The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family Chapter 4

The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family

Chapter 4

“Bok-woo? Ah yes. I think I’ve seen you once before. Back then you were just a snot-nosed beggar disciple, but you’ve grown quite a bit.”

“That was already 10 years ago, Elder. But what brings you here…”

“I have a long-standing relationship with the residents here. Just came to beg for some alcohol.”

Chwiwol Geolgae chuckled as if something about that answer was funny and continued speaking.

“But what brings such a high-ranking branch leader like yourself running here in such a hurry?”

“Someone attacked our beggar clan’s disciple, so I came out to assess the situation.”

“What?”

The moment Chwiwol Geolgae became angry, the atmosphere instantly changed.

Until just moments ago, he had appeared to be nothing more than a half-drunk beggar who was barely conscious, but now he was emanating such a sharp aura that it felt like it could peel one’s skin off just by being near him.

And since Ha Hyeon was closest to that aura, he felt it most intensely, unconsciously drawing up his inner energy to push back against it.

“Who is the bastard?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked who attacked our beggar clan member.”

Chwiwol Geolgae asked coldly.

The branch leader felt that if he didn’t clear up this misunderstanding quickly, this hot-tempered elder, also known as the Mad Dog, might cause something serious.

“Elder! I misspoke. While it was an attack, it was merely a children’s fight. I only got involved personally because the child used martial arts.”

“A children’s fight?”

“The first-rank disciple Ma Yun-cheol behind me has just mastered the Strike Ninety-Eight Forms up to the second level. But he says he was helplessly defeated by another beggar.”

“Another beggar?”

Fortunately, the branch leader’s explanation seemed to work as Chwiwol Geolgae’s aura subsided.

And in that opening, Ma Yun-cheol gathered his courage and shouted.

“It’s that guy behind the Elder right now! Hey you! Did you think you couldn’t be found just because you ran away! How dare you think you could escape the eyes of our clan!”

Ha Hyeon was dumbfounded.

Ma Yun-cheol was the one who started the fight, and he was the one who attacked first.

Yet now he was completely turning things around.

Though Ha Hyeon had planned to let it slide considering his current situation, anger welled up inside him.

“You’re the one who picked a fight with me first! I said I would leave, but you swung that staff at me!”

“I was only trying to punish someone who trespassed in our territory! I don’t know what kind of beggar you are or where you rolled in from, but if you wanted to beg, you should have gone through the proper channels with the beggar clan!”

“I told you I’m not a beggar!”

As the two boys shouted at each other in growing anger, the two adult beggars started to grasp the situation.

The branch leader frowned at Ma Yun-cheol and said:

“Ma Yun-cheol. Are you saying you swung your Dog beating staff first? You clearly told me he attacked you out of nowhere.”

“Well, that’s…”

“Moreover, you attacked first but got hit and even passed out?”

“…Yes, Branch Leader.”

Since everything the branch leader said was true, Ma Yun-cheol could only answer in a tiny voice.

“You just wait until we get back.”

The branch leader seemed genuinely angry.

The situation was already giving him a headache with all the tragedies happening throughout the martial arts world lately.

He had followed along just in case, only to find out the alleged dangerous person was just a child like this.

Moreover, although Chwiwol Geolgae didn’t seem to care, the branch leader’s face was starting to flush red thinking about how foolish they must have appeared in front of the elder.

“But it’s not a lie that he knows martial arts! He directly countered my Strike Ninety-Eight Forms!”

“What?”

This time it was Chwiwol Geolgae who was a bit surprised.

Even though it was the Strike Ninety-Eight Forms performed by a low-ranking first-level disciple, it wasn’t a technique that an ordinary person, let alone a child, could counter.

However, he quickly clicked his tongue while looking at Ma Yun-cheol and spoke:

“Tsk tsk. Your eyes must be full of knotholes. How does this child look like a beggar in any way? Being a beggar isn’t something just anyone can do. Have you ever seen a beggar with such clean features?”

“Ugh…”

Indeed, Ha Hyeon was a handsome young man whose face seemed to radiate light.

If it weren’t for the clothes he was wearing, he would never have been called a beggar.

“However, I’ll praise you for not letting someone skilled in martial arts go easily in these chaotic times. Our beggar clan is the eyes and ears of the martial arts world. Continue to value all information like you did now, don’t dismiss even small news as trivial.”

Ma Yuncheol’s eyes sparkled at Chwiwol Geolgae’s words.

“Thank you, Elder!”

“Now then, first-rank disciple. Come here.”

