Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Chapter 8 The Third Student (2)
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Chorrrruk.
Refilling his glass, Moyong Seon-ya spoke.
"This is the first time we've talked just the two of us."
"So it seems."
"I've heard you made quite the splash. The Baek Family withdrew their decision to expel you from the academy and even expressed their gratitude, right? It was such a shocking event that it became quite the topic in Silver Hall too."
"Not something that happens often, I take it?"
"Places on the level of the Ten Great Sword Families almost never admit to their mistakes. They tend to see reversing a decision as a blow to their pride."
As they drank, using the recent events as a side dish, Moyong Seon-ya suddenly hesitated.
Nyam.
Picking up three pieces of braised pork belly with his chopsticks, Chu Un-hwi asked.
"Something on your mind?"
"It's not so much a worry as that favor I mentioned earlier."
Nyam. Nyam.
Stuffing five pieces into his mouth with one go and downing his glass, Chu Un-hwi let out a hearty "Keurgh!" of satisfaction.
Moyong Seon-ya's eyes shifted to the look of someone who'd witnessed something unspeakable.
"How to put it... You seem awfully uncle-like."
"Twenty-five years old. An uncle in his marriageable age, aren't I?"
"Forget twenty; even thirty is considered young among the jianghu folk. You don't shed the 'late bloomer' label until past thirty-five. No, just now you sounded exactly like some fifty-year-old uncle!"
"Yes, yes, next up auntie."
"You jerk!"
After the light banter, Moyong Seon-ya's face softened considerably.
'How peculiar.'
She, who rarely got rattled even in Silver Hall, found herself smiling before she knew it, leaving her with a strange feeling.
"So, what's the point?"
"I'll get straight to it. Are you open to taking on a new student?"
A new student.
From Chu Un-hwi's perspective, anyone who didn't cause trouble and just padded his record was fine.
After handling the Baek Family matter, Chung-hyun's heightened expectations manifested as constant prodding every day.
Lately, perhaps tired of nagging, he was dumping piles of pointless busywork to pressure him.
'I need to snag someone.'
But anyone high-maintenance was out.
"You've heard from Instructor Yeo, I assume?"
"That you prefer students who don't require much hand-holding."
'Though I find that hard to believe.'
Moyong Seon-ya swallowed the afterthought.
"Good that you know."
"Her aptitude isn't bad at all."
Not a student. A child.
Tilting his head at the familiar term, Chu Un-hwi heard her add.
"She's from my main family."
"Someone from the Moyong Family?"
"The family treasures her greatly. She's the little darling of the main house, you could say. Moyong So-hye's a lively, bright girl."
"A lively child... Hmmm."
"What's wrong?"
Chu Un-hwi replied with an utterly weary expression.
"I've already got more than enough lively types overflowing."
A man who looked like he'd swallowed a bonfire whole was saying this.
"Oh? Not talking about Nangong Yun-ho... Don't tell me you mean Baek Ri-seol?"
Nod.
With the vibe of a father who'd bought fried chicken on the way home from overtime only for the packaging to tear and ruin it, Chu Un-hwi bobbed his head.
'Baek Ri-seol? That's unexpected.'
Baek Ri-seol had talent but was always insisting she was special, leading to isolation from the other students.
She'd at least had her maid Ryeong-ryeong by her side before, but since returning recently, she'd put up full walls against the students, keeping them at bay.
'There's some backstory here.'
Swallowing her curiosity, Moyong Seon-ya changed the subject.
"The point is, she's talented and quick-witted, but the family doesn't approve, and that's the issue."
"Why's that?"
"Her mother got caught in a jianghu grudge and died."
A common tale.
Jianghu grudges, no matter how small, could return as horrific disasters at any time.
'Moyong So-hye...'
A name he didn't recall.
That meant either she lacked talent enough to make a name in the jianghu or was fated to live comfortably as the Moyong Family intended.
'Doesn't matter.'
The jianghu was none of his concern anyway.
What he needed now was someone with decent talent who could rack up achievements without fuss.
"But why ask me specifically?"
