The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family Chapter 36

The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family

Chapter 36

“Haha. I was really foolish. So foolish. I should have trusted my instincts.”

He stomped his feet on the ground a few times as if his pride was hurt, and continued speaking.

“Now I understand what you were trying to do. Your goal wasn’t to kill me… Yes. You were trying to silence the person Min captured! If that person is taken to the Alliance, it might be revealed that you who attacked the Jung family estate weren’t actually from the Demonic cult!”

Chwiwol Geolgae chuckled as if he was enjoying piecing together the information one by one.

Soon, the sound of powerful energy gathering in both his hands could be heard buzzing.

Hwang Ui-in’s eyes changed.

Until now, he hadn’t shown any emotion, but a killing intent briefly flickered in his eyes.

Woong-

Hwang Ui-in’s sword begins to hum softly as he gathers energy into it.

However, Chwiwol Geolgae wasn’t going to let him continue.

“Where do you think! Try blocking this!”

Chwiwol Geolgae charged head-on, and Hwang Ui-in swung his sword at him before fully charging his energy.

“Taaap!”

Chwiwol Geolgae clashed with Hwang Ui-in, his two palms filled with explosive force.

Paak!

Hwang Ui-in’s sword barely managed to stop Chwiwol Geolgae’s powerful energy right in front of him.

Undeterred, Chwiwol Geolgae unleashed his favorite technique.

Subduing Dragon Eighteen Palms – Arrogant Dragon Has Regret

‘If he keeps blocking, I just need to break through.’

Arrogant Dragon Has Regret was the most powerful technique among the Subduing Dragon Eighteen Palms.

Its biggest weakness was its simplicity, being just a straight palm strike, but with Chwiwol Geolgae’s experience and combat intuition, such a weakness was more than compensated for.

After all, for supreme masters, simplicity meant clarity.

Ta-at!

Sensing instinctively that this attack would be difficult to block, Hwang Ui-in didn’t try to defend this time but instead used his footwork to dodge sideways.

Siiik-

However, seeing this reaction, Chwiwol Geolgae smiled instead.

Tung!

He had predicted Hwang Ui-in would dodge this time, and lightly rolled his foot to move in the same direction as Hwang Ui-in’s dodge.

When it came to footwork and body techniques, Chwiwol Geolgae was among the best in the martial arts world.

He overwhelmed Hwang Ui-in with speed far superior to his escape attempt.

Paak-!!

Chwiwol Geolgae’s Subduing Dragon Eighteen Palms, filled with energy, struck Hwang Ui-in’s chest.

‘It landed properly.’

Hwang Ui-in took the palm strike directly to his chest and flew back three zhang before crashing to the ground with a splat.

Chwiwol Geolgae smiled with satisfaction.

Hwang Ui-in lay motionless, possibly dead.

A somewhat anticlimactic ending to such a long fight.

Chwiwol Geolgae, who had maintained his guard until the end, watched for a while to confirm Hwang Ui-in’s death, then stretched his back saying:

“Oh my. How tiring. I must be getting old.”

Groaning, Chwiwol Geolgae approached the fallen Hwang Ui-in.

“It would have been better to keep him alive, but I would have exhausted myself first. What kind of person was this anyway?”

Grumbling, he turned over Hwang Ui-in’s body and removed his mask.

“Hmm…?”

Chwiwol Geolgae’s expression became peculiar after getting a proper look at his face.

“Where have I seen this face before…”

He felt certain he had seen it before, but the memory was too old to recall easily.

Chwiwol Geolgae fell into deep thought.

“Ah, I can’t remember. Am I really getting old? Maybe I’ll remember something if I take his corpse with me.”

He hoisted Hwang Ui-in’s body and approached the fallen Martial Arts Alliance warrior from earlier.

“Hey. Are you alive?”

“El… Elder…”

Fortunately, thanks to the timely pressure point technique to stop the bleeding, he was still conscious and responded immediately to Chwiwol Geolgae’s question.

“Good thing you’ve got a long life ahead. How am I supposed to carry both of you?”

Chwiwol Geolgae fell into contemplation.

He couldn’t leave the Martial Arts Alliance warrior here as he could barely move and might fall prey to wild animals, but he also couldn’t leave Hwang Ui-in’s body as it would be crucial for identifying the assassins.

There was also the possibility that if he left the body, this man’s companions might retrieve it later.

“Sigh. Damn it. What hardship at this age. I should be watching my grandchildren play like that Namgung fellow.”

Chwiwol Geolgae sighed deeply.

