Chapter 11: Even If You Try to Hide It, You Can’t. -01
Jeong Hyeon shook his head with a fed-up expression.
The Second-Generation Disciples gathered here were letting out silent cries about how hard it was, but if they were made to train exactly the way Ban Hojin did, not a single one of them would be complaining like that.
They would have already collapsed unconscious from exhaustion.
There was a reason Jeong Hyeon followed Ban Hojin’s instructions without a word of complaint.
“Still, it’s bearable for now, right?”
“This is nothing compared to Senior Uncle’s training. And you really do push us only to the absolute limit of what we can endure, like a ghost or sothing.”
“Mindless training only ruins the body. The reason for training is to beco stronger, not to abuse yourself.”
“That’s what’s so amazing. The other Senior Uncles or Martial Uncles can’t do that.”
“It all cos from experience. Have you ever seen anyone train as brutally as I do?”
Ban Hojin let out a quiet chuckle at Jeong Hyeon, who lowered his voice at the end as if worried soone might overhear.
It was amusing how he still said everything he wanted while watching the mood.
“I don’t think I could do it even if you told
to.”
“I told you, you shouldn’t do it yet. It’s not good during your growth years. The body may seem strong, but it’s surprisingly fragile.”
Because he had personally pushed his own body beyond its limits before, Ban Hojin spoke with certainty.
He could say it with confidence because he had experienced it himself.
Overexertion was nothing but a waste of ti.
“But weren’t you going easy on just ?”
“Are you hoping for special treatnt?”
“I thought you were only personally guiding my martial arts.”
“Why? Would you like your rival to grow weaker?”
Mischief flickered across Ban Hojin’s face.
He then gestured with his eyes toward the Second-Generation Disciple whom Jeong Hyeon alone considered his rival.
As if to say he knew everything without it needing to be said.
At that sight, Jeong Hyeon puffed up his cheeks in a sulk.
“That’s not what I ant…….”
“Competition should be fair and square. And you co looking for
separately anyway. Anyti you want.”
“Uh…….”
Jeong Hyeon trailed off, montarily speechless.
Thinking about it, he was the only one who could casually seek out Ban Hojin, whom everyone else found difficult to approach.
It wasn’t that Ban Hojin had explicitly told people not to co, but he had a distinctive aura.
That aura made people hesitate to approach him easily.
“Watching you for a few days won’t suddenly make your skills skyrocket. But that’s how fundantals are. It feels like nothing’s changing, and then suddenly, one day, everything’s different. In a way, it’s like boiling water. Until it reaches a certain temperature and starts bubbling, it’s hard to tell with the naked eye whether it’s heating up or just staying the sa.”
“I can really feel the change. First of all, my body feels completely lighter. It’s like performing the Arhat Fist has beco a bit easier. It feels like my body moves more according to my will. Before, it was my body, but it didn’t move the way I wanted it to.”
Jeong Hyeon’s eyes sparkled brightly.
To others, it might not have looked much different, but Jeong Hyeon himself felt it clearly.
That his sense of controlling his body had completely changed.
On top of that, there was truly not a single piece of advice Ban Hojin gave that could be thrown away.
“Why couldn’t you do that earlier?”
“As if it worked just because I wanted it to.”
“Well, still, you’ve improved a lot. Compared to the first day.”
“Hehehe.”
“But you still have a long way to go. To catch up, you have to put in twice, three tis the effort of your opponent. To overtake them, you need to work ten tis harder.”
Nothing changed just by wanting it, just by making a resolution.
What mattered was execution.
Because change only ca when you actually did sothing, Ban Hojin spoke as if drilling it into him.
“If I get lazy, please scold
sharply, Senior Uncle. That really snaps
back to my senses.”
“Shouldn’t you be able to manage yourself properly instead of relying on
to say sothing?”
“Co on, I’m still young. I’m a fresh and green fifteen-year-old!”
