Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: In Dongyun Hall, Honoring Namgae!
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Dragging in Yang Geum-pyo, who was beaten to a pulp, and tossing him down with a thud, the seniors who had declared their surrender and innocence immediately stepped back a couple of paces and clamped their mouths shut.
Peace had finally come to Dongyun Hall.
"Phew."
Confirming that no one else was going to charge at me, I let out a deep breath.
Then I turned to Jeong Hyeon and spoke.
"Jeong Hyeon. Do you need time to sort out your qi and blood?"
"It's been a while since I used fist and palm techniques, so it'd be good to do so. What about you, Young Master Eon?"
"I think I can skip it."
"Well, you did look like a fish in water. Every time they took one step forward, you'd advance two and unleash palm strikes and kicks. Honestly, did I even need to cover your back?"
"...That sounds like you're saying I'm good at beating people up."
"Ah! That's not what I meant!"
"Just kidding. Anyway, come over here and circulate your qi. I'll stand guard as your protector."
"Yes. Then I'll leave it to you."
And so Jeong Hyeon began circulating his qi.
Meanwhile, from the entrance, Ha Seong came running toward me with something wrapped tightly around his shoulder.
I peered closely to see what it was and realized it was a rope.
"...What's that?"
"It's a rope, hyungnim. It was in the storage shed next to the entrance."
"Of course it's from the storage shed since we didn't bring it ourselves. What I mean is, why'd you suddenly bring a rope?"
"...? To tie them up with. Last time with those lowlifes and Huang Bo-jun's gang, tying them one by one took forever. So I thought, if I make a bunch of butterfly loops like this, slip their hands in, and just pull... Aren't we tying them up today?"
"Ha Seong. Do things look the same to you now as they did back then?"
"Now that you mention it, they're different. Come to think of it, you did say earlier that they're still seniors no matter what."
"So, will that rope be useful or not?"
"...It won't, will it?"
"Right?"
"......"
"When!"
"Ack!"
"When! You wanna grow up or not?!"
"Ack!!"
It was then.
As I was smacking Ha Seong on the head with the end of the rope he'd brought, one of the seniors up front, who had been flinching while watching, spoke up.
"Uh, junior. No, vice president? Seems like someone's calling you from over there?"
I turned my head and sure enough, So Neung was calling me.
"Eon hyung!"
"What now?!"
"Sister Yin is here! Should I let her in?!"
The words—what kind of question is that?—rose to the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them with a sigh. It'd probably backfire on So Neung.
I just nodded inwardly with a sigh.
Clunk—
At my signal, the wooden latch was undone, and the door swung wide open as a man and woman entered Dongyun Hall.
The man peeking in cautiously was Jin Kyung-ryong, and the woman striding in briskly, her light blue martial robes fluttering, was Yin Xia Lian.
'One person's missing?'
Professor No Sam, whom I'd sent for, wasn't there.
I tilted my head and addressed Yin Xia Lian.
"What happened to Professor No Sam? Why'd you come alone?"
"I met him in person and explained the situation and your intentions, Young Master Eon. He said he understood for now. The professors have a meeting among themselves, so it'll take a bit. He said for everyone to gather in Dongyun Hall first."
In response to my question, Yin Xia Lian answered immediately.
She pulled a jade hairpin from her updo and took a notebook from her sleeve.
"Hold this for a moment."
She used the hairpin to undo the string holding her disheveled hair, tied it back tightly, rolled up her sleeves, and then held out her palm for the item she'd entrusted to me.
"Now give it back."
Something about that sight gave me a strong sense of déjà vu.
Like with Ha Seong or So Neung.
'...This jade hairpin. Twisting the head reveals charcoal—it's a kind of pencil, right?'
Instead of handing back the item Yin Xia Lian had entrusted to me right away, I spoke first.
"What are you planning to do, looking so busy on your own?"
"Work, of course."
"So what kind of work?"
At my words, Yin Xia Lian widened her eyes as if asking what kind of nonsense that was.
"We need compensation. No mental trauma this time? You look like you could use some nice, white, hard, hefty golden sore salve. Even if not, just say you do."
Look at that.
My déjà vu was spot on.
I let out a short sigh and slowly shared my thoughts with Yin Xia Lian.
