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Chapter 317. Late Winter's Cutting Wind (5)
The scent of Seven-Colored Flower tea, experienced for the first time in a while, settled my mind.
The faint winter sunlight streaming through the window felt warm.
A serene, peaceful, leisurely moment.......
BANG!
What bastard dared open the door to the Academy Representative's office this roughly?!
Е ňumа̄ . і̇d
I was about to launch a kick when—
"Oh...... hey, Junior Sister Ryeon."
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"......"
Perhaps the Seven-Colored Flower tea I'd just drunk had already been digested, because I suddenly felt like visiting the outhouse.
"Jin So...... no, Eldest Senior Brother."
Sa-ryeon, her eyes blazing, cricked her neck to the side with sharp, jerky movements—as if executing Body-Shift Transposition—and arrived before me.
W е b n о ve.l Е n̈ um̄ а̌
"What...... were you thinking?"
I knew exactly what she was talking about.
First, I moved the precious Seven-Colored Flower tea behind me for safekeeping, then opened my mouth.
"So, the thing is......"
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"Were you in your right mind?"
"Actually, at that moment......"
Ŵ еb n̈о v̄ е l̈ Е̌n ūm̂ а
"You seemed normal for the past few days, but you couldn't hold out and pulled something like this again?"
"No, there were circumstances......"
"Why can't you go a single month without incident?! Why?!"
Couldn't I at least get a chance to explain?
Sa-ryeon shot a look of disbelief at the Seven-Colored Flower tea, then let out a long sigh.
"Fine. Go ahead and explain. Why did you do it?"
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"......"
I gazed at Sa-ryeon in silence.
A look that asked: are you in the mood to listen now?
But.
"......Don't tell me you have nothing to say? You! No—Eldest Senior Brother! Were you always this reckless?"
"......"
Е ǹú mа̌_. і d̃
Sa-ryeon thumped her chest as if she might explode.
Watching her made my own chest feel tight.
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Let me talk too.
***
"......So you're saying the Instructor acted with deliberate intent?"
Some time later, having calmed down and listened to my explanation, Sa-ryeon spoke in a somewhat mollified tone while giving me a pointed look.
Ēnu̇ m а̊ .і̌ ď
"Even so, turning him into a cripple was too much."
"A cripple?"
"They're saying you shattered his qi center and crippled him."
No matter what, even I wouldn't go that far.
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He was a Hall Master-level member of Qingcheng, one of the Nine Sects.
If I'd done that, every member of Qingcheng would come gunning for my head.
Еǹǔ m̌а . iď
I did think things through, you know.
Of course I did.
"Ahem, what are you talking about? I just scared him a little. I didn't actually shatter his qi center."
"......Really?"
"Obviously."
"......You're sure? Swear on it?"
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"......"
Why couldn't this girl trust the Eldest Senior Brother and Chief Disciple of Taeul Sect, whom she'd known her whole life?
When I shot her a disgruntled look, Sa-ryeon waved her hands in defense.
"Y-you've been pulling so many stunts lately, can you blame me?"
I forgave my junior sister with a magnanimous heart and sipped my Seven-Colored Flower tea, whereupon Sa-ryeon murmured as if remembering something.
"Now that I think about it...... something similar happened to me too."
Е n u ḿ.а́
According to her, the new Instructor had delivered a lecture about the reports written last year during the first class after the break.
The content was similar to what I'd experienced.
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Using Sa-ryeon's report—which had received the highest score—as an example, the Instructor had disparaged the overall level, claiming that such a report had only earned top marks because the class's standard was low.
"Tsk."
The intent behind their arrival at the Academy was so painfully obvious that even the Seven-Colored Flower tea tasted bitter.
And this stuff was expensive.
Еnūm̃ а́ .ĩ d
When I frowned down at my teacup, Sa-ryeon huffed and lightly chided me.
"Even so, you went way too far. Attacking an Instructor is grounds for expulsion from the Academy."
Sa-ryeon, poking at the exact part I'd been trying to avoid.
"On top of that, you've handed a justification to people who are dying to pick a fight...... What are you going to do now?"
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Tsk.
I did acknowledge that I'd overreacted somewhat in this incident.
Ѐn̊ um а
'Why did I do that?'
Had pretending to be Black Path actually started turning me into one?
I wasn't really the Stronghold Master of the Black Dragon Stronghold.......
I felt a pang of self-reproach for acting so recklessly, as if I had somewhere to fall back to.
"I had good reason."
