Chapter 11
Non-interference between Government and Martial Artists.
There is a saying like that.
The government and the martial arts world do not interfere with each other.
The martial arts world was filled with powerful masters who possessed immense strength that was difficult for the state to control.
But openly opposing the state would be considered tantamount to treason.
Thus, a social agreement was established to allow the state to maintain its prestige while guaranteeing the martial artists their freedom.
In some areas, the martial world’s discipline even made up for the lack of administrative power.
The martial schools were born out of that context.
Any family with a sizable influence had their own martial school within their estates.
In essence, these were training grounds for nurturing private soldiers.
But raising private soldiers openly in a monarchy?
That was the perfect recipe to be branded as a traitor.
Hence, the martial schools.
They claimed to cultivate proper martial artists by imparting the family’s martial arts.
This place is merely a ground for exchanging knowledge and teaching, never a training ground for private soldiers.
Of course, those who were indebted to the family would often volunteer to serve the family.
It’s a world where people help each other, isn’t it? A natural flow of things.
That’s what the definition of a martial school was.
Claiming, “These aren’t private soldiers!” (But they are.) It was just a facade.
It’s a ridiculous situation, but in a world that values justification and face,
The government simply turned a blind eye to it.
The Namgung Family was the largest among the Seven Great Families.
Since its roots were deeply embedded in martial arts, it was natural for their martial school to be the best under the heavens.
Namgung Hyuk, the supreme martial artist of the Central Plains.
It was a place where one could learn even a fraction of his martial skills, so it was always crowded.
I’ve heard that just having the experience of training at the Namgung Family’s martial school is often used as a kind of qualification in society.
Thus, the selection process for instructors at the martial school was extremely stringent.
They say it’s like being the face of the Namgung Family.
But that didn’t apply to me.
Among educational background, personal connections, and family ties, family ties are the strongest.
Being the future son-in-law meant I had a free pass.
“Indeed, the level is quite high.”
On my first day as an instructor,
I was observing the students training in the practice yard.
As expected, they say getting into the Namgung Family’s martial school is like threading the eye of a needle.
Even the students who just started showed remarkable qi presence.
“Lightning Sword Technique and Lightning Inner Technique, huh?”
Weak (戔) Lightning (雷).
What they taught at the martial school was, as the name suggests, a simplified and weakened version of Namgung Family’s martial arts.
It was a technique with Namgung Family’s secret mixed appropriately into the commonly known Three Elements Sword Technique and Three Elements Inner Technique.
I could see traces where Namgung Hyuk’s influence had been applied here and there.
It may be called a weakened version, but just mastering this to perfection would make one a considerable expert.
“It’s a world apart from the Wudang Sect.”
A place that pops up in my mind whenever I try to forget.
The Wudang Sect, where one needed to spend real money to become stronger.
The level of instruction was different compared to those who were just there for money-making.
Ah, thinking about it is making me mad again.
“They’re not absorbing the Lightning Qi but creating it?”
Anyway, the Namgung Family’s martial arts were quite interesting.
Forming Lightning Qi inside a human body.
It was like having a living generator.
Had it existed in my previous life, it would have contributed greatly to human development, but in this era, it was only used for killing people.
“The power of the generated Lightning Qi only affects sensory perception.”
It may lack the destructive power or sheer force like Namgung Hyuk’s Heaven-Shaking Thunderfall Sword, but it was more than enough.
A moment’s hesitation, a split-second mistake—these could cost a life in the martial world.
The Lightning Sword Technique, which directly stimulates the senses, was clearly formidable.
“That’s enough.”
I already got enough inspiration.
Trying to encapsulate the essence of nature within a human body.
It was an interesting idea.
I closed the martial arts manual after studying only the parts necessary for teaching.
“Your stance is collapsing too much. Lower your sword a bit more.”
“Yes! I understand!”
This was my first time teaching others.
The sparring sessions I had with Yeon-hee were more like practical lessons, but those were closer to learning from real combat.
Pointing out mistakes and watching them being corrected was more fun than I expected.
“This time, the sword is too high!”
“I’m sorry!”
“Why are your legs spread out like that? I said shoulder-width apart, shoulder-width!”
“Yes, understood!”
To be honest, there were many students who didn’t take kindly to me, someone who suddenly dropped in as an instructor without prior notice.
So there were quite a few who only pretended to follow my instructions.
But there was one.
One student who followed my teachings with unwavering dedication.
Gwak-il.
He had a strong sense of discipline.
His eyes were filled with a desire to learn.
His talent was slightly lacking, though.
“Your sword is so slow that a fly would mistake it for a branch and lay its eggs on it!”
“I’m sorry!”
“Was that swing meant to cut down tomorrow’s sparring opponent?”
“I’m sorry!”
Seeing how hard he worked, I unknowingly started to push him with a quicker pace.
But he kept up until the end, and for that tenacity alone, I had to give him credit.
“Do you know why your Lightning Qi keeps clumping up and then dispersing?”
“Yes! Please, enlighten me!”
“It’s because your internal energy is insufficient.”
“What?”
“Sounds like nonsense, right? You need to gather Lightning Qi to build internal energy, don’t you?”
“No, sir!”
“It’s true. But instead…”
I heard that he was like me, wandering the streets in the past.
He said he believed this was the only chance to change his life and that he would never give up.
