Beob Gang (2)

Beob Gang (2)

From Mu-Jin's perspective, it was somewhat inevitable. Each time he flexed and extended his knees, the sound of joints scraping against each other echoed, almost as if saying, "My knees are ruined." As a trainer, could he just overlook this situation? Furthermore, if he could sway the military instructor to his side... wouldn't that be a huge advantage?

He had risen from being a novice trainer at the local gym to managing five stores. One could argue he had a knack for guiding people into the world of personal training.

"Clearly, your knees aren't in good shape. Exercising like this when your knees hurt is self-harm. Self-harm. Straighten your legs, please."

With a sympathetic expression, Mu-Jin carefully massaged around Beob Gang's knees as he looked on.

"Tsk tsk. Indeed, Shaolin's training was misguided."

Directly massaging Beob Gang's knees made it painfully clear how damaged they were. The evidence of repeating Shaolin's training methods for fifteen or twenty years was right in front of him, embodied in this military instructor.

Beob Gang's face showed surprise as he received Mu-Jin's massage. Initially, it felt like an assault, but after the pain subsided, a strange relief enveloped his knees.

"When your knees aren't good, you should exercise like this."

After loosening Beob Gang's knees appropriately, Mu-Jin began demonstrating exercises to him, almost as if conducting a personal training session.

Despite their military appearance, these members seemed vulnerable to kindness, unlike their tough exterior.

Mu-Jin meticulously explained each posture, guiding Beob Gang into the world of personal training.

"Like this, only bend halfway until your knees are fully flexed, as if sitting on a chair. Never exert pressure on your knees when going down; use the strength of your thighs and glutes to descend slowly. Similarly, when coming up, rely on the strength of your thighs and glutes."

Showing the common posture known as chair squats, Mu-Jin extended his hand abruptly.

"Now, give it a try. I'll hold your hand; just go down until you're sitting on the chair."

"Uh, okay?"

Caught off guard, Beob Gang found himself following Mu-Jin's instructions without realizing it.

Somehow, the young childlike figure in front of him exuded an air of expertise akin to a seasoned professional.

"There, stop! Don't exert force on your knees. They're protruding. Don't worry; I'm holding you. Just use your thighs and glutes! Focus on your breathing!"

As if possessed, Mu-Jin directed Beob Gang to flex and extend his knees several times.

"Hmm? The pain is definitely less?"

Not only did the knee pain diminish, but also, following Mu-Jin's commands, Beob Gang felt a clear stimulation as he exerted force on his thighs and glutes.

"Take a short break, and then we'll do fifteen repetitions again. Since your knees aren't good, don't overdo it."

"Three sets. Well, we've finished the third round, so let's move on to calf exercises. Take a moment to catch your breath."

Feeling the comfort in his knees, Beob Gang started following Mu-Jin's exercises one by one, almost absentmindedly.

"What's he doing over there?"

Hyu Jong, overseeing the training of novice disciples, looked on incredulously.

In response to Hyu Jong's muttered words, the fellow disciple watching the scene with him responded in a puzzled tone.

"Well, um...?"

Seeing such a bizarre scene, he unintentionally responded in a manner contrary to the court of law.

A law-obsessed individual. A law's dog. If Beob Gang, nicknamed the "law's dog," saw this scene, he would have surely issued a reprimand.

"Is that law's dog really doing that over there?"

Law's dog, law's dog, and now truly gone mad?

"The junior disciple, who had been relentlessly tormented by Beopgang since childhood, starting to worry about current situation

. "Hmm. Excellent. As expected from someone who exercises, you're quick to pick up the posture," said Mu-Jin. "Haha. Wouldn't that be obvious? It's been eighteen years since I joined Shaolin." Whether spoken or not, Mu-Jin and Beob Gang continued their personal training sessions in a friendly atmosphere.

"...Namu Amitabul." Feeling a throbbing pain in her head, Hyu Jong eventually had to turn away from them. Agreeing to recognize Mu-Jin's training and even joining him with Beob Gang was inevitable. Maybe in the neighborhood of the Undorthodox. It was unthinkable for a well-known Shaolin disciple to engage in such petty actions.

* * *

Morning mealtime after the dawn training session. The time when the novice disciples all headed to the dining hall for breakfast together.

"On days when you exercise your lower body, you must do this. It's even better to do it before exercising." Mujin was also finishing his first personal training session at the Shaolin Temple. Like with Mu Yul, a good stretching before and after lower body exercises. After demonstrating several Muscle Stretching Techniques, he said, "Sit down and stretch your legs."

As a finishing touch, he loosened the muscles around Beob Gang's knees through massage. Beob Gang watched Mu-Jin with a strange expression. He followed along as if enchanted for the first couple of times, but that didn't mean he lost his focus for the entire hour. Since things were already like this, he decided to experience all the exercise techniques Mu-Jin taught firsthand before making a decision. And an hour of personal training and Muscle Stretching Techniques. Beob Gang's judgment after receiving massages was as follows.

"A very excellent technique." It was exercise techniques that couldn't be easily criticized, and the accompanying Muscle Stretching Techniques and massage techniques were also excellent. The knee pain that used to flare up every time he trained was hardly noticeable today. On the contrary, the muscles around his thighs and calves were definitely pulled.

The reason he was called a law's dog was simply because he stuck to the wrong things too much. He was never a man to create nonexistent crimes or force things. "Are these the techniques passed down in your family?" "Yes?"

At Beob Gang's sudden question, Mu-Jin replied while secretly thinking, 'What nonsense is this?'

 Beob Gang, completely unaware of Mu-Jin's thoughts, shared some of the stories he heard from Hyun Song last night. 

