Chapter 20
Second Trial (2)
Mumu had been leisurely looking around the inside of the castle as he walked.
There was no need to rush, since Jin-hyeok and Mo Il-hwa hadn’t passed yet anyway.
For Mumu, who had only ever lived in the mountains, everything was a sight to see.
The large plaza, the artificial lake that stretched for one ri, and the pretty trees planted neatly on either side—everything was interesting.
He thought he could understand why his father, Yu Yeop-gyeong, was so eager to be released from his exile.
As Mumu walked leisurely along the path beside the lake, Supervisor Ga Yu-hang, a woman with a strict impression, approached with neat, measured steps.
When she reached Mumu, she opened her mouth.
“You seem to be full of composure. Does the entrance exam for the Changcheon Martial Arts Academy seem so easy that you can afford to look around everywhere?”
“……Who?”
“I am the supervisor for the second trial.”
“Ah! Hello!”
Mumu bowed his head deeply in a big greeting.
Ga Yu-hang raised an eyebrow.
The proper custom in the Murim was to greet with a fist and palm salute, but his way of greeting was truly simple.
“Never mind that. Did you pass the first trial?”
“Ah… you mean that castle gate?”
“Yes. Did you pass through that gate to get here?”
“Yes. The supervisor ahjussi said I passed and to go on in.”
“Ahjussi?”
“Is he not an ahjussi?”
At Mumu’s tilted head, Ga Yu-hang frowned.
The word ‘ahjussi’ wasn’t exactly wrong, but using such an expression for a supervisor in charge of the entrance exam was truly frivolous behavior.
“Let me correct you. Drop the ‘ahjussi’ after ‘supervisor’.”
“Do I have to drop it?”
“It goes against the etiquette toward a supervisor.”
“Oh, really? Then I should drop it. I’m sorry.”
His adoptive father, Yu Yeop-gyeong, had always said that no matter what, a person must always have manners.
Mumu, who took this to heart, was quick to accept it.
At his reaction, Ga Yu-hang let out a shallow breath, her eyes narrowed.
‘He looks like an innocent boy, but how did he pass? Surely this child can’t be Yu Jin-seong’s younger brother?’
The boy who had supposedly torn off the castle gate and come out.
But he seemed somewhat clumsy for that.
She heightened her ki sense to examine him, but strangely, he didn’t seem to have learned any martial arts.
It was unlikely he had reached a high enough level at this age to conceal his aura. He was a truly strange child.
‘His walk isn’t elegant either.’
A master of her level could tell whether someone had learned a Light Body Technique just from their walk.
She could even guess their school just by looking at the length of their stride and their posture.
In that respect, Mumu’s walk was completely ordinary.
If this pathetic gait was the result of learning a Light Body Technique, then either the school was at fault or the child was.
‘No. It’s not this child.’
She shook her head.
Then, as if she had lost interest, she walked toward the large incense burner.
As Mumu wondered what that was about, a girl holding a portable set of paper, brush, and ink approached him.
She was Dang So-so.
“Hi.”
Dang So-so said, sweeping her hair to the side.
She had been dying to talk to Mumu for a while now.
‘This guy is sooooo handsome.’
He was by far the best among all the applicants who had come so far.
His fine features and those beautiful lips that looked like they’d burst with refreshing fruit juice if bitten—she liked everything about him.
As a supervisor’s assistant, she shouldn’t be doing this, but she wanted to explain things to him kindly.
“You’re here to take the second trial, right?”
“Yeah.”
Since Dang So-so looked to be about his age, Mumu smiled brightly and answered comfortably.
At that charming smile, Dang So-so momentarily whipped her head away.
‘Aah… this guy is too deadly.’
She felt the blood rushing to her head.
In the process of training in Poison Arts, she had developed a special constitution where getting excited would often cause blood to rush to her face, sometimes resulting in a nosebleed.
Calming herself down with composure, she said,
“This is the trial that tests your Lightness Skill.”
“Lightness Skill? Ah.”
He had heard of that before.
Officer Jang had shown it to him once.
Dang So-so pointed her finger at someone heading toward the entrance of the artificial lake and said,
“You just have to use your Lightness Skill to run from the castle gate, step on the wooden posts sticking out of the lake, and reach the other side. But see that incense stick in the incense burner next to the supervisor? You have to get here before it burns down to the red line.”
“Then I pass?”
“Right. But your clothes can’t get wet. Of course, she’s sometimes flexible about a drop or two, but it’s best not to get them wet if you can help it. Oh! And you should pay attention to your posture when you use your Lightness Skill.”
“Why?”
“The supervisor likes elegance.”
