Chapter 50. Education (5)

Jin Yuseong, who had been quietly watching the girl organize the wealth, opened his mouth.

“……Alright. Then, Nam Geon and I will go around and distribute this side, so you and your mother can go around the village and distribute the rest.”

“Yes. Senior brother!”

Sohyang, who had answered sharply, walked around the village with her mother for a while.

The mother said to her daughter with a face full of sadness.

“I’m sorry, Sohyang. This mother of yours was so incompetent that I lived without even knowing how smart you are.”

The sword dance of her daughter that she had seen on the way.

Even for her, who was a layman in martial arts, it was elegant and beautiful to a fault.

She had lived without even imagining that this small child, a child who had held a sword for the first time, could perform such a dance.

That wasn’t all.

“I didn’t even know you had learned so many characters, nor that you were so quick at math.”

She had lived without even knowing the fact that her daughter had learned nearly a thousand characters on her own.

She had her own excuses.

She had to feed her daughter, do housework, and in the meantime, earn money for the family to live on.

Because the only human being called a husband had gone crazy with gambling one day.

At her mother’s apology, Sohyang smiled brightly.

“It’s okay, Mom. We just have to live happily from now on!”

Was it because her mother still had sad eyes?

Suddenly, Sohyang pointed somewhere.

“Mom. We need to stop by there for a moment.”

The place Sohyang pointed to was a cloth shop.

“Do we have to return wealth to that place too?”

“There’s that, and another matter to attend to.”

“Another matter?”

At that question, Sohyang smiled without a word and moved her steps.

The wife followed her daughter with a puzzled expression.

“Welcome!”

The cloth shop owner welcomed the mother and daughter, and Sohyang first returned the wealth that the cloth shop owner had been deprived of by the underworld.

Then, she hummed a tune and looked at the clothes and cloth inside the cloth shop.

Soon, she took out a cloth pouch from her bosom.

There were a few silver taels in it.

The wife was startled and asked.

“W-where did you get that money?”

“I secretly took it from the gambling den during the day.”

“W-what is that?!”

At her mother’s startled reaction, the girl replied.

“You know it too, Mom. Even if we return all that money to the people, it’s obvious that their gambling-addicted family members will just steal or take it away.”

That point, the mother couldn’t deny.

But, her worry was elsewhere.

“What if the chivalrous warrior finds out you took it and gets disappointed!”

“That’s why I took it. For senior brother and older brother Nam Geon.”

As her mother made a confused expression, Sohyang added.

“They are the ones who punished the bad Akasan Sect guys. They punished the bad guys in this village today too.”

One of the trivial stories heard in the marketplace.

A Chivalrous Hero.

When she was young, she had dreamed of such a thing.

That a Chivalrous Hero would save her and her mother.

But the bright child had matured quickly, and just as she had reached the conclusion that there were no such things as Chivalrous Heroes in this world.

Miraculously, the Chivalrous Heroes from the stories she had forgotten had saved her and her mother.

However, the two of them were a little different from the Chivalrous Heroes in the stories.

“Both senior brother and older brother Nam Geon are Chivalrous Heroes, but they go around looking so pitiful. This shouldn’t be happening, Mom.”

“……”

The mother was at a loss for words.

As Sohyang had said, the two of them were in beggar’s rags when they stopped by Gaeri, and when they arrived here, they were in even worse rags.

The bright girl could easily grasp their disposition from the fact that they went around in beggar’s rags despite having such skills.

“I know. That the two of them are not interested in trivial things like appearance. Still, shouldn’t a person who does good things be treated a little better? Mom?”

“Did you secretly take it from the beginning for this reason?”

“Yes. For some reason, I felt that those two would return all the money and not even leave enough to buy themselves a set of clothes.”

Jin Yuseong had left some money.

To buy a horse and carriage to carry the wife.

That was right.

As Sohyang had expected, they had not left a single coin for themselves.

Except for the bare minimum for food.

While the wife was dazed by her bright daughter’s actions.

Sohyang chose a few sets of black martial arts uniforms that matched the body types of the two men she remembered.

‘They’ll wear them roughly anyway, so black, which shows less dirt, would be better.’

As she was thinking this and ordering the clothes from the cloth shop owner.

The wife, who had realized something, cautiously asked.

“But, how are you planning to give them those clothes, Sohyang? What are you going to say about where the money came from?”

At that question, Sohyang smiled brightly.

Such a trivial problem, the girl had already thought of all the solutions.

***

By the time the sun had completely set and the sky had grown dark.

Sohyang and her mother returned to the inn.

Just in time, Jin Yuseong and Nam Geon also seemed to have finished their work, so they were able to meet in front of the inn.

“Senior brother! Older brother Nam Geon!”

Sohyang shouted in a bright tone and approached them.

She handed them the few sets of martial arts uniforms she had been carrying around.

“When I returned the wealth to the elder at the cloth shop, he gave me this as a token of his gratitude.”

It was the excuse Sohyang had thought of.