It was about their belief that Mu-Jin was adhering to their family's training methods.

"Oh, I see. So they've been harboring such misconceptions." It was only natural for Mu-Jin's mind to come up with this thought after hearing Beob Gang's story. He had been worried about how to package his knowledge, but now he had a solution. How many factions and martial arts schools existed in the world of martial arts fiction? No matter how Shaolin was, there was no way they could know all the factions and martial arts schools located throughout the Middle Plains.

"Hmm. I did well to help." As the effect of making the military instructor his ally became apparent, a satisfied smile naturally appeared on Mu-Jin's face.

"Yes. These are techniques learned from my family." "Haha. Very excellent skills." Beob Gang, who smiled satisfactorily at Mu-Jin's answer, soon added with a stern expression.

"One. What I want to commend is your discussion about treatment. However, no matter what, our thousan-year Shaolin training remains the best for martial arts. I understand your intentions, but still, it would be good if you followed Shaolin's training methods at least once." As it wasn't coercion but advice, Mu-Jin replied appropriately, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Mu-Jin, are you done?" And as Mu-Jin finished his conversation with Beob Gang, Mu Yul, who had been waiting by the side for a while, asked with a desperate expression, resembling a puppy needing to relieve itself. "Yeah. Let's go eat."

"Yeah yeah!" As Mu-Jin mentioned going to eat, Mu Yul's expression brightened considerably. It seemed like he had been quite hungry while waiting.

"If you were hungry, you should have gone to eat first."

"Hehehe. I was going to go together."

At Mu-Jin's playful jab, Mu Yul laughed merrily. Mu-Jin chuckled and led Mu Yul towards the dining hall.

While Beob Gang was admiring this innocent scene for a moment, Hyu Jong suddenly approached and loudly cleared her throat.

"Oh. Hyu Jong sahsuk. I made a fool of myself."

"Hahaha. Did you know and still did that?"

Though Hyu Jong laughed with a crestfallen smile due to her embarrassment at the unexpected situation, Beob Gang remained composed. "One should experience things firsthand rather than just guessing."

"Right. So how was it experiencing it firsthand?"

Thinking 'He's quite articulate,' Hyu Jong asked.

"Based on my experience, it seems that the boy named Mu-Jin is more of a physician (ui-ga) than a martial artist."

"A physician? Why do you think so?"

After looking around cautiously, Beob Gang responded in a careful tone, "Actually, my knees were in a pretty bad condition due to excessive training."

"Oh... I had no idea..." Hyu Jong's expression turned sympathetic upon learning this new fact.

"Why did you hide that fact?"

"To avoid worrying the elders and because I couldn't show any weakness to the disciples."

It meant that he couldn't show weakness to the disciples who should look up to him as a role model.

"Surprisingly, the boy named Mu-Jin noticed the state of my knees, which even the priests who had been with me for over a decade didn't notice."

"Could it be?"

"Yes. All the movements I did with the boy named Mu-Jin were exercises that didn't strain my knees."

"Oh... Hearing this, it indeed makes me wonder if he's really a physician."

"Yes. And when I subtly asked Mu-Jin, he replied that all the exercises and techniques he showed me today were things he learned from his family."

Thus, through Beob Gang's words, Mu-Jin's lies were relayed to Hyu Jong as if they were the truth. Furthermore, they began fabricating Mu-Jin's past between themselves.

"If that's the case, then perhaps his family specializes in treating martial artists. Yes, they must be a family that has mastered the method of strengthening muscles during the process of healing martial artists' injuries. And that boy, having seen so many injured martial artists since he was young, undoubtedly harbors doubts about our Shaolin training."

"Indeed, Sahsuk. Even I couldn't read that much into it when I talked to Mu-Jin."

"How surprising. That talented boy, rejecting our Shaolin training for such reasons."

"Don't worry, Sahsuk. I'll guide that boy onto the right path."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Young children often readily follow the words of a trusted adult. Instead of forcing him, I'll first become close to him and gradually introduce him to Shaolin's training methods."

The translation of the provided Korean text into English is:

"Beob Gang, who hadn't even realized that he had been handed over to Mujin for personal training, displayed utterly baseless confidence."

"Yes. You're right. We shouldn't rush. It seems we should take it slow."

Hyu Jong believed in that as well.

---

Once again, after finishing off the beans and mushrooms left in the dining hall, and after the morning struggle against drowsiness during meditation time, it was time for Mu-Jin's morning martial arts training. However, for some reason, the atmosphere was oddly different today.

'It's probably not because of the military instructor. Or else, the atmosphere would have been like this since dawn.'

What could be causing the difference? Mu-Jin pondered as he tilted his head.

Then, from Hyu Jong's position at the top of the training area, a voice filled with solemn inner strength echoed out.

"Now that everyone seems to have mastered Chain-Linked Fist perfectly, let's move on to the next training from today."

'Ah.'

Wondering why, Mu-Jin realized that they were finally moving on to the next stage.

"Martial arts truly manifest their true power only when internal and external skills are harmonized. From today, we will begin preparations to cultivate that internal skill."

As Hyu Jong explained, two senior disciples sitting beside him assumed their meditation postures.

"You too, sit in meditation according to the teachings of Beobgyeong and Beobgong."

Listening to Hyu Jong's instructions, Mu-Jin mimicked the meditation posture of the two senior disciples.

"Close your eyes and focus on your breath. Inhale slowly through your nose as deeply as possible. Let the breath pass through your nose and throat. You should inhale until you reach the Tanjeon located at the center of your body."

'Hmm?'

Concentrating on Hyu Jong's voice, Mu-Jin took several deep breaths, pondering a certain question in his mind.