The Lazy Young Master of the Jin Clan

"Is this the place?"

An old man appeared at the foot of the snow-covered mountain.

His name was Bieunggaek.

A legendary thief known as the Shadowless Thieving Ghost, he had stopped by the Jin Family as usual and heard an interesting story.

—Where did that lazy bum go? I hear he's being called the Slothful Young Master or something these days?

—Ah, Sohyun is learning martial arts right now.

—Martial arts? That lazy bum is learning martial arts? From whom?

—Well...

As Jin Seomok uncharacteristically trailed off, Bieunggaek narrowed his eyes.

—Spit it out! Whose martial arts is he learning?

—Elder Kang.

—Elder Kang? Don't tell me... Kang Cheon!?

—That's right.

At the sight of Jin Seomok blushing slightly as if embarrassed, Bieunggaek couldn't help but be surprised.

Who was Kang Cheon?

Wasn't he a stubborn old fool who vied for the title of the most prideful under the heavens and hadn't found a single disciple even at the age of seventy?

Such a Kang Cheon had finally found a disciple.

And it was the eldest son of the Jin Family, the lazy bum called the Slothful Young Master.

"Hehe... I can't miss this good show."

It was a golden opportunity to mock Kang Cheon, who usually teased him for being a fast-footed Silkie chicken.

Bieunggaek climbed the mountain where Kang Cheon and Jin Sohyun were said to be.

In the midst of it, Bieunggaek witnessed a strange sight.

"...What is that?"

Whoosh—!

A wooden dagger that flew across the sky embedded itself in the neck of a deer that was standing quietly.

As the deer, which died instantly, collapsed, two wolves ran out from between the snow-covered trees as if they had been waiting.

The wolves, upon spotting Bieunggaek, bowed their heads and then disappeared, each carrying a piece of the deer.

"Did I see that wrong? Did those beasts just bow to me?"

Finding it absurd himself, Bieunggaek let out a hollow laugh.

"Hehe...! That can't be right."

How could a mere beast bow its head and greet someone like a human?

But what was that wooden flying sword?

"Kang Cheon?"

The only person who could throw a wooden flying sword from such a distance was Kang Cheon, the creator of the Flying Sword Technique.

"What kind of bizarre thing are you up to now! Kang Cheon!"

His interest piqued, Bieunggaek jumped up with his hands behind his back.

He kicked off the trees with ghostly movements.

His speed was so fast that an ordinary person could never follow it with their eyes.

After crossing the mountain for a while, he stopped his steps.

"Hmm?"

When he followed the wolves that had taken the deer, an even more bizarre scene appeared.

"Nurongi number 3 and number 4! Good work!"

The boy who received the deer brought by the wolves dismembered the deer on the spot and then cut off the hind legs and threw them to the two wolves.

Then, didn't the two wolves bow their heads and disappear, each carrying their own hind leg?

"What is this..."

Bieunggaek, who was watching this from a tree, spotted another wolf that had brought a rabbit from somewhere.

"It's smaller than I thought... Tsk! You can have this."

As the boy waved his hand with a tone of generosity, the wolf rejoiced greatly and wiggled its butt.

'Is that... really a wolf?'

After observing the boy and the wolves for a while, Bieunggaek discovered a surprising fact.

It was the amazing hunting method shown by the boy and the wolves.

"About one hundred and twenty li to the west?"

When the boy, who had estimated the distance, threw a wooden flying sword, the wolves that followed the trajectory of the wooden flying sword brought back the dead prey.

'A bizarre but amazing hunting method!'

"Nurongi number 5 is quite fast, isn't it?"

The boy, who was scratching his stomach as if satisfied, lay down on the stone floor and yawned.

After some time, a wolf brought back prey, and the boy distributed the prey brought by the wolf equally.

As this process was repeated several times, chunks of meat were steadily piled up behind the boy, and the wolves were also able to fill their bellies to their hearts' content.

"Let's stop for today. At this rate, all the deer and rabbits will be wiped out. Dismissed!"

At the word 'dismissed,' the wolves bowed their heads and disappeared.

The boy wrapped the meat he had packed tightly in a large bundle and climbed the mountain.

"Hmph hmph hmph—!"

Watching the boy climbing the mountain while humming, Bieunggaek thought.

'So that kid was Jin Sohyun!'

Realizing that the boy he had met after a long time was Kang Cheon's new disciple and the eldest son of the Jin Family, Jin Sohyun, Bieunggaek secretly followed him.

"Hmm..."

How long had he walked?

Jin Sohyun, who was climbing the mountain, suddenly stopped his steps and then walked, changing directions here and there.

'What is he doing?'

