Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Chapter126

Sichuan (1)

“Did you absorb it well?”

“Hmm. It seems like it’s increased by a little more than half.”

“Me too.”

“Hehe. I’ve almost absorbed it all!”

Mu-jin, who was satisfied with the responses of the three, now took out the boar’s inner core he had kept aside.

“Here, you can share this among the three of you as well.”

But for some reason, all three frowned as they looked at the inner core Mu-jin had taken out.

“Yeah, it was inside a boar’s body.”

“Mu-jin, eating meat is dangerous.”

The innocent monks were spouting nonsense.

‘Then, should I just eat it myself?’

While Mu-jin was thinking this, Mu-yul suddenly blurted out nonsense.

“Can’t we give that to Ling-ling?”

“Hmm. That’s not a bad idea.”

“Right. They say this was originally Ling-ling’s home. Since we ate the ginseng and flowers from Ling-ling’s home, it’s only right to give this to Ling-ling.”

“That is truly the way of nature. Infinite life.”

“……”

Mu-jin was dumbfounded as he watched the four of them in perfect harmony.

However, having spent six years in Shaolin Temple, perhaps Mu-jin’s brain had been slightly remodeled.

‘Well, we did find this place thanks to that monkey. Besides, we got more ginseng than expected.’

These thoughts were crossing his mind.

Additionally, there was a logical reason. Since that monkey was also a spiritual creature, eating the inner core would probably make it stronger. Moreover, the monkey seemed to only eat the red flowers and not the ginseng.

‘We left the undergrown ginseng, so leaving that monkey to guard it and coming back later to harvest only the ginseng wouldn’t be a bad idea.’

In the end, Mu-jin handed the inner core to Ling-ling, who snatched it with his hand and put it straight into his mouth with a “Uki!”

Feeling good, Ling-ling ran around the flower field barking continuously for a moment.

“Ukiiii!!”

Suddenly, Ling-ling started screaming and rolling around in the flower field.

“Li-Ling-ling, what’s wrong!?”

Mu-yul, startled, was the first to rush to the writhing Ling-ling, followed by the others.

“Hmm… it seems like he’s still young and ate too big an inner core, so it’s hard to digest,” inferred Mu-gyeong with insight.

Everyone watched the writhing Ling-ling with somber faces for a while.

At first, the monkey rolled painfully on the ground, but its cries gradually subsided. Suddenly, a change occurred in its body.

The monkey’s red fur deepened in color and began to grow slightly longer, and its size also began to increase subtly.

Simultaneously, the monkey gradually calmed down and soon stood up with a healthy appearance.

“Uki! Uki!!”

The monkey, feeling better, clung to Mu-jin, who had given him the inner core, shaking his body, and then slipped into Mu-yul’s arms.

Mu-jin, watching this scene for a moment, spoke.

“Well, since we’ve gathered everything, shall we head back?”

The exploration for opportunities, expected to be completed in ten days, had taken fifteen days. Mu-jin, wanting to move to the next location as quickly as possible, prepared to leave.

Mu-gung and Mu-gyeong, who had also had enough of the mountains, followed Mu-jin and made preparations to leave.

“Take care, Ling-ling~”

“We’ll come see you again next time.”

“Amitabha.”

“Infinite life.”

After getting ready to leave, Mu-yul and the others bid farewell to the monkey.

‘Keep an eye on the ginseng, we’ll be back to harvest them later.’

Only Mu-jin harbored such secular thoughts inwardly.

“Uki!!”

For some reason, Ling-ling shook his head and barked, then climbed onto Mu-yul’s head.

“Huh? Do you want to come with us?”

“Uki! Ukikiki!!”

In response to Mu-yul’s question, the monkey excitedly nodded his head up and down.

At that moment, an unexpected pet was added to their party.

* * *

After leaving the mountains, the five humans and one monkey traveled for a day and a half, pushing a cart, and finally arrived at Renhuai County, located at the passage from Guizhou Province to Sichuan Province.

