## Chapter 71 – (22)
Screech.
Neigh.
The carriage halted, followed by the horse’s heavy breathing.
As the carriage stopped, I looked out the window and saw a familiar sight.
A vacant lot above the stairs, buildings that showed their age.
We had finally returned to the Inmu Academy.
When I was a student here, I never understood the complaints about the poor facilities or how it was the smallest academy. But after experiencing the Cheonmu Academy, I understood.
It really is small.
If Cheonmu Academy was reminiscent of a small city, Inmu Academy was neat and tidy, consisting of about three buildings and two open spaces.
At the entrance of the academy, several instructors and even Headmaster, with his long white beard, were standing as if they knew we were arriving.
However, they were staring blankly at the luxurious carriage, probably never imagining that we would arrive in such a grand vehicle.
“Headmaster, who was supposed to arrive today?”
“…Hehe, I haven’t heard anything…”
The old man, addressed as Headmaster, stroked his long beard and spoke.
Cheolwoong, Pungwoon, and Namgoong Hyeok got out of the front carriage, and we followed suit, watching them from our carriage.
As soon as we got off, we all bowed to the instructors with our fists together.
“We have returned after finishing the friendly match.”
“Yes, you’ve worked hard, really.”
The Headmaster patted Cheolwoong’s shoulder as he spoke.
However, his gaze remained fixed on the carriage.
He looked like he was trying hard to suppress his curiosity, despite his expression of utter bewilderment.
“This carriage… No, first I have something to say to the students.”
At his words, we all looked at the Headmaster.
I could tell from my increased level of Inner Force Cultivation.
The Headmaster’s words carried a profound depth of inner energy.
“I know how much of a shock and pain this defeat must have been for you all.”
As the Headmaster spoke, we exchanged glances.
‘Defeat?’
We were torn between correcting the Headmaster’s misunderstanding and listening to him until the end without interrupting.
“…”
“However, there’s no point in being unhappy and regretting what’s already happened!”
The other instructors nodded in agreement with the Headmaster’s words.
“Excuse me—”
“The most important thing is the desire to overcome. It’s not about immediate results, so the students and Instructor Cheolwoong can hold your heads high!”
The other instructors applauded the Headmaster’s inspiring speech.
We also clapped, somewhat caught up in the atmosphere, but at the same time, we couldn’t help but wear bewildered expressions.
Because we didn’t lose.
In the end, it was Instructor Cheolwoong who mustered the courage.
“Headmaster.”
“What is it?”
“We won.”
“…Huh?”
The Headmaster’s white eyebrows shot up.
The other instructors also widened their eyes, wondering if they had heard correctly, or if Instructor Cheolwoong was lying.
A moment of silence followed.
“Really? You won?”
“Yes.”
“…Good, forget what I said earlier.”
After confirming the truth from Instructor Cheolwoong once again, the Headmaster cleared his throat and corrected himself.
“Results are everything! Enjoy this moment and remember it!”
“Ooh!”
“No way, we beat Cheonmu Academy…”
“Does that mean we now have Cheonmu Academy’s position…”
“Hey, calm down, it was just a friendly match.”
As the Headmaster raised his voice, the instructors, who now understood the situation, praised us and applauded.
At the same time, they started counting their chickens before they hatched.
But it wasn’t entirely wishful thinking.
If Seolyeong could use Ice Force more freely, and Jeongseon could utilize her inner energy better, we could expect overwhelming results in the martial arts competition.
Well, Pungwoon and I go without saying.
Namgoong Hyeok?
Well…
Just stay healthy.
Cutting through the cheering of the instructors, who were in a festive mood, we rushed back to our beloved dormitory.
No matter how comfortable the transformed carriage was, it couldn’t compare to the dormitory we were used to.
“Hoo…”
“Wow…”
Jeongseon and I took deep breaths as soon as we entered the dormitory.
Come to think of it, I live here with Jeongseon.
Having a large room to myself at Cheonmu Academy was nice in its own way, but living in a small dormitory room with Jeongseon also had its own charm.
Of course, most of the charm came from Jeongseon.
“How is it?”
“What?”
“Seolyeong’s treatment. Do you think you can do it?”
As soon as we entered, Jeongseon asked me a sharp question.
The possibility of treatment.
I took out the pouch.
Inside the pouch was the Snow Ginseng, still showing its radiant form.
My Inner Force Cultivation and inner energy level are 9.
And the Snow Ginseng, known as a great elixir.
At first, I was going to take it myself, but Pungwoon had said in the past that he had fed this Snow Ginseng to Seolyeong to treat her.
Of course, a noble from the Hwasan Sect had helped, but that meant it was a great help.
“I wonder if the effect will still be the same if I cut the Snow Ginseng in half?”
