The World’s Greatest Martial Arts Instructor - Chapter 380

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 380. I Can’t Even Remember Your Face

 

 

 

 

 

Yu Gwi-gwang flinched under Ha Mu-baek’s gaze.

 

Ha Mu-baek chuckled at that reaction.

 

“As an Instructor of the Maengryong Corps at Gyoryong Hall, I’m quite curious. What the Maengryong Corps was like back then, and why you joined it in the first place.”

 

“Because of money. What other reason could there be?”

 

A blunt answer came back.

 

Ha Mu-baek nodded.

 

Most people had the same reason.

 

“Still, that’s impressive. To survive for five years.”

 

“Twenty of us survived. It’s nothing impressive.”

 

At that answer, Ha Mu-baek’s eyes widened.

 

From what he’d heard, the survival rate was five percent. But twenty meant two percent, didn’t it?

 

Ha Mu-baek’s gaze turned to the shields that Yu Gwi-gwang and the other Maengryong Corps members were carrying.

 

Then he tilted his head.

 

“When you were deployed to Sanwol Demon Forest, it would have been before Zhuge Ming taught Shield Technique, right?”

 

“I learned from junior members of later classes.”

 

“I see. That’s right. You had the qualifications to survive twenty. But then they told you to go die in your final year… Those fucking bastards.”

 

At Ha Mu-baek’s unrestrained profanity, Yu Gwi-gwang’s eyes widened, but he found himself nodding without realizing it.

 

It was his honest feeling.

 

To think this was the reward for five years of hardship.

 

The promised monthly salary had been paid properly.

 

But when he tried to leave after completing the promised time, they told him to stay two more years.

 

And one important thing.

 

The two additional years of service as punishment for insubordination came without monthly salary.

 

Since it was punishment, it was natural if you thought about it.

 

If you died while carrying out orders.

 

The monthly salary you’d saved would be delivered to your family.

 

But the Bongma Corps would take half under the pretext of delivery costs.

 

Under the pretext of expenses consumed in finding families far away.

 

Even so, the reason for joining the Maengryong Corps was ultimately money.

 

Even considering that.

 

The pay was better than living as a masterless warrior.

 

So Yu Gwi-gwang sent money to his family every month through the money exchange.

 

Since he didn’t know when he might die.

 

After death, the money would be cut in half.

 

So he sent it in advance.

 

All Maengryong Corps members who learned that half would be taken after death did the same.

 

Fortunately, there was one money exchange operating even in this remote place.

 

Thanks to that, the cost of sending money to family was quite expensive, but it wasn’t half.

 

Ha Mu-baek gazed at Yu Gwi-gwang thoughtfully.

 

“You must want to complete your service safely and leave.”

 

Yu Gwi-gwang nodded once again.

 

Ha Mu-baek looked around at the nine of them.

 

They had been quite troublesome, but that was them fulfilling their duties.

 

It was an attitude he quite liked.

 

“I’m busy though…”

 

Ha Mu-baek scratched his head as if annoyed.

 

It wasn’t that they had demanded anything from Ha Mu-baek.

 

It was just.

 

Yu Gwi-gwang’s story had stopped Ha Mu-baek in his tracks.

 

Even so, there were things he needed to confirm.

 

“Squad Leader Yu?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“What’s your name?”

 

“Yu Gwi-gwang.”

 

“Good. Yu Gwi-gwang. Let me hear the story of how you’ve lived.”

 

Ha Mu-baek gestured for them to come over and went to the campfire, plopping down heavily.

 

The firewood they’d gathered the day before caught fire instantly.

 

Pung Geon and the others were startled.

 

They hadn’t seen how Ha Mu-baek had lit the firewood.

 

Pyeong Deok-jo nodded at the sight.

 

He’d had the same reaction when he first saw it. No, he still wasn’t used to it even now.

 

He took a small pot that had been set aside and hung it appropriately over the campfire.

 

At Ha Mu-baek’s actions, Pyeong Deok-jo quickly approached and moved swiftly.

 

Before long, he poured water, added grain powder and dried rations, and put in jerky too.

 

Adding a bit of salt.

 

A decent porridge was completed.

 

“With this many people, the portions will be a bit small. But let’s eat for now. It’s dinner time.”

 

The surroundings that had been growing dark were now completely black.

 

Only the crackling campfire gave off light.

 

The night breeze was now quite cold.

 

In this situation, eating the warm porridge Ha Mu-baek shared made their stomachs feel full.

 

“Now that we’ve filled our bellies, tell me your story. How you’ve lived. I’m not asking for no reason. It’s an important part in deciding what actions I should take. Tell me honestly.”

 

Ha Mu-baek spoke while putting small spoonfuls of porridge in his mouth.

 

People’s gazes turned toward Yu Gwi-gwang.

 

Yu Gwi-gwang was staring intently at his bowl of porridge.

 

His story.

 

Among them, only Pung Geon knew it roughly.

