The return of the granddaughter of the Namgoong family

***

“Ugh…”

Namgung Jiping felt like he was about to die.

It had been fine up until the point where he confidently shouted that he could do it, but that was as far as he could go.

While performing the sword technique, during the stance where he was about to strike with the sword, the child suddenly made him stop moving.

Standing still with two hundred jin of weight on his arms and legs, his limbs began to tremble and shake.

“Ughhh…”

Groans of pain escaped his mouth, and he hoped the child would hear them.

‘Why… why won’t she tell me to lower them?’

The child, with a serious expression, simply gazed at him while stroking her chin, but did not say anything about him lowering the weights.

‘This… this is my limit!’

He had tried to endure to the very end, but his limit had come.

Just as he was about to let his trembling arms drop…

Thok.

“…?”

In an instant, the pressure pulling his arms downward disappeared.

He opened his eyes in surprise and saw the child in front of him, with her hand on the tip of the sword.

Namgung Jiping’s eyes widened.

“How… How did you do that?”

The weight had disappeared.

With just a finger on the tip of the sword, she made the fifty jin of weight vanish.

“It didn’t disappear. The weight of the weights was distributed across the whole body.”

“…Is that… possible?”

The weight of the weights was a downward force pressing down.

To withstand that pressure, one would normally have to exert force on the arms to lift them, right?

“The warrior is strong. To be precise, you’re quite strong. However, you tend to use all that strength in a single burst.”

“…How did you know?”

“If you do that, you might have a powerful attack for a moment, but if the battle drags on, you’ll inevitably be at a disadvantage.”

Ideally, every battle would end with a single decisive strike, but that’s not how combat works.

Sometimes, the fight is evenly matched, and other times, the opponent is so much stronger that holding on is the only option.

In Namgung Jiping’s case, the latter situation was likely more common.

“Charging at a stronger opponent with all your strength is just asking to be killed. The tougher the opponent, the more cautious you need to be, and you need to wait for an opportunity to counter.”

Opportunities don’t come often.

To seize those moments, you need the strength to endure until that opportunity arises and a balanced body that minimizes the loss of energy.

This was the reason for practicing external martial arts.

“Instead of pouring all your strength into one spot, practice distributing it evenly across your whole body. Don’t put too much strain on any one part.”

To bear the weight with just one arm, 90% of your strength would be needed. But when using your entire body, even a tenth of that strength would suffice.

“Just like now.”

“But… the place you touched wasn’t my body, was it? How did you manage my strength just by touching the tip of the sword?”

“When you realize that, you’ll reach a higher level.”

Namgung Jiping’s eyes sparkled for a moment.

‘The unity of body and sword (身劍合一)!’

It was a state achieved by those who reached the pinnacle of martial arts, where the body and sword became one.

‘This child… she’s a master of the highest level!’

It was a reasonable guess, but it was wrong.

At her current level, Seolhwa’s internal energy was only of a secondary grade. However, just because she had less internal energy didn’t mean her enlightenment would disappear.

Knowing and doing were two different things.

‘She can certainly show something like this.’

Thud—!

As soon as Seolhwa removed her hand from the sword, Namgung Jiping’s arms drooped helplessly.

Though he had exhausted all his strength and slumped to the ground, the light in his eyes had changed.

Seolhwa could feel a gaze in his eyes that was looking toward a higher place.

“Shall we stop for today?”

Namgung Jiping quickly jumped up and assumed a martial stance.

Though the weight of two hundred jin was still a struggle, making his limbs shake, his posture didn’t falter.

“I sincerely thank you for your teachings. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have had this realization today.”

“Weren’t you tired?”

“I was. Very tired. But I now realize that this is necessary training, so I’ll continue practicing with weights.”

“Good. Once you get used to using your strength, try increasing the weight gradually.”

“More… than this?”

“At least five hundred jin per arm should be manageable.”

“Excuse me?”

Namgung Jiping’s mouth hung open.

Now that he understood why this training was necessary, he was determined to continue. But… what?

Fifty jin had been excruciating, and now she was saying five hundred jin?

‘Are you telling me I need to wear ten times the weight than what I’m wearing now? Without using any internal energy?’

Is that even possible?

At this point, disbelief couldn’t be suppressed.

“Forgive me for asking, but… how much do you wear, exactly?”

At Jiping’s question, Seolhwa rolled up one of her sleeves. Three weights, each twice the size of Jiping’s, were strapped to her slender arm.

