Unfortunately, it was too late.
"Aaah!"
Oh-Tae felt a throbbing pain running through his form that made him feel like his body and spirit were separating. He had been thrown out of the Tranquil Smile of Yellow Nectar flower bed from the force of Kang-hyuk's single blow.
*Flop.*
"What do you reckon we should do? You still have nine blows remaining."
Oh-Tae instantly sprang up.
He did not antic.i.p.ate that Kang-hyuk would actually beat him up.
It was only then, as Oh-Tae observed Kang-hyuk's gaze, that he finally realized what the true meaning behind 'ten beatings' in the clause of the contract really was.
A thought appeared in Oh-Tae's mental s.p.a.ce. 'Kang Seonsaeng, you're definitely a person that holds a grudge!'
Sometime later.
Bowls filled to the brim with nectar were placed in front of Kang-hyuk. Standing in front of him was Oh-Tae, barely balancing on one leg.
"You did well."
"Hhave we finished for now?"
"Yes, we're finished for today."
Oh-Tae flopped down to the ground, looking as though he was grateful that his body was still intact.
"With that, I'll see you in two weeks then."
"In two weeks?"
Oh-Tae knew that he was most likely going to suffer a little more the next time he saw Kang-hyuk, who still bore a grudge against him, but there was nothing he could do.
As he had already signed the contract, this was a natural consequence of his own deeds.
Oh-Tae was also grateful that Kang-hyuk had given him a great elixir, the Heavenly Spirit Restoring Pill.
"It's still term-time, so this much teaching is perfect for now!"
But hidden behind Kang-hyuk's words was another meaning. His words also implied that during vacation, there would be daily teachings, as well as training.
"I-I see."
Oh-Tae was in a position where he had no choice but to answer.
"You should go and rest now. Ah, and about the points I pressed to disable your internal force, they'll release naturally in around fifteen minutes."
As Kang-hyuk finished his sentence, Baek-gap appeared out of thin air once more, untying Oh-Tae's bound right leg.
Oh-Tae then staggered back to his residence.
Baek-gap scratched his head at the sight.
"Er, Seonsaengnim. Was the worker you metioned you were going to call today Oh Seonsaengnim?"
"Yes."
Baek-gap sighed at Kang-hyuk's reply.
He did not antic.i.p.ate that Kang-hyuk would order a fellow teacher to carry out labour for him. This was despite knowing that Oh-Tae was a man that had tried to slander Kang-hyuk.
'Still, how can you order someone to work for you under the guise of teaching....'
"Haaah."
Kang-hyuk tilted his head as Baek-gap sighed.
"Why are you sighing?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all."
"Anyways, did you bring the alcohol and jars?"
Baek-gap immediately pointed next to him in response.
"Yes, they're over there."
After finishing his tasks for the day, Baek-gap had spent the evening in a busy manner, finding the alcohol and jars, then transporting them to Yeongyowon.
"Right, let's put the nectar in then."
"Okay."
The method as to how the wine of the Tranquil Smile of Yellow Nectar flower was made was rather simple.
It was a matter of placing the nectar into a jar, adding alcohol to the jar, then sealing it. It would be ready to drink in around fifteen days, but the aroma and flavour gradually improved as time went on.
And of course, the task of pouring the alcohol into the jars had been a.s.signed to Baek-gap.
Kang-hyuk could have offered to help, but had chosen not to.
'Baek-gap can do it by himself, there's no need for me to help him! Indeed!'
Not long after, Byeok Ae-rin came into sight, holding a tray of food. She had prepared some as Kang-hyuk had informed her that he would be coming back late.
"I've made some noodles for you as a late-night snack."
Kang-hyuk immediately sat down. She had rushed over as fast as she could, knowing that Kang-hyuk wasn't fond of soggy noodles. Fortunately, the noodles were still taut and chewy.
"Thank you. I'll enjoy the meal!"
"It's nothing at all, but where's the worker that's making your shed?"
Baek-gap promptly answered, "Ah! That person's already left. He said that he would be back tomorrow morning."
"I see."
Ji Cheol-muk's ancestral home was located in the Sangcheon district of Nakyang.
He married, and had children.
