Martial Artist Lee Gwak Episode 171

June 6, 2024 • 10 min read • 417 views

New Bonds Are Entwined(3)

Finding Cheol Gwang Woo’s home was not a difficult task.

There was not a single person in the upper village who did not know Cheol Gwang Woo.

By asking around, Lee Gwak was able to locate Cheol Gwang Woo’s home.

The house was ordinary, but its owner was anything but.

As Lee Gwak entered with Cheol Gwang Woo on his shoulders, a middle-aged woman approached him. Urgency was evident on her face, yet she did not rush.

The demeanor of the middle-aged woman was even graceful.

She was Cheol Gwang Woo’s mother. Despite her age, she possessed a beauty that defied belief.

Cheol Gwang Woo’s mother bowed slightly and greeted Lee Gwak.

“I am Gwang Woo’s mother. What happened? Did Gwang Woo cause trouble again?”

“He got into a bit of trouble.”

“Ah! Of course, he did.”

Cheol Gwang Woo’s mother sighed softly.

Her reaction suggested that such incidents were not uncommon.

“Did you subdue Gwang Woo yourself?”

“Yes, but…”

“Thank you. You’ve done me a great service.”

“A service? That’s hardly the case.”

“To me, you’re no different from a benefactor. When he was younger, he might have been wild but he never lost his senses. As he’s grown, his episodes have become more severe; once he starts rampaging, he completely loses himself.”

“Has this happened often?”

“Yes!”

Cheol Gwang Woo’s mother answered frankly.

The look in her eyes as she gazed at her son was incredibly complex.

“What should I do with Gwang Woo?”

“Ah! Please, just lay him down here.”

Cheol Gwang Woo’s mother pointed to a wooden platform in a corner of the yard. It was large enough to accommodate Cheol Gwang Woo’s size with room to spare.

Thud!

As Lee Gwak laid Cheol Gwang Woo down, the platform creaked under his weight but managed to hold.

Cheol Gwang Woo’s mother touched her son’s unconscious face.

“Poor thing. Having such a mother…”

“May I ask something?”

“Please, feel free. You’re my savior.”

“Do you know how Gwang Woo learned external martial arts? It doesn’t seem like he was taught by a proper master.”

“Sigh! My husband left behind a martial arts manual. Gwang Woo must have learned from it.”
Cheol Gwang Woo’s mother sighed deeply.

“Whatever the martial art, if left unchecked, it will surely consume him.”

“That’s what worries me. Gwang Woo probably knows this too. That’s why he wants to leave.”

Cheol Gwang Woo’s mother gently stroked her son’s forehead.

To others, he might be a source of fear, but to her, he was her beloved son.

Ironically, his decision to leave was precisely because of her.

Fearing he might one day kill her in a fit of madness, he had gone to the vagrant market, hoping to sell himself for a hundred gold nyangs.

He thought simplistically that a hundred gold nyangs would at least ensure his mother could live comfortably for the rest of her life.

“I told him not to go, but he insisted and now this has happened. Were there any casualties?”

“…”

“There were, weren’t there? Sigh!”

Her sigh deepened.

“Huh!”

Suddenly, Cheol Gwang Woo’s chest heaved, and he gasped for air, finally regaining consciousness.

“Ugh!”

Cheol Gwang Woo sat up.

“Are you alright?”

“Mother? Why am I…?”

Cheol Gwang Woo looked bewildered for a moment but then grimaced as he realized what had happened.

His face, which seemed gentle while unconscious, now turned fierce.

Lee Gwak had seen many people, but it was his first time witnessing such extreme changes in someone’s expression.

“Thank the benefactor. He subdued you.”

At his mother’s words, Cheol Gwang Woo looked at Lee Gwak. He asked with disbelief,

“Did you really overpower me, brother?”

“Yes.”

“Damn! Thank you.”

Suddenly, Cheol Gwang Woo bowed deeply to Lee Gwak.

Lee Gwak showed a slightly embarrassed expression at his unexpected reaction, but Cheol Gwang Woo continued without caring.

“It seems your martial arts are truly great. To have overpowered me.”

Until now, no one had been able to subdue Cheol Gwang Woo when he went berserk. They could only wait for him to exhaust himself and collapse.

Fortunately, when Cheol Gwang Woo was struck by his madness, he would go into the forest to be alone. Thanks to that, the villagers were unharmed, but if not for this habit, several people might have been killed by now.

Lee Gwak was the first to have subdued Cheol Gwang Woo.

Lee Gwak asked him,

“What kind of martial arts have you learned?”

“Well…”

“You’re going berserk, it’s related to the martial arts you’ve learned, right?”

“Sigh!”

Hesitating, Cheol Gwang Woo stood up and went into his room. When he came back, he was holding an old yellow book.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Cheol Gwang Woo handed the book to Lee Gwak.

‘Vajra Demon Shadow Technique?’

It was clearly written on the yellow book.

Lee Gwak began to read the book.

Originally, martial arts secrets were not shown to others casually. While it was possible to exchange information, it was unheard of to show a secret text, essentially a martial arts manual, to another. Even among close friends.

However, Cheol Gwang Woo had no such reservations. He thought nothing of letting Lee Gwak see his martial arts secret.

Lee Gwak had subdued him without a scratch. Hiding it from such a strong person was pointless, and more importantly, Cheol Gwang Woo felt a liking towards Lee Gwak.

It was almost an hour later when Lee Gwak finished reading the Vajra Demon Shadow Technique.

Thump!

He closed the book and spoke.

“Did you say your father gave you this manual?”

“Yes, he gave it to me. Why do you ask?”