There was Yeo Mae-hong nearby, and plenty of other capable folks.
Moyong Seon-ya smiled in response.
"I've heard you have a special eye for things. I'm counting on that."
What the heck did that mean?
Nyam.
His chopsticks snagged seven pieces of braised pork belly.
Moyong Seon-ya was as quick to act as she seemed.
The very next day, as dawn broke, a girl came calling.
"H-Hello."
She was smaller than expected.
Her height seemed shy of five feet.
"Fourteen years old! Bronze Hall newbie student, Moyong So-hye!"
Fourteen made her a year younger than Baek Ri-seol.
Yet her head was half a size smaller, making her look even younger.
'Didn't eat enough growing up?'
Unlikely for a cherished Moyong Family child.
'Or maybe not?'
Looking at the similar-aged students passing behind Baek Ri-seol, who was glaring daggers his way, it wasn't that.
Baek Ri-seol's side was just unusually tall; this one was on the smaller side.
Realizing this anew, Chu Un-hwi asked Moyong So-hye.
"Alright. You've spoken to Instructor Moyong, I hear."
"Yes, sir!"
Straightening rigidly with perfect discipline, Moyong So-hye shouted.
'Less the lively darling Instructor Moyong described and more a tense bipedal puppy?'
Ignoring stray thoughts, Chu Un-hwi put on a suitably stern face and told her.
"Good. Show me what you've learned."
Moyong So-hye walked to one side of the training ground and timidly shouted.
"B-Beginning now!"
What followed was the first half of Divine Martial Swordsmanship, which all students learned.
Seemed the explanation that the family kept her far from the jianghu and didn't teach clan arts was true.
"Yab! Yab!"
Chu Un-hwi's assessment of her wielding the sword with chick-like grunts, biting her tongue, was simple.
'Average.'
Not bad aptitude.
On the level of upper-mid among Bronze Hall students?
Nothing outright bad to pick on, but nothing compelling either.
Her personality seemed mild and easygoing, but she flinched at Baek Ri-seol's sight, disrupting her forms—clearly quite timid.
Timid puppies took a lot of handling.
'Ah, no good.'
How to wriggle out and send her back?
A normal student might be fine, but with Moyong Seon-ya—who'd been such a booze fountain—it felt a bit guilty.
"Nothing else?"
"Um... I know a bit of hidden weapons too. Golden Pear Blossoms and a touch of dagger arts."
"Golden Pear Blossoms aside, dagger and hidden weapon arts?"
Righteous faction folk usually saw hidden weapons or daggers as cowardly.
So it was unusual for Moyong So-hye—who hadn't even learned proper clan arts—to know them.
The reason came right out.
"They said basic self-defense skills are good to have..."
Ah, that kind of thing.
No formal martial arts, but patchwork self-protection tricks.
"Alright. Show me."
"Yes, Instructor!"
Yab yab!
The tongue-bitten chick cry echoed across the training ground again.
"Done!"
Chu Un-hwi's evaluation of the sweat-drenched Moyong So-hye remained the same.
'Mediocre.'
Still nothing standout.
One peculiar point, though.
'Good handiwork.'
Dagger arts and Golden Pear Blossoms were decent enough.
Crude patchwork skills kept them from shining, but with proper guidance, she'd show talent there.
More suited to the hidden weapons masters of the Sichuan Tang Clan than the Moyong Family?
'No wonder they kept martial arts from her.'
How would they take a trembling child—already scared of injury—showing talent for close-quarters life-risking combat?
'No can do. Way too high-maintenance.'
Send her back.
Nangong Yun-ho had recommended a friend anyway; no need to commit.
His mind was tipping that way.
"Mm."
Moyong So-hye, watching the pondering instructor, grew gloomy.
'Wrong again.'
No standout talent, but always around people, she was adept at reading moods.
She sensed 'negative' from his wavering face.
Different from the scary sister's cold glares or the blunt brother's stiffness when practicing.
Not mere 'wariness' or 'favor,' but 'negative' judgment of her.
Suddenly depressed.
'Failed this time too.'
