Ch.228Side Story 2: When I Met Him (2)

# 02_When I Met Him_2

Ah, my legs hurt like hell.

I had changed into comfortable clothes called dobok and was now inside an imposing building called the Great Grandmaster Hall.

I was following Grandpa Cheonma’s instructions to sit in a cross-legged position called lotus posture, which made my legs go numb and felt strange, while keeping my eyes closed.

But I wasn’t alone with Grandpa Cheonma in this place.

“Is this the new young sect leader you’ve found to replace me?”

“Why would I need another young sect leader when I have you?”

“Since I’m so weak, I thought you might have brought in a foreigner trained in external martial arts. He looks young but seems quite sturdy.”

“Nonsense! If that were the case, why would I have tried to give you the Great Restoration Pill? I would have given it to this slow-witted fellow instead.”

“Well, I suppose that’s true.”

The person muttering near me was Seonwoo Dan, the young sect leader and disciple of Grandpa Cheonma, also called Little Cheonma.

Despite being only a few years older than me, he already had titles like “once-in-a-millennium talent” and “unparalleled genius who will succeed Grandpa Cheonma” attached to his name.

“But didn’t you say your junior disciple has never learned martial arts before?”

“Junior disciple?”

Grandpa Cheonma scoffed at Seonwoo Dan’s words.

“You say the strangest things. Were you that desperate for a junior disciple?”

“Since I’ve been taking care of you, Master, I need someone to take care of me.”

Junior disciple? When Seonwoo Dan said that, Grandpa Cheonma cleared his throat disapprovingly.

“Ahem. You’d be better off asking your own disciple for that. This fellow forgets what he’s taught almost immediately.”

“He seems quite clever to me.”

“Clever? Nonsense. I’ve never seen someone so slow-witted.”

He kept calling me slow-witted, which apparently meant I had little talent for martial arts.

No matter how inadequate I might be, it’s annoying to keep hearing it.

When I unconsciously twitched the corner of my mouth, Grandpa Cheonma must have noticed because he clicked his tongue.

“Anyway… there is one curious thing. It’s the first time I’ve seen someone with such active qi flowing through their body without having practiced internal energy cultivation.”

I didn’t understand what qi was or what internal energy meant, even after it was explained to me.

Apparently, there’s a way to absorb qi from nature, and through that qi, one can fight better. I figured it might be like a rechargeable battery concept.

“Then why not teach him a proper internal energy method?”

“He’ll be leaving in a few weeks. What if he goes mad from qi deviation? Just teaching him a few external techniques he can use lightly is enough, as the Golden Merchant said.”

Wait, what?

“Excuse me, what did you say?!”

I tried to jump up from my lotus position, but my numb legs nearly collapsed under me as I struggled to stand.

Grandpa Cheonma’s brows furrowed deeply as he stared at my face and shouted:

“Sit back down in lotus position this instant!”

“No, wait. What did Eliya—that bastard—I mean, what did he send me here to learn? And for how many weeks?”

“Hahaha! Master, did you really just tell him to sit in lotus position without explaining anything?”

“When an elder tells you to do something, you should just say yes and do it. Why should I need to explain? You, get back into lotus position right now!”

“No, Grandpa. Please explain! Did he send me here to learn that martial arts thing or whatever?”

“Hahahahaha!”

I don’t know what was so funny, but Seonwoo Dan was laughing hysterically while looking at me.

Seriously, what’s going on here? Why is he laughing?

After laughing for several minutes, Seonwoo Dan finally stopped and put his hand on my shoulder.

“Does my junior brother not know anything about the Master’s position?”

“I came here just because I was asked to deliver that Great Restoration Pill thing, so I really don’t know.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Seonwoo Dan snickered again. Does he have some kind of laughing disorder?

“Oh, I can’t help but burst into laughter. Master, shouldn’t you at least explain things properly?”

What’s he talking about? What explanation?

“You went so far as to think about getting the Great Restoration Pill because of my unworthiness, but why did you leave out the part where the Golden Merchant asked you to teach martial arts to my junior brother in exchange for the pill?”

“What? Eliya asked for that favor?”

“Did you agree to deliver the Great Restoration Pill without knowing this fact?”

Hearing my clueless response, Seonwoo Dan asked me with an amused smile.

“Well, he was practically begging me, so what could I do? I had to do what he asked.”

“Hahaha, so the Golden Merchant is your friend, not your employer?”

“Well, friend would be the right word.”

“I see, a friend. Now I understand why he would go so far as to offer the Great Restoration Pill.”

After saying this, Seonwoo Dan scrutinized my body, measuring my shoulder width with his hands and tapping my crown and temples.

“Your physique is, to put it mildly… at the level of a novice who has only trained in external martial arts.”

“That’s putting it mildly?”

“In our sect, this would be considered close to a compliment.”

“This place sounds terrifying.”

