Chapter 8. It hurts, but I feel good.

'Pumong was right. Damn, why do I feel so good?'

Yun lay on the bed with a smile.

Even though he had been beaten, the words of his eldest brother kept coming to mind, making him smile involuntarily.

Of course, there were still things he couldn't believe.

He had never imagined that he would be beaten by his eldest brother, who was in a vegetative state.

'How could I not avoid it?'

Yun had mastered two martial arts techniques:

Hweilunshu (回輪手) and Pawokquan (破玉拳).

Hweilunshu is a joint-locking technique. Once you grab the opponent's hand, arm, or even just the collar, you can break and dislocate their joints. Pawokquan, a fist technique, usually only requires one punch.

He was confident that he could handle even a gang of thugs or a low-level martial artist without much difficulty.

'Is it because of the eldest brother's talent, called a genius among geniuses?'

Since childhood, his eldest brother had been called the greatest talent in the Tianhua Library. He never needed to read anything more than once.

Whether it was mechanisms, formations, calligraphy, or literature, once he understood one thing, he could deduce ten others, earning the admiration of everyone.

Still, how could he have mastered martial arts so well...

While Yun was lost in admiration and confusion, Pumong entered.

"Brother."

"Come in."

Yun was puzzled.

Pumong, who had entered, was crying.

His eyes were swollen, and tears kept streaming down his face.

"Why are you crying? What happened?"

"Brother, I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

"Why are you... You did nothing wrong."

Despite his groans, Yun smiled and held his brother's hand.

"Don't say that. You're better than me."

"No, Brother. I was foolish. I was immature. I blamed you without understanding your deep intentions."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't be modest. I saw everything."

Yun frowned.

The conversation was taking a strange turn.

The frown pulled at his bruised areas, making him wince even more.

Pumong wiped his tears with his sleeve.

"I know everything. You let yourself be beaten to give the eldest brother the courage to face the world. His beating was just like a child's play. You could have avoided it with your eyes closed, yet you took every hit. You even let him hit you in the same spots over and over... Sob. And in the end, you even let him hit your groin. Any man would know the pain. If it had broken, you would have become a eunuch... Anyway, I couldn't help but cry at the sight. Who in the world would offer their groin to be hit, especially with a cudgel? Sob... Sob..."

"..."

Yun was puzzled.

He thought it was a joke, but Pumong was crying so sadly that he couldn't say it wasn't true.

He still didn't fully understand, but he needed to set the record straight. He didn't let himself be beaten; he was beaten. He had tried his best to avoid it.

"So, you're saying I let myself be beaten?"

"Of course."

"Is that what you saw?"

"Brother! How can you...!"

"Stop it. Answer me. Is that what you saw?"

"Yes, and I'm not the only one. The bodyguards were even more surprised, unable to close their mouths. They said they had never seen such a deep and considerate person. They were amazed."

"..."

Yun was at a loss for words.

What was going on?

His head was spinning.

Indeed, the eldest brother's beating was no joke.

Every move he made was perfect.

Whenever he thought he had dodged, the cudgel would suddenly appear in front of his eyes, as if it had been aimed there from the start. It always hit his joints, making his body creak from the start.

When he thought he could avoid it, he tried to grab the cudgel with Hweilunshu, but it was impossible.

The cudgel slipped in, wrapping around his wrists, feet, and calves. It moved like an eel, not a piece of wood. His inner thighs and armpits were hit, causing the soft flesh to swell.

His final choice was to take one hit and end it with a decisive blow.

But the opportunity to attack never came.

Every part he was hit was a vital point.

When he flinched and backed away, the eldest brother followed and hit him again and again.

He was often hit in the same spots multiple times.

The problem was that even though the cudgel seemed harmless, the pain points made him feel drained.

Then he was hit in the groin.

The world turned white, and his head rang.

'But to others, it looked like I was letting myself be beaten?'

Yun's thoughts made his hair stand on end.

This meant something else. It wasn't just a matter of skill level; it meant the eldest brother was on a different plane entirely.

The gap was so vast that it was impossible to gauge.

'What is this? I'm getting cold.'

Yun suddenly felt a chill and shivered.

Was the genius of the Tianhua Library finally stretching his limbs?

Pumong, who didn't understand his thoughts, cried even more.

"Brother, the groin! To risk such a danger, where a man might have to give up his manhood. Your concern for the eldest brother was that deep? I'm angry with the eldest brother now. To make you kneel and hit you again, even after you took hits for him. Thinking about how you must have felt the shock in your groin while being hit on the buttocks, I... I can't help but cry..."

