Chapter 58
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: A Messy Start
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However, a different problem awaited them.
They had decided which martial art each would teach, but a tense standoff immediately began over who would go first.
They fiercely argued for priority, citing all sorts of reasons and justifications, but the result was the same.
Unwilling to yield an inch, the three of them decided to leave it to fate once again by drawing lots.
Fortunately, this time, the heavens sided with Beom Gye-wi.
Thanks to that, Neung So-mil was the only one left in an unfair predicament.
To ensure fairness, he had been the one holding the lots. Neung So-mil could feel his life shortening.
The killing intent from Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa, who had drawn shorter sticks than Beom Gye-wi, was just that murderous.
He couldn't care less.
Beom Gye-wi, grinning from ear to ear, was the first to face Dan Ak-seon.
“Starting today, I’m going to teach you how to handle weaponry, Physician Dan.”
“Yes!”
Beom Gye-wi was already pleased by the look of anticipation in Dan Ak-seon’s eyes.
“What do you think is the most important thing when it comes to handling a weapon?”
“Understanding the weapon’s characteristics?”
“Exactly! That’s our Physician Dan!”
Beom Gye-wi boisterously agreed before continuing with his questions.
“So, how should you go about understanding it?”
Dan Ak-seon thought for a moment before answering without much difficulty.
“If it were me, I think I’d start by holding the weapon.”
“And then?”
“I’d feel the weapon itself.”
Dan Ak-seon had never handled a weapon before.
So he approached it from the perspective of a physician.
To diagnose a patient’s condition, one used observation, listening, percussion, and palpation.
Learning a weapon was no different.
He believed the first step was to use all five senses to grasp its fundamental nature.
Greatly satisfied with the answer, Beom Gye-wi nodded emphatically.
It was an answer that was close to the fundamental core and essence of the basics he pursued.
“You figured that out without me even teaching you? Have you handled a weapon before without my knowledge?”
Just in case, Beom Gye-wi glanced behind him.
He saw Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa watching from a distance.
But his suspicion was baseless.
Dan Ak-seon smiled and shook his head.
“Acupuncture is fundamentally similar. You have to be able to hear what the needle is saying through the sensation in your fingertips.”
“Eh, come on. How can you compare a needle to a weapon?”
“I heard there are even sects that use needles as hidden weapons.”
As Beom Gye-wi blinked with a blank expression, Cho Ak-ryang, unable to watch any longer, interjected.
“Sounds like you’re talking about those vipers from Sichuan.”
“Ah, right! Those bastards from the Tang Family!”
Cho Ak-ryang explained in place of the nodding Beom Gye-wi.
“While they do use needles as hidden weapons, it’s not through martial arts. They’re launched from devices. A prime example is the Forbidden Life Fan, one of the Tang Family’s five great hidden weapons. The ribs of the folding fan are made of steel, and inside, they’ve installed a mechanism that fires goose feather needles, each thinner than a strand of hair.”
Beom Gye-wi scowled, glaring at Cho Ak-ryang.
“Hey, stop butting in. Isn’t this my time?”
“This punk… I was just trying to help…”
“When did I ask for your help?”
Without giving Cho Ak-ryang a chance to retort, Beom Gye-wi turned back to Dan Ak-seon.
“Anyway, hidden weapons like that are for weaklings and girls. But this eyebrow staff…”
*Thud.*
Beom Gye-wi lifted the iron staff he was holding and struck the ground, sending a heavy shockwave echoing throughout the valley.
“It’s the ultimate weapon, one that only a real man can handle.”
Beom Gye-wi continued his explanation, brimming with pride.
“Those hand games like grappling arts? Get caught in this, and your fingers will be shattered.”
Cho Ak-ryang’s eyebrow twitched as he listened.
“Same goes for all that miscellaneous energy stuff like protective auras. You just have to smash through anything that gets in the way.”
This time, Han Seol-hwa’s brow trembled.
Beom Gye-wi continued excitedly.
“Some fools say the sword is the king of all weapons, but that’s nonsense. The real best is this eyebrow staff I'm teaching you. Why? Because I’ve never lost to anyone, no matter what weapon they used.”
“Wow!”
Dan Ak-seon exclaimed in admiration, fiddling with the wooden staff in his hands.
Beom Gye-wi swung his iron staff.
With a chilling sound of tearing air, a dizzying blur of afterimages instantly filled the space.
“Once you get used to the weapon, you’ll feel it the moment you execute a form. A feeling like the weapon is a part of your own body!”
