Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Chapter 55:

Weight Reduction (1)

The next evening, just as the clinic was wrapping up its daily work, Ryu Ji-gwang arrived.

“Welcome, Head of the Trading Company.”

“Good to see you, Monk Hye-min.”

After a brief exchange of greetings with Hye-min, the clinic’s head, Ryu Ji-gwang gestured to the servants behind him.

Thud!

The servants following Ryu Ji-gwang set down a box with a heavy thud.

“Mu-jin caught the spy infiltrating our trading company, so I brought a reward for him.”

“Our Shaolin does not wish for such rewards.”

“Haha. As I said before, repaying kindness is a human duty. If you find this money uncomfortable, use it to help those in need.”

Faced with Ryu Ji-gwang’s words, Hye-min found it difficult to refuse and ultimately accepted the gift.

“Ah, and I apologize, but I would like to speak with Novice Monk Mu-jin alone.”

At Ryu Ji-gwang’s request, Hye-min looked at Mu-jin.

“So be it.”

When Mu-jin responded, Hye-min nodded and turned back to Ryu Ji-gwang.

“We will make sure to use the Cheonryu Trading Company’s gift for a good cause.”

Ryu Ji-gwang reciprocated Hye-min’s gesture and headed to a private room with Mu-jin.

Since there were no patients at this hour, the large private room was empty except for Mu-jin and Ryu Ji-gwang.

“What brings you here, Head of the Trading Company?”

Mu-jin asked while brewing high-quality Dragon Well tea, typically reserved for high-profile patients.

Instead of answering immediately, Ryu Ji-gwang reached into his sleeve and handed Mu-jin an item he had hidden there.

“It was you who caught the spy, Mu-jin. I couldn’t just reward Shaolin alone. Haha. Here is a voucher from our Cheonryu Trading Company. It’s a secret, so you can use it without worrying.”

The voucher, presented as if it were no big deal, bore the amount of one hundred gold nyang.

It was a considerable sum, equivalent to Shaolin’s annual food expenses, making it a significant amount for Mu-jin to use personally.

Concealing his thoughts on how Mu-jin would react to the money, Ryu Ji-gwang handed over the voucher.

“Thank you, Head of the Trading Company. I will use this to help those in need. Amitabha.”

Mu-jin accepted the money with a very calm demeanor.

Of course, the person Mu-jin referred to as “in need” was himself.

Having spent decades sequestered in the mountains, without experiencing romance and living a vegetarian life, what could be more “in need” than that?

‘Great. This is money for escaping Shaolin!’

Mu-jin was secretly delighted at the thought of having funds for the future.

Watching Mu-jin accept the voucher without a single refusal, Ryu Ji-gwang pondered.

‘No matter how I think about it, he doesn’t seem like someone who belongs in the Buddhist sect.’

He hadn’t shown an overt desire for money. However, seeing how he planned business strategies and felt no aversion to money, he didn’t seem like a Buddhist monk. And there was also that peculiar hairstyle of his.

While Ryu Ji-gwang was contemplating these thoughts, Mu-jin, who had slipped the voucher into his sleeve, spoke up.

“By the way, what brings you here directly? If it was merely to deliver a gift, you could have sent a servant or Chief Officer.”

“Early this morning, the woman we caught as a spy lost her life.”

“!!!”

Ryu Ji-gwang delivered the shocking news in a very calm tone.

“She suddenly died during the interrogation due to physical and mental exhaustion.”

“…That’s strange.”

Naturally, Mu-jin suspected that Ryu Ji-gwang might have deliberately eliminated her, but his suspicion was dispelled by Ryu Ji-gwang’s next words.

“The truth is, this isn’t the only strange thing happening at our Cheonryu Trading Company.”

When Mu-jin looked at him with a puzzled expression, Ryu Ji-gwang took a sip of the cooling Dragon Well tea and continued.

“Recently, there have been signs of disturbing activities at our local branches.”

“By disturbing activities, what exactly do you mean?”