Kicking a pebble at her feet, she nibbled her upper lip into a triangle.
She'd heard he was a peculiar instructor.
Rumors among students said he was a freak who spotted hidden talents.
So she'd begged Moyong Seon-ya for a shot, only to fail.
'Squad Leader Yeom Gwang's no good...'
His teaching got good reviews, but something shady in how he treated her felt off.
'Back to square one?'
Tuk.
She rolled another pebble with her foot.
Kwang!
"Oops!"
A massive boom and a big brother's groan rang out.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Jururuk.
Staring at the shattered straw dummy at her feet, Moyong So-hye blinked.
"The dummy... broke?"
Not just any dummy.
This human-shaped one, etched with "ironwood" on forehead and chest, was the toughest training dummy made of ironwood.
'No one's ever smashed it like this.'
Even she'd only hurt her hand trying.
Instructors had demoed strikes, but never to the point of snapping ironwood.
Truly praiseworthy.
Yeom Gwang would've bragged for a month about his guidance.
"Impressive..."
But looking up, Moyong So-hye saw something odd.
"You punk!"
The instructor, moments ago deep in thought, was flying into a flying kick.
"I told you to handle that carefully!"
Thwack!
The stern big brother rolled dramatically across the ground, while the instructor clawed at his hair in agony.
"My pay! Another incident report!"
The stern brother popped up and protested.
"I-I hit it gently."
"You did?"
"For real. I held back and went slow."
"Fine, I'll believe you. Stay right there. I'm gonna squeeze you gently."
"Instructor!"
What was going on?
No praise for the feat.
Only 'punishment' and 'frustration' poured from the instructor.
The strongest was 'frustration.'
He was genuinely devastated by the ironwood's destruction.
"Uh..."
Blinking, Moyong So-hye's gaze fell to the dummy at her feet.
"Hey!"
"I-Instructor! My bad!"
While Nangong Yun-ho screamed, Chu Un-hwi raged, and Baek Ri-seol cheerily egged him on.
"Um, excuse me..."
A small voice piped up.
Turning, the three saw Moyong So-hye straining to lift a dummy her height.
"Huh?"
But something was off.
"The dummy's intact?"
Their eyes went wide.
The broken neck was fine.
How? Under their stares, Moyong So-hye mumbled.
"The joint's just a bit busted. Dig out the broken part, groove the rest, and it fixes right up."
As she said.
Just prying off the broken bit and tweaking inner mechanisms restored the neck.
"If fully smashed, it'd be tough to glue, but this special-made thing allows field repairs."
Chu Un-hwi's gaze darted between her deft hands on the shock-absorbing innards and her determined face.
"Ta-da! Good as new, right?"
Presenting the fixed dummy with a flourish, tears streamed from Chu Un-hwi's eyes.
"A-Are you... crying?"
"My pay. It's saved."
Tears of gratitude.
"Thought another month's wages were gone..."
First day, smashed ironwood—three months' pay docked.
Three months since starting here.
No penny earned in three months.
Just when payday neared, this idiot wrecked gear again.
One more slip and first payday gone—how could he not be moved?
"Student."
"Y-Yes...?"
Shuffling over with halting steps, Chu Un-hwi dropped to one knee.
"Let me take you on."
"B-But all I have is handiwork? Just fixing dummies or making hidden weapons myself..."
"That's perfect. More than enough."
Grinding his teeth at Nangong Yun-ho, Chu Un-hwi growled.
"Can't compare to trash who only breaks stuff and racks up expenses."
"H-Hey! I do martial arts well too."
"Just fix dummies. That martial arts crap? I'll train you enough to slaughter every wannabe roaming outside."
Moyong So-hye's eyes spun. No clue what to say.
"I-I mean... um!"
Then.
"What's this clown show?"
All heads turned to the training ground entrance.
A sharp-faced youth in fine silk training garb sauntered in.
"Jegal Tan."
Nangong Yun-ho muttered lowly, recognizing him.
The smirking youth, Jegal Tan, curled his lip arrogantly.
"Yo. Been well?"