It seemed that both Sayoon and Yoohee were just as surprised to see me. While they stared at me with wide eyes, I shrugged my shoulders.
“It doesn’t look like you came to buy anything. What brings you all the way here?”
“Ah, well…”
Sayoon sheepishly smiled and scratched her cheek. She seemed a bit embarrassed, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Or maybe she was ashamed about not having completed the homework given to her by Hongryeon.
In any case, I was glad to see them.
“Sayoon has been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately, so I brought her out. Since it happened to be a day off, you know? I figured if I left her alone, she’d just keep struggling by herself.”
“Hmm. Sometimes, it’s important to let loose a bit.”
“Right? But she’s all pent up.”
“Hahaha. Sayoon! Don’t you feel dizzy~?”
Yoohee tightly grabbed Sayoon’s head and shook it. Yoohee kept shaking her until Sayoon’s dry laughter and eyes seemed to spin around.
I’m so jealous!
I want to do that too!
But the government office is nearby, and Mister Guard looks scary, so I just kept my hands to myself. All I could do was maintain my composure and watch with a content smile.
In fact, just that was making a part of my heart swell with pride.
“Well, this is good timing. It’s getting to evening… If you’re okay with it, why don’t we grab a meal before you head out?”
“Eh? But…”
“Of course, I don’t mean just for the sake of feeding you.”
“We can’t take on any requests yet. If you want to request something from Hongseong…”
“Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. Just… um. Actually, it’s about what happened today…”
I told them about Ogumhee, what I learned that day. Perhaps because it was something they were familiar with, their eyes sparkled, and they nodded.
“Aah. So you want help training in Ogumhee, huh?”
“Exactly.”
After a moment of thinking, Sayoon beamed with a bright smile. Oh my! Look at Sayoon smile like that!
I should screenshot this!
It’s a shame I don’t have a camera.
“I know a bit about Ogumhee too.”
“Huh? Really?”
“I learned it from Ryuhyun. Yoohee, you…”
“Oh, I haven’t learned it. I’m focusing on the clan’s recovery techniques.”
“Then maybe I can be of some help.”
Is it because there’s still a childlike spirit in her? Sayoon puffed her little chest out proudly as she spoke.
This is better!
“Can you help a little whenever you have time? Of course, it doesn’t have to be every day.”
Honestly, I’d like it if she came daily, but that’s just my greed. To prevent the downfall of Hongseong, and since I wanted her to grow, Sayoon needed to learn as much as possible from Hongseong before the Iron Blood Clan showed up.
“If that’s all it takes… sure!”
“As a reward, I’ll treat you to a meal. And I’ll give you a box of sweets. Or I can give you money instead if you prefer…”
“Well, that’s okay, but…”
“Um… How about this? Hospitality and snacks would be fine too…”
Sayoon cautiously glanced at me.
“Could you… reduce the cost a bit when buying items from our Hongseong sect?”
Fidgeting nervously, Sayoon twisted her body, worried that her request might upset me. I almost thought she was a pretzel.
It wasn’t exactly a burdensome request. The prices for Hongseong’s goods weren’t that high anyway. She was just asking for a discount on part of it.
And in return, Sayoon would give me one-on-one lessons?
Ah, how could I resist this?
“If it’s just that much, I’m tempted to accept,” I replied.
Sayoon’s face lit up with a bright smile.
Isn’t it a shame there’s no camera here?
Anyway, it was getting late and I couldn’t skip a meal, so I took the two of them back to the inn.
I offered multiple times, but after several insistences, they eventually nodded. Still, they only ordered somen as if to declare they wouldn’t let me treat them to anything expensive. Truly, both of them had stubbornness like a bull.
“I have nothing I can teach the innkeeper,” Sayoon insisted.
“Haha, you never know.”
“Phew… I’m full. That was really good.”
“Nothing to say. Well then, let’s get some exercise…”
“Oh, yes.”
We headed to the back yard of the inn. Though the sun had set, it was easy to see thanks to the lights around the inn.
“Ogumhee, you said you learned for the first time today, right? Can you show it a bit?”
“Of course.”
In front of Sayoon, I displayed Ogumhee. To start, I shapes my legs, channeling strength into them, bending my arms roundly. Slowly, I turned my waist to take on the pose.
“You need to lower your legs a bit more.”
Suddenly, I felt Sayoon’s small foot on my thigh. She lightly climbed on and placed her hands on my shoulders for support.
“Seeing you throw pebbles last time, it seems like learning throwing techniques wouldn’t be a bad idea… Though Ogumhee isn’t bad either.”
“Uhh… That’s for later… Aaah!”
“Now now, pull your arms in more.”
Like a monkey performing tricks, her small and light body moved all over me while holding on. She stepped on my thigh, jumped up lightly to wrap her arms around my neck, then pulled my bent back straight with her knees.
As the posture finally formed, Sayoon whispered softly beside my ear.
“This posture is the ‘Gold’ form of Ogumhee. The Gold form also embodies the fierceness of a tiger. So, you need to be stronger; you must show dominance.”
The master didn’t go this far, did he?
Pressing down on my waist from behind, Sayoon spoke earnestly.
“This posture is called the ‘Tiger Stance.’ Now, if you stretch your arms out, you’ll achieve the ‘Ferocious Tiger Stance’…”
After what felt like half an hour, I finally broke free from Sayoon.
If I had to say whether I liked it or not, honestly, I did.
