Heavenly Martial God - H.M.G Chapter 9 (Part 1):

As Namgoong Hyuk entered the family head’s chamber, he saw Namgoong Jang Cheon seated at the head of the room.

The man’s imposing aura and stern expression made him seem like an immovable mountain.

Namgoong Hyuk trudged forward, step by step, until he stood before him.

He could feel Namgoong Jang Cheon’s scrutinizing gaze sweeping over him from head to toe, but Namgoong Hyuk ignored it cleanly and cut straight to the point.

“Give me the secret manuals.”

Namgoong Jang Cheon’s eyebrows arched sharply.

“You think that’s the first thing you should say after being summoned?”

His low voice carried clear reproach.

Naturally, he was expecting some kind of excuse—or at least an explanation—for violating the entry prohibition.

But Namgoong Hyuk simply stared back at him blankly.

‘Should I have greeted him first? No, was it my tone?’

‘Even the Leader of the Orthodox Heavenly Alliance groveled before me, yet I should bow to some descendant of the Sword King, whose lineage I can’t even trace?’

‘Still, I have business with him for now.’

Namgoong Hyuk spoke again in an awkward tone.

“Could you please give me the secret manuals…?”

“…….”

Namgoong Jang Cheon opened and closed his mouth, then firmly swallowed the words that were about to come out.

He let out a deep sigh, huuu, then spoke softly.

“How on earth did you get into the Heavenly Martial Storage? And how did you avoid the guards?”

“By climbing over the wall.”

A vein bulged on Namgoong Jang Cheon’s forehead.

His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.

“Do you think the Heavenly Martial Storage is your playground? What kind of place do you think it is to sneak into! And how did you even climb the wall!”

“I crawled.”

“Crawled? You rascal! Don’t you know whose loss it is if you fall and get hurt again?”

“I fell, and nothing bad happened.”

“Nothing bad happened?! The Heavenly Martial Storage wall is over ten feet high! If you fell with that body of yours, there wouldn’t be a single sound part left on….”

Namgoong Jang Cheon stopped abruptly while raising his voice in anger.

He had detected something strange in Namgoong Hyuk’s words.

“……You fell?”

Namgoong Hyuk shrugged.

“I was fine?”

“……Fine?”

“Yes.”

At the unexpected answer, Namgoong Jang Cheon’s eyes widened.

With widened eyes, he looked Namgoong Hyuk up and down before asking cautiously.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

A moment of silence.

Namgoong Jang Cheon couldn’t form words, his lips just moved.

His eyes, wide as if they would pop out, trembled as he looked at Namgoong Hyuk.

“…Ahem! W-Well, what about your feet? Your fingers?”

Instead of answering, Namgoong Hyuk turned and showed his feet.

Namgoong Jang Cheon’s pupils shook violently. He almost smiled slightly before schooling his expression.

“Cough-hem! They… they look fine.”

“It’s a little sprained, but it’s okay.”

“……So you climbed the wall and entered the Heavenly Martial Storage?”

“Yes.”

“Uh…….”

Namgoong Jang Cheon let out a low groan.

The fact that Namgoong Hyuk had entered the Heavenly Martial Storage without permission had long since faded from his mind.

That wasn’t the important thing right now.

‘His body is fine! How can this be!’

Namgoong Hyuk was someone whose legs would break just by jumping off a table.

But he jumped off the Heavenly Martial Storage wall and was fine.

Namgoong Jang Cheon was deeply moved.

In this moment, he couldn’t help but be happy, not as the Family Head, but as a parent.

Had the effects of all the prayers offered finally manifested?

Or had the elixirs he had been steadily taking finally started to work?

‘Could it be, finally?’

However, given his position, he couldn’t show it.

He composed his expression as much as possible and said with a stern face.

“Ahem! Hm! Even if you didn’t get hurt, isn’t it a fact that you entered the Heavenly Martial Storage without permission?”

Namgoong Hyuk said nonchalantly.

“Entering the storage isn’t a crime, is it? You should have let me in from the beginning.”

Well, that was true, but…

“Ahem! Wasn’t that all out of consideration for your health? Your body makes it very dangerous even to learn basic martial arts!”

“At this rate, I’ll die without being able to do anything.”

“Die! Keeeum! Are you spouting weak nonsense again! Can you still call yourself a descendant of the Namgoong Family bloodline speaking like that!”

“Isn’t it precisely because I have the bloodline that I should learn martial arts? What’s the big deal about a child of a martial family learning martial arts? I have to do something, or I’ll really die at this rate. I need to at least have solid Internal Energy to feel secure about the future. Is this something to be scolded for?”

Although Namgoong Hyuk’s tone was nonchalant throughout, he spoke firmly. This perplexed Namgoong Jang Cheon.

‘What is this? Was Hyuk always like this?’

Far from being intimidated, he was staring intently at him, as if challenging him to do more.

In fact, his gaze was closer to a glare.

How should he describe this?

His expression was one of utter annoyance—as if he couldn’t believe he had to explain himself like this.

Yet, his tone was very aggressive, and his posture was defiant, looking ready to grab him by the collar if things went wrong.

It made him wonder if this was really the frail second son he knew.

“They say you even grant the wishes of the dead, so why can’t you grant the wish of someone who feels like he’s about to die?!”

“Enough with the weak—”

“Then just give them to me already!”

Namgoong Hyuk stared piercingly at Namgoong Jang Cheon.

Namgoong Jang Cheon, who had been staring blankly at Namgoong Hyuk, snapped back to his senses.

“Eum! Do you really want to learn martial arts that badly?”

“Yes!”

“Truly?”

“Truly.”

“But your body might not be able to handle—”

“I’m telling you, I’ll die! I want to learn martial arts. Give them to me—I’m getting dizzy!”

Namgoong Hyuk looked at Namgoong Jang Cheon and sighed inwardly.

Seeing him still conflicted, he realized a decisive blow was needed.

‘I really didn’t want to resort to this, but…’

“Cough.”

“Hm?”

“Cough-ack! Cough-aaaaack! Hwaaaack!”

As Namgoong Hyuk started his frantic fit, Namgoong Jang Cheon’s eyes bulged.

Namgoong Jang Cheon’s face turned deathly pale.

“Y-You—!”

Namgoong Hyuk wiped his mouth and looked back at Namgoong Jang Cheon with a pale complexion.

“……Haa, please give me the martial arts manuals. Even arguing like this is tiring.”

Namgoong Jang Cheon’s eyebrows twitched.

After pondering for a while, he finally nodded heavily.

“Alright. I’ll allow it. I’ll summon you again tomorrow.”

Namgoong Hyuk cheered inwardly.

‘If you were going to give in, you should’ve just done it sooner! What a hassle!’

A smile spread across Namgoong Hyuk’s lips at the thought that he could finally see the Namgoong Family’s secret storage tomorrow.

Namgoong Jang Cheon downed the tea on the table in one gulp and placed a hand on Namgoong Hyuk’s shoulder.

“Hyuk.”

Namgoong Hyuk flinched at the warm, goosebump-inducing voice.

“I won’t tell you to become a master. I don’t care about anything else—just grow up healthy…”

“By the way, do you have any martial manuals from the previous generation’s masters?”

“Huh? Oh, y-yes, we do.”

“Great! Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Namgoong Hyuk bowed deeply and left the Family Head’s chamber.

His steps were so light it was hard to believe he was the same Namgoong Hyuk who seemed about to cough up blood moments ago.

Namgoong Jang Cheon’s fingers twitched aimlessly in the air.

He looked as if he’d been struck on the back of the head.

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