Chapter 73
People commonly refer to this situation with a vulgar term.
A family tree.
In the martial arts world, this kind of situation happens more often than you might think.
Cases where a retired master from a previous generation suddenly brings in a young child as a disciple, resulting in young uncles or grand-uncles.
While the Beggar Sect doesn’t reuse generational characters like the Wudang or Shaolin, they do have clear distinctions between generations.
However, their method is unique – they don’t distinguish generations during the White Clothes phase, but differentiate generations based on when disciples advance to the First Level.
“Grand-uncle…?”
“That’s how it turned out. Though as a secular disciple.”
“Secular disciple?”
Ma Yun-cheol’s face showed complete confusion about the current situation.
The Drunken Moon Elite stepped forward and spoke.
He had been laughing so hard that tears had formed in his eyes.
“Oh my stomach. I laughed too much, my belly hurts. Now that I think about it, Ha Hyeon, you’re in the same generation as the Sect Leader.”
“…!”
Ma Yun-cheol seemed the most shocked by those words.
“Sir, but don’t secular disciples usually not count in the generational hierarchy?”
Namgung Min, who had been quietly smiling and listening, said to The Drunken Moon Elite.
“That varies by sect. Qingcheng and Zhongnan include secular disciples in their generations. Shaolin and Wudang don’t.”
“Elder, excuse my interruption, but did we have secular disciples before?”
“We got one recently.”
“What…?”
“Just know that much. Whether we’ll get more in the future remains to be seen.”
“…?”
The Drunken Moon Elite chuckled at Ma Yun-cheol’s dumbfounded expression and said:
“Stop making that stupid face. I need to meet Bokwoo.”
“Why Master Bunta…”
“Why? I need to give him a good scolding! Having a disciple with this much talent, yet still keeping him at Bunta?”
Ma Yun-cheol couldn’t respond.
He covered his mouth with both hands, realizing that The Drunken Moon Elite’s words were praise for him.
“No, I don’t need to beat up Bokwoo. I’m heading to the main branch anyway. I’ll send someone suitable. You just focus on your begging.”
“Elder! Thank you so much! I will never forget this kindness for the rest of my life!”
Ma Yun-cheol prostrated himself even lower than when he first greeted The Drunken Moon Elite.
Thick tears were now falling from his eyes.
“Hey! Didn’t I say earlier that I hate this kind of thing?”
Despite The Drunken Moon Elite’s joking tone, Ma Yun-cheol remained prostrated for quite a while before getting up.
“G-grand-uncle. Thank you.”
He deeply bowed his head to Ha Hyeon as well.
He actually knew that during their match, Ha Hyeon had held back to allow him to fully demonstrate his skills to The Drunken Moon Elite.
“The grand-uncle thing was half a joke, meant as a gesture of friendship…”
“No. You’re my lifelong benefactor. I’ll serve you as my grand-uncle. Kids, what are you doing? Pay your respects to your grand-uncle too.”
“We pay our respects to Grand-uncle!”
The beggars rushed forward to bow to Ha Hyeon, causing him to become flustered this time.
“This isn’t necessary…”
The Drunken Moon Elite just laughed merrily at the sight.
The beggars kept their heads bowed as if they wouldn’t straighten up until Ha Hyeon accepted their greeting, and Ha Hyeon had no choice but to reluctantly accept.
“Tell Bokwoo – I don’t know who it will be, but tell him to prepare for a guest coming soon.”
“Yes, Elder!”
Ma Yun-cheol and the beggars bowed once more to The Drunken Moon Elite and Ha Hyeon before disappearing.
Of course, they didn’t forget to take their baskets of collected food.
“That was an entertaining sight after a long time.”
“Oh? If you found it entertaining, you should pay up.”
“What? Why should I pay you when you didn’t do anything? Maybe Ha Hyeon, but…”
“It’s only natural for a master to receive what their disciple earned. Isn’t that right, Ha Hyeon?”
Ha Hyeon had no choice but to reluctantly nod.
