I Became the Genius Mage of the Martial Academy

Chapter 80 : Wrapping Up the Vacation (2)

A tense air hung heavy in the shade of the cool wall.

Jangyeo opened his mouth.

“Come to think of it, there’s no way a formation master of a level comparable to a semi-special class would have gone unnoticed by me until now.”

A heavy pressure was transmitted from the two hands that were placed on this side’s shoulders.

‘So the day has finally come.’

I thought I would be found out someday.

In the first place, Jangyeo was a protector of the Zhuge family, and his martial prowess itself was a monster that had reached a considerable realm.

“At first, I thought some secluded master had come to visit. Because in the vast central plains, it wouldn’t be strange for any kind of strange person to appear. But that attitude, as if handling something unfamiliar, was not that of a simple old master or a talented newcomer who had been training in the mountains for a long time.”

Jangyeo continued with a serious face.

“That person seemed to be developing every moment. At first, he was rough, using only basic techniques, but he soon became surprisingly proficient. As if it were the first time he had ever used a large-scale formation.”

It was accurate. Because in fact, I had tried it for the first time that day.

“Couldn’t it be a disciple of a formation master from a previous era who has just come down from the mountain?”

“That was not a newcomer who had been taught by someone. It was a feeling as if a monster who had read only one formation book was breaking through everything with just talent.”

Even with the added question, Jangyeo answered without bending.

“And this time, I saw you. You, who were facing Elder Zhuge Hyeonguk here. You, who were growing rapidly every hour against the opponent’s offensive. There’s no way there are two people with that much talent in Hubei Province.”

“…Couldn’t there be, perhaps?”

When I stubbornly denied it to the end, Protector Jangyeo let out a hollow laugh.

“I thought so, so I contacted the Martial Academy. I heard you received a disciplinary action. That you went out on the day the Geummun Merchant Guild was robbed and didn’t come back for several days. Don’t you think it’s too much of a coincidence?”

Jangyeo looked at me with a face that said, ‘Are you still going to deny it?’

‘This is troublesome.’

Several circumstances matched. Enough to raise suspicion.

While I was flustered by the sudden revelation of my identity, I did not stop thinking. And I realized.

‘Why is he telling me this directly? If he were going to interrogate me, wouldn’t it be better to call me to a public place without warning?’

The current situation was not just a place for reprimand. That’s why I decided to hear the other person’s opinion instead.

“May I know with what intention you are saying this?”

I asked about his intentions as defensively as possible.

“You’re saying something uncool.”

“Yes?”

“I have witnessed a talent that is second to none as a formation master twice. But if I can find out its identity, shouldn’t I check?”

Jangyeo said, sending a burdensome gaze this way.

“Everyone turns their head to where the sun rises.”

A metaphor that was close to a compliment. At this, I responded.

“But wouldn’t some people frown, saying it’s dazzling? Because the sunlight is so whimsical.”

“It will also bring that much abundance. At least I don’t complain about getting a little tanned by the sunlight.”

I looked at his face to grasp his true intentions.

In the first place, I was half-exposed. If I were to deny it further here, it would only hurt my feelings or provoke his anger.

“Thank you for your broad-mindedness. If I may ask, have you ever told anyone else about my work?”

“No. Even if I did, there’s no one who would believe me.”

Well, that was true. Who would believe that Zhuge Cheonwu had robbed the elixir field of the Geummun Merchant Guild?

“Then I will understand that you came simply for confirmation.”

And so, as I was about to pass it off appropriately, Jangyeo shook his head.

“No. Actually, there’s something I want.”

“…What is it?”

As expected, since he had caught my weakness, there was no way he would let it go easily. The price of the elixir I had eaten at that time was considerable.

‘If it really doesn’t work, I’ll just deny it to the end and run.’

But then Jangyeo said something unexpected.

“When you’re up to something, let me in on it. I’ll give you my strength.”

“Yes?”

“It’s nothing much. I’m just asking you to make this old man’s heart beat. Everything has been boring for the past few years, but I feel like you’ll open a new era.”

Jangyeo said, laughing heartily.

‘This is good.’

He was a protector of the Zhuge family. There was no reason to refuse the help of a being whose martial arts alone had reached a considerable realm.

“I understand.”

I nodded my head and then subtly turned around the dead-end alley. Now that the sensitive talk was over, Jangyeo also quietly followed by my side.

“By the way, what happened with the young lady of the Tang family? There are some strange rumors going around.”

“It was nothing much.”

“Don’t say it’s a misunderstanding when you were sticking so close to her. Or I could just ask her directly.”

Jangyeo, who had come out of the alley with me, laughed heartily and looked around.

“By the way, I don’t see her today. Where is she now?”

“She’s probably at the pharmacy.”

* * *

At that time, the place where Tang Surin was standing was inside a splendid pavilion. It was Dang Hujeong’s inner chamber.

