Chapter 22

## Chapter 22. Blue Dragon Academy New Instructor Recruitment Notice

It took several days just to sort out the old man Xu's estate.

Although Lady Sun seemed to suspect my true identity, Qing Tian made her so nervous that she couldn't think straight.

"Lady Sun, we've received a report that the alcohol at Red Flower Pavilion has been watered down."

"Wh-who would say such nonsense!"

"We cannot disclose the identity of the informant. May I check the alcohol storage room?"

"…Sir Prefect, can we talk privately for a moment?"

The prefect, known for his incorruptibility and integrity, made all the nearby merchants tremble with his expressionless face.

"Lady Sun, I noticed several bruises on the courtesans' bodies. Is there any violence happening inside the brothel?"

"N-no, that's not it…."

"Looking at the kitchen, it seems a health inspection is needed. Please call the person in charge."

"W-why suddenly…!"

Qing Tian wielded his power effectively.

If it were someone else, it might not have been so easy, but Lady Sun was someone Qing Tian had been waiting to deal with.

In the past, she was the one who drove away Qing Tian's pregnant mother.

After making Lady Sun's face pale, Qing Tian came to me separately and said,

"Lady Sun will be going to jail soon. The charges are tax evasion, assault, and intimidation. If we tie all these together, she won't be able to come out until she dies."

"When is this 'soon'? It's a bit inconvenient right now."

"…Would six months be enough?"

After considering the time, I nodded.

"That should be enough. She was excessively greedy. I was planning to replace her at the right time."

I knew that Lady Sun had embezzled a lot of money from the brothel.

If she were taken to the government office immediately, it would cause problems for Red Flower Pavilion's operations, but in a few months, we could replace her with someone else.

After I, Xu Tian, had firmly established myself as the old man Xu's successor.

"And from now on, Red Flower Pavilion will…."

Before Qing Tian could finish his sentence, I preempted him.

"I'll only run the Hong Lou. Not immediately, but gradually. The courtesans who worked in the Qing Lou will need to find other ways to make a living. If they want, I'll help them find jobs at inns, taverns, or trading companies."

Generally, the Qing Lou is where the courtesans sell their bodies, while the Hong Lou only provides alcohol and entertainment.

Although the Qing Lou earns more money, I intended to clean up all the illegal and dirty businesses that the old man Xu had been running.

Qing Tian stared at me and said,

"…Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me. It's not because I'm kind, but for my future reputation."

The old man Xu, a major player in the usury business, had many dirty rumors and enemies.

If I inherited his business, I would also inherit his bad reputation, rumors, and enemies.

Dirty business inevitably leads to resentment.

'Money is good, but there's no need to make my bed restless with unnecessary resentment.'

As I mentioned earlier, my principle in this life is to avoid creating resentment as much as possible, and if it does happen, to root it out completely.

'And I need to consider my relationship with Qing Tian.'

Qing Tian had a secret he didn't want me to know and a life debt (due to the side effects of Blood Wolf Martial Art) to me, but I didn't intend to treat him like a subordinate.

One-sided relationships don't last long, and they can easily change with the situation.

I smiled and extended my hand to Qing Tian.

"Let's do our best from now on. And speak more casually. We seem to be about the same age."

"…Alright."

Qing Tian looked at my hand with a strange expression for a moment before shaking it.

"I think it's a relief."

"What is?"

"That you inherited the old man's estate."

Qing Tian didn't want to inherit the old man's estate, but he seemed to feel a sense of responsibility for it.

He might have thought that if he didn't inherit it, Xu Yi or Lady Sun would, and they would continue the usury business even more ruthlessly, causing more suffering to the common people.

That's why he didn't burn the will immediately but kept it.

"But you… I don't think you'll do the same dirty deeds as those people."

"As you can see, I'm a bit more meticulous."

"Except for your bad luck."

We smiled at each other.

In any case, my relationship with Qing Tian ended on a friendly note.

I had made a connection in the government, Qing Tian had saved his life and relieved his mental burden.

Everything was good except for one thing that bothered me.

'Who was that black-clothed person?'

The black-clothed person who taught Qing Tian the Blood Wolf Martial Art, which had side effects.

I tried to guess his identity, but nothing came to mind.

The Blood Wolf Martial Art isn't an incredibly powerful martial art, but it's certainly not something that would be widely known in the marketplace.

With proper and diligent practice, it could lead to a peak level of martial arts, depending on the practitioner's talent.

'If not a martial arts instructor of the Blood Sect, it would have to be someone of a higher rank, like a chief or a division leader, to know the incantations…'

Is the Blood Sect really gone?

If it is, where did all the wealth and martial arts they accumulated go?

What happened to the new techniques I re-established for the four masters?

"See you next time."

"The incantations you told me. I'll come to ask if I have any questions."

"Sure, anytime."

After parting with Qing Tian, I went to meet Fu Manchun, thinking about various things.

"Have you arrived?"

Fu Manchun, a former ronin, adapted to the new situation very quickly. He reported to me without being asked.

"Here is the list of inns, taverns, and shops that the old man Xu owned. There's also a nominal security company and a courier service. If you look here…."

Fu Manchun was not only the old man Xu's bodyguard but also handled various dirty jobs when force was needed.

He saw a lot of different businesses while accompanying the old man Xu on his outings and had a keen interest in business.

"Thank you for organizing it well. You've done a great job."

"Ha ha. It's nothing."

