“Esteemed Immortal Healer, Young Lady Lim is a genius. Setting aside literary or martial talent, she’s gifted in a different field—and I say that with confidence.”Hui placed a hand delicately over his own heart.
His voice, previously laced with hesitation, now rang with unshakeable conviction and absolute confidence, as if his earlier doubt had been a mere illusion.
“I can assure you, no one in this world possesses the capability to bloom Young Lady Lim’s innate genius as magnificently as I can.”
“…”
Ah, damn it. I literally cannot refute that.
Feeling the bitter, agonizing sting of genuine defeat for the first time since arriving in this world, Cho Yoon tightly clasped his hands together on his lap.
Have I truly been teaching Sa-yeong and Sa-hyeon well? Is it possible that the modern educational theories I proudly brought with me have actually been dragging them down?
A chaotic maelstrom of doubts swirled in his mind.
To be brutally honest, Sa-yeong and Sa-hyeon were not inherently gifted in martial arts. While Sa-yeong was incredibly agile, highly intelligent, and fiercely persistent, her innate talent for circulating internal energy fell slightly below average. Conversely, Sa-hyeon possessed tremendous, natural physical strength, but he lacked sharp cunning and delicate precision.
Easily recognizing these limitations, Cho Yoon had restructured their curriculum.
He had always intended to teach them a vast array of subjects beyond mere martial arts, but he ultimately slashed their physical conditioning time from a full afternoon to just half a day.
Since they hadn’t even decided on their future aspirations yet, and they certainly weren’t obligated to become martial artists, he had concluded that prioritizing the expansion of their critical thinking and cultivating a diverse foundation of general knowledge was the optimal path.
However, the knowledge Cho Yoon actually possessed was ultimately limited to that of a modern elementary school teacher. Just as an ordinary adult struggles to solve a simple algebraic equation a few years after graduating high school—unless they specifically majored in mathematics—Cho Yoon found himself entirely incapable of teaching high school or university-level concepts he could barely even remember.
Consequently, the only advanced knowledge he could genuinely pass down were the original ‘Cho Yoon’s’ absolute specialties: supreme martial arts, peerless pharmacology, and mystical formations.
If they continued to grow exclusively under his tutelage precisely as they were doing now, they would inevitably end up as nothing more than aggressively mediocre martial artists—figures who possessed the grandiose title of ‘Disciples of the Immortal Healer’ and absolutely nothing else to back it up.
And Hui, having flawlessly pinpointed that exact insecurity, was actively extending his hand.
Even while making a proposal that violently shattered the common sense of a world where masters were revered as absolute parental figures, Hui displayed not a single shred of hesitation or guilt.
“I am not declaring my intent to sever her ties and become Young Lady Lim’s new master. I merely wish… to keep her by my side for a few years, to personally impart everything I have learned. She wouldn’t even be obligated to work for my faction. I am fully aware of how profoundly presumptuous and rude this request is, so you are entirely free to refuse.”
Hui had likely harbored immense expectations at first.
Hearing that the brilliant talent he coveted had somehow become the disciple of the legendary Immortal Healer, he had undoubtedly rushed here, burning with curiosity to see exactly how she had flourished.
However, that anticipation was undoubtedly met with crushing disappointment.
Far from actively nurturing Sa-yeong’s unique talents, Cho Yoon hadn’t even recognized they existed. Hui simply couldn’t stand by and watch such potential rot away.
That’s why he risked forming a permanent blood feud with me just to bring this up. He knows with absolute certainty that if she is taught properly, she will become someone utterly transcendent. He simply couldn’t endure the tragic sight of her wasting her golden years under a master who couldn’t even comprehend her value.
“…I shall speak with her.”
Ultimately unable to reach a decision, Cho Yoon could only offer the excuse of needing to converse with Sa-yeong to escape the suffocating room.
He felt he would never, for as long as he lived, forget this devastating, crushing sense of miserable defeat.
***
Cho Yoon and the children were temporarily granted the use of a guest room within the crimson birch estate.
While it wasn’t crammed with exorbitantly priceless artifacts like Hui’s personal quarters, it remained infinitely more luxurious than any room they had occupied at the Tang Clan.
Yeowa, who had escorted them, sparked a flint to light the candles before quietly excusing himself.
