****
Whether it was setting the mood or dealing with people, I was naturally at an advantage compared to this kid.
Because the number of people I had met and the situations I had gone through while living as a merchant were many times more than this kid's.
"Y-You bastard……."
As I suddenly came on so strong, Myeong-han stuttered.
It seemed the mood had been set appropriately.
'What do I do from now on.'
For now, the kids were intimidated, so I had reversed the mood.
From then on, it was all about improvisation.
"Sahyung. I will educate this fellow who knows no manners."
The guy standing next to Myeong-han glared at me.
Myeong-han's eyes became fierce as well.
It seemed he judged that he couldn't be scared when his Saje was acting like that.
"No. I will personally educate this guy myself."
"Will you be alright? Your strength is greatly……."
"Quiet. I said I will do it."
The hierarchy was certainly clear.
So if I became a main mountain disciple, I would have to serve that guy like that.
I was already feeling like throwing up.
Myeong-han stomped one of his feet.
It seemed he thought he could handle me even with his strength drained.
Myeong-han raised his head and glared at me.
A cold chill flowed between Myeong-han and me.
"If you get on your knees and apologize even now, I will consider it the immaturity of a lay disciple and let it slide."
Myeong-han's mouth opened slowly.
My answer, in contrast, was swift.
"Bullshit."
"You truly refuse a toast and insist on drinking a penalty shot."
My goodness.
A guy who probably couldn't even touch alcohol was spouting such ridiculous words.
To be fair, kids this age were busy using words that looked somewhat decent from what adults said.
"How are you going to give me the penalty shot?"
"You bastard!"
As I sneered, the tip of Myeong-han's outstretched hand approached my solar plexus.
Although he was young, it was certainly a fast hand speed.
As expected, those who learned martial arts from a young age were different in some way.
If it had been the merchant Muk Hwi-young with a belly full of fat, he would have been hit in the solar plexus and knocked down here.
However, I was not the merchant Muk Hwi-young right now.
I was the Wudang Sect's temporary main mountain disciple, Muk Hwi-young.
When I opened my eyes wide, I had the illusion of time slowing down.
It was a sensation I had never felt before.
Even the wind brushing against my skin felt delicate.
First, Myeong-han's footwork was read.
It was natural since it was the Azure Cloud Steps I had learned.
Once I read the footwork, dodging the form was easy.
Just by following his feet, I could roughly predict where and how he would strike.
Swoosh.
Myeong-han's hand-blade brushed past the tip of my solar plexus.
I had twisted my body sharply to the left.
Myeong-han immediately clenched his fist to stop his outstretched hand and tried to strike me by bending his elbow.
However, I dodged that simply as well.
The performance of the Azure Cloud Steps I had learned for two months was certain.
I didn't know about other things, but my understanding of the Azure Cloud Steps seemed to be deeper.
Unlike me, who saw through Myeong-han's footwork, Myeong-han couldn't follow my movements.
Could I get ahead of the Azure Cloud Steps he must have trained for several years with just two months of practice?
I felt a brief moment of doubt, but what could I do when it was working?
"This bastard!"
As his attacks continued to miss, Myeong-han let out a roar.
He seemed to have gotten heated up as I dodged by a hair's breadth.
In the midst of that, my eyes gradually became accustomed to Myeong-han's movement technique.
'Isn't this working?'
I decided to have confidence.
Myeong-han was surprised when I, who had only been backpedaling, took a step forward.
Myeong-han's attack missed widely, and his fist was stretching out behind my back.
Myeong-han's body was exposed that much.
I immediately drove my fist into Myeong-han's empty left side.
'It worked!'
So I thought.
Myeong-han looked at me, and I also looked at Myeong-han.
He also had a look of not understanding this situation.
"……?"
The fist had definitely struck the area around his ribs accurately.
But Myeong-han didn't look hurt at all.
On the contrary, it was my hand that hurt.
It felt like I had punched a rock with all my might.
The situation was grasped almost simultaneously.
