"Quickly plant the Moon Orchids with Baek-gap. If we don't plant them now, it will cause difficulties."
"I understand."
Byeok Ae-rin hurried over to where the Moon Orchids were, immediately beginning to transplant them into the pots.
Shim-gu, who had been quietly watching, turned to look at Kang-hyuk.
"Retired Leader."
"You've addressed me incorrectly."
"Elder Hyung-nim?"
"It's now Seonsaengnim. Call me Seonsaengnim."
Kang-hyuk continued.
"An old man like you calling me Elder Hyung-nim when I'm in this youthful body is a bit much, don't you think? If anyone heard this they would think it's odd."
"Why does it matter? Once my Elder Hyung-nim, forever my Elder Hyung-nim."
"Well, it matters to me."
"Okay, fine."
Shim-gu immediately responded. He was aware that Kang-hyuk disliked being 'bothered' in that way the most.
This was why he was unable to comprehend why Kang-hyuk would come to a school, which was the center point for all botherations.
'Wait, isn't the owner of the Academy the Clan Leader, and isn't the current leader Mu-jin? That fellow must know about this too then.'
He made plans to seek out Mu-jin.
An annoyed scowl had suddenly spread across Kang-hyuk's face. Shim-gu's eyes darted around, having noticed.
"d.a.m.n it! I'm already bothered."
"Sorry?"
From afar, he could see countless students and a great number of teachers gathering.
"He's there!"
"Elder Shim!"
Hearing the news of Shim-gu visiting the Academy, they had all come with the chance of meeting him, since Shim-gu was a legendary figure in their eyes.
Kang-hyuk spoke to Shim-gu in response to their cries of excitement.
"Are you even conscious of your ident.i.ty as an Elder of the Hwacheon Clan?"
"O-of course."
"In that case, you're going to have to receive a beating."
"What?"
Shim-gu staggered behind. He had just been struck in the abdomen by Kang-hyuk's fist.
His movement had been so fast, that it was almost invisible, and so, no one had even noticed that he had struck the Elder.
"Aigoo! Elder! Are you okay?"
On top of that, he was casually acting concerned, despite the fact that he himself had struck Shim-gu.
"...."
Shim-gu had broken into a cold sweat. Even if he had wanted to speak, the force of Kang-hyuk's fist rendered him unable to even open his mouth.
"It seems as though the Elder is ill! He must go to the infirmary!"
The teachers, who had come to meet Shim-gu, supported him in standing up.
Byeok Ae-rin clicked her tongue at the spectacle, whilst Baek-gap didn't even bother looking over, dedicatedly carrying on with his work.
In the midst of groaning, Shim-gu looked over at Kang-hyuk, who had a wide smile plastered over his face. He cursed Mu-jin in his mind, who had forced him into becoming an Elder.
'This is why I said I didn't want to be an Elder! d.a.m.n it!'
***
Whilst Mu-jin was looking through papers in his office at the Hwacheon Clan Headquarters, a chill suddenly ran through his body.
'Is it because I don't have any body fat? It can't be that, right….'
He felt that today, something strange was going on.
Chills had been running through his body since early on in the day.
The door opened, with the Jimilgak head coming into his sight. He was the only person who could come in and out of the Clan Leader's office without prior notice.
"You're here?"
The Head of Jimilgak, Hong-man, bowed his head in greeting.
"I have something to report."
"What is it?"
"Elder Shim-gu is in movement."
Mu-jin's eyebrows wiggled in surprise.
"What? Elder Shim-gu? Wasn't he in retirement, hiding away in the shady alleys of Nakyang? Why is he suddenly in movement?"
"He is currently visiting Hwacheon Academy."
Mu-jin blinked as he recalled a recent report of Byeok Ae-rin having visited the Hwacheon Clan Headquarters.
"Is Elder Byeok in the Academy, by any chance?"
Hong-man looked away, and sighed as he replied, "Yes. She is working as a maid at Kang-hyuk Seonsaengnim's residence."
"Why didn't you inform me of this?"
"She told me not to tell you ….you know what Elder Byeok's personality is like, don't you?"
"...."
Mu-jin nodded his head. He was fully aware of why she was nicknamed 'Crazy b.i.t.c.h'.
Mu-jin suddenly got up, with his chair knocking over in haste.
"What's wrong?"
*Step. Step. Step.*
He was unable to answer Hong-man's query. His focus was on the approaching footsteps he was sensing.
Feeling into their energy, Mu-jin immediately opened the window.
"Tell them I'm not here!"
He jumped out of the window, whilst Hong-man cried out after him.
"Wait, Clan Leader! You need to review the doc.u.ments by tonight!"
However, nothing could be done.
Hong-man packed up the papers that were strewn over the desk, and then copying Mu-jin, jumped out of the window.
Immediately following this farce, the office door opened, with Shim-gu appearing. He had been the owner of the footsteps.
"Clan Leader!"
But the only movement in Mu-jin's office were the approved doc.u.ments, fluttering in the wind.
***
"Today's cla.s.s will be on the seasonal weeds in the flower garden."
The location was the horticulture practice plot, Yeongyowon.
Kang-hyuk's voice echoed throughout Yeongyowon, as the students were listening in concentration.
Their initial reason for concentrating in Kang-hyuk's cla.s.s wasn't because they found it particularly engrossing, but in the motivation of obtaining candied Baby Ginseng roots. However, as of recent, they had been finding the cla.s.s somewhat enjoyable.
"If you cultivate a flower garden, you will most definitely encounter weeds. You will need to get rid of them as soon as you can if you wish to maintain a beautiful garden."
A hand went up.
"I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Can't we just leave the weeds be? Are the weeds not a form of life, and also, by themselves, they are quite interesting plants."
