Tangmunjeon - Chapter 260



Only Noblemtl

Episode 260 Memorization

“What? Wasn’t the swordsmanship supposed to throw away the sword?”

“I can’t do that, even if it’s because I feel it’s a waste of what I’ve learned so far.”

Even though he had decided to find a way other than the sword, Dang Mu-jin did not completely let go of the sword.

Martial arts are like iron; if you don’t take care of them properly and leave them unattended, they will rust and become unusable.

Dang Mu-jin planned to practice his sword little by little so that he could at least maintain his skills to a level where they wouldn’t rust.

If you’re lucky, you might gain enlightenment and see the next level.

However, it was clear that the time Dang Mu-jin spent holding the sword had significantly decreased.

‘What should I do now?’

The first thing that comes to mind is, of course, Dokgong.

In times of danger, it was always poison that saved Dang Mu-jin. Didn’t Sam-an-bul-do say that Dang Mu-jin’s greatest weapon was poison?

And among the many people in the Tang family, there was only one person with whom Tang Wujin could share his opinion about poison: Mok Wan-ah.

Dang Mu-jin went to see Mok Wan-ah and asked about the poison he had obtained from Nogun Mountain.

“Wan-ah. The poison and poisonous insects I brought from Nogunsan before… were they called bloodthirsty insects? Where are they now?”

A wide smile appeared on Mokwan-ah’s lips, as if she had been waiting for her to ask that question.

“Shall I show you? Follow me!”

“Where are you going?”

“You’ll know when you see it.”

Because Mokwan-ah’s stomach was quite full, she walked with shorter strides than before.

It was a strangely fitting sight, but Mok Wan-ah seemed to have a hard time walking. Also, since he couldn’t tell when he would reach his destination if he kept moving so slowly, Dang Mu-jin held Mok Wan-ah in his arms.

“What? Are you going to carry me like this?”

“Okay. Just tell me which direction.”

“Over there!”

Dang Mujin ran in the direction that Mok Wan-ah’s finger pointed to. The people of the city watched with amusement as Dang Mujin ran while holding Mok Wan-ah in his arms, but neither Dang Mujin nor Mok Wan-ah paid much attention to other people’s gaze.

And finally, the two arrived at a deserted forest on the outskirts of the castle.

“where are you?”

“If you go a little further over there, I’ll come out.”

In the place Mokwan-ah pointed to, there was a small patch of grass that was not even as big as the front yard garden of an ordinary house.

However, in the past, poisonous plants that the Gyobuhwa had grown on Mt. Nogun were growing in small amounts by type.

Mok Wan-ah had a confident expression on her face, as if she wanted to show off the results, and Dang Mu-jin did not betray her expectations.

“Hey, when did you make this?”

“I made it shortly after I returned from Nogunsan. I wasn’t that busy.”

“Your body must have been heavy.”

“Until recently, it wasn’t that uncomfortable. It hasn’t come for the past couple of months.”

Perhaps because Mokwan-ah had managed it a bit sloppily, the poisonous plants and grasses that served as food for the bloodsuckers were noticeably shorter and thinner than those seen at Nogunsan.

As Dang Mu-jin approached to examine the poisonous plants in detail, several bloodsucking insects flew in and circled around Dang Mu-jin and Mok Wan-ah.

A few poisonous insects pose no threat to Dangmujin and Mokwanah.

However, there is no guarantee that there will be no threat to the baby in Mokwan-ah’s stomach.

Dang Mu-jin took off his top and put it on Mok Wan-ah, then waved his hand to shoo away the flying bloodsuckers and approached the small garden.

“It’s amazing that they were able to grow this much despite the different weather and soil conditions.”

“In fact, I only sowed the seeds and checked on them occasionally to make sure no wild animals would eat them.”

“That’s enough. But we need to change the location.”

“why?”

“Because a passerby might get bitten by a bloodthirsty bug and suffer humiliation.”

It is a problem that people passing by are bitten by bloodsuckers, but it is even more disturbing that outsiders may find out about these poisonous plants and grasses. Even if it costs a little, it seems like it would be better in many ways to move to a more secret place.

“Where do you plan to move?”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to figure that out slowly before winter ends.”

Several methods came to mind.

It would be a good idea to go back into Nogunsan Mountain and grow poisonous plants and bloodworms in the deep areas, and if necessary, you can try growing bloodworms and poisonous plants separately.

There were many other things I wanted to try. I had a burning desire to spread the knowledge of Namman’s poison that I had acquired from Kyobuhwa.

Of course, the priest would not have told the party staff about really important information.

However, Dang Mu-jin has gained numerous clues. There are countless things that can be tried. If you just take enough time, great results will follow.

‘If possible, going to Namman would also be a good option.’

From what I’ve heard of the story of Gyobuhwa, the situation of the Nanman Odokmun seems to be somewhat chaotic. If I dig deep enough, I’ll be able to find a line among the numerous factions. Just as Gyobuhwa highly evaluated Tang Mujin’s potential, the warriors of the factions he dealt with would not have evaluated Tang Mujin lowly.

Dang Mu-jin glanced at Mok Wan-ah’s stomach.

