For a moment, Gwak Jindo was at a loss for words, uncharacteristically stammering.
“Uh, um. But what exactly was that Naegong you just pulled out?”
“Are you asking that?”
At my words, Gwak Jindo’s face flushed. Asking about another person’s Mugong was a common taboo.
It wasn’t the right time to reveal this Mugong. Besides, even if I did, he probably wouldn’t understand.
“But the Naegong you just produced was incredibly deep. You probably don’t even need to learn from me.”
“It’s a Simbeop I picked up somewhere. I might not fully understand it. No matter how much Naegong you have, if you don’t know how to use it, aren’t you just a fool?”
“That’s true. But I’ve never seen anyone ask to be taught Mugong this easily.”
Gwak Jindo tilted his neck back. Only then did I realize he actually had a neck. Usually, it was so fused with his shoulders that I couldn’t tell where the neck ended and the shoulder began.
“By the way, can this rain stop? I want to calculate and release my Naegong to shatter it right now, but if I do that, people will come, so I’m holding back.”
“Appreciate the consideration.”
I smiled slightly and shifted my left foot, which was resting quietly, to the right. With the sound of wet dirt being pressed, we found ourselves, before we knew it, inside the Okmyogak building.
“The Jinbeop is at a respectable level. You can tell there’s been a lot of effort put into it.”
“You’re an honorable guest, after all.”
“To be able to use Jinbeop to this degree, I can’t even imagine how much studying it requires. So everything you acted like earlier was just an act.”
Gwak Jindo drew his own conclusion. His expression, which was startled before, had now calmed considerably.
“Alright, you want me to teach you Mugong?”
“Yes.”
“No. I have something to ask first.”
“Ask away.”
Gwak Jindo took a deep breath and glared at me.
“Do you know who I am?”
“You’re our Outer General.”
“No. I’m asking if you know what kind of internal strength I possess, how I’m called in the Gangho, and to what level I’ve reached.”
That was an unexpected question. It meant I wasn’t prepared.
“No, I don’t.”
But I didn’t stall by pretending to know. It was an old habit from hanging around the underground. When you don’t know something, you just say so honestly and answer as quickly as possible—it makes things less exhausting.
“You’re bold. So you want me to teach you Mugong, trusting in me? You never made any promises when you acted like an idiot.”
“I don’t know your Mugong level. What I trust is your loyalty to the Sega.”
“How would you know that? You’ve been cooped up in a corner, hanging out with dust and ghosts.”
Since constantly mentioning my past would only be troublesome, I tried to steer the topic away. Most of the future I knew was about the Sega’s decline and things heard underground.
But the future I knew and the present time were completely disconnected. Talking about the future was still risky. It might not even come true.
“Has your perception of me changed? Is that not enough for you?”
“Of course I was surprised. That you have such thoughts and are so proficient with Jinbeop was unimaginable. But—”
Gwak Jindo emphasized his final point.
“Teaching Mugong is a completely different matter. You may be talented in Jinbeop, but there’s no guarantee your Mugong will reach the same heights. In fact, people who are good at Jinbeop often can’t use Mugong well. Jinbeop is calculation, and Mugong is intuition. They’re entirely different fields.”
“I see.”
“And just looking at your palms, I can tell. They’re soft hands that have never once held a sword. If you really wanted to learn Mugong, your skin should’ve toughened at least a hundred times over by now.”
“To deceive the enemy, don’t you have to first deceive your own troops?”
“You talk well.”
Gwak Jindo sighed as if admitting defeat.
“Then another question. On what grounds did you judge that I am loyal to the Sega?”
That was something I could easily answer.
In conclusion, I already had proof that Gwak Jindo was on our side.
“Your Naegong and your eldest brother’s share the same flow.”
“What?”
Gwak Jindo squinted one eye.
“To be precise, they’re not exactly the same. Your Naegong is more gentle, while your eldest brother’s, trained in the Igungcheonroe Heart Method, is more rebellious.”
“What nonsense… are you talking about? The flow of Ki?”
Seeing Gwak Jindo’s intense reaction, I was finally certain. The powers I held were no ordinary talent. I needed to show more.
“For example, like this. Geumwolsang hyung’s Igungcheonroe Sword Technique feels like this.”
Like drawing thread from a silkworm, I slowly unfolded the upper-level sword forms. The threads layered quickly on my palms.
The sword technique I had practiced for fifteen days emerged through my hands.
My hands moved freely, cutting the air with the sound of wind. The subtlety felt like Pagongseong amidst a dark storm. In an instant, I displayed a sequence of four sword forms.
“And I think your Mugong feels somewhat like this.”
Watching Gwak Jindo silently, I moved my hands again.
Though similar forms, they were distinctly different. When following the flow of Qi, no Pagongseong was produced.
If before it was a spear thrust directly at a prey, now it was a casting net designed to entrap.
This was purely my conjecture, based on the difference in the flow of Qi between Gwak Jindo’s and Geumwolsang’s Naegong.
“I think it feels like this. I might be wrong, though.”
My demonstration finished. Gwak Jindo blinked rapidly. Then he looked at me with vacant eyes, seemingly drained of spirit.
“Is this really the inside of Jinbeop? Am I hallucinating?”
“No. Shall I show you again?”
“So you’re saying this is the truth?”
Suddenly, Gwak Jindo’s strength returned, and he began pounding the floor with his feet. I didn’t understand why he was acting that way.
