Chapter 199

“Take your hand off what’s mine.”

At Jeok Cheongang’s words, the air grew heavy. A moment later, Ak Bulgun slowly removed his hand from my shoulder.

“Great Hero Jeok, I merely—”

A sharp voice cut him off.

“Who taught you to go around touching what belongs to someone else?”

Belongs to someone else?

Treating a person like an object was bad enough, but why was I the object in question? It wasn’t as if I were Jeok Cheongang’s Disciple or grandson.

I had been seriously considering Heaven’s Gate Temple as a promising option. I hadn’t expected him to come along and dump chili powder all over it.

What’s gotten into this old man?

Unlike me, Ak Bulgun remained calm.

“I apologize for offending you, but I merely wished to offer Young Hero Jin an opportunity.”

“An opportunity, my ass. You can dress it up however you like, but you’re still trying to spirit him away behind my back. Did you think this old man wouldn’t see through your filthy intentions?”

“Spirit him away? Certainly not.”

“Then what?”

Even under Jeok Cheongang’s fierce glare, 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. In conveying the wishes of the academy’s higher-ups, how could I allow personal feelings to influence me?”

“So those so-called higher-ups gave you those orders without even knowing what sort of relationship this boy and I have?”

“If I may be so bold, could I ask what exactly that relationship is?”

“What?”

Jeok Cheongang glared at Ak Bulgun, his face stiff.

“This old man entrusted that boy with our sect’s divine artifact.”

“I am well aware. I have heard all about it.”

“Then you must know what that means. Are you mocking this old man?”

“How could I dare harbor such an intention? It is simply…”

Ak Bulgun looked back and forth between Jeok Cheongang and me.

“You do not appear to be master and Disciple at all, so I cautiously conveyed the offer.”

“…”

“…”

We both flinched.

I didn’t know how warm and affectionate the average master-Disciple relationship was supposed to be, but a Disciple probably didn’t address his master as “Great Hero.”

And Jeok Cheongang’s treatment of me hadn’t exactly suggested otherwise.

Damn, he’s sharp.

We had been far too careless. When I glanced aside, I saw Jeok Cheongang chewing on his lip. Ak Bulgun’s gaze deepened at our reaction.

“Young Hero Jin also hesitated when he heard the offer. Had he truly been your Disciple, he would have rejected it without a second thought.”

Everything he said was true, so there was no way to argue.

Why would the Disciple of the Fire King—one of the handful of Supreme Peak masters beneath Heaven—ever enter Heaven’s Gate Temple?

It would be like ignoring a lump of gold to pick up a pretty pebble.

Looks like the truth is coming out anyway.

The three of us weren’t the only ones at the table of honor. Everyone else was looking away, but their ears were pricked.

Once word of today’s conversation spread, my sturdy shield of being the Fire King’s Disciple would vanish. 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 fleshless skeleton.

But things were different now. We had put on a fair amount of meat, and the wolves would soon start prowling around us.

They would watch one another until the time was right, then pounce.

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.

And the Zhongnan Sect will obviously be first in line.

I had to grow stronger before then. To do that, Heaven’s Gate Temple was a hundred times better than the empty title of the Fire King’s Disciple, an illusion that would disappear before long.

All right. I’m going to Heaven’s Gate Temple.

Having made up my mind, I turned to Ak Bulgun.

“Actually, I…”

I have no relationship with Great Hero Jeok. We just happen to share a slight connection. I desperately want to enter Heaven’s Gate Temple, so would someone like me qualify for a scholarship? Or perhaps the Shanxi Province rural special-admissions track?¹

All the words poised to pour out of me like a waterfall were dammed 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 around to stare at Jeok Cheongang.

What did he just say?

Ignoring my bewildered gaze, Jeok Cheongang continued as calmly as ever.

“I intended to keep him hidden until he was ready, but it seems that will no longer be possible. Everyone appears to have plenty to say on the matter, so I might as well settle it once and for all.”

“No, wait—”

The voice I had barely managed to force out 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 upon the Jin Family of Taiyuan’s estate. 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.

“I, Jeok Cheongang, eighteenth Sect Leader of the Fire Gate Clan, hereby accept Jin Taekyung of the Jin Family of Taiyuan as my Disciple and name him heir to our sect’s orthodox lineage!”

A brief silence followed. Then those who understood his words erupted into thunderous exclamations and cheers.

It was the moment when everyone’s lingering suspicions became fact—and one 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 will convey the news properly to Heaven’s Gate Temple. No one would dare interfere with Great Hero Jeok’s Disciple, so even the Temple Master will surely abandon the idea.”

Every path into Heaven’s Gate Temple—or to becoming anyone else’s Disciple—had just been slammed shut.

Ak Bulgun chuckled at my devastated expression.

“Look at you. Why the long face on such a joyous day?”

“…”

Because I knew perfectly well that there wasn’t even a one-percent chance Jeok Cheongang would actually take me as his Disciple.

I had gained absolutely nothing, yet my entire future had been blocked off. My clenched fists trembled.

Damn old man.

I could already see my bleak future unfolding before me. He wouldn’t teach me a single martial art, but he would torment me, beat me up, and send me on every petty errand imaginable.

At best, I would become an Inventory for storing his belongings.

I’m screwed.

Congratulations poured in from all around the table of honor, but I didn’t hear a word of them.

Jeok Cheongang spread his arms wide, wearing a thoroughly fake smile.

“Come. Let your master give you a hug, my dear Dis. ci. ple.”

“…”

“Oh, look at this rascal. Shy because everyone’s watching, are you? Ho ho ho.”

