Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: This Old Geezer (1)
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Yin Xia Lian swallowed hard at my words that something even bigger was waiting.
The other Eon brothers held their breath.
...Well, Tang Ok-gi wasn't technically a Verdant Bamboo Hall student, if you wanted to nitpick.
But his presence wouldn't cause any issues.
'He wouldn't go blabbing our conversation to others anyway.'
I turned to the guys waiting for my next words and spoke.
"The Alliance Leader has decided to pass down the Combined Assault Formation to Verdant Bamboo Hall."
"Huh? The Combined Assault Formation? Isn't that the puzzle you, the Chairman, and Deputy Director Go have been racking your brains over lately?"
"Yeah? I think I overheard you and Elder Brother Kyung-ryong talking about it too?"
Ha-seong and So-rung made a fuss at my words.
Tang Ok-gi tilted his head.
"...Doesn't our dorm have a Combined Assault Formation?"
But something felt off as I listened, so I pointed it out right away.
"You guys do. Tang Ok-gi, you're in Fragrant Orchid Hall."
"Th-that slipped out! Cut me some slack!"
"Anyway, Verdant Bamboo Hall doesn't."
As I cleared up the oddity, Yin Xia Lian soothed the yowling Tang Ok-gi and began explaining Verdant Bamboo Hall's situation briefly.
"Yeah, Ok-gi. Our dorm never had a handed-down Combined Assault Formation. The yearbooks suggest there was one at the very start, but it fell out of use at some point. Professor No Sam is outstanding in his personal martial prowess... but the only formation he knows is the Beggars' Sect's Dog-Beating Formation, and that's..."
Jeong-hyeon chimed in a bit on Yin Xia Lian's explanation.
"To execute it properly, it's really something only beggars can do. Strip that away, and it's just a formation where you cross arms and ram shoulders into each other. Of course, considering the Beggars' Sect's hundred thousand disciples, it's fearsome enough on its own, but it's impractical for inter-academy matches."
Anyway.
Having poked fun at Verdant Bamboo Hall's reality, Yin Xia Lian turned to me with a question.
"White Lotus Sword and Combined Assault Formation. Exactly what Verdant Bamboo needs most right now. But is this okay? Such a deal?"
"Procedurally, it should be fine. For the White Lotus Sword, the Alliance Leader said he'd donate it to the Murim Alliance with his own money and in his personal capacity."
"...Ah. Then what about the training? The Alliance Leader isn't so free that he'd come to Verdant Bamboo Hall and teach us one by one."
"No worries there either. Remember the Murim Alliance's recent Sea Gold Stronghold subjugation?"
Yin Xia Lian had been one of those involved from afar in that Sea Gold Stronghold subjugation, so of course she knew.
She nodded, and I continued.
"By Murim Alliance rules, they usually grant leave after such grueling missions."
"Ah, our merchant group does the same. It's both a reward and necessary—even jianghu folk get sick if the escorts and merchants don't rest properly after hard travels. Ah! So he's using that leave to instruct us?"
"Exactly. Not the Alliance Leader himself, though. It's one of the Strike Force commanders—Myeong Tae-seong Commander, the one who gave me a calling card yesterday. So, no issues with procedures, alliance rules, or academy regulations."
The Alliance Leader's money is spent by the Alliance Leader, and Commander Myeong uses his own leave.
My dime, my vacation.
"That's great! Ah, but Commander Myeong Tae-seong... the one who personally gave you the calling card a few days ago? The one you said you'd greased the wheels with before the entrance exam? What does 'greased the wheels' mean?"
"He probably came to recruit Elder Brother Yong-un back then, right? Isn't that so, brother?"
An unexpected comment slipped out.
But Ha-seong wasn't wrong, so I nodded.
"Yeah."
"Whoa. So there was like a one-in-ten-thousand chance you might not have entered the academy? When we get back, I gotta tell the Chairman that story too—not just the sponsorship. Wonder what face he'll make? Heh."
Yin Xia Lian chuckled to herself, clearly amused.
Unlike her, a few others let out sighs of relief for some reason: in order, U So-rung, Tang Ok-gi, and Jeong-hyeon.
Among them, Jeong-hyeon seemed to have something to say to me.
"What? Spit it out."
"Ah. I get that the Alliance Leader's sponsorship is fine, but even setting aside how Bin-do feels... it seems a bit excessive."
"Go on."
"Yes. We haven't established any merits as a Murim Alliance affiliate, so the gifts feel too generous. Makes me worry it might burden Young Master Eon."
"What kind of burden, specifically?"
"For example, rumors of favoritism from the Alliance Leader, or that you've made some burdensome promise to him alone—thoughts like that suddenly come to mind."
I smirked at Jeong-hyeon.
"I get called a scoundrel just sitting still—why would that be a burden?"
"...Still."
"Drop it. Yeah, I did ask the Alliance Leader for one favor on the way back. So it's not like we have no merits—more like a prepayment."
Gong Son-mu-geol's request was for one simple task for the Alliance during the public service period after midterms, once the field trip break ended in the academy schedule.
Not a difficult request at all.
'Visit my maternal grandfather, the Shanxi Golden Peng.'
The reason he asked me was simple.
His maternal ancestral grave had been robbed, and despite no leads on the culprits, his family stubbornly refused Murim Alliance aid. With his birthday banquet coming up, as blood kin, I was to check the atmosphere.
'The Alliance Leader felt uneasy about it, especially after the Sea Gold Stronghold business.'
This was an event covered in the original story anyway.