“If this were outside, you’d be old enough to get married. If you were from a farming family, you could even be the head of the household.”
“We eat the food donated to the main temple by so many people with truly grateful hearts.”
At Jeong Hyeon’s unexpectedly solemn reply, Ban Hojin let out a hollow laugh.
Though he tried to act like a monk in his own way, he still looked like a novice monk in Ban Hojin’s eyes.
Even though his body had grown and his voice had deepened, to Ban Hojin, he was still just a child.
“Fine, as long as you know. Now rest a bit and then start again. After forms training, we’ll do sparring.”
“Yes!”
After giving Jeong Hyeon, who answered energetically, a brief glance, Ban Hojin slowly surveyed the Second-Generation Disciples as they rose from their seats one by one.
He was looking for kids who, in crude terms, seed to have promise.
‘Well, having promise doesn’t necessarily an talent will fully bloom.’
The size of one’s innate talent differed for everyone, but what mattered was whether they could make that talent bloom or not.
Most martial artists failed to do so.
Even with others helping them, there were limits.
But if Ban Hojin guided them, the chances certainly increased.
“Hm.”
His Master, Damhyeon, could also make that possible, but as the Abbot, he had mountains of duties to attend to, and doing this kind of thing would be a waste of ti.
Strictly speaking, it would have been more beneficial for Ban Hojin himself to focus on personal training as well, but doing so would not change the future.
And for now, he had so leeway.
“Others are just others. In the end, the only ones you can trust are family.”
There were many talented people outside Shaolin as well, like Seonwu Bang.
He knew quite a few who would later beco big figures.
However, having talent and being trustworthy were two different things.
If he wasn’t careful, he might end up helping others for nothing, so Ban Hojin decided to first solidify his own foundation.
“Cha-hap!”
“Hup!”
As if aware of Ban Hojin’s thoughts, the Second-Generation Disciples thrust their fists and kicked out vigorously.
They repeated it again and again, endlessly, until the Arhat Fist and Arhat Steps blended together naturally.
Glug.
To wrap up the day, Ban Hojin poured so tea.
He intended to end his daily routine with a warm cup of tea.
“It’s surprisingly quiet.”
It wasn’t a high-grade variety, but since it was brewed from tea leaves grown on Songshan, it had a distinctive flavor.
That was why Ban Hojin mostly drank only this tea.
It was familiar, and at the sa ti, it tasted of mories.
As he took another sip of tea, Ban Hojin thought of Jang Pilsang.
“So it wasn’t just one place after all?”
Even though Jang Pilsang had made a big fuss, Ban Hojin didn’t care in the slightest.
Despite his higher generation rank, there was nothing Jang Pilsang could actually do within Shaolin.
Ban Hojin knew that all too well, which was why he hadn’t paid it any mind.
Still, it was a bit strange that there had been no contact after Jang Pilsang had spoken like that.
“For , that’s fine. As long as he doesn’t bother .”
There was nothing bad about building friendly relations.
The problem was that there was a high chance of it turning into cliquish socializing.
If Ban Hojin had not known the mories of his previous life, he might have gone around grinning foolishly at the fact that he was being acknowledged, but unfortunately, he knew the mories of the future.
Unless people like Seonwu Bang were gathered together in groups, there was no need for the Rising Juniors currently at Shaolin to go out of their way to beco close.
Knock knock knock.
“Please co in.”
“You’re ghostlike. You didn’t even open your mouth.”
“You deliberately revealed your presence, didn’t you? Since you didn’t hide it, it was only natural that I would know.”
The door opened, and Beopmu walked inside.
He spoke without hiding his surprised expression.
“Still, it’s rare to see soone who doesn’t panic like you.”
“There aren’t many people who co visiting at this hour to begin with.”
“Are you criticizing ?”
“I was rely stating a probability.”
Ban Hojin grinned.
He was saying that there were only a few options to begin with.
