The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family Chapter 3

The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family

Chapter 3

Ha Hyeon didn’t realize he was the one the beggar was yelling at, so he just stared blankly.

This seemed to anger the beggar even more, who came stomping towards him.

“You! How dare you not respond when an elder is speaking?!”

“Elder?”

Ha Hyeon reflexively echoed the beggar’s words.

No matter how he looked at it, the beggar didn’t seem more than a few years older than Ha Hyeon.

“You still haven’t come to your senses! If you have eyes, look at this knot on my waist!”

The beggar naturally showed Ha Hyeon the knot tied around his waist.

First Knot.

The knot was undoubtedly proof of belonging to the Beggars’ Sect, one of the Nine Major Sects.

Unfortunately, Ha Hyeon lacked the knowledge to understand what the knot meant.

He could only roughly guess that it must be something significant.

Seeing this, the beggar mistakenly assumed Ha Hyeon was intimidated by the knot and spoke with an imposing manner.

“You must know well what wrong you’ve committed?”

“What wrong did I commit?”

“What? You’re just a begging beggar, how dare you speak like that after breaking the rule about not begging in others’ territory?”

“Ah-“

Ha Hyeon finally understood what the beggar was saying.

The beggar had misunderstood after seeing him receive sweets and dumplings from the adults in the marketplace.

Ha Hyeon spoke to the beggar in a deliberately mature tone.

“I am not a beggar. There seems to be a misunderstanding, so I’ll take my leave.”

“Trying to tuck your tail and run away? I, Ma Yun-cheol, First Knot disciple of the Great Beggars’ Sect, will teach you a lesson so you never dare encroach on our territory again.”

The beggar who called himself Ma Yun-cheol pulled out a Dog Beating Stick from his waist.

This Dog Beating Stick was bestowed to him by the Branch Leader after he was recently recognized as a First Knot disciple in the White Clothes Division.

Although it wasn’t given to him to be used like this, Ma Yun-cheol, who had never used it since receiving it, must have thought this was the time to satisfy his itching hands as he suddenly swung the stick towards Ha Hyeon.

Swoosh-

The Dog Beating Stick cut through the air quite fiercely in Ma Yun-cheol’s hands.

While it was a speed that might surprise ordinary people, as expected of someone responsible for this territory of the Beggars’ Sect, to Ha Hyeon’s eyes it seemed endlessly slow.

‘Slow.’

It seemed even slower than the movements of the rabbits and weasels Ha Hyeon had chased over the past two months, and even slower than the squirrel he had easily caught and eaten a few days ago.

Whish-

Ha Hyeon easily avoided the stick by simply twisting his body.

“Hah!”

Perhaps thinking it was luck, Ma Yun-cheol swung the stick at Ha Hyeon again, but this time too, it had no chance of reaching Ha Hyeon.

After several swings all proved futile, Ma Yun-cheol, seemingly enraged to his limit, ground his teeth and shouted.

“Argh! This guy. You’re quite nimble with your body. Then try taking this!”

Ha Hyeon’s eyes widened slightly.

He felt Ma Yun-cheol’s Dog Beating Stick coming at him with a different feeling than before. Ma Yun-cheol was now displaying martial arts forms he had learned from the Beggars’ Sect.

‘I can’t just dodge this.’

Unlike the reckless swings from before, this time the stick contained simple yet mysterious principles.

Though Ma Yun-cheol probably didn’t fully understand the principles behind the forms he was using, it was sufficiently threatening.

“Take this!”

Swoooosh-!

Ma Yun-cheol’s stick cut through the air as it flew.

“This is the martial arts of our Sect!”

“So this is the staff technique we’ll learn when we become First Knot disciples!”

“As expected of our leader!”

The three White Clothes members following Ma Yun-cheol couldn’t contain their admiration watching his martial arts.

Thud-!

“Argh!”

Immediately followed by a scream, someone fell.

It happened in an instant.

“…Huh?!”

The White Clothes members’ eyes were filled with shock.

Unable to believe what they were seeing, they could only blink repeatedly.

“Cough, cough.”

The one who had fallen was Ma Yun-cheol, who had been wielding the stick.

He was clutching his stomach and coughing continuously.

The Dog Beating Stick had been dropped somewhere and was rolling on the ground.

“Huff-“

And Ha Hyeon exhaled the breath he had been holding. He was still holding up his right foot.

Earlier when Ma Yun-cheol swung his stick with a thread of inner force at Ha Hyeon, Ha Hyeon noticed that despite the fierce approach of the stick, the stomach area was left almost completely defenseless.

Therefore, he quickly thrust his foot with inner force into the stomach, and Ma Yun-cheol collapsed from the direct hit of the kick.

“Leader! Wake up, leader!”

The pain must have been severe as Ma Yun-cheol’s eyes rolled back and he fainted.