“The orthodox martial artists spread ridiculous rumors that we bathe in tubs filled with virgin blood and snack on children’s livers.”

What the hell? That makes this sound like a den of psychopaths.

“…Can’t I just not learn this martial arts thing?”

“Now that you’ve entered this forbidden area where only the sect leader and young sect leader are allowed, it’s already too late.”

“Oh.”

Well, shit. Of all places, Eliya had to throw me into somewhere with such disturbing rumors.

“Don’t worry, junior brother. Those are just rumors. We’re human too. In fact, the orthodox martial artists often commit more evil deeds than we do.”

“Well, that’s a relief, I guess.”

“Now, junior brother, quickly resume the lotus position and do as the Master says.”

“That lotus position really hurts my legs.”

“You need to endure that much if you want to gain the strength to help the Golden Merchant.”

I had no choice but to resume the painful lotus position again.

There was one advantage, though. Seonwoo Dan continued to talk to me throughout.

He explained that the Great Restoration Pill was an extremely precious item among martial artists, impossible to obtain even with unlimited money.

Except for unusual cases like me, if given to a third-rate martial artist, it could make their internal energy rival even the most accomplished masters.

When I asked if it was similar to the elixir rumored to revive the dead, he said it wasn’t quite that powerful but could produce similar effects.

“Senior brother? That’s what I should call you, right? Why does senior brother need the Great Restoration Pill?”

“I was born with an imperfect dantian, and the pill is needed to restore it. I once suggested to the Master that he should just choose someone healthier as the young sect leader, but he said finding the Great Restoration Pill would be faster.”

“Wow, Grandpa Cheonma must really care about his disciple.”

“Hahaha! If this story circulated in the martial arts alliance, they’d say it was the ravings of someone with schizophrenia. But yes, the Master does care for me.”

“You two are chattering too much. I’m going for a walk, so you try teaching him.”

Grandpa Cheonma abruptly stood up and kicked open the door as he left the building. Seonwoo Dan bowed his head respectfully in that direction.

“Yes, Master. Have a good walk.”

Finding this amusing, Seonwoo Dan continued to giggle.

Now that Grandpa Cheonma had left, I decided to ask Seonwoo Dan something I’d been curious about.

“But why am I supposed to sit in this lotus position?”

“Mind. Because the mind is important.”

“What does the lotus position have to do with the mind?”

“Junior brother, isn’t the posture uncomfortable? Don’t you want to change to a more comfortable position?”

“Yes. Terribly.”

When I answered, Seonwoo Dan took a fighting stance in front of me with both arms raised.

“Imagine you’re in combat. Have you had any difficult fights recently?”

“Yes. A few months ago, I fought two androids.”

“An-droids?”

“How should I say this in your language? They’re like people made of machines.”

“Hmm. If they’re people made of machines, they must move stiffly compared to humans? And they wouldn’t tire easily.”

“That’s right.”

“Moving stiffly and not tiring easily, yet similar to humans… I see, like jiangshi.”

“Jiangshi?”

“Think of them as strange weapons made using corpses. As you said, they move stiffly, don’t tire easily, and ordinary attacks don’t work on them.”

“Yes, that’s exactly it.”

When I confirmed this, Seonwoo Dan nodded and continued.

“Now imagine there are more than ten such androids.”

Seonwoo Dan began striking, punching, and kicking the air as if there were actually androids in front of him. His movements were so dazzling that I could hardly believe my eyes, far superior to anything in action movies.

The postures and movements he demonstrated were truly impressive, impossible for an ordinary person to perform.

“When fighting someone, endurance is important, but that endurance ultimately comes from fighting yourself. Isn’t that right?”

“Uh, yes?”

“Meditation in the lotus position builds mental endurance. As you think, the lotus position is uncomfortable. But to have a mind so firm and strong that you forget you’re in an uncomfortable position, what must you do?”

“…Practice getting used to it.”

“And how should you practice?”

“By closing my eyes while in the lotus position.”

In the end, Seonwoo Dan’s point was that I needed to practice that damn lotus position.

When my face twisted into a disgusted expression, Seonwoo Dan grinned.

“The movements I showed you earlier, they were impressive, weren’t they?”

“Yes. Very.”

“Once you get used to maintaining the lotus position, I’ll teach them to you.”

“Really?”

“Hahaha, I’m not such a bad senior brother that I would lie to you.”

And so I was completely taken in by the promise of learning those impressive movements.

Except for mealtimes, I continued sitting in that position, and I seemed to be getting somewhat used to it.

When I closed my eyes and maintained the posture, I would eventually sink into complete darkness where I couldn’t hear anything or think any thoughts.

After spending several days like this, I could maintain the position indefinitely unless Seonwoo Dan disturbed me, which made him smile broadly each time.

“It seems you’re ready to move to the next level, junior brother.”

“You think so?”

I was almost forgetting the bizarre errands Eliya kept sending me on and the bastards trying to kill me.