“The Vajra Demon Shadow Technique seems to be derived from Buddhist martial arts. Looking at the techniques, Buddhist principles are embedded throughout. Therefore, if one does not deeply understand and learn the principles of Buddhism, there is a possibility of being possessed by inner demons.”

“So, my going berserk is because of this manual, brother?”

“Yes.”

“I knew it. There was no way this man would give me a proper manual. A man worthy of being drowned in filth. Someday I’ll tear his head off.”

Cheol Gwang Woo cursed and condemned his father with a steaming breath.

His mother asked with a serious expression,

“Is that manual really that problematic?”

“It’s likely that Cheol Gwang Woo’s madness began after practicing from this manual.”

“Sigh! He gave his child poison, essentially. It seems one cannot escape their roots.”

Cheol Gwang Woo’s mother sighed deeply.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Actually, Gwang Woo’s father is a bandit.”

“A bandit?”

“He claimed to be part of a martial arts sect called ‘Green Forest,’ but upon investigation, it turned out to be a bandit group.”

“Hmm!”

Cheol Gwang Woo’s mother was famously beautiful since her youth, attracting many wolf-like suitors.

One day, she was kidnapped by a villain from the Jianghu who coveted her beauty, and the man who saved her was Cheol Gwang Woo’s father.

She fell for him, as he was not only handsome and large but also hearty, and together they had Cheol Gwang Woo.

However, their happiness was short-lived. One day, Cheol Gwang Woo’s father urgently said that he had to return to the Green Forest due to an important matter.

Promising to return without fail, he left for Green Forest . The manual he left behind was the Vajra Demon Shadow Technique.

He had come across it by chance and thought it seemed useful, so he instructed Cheol Gwang Woo to learn it when he grew up.

“Hmm!”

Lee Gwak thought that Cheol Gwang Woo’s father probably didn’t know much about the Vajra Demon Shadow Technique either. If he had known, he wouldn’t have allowed his son to learn it carelessly.

“So, has Gwang Woo’s father never returned?”

“Yes! There’s been no news whether he’s dead or alive. I waited for about ten years, but after that, I’ve been living as if he doesn’t exist in this world.”

Resignation flickered across her face.

Even after twenty years, she still longed for Cheol Gwang Woo’s father.

Such is affection, binding a person’s life for twenty years. That’s why Lee Gwak thought affection was frightening.

“I’ll kill him. The man who abandoned us and gave us this damned manual, I will kill him.”

Cheol Gwang Woo shouted furiously.

As he got agitated, a red hue began to appear in his eyes again, a sign of another bout of madness.

Lee Gwak calmly said,

“Calm down.”

“But…”

“I said, calm down.”

“Yes!”

Surprisingly, Cheol Gwang Woo complied.

He tilted his head, puzzled by his own reaction.

The Eight Snakes Art that Lee Gwak had mastered contained vast principles comparable to the martial arts of the Buddhist sects. It was perhaps only natural, since the origins of Buddhist martial arts were in the Western Regions.

Cheol Gwang Woo was clearly influenced by the Eight Snakes Art technique that Lee Gwak practiced.

‘The Vajra Demon Shadow Technique is definitely a supreme skill. Once mastered, it will surely possess tremendous destructive power, but if not controlled properly, it could become an unparalleled disaster.’ Lee Gwak thought to himself

Even though he hadn’t fully mastered it yet, there was no one in the vagrant market who could stand up to Cheol Gwang Woo. With just a bit more practice, he would undoubtedly look down on most of the masters in the martial world.

Lee Gwak looked at Cheol Gwang Woo with a complicated gaze, pondering what to do with him. It might even be beneficial for the world to kill Cheol Gwang Woo here and now, despite the potential blame.

That’s when it happened.

“Master!”

Suddenly, Cheol Gwang Woo’s mother kneeled before Lee Gwak.

“Why are you doing this?”

Lee Gwak was startled and tried to lift Cheol Gwang Woo’s mother up, but she remained firm.

“I entrust my son to you.”

“What?”

“Don’t kill him, even if he becomes a menace to the world. Please guide him onto the right path. You are the only one who can lead my son correctly.”

The mother’s intuition was terrifyingly accurate.

She saw right through the heart of Lee Gwak’s conflict. Lee Gwak closed his eyes.

This time, Cheol Gwang Woo kneeled before Lee Gwak.

“Brother! Please take me in. You are the only one who can guide me.”

With Cheol Gwang Woo also pleading, Lee Gwak found himself in an even more difficult position.

Lee Gwak opened his eyes and looked at Cheol Gwang Woo, who was looking back at him with innocent eyes.

Despite kneeling, his large stature meant his eyes were level with Lee Gwak’s.

The madness had vanished, and his eyes, pure and without a blemish, were looking at Lee Gwak.

Lee Gwak sighed softly.

“Sigh! I am but a wanderer with no particular place to call home. Following me would only bring hardship.”

“It’s okay. I, Cheol Gwang Woo, may be young but I don’t follow you for wealth or glory. Only you can make me humane. Please allow me to follow you.”

Thump!

Cheol Gwang Woo banged his head on the floor.

Though his thick skull prevented any injury, his sincerity was clearly conveyed to Lee Gwak.

“I understand. Let’s find a way to complement the Vajra Demon Shadow Technique together.”

“Thank you, brother. Truly, thank you. I will devote my life to serving you.”

Cheol Gwang Woo lifted his head, showing a joyful expression.

Lee Gwak looked at Cheol Gwang Woo’s mother.

“I will accompany your son. Mother!”

“Thank you, Master! Now I can finally be at peace.”

Cheol Gwang Woo’s mother wiped her tear-stained eyes.

It was the moment her long-held wish was fulfilled