In Mu-jin’s original plan, the destination after obtaining the fortuitous encounter was Sichuan Province.

In about a year or two, a significant event was set to occur in Sichuan Province.

The so-called Tomb of the Divine Thief, or the Divine Thief’s Hidden Cave incident.

The Divine Thief, a legendary bandit who was active about a hundred years ago.

A rumor would spread that a hidden cave somewhere in Sichuan Province held the countless treasures, miraculous elixirs, and martial arts manuals he had stolen throughout his life.

As the rumor took shape, the hidden cave, believed to be the Tomb of the Divine Thief, would eventually be discovered.

Naturally, countless martial artists and martial sects would clash to claim the cave.

The incident would be the catalyst for a complete breakdown in relations between the strongest forces in Sichuan Province: the Sichuan Tang Clan, Emei Sect, and the Qingcheng Sect.

Therefore, Mu-jin decided to head to Sichuan Province to prevent the Tomb of the Divine Thief incident.

However, instead of heading straight to Sichuan Province, Mu-jin decided to rest here for a few days.

There was some leeway since the incident was more than a year in the future.

Additionally, the unexpected prolonged stay in the mountains had turned most of the clothes Ryu Seol-hwa had prepared into rags, and they all looked like beggars. Going to Sichuan Province in such a state would draw too much attention.

“Ahh, this is the life.”

The main reason, though, was to lift weights after a break of fifteen days.

Thanks to Ryu Seol-hwa’s help, Mu-jin, under the fake identity of ‘Choi Kang-hyuk,’ could freely exercise at a musculoskeletal treatment clinic. He was completely absorbed in weight training, enjoying it after fifteen days.

Although he had been doing bodyweight exercises using trees and rocks, it was vastly different from using a variety of equipment.

During the fifteen days without weight training, Mu-jin had felt an irrational fear that his muscles were shrinking. Lifting weights brought him peace of mind.

Of course, this was only from Mu-jin’s perspective.

“It’s killing me, really.”

“I should have expected this when I decided to follow Mu-jin…”

Mu-gung and Mu-gyeong, who had been dragged to a muscle and bone treatment clinic by Mu-jin, looked utterly exhausted. Meanwhile, Mu-yul was playing, alternating between holding Ling-ling and a metal weight.

In the case of Cheongsu Dojang, they were also lifting the metal weights with a look of great admiration.

“Hahaha. So this is the secret to Master Mu-jin’s strength!”

Amidst the varied reactions, Mu-jin continued his workout until he felt sufficient muscle stimulation before putting the weights down.

And after enough exercise, sufficient nutrition is essential.

They headed to a grand inn they had reserved in Renhuai County.

“Five of your best dishes, please. All with meat.”

“Of course, sir!”

As soon as Mu-jin shouted upon entering the inn, the innkeeper responded with enthusiasm.

Despite their initial beggarly appearance, they had surprisingly flaunted gold and rented the most expensive room for three whole days, becoming splendid guests.

After securing the room, they bathed in hot water, shedding their ragged appearance. After going out somewhere, they returned, seemingly intent on eating more expensive food.

“Are you crazy?”

“Meat? What are you thinking?”

But the group, watching Mu-jin place his order, cried out in shock.

“So what? We’re not ‘monks’ or anything. We can eat meat as much as we want, right?”

– If we don’t eat meat in a place like this, it will look suspicious, you fools.

Mu-jin sent a telepathic message, making a plausible excuse, and they all shut their mouths with uneasy expressions.

After all, they were currently fleeing at night and roaming the martial world incognito.

“Anyway, what do you guys want to eat?”

“Huh? Didn’t you just order five dishes?”

“Yeah, all five of those are for me.”

After today’s exercise and the exhausting ordeal of pulling the cart through the mountains, he needed a hearty meal to recover.

However, the other kids seemed to have different thoughts, and after checking the menu, they ended up ordering vegetable stir-fries or noodles.