After all, I was being taught by my favorite!
It was almost like receiving something.
Perhaps because I could train every day and become healthy and live longer, my body, which had been painful just moments ago, was now brimming with vitality.
“Alright! You’ve worked hard. Please practice every day from now on. You know the saying ‘Dripping water penetrates the stone’, right?”
Consistency is the most important thing when it comes to mastering martial arts.
I burst into laughter at her words.
“Huh? Did I… say something strange?”
“No, it’s a really good saying. Consistency. Yes, consistency is a good thing.”
“Of course! It’s what you said, Master!”
I nodded my head.
One of the thoughts Sayoon had when she attained her first enlightenment was exactly that.
Dripping water penetrates the stone.
If she realizes the remaining one, mastering the Meteor Fist would not be that difficult.
“Anyway, you’ve worked hard. It seems too late… so hurry back.”
“Hehe. Yes. Yoohee, did you wait long?”
“Hmm? Nope, nope. I was meditating too. Now, let’s go. Yu Wol, Innkeeper. Then we shall take our leave.”
The two girls with great skills exited the inn. I watched them, then took out a cigarette and put it in my mouth.
“Did they have a little playtime?”
A sharp voice came from above. I looked up to see a woman with a nonchalant expression leaning against the railing.
“From Moonjeong’s perspective, it might indeed look like child’s play, guest.”
“…I see.”
The sharp-featured beauty with black hair, dressed in a form-fitting suit typical of Moonjeong, leapt effortlessly over the railing.
Her long, slender legs barely made a sound when the platform heels met the stone floor.
It was the movement of a master, as light as a feather.
Chaejin, the top disciple of Moonjeong, casually brushed her hair aside, dragged over a chair from the backyard, sat down, and spoke leisurely.
“Earlier, after learning Ogumhee, now she wants a correction from Hongseong…”
“Is there a problem?”
“No. Is there really a problem? I just think, if you’re going to learn, might as well learn it properly.”
Chaejin smiled and flicked her finger. In that moment, a golden light pierced the darkness.
A master beyond excellence can freely manipulate their inner energy to channel it themselves.
They can completely control their energy through their own will instead of relying on the power of nature.
I watched her and laughed.
“So, you’re suggesting that you want to teach me in Moonjeong. Isn’t that what you’re saying?”
“Moonjeong is different from Hongseong. As long as you pay the entrance fee, anyone can become a disciple.”
“And only a handful of those disciples become your true disciples, right?”
“Oh? You seem to know a lot about Moonjeong.”
Winking one eye, she grinned. Then she slowly rose from her chair and glided toward me.
“Power should not be given to those who cannot awaken themselves. And Moonjeong just divides the inner and outer disciples based on that principle.”
“Is that so?”
“So, can I enter the internal courtyard?”
“Will you? Even though you’re an outer disciple, you won’t be taught Moonjeong’s Moonlight Martial Arts, but you’ll still learn proper martial arts.”
Like dancing, a gentle touch landed on my shoulder. It softly caressed and guided my arms.
“敵不動我不動 敵微動我先動 (If the enemy doesn’t move, I won’t move; if the enemy moves even a little, I move first).”
With a low voice, an outstretched hand contained the essence of rotation.
Chaejin’s hand next to me descended gracefully, like a butterfly fluttering its wings.
“用意不用力 (Use intention, not force). You use intent and not strength. Everything has its place; martial arts are no different. There’s no need to exert force. All that’s needed is rotation and smoothness.”
The lowered hand shot upward. But there was no intensity, only gentleness.
Chaejin, who had moved my arm like willow leaves fluttering, gently pulled her waist back and sat down, stretching her left leg out.
In an instant, her body spun around.
– Vrooooom!!
“虛實分淸 (Distinguishing between the real and the false). You must clearly understand the real and false to make the right move.”
– Vrooooom!! Vrooooom!!
As she moved, I too was moved. It wasn’t particularly fast.
Yet every time her hands and feet swung, there was enough force to stir the wind.
The leaves enveloped by that wind formed circles, splitting into two within those circles.
Yin and Yang.
As the wind that drew the Taiji pattern guided me, Chaejin calmly spoke a line.
“內外相合 (Internal and External Harmony). The opposition leads to no opposites, and no opposites leads to unity. When inside and outside match, and the top and bottom accept each other, all movements are interconnected and unbroken.”
– Vrooooom!!
The spinning body stopped. The hand trapping the wind halted.
And from that, a pattern of Taiji formed around me.
“Taiji is created.”
And bigger than the Taiji I formed, was the extreme Taiji pattern created by Chaejin.
“This is the beginner’s art of Moonjeong: Chae’s Taijiquan.”
Chae’s Taijiquan.
One of the martial arts I could learn from Chaejin when I successfully completed the first phase of our relationship event.
Though it’s a beginner’s art, it’s by no means a bad martial art.
If I master its extremes, I could go through the ‘Realization of Softness’ event, and like Ogumhee, simply practicing it would allow me to slowly gather Qi, or internal energy.
Additionally, since it’s of the Taoist system, it pairs well with Ogumhee.
But wait, I haven’t really formed a strong bond with Chaejin, have I?
I glanced at her, and Chaejin shyly avoided my gaze and spoke in a small, timid voice.
“I-I’ll teach you this, but I didn’t bring much travel money, so… can I get a discount on my lodging…?”
Ah. Discounts are unavoidable, aren’t they?
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