Episode 195
“I had no idea that the branch manager had this kind of ability.”
“Do you like the gift?”
“of course. “I like it more than anything.”
“Then I’m glad.”
“Thank you for your generosity. From now on, I will do my best on horseback for the branch leader.”
“I have made such a heavy oath. “Show it with actions rather than words.”
“All right.”
“Please take care of me from now on as well.”
Seeing Hong Seong-hyun pledging loyalty with an emotional expression made me feel like my hard work was worth it.
I left the room, leaving behind Hong Seong-hyun, who was concentrating on fortune-telling, and muttered while wiping the sweat from my forehead.
‘If you repeat this for about two more days, you will be able to completely remove impurities from your entire body.’
Once the work of cleaning the acupuncture points with the white lightning was completed, Hong Seong-hyeon’s skills would increase significantly.
This should be enough of a reward for my subordinates who have worked hard so far.
‘I don’t know if I can really beat Changin Dojang.’
A business that will take place four days later.
Hong Seong-hyun’s victory could not be certain.
I knew very well about the level of Changin Dojo because I had tried it myself.
Even though he was rotten, he was a promising talent in the fortune-telling school, and he was a person with the skills to be at the top among the later exponents.
‘No matter how much experience you have, it will be difficult to demonstrate the skills to overwhelm Changin Dojang. ‘If I do it well, it’s a whistle.’
At the very least, it would be nice if we were given time to get our situation back in order.
There were only four days left.
Presumably, the decisive factor in determining the outcome would be the psychological state of Changin Dojang.
‘I should tell Hwang Ho-jin in advance. I ask you to thoroughly trample on the pride of Changin Dojang at the meeting the day after tomorrow.’
* * *
“victor. Hwang Ho-jin.”
The second dance was completed.
This time, I took on the role of referee, not Geomhu.
It was a fierce fight, but the result was Hwang Ho-jin’s victory, as expected.
Basically, Hwang Ho-jin trained martial arts for a longer period of time than Chang-in Dojang, and his skills were that high.
Changin Dojang, who was kneeling on the ground, was breathing heavily.
It felt pitiful to see him using his sword as support to maintain his posture so as not to fall.
“······f*ck it.”
Changin Dojang let out a low curse.
Hwang Ho-jin, who was quietly looking down at him, walked slowly and muttered.
“They say you are the best in the fortune-telling group, but your skills fall far short of what was expected.”
It was a small voice, but there was no way the master, a master of martial arts, could not have heard it.
Changin Dojang glared at Hwang Hojin with harsh eyes.
“Are you telling me to listen?”
“I was just talking to myself.”
“That is an extremely careless statement. No, in this case I should say it’s rude.”
“You were the one who showed rude behavior first, not me.”
Hwang Ho-jin responded coldly and left the training hall.
Changin Dojang bit his lip and hit the floor with his fist.
His pride must have been greatly hurt because he was defeated by a leader from a single branch who had a humble origin and background.
“Just go back and get some rest. “I will clean up after myself.”
“······.”
Changin Dojang is leaving the training ground.
After about a day or so, Hwang Ho-jin appeared at the training ground again and spoke to me with a shocked expression on his face.
“Is it okay to do it this way?”
“yes. “You did a great job.”
“I don’t know if I’m holding a grudge for no reason.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. Changin Dojang will never harm Warrior Hwang.”
“······.”
Hwang Ho-jin cleared his voice and said, ‘Big.’
He stared at me as I stretched after cleaning up, then opened his mouth with a determined expression.
“Branch manager. “I have something to tell you.”
“Please speak.”
“Please train me.”
“May I ask what you mean by that?”
“I mean it literally. I know that the branch leader is teaching martial arts to several people. “Dam So-hyeop, Seo Musa, and Yeo Yeo-hyeop.”
“I can’t really say I’m giving guidance. Just occasionally giving advice or being a partner. “How can I teach you properly when the martial arts you learned in the first place are different?”
“Nevertheless, they all made significant improvements in their martial arts skills.”
“I would like to ask why you are suddenly asking me this.”
“I believe the branch leader knows who my father is. “Isn’t that right?”
“······.”
The sudden attack made me momentarily speechless.
Did he read something from my expression?
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Hwang Ho-jin nodded once and continued speaking.
“Perhaps the reason the branch manager recruited me was not simply because my skills are outstanding.”
“To be honest, yes.”
“I don’t know much about the world because I’ve been trapped in a hobby for so many years, but I still have at least some common sense.”
“······.”
“I have known for a long time that my father was not an ordinary person. He is a person who can readily provide the martial arts and elixir of ascension, so he must have a great status and background.”
“If you’re curious, I can tell you.”
“······Is that true?”
“yes.”
Hwang Ho-jin’s expression became blank for a moment.
I guess I never thought I would hear an answer like this.
‘I didn’t think I could hide it forever anyway.’
It’s just that the timing is a little earlier than I thought.
Hwang Ho-jin, who thought for a moment, fell down on the floor.
I chuckled and sat down across from him with my butt pressed against me.
“I will not ask about your father’s identity. “At least for now.”
“I’d like to ask why.”