“Welcome.”

Even at Dang Hujeong’s gentle greeting, Tang Surin did not respond. On the contrary, she pressed for an answer.

“What is it?”

Although it was too short to be said to a mother-in-law, Tang Surin did not care.

For Tang Surin, Dang Hujeong was not a very good impression from the beginning. Her strange attitude towards Cheonwu, and there was something about her that made her want to instinctively reject her.

She could have shown her respect while holding back her nausea, but she didn’t want to. And from past experience, it didn’t matter.

Because the interests of the two women were roughly similar.

“You’re still the same. Alright, let’s get straight to the point. I hear that Cheonwu has been showing his prominence lately.”

“I know.”

“It’s good that the child is doing well, but he has a rather standout disposition, so I think it might be difficult to handle him as a son-in-law if he becomes too outstanding. Even if it’s a political marriage, you should have a smooth married life, shouldn’t you?”

With that, Dang Hujeong took something out.

“…This is?”

Tang Surin’s gaze fell on a strangely colored accessory. A bracelet with a blue jewel embedded in it. She remembered seeing it somewhere.

“It’s a similar item to the Cheongeumcheon that Cheonwu is wearing. But it’s different. If you draw out more than a certain amount of power, it shows a different reaction from the original.”

“What kind of?”

“It freezes. The entire surroundings, completely.”

Tang Surin’s momentum became fierce. Then Dang Hujeong touched the bracelet and added.

“Don’t misunderstand. It won’t hurt you. On the contrary, should I call it a piece of armor? So there’s something I want to ask of you.”

Tang Surin did not answer, but she continued to speak nonchalantly.

“No matter how much of a treasure it is that doesn’t suit him, he won’t wear it all day. I’d like you to secretly switch it when Cheonwu puts it by his bedside.”

“…Why?”

“I hear that the child is taking the grade-skipping exam this time. It’s good that he has outstanding qualities, but it’s also a matter of considering if he’s too outstanding. I’m worried, you see. That he might fall while running.”

Tang Surin was silent. Although she really hated it, there was a certain aspect of what that woman, Dang Hujeong, was saying that matched her own worries.

The more outstanding Zhuge Cheonwu became, the more she felt happy somewhere, but on the other hand, her heart became anxious. That he, who was getting stronger and developing day by day, might leave her behind at some point.

She had never felt this way about anyone. But it was different for Cheonwu. So she was even more confused.

Between the desire to do what the other person wanted and the anxiety about the other person changing as she did so, a desire to fulfill what she wanted, regardless of the other person’s feelings, blossomed.

All of it was a first. She couldn’t get her bearings at all.

Tang Surin clenched her fists without realizing it. The nails under her tightly clenched fists dug into the flesh of her palm.

“I don’t think I need to agree to such a proposal.”

Finally, Tang Surin’s lips parted. Even with the continued informal speech and refusal, Dang Hujeong groomed her nails as if she didn’t care.

“You’re prickly. Do you know that I was the one who pushed for the engagement with Cheonwu?”

“…I’m grateful for that.”

Tang Surin looked at her with sharp eyes. She knew from the beginning that it wasn’t a very good intention.

She knew those kinds of eyes. Emotionless eyes that seemed to see the other person as a pawn. It was a kind of thing that made her shudder.

“…But I don’t need that. Because Gaga will definitely be by my side.”

Just as Tang Surin was about to turn around after saying that, she heard Dang Hujeong’s words.

“It’ll be difficult at this rate.”

“What?”

In that moment, Tang Surin stopped her feet without realizing it. Dang Hujeong’s mouth opened.

“I don’t know what sweet words Cheonwu used to seduce you, but that child is like a bird. When he’s close, he’s cute and pitiful, but once he fixes his wings, he flies away heartlessly. Without even telling you where he’s flying off to.”

The gazes of the two women crossed. Dang Hujeong’s voice, which was directed this way, became more intimate and deep.

“You feel it a little too, don’t you? Or why did you stand up now? Even though you’re so confident.”

In that moment, Tang Surin, who had clenched her teeth, glared at Dang Hujeong. At that, Dang Hujeong threw the blue jewel bracelet.

Tang Surin caught it as if she were swatting it away.

“Take it. If he fails the grade-skipping exam, his illusion that he’s special will also be broken. Then he’ll graduate obediently and follow the engagement well. It’s good for you. Think about it carefully.”

Dang Hujeong, who had been making a seductive smile for a while, gently lifted her gaze to a distant place and then added as if she had just remembered.

“And if by any chance you find out who made Cheonwu change so much, I’d like you to tell me.”

“…What are you plotting?”

“I’m trying to get a weakness. A hero doesn’t stay cooped up at home. …If you don’t want to lose him, you have to have something, don’t you?”