It also tied into securing Verdant Bamboo Hall's ongoing funding, so I'd planned to volunteer first—no need to hesitate.
Since it was part of the next semester schedule, no need to bore the Eon brothers with details of the Alliance Leader's favor now.
I picked only the essentials.
"Can't say details now. Just know we'll all head out of the academy later. Borrow your hands then—cool?"
The Eon brothers chimed in unison.
"Why even ask? If you need me, I'd follow even to Unmanned Valley without question."
"Same here! Elder Brother Yong-un! That Unmanned... whatever it is!"
"Me too!"
"If it's merchant business, fine, but my sword skills are new—doubt I'd help much. Still, if Young Master Eon needs me, I'll gladly follow."
"Plenty of time left anyway. After midterms. We'll pick members then."
"...Me."
"But not you, Tang Ok-gi. Got research. When's that prototype from White Poison Group coming? How much did we invest?"
"Wh-who said I wanna go? It's coming soon! The Medicine King confirmed it's on track!"
Meanwhile, while such discussions were in full swing in Eon Yong-un's room.
Zhuge Seolji, called the Little Martial Strategist by the jianghu folk—akin to a young Zhuge Liang—was sipping tea in the deepest chamber of the building bearing the placard "Military Affairs Office."
Slurp—
Of course, the Military Affairs Office wasn't a place anyone could just wander into.
Zhuge Seolji had formally applied to visit.
Yet the elegant middle-aged woman before her silently reviewed the letters on her desk.
She was Zhuge Seolji's aunt by blood and publicly the Murim Alliance's Grand Strategist—known to all as the "One Who Sees a Thousand Li While Seated," Zhuge Hye.
Click—
Anyway.
How long had Zhuge Seolji been sitting there alone, sipping tea?
"Auntie!"
Suddenly, Zhuge Seolji set down her cup and furrowed her brows fiercely.
"You gonna keep staring at those letters? I'm here as a Righteous Martial Academy field trip student, not just your nephew!"
A fair point.
But not airtight.
Zhuge Hye poked the gap.
"Such a temper. But let's clarify: if you're here as a field trip student, call me Grand Strategist, not Auntie. And don't show emotions so freely. I might be testing your vessel."
"You're not!"
Anyway, Zhuge Seolji wasn't granted extra hours daily like others.
Using precious time for other departments' visits on the Military Affairs Office was clear.
Zhuge Hye decided to yield a step.
"Sorry. But you know what I do here and how busy it is, right? You came knowing that—thought you were just visiting to relax?"
She could guess why her niece, who used to strut arrogantly back home, was huffing now—and couldn't hold back a smile.
"Don't laugh!"
"Sorry for that too. Understand a bit. Other students coming means I can't review letters—cut your aunt some slack. You're here to vent anyway, right?"
"Not quite venting."
"I can listen while reading these. Go on."
At Zhuge Hye's urging, Zhuge Seolji fiddled with her teacup and began.
"There's someone I desperately want to surpass, but the more I know, the bigger they seem. Have you ever had a rival like that, Auntie?"
"Pfft. That's Eon Yong-un student, right?"
"Yes. But why do you keep laughing?!"
"Remember what I told you? The jianghu is full of geniuses—there's always someone better, so don't get arrogant. When I said that, what did you reply?"
"...That I'd always be the one flying."
"Pfft."
"......"
From Zhuge Hye's view, the laughter was inevitable.
But more might make Zhuge Seolji sulk hard.
"Fine, what do you think now that you've met a real flyer?"
"Honestly, it's not like I'm running while he's flying. More like... a wall? Yeah, a tall wall."
"Taller than Vast Valley Hall, then. Word is you lost every time? Entrance exam, Martial Theory class spar, even to his sworn younger brother Jeong-hyeon. Oh, and Go too?"
Was this what they called words that slay?
"...Even you'd lose at Go!"
Zhuge Seolji bristled at Zhuge Hye's words, but memories of defeats to Eon Yong-un surged, burning inside, leaving her unfinished.
Even Zhuge Hye's list missed the unofficial loss at Danguang First Inn.
Zhuge Seolji suddenly wanted to return to her dorm.
"Thanks for the tea, Auntie."
"Okay, I'll stop. Let's see, a towering rival. Your grandfather for brains, father for kindness. I'm hopeless at swordsmanship—lost even to my little brother teaching at the academy, let alone other masters."
"Not that. Among peers or classmates."
"Losing to Grandfather is natural, and to peer and classmate Eon Yong-un? Absurd?"
"......"
"Wrong thinking. Reasons for losing to him aside, that mindset probably fueled your defeats. Seolji, 'giving your all' isn't a catch-all excuse. To do that, first properly accept your loss to Eon Yong-un student."
Come to think of it, yes.
In the entrance exam, she'd credited her safe choice for top score—luck.
After, if swords clashed? If Go board?
She rationalized every loss, convinced she couldn't lose to Eon Yong-un.
Deep down acknowledged him, but as a rival she could beat if she tried.
Even just now.
The "person" metaphor stung, so she called him a wall.
Yet she'd been crushed every encounter—not even rivals.
'...So humiliating.'
Suppressed shame flooded Zhuge Seolji's face, flushing it red.
Zhuge Hye smiled faintly at the sight.
'Aspiration is good. With a goal so close, Seolji's fortunate.'
Then.
As a pleased smile graced Zhuge Hye's lips.
A line in a fresh letter cracked it.
"What the hell is Namgung Uk, that old raccoon-like geezer, trying to pull?!"