A Son Born from the Heart
Dan Yeop listened in silence to Jeon Jung’s words, then asked with a perfectly indifferent face.
“I know my name is Dan Yeop. What are yours?”
“I’m Jeon Jung. This is Deung Pyeong. What, you gonna run straight to Instructor Dan and tattle? ‘The third-generation seniors aren’t treating me with respect, please scold them’?”
When Jeon Jung mocked him in a childish tone, Deung Pyeong snickered beside him.
Dan Yeop let out a light sigh.
“Haah. Is Haomun always like this?”
This time Deung Pyeong asked back.
“Like what?”
“Like having no respect or consideration for seniors.”
“We do. You’re just the exception.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re a rock-head who couldn’t learn a single one of the Six Gates’ martial arts in over ten years. You’ll never pass the exit exam and will probably rot in Byeongmachong forever. Who’s going to respect that? Even the first-generation seniors who already graduated don’t even think of you as part of their cohort. In Byeongmachong, people care more about ‘when did you graduate?’ than ‘when did you enter?’ You’re obviously going to graduate later than us third-generation brats. Someone like you has no business demanding senior treatment.”
Dan Yeop listened with an impassive face before speaking.
“Everything you said is correct except for two things.”
“What’s wrong?”
“First, I’m not a rock-head. Second, I have learned the Six Gates’ martial arts.”
“Pfft! That’s just what you think. No one in Byeongmachong sees it that way. The nickname Rock Monkey didn’t come out of nowhere.”
“This is ridiculous. I can’t exactly crack my skull open to show you. What will it take for you to believe me?”
Deung Pyeong, who had been waiting for a chance to rough Dan Yeop up like Ma Geol had, jumped at the opportunity.
“Words are cheap. Seems like you’ve suddenly gotten confident in your martial arts. Come at me. Nothing’s more certain than crossing hands. Right?”
“You want me to attack you?”
“What, are you scared? Afraid you’ll get beat up by me too?”
Dan Yeop shook his head slowly.
“No, that’s not it. Still, I’m the senior here. How could I initiate? The junior should come at me. If you’re that confident, you come.”
At the unexpected reply, Deung Pyeong looked at Jeon Jung with stunned eyes.
“Holy shit, you heard that? Rock Monkey’s finally lost it. The guy who couldn’t even look us in the face is telling me to come at him.”
“Kukuk! They say a beating is the best medicine for a crazy bastard. Hurry up and knock some sense into him.”
“Yeah. Time to carve the terror of the third generation into his body.”
Having finished speaking, Deung Pyeong charged at Dan Yeop like a hungry tiger.
In Byeongmachong, talented children trained in the Rotating Heaven Hand while the rest practiced the Tiger-Crane Twin Fist.
Deung Pyeong belonged to the latter.
After seven years of training, his movements were fast and sharp.
He launched a left-right barrage aimed at Dan Yeop’s head.
Swish! Swoosh—!
Dan Yeop tilted his head just enough to dodge the fists, then slapped his opponent’s face with an open palm.
With a loud smack, Deung Pyeong tumbled backward.
He sprang up instantly and charged again with a furious roar.
“You son of a bitch!”
When the Tiger-Crane Twin Fist was blocked, he switched to the True Six Harmonies Fist.
He thrust his left palm forward to obstruct Yeop’s vision, then struck like lightning with his right fist toward the chest.
It was the fourth form of the True Six Harmonies Fist—Covering the Sun to Shatter Stone.
In that instant, Dan Yeop used the Flowing Current Step and slipped aside like water.
Once again, a crisp smack rang out as Deung Pyeong rolled across the floor.
This time the impact seemed considerable; he couldn’t get up right away.
Jeon Jung’s mouth went dry at the unexpected turn of events.
What the hell is going on?
As far as he knew, Deung Pyeong’s martial prowess was on par with Ma Geol’s.
Since Dan Yeop had been beaten by Ma Geol, he should have been beaten by Deung Pyeong too.
Yet the result was the complete opposite.
As Jeon Jung stood there in anxious confusion, Dan Yeop’s voice reached his ears.
“Jeon Jung, don’t you want to test me with your own body too?”
Jeon Jung, whose skill was weaker than Deung Pyeong’s, immediately lowered his tail.