"......"
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Of course, what came out of my mouth said otherwise.
If I showed genuine alarm here, Sa-ryeon would only worry more.
I deliberately lifted my teacup with an air of ease and added.
"If they want us expelled, this one incident won't be the end. They'd have spent the entire remaining term building up justifications, then dropped the hammer at the perfect moment."
"......"
"In that case, we'd have completed every Academy course properly and still ended up as rejects who never graduated."
Ẽ n u m̄а
As I spoke, I found myself convinced by my own argument.
That was how relationships worked, wasn't it?
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A person who hated me for no reason would never come to like me, no matter how hard I tried to please them.
In fact, my very efforts to win their favor might later become the justification for their hatred.
That was how irrational it was.
The human creature.
W eb n̊ о v̂ e l Е̌n ū m̊ā
"Then it's better to strike first so they don't have time to prepare. That way, we at least buy ourselves time to respond."
A strategy I called "giving them a reason."
The most effective way to deal with someone who hates you for no reason—
Was to give them a reason to hate you.
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If you planted a clear cause, then paradoxically—
When that cause later disappeared, it could actually lead to an improvement in the relationship.
Е̊ ṅ ù m̈а .і̄ d
It seemed contradictory, but that was the truth.
Because a good relationship could never form without mutual respect.
"Haah...... honestly."
Sa-ryeon seemed persuaded, sighing but offering no rebuttal.
Then, as if something had just occurred to her, she asked.
"But why 'we'?"
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"Hm?"
"You're the one who caused trouble. So why are you lumping us all together?"
"......"
"Don't tell me if you get expelled, we all have to leave too?"
Uh...... when she put it that way, I had nothing to say.
Hmm.......
Е̄n̆ûm̀ a . ĭd
"The disciples of Taeul Sect are together in life and death, always."
"......"
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Sa-ryeon's brow furrowed deeply.
I'd known her since childhood, so I knew exactly what that expression meant.
That was her "I really, really hate this!" face.......
Ah, that stung a little.
Ẇе b̄n о̊v̊.е̂ l̂. Е n̂ ûm̆ а
It really did.
***
Even after Sa-ryeon left—
BANG!
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"Young Master Jin, what on earth happened?!"
BANG!
Én̊ ū m̂ а.. і́ d
"What have you been out there doing?!"
BANG!
"Representative! Is what I've heard true?!"
At this rate the door was going to be destroyed.
"Could you please be a little gent......"
BANG—!!
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......The door, assaulted by people who kept slamming it open, finally gave up the ghost.
Would the Academy cover the replacement cost?
I had absolutely no desire to pay for it myself, so the worry came naturally.
Then again, I couldn't exactly leave the Representative's office wide open like a hallway.
"Hmm...... this incident could certainly escalate."
Jang Woo-jae, who had entered just before the door was destroyed, spoke.
W е̄b n̆о v̌ ẽ l̇ Еnu m̊.а
He hadn't slammed the door open, and he'd entered the office quietly with a strangely detached expression.
Thanks to that, he bore no responsibility for the door's demise.
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A man of culture, as expected.
I liked him. I really did.
He leaned forward with a serious face.
"The problem is that even if the Instructor assault incident blows over quietly, the Instructors' intentions will dictate what happens going forward."
W е b̀n̊ òv ѐl̈ Е ṅ ū m а
He was worried about the same thing I was.
"As you said, Representative...... or rather, as Cheol Sun-jik put it—if they came here to funnel grades, they'll start moving even more blatantly from now on."
I looked at the person sitting next to Jang Woo-jae—the door's murderer—and asked.
"What does the person who destroyed the door think?"
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"......Ergh, wasn't the door already broken when I......"
Il-gak wiped his glistening head once, then spoke as if the door was irrelevant.
Е̌ n̄u̇m̌ а
"In any case, the sentiment among the Nine Sects toward the new Instructors isn't exactly positive either. Regardless of intent, they did insult us all."
The reaction was roughly half and half.
Half were outraged at the attack on an Instructor, while the other half expressed satisfaction at seeing the Instructor get what he deserved.
Hmm, but why was there no faction supporting me? Shouldn't there be people saying the Representative did the right thing?
While I was briefly lost in thought, Il-gak said quietly.
"What worries me most...... is your Taeul Sect people."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Hm?"
"They've realized it now. That Representative Jin is on a level they can't contend with."
"......"
Ah.
So his point was that instead of me, my juniors would suffer the consequences?