In the end, the only solution was for him to endure more hardship.

He hoisted Hwang Ui-in’s body on one shoulder and gently placed the Martial Arts Alliance warrior on the other.

“No, no, Elder. I’m fine!”

“Fine my foot! In your current state, even a baby rabbit would make you beg for mercy.”

“Th-thank you.”

“Skip the thanks. Buy me a drink when you recover back at the Alliance.”

“Yes! Elder!”

Just before departing with two people on his shoulders, Chwiwol Geolgae suddenly thought of Ha Hyeon.

‘Could these people also be behind the annihilation of the minor sects?’

But he soon shook his head.

They had detected faint traces of Demonic energy at the annihilated sects.

These people must have somehow learned of the news and were merely impersonating the Demonic cult.

“Well, it was strange indeed. What kind of Demonic cult members would commit such blatant robbery?”

When things got to this point, he finally began to see the truth of the incident.

“Aigo, while it’s not far to the Murim Alliance… Aish! After this job is done, I should go into seclusion!”

Chwiwol Geolgae let out another round of complaints, stretched his legs, and shot forward as if propelled by his movement technique.

Even while carrying two people, his movement technique was truly swift like the wind.

* * *

More than ten days had passed since Ha Hyeon visited Jeongdeok County.

Although a big event had occurred, Ha Hyeon’s daily routine remained similar.

After waking up in the morning, he practices qi circulation and mentally fights life-or-death battles until breakfast.

After breakfast, he receives martial arts training from his grandfather.

In the afternoon, he practices alone, physically applying what he has learned.

Finally, in the evening, he trains with his brothers in the courtyard in front of the pavilion, and before sleep, he again practices qi circulation while imagining life-or-death battles with imaginary warriors.

Though each day was similar like a hamster wheel, Ha Hyeon was satisfied with it.

Because every time he woke up after a night’s sleep, he could discover that he had improved even a little.

And these days, to be honest, Ha Hyeon held a small expectation.

‘The assailant we captured this time… Could they be from the Demonic cult?’

Although Brother Min said there was a high possibility they weren’t, it was still possible.

‘If they really are from the Demonic cult… Wouldn’t there be some information to find out?’

Thanks to Namgung Mu-ryong’s words and his family’s warmth, Ha Hyeon’s desire for revenge had greatly diminished.

It would be a lie to say he didn’t hide any vengeful thoughts in a corner of his heart, but he had organized his feelings enough not to be consumed by revenge anymore.

However, separately from that, his curiosity continued to grow.

‘Why did father, mother… why did the people of the Shin family have to die?’

Of course, nothing would change even if Ha Hyeon learned the reason.

But that question had coiled itself around Ha Hyeon’s heart.

That’s why he held hope that some clues might be uncovered this time.

‘In just a few more days, Elder Chwiwol Geolgae will come with news.’

Ha Hyeon immersed himself in training today as well, remembering Chwiwol Geolgae’s promise to come personally if he discovered anything.

* * *

Several more days passed.

While Ha Hyeon was having his grandfather check his forms of the Changgung Swordsmanship, someone opened the training ground door and entered.

In all of Murim, there was only one person who could enter Sword Saint Namgung Mu-ryong’s training ground without permission.

“Hehe. This old man is working hard alone, while grandfather and grandson are living the good life.”

“Chwiwol Geolgae!”

“Master!”

It was Chwiwol Geolgae who had finally appeared at the Namgung family estate.

“Yes. Mu-ryong, have you been well? And you too, little one… You seem to be doing very well.”

“Yes, I’ve been well.”

“Are you a bamboo shoot? How can a person grow so quickly? Even considering it’s your growth period.”

“I think it’s because I eat well and train hard.”

“Tsk tsk, if you couldn’t even speak well…”

Chwiwol Geolgae clicked his tongue at Ha Hyeon, who had become somewhat glib, and spoke to Namgung Mu-ryong.

“I have something to discuss. Let’s talk separately.”

Namgung Mu-ryong looked at Ha Hyeon once and nodded.

“Alright. Hyun, can you continue on your own?”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

Namgung Mu-ryong left with Chwiwol Geolgae while grinning.

Since Chwiwol Geolgae’s appearance and talk would naturally be a continuation of what happened in Jeongdeok County last time, Ha Hyeon was curious, but he knew well that their conversation wasn’t something he should join.

‘If there’s something I need to know, Grandfather will surely tell me.’

Thinking about the Jeongdeok County incident, Ha Hyeon sat cross-legged and recalled the martial art he had been reconstructing in his mind recently.