*CRACK.*
The iron staff whizzed past Dan Ak-seon’s eyes, spun in a wide arc, and shattered a nearby man-sized boulder.
“Just like this!”
Seeing Beom Gye-wi’s triumphant display, Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa, who were standing at a distance, were dumbfounded.
“He’s a terrible teacher.”
Unable to hold back, Han Seol-hwa muttered, and Cho Ak-ryang chuckled, shushing her.
“He’ll hear you.”
“Let him. It’s not like I said anything wrong.”
At that moment, Beom Gye-wi whipped his head around and glared at the two of them.
“Damn sharp ears on him.”
As Han Seol-hwa turned her head away, Cho Ak-ryang gestured for Beom Gye-wi to continue.
Beom Gye-wi fumed for a moment before turning back to Dan Ak-seon.
Dan Ak-seon swung the wooden staff, mimicking Beom Gye-wi’s movements. But after just a few swings, he dropped it.
It was too long, and both ends kept hitting the ground.
Dan Ak-seon flexed his stinging palms and gave a bitter smile.
“The eyebrow staff is harder to handle than I thought.”
“Huh? That can’t be.”
A moment too late, Beom Gye-wi realized his mistake.
An eyebrow staff was supposed to reach one's eyebrow level when stood upright.
But the wooden staff Dan Ak-seon was holding was far taller than him.
That was because when he had first carved the staff, he had matched its length to his own eyebrow height.
Sure enough.
“Tsk.”
The sound of Cho Ak-ryang clicking his tongue could be heard.
“How can we entrust Physician Dan to a guy like that?”
His face red with embarrassment, Beom Gye-wi chopped the wooden staff with the side of his hand, cutting it to size.
Only then did Dan Ak-seon begin to move the staff around, getting a feel for its weight and length.
With the length no longer an issue, he could handle the eyebrow staff much more easily than before.
Dan Ak-seon was already short, his head only reaching Beom Gye-wi’s waist.
The sight of him swinging a staff nearly his own height was so adorable it naturally brought a smile to one’s face.
“Straighten your back, and your gaze, shoulders, and the tip of the staff should form a triangle… Yes! That’s it.”
Even as he taught the basic grip and a few stances, the sound of heavy sighs could be heard.
Beom Gye-wi’s eyebrow twitched.
Those sighs were more grating and irritating than any direct criticism. But instructing Dan Ak-seon was his priority, so he suppressed his rising anger.
“No, no. That’s not it. After the ‘swoosh,’ there has to be a ‘whap-whap!’ feeling. Like this!”
As Beom Gye-wi swung his iron staff, Dan Ak-seon copied the motion.
Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa were flabbergasted.
How on earth was anyone supposed to understand such a ridiculous explanation?
It was amazing that Dan Ak-seon could still follow it somewhat closely.
Some time passed like that.
Unlike the two who were clearly displeased, Dan Ak-seon’s eyes shone, and he never lost his concentration.
“So the key is that since all weapons are ultimately held by hand, you must properly master how to grip it to be able to wield it fully.”
“Huh? Oh, right. Exactly. That’s what I was trying to say.”
Suddenly, Beom Gye-wi froze.
It was because of the conversation he overheard between Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa.
“He explains it like crap, but the kid understands it perfectly.”
“At this rate, who’s teaching whom… honestly.”
*Whip!*
When Beom Gye-wi glared at them, the two had already feigned innocence, looking off into the distance.
As Beom Gye-wi resumed instructing Dan Ak-seon, Han Seol-hwa let out a soft sigh.
“And he calls himself a genius of the age.”
“I hate to admit it, but it’s true.”
Han Seol-hwa looked somewhat surprised at Cho Ak-ryang’s unexpected defense of Beom Gye-wi.
Cho Ak-ryang said to her,
“From what I’ve seen over the years… that punk is a genius.”
The Three Yang Companion Arts, the internal energy technique Beom Gye-wi had mastered, was known to have a cultivation process on a completely different level from other internal arts.
As such, very few in the history of the martial world had ever mastered the Three Yang Companion Arts.
Not only was mastering it difficult, but one couldn't even attempt it without exceptional insight and talent.
It was a wonder the lineage had continued without being broken until now.
There was a reason why the successors of the Three Yang Companion Arts, just like Beom Gye-wi’s master, all cherished their disciples so dearly.
“If it weren’t for that madness that makes him go berserk at the sight of blood, he could have aimed for a higher realm. If he hadn’t faltered along the way, he would have surpassed me long ago.”
