Ah! Namgung Clan, Episode 19
019. I'll Do It. That Thing Called Proof (2)
Those who had finished their meals and were resting headed toward the training ground upon hearing the sounds of a scuffle. And sure enough? Namgung Mugwi was tormenting Namgung Ganghae under the pretext of sparring again. So that's why he'd been irritated throughout the entire meal.
It happened to be almost time for martial arts training, so everyone watched the two spar. But it was strange. The match, which should have ended unilaterally long ago, continued on.
It was absolutely not that Namgung Mugwi was going easy on him. On the contrary, he was fighting even more seriously than usual.
Namgung Ganghae's skills had improved. To the point where he could contend with Namgung Mugwi.
Yet Namgung Ganghae was facing him using only the Namgung Sipsamse from start to finish. It wasn't that his application of techniques was excellent, nor that he was wildly using variations. And it wasn't that his internal energy was strong either, so just what was going on?
Clack!
Their wooden swords clashed forcefully, and their movements stopped as they fought for leverage.
"You……."
"Your breathing has gotten quite rough."
"What is this? How did you……."
"The real match starts now."
As Namgung Ganghae said that, he tilted his head slightly back. Then he headbutted Namgung Mugwi with all his might.
"Argh!"
Namgung Mugwi had never dreamed that Namgung Ganghae would headbutt him. It was an attack he hadn't anticipated at all, so he took it head-on.
His head rang with a dizzying throb, causing him to lose sight of Namgung Ganghae for a moment. Then an impact came to his leg, his body spun around, and he toppled over. Namgung Ganghae had swept his leg, knocking him down.
"Kuh!"
"Watch out!"
When sparring, one does not attack a fallen opponent. But Namgung Mugwi had never once abided by that. He had deliberately knocked Namgung Ganghae down and attacked him before.
But now the situation had reversed. As Namgung Ganghae swung his wooden sword, Namgung Mugwi rolled across the ground to dodge.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"What?"
"Attacking someone who's fallen."
"I thought it was fine since you always did it to me, but if you don't like it, I won't."
Hearing Namgung Ganghae's words, Namgung Mugwi's pride was deeply wounded. Furious, the hand gripping his wooden sword trembled.
"Are you mocking me?"
Clack!
Namgung Ganghae was not weak enough to be hit by attacks swung wildly in agitation. He lightly parried Namgung Mugwi's strike and whipped his leg.
"Argh!"
Namgung Mugwi cried out and fell over. Seeing that, Namgung Ganghae stopped his attack. And he waited until Namgung Mugwi got up.
"Surely you aren't going to say you lost at this point?"
"You… have you been hiding your strength all this time?"
"No. I kept getting hit during sparring and got angry. So I trained harder."
"Your swordsmanship isn't Namgung Sipsamse."
"It doesn't seem like everyone else thinks so."
Namgung Ganghae looked around at the people nearby as he spoke. At that, everyone nodded in affirmation. What they had seen was definitely Namgung Sipsamse.
If Namgung Ganghae had applied the techniques and used variations, they might have insisted it was a different sword art. But Namgung Ganghae had used the techniques of Namgung Sipsamse exactly as they were.
It was a sword art that anyone in the Namgung Clan had learned and everyone knew. There was no way they wouldn't recognize it.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"
Namgung Mugwi revealed killing intent and lunged at Namgung Ganghae. He had shown an unsightly display in front of everyone. To make up for it, he had no choice but to beat Namgung Ganghae black and blue.
But that wasn't easy. Namgung Ganghae leisurely parried or deflected his attacks before counterattacking.
It was definitely Namgung Sipsamse. Yet why was it so difficult to face?
In fact, Namgung Ganghae was struggling just the same. When he had decided to spar with Namgung Mugwi, he had wanted to land just one clean, satisfying strike.
Last night, Namgung Suhak had taught him the Gohonilgeom, but the time spent learning it was extremely short. He hadn't been able to practice much either.
Moreover, he had never thought that the Namgung Sipsamse he always trained in would become this powerful simply by changing the order and adding the Muhanbo footwork.
It was fortunate that he had sparred with Namgung Mugwi several times, so he could predict the attacks to some extent. If not, he would have been beaten black and blue and collapsed long ago.
Tak! Clack!
