The Farmhand Who Ended Up Teaching the World’s Greatest Martial Artist
The two men stood before Ho Won-jik. Ju Yu-ryeon was the first to speak.
“Ah… this is quite awkward.”
Ju Yu-ryeon frowned, her lips pressing together in a pout. Ho Won-jik blinked up at her in confusion.
“You grabbed something useless and now you’re just making things harder for everyone. Why does this have to follow us…?”
She sighed dramatically and rested her chin on her hand. Ho Won-jik’s face hardened instantly. He snapped, unable to hold back any longer.
“I—I’m not useless!”
“But you are. You have no money to be taken, and your martial arts aren’t that great either… You’ve lost to both of us at least once. Am I wrong?”
Ho Won-jik’s brows drew together in irritation. Ju Yu-ryeon seized the opening and pressed on.
“If we go along with your little argument, I’ll tag along. But I’m nervous—how could I even walk with you? At least don’t get lost or bump into bandits. That’d be nice.”
She fluttered her shoulders in a mocking shrug.
It was a challenge ordinary people wouldn’t dare offer, but to Ho Won-jik it was deadly. He had just been insulted by the woman he secretly liked. Teeth grinding, he blurted out desperately.
“I-I won’t get lost! I’m a master at finding paths!”
“……Oh? Really?”
“Of course! There’s no path in Murim that I can’t find! As long as I set my mind to it, I can reach the Western Regions or the Eastern Sea in no time!”
Ju Yu-ryeon and Yoo Eunhyeon exchanged wide-eyed glances. Yet their lips curled into faint smiles.
“So you know the way to Mount Daesan?”
“Da-Daesan? Of course I know it! I—I’m the leader of the Chukhobang after all!”
“Impressive. Then what about the Heavenly Martial Alliance?”
“……Th-The alliance?”
“Hey, no way… Even if you’re the great leader of the Chukhobang, you probably don’t know the route to the Heavenly Martial Alliance.”
Ju Yu-ryeon’s subtle tease made Yoo Eunhyeon wave his hands in disbelief. The two were strangely in sync.
“I—I don’t have all the details, but I can look it up quickly. Should I take you there?”
At Ju Yu-ryeon’s urging, Ho Won-jik finally said something he shouldn’t have. Yoo Eunhyeon, taking pity, offered.
“Fine. If that’s the case… we have no choice. Let’s go together.”
“R-Really? T-Thank you!”
Ho Won-jik dropped to his knees before Yoo Eunhyeon. The master and servant relationship had been completely reversed.
Ju Yu-ryeon barely stifled her laughter and sent a secret transmission to Yoo Eunhyeon.
—How was it? My strategy?
—As expected. But weren’t you a bit too easy on him?
—He doesn’t seem to have left the Chukhobang territory much. He’s been spoiled rotten. No wonder. Who would dare scam the Chukhobang leader?
—Still, catching one good fish was fun. I finally understand why you like this kind of thing.
—Right?
The two congratulated themselves lightly for the plan working out. Ho Won-jik was now nothing more than a fish caught in a net. The group continued walking at a relaxed pace.
“Since we’re traveling together, we should settle on proper titles. From now on I’ll call you noona, and Eunhyeon will be hyung. Got it?”
“Yes! Noona! Hyung! I’ll do my best!”
With an unexpected companion, the two felt a surge of confidence.
Meanwhile, after half a day of light footwork that carried them beyond Mount Taesan, Ho Won-jik suddenly remembered something and asked, “By the way, where exactly are we headed?”
“You ask quickly. We’re going to the Demonic Cult.”
“The Demonic Cult? The one in Mount Daesan, Qinghai? Not the Heavenly Martial Alliance?”
“Are you saying Murim has another Demonic Cult besides that one?”
“N-No, there isn’t…”
Ho Won-jik’s face suddenly filled with unease as he stammered. Ju Yu-ryeon sensed something off and jumped in.
“You’re the leader of the Chukhobang, one of the Six Pillars of the Demonic Heaven. You should be on the same side as the Demonic Cult. Why are you so scared?”
“Noona. There are terrifying experts in the Demonic Cult. You know that, right? The one I fought with hyung last time…”
The person he mentioned sounded like Cho-yeong. Yoo Eunhyeon nodded in agreement.
“That old woman is indeed frightening.”
“It’s not just her. I heard there are countless such people in the Demonic Cult. And even scarier monsters than those…”
“Monsters? Who exactly?”