“Right now, I’m wearing about three hundred jin. I still have a long way to go. Let’s work hard together.”

At Seolhwa’s innocent answer, Jiping’s mouth fell open even wider.

Three weights of three hundred jin—totaling twelve hundred jin.

Since she had been training with him the entire time, it meant she had been wearing that weight all along.

‘I… I was whining about fifty jin…?’

His bulky body, now feeling utterly useless, was filled with self-loathing.

With a sense of disbelief, Jiping’s inner frustration turned into self-pity.

“Oh, by the way, starting tomorrow, if there are any warriors who want to train, they can join us.”

“…Huh?”

“Since we’re doing this, it’s better to do it together. It’ll give us strength and encourage each other. Wouldn’t that be good?”

“Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

“Of course.”

It’s an important task to strengthen the roots of the Namgung family, so there’s no way it wouldn’t be fine.

IThemore warriors who want to grow stronger, the better for Seolhwa.

Namgung Jiping was in awe.

‘A master of the highest level doesn’t hesitate to teach!’

Teaching also requires time and effort. It’s a rare opportunity when a top-tier master teaches so actively.

The faces of the members of the 11th Dragon Group flashed in his mind. They certainly wouldn’t even be able to lift thirty jin, let alone fifty.

If they all trained together, everyone would grow stronger!

“I’ll make sure to bring them!”

“Bring as many as you can.”

“Yes! As many as possible!”

A fire ignited in Namgung Jiping’s eyes.

***

After finishing the morning training, Seolhwa washed up and immediately went out with Namgung Cheongun.

It was her first outing since entering the Namgung family.

“There’s a lot of people, so make sure to hold onto Father’s hand tightly.”

Namgung Cheongun, with his official headwear, smiled gently under his wide-brimmed hat and held Seolhwa’s hand firmly.

He was officially on a trip, though.

No one in Heifei would fail to recognize the first son of the Namgung family. There was no need to cause a stir, so they decided to keep their identities hidden.

Although it was a casual outing, they were still accompanied by five bodyguards.

It wasn’t excessive, given that it was the first son of Namgung and his child going out.

“We’ll go to the Tanghulu shop after we eat.”

Seolhwa nodded as she counted the footsteps following them.

“Sounds good.”

“Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

Seolhwa looked up at Namgung Cheongun.

His eyes twinkled, and he chuckled.

“Tell me anything. I like whatever you like.”

“Then, I know a good place.”

“A good place?”

Seolhwa nodded and took Cheongun’s hand.

She led him to the inn they had visited when they first arrived in Heifei, with Seob Mugwang.

“Steamed buns and noodles, huh? Those are some of my favorites too.”

Seolhwa and Cheongun ordered a large portion of steamed buns and noodles to share.

As Cheongun served food into Seolhwa’s bowl, she also put some dumplings in his.

This made his eyes turn red again, but they both enjoyed the meal. The food from Namgung’s household was excellent, but it couldn’t compare to the taste of this inn.

‘I understand now why Thunderbolt God likes this place.’

Even when eating Namgung’s finest delicacies, the taste of the dumplings and noodles from this inn was unforgettable.

‘I wonder why I didn’t know about this place in my past life?’

Although she had often visited Heifei in her previous life, she had never come to this inn.

With how good the food was, it didn’t make sense that she wouldn’t have known about it, especially since she frequented Heifei like a second home.

‘Maybe they earned a lot of money and stopped running the business?’

“It’s good to eat well. You need to eat a lot and grow bigger.”

While patting Seolhwa’s head, Namgung Cheongun smiled, his emotions collected.

“We never said we wouldn’t pay, did we? Huh? I’ll pay you back next time! I just forgot to bring the pouch today!”

A commotion arose from a couple of tables away from where they were seated.

Namgung Cheongun, still holding Seolhwa’s hand, looked towards the noise.

If the situation got dangerous, he was prepared to take Seolhwa and leave the inn.

“Sir, do you know how many times we’ve had this conversation? Today, you need to pay the overdue debt so we can continue doing business…”

Bang—!

The sound of a table breaking filled the air.

The dishes on the table fell, causing a loud commotion.

“Has this owner gone senile?”

The man who had broken the table grabbed the elderly innkeeper by the collar.

“Please, spare me, sir!”

“Do you not know who we are? Huh?”

“I know! Of course, I know! How could I not know the Namgung family’s warriors…!”