 

He seemed to be pondering whether to tell it or not.

 

But since there was nothing shameful about it, and he hadn’t lived evilly.

 

Yu Gwi-gwang began his story calmly.

 

“My father operated a small martial hall. In Gangho, he was barely second-rate. His skills were insufficient to even be called a hall director, but…”

 

The story that began like that.

 

If you said it was nothing special, it was nothing special; if you said it was tragic, it was tragic.

 

His father who died of illness.

 

The martial hall that became difficult to operate.

 

His mother who worked hard.

 

Many younger siblings.

 

On top of that, due to early marriage, Yu Gwi-gwang even had an infant.

 

Since the world was chaotic due to the Murim war, it was extremely difficult for their family to survive.

 

A situation where it was hard to barely scrape by.

 

In Yu Gwi-gwang’s view, it seemed like the whole family would starve to death at this rate.

 

Thinking that starving to death together or dying from a blade on the battlefield made no difference, he volunteered for the Maengryong Corps.

 

That place with only a decent-sounding name.

 

The Jeongcheon Alliance had units of similar nature from long ago.

 

As the Murim Great War dragged on.

 

Being conscious of people’s gazes, they changed only the name to something more respectable, but nothing else changed.

 

Ah, there was one thing.

 

Alliance Leader So Hwi-ung had dramatically raised their monthly salary.

 

Even before, since it wasn’t a small amount, there were lowlifes who came to sell their lives.

 

But the price So Hwi-ung set for their lives was quite substantial.

 

“There’s a child…”

 

Ha Mu-baek looked up at the sky for a moment.

 

This had really become troublesome.

 

Having heard this much.

 

He couldn’t turn away anymore.

 

“How old was the child when you joined the Maengryong Corps?”

 

“Just one year old, around the time of her first birthday.”

 

Having confessed everything, he seemed relieved.

 

Yu Gwi-gwang answered calmly.

 

The gazes of the eight people from the Bongma Corps and Maengryong Corps looking at him were peculiar.

 

All the Maengryong Members had their own tragic stories.

 

But Yu Gwi-gwang’s story about having a wife and child made their hearts ache.

 

Now.

 

Why back then.

 

They understood why Pung Geon hadn’t thrown the Maengryong Corps as bait to Muk Cheol-gang-si.

 

Pung Geon had known this story.

 

“Then now she’s…”

 

The Maengryong Corps doesn’t just drive people to the battlefield as meat shields.

 

There’s a two-year training period followed by five years of service.

 

So it’s seven years total.

 

“Eight years old.”

 

Having entered this hellish place four years after Ha Mu-baek.

 

He had survived until now.

 

“You probably don’t even know her face.”

 

“They send a portrait once or twice a year. Along with the child’s letter at that time.”

 

The one who smiled at that answer was actually Pung Geon.

 

He had probably seen that portrait.

 

It was Yu Gwi-gwang’s greatest treasure.

 

Worried that the picture might blur from sweat, during missions he carried only one sheet, carefully wrapped in oiled paper in his chest.

 

The others were carefully stored in his dormitory.

 

Even last night in that darkness, when nothing was visible, Pung Geon knew he had secretly taken it out to look at.

 

“He always carries one portrait with him.”

 

So he added that comment.

 

Yu Gwi-gwang looked away, seemingly embarrassed.

 

“Hah.”

 

Ha Mu-baek let out a deep sigh.

 

He couldn’t help everyone he met with such pitiful circumstances.

 

But this time was particularly coincidental.

 

Ha Mu-baek’s gaze turned to the other Maengryong Corps members.

 

“What about you guys?”

 

It was a question like a struggle to find an excuse not to help somehow.

 

Not everyone who joined the Maengryong Corps was a decent person like Yu Gwi-gwang.

 

It was dangerous and harsh work that paid well but required risking one’s life.

 

All sorts of people driven to their life’s end flocked here.

 

To pay gambling debts, or those who sold their wives and children for opium and still had debts remaining.

 

He wondered if there might be such trash.

 

But they all had similar stories.

 

From poor family circumstances.

 

They were people who threw themselves into the Maengryong Corps for their families.

 

Ha Mu-baek knew another cadet with such a story.

 

Dan Mok Un-rae.

 

The guy he was in charge of.

 

The guy who joined the Maengryong Corps to earn money because he was desperately poor.

 

As Ha Mu-baek looked at them with an anguished expression.

 

Gwan Ha-gyeong gave Yu Gwi-gwang a meaningful look.

 

Given the nature of the instructor who had specifically come to encourage and praise her when she was crying from the frustration and sorrow of defeat.

 

He would surely help.

 

It seemed like just one more decisive move was needed.

 

In Gwan Ha-gyeong’s mind, that move was in Yu Gwi-gwang’s chest.

 

Receiving Gwan Ha-gyeong’s meaningful look, Yu Gwi-gwang tilted his head, not understanding the meaning, but seeing her continuously looking at his chest.