Jin Sohyun, who was moving here and there, stopped in front of a stone tower.

When he removed a stone from the stone tower, a hidden pit appeared underneath, and Jin Sohyun put a portion of the meat into the pit.

"This should be enough."

Jin Sohyun, who was dusting off his hands as if satisfied after storing the meat, suddenly turned his head and looked at the sky.

'Hah!'

The startled Bieunggaek quickly hid behind a tree.

"Was I wrong?"

Jin Sohyun, who was tilting his head, started humming again and climbed the mountain.

Meanwhile, Bieunggaek, who was hiding behind a tree, barely calmed his pounding heart.

'Did that kid notice me!? Th-That can't be!'

The Shadowless Thieving Ghost, Bieunggaek.

He, who had never been caught in a single theft, couldn't have had his presence detected by a boy who was barely twelve years old.

'It must have been a coincidence.'

Bieunggaek carefully lowered his gaze.

But Jin Sohyun was not there.

"Where did he go?"

Bieunggaek came down from the tree to find traces of Jin Sohyun.

"Hello."

"Eek!"

As soon as he came down to the ground, Jin Sohyun appeared behind Bieunggaek.

"You... you... what are you!!"

"It's me, Sohyun. It's been a while, Elder Bi."

Unlike with Kang Cheon, Jin Sohyun, who had met Bieunggaek a few times when he was young, recognized him at once.

"How did you... find me?"

Bieunggaek blinked with a dumbfounded face.

"You were following me the whole time."

At Jin Sohyun's indifferent answer, Bieunggaek's jaw dropped wide enough to dislocate.

'This little brat read my presence!? No way!'

Bieunggaek, who had been shocked several times already, reached out his hand towards Jin Sohyun.

But at that moment, a sharp flying sword flew in and embedded itself where Bieunggaek had been.

"Kang Cheon!"

As Bieunggaek, who had narrowly avoided the flying sword, glared and got angry, Kang Cheon, who had appeared in front of them at some point, clicked his tongue as if disappointed.

"Tsk! Was it Bieunggaek? I thought it was a wild beast."

"You damn brat! How dare you raise a disciple without telling me!?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Do I have to report to you every time I take a disciple?"

"Ten years ago, you were whining that you didn't have a suitable disciple, and now you're deceiving me!? Since when! Huh? Were you aiming for the Jin Family's son as soon as he was born! That's why you haven't taken a disciple until now, right!?"

"What are you talking about?"

As Kang Cheon frowned as if to say what nonsense that was, Bieunggaek pointed a finger at Jin Sohyun and berated him.

"When did you start teaching Jin Sohyun! I didn't feel any energy from this kid just a few years ago!"

"Hmm... Sohyun, how long has it been since you became my disciple?"

"It's probably been about ten months now?"

"T-Ten months!?"

Bieunggaek, who was looking back and forth between Jin Sohyun and Kang Cheon, went on a rampage with a face that had turned bright red.

"How dare these two make a fool of me!?"

"Haa..."

Kang Cheon, whose head was starting to throb, gestured to Jin Sohyun to go up first.

"Yep."

Thinking that getting caught between the two would lead to troublesome things, Jin Sohyun quickly went up the mountain.

Then, Bieunggaek rushed at him as if to grab him by the collar.

"If you were going to do this, you shouldn't have whined that there was no one worthy of being your disciple!"

Bieunggaek, who had been filled with anticipation of teasing Kang Cheon, was feeling a severe sense of betrayal.

But Kang Cheon, who he thought would be laughing at him by now, spoke in a serious voice.

"Bieunggaek."

"What! If you have a mouth, try to make an excuse!"

"It's been ten months."

"What's been ten months!"

"Since that kid became my disciple. It's only been ten months."

"Stop with those lies! Do you think I'll believe that..."

Bieunggaek stopped talking.

Although he had never been on friendly terms with Kang Cheon for even a moment, they had maintained a relationship for quite a long time.

Because of that, the two men had reached a point where they could understand each other's intentions to some extent just by looking into each other's eyes.

The two eyes of Kang Cheon that Bieunggaek faced were sincere.

"No... way..."

As he muttered with a bewildered face, Kang Cheon gestured up the mountain and said.

"Let's walk for a bit first."

***

"A Heavenly Martial Body?"

"You saw it too, so you should know, right? Jin Sohyun is a Heavenly Martial Body."

"But Jin Sohyun is the number one in Shanxi... no, the number one lazy bum under the heavens, right? I heard his title is the Slothful Young Master?"

"That's right. That kid is a lazy bum. But he's a lazy bum born with a Heavenly Martial Body."

