Chapter 06
The Exile Ends (3)
Having failed to find any clues about the incredible master who had laid waste to the mountain fortress, Officer Jang had to return to the thatched house at the place of exile.
It was hard to associate any master with the ambiguous clue of “asymmetrical.”
But what was certain was that the mountain fortress had been annihilated by that master, so the threat from the mountain bandits was gone.
Officer Jang reported this to O Ji-gang, the Merchant Group Leader of the Merchant Caravan, as soon as he arrived.
“Is that truly so?”
“It is. It’s a coincidence, but one can only call it heavenly fortune.”
“It seems Lord Yu Hak-jeong has accumulated many meritorious deeds, for his fortune to have opened up all at once. Hahahahahaha.”
O Ji-gang said joyfully.
At these words, Yu Yeop-gyeong also let out a sigh of relief.
But there was something that strangely bothered him.
Yu Yeop-gyeong’s head and eyes slowly turned towards his adopted son, Mumu.
Clap, clap, clap!
Mumu was clapping with the constables, celebrating that things had turned out well.
Seeing this, Yu Yeop-gyeong felt a nagging suspicion, yet also thought it couldn’t be.
‘…Well, he is wearing that bracelet, so it’s impossible.’
He couldn’t guess the extent of Mumu’s strength.
But he believed that as long as the artifact, the Strength-Limiting Ring, was suppressing his power, Mumu couldn’t possibly have done such an absurd thing.
But then why did the image of him uprooting and throwing that tree come to mind?
He was in denial, yet it was still weighing heavily on his mind.
“However, Your Excellency. If that incredible master committed such an act because he was reluctant to be exposed, we could also be in danger.”
“We have Officer Jang, don’t we?”
“This humble one also takes pride in my martial arts, but our opponent is someone who laid waste to the mountain bandits’ base with only his bare hands.”
“Heo.”
If Officer Jang was giving such a warning, it was necessary to listen carefully.
But there was something he definitely wanted to tell them before they departed.
Merchant Group Leader O Ji-gang had been waiting for this very day.
He wanted to be the first to deliver this news to the simple and virtuous Yu Yeop-gyeong, a man who, even in exile, had taken in and raised an abandoned child.
He took something from his saddle.
Yu Yeop-gyeong, who had been watching without much thought, found his eyes widening in shock.
“Leader O. Th-that is?”
A scroll with a splendid pattern, tied with a golden thread.
“That’s right.”
Merchant Group Leader O Ji-gang said with a nod.
This was a scroll that contained the command of His Majesty the Emperor.
O Ji-gang unfurled the scroll and spoke in a solemn voice.
“I relay the Imperial Order.”
Thump!
As soon as the words were out, Officer Jang and all the constables prostrated themselves on the ground.
Yu Yeop-gyeong, too, prostrated himself, despite the discomfort from his injured leg.
“We receive the Imperial Order.”
But the only one who didn’t prostrate was Mumu.
Yu Yeop-gyeong scolded his adopted son in a small voice.
“Mumu. Prostrate yourself.”
“Why?”
“Everyone must show respect before an Imperial Order.”
“Ah… Imperial Order.”
Mumu also prostrated himself on the ground.
Then, O Ji-gang recited the contents of the scroll.
“In the 17th Year of Jeongdeok, a new Heir to the Throne (國本) has been born in the Great Empire, so how can we not celebrate this auspicious event? I, the Emperor, will reduce this year’s taxes and will also pardon those who have committed crimes, according to their severity.”
“Aaaah.”
Yu Yeop-gyeong’s voice trembled.
Although it was due to a national auspicious event, wasn’t this also a pardon (赦免)?
Having waited for this day for so long, he couldn’t contain his joy.
The day he could finally return to his hometown and see his family was here.
“We humbly receive the order of His Majesty the Emperor.”
O Ji-gang rolled the scroll back up and spoke.
“The order has been delivered. You may all rise.”
At his words, everyone who had been prostrated rose.
O Ji-gang supported the staggering Yu Yeop-gyeong and congratulated him.
