Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Baek Family's Pavilion's Central Treasure (5)
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Taking advantage of the commotion, Chu Un-hwi quickly slipped out of the Infinite Pavilion.
Trailing behind him, her wrist gripped in his hand, was Baek Ri-seol.
"How's it feel to become a real jianghu wanderer? Total shitshow, huh?"
"Yes, really."
"That's the jianghu for you. Congrats. From here on out, even shittier days are waiting for you."
It must have been a shock.
Her family had actually fallen under a villain's soul-ensnaring spell and abused her, while the nanny she thought was a friend had been the demonic culprit behind it all.
'And she even saw that nanny spewing fire from her eyes as she died.'
It was a harsh reality for a young child to bear.
Even for Chu Un-hwi, whose heart had dried up into a desert, a twinge of guilt was inevitable.
He wasn't gifted at comforting others.
He knew that, but he couldn't just stay silent now.
"Don't worry. Some days might be better than today."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Can't say for sure, though. Probably?"
"Hehe. That's good enough."
She was laughing in a situation like this?
She seemed tougher than expected.
Puberty at work?
'They say even seeing dog shit makes you laugh during puberty, but isn't this a bit extreme?'
Some side effect of the soul-ensnaring spell lingering?
'Something feels off.'
A sidelong glance revealed her staring at him with a strange look, unable to stop smiling.
"Watch where you're running."
"Got it."
"You'll trip."
"Yes, I'll be careful..."
See?
Baek Ri-seol tripped while running.
Whoosh.
Chu Un-hwi swiftly caught the falling girl and sighed.
"See? I told you to watch ahead."
"I'll do better next time. But right now..."
Chu Un-hwi, holding Baek Ri-seol in his arms, let out a deep sigh.
Her body was burning hot.
'Tch. No wonder it's taking a toll now that the soul-ensnaring spell is broken.'
Baek Ri-seol mumbled limply in his arms.
"Right now... I just want to sleep like this a bit."
"Sleep then. When you wake up, the nightmare will be over."
"Sorry. Just for a little while. I'll close my eyes for a sec."
Chu Un-hwi let out a heavy sigh as Baek Ri-seol promptly lost consciousness.
"What a handful."
Grumbling, he scooped her up and kicked off into the air.
"What in the world is this?!"
A crowd soon rushed into the annex.
Among them was Elder Baek Ri-seon-ho of the Baek Family main house, who had hurried over upon hearing the sudden marriage news.
True to his status as a master, Elder Baek Ri-seon-ho had sensed the anomaly first and arrived at the annex quickest.
There, he heard an unbelievable tale.
"A demon? A demon infiltrated the Infinite Pavilion?"
"Yes. The Pavilion Master lost consciousness due to the demon's vile scheme, and the young master and lady failed to..."
The explanations that followed were all jaw-dropping.
The most unbelievable part was the culprit's identity: a household servant of the Infinite Pavilion.
Even more shocking, she was the personal maid to Baek Ri-seol, a direct bloodline of the Baek Family. Elder Baek Ri-seon-ho was left speechless.
"How could no one notice until things reached this point?!"
No one among the guards dared lift their heads as Elder Baek Ri-seon-ho ranted furiously.
It was only natural.
Not only had a demon infiltrated the family's most secure inner sanctum—supposedly the safest place—but no one had noticed for a full decade.
"We trusted Baek Ri, the Pavilion Master, for his smooth handling of affairs, but if he can't even manage his own house, how can he bear such heavy responsibility?!"
"Elder, right now, we should focus on wrapping up the situation first. We can address merits and faults later."
At the guard captain's words, Elder Baek Ri-seon-ho scowled but relented.
"Fine. If word gets out, it'll tarnish the Baek Family's name."
But did he know?
That the one who caused this mess had already slipped away.
And that the Baek Family's prized White Dragon Swordsman had been defeated by an unknown Bronze Hall instructor.
- You better watch yourself.
Watching Elder Baek Ri-seon-ho fume as he shook out his sleeves and stormed off,
'All we can do is hope he keeps his promise.'
The guard captain could only sigh deeply.
Bam!
Yeo Mae-hong jolted awake from sleep in surprise.
It was still dark outside.
"Who's banging at this hour of the night?"
As she hurriedly threw on her top, the door pounded again.
Bam bam bam bam.
It went beyond knocking—it was outright kicking.
Yeo Mae-hong instinctively grabbed her sword and yanked the door open.
Her eyes widened at the sight.
"Huh? Instructor Chu? Student Baek Ri-seol?"
"Ahaha. Mind if we come in for a sec?"
"O-of course, come in."
She hastily tied her robe and stepped aside. Chu Un-hwi stomped in and tossed Baek Ri-seol onto the bed.
"Whew. She's heavy."
"...That's pretty rude. Baek Ri-seol would cry if she heard."
Ignoring Chu Un-hwi's grumbling, Yeo Mae-hong examined her closely and tilted her head.
'I thought she was hurt...'
Surprisingly, there were no visible wounds.
She was just deep in sleep, snoring cutely.
Yeo Mae-hong's eyes narrowed.
"Instructor Chu, you didn't kidnap Student Baek Ri-seol, did you?"
Chu Un-hwi jumped.
"Why the hell would I kidnap someone?"
"Well..."
Pressing her finger to her lips, Yeo Mae-hong replied.
"Instructor Yang Gu-baek-cheol said he saw you singing, 'Where's my student? Maybe I should just kidnap one?' And Squad Leader Yeom was so startled he ordered everyone to keep their students in check."
"......"
Chu Un-hwi shut his mouth.
He remembered it well.
Caught red-handed, he had no excuse.
"Hehehe. Just kidding."
Carefully laying Baek Ri-seol's head down, Chu Un-hwi made his request to Yeo Mae-hong.