Dang Hujeong’s raised eyes were directed at the other person as if to see through her inner thoughts. Tang Surin stared at those predator-like eyes for a while and then answered.

“I don’t need it.”

At the same time, Tang Surin crushed the bracelet with the blue jewel in her hand.

“You might regret it.”

At Dang Hujeong’s strangely confident tone, Tang Surin’s expression crumpled slightly.

“What do you, know…! I know better… He wants me too.”

Tang Surin muttered that and then turned around, throwing the jewel on the floor.

And soon, as the door closed roughly and the fierce airflow in the room subsided, Dang Hujeong slowly shook her head.

“The daughters of the Tang family…”

* * *

Around the time when the hot summer was coming to an end, the day to return to the academy finally came.

The entrance ceremony was only a few months ago, but it was already the next semester.

The path was definitely the same. But unlike then, when I had only taken about two martial artists, the scale of the procession now was different.

A procession of three carriages and nearly twenty people. It was an excessive defense for a distance that was not even a few days.

‘Just the fact that the Blood Cult was after me warranted this much of an escort.’

At times like this, it was convenient to be a direct blood relative. I sat in the carriage and looked outside. Among them, I could see martial artists with a fan pattern with three feathers.

The Crane Fan Troupe. A group of elite martial artists of the Zhuge family and a group of masters. Each and every one of them was a strong person who had reached the peak of the peak. The upper-level powers, such as the vice-leader, were rumored to have reached the realm of the super-peak.

“You’ve prepared well.”

“Haha, I put in some effort!”

Jangyeo laughed heartily and boasted. Since he had brought three of the Crane Fan Troupe members as just escorts, he had no choice but to be proud.

Besides that, there were five peak-level escorts. At least eight peak-level martial artists. A force that could annihilate a small or medium-sized sect overnight.

From the secret footsteps that surrounded all directions, a certain sense of reassurance was felt.

Just then, the carriage door burst open.

“I’m going too.”

It was Tang Surin. Looking at her back, she was carrying a bundle of luggage.

“Outsiders are forbidden from entering the academy.”

“We can meet outside.”

Tang Surin, who had taken the seat right next to me, added.

“I hear that Sichuan is in a state of turmoil lately, and even if the security around the academy is not bad, it’s not safe for someone of your status.”

In the first place, with Tang Surin’s appearance and background, there was a high possibility that it would be dangerous in many ways.

To the point where it was difficult to feel completely at ease even with the ten or so escort troops that were protecting Tang Surin.

Although she herself was presumed to be a peak-level master, the central plains was a dangerous place. Since even a super-master could die unexpectedly, it was better to be as careful as possible when residing outside the family’s territory.

Then Tang Surin took out a letter from her bosom.

“Grandma Teacher is coming.”

“Tang Mandokui?”

“Yes. Since there are many things I’m lacking in, I asked her to come and teach me.”

Tang Surin, who answered brightly.

Well, what can I say. She would be the only one who would treat a poison doctor like that.

Still, if it was a poison doctor, she was a being who had reached the realm of a super-master with just her poison arts.

Although she herself was strong, since she was a key figure of the Tang family, her escort would also be considerable.

“Then, I guess there’s nothing to worry about.”

And so, as I was saying that, the carriage moved.

Even though it was already an excessive level of escort, when Tang Surin’s escort was added, it became a medium-sized procession of over 30 people.

And a strange procession where more than half of them were masters of the peak level or higher.

Thanks to that, not only the Blood Cult, but not even the clothes of a bandit were seen on the way.

“We arrived sooner than I thought.”

When the carriage finally stopped in front of the academy, I stretched and came out.

After exchanging a proper greeting with Jangyeo, I was about to go in, when Tang Surin came up with short steps and grabbed my collar.

“Gaga, next vacation…”

Knowing that we wouldn’t be able to see each other for a while. Tang Surin, who had come out to see me off, was hesitating. She probably wanted to say some kind of plausible greeting.

But in a situation like that, a black history usually comes out before a good line. Before she could suddenly go off on her own, I spoke first.

“Surin-ah.”

“Huh?”

She, who was surprised as her name was called as if it had come in with a hook.

“Let’s both do our best.”

“…Yes.”

Tang Surin, who responded with a bright smile. I turned my back on her and the Jangyeo group and moved my feet.

‘…Come to think of it, I feel like I’ve forgotten something.’

When I saw the magnificent school gate, I suddenly had that feeling. But since it didn’t come to mind right away, it seemed it wasn’t a very important content.

‘The real thing starts now.’

When I showed the student pass with the top student mark to the gatekeepers, they cleared the way with a sharp posture.

Although it was still hot, I entered the inside of the academy, facing the school grounds where a much cooler wind was blowing.

It was now time to take the grade-skipping exam.

(End of Chapter)