Chapter 68
Chapter 68
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Loach and Catfish (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The innkeeper set down steaming cups of tea on the table and, just as he always did whenever so-called luminaries of the martial world visited, bowed toward Nosam with clasped hands.
Nosam obliged the request while shooting me a sly glance.
"The aroma is subtle and nice, but you wanted me to write 'Eaten well, departing satisfied,' right?"
"Yes! That's perfect!"
"Hmm. But no matter how good the tea is, it's still cousins with plain water. Saying I ate well just from sipping a cup feels a bit stingy to my pride..."
At Nosam's words, my master at my waist clicked his tongue.
- That... that beggar bastard is slyly pitching a fit again. He's wriggling like that because he plans to stick around for dinner too!
'...Seems like it. Come to think of it, he timed his arrival right at dinnertime.'
Nosam had a precedent from the entrance exam: he declared he'd fight with one hand only to switch to two the moment I did, reneging on his word.
Because of that, even I had developed a faint conviction to only half-trust a beggar's words, if not quite to my master's extent.
But thinking about it, there was no room to complain about a beggar doing beggar things.
'If I said, "How very beggar-like of you," would that be praise or an insult?'
Sending away a guest who arrived at mealtime went against the etiquette of this era.
'Besides, Nosam is a character who plays a recurring role even in the original story, so I can't treat him too coldly.'
With that, I swallowed a sigh inwardly and spoke to the innkeeper.
"Innkeeper, for tonight's dinner, could you add two more servings for Professor Nosam and Senior Jin Kyung-ryong here?"
"Heh heh, why not?! I'll prepare it right away!"
The innkeeper nodded good-naturedly.
But then Nosam scratched his neck and tossed out a question.
"So, what does this place do best?!"
"In my younger days, I wandered everywhere as a cook, so I can handle the big ones from Sichuan cuisine to Hangzhou dishes. Since Professor Jak Pung-wol is here today, how about beggar chicken? Sound good?"
Beggar chicken was a kind of whole roasted chicken.
You clean the chicken thoroughly, wrap it whole in lotus leaves, coat it in mud, and shove it into a fire pit to bake. Simply put, it was like the Goobne chicken from murim tales.
Of course, it wasn't the same as the grilled chicken from my past life.
For one, the name was beggar chicken.
It originated from beggar kids with no proper tools or seasonings roughly roasting stolen chickens.
"Beggar chicken, eh. Sounds good, but pay extra attention when removing the innards. If any are left inside, it'll taste bitter, and if you crush the shape pulling them out, it won't cook evenly."
"Noted!"
Requiring such delicate care for beggar food?
"And when it's done roasting, don't forget to put the neck and tail meat on my plate. Oh, and some grain tea too!"
And what was that?
Demanding the neck and tail meat?
I preferred legs or wings anyway, so our tastes didn't overlap, and it didn't bother me.
But thinking about it, that mindset was pure beggar.
'Strictly speaking, the neck and tail are the only parts on a chicken there's just one of...'
Coming to someone else's inn to mooch a meal and brazenly demanding those...
- That beggar bastard is really asking for it.
Tell me about it.
Really...
"Beggar bas..."
"......?"
"?"
"Did you just say 'beggar bastard'?"
Hm.
In exchanging thoughts with my master, I'd accidentally voiced my inner monologue.
But it was worth a shot.
I quickly played innocent.
"Huh? I said beggar chicken."
"...No, it definitely sounded like 'beggar bas'."
The tone of what I'd said was similar enough.
Plus, I had solid Eon underclassmen who'd swear I stuffed red bean paste in spring rolls if I said so.
"Young Master Eon clearly said beggar chicken, Professor."
"That's what I heard too."
"Me three!"
"Above all, Young Master Eon wouldn't dare be so rude to his elders."
Three mouths in sync could conjure a tiger from thin air; we had four.
Backed by four witnesses, I boldly doubled down.
"No matter how notorious I am as a wastrel, would I dare think that in front of Professor Nosam? You must have misheard because you were busy picking earwax while following Beggar Sect rules."
"...I, is that so? It has been a while since I last judged."
Nosam finally grumbled and accepted our claim.
Well, anyway.
Thus, with Nosam and Jin Kyung-ryong slyly slithering over the fence like eels for dinner too, my master at my waist added a word.
- But, is it really okay for that beggar bastard Nosam to come seeking you out like this?!
'You're saying a professor stepping in for student matters might violate academy rules?'
- Exactly.
'No issue.
- No issue?
'Yes. Professor Nosam isn't bound by neutrality like the chancellor, and as the Azure Bamboo Hall supervisor professor, inviting talent to his dorm doesn't breach rules. However...'
- However?
'It looks bad for the professors. They're supposed to be above mingling with cadets, yet moving to recruit one freshman? It's awkward. And if I refuse, the professor gets laughed at for being rejected.'
- Hmm. You're right. Damn, is it admirable or foolish? Risking ridicule to show up here...? He knows from the entrance exam you saw through his tricks and won't join just because a professor asks, that beggar bastard!