What if I just went after the Instructors head-on in a big.......
Ënù m̊a .i d̆
"......Don't you dare start anything unnecessary."
Sa-ryeon's chilling voice drifted over like a winter wind.
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"There's a world of difference between merely getting picked on and becoming a hostile faction. The damage could extend not just to us but to the juniors who'll serve their mandatory duty later."
Fair point. Even by sheer headcount, we couldn't fight all Nine Sects at once.
Sa-ryeon had hit the nail on the head.
Becoming hostile wasn't the issue—the juniors who'd later be assigned as mandatory service personnel were the real concern.
Е̊ n u m̂ а́
If someone bore a grudge and refused to approve a unit transfer, there was no telling what might happen to the juniors inside.
The Murim Alliance advocated an absolute chain of command.
In practice it wasn't quite that rigid, but officially, rank within the Alliance superseded sect and clan loyalties.
At first glance it seemed remarkably fair, but for the established powers, it felt rather different.
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For instance—what if an elite of Wudang Sect had to take orders from Jin So-un of the third-rate Taeul Sect?
'Their pride would be wounded and they'd be furious.'
Е̇ nu ḿа̇. і d̈
What if Il-gak of Shaolin was deliberately bullied by a warrior of the Iron Sword Sect?
Could anyone accept that at face value?
This was precisely why the established powers showed corrupt intent before the Academy's supposedly fair evaluations, and simultaneously—
Why I couldn't just act however I pleased.
"We were prepared for a degree of discrimination from the start. At this level, we can endure it."
Sa-ryeon straightened her posture.
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"Things like this will keep happening. If we hadn't been prepared for it, we wouldn't have come to the Murim Academy in the first place."
Sa-ryeon stared hard at me and continued.
"So don't you dare cause a bigger scene or incident on our account!"
"......"
"Stop sacrificing yourself for us!"
At Sa-ryeon's firm rebuke, Seong Mo-ran chimed in.
W̊ еb́ n оv̆ е́ l Е̊ n̆û mа̇
"Wow, the junior sister is more mature than the Eldest Senior Brother."
What was that supposed to mean?
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Under Sa-ryeon's fierce gaze, demanding an answer, I finally nodded.
If I didn't respond, she looked ready to do something drastic herself.
But Sa-ryeon's words didn't put me at ease.
I had no idea what humiliation the Gold-Silver-Copper Brothers might have suffered in today's classes.
Èn̆_ŭ m̌а̊
And there was no telling how difficult their Academy life would become going forward.
I desperately hoped the Brothers' spirits hadn't been broken.
Considering how hard I'd been pushing them all this time.......
No, wait. Ahem.
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If these children, who were just beginning to spread their wings and fly, realized their limits and gave up—I'd feel terrible.
Just then.
Е̄ n uḿ а . їd
TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP.
The sound of someone running eagerly down the corridor reached my ears.
Even without looking, I could tell from the footsteps that it was the Gold-Silver-Copper Brothers.
"Huh? Why is the door off its hinges?"
"Forget the door, let's see Eldest Senior Brother first!"
"O-okay!"
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Geum-pyo tilted his head as he entered the Representative's office, then turned his attention to Eun-ho's words and came inside.
Seeing the three brothers' stiffly hardened faces, a small sigh escaped me.
Their expressions clearly said something had happened.
"Did something happen to you today t......"
"Eldest Senior Brother!"
Eun-ho cut me off immediately.
Е̊ n u m̊а.îd́_
Had something so serious happened that this polite boy would interrupt me?
I rose from my seat in concern and approached them.
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But then.
"You crushed the Instructor with inner arts? Is that true? How on earth......?"
Starting with Geum-pyo's question, unable to believe what he'd heard.
"Eldest Senior Brother, be honest. What have you been secretly eating...... no, consuming without telling us? You took a spiritual medicine, didn't you? Didn't you?!"
Ѐ n ǔm̂ а̂. î d́
Eun-ho's indignant expression, irreverent as it could be.
"Eldest Senior Brother, p-please teach me too. How to shatter someone's qi center with inner arts......"
And Dong-ryong's bright, sparkling eyes making a terrifying request.
"That's why you came running to find me?"
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"We're curious! How did you do it?"
"Eldest Senior Brother, come clean. Then we'll understand and move on."
Е ńu m̊ а .і́ d
"C-can I learn it now? Or do I need to build up more inner arts first?"
Uh...... they were more spirited than expected.
I should consider this a good thing, right?
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