The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family Chapter 43

The Genius Grandson of the Namgung Family

Chapter 43

The next day.

Namgung Mu-ryong announced to the family that Ha Hyeon had officially received the ‘Namgung’ surname.

To be honest, it could be said that not much changed when Ha Hyeon became Namgung Ha Hyeon.

This was because the family members and servants of the Namgung household, and even the residents of nearby villages, had already considered Ha Hyeon as a direct descendant and family member of the Namgung household.

Thanks to this, today became the day Ha Hyeon received the most congratulations in his life.

Namgung Gi-cheol and Gi-hyeon who lived in the household naturally congratulated him, and even Namgung Gyu-hyeon, who rarely came out of Blue dragon pavilion, personally visited Ha Hyeon’s quarters to offer congratulations before leaving.

“Ha Hyeon. Congratulations. Take this. It’s a gift.”

Although Namgung Hwiyeon was usually too busy with affairs at the bureau to come to the household, she came with both hands full of snacks like candy and rice cakes to give to Ha Hyeon along with her congratulations.

And Bangsan also sincerely congratulated Ha Hyeon on officially becoming a member of the Namgung household.

However, there were others who were even happier than them.

They seemed to be even happier than Ha Hyeon himself.

“Hey! Namgung Ha Hyeon!”

“Sister, just call me like before?”

“Why are you acting like that when you’re happy? Namgung Ha Hyeon?”

“Yeah, So-hwa is right. Namgung Ha Hyeon. Or do you perhaps dislike the surname Namgung?”

“Even Brother Hwan! It’s not that I dislike it…”

“If you don’t dislike it, then accept it. Namgung Ha Hyeon.”

Ha Hyeon felt somewhat embarrassed and shy when his siblings, who used to just call him Hyeon, now deliberately called him Namgung Ha Hyeon every time.

“Ha Hyeon… no, Namgung Ha Hyeon! Are we all going to practice together?”

“Brother Min! Why does it feel like it’s been so long since I’ve seen you? I thought you had gone on another mission.”

“Even Brother Min…”

While Ha Hyeon was feeling somewhat defeated for an unknown reason, Namgung Min spoke to So-hwa with a puzzled expression.

“So-hwa, what do you mean it’s been a long time? We saw each other this morning, didn’t we? You even came to my quarters asking me to make sure to call Ha Hyeon ‘Namgung Ha Hyeon'”

“No!! Brother, how could you say that here?!”

“Haha. You should have told me not to mention it.”

Namgung Min winked at Ha Hyeon.

At this situation, Namgung Hwan and Ha Hyeon finally burst into laughter.

After having a good laugh, the four of them naturally gathered in a circle around Namgung Min.

“Anyway, now we’re officially four siblings.”

“Yes, brother.”

“We’ve gotten along well until now, but I look forward to continuing so, Ha Hyeon.”

“I should be the one saying that to you, brother and sisters.”

“Great! Namgung Ha Hyeon!”

“Sister, until the end!”

“I’m going to keep calling you this. If you don’t like it, take back becoming a Namgung.”

So-hwa stuck her tongue out at Ha Hyeon and ran ahead to the training ground.

Though Ha Hyeon could have definitely caught So-hwa if he had tried, he didn’t chase after her.

Instead, Ha Hyeon held his stomach and laughed.

That laughter was deeply tinged with happiness.

* * *

“One!”

“Haap!”

“Two!”

“Huaap!”

Following Namgung Mu-ryong’s commands, Namgung Hwan, So-hwa, and Ha Hyeon stepped forward with big strides.

“Faster. Deeper! Whether your sword reaches or not depends on how far your feet go in. Think your life depends on it, and go in desperately!”

“Yes!”

“Again, one!”

“Haap!!”

Recently, Namgung Mu-ryong had begun serious training with the three siblings, excluding Min.

This wasn’t the kind of training they had been doing until now, learning mind techniques and basic forms.