The exchanges between the two grew increasingly fierce. Now, unless one of them broke a bone and collapsed, it couldn't be stopped. Because of this, all those watching were observing with bated breath, palms sweating with tension.
"Tahat!"
Namgung Mugwi let out a shout and tried to overwhelm Namgung Ganghae with brute force. Then Namgung Ganghae received his wooden sword, deflected it to the side, pressed down on it, and rammed him with his shoulder. It was a technique of the Gohonilgeom.
"Kuh!"
As he was about to strike the staggering Namgung Mugwi again, someone shouted loudly.
"What is this commotion?"
It was Namgung Museong. In fact, he had arrived a short while ago. He had watched the situation briefly and intervened when Namgung Mugwi was at a disadvantage.
"Patriarch."
"I asked what is going on."
"Well… we were sparring for a moment."
Namgung Mugwi answered, stealing a glance at Namgung Ganghae. At that, Namgung Museong's gaze turned toward him.
"That's right. I had recently comprehended something new, so I was merely testing it through sparring."
"Hmm……."
Namgung Museong looked at Namgung Ganghae with a displeased expression for a moment, then shouted at everyone.
"What are you all doing? Why aren't you training?"
"Yes."
Everyone picked up their wooden swords and began training. But strangely, something was off. They should have been practicing intermediate martial arts as usual, yet weren't they doing the basic martial art, Namgung Sipsamse?
Seeing that, Namgung Museong clicked his tongue softly. It seemed the sight of Namgung Ganghae driving Namgung Mugwi back with the Namgung Sipsamse had left an impression. In truth, though he hadn't shown it, Namgung Museong had been quite surprised as well.
The Namgung Sipsamse and Muhanbo were basic martial arts. Thus, any martial artist of the Namgung Clan could perform them. But they hadn't placed that much importance on them.
If one learned the lower-level martial arts—the Cheonpung Sinbeop, Cheonpung Geombeop, and Cheonpung Jangbeop—afterward, basic martial arts couldn't compare. Furthermore, if one learned the intermediate martial arts—the Daeyeon Singong, Daeyeon Geombeop, Daeyeon Sipgusik, or the Changgung Muae Geombeop—the Namgung Sipsamse would not even be worth glancing at.
Yet Namgung Ganghae had fought almost on equal terms with Namgung Mugwi, who had learned the Daeyeon Geombeop, using only the Namgung Sipsamse and Muhanbo. It wasn't that Namgung Mugwi lacked talent or internal energy. Their conditions were similar. No, rather, Namgung Mugwi had more experience. He was older, too.
Namgung Museong was curious as to how this had happened, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. Having ignored and looked down upon him all this time, doing so now because of martial arts would be far too transparent.
"Why are you doing something else instead of what you were supposed to?"
When Namgung Museong shouted loudly, those who had been trying out the Namgung Sipsamse flinched and began practicing what they were originally supposed to do.
"Did you let your guard down?"
Namgung Museong asked as he corrected Namgung Mugwi's posture. It wasn't that. Rather, he had done his best. But he couldn't bring himself to answer that way.
"I shall teach you a new technique of the Daeyeon Geombeop."
Hearing Namgung Museong's words, Namgung Mugwi's eyes widened. Recently, his martial arts hadn't been improving. Even though he trained hard. So Namgung Museong had made him practice what he had learned more deeply instead of teaching him something new.
Because of that, Namgung Mugwi had been frustrated. He wanted to quickly learn new martial arts and grow stronger, yet he was stagnant.
"This is the latter-half technique of the Daeyeon Geombeop."
Namgung Museong demonstrated it personally and corrected Namgung Mugwi's posture so that he could learn it well. Afterward, he explained its applications and what was necessary.
At times like these, Namgung Ganghae, who had been training alone in the distance, would steal glances while pretending not to look. His gaze never left Namgung Museong, wanting to learn even a single thing. Namgung Museong had been fully aware of it yet completely ignored him.
But now, that was not the case. Namgung Ganghae was trying something by himself, repeatedly tilting his head in confusion. He had no interest in them.
On the contrary, it was Namgung Museong who kept glancing at Namgung Ganghae. He was curious how Namgung Ganghae could use the Namgung Sipsamse like that. But he ultimately couldn't ask, and before long, training had ended.
