Chapter 669: The New Semester Has Begun (3)

“From the start, Sister, you brought such a lovely niece—surely you mean to enroll her in the Righteous-Proper Martial Academy’s Junior Division? If you also take the Junior Division instructor’s post, there’s no avoiding gossip.”

In short: favoritism.

“Why? Can’t I just teach all of them like they’re my kids?”

“Young as I am, I know your character, Sister—I don’t think you’d do that. But might you, unexpectedly, be a doting fool?”

“I am not. I’m playing the father. A terrifying father—strict, solemn, and severe.”

At that, Jegal Ihyeon looked at Qing.

More precisely, he looked at Jayeo, clamped on like a lynx cub hanging from a tree.

He sighed, deep.

“Eyy... let’s say that’s that.”

“What? That was very offensive, just now—”

“You doted on Hyang so much yourself—are you certain you won’t favor her if you take the Junior Division?”

“What—Hyang is here? Then you should have led with that. Is she also in the Junior Division? That tiny thing—can she even swing a sword?”

“You’re already disqualified.”

“Well, Hyang is the cutest in the world. The best child is someone else’s child you can adore without worrying about their future. That’s pure, responsibility-free pleasure.”

Jayeo somehow wilted.

“No, Jayeo—are you jealous? Even you can’t make me lie. Hyang is the cutest in the world, but if I have to choose just one, I choose Jayeo.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Really really?”

“Really really—hey. Did Jangmyeong teach you this? Who taught the kid to weaponize cute?”

“What are you even saying.”

Jin Jangmyeong said that—and smiled a suspicious little smile. Jegal Ihyeon cleared his throat.

“I understand you like children, Sister. That doesn’t mean you suit the instructor post.”

“No, I don’t like children—I like Hyang.”

That’s right. Qing didn’t love kids; Qing loved cute kids.

It’s like how the best dog is your friend’s dog, and the best cat is your friend’s friendly cat.

Of course, with cats, if they’re shy you can’t even observe them, so cats are trickier.

“Hm. For the budding sprouts of the orthodox rivers and lakes, I prepared a special curriculum. A truly rich and rewarding, once-in-a-lifetime chance—”

Qing’s Junior Division plan was cultivation of body and mind based on the Marrow-Washing & Tendon-Changing Classic.

The main Classic, Jayeo could learn alone; but for the boys and girls of the Junior Division, sharing even a fraction of that power at their growth stage would be nothing short of a fortune.

No—fortune itself.

“This term, Abbot Wolbong is taking the Junior Division, to set the children’s bones and meridians straight by the Classic’s principles. What could be a finer curriculum than that?”

“Ah.”

So, not a dabbler like Qing, but a real adept of the Classic had been tapped.

But if it was Wolbong—wasn’t he that petty baldster from the Hidden-Dragon Tournament semifinals?

Not... exactly confidence-inspiring.

Even so, Qing had to admit—her talking points had run thin.

She couldn’t very well say, “I plan to teach the same thing and I’m sure I’ll do it better than that baldster.”

The first question would be, “And how do you understand the Classic’s principles?” You can’t say you picked it up over shoulders while passing by.

“Sister, I’m not in a position to decide anything anyway—unpack first. For details, speak to Academy Operations over there. Dagger-Sword Lord is out inspecting the academy, so for now, you should shake off the travel fatigue.”

Jegal Ihyeon had come as a squad leader, not on the operations side—he couldn’t decide instructor roles anyway.

So, first: unpack.

****

Qing didn’t carry much luggage to begin with.

Even aside from Qing, warriors’ packs are light: wanderers have nothing to weigh them down; scions of great houses pay with money and keep it light.

Naturally, the next step after taking a room and dropping your things—the thing to do—was to sprawl and go slack.

In the rivers and lakes or back home, once you get to lodging, you need time to flop, do nothing, and adapt to the new environment.

So all the women sprawled on the pallet—hm. Why were they all cramming into Qing’s room, onto a bed that wasn’t even that wide?

Still, for a warm spring day, Seol Iri’s cool-air setting felt good. That made it fine.

They hadn’t lain there long when—

“Kheheh—Heavenly Flower Sword? Are you in?”

RATTLE! A door flung open with gusto, along with that voice.

Do people ask “Are you in?” while opening the door?

A woman with bead-tiny pupils and the whites showing on all sides—giving her a strangely vicious look.

But more than the eyes, a head lower, the mass seized attention.

The famed wisdom pouch of Shining Wise Flower—

Its draw was a colossal suction of the gaze; an inescapable gravity.

In person, the impact was—mm—tremendous.

“Lady Sima? What brings you here?”

“How could I sit still when my sole peer—the one person in all the world who understands me—my fated friend—has arrived? Surely Heavenly Flower Sword felt the same. Why go through empty ceremony when we could skip to the reunion?”

Were we that close?

Qing ransacked her memories for shared moments—maybe a few greetings and done.

But well.

Qing wasn’t the sort to embarrass someone face-to-face with “We aren’t friends yet.”

If anything, she’d lean in.

If the other side got friendly, she welcomed it.

And the blue letters over her head were no joke—no doubt a person of broadly good influence.

“Oh, Sima-rang, is it? If a friend asks for help, of course you come running.”