I also roughly knew about the system of martial studies.
In martial arts, there was external work and internal work.
The Orthodox Faction usually trained internal work, but that didn't mean they didn't train external work at all.
Because it was the role of external work to create the vessel to contain internal energy.
Therefore, there was no way I could land an effective blow on a disciple of Wudang who had been training external work for several years.
"Die!"
From that point on, Myeong-han disregarded defense and went on an all-out offensive.
Since he knew that no matter what attack I made, it wouldn't work, he was launching a full-scale assault.
Certainly, as Myeong-han poured all his effort into his attacks, his movements changed.
Myeong-han's fist grazed my forearm, and the fabric tore.
'I'll really die if I get hit.'
It was a common occurrence for martial artists to kill commoners.
Among them, the number of cases where they killed with intent was surprisingly small.
Because commoners were so weak compared to martial artists, they would die even from a mere graze.
It was a case of dying because their internal organs were shaken up after just being hit once in the solar plexus with a fist.
Right now, I had only learned the Azure Cloud Steps and didn't know any external or internal work.
Of course, it was true that my body had gotten better from running all over Wudang and climbing cliffs for two months, but that was just being in good shape at the level of a commoner.
Fortunately, I was only dodging because my footwork was better than Myeong-han's, but I didn't know what would happen once my stamina ran out.
I had to end this quickly.
Myeong-han's face seemed to have grown even redder as his attacks failed to land even when he was launching a full-scale assault.
At that moment, the sound of people's voices began to get closer from nearby.
Come to think of it, this was the courtyard of Gungdogak that everyone used.
I didn't know who they were, but I decided to take a gamble.
Could I control my movements to that extent?
The thought was so short it was on the verge of instinct, and instinct immediately led to movement.
Myeong-han's fist flew toward my jaw.
I whipped my face to the opposite side.
Then, I rolled on the ground as grandly as possible.
A thick cloud of sand dust rose up, and I slammed my nose hard into the ground.
A gushing sensation surged up from my nose.
"What do you think you're doing!"
At the same time, a roar was heard.
Looking to the side, there were Cheong-hwa and Cheong-su.
Myeong-han had a dumbfounded expression with his fist outstretched.
It was understandable that he would be flustered since I rolled even though he didn't feel the impact of a hit.
"Sa-Sasuk."
At that moment, my philtrum was appropriately stained with heat.
A nosebleed had burst out.
"Hwi-young-a!"
Cheong-hwa immediately ran to me.
Cheong-hwa pressed several parts of my neck and face with his fingers.
Miraculously, the nosebleed stopped immediately.
It seemed this was the method called acupoint sealing that martial artists used.
"You scoundrel! What were you thinking, using martial arts on someone who hasn't learned it!"
At Cheong-hwa's roar, Myeong-han and his two companions froze solid.
To them, he was a Sasuk like the heavens.
It seemed they didn't even have the courage to open their mouths.
"Th-That, I don't think I was the one who hit him……."
"Be quiet! Are you now trying to make excuses in front of me!"
Myeong-han hung his head low.
It was the same for Myeong-han's Sajes next to him.
In the midst of that, Myeong-han was glancing at me with a murderous expression.
Since he wasn't a fool, he would know that he had fallen for my scheme.
"What is going on!"
At that moment, a certain middle-aged man walked over with quick steps from Gungdogak, his Daoist robe sleeves fluttering.
Seeing that person's face, Myeong-han's expression brightened.
"Master!"
The three, including Myeong-han, immediately attached themselves behind that man.
It seemed he was Myeong-han's master, Cheong-ryu.
"What is it? Cheong-hwa."
"Sahyung's disciple hit my disciple. And he was a guy who hasn't even learned martial arts yet."
Cheong-ryu was startled as he looked at me.
Because even though the nosebleed had clotted, the bloodstain that flowed from my philtrum to my chin hadn't disappeared.
Anyway, it hurt like hell.
It felt like my nasal bone might have collapsed a bit.
