Chapter 45 – The Flower in Both Hands (3)
“Don’t worry! I’ll teach you how to deal with the Paengga Dobok so that Jin Gagaga won’t get hurt!”
“Uh, thank you.”
Paengsoso said that since she couldn’t teach the Paengga Dobok, she would teach the Pahobeop instead.
“But wait. This clearly looks like a man being obsessed and sacrificing herself to the household pillar. Is this really okay?”
“Hehe…no one is watching us, so it’s okay if we get used to it while practicing! Of course, it would be better to practice a lot to get really familiar with each other in case something happens later!”
Practicing the Pahobeop to learn it and naturally discovering the opponent’s weaknesses during practice are completely different things.
However, Paengsoso’s argument was that the results were similar, so it was okay.
…Is it really okay?
***
“I’ll be going to the market, so you two should focus on your training.”
Hong Yeon-hwa, who finished preparing for the outing, turned around slightly and said that.
The reason they came to this village in the first place was to replenish the materials they had used up and to relieve their accumulated fatigue.
So after finishing their meal, they were planning to buy consumables like preserved food or hwasubja together….
But when Paengsoso said she would teach me the Pahobeop of the Paengga Dobok, she seemed more excited than me and told me to train first because she would go shopping alone.
I felt mischievous at her fawning behavior.
I grabbed Hong Yeon-hwa’s shoulder, who was checking if she had enough money left in her purse.
“Hmm?”
Surprised, Hong Yeon-hwa looked up at me. Our eyes met with a faint expectation in her sparkling pink eyes.
Yeah, I don’t know what she’s imagining, but it’s not that.
Memories of my childhood in my past life that I can’t even remember now. I opened my mouth, recalling those faded memories.
“Don’t follow someone just because they offer you candy, okay?”
“What…?”
In a calm and gentle tone, like teaching a child.
“If a strange person keeps following you, don’t forget to shout loudly, ‘Mr. Pojol! I’m here!'”
“What’s that…?”
Hong Yeon-hwa still didn’t understand the situation and tilted her head.
Instead of answering, I gently took the purse out of her small hand and firmly tied the entrance of the purse with a string, then put it between my collarbones.
“Be careful not to lose it.”
After enjoying the warmth and texture of the chest that gently enveloped me for a moment, I took my hand out. Hong Yeon-hwa adjusted the position of the purse that she had caught in a hurry.
She made a satisfied expression for a moment, as if she had found a suitable spot.
But not long after, she realized how she was being treated and started jumping up and down in place.
“Ik! Ik! I’m not a child!”
Shake, shake.
Every time she shook violently and got angry with Hong Yeon-hwa, my heart jumped. Even so, my breasts didn’t fall out….
When I was satisfied with the sight, I pressed my finger against Hong Yeon-hwa’s lips.
“Don’t you remember?”
“What are you talking about?”
She looked at me with a puzzled expression, as if asking me to explain.
I cleared my throat and spoke in a baby voice that only Hong Yeon-hwa could hear.
“Waaah! I’m a baby…waaah!”
“Stop it! Stop it!”
As soon as she heard my poor imitation, Hong Yeon-hwa quickly covered my mouth with her hands.
I stored the desperate image of her pressing her lips tightly with both hands and making a loud noise in my mind.
When I thought it was enough, I lightly tapped her forehead as a sign of surrender.
“…It’s impossible to do it like this. How dare you make fun of me. Show me the appropriate respect.”
“Okay, okay.”
Although it was an abstract and unreasonable demand, it wasn’t difficult to guess what she meant.
I kissed her face repeatedly, which was slightly turned towards me.
Finally, when I was satisfied, I kissed her lips once more.
“Cough, cough. You’re showing so much respect, I can’t help it. Forgive me, broad-minded Hong Yeon-hwa.”
“That’s right. You’re really ‘broad-minded’.”
“Hmm? It feels a little different….”
“It’s nothing. I just told you to be careful.”
In the end, Hong Yeon-hwa received a lot of kisses as she had hoped for, and left with a happy hum.
As I watched her small figure disappear into the distance, I turned around and saw Paengsoso looking at me hesitantly.
She had said she would see me off before starting, but did she come here to be cute?
Paengsoso is also my woman now, and I can’t make her feel sad for no reason.
I opened my arms wide, as if to say ‘come here’, and Paengsoso’s face brightened.
Thump, thud.
“Jin Gagaga!”
Paengsoso ran towards me and hugged my waist, kissing me all over like a bird pecking at food.
Forehead, nose, cheek, lips, corners of the eyes, and other places carefully.
“Well, shall we start right away?”
I had already given the innkeeper a suitable amount of money and asked him to keep anyone away from this area.
As I enjoyed the kiss with Yeon-ee, I felt a surge of energy that I wanted to pour out. However, something seemed off with Paengsoso’s reaction.
“Ahem…can you wait a bit? I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed right now.”
“Is it really going to be that easy to calm down…ah.”
Come to think of it, this was the first time I had properly kissed Paengsoso, even though we had gone as far as Yasedaeddal and Fellagga.
I’ll have to set the mood properly and give her another one later.
After a moment, Paengsoso, whose cheeks were still red, pointed to her body and said, “Let’s start with the theoretical aspects first. As you know, all members of the Paeng family are born with exceptional bodies.”
“That’s a well-known story.”
Just looking at Paengsoso in front of me, she was quite tall and had firm muscles for a woman of this era.
I barely managed to hold back my gaze, which kept wandering to the memory of Paengsoso’s abs that I had seen before.
Focus. I need to focus.
“As a result, all of the Paeng family’s martial arts have evolved to utilize their innate musculature.”
“All of them?”