“Dex, junior brother.”

“Yes.”

“Although I’ve been calling you junior brother, we haven’t truly established a formal master-disciple relationship.”

Seonwoo Dan turned his head to look at the large tablet in the Great Grandmaster Hall.

It was a white stone tablet engraved with the three characters of the Great Grandmaster’s name, who was also the founding leader of the Divine Sect. Uniquely, it emitted a subtle red glow, which is why it was also called the Bright Tablet.

“Countless people have sought refuge in our sect just to learn even a single move from the Master. But those who receive martial arts instruction from the Master are extremely rare, and such opportunities are not common.”

Seonwoo Dan slowly turned his head to look at me.

“Though it’s not internal energy cultivation, it will still be very difficult. Are you confident you want to learn?”

“I’ve come this far, so it would be awkward to refuse now.”

“Hahaha! Always with the casual reasons.”

After talking with Seonwoo Dan these past few days, I think I understand why Eliya sent me here.

While it was partly for his own benefit, it was more for my sake.

It’s better for me to protect Eliya with sufficient skills than to die trying with inadequate abilities.

Eliya is actually quite shy. He probably just told me it was an errand and sent me to this mountain because he was embarrassed.

Not wanting to betray Eliya’s intentions, I nodded and said:

“I sincerely want to learn.”

“Master, he says he does.”

“What?”

Surprised by Seonwoo Dan suddenly addressing Grandpa Cheonma, I turned my head in the direction he was looking.

Somehow, Grandpa Cheonma was standing behind me with his hands behind his back.

“Do you understand what you’re saying?”

“I’m just learning martial arts through some extremely difficult method, right?”

“Tsk. The young sect leader couldn’t even explain properly.”

“I was about to explain when you suddenly appeared, Master.”

“Useless fellow. Now you’re even making excuses about me.”

Grandpa Cheonma shook his head and then looked at me.

“By agreeing to learn, you are becoming a member of the Divine Sect. Do you understand what that means?”

“Uh, so I’m joining your sect? I don’t have any religious affiliation, so that’s fine.”

At my answer, Grandpa Cheonma stomped his feet on the ground with a displeased face, while Seonwoo Dan snickered.

“Master, since junior brother is a foreigner from above the sky, perhaps he doesn’t need to know about the dangers of joining the Divine Sect. As long as he remembers us and doesn’t disrespect other sect members, that should be enough.”

“I’m just upset about teaching my external martial arts to such an ignorant fool who doesn’t even understand what joining the Divine Sect means!”

“Hahaha!”

Seonwoo Dan laughed loudly once, then spoke to Grandpa Cheonma.

“So, you’re giving permission?”

“Aish!”

This old man’s emotions are impossible to read.

Still looking displeased, Grandpa Cheonma turned around sharply, and Seonwoo Dan nodded.

“I’ll proceed as if you’ve given permission.”

“Do whatever you want.”

At Grandpa Cheonma’s curt reply, Seonwoo Dan pointed to the sky.

“Bow three times toward the sun in the sky. You’ve seen me bow to the Great Grandmaster before, so it should be easy for you.”

“Oh, yes. Of course.”

Seonwoo Dan bowed toward the tablet every morning, and I had seen him do it.

Feeling the warm sunlight streaming through the doorway, I somehow managed to bow three times toward the sun. Then Seonwoo Dan pointed to the tablet and said:

“Bow three times to the Great Grandmaster.”

After I bowed three more times toward the tablet, he told me to bow to Grandpa Cheonma.

So I did that too. Before I completed the three bows, Grandpa Cheonma’s lips were tightly closed as he watched me, but his eyes seemed somewhat warm.

“It’s not the ceremony for joining the sect but the ceremony for accepting a master, though this should suffice for joining as well.”

“Of course. Now, write your name here with this brush.”

“Is this like a contract?”

“This is called a discipleship certificate, and the moment you write on it, you become the Master’s official disciple and a member of the Divine Sect. This is no joke, so you must write your name properly.”

When I wrote “Dexter Hughes” in the blank space with the thin brush, Grandpa Cheonma’s face turned red and blue with anger.

“You should write it in Central Plains language!”

“I don’t know how to write that.”

How am I supposed to write my name in a language I’ve never learned?

Apparently dumbfounded by my confident response, Grandpa Cheonma beat his chest.

“Oh, my goodness. To think such a person is my disciple, what am I to do? I shouldn’t have been swayed by the Great Restoration Pill.”

“He’s already written it, so what can we do? Besides, it’s unreasonable to ask a foreigner to write in the Central Plains language.”

At Seonwoo Dan’s smooth words, Grandpa Cheonma became even more agitated.

“Must be nice to be so carefree, you rascal!”

And that’s how I became a member of the Divine Sect and Grandpa Cheonma’s direct disciple.

But from the next day on, I deeply regretted my decision to become his disciple.