Yoo Eunhyeon tilted his head at the unexpected words. Ho Won-jik hesitated, then spoke.
“Th-The people in our family… my mother belongs to the Demon Cloud Slaughter Squad.”
Yoo Eunhyeon and Ju Yu-ryeon’s eyes widened.
“The Demon Cloud Slaughter Squad? That’s one of the Demonic Cult’s elite units, right?”
“It’s a unit famous for its unclear numbers and members… Your mother’s there?”
Ju Yu-ryeon scanned Ho Won-jik with suspicious eyes, clearly finding it hard to believe.
Ho Won-jik hurriedly explained.
“Yes. But I don’t know the full details. The Demon Cloud Slaughter Squad doesn’t share information with families.”
It made sense. Even within the Demonic Cult, only the leader, deputy leader, chief steward, and squad commander knew the exact roster and numbers. The members themselves only knew fragments and had no idea of the whole picture. Leaking such information was strictly forbidden.
It was only natural that Ho Won-jik knew little.
“But why did you come to the Chukhobang instead of the Demon Cloud Slaughter Squad? If your mother’s side is involved, you could have gone that way too.”
Yoo Eunhyeon’s sharp question made Ho Won-jik sigh. After a moment he continued, recalling the past.
“T-To be honest… I did learn martial arts from my mother. But my mother is strict about them—she doesn’t care about anything else. Because of that, I was beaten every single day while training from a young age. It made me timid, and as I grew older I naturally avoided her. Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore and turned to the Chukhobang.”
Ho Won-jik shuddered, remembering that time. Yoo Eunhyeon let out a small sigh.
“You’ve got your own complicated family issues.”
“Every family’s secrets are complicated.”
Ju Yu-ryeon muttered in a rare somber tone. Yoo Eunhyeon glanced at her once, then steered the conversation elsewhere.
“By the way, Yu-ryeon and I are complete beginners in that direction. Where should we head? We were thinking of passing through Hainan and Shanxi to reach Gansu.”
“It’s close, but I don’t recommend it.”
Ju Yu-ryeon asked, “Why?”
“Hainan and Shanxi have many major sects of the Heavenly Martial Alliance. That’s why…”
“So what? We’re not Demonic Cult members. You could just keep quiet.”
“Th-That’s true, but lately the Heavenly Martial Alliance is keeping a very close watch on Murim people heading toward the Demonic Cult. They won’t do anything direct, but we’d only cause unnecessary trouble…”
Yoo Eunhyeon fell into thought. As Ho Won-jik said, entering the Demonic Cult’s territory would mean strict surveillance, especially with three visibly martial-arts-trained people. And rumors of rising tension between the Demonic Cult and the Heavenly Martial Alliance had been circulating. Just the other day, during the martial tournament, a fight had almost broken out despite Su Hwa-seon’s mediation—normal in such events.
“I think it would be safer to go down to Anhui, pass through Hunan, and climb up from Sichuan…”
When neither spoke, Ho Won-jik faltered, his confidence fading. Yoo Eunhyeon nodded anyway.
“Since we have to go to the Demonic Cult and then the Heavenly Martial Alliance, we can head toward Hainan and Shanxi then.”
“Oh, that’s a good plan. We’re wandering the world anyway.”
Ju Yu-ryeon brightened at the idea. Ho Won-jik, listening quietly, spoke with a stiff face.
“Um, hyung, noona… why exactly are you going to the Demonic Cult?”
“Are we going to play? We have business there.”
“What kind of business?”
“Is that important? If you ask and decide it isn’t, then don’t tag along?”
“Ah, no. I didn’t mean that. We’re not going to fight or anything, right?”
“At least I have no intention of fighting. I just have an acquaintance there and want to meet them. So relax.”
“R-Really?”
Ho Won-jik let out a relieved sigh.
No matter how smitten he was with Ju Yu-ryeon, he was still the leader of the Chukhobang, a Demonic Path sect. Openly clashing with the Demonic Cult could endanger not only his life but the entire sect. Even a child would know how dangerous that was.
“But the real issue is who that acquaintance is…”
Ju Yu-ryeon muttered meaningfully. The words didn’t reach Ho Won-jik’s ears.
“Anyway, let’s head out. We can take our time sightseeing along the way.”
Yoo Eunhyeon finally took a step forward. Ju Yu-ryeon shouted and followed, and Ho Won-jik, who had been standing dazed, hurriedly moved to catch up.