Why are you out here? (3)

"Hey. Did you really bring that guy along?"

At the words of one of the monks sitting behind the proud pavilion, Mu-Jin chuckled and burst into laughter.

"Yeah. Were you expecting us to come?"

"I've seen you hanging out together the past few days. Didn't you notice?"

"I thought you would come, but you didn't run away. What did you do?"

In response to Mu-Jin's question, the three Lay Disciples struggled to stifle their laughter with their hands. Even though it was a secluded area, being inside The Hall of Arhats meant that laughing too loudly could attract unwanted attention.

"Hehehehe, why do we have to run away?'

'Hey. 'Do you think you're overflowing with confidence just because you beat that big idiot?'

"See? They're calling him crazy."

The three of them barely contained their laughter and took turns teasing each other. And somehow, Mu-Jin also burst into laughter at their words.

"Hehehe. Hey, did you hear? They said you're just a big idiot. Didn't you say you could win?"

"...They were looking at me like that?"

As Mujin's provocation seemed to hit the mark, Mu-Gung furrowed his brow and took a step forward.

"Come at me, whoever wants to. Don't ever spout that nonsense again."

"Hmph. Who do you think would be scared?"

One of the Lay Disciples, who had boasted about knocking down Mu-Gung in front of his friends moments ago, approached Mu-Gung.

"Hmm. So, is the remaining guy mine? Because Gyeong and Yul decided to take charge of the guy who was Mu-tae."

And Mu-Jin also approached the Lay Disciple who was standing next to Mu-Tae with the attitude of going out for a village drink.

"Hmph. I've been waiting for this, punk. Crush that nose of yours that's been so high and mighty after beating up Mu-Gung."

With each opponent chosen, only Mu-Gyeong, Mu-Yul, and Mu-Tae remained.

Mu-Tae confidently strode towards Mu-Yul and Mu-Gyeong.

As Mu-Tae approached, Mu-Gyeong's hands trembled more and more as he got closer.

After two months of repeated violence, the image of Mu-Tae had grown so large in Mu-Gyeong's mind that it was overwhelming.

"Oh. Is our dear Mu-Gyeong going to hit me?"

Whether he knew what was going on in Mu-Gyeong's mind or not, Mu-Tae pretended to be relaxed and taunted Mu-Gyeong. He even got so close to Mu-Gyeong's face, as if challenging him to strike, and leaned in.

Despite Mu-Tae's provocative stance, Mu-Gyeong's body shrank back even more. Although his opponent hadn't taken an attacking posture, Mu-Gyeong's body instinctively recoiled, like a turtle withdrawing into its shell.

Seeing Mu-Gyeong shrinking like a turtle only brought a smirk to Mu-Tae's lips. Mu-Tae continued to provoke Mu-Gyeong, even pressing his nose against Mu-Gyeong's, but then...

"If you hit me, do you know what will happen to your father?"

Ironically, that remark backfired.

Worry for his father, masked by fear of Mu-Tae.

As Mu-Jin had said, he reminded him that if he endured this torment, his father would eventually be treated like a slave by this guy.

There was only one solution.

To discipline this guy and become a true disciple.

"Don't you dare torment our father!!"

When anger overcame fear, Mu-Gyeong screamed and threw a punch at Mu-Tae.

"Ouch!"

However, fueled by anger, Mu-Gyeong's punch was too straightforward.

"Is this guy insane!"

Evading Mu-Gyeong's punch easily, Mu-Tae retaliated. With internal energy infused in his punch, it flew towards Mu-Gyeong's abdomen.

"Hah!"

Just before Mu-Tae's punch struck Mu-Gyeong, Mu-Yul, who had managed to dodge by a hair's breadth, pushed Mu-Gyeong aside.

"Kyung, snap out of it!"

Frustrated by the fact that his punch missed its target, Mu-Tae redirected his aim towards Mu-Yul.

"Hmph!"

But to his surprise.

Despite the punch being infused with internal energy, Mu-Yul managed to dodge every single one of his punches.

Thanks to Mu-Jin's teachings over the past two days, Mu-Yul couldn't follow the punches with his eyes, but he could recognize the pre-movements well enough.

"Hah!"

Mu-Yul managed to dodge the punches by moving his body back and forth precariously.

However, the speed was so fast that Mu-Yul had no room for counterattack. He was merely evading frantically, like performing acrobatics to avoid blows.

While Mu-Yul stalled for time, Mu-Gyeong regained consciousness after being knocked down by Mu-Yul and looked up to observe Mu-Tae's movements.

"There it is!"

Although the fist wasn't clearly visible, the preliminary movements and trajectory matched exactly.

"I can do this!"

With newfound confidence, Mu-Gyeong cautiously approached Mu-Tae.

"Predictive Strike!"

Taking into account Mu-Tae's stance, stride, and the position of his elbows, Mu-Gyeong predicted his next move and directed a punch toward Mu-Tae's left side.

The flaw inherent in the Predictive Strike technique.

Naturally, Mu-Tae couldn't anticipate Mu-Gyeong's approach.

"Take that!"

Thwack!

Mu-Gyeong's fist struck into Mu-Tae's left side.

---

Meanwhile, Mu-Jin was also engaged in a fierce battle with the Lay Disciple from the lower sect.

"Heh, he's fast."

Indeed, when facing a punch infused with internal energy at close range, the speed and power were beyond imagination.

"Well, that's all it takes."

In fact, the reason Mu-Jin hadn't immediately subdued his opponent was to be prepared for any eventuality.