His wife was a beautiful female master, but had died in battle twenty years ago.
Shortly after, Ji Cheol-muk decided to go into retirement.
'It's been a while since he visited his ancestral home, I'm sure he'll give his nieces and nephews a surprise.'
Byeok Ae-rin grinned.
Kang-hyuk's bowl was now empty.
*Tak.*
Lowering his bowl, Kang-hyuk looked at Byeok Ae-rin.
"I've had a good meal thanks to you."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Now that you're here, could I ask you for a favour?"
"What is it?"
Kang-hyuk pointed towards the small amount of remaining nectar in response.
"I want you to make some cookies out of the nectar. You can make cookies right?"
A smile crept onto Byeok Ae-rin's face as she spoke, "There's no food I can't make."
Her eyes shone with pride.
"I'll leave it up to you then."
"Of course."
***
Oh-Tae had returned to his residence.
"Seonsaengnim! What happened to you?"
As his servant rushed towards him, Oh-Tae held up his hand.
"It's nothing, there's no need to make a fuss!"
"You said you were going to Yeongyowon, but you've come back covered in dirt and extremely drenched in sweat. Did you do any physical labour by any chance?"
He flinched slightly at the words of his servant, but quickly regained his composure, and spoke coolly, "What physical labour? He was short of a worker, so I just helped out a little."
"Is-is that so?"
"Yes. That is what happened. I'm tired now, so get things prepared for me to wash up."
"Of course."
The servant went to the rear end of the residence to fetch water for Oh-Tae's bath. On the other hand, Oh-Tae let out a sigh, grumbling under his breath, "In another two weeks…I'll have to go there again."
After that, he pulled his sword out to practice, as he always did before going to bed.
He had to practice his swordsmanship in the early morning and before bed so that his body wouldn't stiffen up.
Oh-Tae then began to circulate his internal energies.
As fifteen minutes had already pa.s.sed since then, his internal energies could move.
His body began to vibrate with Qi flowing to all of its parts.
As he had worked on collecting the nectar purely with his physical stamina, without the use of his internal energy, his stamina was at a low point, but his internal energy was fully flowing.
"Huh?"
Something had changed about his left leg, the part of his body in which the flow of Qi hadn't been harmonious. It was a subtle change, but it was doubtlessly present.
'That teaching was actually effective?'
Oh-Tae suddenly felt an increase in his feeling of respect towards Kang-hyuk.
'But, of course…'
The training was hard.
He unconsciously grabbed his head as he began to feel contradictory feelings towards the next teaching session. He was looking forward to it, as well as feared what would happen to him then.
"Arghhh! No! With my mind in such a state, how can I ever hope to increase my cultivation?!"
The servant that had quietly been observing Oh-Tae looked a bit concerned.
'Should I call a doctor?'
***
It was the morning of the next day.
Ji Cheol-muk began to prepare his tools, and then put them into a box made of iron.
The weight of the box was beyond imagination, but Ji Cheol-muk simply loaded it onto his shoulders as though it was weightless.
As he was about to leave for work, he heard the voice of someone calling out for him.
"Father. Are you going out somewhere today as well?"
Ji Cheol-muk turned around.
The face that looked back at him was the face of a middle aged man. That man was his son.
"Yes."
"Are you coming home late today?"
"I'm not sure, but don't stay awake waiting for me. You can go to bed early."
"Okay."
"Ah! Also, there will be things arriving from the blacksmith today. Be ready to receive them."
"I see. I'll inform the servants."
"I'll be going then."
"Have a safe journey."
Ji Cheol-muk left the house, and as he stood in front of the academy, he changed his appearance with the Byeonyongsul technique.
*Seu-seu-seu*
Within moments, his face had changed into that of a young construction worker who was known as 'Ji-ga'.
"Right, let's work hard today!"
As he headed towards Yeongyowon, he was met by Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g, who greeted him with a basket. "Seonsaengnim told me to give this to you."
He looked into the basket, and saw a dried gourd flask filled with water, as well as dumplings.
"Please tell him that I'm grateful for the food."
"I will."
Cheon Hae-gw.a.n.g left after bowing. Ji Cheol-muk picked up a dumpling, and took a bite.
