Chapter 4: Chapter 4

“What? A-a teacher?”

Kang-hyuk nodded his head at Mu-jin’s question.

“Yes, he wanted to be a teacher. After reading Mencius’s passage on the Three Delights of Men (1), he too wished to experience the joy and fulfilment of teaching intelligent students.”

“….”

“That’s it. I’ve decided. Since I’ve avenged his death, now, I’ll fulfill his dream.”

But Mu-jin wasn’t satisfied from this response.

“But Hyung-nim, what was your dream?”

“It’s fine. My dream was that my deceased brother would live a happy life. So in that case, isn’t his dream my dream?”

“…..So are you leaving again?”

“Well, I was thinking of building a school in a secluded rural village, and then to live out the rest of my days training the young students.”

Mu-jin attempted to dissuade Kang-hyuk.

“Don’t you think it’s a little unnecessary to go so far away? Also, I don’t think it’s a great idea to be starting up a school without having any prior teaching experience.”

“….Then what would you suggest I do?”

Mu-jin’s smile became so wide that it reached his eyes.

“What about teaching at Hwacheon Academy?”

“Hwacheon Academy? Are you really suggesting I teach those young success-crazed lads?”

“Well, I guess I am.”

Mu-jin didn’t refute Kang-Hyuk’s point.

“Ever since I became the leader of the Hwacheon clan, I can’t help but be saddened at the state of Hwacheon Academy. I would like the students to know that there is more to life than being successful, but unfortunately, since becoming the leader, it seems that I can’t really interfere too much with the affairs of the school.”

“That there’s more to life than being successful…”

Kang-hyuk stroked his chin out of habit. But stroking a smooth, hairless chin was a little strange.

“You’re right. Being successful is important to some extent but there are of course many things of greater importance than success.”

“So, I request you. It’s good timing as well. We’re just about to start a new course at the academy.”

Kang-Hyuk turned his head to look at the moon.

‘If I remember correctly, didn’t that fellow from the Dang family say he was going to be attending the Hwacheon Academy?’

But he felt that having to tolerate being in a place full of those pandering after success wasn’t going to be easy.

His concern wasn’t a serious one though.

“Fine! As you have requested, I’ll work at Hwacheon Academy.”

“Thank you. In that case, let’s start the process for you to become a teacher right away.”

Kang-hyuk then asked, stroking his chin, “I’ve heard that to become a teacher at the Academy, you have to take a test. Is that right?”

Mu-jin widely smiled at Kang-Hyuk’s question.

“Of course you do have to take a test, but if the position of the applicant is of the Retired Leader…”

Kang-hyuk sighed, and slapped the back of Mu-jin’s head.

“This lad!”

Slap!

“Ouch- Hyu-hyung-nim!”

“If I had the intention of publicly revealing that I’m the Retired Leader in this youthful body, would I have taken the effort to secretly come to you first?”

“…..That…I guess that would be so. Then, shall we admit you through a special method?”

“Special method? No way. That would be too complicated.”

“Ok, fine. How about we create a new identity for you?”

“That should do.”

“Let me know when I need to take the test.”

“Yes, Hyung-nim. Also, please take this.”

Mu-jin pulled something out of his sleeve.

“Please use this if you ever have a need to prove your identity.”

It was a round silver medallion, with a silver turtle engraved in the centre.

“It’s my group’s insignia.”

“I already know that. Either way, this will be useful. If I say that I’m the Retired Leader in my current appearance, people will think I’m a madman.”

Kang-hyuk slipped the medallion into his sleeve, and rose up to leave.

“I’ll see you soon.”

“Indeed, have a safe journey.”

…

Mu-jin looked over the figure of Kang-hyuk descending the mountains for some time, and then returned to his quarters through the secret passage.

He was deep in thought.

Someone like Kang-Hyuk would be like a fresh gust of wind in the twisted place Hwacheon Academy had become.