"Hahahaha! What is this... it's not even a joke from the heavens..."

Despite Bieunggaek's playful muttering, Kang Cheon couldn't laugh. No, his face grew even darker.

"But why is your face like that? Isn't it a good thing if your disciple is a Heavenly Martial Body?"

"Well... the problem is that the kid learns too fast."

"He learns fast? How fast?"

"You saw it too. Jin Sohyun's Flying Sword Technique!"

"Certainly..."

The Flying Sword Technique of Jin Sohyun that he had witnessed while climbing the mountain was truly amazing.

So much so that Bieunggaek, who had known Kang Cheon for a long time, was convinced that the flying sword that crossed the sky was naturally his.

"The kid completed the first stage of the Flying Heaven Ten Swords, Wind Flow, in just ten months. Now he's pestering me to teach him Lightning Flash."

For the past month, Kang Cheon had been on the verge of going crazy because of Jin Sohyun, who would come to him every now and then and try to persuade him to move on to the next stage.

—Master! Let's move on to Lightning Flash now.

—You brat, you have to complete Wind Flow before moving on to the next, don't you?

—Then tell me how I can complete Wind Flow.

—That's... um... f-first... re-review! Review first! You can't do without a solid foundation!

—Hmm...

Jin Sohyun looked at Kang Cheon with a suspicious gaze and then turned away.

That gaze had become more blatant recently, to the point where Kang Cheon was afraid to face his disciple.

"What's the problem with that? You can just teach him the next stage, can't you?"

"I can't do that! It took that kid only ten months to learn Wind Flow. If he completes Lightning Flash in less than a year as well... that kid will be making a fuss to descend the mountain in less than five years!"

Bieunggaek, who learned of the deal made between Kang Cheon and Jin Seomok, laughed at him to his heart's content.

"It's because your Flying Heaven Ten Swords is pathetic! How shoddy must it be that it doesn't even take ten years to completely master the martial art!?"

"Do you think your movement technique is any different?"

"Of course... wait, now that I think about it..."

Bieunggaek recalled Jin Sohyun's gait.

Surprisingly, the gait of Jin Sohyun, who had become a master of the Flying Sword Technique, was no different from that of the thoughtless brats commonly seen in the neighborhood.

That means...

"You, you didn't even teach your disciple footwork?"

"I couldn't teach him!"

"Is it because your footwork is pathetic?"

"The foundation of the Flying Sword Technique is fast footwork. A master of my level doesn't need to move while performing footwork, but until then, you have to create distance from the opponent!"

As if to show that his footwork was excellent, Kang Cheon moved his body.

Bieunggaek shut his mouth as he watched Kang Cheon move away, leaving several afterimages in an instant.

'I hate to admit it, but it's a pretty useful movement technique.'

Kang Cheon's movement technique, the Heavenly Flow Steps, was an excellent movement technique without any unnecessary movements.

"But why didn't you teach him?"

"Because if that kid learns a movement technique, he'll obviously run away!"

"Ah..."

This time, even Bieunggaek had nothing to say in response.

That's right.

The reason Kang Cheon didn't teach Jin Sohyun a movement technique was because he was worried he would run away.

If Jin Sohyun, who was born with a Heavenly Martial Body, learned a movement technique and decided to run away, he wouldn't be able to be caught with ordinary speed.

"Hmm."

After pondering for a moment, Bieunggaek made a suggestion.

"Then how about teaching that kid this master's movement technique?"

"What? Why would I teach my disciple your movement technique!?"

"Your Flying Sword Technique and my movement technique have different uses, and their breathing methods are not the same. So, even if he learns it, he can't learn it easily, and even if he masters it, he can't master it easily."

"So why would you teach my disciple your movement technique, which doesn't even match!"

"You said your disciple would be making a fuss to descend the mountain at this rate, didn't you?"

"Hmm...!"

"So this master will specially help you."

Normally, Kang Cheon would have thrown a flying sword at him, telling him to shut up and get lost, but now he was in a state of wanting to grasp at straws.

"How long would it take to master yours?"

"At least ten years... no, that kid is special, so it will probably take about five years."

"Are you sure?"

"Do you think this master's Shadowless Divine Steps is easy!"

"Well... you almost died after stealing the Cheon Family's treasure with that Shadowless Divine Steps."

"Kkeung...!"

"Alright, I'll believe you this one time. But there's one problem."

"A problem? What now?"

"You'll find out soon."

At the sight of Kang Cheon's meaningful smile, Bieunggaek had to feel a certain sense of anxiety.

But it didn't matter.

"If the Jin kid sees my Shadowless Divine Steps, he'll surely pester me to teach him."

(End of Chapter)