'Yeah, probably.'
- As you say, he's desperate. And acknowledges you. Anyway, let's hear what nonsense he spouts.
Right.
Now to hear how they'd concretely convey Azure Bamboo Hall's desperation.
Slurp—
I quenched my throat with tea.
Then, staring at Azure Bamboo Hall supervisor professor Nosam and student council president Jin Kyung-ryong in turn, I spoke.
"So. What proposal does Azure Bamboo Hall have?"
The first to answer my question was Jin Kyung-ryong.
"People group Righteous Martial Academy cadets together, calling them the young dragons and phoenixes of the orthodox martial world. But I don't think 'dragon' or 'phoenix' suits the current Azure Bamboo Hall cadets."
"Hm. You mean earth dragons?"
"Earth dragon fits those who grind their bones aspiring to become true dragons. It doesn't suit our Azure Bamboo Hall cadets. Ours are... yeah. The sturdy ones are eels, the slippery ones loaches."
"Hmph. Is Senior Jin indirectly telling me never to join Azure Bamboo Hall?"
"Hardly. Just being honest about the situation."
Jin Kyung-ryong fiddled with his teacup as he continued.
"My hometown is a small village outside Gwangsin County in Guangdong Province down south. Lots of rice paddies there, so plenty of loaches too. When catching them to eat, the adults always said the ones from ponds with a catfish were fresher."
Ah.
Catfish and loach.
The tale that loaches living with a catfish thrash harder to survive and grow stronger.
'Did this world have that story too?'
But I recalled loaches just getting eaten up...
I knew it as akin to sparrows regrowing beaks or lions pushing cubs off cliffs.
Well, facts weren't the point now.
It was a metaphor from Jin Kyung-ryong.
'Azure Bamboo Hall, deep in defeatist mindset, thinks adding someone like me will change the vibe.'
So, I held my tongue and listened as he went on.
"Azure Bamboo Hall cadets have the talent to rise and shed their loach ways with the right spark."
"You see me as that spark?"
"Not just see—I’m certain. Snagging top spot despite demerits as a third-class warrior, even Professor Je Gal-min acknowledging you, and look—Professor Nosam’s spirits lifted just being here."
"Ahem. Hm."
"And I’ll help however I can. Azure Bamboo Hall will provide full support. We’ll take your whole crew, and while student council president needs a vote at semester’s end, we can make you vice president right away."
Student council vice president?!
I hadn’t expected Nosam, but this neither.
'Factoring the original story, I figured guidance chief with discipline power or treasurer handling funds. Vice president?'
Honestly, even Azure Bamboo Hall’s best perks couldn’t top other dorms in funding or facilities.
But vice president had real pull.
If president held final say, vice ran the show.
They shaped executive lineup like limbs, set dorm operations—prime spot for next president.
"You’d make history as the first freshman vice president!"
Jin Kyung-ryong touted the honor.
But I saw different angles.
'Even in other dorms, I’m confident climbing to vice and president steadily.'
But late this year, the cult rears its head; next year, massive incidents erupt; year after, the world goes mad.
'Mid-level roles like chief or vice get swept in the torrent.'
But seizing vice president now to control a dorm?
'Like a leaky ship now, but as vice, I’d steer through the storm.'
It’d help flex with variables from my meddling twisting the original plot.
'Give Yin Xia Lian treasurer real power. Jeong-hyeon guidance, Ha-seong and So-neung... one fast feet for errands, one silver-tongued for PR... oh, that guy too?'
Slot Eon underclassmen right, pull in original Azure Bamboo alumni—fix issues soon.
'Sounds good?'
Honestly, yes.
But first, secure preconditions.
Everything’s push-pull.
Biting now was third-rate.
I feigned apathy.
"That’s it? You say best treatment, but Azure Bamboo’s best won’t beat Yun Hall’s worst—and Yun’s already top-tier."
"......"
"And vice president sounds nice, but if you’ve lined up chiefs and vices already, I’d just be a puppet. A freshman vice? Even depressed seniors might not stomach it."
At my words,
Jin Kyung-ryong replied without a beat.
"Misunderstanding. I’ve eyed candidates for chiefs and vices, but no offers yet—just a list. If you join, it’s yours; we’ll build council your way. And your worry? Honestly, doubtful. Outrage proves pride remains."
"If it happens?"
"If somehow, as long as no one dies, Professor Nosam and I back you fully to clean up."
Ho.
Liked that.
Instant reply proved no scheming.
Especially ‘no deaths, we’ll handle cleanup’—music.
'They’ll greenlight discipline short of killing.'
But biting now? Second-rate.
No need for Nosam if just this offer.
Still apathetic, I said,
"Got it. I’ll compare other dorm offers and get back."
Choked by first-rate push-pull,
the big fish listening finally bit.
"Join Azure Bamboo Hall. I’ll teach you Dragon Subduing Palm."