"Come to think of it, yeah, there is some. But with me having to run Cheongjuk Hall from now on, is it okay to do this between seniors and juniors? Oh, I haven't mentioned it yet, but I plan to ask you to take charge of the general affairs department."
But at my words, Yin Xia Lian's eyes burned even fiercer.
"Then we absolutely need to collect it."
"...?"
"I know Cheongjuk Hall's finances are in pretty bad shape. Isn't that right?"
"I haven't seen the ledgers yet, but probably."
"Exactly. We're already strapped for cash, and right after the semester starts, we can't dip into public funds for Dongyun Hall repairs and treating fellow students. Especially when they brought it on themselves. From now on, we need to make them too scared of the cost to pull this crap again."
Hm.
Hearing it out, her logic was pretty solid.
I handed Yin Xia Lian back her notebook and hairpin.
Then I called over Jin Kyung-ryong and shared my thoughts about her.
"President Jin?!"
"...Yeah?"
"I have a request."
"Speak."
"I don't know how you formed the general affairs department last year, but I'm thinking of putting Miss Yin here in charge."
Jin Kyung-ryong nodded at my words and replied.
"Last year's general affairs was led by that guy Yang Geum-pyo over there. I'll explain later, but there were some unsavory incidents. If the Silver Heir, called the future of Thousand Gold Smile or Radiance Merchant Group, takes it on, I couldn't ask for better. Truth be told, when I saw her application, I was hoping for it myself."
There'd be paperwork left, but with Jin Kyung-ryong's approval matching mine, no issue.
"Yes. I'm entrusting her with handling the financial losses and compensation from today's incident. Help with identity checks and such. Later, after we sort this out, assist with handing over the ledgers and keys too."
"I'll do that. Ah, but can I make one request?"
"What?"
Then Jin Kyung-ryong hesitantly made a request.
"Um. In informal settings—not student council meetings or meeting other professors besides Professor No Sam—like earlier, call me Brother Kyung-ryong."
"...? Earlier I was pissed off and lost my temper, accidentally being rude, and you want me to keep calling you that?"
"It feels more friendly, and also..."
"And?"
"...Even if you flip out like today again, I feel like I'd let it slide. Something like that."
"...?"
The latter part was a bit odd, but it wasn't a hard request, so I nodded.
As we were wrapping things up in our own way, Professor No Sam arrived at Dongyun Hall, dressed in his flowing martial robes.
The first thing Professor No Sam did upon arriving was bellow loud enough to shake Dongyun Hall.
"What the hell is this?!"
At that shout, most of the gathered seniors looked ashamed.
But Professor No Sam's shout had no specific subject.
Yang Geum-pyo's gang, still not getting it, must have thought it was aimed at me, because they pointed at me with battered grins on their swollen faces.
"Pwofethuh! It'th that guy! That bathstard! He thmathhed up the whole plathe!!"
"Right! This Eon Yong-un punk committed insubordination!"
"Yes! This scoundrel committed insubordination and left us like this! In Dongyun Hall, honoring the founder of Cheongjuk Hall, Namgae! This can't stand! Expel him!"
But Yang Geum-pyo's gang's clamor didn't last long.
"You pathetic idiots. You tried to gang up on a junior and got your asses handed to you instead—have some shame! If you're cadets of Righteous Martial Academy—no, if you're martial artists at all, you should have at least that much conscience!"
Because Professor No Sam, charging in like a thunderbolt, started slapping their cheeks.
Slap!
"And how the hell is this insubordination?! Eon Yong-un is the autonomy-approved vice president, and you lot are just cadets. What you did is insubordination!"
Slap!!
"Pwo, pwrofethuh ith betraying uth!!"
"What the hell's this punk been mumbling since earlier? Eon family, where'd all his teeth go?!"
"Uh. Sounds like he's saying the professor's favoring the student?"
"What?! Wait, isn't this the guy who embezzled Cheongjuk Hall's funds last year?!"
Slap! Slap!!
"I knocked out some teeth, but left the molars so he could taste meat..."
Smack!!!!
"...Oops, that one's gone too."
And so Yang Geum-pyo's gang was dealt with.
Professor No Sam dusted off his hands and spat the rest.