The opponent used dangerous attacks with just a glancing blow. If there was another type of strike besides the Predictive Strike, there was a chance of being caught off guard.

However, after observing for a while, there was no sign of any other technique being used besides the Predictive Strike.

Even mixing in Peripheral or Variant techniques was absent.

"That's enough."

As if there was nothing more to see, Mu-Jin charged straight at his opponent.

His opponent saw Mu-Jin closing the distance as an opportunity. As Mu-Jin raised his fist, preparing for an attack, his opponent also prepared a counterattack.

"Tsk tsk."

Mu-Jin, who had originally baited this, sidestepped the opponent's hand aimed for defense and plunged his fist directly into the opponent's abdomen.

"Crack."

The opponent, who only knew how to wield a fist, not how to use internal energy to protect his body, let out a pained groan from the powerful blow.

Without even considering internal energy, he had almost no experience in getting hit due to his size and strength.

And Mu-Jin had no intention of waiting for his opponent to regain his composure.

Thwack! Thwack!

Mu-Jin's consecutive strikes landed on the face and abdomen of the Lay Disciple one after another.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh."

Eventually, the Lay Disciple, clutching his aching abdomen, burst into tears.

"Wow. Doesn't this make me look like the bad guy? What are you guys doing, beating up a child so ignorantly?"

"Ugh, ugh. Ugh, aah. I'll, I'll tell my dad!"

"..."

Seeing the Lay Disciple crying uncontrollably, Mu-Jin sighed in disappointment.

At this point, it felt like it was the parents who needed to be disciplined rather than the children. How did they raise them?

"Oh, wait. Now's not the time for that."

He wasn't fighting alone anymore.

Having knocked down one Lay Disciple, Mu-Jin looked around.

"Well, Mu-Gung seems fine for now."

Perhaps because of teaching him how to evade Predictive Strikes, Mu-Gung was also easily overwhelming his opponent.

But then, Mu-Yul's desperate voice rang out.

"Mu-Jin! Please help!"

Surprised, Mu-Jin turned his head towards the direction where the three were fighting.

"???"

A natural expression of confusion appeared on his face.

There was nothing to help with; Mu-Tae was already lying on the ground being enthusiastically pummeled.

"What do you need help with?" Mu-Jin thought to himself.

Mu-Yul urgently shouted again,

 "Help me stop Mu-Gyeong's sahsuk!" 

Mu-Yul rushed towards Mu-Gyeong, and after shaking off Mu-Yul's grasp, Mu-Gyeong climbed back onto Mu Tae and swung his fist. 

As the ruthless blow landed on the already bloodied face of the opponent, Mu-Tae's face became covered in blood.

However, completely deranged, Mu-Gyeong continued to rain down punches on the bloodied face.

And as blood splattered from Mu-Tae's face, staining Mu-Gyeong's fists and face red,

In the madness-filled eyes and the bloodstains on the face, a memory buried deep in Mu-Jin's mind slowly surfaced.

A monstrous being who loved blood more than anyone else.

A lunatic who claimed that all humans were evil and that he washed away their sins with blood.

The most insane villain character in the first work of the author Ga-Kyung, who wrote the novel [Sorim Sageuki], called [Majongwi Hwanrok].

Blood Monk Mu-Gyeong.

"Crazy. Was he that guy?"

Only now did Mu-Jin remember why the name Mu-Gyeong sounded familiar, and he was astonished.

As much as he liked the novel, it had been eighteen years since he last read it. Moreover, it was difficult to recall characters solely from sentences, not pictures or illustrations.

The image of Blood Monk Mu-Gyeong, who exploded with laughter in a pool of blood in the novel, overlapped with the sight of Mu-Gyeong relentlessly pounding his fists covered in Mu-Tae's blood.

Unknowingly, chills ran down Mu-Jin's spine.

"What have I unleashed?"

A child whose self-esteem had been shattered by prolonged torment.

Could the events that unfolded have led to this, in an attempt to revive the child's self-esteem?

But now was not the time to be merely astonished.

Mu-Jin rushed towards Mu-Gyeong and shouted.

"Hey! Stop him!!"

As Mu-Jin and Mu-Yul grabbed Mu-Gyeong from both sides, Mu-Gyeong struggled violently as if having a seizure.

"What, what kind of strength does he have?"

It seemed as if he were using some innate ability.

"Let me go!!! He, he's trying to hurt our dad!!!"

So, for a moment, Mu-Jin and Mu-Yul held him down firmly.

"Ugh, ugh."

Perhaps calming down a bit, Mu-Gyeong suddenly burst into tears.

And Mu-Jin sighed in relief for a moment, looking at him.

"Maybe he's not quite like Blood Monk after all..."

He worried that this incident might trigger something that would turn Mu-Gyeong into a bloodthirsty maniac.

But seeing the current situation, he felt it might not be so.

"I'm not sure if my memory serves me right, but Blood Monk was just depicted as a madman. There was no story about why he became mad."

Perhaps, enduring similar torment in childhood and crossing a line that should not have been crossed at the end.

While Mu-Jin was thinking to himself.

"Gal!!!"

A commanding shout suddenly erupted from behind them.

Only then did Mu-Jin, who had snapped out of his reverie, see the scene before him again.

Two Lay Disciples, who had been knocked to the ground by him and Mu-Gung, were crying, and Mu-Tae was covered in blood.

"...This is bad."

As he pondered how to resolve the situation, Mu-Jin cautiously turned his body backward.

What reflected in his eyes was the figure of Beob Gang's Sasuk.