“Then why is his teaching so awful…”
A meaningful smile graced Cho Ak-ryang’s lips.
“It just means that the talent for learning and the talent for teaching are two different things.”
Beom Gye-wi’s face crumpled.
He had wondered why Cho Ak-ryang was defending him for once, but this was what he had been getting at.
“I can hear you!”
Beom Gye-wi roared, rolling up his sleeves as he approached the two.
“Both of you, come at me!”
Beom Gye-wi’s thundering shout shook the air.
“Let’s just fight, and the winner can teach him everything!”
Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa’s eyes met.
In that instant, Beom Gye-wi’s heart sank.
He had spoken rashly in a fit of anger, only to realize his opponents were none other than Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa.
Sure enough.
The two of them actually began walking toward him.
“Wait! Isn’t two against one a bit cowardly?”
“You’re the one who told us to come at you.”
Stung, Beom Gye-wi turned his head toward Han Seol-hwa this time.
“Do we really have to do this between us?”
“What ‘us’ is there?”
“Uh… The kind that held hands and spent the night together?”
“...!”
Han Seol-hwa’s expression turned to ice.
It wasn’t exactly a lie.
Back when they were researching the Dignified Fire Therapy to treat the Martial Alliance Lord’s daughter, they had often stayed up all night with their hands clasped.
But the way he phrased it was extremely unpleasant and offensive.
“You’re dead.”
Radiating a frosty aura, Han Seol-hwa shot toward Beom Gye-wi.
Cho Ak-ryang did the same.
With things having come to this, Beom Gye-wi could no longer back down.
Just as the three were about to clash.
“Ah!”
At the sudden, youthful cry, the gazes of all three turned toward Dan Ak-seon.
It was then that they saw him, covered in dust, tumbling on the ground.
The three of them rushed to Dan Ak-seon’s side.
Dan Ak-seon, who had been rubbing his ankle with a grimace as if he had twisted it, greeted the three with a bright smile.
“Martial arts are really fun.”
But the three of them just stared intently at Dan Ak-seon’s face.
“You’ve got a nosebleed.”
At Cho Ak-ryang’s words, Dan Ak-seon gave an embarrassed smile and wiped under his nose with his sleeve.
The gesture smeared the blood, making his face even more of a mess.
Han Seol-hwa quickly approached, stopped the bleeding, and then carefully wiped Dan Ak-seon’s face with her sleeve.
Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi were inwardly surprised by her actions, as she didn't seem to mind getting her own clothes dirty.
That alone showed how deeply she cared for Dan Ak-seon.
They were well aware of her personality, which bordered on mysophobia.
“How did this happen?”
At Han Seol-hwa’s question, Dan Ak-seon assumed the posture Beom Gye-wi had taught him.
Han Seol-hwa shook her head.
“Don’t try to center your balance on the staff. You need to plant your foot first. Like this.”
As Han Seol-hwa personally corrected Dan Ak-seon’s posture, Beom Gye-wi belatedly came to his senses.
“I’m the one teaching him! For now, he’s mine!”
Cho Ak-ryang frowned.
“Then at least teach him properly! Physician Dan got a nosebleed because of you!”
“Hey, how is that my fault? If you and the witch hadn’t interfered with his training, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place!”
Beom Gye-wi shot forward, squeezing between Han Seol-hwa and Dan Ak-seon.
Then, like a hawk snatching a chick, he tucked Dan Ak-seon under his arm, leaped up, and dashed toward the cliff.
His momentum was so fierce that even the wind swirling in the valley seemed to flee in surprise.
“Is it really okay to leave him with that guy?”
Seeing Cho Ak-ryang’s worried expression, Han Seol-hwa also wrinkled her delicate brow.
“It’s fine. I can correct things when I teach him. It’s my turn next, anyway.”
At those words, Cho Ak-ryang paused.
“Why is it your turn next? My lot was a little longer, wasn’t it?”
“My lot was longer.”
“…”
“…”
A tense silence settled between the two as they stared at each other.
In the end, to verify the result, they went to find Neung So-mil.
Cho Ak-ryang asked him point-blank.
“Of the lots we drew earlier, whose was longer?”
Though puzzled by their behavior, Neung So-mil answered obediently.
“Well, Senior Beom’s was the longest…”
“Not him. I’m asking whose lot was longer between the two of us.”
Neung So-mil couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t checked that far.
“I-I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know! You made them, so of course you should know!”
At Cho Ak-ryang’s shout, Neung So-mil looked like he was about to cry.
“Why are you all doing this to me?”