Chapter 75: Chapter 75

Chapter 75: First Class

“So, in the end, only the Ink Sword Hero succeeded.”

Grand Elder Divine Ear of the Beggar's Gang spoke gravely.

The victor of the instructor selection tournament.

The one who defeated a Demonic Cult follower and was the sole person to pass the selection.

The Ink Sword Great Hero.

On the other hand, the white-robed young master the Beggar's Gang had painstakingly prepared, the beggar Jang Gangcheon, had failed.

“We washed him for three straight days to make him a clean young master.”

“That wasn't the problem. The Ink Sword Hero knew my identity.”

After the selection tournament, Jang Gangcheon returned to the main headquarters and reported everything that had happened at the tournament.

Now, he was having a private audience with Grand Elder Divine Ear.

“Even the martial artists of Kaifeng couldn't recognize you, but the Ink Sword Hero did?”

“And he also found the Demonic Cult follower?”

“Yes. That is exactly right. He was remarkably sharp.”

Grand Elder Divine Ear recalled the various reports sent up from Swift Wind, the Luoyang subbranch leader.

Those reports also stated that the Ink Sword Hero could find Demonic Cult followers as if he were a ghost.

“I don't know how he recognized you, but he seems to have an outstanding talent for finding Demonic Cult followers.”

“Talent is talent. But his personality is trash.”

“Please look at my face.”

Jang Gangcheon’s face was.

Swollen red and blue, with medicinal patches stuck all over it.

“Anyone can see that you've been beaten up soundly.”

“That's what I'm saying! This is all the work of the Ink Sword He—no, what kind of hero is a guy like that! It was the work of that Ink Sword Black Path bastard!”

The more Jang Gangcheon thought about it, the more unfair it felt.

Couldn't he have gone easy on him, just a little?

He wanted to appeal this injustice to the Grand Elder.

The reaction he received was different from what he expected.

“We have been aware of the Ink Sword Hero for a long time. His personality is trash? You dare to slander someone just because you got hit a little?”

“What? It's not slander, it's the truth. To have such a relieved and refreshed expression while beating me. He said he had a grudge when there was none, he was a completely incomprehensible person.”

“Didn't you perhaps earn a grudge somewhere without knowing it?”

“It didn't feel like that. The man was just strange! How strange, you ask? After the duel was over, he was advertising a toothbrush! Refreshing teeth, refreshing martial arts, Geumun Toothbrush with the Ink Sword Hero. Goodness, I've memorized it.”

It was a strangely catchy advertising phrase.

Curiosity about the Geumun Toothbrush arose on its own. If it weren't for his beggar's pride, he would have bought one on the spot.

“He must value dental health.”

“Why would a hero value dental health!”

“Anyway, Swift Wind, the Luoyang subbranch leader, only had praise for the Ink Sword Great Hero. Recent reports also stated that he has been engaging in heroic deeds more boldly and proactively. You know what happened in Luoyang, don't you?”

Jang Gangcheon's words were not taken seriously at all.

This was the main headquarters of the Beggar's Gang, where information from all over the world gathered.

They had already accumulated a considerable amount of information about Jin Yeomyeong.

Rigid, straightforward, and simply fair and square.

That was still the case.

Therefore, Jang Gangcheon's appeal, which was closest to the truth, was of no use.

“However. One thing is a bit strange.”

“One thing? It's not just one thing……. Anyway, I'm glad you found at least one thing. What is it?”

“He said he would recommend you as an instructor?”

“And you just believed him?”

“What? But what could I do? I had already been discovered. I was clutching at straws.”

Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, the Grand Elder clicked his tongue.

As the gang leader's youngest disciple, he was still young.

To fall for such a simple trick.

“Jin Yeomyeong arrived in Kaifeng yesterday. Where would he have the leeway to recommend an instructor?”

He himself was just entering as a new instructor, how could he get someone else a position?

It didn't seem like he had any separate connections with the nobles or the prestigious families either.

