The window creaked open, letting in the cold air that seeped deep into his lungs.
The old man felt his foggy mind slowly clearing up.
“Phew…”
He took a deep breath and looked out beyond the window.
His vision was blurry due to early-onset presbyopia, but he could still enjoy the dawn's sunrise.
“Lovely.”
The old man smiled gently as he gazed down at his hometown in the early morning.
Men and women left their homes early for work, and the streets were lively with the chatter of children heading to school or martial arts academies.
Watching them quietly from the window had become one of the few pleasures for the old man since he returned to his hometown a few weeks ago.
At that moment, the window closed by itself.
“Elder, it's not good for your health to be exposed to the cold air from dawn.”
A voice came from behind, and the old man clicked his tongue softly.
Turning around, he saw a woman with a stern expression dressed in black approaching.
“You're quite persistent. Do you disturb my morning pleasure every day?”
“For me, your health comes before your pleasure, Elder.”
Despite her stern appearance, the woman's voice was gentle.
She approached the old man and helped him put on an outer garment.
Somehow, a warm decoction was already prepared and placed on the table beside the bed.
“Open the window for me.”
“Drink the medicine first, and then I'll open it for you.”
“Ah…”
In the end, after putting on the outer garment and taking a sip of the bitter decoction, the woman opened the window again.
The old man glanced at her and said,
“When I return, I'll tell them you didn't listen to me.”
“Then I'll tell them you didn't take your medicine properly, Elder.”
“You cheeky thing…”
The old man was about to retort but ended up just laughing.
Despite her annoying words, she was truly a grateful child.
Even though it was an order, she had followed him to this distant place to take care of him, always concerned about his health despite her stern face.
“When I return, I'll ask them to assign you to a more important place.”
“…Please retract that statement. I was wrong.”
The woman's face, which hadn't flinched when she said she'd report him, turned a bit pale.
Finding it amusing, the old man chuckled.
Turning back to the window, he watched the street and spoke.
“I lived here until I was a little over twenty. And now, after decades, I've come back. It's… changed a lot.”
“Yes.”
“I thought I had no attachment to my hometown. My parents passed away when I was young, and I don't have many good memories.”
“…Then why did you choose to come here?”
At the woman's question, the old man was silent for a moment.
His eyes, looking at the street, were filled with complex emotions.
“Still, a hometown is a hometown. When I was told to go for recuperation, this was the first place that came to mind.”
“You'll recover soon and return quickly.”
“…You know, Heukyeong, honestly, I don't want to go back to that chaotic place.”
Heukyeong remained silent, simply watching the old man's back.
It wasn't her place to say anything.
Her role was to make the old man comfortable, take care of his health, and prepare for any potential danger.
“I'll bring your meal.”
As Heukyeong turned to leave the old man's room, he spoke again.
“Hmm? Did something happen?”
At the old man's voice, Heukyeong turned back.
The old man was leaning halfway out the window, looking outside.
His gaze was directed at a gathering of people, murmuring among themselves.
“Puhaha! Look at this!”
“Geez. There are all sorts of strange people in the world…”
Starting with obvious ridicule and disdain,
“A future top instructor? A lecturer at Cheongryong Academy? Who is this Baeksuryong?”
“Haven't you heard the rumor? Among the new instructors this time…”
“Oh! The braggart who declared he'd make Cheongryong Academy win the Heavenly Martial Festival?”
Reactions of curiosity and disbelief.
“Guaranteed pass? Isn't this just a scam?”
“Cheongryong Academy's reputation has hit rock bottom. How could they use such lowly methods…”
“A martial artist without shame…!”
The people gathered there were chattering about all sorts of things.
The scene piqued the old man's interest.
“What on earth is causing such a fuss? Is there a wanted poster for a martial arts criminal?”
Heukyeong listened to the noise outside and answered.
“It seems a flyer has been posted. A martial arts instructor named Baeksuryong… appears to be looking for students for tutoring.”
“Is it common in the martial world to be criticized for such things?”
“…I don't believe it is.”
In fact, the act of posting a flyer to find martial arts tutoring itself was unusual.
No parent would entrust their child to someone whose skills weren't proven and whose identity was unclear.
That's why martial arts tutoring was usually found through connections.
‘If he's an instructor at Cheongryong Academy, his identity is somewhat guaranteed…’
The name Baeksuryong, frequently mentioned by people.
From what she gathered from their words, he seemed to be a braggart doing such things to draw attention.
‘It's none of the Elder's business.’
Heukyeong erased any thoughts about the name Baeksuryong.
She was the type to focus only on her duties.
However, the old man she served was different.
“I'm curious about what it says to cause such a commotion. Go and bring me one of those papers.”
