Chapter 63

## Chapter 63. Ten times the amount, then?

Creak.

Opening the window, the cold air seeped deep into his lungs, gradually clearing his hazy mind.

“Phew……”

The old man slowly took a deep breath and gazed out the window.

His vision was blurry due to presbyopia, but he could still enjoy the sunrise at dawn.

“Good.”

The old man smiled gently as he looked down at the dawn of his hometown.

Men and women had left their homes early for work, and the streets were full of vitality with the voices of children chattering as they headed to school or martial arts academies.

Just standing by the window and quietly watching this scene had been the old man’s pastime and one of his few pleasures since he returned to his hometown a few weeks ago.

At that moment, the window closed on its own.

“Sir, catching a cold in the early morning is not good for your health.”

The old man clicked his tongue at the voice from behind.

Turning around, he saw a woman with a stern expression and dressed in black martial attire approaching.

“You’re really something. Do you have to disrupt my pleasure every morning?”

“My priority is your health, not your pleasure.”

Despite her stern appearance, the woman’s voice was soft.

She walked up to the old man and helped him put on his coat. A bowl of warm herbal medicine was already prepared on the table beside the bed.

“Open the window a bit.”

“I’ll open it after you take your medicine.”

“Tch……”

In the end, after putting on his coat and taking a sip of the bitter herbal medicine, the woman opened the window for him.

The old man glared at the woman and said,

“I’ll tell everyone you didn’t listen to me when I’m gone.”

“Then I’ll tell them you didn’t take your medicine properly.”

“Annoying thing……”

The old man laughed, despite his sharp words. He knew she was truly grateful.

Even if it was an order, she had followed him to this remote place to take care of him, and despite her stern face, she always worried about his health.

“I’ll try to get you a more important position when I’m gone.”

“……I’ve done something wrong, so please don’t say that.”

The woman’s face, which had remained calm when she threatened to tell on him, turned slightly pale. The old man chuckled at her reaction.

Turning back to the window, he observed the street and said,

“I lived here until I was a bit past my teens. And now I’ve returned after several decades. Indeed, it has changed a lot.”

“Yes.”

“I thought there was no affection for this place, even though it’s my hometown. My parents passed away when I was young, and I don’t have many good memories here.”

“……Is there a reason you chose to come here despite that?”

The old man fell silent at the woman’s question. His eyes, gazing at the street, were filled with complex emotions.

“Still, it’s my hometown. When I heard I should come here for recuperation, this was the first place that came to mind.”

“You’ll recover quickly and return soon.”

“……Black Shadow, to be honest, I don’t want to go back to the Demon Suppression Hall.”

“……”

Black Shadow, who had been glaring at me, remained silent and just looked at the old man’s back.

It would be presumptuous for her to give advice. Her role was to make the old man comfortable, take care of his health, and be prepared for any unforeseen dangers.

“I’ll go get your meal.”

Just as Black Shadow turned to leave the old man’s room,

“Hmm? Is something wrong?”

The old man’s voice made Black Shadow turn back.

The old man, leaning halfway out the window, was looking outside.

Where his gaze was directed, people were gathered and murmuring.

“Hahaha! Look at this!”

“Tsk. There are all kinds of strange people in the world……”

The clear words of the old man, who had taken a month off from work, were met with astonishment by his colleagues, but to me, finding a private tutor was more important.

I needed a lot of money to obtain the medicinal herbs to enhance the achievement of the Heaven-Reversing Divine Skill and to forge a sword.

‘At least three people……’

I couldn’t understand why not a single person had come.

“Was the publicity not enough? Perhaps I should have used more provocative phrases……”

“Then it would have been reported as false advertising to the authorities.”

“Brother Shouryong, or rather, Teacher, you seem to be good at teaching but not at business……”

“Doesn’t it look like you can handle it, opening this training hall? Huh?”

While I was scolding the two of them and conducting the class,

“Is anyone inside?”

A soft voice came, and an old man with a not-so-good complexion and a woman in black martial attire entered through the open gate.

I habitually examined the two of them closely.

The old man had a straight back and a clear, strong voice, indicating he still had some vigor. He was walking slowly with a cane, and his poor complexion suggested he had health issues.