"Pumong."

"Yes, Brother."

"Go away."

"What?"

"Get out!"

"What?"

"Get out, you brat! Groin, groin! Are you going to spend the night writing a song about the groin? Get out of my sight right now!"

"..."

***

Songhua was in a fuss from the morning.

"Master, last night was really amazing."

"Huff, huff, huff!"

Hugong ignored her.

"One was beating, and the other was desperately taking the hits."

"Huff, huff, huff!"

He just kept doing push-ups.

There was a problem with last night's beating.

Although his physical strength had improved, he couldn't properly execute the simple cudgel techniques.

He could only manage about 30% of his physical strength, indicating that his body and consciousness were not yet fully synchronized.

Therefore, he needed to push his physical strength to the limit first.

"Wow, it was so impressive and overwhelming. I couldn't handle it. Especially, I was amazed by Master. How could you do that? You were deliberately taking hits with the cudgel. I realized you were such a person. I feel so regretful for not understanding you before."

Hugong had intended it to look that way, but since only he and Yun knew, Songhua kept praising Yun.

"Huff, huff, you like Yun, don't you?"

"What? No way."

"Then you like Pumong."

"Not at all."

"Really? But why do you keep looking at the door?"

It had been about ten days.

Pumong came every morning to greet him. The boy would stand politely, watch him train, and then quietly leave.

"Third Master is just so lovable."

"Love?"

"Not that kind of love. Um... it's more like a maternal instinct. You know, Master. His clear eyes, gentle appearance, and shy smile are so addictive."

Songhua smiled warmly.

"Hehe, that boy is indeed like that."

"But he won't come today, right?"

"He's just late."

"No, he's definitely upset about yesterday. His own brother was beaten so badly."

"You don't know people well."

"Then why wouldn't he come?"

"He'll come soon. Pumong is a good boy. I've never seen anyone with such clear eyes as Pumong among the many people I've met."

"When did you meet so many people?"

"From books."

"Hehe, how can you know from books? You're getting good at exaggerating."

"Anyway, Pumong is special. He's probably grateful for what happened yesterday."

"Huh?"

Songhua was surprised and then laughed.

"Master is right. Third Master is coming. I can hear his footsteps."

Hugong chuckled.

"See? I told you. Pumong is fundamentally different from Yun. Because of his good nature, he's probably happy about what happened yesterday..."

At that moment,

Bang!

The door opened as if it would break.

The one who broke it was Pumong.

"..."

"..."

Hugong and Songhua were stunned.

Pumong, who had kicked the door open, looked furious. His arms were crossed, and he was breathing heavily. His eyes were red with anger.

'The discerning and good-natured Pumong...'

Hugong, who was still stunned, forced a smile.

"Pumong, you came."

"Yeah, I came."

Pumong took large steps and shouted.

Songhua's eyes widened at his momentum.

Pumong shouted.

"Hey, Fanhang! Are you human? How could the eldest brother do that? Can't you see that Brother Yun was letting himself be beaten? And to hit his groin with a cudgel? If it had broken, he wouldn't be able to have children! You bastard!"

"Pumong, calm down."

"I can't calm down! You're not the only one who trains. I'll show you how scary the world can be if I act recklessly today. I'll pay you back several times over for what Brother Yun endured."

Pumong quickly pulled out a weapon from behind his back.

The chain glinted in the light.

Hugong frowned.

'Hmm, is that a nunchaku?'

It was a weapon made of two short wooden sticks connected by a chain, useful in close combat.

Hugong had never seen anyone use it, only heard about it, so it was surprising to see Pumong practicing with it.

Whirl, whirl, whirl.

Pumong extended the nunchaku forward and then started spinning it. It was so fierce that only the afterimage of the sticks was visible.

"Ahh! Ahh!"

He made chicken-like sounds, moving the nunchaku from his right shoulder to his waist, then to his left shoulder and armpit, dozens of times. The chicken sounds continued.

However, it didn't last long.

Smack!

Someone kicked Pumong's buttocks from behind, causing him to fall forward with the nunchaku.

"Move. You idiot!"

"Ugh!"

The one who kicked him was Fan Yun.

Fan Yun, limping with a crutch under one arm, walked over. When he tripped over Pumong, he pushed him away and approached.

Then he bowed respectfully to Hugong.