“Hmm… I think so? It’ll be a little less effective compared to eating the whole thing by yourself, but…”
Is Seolyeong’s treatment possible?
Honestly, I saw a possibility with what happened yesterday.
Yesterday, in the carriage, I confirmed that Seolyeong also emits a significant amount of Yin energy when she gets excited, or to put it more directly, when she reaches her peak.
If I utilize this point well, it might be possible.
“…”
I was starting to feel like the place I was possessed into wasn’t a martial arts novel, but an erotic martial arts novel.
Am I realizing this too late?
Anyway, the attempt had to be cautious.
I wanted to raise my Inner Force Cultivation level to 10 and proceed, but after reaching level 9, I had a feeling.
‘I can’t go any further.’
I felt something like shackles.
Beyond this, it wasn’t an area that could be reached simply through effort or training.
Enlightenment or opportunity.
I felt like I needed heavenly luck to break through this wall.
But I didn’t have time to wait for that.
“Is there anything else that could help…”
Then Jeongseon patted my shoulder and smiled, saying she had a good idea.
“Isn’t it better if there’s an abundance of Yin and Yang energy?”
“…Is that so?”
“Then, there’s a place I know well.”
As soon as I heard those words, it came to mind.
The place where she was born and raised, and the place where she had a reason to crossdress.
A place where the exchange of Yin and Yang energy occurs every day, and a place where people with extreme Yang inner energy like me would go to train.
A brothel.
“Yeah, that place exists.”
It definitely seemed like it would be helpful.
But.
“…Is it okay to go?”
What if it was discovered that Seolyeong, the young mistress of the Bukhae Ice Palace, was frequenting a brothel?
It would be a headache.
“Don’t worry, I have a plan.”
“…Okay.”
I nodded.
Strike while the iron is hot, we decided to rest until tonight and then go to the brothel when everyone was asleep.
***
“Do I have to wear these clothes?”
“If you don’t want to hear rumors that the students of Inmu Academy are frequenting brothels.”
“…”
The three of us now looked like a high-class courtesan and two bodyguards.
According to Jeongseon, it was common for famous courtesans to bring bodyguards with them.
We walked down the quiet street like mice, and as soon as we turned into an alleyway—
“Ooh…”
A lively street full of red lights began to appear.
It was the famous red-light district.
Even though I knew I had to act natural, my eyes kept moving busily.
It was a space that men couldn’t help but be drawn to.
A place that somehow made my heart race.
People who seemed intoxicated by the stimulating atmosphere were passing by.
And one of those men, intoxicated by this red-light district, approached us.
“Oh, miss, you are truly beautiful, if you don’t mind—”
“…I do mind.”
“…Don’t say things like that.”
Seolyeong refused coldly, but the man was persistent.
He seemed quite drunk.
In the end, it was my turn to step in.
“Get out of the way.”
“…Ha, so you’re a man, can’t you see that the miss and I are talking?”
“I said get out of the way.”
“…”
The man glanced at the men behind him, and two large men walked out in front of me.
“Have you heard of the Rakyang Twin Devils?”
“Rakyang Twin Devils?”
I glanced at Jeongseon, but she shook her head, saying she had never heard of them either.
Judging by whether they were strong or weak, they seemed relatively strong.
However, compared to Jeonpung of Cheonmu Academy, Namgoong Yu, or the guy who attacked me, they were insignificant.
I slowly placed my hand on my sword.
Even though the opponent’s skills were low, I didn’t intend to be careless.
They were opponents with a title that even Pungwoon didn’t have.
My sword slowly began to turn red.
“That, Sword Energy…!”
“…”
The Rakyang Twin Devils looked surprised at the sight.
Then they exchanged glances with each other and nodded.
“This, this bastard!”
“Die!”
Whoosh!
With a loud noise, the Rakyang Twin Devils swung their huge fists.
But the direction was very different from what I expected.
“Ugh!”
The Rakyang Twin Devils punched the man who had been hitting on Seolyeong.
The man flew away with a thud, and the Rakyang Twin Devils began to beat him indiscriminately.
“W, why!”
“Do you know who these people are!”
“This bastard was trying to kill us with a few coins!”
At this point, I almost felt sorry for the man.
“…Enough.”
“Yes!”
“Please be careful!”
When I told the Rakyang Twin Devils to stop, they stopped punching.
The man’s condition was…
Well, he seemed okay.
Just a few teeth missing.
“Since when could you use Sword Energy?”
“So this is called Sword Energy.”
I answered Seolyeong’s question with an awkward smile.
Honestly, I didn’t know.
I was just imitating what Pungwoon and Seolyeong did.
“Follow me from here.”
Jeongseon took the lead and guided us, and we walked, only looking at Jeongseon’s back.
And we arrived.
“This is my home.”
“…Ooh…”
A huge brothel filled our vision.