Cheong-hwa looked at Cheong-ryu as if he would eat him alive.
Cheong-ryu let out a dry cough.
"Ahem. I heard you took in a lay disciple, so that was this guy."
Listening to the two's conversation, it seemed Cheong-ryu was the Sahyung, but Cheong-hwa didn't back down at all.
On the contrary, he was brimming with killing intent.
"Yes. That is correct. What are you going to do? It seems Sahyung's disciple has caused great harm to the person who will become my disciple."
Myeong-han only opened and closed his mouth like a fish and couldn't speak.
No matter how much his master was next to him, it seemed he was too scared to talk back to his Sasuk who was like the heavens.
"What should I do?"
"What do you mean, what should you do. I must receive a sincere apology."
"Goodness. Kids can fight sometimes. And you're telling him to apologize for that? Aren't you disregarding your Sahyung's face too much?"
Cheong-ryu ground his teeth.
On the other hand, Cheong-hwa's expression was blank.
It really seemed the two didn't get along.
Cheong-ryu had a staring contest with Cheong-hwa for a moment, then sighed.
"Alright. Myeong-han-a."
"……Yes."
"Apologize."
At Cheong-ryu's words, Myeong-han clenched his fists and trembled.
It seemed he had no intention of apologizing to me at all.
But with his master and Sasuk watching, he couldn't not do it.
"I-I'm sorry."
"Alright. As long as you know."
I put on a generous expression.
Myeong-han's expression, on the contrary, rotted.
"Is that all?"
Cheong-hwa nodded his head as if he were satisfied.
"No."
Everyone's gazes were focused on me.
Since I was the one who spoke, it was perhaps natural.
"What do you mean by that? No?"
Cheong-ryu said.
I answered while wiping the traces of the nosebleed with my sleeve.
"Jinin Cheong-hwa's story might be over, but I'm not done yet. Logically, shouldn't it be over only after the demands of the person who was hit are met."
At my words, Cheong-ryu's expression contorted bizarrely.
The faces of the kids, including Myeong-seong and Myeong-gyeong, who were watching from behind Cheong-hwa, were also tinged with astonishment.
"If you received an apology, that should be enough, what more is there to demand?"
"You have to give me treatment fees."
"Treatment fees?"
"Yes. And you also have to pay for the fact that I can't do anything while I'm recuperating."
Cheong-ryu glared at me as if he would kill me.
But as long as Cheong-hwa and Cheong-su were here, he couldn't kill me.
I did it believing in that.
"……How much do you want?"
"I think about two nyang of silver would be appropriate."
"Doesn't that seem a bit excessive?"
It was excessive for just a nosebleed.
Because one thousand copper coins were one nyang of silver.
And it wasn't even that I was hit, but a self-inflicted injury and extortion.
However, a merchant must know how to be shameless.
"To think a 'Cheong' generation disciple of Wudang would say that two nyang of silver is excessive. I'm afraid other people will hear."
Cheong-ryu's face turned red.
It was understandable since I had blatantly pointed out that he wasn't being very generous.
I could see Cheong-hwa and Cheong-su, who were watching, holding back their laughter.
Cheong-ryu took out a money pouch from his embrace.
Cheong-hwa had said a Daoist shouldn't possess personal money, but as expected, there was no way that would be followed.
Cheong-ryu, who was rummaging through the money pouch nervously, soon gave me two finger-sized nyang of silver.
I bit the silver once with my teeth.
Because it could be a fake.
It was a definite genuine article.
"Payment confirmed."
My expression changed to a bright one, but Cheong-ryu still had a stiff face.
"What is your name?"
"It is Muk Hwi-young."
"Alright, Muk Hwi-young. I shall remember it."
Cheong-ryu turned around abruptly and quickened his pace.
The three, including Myeong-han, also scurried after Cheong-ryu.
I rolled the silver on my palm as if I were satisfied.
Cheong-su and Cheong-hwa looked at me with expressions of disbelief.