Chapter 3

## Chapter 3. No Way!

I hastily put on my top and rushed outside.

"Master! Help!"

The desperate cry came from the direction of my father, Bai Wuhun's quarters.

It was a familiar voice.

'What could be happening at this hour?'

It was late at night, and most people were already in bed.

For someone to come looking for my father at the martial arts school at this hour was no ordinary matter.

A moment later, I arrived in front of my father's quarters and saw a young boy kneeling under the lamplight, sobbing.

'Who is that?'

It was Zhang, the second son of the cloth shop owner, and the leader of the snot-nosed kids I teach.

This morning, he had come to me with a pout, begging me to teach him martial arts quickly.

Suddenly, my father's words from earlier came to mind.

- Earlier, the cloth shop owner, Mr. Zhang, came looking for me. He said his son, who was sent to the martial arts school, came back in a terrible state.

Could it be... he came to argue because he felt wronged after being given some chores?

"What a despicable..."

Just as I was about to say something, the snot-nosed kid sniffled and shouted.

"Please save my brother!"

"Master Bai! Please save my son!"

Looking again, I saw that behind the snot-nosed kid, Mr. Zhang was carrying a bloodied boy on his back.

"What exactly happened?"

My father's expression hardened as he examined the bloodied boy.

He took the boy from Mr. Zhang, laid him on the veranda, and checked his condition.

'It's an injury from martial arts.'

I quietly went to my father's side and examined the boy.

It was clearly an injury from martial arts, though clumsy.

"Ugh..."

As my father touched and massaged different parts of the boy's body, the boy twitched and groaned.

Seeing this, the snot-nosed kid cried by his brother's side.

Mr. Zhang, the boy's father, also looked desperate.

"Please, save our eldest son!"

The bloodied boy was the eldest son of the cloth shop owner, and the older brother of the snot-nosed kid I teach, who is five years older.

After examining the boy, my father sighed in relief.

"A few bones are broken, but his internal organs are not damaged. His life is not in danger. I'll give him first aid, and you can stay here tonight. Tomorrow, take him to a doctor for a proper examination."

As my father pressed a few acupoints, the boy's expression relaxed, and he drifted off to sleep.

My father, who had met doctors and searched for herbs to help his sick wife and son, was well-versed in medicine.

Especially in treating external injuries, he was better than most doctors, and the villagers would come to him first when they were hurt, rather than going to a doctor.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Grandmaster. Is my brother really not going to die? Is he really okay?"

Mr. Zhang bowed repeatedly, and the snot-nosed kid, Zhang, still clung to my father's clothes with a worried face.

"Don't worry. He'll be fine after a few days of rest."

My father picked up Zhang and patted his head. The kid cried and fell asleep in his arms.

My father handed the sleeping snot-nosed kid to me and asked Mr. Zhang in a low voice, his expression now as cold as ice.

"Who did this?"

The hair on my arms stood up at the killing intent I sensed from my father for the first time.

'I had a feeling, but...'

He might have said he was just a mediocre martial artist with no nickname, but to me, he was far from that.

"That... "

Mr. Zhang hesitated, worried that his words might cause some trouble.

My father reassured him.

"Don't worry. I just want to know what happened."

"They said they got hurt while playing with friends..."

"I know it's hard to say, but Zhang is one of the best among the kids I teach in this village. And the injuries he sustained... they weren't from the martial arts I taught."

"That... "

Just as Mr. Zhang was still hesitating, Zhang, who had been in my arms, shouted.

"It was the Jinwu School guys! They started it with my brother! They said the martial arts taught at Baiwu School were cheap and worthless!"

"Jinwu School?"

Jinwu School was a martial arts school that had opened in the neighboring village a few months ago.

I heard that the head of Jinwu School was a distant relative of the Nan Gong family.

'Probably just boasting. Even if he is a distant relative, why would someone from one of the Five Great Families come to such a remote village to open a martial arts school?'

In any case, my father had no interest in the new martial arts school in the neighboring village and paid it no attention.

Baiwu School had been teaching martial arts in this area for over 20 years.

But that indifference ended today.

They had clearly crossed the line.

"Did they really say that?"

Zhang nodded vigorously in response to my father's cold gaze.

"Yes! They said the martial arts at Baiwu School were terrible and that theirs were much stronger!"

