Several days had passed since the Black Tiger Gang incident.
Once again, Jeong So-so could not fall asleep.
She had never been a deep sleeper to begin with. Nightmares came often, and the moment she lay down, worries about So-ryong's illness and the family's finances would drift through her mind.
This time was no different.
The Black Tiger Gang. Just thinking about them choked the breath from her lungs.
'Will things really be alright?'
Despite everything that had happened, Jin Cheong-un had calmly begun preparations to open the school.
When she tentatively asked, all he said was that it would not be too late to decide after seeing how the Black Tiger Gang responded.
'I need to stop worrying and sleep.'
Even thinking that, she knew sleep would not come.
In the past, the spiral of worries would have seized her and refused to let go.
In the past, it would have.
—It'll be fine. Things will work out somehow.
It was the strangest thing.
Whenever her master's voice happened to cross her mind, she would think what a reckless thing to say—and yet her breathing would suddenly ease.
"Yeah, it'll be fine......"
And just like that, Jeong So-so drifted off before she knew it.
"There's work to do, after all...... mmm......"
Before long she was mumbling in her sleep, sunk deep into slumber.
How much time had passed?
"Right, you had things to do."
That was right. She needed to prepare breakfast, go to work at the inn, and there was some appointment at dawn too......
Hm?
Who just said that?
"Wh-who is it!"
Jeong So-so threw off her blanket and sat bolt upright in alarm.
FLASH!
In the darkness.
A black silhouette with eerily glowing eyes advanced toward her, one step at a time.
"Get up. Follow me quietly."
"KYAAAA!"
***
A short while later, in Jeong Manor's front yard.
Jin Cheong-un slapped his palms over his ears and shuddered.
"That voice could wake the dead. I thought my ears were going to fall off."
"I thought you were a burglar! Who wakes someone up like that!"
"And whose fault is it for not getting up on time?"
Just then, Jeong So-ryong, who had stumbled out with eyes still half-shut, spoke up.
"Sis. I think you're the one in the wrong here."
Jeong So-so felt a surge of indignation.
She had plenty to say, but what came out reflexively was this.
"Y-you didn't get up either, So-ryong!"
"I'm ten, remember? And comparing yourself to me when I'm sick—isn't that a little embarrassing?"
That—that little schemer! I didn't raise you to be like this!
Jeong So-so fidgeted, face flushed red.
"I'm not usually like this. It was a mistake. I'm sorry. M-Mas...... Master."
She stumbled over the word several times, the title "Master" clearly still awkward on her tongue.
Jin Cheong-un smirked as if he had won, then spoke.
"Now that everyone's awake, pay attention."
"Yes."
Two little lambs answered in unison.
'Good eyes.'
A smile escaped him naturally.
The reason he had summoned them at this ungodly hour was simple.
"As I said, starting today I will teach you martial arts."
Jeong So-so wore an uneasy expression, her mouth working silently.
Jin Cheong-un gestured with his chin.
"If you have something to say, say it. No need to hold back."
"Is it really...... okay to be doing this right now?"
"Why?"
"The Black Tiger Gang problem is still hanging over us."
Jin Cheong-un nodded and replied.
"Learning has no appointed time."
"......?"
I don't think that saying is meant for situations like this.
"Well, anyway. Getting back to the point. You're probably wondering why I dragged you out of bed before even a crack of dawn."
Jeong So-so and Jeong So-ryong nodded.
The sky was beginning to shift toward blue, but it was still pitch dark all around.
"Dawn is when the yin energy of night and the yang energy of day intersect, making it the ideal time to cultivate inner arts."
Jin Cheong-un continued with his hands clasped behind his back.
"The qi of nature is naturally pure and abundant at this hour...... hm, it calms the body and mind, and is generally favorable for regulating the qi vessels...... Well, just know that much."
Midway through his explanation, Jin Cheong-un had rapidly lost interest and glossed over the rest.
'Is it okay to skip like that?'
She glanced at her brother, but Jeong So-ryong was just nodding along—'Good enough for me!'
"You'll learn it all as you go. The important thing is that from now on, barring special circumstances, you will wake up at this hour every single morning to train."
"What? Every morning?!"
"......Every morning?"
Both pairs of eyes went wide simultaneously.
"Once you've learned qi circulation and breath regulation, you'll practice on your own. Until then, follow my instruction closely."