Tracking his faint qi signature, Cho Yoon noted he had retreated directly to Hui’s side.
Retrieving plush, cotton-stuffed silk bedding from a wardrobe meticulously carved from rare rosewood, Sa-yeong laid out the sleeping arrangements on the floor.
After hesitating for a long time, she finally approached her master.
Ever since concluding his conversation with the Sect Leader of the Hao Sect, Cho Yoon hadn’t uttered a single word. He simply sat silently beneath the window, staring blankly out into the night, while Sa-yeong’s brothers cast nervous, fleeting glances between the two of them.
“Umm… Master.”
Sa-yeong called out softly, dropping respectfully to her knees. Cho Yoon’s gaze, previously lost in the distant darkness, smoothly shifted to meet hers.
“You do not need to take the words of such an absurdly presumptuous man to heart. I wish to remain under your tutelage until the very end.”
She knew it was entirely possible her master was harboring completely different thoughts, making her input an arrogant overstep. However, the expression Cho Yoon wore, flickering under the unstable candlelight, felt so profoundly insecure and vulnerable that Sa-yeong blurted the words out simply to reassure him.
Staring quietly at Sa-yeong, Cho Yoon blinked slowly a few times before finally parting his lips.
“…I spent far too long lost in my own thoughts. Come here, all of you.”
“Yes, Master.”
Her brothers, who had been anxiously waiting for an opening, immediately scurried over, forming a tight circle around him. Carefully taking in the tense, apprehensive faces of his children, Cho Yoon spoke.
“First and foremost, I will never demand that you absolutely must remain by my side and learn exclusively from me. If you ever encounter a master whose capabilities in your chosen field surpass my own, you are always free to go to them. In fact, you should go to them.”
“There is absolutely no way anyone could ever surpass you, Master!”
“T-That’s right!”
“No, that is not what I mean.”
Cho Yoon hastily waved his hands, desperately trying to calm the children aggressively rushing to his defense. How on earth do I explain this? Agonizing over his phrasing, he furrowed his brow slightly and chose his words with absolute precision.
“While I possess a vast and varied accumulation of shallow knowledge, I am not a man who has achieved absolute mastery over everything. In the countless fields where I lack expertise, the world is overflowing with individuals infinitely more brilliant than I am. This is a fundamental, indisputable truth applicable to every single person alive.”
“…”
“Furthermore, stubbornly remaining under a master who remains utterly blind to your true talents is an act of foolishness. When there is nothing left to learn, and nothing left for the master to teach, it is time to depart.”
“…But.”
Sa-yeong nervously wrung her hands together before dropping her head.
The master sitting before her was the savior who had rescued Sa-hyeon; the Sect Leader of the Hao Sect was the savior who had rescued Jang-wi.
If Cho Yoon was the benefactor who had literally saved the siblings’ lives, the Sect Leader of the Hao Sect was essentially the man who had retrieved the ‘right to live as a human being’ that Sa-yeong had violently discarded in her past.
In truth, from the exact moment she laid eyes on Jang-wi, Sa-yeong’s heart had been violently, helplessly shaken. She was merely denying it with such vehement aggression because admitting she was tempted made her feel like a deeply cunning, despicable wretch entirely devoid of gratitude.
“But I love living with you right now, Master. What use would I possibly have for learning how to lie better? I just… I like how things are now. Every single day is so joyous and happy it feels like an impossible dream. And all of this is entirely because you are here, Master.”
Yet, the fact remained that her current, perfectly stable and peaceful life was an anomaly.
Having survived by instinctively calculating the absolute best path for survival in any given scenario, Sa-yeong felt profoundly alienated and anxious over her own inability to easily make this decision.
And my brother. I still have my brother. If I leave alone, will he be okay?
The precious blood relative she could absolutely never abandon weighed heavily on her conscience.
Watching Sa-yeong wrestle with her internal turmoil in silence, Cho Yoon quietly deployed a sound-isolation barrier.
He highly doubted Hui and Yeowa would stoop to eavesdropping on their private conversation, but it was always better to maintain absolute security.
The fact that the Immortal Healer Cho Yoon inherently knew the true identity of ‘Hui’—and was actively conveying this to his disciples—absolutely could not leak.