Laughing heartily, Jeok Cheongang secretly crooked a finger.

At that moment, an irresistible force unlike anything I had ever felt seized my ankle.

One step. Two steps.

My feet began moving toward him against my will.

…Seizing an Object Through Empty Space?

Was this really happening?

The tiny old man finally pulled me into a tight embrace and moved his lips.

“Hey. Smile.”

“…Yes.”

“Put your arm around my shoulders. Get those corners of your mouth up to your ears.”

Fuck it. Whatever happens, happens.

With our arms around each other’s shoulders, we beamed like a loving master and Disciple. Instead of camera flashes, thunderous cheers rained down around us.

And that day, Prince Shangshan Zhu Bao received a hyper-rare, limited-edition autograph:

Fire King & Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi.

Late that night, darkness lay thick over the estate.

Standing behind a secluded wall on the Jin Family of Taiyuan’s grounds, I finally spoke.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

The small silhouette gave no answer.

“Protecting the Jin Family of Taiyuan? Fine. I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful that you drove those Zhongnan bastards away, too. But!”

“…”

“You’re blocking my future! This has gotten so out of hand that I can’t enter Heaven’s Gate Temple anymore, and I can’t take anyone else as my master either! Do you know why?”

Jeok Cheongang, who had been silently drinking straight from a liquor bottle, answered.

“Because no matter how foolhardy someone might be, they would never approach this old man’s Disciple.”

“Yes, exactly! Great Hero Jeok, you’ve completely blocked 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. Buuurp.

Jeok Cheongang drained the bottle to the last drop, let out a tremendous belch, and stared at me.

“You know better yourself, so why are you acting this way?”

“Pardon?”

The liquor bottle in his hand suddenly struck the wall.

Whoosh—BOOM!

Ordinarily, the bottle should have shattered with a sharp crash.

Instead, the wall exploded with a deafening roar.

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! Calm down! Please calm down!”

“Calm down? Would you like to lie nice and still in a grave until your bones turn to dust?”

“…”

I had briefly forgotten.

The old man in front of me might have looked like the head honcho at a nursing home, but he was a notorious thug in the Murim.

Then I remembered that what he extorted from people wasn’t money, but their lives. The blood in my veins seemed to turn cold.

I hit the wrong nerve.

The night was already dark, but now my vision went black as well.

Then Jeok Cheongang, who had been staring at me, abruptly spoke.

“Do you hate it that much?”

“Pardon?”

“Is taking this old man as your master truly so unbearable?”

“…”

What the hell was he talking about when he had no intention of making me his Disciple?

I had plenty to say, but keeping my mouth shut was clearly the better way to extend my lifespan.

Unfortunately, Jeok Cheongang had no intention of letting me stand there in silence, avoiding his gaze.

“Tell me.”

“W-What?”

“Judging by your expression, you have plenty on your mind. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I don’t have anything like that.”

“You don’t?”

BOOM!

What remained of the wall crumbled into dust and scattered.

I stared blankly at it, then hurriedly opened my mouth.

“Now that I think about it, I do.”

“You just said you didn’t.”

“I didn’t, but it turns out I did.”

“Fine. Tell me.”

I had blurted it out in a panic, but now that I actually had to speak, my heart shriveled. I fidgeted with my fingers and cleared my throat.

“Well, the thing is, it’s a little…”

“Speak frankly. I want your 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 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 started believing today. I don’t know what damned bastard is up there in the heavens, but I saw something with my own eyes, so now I have no choice.”

“…?”

I had no idea what he had seen, but he sounded sincere.

Only after making him stake the honor of his sect and his own name as well did I cautiously begin.

“First of all, your personality is a little…”

“A little?”

“Nasty, isn’t it?”

“…”

“Actually, it’s very nasty.”

He looked incredulous, but the liquor bottle in his hand remained still. Emboldened, I continued.

“And you’ve got a nasty habit of hitting people.”

“…”

“You remember what happened a few days ago, right? I know I was partly at fault, but does it make any sense to launch a Flame Divine Palm at me without warning?”

“…Go on.”

“I’m not opposed to a reasonable 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 while getting hit with the Flame Divine Palm? That isn’t the rod of love. It’s the rod of death. The rod of death. One wrong hit and I’ll die, I’m telling you.”

Once I started, everything came pouring out as if a dam had burst.

Beginning with my first encounter with Jeok Cheongang, I aired every complaint I had accumulated since. The longer I went on, the stiffer his face became.

Still, this feels pretty damn good.

A quarter of an hour later, when my stormy confession finally ended, Jeok Cheongang asked in a subdued voice,

“Are you finished?”

“There’s still one important thing left.”

“That… phew.”

Contrary to my expectations, the liquor bottle didn’t come flying. Jeok Cheongang merely heaved several deep sighs.

“Say it.”

“My biggest complaint is what I mentioned earlier. Why did you publicly declare me 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 entering Heaven’s Gate Temple.”

“…”

Did he think I didn’t know that?

I stared at him in disbelief. Then a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

“Great Hero Jeok, could it be…?”

Jeok Cheongang replied curtly.

“What?”

“Never mind. I just had a ridiculous thought.”

“Say it.”

“No, there’s no point. Let’s just forget it.”

“Say it if you don’t want to die.”

Oh. Then I had to say it. If I didn’t want to die, I absolutely had to say it.

I gave a dry laugh.

“I wondered if perhaps you were actually thinking of taking me as a real Disciple, or something like that. It’s nonsense, so you don’t have 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 with this atmosphere?