It was delectable.
After he had eaten a few dumplings, he then began to work.
He already had a complete blueprint of the shed in his mind. He never actually drew blueprints of any buildings he worked on.
Each building he worked on was special, and if there was a drawn blueprint of the building, there was a potential of it being reproduced.
But, Ji Cheol-muk was also human, so there was a certain limit to his memory. Therefore, he had to remain prepared for all eventualities. His distinctive way of creating a physical blueprint was by making knotted ornaments.
He weaved a unique knot which held the key of each building he had constructed.
No one could see that the knotted ornament was actually a blueprint, since he had woven the knot in a way that it seemed as though it was an aesthetically pleasing accessory.
'It was only my elder Hyung-nim that realized it was actually a blueprint.'
He grinned, then began to shovel out soil from the ground.
The construction of any building was hard work, but he didn't feel any strain.
The shed he was constructing wasn't for just anyone, but for his elder Hyung-nim. Therefore, he worked on it joyously.
All of a sudden.
'Hm? This energy?'
He felt a familiar energy, and he could guess whose energy it was.
***
'Why am I feeling this energy here?'
Ji Cheol-muk jumped out of the hole he had been digging with great zeal, shocking the person standing there with his sudden appearance.
"Who is this? Clan Leader?"
"Are you Ji Cheol-muk hyung-nim?"
As Mu-jin's eyes fell upon the white pipe dangling from his mouth, Ji Cheol-muk's face changed to his original appearance, then back to his youthful form.
Mu-jin spoke, his expression puzzled, "Why are you here? Also, what on earth are you doing?"
"I'm making a shed."
"A shed?"
"Elder Hyung-nim said that he wanted a shed to store his gardening tools."
Mu-jin looked at the hole Ji Cheol-muk had been digging. It was more than three jang [1] deep.
It was definitely not an ordinary construction.
"Anyways, why are you here?"
Mu-jin scratched his cheek at Ji Cheol-muk's question, then answered vaguely, "That, uh…well"
"Are you waiting for elder Hyung-nim?"
Mu-jin had a surprised look on his face. "Y-you knew?"
Ji Cheol-muk nodded in response.
"I know. I know that he's working here as a horticulture teacher, and that he's undergone reverse aging. But…"
Mu-jin gulped as Ji Cheol-muk narrowed his eyes at him.
"Why didn't you tell me about it?"
"Th-that…."
"Clan Leader! Have you gotten so big?"
*Dak!*
Ji Cheol-muk felt a sudden impact to the back of his head. As he began to see stars moving about in his eyes, he shouted back in an angry tone, "Which b.a.s.t.a.r.d did this?"
"It's a b.a.s.t.a.r.d you know very well."
"Huh?!"
It was Kang-hyuk.
He looked at Ji Cheol-muk whilst clicking his tongue.
"Didn't I tell you to treat the Clan Leader like the Clan Leader?! Are you going to treat Mu-jin with the dignity of a dog?"
"I apologize. I've done wrong."
"Also, I told him not to tell anyone. Stop blaming Mu-jin needlessly!"
"...."
Kang-hyuk looked at Mu-jin and spoke, "Ehem. So, what business did you have with me so early in the morning?"
"The Princ.i.p.al contacted me to say that a man named Hong-bae is willing to open his mouth."
"Hong-bae, you say? Isn't he the man that helped the spy?"
"He is, but he says he'll only speak in front of the Clan Leader for some reason."
Kang-hyuk was silent in thought for a few moments, then opened his mouth to speak, "I don't know why he'll only speak in front of you, but remember to never relax in front of the man."
"Understood."
"You can go now."
"Yes, Hyung-nim."
Within a few moments, Kang-hyuk used the disappearing technique and vanished out of sight. Ji Cheol-muk and Mu-jin collectively sighed at his skill, even the slightest trace of his energy wasn't felt.
"Nothing less could have been expected from Hyung-nim!"
"When will I reach that level of skill?"
*Tak!*
*Tak!*
As they spoke, the back of their heads received a blow.
"Stop spouting nonsense and focus on your own training."
[1] Jang- old Korean method of distance measuring