Since they were picking foods without meat from what was available, those were the only options left.

“Your food is here!”

While they waited for their food, the dishes Mu-jin had ordered began to fill the table one by one.

The colorful and dazzling appearance of the dishes immediately caught the eye, and the aroma wafting from the plates was tantalizing.

Feeling good, Mu-jin began to savor the dishes, putting each one in his mouth one by one.

“Hmm?”

Noticing the stares of the four whose food had yet to arrive, Mu-jin smiled faintly.

As the tantalizing aroma wafted through the air, the four of them found it difficult to keep their composure amidst their hunger.

“If you want to eat, feel free to join in. We can always order more,” Mu-jin subtly encouraged. Despite his offer, the four hesitated to pick up their chopsticks. But then, someone made the first move.

“Ookki!!”

Ling-ling, who was sitting on Mu-yul’s lap, awkwardly imitated Mu-jin and grabbed some Five-Spice Braised Pork with its chopsticks, stuffing it into its mouth.

Perhaps spurred on by Ling-ling’s initiative, Mu-yul naturally reached for the meat as well.

“Hmm. The texts do permit meat consumption on special occasions. Today, as our first visit to an inn since arriving in the Central Plains, surely qualifies as a special occasion,” said a member of Cheongsu Dojang, reaching for a dish.

That left only Mu-gung and Mu-gyeong.

After exchanging glances for a moment,

‘To hell with it!’

‘Since we’re all in this together, we won’t get caught!’

They both simultaneously reached for the plates with their chopsticks.

In truth, Mu-gung, Mu-gyeong, and Mu-yul had only become vegetarians after joining Shaolin. In their younger days, they all had eaten meat.

How could they resist the temptation of such dazzling dishes laid out before them?

‘Hehehe.’

Watching the once-reserved kids devour the food like hungry ghosts, Mu-jin smiled contentedly.

‘After all that hard work, if you just eat noodles, you’ll ruin your health. Absolutely.’

Mu-jin was pleased to introduce these poor Shaolin kids to the joys of eating meat.

Once they started eating, they decided not to hold back, barely touching the noodles or vegetable stir-fries they had initially ordered.

Naturally, the dishes on the table were quickly devoured.

“Here, add one more of each of these five dishes, and also five more of the next most popular dishes!” Mu-jin called out.

“Yes! Right away! I’ll have them prepared immediately!” the innkeeper responded eagerly.

“Oh! And bring us a bottle of Maotai as well,” Mu-jin added.

Maotai, a famous liquor from Maotai Town in Renhuai County, was renowned throughout the Central Plains. Mu-jin had learned about it not from novels, but from Seol-hwa Shiju-nim while discussing the locations of muscle and bone treatment clinics.

Renhuai County, a bridge between Sichuan and Guizhou Provinces, housed a branch of Cheonryu Sangdan and a muscle and bone treatment clinic, thanks to the famed Maotai liquor.

Shortly after, as the food on the table was nearly gone (the noodles and vegetable stir-fries remained untouched), new dishes and the Maotai arrived.

‘Ah, finally, I get to drink!’ Mu-jin thought.

He had been waiting for this moment for so long! Although he had become an adult this year, it wasn’t as if he had waited until adulthood to drink.

Mu-jin had avoided alcohol because it hindered muscle growth. But now, he no longer had to worry.

‘I can enjoy the slight intoxication, then just dispel the effects with my internal energy later!’

Having already mastered the Small and Large Circulations of Qi, Mu-jin could now enjoy alcohol without fearing a hangover.

Thus, while watching the Shaolin and Wudang disciples relish the meat,

Clink.

Mu-jin leisurely savored the renowned Maotai liquor of the Central Plains.

“Ahem. Could I possibly have a taste of that too?”

When the kids of the Muja Trio eyed the Maotai after enjoying the meat, Mu-jin glared at them.

“No, it’ll cause muscle loss for you.”

They hadn’t even mastered the Large Circulation of Qi yet.

Tsk.