He didn’t seem to have seriously practiced martial arts, but the aura he exuded was not ordinary.

‘Not an ordinary person.’

My gaze then turned to the woman in black martial attire who was following him.

‘And she’s not ordinary either.’

Her sharp eyes and tightly pressed lips exuded a strong will. She was always ready to move at any moment.

The old man looked at me and spoke again.

“Is this the White Dragon Manor?”

Though I didn’t know his identity, the moment I saw the paper he held, I put on a business smile and stepped forward.

“Welcome. Please sit over there.”

“I came to consult after seeing the flyer……”

“Do you want to entrust your grandchild to me? It would have been better if they came with you…… How old are they?”

Sitting across from the old man, I assumed he had come to consult about tutoring for a grandchild.

But at that moment, the old man smiled playfully like a child.

“It’s not for a grandchild. I want to consult for myself.”

“……What?”

“Sir!”

The woman in black behind the old man seemed more surprised than I was.

“Stay quiet. It’s just a consultation.”

The old man waved his hand to stop the woman and looked at me intently.

“Mr. Bai. Can an old man like me enter the Azure Dragon Academy if I take your private lessons?”

“Are you serious?”

“What do you think?”

I stared into the old man’s eyes. He met my gaze without hesitation.

Though I couldn’t determine his exact intentions from a brief look, I could see a mix of playfulness and seriousness.

“……You seem serious.”

“Haha. I just want to consult. As far as I know, there’s no age limit for entering the Azure Dragon Academy.”

The minimum age for entering the Azure Dragon Academy is fifteen, but there’s no upper age limit.

However, most people don’t try to enter after they turn twenty.

Occasionally, there are ‘late learners’ who enter in their thirties, but that’s very rare.

“Sir, may I ask how old you are?”

“I’m sixty-five this year.”

You’ve had the qualifications to enter for fifty years.

Seeing my gaze, the old man chuckled and tapped the ground with his cane.

“Is age important in learning?”

Age itself isn’t important in learning, but it has a significant impact on the outcome.

There’s a reason why people start martial arts training at a young age.

It’s definitely advantageous to start when the body is more flexible and free of toxins.

Occasionally, someone with innate talent or a special constitution can overcome late entry, but from what I could see, the old man wasn’t one of those cases.

‘He’s just too old.’

No matter how desperate I was for money, I couldn’t accept what was impossible.

The stern gaze of the woman in black behind the old man also made me uncomfortable.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.”

The old man’s face fell at my words, and the woman in black bowed in gratitude.

But the old man still seemed to have some lingering hope.

“……What if I pay ten times the amount?”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll pay ten times the tutoring fee if you can get me into the Azure Dragon Academy.”

The old man’s playful expression vanished. He looked at me seriously.

‘Ten times?’

The tutoring fee I set is three hundred silver taels.

Ten times that is three thousand silver taels.

An amount that would eliminate the need to find other students.

If it were possible……

“Let me check your pulse.”

I held the old man’s wrist and took his pulse.

Closing my eyes to better sense the flow of qi in his body, I examined him carefully.

After a while, I slowly opened my eyes.

“I’m sorry, but even if you pay ten times, it’s not possible.”

The old man’s expression darkened at my words. He sighed softly and said,

“Of course……”

“Just in case, I should mention that any other tutor would say the same. If I can’t do it, no one at the Azure Dragon Academy can.”

“Haha. You’re arrogant, but I somehow believe you. Yes, it’s an impossible task…… Thank you for the consultation.”

The old man stood up. His shoulders, now turned away, seemed more slumped than when he first entered.

I saw him off as he left the White Dragon Manor.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help.”

“On the contrary, I’m the one who should apologize for making such a request.”

“Ten times……. It’s a lot of money, but it’s still impossible.”

“Of course. Not everything can be solved with money……. What did you say?”

The old man turned to look at me, sensing something odd in my words.

I had just said, “It’s impossible even with that much money.”

“Does that mean……”

I smiled and nodded.

Bargaining is the essence of any transaction, isn’t it?

“Twenty times. Then I’ll make you the oldest person ever to enter the Azure Dragon Academy.”

The old man’s eyes, looking at me, flickered intensely.