“Senior Dan, we acted that way earlier because we didn’t know about you. If we had known you had reached great heights in the Six Gates’ martial arts, we would never have spoken such nonsense.”
“Wow, that was a fast attitude change.”
“I’m serious. Deung Pyeong must have come to his senses by now too. Deung Pyeong, get up and apologize to Senior Dan already. This whole thing was completely our fault.”
When Jeon Jung suddenly dragged him into it, Deung Pyeong reluctantly crawled to his feet.
“…I was wrong.”
“Let’s get along from now on. I’ll be watching.”
At Dan Yeop’s gentle warning, both of them answered in unison.
“Yes.”
Once Deung Pyeong and Jeon Jung submitted, Dan Yeop no longer pressed them.
“My adoptive father is the martial arts instructor, right?”
While Deung Pyeong stood there dazed, Jeon Jung answered quickly in his place.
“Yes. He is the martial arts instructor of the Amun branch.”
“Take me to him.”
“…Take you?”
Jeon Jung reflexively repeated the words and studied Dan Yeop’s complexion.
He had been in and out of that place constantly for the past twelve years, and now he was being asked for directions?
He couldn’t fathom what the other was thinking.
“Why? Don’t want to?”
“N-no. Please follow me.”
Jeon Jung grumbled inwardly, Being weak is a sin, and took the lead.
***
Amun training hall.
When Dan Yeop finished his story, Instructor Dan Bul-wi spoke with a dumbfounded expression.
“So you woke up in an isolated stone chamber in the north, and you don’t remember who you are at all?”
“That’s correct.”
“You remember the Six Gates’ martial arts and every book you read in the archive, but nothing about yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Huh… What a strange thing… Wait! Could this be a side effect of the Split Mind Technique?”
Dan Yeop, who had heard about it from Red Pine, asked slyly.
“Do you think it’s because of the Split Mind Technique?”
“You idiot! I told you the Split Mind Technique was dangerous and that you shouldn’t train it! Why did you practice that bizarre thing and ruin your body!”
“Well, Father. It didn’t exactly ruin my body.”
“…”
At Dan Yeop’s words, Dan Bul-wi looked at him with a startled face.
Twelve years ago, among the children he had brought to Byeongmachong, he had given three of them the names Dan Geum, Dan Jae, and Dan Yeop.
People who knew this jokingly called him the adoptive father of the three children.
But in truth, there was no real relationship between him, Dan Geum, Dan Jae, and Dan Yeop.
The three children had never once called him Father.
Yet suddenly… “Father”?
When Dan Bul-wi stared blankly, Dan Yeop quickly added as if making an excuse.
“My head has become incredibly sharp. I have fully comprehended all the Six Gates’ martial arts, and I have memorized every book I saw in the archive.”
For a moment, Dan Bul-wi was even more shocked than when Dan Yeop had called him Father.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
Dan Bul-wi stared at him with half-believing eyes, then said,
“Then recite the mnemonic for the Seven Wounds Blade Technique.”
“The first wound breaks the yin, shattering the foundation of energy. The second wound tears the yang, collapsing the frame of form. The third wound scatters the qi, shaking the veil. The fourth wound destroys the shape, separating flesh and bone.
The fifth wound severs the soul, sending the spirit away. The sixth wound cuts the life vein, ending existence. The seventh wound returns together with heaven and earth, burying both enemy and self. The seven wounds return once more to yin, yang, qi, form, soul, and life…”
The mnemonic of the Seven Wounds Blade Technique flowed from Dan Yeop’s mouth without pause.
Dan Bul-wi’s expression shifted several times as he listened in a daze.
To him, Dan Yeop had always been a rather special child.
The scar on the four-year-old’s neck remained even now that he was sixteen.
Dan Bul-wi had vaguely guessed what it meant.
That pitiful boy who couldn’t even live like a proper human was now reciting the Six Gates’ martial arts perfectly!
But reciting the mnemonic wasn’t the end of it.
After Dan Yeop finished, Dan Bul-wi made one more demand.
“Show me.”
Dan Yeop rose from his seat, picked up a straight blade displayed on the training hall wall, and began performing the Seven Wounds Blade Technique without the slightest hesitation.
From the first form, First Wound—Yin Void, to the final seventh form, Seven Wounds Return Together, the movements flowed like water.
