Chapter 56:

Chapter 56:

Weight Reduction (2)

“Seol-hwa is currently under probation, Mu-jin Dongja.”

“I heard that she is still attending lessons during her probation, Sangdanju Sijunim.”

“Hahaha. Learning treatment methods is also education, so it doesn’t matter.”

The Sangdanju, who had burst into a pleasant laugh, wore a serious expression and asked again.

“Are you really thinking of teaching Mu-jin Dongja’s treatment methods and exercises to my daughter?”

“I am on the path of saving sentient beings. There is no reason to withhold knowledge about treatment methods, which is not even martial arts.”

“Hahahahaha.”

At Mu-jin’s answer, the Sangdanju laughed with a peculiar expression and asked one more question, as if testing Mu-jin.

“But why did you specifically choose my daughter, Mu-jin Dongja?”

It was not a question of whether he dared to target his daughter. Mu-jin also knew this and explained his reasoning.

Why the Sangdanju had kept silent about this matter until now.

“Since Seol-hwa Sijunim is your daughter, there is no risk of the technique being leaked even if she learns it.”

“Hahahaha!!”

As if very pleased with Mu-jin’s answer, Ryu Ji-gwang burst into hearty laughter and clapped his hands.

There were two main reasons why Ryu Ji-gwang had kept silent about this issue despite being aware of it.

First, the medical technique belonged to Shaolin, and specifically, it was Mu-jin’s unique method.

Therefore, he couldn’t easily ask Mu-jin to pass it on and waited for Mu-jin to bring it up first.

The other reason was the potential leakage of the technique.

If Mu-jin taught his treatment methods to a woman, and the clinic became highly successful,

If that woman ran away in the middle of the night, they would lose the greatest advantage of ‘monopoly.’

One might think that no woman would dare to run away from the world-renowned Cheonryu Sangdan, but conversely, it meant that there were four other trading companies as powerful as Cheonryu Sangdan.

Under the premise that they would protect her, it was something that could happen.

However, since Mu-jin himself stated that he would teach his technique to Seol-hwa, his relative and a woman, Ryu Ji-gwang felt as if two of his itchy spots had been scratched at the same time.

“We should call my daughter and discuss this matter together.”

“I would be grateful if you could do so.”

When Mu-jin bowed to show his respect, Ryu Ji-gwang called for Chief Officer Yang, who was waiting at the entrance.

“Bring Seol-hwa here.”

“I will follow your command.”

Chief Officer Yang, who responded to Ryu Ji-gwang’s order with a fist salute, left the Danjujeon. And a moment later,

“Father. It is I, Seol-hwa.”

“Come in.”

With a small sliding sound, Ryu Seol-hwa entered the Danjujeon.

Compared to the last time, she seemed even more intimidated.

She hadn’t expected Mu-jin to be in the Danjujeon, so when she sneaked a glance and met his eyes, she quickly looked down again.

“......”

For a moment, there was a hint of pity in Sangdanju Ryu Ji-gwang’s eyes as he watched his daughter.

Of course, being a seasoned merchant, Ryu Ji-gwang quickly concealed his expression. It was not the face to show in front of a guest.

“Raise your head, Seol-hwa.”

“Yes, Father.”

With a timid voice, Ryu Seol-hwa raised her head and looked uncomfortably at the table between Mu-jin and Sangdanju Ryu Ji-gwang.

After watching his daughter for a moment, Ryu Ji-gwang spoke in a calm tone.

“Do you not resent this father who has ordered you to stay in your room?”

“N-No, Father.”

With a voice as quiet as an ant, she answered, and Ryu Ji-gwang added.

“You have visited the Musculoskeletal Treatment Clinic a few times, so you should know what Mu-jin Dongja here is doing, correct?”

“Y-Yes, I do.”

She answered, feeling ashamed because she had realized that her visits to the clinic had been manipulated by Hong So-hee.

But surprisingly, her father did not bring up the subject to scold her.

“Then you should know what kind of treatment is being done there. Therefore, I am entrusting you with a task.”

“A-Are you speaking to me?”

“Yes. After learning the treatment methods and exercises from Mu-jin Dongja here, you will be responsible for treating women.”

“B-But I am currently under probation, so how can I...?”

As she timidly lowered her head again like a frightened turtle, Ryu Ji-gwang forced himself to maintain his composure and spoke.

“Even during probation, you are receiving education. You will not start working immediately. During the probation period, you will receive ‘education’ from Mu-jin Dongja. And this task was proposed by Mu-jin Dongja himself.”

He often filled the silence with explanations meant to educate Ryu Seol-hwa.