“When the opponent’s weapon comes in with a downward strike rather than a thrust, you shouldn’t step backward. You must dodge while maintaining a distance where my sword can always reach.”

Namgung Mu-ryong swung his wooden sword down toward Namgung Hwan’s head.

Following his grandfather’s words, Namgung Hwan didn’t dodge backward but tried to twist his body to dodge sideways.

Thwack-

“Agh!”

But despite his efforts, Namgung Mu-ryong’s wooden sword struck Namgung Hwan’s side.

“If you try to escape sideways, you’ll just get caught by the next attack. In times like this, take one more step forward and close the distance. That’s why we’re practicing stepping forward now.”

Swoosh-!

This time the wooden sword aimed at So-hwa’s head.

Despite being his only granddaughter, he showed no mercy, swinging at the same speed as he had against Namgung Hwan moments ago.

Taht!

So-hwa immediately applied her grandfather’s teachings and got so close she almost embraced Namgung Mu-ryong.

Naturally, Namgung Mu-ryong’s wooden sword cut through empty air.

“Well done, So-hwa. When you’ve closed in on your opponent like just now, you can either slash with your sword or pull out your short sword and stab them. A sword once swung must be pulled back before it can strike again. This creates a defenseless moment.”

“Yes! Grandfather!”

“You could have taught me like that too…”

As Namgung Hwan grumbled while holding his side, Namgung Mu-ryong looked at him and said.

“Hwan, what was that?”

“Ah, nothing. I meant I should do that from now on too!”

“Really?”

Swish-!

Namgung Mu-ryong smiled and suddenly swung his sword at Ha Hyeon.

Whoosh-

Ha Hyeon seemed to disappear from his spot for a moment, then appeared like the wind in front of Namgung Mu-ryong and threw a punch.

Thuk-!

Of course, it was blocked by Namgung Mu-ryong’s hand.

“Good. That’s how you do it. Never being afraid of the sword and responding without panic is the most basic principle.”

“Yes!”

What Namgung Mu-ryong was teaching his grandchildren now was training specifically designed for fighting against people.

Namgung Mu-ryong is a warrior who has been active in the martial arts world for decades.

He has been through hundreds, if not thousands, of life-and-death battles, and the times he’s come close to death are too numerous to count.

There was no one else in the Namgung household who could provide training that more closely resembled real combat than him.

And now, this Namgung Mu-ryong was generously passing on everything he had learned from real combat to his grandchildren.

‘Oh my goodness, I’m dying. Grandfather said he wanted us to take the family battle with the Moyong family as just an experience… but he’s really serious about this.’

Namgung Hwan had never seen his grandfather teach someone so enthusiastically before, so while he was puzzled at first, now he could understand him.

‘Grandfather looks very happy right now. I could have given him joy like this much earlier.’

Namgung Hwan stood up straight, firmly tensing his trembling legs.

He couldn’t show a shameful appearance in front of Ha Hyeon, who was training as if his life depended on it, and So-hwa, who was training even more intensely with fire in her eyes.

“Haap-!”

The battle cry of the three siblings resonated throughout the training ground.

* * *

During a brief break.

So-hwa, covered in white dust, gulped down some water and asked Namgung Hwan.

“Brother Hwan.”

“What?”

Namgung Hwan, exhausted and sprawled on the ground, answered halfheartedly.

“Sit up for a moment. I have something to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Brother, have you sparred with that Paeng guy… I mean, Brother Paeng?”

“Heon-hong?”

“Yeah.”

Namgung Hwan tilted his head, wondering why So-hwa suddenly brought up Paeng Heon-hong, and answered.

“I’ve fought him a few times. When training in the yard.”

“Really? Who’s stronger?”

“I’m stronger, of course. We’ve never had a fight to the death, but I’ve never lost to him so far.”

So-hwa’s eyes sparkled at Namgung Hwan’s answer.