“Congratulations, Yu Hak-jeong.”
At this, Yu Yeop-gyeong looked at him with a look of utter confusion and said,
“Leader O. Who in the world are you to be delivering an Imperial Order like this?”
This was something a common Merchant Group Leader could never do.
He had already brought an officer with him, hadn’t he?
He had just been feeling doubt upon realizing that the men he had thought were members of the merchant group were actually constables.
At this, O Ji-gang said awkwardly,
“My apologies, Yu Hak-jeong. I had no intention of deceiving you, but I too regret that I was unable to tell you until now.”
“Are you perhaps… a government official?”
Believing him to be a government official, Yu Yeop-gyeong quickly spoke more formally.
O Ji-gang smiled and said,
“You may speak comfortably.”
“How can a commoner stripped of his government post speak informally to a government official?”
“Even so, I would appreciate it if you spoke comfortably, if only for the sake of the relationship we’ve built over the years.”
“Heo, really. Then, may I ask who you are?”
It was not in Yu Yeop-gyeong’s nature to refuse another’s suggestion a second time.
At Yu Yeop-gyeong’s question, O Ji-gang took out a wooden identification tag from his bosom and showed it to him.
The tag read:
[Provincial Surveillance Commission (제형안찰사사)
Senior 4th Rank (정사품) Vice-Commissioner (부사) O Ji-gang (梧止江)]
Seeing this, Yu Yeop-gyeong’s eyes widened.
The Provincial Surveillance Commission was an institution that governed the punishments and prisons of a province (省).
In that institution, the Vice-Commissioner was the one right below the Surveillance Commissioner, what you could call the second-in-command.
He had predicted he was a government official, but he couldn’t help but be surprised at such a high government post.
“Are you not His Excellency, the Vice-Commissioner?”
It was a position far too high to speak comfortably to.
O Ji-gang waved his hands in denial.
“I told you to speak comfortably.”
“How could I? This humble one was merely a Scholar Official of the Senior 8th Rank during my time at the National Academy.”
“Heo. How can you compare a scholar who worked at the best educational institution in the Imperial Capital with a government post working at a provincial surveillance commission?”
“Please take back those words.”
“From the first time I met you, I respected you, Lord Scholar Official, which is why I came to build a relationship with you in the guise of a Merchant Group Leader.”
“Your Excellency…”
At those words, Yu Yeop-gyeong couldn’t help but be deeply moved.
Now he understood why the government officials who used to visit the place of exile to check on him had stopped coming five years ago.
It wasn’t because they had forgotten him, but because the Vice-Commissioner of the Provincial Surveillance Commission, O Ji-gang, had been visiting the place of exile himself.
The Vice-Commissioner of the Provincial Surveillance Commission, O Ji-gang, wore a pleased look on his face.
He, too, had been waiting for this day.
‘Yu Hak-jeong.’
Through a chance opportunity when newly appointed, he had set out to personally conduct inspections of the places of exile.
However, after seeing him, he became captivated by his character.
Raising a child someone had abandoned would be difficult even for himself, so it was no easy task for a scholar, who was not a woman.
O Ji-gang said to Yu Yeop-gyeong, who was trembling with emotion,
“Now, now. We have Officer Jang’s advice to consider, so let’s get going. By now, your family dependents in Kaifeng have probably heard the news as well.”
“Really?”
At those words, the rims of Yu Yeop-gyeong’s eyes turned red.
Mumu, too, felt happy seeing his adoptive father like this.
Wasn’t this the adoptive father who had so eagerly awaited the end of his life in exile?
Escorted by the officer and constables of Dohyeon County, Yu Yeop-gyeong and Mumu were on their fifth day of travel.
Mumu, who had left more than ten ri from his place of exile for the first time, was excited.
Having lived his whole life seeing only mountains, the feeling of seeing flatland was beyond words.
Seeing his son like this, Yu Yeop-gyeong was also happy.
It wasn’t just for his own sake, but it had always weighed on his mind that Mumu had only ever lived in the mountains because of his life in exile.