Ma Yun-cheol approached Chwiwol Geolgae with quick small steps.

“By the way.”

“Yes, Elder.”

“I heard you got beaten by this child earlier. Is that true?”

Ma Yun-cheol became flustered and even started stuttering.

“I-it’s not that I got beaten, I just let my guard down…!”

“So you’re saying you would naturally win against him if you didn’t let your guard down?”

As he listened to the answer, Chwiwol Geolgae was cackling with his characteristic laugh, finding some part of this amusing.

“Well then, let’s have another round.”

“What?”

“A martial arts match. We can’t just let it go after being defeated. Hey young master, I hear you taught our disciple a lesson – would you mind doing it once more?”

In truth, when Ha Hyeon had drawn up his inner energy earlier, he had immediately noticed that the boy was trained in martial arts.

And he had instantly recognized how pure and clean that energy was.

-I won’t ask what circumstances brought you here. Just give our foolish disciple a good thrashing.

A voice that seemed to echo inside his ears rang out.

Chwiwol Geolgae had figured out the entire situation just from the context, and was trying to have Ha Hyeon teach the first-rank disciple a lesson.

Ha Hyeon flinched at hearing voice transmission for the first time in his life, but being clever, he quickly understood what Chwiwol Geolgae wanted.

He was trying to do more than just punish Ma Yun-cheol through Ha Hyeon – he wanted to teach Ma Yun-cheol how vast the martial arts world really was.

“Thank you! Elder!”

However, Ma Yun-cheol, unaware of these intentions, was visibly delighted.

He foolishly seemed to think that Chwiwol Geolgae had set this up for his benefit.

‘Tsk tsk. In the martial arts world, delivering wrong information is a crime, but failing to assess an opponent’s strength is an even greater crime.’

Chwiwol Geolgae hoped this incident would serve as a wake-up call for Ma Yun-cheol.

“I am Ma Yun-cheol, first-rank disciple of the beggar clan. What’s your name?”

“I already heard it last time. Do I really have to tell you my name?”

“Hah! No need! I’ll hear it when you’re crying and begging for mercy soon enough!”

Ma Yun-cheol once again drew out his Dog beating staff from his waist.

Ha Hyeon sighed deeply at this sight and looked around for a usable branch, but unfortunately couldn’t find anything suitable.

“Bok-woo!”

“Y-yes, Elder!”

“Hand over your Dog beating staff.”

“What?”

“Just give it to me without arguing.”

Chwiwol Geolgae carelessly threw the Dog beating staff he received from Bok-woo to Ha Hyeon.

“It wouldn’t be fair for only one side to have a weapon in a proper duel. Use this.”

Ha Hyeon nodded once and silently picked up the Dog beating staff.

“How dare you touch the Branch Leader’s Dog beating staff that even I haven’t touched! Here I come!”

Ma Yun-cheol swung his Dog beating staff while charging at Ha Hyeon.

Despite appearing very excited, it was quite a sharp attack.

He probably remembered his earlier mishap when he had recklessly swung his Dog beating staff at Ha Hyeon.

Whoosh- Bang!

Ma Yun-cheol’s staff movements became increasingly faster.

In the brief gaps between Ma Yun-cheol’s attacks.

Ha Hyeon, who had only been barely dodging until now, quickly escaped Ma Yun-cheol’s attack range using the movement techniques he had learned while running through mountain paths.

“Oh ho. Those are excellent footwork techniques.”

Chwiwol Geolgae’s eyes widened.

The way he flowed out of range like water seemed far from ordinary.

It appeared he had already far surpassed the martial arts level of his peers.

“His footwork is elegant. But I wonder which sect he’s from…”

In fact, this was what puzzled Chwiwol Geolgae as well.

He thought he had sufficient knowledge of martial arts from his many years traveling the martial world, but this was footwork he had never seen before.

“Hyah!”

Ma Yun-cheol shouted loudly as he charged at Ha Hyeon again, channeling inner energy into his Dog beating staff.

It was the same Strike Ninety-Eight Forms technique he had tried to use against Ha Hyeon yesterday.

“Hup!”

As Ha Hyeon drew up his inner energy with all his might, the world seemed to slow down around him.

Even the tip of Ma Yun-cheol’s incoming staff was clearly visible.

‘As expected, Ma Yun-cheol still has many openings. I’ll do exactly what I did yesterday in the mountains.’

Though it felt long to him, it was actually just a split second.

Having finished his thought, Ha Hyeon began swinging his Dog beating staff in exactly the same stance as Ma Yun-cheol.

