“Take your hand off what’s mine.”
At Jeok Cheongang’s single sentence, the air grew heavy. The next moment, Ak Bulgun’s hand slowly dropped from my shoulder.
“Great Hero Jeok. I merely…”
A sharp voice cut off whatever he was about to say.
“Who taught you the habit of touching what belongs to someone else?”
What did he mean, belongs to someone else?
Treating a person like an object was one thing, but why was I the object in question? It wasn’t as though I was Jeok Cheongang’s Disciple or grandson.
I had been standing there considering Heaven’s Gate Temple as an excellent option, and I hadn’t expected him to throw chili powder all over it like this.
Why is this old man suddenly acting like this?
Unlike me, who was completely flustered, Ak Bulgun remained calm.
“I apologize for disturbing your mood, but I merely wished to give Young Hero Jin an opportunity.”
“An opportunity? Give me a break. It sounds good on the surface, but aren’t you ultimately trying to spirit this fellow away behind my back? Did you think this old man wouldn’t see through your filthy intentions?”
“Spirit him away? Certainly not.”
“Then?”
Even beneath Jeok Cheongang’s round, bulging eyes, Ak Bulgun continued without wavering.
“I came here not as a member of the Shandong Yue Family, but as an Instructor of Heaven’s Gate Temple. How could I allow personal feelings to influence the delivery of an order from the higher-ups?”
“Then those so-called higher-ups gave such an order without even knowing what kind of relationship this fellow and I have?”
“If I may be so bold, could I ask exactly what kind of relationship you have?”
“What?”
Jeok Cheongang glared at Ak Bulgun with a stiff expression.
“This old man entrusted that boy with our sect’s sacred treasure.”
“I’m well aware. I’ve heard enough about it.”
“You must know what that means. Are you mocking this old man?”
“How could I ever dare harbor such an intention? However…”
Ak Bulgun looked back and forth between Jeok Cheongang and me.
“You do not appear to be in a master-and-Disciple relationship at all, so I merely conveyed their intentions with caution.”
“…”
“…”
We both flinched at the same time.
Well, I didn’t know how warm and affectionate a normal master-and-Disciple relationship was supposed to be, but at the very least, someone like me probably wouldn’t address his master as “Great Hero.”
Besides, Jeok Cheongang’s attitude toward me had been no different.
Look at how sharp he is.
We had been far too careless. When I glanced to the side, Jeok Cheongang was biting his lips as well. Seeing our reaction, Ak Bulgun’s gaze deepened.
“You hesitated after hearing the offer, Young Hero Jin. If you were truly Great Hero Jeok’s Disciple, you would have rejected it without a second thought.”
Everything he said was true from beginning to end, leaving me unable to refute him.
Who in their right mind would enter Heaven’s Gate Temple after becoming the Disciple of the Fire King, one of the greatest Supreme Peak masters beneath Heaven?
That would be like picking up a pretty pebble when there was gold right in front of you.
It looks like everything’s going to come out anyway.
The three of us were not the only people seated at the table of honor. Everyone was looking elsewhere, but their ears were perked up.
If today’s conversation spread, it was obvious that my sturdy shield of being known as the Fire King’s Disciple would disappear. And after that?
Every bastard under the sun will come crawling out.
Until recently, the Jin Family of Taiyuan had been little more than a skeleton with no flesh on its bones.
But things were different now. We had put on a fair amount of flesh, and wolves would soon begin prowling around us.
They would watch one another carefully, then pounce the moment the time was right.
The Fire King was already over a hundred years old. His death would be the starting signal for those bastards to sink their teeth into us.
The first to come running will obviously be the Zhongnan Sect.
I had to grow stronger before that happened. To do so, Heaven’s Gate Temple was a hundred times better than a title like the Fire King’s Disciple—a mere illusion that would disappear before long.
All right. I’m going to Heaven’s Gate Temple.
Once I had made up my mind, I opened my mouth toward Ak Bulgun.
“Actually, I…”
I have no relationship with Great Hero Jeok here. We just happen to share a slight connection. I really want to enter Heaven’s Gate Temple, so would someone like me qualify for a scholarship? Or maybe the Shanxi Province rural-area special-admissions track? And so on.
But the words that had been about to pour out like a waterfall were blocked by a single sentence from Jeok Cheongang.
“He is my Disciple.”
“Great Hero Jeok and I have no relationship at all… Pardon?”
What the hell was he talking about?
I whipped my head around and stared at Jeok Cheongang.
What did he just say?
Ignoring my bewildered gaze, Jeok Cheongang continued in an unconcerned voice.
“I intended to keep him hidden away until he was ready, but it seems that will no longer be possible. Everyone appears to have plenty to say on the subject, so I might as well drive the point home once and for all.”
