Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Chapter 51:

Originally, the specialized treatment facility aimed to operate on a one-on-one reservation basis, but it could handle up to two patients at a time.

As expected of the head of a large trade group, Sangdanju Ryu Ji-gwang was meticulous in his arrangements.

He had prepared spare equipment in advance in case the high-end exercise machines broke down.

Thanks to the people dispatched from Cheonryu Sangdan, Mu-jin was able to bring out the spare equipment from the warehouse and simultaneously proceed with the treatment and exercise of An Hee-seung and Kang Jae-wan.

Kang Jae-wan, who had been brought by An Hee-seung, also left the clinic with a very satisfied expression after the treatment.

‘More and more people will come to the specialized facility.’

Mu-jin had a feeling that his business had successfully flourished today as well.

He had not anticipated that An Hee-seung would use the treatment facility for reception purposes.

‘It might be better to prepare two sets of equipment and inform Sangdanju to prepare spare tools so that the facility can be used for reception as well.’

If the facility could be used for both treatment and reception, the income would increase, which Sangdanju Ryu Ji-gwang would certainly be pleased about.

A few days later.

As Mu-jin had anticipated, Sangdanju Ryu Ji-gwang gladly produced additional splendid equipment for the specialized facility.

In the meantime, the peculiar nickname “Buddha-Handed Novice” became more widely known in Deungbong-hyeon, and the number of patients visiting Mu-jin increased.

“Buddha-Handed Novice!”

“Grandmother! You can just call me Mu-jin! Buddha-Handed Novice is too much.”

“Oh my, if you heal our bodies, you are a doctor. How can we address you so informally?”

Even a brief appearance outside the facility by Mu-jin caused quite a commotion, making him feel like a modern-day idol.

‘No… perhaps more like a trot singer?’

Upon reflection, the fan demographic was considerably older.

As if reading Mu-jin’s thoughts, an elderly man next to him spoke up.

“Oh my, our young monk is kind-hearted, tall, and handsome. I wish he could meet my granddaughter.”

“You old fool! What are you saying to the monk? Don’t pay attention to him, young monk.”

Another elderly man who scolded the first man then added with a benevolent smile,

“In exchange, I will introduce my granddaughter.”

The old man’s words made all the middle-aged and elderly people in line burst into laughter.

‘I wish they really would.’

Mu-jin only thought such things to himself.

If it weren’t for the senior brothers watching him from behind, he would have immediately asked for the introduction.

‘Once I finish my work with Cheonryu Sangdan and gain enough skills, I will escape right away.’

The closer Mu-jin got to secular life, the stronger his desire to escape from Shaolin became.

Perhaps this was why Shaolin didn’t send out its top three disciples into the world.

In the end, Mu-jin, sensing the gazes of the senior brothers, pretended to be innocent and played along with the jokes.

“Hahaha. It would be wonderful if they could come. Learning rehabilitation exercises or Close-Range Spear Technique from a young age helps maintain a healthy body even in old age!”

However, even as he said this, Mu-jin knew that he was having less and less time to take care of those elderly people.

Since An Hee-seung had brought Kang Jae-wan and received excellent hospitality, the number of people seeking the high-end treatment facility had increased.

As a result, Mu-jin had less time to care for the elderly at the free facility.

“Mu-jin, can you also teach us acupressure techniques and manual therapy?”

Naturally, Hye-min and the second-class disciples had no choice but to request this from Mu-jin.

While Mu-jin was caring for patients at the high-end facility, he could clearly feel that the elderly at the free facility were all looking for him, even if they didn’t say it outright.

The Shaolin disciples had come to relieve the suffering of the masses, and having tasted the gratitude of those they treated, they wanted to learn proper treatment methods.

In truth, the period the second-class disciples had spent learning Pilates or Close-Range Spear Technique from Mu-jin was only about a month, so they had only mastered the most basic movements. They had no time to learn acupressure or manual therapy.