Then, as Beopmu naturally took a seat after preparing his teacup, Ban Hojin poured him so tea.
“I’m sorry for coming so suddenly without saying anything.”
“It’s fine. It’s still early to go to sleep. And doesn’t Senior Disciple also lack free ti except for now?”
“I appreciate your understanding, but I still can’t get used to it. It feels like your personality keeps shifting back and forth.”
“I’m trying to live a bit more openly now. I think I lived too cautiously before.”
Ban Hojin smiled aningfully.
At the smile that conveyed the many changes within him, Beopmu nodded.
His current appearance felt unfamiliar, but it certainly wasn’t unpleasant.
Moreover, since Ban Hojin hadn’t caused any trouble, Beopmu intended to respect his junior’s decision.
“It would be strange to apply the rules of a True Mountain Disciple to a Lay Disciple.”
“It’s not as if I caused any trouble, is it?”
“That’s true. There are quite a few people who get nervous, wondering when you might cause so.”
“As I told Master as well, I won’t do anything that stains the na of Shaolin.”
“I know.”
Beopmu grinned.
Though he was a Lay Disciple, Beopmu knew well that Ban Hojin loved Shaolin.
The sa went for his Master, Damhyeon.
It was just that monks were still human, so worry naturally followed.
“I might cause a small disturbance later on, though.”
“A disturbance is nothing. Murim is a place where fights break out all the ti. Even if this is a temple, it’s also true that the main temple is a force within Murim.”
Beopmu brushed it off lightly.
Though he was a Lay Disciple, Ban Hojin was one of only two disciples of the Shaolin Abbot.
Because of that, his status in Murim was by no ans light.
“I was just saying it might happen.”
“I know. Aside from Master, I’m the one who knows you best—do you think I wouldn’t know that? More importantly, I heard you’ve been looking after the Second-Generation Disciples.”
“If it becos a problem, I’ll stop.”
“That’s not what I ant. I was going to praise you for doing well. I don’t know what got into you, but personally, I’m grateful.”
Beopmu said as he took a sip of tea.
Knowing what ti ant to a master of Ban Hojin’s caliber, Beopmu had found it hard to believe when he first heard the news.
He hadn’t expected Ban Hojin, of all people, to do such a thing.
But that was precisely why he was all the more grateful.
“Aren’t they all family? In a way, it’s also
giving back to the children what I received.”
“Hehehe.”
Perhaps because he hadn’t expected those words.
Beopmu’s eyes widened slightly.
Soon, however, Beopmu wore a satisfied smile.
It seed that he had truly matured after turning twenty.
“Strength is necessary not to oppress others, but to protect them. Whether it’s peace or honor.”
“That’s right.”
“But do you have sothing on your mind?”
As Ban Hojin set down his teacup, he gazed steadily at Beopmu.
Even counting his previous life, he had lived fewer years than Beopmu, but he had still lived for over thirty years.
One look was enough.
He could tell that Beopmu hadn’t co just to offer praise.
“Rather than sothing on my mind, I ca because I have a personal request to ask of you.”
“Please speak freely. We’re not at a distance with each other, are we?”
“You rascal.”
At the joke that naturally lightened the increasingly heavy atmosphere, Beopmu let out a small laugh.
At the sa ti, he keenly felt how much Ban Hojin had grown.
In the past, he had seed like nothing more than a child, but now both his gaze and his thoughts had changed greatly.
“Nothing changes even if you suffer alone. It’s better for ntal health to resolve what you can, when you can. Physical health is important, but in so ways, ntal health is even more important.”
“You speak as if from experience.”
“Because I’ve experienced it firsthand.”
“Hm. Would you spar with
once?”
Thanks to Ban Hojin making him feel at ease, Beopmu was able to state the purpose of his visit without much difficulty.
Perhaps because the words had strangely refused to co out properly before, saying them aloud left him feeling a bit relieved.
“As much as you like.”
“With full strength.”
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