Jin Cheong-un smirked.
"What, scared already before we've even started?"
"N-not exactly, but......"
"If you don't want to do it, you don't have to."
"What?"
Jin Cheong-un shrugged.
"Don't do it. It's fine. Skip martial arts and live a comfortable life."
Both mouths snapped shut at once.
Jin Cheong-un grinned and explained.
"In the martial world, it is commonly said that when studying martial arts, one must train essence, qi, and spirit—or mind, qi, and body—without favoring one over the others."
In simple terms, it meant that tempering one's mindset and will was just as important as training the body and inner arts.
"So-ryong, you need to learn martial arts to cure your illness. On top of that, you want to become strong, so your will is already there. But......"
Jin Cheong-un looked at Jeong So-so.
"What about you?"
"M-me?"
"Yes. Not just going along with it because I said I'd be your master. Do you have an actual reason for wanting to learn martial arts?"
A reason.
She was not sure.
Her days at the school were from so long ago, the memories hazy, but they had been warm. And if she wanted to carry on the school, she needed to learn martial arts. On top of that, she owed Jin Cheong-un, and also......
'But that's not what he's asking.'
Then Jin Cheong-un spoke.
"My master once said something like this."
His voice was unusually serious.
"The character for 'martial'—wu—originally meant a person taking up a halberd to go to war. But in time, it came to mean one who brings war to a halt."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"What if you had been able to use martial arts that day?"
Jeong So-so paused.
"It's already a brutal world to live in. To stop a fight, or to protect something—you need strength."
"......"
"Of course, having strength brings its own set of problems, so you'll need resolve as well."
At those words, a steadily growing light began to kindle in Jeong So-so's eyes.
'If I had the strength......'
She would not have stood there helplessly, relying on her master. She would not have merely screamed at the gang members, putting on a brave front with nothing behind it.
"I think...... I've found my reason to learn martial arts."
Jin Cheong-un grinned, then assumed a deliberately solemn air as he addressed the siblings.
"Good. Have both of you now devoted your hearts fully?"
"Yes."
"Is your will sufficiently steeled?"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Jeong So-ryong echoed his sister's shout.
"Your will is so abundant that this master is most pleased. Then I too must declare my own."
Within the warm atmosphere.
Jin Cheong-un's eyes suddenly flashed wild.
"I absolutely refuse to watch students bearing this school's name get beaten up out there. Understood?"
"......?"
"From now on, rain or shine, even if the heavens collapse and the earth caves in, training will not be skipped. If you have willpower and mental fortitude, you can endure anything!"
What kind of logic is that? If the heavens collapse, how is willpower going to help?
"This master shall teach until his spirit is spent, so I expect my students to learn until their will is spent. That is all."
Something.
Something was going very wrong.
"First, So-ryong!"
"Y-yes, Master!"
"You remember the mnemonic verses I taught you yesterday, right? Today I'll teach you breathing—the method of inhalation and exhalation. Sit in the lotus position."
"Yes!"
Why only So-ryong?
Jeong So-so was suddenly uneasy.
"Wh-what about me?"
"You need to start with the basics."
Ah! The basics!
Phew. She had been worried for nothing.
"So what do I start with?"
"What do you think is basic?"
"Inner arts? Oh, wait—forms?"
"No. Stamina."
"What?"
"And there's nothing better for stamina than running."
"......?"
"What are you standing around for, So-so? Run."
"......!!"
A short while later.
"AAAGH! AAAAGH!"
"Hoo-hah. Cough! Hoooo, hah."
Jeong So-so was running laps around the yard, screaming, while Jeong So-ryong sat drenched in sweat, occasionally choking on an uneven breath as he concentrated.
Jin Cheong-un surveyed the yard with a contented expression.
'When the body is exhausted, the mind has no room for idle thoughts.'
Needless anxiety, worry, and pointless fretting would all vanish.
A bonus of getting training done at the same time made it perfect.
'The Black Tiger Gang should be making some kind of move soon too.'
Before that happened, it was time to take care of something he had been putting off.
'I should go check what the master left behind.'
Jin Cheong-un fixed his gaze in the direction of the Blue Cloud Martial Arts School.
***
In the Tang Wen chapter of the Liezi, there is a story about a foolish old man.