Not something bought with the money she had siphoned off, but a gift voluntarily given by the commoners who had been helped by a Chivalrous Hero.

Just like the stories in the Chivalrous Hero tales she had heard.

Jin Yuseong frowned.

“Go and return it right now. We did not punish the trash to receive such things.”

A firm refusal.

But Sohyang had also expected this to happen.

“Just as senior brother did not help them expecting anything in return, the elder at the cloth shop did not give it expecting anything either. He just gave it out of gratitude, so why not?”

“……”

As Jin Yuseong seemed to be deliberating for a moment, the wife stepped up for her daughter.

“Ahem. Chivalrous warrior. I may not have learned much for my age, so I don’t have anything special to say, but……. honestly, as a woman, the attire of the two chivalrous warriors is a bit embarrassing.”

Jin Yuseong stealthily turned his head and looked at his and Nam Geon’s clothes.

Clothes worn out to the point of being ragged.

Torn in places, revealing a little bit of skin.

Fortunately, there were no problems in important areas, but if they continued like this, there was a risk of showing something improper.

“Ahem. Then, it can’t be helped.”

As Jin Yuseong finally accepted the martial arts uniforms, Nam Geon smiled brightly.

“Hehe. I got new clothes. A-actually, I was embarrassed.”

It seemed Nam Geon had also been unable to say anything because he was conscious of Jin Yuseong.

Perhaps because things had gone as she wanted, or perhaps because of Nam Geon’s simple appearance.

A smile also graced the faces of Sohyang and her wife.

They entered the inn together.

And ordered a late dinner.

“Eat as much as you can. Junior sister, not only are you still lacking in muscle, but you are also in your growing period, so eating is also training.”

“Understood. Senior brother!”

The girl, who had answered energetically, thrust her chopsticks towards the food on the table with sparkling eyes.

The sight of the girl eating with the happiest expression in the world.

Only then did she look like a child her age.

Chomp. Chomp.

Nam Geon, who was stuffing his mouth with food as usual, also seemed to be concerned about the girl’s thin appearance and slid a plate over to Sohyang.

“H-Hyang is too thin. Y-you have to eat this.”

Jin Yuseong looked at Nam Geon with a strange expression.

‘That glutton is sharing his food.’

It was to the point where he was worried he might be seriously ill.

***

After finishing the meal.

I headed to the room with Nam Geon and Sohyang.

I had originally gotten a separate room for the wife and Sohyang, but there was one last thing I had to teach Sohyang today.

“I have memorized it all. Senior brother.”

At the girl’s answer, I unconsciously hesitated.

“……Right.”

It seemed it would take some time to get used to it.

That appearance of her memorizing and understanding everything at once, no matter what I taught her.

What I had taught Sohyang was the secrets and explanations of the Jade Cloud Divine Art.

“Hmm. Then this time, I will teach you the acupoints where you must guide the qi. First, the very first place you must guide the qi is here. The Qi Sea Acupoint.”

“Is the character for Qi Sea Acupoint this, by any chance?”

Sohyang suddenly moved her finger in the air.

It was the correct character.

After teaching her the acupoints for a while after that.

Nam Geon, who was watching from the side, muttered with a sad expression.

“I-it took me a v-very long time to memorize the J-Jade Cloud Divine Art. I-I’m an i-idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot. Junior sister just memorized it quickly because she already knew the characters.”

I deliberately did not say the word ‘genius’.

If I started saying such things already, the girl might become arrogant.

“B-but. Sohyang is y-younger than me but knows a l-lot of characters. I-I barely know any characters. So, I-I can’t read mom’s diary. I-I’m so stupid I’m already forgetting.”

“Mom’s diary?”

Sohyang looked at Nam Geon with a puzzled expression.

I briefly explained the situation.

I deliberately did not talk about the evil deeds of the Steel Sinew Sect Leader.

Sohyang, who had heard the explanation, carefully opened her mouth.

“If it’s okay with older brother Nam Geon, I can teach you the characters little by little. Ah, I think I can read the diary to you and teach you the characters in it one by one. Hmm. I don’t know all the characters either, so there might be some I don’t know.”

The girl even showed a bit of modesty at the end.

“Hehet. Sohyang is kind.”

Nam Geon, whose mood had already improved, smiled brightly.

“That’s enough talk about characters, let’s start circulating qi now. Sit in a cross-legged position.”

“Yes. Senior brother!”

I placed my palm on the back of Sohyang, who was sitting cross-legged.

And matching Sohyang’s breathing, I once again recited the acupoints and secrets, guiding the flow of qi.

It was to help Sohyang, who was learning martial arts for the first time, to feel qi more easily.

But that too was for a moment.

I took my hand off and looked at Sohyang.

She was already circulating the Jade Cloud Divine Art on her own.

The girl had been able to feel and move qi just from a single demonstration.

“Huh.”

A faint, hollow laugh escaped me.

Nam Geon said it took him a long time to learn the Jade Cloud Divine Art, but it had taken me a long time as well.