“That is true, but……”

The Kaifeng noble family complex was so thoroughly managed that even the Beggar's Gang couldn't get a member inside.

The Beggar's Gang kept the fact that there was a place in Kaifeng, where their main headquarters was located, that they couldn't enter, a strict secret.

It was a matter of pride.

That's why they did something they normally wouldn't do. They sent a beggar after washing him for three days.

“If Jin Yeomyeong played you for a fool, it must be that. You were tricked. Thoroughly tricked.”

Jang Gangcheon tilted his head.

“Isn't it so? The Ink Sword Hero will not come looking for you.”

Jang Gangcheon's head kept moving.

“It's distracting. If you have something to say, say it.”

“You might find this strange, but when he said he would recommend me, I believed him.”

Grand Elder Divine Ear placed a hand on his forehead.

It was a good thing the gang leader was away.

If not, he would have kicked his youngest disciple's butt right away.

If the gang leader was absent, the acting gang leader, the Grand Elder himself, could do it.

He stood up like lightning and kicked Jang Gangcheon's butt hard.

“So you're saying Jin Yeomyeong is going to come right now and ask you to go teach the children with him tomorrow? You have to make sense!”

Flap, a member pushed aside the straw mat covering the entrance and came in.

“A man named the Ink Sword Great Hero has come to see you.”

A moment of silence flowed.

Jang Gangcheon, who had been kicked and rolled on the floor, got up.

He looked at Grand Elder Divine Ear without a word.

“Ahem, ahem. Why did he… no, that's not it. He can come. What did he say his business was? He probably just came to say hello.”

“He said he came looking for the Divine Fist Beggar.”

He came specifically looking for the Divine Fist Beggar, Jang Gangcheon.

“Didn't he state his specific business?”

Jang Gangcheon asked, his eyes still fixed on the Grand Elder.

“He did, but I didn't understand what he was saying. What was it? Something about getting him an instructor position?”

Jang Gangcheon's eyes blazed.

“Shouldn't you say something?”

The Grand Elder also felt Jang Gangcheon's gaze.

It was hot. He could feel the heat.

But he had nothing to say.

“The Ink Sword Great Hero is as trustworthy as I've heard. Let him in.”

“Grand Elder? Aren't your words different from before?”

“I will go out to greet him.”

Grand Elder Divine Ear opened the straw mat faster than an arrow.

Before parting with the Virtuous Mothers' Association Leader, I had asked her to select Jang Gangcheon as an instructor. When I assured her that he was definitely of the White Path, she surprisingly agreed readily.

I stopped by the Beggar's Gang to deliver the news, and then.

I returned directly to the inn.

‘I didn't expect Grand Elder Divine Ear to welcome me so warmly.’

He ran out himself and praised me endlessly, saying I was trustworthy and that my reputation was well-deserved.

Jang Gangcheon had a sullen expression, probably because I had hit him, but even he was happy about becoming an instructor.

‘My objective has been achieved.’

There was a reason for bringing Jang Gangcheon along.

Besides entering with a White Path martial artist, it was to indebt the Beggar's Gang so that I could receive their help in return during the spiritual medicine journey.

The information the Rogues’ Guild collects and the information the Beggar's Gang collects are different.

If I could borrow the power of both sects (幇門), the spiritual medicine journey would be much easier.

“Don't you think so, Taebok?”

I spoke to Taebok, who was leaning on my shoulder.

The baby, who was just over twenty days old, was held quietly in my arms.

His mouth was moving.

Could he be answering?

Is our Taebok a genius?

“Starting tomorrow, your father will be teaching your older brothers and sisters. I'll do a good job teaching them, and then I'll teach you too, Taebok.”

“Will that be okay? You said you have to teach the way the Virtuous Mothers' Association wants. I don't think it'll be the way we learned.”

For both Jayeong and me, learning and life were one and the same.

In my case, chopping firewood, carrying water, picking medicinal herbs, everything my master told me to do was martial arts training.