“How am I supposed to understand that you just used Namhae Sibigeom’s Haeunmubong and Honggokyusu?”
I tried to calm his anger and delayed my answer slightly.
“What’s that?”
“Damn useless brat!”
I didn’t realize that saying that would only fuel his rage further.
So we spent the night talking. Actually, it was more of a heated argument than a conversation.
Gwak Jindo seemed unable to accept anything I said, and eventually, he had no choice but to leave when dawn broke.
Our long dialogue was essentially meaningless. He kept pressing how I knew his Mugong, and I kept saying I didn’t.
After about three hours, our conversation wound down.
“…Fine, I get it. I’ll come find you again after the Jangrohoeui ends.”
Gwak Jindo left with those words. His broad shoulders sagged, resembling a mountain peak. But I still had something to say.
“Oh, Outer General, there’s something I want to say.”
“Again?”
“It’s about the Jangrohoeui.”
At my words, Gwak Jindo’s already tired expression darkened even more.
***
The meeting room of Jingjeongwon had two rectangular desks placed side by side. The seat at the head in the center was empty—it was the family head’s seat.
Not only was the family head’s seat empty, but so were the seats of the Elders who had declined attendance. This was the usual attendance rate for the Hwanggeum Family’s meetings.
The Elders of Jingjeongwon rarely showed up, barely reaching thirty percent attendance. There wasn’t any specific incident, but the excuses for absence were always elaborate. Including Outer General Gwak Jindo, there were only four people gathered.
“Then let’s begin this Elder disciplinary meeting.”
My Chonggwan spoke. The vast meeting room echoed with his voice due to the lack of people.
A tense silence followed. Since this was the first time holding a disciplinary meeting for an Elder, nobody seemed to know how to start.
“But what do you think about the Youngest Master’s frequent foolishness?”
Out of nowhere, Yeosangwoo, one of the Elders of Jingjeongwon, spoke.
The other Elders perked up their ears. Leaving aside the disciplinary matter, the Youngest Master’s strange behavior was an interesting topic.
“How should I know? It looks like he’s gone mad.”
“Indeed, being born and raised in a Sega like this, madness is inevitable.”
“You’re sympathizing?”
Elder Lee Cheongmyeong asked Yeosangwoo. Yeosangwoo laughed.
“Sympathize? Not at all.”
They were already well-known figures in the Gangho. The Gangho was a place where anything could happen. It was quite normal for direct family members to be watched carefully without being able to move freely.
The Elders felt it was a natural order of things—survival of the fittest.
Then Elder Lee Cheongmyeong spoke up.
“Is there anyone here who believes this Elder should be disciplined?”
He looked around as a preemptive move. The Elders at Jingjeongwon were proxies for the factions.
Everyone was scheming. It was burdensome to openly oppose Elder Lee Cheongmyeong or risk making enemies, even without strong backing.
Of course, if someone was willing to confront him regardless, that was a different matter.
“I think so.”
It was Gwak Jindo who raised his hand. As an Outer General, he had Elder status and could participate.
Elder Lee Cheongmyeong nodded knowingly. The fact that the Outer General came all the way from the island to Gangseo must have had a reason.
“Then one person. Four are present; one in favor, three opposed. Is it worth wasting precious time on this disciplinary proposal?”
Elder Lee Cheongmyeong said that, then looked at my Chonggwan coldly. My Chonggwan immediately lowered his gaze.
“…Then shall we just summarily dismiss the disciplinary proposal?”
The Elders of Jingjeongwon were indifferent.
That was how things were always handled. The regional Elders outside and internal Elders rarely participated, and there was a reason for that.
“Are you joking? Then why send a summons? At least follow the proper procedure!”
Of course, it wasn’t always that one-sided. Gwak Jindo was the one obstructing.
“Pointless stalling. Outer General, you didn’t have to come all the way here and muddy the waters.”
Elder Lee Cheongmyeong sneered. The other Elders and my Chonggwan thought the same. Even if they strictly followed procedure, it was obvious the proposal would be dismissed.
“I’m just saying to follow the rules.”
“Then hurry up. Outer General, you have to accept it.”
Elder Lee Cheongmyeong smiled and ended the proceedings.
The meeting proceeded, but as Elder Lee Cheongmyeong said, it did not progress quickly.
Gwak Jindo delayed the meeting with constant procedural objections and questions. What should’ve ended in half an hour stretched on to a full hour.
But his resistance ended there. There were no more objections to raise, and only voting remained.
“Then please cast your votes…”
My Chonggwan was about to distribute the ballots for the final procedure.
At that moment, someone burst through the door without knocking.
It was Gold-necked Hwan, holding a bamboo stick at his side.
“…Youngest Master, what are you doing here?”
My Chonggwan was shocked at the rude interruption. Gold-necked Hwan glared arrogantly at the seated people and my Chonggwan. Conversely, the Elders looked at Gold-necked Hwan with interest.
It was the first time a direct family member of the Hwanggeum Family appeared at an Elder meeting.
“Are you holding a disciplinary meeting now?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
My Chonggwan answered warily.
“This is a mess. For such an important meeting, why is the attendance rate for the Elders so low?”
Gold-necked Hwan spoke as he slowly made his way to the center. The only empty seat there—he took it as if it were his own.
“Outer General, you have presided over meetings for a long time, and yet you don’t even know the minimum attendance?”
Gold-necked Hwan glared at my Chonggwan. His accusation was cold and sharp.
The meeting room fell silent.