Chapter 8:

Chapter 8:

Beob Gang (2)

From Mu-jin’s perspective, it was an unavoidable situation.

With a scrape of joints every time he bent and straightened his knee beside him, saying, “My knee’s busted,” how could he, as a trainer, just overlook it? Moreover,

“If I could get the squad leader on my side... Wouldn’t that be a huge gain?”

The thought of an easier training session if he could entice the real power among the second-class disciples crossed his mind.

He started as a novice trainer at a local gym and rose to the position of owner of five stores. He had a knack for leading someone into the world of personal training.

“Looking at it now, your knee seems to be in bad shape, and exercising like this when your knee hurts is self-harm. Self-harm. Please straighten your leg.”

With a look of pity, Mu-jin began to massage Beob Gang’s knee area gently.

“Tsks. As expected, Shaolin’s training is flawed.”

The massage revealed how badly damaged the knee was.

This squad leader in front of him was evidence of what becomes of someone after fifteen, twenty years of Shaolin training methods.

And surprise registered on Beob Gang’s face as he received Mu-jin’s massage.

At first, he felt pain as if he was being attacked, but after the pain subsided, a strange sense of refreshment enveloped his knee.

“When your knee is in poor condition, you should exercise like this.”

After loosening the knee moderately, Mu-jin began to demonstrate, as if conducting a personal training session for Beob Gang.

Members (?) with a military-like appearance, contrary to their tough exterior, were very susceptible to kind people.

Mu-jin meticulously explained each posture, guiding Beob Gang into the world of personal training.DiiScôver new stories on no/v/e()/lbin(.)c/o/m

“Like this, you only need to bend your knees halfway, as if you were about to sit on a chair, before they fully bend. During the descent, don’t put any strength into your knees; rather, concentrate the force in your thighs and buttocks, slowly going down. The same applies when coming up, use the strength of your thighs and buttocks.”

Mu-jin showed the so-called chair squat stance and then reached out his hand.

“Now, let’s start. I’ll hold your hand, just go down as if you’re sitting on a chair and then come back up.”

Confused by the sudden turn of events, Beob Gang found himself unwittingly adopting the posture Mu-jin had instructed.

For some reason he could not fathom, the child standing before him exuded the presence of an expert who had reached a high level of mastery.

“Yes, stop right there! Don’t put strength in your knees. You’ll hurt them. I’m holding you, so don’t worry and just focus on powering through your thighs and hips! And be mindful of your breathing!”

As if under a spell, he bent and straightened his knees several times as Mu-jin directed.

‘Hmm? The pain is definitely less?’

Not only had his knee pain lessened, but as he followed Mu-jin’s commands to put strength into his thighs and hips, he could clearly feel the stimulation.

“Let’s take a short break, and then we’ll repeat it fifteen times. Your knees are in bad shape, so you mustn’t overdo it.”

“After three sets, or rather, the third round, let’s move on to the calves. Steady your breathing for a moment.”

Having felt the relief in his knees, Beob Gang began to mindlessly follow the exercises one by one as Mu-jin instructed.

“...What the hell is he doing over there?”

Master Uncle Hye-jeong, who was overseeing the training of the novice disciples, watched the scene with a face that read ‘this is ridiculous.’

The Second-class Disciple, standing beside him, responded in a hesitant tone to what could have been a rhetorical question or a direct one from Master Uncle Hye-jeong.

“Well, I suppose...?”

The scene was so absurd that he inadvertently responded in a tone that was inappropriate for the law.

A man obsessed with the law. The dog of the law. Together, called the ‘mad dog.’ If Beob Gang had seen this scene, he would have surely issued a stern command.

‘But isn’t that mad dog right there doing just that...?’

Mad dog, mad dog, and now has he truly gone mad?

The Second-class Disciple, who had been relentlessly drilled by Beob Gang since his youth, was now seriously worried about his own head.

“Good. As expected of someone who has exercised before, you’ve quickly mastered the posture.”

“Hahaha. Isn’t that a given? It has already been eighteen years since I enrolled in Shaolin.”

Regardless, Mu-jin and Beob Gang were continuing their PT in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

“...Amitabha Buddha.”

Feeling a throbbing headache coming on, Master Uncle Hye-jeong ultimately had no choice but to turn away from the two of them.