“…….What does that have to do with elegance?”
“Um… I don’t know what that’s about either, but that’s just how it is.”
“Heh. Thanks. You’re very kind.”
As Mumu thanked her and smiled brightly again, she covered her nose and turned her head away.
He had a deadly charm that really felt like it could make her nose bleed.
But she had her face to maintain on their first meeting; how could she show such a side of herself?
‘I really hope he passes. This guy.’
She believed that the more kids like him there were, the brighter the future of the Changcheon Martial Arts Academy would be.
However, she couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.
His gait was irregular, like an ordinary person who hadn’t learned the Light Body Technique.
“Anyway, you can wait over there. I’ll be rooting for you to pass.”
As she was about to leave, she remembered something and asked.
“Hey. By any chance, are you Yu Jin…”
“Soso. How long are you going to be chit-chatting?”
Before her words could finish, Supervisor Ga Yu-hang, who was standing by the incense burner, reprimanded her.
At that, Dang So-so had no choice but to lick her lips and leave.
Still, in the process, she mouthed ‘Hang in there!’ to Mumu to look good in front of him.
Watching her, Mumu waved his hand.
‘She’s a kind kid.’
It seemed like there were a lot of good people here.
Mumu did as she said and headed toward where the other applicants were waiting.
It seemed many had already taken the test, as there were only five people left.
Mumu recognized one of them and greeted him.
“Hi!”
At his greeting, Ha-ryun glanced at him.
‘What’s his game?’
Suddenly greeting him like that was suspicious.
It wasn’t as if they knew each other or were close.
Ha-ryun promptly ignored Mumu.
Mumu walked up next to Ha-ryun and spoke to him again.
“I was worried I’d have to wait a long time for the second trial too, but I’m glad the line is short. Right?”
“…….”
I’m deliberately ignoring him, so why is he being so annoying and talking to me?
Ha-ryun again avoided answering.
At his reaction, Mumu tilted his head.
‘I don’t like him acting all innocent. Just how did he pass?’
He couldn’t understand it at all.
He had definitely overheard them chattering cheerfully among themselves.
He thought he heard them say something about what to do since they hadn’t learned martial arts, so he was wondering how on earth they passed.
‘Could it be that he has some backing?’
There was no way he could have gotten in otherwise.
While he was wondering, the applicant who had gone to the entrance of the lake finished his preparations to start.
‘Bae Ui-seok.’
Ha-ryun watched him closely.
He had memorized all the figures he needed to be most wary of on his way here.
Even if Bae Ui-seok of Nurturing Mountain Villa wasn’t on the level of the successors of the Four Great Grandmasters, he was the successor to the Baeyang Heavy Sword, Bae Dong-shin, who was called the hegemon of Fujian Province, so he was a pretty skilled guy.
“Begin!”
Supervisor Ga Yu-hang, who had lit the incense, shouted.
At that, the prepared Bae Ui-seok launched himself toward the artificial lake.
‘Clean.’
That was Ha-ryun’s assessment.
Just by watching him take his first step and land on the second wooden post, he could judge whether he would pass or fail.
With that level of Lightness Skill, he was well within the passing range.
“Do I have to step on all the wooden posts to cross?”
Hearing Mumu’s mumble, Ha-ryun sneered inwardly.
‘Crazy bastard. Then how does he plan to cross the artificial lake? I can’t tell if he’s simple or just an idiot.’
He shook his head.
In the meantime, Bae Ui-seok dashed to the end of the artificial lake.
As expected, Bae Ui-seok displayed an elegant and clean Lightness Skill, arriving when the incense had burned just a little over halfway.
He had taken the test calmly, so his clothes were also clean.
“Your elegance shows that you have a bright future ahead of you. You pass.”
“Thank you.”
Bae Ui-seok politely performed a fist and palm salute and headed to the next trial with a triumphant face.
The other waiting applicants couldn’t hide their envy at the sight.
Ha-ryun snorted at them.
The sight of them swinging between joy and sorrow over someone else’s success was ridiculous.
‘A test like this is nothing but a game to my brothers from Baeksagok. Bunch of complacent fools.’
For him, who had completed the hellish training, this was not even a test.
After the rest of the applicants finished the test, his turn came quickly.
For the test preparation, two people would wait at the entrance of the artificial lake, and thanks to that, Ha-ryun had to move with Mumu.
“Hang in there!”
At Mumu’s cheer, Ha-ryun’s face contorted.
‘Annoying guy.’
He was deliberately ignoring him, and now he was even cheering him on.
It was hard to tell if he was just naive or doing it on purpose.
Shaking his head, Ha-ryun finally opened his mouth.