“Really? Is that so. Then if I can beat you, Brother Hwan, that means I can beat Paeng… I mean, Brother Paeng, right?”

“Hmm… Heon-hong probably hasn’t been sitting idle all this time either.”

“Then you just need to keep working hard to always be stronger than Brother Paeng!”

“Ah! You startled me. Stop suddenly shouting. Your voice is so loud.”

Namgung Hwan, seemingly now wide awake, stood up abruptly and continued.

“But why suddenly ask about Heon-hong? Did something happen?”

“Ah, no! Nothing. Not yet.”

“Not yet?”

“Never mind. It’s nothing.”

“Hey, if you’re going to say something, finish it. You’re making me curious. What happened?”

“I said it’s nothing!”

When So-hwa screamed again, Namgung Hwan grumbled about why she was acting like this and lay back down on the training ground.

‘I need to teach that Paeng guy a lesson.’

So-hwa recalled her recent defeat in a sparring match against Paeng Heon-hong.

To be honest, So-hwa knew well that she couldn’t match Namgung Hwan yet, and she even thought she wouldn’t be a match for Ha Hyeon in her current state.

However, for her who had secretly thought she was second only to Ha Hyeon among the current Blue dragon pavilion peers, the defeat against Paeng Heon-hong was a big shock.

Moreover, since then, Paeng Heon-hong would sometimes provoke So-hwa during training and occasionally annoy her.

“Sister, honestly, from what I see…”

“What?!”

“Ah, never mind. Let’s just work hard.”

Ha Hyeon was about to say that So-hwa never let anything slide easily and that her intense reactions were endearing, but seeing her response, he held his tongue.

Somehow, he felt that if he said that now, the backlash would come his way.

So Ha Hyeon just let out a deep internal sigh and focused on resting.

A little distance away from the shade where the three siblings were resting.

There, Namgung Mu-ryong was watching them with contentment.

Since they were currently training, he couldn’t show these feelings openly, so he savored this overflowing happiness when his grandchildren weren’t looking at him.

‘It feels like I’ve gone back thirty years.’

Namgung Mu-ryong recalled several decades ago.

Back then, in this very place, he used to train together with his two sons and one daughter.

Although the order was different, since the ratio of boys to girls was the same, it felt like he had returned to that time.

‘I wonder how Min is doing?’

Namgung Mu-ryong thought of Namgung Min, who had politely declined his personal instruction.

‘Grandfather, I will focus more on mastering the Thunder Emperor Divine Technique with my uncle. And I wish to gain more real combat experience by going on more frequent missions.’

His voice and eyes had shown not even the slightest hesitation.

Thinking about that time, Namgung Mu-ryong couldn’t help but smile.

‘Yes, there’s no need to worry about Min. He’s well past the age where I need to worry.’

After that conversation, Namgung Min was more focused on martial arts than ever before.

His demeanor was intense enough to make even Namgung Mu-ryong feel a hint of fear.

‘This will be interesting.’

Namgung Mu-ryong chuckled to himself.

Just then, Ha Hyeon, So-hwa, and Namgung Hwan, who seemed to have come along reluctantly, ran up to him and said.

“Grandfather! Let’s start again. We’ve all rested!”

“If you’re not ready yet, grandfather, should we practice the previous movements?”

“If you’re too tired, grandfather, I think we could rest a bit more.”

“Brother Hwan!”

“…”

“Haha. Hahaha!”

Namgung Mu-ryong burst out laughing.

He was touched that his grandchildren had finished their rest and come back before he could even suggest resuming training.

When children do well, it’s an adult’s duty to respond in kind.

Namgung Mu-ryong stood up, brushing off his clothes, and said.

“If you’re so eager to train, let’s start right away. This time we’ll do some more difficult training. Everyone ready?”

“Yes!”

“Yes! Grandfather.”

“…Yes.”

Namgung Mu-ryong was genuinely starting to look forward to the day they would visit the Moyong household.

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