Chapter 10

Jangho, in a half-awake state, ran to the desk and brought the water kettle to his mouth. However, there wasn't a single drop of water left in the kettle.

Confused by the situation, Jangho rubbed his eyes and looked around. The blanket was completely dry and wrinkled.

“When did you come? What’s going on…”

Hanje smiled bitterly, opened the door, and replied as he left.

“I don’t know. When I came, it was already like this.”

A light drizzle was still falling. Hanje hesitated for a moment, then quickened his pace. He took a detour to the east gate to avoid being seen by someone who might notice Seokju absorbing the rainwater.

Seokju absorbed all the rainwater that fell on Hanje as he walked. Originally, Hanje had planned to hide Seokju in the room, but he thought it would be safer to hide him outside.

Hanje headed to the place where he had hidden the calabash filled with dew.

Fortunately, it wasn’t completely light yet, so there weren’t many people around. After confirming that no one was nearby, he quickly hid the bead.

Only then did he feel relieved. He thought that once the rain stopped, he would come back to get the bead. He looked around and quietly left the place.

When Hanje arrived at the miscellaneous affairs office and was about to fill the water jar, Yu Sae-hyung opened the door and came out. Yu Sae-hyung, with a fierce look on his face, was surprised to see Hanje, then suddenly burst into a wide smile and snatched the water jar from Hanje.

“Isn’t this my junior? How are you? Are your parents well? Do you know how worried I was during the days you were gone?”

Hanje was bewildered, not understanding what was happening. The sudden change in attitude felt strangely familiar. Hadn’t his relatives shown the same behavior? However, Hanje couldn’t figure out why Yu Sae-hyung had suddenly changed his attitude.

“Yu Sae-hyung, are you well? My parents are fine. There’s no need to worry.”

Hanje cautiously replied, not understanding the other’s intentions.

“Junior, you don’t need to come so early every day. Didn’t I tell you before? I was just playing a little trick. If you really believed that you had to fill 10 jars every day, what would you do? From now on, just fill one jar a day. And if you don’t fill the jar completely, you can eat when it’s time. If anyone harasses you, just mention my name. I’ll take care of them properly.”

Yu Sae-hyung patted his chest as he spoke. His kindness seemed suspicious, so Hanje hesitated for a moment before asking.

“Sae-hyung, do you have something you want me to do?”

At this, Yu Sae-hyung immediately showed a dissatisfied expression and burst into anger.

“Junior, what do you think of me? Are we strangers? You are my junior, so I should take care of you. From now on, your affairs are my affairs. Since it’s raining today, take a rest. By the way, a few days ago, Elder Son came looking for you. Now that you’re back, go and report to him.”

After finishing his words, Yu Sae-hyung briefly observed Hanje’s reaction.

Hanje hesitated for a moment, then smiled faintly. He didn’t know why Elder Son had come looking for him, but he was sure that Yu Sae-hyung’s sudden kindness was related to that. Although it was probably a misunderstanding, Hanje didn’t show it and responded casually as he had before.

“Okay.”

At this, Yu Sae-hyung’s heart sank. His guess seemed to be correct. Otherwise, how could Hanje act so arrogantly? He was also afraid that Hanje might be seeking revenge for his past mistreatment.

Yu Sae-hyung had been a named disciple for 13 years and had worked in the miscellaneous affairs office for 6 years, but he had never seen an elder personally visit a trainee. Even sending a formal disciple was extremely rare.

Knowing that he was a mere trainee and insignificant in this place, he had to grit his teeth and endure. He extended the yellow paper he had to Hanje.

“Junior, when I first saw you, I felt as if I had met an old friend. This is a small token of my appreciation. Take it. If you don’t need it…”

Before Yu Sae-hyung finished speaking, Hanje took the yellow paper. It was the same talisman he had used to go home.

“Thank you, Sae-hyung. It would be impolite to refuse your token. Since Elder Son is waiting for me, let’s continue our conversation tomorrow.”

Hanje smiled lightly, and Yu Sae-hyung quickly nodded.

“Sure, Elder Son’s business is important. Go quickly.”

Hanje pretended to be calm, but he was worried about why Elder Son had come looking for him.

‘Could he have noticed something about Seokju?’

This fear arose, but fortunately, he had hidden Seokju well.

★ ★ ★

A short while later, when he arrived at the garden, the young man in white appeared and asked, slightly surprised.

“Why? Are you going home again?”

Just as Hanje was about to answer, Elder Son’s voice came from inside the garden.

“Bring that child in. Hurry!”

The young man in white pouted and gave Hanje a meaningful look, then led him into the garden without asking any more questions. He guided Hanje to the room where Elder Son was and, after giving him another glance, disappeared.

Hanje, more tense than ever, was making various speculations when an old man with a wrinkled face walked out of the central room in the garden.

Hanje stood confidently, as if he had nothing to hide. Elder Son frowned, not finding anything unusual about Hanje.

