Kwak Bong proceeded to put the knife in. “Take your servant and get out.”
Sangnamjae, who defeated Oh Seong-gil, said, “I killed him.”
“Eh? Then what if I kill him without consulting him?”
“I was merely joking.” Sangnamjae’s expression did not change throughout the conversation.
“If you want to joke, then make sure it sounds like a joke.” Sangnamjae made sure to hit Oh Seong-gil in order to wake him up, and then even brushed off his clothes. “Don’t come back. Hangzhou is no place for weaklings like you.”
The head of the Iron Blood Chamber and the elite had become weak in an instant. Kwak Bong began to murmur when he saw the two of them leaving, “I met a weak person and ended up throwing away my hands for nothing.”
Kang Chansik still couldn’t believe what was unfolding before his eyes. For him, the Cheolhyeolbang was quite similar to the Shaolin Temple located in the Taesanbukdu of Moorim. It was so high that the peak itself ended up being covered by mist. He was hard to recognize as it was.
‘All this while, you’ve been slaughtering chickens with an ox knife!’
In addition to this, Sangnamjae was no ordinary person. He was not as strong as Jeong Pyun-ho, but he managed to point out Oh Seong-gil’s blood pressure in the blink of an eye. “Are you really Oh Seon-won’s mistress?” Kang Chansik had no choice but to ask Kwak Bong in this manner.
“Exactly. I’m forcing myself to stick with what I’m kicking out. So, you have to be careful not to go outside your eyes.”
“Then, the Hangzhou Wushen has a higher military power than Kwak Daehyeop, right?” Sangnamjae’s licking the tip of his lips looked like a joke. Even after seeing the ridicule, Kwak Bong didn’t put on an unpleasant expression on his face.
“I can’t even follow their heels, so please don’t compare them. It’s embarrassing.”
How great were the Hangzhou Wushen, who used masters like Kwak Bong as their miscellaneous?
‘You mean people like that just threatened me to catch a bounty?’
The brewery was full of masters. This manor was indeed a strange place, no matter how much he thought about it.
* * *
Geom Woo-bin, who came out of the basement after five days, seemed to glow in her face. Despite Do Pyeong-su’s unlucky remarks, she could see at a glance that Woo-bin had great achievements in martial arts.
“Ah! As promised, I will be the first non-democratic partner!” He wasn’t the bloody lion who would leave Geum Hong.
“Why are you the first?!”
“This is because I made a promise!”
“Promises made without us are void!”
Geom Woo-bin hurriedly stepped in, knowing the argument would only escalate. “I’ll do it with my brother-in-law first. A promise is a promise.”
Disappointed, the three of them set their turn to climb the ladder in advance from a distance.
“I’ll do it with Chihwa Falls.” Geom Woo-bin took his stance as he spoke. Geum Hong burst into admiration as he looked at the immovable individual.
‘When was the last time you had a job?’
It must have been about two months ago. But during those two months, Geom Woo-bin was on a completely different level. Geom Woo-bin, who first hit the ground, was as light and soft as a water-filled swallow, but was also rough and powerful, much like a raging wave coming out of the valley. Although it was still not enough to fight against Geum Hong, it seemed to have reached the level of an elder of the Old Daemun faction.
‘Would there have been a Moorim with this level of martial skill at the age of thirteen? Our hard work has been worthwhile!’
Watching Geom Woo-bin and Yeon Ji-hong’s secret dance, the rest of the three people grew excited. They were excited to be on a closer league with Geom Woo-bin, whose martial arts became significantly stronger.
Jeon Yeong Hong finished the dance in one corner with shame. It was out of consideration for Geom Woo-bin, who had to deal with three people in the future. Seo Seok-san then handed one of the two pipas he brought to Geom Woo-bin. “You haven’t neglected your Yin Gong, have you?”
“Of course.” This time, Geom Woo-bin took the lead. The gentle sound of a pipa sound spread like pebbles on the surface of the water, and when it reached Seo Seok-san Mountain, it struck like a tidal wave.
Chaang!
Surprised, Seo Seok-san created an intangible wall by bouncing four strings.
Zeng! With the sound, Woo-bin’s shoulders slid back, but soon his fingers ran through the strings once more. This time, it was a quick and sharp performance. Seok-san also moved his finger to match the rhythm. Unlike other martial arts, it was difficult to control the strength and weakness of Yin Gong. Because of this, there were more unforeseen injuries with this type of arts and for that reason, Yin Gong was rarely chosen as an event of bismuth.
“Great!”
“Thank you, Priest.”
Jang Mandok, who could not stand it, soon came out. Since he had a Kwonbeop battle with Jeon Yeong Hong, Jang Mandok opted to choose Jangbeop.
Kwonbeop and Jangbeop seem similar, but they were actually different. Kwonbeop could not follow Jangbeop in its softness, and techniques such as Geumnasu and Leehwa grafting were much easier to use. For that reason, the number of times their hands collided in the air was much higher.
This technique was called Bimu, but because of their high martial arts skills, collision was inevitable. For a while, strange sounds that were similar to beans being roasted emanated, and then Jang Mandok backed away. He was capable of doing more than this, but he was afraid the force would hurt Geom Woo-bin.
Do Pyeong-su looked at Jang Mandok’s expression and said, “Can’t we just win at all?”
His expression, though he was nodding, was full of delight. Finally, when Do Pyeong-su handed the sword to Geom Woo-bin, the three of them began to growl. “One more, Woo-bin, and this time you will really die.”
“I’m fine.”
“You are not fine.” Since the momentum was sincere, Do Pyeong-su did the dance as carefully as possible.