“No, wait a moment.”
The voice I had barely managed to dredge up was swallowed by Jeok Cheongang’s shout, charged with internal energy.
“I proclaim this to the Murim beneath Heaven!”
A terrifying wave of energy shook the ground and pressed down over the Jin Family of Taiyuan’s grounds. Every other sound vanished, and hundreds of pairs of eyes turned toward us.
It had happened before I even had a chance to stop it.
Veins bulged on Jeok Cheongang’s liver-spotted neck.
“Jeok Cheongang, the eighteenth Sect Leader of the Fire Gate Clan, hereby accepts Jin Taekyung of the Jin Family of Taiyuan as his Disciple and shall have him inherit our sect’s orthodox lineage!”
A brief silence followed. Then those who understood his words let out tremendous exclamations and cheers.
It was the moment when everyone’s half-believed suspicions became fact—and an old man’s perfect bullshit became reality.
And I…
“I have committed a grave discourtesy. I apologize to you as well, Young Hero Jin. I’ll convey everything properly to Heaven’s Gate Temple. No one will dare lay a hand on Great Hero Jeok’s Disciple, so the Temple Master will surely give up on the matter.”
Every path that would let me enter Heaven’s Gate Temple—or become someone else’s Disciple—had been slammed shut.
Ak Bulgun looked at my devastated expression and let out a hearty laugh.
“Look at you, my friend. Why such a face on a day this wonderful?”
“…”
Because I knew perfectly well there wasn’t even a one-percent chance that Jeok Cheongang would truly take me as his Disciple.
Having gained nothing while only seeing my future blocked off, I trembled with my fists clenched.
Damn this old man.
A bleak future was already playing out before my eyes. He wouldn’t teach me a single martial art, would torment me endlessly, beat me up, and make me run all sorts of errands.
At best, I would become an Inventory for storing his belongings.
I’m screwed.
Congratulations poured in from every corner of the table of honor, but I couldn’t hear a single word.
Jeok Cheongang spread his arms wide toward me with a fake smile.
“Come here and let this master give you a hug. Dis. ci. ple.”
“…”
“Oh, look at this rascal. Getting shy in front of everyone. Ho ho ho.”
Jeok Cheongang laughed heartily, then secretly crooked one finger.
At that moment, an unprecedented force I couldn’t resist seized my ankle.
One step. Two steps.
Regardless of my will, my feet began moving toward him.
…Is this Seizing an Object Through Empty Space?
Was this for real?
In the end, the small old man pulled me into a tight embrace and moved his lips.
“C’mon, smile.”
“…Yes.”
“Put your arm around my shoulders. Pull the corners of your mouth up to your ears.”
Fuck it. I don’t know anymore. Let the chips fall where they may.
We put our arms around each other’s shoulders and smiled brightly like an affectionate master and Disciple.
Instead of camera flashes, tremendous cheers rained down around us, and that day, Prince Shangshan Zhu Bao received a hyper-rare, limited-edition autograph reading:
Fire King & Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi.
Deep in the night, beneath a heavy blanket of darkness.
Behind a wall on the Jin Family of Taiyuan’s grounds where no one seemed to be around, I opened my mouth.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
The small silhouette did not answer.
“Protecting the Jin Family of Taiyuan? Fine, I’ll grant you that. I’m grateful that you drove those Zhongnan bastards away, too. But!”
“…”
“You’re blocking my future! Things have gotten so out of hand that I can’t even enter Heaven’s Gate Temple anymore, and I can’t take anyone else as my master either! Do you know why?”
The small figure, Jeok Cheongang, answered while drinking straight from a liquor bottle.
“Because no matter how foolhardy someone is, they won’t approach this old man’s Disciple.”
“Yes! Exactly! Great Hero Jeok, you’ve completely blocked off every path ahead of me!”
“I see.”
“That’s not the point! You’re more than smart enough to know better, so why are you doing this? I have to make a living, too!”
Glug. Glug. Buuuurp.
After draining the bottle to the last drop, Jeok Cheongang let out a tremendous belch and looked at me intently.
“You’re a fellow who knows better, so why are you acting this way?”
“Pardon?”
The liquor bottle in his hand suddenly slammed into the wall.
Whoosh—BOOM!
Ordinarily, the bottle should have shattered into pieces with a sharp crash.
But the thing that broke apart with a deafening roar was the wall.
The round liquor bottle was already rippling with tangible internal energy.
“Have you forgotten who this old man is? Why, you little—are you trying to die?”
“Gasp!”
“Even a full prostration wouldn’t be enough, and you dare raise your voice? You wet-behind-the-ears little bastard, I ought to…”
“W-Wait! F-Fix yourself! Fix yourself!”
