Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Chapter 144:

Title: Poison to the Tang Family, Medicine to the Tang Family

On his way back to the pavilion where the group was gathered, Mu-jin was suddenly caught by Tang So-mi, who had emerged out of nowhere looking for him, and was thus brought to the manor.

“Are you alright?”

He asked Tang So-mi, who had led him here.

In truth, he had been strangely concerned for a while. That was partly why he had followed her here.

Although it was revealed that Tang Hyeok-soo was a spy, he was still Tang So-mi’s bodyguard.

No, to be precise, the person who was both her bodyguard and cousin had been revealed as a spy.

It was a situation that could have been quite shocking, so he asked out of concern.

“Huh? Are you asking if I’m alright?”

“Oh. Are you perhaps referring to Tang Hyeok-soo?”

“Yes, that’s right…”

Mu-jin replied hesitantly, taken aback by her unexpected reaction, causing Tang So-mi to burst into a small laugh.

“Why would I be hurt by someone who betrayed the family? If anything, I was more shocked by my own inability to see through such a person.”

Mu-jin nodded in agreement at her response. As expected, she was a woman whose thinking was different from his in many ways.

“So, what brings you to me?”

At Mu-jin’s question, Tang So-mi smiled and gestured for him to take a seat.

“You seem to be in a hurry. First, have a seat. How about we enjoy some tea and talk slowly?”

Saying this, Tang So-mi brought over the tray with tea that was already prepared and poured him a cup before she started speaking.

“I just wanted to thank you for helping our Tang family with both the issue of the Divine Thief and Tang Hyeok-soo.”

Tang So-mi put down her teacup as she spoke.

“Moreover, you were injured while acting for our family with my grandfather last night.”

Despite her words of concern, her eyes held a deep gaze as she reached out and gently placed her hand on Mu-jin’s bandaged chest.

“!?”

Mu-jin looked at Tang So-mi with a startled expression.

‘Hmph. Truly surprised, huh?’

Tang So-mi smiled inwardly, recalling a recent event.

After failing to use her beauty to seduce Mu-jin during the Yongbongji Conference, she had returned to her family and asked her aunt, who was originally a Taoist priestess and the one responsible for bringing her uncle into the family as a consort, for advice.

She had asked how to attract young monks or Taoists.

Her aunt had kindly offered several pieces of advice.

‘The Yongbongji Conference has countless spectators. Even if the monks try to hide it, pure monks or those who are good at self-restraint wouldn’t show any signs of being swayed by a woman in such a public setting.’

‘Ah!’

‘To tempt such people, you need a place where no one else is around.’

With the experienced aunt’s explanation, Tang So-mi couldn’t help but let out an exclamation.

Pleased with her niece’s eager learning spirit, her aunt continued to explain.

Although young and beautiful, Tang So-mi had thought that using beauty to seduce someone was merely a matter of appearance, but thanks to her aunt, she was beginning to understand more deeply.

‘And pure monks are generally wary of women approaching them. So, you need to slightly lower their guard.’

‘How do I lower their guard?’

‘The best would be alcohol, but a pure monk wouldn’t drink. So, try using this.’

Saying this, her aunt had taken out a candle from a hidden place on the wall and handed it to her.

And the candle given that day was now burning in the room where Tang So-mi and Mu-jin were.

The candle emitted a faintly sweet fragrance when lit, with a very mild medicinal effect mixed in.

It wasn’t something obvious and strong like an aphrodisiac. Such blatant and powerful substances would be too noticeable.

It was just a fragrance that, if continuously inhaled, would make one feel slightly pleasant, akin to being mildly drunk.

‘A pure monk would likely have no experience with alcohol, so it would be difficult to maintain vigilance while feeling slightly intoxicated.’

‘And what next?’

Seeing her niece already thinking ahead with a mischievous smile, her aunt also smiled and responded.

“You know everything, don’t you? Haha. And after that, it’s all over. Pure young men tend to be very responsible. Once they engage in a serious affair, the rest will follow, just like with your uncle.”

With a seductive smile, her aunt passed down her skilled experience and knowledge to her niece.

Following her aunt’s advice, Tang So-mi brought Mu-jin to the Tang family estate. She had meticulously prepared for this situation.

Since the Yongbongji Conference, Tang So-mi had felt a strong curiosity and a slight affection for Mu-jin.

In this instance, he had saved her life, helped expose the spies hidden within the family, and done even more.

‘He keeps getting more mysterious!’

Rumors had it that Mu-jin returned to Shaolin right after the Yongbongji Conference.

But now, the person who was supposed to have gone back to Shaolin had infiltrated the Divine Thief’s hideout under a false identity?

For someone like Tang So-mi, who couldn’t stand not knowing something, Mu-jin was a never-ending source of curiosity.

Although her immense curiosity was coupled with gratitude for saving her life, she wasn’t necessarily determined to seduce him.

She just wanted to uncover what was hidden inside Mu-jin through various preparations.

Thus, she prepared this place.

She made sure everything was ready, from tea to the incense candle given by her aunt, and dismissed the guards to ensure privacy.

In fact, this place was Tang So-mi’s private quarters.

Her primary goal was to uncover the inner thoughts of Mu-jin, who constantly piqued her curiosity.

‘One can never know what might happen!’

Having dismissed all the guards for today, she ensured it was a place where no problems would arise even if an urgent situation occurred.

“When did you get these bandages?”

“My companions wrapped them last night.”

“Then we need to change them soon.”

With a strangely sticky gaze, Tang So-mi touched the bandages on his chest and got up to help him change them.

“Don’t worry. I’ll apply new medicine for you.”

As she said this:

‘Hmph. By now, the effects of the incense should be kicking in, right?’