As always, Namgung Ganghae cleaned the training ground and its surroundings, gathered the weapons, and put them away in the storage. But unlike other days, Namgung Aran came and helped. She didn't have to go out of her way to do so.
"What are you going to do now? You're going to eat lunch, right? Icheong unnie is making lunch. Should we go help?"
Namgung Ganghae had never once eaten lunch at the main house until now. When training ended, he would immediately go outside and mingle with the clan members, including Yang Osam.
"No. I'm fine."
"Why? Then what are you going to do?"
Namgung Aran followed him and kept asking. He didn't hate it, but honestly, it was a bit bothersome.
"I'm going to see the Elder."
"Huh?"
"I have to bring him a meal."
"Really? Then let's go together."
"No, it's fine. I'll go alone."
Namgung Ganghae refused. But Namgung Aran had no intention of listening.
"I'm doing this because I feel sorry toward you. I wish you'd give me a chance to apologize."
"You don't have to do that."
"I think I'd feel better if I did."
Namgung Aran suddenly grabbed Namgung Ganghae's hand as she spoke. It was the first time he had held a girl's hand. No, had been held by one.
Namgung Ganghae's heart pounded, and his face flushed. In the end, he nodded. Strangely, from that moment on, Namgung Aran was no longer bothersome.
What was the reason? He thought about it, but the answer didn't come. He simply felt good, that was all.
"Elder."
When they arrived at the thatched cottage in the bamboo forest, Namgung Suhak, who had been blankly looking up at the sky, saw him.
"Hyung! You're here."
"You need to eat."
"Yeah. I'm hungry."
Namgung Ganghae sat on the wooden platform and set down the food he had brought. Namgung Suhak, eating it deliciously in front of him, smiled brightly.
"It's delicious."
"Please eat plenty. If it's not enough, I'll make more and bring it."
"Yeah."
Namgung Aran, staring intently at Namgung Ganghae taking care of Namgung Suhak, smiled warmly. She thought herself a fool for why she had never tried to see such things before.
When people look at others, they usually see the flaws first. There aren't many who see the strengths. It was because there were more negative people than positive people in the world.
"How were you able to fight like that against Brother Mugwi?"
"Huh?"
"You always lost when you sparred."
"The Elder taught me swordsmanship yesterday."
"What? Grandfather?"
"Yeah."
"Pfft! That's ridiculous."
Right. This was the normal reaction. Even if he told the Patriarch, Namgung Museong, the truth, it probably wouldn't be much different.
Who would believe that he learned martial arts from a senile person?
"Oh my, look at me. I need to wash the bedding, but I forgot."
"I'll help."
"No! You don't have to."
Namgung Aran refused adamantly, waving her hands. She no longer wanted to push her tasks onto Namgung Ganghae.
"Bedding is heavy, so it's hard to wash."
"I know. Still, I'll do it. If it's really hard, I'll ask for help then. Until then, just rest here."
"Alright."
"See you later."
As Namgung Aran disappeared with a wave of her hand, Namgung Ganghae scratched the back of his head.
"Hyung! You like her, don't you?"
"Ah, you startled me."
Namgung Suhak looked at Namgung Ganghae with a knowing expression, the corners of his mouth lifting. Namgung Ganghae was too embarrassed to retort and hurriedly cleaned up the dishes.
"Th-that's not it."
"Come here."
"Huh? Why all of a sudden?"
Namgung Suhak took Namgung Ganghae's hand and went into the room. Then he cracked the door open slightly and surveyed outside. There was no one who would come here. Yet seeing him act so cautious for some reason made Namgung Ganghae laugh.
"What are you doing?"
"Bad guys might come."
"Haha. If bad guys come, I'll protect you."
"No. Hyung is weak, after all."
Hearing the words spoken so casually, Namgung Ganghae was at a loss for words. It was true that he was weak.
"Why aren't they coming?"
"Who?"
"The bad guys."
"Huh?"
"Just wait. The bad guys will come."
Namgung Ganghae intuitively knew that someone really was coming. Although Namgung Suhak had gone senile, he didn't always act strangely. Even when things were often absurd, there was always a reason of his own.
"They're here. The bad guys."
Namgung Ganghae looked outside through the cracked door.
"That person is……."