It was the same for Jayeong. She followed the previous Rogues’ Guild Leader and learned martial arts in real combat. Conversations in the marketplace taught her negotiation and arithmetic.

“I'll have to see when I get there.”

“For the Virtuous Mothers' Association Leader to come all the way here, she must be no ordinary person.”

Jayeong said she had seen the Virtuous Mothers' Association Leader through the inn window earlier.

She tilted her head again.

“She seems like a peculiar person. She's memorable.”

“She is a peculiar person. That's how she was able to create a place that neither the Beggar's Gang nor the Rogues’ Guild can enter.”

While I was out, Branch Leader Han Sanha and the three elders had also visited our inn.

Neither side had any new news.

“Now that I can get in, don't worry.”

“I'm counting on you.”

“Yes. You can count on me.”

Jayeong was holding up well despite the continuous bad news. She showed no signs of wavering or weakening.

Before my regression, she had been this steadfast, and then one day, her health deteriorated uncontrollably.

I, who thought she was fine, was truly a foolish man.

Just like me, she had only been enduring.

But Jayeong, whose limit came sooner than mine…….

“Honey, why are you suddenly shaking your head like that? You'll startle the baby.”

I won't let it happen this time.

That's all that matters.

“Ahem. But, by any chance, did Taebok fly up?”

I deliberately changed the subject, but it was something I was actually curious about.

He had been floating continuously during the carriage ride, but since coming to the inn, he had just been lying on the bed.

Normally, Taebok was an ordinary baby.

But when a connection occurs, the energy of nature is activated.

To put it a certain way, it was semi-automatic.

“No. He was lying down quietly.”

I casually turned my head to look at Taebok.

“You've been good. Is floating in the air not fun anymore?”

As soon as the words left my mouth.

Taebok began to rise from my shoulder.

“Honey. What did you do?!”

“No, no. I just asked? Taebok, come down. It's dangerous, dangerous.”

This time too, as soon as the words left my mouth, Taebok came down.

I carefully reached out my hands and hugged him again.

“What is this? Look at him responding to your words.”

“I had a desire to see Taebok's levitation. Is it because of that?”

On the outside, it was a question, but on the inside, I wanted to see it.

When I told him to come down because it was dangerous, my words and my heart were in sync.

It was a moment where I once again felt the nature of connection (感應).

“Taebok. Later, will I be able to teach you through connection?”

If I could also transmit teachings from heart to heart.

The first thing I would transmit would be that everything is for you.

It seems my connection level has increased while connecting with Taebok just now.

It seems Mukheun has something to convey.

I held Mukheun and focused my Eight Sensations.

This was the Cotton Armor Master.

Mukheun was relaying the Cotton Armor Master's intentions.

- Stop… any more than this…

What is it? Is there a problem?

- How many times a day do you poop…

I took my hand off Mukheun.

Let's listen to the Cotton Armor Master's intentions later.

Thanks to the Cotton Armor Master acting as a diaper, Jayeong's workload had been drastically reduced.

He was even providing proper ventilation, so I could trust him with it.

It seems that not all hearts and minds need to be connected.

“This is an amazing facility.”

That was my impression after looking around the training hall.

On the large grounds, wooden dummies stood in rows, and training weapons of all kinds were provided.

“Really, I've only seen facilities at prestigious sects.”

Beside me, Jang Gangcheon moved his head from side to side.

I asked the clerk who was guiding us.

“Do the children of the elementary class use all of these tools?”

I had thought Jang Gangcheon and I would be in charge of different classes, but we were assigned as the main and assistant instructors for one class.

The elementary class was composed of children aged ten to twelve.

Of course, these children would not become martial artists.

No matter how I thought about it, there was no need for them to hit wooden dummies and even learn to use weapons.

Sure enough, the clerk also shook his head.

“They are just here for show. To make it look good.”

It's too good to have just for that reason.

Befitting its reputation, the scale of the academy was considerable.