“You? Why are you suddenly using flat—”

“Come on, toss the formalities. Lie down? Space is tight, but—”

“Why... would I... lie down?”

“Because we just arrived? We can lie here and think about what to do next. By the way—do we have to pre-register for the exam? This is my junior, Jangmyeong. Being second-seat’s youngest, peers are scarce so—ah, this isn’t a favor request.”

“If a Divine Lady’s Gate disciple, of course she’s qualified. But squad-leader posts are already full. Is that all right?”

“What’s a squad leader? Jangmyeong? Good. Don’t stand—lie down a bit. No space? Hm—this way? Move over a touch?”

“Yes. No. I won’t.”

“Then, Jangmye—”

“I won’t either.”

“I wasn’t even finished. All right, scooch—make a sliver.”

Wriggle, wriggle. On a two-person pallet, all pressed together, a space opened.

Sima Chunbong awkwardly lay in the gap.

And peace again.

Haaahm—Qing yawned; an echoing yawn sounded immediately in her arms.

Yawns are contagious; biologically it’s some mirror response; scientifically it’s about ambient oxygen—same space, same state—blah blah something or other—

Stuffing her head with useless home-world trivia with all the key parts missing, Qing let the soft sleep roll in and smiled—

Sima Chunbong sprang up and let out an oddly hearty laugh. “Wahaha!”

“As expected, Heavenly Flower Sword! To shake this Sima-rang like this—I nearly got swept away!”

She was already lying there enjoying Seol Iri the human climate-control’s chill and declaring it pleasant—in other words, thoroughly swept—then said it.

“Eh? What exactly did you think you’d get by shaking—”

“Indeed—you cannot be underestimated! You are a worthy rival for this Sima-rang!”

Then as then—she was a bit odd.

Her good-karma score was impressively high—and honestly, in this primitive ancient Middle Plains, staying sane and kind isn’t easy.

“Very well! This time only—one loss. I shall count myself beaten once! But next time—never! Hoo-hoo! To feel this tingling taste of defeat—so rare for Sima-rang—good. Good. That’s how it should be!”

And off she went.

What was that? She did just come to say hi.

Qing thought as much—and not long after—zzzz. There’s nothing in the world as sweet as a nap.

****

Dagger-Sword Lord Yu Seonyeop served as Inner Chief of the Martial Alliance, and for this term he would act as the academy’s director.

The Inner Chief is, in practice, the Alliance’s operator—the true power—“the man behind the curtain,” so to speak.

Completely different from the Alliance Chief, who stamps seals and plays host; the Inner Chief is the boss of the hands-on people.

Not that the Alliance Chief is a puppet.

It would be rude to seat a retired senior and then pile chores on him—he might actually run off. So there are hands-on people. The Inner Chief isn’t some absolute autocrat.

“I greet you, Sir Yu.”

“Ah, Heavenly Flower Sword, you still look radiant. For one of Harmony to choose an instructor’s burden—heavy, I’m sure—yet you’re willing to lend your strength. I’m grateful.”

“What do you mean? It’s said that only after learning do you know your lack; only after teaching may you speak of difficulty. And they also say that teaching is half of learning.”

“Heh. I knew your studies spread far in the martial world; I didn’t know they ran deep in the scholarly world as well.”

The first is ‘teaching and learning enhance each other’—teacher grows by teaching; student advances by learning—so the one who teaches also gains learning; it’s in the Record of Rites, the Studies chapter.

The second is from the Book of Documents, the Charge to Yue—‘teaching is half of learning’—since to teach others you must first pursue the study deeply yourself.

Now Qing wrote characters with ease.

A miracle of the Hanlin Academy, truly.

“So I mean to use the officers as pupils for my own growth—you needn’t thank me.”

“Heh-heh.”

Warmth deepened in Yu Seonyeop’s gaze.

He’d taken a critical hit from the Old-Man-Slayer’s sharp thrust already.

“You’re right—if you would teach, you must first have grasped it deep. Here. Oro Sword Formula. It’s also what you’re to teach.”

Qing took the manual and made like she skimmed it once end-to-end.

At the same time, she popped up her martial-arts window to check the grading—huh? Why did this feel... empty?

What? No new art?

So—either this wasn’t a proper manual, or it was like that “Hee-mae’s Gyundyna-something”—one of those weirdly named arts—still unfinished.

But a fake manual, from the Martial Alliance? No way.

“Um, Sir Yu, Elder—by any chance, is this art not yet complete?”

“Oh? One glance and you see that? Hah! That is how you achieved your realm—truly, heaven-sent talent!”

Yu Seonyeop was taken aback.

She seemed to just ruffle through—and how could she tell the art was incomplete?

But what happened had happened—so this must be Heavenly Flower Sword’s five-star genius!

A genius—no, an ultra-genius—no, an ultra-ultra-genius—no, an ultra-ultra-ultra-genius—three ultras aren’t enough!

Yu Seonyeop could not hide his awe, as if he’d only just recognized the greatest prodigy of past and present in all martial history.

When Chunbong Sister first raised it—“Can Heavenly Flower Sword really instruct, when more than half the students are older than her?”—he’d objected.

Now—this decision might well be worth the outcome to come.

Meanwhile Qing’s heart clunked down.

Ah. I’m screwed.

So I can’t use the martial-arts window on this one.