It was the martial art of the black-clothed person who had faced Namgung Min.

Having recently finished organizing Namgung Min’s martial arts in his mind to some extent, Ha Hyeon had started working on the black-clothed person’s martial arts as well, and it was now almost complete.

“Whew…”

Recreating the situation in his mind, Ha Hyeon recalled that strange martial art they used.

That martial art that reminded one of a butterfly.

* * *

“So, you’re saying it’s definitely not the Demonic cult, but you can’t get a sense of where the assassins are from?”

“Yes. We woke up and interrogated the captured one, and investigated the dead one, but I couldn’t figure anything out. However…”

“However?”

“The one who died by my hand was somewhat strange.”

“Strange how? Don’t make me keep asking, just explain in detail.”

Chwiwol Geolgae glared at the pressing Namgung Mu-ryong and clicked his tongue.

“Aing. Tsk tsk. The usually composed Sword Saint Namgung Mu-ryong has completely lost his patience now that his grandsons are involved. I don’t know the exact details either. The dead don’t speak, you know.”

Chwiwol Geolgae spoke with a deliberately serious attitude while looking at Namgung Mu-ryong.

“But that fellow was shooting out sword qi like using chopsticks. However, his blood energy was turbid, and his body wasn’t one that had trained obsessively.”

“You mean his body wasn’t that of a master but his martial arts were strong? Strong enough to give the great Chwiwol Geolgae trouble?”

“That’s right… No, that’s wrong. I didn’t have trouble. It was easy!”

Chwiwol Geolgae bristled at Namgung Mu-ryong’s words and, seemingly embarrassed, cleared his throat and continued.

“Ahem ahem. Though we briefly got sidetracked, this reminded me of just one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t you really remember?”

Namgung Mu-ryong recalled the past.

Though it was very brief, he could remember one thing.

If it was about excessive internal energy compared to one’s physical body…

“Could it be… the Soul Absorption Technique?”

“Right. That’s what I was suspecting.”

“Huh…”

Namgung Mu-ryong’s expression became serious.

The Soul Absorption Technique was a unique martial art passed down in the Demonic cult.

Then were the assassins this time really from the Demonic cult?

“However, there’s also a very high possibility that’s not the case. The one I killed didn’t leak any of the demonic energy characteristic of demonic arts. Rather, it was closer to pure internal energy.”

“Then you’re saying it might not be the Soul Absorption Technique, but a similar martial art.”

“That’s right. This is all I can tell for now.”

Chwiwol Geolgae frowned, seemingly displeased with the current situation.

Namgung Mu-ryong comforted him and asked.

“But didn’t you say that face was familiar?”

“Yes. I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere. But… I can’t remember no matter how hard I think. I think I saw him when I was young…”

It was understandable that even the great Chwiwol Geolgae couldn’t remember.

Even if he had seen the person in his thirties, more than fifty years had already passed.

He showed Namgung Mu-ryong a paper with the man’s face drawn on it just in case, but he also just shook his head.

“Min also said the martial art that black-clothed person used was unique, but he couldn’t identify what martial art it was.”

“That’s natural. He would have been focused on executing his techniques while fighting for his life. No matter how exceptional Min is, it would have been difficult to distinguish what martial art it was.”

Chwiwol Geolgae actually defended Namgung Min.

If it weren’t for Min, everyone at the estate would have been slaughtered by the black-clothed men.

He believed it wasn’t right to criticize someone who did well for not doing even better.

Understanding this sentiment, Namgung Mu-ryong didn’t say more.

He let out a small sigh.

“Sigh. This means… We’re back to square one.”

“The Demonic cult… or Demonic cult imposters… It seems something is about to happen again.”

“If we at least knew the identity of these imposters, it would be less of a headache.”

“Don’t worry. Our Beggar’s Sect will find out the information somehow.”

“Thank you. Without the Beggar’s Sect, all of Murim would be deaf and blind.”

Chwiwol Geolgae grinned, seemingly pleased with Namgung Mu-ryong’s words.

“Thank you for thinking that way. I’m busy today so I must return right away.”

“You don’t even have time to sit for a moment?”

“I’ll visit again later. Prepare some wine then. Ah right, before I go, I should see that kid Ha Hyeon one more time. Let’s go back to the training ground.”

Chwiwol Geolgae must have taken quite a liking to Ha Hyeon, wanting to see his face even during such a busy time.

Understanding this feeling, Namgung Mu-ryong laughed and followed behind him.

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