Chapter 8 : His Grand Scheme? -01

Chapter 8: His Grand Scheme? -01

Fearing that the other might change his words, Jeong Hyeon answered urgently.

Just as Ban Hojin had said, because the martial arts they practiced were different, teaching him was difficult.

However, watching over one’s martial arts was a different matter.

Moreover, having personally seen him subdue Namgung Gwang—who had been called the greatest of the Rising Juniors—as if handling a child, Jeong Hyeon clung to Ban Hojin’s arm and grabbed it tightly.

“It hurts.”

“S-Sorry!”

“So anyway, you do have the will, right?”

“Of course! But you promised, didn’t you? You won’t say something different later, right?”

“As if. More likely, won’t you be the one to say you can’t do it and give up first?”

Flinch!

Jeong Hyeon jerked.

Considering Ban Hojin’s personality, it was more than possible.

Still, he did not want to give up just because he was afraid of that.

The moment one gave up once, giving up a second and third time became easy.

“I-I plan to try as much as I can.”

“Don’t worry too much. Do you think I’d really torment you? What would I gain from tormenting you? I’d rather spend that time training myself than watching over you.”

“I’ll work hard! I’ll do my best not to disappoint you!”

“I’m not expecting much, so just be consistent. I don’t want a lot.”

“I won’t make you think it’s a waste of time!”

Jeong Hyeon shouted as if making a vow to himself.

From Jeong Hyeon like that, the dejected air he had earlier was now completely gone.

In its place remained only a fiercely burning motivation.

“I like that. ‘So it won’t feel like a waste of time.’ Very good.”

“But I hope you’ll understand if I’m slow…….”

“Of course I know that too. Like I said, I’m not expecting much. The bigger the expectations, the bigger the disappointment.”

“Ugh, I feel like my energy’s already draining away even before we start.”

Jeong Hyeon let his shoulders droop.

What was funny was that those words were true, so he couldn’t refute them.

“It means to take it easy. Don’t get overly greedy just because you’re full of enthusiasm. Just do your best within what you can do right now. Then your skill will increase, even if only by an eye’s speck.”

“Yes!”

Seeing Jeong Hyeon answer resolutely, Ban Hojin smiled faintly.

In his mind, Jeong Hyeon from his past life came to mind.

Jeong Hyeon collapsing while bleeding hot blood from his mouth.

At that time, there had been a palm-sized hole in Jeong Hyeon’s chest.

‘This time, this kid’s future has to change too.’

Even in that dying moment, Jeong Hyeon had not lost his smile.

And in front of Jeong Hyeon’s corpse, Ban Hojin had cried.

That was why this time, he intended to change that future.

Back then, Jeong Hyeon had been far too young to die.

‘The others were the same.’

Even if they hadn’t been as close as Jeong Hyeon, they were disciples who had lived together at Shaolin.

Among them were senior brothers, junior brothers, and even martial nephews.

In particular, the deaths of the current Second-Generation Disciples and the Third-Generation Disciples who would enter later brought Ban Hojin much sorrow.

So this time, he did not want to feel that again.

“You must live to be a hundred.”

“Yes? Isn’t a hundred too much? I want to live a moderate life and then return to the soil.”

“What age is a moderate one?”

“Hmm. Still, at least I’d have to live to a full sixty years to say I lived enough, right? I’m a Shaolin disciple too—dying young would be a bit much.”

“Then live right in the middle, to eighty.”

Sixty years was not a short time, but as the saying went, if you’re choosing anyway, choose the better cloth—Ban Hojin thought it would be nice if Jeong Hyeon lived long and long.

He hoped his fate would change, like his own.

Even if Jeong Hyeon could not remember his past life as he did.

And only if Jeong Hyeon became strong and Shaolin became strong could they stop the ambitions of the Four Tyrants of the World.

“Eighty is still too long. I don’t want to live to the point of smearing excrement on the walls. I don’t want to cling to life while ruining my dignity.”

“It’s better than dying young.”

“Well, that’s true. But do I look like someone who’ll die early?”