"Were several Jinwu School students attacking Zhang?"

"It wasn't like that... it was just one person, but..."

Zhang hesitated, then shouted.

"But it was still despicable! Yang San knows all our martial arts!"

"...So it was Yang San, huh."

Even though our school was struggling, my father had a principle of not teaching martial arts to those with poor character.

Yang San was one of those people. He was a good and diligent child when he was young, but as he grew older, he became corrupt, and after a severe scolding, he was expelled from the school.

It seemed Yang San had recently been learning martial arts at Jinwu School.

"That bad guy started it with my brother! My brother didn't want to fight, but they insulted Master and our parents..."

Yes, even a sage couldn't bear to hear insults about their parents.

It seemed Yang San harbored a grudge against the students of Baiwu School who had expelled him.

But I had a question.

'Was this just Yang San's doing?'

Looking at the injuries on Zhang's bloodied body, I noticed something while standing next to my father.

'They used lethal techniques.'

If Yang San's techniques had been a bit more cruel, the cloth shop owner's eldest son might have been permanently disabled.

It was an excessively vicious method for a rural martial arts school to teach.

"Hmm..."

My father, who seemed to have similar thoughts, was frowning deeply.

"It's just kids fighting. Since my son is safe, I'm satisfied."

Seeing my father's serious expression, Mr. Zhang waved his hands, sensing that things might escalate.

He was a simple country man.

The fact that his son had been beaten to a bloody pulp was already enough to make his heart race, and he was afraid that if a real martial arts dispute broke out, it might affect him.

"About today's incident."

My father, who had been lost in thought, looked up and said to Mr. Zhang.

"I'll meet the head of Jinwu School tomorrow morning and settle this."

"Isn't this just going to make things worse...?"

My father smiled at Mr. Zhang, who looked worried.

"Don't worry. I'll just give him a good talking to."

"Yes, I trust Master Bai..."

"It's late, so please go home now. I'll take care of Zhang for the night."

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Mr. Zhang bowed repeatedly, and the snot-nosed kid, Zhang, who had been demanding revenge for his brother, was dragged away by Mr. Zhang.

I saw them off to the door in place of my father.

The lethal techniques taught at Jinwu School kept replaying in my mind.

'Will it really end with just a warning?'

My father said he would resolve it with words, but I had a feeling things wouldn't be that simple.

* * *

My ominous feeling was right.

"What, what's all the commotion this early in the morning?"

The man speaking with a haughty attitude was a giant, taller than my father.

'Is this mountain bandit-like guy really a distant relative of the Nan Gong family?'

Just from his gait, I could tell a lot.

What kind of martial arts he practiced, what kind of constitution he had, what habits he had in a fight, and what level he was.

I had the experience of teaching countless students in the Blood Demon Sect and observing many experts.

Based on that experience, the mountain bandit-like guy in front of me was at best a second-rate level.

Most importantly, this guy...

"Last night, one of our students was severely injured in a fight with a Jinwu School student."

"Why are you so sensitive about a kids' fight?"

My father politely stated his business, but the guy, Nan Gong Yu, scratched his ear and acted nonchalantly.

"Zhang's injuries were quite severe, more than just a kids' fight."

"Boys get into fights and get hurt as they grow up. If a boy is afraid of getting hurt like a girl, how can he become a real man?"

Nan Gong Yu openly disrespected my father, implying that he came to argue over such a trivial matter like a girl.

My father's expression didn't change.

With his hands behind his back, he spoke calmly.

"I don't know if the head of Jinwu School teaches martial arts to make boys into real men, but I teach to help children grow up healthy and protect themselves from bandits. Therefore, I don't teach methods that can seriously harm others."

My father turned to one of the young men standing behind Nan Gong Yu.

"Yang San. You almost killed your friend last night. Do you know that?"

The young man couldn't meet my father's cold gaze and averted his eyes, then gritted his teeth.

"It was a fair duel!"

"Do you really think so?"

"That, that's..."

"Hey, what are you doing to our student?"

Nan Gong Yu stepped between my father and Yang San, his massive body blocking the view. He glared at my father with a fierce expression.

"If you're upset, teach them better. Why come to someone else's place and cause trouble over a kid getting beaten up?"