Swish! Swoosh—!
Every time the straight blade cut through the air, a chilling sound echoed through the training hall.
It was louder and sharper than when Dan Bul-wi demonstrated it before the trainees.
After finishing, Dan Yeop sheathed the blade and returned it to its original spot.
Noticing that Dan Yeop’s breathing remained perfectly calm, Dan Bul-wi clicked his tongue inwardly.
Amazing! Even I cannot maintain such stable breathing after performing that brutal technique.
To display such serenity after executing the ferocious Seven Wounds Blade Technique to the end!
“What do you think?”
When Dan Yeop asked, Dan Bul-wi nodded vigorously.
“Good! Very good! You should be able to graduate this year.”
“Well… I don’t plan to take the graduation exam for the time being.”
“What? Why?”
“I want to train here a little longer.”
Dan Yeop subtly observed Dan Bul-wi’s reaction.
He needed the man’s cooperation if he wanted to remain in Byeongmachong.
Fortunately, Dan Bul-wi did not oppose it.
After all, he himself was staying in Byeongmachong for the sake of training.
“Fine. I’ll take care of that matter. But the lost memories… do you think you can recover them?”
“Probably?”
“That’s a relief. Still, don’t obsess over it too much. If you let it flow naturally like water, a good result will come.”
“Yes, Father.”
At the continued use of “Father,” Dan Bul-wi cleared his throat.
“Ahem. And you’ve been calling me Father since earlier…”
Dan Bul-wi explained how he had somehow ended up being called the adoptive father of the three children.
After listening, Dan Yeop spoke with a slightly disappointed face.
“Then I wasn’t even your adopted son. Haah… I’m neither the sect leader’s son nor the instructor’s son… Somehow it feels empty.”
“Who told you that you were the sect leader’s son?”
“No one. Since the Six Gates’ martial arts were all in my head, I mistakenly thought I might be the son of one of the sect leaders. Turns out I’m just a nobody with a pathetic life.”
Dan Bul-wi felt a pang of sympathy at Dan Yeop’s self-mocking words.
The person before him now was completely different from before.
Unlike his originally gloomy and dark personality, the current Dan Yeop was almost excessively bright and lively.
Dan Bul-wi rather liked this version of him who had lost his memories.
More than anything, he coveted Dan Yeop’s overwhelming talent.
“Nonsense! A pathetic life? If you want, you may treat me as your adoptive father.”
“Really?”
“I’m the one who gave you your name and the one who has looked after you for twelve years. I didn’t say it before, but you, Dan Geum, and Dan Jae were like family to me.”
Dan Bul-wi spoke with a straight face, slightly embellishing the past.
Half of it was true, half was nonsense, but the offer he made to Dan Yeop was sincere.
Sincerity reaches people.
Dan Yeop, who needed a backer, immediately stood up and gave Dan Bul-wi a deep bow.
“This unfilial son greets his father.”
“Hahaha! Good, thank you. From now on, come to me anytime you need anything. You are the son I gave birth to with my heart, so there’s no need to hesitate.”
Though he was merely a martial arts instructor, Dan Bul-wi spoke as if he had become someone important.
A short while later, Dan Yeop left the Amun training hall and, after asking around, found his quarters.
The moment he saw the bed in the corner of the stone chamber, a wave of exhaustion crashed over him.
“I should sleep first.”
He must have been incredibly tired; the moment he lay down, he began to snore.
***
There were only twenty-five third-generation students.
In less than one incense stick of time (about thirty minutes), the rumor that “Deung Pyeong got beaten by Dan Yeop” had already spread.
Half an hour after Jeon Jung had been hit, the leaders of the third generation—Baek Yu-hwa, Yi Pung, and Yu Ja-cho—gathered in one place.
Baek Yu-hwa, known as the strongest among the third generation, spoke coldly.
“We must finish our revenge before the fourth-generation brats learn about Deung Pyeong’s incident. Otherwise they’ll start looking down on us third-generation students.”
Then Yu Ja-cho, whose face was pitted with acne scars, stepped forward.
“Leave it to me. I’ll make sure Dan Yeop pisses himself the moment he sees a third-generation face.”
Harboring a strong inferiority complex toward handsome men, he ground his teeth audibly.