“I wouldn’t know. I didn’t learn physiognomy. But Murim is a place where the weak die, and since you’re a Warrior Monk, you could meet a sudden, violent death one day.”

“That’s too extreme. But when Senior Uncle says it, it strangely doesn’t sound like a joke.”

Jeong Hyeon shuddered.

For some reason, it felt eerie.

“It means no one knows what will happen in the future. I could suddenly get struck by lightning and die too.”

“Even if Senior Uncle got struck by lightning, it feels like you’d survive. You’d raise a protective energy, or maybe absorb the lightning’s energy.”

“Hearing that makes me want to try it at least once. Though I do wonder whether lightning would fall precisely on me.”

“But Senior Uncle. There’s one thing I’m curious about.”

“Why are you talking like that?”

As if he had never been dejected, Jeong Hyeon’s eyes sparkled.

At the same time, his manner of speech changed.

“Ahem! I’m genuinely curious. Are you really not going to meet the Three Phoenixes?”

“What would I do by meeting them?”

“Uh, building friendships? It wouldn’t be bad to form ties, right?”

“And bring you along while we’re at it?”

“Hehehe!”

Not because of the sunset, but simply, the crown of Jeong Hyeon’s head turned red.

That subtle difference in color was clearly visible to Ban Hojin’s eyes.

“No need. If you really want to meet them, go alone.”

“Would they even meet me if I went? I’d probably get turned away at the gate.”

“And then rumors would spread. That a Second-Generation Disciple named Jeong Hyeon is woman-crazy.”

“Eek!”

As if the thought alone was horrifying, Jeong Hyeon shuddered.

At that immediate reaction, Ban Hojin grinned.

The reaction was so amusing that he couldn’t stop teasing him.

“So stop thinking about other things and focus only on training. Good martial arts, a good master, and even a good environment—if you don’t put in effort, that’s an act of betraying all of it.”

“I understand…….”

“Don’t drag out your words.”

“Yes!”

“My training is done, but since we’ve met like this, let’s start today. It looks like I need to immediately tear down and rebuild your mindset first.”

Jeong Hyeon’s pupils shook violently.

He wasn’t mentally prepared yet.

At the very least, he thought there was half a day’s worth of time left, but Ban Hojin opened his mouth as if he had peered straight into his thoughts.

“Hurgh!”

“If you don’t like it, give up.”

“No. I’ll do it right now.”

“Come on, let’s go.”

Ban Hojin turned his body.

Then, with his hands clasped behind his back, he began to stroll away, and Jeong Hyeon followed limply behind him like an ox being led to the slaughterhouse.

“Huh!”

Namgung So-yeon, the cherished jewel and youngest daughter of the Namgung Family, slammed her teacup down roughly onto the tea table with an expression of disbelief.

However, unlike her twin younger sister, her elder sister Namgung Su-yeon calmly sipped her tea.

“Why are you getting so angry?”

“How could I not be angry after going through something like this?”

“Just because you asked to see him doesn’t mean Young Master Ban absolutely had to come, does it?”

“Still, isn’t this too much?!”

Though they were twins, their personalities were completely different.

As if to show that, Namgung So-yeon repeatedly slapped the tea table with her palm.

“Ahem, how unladylike. This isn’t our main house.”

“I’m just frustrated!”

“What’s so frustrating? You asked, and Young Master Ban simply refused.”

“Aren’t you upset?”

“That can happen. To put it bluntly, even the Three Phoenixes were turned down, so what could we do differently?”

Namgung So-yeon’s eyes widened.

It was the first she had heard that even the Three Phoenixes had been rejected.

“Really?”

“Was it only the Three Phoenixes? Hye-jeong was turned down too.”

“Heeh.”

At the words that even Zhuge Hye-jeong had been rejected, Namgung So-yeon was genuinely surprised.

It was because she knew Zhuge Hye-jeong’s personality well, as they were close.

“When even Oppa gets rejected, your being turned down isn’t a big deal.”

“Didn’t you say he was a Lay Disciple?”