It took me three days to memorize all the secrets, explanations, and acupoints.

And it took a good half a month to feel and move qi and succeed in circulating energy.

Rather, when it came to just feeling qi, Nam Geon was much better than me.

After watching the genius circulate her energy for a while.

“Let’s go out. Sohyang is doing it on her own, so shouldn’t we do our own training?”

I led Nam Geon and left the room.

And after receiving Nam Geon’s Mother’s Affection Sword, I opened my mouth.

“Remember, Nam Geon. The Iron Blood Golden Skin Art is a martial art that Sohyang can never learn. It means you also have a special talent.”

“O-okay, brother.”

I swung the Mighty Sword at Nam Geon, who had a rather serious expression.

That was right.

There was no reason to be jealous of the genius girl.

Everyone had their own path.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!!

After dripping with sweat and swinging the Mighty Sword with all my might according to the trajectory visible in the air for some time.

My limbs were trembling, and I had no strength left to hold the Mother’s Affection Sword, so I put it down.

Clink.

Nam Geon also seemed to have reached his limit and plopped down on the floor.

“Hing. I-it hurts so much.”

From his skin, which had turned red and hot, a haze-like energy was rising.

Nam Geon, who was fiddling with his heated skin from the tempering, looked somewhere.

“W-when did you get here?”

I turned my head and saw Sohyang there.

For some reason, her face was deathly pale.

I wondered if she had fallen into qi deviation, but that was impossible.

Qi deviation while learning that stable divine art?

And a genius like her?

At that moment.

She, with her pale face, opened her mouth.

“W-was that just now also t-training?”

“Yes. It’s an External Energy training called the Iron Blood Golden Skin Art.”

For some reason, her face, which had been pale, turned deathly black.

Soon, she, with a face that looked like she had firmed her resolve, nodded her head and approached.

She grunted and barely managed to lift only the hilt of the ridiculously heavy Mother’s Affection Sword and held it out to me.

“???”

As I accepted the Mother’s Affection Sword with a puzzled expression, she took a step back and said.

“This girl. Is ready.”

I didn’t know what she was ready for, but it was a face that had resolved to die.

***

Late at night.

In a humble manor somewhere in the Central Plains.

A shadow that had moved quietly under the moonlight entered a darkened pavilion.

As if waiting for the man in black to arrive, the owner of the pavilion opened his mouth.

“So. Have you found out their identities?”

“Yes. Leader. They are guys who have recently started to make a name for themselves in some parts of Guizhou and Hunan, and they are called by the aliases of Ghost Sword Young Master and Vajra Giant Child.”

“Young Master? Giant Child?”

At the strange aliases, the man asked again, and the man in black replied.

“Both of them are quite young. The Ghost Sword Young Master is said to be at most sixteen, and the Vajra Giant Child also seemed to be not yet twenty.”

The man let out a hollow laugh.

“Are you saying that the Branch Leader of Zunyi was taken down by such brats? Are they some child monks that Shaolin raised with utmost care?”

At the man’s point, the man in black could not easily open his mouth.

In fact, the Branch Leader in charge of Zunyi was not a special master in the faction they belonged to.

In the first place, Guizhou, where Zunyi was located, was not a region where much money circulated.

There were not many customers who came to the Black Market, and the scale of the Black Market was not large.

Naturally, the level of the Branch Leader was not that high either.

But he was not a man to be taken down easily.

Because he was a veteran, even if his realm was not high.

The reason he was entrusted with that position, despite being less skilled than other Branch Leaders, was because of that experience.

The man, who was organizing his thoughts for a moment, gave an order.

“For now, capture those brats. Even if they are not the real culprits, they must be connected to the real culprits. If you torture those brats, something will come out, won’t it?”

“Then, who should be sent? According to rumors, the one called the Ghost Sword Young Master is a man who has reached the First-rate realm, and the Vajra Giant Child is said to have achieved Blade and Sword Immunity.”

Blade and Sword Immunity.

Not Vajra Indestructible Body, but a realm of External Energy where one cannot be injured by ordinary swords or blades.

“One is a first-rate master at sixteen. The other has achieved Blade and Sword Immunity before the age of twenty. They are quite talented.”

They were not skilled enough to kill the Branch Leader, but for their age, they were at a considerably high realm.

The man, who was organizing his thoughts, soon made a decision.

“Leave this matter to the Blood Shadow Ghost Spear.”

At the leader’s command, the man in black hesitated for a moment.

“They may be talented, but they are still fledglings. Is there a need to use an ox-slaughtering knife to catch a chicken?”

The leader opened his mouth with a displeased expression.

It wasn’t because he had dared to question his command.

“When those talented chicks grow up to be phoenixes, we will have to bear a greater loss. To not even know such a simple logic. Tsk.”

It was just that the incompetence of his subordinate, who couldn’t even think of this much, was displeasing.

“Remember. Those that show promise, their necks must be wrung in advance when they are still chicks.”

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