At that moment, Heukyeong felt uneasy about the old man's twinkling eyes, but she had no right to refuse his orders.
“…Yes.”
Heukyeong bowed her head slightly and disappeared from the room.
A moment later, she quietly returned with one of the flyers from the street, handing it to the old man with a reluctant expression.
“I glanced at it on the way, but there's no need for you to see it…”
“Just give it to me.”
The old man took the flyer from Heukyeong as if snatching it and read it.
<Cheongryong Academy Intensive Entrance Class Recruitment!>
<Unbelievable Price! Guaranteed Pass!>
<Future Top Instructor! Personalized Learning Guided by Current Cheongryong Academy Instructor Baeksuryong!>
<Contact Us Now!>
Silence for a while.
The old man read through the content, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, and read it again.
He thought he might have misread it due to his presbyopia.
However, no matter how many times he read it, the content remained the same.
“Heh…”
The frivolous phrases were something a cheap quack would use, and the confident tone bordered on arrogance, making him seem like a clown.
A gentle smile appeared on the old man's lips.
“This fellow must be in dire need of money. Isn't that so? It couldn't have been easy for a proud martial artist to post such a flyer.”
“…”
Martial artists are nothing without their pride.
The old man, too, once admired martial artists who roamed the world in his youth.
How he envied the boys and girls heading to Cheongryong Academy with swords at their waists.
In his snot-nosed days, carrying a bag full of books to the academy, he would unconsciously shrink back when he encountered the proud students heading to Cheongryong Academy.
Now, even seasoned masters had to bow their heads before the old man.
“Martial arts tutoring… Heh. It sounds interesting.”
“Elder, surely you don't…”
Heukyeong looked at the old man with a startled expression.
She knew the old man's personality.
Though he had come to his hometown for recuperation due to his weakened body, once he set his mind on something, it was hard for anyone to stop him.
As expected, the old man smiled kindly, but to Heukyeong, it seemed ominous.
“I want to go out for a while, so prepare.”
“Surely you're not planning to go there?”
Heukyeong's gaze fell on the paper in the old man's hand.
The address was written there.
A large estate near Cheongryong Academy, Baekryongjang.
That was the old man's destination for today's walk.
“Don't worry. I only plan to take a look.”
For Heukyeong to believe those words, the old man's eyes were sparkling like a child's.
<Baekryongjang 白龍莊>
The sign of the estate was written in a bold, dragon-like script.
The main gate was wide open.
It was to allow students who came for consultation after seeing the flyer to enter comfortably.
However, even though the sun was already high, there were hardly any people coming for consultation.
“It's deserted.”
Smack! I smacked Heonwon Kang's mouth with the sword sheath for saying something unlucky.
“Ouch! Why did you hit me!”
“Don't open your mouth carelessly and keep your posture straight. Look at this. Your posture is already collapsing, isn't it?”
I poked Heonwon Kang's body here and there with the sword sheath.
He was practicing the Green Forest Eighteen Techniques I taught him, and his learning speed was surprisingly fast.
After pointing out a few incorrect postures, I asked,
“Did you put up the flyers properly?”
When I squinted my eyes and asked, Heonwon Kang jumped up, feeling wronged.
“I ran around like a thief cat at dawn and put up 100 of those embarrassing papers!”
“I put them all up too.”
Wee Ji Cheon, who was sweating while practicing the Infinite Sword next to Heonwon Kang, also nodded.
I corrected Wee Ji Cheon's posture and said,
“Alright. Even if I can't trust that rascal, I can trust you, Cheon.”
“Why am I the only one being discriminated against…”
“Do you really need to ask? It's a relief if you didn't secretly drink.”
“I quit drinking!”
“Your mouth.”
Smack!
With his mouth swollen, Heonwon Kang focused on the Green Forest Eighteen Techniques, and Wee Ji Cheon slowly unfolded the Infinite Sword.
I pointed out their postures while looking at the wide-open gate.
Tsk.
I smacked my lips.
‘I even took a leave for this.’
My colleagues were shocked when I took a leave less than a month after joining, but finding tutoring was more important to me.
I needed quite a bit of money to obtain the elixirs to enhance my Reverse Heaven Divine Art and to make a sword.
‘I need to find at least three students…’
I couldn't understand why not a single person was coming.
“Was the promotion lacking? Maybe I should have added more provocative phrases…”
“If you did, you might have been reported to the authorities for false advertising.”
“Suryeong hyung, no, teacher, you're good at teaching, but you seem to have no talent for business…”
“Seeing you guys opening your mouths, it seems you're doing well? Huh?”
While I was scolding the two and conducting the class, a low voice came from the entrance.