‘···Of course, I can’t go now.’

*

After returning to Danggajang with Mokwan-ah, Dangmujin went to visit merchants traveling long distances and asked them to procure rare poisonous plants and medicinal herbs.

The merchants readily accepted Dangmujin’s request. Even if they were medicinal herbs or poisonous plants, they were not large in volume, so it would not be difficult to obtain them on the way to and from the trade.

However, since it was almost winter, the merchants could not set out right away. Merchants who traveled short distances with a cart or a peddler were able to do so regardless of the season, but merchants who traveled long distances were reluctant to make the dangerous and difficult winter journey.

However, it was not easy to grow poisonous plants or insects with Mokwan-ah right away. Whether it was transplanting poisonous plants or growing bloodthirsty insects, it was something that could only be done after winter and in the spring.

In this way, the situation took a turn for the worse, and in just two days, Dangmujin had free time again.

‘···What do I do now?’

There is a crucial difference between Dokgong and other martial arts.

All you need to learn other martial arts is a strong body and a weapon. All you need is endless training, actual combat, enlightenment, and progress to the next level.

But poison is different. Poison requires endless new poison, and being able to handle and obtain that poison is the achievement of poison.

Even a master who can withstand tremendous amounts of poison cannot unleash powerful poison attacks if he cannot obtain the right poison.

Likewise, since there was no way to obtain poison, Tang Wujin had no way to even practice.

‘The toxicity of herbs has already been tested.’

There is at least one way. You can practice poisoning by putting your heads together with Mokwan-ah and letting each other vomit the poison you have inside. However, that method is too dangerous. You can’t even imagine what kind of negative effects it will have on the unborn child.

It is not proper to practice swordsmanship, and it is not proper to practice poison.

Dang Mu-jin sat on the floor and threw branches to kill time. The only thing he could do now was to take care of Dang-yeong in place of Dan-seol-yeong.

While Dang Mu-jin was leisurely spending time with Dang Yeong, Dan Seol-yeong came and sat down next to him.

“What are you doing?”

“Well, there’s nothing really to do.”

As he spoke, Dang Mu-jin picked up a branch the length of a finger and threw it.

The branch, filled with internal energy, flew quickly and straight, then hit a wall three feet away and fell.

Danseolyoung spoke.

“How about swinging a sword?”

“For the time being, I’ve decided to only hold it a little at a time. Namgoong Myung said that when you’re really blocked up, it helps to move away a little bit and clear your head.”

“What about the poison?”

“I don’t have the conditions to practice.”

Although Dang Mu-jin was frustrated with the current situation, Dan Seol-yeong seemed to be in a good mood.

“Oh, right. You should get some rest too. And show Young-i my dad’s face.”

Dang Mu-jin smiled brightly and threw the branch again. The branch flew even faster and hit the wall again before falling.

Dang Yeong watched the scene with a curious expression next to Dang Mujin, then held out his small, plump palm to Dang Mujin.

“Me too, Dad!”

Dang Mu-jin granted his daughter’s simple request.

When Dang Mu-jin broke off a small branch and handed it to him, Dang Yeong imitated Dang Mu-jin and threw the branch.

But the child, who was barely three years old, was not strong enough to throw the branch far.

Rather than shooting fiercely like a branch thrown by Dang-yeong, it flew only a couple of steps and then hit the ground with a thud.

“haha!”

As Dang Mu-jin burst into laughter, Dang Yeong squatted down with a grumpy expression and picked up a small pebble that fit into the palm of his hand.

And as if to show his true abilities, Dangyeong threw a small pebble.

The pebble flew a little farther than the tree branch and fell. It flew much farther than the tree branch, but it was still a distance that brought a smile to Dang Mu-jin’s lips.

However, Dang Yeong opened his eyes wide and looked at Dang Mujin as if asking him to praise his skills.

“how is it?”

Dang Mu-jin lifted the party flag and said.

“Who did you take after to become so strong already? You’re all grown up, all grown up.”

Dang-yeong burst out laughing. She was just at an age where she was happy to be praised, and it was exciting to have her father give her a compliment.

However, Dan Seol-yeong, who was watching from the side, made a subtle expression.

“Dad is playing with his daughter for the first time in a long while, but the only things he does are throwing sticks and rocks. It doesn’t look good.”

“Why? What more do you need?”

“While you’re playing, let’s play properly. Follow me.”

Danseolyeong led Dangmujin to a small building next to the annex.

The building was newly built while the party office was away, but it was not very big and was locked, so the party office had never been inside.

I wasn’t that interested.

I thought it was just one of many warehouses that were created as the size of the store grew and the number of people staying at the store increased.

There was some basis for that guess, as there was a pile of junk, including pieces of wood, next to the door.

“Come in.”

However, when Danseolyeong opened the door, a sight that was a bit different from what he had expected unfolded. It was not a warehouse, but a workshop.

During his time in Luoyang, Danseolyeong worked under a carpenter.

Afterwards, by chance, he made a prosthetic hand for Namgung Myeong at that carpenter’s workshop.

The scene unfolding before the two of them now resembled exactly that carpenter’s workshop.