“More precisely, an Unregistered Disciple.”

“Then why is he like this? If he were a True Mountain Disciple, it’d make sense to keep women at a distance, but he’s a Lay Disciple, isn’t he?”

“From what I saw yesterday, he seemed to dislike troublesome things.”

Namgung Su-yeon answered in a calm tone.

Though she hadn’t been able to converse with him, she had observed Ban Hojin carefully in her own way.

In particular, the sight of him turning away as if he had finished all his business the moment the sparring ended remained vivid in her mind.

Even though the Three Phoenixes—whom even the Warrior Monks of Shaolin couldn’t take their eyes off—were gathered in one place, and even though he could have exchanged greetings, Ban Hojin did not do so.

“Could it be that he’s mastered the Child Body Technique?”

“If he were a True Mountain Disciple, maybe, but there’s no need for a Lay Disciple to deliberately learn the Child Body Technique. I don’t even know if it’s still being passed down.”

“You never know. Since monks can’t violate the precept of abstinence, they might learn the Child Body Technique.”

“That could be. Only Shaolin would know the detailed circumstances.”

“But how could he refuse?!”

After circling around and returning to the same point again, Namgung So-yeon burst out in resentment.

The more she tried to understand, the more her pride was hurt.

The fact that she had been rejected even though she was the one who had asked for the meeting first.

Because it was the first time something like this had happened, Namgung So-yeon’s face had turned red with indignation.

“You’re not the emperor. He can refuse. Why are you getting so angry?”

“It hurts my pride!”

“So should every man follow your words?”

“That’s not it, but…….”

At the sight of Namgung Su-yeon calmly picking apart her argument point by point, Namgung So-yeon pouted her lips.

She knew it too.

That she was venting stubbornness and pointless anger right now.

“Not all men are the same just because they’re men. There are men who lose their minds over beautiful women, but there can also be men who have no interest at all. For example, men who are devoted to only one.”

“Still, isn’t it too much to reject me or the Three Phoenixes? It’s not like we’re trying to eat him—we’re just asking to have a cup of tea and talk.”

“That could be bothersome too.”

Namgung Su-yeon shrugged.

She wasn’t unaware of her younger sister’s feelings, but cases like this did exist.

Rather, Namgung Su-yeon thought it was fortunate that this happened sooner rather than later.

If she hadn’t experienced this now, Namgung So-yeon’s already high nose would surely have risen endlessly.

“What kind of thinking makes that bothersome?”

“Don’t judge other people by your own standards. I’ve told you several times that that’s not a good thing.”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“I am curious, but this isn’t our home. If it were our main house, we could try other methods, but this is Shaolin. We are clearly guests. You have to keep that in mind.”

“Tch!”

Because every single word from start to finish was right, Namgung So-yeon no longer opened her mouth.

Instead, she pushed her lips out as far as they would go, as if sulking.

Anyone could see that she was in a foul mood.

“But I did become more curious. I never thought there’d be a man who would reject an invitation from the Three Phoenixes. And it was the first time I’d seen Oppa lose so helplessly. I thought there was no equal among his peers. I did think there might be someone of similar skill, though.”

“How strong is he?”

“For now, he looks hard for Oppa to overcome. Did you know he didn’t even move a single step from where he stood?”

“Really?”

Namgung So-yeon looked startled, as if she hadn’t known that.

She knew he was strong, but she hadn’t expected it to this extent.

“It’s not for nothing that Oppa said he’d go into closed-door training as soon as he returned. Because he knew that, he readily admitted defeat. Because he knew that no matter how much more he tried, only he would end up looking miserable.”

“Still, he’ll catch up soon. And then he’ll overtake him as if it’s only natural. Oppa has just paused for a moment.”

Though Namgung Gwang had lost, Namgung So-yeon did not attach much meaning to it.

She firmly believed that with time, Namgung Gwang would return to the very top, as if to show everyone.

“I think so too.”

“By the way, isn’t there some kind of way?”

“What kind of way?”

“A way for us to meet him before the Three Phoenixes do.”