“To be honest, we haven’t identified specific details. It’s just that everything seems to be progressing too smoothly, which feels unnatural. It’s a sense that comes from long experience. In the midst of that, it was you, Mu-jin, who caught that spy.”

“….”

“I thought at least our headquarters was free of problems, but you prevented a significant disaster.”

“But now we have no evidence of the spies we captured, do we?”

“Although she died, we can still piece together a fair amount from what she disclosed and her past actions.”

Ryu Ji-gwang replied in a calm but confident tone, befitting the head of one of the world’s top five trading companies.

As Mu-jin looked at Ryu Ji-gwang’s face, he organized his thoughts.

‘No need to doubt the head of the trading company, right?’

It could have been to deceive himself, but the probability that it wasn’t was exceedingly high.

‘Whether it’s true or not, the issue is how much to clean up inside first.’

Although the Sangdanju spoke confidently, if he had been unaware until now, it would be difficult to clean up everything no matter how much he probed.

Just as you can’t burn down an entire straw-roofed house to catch a flea, if they handled everyone even slightly connected to Hong So-hee, who had worked for ten years, the Sangdan wouldn’t be able to function immediately.

In the selection process, one or two rats might survive. Moreover, he couldn’t interfere with Cheonryu Sangdan in every detail.

While Mu-jin was pondering how to handle this matter, a person suddenly came to his mind.

“Ah. What happened to Seol-hwa Siju?”

At Mu-jin’s question, a momentary bitterness appeared on Ryu Ji-gwang’s face. Though he quickly managed his expression like a seasoned merchant.

“That spy operated under Seol-hwa’s guidance, stealing information from both Shaolin and our Sangdan, so we also started investigating Seol-hwa.”

“Were they connected?”

Ryu Ji-gwang shook his head at Mu-jin’s question.

“There was no connection. According to the investigation, it seems the spy used Seol-hwa.”

Mu-jin thought to himself, ‘As expected.’

“However, Seol-hwa couldn’t avoid punishment. It is unacceptable for those in high positions to use ignorance as an excuse.”

Mu-jin could sense the bitterness Ryu Ji-gwang tried to hide.

‘Is it to set an example for others?’

With that thought in mind, Mu-jin quietly asked.

“If it’s not too intrusive, may I ask what punishment was given to Seol-hwa Siju?”

“She was ordered to be on probation.”

“……”

Mu-jin almost burst out laughing, thinking they had imposed some serious punishment.

And after the initial astonishment, what he felt was a sense of unease.

‘Isn’t she going to be used again?’ That unease.

Recalling her recent appearances and her character in the novel, she had extremely low self-esteem.

If a spy still remained in Cheonryu Sangdan, she would be in a perfect state to be targeted.

‘Wait? Then wouldn’t it be better if I approached her instead?’

The word “approach” had quite a negative connotation, but Mu-jin didn’t have any particular intention to manipulate Cheonryu Sangdan through her.

He simply planned to get close to her, help her, and perhaps receive a small favor in return later on.

Just like how he received a hundred nyang of gold from Ryu Ji-gwang.

‘There’s nothing to lose by befriending a chaebol’s daughter.’

Mu-jin had such thoughts in front of the father of that chaebol’s daughter.

—

The next day.

Mu-jin was deep in thought. How could he approach her, become friends, and bestow a favor upon her?

He had already thought of a basic plan.

He would teach her to exercise and help her lose weight.

If he could help her lose weight, there would be multiple positive effects.

Firstly, spending a lot of time together during the weight loss process would help them become closer, and it would be easier to block the hidden forces from approaching her.

Moreover, losing weight could boost her self-esteem.

The primary reason why body management through exercise positively impacts self-esteem is not just the improvement in appearance, but the fact that the improvement was ‘achieved through one’s own effort.’

Exercise is hard. Within that obvious premise, sweating and working hard, and experiencing the gradual results of long efforts naturally instill the confidence of ‘I can do it too.’