In fact, Mumu wasn’t the only one who was excited.
Yu Yeop-gyeong was also quite thrilled to be leaving the place of exile after more than seventeen years.
He was relieving his pent-up frustrations by hearing from O Ji-gang about the affairs of the world, which he hadn’t been able to hear about in detail all this time.
That evening, the constables were making a campsite for camping out.
Mumu sat in front of the campfire and stared blankly at his adoptive father, Yu Yeop-gyeong, and O Ji-gang, who were continuously chatting as if they had so much to say.
‘…Father isn’t playing with me.’
The joy of coming out had only lasted a day or two.
On the fifth day, his father was still only talking with Ahjussi O Ji-gang, so he was kind of bored.
The other constables he was close with were also busy setting up the campsite.
“Mumu. If you have nothing to do, help out a bit too.”
“Yeah. Come here and chop some firewood. A guy with strength to spare like you.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Are you going to answer so half-heartedly?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Well, I’ll be. Hehehehe.”
The constables snickered and laughed at Mumu’s listless voice.
Having watched him since he was young, Mumu was like a young nephew to the constables.
So they could guess the emotion behind his every action.
One constable flicked Mumu’s forehead and said,
“You little rascal. I told you to help us ahjussis if you’re bored. Why are you looking so glum just because the Lord isn’t playing with you?”
“I know. Father isn’t just my father anymore.”
“This guy, really…”
The constables found this sight quite fascinating.
They say there should be Intimacy Between Father and Son (父子有親), but there was no father-son relationship as informal as this.
Usually, boys of that age, even if they respect their fathers, are also scared and wary of them.
But Mumu somehow thought of his father as both a parent and a friend.
‘Well, it was just the two of them living together.’
It seemed difficult to ignore the environmental factor.
Mumu, while answering as if annoyed, moved slowly, gathered an armful of firewood, lifted it, and carried it over.
Seeing that, the constables were inwardly amazed.
“He’s a real strongman. A strongman.”
“I mean, how is a guy who hasn’t even learned martial arts so strong?”
Normal able-bodied men couldn’t lift that much.
They felt it every time they saw him, but it was truly amazing.
Mumu put the firewood down next to the campfire and asked,
“Ahjussis. I’ve been wanting to ask, but what is this thing called martial arts?”
Mumu had been curious about it anyway.
It was because he remembered the mountain bandits constantly talking about martial arts while looking at him.
Every one of them had asked if he had learned martial arts or whose disciple he was, and he couldn’t understand why at all.
“Martial arts?”
“We don’t know either.”
“How would constables like us know about that?”
“I heard it’s a kind of martial skill that only martial artists learn, but I don’t know if that’s right.”
The constables noisily shared their own opinions.
In truth, they didn’t know much either.
It was because martial arts was not the kind of skill that ordinary people could just learn.
One constable said,
“Instead of us, you should ask Officer Jang.”
“Right. Since Officer Jang is a martial artist, he should be able to answer your question.”
At those words, Mumu turned his head.
A short distance away, he could see Officer Jang sitting alone in front of a campfire in a full-lotus position, meditating.
Every night for the past five days, he would do that and then disappear alone.
Actually, Mumu’s eyesight was extremely good, so he had seen Officer Jang swinging a sword by himself from a great distance.
‘It looked like he was dancing. Is that martial arts?’
The movements had been quite flashy.
Though he didn’t understand why he moved like that.
“Go on and ask him.”
At that, Mumu trudged over to the meditating Officer Jang.
Officer Jang, who had been lightly circulating his ki with his eyes closed, felt a presence approaching and opened his eyes.
In truth, he hadn’t been performing a full small heavenly circulation, so he had overheard some of their conversation.
“It’s Mumu.”
“Officer Ahjussi.”
“What is it?”
Although he already knew what he was going to ask, Officer Jang feigned ignorance and asked.
“What are martial arts?”
“Martial arts… is that what you’re curious about?”
“Yes. You and the others keep talking about martial arts, so I was curious what it is.”
