Even So, We Return
Tap, tap-tap, tap!
"This isn't it."
After having lunch, I was practicing the Mad Dog Avoiding Steps in the empty lot next to the inn. According to the mnemonic written in the manual, my feet were supposed to move like this, but actually trying it didn't go as planned. Just as I was about to take another step, wondering if I had done something wrong—
"Whoa!"
The qi flowing to my feet tangled up, and my actual feet tangled right along with it. I was doomed. Just as I braced myself to stretch my hands toward the ground for a nasty fall—
Yank!
I felt a sudden tug on my clothes, and I instantly regained my balance.
"Are you really a Peak Master?"
"Huh? My lady?"
"Someone might hear you."
"Ah, young hero."
The one who had grabbed my clothes was none other than Seonwoo Seol. She stared intently at the footprints left on the ground, then stroked her chin. "I wondered what you were doing. It's a lightness skill, isn't it?"
"It's a lightness skill the Chief gave me, but trying to follow the mnemonic exactly doesn't seem to work well."
"There's no way Chief Mong would give you a flawed martial art... Show me."
When I demonstrated the trickiest part of the Mad Dog Avoiding Steps just like before, Seonwoo Seol watched closely and suddenly raised her hand.
"Hold on!"
"Yes?"
"Go back to where you were one step ago."
As I stepped back into an awkward, half-bent posture, Seonwoo Seol suddenly leaned in close. A faint, nameless floral scent tickled the tip of my nose. It felt like a scent I had smelled somewhere before.
As I froze, captivated by her floral scent, Seonwoo Seol gently tugged on my collar and said, "Don't just stand there. Take the next step from here."
"Uh, like this?"
As I took a step in my dazed state, Seonwoo Seol snapped her fingers. Snap!
"Right here! This is the problem. When you transition to this spot, rotate by only half an inch. Don't do a full inch."
"Like this?"
"Yes, exactly like that."
Just as I tried to move with less rotation as she advised—
Squish.
I felt a soft, highly distracting sensation against my arm... That wasn't my imagination, was it? While I was agonizing over whether to make a big deal out of it and apologize or just pretend nothing happened, I glanced at Seonwoo Seol's face.
"..."
She definitely felt it. But her reaction was strange. I expected her to grab me by the collar and demand I return her purity immediately, but she did nothing of the sort.
"N-Next step, go on."
Instead, she avoided eye contact and acted as if absolutely nothing had happened.
I briefly considered using this to tease her, but quickly abandoned the idea. I had a feeling that if I joked about this, I would cross a point of no return. Focus, focus. The person next to me isn't Seonwoo Seol; it's the "male" Woo Yangji, vice-commander of the Demonic Cult's First White Squad. The one who calls me 'big brother'... Ah, no. That makes it even more dangerous.
After a barrage of relentless self-hypnosis, I managed to regain some of my sanity. Now I understood why that wretched elder from the Kongtong Sect called her a temptress. She really was a dangerously alluring woman.
Returning my focus to the Mad Dog Avoiding Steps, there was one truly astonishing thing. When I moved my feet exactly as Seonwoo Seol instructed, I transitioned to the next step without a single tangle.
"Oh, oh-oh!"
"Does it work?"
"It does! Incredibly well!"
After executing the Mad Dog Avoiding Steps flawlessly once, I was so amazed that I grabbed Seonwoo Seol by her shoulders and asked, "How on earth did you do that?"
"Y-You're too close."
"Huh?"
"I said you're too close!"
"Ah."
In my excitement, I had gotten far too close. Our noses were practically touching, so it was only natural for her to be flustered. As I pulled away, her floral scent drifted apart once more. Feeling a pang of regret, I took a step back and asked,
"So... what exactly was my problem?"
"Ahem. All martial arts must be adapted to fit one's own body. The person who originally created that lightness skill was probably shorter than you, Chef Yoon. Naturally, their stride would have been shorter as well."
"Ah. Because my stride is longer, the rotation and the direction of my toes had to change when transitioning to the next step?"
"Exactly. And you need to adjust the flow of your qi slightly as well."
After moving through the steps a few more times, I finally got the hang of it. The sensation of my qi tangling every time I used the Mad Dog Avoiding Steps completely vanished, and I could dash forward much faster than before. I was amazed by how different the solution was from what I had expected. To think that rotating just half an inch less would yield such immediate results.
"Do you get it now?"
"Not just a little, I think I've got it down completely. With a bit more practice, I might even be able to perform Grass-Gliding right away."