Swish-!

The Dog beating staff cut through the air as concentrated inner energy filled it.

Though it was the same technique, the bearing was worlds apart from what Ma Yun-cheol showed.

Clang-!

Though it was just two bamboo Strike Staves hitting each other, it sounded like iron striking iron.

“Ugh!”

After just one collision.

While Ha Hyeon still held his Dog beating staff, Ma Yun-cheol had lost his grip.

More than just dropping it, his grip had been torn by the overwhelming force, drawing blood.

“Phew.”

Ha Hyeon regulated his breathing as he looked down at Ma Yun-cheol who was sitting and clutching his hand.

Although he had won, it wasn’t a particularly good feeling.

But strangely, he didn’t feel any sympathy either.

At that moment, an angry roar came from an unexpected direction.

“You bastard!”

It was Chwiwol Geolgae.

Though he had been standing at a distance to avoid interfering with the duel, he appeared before Ha Hyeon in the blink of an eye.

Step- Step-

Then he unhesitatingly grabbed Ha Hyeon’s arm with a joint-locking technique, subduing him.

“E-elder, why are you…!”

“Where did you learn that!”

“Ugh.”

Ha Hyeon couldn’t properly answer due to the pain, but Chwiwol Geolgae shouted in great agitation.

“How do you know the beggar clan’s martial arts!”

This was why he was so agitated.

Although the Strike Ninety-Eight Forms was the most basic martial art of the beggar clan, it was still something that could only be learned after becoming at least a first-rank disciple.

Moreover, the beggar clan traditionally never wrote down their martial arts in secret manuals, passing them down only through oral tradition, so it would be impossible to learn without someone teaching it.

“Who was it? Who taught you! No, before that, who are you!”

“Why are you… so scared?”

“Answer me! Where did you learn it!”

Ha Hyeon judged that Chwiwol Geolgae was currently in no state for rational dialogue.

“I never learned it!”

“What? Are you trying to mock me…”

“I just copied what Ma Yun-cheol was doing yesterday.”

“What?!”

Caught off guard by this unexpected answer, Chwiwol Geolgae’s grip loosened slightly.

Ha Hyeon didn’t miss this opportunity and used his inner energy to slip free from his grasp.

“I’ll say it again, no one taught me.”

Ha Hyeon was extremely tense, worried that Chwiwol Geolgae might charge at him again, but he didn’t seem interested in doing so.

“Huh, huh huh… You copied by watching. Is that really true?”

“To be precise, I didn’t just copy it exactly. I watched what he was doing and improved upon the parts I thought were flawed.”

When Chwiwol Geolgae really thought about what had just happened, Ha Hyeon’s movements seemed somewhat different from the first form of the Strike Ninety-Eight Forms.

The first form was essentially practice for channeling inner energy into the Dog beating staff.

Therefore, it focused solely on swinging without any footwork or other movements.

But the technique Ha Hyeon demonstrated was closer to the form called “Hungry Dog Drinks Urine” (A-gu-heul-nyo).

It was a form that improved upon the weaknesses of the first form to make it usable in actual combat.

That’s why it only appeared in the latter part of the Strike Ninety-Eight Forms.

And it was a technique that could only be learned after becoming a second-rank disciple.

Not just using learned martial arts, but improving and developing them.

It sounds easy to say, but it’s clearly something that no one can do easily.

‘Great Grandmaster.’

Was it coincidence that these three characters flashed through Chwiwol Geolgae’s mind?

He could instinctively tell from Ha Hyeon’s eyes that what he was saying was the truth.

Chwiwol Geolgae slowly looked at Ha Hyeon again and asked.

“Young man. Which sect are you from?”

“I don’t have a sect.”

“No sect? Then which family are you from?”

“That… is difficult for me to say.”

Chwiwol Geolgae silently looked at Ha Hyeon for a moment after hearing those words.

And everyone else present also remained silent while watching his reaction.

“Since ancient times, the beggar clan has had many disciples with complicated circumstances. Why? Because we don’t ask about the past. So I won’t ask about your past either.”

“What do you mean…”

Chwiwol Geolgae cut off Ha Hyeon’s words and spoke bluntly.

As if it were nothing.

But the meaning behind those words wasn’t so comfortable.

Even the Branch Leader and Ma Yun-cheol momentarily forgot the pain in their hands and stared in shock at Ha Hyeon and Chwiwol Geolgae.

“Would you like to become… no, would you like to become my disciple?”