Moreover, since the clinic had just opened, they could manage with basic movements for now, but eventually, they would need to learn more complex and varied techniques.

“Yes. Additionally, I will also teach you some more ways to use the rehabilitation equipment.”

Ultimately, Mu-jin agreed to teach the second-class disciples during lunch breaks, early mornings, or evenings when both the free and high-end facilities were closed.

In addition to this, there was one more thing that was bothering Mu-jin.

‘They came back after a long time?’

Ryu Seol-hwa and Hong So-hee, whom he had been too busy to notice while setting up the clinic, had come to the clinic once again.

For some unknown reason, Ryu Seol-hwa was glancing around the treatment facility and occasionally looking at Mu-jin and the Shaolin disciples.

Watching Ryu Seol-hwa’s behavior, a certain question naturally arose in Mu-jin’s mind.

‘…She’s so different from the character in the novel?’

In the second part of the novel Legend of the Evil Emperor, the future Cheonryu Sangdan was depicted as a corrupt organization.

The two main secret businesses of the corrupt Cheonryu Sangdan were drug trafficking and human trafficking.

Among them, Gold Demonic Flower Ryu Seol-hwa was heavily involved in the human trafficking operations.

But that shy-looking adolescent girl was supposed to become that vicious woman in the future?

‘…Well, even Mu-gyeong became a Blood Successor, so it’s not impossible.’

Having already encountered a similar case, his preconceptions seemed to diminish a bit.

‘Hmm. If she’s like Mu-gyeong, does she have hidden madness beneath her shy exterior? Or is her personality twisted due to her appearance?’

In the novel, Ryu Seol-hwa was described as enormously obese.

Her body was so massive that she couldn’t move by herself, with folds of fat on her arms and legs, not just her abdomen.

The ornate rings on all eight fingers, excluding her thumbs, were buried so deep in fat that they couldn’t be removed.

Perhaps because of her inferiority complex about her appearance, she was involved in the human trafficking business, directing her subordinates to kidnap, imprison, and sell slender and beautiful women to the red-light district.

She was also a sadistic murderer who enjoyed torturing and killing one of the women from time to time.

Hong So-hee, who stood over there, used to torture and kill the women in front of Ryu Seol-hwa because she couldn’t move due to her extreme obesity.

‘But she’s not that bad right now.’

Though still obese, she wasn’t so fat that she couldn’t walk or had layers of fat on her limbs.

‘Hmm. On closer inspection, she seems worth scratching off the ticket?’

Mu-jin, who had observed her twice, on the first day and today, had his professional instincts as a former trainer kick in.

In his ten years as a trainer, he had helped over a hundred members, both men and women, lose weight.

People often referred to obese individuals as unscratched lottery tickets, and thanks to his experience, Mu-jin had the ability to estimate their potential even before scratching.

‘She has pretty big eyes. Her buried nose, sagging cheeks, and skin clogged with fat from not taking care of herself are the problems. Her nose looks buried because of the fat, but it might be quite prominent if she loses weight.’

The overall facial contour, including the jawline, could only be assessed after losing weight, but Mu-jin had a hunch that her features could make her quite beautiful if she slimmed down.

‘Tsk. Her appearance isn’t important right now.’

She was certainly a future villain, but for now, he couldn’t tell if she was involved with the dark schemes.

‘It’s suspicious based on the circumstances, but…’

While Mu-jin was pondering, a small voice escaped from Ryu Seol-hwa’s mouth.

“So, So-hee, I think we should leave now.”

“Yes, miss.”

Answering Ryu Seol-hwa, Hong So-hee stepped forward and bid farewell to Mu-jin and the Shaolin disciples.

“We will take our leave now. On behalf of the Cheonryu Sangdan, I would like to thank you for providing the treatment.”

‘Ryu Seol-hwa didn’t seem to mention anything like that.’

As Mu-jin made a bewildered face, having fully absorbed the Lesser Restoration Pill and with his senses heightened, Hong So-hee and Ryu Seol-hwa left the clinic.