“Fix myself? Do you want to be fixed in a grave until your bones turn to dust?”
“…”
I had briefly forgotten.
The old man before me looked like the big boss of a nursing home, but he was actually a notorious thug in the Murim.
And when I remembered that his shakedowns took lives rather than money, the blood in my entire body seemed to turn cold.
I really shouldn’t have touched a nerve.
It was already dark because it was night, but now even my vision had gone black.
Just then, Jeok Cheongang, who had been staring at me intently, suddenly spoke.
“Do you hate it that much?”
“Pardon?”
“Is taking this old man as your master really that unbearable?”
“…”
What the hell was he talking about when he had no intention of making me his Disciple?
I had a lot I wanted to say, but keeping quiet was clearly the better way to extend my lifespan.
However, Jeok Cheongang wasn’t going to leave me alone while I kept my mouth shut and avoided his gaze.
“Tell me.”
“W-What?”
“You look like you have a great deal on your mind. Tell this old man what you’re thinking.”
“I don’t have anything like that.”
“You don’t?”
BOOM!
The last remaining section of the wall crumbled into dust and scattered.
I stared blankly at the sight, then hurriedly opened my mouth.
“On second thought, I do.”
“You just said you didn’t.”
“I didn’t, but now I do.”
“Fine. Tell me.”
I had blurted it out in a panic, but now that I actually had to speak, my heart shrank. I fidgeted with my fingers and cleared my throat.
“But it’s a little…”
“Speak frankly. I want an honest answer without a single lie.”
“Really?”
“No matter what you say, I won’t touch a hair on your head. I swear it by the gods of Heaven and Earth.”
“You don’t believe in things like the gods of Heaven and Earth.”
“…”
“…”
I must have hit the nail on the head.
Jeok Cheongang glared at me with a terrifying expression before finally forcing the words out.
“I do as of today. I don’t know what damned bastard is up there in the heavens, but I’ve seen something with my own eyes, so I have no choice but to believe.”
“…?”
I didn’t know what he claimed to have seen, but he sounded sincere.
Only after making him stake the honor of his sect and even his own name did I cautiously open my mouth.
“First of all, your personality is kind of…”
“Kind of?”
“Isn’t it pretty nasty?”
“…”
“And it’s very nasty, actually.”
His expression was incredulous, but the liquor bottle in his hand remained still. Taking courage from that, I continued.
“And your hands aren’t much better.”
“…”
“You remember what happened a few days ago, right? I know I was partly at fault, but is it really reasonable to throw a Flame Divine Palm at me without warning?”
“…Continue.”
“I’m not opposed to a certain amount of discipline, but that means a flick on the forehead or a few strokes with a switch. What kind of Disciple wants to train by getting hit with a Flame Divine Palm? That isn’t a loving beating. It’s a deadly beating. A deadly beating. If you take it wrong, it kills you, I’m telling you.”
Once I started, everything came pouring out like a burst floodgate.
Starting with my first meeting with Jeok Cheongang and continuing through everything that had happened since, one complaint after another spilled from my mouth.
The more I spoke, the stiffer Jeok Cheongang’s face became.
Still, this is pretty cathartic.
A quarter of an hour later, after I had finished my storm of a confession, Jeok Cheongang asked in a subdued voice:
“Are you finished?”
“There’s one important thing left.”
“That… phew.”
Contrary to my expectation that the liquor bottle would come flying, Jeok Cheongang merely let out several deep sighs.
“Tell me.”
“My biggest complaint is what I mentioned earlier. Why on earth did you make it official that I’m your Disciple when you aren’t even going to teach me martial arts?”
“Is that the problem?”
“Of course it is! If I’m going to teach myself, entering Heaven’s Gate Temple would be a hundred times better.”
“Learning from this old man is a thousand times better than Heaven’s Gate Temple.”
“…”
As if I didn’t know that.
I stared at him in disbelief when a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
“Great Hero Jeok, could it be…”
Jeok Cheongang replied bluntly.
“What?”
“Never mind. I just had a ridiculous thought.”
“Tell me.”
“No, it’s pointless. Let’s just move on.”
“Tell me, unless you want to die.”
Oh. Then I had to tell him. If I didn’t want to die, I absolutely had to tell him.
I let out a dry laugh and opened my mouth.
“I wondered if perhaps you were thinking of taking me as a real Disciple, or something like that. It was nonsense, so you don’t need to answer. Hahaha.”
“…”
“Hahaha.”
“…”
“Great Hero Jeok?”
Jeok Cheongang remained silent for a long while despite my calling him, then tossed out a single sentence.
“Would that be a problem?”
“What would?”
“I asked if there was something wrong with this old man being your master.”
“…Pardon?”
What the hell was this atmosphere?
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