“Yes, all of them. There are no exceptions. I didn’t learn it myself because I’m not the successor, but my father’s Hunwonbyeokryeok and Hyeonyeombeokryeok are the same.”
Paengsoso declared that the Paeng family’s martial arts were all about hegemony and righteousness.
“Isn’t it similar for Jin Gagaga? You used the middle sword, which uses the power contained within the sword to strike down your opponent, didn’t you?”
“It’s similar, but a bit different. I don’t know anything about the subtleties of the middle sword. I just increase my strength and strike with brute force….”
“What? That’s a barbaric thing to do, even for our family, which relies on musculature.”
It may be a barbaric thing to do in general.
Even if you swing a sword with the same strength, the amount of shock depends on where you hit and how you swing it.
The middle sword is a sword technique that maximizes this and produces a result of 10 with 1 power, while I simply produce a result of 10 with 10 power.
It’s usually a barbaric thing to do, as Paengsoso said, but it’s not always the case for me, who can strengthen it with the Muryeongshingong.
Since Paengsoso, who even taught me the Pahopae technique, knows about it, there’s no need to hide it.
Paengsoso nodded her head in admiration after hearing my explanation.
“Wow…the world of martial arts is really vast! If there’s such a martial art, it should be easier for you, right?”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. What do you think is the difference between the Pae sword and the middle sword for Jin Gagaga?”
“I’ve never really thought about it…if I had to say, the Pae sword looks a bit stronger, doesn’t it? It seems like no matter what’s in the way, you can just smash it and move forward.”
Paengsoso nodded vigorously and clapped her hands.
“That’s right! If the purpose of the middle sword is to produce greater power, then the purpose of the Pae sword is to stab and crush the opponent.”
That’s why relative strength is more important than absolute strength in the Pae sword.
The goal is to always have the upper hand by striking with full force when the opponent is weakest.
For example, if the opponent uses the middle sword and can only produce a result of 5 with 1 power, the Pae sword’s strategy is to attack before they can produce a result of 10.
In theory, even with just 6 power, you can overpower the opponent.
“If there’s not a significant difference in skill, it would be difficult to find such an opening, right? If there is that much of a gap, you could just fight normally and win.”
Paengsoso agreed with me again, clapping her hands like a seal.
“You’re sharp, Jin Gagaga! That’s right. That’s why the Pae sword doesn’t wait for openings. It creates them.”
“What?”
“Imagine a strong and fast attack pouring down indiscriminately. If you’re too busy blocking, your posture will gradually collapse.”
According to Paengsoso, the most important thing is momentum. The attacks pouring down with momentum. The opponent collapsing because of it. The opening that arises from there.
After listening to Paengsoso’s explanation in detail, I began to see her in a slightly different light than when I fought with Unjuwon.
Hong Yeonhwa had created the initial opening, but Paengsoso had not missed it and continued her fierce attack with momentum.
She had never given up the offensive and had relentlessly humiliated Unjuwon.
I had thought that I would win without any problems after seeing that, but that was the Pae sword’s strategy.
Paengsoso raised her index finger to shoulder height and said, “Here’s the problem! What’s the most important thing in a situation where you’re pushed into a corner?”
“…Pure strength, I guess.”
If you’re pushed into a corner, you can’t properly display the skills you’ve honed until now.
All you can rely on is the internal strength you’ve accumulated and the trained body.
But what if the opponent is the powerful Habuk Paeng family?
“Wow. There’s really no answer.”
“Now do you understand what I mean when I say that Jin Gagaga’s martial arts will make it easier?”
Paengsoso nodded with a frightened expression. The internal strength and body that can be strengthened with Muryeongshingong are all you can rely on.
Then Paengsoso, who had said that, drew a giant sword that was twice the size of my sword from a distance.
“Now that you know about the Paeng family’s martial arts…can you guess what the defensive technique is like?”
Paengsoso nodded and clapped her hands in agreement.
“That’s right! There must be something that can break the flow of an attack that rides on momentum. I’ll show you how to weaken the weak points in the Ohodanmundo’s combination.”
At first, I had accompanied Paengsoso occasionally to practice martial arts, but somehow we ended up facing each other with weapons for the first time.
Feeling a bit nervous, I also drew my sword and took a stance.
“I’ll need your help with this.”
“Of course. Now, follow my lead and I’ll show you how to absorb and strengthen your defense by using the basic stance of the Ohodanmundo and a method to weaken the opponent’s attack.”
Paengsoso took the basic stance of the Ohodanmundo and turned her body in the direction of my sword swing, avoiding my sword and lightly stabbing my side.
“This is the basic defensive move of the Ohodanmundo. Now, I’ll show you how to absorb the opponent’s attack and strengthen your defense by using their force.”
Paengsoso took the basic stance of the Ohodanmundo again and turned her body in the direction of my sword swing, but this time she received my sword with her own sword and used the force to push her body back with strength.
“Absorbing the opponent’s attack and using their force to strengthen your defense is the essence of the Ohodanmundo. Now, try to learn this method.”
Paengsoso continued to take the basic stance of the Ohodanmundo and turned her body in the direction of my sword swing, receiving my sword with her own sword and using the force to push her body back with strength.
This time, Paengsoso’s defensive move looked even more perfect.
“You’re doing great. Now, try to learn this method and absorb the opponent’s attack to strengthen your defense.”
Paengsoso continued to take the basic stance of the Ohodanmundo and turned her body in the direction of my sword swing, receiving my sword with her own sword and using the force to push her body back with strength.
This time, it seemed like Paengsoso had predicted the direction of my sword swing.
“You’re doing great. Now, try to learn this method and absorb the opponent’s attack to strengthen your defense.”