She pretended her legs gave way and fell onto Mu-jin’s solid muscles.

Wearing a tight cheongsam just like at the Yongbongji Conference, her body naturally pressed against Mu-jin’s muscles, and her bare legs subtly showed through the slit.

‘What will you do now, naive Monk Mu-jin?’

It was a temptation no ordinary man could resist. However, she had a few misconceptions.

Mu-jin was not a naive monk but a defrocked monk who enjoyed alcohol and meat. Above all:

“It seems Lady Tang So-mi needs to work on her lower body strength.”

He was an extreme exercise addict.

“What?”

Tang So-mi asked in a startled tone. Mu-jin gently removed her from his body, helped her up, and immediately assumed a squat position.

“I’ll demonstrate. If you practice this posture regularly, it will help with your martial arts.”

Mu-jin then proceeded to show a few lower body exercises beneficial for martial arts.

“Well, I should be going now.”

Before she could regain her composure, he quickly left Tang So-mi’s quarters.

Dazed by the unexpected workout instead of the situation she anticipated, Tang So-mi snapped back to reality and burst into laughter like a madwoman.

After calming down a bit, she licked her lips with a seductive expression and muttered,

“As expected, an interesting monk.”

* * *

Meanwhile, Mu-jin, unaware of Tang So-mi’s gaze following him like prey, hurried towards the pavilion where his companions were.

‘She really is crazy.’

Of course, even someone as clueless about romance as Mu-jin could recognize such blatant seduction.

He just found it bizarre that she would pursue him knowing he was a monk.

‘Does she have a sexual fantasy about religious figures?’

He mused, wondering if she had a fetish for monks.

Despite her odd sexual preferences, Tang So-mi was undeniably beautiful, making her temptation quite threatening.

However, Mu-jin had a simple reason for pretending not to notice and escaping.

‘I haven’t been able to lift weights lately because of all the fights at the Divine Thief’s Hideout and Unhyangwon, so I can’t waste my strength on something weird. Yes.’

The fear of losing muscle mass was stronger than the temptation of a woman.

* * *

The next day.

Mu-jin and his companions had to visit a certain manor from the morning.

“Hehe. You’ve come well.”

The person who greeted them at the place they were guided to by the warrior was Tang-gak.

“This is the item you requested.”

Tang-gak handed five pills to Mu-jin’s group.

“These pills are one of the basic poisons our family uses when practicing poison arts.”

The reason Mu-jin’s group came here was to build a resistance to poison.

Since they were training, Mu-jin suggested that the rest of the group join in as well.

“You mean, we’re supposed to take this?”

Of course, he hadn’t asked for their consent at all.

“Did you think I called you here just to look at it?”

Mu-jin scolded Mu-gung, who was grumbling, and then took the pills from Tang-gak’s hand and forcibly distributed them to the four others.

“This senior, the Dark King, is an expert in poisons from the Tang family. Since he’s overseeing, it’ll be safe, so don’t worry and take it.”

Though he called it poison and told them to take it with ease, it was hard to argue when they knew that fists were closer than poison, so they reluctantly swallowed the poison.

After confirming that his companions had taken the poison, Mu-jin also swallowed the remaining pill.

“Use your internal energy to protect your major organs, but do not completely burn off the poison. Your body needs to be exposed to a certain amount of poison to build resistance. Understand? Focus, protect only your major organs and observe the movement of the poison.”

Following Tang-gak’s advice, Mu-jin and his companions focused on their training.

By using their internal energy to steer the poison away from their vital organs and exposing themselves to it, the poisoned areas turned as if they were bruised, and their bodies felt sore as if they had the flu.

While they trained, the hourglass ran out of sand, and Tang-gak spoke again.

“Now use your internal energy to burn off the accumulated poison. If anyone finds it difficult, raise your left hand, and I’ll give you an antidote.”

Fortunately, no one failed to expel the poison with their internal energy.

This was no surprise for Mu-jin and Cheongsu Dojang, and even the Muja Trio had recently gained an opportunity that increased their internal energy.

After a brief rest to stabilize their bodies, they listened to Tang-gak’s theories on poisons. Once they had recovered, they repeated the process with different types of basic poisons several times.

“Poisons seem to be quite tricky to use,” Mu-jin remarked.

“Hehe. Is that even a question? Using poison without knowing how or without resistance is just suicide.”

Mu-jin nodded in agreement with Tang-gak’s explanation.

“Just as other martial artists study to use superior martial arts, the warriors of the Tang family train in poison arts and practice precise poison techniques to use stronger poisons.”

Tang-gak looked pleased with Mu-jin’s words, which suggested that training with poison was no different from training in fist, palm, or sword techniques.

‘Hehe. I’ve really chosen the right person.’

Unlike other disciples from prestigious sects, this ‘Shaolin Dragon’ was insightful.

‘I think he’s too good to be just a monk in Shaolin.’

As Tang-gak thought about this, a certain person came to mind.

‘Now that I think about it, So-mi spoke highly of him after the Yongbongji Conference.’

It was clear that there were mixed feelings between men and women.

“Hehe. Now that I think about it, you’re acquainted with my granddaughter. What do you think of our So-mi?”

Recalling his time with her yesterday and her behavior at the Yongbongji Conference, Mu-jin responded to Tang-gak’s question.

“…I think she is a spirited and honest woman.”

Mu-jin couldn’t bring himself to call his granddaughter a ‘crazy woman.’

* * *

After finishing the poison training with Tang-gak.

While the others returned to the pavilion, Mu-jin headed deeper into the Sichuan Tang Clan’s grounds with Tang-gak.

This was one of the places where the Tang family developed new medicines and poisons.

“Now, explain to me how to make this protein supplement.”

Finally, Mu-jin began the development of the protein supplement.