"Always exaggerating."
Grass-Gliding was a realm of lightness where one could run across blades of grass without even bending them. Seonwoo Seol let out a chuckle at my claim.
"Then, should I keep tutoring you back at the academy?"
"That would be great, but wouldn't I be taking up too much of your time?"
"It's fine. Even if I have to grab the instructor in charge by the collar, I'll make time."
I didn't know whether to be happy that she was dedicating time to me, or feel sorry for the poor instructor who was going to get grabbed by the collar. After exchanging a few more words with Seonwoo Seol, I saw Man Hanseok and Gye-yeong returning from their meal and walked over to the carriage.
"What were you two chatting so happily about?"
Man Hanseok, who had boarded the carriage first, asked. I shrugged and replied, "I was learning a lightness skill."
"You were learning a lightness skill while giggling like that? Then me too—ow!"
"If you're jealous, go learn from Lady Dang. Stop pestering Lady Seonwoo."
In the end, Man Hanseok got a smack from me. What is he, a third wheel? He really doesn't know when to butt out.
"Chief Chef, what are you going to do first when we arrive at the academy?"
"I'll probably have to report our return to the academy headquarters first. Why?"
"I was just thinking that once we're back, it'll be hard to taste the unique dishes you make. I heard you even used a formation to make the Beggar's Chicken this time?"
Gye-yeong smacked his lips as he spoke. Well, I suppose I'm the only crazy bastard who would use a martial formation just to roast a chicken.
Hearing Gye-yeong's question, Man Hanseok chimed in. "Chef Yoon, since you can manifest Fist Qi, doesn't that mean you can also manifest Sword Qi when you hold a kitchen knife? Wouldn't ingredients taste better if you sliced them with Sword Qi?"
"Uh, I wonder? I've never tried, so I don't really know."
Come to think of it, why hadn't I thought of slicing ingredients with Sword Qi until now? I had used hands coated in Fist Qi to handle hot furnaces and pull rice cakes... Ah, had I unconsciously become a qi-discriminator?
"I should give it a try when we get back."
I couldn't resist trying out a new cooking method. While I was pondering what kind of dish I could combine with Sword Qi, Man Hanseok, who seemed to be sharing the same train of thought, made a suggestion.
"How about Baizherou?"
Baizherou. It was a dish of boiled pork cooked with various spices, sliced thinly, and wrapped in a thin flatbread called hayeobbyeong. It was almost identical to Korean suyuk. Ah, speaking of suyuk made me crave kimchi. On a freezing winter day, ripping freshly made gimjang kimchi with your bare hands and wrapping it around a perfectly boiled slice of pork... Sigh. I found myself drooling unconsciously before snapping out of it to answer Man Hanseok.
"But that's just slicing pork thinly. I need to experiment with a dish that requires... more intricate knife skills."
For a moment, knife-shaved noodles came to mind, but that was a completely different technique, so I passed. What if I minced roasted pork into a powder using Sword Qi, and then sprinkled that powdered pork back onto roasted pork? No, that was just weird. There was also Wensi Tofu, where soft tofu is sliced as thin as threads, but that wasn't quite the vibe I wanted either. I wanted something with a wider variety of ingredients.
As I continued to ponder, Seonwoo Seol leaned in and whispered in a low voice, "You know, that dish."
"That dish?"
Her sudden mention of "that" made my mind wander to something entirely different. As I swallowed hard, Seonwoo Seol narrowed her eyes and whispered, "The dish that showcases intricate knife skills while preserving the natural flavors of the ingredients. Don't tell me you don't know it?"
"So what is it?"
"Kousansi."
Ah, right, there was that! I had never made it myself, but I knew the recipe. I must have unconsciously let slip a look of recognition, because the eyes of the three people staring at me instantly sparkled. Refusing and saying I couldn't make it? That would be inviting a disaster of my own making. They would undoubtedly cling to me all day, whining about why I wouldn't cook it, so it was better to just agree.
"...I'll show you once we get back to the academy."
When I finally agreed to cook it, all three of them beamed with joy.
"An excellent decision!"
"As expected of the Chief Chef!"
"You know chicken breast is a must for Kousansi, right?"
Terrifying people. They weren't just hungry ghosts; they were gluttonous fiends. But since this was the culinary path I chose, I had no choice but to grit my teeth and bear it.
"Oh my, Chef Yoon! You've worked so hard!"
"Ah, not at all. You ladies in the kitchen must have had a much harder time."