“When did you return?”

Hanje’s heart raced.

“I returned last night. This morning, I went to the miscellaneous affairs office, and Yu Sae-hyung told me that Elder Son was looking for me, so I came immediately.”

Elder Son’s expression darkened, and he grabbed Hanje and took a step. A rainbow cloud appeared and transported them to the room where Hanje was staying. The speed was so fast that Hanje felt as if he couldn’t breathe.

Upon arriving at the room, Elder Son roughly pushed Hanje and looked around the room. He then noticed the calabash filled with spring water under Hanje’s bed and turned his gaze to Hanje. Hanje’s heart raced, but he tried to remain calm.

“What is this?”

Hanje quickly pretended to know nothing.

“Elder Son, this calabash contains spring water I collected from the mountains. It’s a mysterious spring, and whenever I feel tired, I take a sip and immediately feel refreshed. According to a book I read when I was young, everything the immortals have is good, but I didn’t expect the spring water to be so mysterious.”

Elder Son opened the calabash and sniffed it, then sternly scolded.

“Who asked about the spring water? Where did you find this calabash? Speak quickly!”

Hanje was momentarily stunned but quickly replied.

“I just picked it up because it was floating on the spring water.”

Elder Son looked at him with narrow eyes. He stroked the calabash in his hand and thought to himself.

‘This calabash is emitting a tremendous amount of spiritual energy. It’s clear that drinking the water inside would help recover one’s energy. It doesn’t seem like he’s lying. However, this is a valuable item to give to him. If used in alchemy, it could have a tremendous effect. If the withered orchids and other herbs are related to this calabash, I need to test the principle of mutual generation and mutual inhibition (相生相克).’

After finishing his thoughts, Elder Son looked at the calabash again and suddenly glared at Hanje.

“You’ve really become arrogant. How dare you lie to an elder? The Daesan Sect is becoming a laughingstock!”

Hanje couldn’t understand what was happening.

“Elder Son, I’m not lying. It’s really just spring water…”

Before he could finish, Elder Son burst into anger.

“Do you think I don’t know when you pretend to know nothing? The spout of this calabash is clearly freshly cut. Your story about picking it up from the water is a lie. I’ll give you one last chance. Where did you get this calabash? If you don’t tell the truth, you’ll be expelled from the Daesan Sect immediately!”

Hanje’s face showed anger. It seemed he had made a significant decision. He loudly declared.

“If you want me to leave, I’ll leave. Since I came to the Daesan Sect, I’ve done nothing but fetch water every day. I filled 10 jars every day and barely ate one meal a week. If it weren’t for the sweet potatoes my mother packed for me, I would have starved to death. Is this the training to become an immortal? Why would I lie about a calabash? You say it’s freshly cut? Who cut it and lost it? How would I know? If you’re so curious, find the person who cut it and ask them!”

The training to become an immortal

Elder Son alternated his gaze between the sweet potatoes in the luggage and the calabash in his hand.

‘I need to take this calabash, but if I take it from a trainee and expel him, it would damage my reputation. And if other disciples and seniors find out, they would all want it. I must keep this a secret. Moreover, from his reaction, it’s clear he has more than one of these calabashes. If I take them all and use them for alchemy…’

Elder Son hesitated for a moment, then sighed.

“You’ve really suffered a lot. I didn’t know you went without food for a week while working. Now that I know, I’ll definitely solve this problem. Trainees are also disciples of the Daesan Sect, after all.”

After finishing his words, Elder Son looked at Hanje, who was still angry, and inwardly mocked him, then spoke kindly again.

“Hanje, I’ll take this calabash. In return, I’ll make you my attendant. What do you think?”

Hanje was momentarily bewildered.

“No, an attendant is a servant. If my father finds out, he’ll definitely beat me to death.”

Elder Son almost burst into anger. Even though he was a mediocre elder among the second-generation disciples, if he wanted to take an attendant, the trainees would line up.

Elder Son, lost in thought, forced himself to calm down and spoke again.

“Then I’ll make you my disciple. I’ll go to the sect leader and talk to him. Pack your things and wait in my garden.”

He said this, rolled up his sleeves, and left Hanje’s room. Then he rode the cloud to where the sect leader was.

After Elder Son left, Hanje’s face darkened. He had noticed that Elder Son wanted to take him as a disciple to get more calabashes.

‘There are calabashes all over the mountain, so I can make as many as I want with Seokju. Since I’m becoming a formal disciple, I’ll definitely learn the techniques to become an immortal this time.’

Feeling better, he left quite a few sweet potatoes for Jangho, packed his things, and went to the garden.

Hanje entered the garden without announcing his arrival. The young man in white was sitting cross-legged on a large tree in the corner.

He looked down at Hanje but didn’t stop him. He had just heard from the sect leader that Elder Son was taking Hanje as a disciple. He just inwardly mocked.

‘A trashy master and a trashy disciple. What a perfect match.’