Kang-hyuk responded.
"You might think that way, however, weeds are not named so without reason. They grow much faster than flower plants, and consume the nutrients in the soil meant for your cultivated plants. They also block sunlight from reaching them. They aren't too different from Magis and Dark Cultivators in that sense."
The students nodded their heads in unison.
"Therefore, for a successful flower garden, you have to take care of the weeds."
The students had serious expressions on their faces, perhaps due to them being first-year students.
"Right, you can start weeding your individual plots where you had sown the flower seeds."
Another hand went up in question.
"Um, how do you get rid of weeds?"
The students, who never done any rough work growing up, and had solely focused on martial cultivation, were unfamiliar with the process of removing weeds.
Kang-hyuk picked up the half-moon hoe that was lying beside him, and spoke.
"You can loosen the soil with a hoe like this, then pull the weeds up by hand. I will be observing so I can decide what level you are all at."
The students all picked a hoe up, and went over to their individual plots.
Kang-hyuk sighed.
He was almost late for the morning meeting in preparation for the cla.s.s, as he was collecting hoes and bags for collecting the weeds.
He felt that as time went by, he would have more tasks on hand.
There was a limit as to how much work he could a.s.sign to Baek-gap and Byeok Ae-rin.
Their roles were of his servant and maid, not of a teaching a.s.sistant.
Kang-hyuk stroked his chin in consideration.
'I guess I'm going to need a teaching a.s.sistant.'
He then turned his attention to the students, who were busy clearing weeds. Their individual plots were around twenty steps.
The plots weren't particularly large, but most of the students were a little clumsy, mistaking the flower seedlings for weeds and digging them out.
Kang-hyuk sighed again.
He was now aware of their level, and so, could set the curriculum for their future lessons appropriately.
"Look over here."
Kang-hyuk stood in a location where all of the students could easily see him.
"Digging up weeds is harder than you might think, but anything can become easy with practice, and weeding is one of those things."
He gave a demonstration on how to properly hold a hoe.
"First of all, don't grip the hoe too closely. If you are gripping the hoe too closely, your hands will touch the ground. It's no different to holding a weapon."
The students began to fix their grip on the hoe.
"When you are squatting, and using the hoe, your power must come from the abdomen. The power you put into the hoe to de-weed mustn't come from your arm strength, nor from the strength of your back. It must be from the abdomen, remember that well! The recoil action from digging the ground will bounce off the abdomen. Also, don't hesitate to use your leg muscles for support."
Kang-hyuk then stood up.
"Remember that weeds will be much bigger than the flower seedlings. If you are still unsure, do some study into what the seedlings of the seeds you planted should look like."
He took a deep breath and continued, "I will also show you a useful martial skill to use for de-weeding purposes."
The students tilted their heads to the side. They were all familiar with using martial skills in fighting, but had never considered that martial skills could be utilized for something like weeding.
"I mentioned the importance of using abdominal strength whilst hoeing weeds, the martial technique I'm going to teach you will maximize abdomen and leg strength."
A hand immediately shot up.
"Aren't martial skills only used during sparring? Isn't it a little strange using it to dig up weeds?"
"There's nothing strange about it."
Kang-hyuk continued, "De-weeding is akin to fighting the weeds."
"Ah…."
"Right, now listen well."
Kang-hyuk began by creating a ball of energy with his hands. Whilst the students were only in their first-year, they were easily able to grasp the 'de-weeding martial technique', as Kang-hyuk had created it, and added improvements.
After a short time of practicing, they could successfully use the technique, and began to de-weed their plots with ease.
There was a student who had caught Kang-hyuk's eye. They had a very ordinary appearance, but didn't seem to be at ease like the other students, even though they were able to use the martial technique he had just taught.
Kang-hyuk tried to recall the student's name. 'Was it Su Seon-tae?'
He was a child of the Su Family that were renowned throughout Baek-do.
Something felt strange. It had only taken the student a few tries before he had mastered the de-weeding technique.
This was why Kang-hyuk was keeping an eye on the boy.
Soon, the cla.s.s had finished.
"You're back?"
"You taught the cla.s.s well, Seonsaengnim."
Byeok Ae-rin and Baek-gap greeted Kang-hyuk as he returned to his residence.
"Are you hungry? I'll quickly make something."
Byeok Ae-rin sprinted into the kitchen, and soon emerged with a simple lunch of dumplings with tea.
"Here you are, Seonsaengnim."
"Thanks."
Kang-hyuk began to eat the dumplings. Byeok Ae-rin, who was sitting beside him, spoke.
"Gu Orabeoni has completed the investigation."
"Investigation?"
She continued, "I requested him to investigate into Oh-Tae."
"Ah, I see."
"If you give permission, I can begin to move."
"What are you intending to do?"
"He seems to be extremely cautious of those who have more strength than him. So, my idea was to clearly show him that you have more strength."
Kang-hyuk nodded his head in admiration.
Byeok Ae-rin as expected, knew exactly what kind of method he had wanted to use. And so, he was curious as to how she intended to execute her idea.
"How are we going to do this?"
Byeok Ae-rin grinned.
"Isn't there the traditional method?"
Kang-hyuk nodded his head. He knew what she was referring to. However, he was still concerned about what Oh-Tae would have to endure through this method.
'Will this really be okay?'
He was momentarily lost in thought. He reminded himself that Oh-Tae was a man who was plotting his expulsion, and that he had already given him two chances. This in itself was plenty of reason to go through with Byeok Ae-rin's plan.
But it seemed as though the time he was spending in the Academy was changing the time-hardened persona he had.
This felt a little strange to him.
'The Academy seems to be….a weird place.'