The Drunken Moon Elite achieved the feat of getting even a drink from Master Jung that day.
* * *
The next day.
The Drunken Moon Elite, Ha Hyeon, and Namgung Min bid farewell to Master Jung and left Gosi County.
When they left, Master Jung showered The Drunken Moon Elite with affectionate curses about never wanting to see him again, but The Drunken Moon Elite didn’t pay any attention.
“Did you eat well and rest well yesterday?”
“Yes, Master.” “Then let’s run again. This time we’ll run non-stop to Huchang. Do you remember where that is?”
Ha Hyeon nodded.
Since becoming The Drunken Moon Elite’s disciple and receiving proper training in footwork, there was something The Drunken Moon Elite always emphasized:
‘You must know the roads well. The roads! Those who are just fast in footwork are second-rate, but those who know the roads well are truly first-rate.’
So he made Ha Hyeon memorize the entire map.
Originally, he had planned to carry a map during this Mount Song trip and have him continue memorizing it.
He had expected it would take at least a month to memorize everything.
However, Ha Hyeon pleasantly surprised him by memorizing the thick atlas in just two days.
“Let’s go then. Match your speed to mine again.”
“Yes, Master!”
Once again, The Drunken Moon Elite shot forward.
Running after him alongside Ha Hyeon, Namgung Min marveled once more.
‘From Anhui to Gosi County. From Gosi County to Huchang. And from Huchang to Kaifeng. Though Elder The Drunken Moon Elite may not be conscious of it, he’s choosing destinations that can be reached in exactly one day’s running.’
Ha Hyeon wasn’t the only one learning from this journey.
Namgung Min was just as clever as Ha Hyeon, and he was indirectly receiving The Drunken Moon Elite’s experience by staying at his side.
* * *
After about four hours, they arrived near Huchang.
Their speed had noticeably decreased compared to when they first started.
This was because Ha Hyeon was exhausted.
The Drunken Moon Elite, who had been running ahead, spun around and said to Ha Hyeon while running backward:
“Good. You’re doing well. Just five more li to our destination.”
“Y-yes… Master!”
“Are you tired?”
“N-no!”
The Drunken Moon Elite showed the composure to smile even in this situation.
Though they were moving at least half again as fast as when they went from Anhui to Gosi County, Ha Hyeon struggled to keep up with him.
This time even Namgung Min was quite tired, but seeing Ha Hyeon running so hard beside him, he couldn’t show any sign of fatigue.
“Elder!”
“What?”
Whoosh-
Namgung Min’s attempt to warn The Drunken Moon Elite about a branch behind him proved unnecessary, as he ducked to avoid it as if he had eyes on the back of his head, asking calmly.
“Ah, nothing.”
The Drunken Moon Elite smiled slightly and turned back to face forward, saying:
“Min, listen well too.”
“Yes.”
“To run well, you need good eyes too.”
The Drunken Moon Elite continued talking while running without rest.
“Curious how I avoided that? The road we’re running on now continues in a straight line, right? When running, you shouldn’t just look right in front of you – you should look as far ahead as you can see and plan how you’ll run. That way you’ll be less tired and can prevent possible accidents.”
“Ah…! Thank you.”
Though Ha Hyeon couldn’t answer due to panting, his eyes showed he understood well.
They finally reached their destination.
The destination wasn’t a proper inn or a house with a roof.
It was a flat clearing perfect for camping under a huge tree.
“We’re here. This is where I often sleep when passing through this area.”
“Ugh. I’m dying.”
Ha Hyeon groaned and collapsed on the spot.
“Elder, is there a stream nearby?”
“Yes. About two hundred zhang through those trees over there, there’s a brook.”
“I’ll go fetch some water.”
As Namgung Min disappeared between the trees, Ha Hyeon remained motionless, staring at the sky.
“Tired?”
“Yes. I thought I had trained quite a bit, but this is hard.”
“That’s because you’ve never run like this before. At most you probably ran for about an hour at a time.”
The Drunken Moon Elite giggled as he approached Ha Hyeon.