” Though I didn’t mean to do it intentionally… oh well.”

Ha Hyeon started to say something to the White Clothes members but realizing it would be meaningless, he used his legs with all his might to leave the scene.

One of the White Clothes members tried to catch Ha Hyeon, but seeing him disappear from sight at such an incredible speed, they didn’t even dare to chase after him.

“Lightness skill… That was lightness skill. He must have learned martial arts.”

“What should we do now?”

“What else? When someone who knows martial arts causes trouble, it’s our job to report it immediately to the Branch Leader.”

“That’s true, but…”

One White Clothes member’s gaze turned to the fallen Ma Yun-cheol.

“What about the leader?”

“What about him? We’ll just report the truth that he was defeated by that guy who ran away.”

The three beggars looked at each other and nodded.

They had been together since their first memories.

For them, coordinating their stories was as easy as eating cold porridge(The phrase “as easy as eating cold porridge” originates from Chinese culture and is a simile used to describe something extremely simple or effortless. Its meaning is akin to other English idioms like “a piece of cake” or “as easy as pie.”).

“Ugh. What kind of beggar has such a nasty temperament.”

Ha Hyeon only stopped running after reaching a secluded forest where there were few people around.

Only after carefully examining the path he had run and confirming there were no pursuers could Ha Hyeon finally catch his breath.

Without taking a moment to rest, Ha Hyeon fell deep into thought.

“That was definitely martial arts. Even beggars in the martial arts world use martial arts techniques.”

Ha Hyeon looked around and picked up a suitable branch from the surroundings.

“Is it like this?”

Then he swung it without hesitation.

Swoosh-!

The branch made a sound that was unbelievable for an ordinary piece of wood.

It was an even more powerful and sharper sound than when Ma Yun-cheol had swung earlier.

“No, no. This is exactly like how the beggar swung it earlier. The stick flew sharply, but it was very clumsy, especially the lower body.”

That’s why it was easily countered with just one kick.

“To prevent the lower body from becoming defenseless, keep both elbows close to the body…”

When swinging the stick, Ha Hyeon wanted the opponent to focus only on the stick.

To minimize openings throughout his entire body.

“This way, the swing becomes unnatural… Ah! I can divide the motion. Until the swing, find the shortest path for the stick to reach the opponent’s body as quickly as possible, and only cover the openings right before impact.”

As if having realized something, Ha Hyeon swung the branch a few more times.

Then, glaring at a large tree nearby, he swung the stick according to what he had just realized.

As he moved the stick in that way, inner energy naturally flowed from his dantian throughout his body and fully permeated the branch.

Swoosh-!

Bang-!

There was a sound like an explosion, and the branch Ha Hyeon was holding crumbled with a hiss.

It was clear that an ordinary branch couldn’t withstand the force of his energy.

“Haa-.”

Ha Hyeon let out his held breath and looked at the tree he had struck.

The point where the branch had made contact was deeply gouged about one cheok (30cm).

(Cheok is the traditional Asian standard of measurement, meaning ‘span of the hand.)

“Wow…”

While Ha Hyeon was surprised by the divine power he had displayed, it was only for a moment.

Perhaps because he had used more internal energy than expected earlier, he felt his dantian becoming empty and was struck by intense hunger.

Ha Hyeon surveyed his surroundings and climbed to the top of the tallest tree.

Having become somewhat proficient at using internal energy, Ha Hyeon climbed the tree as skillfully as a monkey.

After climbing to a height that would be barely visible from below, Ha Hyeon sat down heavily on a branch and began practicing the Changgung Daeyeon Heart Technique.

Although Ha Hyeon could now practice the Changgung Daeyeon Heart Technique while walking or running, sitting cross-legged in one place made the practice much more efficient.

Ha Hyeon soon fell into deep meditation.

* * *

The next day.

Ha Hyeon came down to the village again.

After finishing his meditation yesterday, he used his last fire talisman to cook a rabbit he caught in the mountains.

‘I’ve already confirmed the store’s location. With the silver pieces mother left me, I should be able to buy several fire talismans.’

While selling the jewelry his mother had put in his pocket would certainly bring more money than the silver pieces, Ha Hyeon had absolutely no intention of selling those accessories.

Because these rings and earrings were practically his mother’s keepsakes.

‘I need to make it to the Namgung clan using just the silver pieces as much as possible.’

Compared to the distance he had traveled so far, Hapbi wasn’t that far.

Though he hadn’t checked an accurate map, he thought it would take at most two weeks to arrive.

Ding-a-ling-

As Ha Hyeon opened the door and entered the store, the shopkeeper’s voice greeted him along with the sound of bells attached to the door.

“Welco… You’re a beggar? Sorry, but we’re not a food store, so we don’t have any food to give as alms.”

“I’m not here for alms. I’m here to buy something.”

“Huh?”