"I know it's a hassle, but could you watch her for a few days?"
"Don't worry. Even though she's no longer under my care, I've grown quite fond of her. I'll look after her as best I can."
Yeo Mae-hong smiled brightly, feeling pleased.
'Despite all that talk, he really does care.'
She had been quite disappointed by Chu Un-hwi's irresponsible attitude when Baek Ri-seol announced her withdrawal.
'Guess I was wrong. He must've been putting in effort in his own way.'
He really was a good guy.
Seeing him live up to her expectations lifted her spirits.
As she pulled the blanket up to cover her, a grumble came.
"My arm's gonna fall off. What does this kid eat to get so heavy?"
Yeo Mae-hong's hand froze mid-pull. She crossed her arms, glaring at Chu Un-hwi with axe-like eyes.
"Instructor Chu, you need to learn to speak kindly."
"I think my tone's plenty kind."
"Not at all!"
Yeo Mae-hong scolded sharply.
"Never say a girl is heavy in front of her!"
"Baek Ri-seol's actually on the light side!"
"Think about how hurtful your words are to others!"
So it was the weight issue after all?
Adding that one line only unleashed more nagging.
"It's not just about weight! Kids are precious. Praise them, say they do well—raise them with flowers, not whips of words! Pretty words! Good words only!"
As the nonstop lecture continued, Chu Un-hwi retorted.
"I can say nice things too."
"What?"
"Your nightgown looks great on you."
Pointing with his finger and smirking, Yeo Mae-hong's neck creaked as she turned.
Her gaze darted between Chu Un-hwi's pointing finger, his grin, and the bandages on the wall.
And then.
"Get out!"
Thwack!
"Argh! Help, murder!"
Hit by a pillow, Chu Un-hwi fled like a grasshopper on fire.
Surprisingly, yesterday's incident blew over quietly.
The Baek Family seemed to have decided to keep the Infinite Pavilion matter under wraps.
Makes sense—the family head had been brainwashed and toyed with by a demon.
No way they'd proudly broadcast something that would draw fingers pointed in scorn across the jianghu.
This was the outcome he had intended.
'Since it happened in the annex, it won't be hard to clean up. With loyal guards present, they can probably quash any rumors if handled right.'
That was why he had left those words with the guard captain.
Things had gone according to plan.
But there was one unexpected development.
As he pondered where to go today, Chung-hyun approached.
He was markedly different from usual.
It was a first, striking up conversation with a grin plastered on his face.
"Wow, our Instructor Chu. You're really something, huh?"
Even the way he addressed him had changed.
From 'that bastard,' 'you punk,' 'hey' to a whopping 'our Instructor Chu.'
A title he'd never heard before only made Chu Un-hwi uneasy.
"What's up?"
"What do you mean? I'm just fond of you, Instructor Chu."
As Chung-hyun slyly tried to sling an arm around his shoulders, Chu Un-hwi dodged and asked.
"Why the sudden change? Eat something bad?"
"Look at you."
Unexpectedly, Chung-hyun didn't snap. Instead, he leered with a sleazy grin, shoulders shaking.
The bizarre sight even flustered Yeom Gwang.
"Hall Master, something good happen?"
"You bet! Oh yeah!"
Chung-hyun pulled out a silk-wrapped bundle. The ornate messenger scroll bore the characters 'Baek Family' in gold thread.
"Get this! The Baek Family sent a thank-you letter straight to yours truly!"
"From the Baek Family?"
"They thanked me for correcting their mistake. And they sent a hefty donation too—steak dinner for everyone!"
As the instructors' eyes turned to him, Chu Un-hwi shrugged innocently.
Chung-hyun danced about gleefully.
"Thanks to you, I even got called to the Divine Martial Hall Master and praised yesterday."
Bronze Hall, Silver Hall, Gold Hall.
Then the Divine Martial Hall Master above them.
Even with the same title of Hall Master, their prestige wasn't comparable.
White-Clothed Judge Seon In-hyeok.
Their influence in the jianghu was worlds apart.
It wasn't common for the Hall Master of the shit-tier Bronze Hall to be summoned by the Divine Martial Academy's Chief Supervisor.
And the biggest boon was yet another.
"He praised me big time, said I could look forward to a promotion."
The Divine Martial Hall Master was a high-ranking official who decided promotions.
That seemed to be why Chung-hyun's clownish antics were ascending to the heavens.
"Now I can finally retire from Bronze Hall!"
He'd always sung about wanting to go to Silver Hall, so no wonder he was thrilled.
Double the pension after retirement would fill him up without eating.
The instructors murmured.
"That guy—no, Instructor Chu said he was doing a house visit yesterday."
"Yeah. Thought he'd get wrecked, but turns out he's a problem-solver."
"Rare for a swordsmanship powerhouse like the Baek Family to send thanks, and reversing their decision too."
"What the hell did he do?"
What did he do?
Ran over, beat some sense into the Infinite Pavilion Master, and fixed his head.
Swallowing words he couldn't say in front of others, Chu Un-hwi bided his moment.
With Chung-hyun's spirits sky-high and generosity peaked, now was the chance.
"Hall Master."
"What is it, my darling Instructor Chu?"
"How about just two students while we're at it..."
"No."
"Three's too many..."
"No. Not trading. No plans to. Scram."
Unexpectedly ironclad.
Even a counterattack came.
"You seem cut out for handling problem kids. Can't you take another?"
"There are a few the other instructors are desperate to ditch."
"What do you say? Three's nothing. Hell, ten if you do well?"
Chu Un-hwi backed off from Chung-hyun, who planned to remove one wart only to slap on a dozen more.
'Sigh. What a headache.'
The jianghu was full of all sorts.
For Chu Un-hwi, things still rarely went his way.