In the very same way that Kang-Hyuk had brought a fresh breeze into his own life.

He would also be able to solve the long-standing issue of Hwacheon Academy that had been troubling him for a while.

‘The first step would be to make sure that Hyung-nim passes the test…”

He had thought of a way to do this, but hesitation came in.

‘If Hyung-nim found out about this, he wouldn’t let it go… Ah… Let’s just think about that issue later.’

Maybe his head was hurting because it had just received a blow.

***

After parting ways with Mu-jin, Kang-Hyuk had found an inn and was unpacking his luggage. Despite it being late in the night, the couple that ran the inn welcomed him in.

After unpacking his luggage, Kang-hyuk lay onto the bed and closed his eyes.

Seventy years ago, his parents had made a major decision.

They had decided to send his unusually intelligent younger brother to the Northern Province to stay at a relative’s house for his future career prospects.

His parents had employed many porters to carry their luggage. They also hired a guide who doubled as a swordsman, in case they encountered any danger on their journey.

Kang-hyuk and his brother had set out on their journey with such provisions.

But as it happened, on the third day of their journey, they had encountered bandits.

Their sword-wielding guide had died first in an attempt to protect them.

It turned out that he only knew the most basic sword wielding technique; the Samjae-Sword.

The porters were also killed.

Kang-Hyuk and his brother had tried to make a run for it.

“You guys aren’t even worth selling! Just die you bastards!” the bandits cried out.

In the end, his brother was killed and Kang-Hyuk too almost died.

But suddenly, he saw the bandit trembling with fear at a figure, then, a sword pierced through his neck.

“Are you okay little kid?”

The man who had saved him was in fact a great martial artist. He later became Kang-hyuk’s teacher.

” Oh, Kang-Jae!”

After recalling the day he would never forget, Kang-Hyuk got out of bed to wash his face, and called out his brother’s name.

“The Northern Province? Hyung-nim, this feels like a dream! I will make sure to study hard, and become the greatest teacher!”

The voice of his excited brother still lingered within Kang-Hyuk.

“Now, I will make your dream come true.”

________

2. Being hired.

Kang-hyuk opened his eyes.

It had been a while since he had woken up in Nakyang, and its atmosphere felt very different.

“It’s been a while since I’ve experienced such noise in the morning.”

He got up and opened the window in his room. It was still early in the morning yet there were many people out and about.

“How nice! Hahaha.”

The Kang-Hyuk of eight years earlier would have experienced this busy morning atmosphere as a disturbance.

He would usually be reading reports till late at night, finishing around midnight, only to be awoken shortly by the bustle of people on the streets beginning their day.

His senses had grown to be sharp, therefore he was able to hear sounds that would be inaudible to most.

Even if he blocked his ears, the slightest sound would cause him to wake.

It was because his position as the leader of the Hwacheon Clan wasn’t one where one could simply unconcernedly sleep.

‘Reflecting on it, those 50 years as the leader were quite pitiful. Damn it!’

He stretched out onto the floor and started to breathe deeply, as part of his Qigong practice.

There was no real need to do this since his enlightenment and reverse-ageing experience, the energy flow of his body would still be at an optimal level regardless.

His Qi was at a constant rate whether he was in movement or whether he was sleeping.

Whilst he did do daily Qigong practice while travelling with Dang So-mun, it was for pretence so that those around him would not suspect anything odd about him. In this case though, he just felt like doing some Qigong as it had been a while since he had last been in Nakyang.

After a while of sitting down, Kang-hyuk opened his eyes and spoke, “I’m hungry.”

Kang-hyuk got up, and went down to the ground floor of the inn.

“Good morning! Did you have a good rest?”

The innkeeper greeted him brightly. Kang-Hyuk nodded his head.

“I slept…well.”

He was just about to speak to him informally but he quickly corrected himself.

“Would you like some breakfast?”

Hearing the inn-keeper’s words, Kang-Hyuk went and sat down at the table.