“Is anyone there?”
An old man with a not-so-good complexion and a woman in black martial attire entered through the gate.
Out of habit, I examined the two closely.
The old man had a straight back and a clear voice, indicating he had strength.
He was walking slowly with a cane, but his complexion suggested he had health issues.
He didn't seem to have formally learned martial arts, but the aura emanating from him was not ordinary.
‘He's not an ordinary person.’
My gaze moved past the old man to the woman in black martial attire following him.
‘She's not ordinary either.’
Her sharp eyes and tightly closed lips exuded a strong stubbornness.
She was ready to move at any moment.
At that moment, the old man looked at me and spoke again.
“Is this Baekryongjang?”
Not knowing his identity, but seeing the flyer in his hand that I had posted today, I put on a business smile and stepped forward.
“Welcome. Please have a seat over there.”
“I came to consult after seeing the flyer…”
“Are you planning to entrust your grandchild? It would have been better if you brought them along… How old are they?”
I assumed the old man had come for a consultation about tutoring for his grandchild and asked.
However, at that moment, the old man smiled mischievously like a child.
“It's not my grandchild. I'm thinking of receiving the consultation myself.”
“…Pardon?”
“Elder!”
The woman in black martial attire behind the old man seemed more surprised than I was.
“Please stay put. It's just a consultation.”
The old man gestured to the woman in black to stop and then looked at me intently, asking,
“Mr. Baek, if this old man receives your tutoring, can I enter Cheongryong Academy?”
“Are you serious?”
“How do I look?”
I looked the old man straight in the eyes.
He met my gaze without hesitation.
Although I couldn't fully grasp the old man's true intentions from just a brief look, I could tell that beneath his playful demeanor, there was a hint of seriousness.
“…You seem serious.”
“Heh. I just want to have a consultation for now. As far as I know, there's no age limit for entering Cheongryong Academy.”
The minimum age required to enter Cheongryong Academy is fifteen, but there is no upper age limit.
However, usually, people don't try to enter once they're over twenty.
Occasionally, there are ‘mature students’ who enter in their thirties, but that's very rare.
“Elder, if I may ask, how old are you this year?”
“I am sixty-five this year.”
You've been eligible for admission for fifty years now.
As I looked at him with such eyes, the old man laughed awkwardly and tapped the floor with his cane.
“Does age matter in learning?”
While age doesn't matter in learning itself, it has a significant impact on the results.
There's a reason why people start learning martial arts at a young age.
It's advantageous to start when the body is flexible and free of impurities.
Although there are cases where people overcome late entry due to innate talent or special constitution, the old man didn't seem to be one of those cases.
‘He's just too old.’
No matter how much I needed money, what's impossible is impossible.
The piercing gaze of the woman in black behind the old man was also burdensome.
“Elder, I'm sorry, but that's difficult.”
At my words, the old man showed a disappointed expression, and the woman in black expressed gratitude with a slight bow.
However, the old man still seemed to have lingering regrets.
“…What if I pay you ten times the fee?”
“Pardon?”
“If you can get me into Cheongryong Academy, I'll pay you ten times the tutoring fee.”
The playful look in the old man's eyes disappeared.
He looked at me seriously and asked.
‘Ten times?’
The tutoring fee I set was three hundred silver taels.
Ten times would be three thousand taels.
It was an amount that would make it unnecessary to find any other students.
If it were possible…
“Please give me your hand.”
I took the old man's wrist and checked his pulse.
I closed my eyes to better feel the flow of energy within his body and slowly examined it.
After examining about one meridian, I slowly opened my eyes.
“I'm sorry, but even if you pay ten times, it's difficult.”
With one word from me, the old man's expression darkened.
He sighed softly and said,
“As expected…”
“Just so you know, anyone you consult will say the same thing. If I can't do it, no one at Cheongryong Academy can.”
“Heh. It's arrogant, but somehow I trust you. Yes, it would be impossible… Thank you for the consultation.”
The old man stood up.
His shoulders looked more slumped than when he first entered through the gate.
I saw the old man off as he left Baekryongjang.
“I'm sorry I couldn't help.”
“Rather, I'm sorry for making an unreasonable request.”
“Ten times… It's a large sum, but it's a difficult task with that amount.”
“Indeed. Not everything in the world can be… What did you say?”
Noticing something strange in my words, the old man turned to look at me.
I had just said, ‘It's difficult with that amount.’
“Does that mean…”
I smiled and nodded.
Negotiation is the essence of business, after all.
“Pay twenty times. Then I'll make you the oldest successful applicant in Cheongryong Academy's history.”
The old man's eyes shook violently as he looked at me.