* * *

That evening, Mu-jin sat alone, deep in thought.

Why were Ryu Seol-hwa and Hong So-hee occasionally visiting the clinic?

As the daughter of the trade group’s head, she could be visiting out of curiosity. However, Mu-jin knew what they would become in the future.

Moreover, this clinic was a joint venture between Shaolin and Cheonryu Sangdan.

Although Shaolin’s primary goal was to help the masses, from an outsider’s perspective, it could appear that Shaolin and Cheonryu Sangdan had teamed up.

If Mu-jin were part of the shadowy conspiracy, he would certainly want to investigate such a clinic.

In this situation, a future villain had suddenly appeared at the clinic that hadn’t even officially opened yet.

It was only natural to feel that they were there to gather information.

‘Hmm. Should I poke around a bit?’

How could he probe without causing trouble, even if they weren’t part of the conspiracy?

He pondered for a moment.

“Ah!”

An idea came to Mu-jin, and he immediately grabbed a brush, paper, and ink.

After grinding the ink, Mu-jin dipped the brush and began writing on the letter.

“Hiss. This doesn’t seem right.”

Reading the words he had written with the brush, Mu-jin felt something was off and crumpled the paper, throwing it away.

He took out a new sheet of paper and started writing again.

Recalling the contents he had read back in high school when he was deeply engrossed in the second part of the novel Legend of the Evil Emperor.

Even though it had been twenty years, Mu-jin kept drawing out those memories and continued scribbling on the paper.

How much paper did he crumple and throw away as he wrote?

Finally, lifting the last letter he had written, Mu-jin began examining each character meticulously, as if reviewing an exam paper.

“Good.”

Nodding, Mu-jin felt satisfied with the final result.

A few days later.

Hong So-hee and Ryu Seol-hwa visited the clinic once again.

Mu-jin and the Shaolin disciples greeted them briefly and stepped outside the clinic.

Although it was break time for treatments, patients were still lining up at the clinic entrance even during these hours.

After observing for a moment, Hong So-hee and Ryu Seol-hwa whispered something to each other and followed the Shaolin disciples.

“Grandmother, did you come today as well? Today isn’t even a treatment day, is it?”

“Oh, Buddha-Handed Novice! Don’t worry. I didn’t register! I just hoped I might see our Buddha-Handed Novice today.”

Mu-jin skillfully conversed with the elderly men and women and provided acupressure to some who seemed to be in discomfort.

Due to Mu-jin’s occasional help during the clinic’s break times, the nickname Buddha-Handed Novice became more and more well-known.

Of course, Mu-jin didn’t do this to enhance his reputation.

He simply couldn’t leave the elderly, lined up in pain at the entrance, unattended.

Ryu Seol-hwa, watching the scene from a distance out of shyness, had a somewhat dazed look in her eyes.

At that moment, Mu-jin, while treating the elderly, suddenly called out to Hong So-hee.

“Hong So-hee, benefactor! We are short on hands. Could you please lend a hand?”

With a conflicted expression, Hong So-hee bowed her head towards Ryu Seol-hwa, saying, “I’ll be right back, miss,” and moved towards Mu-jin.

While Hong So-hee assisted Mu-jin by supporting the elderly, a boy approached Ryu Seol-hwa.

“Sister!”

The boy was the grandson of one of the grandmothers who was currently praising Mu-jin as the Buddha-Handed Novice.

Both of his parents worked from morning till late afternoon, so he often spent time here with his grandmother.

As Ryu Seol-hwa looked at him with a puzzled expression, the boy took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to her.

Naturally, Ryu Seol-hwa couldn’t understand the situation. Feeling curious, she took the letter from him.

After reading a few lines of the letter, her face turned bright red like a ripe persimmon.

(Walking along the road, I saw a small flower.)

(Seeing the blooming flower, I realize spring has arrived.)

(The spring breeze warmly stirs my heart’s forest.)

The letter in her hand contained words that, to anyone, would seem like a love letter.