And just when the atmosphere started to feel harmonious...

“I wondered who Seol-hwa resembled to be so beautiful, and it turns out she takes after her grandmother! Haha.”

“Oh hohoho. Our Mu-jin novice has a keen eye for people. Isn’t that right, Seol-hwa?”

Mu-jin made the comment to boost her self-esteem, complimenting both Yeon Ga-hee and her together.

But maybe the effect was too strong.

Her face turned beet red as if she had high blood pressure, and she was too flustered to say anything.

‘Hmm... I should probably avoid complimenting her appearance for a while. She seems extremely embarrassed.’

Mu-jin hadn’t anticipated that she would be so mortified that she couldn’t speak, even though he had included her grandmother in the compliment to make her feel good.

Watching Mu-jin and Ryu Seol-hwa’s reactions, Yeon Ga-hee suddenly laughed with a peculiar expression.

“It seems our Seol-hwa is a bit startled, Mu-jin novice.”

“I apologize. I didn’t mean it that way, Seol-hwa.”

“N-no, it’s not that!”

Suddenly, she shouted loudly, leading to an awkward silence.

“Hohohoho.”

‘I should compliment her appearance after she loses some weight.’

‘Oh no! What if he thinks I’m a weird woman and gets disappointed?’

With Yeon Ga-hee’s laughter in the background, the two of them had completely different thoughts.

* * *

Right after treating Yeon Ga-hee with Ryu Seol-hwa, Mu-jin headed to the entrance of the clinic with them.

Ryu Seol-hwa decided to accompany them to observe the treatment process and also to check on the elderly patients at the entrance.

“Oh my, Buddha-Handed Novice!”

As Mu-jin stepped out to the entrance, the elderly people, who were always gathered there, greeted him warmly.

However, since more than twenty days had passed since Mu-jin had been called Buddha-Handed Novice, there had been a slight change in the scenery in front of the clinic.

“Isn’t he really cute?”

“His face is cute, but what about his body? Look at those arms! My brother does woodwork, but compared to this novice, he’s just a twig!”

Not only the patients, but also those who had heard rumors about the Buddha-Handed Novice began to come out to see him.

Thanks to the grandmothers and grandfathers who constantly praised Mu-jin, a considerable number of curious young women also gathered.

Mu-jin glanced at these women from the corner of his eye but tried hard not to show any interest.

‘Damn it. If it weren’t for my master uncles.’

This was because other Shaolin disciples were with him.

Meanwhile, Ryu Seol-hwa, who had also come to the entrance with Mu-jin, heard the women talking about Mu-jin.

Although she didn’t like the conversations targeting Mu-jin, she felt a strange emotion seeing Mu-jin focusing solely on the treatment without giving those women a single glance.

“Hohoho. It seems our Mu-jin Novice is quite popular in Deungbong-hyeon.”

“Th-that’s right, grandmother.”

Startled by the sudden comment from the grandmother, she answered, while glaring fiercely at the women from Deungbong-hyeon.

“There are so many women who like Mu-jin Novice. You’ll have to work hard to catch his interest.”

“Y-you mean those women, right?”

“Hohoho.”

Yeon Ga-hee just laughed at Ryu Seol-hwa’s startled question.

As a fellow woman and a grandmother, Yeon Ga-hee had already noticed Ryu Seol-hwa’s feelings.

Despite it being a forbidden love, Yeon Ga-hee had no intention of stopping her granddaughter.

Just like many noble families, she was also married into the Cheonryu Sangdan through an arranged marriage.

The former head of the Sangdan, her husband and Ryu Ji-gwang’s father, was an even more severe workaholic than Ryu Ji-gwang.

Having lived as the wife of such a man for decades, Yeon Ga-hee thought it wouldn’t be bad for Ryu Seol-hwa to experience such love in her youth.

Though it was a forbidden love, it would become a memory over time.

Perhaps influenced by Yeon Ga-hee’s encouragement, Ryu Seol-hwa looked at the women of Deungbong-hyeon with a different perspective.

She lowered her head and looked at her own arms, legs, and stomach.

‘There are so many women slimmer and prettier than me....’

The spy who had tried to use her, Hong So-hee, had said that men are simple and get attracted to a woman’s appearance.

Although Hong So-hee had tried to use her, Ryu Seol-hwa thought at least that statement was true.

It takes a long time to know someone’s inner self, and it’s only natural to be interested in either abilities or appearance.

But her abilities were actually her father’s abilities, and as a woman, she wished people would be interested in her appearance rather than her background.

‘I need to lose weight!’

To do so, it seemed she needed to put in a lot of effort, just as her grandmother had said.