Besides the academy and the martial arts hall, there was a separate etiquette hall for learning etiquette, a music hall for learning music, a mathematics hall for learning mathematics, and a talent hall for learning other miscellaneous skills.

The buildings were also different depending on the age group.

Not to mention the numerous affiliated halls.

“Now, please come this way.”

The academic affairs office where the clerk was now taking me was one of them.

It was a building where instructors gathered to prepare for classes and record educational results.

“Greetings. I am Jin Yeomyeong, the new martial arts instructor.”

We greeted first, as befitting newcomers.

Hmm, but the atmosphere is strange?

“Great Hero Jin, no one is responding.”

“Here, call me Instructor Jin. And it's my first time too, so what's the use of asking me.”

None of the instructors who received our greeting even turned their heads this way.

“Clerk, is the atmosphere always ? Or is this hazing?”

“Hazing? They are just busy.”

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No matter how busy you are, you don't even look at the person greeting you?

I'll be submitting my resignation once I find the Rogues’ Guild Leader, so I won't be seeing these faces for long.

“Have the new instructors arrived?”

“Ah, yes. They are here.”

The clerk straightened his back upon seeing that person.

Then he whispered to me very quietly.

“Great Hero Jin, you've defeated Madam Jeong's subordinates before, right? That person came on Madam Jeong's recommendation.”

“Then I'll be on my way.”

After whispering, the clerk quickly disappeared.

The man who made the clerk flee, a large man with an impressive beard, stood with his legs apart in front of me.

“Ahem. I am Hutongdae, the Vice Director of this academy.”

This guy, his tone is already full of arrogance.

“I am Jin Yeomyeong.”

The Vice Director nodded.

“I have heard much of your reputation.”

“This place is different from the outside. It means that no matter where or how you two instructors have lived, here you must follow the rules here.”

Jang Gangcheon and I looked at each other.

“Of course, we know that.”

I said I knew, so why is he saying I don't?

“The Virtuous Mothers' Association controls everything.”

“Nothing that goes against the wishes of the Virtuous Mothers' Association can exist!”

“I said I know, didn't I?”

Why is he getting so emotional while explaining about the Virtuous Mothers' Association?

Suddenly, the archetypes of people I had seen during my long stay in the Alliance come to mind.

The overly loyal sycophants.

Looking at the Vice Director, they somehow overlap.

“I am very worried about you two martial artist instructors. You probably don't even know proper etiquette…. Huu.”

“The other instructors will come and greet you after you two have finished adjusting.”

So that's why no one paid any attention.

I'll be leaving soon after finding the Rogues’ Guild Leader, so our desires align.

“The educational content is the same. It has already been decided by the Virtuous Mothers' Association. You just have to do as has been decided.”

I accepted the document the Vice Director handed me. It detailed what to teach on a daily basis.

Jang Gangcheon and I read it and naturally looked at each other.

“Isn't this a bit much?”

“They aren't even martial artists, why so hard?”

They're training too much?

“As you two instructors have also felt, it is extremely rational. It's natural. Because it's the result of the Virtuous Mothers' Association's careful consideration.”

I didn't answer and looked at the list.

“A total of eleven people.”

“It's twelve people.”

“The document says eleven people.”

“Ahem. Hmm. You'll know when you get there.”

The Vice Director, unlike his previous arrogant demeanor, hid his answer with a cough.

“Now, let's go. On the first day, I will introduce the instructors.”

For now, I had to follow.

I couldn't make any judgments before meeting the students.

This training regimen might be nothing to the children here.

We left the academic affairs office and returned to the training hall.

The students should have arrived by now.

“The young masters and ladies are extremely exemplary students. Seeing as it's quiet, they must be waiting while preparing for class.”

This time too, the Vice Director was being arrogant on behalf of the students.

He grabbed the doorknob.

Through the slightly open training hall door, I could clearly hear the sounds of children fighting.

“Ahem. Hmm. Sometimes, they are not like that.”

I pushed him aside and threw open the doors of the training hall.

My impression of what I saw inside was simple.

A tangle of children greeted me.