In addition, there are physical benefits such as increased stamina and vitality.

In many ways, teaching her to exercise had numerous positive effects.

The only problem was that her self-esteem was currently very low.

If someone she wasn’t close to suddenly said, ‘I’ll help you lose weight,’ she might take it as ‘You pig, lose some weight.’

How could he encourage her to exercise without hurting her self-esteem?

That question occupied Mu-jin’s mind.

However, separate from such thoughts, he couldn’t neglect the hospitality for those who visited the high-end facility.

“Thank you for visiting our clinic again today, Siju Ji-hyun.”

An Hee-seung, who had now become a regular customer, had come to the clinic alone today for a change.

It had only been about twenty days since the clinic opened, but An Hee-seung had already visited for the eighth time.

That meant he had been coming every two or three days.

However, Mu-jin treated the regular customer without showing any particular reaction.

After completing basic acupressure, manual therapy, and close-range spear techniques, they moved on to the full-scale rehabilitation exercises. While taking a short break after completing a few exercise movements, An Hee-seung suddenly asked a question.

“Mu-jin, I have something I want to ask you.”

“Please, feel free to ask, Ji-hyun Siju-nim.”

“Do you not accept female patients here?”

“Are you referring to female Siju-nims?”

“Yes. I have visited here a few times with others, and naturally, it made me think of my wife, so I’m asking.”

For Mu-jin, this question was quite perplexing.

“I handle all the treatments here by myself. Due to the nature of my treatment methods, which involve frequent physical contact, treating women would be challenging. As you know, Ji-hyun Siju-nim, my treatments often involve close physical contact, which could lead to potential issues. Amitabha.”

Even in modern times, excessive physical contact by a male trainer during PT or Pilates sessions with female clients could lead to problems.

In this martial arts world, the phrase “men and women should not sit together after the age of seven” was not just a joke or an old man’s nonsense but a reality.

Those who visited the free facility were all patients and mostly elderly civilians. Since Mu-jin and the second-class disciples were monks, these matters were overlooked.

Yeon Ga-hee was also an elderly woman who regarded Mu-jin as her grandson, hence, she turned a blind eye.

But if Mu-jin were to physically contact a woman from a high-status family who visited the premium facility, the consequences would be unimaginable.

An Hee-seung, having reached the same conclusion as Mu-jin, eventually accepted his explanation.

“Hmm… That seems to be the case.”

However, just as Mu-jin expressed the impossibility, a thought flashed through his mind.

A way to treat women in the premium facility, a way to approach Ryu Seol-hwa, and a way to help her lose weight simultaneously.

“It might be possible to accept female Siju-nims as patients in a few months.”

Mu-jin had thought of a solution to solve all three problems at once.

—

The saying “Strike while the iron is hot” came to mind.

In the evening, as the clinic’s work was wrapping up, Mu-jin headed to Cheonryu Sangdan and, with Chief Officer Yang’s guidance, arrived at the head office.

“It seems like we just met yesterday. What brings you here, Mu-jin?”

Without beating around the bush, Mu-jin got straight to the point in response to the head’s question.

“Head of the Sangdan, did you know there’s an issue when accepting patients at the premium facility?”

“Hmm. First, I need to know if it’s the same issue I’m thinking of.”

From the head’s response, Mu-jin intuitively realized that he was already aware of the issue.

“The problem of not being able to accept women as patients at the premium treatment facility.”

“Hahaha. If you’ve realized that problem, have you also thought of a solution?”

Indeed, the head of the Sangdan had already noticed the problem.

And Mu-jin was ready to share the solution he had come up with.

A solution that allowed women to be treated at the premium facility while also approaching Ryu Seol-hwa.

“Your daughter, Ryu Seol-hwa Siju-nim, could learn my treatment methods.”

The solution was for Ryu Seol-hwa to learn Mu-jin’s treatment methods. Under the pretext of learning the treatment methods, they could also incorporate exercise.