Although there was an elderly chief manager, I treated Fu Manchun like a chief manager.

In fact, I planned to have him take on that role in the future.

After discussing the general business plans with Fu Manchun, I brought up a personal matter.

"Guardian Fu, can you help me obtain some spirit medicines?"

"Spirit medicines? What kind…?"

I told Fu Manchun, who blinked his single eye, what kind of spirit medicine I needed.

"I need a spirit medicine that strengthens yang energy. The stronger the medicinal power, the better. Even if it has strong side effects, that's fine."

"Hmm…."

Fu Manchun thought for a moment and said that it would be difficult immediately but possible with some time.

"I still have some connections in the ronin market. I'll try to reach out there; there might be something available."

The ronin market, originally a place where ronins bought and sold their martial prowess, had evolved into a black market where anything that could make money was traded.

A place where anything could be obtained for the right price.

Fu Manchun, who had spent a long time as a ronin, must have had considerable connections there.

'Given that the main clients are ronins, there must be a significant amount of weapon trading as well.'

I suddenly thought of the Yun Tie in my travel bag and asked,

"Can you introduce me to a very discreet and skilled blacksmith?"

"A blacksmith? To make weapons?"

"I'd rather not go into details."

When I gave a meaningful smile, the quick-witted Fu Manchun bowed his head in realization.

"I'm sorry. I asked a foolish question… I'll look into it."

"Let me reiterate, it must be someone very discreet. It could be a matter of life and death. It doesn't matter if it takes a long time."

"…Yes, I understand."

Fu Manchun nodded with a serious expression.

With everything settled, I stood up.

"Then I'll leave first; I have some business to attend to."

"Already? How about a drink…."

"I have a few places to visit today. We'll definitely have a drink next time."

"I was thoughtless again. Please take care."

After assigning various tasks to Fu Manchun, I went to the Jiangxi branch of the Martial Arts Alliance to find Gao Zhuyue.

Of course, I had already taken off my mask.

"The culprit was his own son! Such a wicked person…!"

When I informed Gao Zhuyue that the case was solved, he patted my shoulder and said,

"You've been through a lot."

"I didn't do much. The culprit set the fire and committed suicide. In the end, we couldn't find any clues about the martial art."

The public knew that the culprit who killed the old man Xu was Xu Yi, and naturally, the one who practiced the martial art was also Xu Yi.

I didn't tell the Martial Arts Alliance that the martial art used to kill the old man Xu was the Blood Wolf Martial Art.

Not only was there no way to explain how I knew about it, but I also had a strong feeling that it would drag me into some troublesome affairs if I did.

So, I didn't tell Gao Zhuyue any of the truths I had uncovered.

'A little sorry, but…'

Gao Zhuyue looked at my expression and comforted me.

"It's fine. It's not easy to trace a martial art just by looking at the wounds on a corpse."

"…Yes."

"Don't worry about the job interview. I'll report that you were a great help in this investigation, so you can speak confidently during the interview. I'll also have a commendation plaque made for you quickly."

Actually, the Martial Arts Alliance's commendation plaque wasn't really necessary for me anymore, but I smiled in gratitude for Gao Zhuyue's kindness.

"Yes, thank you."

Gao Zhuyue still looked very busy with the alliance's affairs, so I decided to eat later.

As I left the Martial Arts Alliance, I thought,

'At least I don't have to worry about money anymore.'

By chance, I had inherited the estate of one of the top ten usurers in the city.

Although I plan to shut down all the dirty businesses, it will be difficult to handle large sums of money immediately, but I now have a foundation to start new businesses.

'Should I learn more about business? Or…'

After a moment of contemplation, I shook my head.

"If I do business, I should stick to what I'm good at."

I still don't know much about business.

If I meddle in things I don't understand, I'm likely to suffer losses.

What I'm good at is teaching and learning martial arts.

So, it would be better to let the experts handle the existing businesses and earn money by teaching martial arts while gradually learning about business.

'In any case, my mind is much more at ease now.'

Even if I fail the Blue Dragon Academy job interview, I won't be in immediate need of money.

Since this is a fairly large city, I could buy an empty mansion near the Blue Dragon Academy and open a martial arts school.

I could also invite my father, who is living alone in the countryside, to come up….

'Why not expand the academy business?'

With these thoughts, I returned to the inn where I was staying.

I immediately threw myself onto the bed.

Thud.

"Phew. I'm tired."

As I lay on the bed, looking at the ceiling, a moment later, the door opened slightly, and A Yanhao poked his head in.

He looked displeased, his mouth pouting.

"Where have you been so busy all these days?"

"There are things I need to do. You'll get hurt if you know."

"Hmm…."

A Yanhao narrowed his eyes and entered my room, sniffing the air.

"Did you go around meeting women? I can definitely smell perfume…."

Since I had visited Red Flower Pavilion, it was natural for there to be a scent of perfume.

But since it was too troublesome to make excuses, I waved my hand dismissively and said,

"Nothing to worry about. I'm going to sleep, so don't bother me."

"Even if you sleep, you should see this first."

A Yanhao showed me a notice he had torn from the marketplace.

<Blue Dragon Academy New Instructor Recruitment Notice>

I quickly read the content below it.

I read it twice.

I read it again, thinking I might have read it wrong.

But I hadn't.

I pointed to a specific part of the notice and asked A Yanhao,

"What is this nonsense? The students are going to vote to choose the instructors?"

The Blue Dragon Academy's job interview date was already approaching.