The owner looked at Ha Hyeon carefully with both eyes wide open.

And soon showed interest.

While everything below his neck looked exactly like a beggar, his face was clean.

As soon as the shopkeeper judged him to be a customer rather than a beggar, his expression changed.

Moreover, even though Ha Hyeon was clearly just a child, he spoke to him respectfully.

“What item are you looking for?”

“Do you have fire talismans?”

“Fire talismans… We have a few low-grade ones with weak flames. How many do you need?”

Ha Hyeon handed over a silver piece he had prepared in advance.

“As many as this one silver piece will buy.”

“For one silver piece… I can give you ten sheets. Is that acceptable?”

Ha Hyeon nodded.

The actual market price of fire talismans wasn’t important to him.

He just wanted to quickly set out toward the Namgung clan.

“Please come again.”

After exchanging the silver piece for ten fire talismans, the owner smiled and even saw Ha Hyeon off.

Just then, a voice that sounded like scraping iron plates was heard.

“You swindler of the Jeong family. While fire talismans may be precious items, for that silver piece you should have given at least thirty sheets, but you gave not even half, just a third?”

Looking toward the source of the voice, there was an old beggar approaching with disheveled hair, wearing tattered clothes that barely covered him, and a dirty gourd dangling at his waist.

His slight stumbling suggested he was already drunk.

“Swindler, you say! I offered a fair price, and this young hero here agreed to it. Drunk beggar, be on your way.”

“Hehehe. Let’s see… Looking at your face, you don’t seem to be a beggar? In our Beggar Sect, we don’t wash our faces. But you’re walking around in clothes that look exactly like a beggar’s. From my experience as a beggar, it seems like you haven’t changed clothes for about two months? Even though you have silver pieces, you could have bought new clothes, but you deliberately didn’t? I really can’t figure this out.”

The old beggar examined Ha Hyeon carefully, and seemingly unable to reach a conclusion, clicked his tongue and continued.

“Tsk-. Anyway, that’s not what’s important, so either give back some change or hand over twenty more fire talismans, you swindler of the Jeong family!”

“Ugh, talk about bad luck, meeting a beggar first thing in the morning.”

The owner took out a few coins from his sleeve and handed them to Ha Hyeon, who accepted them reflexively.

“Hehehe. This is quite amusing.”

“As if!”

The owner snapped at the beggar and went back into his store.

The beggar found this truly hilarious and laughed heartily for a while, holding his stomach.

Ha Hyeon felt that the two men seemed extremely close.

“Thank you for your help, Elder.”

Ha Hyeon bowed politely to the beggar.

Seeing this, the beggar’s eyes showed interest.

It wasn’t easy to politely bow and address someone who looked like a beggar as ‘Elder’.

“This beggar only wanted to tease the Jeong family, but I graciously accept your thanks. Don’t go around getting deceived like that elsewhere.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Ha Hyeon bowed respectfully and left.

It was truly time to start running toward the Namgung clan again.

“That’s him! Master Bunta!”

Just then, a familiar voice was heard from far away.

It was Ma Yun-cheol, a first-rank disciple of the Beggar Sect who had been knocked unconscious by Ha Hyeon’s blow to his stomach a few days ago.

“Did you think you could harm me and escape from this place!”

He appeared even more aggressive than yesterday.

Instead of the three white-robed beggars behind him, there was one large beggar following him, making it look like a child bringing his big brother to a children’s fight.

“Ma… Yun-cheol, was it?”

Ha Hyeon unconsciously let out a deep sigh.

At this moment, when every minute and second was precious, it seemed he was about to get caught up in troublesome matters.

“Master Bunta. This beggar is trying to encroach on our territory. Please teach him a lesson.”

Ma Yun-cheol spoke with his chest puffed out proudly.

Bunta was none other than a third-rank disciple of the Beggar Sect.

He possessed martial arts skills worthy of being ranked among the masters in the martial arts world.

“Huh…?”

However, unlike the proud Ma Yun-cheol, Bunta appeared extremely confused and didn’t know what to do.

“Master Bunta?”

Ma Yun-cheol called out to Bunta questioningly, but Bunta seemed not to hear him and instantly used his lightness skill to reach in front of Ha Hyeon.

‘Incredibly fast.’

Ha Hyeon thought that running away would have been useless against his divine speed.

The large beggar called Bunta in front of him appeared much faster than himself.

While Ha Hyeon was extremely tense looking at Bunta who had arrived before him, that tension soon dissipated.

Because Bunta suddenly prostrated himself on the ground and made a deep bow.

No, more precisely, to the old beggar behind Ha Hyeon.

“First Elder! I, Bunta Bok-woo of the Great Beggar Sect, Third Rank, greet the First Elder of the Drunken Moon Elite Beggars!”

The beggar called the Drunken Moon Elite had seven knots tied at his waist.