The old man's home was deep in a remote mountain valley, and two great mountains blocked the way, forcing him to take a long detour to reach the next town.
Though the old man was ninety years of age, he resolved to carve away the mountains with his family. He must have figured he might accidentally take a detour to the afterlife on his way to visit a friend in the next village.
Naturally, his wiser acquaintances tried to dissuade him, calling him foolish for even suggesting such a thing.
But it is human nature to want to do something all the more when told you cannot.
The old man declared that his children and his children's children would make mountain-demolition the family trade, generation after generation.
Moved by such sincerity, the mountain spirit—terrified that his domain was about to disappear—rushed to petition the Heavenly Emperor, who took pity and relocated the mountains to a distant land.
'What a truly inspiring tale.'
The lesson of this story, as he saw it, was precisely this:
'If something blocks your way, approach it with the resolve to bulldoze everything in your path!'
The reason his retirement had gone sideways was that he had carried too peaceful a mindset.
From now on, things would be different.
Swindlers, debt collectors, corrupt officials—whoever got in his way, he would sweep them aside.
'No obstacle will delay my preparations to open the school.'
Jin Cheong-un met the elderly carpenter Jeong So-so had introduced him to, back at the school.
And then.
"I'm afraid I'll need to charge a bit more than I quoted before."
He froze on the spot.
"You said nothing of the sort when you came for the initial estimate. I've already paid the deposit. This is unacceptable."
"Well, if that's all you can pay, we'll just do that much. It might be a bit rough, but it'll be livable."
At the nonchalant reply, Jin Cheong-un stared hard at the carpenter.
'Don't tell me this old man is a swindler too?'
Jin Cheong-un asked as politely as he could manage.
"May I ask the reason?"
If the man was a swindler......
'Yes. The resolve of the Foolish Old Man.'
If the old man had bulldozed the mountains, he would bulldoze the swindlers' skulls.
Fortunately, Master Carpenter Jang Chun-gwang was no swindler.
"Take a look at this pillar. See the mold?"
TAP TAP!
The pillar gave a dull thud when struck with a hammer.
"That sound tells me it's rotted through on the inside. No one maintained it, so the moisture built up. This wall over here is load-bearing, but the side has warped, so it'll need reinforcement......"
"And roughly how much more will that cost?"
"I'll have to see as I go, but I'd say twenty nyang more, to be safe."
He did not know the details, but the reason and the amount both sounded fair enough.
Jin Cheong-un could finally let out a relieved breath and pat his chest.
"Phew. Almost cracked a skull."
Jang Chun-gwang blinked.
"What was that?"
"Nothing at all."
"I don't think so. I definitely heard......"
"To be honest, I was suspicious of you until just now, Master Jang."
Jin Cheong-un smiled apologetically.
"But it was my own paranoia. I apologize."
After tilting his head for a moment, Jang Chun-gwang burst into a hearty laugh.
"Ha ha! You thought I was trying to fleece you?"
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine, it's fine. It's a lot of money, so you should be cautious. Sharp young fellow like you won't get swindled anywhere."
Jin Cheong-un's expression twisted at that.
"Hm? What's the matter?"
"Nothing at all."
Walking outside, Jang Chun-gwang said.
"Construction starts in four days. That whole Esoteric Sect mess has made lumber hard to come by."
"I'll be in your care."
"But you're really not going to touch that storehouse in the back garden? It's just the exterior, so I could do it cheap."
"......"
Jin Cheong-un glanced in the direction Jang Chun-gwang was pointing.
In the rear garden stood a structure—too small to be a separate wing, too large to be a storehouse.
"That's not a storehouse. It's a training chamber."
"A training chamber?"
"A space where martial artists can meditate and cultivate in peace. I'd prefer it left as it is."
"I did think it was oddly well-built. I wondered why someone put more work into the storehouse than the main building. Makes sense now."
"Thank you for understanding."
After seeing Jang Chun-gwang off, Jin Cheong-un trudged toward the training chamber.
CREEEAK!
Opening the door sent a cloud of dust billowing up from the floor.
It was a dim, empty space.
But just as Jang Chun-gwang had said, unlike the ramshackle exterior, the interior—built with care—was intact.
"Right, then."
Jin Cheong-un rolled up his sleeves and let out a sharp breath.
"Time to find the master's legacy."
Beneath this floor, a secret the master had left behind lay hidden.