“Sa-yeong, do you truly comprehend what kind of organization the Hao Sect is?”
“…Yes. I heard rumors during my time living in Guangdong Province.”
“Then you are undoubtedly aware that the foundational pillars comprising the Hao Sect are courtesans.”
“Yes. I know.”
Sa-yeong nodded her head firmly. Cho Yoon briefly met the wide, curious eyes of Sa-hyeon and Cheon-oh before lowering his voice.
“The vast majority of courtesans honing their arts within those massive brothels are either government-owned or city-owned. In essence, they are individuals strictly raised and tightly managed by brothels officially operated by the state itself. Yet Hui actively binds these state-owned assets into a singular, covert syndicate and issues commands entirely as he pleases. Why do you suppose he hasn’t been arrested for such blatant treason?”
“Is it not… because he offers exorbitant bribes to the governing officials?”
“If he were forced to bribe every single official involved, the Hao Sect would be bankrupt before it ever truly began.”
Sa-yeong racked her brain desperately. However, much like a frog trapped at the bottom of a well cannot fathom the sprawling ocean, there was a fundamental limit to the sheer scale Sa-yeong’s mind could comprehend.
To forcibly shatter those limitations, and to impress upon Sa-yeong exactly how monumental the opportunity presented to her truly was, Cho Yoon decided to reveal someone else’s greatest secret just this once.
“Think simply. He operates from a position so impossibly high that mere officials wouldn’t dare even glance in his direction. He is someone they cannot even dream of arresting, someone whose name they cannot even casually utter.”
“Excuse me?”
“Hui is a member of the Imperial Family.”
Hearing a tale originating from an echelon of existence so unfathomably high she couldn’t even process it, Sa-yeong’s body froze solid.
For children whose family had collapsed, forcing them to drift through slums before ultimately settling deep in the mountains with one foot in the martial world—a world strictly operating under a mutual non-aggression pact with the Imperial Family—this was an impossibly distant, alien reality.
However, the predictably calm, grave voice of her master firmly anchored Sa-yeong’s spiraling rationality.
Swallowing heavily, she focused entirely on the unfolding revelation.
“Hui is the direct blood relative of the current Emperor, and he was even bestowed the supreme title of Grand Prince. Although he was not the Crown Prince, his formidable political backing and transcendent, peerless capabilities inadvertently thrust him into the violent succession war. Despite repeatedly declaring he harbored absolutely zero ambition for the throne, no one believed a single word he said. Do you know what desperate choice he ultimately made to escape the suffocating confines of the Imperial Palace and live freely?”
“…You don’t mean.”
“Yes. Before he even reached adulthood, Hui personally severed his own ankles.”
Recalling Hui’s image—forced to awkwardly shuffle on his knees due to impaired mobility, or constantly relying on Yeowa’s physical support—Sa-yeong’s jaw dropped in sheer horror.
To physically mutilate one’s own body simply to avoid a succession war was a terrifyingly resolute, brutal decision.
Yet, analyzing it piece by piece, there was truly no other path that guaranteed such an unbothered, comfortable life.
First, because he hadn’t formally renounced his worldly ties to enter the priesthood, he retained full access to his staggering wealth and political power.
Even if he was crippled for life, he remained a direct descendant of the Imperial bloodline, meaning absolutely no one would dare look down upon him.
Simultaneously, an individual physically incapable of performing the grand, mandatory prostrations to the Heavens could never be crowned Emperor, permanently eliminating any risk of being dragged into the succession bloodbaths.
As for his inability to walk, his immense status easily afforded him the use of palanquins or other conveyances.
And of all the factions in the world, the one he explicitly chose to commandeer was the ‘Hao Sect’.
Even if his true identity as a Grand Prince were somehow exposed, it was the perfect, ultimate alibi: ‘I was merely attempting to manage the nation’s courtesans and commoners, but the arrogant martial world aggressively interfered with my duties.’
It was an organization straddling the impossibly blurred line between the martial world and the civilian populace. It was a faction occupying a bizarre gray area—difficult to strictly classify as a true martial sect, yet impossible to dismiss as a purely civilian enterprise.
If Hui had meticulously calculated every single one of these factors from the very beginning, he was a truly, terrifyingly formidable monster.