“I would just like something simple.”

The inn-keeper soon placed before him a steaming meal of soup with dumplings and mutton.

They even gave him a bowl of sweet cookies as dessert.

He felt touched by their unexpected kindness.

Kang-hyuk had a sweet-tooth.

He ate in a fully satiating way, bringing the bowl to his mouth and drinking the soup.

Suddenly, a group of customers walked in.

“Please come in!”

The couple who ran the inn quickly ushered the customers in.

‘Who are these bastards?’

A young man who was eating his meal in front of Kang-Hyuk suddenly caught his attention.

The man was acting a little suspicious, looking around in all directions.

The only people who were present in the room at that point were Kang-Hyuk, the couple who ran the inn, and the group of customers who had just come in.

The man, unaware that Kang-hyuk was observing his movements, started to move stealthily in a way that would avoid attracting the attention of the innkeepers.

His goal seemed to be the cash-register which was located on the left side of the room.

Kang-hyuk remembered that the innkeeper had placed his payment for the night’s stay in that location. Therefore, that register must contain all of the inn’s collected money for last night.

‘Oh, I see! So we have a thief here?’

He could ascertain this by the particular martial skill the man was using. His footsteps were entirely inaudible, as though he was walking on cotton wool.

‘That’s the Footless Stepping Skill!’

This particular martial skill wasn’t particularly extraordinary.

It was a relatively easy third-rate skill to learn, and it was quite effective, but there were only two types of people who would seek to master this skill.

Either assassins, or thieves.

High-level martial warriors rarely learned this skill, and even if there were a few who had mastered it, they would never actually use it in practice.

This was because….

It was because using this skill would cause you to have a ridiculous looking behind.

It would look like a twitching duck’s butt.

It was a skill mostly used at night, where you couldn’t be seen.

‘How strange. Why would you steal by using this skill at this time of the day? Not to mention that the inn-keeping couple aren’t even paying attention right now with the large group that just came in.’

Kang-hyuk lifted his head slightly to look at the customers that had just walked in.

They had a clear view of the thief, but didn’t make any move to call him out. Instead, they were continuously distracting the inn-keeping couple.

‘Aha! They must be in it together!’

Kang-hyuk initially felt that it had nothing to do with him. But he then considered the sweet cookies he had been given.

‘I guess I’ll have to pay for the cookies.’

It was a law that good will should be repaid.

‘As the ex-leader, I can’t just sit idly and let the thief go.’

Kang-hyuk picked up a chopstick and threw it at the thief.

The chopsticks flew right in front of the thief’s hand, and jammed into the register. The thief, alarmed, looked towards Kang-hyuk.

Kang-hyuk pointed at the cash-register and signalled cutting his throat at the thief.

He wanted to convey that if he dared to touch that money, he would die by Kang-hyuk’s hands.

The thief’s face became pale, and he fled the inn. However, things had yet to be completely settled.

These types of thieves were usually quite persistent. Therefore, it was likely that they would target this inn again if he let them go.

The group of customers that were distracting the inn keeping couple had unsurprisingly left without ordering any food after the thief had fled the inn.

It was now time for Kang-hyuk to use his full strength.

“I’m just going out for a while. I’ll return soon.”

“Yes, please do so.”

“Also, you should really keep an eye on that cash-register.”

The inn-keeping couple looked in the direction of the cash register, noticing the chopstick stuck in it. It was then that they realized they had nearly been robbed.

Kang-hyuk left the inn after the owners thanked him.

He briefly closed his eyes to be able to feel the thieves’ energy, and their location.

“You guys haven’t gone far, have you?”

(1)Mencius’s Three Delights of Men : “There are three things a gentleman delights in, and being the ruler of an empire isn’t one of them. The first delight is his parents and brothers being well and alive. The second delight is not being ashamed to face the heavens above and men below. The third delight is having the good fortune of teaching the most talented pupils in the empire.”