As soon as I returned to the academy, the kitchen ladies of the Oe-bandang welcomed me warmly. It seemed the Geumnabak quartet was holding the fort perfectly; the Oe-bandang was running smoothly even in my absence.
"Since you all worked so hard in my stead, please accept this small token of my appreciation."
"Oh my. What is this? It's quite heavy."
"It's Three-Whip Wine."
"Don't tell me, that Three-Whip Wine?"
"Yes, that Three-Whip Wine."
Three-Whip Wine wasn't a famous liquor from Hebei, where we had just been, but rather a renowned specialty of Shandong. It was brewed by steeping the 'whips' of deer, bulls, seals, and wolves. And by 'whips,' I mean... that. The dangling bit exclusive to males. Of course, adding those didn't make the taste exceptionally better, but... it was highly effective for men, specifically for that purpose which words couldn't quite describe. Did it actually work? Who knows? I had never tried it myself since I had no place to use that extra energy anyway. Naturally, the eyes of the four kitchen ladies, who knew exactly what kind of wine it was, widened in shock.
"Oh my, oh my goodness! Something so expensive!"
"Oh, I couldn't possibly accept this!"
"How scandalous! Chef, why would you bring us something like this?!"
"It's too expensive, how can we take it...?"
The four ladies had a variety of reactions, but every single one of them kept their eyes glued to the jars of Three-Whip Wine. I knew they would react this way. Once people reach their age, there's always a certain worry, isn't there? You know, that... lackluster performance of marital duties. The only issue was that they couldn't bring themselves to snatch it up immediately. No matter how good it was for the body, taking something like this so openly was a bit embarrassing.
"If you don't take it, I'll have to drink it myself. But what would I do with Three-Whip Wine? I have nowhere to use that kind of stamina."
Yet, the four ladies still seemed to hesitate. I decided to give them a tip from a man's perspective to seal the deal.
"Later, when you have some free time, dress up a bit nicer than usual. Take a nice, long bath, and then prepare a grand feast of meat for your husband, telling him he worked hard today. Then, entice him to have a drink with you."
"And then?"
"Men are simple, pitiful creatures. Even if they find it suspicious when their wife suddenly acts differently, they can't help but fall for it. He definitely won't refuse a drink, so aim for that exact moment to pour him a cup of this... You know what I mean, right?"
Hehehe. As I pushed the four jars of Three-Whip Wine forward with a sly grin, the four ladies glanced around before quickly snatching them up.
"I'm only taking this out of respect for your sincerity, Chef. It's not like my husband is lacking or anything."
"Of course, of course. It would be a tragedy to ignore my sincerity. That's just how it is."
Hahaha, hohoho. Our laughter echoed through the kitchen. Once again, I had preserved the peace of four households.
"By the way, I'm planning to make Kousansi. Do we have the ingredients? I especially need some chicken breast."
"Oh, of course we do! Just wait a moment, I'll bring them right over."
While the ladies went to fetch the ingredients, I prepared to start cooking. Man Hanseok had gone to report his arrival to the student hall, and Gye-yeong was unpacking our luggage. Seonwoo Seol had also gone to report to the academy headquarters. I had told them it would take about two hours, including the time to simmer the broth, so they would probably show up once the food was ready.
Just as I was chopping up chicken bones to simmer a rich broth—
Rumble, rumble!
The ground shook so much I wondered if it was a minor earthquake, followed by a chorus of high-pitched voices.
"Hello!"
"They say it's Wenchang Chicken today!"
"I like chicken better than pork."
"Me too!"
Hearing the patter of tiny footsteps and the chirping voices, it seemed the first-graders were coming in for lunch. Wow, was it already that time?
I watched the kitchen ladies and servants distribute the food to the students. The children carried their lunch trays, immediately gathering in small groups with their friends to eat and chat. It was an incredibly ordinary, peaceful scene—except for one child who caught my attention.
Even though eleven-year-olds could only grow so tall, the academy's first-graders were definitely on the larger side compared to average kids. But unlike the others, there was one exceptionally small, frail-looking girl carrying her tray with a gloomy expression. Sitting down in a secluded corner, the girl picked up her chopsticks to eat her Wenchang Chicken, when...
Bump!
"Huh?"
Was that intentional? Another first-grader bumped into the girl's shoulder as they walked past. The girl didn't react, making me wonder if it was just an accident, but it quickly became clear that it wasn't.
Bump, bump!
Other children carrying trays bumped into her one after another as they passed by.
Don't tell me... bullying? Even here in the Central Plains?