Having once known the cold scenery of the back alleys myself, I couldn’t help but feel a little more sympathetic.
“… If you do it this way, it should work.”
“It’s different from what’s written in the martial arts manual, though. Is that okay?”
“We’ll just keep it between us.”
“Yes, understood!”
So, I meddled a bit.
***
“Brother-in-law. Why is it so hard to see your face around here?”
“Haha, I’ve been visiting the elders of the family, so that’s how it turned out.”
“I see! You need to naturally blend into our family, after all.”
Namgung Hyeo laughed heartily as he draped his arm over my shoulder.
The sweat from his gruelling training emanated a strong odour.
His muscles, now fully revealed after shedding excess fat, were unnecessarily firm, making me feel somewhat uncomfortable.
‘I should have taken it easy and left.’
The sudden surge of passion for teaching was the problem.
I got so engrossed in training Gwak-il, who somehow managed to absorb all of my teachings, that I didn’t notice Namgung Hyeo’s approach.
“Why don’t we grab a meal together for the first time in a while?”
A surprising invitation to dine together.
I couldn’t flatly refuse when he was smiling so warmly.
Not to mention, I did have a bit of guilt.
And so, I ended up having dinner at Namgung Hyeo’s residence…
‘I knew this would happen.’
Sang-gwan Yeong had poured her heart into cooking the meal.
The problem was, thanks to my excessive ‘advice,’ the couple had been thoroughly adhering to that diet until now.
“Eat up, everyone~.”
“I put in extra effort since I heard my brother-in-law was coming.”
“H-Haha. Thank you, ma’am.”
“Unni. I’ll eat well!”
Even Yeon-hee joined naturally, making four of us in total.
It was far too much food for that number of people to consume, the dining table completely filled with dishes. An overwhelming mountain of food, even more so than the last time I came.
Ginseng Chicken, Herbal Steamed Chicken, Threefold Chicken Soup, and so on.
The dishes looked familiar.
Yes.
I was facing the result of the seeds of karma I had sown myself.
An entire table filled with dishes made solely from chicken—specifically, chicken breast, the epitome of dryness.
‘Am I trash?’
That’s what I thought the moment I took the first bite.
It was certainly a well-made dish.
Sang-gwan Yeong had already become an authority on chicken breast dishes.
The seasoning proportions and cooking process felt perfect.
‘But the essence can never disappear.’
Why did I emphasize that minimizing seasonings is important for health? It’s not wrong, of course.
Using too much salt or sugar to enhance flavour can have a negative impact on the body. But even considering that, the ratio I recommended to Sang-gwan Yeong was truly inhumane.
At the very least, I should have tried to mask the gamey smell.
Even if I wanted to survive, how could I ever think of feeding someone something like this?
All I could do was blame my past self.
What a trashy guy!
“Do you not have an appetite, ma’am?”
“Oh, I already ate. I heard you were training late into the night, so I ate earlier.”
Sang-gwan Yeong’s bright smile looked so hateful.
You’re the only one escaping from this chicken breast hell.
“Grrrr, this is it. The scent of my muscles swelling is wafting around!”
Namgung Hyeo, why in the world did you turn into a muscle fanatic?
Having overcome an abusive diet through the power of love, Namgung Hyeo had turned into a monster.
He had reached a realm where he enjoyed the gamey smell of chicken breast.
‘It’s all my karma.’
You should’ve just left the gamey smell behind.
This dryness is driving me crazy.
The muscle fibers of chicken breast shrink under heat, and as the moisture evaporates, it becomes even drier.
There were many ways to avoid this, but I didn’t share a single one with Sang-gwan Yeong.
Instead, I emphasized more, and the maximum amount of heating.
‘This is… rubber.’
Thinking of it as eating a calorie bar made it easier.
It’s terribly dry and tasteless, after all.
“Hey, oppa. What is all this?”
“What are you talking about?”
The moment Sang-gwan Yeong stepped out, saying she had something to attend to, Yeon-hee questioned Namgung Hyeo.
“The gamey smell is so strong I can’t eat it. And it’s so dry, it’s like chewing on tree bark. Do you usually eat like this?”
“Uh-huh. This is all for the sake of good health! How could you understand the profound meaning behind it?”
“If it weren’t made by Unni, I would have flipped the table already!”
Namgung Hyeo gave me a conspiratorial wink, as if saying this was our little secret.
Yeon-hee, unable to endure it any longer, shook her head in disbelief.
“Gaga. Gaga, say something. This isn’t right, is it?”
“Yeon-hee.”
“Yes?”
“I’m disappointed.”
Was this how Zhuge Liang felt when he decided to execute Ma Su?
“Does it make sense for someone our age to be picky about food?”
“Gaga?”
“I’ve always thought it was beautiful how you eat your meals heartily. But now….”
“?”
“Moreover, this is a dish that ma’am put her heart and soul into making for us! It’s disrespectful to her not to eat it. I never knew you were this kind of person!”
“Gaga, that’s not what I meant….”
“I think it’s delicious! If you won’t eat it, I will!”
I’m sorry, Yeon-hee.
But I have no choice but to do this to survive.
After apologizing to her inwardly, I began shoving the dishes into my mouth one after another.
My heart felt just as heavy as the dryness of the chicken breast.
Namgung Hyeo, watching with satisfaction, seemed to be saying, “How does it feel now that you’re suffering too?”
It must be a misunderstanding, right?
—
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