“It’s just that I’m not mentally ready yet.”
A bitter smile appeared on Hwang Ho-jin’s lips.
He smoothed the gauntlets he wore on both hands and spoke as if he were lamenting.
“It may sound funny, but in the past, my wish was to see my parents’ faces just once.”
“······.”
“So I trained martial arts hard. “I thought that if I trained hard and became a martial artist with great skills, my father would take interest in me at least once.”
“······.”
“In fact, since I showed talent in martial arts, I received a martial arts book and elixir that were supposedly sent by my father. “I felt hope there and devoted myself to training, forgetting day and night.”
“······.”
“However, my father did not come looking for me until I had the skills to overwhelm Seon Seon-jang’s guards.”
The story seemed to be longer than I thought.
I proposed, jumping up from my seat.
“Let’s change seats.”
“yes?”
“It doesn’t seem like the right place to reveal your true feelings. I think a story like this should be accompanied by alcohol. Let’s go to the base nearby and we can finish talking. “I will pay for the drinks.”
Hwang Ho-jin followed me with a dazed expression and left the training hall, guided by my gesture.
Hwang Ho-jin and I took that route and headed to the largest base in the vicinity.
We rented a separate room and ordered fruit and vegetable wine, which is famous for being Yunnan’s famous liquor.
“Take a drink.”
“yes.”
A few drinks were exchanged.
Hwang Ho-jin, whose face turned red, began to tell stories about the past again.
“······So, one time I decided to cause a commotion.”
“disturbance?”
“Pretending to escape from the manor, he went on a rampage and fought with the guards. “I thought that if I didn’t do that, my indifferent father would never pay attention to me.”
I put down my chopsticks and straightened my back.
A subordinate is revealing his hidden feelings, and as a superior, shouldn’t he show that he is listening?
The information about Hwang Ho-jin that I had obtained from Cheon Ji-ryeong in the past passed through my mind.
Special note – Hwang Ho-jin himself does not seem to know who his father is. She has a history of trying to escape the manor to avoid surveillance.
I thought he was simply tired of the frustrating confinement and escaped, but it seems that wasn’t the case.
“But even though I did that, my father never came to see me.”
Hwang Ho-jin sighed heavily and tipped his drink.
Without saying a word, I picked up the bottle and filled his glass.
“After that, I gave up on everything. I could no longer find a reason to practice martial arts hard. “I wondered if there was any meaning to a life like this.”
It wasn’t really that Namhakgeom was indifferent to his son.
If that were the case, we wouldn’t have supported the martial arts and elixir of ascension in the first place.
However, I could also fully understand Hwang Ho-jin’s feelings.
Hwang Ho-jin was confined in a small manor until he passed his second year of life.
Others were at an age where they were already married, starting a family, and raising children.
‘The frustration must have been indescribable.’
Hwang Ho-jin, who emptied his drink again, suddenly bowed his head to me.
“I am grateful to the branch manager. “If the branch manager hadn’t reached out to me, I would still be spending my days there like a livestock.”
“······.”
“One day, when I decide that I have become a great person who is no longer dependent on my father, I will ask you then. “What is my father’s identity, and what is the purpose of the branch leader recruiting me?”
Hwang Ho-jin’s eyes were filled with power.
He looked me directly in the eye and said.
“I ask you again. Please train me. So that I can become a great person. “So that I can proudly boast about myself when I face my father someday.”
I nodded with a faint smile on my face.
There was no reason not to support his subordinate’s desire for improvement.
“All right.”
* * *
“It’s done.”
Hong Seong-hyeon, who regained freedom of movement after the blood pressure was relieved, stretched out.
After three days of work, the cleaning of the blood vessel was completed.
Hong Seong-hyun moved lightly and checked his body condition, drawing a bright smile on his face.
It was a touching moment that any warrior could not help but be happy about.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“The branch manager did all the hard work.”
Someday, if I was promoted and moved to Maeng’s headquarters, several people, including Damun, would move to Honam with me.
Hong Seong-hyun was one of the people who had to be brought in at that time.
‘For a martial artist, the feeling of improving one’s skills is like a drug. Hong Seong-hyeon, once he has tasted the charm, will never be able to escape from me.’
Unlike me, who used the White Lightning Shinkong every day, as time passed, waste and turbidity were bound to accumulate in Hong Seong-hyeon’s body.
In other words, in order for him to maintain his skills, he had no choice but to receive my help periodically.
“Take a good rest. “Tomorrow is the day of the decisive battle, so it would be better to maintain your best physical condition rather than training too hard.”
“All right.”
“I will trust the small cooperative.”
“Please leave it to me.”
* * *
The next morning.
A middle-aged man wearing a white uniform visited the Yunnan branch and looked for me.
“This is Seonggang, the second son of Jeomchang Ogeom. “I have a provincial name called Changyeon (蒼然).”
“Nice to meet you, Changyeon Dojo. “What brought you to see me?”
“I came to tell you a story under the order of Jang Mun-in. “It is said that the afternoon before, a person believed to be an elder of the Beast Palace appeared in Yunnan.”
“······!”
martial arts,
