Chapter 8

## Chapter 8: Not Enrolling, But Joining

“Ugh...”

After drinking himself into a stupor all night, Go Juyeol finally woke up in the afternoon.

“I feel like I’m dying.”

Clutching his throbbing head, he received the honey water I had prepared with both hands, bowing respectfully.

“Uncle. Please have some honey water. It’s made from honey collected by a local beekeeper and is excellent for hangovers.”

“Oh. Ryong. Thank you.”

Next to him, my father, who looked even more haggard, gazed at me with bleary eyes, reeking of alcohol.

“My honey water...?”

“It was the last of it, Uncle. We just ran out of honey.”

“...Couldn’t you have made two cups by splitting it?”

“Ah, that would have reduced its effectiveness. It’s better to give a proper cup to the guest. Surely you’re not too stingy to share honey with your brother you haven’t seen in 30 years?”

“...”

My father, unable to muster the anger, glared at me with slitted eyes. Just as he did, Go Juyeol, who had finished the honey water in one gulp, sprang up from his seat.

“Phew! I feel much better now.”

He picked up his coat, which he had carelessly thrown aside in the room.

“Ugh. The sun is already high in the sky. If I’m any later, I might have to write a report.”

Though he complained about feeling terrible, Go Juyeol’s expression was bright.

He had mumbled last night, while drunk, that a mere report was nothing compared to the joy of reuniting with an old friend after 30 years.

‘A rare good person.’

That’s how I evaluated Go Juyeol.

As the head of the investigation team for the Jiangxi branch of the Martial Arts Alliance, his position was by no means low.

In a place like this rural area, he was a martial artist whose word could make people tremble.

However, he had been courteous from the moment he recognized my father, and he never flaunted his authority.

Moreover, the way he greeted my father, whom he hadn’t seen in 30 years and who had cut off all ties and disappeared, showed how warm-hearted he was.

My father, Bai Wuchen, wasn’t a great success and was just a humble martial arts instructor in this small town.

‘He’s someone worth getting to know better.’

“Phew. I should be going now.”

Go Juyeol, who had finished his preparations to leave, looked at us.

He smiled mischievously and said to my father.

“Brother. Next time, I’ll bring some good liquor. We’ll drink until our noses are crooked.”

“Ugh. We need to consider our age now.”

“Nonsense! The Jade-Faced Scholar who once dominated the entertainment district of Jiangxi, are you really so weak?”

“Hey, Brother!”

My father glared at him, looking indignant.

“You’re joking too much! I’m afraid my son might misunderstand!”

“Ho? Your son?”

“Are you saying I was joking? I swear to heaven and earth!”

Swearing by heaven and earth, my father’s expression turned awkward.

...Was he serious?

“Ahem. But after my relationship with Yaobing, I’ve reformed...”

“Kekeke!”

“Hahaha!”

Go Juyeol and I found it amusing to tease my father together.

After laughing for a while, Go Juyeol turned to me with a pleased expression.

“Ryong. Have you thought about what I told you last night?”

Last night, he told me many stories about the Martial Arts Alliance and the Five Great Academies.

Especially about the Qinglong Academy, where my father and Go Juyeol had studied together 30 years ago, and the students and instructors there.

The Qinglong Academy in Jiangxi.

A place where the young talents of the Eastern Martial World gather to exchange and hone their martial arts, cultivating the future masters who will lead the righteous factions.

Although it is considered the weakest of the Five Great Academies, many young boys and girls still strive to enter the Qinglong Academy every year.

“I’m still thinking about it.”

In fact, I had almost made up my mind, but I gave an ambiguous answer, considering my father’s worried gaze.

Go Juyeol nodded.

“You still have three months left. There’s no need to decide right away. If you decide to do it, come find me. I can write a recommendation letter anytime.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

In Go Juyeol’s pleased gaze, there was a mix of regret and other complex emotions.

I noticed this but smiled gently, pretending not to.

“...The longer the farewell, the more awkward it becomes. I should be going now.”

“Brother. Please be careful.”

“Uncle. Take care.”

“Yes. We’ll see each other again.”

Go Juyeol patted my shoulder one last time before turning around.

—Whoosh!

He used his agile light body technique and quickly disappeared from our sight.

A light and nimble movement fitting his nickname, “The Unyielding Guest.”

“Phew. Look at how shameless he is.”

As soon as Go Juyeol’s back disappeared, my father narrowed his eyes and looked at me.

“When did you start calling him Uncle? You were practically clinging to him, fawning over him.”

He was still upset that I hadn’t made him more honey water.

However, I also had a lot to say to my father.

