded immediately after was even more astonishing.
The wind blowing from Neung Baekdo's fist was gradually becoming sharper.
The two of them knew very well what that meant.
“No!”
“That's...!”
Atop a high tree branch.
Someone was looking down, letting out a gasp of admiration.
His identity was Yaun, the deputy commander of the Heavenly Sword Unit, a unit directly under the Alliance Leader.
He was a former first-class martial artist and now served a single master.
To him, Neung Baekdo was the young master he would one day serve.
Therefore, he looked down, expressing both surprise and reverence.
“Fist qi at that age.”
To his eyes, as a complete martial artist, it was still lacking and immature.
But in the entire history of the martial world, had there ever been a six-year-old child who could emit fist qi?
As far as Yaun knew, it was unprecedented.
“In a word, a genius.”
This duel, unfortunately, was bound to end in the Crouching Dragon Unit boy's defeat.
*Shnk!*
Neung Baekdo threw a punch, but the sound that came from the rock was a sharp sound, as if cut by a blade.
Neung Baekdo stood there blankly, processing what he had just accomplished.
The rock, with one edge cleanly sliced off.
In terms of area, it was still a meager result, but it was unmistakably the mark of the fist qi Neung Baekdo had long yearned for.
Neung Baekdo turned to Ha Yuseong, his eyes full of confidence.
Ha Yuseong looked at the rock, appearing genuinely surprised.
“Amazing. I mean that sincerely.”
“Ahem!”
In truth, Neung Baekdo wasn't confident he could reproduce what he'd just done. While it was true he had momentarily emitted fist qi, he had no memory of the moment he threw the punch.
“Now it's my turn.”
Neung Baekdo tilted his head as he watched Ha Yuseong stand before the rock.
He couldn't feel any incredible energy from Ha Yuseong, like the kind from Mister Yaun.
He couldn't imagine such a person demonstrating a skill surpassing fist qi.
Neung Baekdo was sure he would win.
“Hiyah!”
Ha Yuseong thrust out his fist.
“Huh?”
No sound came from the rock.
Even if a child who knew no martial arts had thrown a punch, there would have been at least a faint sound.
“What's wrong with this?”
As Ha Yuseong voiced his confusion, Yaun, who had been watching the duel all along, stood frozen, his mouth wide open, oblivious to the drool trickling from its corner.
*Drip.*
Yaun's drool fell on Namgung Yuya's head.
Namgung Yuya cursed at the wet sensation on his head.
“Shit! Bird droppings!”
Despite that, Yaun's gaze remained fixed on the rock.
“Haha! It seems I've lost this match.”
“Hmph! Of course!”
Ha Yuseong walked over to Neung Baekdo and ruffled his hair.
“You're incredible. To be able to emit such a sharp energy at your age, I've never seen or heard of such a thing in my entire life.”
“Well! It's no big deal!”
“No! This is incredibly amazing. If I were your father, I'd probably be telling everyone in the neighborhood.”
“Y-you think so?”
“Of course! If it were me, I'd run to my father right now and boast about what happened today, spitting with excitement. And there's no parent in this world who wouldn't love a child like that.”
“But to my dad, this is nothing special.”
Neung Baekdo's head drooped down again.
He looked so lacking in confidence, you wouldn't think he was the one who had just created such an amazing scene by emitting fist qi.
“Even if that's the case.”
Ha Yuseong had already anticipated that he would lose this bet. He knew it the moment he first saw the fist marks engraved on the rock.
He felt sorry for lying to the child, but.
Ha Yuseong's goal, after all, was to get the child to participate in the bet.
No matter how mature he seemed, a child is a child.
A time when they need the warm attention of those around them and the love of their parents.
He didn't know the child's circumstances, but if the contents of the mission directive were true, it seemed certain that the child's father loved him more than anyone in the world.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have assigned such a powerful guard to him.
Ha Yuseong had known for a while that someone was hiding at the top of that tree over there.
Somehow, the presence felt slightly familiar, but he figured it was just his imagination.
“You're amazing!”
“Really?”
“Of course, you're so admirable!”
“I'm admirable?”
“You're bright and dignified!”
“What else?”
“And handsome, too? You'll make plenty of girls cry when you grow up!”
“Me?”
“Of course, unlike this big brother here.”
“Ahem! Mis— no! You're not so bad yourself, big brother!”
“Thank you.”
Amidst a feast of praise that seemed almost excessive.
The child had already forgotten about the bet.
“If my parents were alive, I would have wanted to run to them right away and boast about what happened today.”
“Oh. You don't have a mom either, brother?”
Ha Yuseong said brightly.
“No dad, either.”
The child instantly realized he had said something he shouldn't have.
“Uh, um.”
Seeing Neung Baekdo's flustered expression, Ha Yuseong ruffled his hair again and said.
“Everyone leaves someday. And it's natural to miss those who have left. But that doesn't mean there's any parent out there who doesn't love the child they leave behind.”
Ha Yuseong's words didn't end there.
“I was an orphan from birth.”
“I spent my days struggling to survive on the streets. For someone like me to have joined the Murim Alliance like this, I can proudly say I've lived my life right.”
“Oh! Did you know? When you wander the streets, you're bound to run into human traffickers at least once...”
Unable to take it anymore, Neung Baekdo cried out.
“S-stop!”
To Neung Baekdo, the most pitiful person in the world had been himself.
He'd lost his mother at a young age, and his father had left him alone.
And so, the young Neung Baekdo had endured his sorrow alone.
But now, before him, was someone far more pitiful than himself.
Moreover, that person had grown up to be a fine, respectable adult.
All while he himself was just sulking and complaining.
“I still have a hundred more stories to tell, are you sure you want me to stop?”
“Yes! I won't be a crybaby anymore. No! I get it now.”
Neung Baekdo had never once forgotten the words his mother had left him.
-You must take good care of him.
And now, he fully understood the meaning of those words.
Although the target of that care was different, Neung Baekdo was a good child who kept his mother's last wish.
“Don't cry! I'll take care of you!”
“I wasn't crying, though.”
“Shh! Baekdo's here for you now.”
Ha Yuseong opened his arms wide.
Neung Baekdo snuggled right into them.
Ha Yuseong gently patted Neung Baekdo's back, not sparing any praise.
“You're a good boy. You even know how to comfort your big brother.”
“Hehe! Of course, you're Baekdo's big brother.”
“So, will you go home?”
“I'll... I'll try to be brave.”