“Does everything seem like a prank to you?”
“Huh?”
“The entrance exam is a competition. It’s not a place to show your teeth and build friendship with your rivals.”
“………”
“If you have time to run your mouth and fool around, you should think about how to take the test more efficiently. Though I don’t know if there’s any hope for a guy like you.”
After his outburst, Ha-ryun whipped around.
Watching him, Mumu looked embarrassed and scratched his head.
‘He must have been really annoyed.’
He thought he hadn’t said much, but he figured he must have been a nuisance.
Glancing at Mumu, Ha-ryun let out a sneer.
Seeing him get discouraged after just one word, he seemed like a guy he didn’t need to worry about.
Whether he had backing or not, he wasn’t someone who would get in his way.
“Begin!”
At that moment, Supervisor Ga Yu-hang’s signal was given.
Ha-ryun lightly launched his body.
To him, who moved through wetlands full of poisonous substances and poisonous insects as if it were his own room, crossing an artificial lake on wooden posts was the same as running on flatland.
“Pass!”
The result was, of course, a pass.
And the incense had only burned down by one-third.
He was confident he could have shortened the record a bit if he had gone all out, but his masters from Baeksagok had told him to hide not just three percent, but thirty percent of his skill.
‘Well then, shall I get going?’
He was about to head to the location of the final, third trial.
Ha-ryun, who was about to take a step, paused for a moment.
And he turned his head.
‘I’m curious to see how they plan to pass that dazed-looking guy.’
No matter how he looked at it, the guy really hadn’t learned martial arts.
A guy who should have been dropped right at the first trial had passed and come inside, and he became curious as to how the supervisor of the second trial planned to pass him.
“I don’t have any expectations for that child.”
Supervisor Ga Yu-hang coolly assessed to her assistant, Dang So-so.
“Aw. Still, since he passed the first trial, don’t you think he’ll show us something?”
“They say a tree destined for greatness is recognizable from its seed leaf. Just by looking at one’s walk, you can tell if their footwork is well-practiced or if it’s been fully embodied. That child is not like that at all. No, he hasn’t even learned footwork.”
“……Umm.”
She wanted to deny it, but she couldn’t.
As she said, even to her eyes, Mumu’s walk was too ordinary.
So much so that she wondered how he passed the first trial.
‘Still, I hope he manages to do something.’
He had the face she liked the most, and it would be a real shame if he failed.
“I guarantee it. He’ll fall into the artificial lake before he can even take a few steps.”
Supervisor Ga Yu-hang predicted as she looked at Mumu.
In fact, her predictions were mostly correct.
Even if there were some minor differences.
“You may begin!”
Ga Yu-hang shouted loud enough for Mumu on the other side to hear.
At that, Mumu took about five steps back, rolled up his pant cuffs, and started fiddling with something.
They couldn’t tell what he was doing, dawdling like that.
It wouldn’t matter anyway, since he was going to fail.
Ga Yu-hang shook her head and lit the incense, saying,
“It seems he’s trying to get a running start by creating distance, but it looks like he lacks even the foundation of Light Body Technique. A running start like that is a foolish choi—”
KWA-A-A-A-A-ANG!
Before her words could even finish.
The moment Mumu kicked off the ground, the floor didn’t just crack; fragments of it shot backward into the air.
It was like a waterfall gushing in reverse.
SWOOOOOOOOOOSH!
‘Wh-what?’
The surface of the one-ri-long artificial lake instantly split in half, and an immense wind pressure washed over them.
It was so strong that Ga Yu-hang and Dang So-so’s faces distorted, their eyelids fluttering and their lips momentarily flipping inside out.
They couldn’t even open their eyes properly, and in a flash, Mumu was standing before them.
‘!!!’
Dang So-so was so astonished she couldn’t close her mouth.
For a moment, she doubted her own eyes.
Just what in the world had happened?
“You… you…”
She could see Mumu’s two feet, along with his tremendously writhing calf muscles, had pierced through the plaza floor.
Don’t tell me he did this just to stop?
“………”
Supervisor Ga Yu-hang, who had been blinking with a dazed face for a while, turned her head to the side.
The incense in the incense burner had burned down ever so slightly.
Considering the time she had been spacing out, it was as if almost no time had passed at all.
“Ha…….”
Supervisor Ga Yu-hang was so dumbfounded that the word “pass” wouldn’t even come out.
Like her, Ha-ryun, who had passed first but stayed to watch Mumu, was so utterly dumbfounded that his nails were digging into his palms.
‘This is insane…’
He was told to cross the artificial lake by stepping on the wooden posts, but instead, he just jumped over the entire artificial lake in one go.