"Looks like you wrote you'd do an initiation rite. Lately, they've been calling bullying newbies that, right? Jin boy, what's the original meaning of 'mienshin'?"
"To welcome the new."
"Right. Today isn't just about meeting the five volunteers among the freshmen. From today, all of Cheongjuk Hall will be reborn. Of course, to do that, we first punish those who let it become this mess."
With that, Professor No Sam slapped his own cheek with far more force than he'd used on Yang Geum-pyo's gang.
Smaaack!!!!
"That's me, who's just stood by with folded arms all this time."
As the room gasped in shock, Professor No Sam spat out a bloody tooth and continued.
"Namgae founded Cheongjuk Hall on equality, freedom, and diligence. I and you all used that to justify our own laziness. But from now on, it changes. Not the indulgence of letting you do whatever—no more. We'll teach freedom with responsibility for your actions! Not just perfect attendance—true diligence with your best effort! Eon Yong-un here embodies Namgae's spirit!"
Me?
"Hmph. Some of you must be thinking, we're the perennial last in the four great dorms, but no scoundrels kicked out from home—and how's that punk Namgae's incarnation?"
Objectively, isn't that right?
"Petty details differ this way and that—set them aside and look at the facts. Eon Yong-un was a famous scoundrel in northern Hebei. And he got kicked out of his family. Regardless, he took responsibility for his actions. He paid the price for the freedom he enjoyed. Leaving his family that way, in harsh conditions, he seized the top cadet spot. That's diligence. In this Eon family punk, I saw the kind of successor Namgae wanted to raise. It rang in my mind like a rebuke."
Hm, there were minor errors, and he was overestimating my vessel because of it.
But since Professor No Sam seemed to be backing me up, I decided to keep quiet.
'But why are those guys nodding like they agree?'
Anyway, as my Eon brothers nodded along, Professor No Sam delivered his final words.
"This old beggar's nagging went on too long. If my ramblings gave you even a little insight, actively cooperate with the autonomy president and vice president's intentions and plans."
And so the unexpected initiation rite ended.
After the seniors left Dongyun Hall, Professor No Sam glared at me and spoke.
"You cheeky brat. Couldn't you have stopped me a bit instead of just watching?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. If you'd said, 'Professor, please stop,' it would've looked good, and my cheek and teeth would be intact!"
What nonsense.
The atmosphere didn't allow it, and even I couldn't have stopped Professor No Sam in that brief moment.
This was just the old beggar being embarrassed.
I snorted at him.
"Jeez."
Professor No Sam cleared his throat and turned to Yin Xia Lian.
"Anyway, things are more or less sorted. Yin girl, follow me."
But Yin Xia Lian, seemingly doing mental calculations, didn't look up from her notebook and mumbled soullessly.
"Sorry, Professor. From today's mess, some floorboards in Dongyun Hall need replacing, so I have estimates to make, and reorganize the list and Cheongjuk Hall accounts—I'm pretty busy. If it's not rude, may I ask what it is?"
"Mo Yong-rin. No, the Sword Empress wants to see you."
Oh.
There was nothing more urgent than that right now.
I snatched the notebook from Yin Xia Lian and spoke.
"That's the most pressing. Let's do that first. Don't forget to take the spirit pill you got for the scholarship selection."
"Got it."
I also told the remaining Eon brothers.
"Things are gonna get crazy busy starting tomorrow, so unless you're in recovery, take those spirit pills from the scholarship now. I'll stand guard. Hoarding that stuff usually turns it to shit."
"Shit again... Um. Yes, I understand."
"Yep!"
"Got it! But hyungnim, you're not taking one? Or did you already?"
"Haven't yet. When would I have? With Bo-jun's dad, the alliance leader, and now Professor No Sam here."
"Then you first, hyungnim. Cold water should flow top-down—we'll stand guard for you."
"You greenhorns know how to stand guard properly? Ahem. So, if you're taking the spirit medicines now, I'll watch over you all. Eon punk, you first?"
"Thanks, but I have other uses for mine, Professor."
"Huh? Didn't you just say hoarding it turns to shit?"
Ah, well.
In my case, hoarding it turns it to poison.
Not just any poison, but the kind that blocks other poisons—Immunity to All Poisons.