“Didn’t you say you were like brothers? You even swore blood oaths last night.”

I had barely managed to stop them from writing a blood pact, swearing to die together on the same day and at the same time, while they were drunk.

I hardly drank alcohol because of my weak constitution.

My father’s face turned red, recalling last night’s antics.

“Ahem... It’s hard to control oneself when you meet an old friend after 30 years.”

“Got it. From now on, try to drink less.”

“If you want to be a good son, why don’t you go to the neighbor’s house and get some honey water?”

My father, who had been grumbling like a child, suddenly turned serious.

Then he asked me in a low voice.

“...Do you really plan to go to the Qinglong Academy?”

I hesitated for a moment before asking my father.

“If I say I’m going, will you try to stop me?”

“...Even if I try, you won’t listen, right?”

I nodded with a smile.

This body.

Bai Shulong was a rare individual who had once been so eager to learn martial arts that he even dabbled in forbidden techniques.

As a result, I had almost died (in fact, I did die), and my father, Bai Wuchen, was understandably worried.

He sighed deeply and said.

“Indeed... You still can’t give it up.”

Despite being born with the Heavenly Sound Meridian, a curse from the heavens, my son still wanted to become a martial artist, even if it meant risking his life.

After coming back from the dead, my son had been well-behaved for a while, but now he was struggling to become a martial artist again, which made my father sigh deeply.

“Ryong. The martial world is not as glamorous as you think.”

“Yes, I know.”

No one knew better than I did how ruthless the martial world could be to the weak.

My father glared at me, incensed by my calm response.

“What do you know! Just because you got lucky and beat a minor evil martial artist, you think you’re a master! If he hadn’t been careless, you wouldn’t have stood a chance!”

“That was all part of the plan...”

Thump.

My father grabbed my shoulder firmly and said.

“Your dantian has been damaged since birth. I’ve tried every means possible, but I couldn’t fix it.”

“...Yes, I know.”

“You know?”

His eyes seemed to blaze with fire.

“You know, and yet you want to enroll in the Qinglong Academy? Do you think that will change anything? If it were possible, I would have already enrolled you myself!”

“...What? Enroll?”

I do plan to go to the Qinglong Academy, but I don’t intend to enroll.

However, my father didn’t give me a chance to speak.

With his eyes full of worry and anxiety, he quickly said.

“You’ll be humiliated by other students for lacking inner strength. Many will provoke you. Your weak body won’t last a fortnight!”

“Wait, hold on. I think there’s a misunderstanding...”

“Listen to your father first!”

My father grabbed my shoulder and shook me violently.

“Your dantian couldn’t be fixed by any famous doctor I knew! They couldn’t even diagnose the condition!”

“I know... stop...”

I know!

I know the condition! I know how to fix it!

Stop shaking my head!

I’m going to break my neck!

“Ugh...”

“Please, just listen to your father this once. You’re 27 this year. The Qinglong Academy accepts students from the age of 15. How will you feel being beaten up by 15-year-olds? Just find a good wife in the village and get married...”

“...Ah, stop! Let go!”

I managed to free myself from my father’s grip.

Ugh. My head is still spinning.

Before my father could pounce on me again, I shouted.

“What are you talking about! I don’t plan to enroll in the Qinglong Academy!”

“Even a toad can have a son... What? You don’t?”

What a toad-like thing to say.

I sighed deeply.

“So, stop drinking so much. You didn’t listen to a word I said last night.”

“Not enrolling... really?”

My father blinked, looking confused.

“I’m not enrolling! Really, I’m not!”

“...Then why do you want to go to the Qinglong Academy?”

I looked at my father, who still had a doubtful expression, and confidently stated my intentions.

“I’m going to make money!”

“...What kind of money?”

“There’s a job there that suits my talents.”

I smiled and looked behind me.

Just then, a group of snot-nosed kids were entering the training ground, one by one.

“Hey, Master!”

“Master! Grandmaster! Hello!”

“Teach us the ultimate martial arts!”

The kids, spotting us, ran over, kicking up dust.

I turned my head from the kids and said to my father, who still looked puzzled.

“I’m not enrolling (入學), I’m joining (入社).”

What’s the difference between these snot-nosed kids and the Qinglong Academy brats?

“...What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to get a job.”

But before that, there’s something I need to prepare.

My body should be mostly recovered by now...

“So, Father. Do you like hiking?”

There’s a retreat that Lülintouwang built in his lifetime nearby.

‘He said he had some elixirs stored there.’

“Why hiking?”

Why?

Because I can’t go alone, and I need someone to help me.