Having promised to acknowledge Mu-jin’s training, he could not complain about Beob Gang joining in.

Master Uncle Hye-jeong couldn’t help but laugh with disbelief, while Beobgang remained unashamed.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. I thought it best to experience it firsthand.”

“Hmm. And how was that experience?”

Swallowing the retort ‘You talk a good game,’ Master Uncle Hye-jeong asked with curiosity.

“From what I’ve observed, the boy named Mu-jin doesn’t seem to hail from a martial family but rather from a family of healers.”

“A family of healers? What makes you think so?”

Prompted by Master Uncle Hye-jeong’s question, Beobgang looked around cautiously before answering in a hushed tone.

“The truth is, my knees have been in poor condition due to overexertion in training.”

“Oh... this is troubling...”

Master Uncle Hye-jeong showed genuine concern, having been unaware of the situation.

“Why have you hidden this from us?”

“I did not want to worry the elders of the sect, nor could I show weakness in front of my disciples.”

He felt he had to set a strong example for his disciples and could not afford to show any frailty.

“But, astonishingly, none of my disciples, who have been with me for decades, noticed the condition of my knees. On the other hand, Mu-jin identified the problem immediately.”

“Could it be?”

“Yes. The movements that I was practicing with Mu-jin earlier, they were all exercises he suggested that wouldn’t strain my knees.”

“Huh... Now that I hear it, it does make me wonder if he truly might come from a family of healers.”

“Yes, and when I casually asked Mu-jin, he told me that all the exercises and techniques he shared with me today were learned from his family home.”

Thus, through Beob Gang’s mouth, Mu-jin’s lies were conveyed to Hye-jeong as if they were the truth.

Furthermore, the two of them began to fabricate Mu-jin’s nonexistent past on their own.

“Huh. Then perhaps his family home might be a medical household that deals with martial artists. Yes, it must be a family that realized how to enhance muscles during the process of healing the injuries of martial artists. And this child, having seen too many injured martial artists since a young age, must undoubtedly be wary of our Shaolin training methods.”

“You truly are a master, Uncle. Even I, who conversed with Mu-jin, could not read into it that deeply.”

“How can this be? Such a talented child is hesitant about our Shaolin training due to such reasons.”

“Do not worry, Master Uncle. I will guide the child to the right path.”

“Will you, now?”

“Yes. Young children often listen well to adults they are friendly with. Instead of forcing him, I will first become friends with the child and then gradually integrate him into the Shaolin training methods.”

Beob Gang, oblivious to the fact that he had been duped by Mu-jin into receiving PT, showed an unfounded confidence.

“Right. You speak the truth. We should not rush this and take it slowly.”

And Hye-jeong believed it.

* * *

As always, after sweeping clean the leftover beans and mushrooms in the Banquet Hall and fighting the battle of drowsiness during the morning Buddhist prayer time, Mu-jin was once again met by the morning martial arts training time.

However, for some reason, today’s atmosphere was peculiarly different.

‘It’s not because of Beob Gang, the discipline officer. If it were because of him, this atmosphere would have been present since dawn.’

Wondering what the difference was, Mu-jin tilted his head in curiosity when Hye-jeong’s resonant voice, filled with internal power, spread from the upper stage of the training field.

“Now that you all seem to have perfected the form of the Revolving Fist Technique, we will move on to the next training starting today.”

‘Aha.’

So that was it; they were finally moving on to the next stage.

“Martial arts truly come into their own when internal and external energies harmonize. Starting today, we will begin preparations to learn that internal energy.”

As Hye-jeong explained, the two Second-class Disciples, who were positioned to his left and right, seated themselves in the lotus position right there in the training field.

“You too, follow Beopgyeong and Beopgong and sit in the lotus position.”

Hearing Hye-jeong’s voice, Mu-jin mimicked the two disciples and seated himself in the lotus position.

“Close your eyes and focus on your breath. Breathe in slowly through your nose, as deeply as possible. The breath you inhale should pass through your nose and throat and reach the danjeon located at the center of your body.”

‘Hmm?’

Focusing on Hye-jeong’s voice and taking several deep breaths in and out, a question popped into Mu-jin’s mind.