Dang Mu-jin slowly looked around and spoke.

“Hey, when did you make this?”

“It doesn’t take long to build a building like this. And it’s not like I built it either…”

Danseolyeong approached the corner of the workshop, crouched down, and picked up a large piece of wood.

Dang Mu-jin was surprised and approached Dan Seol-yeong.

“Put it down, I’ll listen for you.”

“No, it’s okay, just get out of the way.”

“You must be feeling heavy. Are you okay?”

“I’m the type of person who can’t stand being still. These days, whenever I try to move even a little, people block my way, and that makes me feel even more frustrated.”

As if it wasn’t an empty promise, Danseolyeong held a small knife and chisel with a more lively expression than usual.

Danseolyeong said as he slowly carved away the paulownia tree.

“I’ve been out and about for a while now and I’m finally back to play with the kid. I should play with him properly while I’m at it. That way, when he grows up, he’ll have memories of playing with his dad.”

Danseolyoung didn’t stop her hands while talking.

Danseolyeong first carved a piece of wood into pieces about the thickness of a finger joint, and then rounded the edges. The wood piece had a shape similar to a flattened round rice cake.

After that, I thought he would do something more, but Danseolyeong put down his tools and threw a piece of wood at Dangmujin.

The round, flat piece of wood flew in quite elegantly and was caught in Dangmujin’s hands.

“You throw it too.”

Dang Mu-jin lightly held the piece of wood and threw it at Dan Seol-yeong. Although he didn’t use much force, the piece of wood flew faster and more gracefully than expected, and brushed Dan Seol-yeong’s ear.

Although the situation was not dangerous enough to cause injury, Danseolyeong playfully grumbled.

“Why are you throwing it so hard?”

“Sorry. I didn’t know it could fly this well.”

“It’s something that was made to fly well, so of course it flies well.”

Danseolyoung smiled happily, as if she was satisfied with Dangmujin’s reaction.

“How is it? At that level, even Young-i can throw it quite far, right?”

“At this level, I could sit on the veranda of the annex and even throw myself at the wall.”

“Okay. Be careful not to get hurt, and have fun together.”

Danseolyeong put the remaining pieces of wood on the floor and put away his tools.

And then Dang Mu-jin’s memory from a little while ago came to mind.

When Dang Mu-jin threw it with his inner strength, the tree branch flew straight and fast like an arrow.

A tree branch that fell to the ground with a thud after drawing a parabolic curve when Dangyeong threw it.

A stone that flew a little farther than the branch, even though it was much heavier than the branch.

When throwing an object with the same force, what determines whether it can be thrown far or not?

The first thing that comes to mind is that light objects can be thrown far, but heavy objects cannot be thrown far.

But that wasn’t always the case. Didn’t Dang-yeong throw a heavy stone farther than a tree branch?

‘So then, is the form important?’

But I couldn’t say for sure that that was the right answer. Don’t arrows that resemble tree branches fly much farther than rocks?

Even if you threw a rock with the same force as pulling a bowstring, it didn’t seem like the rock would fly as fast or as far as an arrow.

‘Is there a good form, and is there a different way to throw each form?’

It was so obvious, but it was something that Dang Mu-jin had never really thought about until now.

As Dang Mu-jin remained silent, Dan Seol-yeong, who had finished organizing, asked.

“What are you doing?”

“wait for a sec.”

Dang Mu-jin picked up the tools that Dan Seol-yeong had organized and started carving the block of wood again.

Discs similar to those made by Danseolyeong. Some are thin, some are thick, and some have different thicknesses in different parts.

Dang Mu-jin threw a wooden disc.

Even if you throw it with the same force, the distance it flies is different, the speed is different, and even the trajectory it flies is different.

This time, I tried carving a wooden board into a square shape instead of a disk. Triangle, square, hexagon, octagon. One that was long on one side, and one that was close to a thin bar.

As if he knew what Danseolyeongdo Dangmujin was doing, he did not rush him but watched the scene from the side.

Dang Mu-jin tried throwing several wooden boards. As expected, the force and speed required to throw them were slightly different.

What’s even more interesting is that even when throwing just one object, the results are slightly different depending on how you throw it.

Just as the power of the same sword varies greatly depending on how it is swung, the results of throwing the same object vary depending on how it is thrown.

Dang Mu-jin thought of the feat of running away.

A miscellaneous skill that I acquired from Namgung Se-ga in the past, and learned a little bit while learning throwing techniques, but then forgot before I knew it.

Danseolyoung’s expression also became serious.

Until now, what was important was how special the secret technique that Danseolyoung had been thinking of was.

The secret weapon created by Danseolyeong showed the same power no matter who put it into his hands.

It was like that with the Heavenly King’s Sleeping Tongue, and it was like that with the Heavy Rain’s Sleeping Tongue.

The key was one thing: how much could the power of that secret be increased?

But the disc in Dangmujin’s hand now was different.

A concise form of memorization. However, its power changes depending on the user’s ability.

The disc that Danseolyeong made showed Dangmujin endless possibilities.

‘It’s deep. This might not be just a trick.’

Dang Mu-jin fiddled with the disc as if possessed.