However, Geom Woo-bin’s state was not a skill that could be achieved with caution. The movement became more and more violent, and the sound of the clashing of the swords was so loud that it resonated throughout the Oseon Manor. Judging from the sound of a baby crying from afar, it seemed that Jiwoo had been woken up by the sound of the two of them.
In the end, the dopyeong also did not fill a corner. “The death penalty, I can’t. In the future, when carrying out the death penalty and secret military service, we also need to be prepared.”
The reason why Geom Woo-bin didn’t even show humility was because he felt that his martial arts was making a huge leap at once. “It’s all thanks to the priests. Thank you very much.”
Everyone was happy with Geom Woo-bin’s sincere thanks. However, that joy didn’t last long. Do Pyeong-su’s mistreated mouth suddenly revealed its true identity.
* * *
“Strange. Is there so much hair falling out on the bed, Jangju?” Sibi Jeong-im, who was cleaning, tilted her head and went outside with some of the bed linen. As she plowed on the yard, her hair fell noticeably.
Do Pyeong-su, who was passing by, asked. “Did something happen at Seok-san?”
“No, sir.”
“Then why does that great hair resemble something like that of a molted beast?” The only person to lose that huge amount of hair was Seo Seok-san at Oseon Manor.
“No, that would be impossible. There won’t be any hair left like that.”
“It belongs to the great lord.” The workers didn’t know why Geom Woo-bin was called such a grand name, but she did it, and so she called it that.
“What? Is that real?”
“That’s right. I was surprised to see it today too!”
“That’s strange.” The strangeness that Do Pyeong-su felt was only the beginning. Seo Seok-san, who met Woo-bin at that time, was also tilting his head. “You can’t remember where you put your handcuffs?”
“Yes. And there is no Mukcheol girdle. It must have been taken out of the room.”
“Geom Woo-bin. If you are already forgetful at this point, what are you going to do when you are my age? Hahaha!”
“Ruler… Jang Mandok. Huh… The one I gave you yesterday… What was the drug name? …What was it?”
At this, Jang Mandok’s expression hardened. The emotion that appeared on his face was fear, but even Geom Woo-bin did not know exactly what Jang Mandok was afraid of. “Why… What’s wrong? Yeah? Huh… … Since when… What… Did you stutter?”
Yeah. He hadn’t done this until an hour ago. “Yes. Female… Waiting here… I will be there.”
Jang Mandok found the three Blood Lions and brought them together. “What’s going on, why do you have such a scary expression?”
Do Pyeong-su’s face quickly moved to an expression that stated he did not understand the English language. “Is our death penalty stuttering? Is that really surprising enough to stare at me like it’s going to eat me?”
Seo Seok-san’s expression also changed terribly. “Your brother-in-law lost his handcuffs and girdle. He couldn’t remember where he put them.”
The reply was, “Is that possible?”
“Of course it is. Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I’m not forgetful. But when I stutter, I suddenly forget…”
Do Pyeong-su then began to speak. “His hair is also starting to fall out.”
“What? Geom Woo-bin’s hair?” The person who surprised him the most was Seo Seok-san. Do Pyeong-su told him about what happened this morning at Geom Woo-bin’s residence.
“You mean you started hair loss when you were thirteen? Like me?” Jeon Yeong Hong pointed to Jang Mandok.
“Mandok also began to stutter a long time ago. And eventually, he stopped talking like he is now.”
“The reason I didn’t learn to read was because no matter how hard I studied, I completely forgot when I woke up the next day.”
“But how did you learn martial arts?”
“Body. The mind forgets, but the body remembers.”
“Forgetfulness, hair loss, and stuttering…” Seok-san saw Jang Mandok and Do Pyeong-su.
“Isn’t that just what happened to us?” Do Pyeong-su had an expression that looked like he was about to cry.
“Is the death penalty changing like us? He’s not one of us, why is he adapting to all our shortcomings? Why?”
Seok-san then spoke like a moan. “Maybe it’s because of the ignorance. Geom Woo-bin has improved dramatically in just a few days. When our martial arts reach a certain level, these side effects will occur. There is no other explanation than that.”
The world seemed to be collapsing. “Even if Seok-san makes sense, he doesn’t know yet. It’s just that these symptoms appeared for a while today.”
“Okay. There is no need to despair beforehand. But, Geum Hong-ah…”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you like that?”
“Is that so?”
“My hair, Mandok’s silence, Pyeong-su’s bad hair. You must be experiencing something similar.”
“…I don’t have anything like that?”
“Really? Why aren’t you alone?”
“The martial arts I have learned are in perfect shape without any flaws! Why are you asking me that?!”
“Ah… This is embarrassing!”
“Does this mean you want me to be bald like you?”
At this, Jang Mandok stopped the fight by hitting the table. “Okay. Now is not the time to fight amongst ourselves. Let’s see if the symptoms of the death penalty continue.”
The two days of monitoring Geom Woo-bin were as unsettling as walking on thin ice.
He noticeably reduced Geom Woo-bin’s hair, and his forgetfulness grew so bad that he even forgot where he even put his sword. Since the stuttering was starting up, he also deemed to speak less.
In the end, they had to admit it. Geom Woo-bin was becoming bald, stone-headed, and stuttering because of their incompetence.
“How did this happen?” These were the shortcomings they haven’t been able to fix for several decades, and it was quite impossible to have a sharp number now.
“Let’s stop the training of the death penalty for now.”
Do Pyeong-su shook his head at Seo Seok-san’s words. “No, there are no downsides to Geum Hong’s martial arts. So, you have to keep learning the martial arts of Geum Hong-i. If you don’t let me do anything, it will only hurt my heart more.”
It was a reasonable idea, but Jeon Yeong Hong began to shout. “No!”