 

He unconsciously touched his chest.

 

He felt the rustling texture of oiled paper at his fingertips.

 

‘Ah.’

 

A thought flashed through his mind at that moment.

 

“Would you like to see it once?”

 

Without even waiting for Ha Mu-baek’s answer, Yu Gwi-gwang took out the carefully wrapped oiled paper from his chest and unfolded it.

 

Inside was a silk wrapper.

 

Unfolding that revealed a small folded document.

 

Unfolding that as well.

 

There was what looked like a three-year-old.

 

The face of a cute little girl was drawn there.

 

It happened to be a girl again.

 

Because it overlapped with Ha Seol-ran and Ha Mu-baek’s own situation.

 

This seemed impossible to ignore.

 

The little girl in the portrait had an adorable face that naturally brought a smile.

 

Pung Geon had an expression as if he’d already seen it.

 

The others, forgetting even their current situation, let out exclamations of admiration.

 

“So, so cute…”

 

Gwan Ha-gyeong spoke with sparkling eyes.

 

“She’s pretty.”

 

Someone’s impression.

 

Various comments flowed out.

 

Even to Ha Mu-baek’s eyes, she was a truly charming and pretty child.

 

Yu Gwi-gwang had never seen that beautiful child.

 

That cute and beautiful time.

 

It was already a past moment.

 

The edges were worn smooth from how often he had unfolded it to look.

 

Yet at the same time, the portrait was well preserved.

 

You could tell how carefully Yu Gwi-gwang had managed it.

 

“Do you have portraits from other ages?”

 

“They’re in my dormitory. The one that came last year is the most recent.”

 

‘I’ve lost.’

 

‘I lost.’

 

Ha Mu-baek thought to himself.

 

It seemed like he couldn’t help but assist them.

 

Ha Mu-baek himself had also been fighting fiercely on the battlefield, so he hadn’t been able to see much of Ha Seol-ran.

 

When he briefly returned in the middle of the fighting, there was only a younger sibling who had suddenly grown up and felt awkward around him, even afraid of him.

 

He could well imagine what Yu Gwi-gwang’s feelings must have been like when he received that portrait.

 

No.

 

Maybe he couldn’t imagine it.

 

He could understand an elder brother’s feelings toward his younger sibling.

 

But he couldn’t claim to fully understand a father’s heart who hadn’t been able to watch his daughter grow up for several years.

 

“Whew.”

 

Ha Mu-baek let out a deep sigh.

 

He couldn’t just leave such a person to die, nor could he let him continue working for another year without monthly salary.

 

If he hadn’t known, that would be one thing, but now that he knew.

 

“I don’t know why that bastard Bongma Corps Leader did such crazy things, but I’ll lend a hand with this mission. I came here because I had business in this place anyway.”

 

At those words, the faces of the nine people brightened.

 

Just moments ago, through that brief exchange of blows, they had experienced firsthand just how strong Ha Mu-baek before them was.

 

Perhaps he was at a level comparable to that mysterious master Nam Hwi who had saved them back then.

 

They all thought so.

 

“However, you’ll all have to work your hardest too. Don’t think about getting a free ride.”

 

Ha Mu-baek said that much.

 

Then he emptied his now-cold porridge bowl in one go and headed toward a nearby stream, carrying the already emptied porridge bowls and the empty pot.

 

Today was Ha Mu-baek’s turn to wash the pot.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

A lovely eight-year-old child was diligently swinging a wooden sword at the training ground.

 

“Seon-ah. You don’t need to train yet…”

 

The Vice Director of the martial hall ran out to the training ground to stop the child.

 

“No, Uncle. I need to get stronger as quickly as possible so I can go help Dad!”

 

The young child’s spirited answer almost made him smile involuntarily.

 

But Yu Hyeon-gwang, Seon-ah’s uncle, shook his head with a deliberately stern expression.

 

“Your father will return in a few months. You don’t need to go help him, so come inside now.”

 

At Yu Hyeon-gwang’s urging, Yu Seon-ah pouted and reluctantly put down her wooden sword.

 

Watching the back of the child as she headed toward her mother, Yu Hyeon-gwang smiled.

 

Though she was his niece, she was just too adorable.

 

“Elder Brother. Please return soon. You need to see this lovely sight.”

 

Yu Hyeon-gwang muttered while thinking of his elder brother, Yu Gwi-gwang.

 

With the money his elder brother had sent by selling his life, he had reclaimed the martial hall their late father had operated.

 

And while renovating the old parts, he had also found a secret manual hidden deep within the house.

 

The reason their father had barely reached second-rate level was because the family martial arts secret manual had been lost in their grandfather’s generation.

 

But a handwritten copy of it had been hidden deep within the house.

 

He hadn’t even opened it to look.

 

It belonged to his elder brother, who was the Academy Director.

 

He was simply teaching the same martial arts that their father had taught before.

 

His elder brother would return soon anyway.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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