Seeing this, a slight smile appeared on Officer Jang’s lips.
He, too, had been growing interested in Mumu anyway.
Mumu, whom he had observed because the constables kept calling him a strongman, was definitely stronger than he had thought.
He lifted firewood with ease and carried heavy luggage effortlessly.
‘Those muscles.’
Because of this, Officer Jang had been observing Mumu’s body carefully.
And he couldn’t hide his considerable surprise.
The body of a guy who hadn’t even learned martial arts was developed as if he had undergone a great deal of training.
Especially now, since he was wearing the rather loose-fitting pants the constables had given him, it wasn’t obvious, but his lower body muscles were also surprisingly well-developed.
It was to the point where he couldn’t understand how on earth he had trained his muscles to that extent.
‘If only he were younger, I would want to take him as a disciple.’
Martial arts can be divided into External School and Internal School training.
But Mumu’s body was so well-developed that he judged it would only need a little refinement in terms of External Arts Training.
The only problem was internal energy.
Internal energy, also called Internal Arts Training, had limits to its growth if not started from a young age.
‘It’s hard to clear the meridians blocked by turbid ki.’
The turbid ki that accumulates in the meridians hardens more and more as the years pass.
That is why martial families have their children begin internal energy training from a young age.
‘What a pity. Still, a connection is a connection, and he seems interested in martial arts, so should I teach him a little?’
He couldn’t teach him much unless he was a direct disciple, but it seemed he could teach him the basics.
“Mumu. Martial arts means balancing Internal Arts Training and External Arts Training to transcend the limits of the physical body. You could call it a kind of study of physical training.”
He was, after all, the son of a scholar official who had worked at an educational institution in the Imperial Capital.
He thought Mumu would be able to understand well enough if he explained it like this.
But Mumu tilted his head in confusion.
“Training?”
Mumu scanned Officer Jang’s body up and down with a strange look in his eyes.
At this, Officer Jang felt strangely odd.
He couldn’t understand why he was being looked at with such eyes.
“Hmm. I see. My doubt has been cleared. Thank you.”
Then, Mumu bowed his head to express his thanks.
And he tried to leave without any lingering attachment.
“W-wait a minute, Mumu.”
Officer Jang called out and stopped Mumu.
“Yes?”
Officer Jang felt oddly uncomfortable inside.
This guy somehow gave off the feeling that he had lost interest in martial arts after seeing the state of his body.
His eyes truly made him think his guess was right.
‘Hoo.’
It seemed he would have to show this child the might of martial arts.
No matter how much you train in external arts, there is a limit.
It is the standard belief that mere physical training alone cannot hope to grasp the profound principles of internal energy.
“Mumu. I think I might have explained martial arts incorrectly.”
“Is that so?”
“They say seeing is believing. Watch this.”
Indeed, showing him was best.
Swinging a sword was good, but what amazed ordinary people the most was the Light Body Technique.
Once you master this Light Body Technique, your Yongquan acupoint develops, allowing you to run much faster than a normal person and to jump to great heights.
“Alright! Here I go!”
Thump!
Sending true ki to his Yongquan acupoint, Officer Jang kicked off the ground.
Then he lightly stepped on the tree behind him and leaped upward in great strides.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!
The constables watching couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of Officer Jang reaching the top of the tree in an instant.
“Woah.”
“How does he do that?”
“That’s amazing. Is that what martial arts is?”
This seemed to be enough of a demonstration.
Officer Jang looked down from the top of the tree with a satisfied face and said to Mumu,
“Mumu. Did you see that? This is called the Light Body Technique among martial arts, and if you master it, you can leap several yards high in a single—”
Thud!
It was at that very moment.
‘…Huh?’
At the top of the tree, he made direct eye contact with Mumu.
‘!?’
Officer Jang couldn’t help but doubt his own eyes.
With a single stretch upward, Mumu had instantly leaped to the top of the tree.
The mouths of the constables, who had been exclaiming in one voice about how amazing Officer Jang was, dropped wide open.