"Listen here."

"Besides, if your teaching is weak, it's only natural that your students get beaten up."

"Huh..."

Nan Gong Yu was openly provoking my father.

Spectators had gathered around us.

I looked around and thought.

'It's a trap.'

This confirmed it.

Jinwu School had orchestrated this situation, making Yang San attack Zhang.

And when my father came, they were ready to humiliate and provoke him in front of everyone.

If my father backed down, he would be seen as a coward, and Baiwu School would lose students.

And if my father used martial arts to suppress this guy?

"Listen, Master of Baiwu School. Should a kids' fight escalate to an adults' fight? Just go home. I'll tell my students not to bully weak kids anymore."

Nan Gong Yu was subtly provoking my father with his words but didn't directly challenge him to a fight.

If my father, agitated, challenged him to a duel?

'He'd just be seen as a sore loser seeking revenge for a kids' fight.'

Even if my father won the duel, it wouldn't be a good situation for good rumors to spread.

'This mountain bandit-like guy is quite cunning. Or is someone else pulling the strings?'

Jinwu School hadn't established itself yet and had few students.

But whatever happened today would spread as a rumor.

Probably... the reputation of Baiwu School would decline, and Jinwu School's would rise.

"Hmm! I guess you all don't know."

Seizing the opportunity, the man with the goatee, who had been standing quietly next to Nan Gong Yu, spoke loudly for the spectators to hear.

"The great hero Nan Gong Yu here is a distant relative of the great scholar Nan Gong Zexue, the famous sword king of Tianwu Academy. He's of the great Nan Gong family's bloodline!"

The names Tianwu Academy and Nan Gong family caused a stir among the spectators.

Even in this rural area, the names of the Five Great Families were impressive.

Nan Gong Yu cleared his throat loudly and waved his hands.

"Cough! I'm just a distant relative. I just live up to the Nan Gong name."

I'd bet my fingers that he's not a Nan Gong.

Anyway, no matter what choice my father made, he would lose.

Unless I stepped in.

"Hey, so does Jinwu School teach the martial arts of the Nan Gong family?"

"Hmm?"

Nan Gong Yu looked at me, as if noticing me for the first time, standing next to my father.

I pretended to be scared and said.

"I've never seen the martial arts of the Five Great Families before... Is Jinwu School really teaching the martial arts of the Nan Gong family?"

My rustic expression and tone made him smirk, and he puffed up his chest.

"In a way, you could say that. Of course, they're not the main techniques, but if you trace the roots, they are the same martial arts..."

The spectators exclaimed in awe.

The man with the goatee's expression slightly twisted, sensing something was off, but I spoke before he could.

"Wow! No wonder they're so powerful. Yang San's skills have improved so much in just a few months!"

"You..."

My father looked at me with a "What are you doing?" expression, but I silenced him with a glance and continued.

"Seeing the secret techniques of the Five Great Families in my lifetime! This old man's eyes have been opened!"

"Ha ha! You have a good eye. If you want, I can teach you too!"

A thin smile formed on my lips, unable to hold it back any longer.

"Yes, I never imagined the Nan Gong family's martial arts would have such lethal techniques. I thought they were from the evil sect because of the intense killing intent."

"…What?"

My words made Nan Gong Yu and the man with the goatee's expressions stiffen, and the Jinwu School students' mocking laughter abruptly stopped.

Nan Gong Yu's face slowly twisted into a demonic expression.

"What did you just say? If you talk nonsense, I'll—"

"I said they look like evil sect techniques. You know, the kind that are easy to learn at first but can make you crippled if you keep practicing them."

"Wh, what!"

He was so flustered that even the spectators, who had been watching with uncertain expressions, were now shocked.

The man with the goatee next to Nan Gong Yu was trembling, his face red with anger.

The more flustered they became, the wider my smile grew.

"No way, right? The great Nan Gong family wouldn't teach evil sect techniques, would they?"

By the way, not all evil sect techniques are evil and dangerous.

Some are as profound as those of the righteous sects, with almost no side effects.

But the public perception is vastly different.

For example.

"Can I brag to everyone I meet that I've seen the secret techniques of the Nan Gong family? And maybe drop a hint to the Martial Arts Alliance?"

Nan Gong Yu's face drained of color.