“I’ve run from the Namgung Family to Zhengde County before.”
“Zhengde? Isn’t that only two hours from the Namgung Family?”
“No, two hours…? Ow?!”
Ha Hyeon’s surprise was interrupted by sudden pain in his leg.
It was pain from The Drunken Moon Elite pressing his finger firmly on Ha Hyeon’s leg.
“Stay still. I need to stimulate the Zusanli point to prevent fatigue from building up in your legs.”
As he said, Ha Hyeon left his legs in The Drunken Moon Elite’s hands.
What was initially just painful gradually became refreshing as warm energy flowed from The Drunken Moon Elite’s hands. It was a form of Chugong-gwahyeol.
Originally, Chugong-gwahyeol was a technique that placed considerable burden on both the practitioner and recipient.
The practitioner expends significant energy, and the recipient could suffer serious internal injuries if the pressure points are stimulated incorrectly.
Namgung Min, despite having already brought the water container, knew well how much care Chugong-gwahyeol required, so he sat quietly beside them waiting for it to finish.
After a while.
“Whew. This is tiring. Having a disciple in my later years isn’t easy.”
The Drunken Moon Elite wiped his sweat and sat down heavily beside Ha Hyeon.
Ha Hyeon had fallen asleep during the Chugong-gwahyeol and was sleeping soundly.
Namgung Min was staring intently at The Drunken Moon Elite.
The Drunken Moon Elite, seeming to notice his gaze, said to Namgung Min:
“What. Want me to do it for you too?”
“Haha. No, that’s not it.”
“Then why are you staring so intensely?”
“I just find it a bit fascinating.”
The Drunken Moon Elite’s eyebrows rose.
“What’s fascinating?”
“The Elder I knew was, how should I say… someone difficult to approach.”
“Heheh. You mean I was a stubborn old man?”
“Well… um… yes, that’s right.”
Namgung Min and The Drunken Moon Elite looked at each other and laughed.
“Still, I have to say, all you Namgung Family people are equally arrogant.”
“That’s how you were in the past. What matters is the present, isn’t it?”
“Then how about now?”
“How should I put it… like a neighborhood grandfather.”
“What?”
When The Drunken Moon Elite’s eyes widened, Namgung Min hastily explained:
“I mean you’re that approachable now. Actually, I don’t feel this way just about Elder Drunken Moon Elite.”
“Then who else?”
“My grandfather. He was also someone difficult to approach, but recently, he seems like a completely different person. He even jokes around a lot.”
The Drunken Moon Elite pointed at the deeply sleeping Ha Hyeon and said:
“Well, that’s obvious. It must be thanks to this child.”
“I think so too.”
“But you think you’re any different?”
“Haha… I know. I’ve changed a lot too.”
The Drunken Moon Elite chuckled.
“Before, you acted like you were possessed by the ghost of someone who died without learning martial arts.”
“I did.”
The Drunken Moon Elite and Namgung Min gazed warmly at Ha Hyeon, who was sleeping like the dead.
Now they were fully aware of the changes that had begun with Ha Hyeon.
Though they had barely exchanged words before, through Ha Hyeon as a medium, they now appeared like a close grandfather and grandson who had known each other for years.
“Though I brought him here confidently, the Eighteen Arhat Formation won’t be easy.”
“That’s why I’m looking forward to it.”
Though The Drunken Moon Elite spoke seriously for once, Namgung Min responded confidently.
“I’ve only been able to imagine ways to counter formations in my head until now. Thank you for giving me this good opportunity to confirm if the methods I’ve developed are the right path.”
“Heheh. Now that’s the Azure Dragon Divine Sword. Good. Why worry about you? Let’s get some sleep. We’ll leave early tomorrow.”
“Understood. Please rest well, Elder.”
The Drunken Moon Elite had already climbed up a tall tree and made himself comfortable as if lying in a bed.
Namgung Min smiled and lay down beside Ha Hyeon.
Through the densely grown branches, starlight twinkled again today.
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