Chapter 213

It was the historical first lesson with my little master after dinner.

Traditionally, the first class shouldn’t dive straight into the material but should kick off with a fancy overview, according to the master’s rules.

And thus, Shintu, as the master, started his first words like this.

“Hmph. Still, I didn’t treat you so poorly, did I? You just tossed that aside? Didn’t expect that from a girl with no loyalty.”

For a typical disciple, this would have been the kind of comment that would leave them scrambling and clueless. But Qing was already qualified enough to be called a giant in this regard.

With a playful little smile, Qing tried to soothe the miffed adult.

“Can’t we think of it positively? It shows how loyal I am to you, Master, and now you’re officially my master. Right?”

“Ahem. Still, if the schoolmaster granted it, you didn’t have to say it was unnecessary.”

“Oh come on. If I say thank you there, wouldn’t that make the master, or you, or me look like lightweights? Sure, I cheered inside, but it was a necessary moment, wasn’t it? Don’t you agree?”

Shintu’s demeanor softened a bit.

“Ahem. But you called the schoolmaster ‘master,’ and me ‘teacher’?”

“Isn’t that better than calling you ‘little master’? Would you prefer ‘second master’?”

“Hmph. Can’t we skip the formalities? I wanted to hear you call me master. There are already tons of brats calling me ‘teacher.’”

“Oh? You have a lot of disciples already?”

“You clueless kid. Didn’t you hear the schoolmaster’s words? I’m the Hall of Literature’s chief scholar.”

If we assume the goddess of creation, Nüwa, sculpted Qing, she certainly worked harder on the exterior than anyone else, but perhaps due to using the wrong materials or baking it improperly, the inside was hollow as a drum.

Feeling a sense of foreboding that perhaps he had made a wrong choice, Cheon Yu-hak observed Qing’s expression.

“…You don’t know?”

“…Should I?”

The Hall of Literature was the top educational institution in the Central Plain, a prestigious higher education center. Back in the Tang dynasty, it was responsible for educating the emperor and wielded considerable power, intervening in the administration, administration, and judicial matters.

However, with the change of the imperial dynasty came a change in personnel, so now it focused on teaching, compiling books, and research as the center of knowledge in the Central Plain.

The positions in the Hall of Literature are essentially equivalent to the principal, called Hanlim Haksa, along with two vice principals known as Sido Haksa and Sigang Haksa.

The Sido Haksa was responsible for research, while the Sigang Haksa oversaw education, being the head honcho in that area.

Didn’t they say that if Seomun Sulin was a Sigang Haksa, she’d be considered a giant purely based on her knowledge?

However, it was quite absurd that a giant of the Hall of Literature was also moonlighting as a master thief.

“Wow. Your master is really impressive, huh? Isn’t that what you’d call a grand master or a true master?”

Even if Qing’s head was empty, her outer beauty was genuine, and in front of her cute disciple’s charms, the old man’s heart melted slowly.

“Hrm, well, let’s drop the chatter for now. First of all, Shintu… no wait. You little girl, are you pretending not to know my identity? How did you figure that out?”

“Uh… You showed me the Secret Manual of Mugeong Shinsu, didn’t you?”

“Exactly! You recognized it, didn’t you!”

“I didn’t say I didn’t recognize it. And why did you turn the Secret Manual into a risqué art book? One that can’t even draw.”

“Can’t draw? That’s a masterpiece crafted by the master painter Geumjo Hyun, a collection of the best artworks!”

“You can’t use those words for an adult book…”

“Ahem.”

Feeling embarrassed, Cheon Yu-hak cleared his throat.

“The sharp sense of perception is the most important quality for a thief to advance in their craft, you know? To not be swayed by the greatest risqué art in the world and instead have the kind of keen eyesight that can distinguish the subtle writings like you have, or at least the kind of sensitivity to touch that allows one to intuit it.”

“Oh, I see.”

Qing had no idea that simply registering would carry such a meaning. If Cheon Yu-hak knew, he’d probably be beating the ground in frustration.

“Hrm. Should I write a new version of the Dao De Jing instead of risqué art?”

Cheon Yu-hak thought to himself. It seemed somewhat shameful to be frivolous like this since his disciple was a girl.

Of course, assuming he underestimated Qing.

“I don’t know who this Master Painter is, but isn’t that style a bit too composed for risqué art? It should have a more primal allure; I mean, you wouldn’t hang risqué art on the wall.”

“Huh?”

“What if we did it like this? Hmm, not quite right…”

Qing sketched on the floor with her Qingja sword.

Drawing on the rocky floor with one of the world’s sharpest swords would surely shock anyone who’d see it; they’d probably slap her silly for such bravado.

Yet, neither Qing, who viewed weapons as mere consumables, nor Shintu, who treated treasures as solid rocks, found it particularly concerning.

“Hmm? This is the style? Even if it’s not drawn well, the lines… wow, aren’t they a bit too bold? Humans don’t look like this.”

“Well, it’s just a painting; it can be a bit off, right?”

“What sort of bizarre logic is that?”

In Qing’s hometown, there were devices known as cameras that often made such excuses possible.

But since such things didn’t exist in the Central Plain, it was only natural for Cheon Yu-hak to be baffled.

“But, hmm. There’s a feeling to it. You should try learning some painting skills and paint properly.”

“Eh? What does a warrior need with painting skills?”

“The schoolmaster mentioned your musical skills. He said that since you play well and your writings are the best in the land, all you need to learn now are Go and painting. Right, let’s see your writing. What’s making you the best writer?”

Then, he took out paper, brush, and ink from his belongings.

As Qing complied and wrote the characters for “Our Master is the Best,” each stroke written was the current standardized form of modern Hangul.

Each character was thick without being cumbersome, beautifully extending and filling the space entirely.

And yet, with perfect height and width matching, to someone from the Central Plain, it was an unforgettable beauty that had never existed in this realm.

“Wow, in this world, each stroke is indeed like a thousand pounds of weight. With these strokes, you’ve already completed a writing style and reached the level of a master, or no, even a grandmaster! Such majesty unfurls in writing with the grandeur of a mountain, truly the heaviest writing in the world! How could such precious writing pass without being known in calligraphy?”

The surprise almost made the dignified tones of the Sigang Haksa slip out.

It wasn’t common for people to even see Qing’s writing, and warriors didn’t hold writings in great awe like scholars would.

In the end, the lesson was practically abandoned as they both busily played and chatted away.

Both master and disciple had an enjoyable time, so there was no issue.

Thus, the main point that Shintu originally wanted to bring out finally surfaced late at night.

“Shintu isn’t just an ordinary thief. He’s a thief beneficial to the world. It’s alright to steal for righteousness, but he must also play the role of cleaning up harmful items in this world.”

“Harmful items, you say?”

“Yeah. By harmful items, I mean things that are clearly harmful to the world—evil demonic swords, demonic arts, or terrible poisons.”

“Wow, so there are demonic swords? Do they talk too?”

“…? What bizarre nonsense are you saying? Hmm. Not entirely wrong, though.”

There were indeed demonic weapons that had absorbed human blood for a long time, or those forged from vengeance and anger through human sacrifices, types of cursed weapons that were entrancing to people.

Once wielded, it was said one could hardly resist the urge to cut someone down, hence they’d describe these demonic swords as whispering to their wielders.

“I wouldn’t know since I’ve never held a demonic sword. But anyway, when it comes to harmful items, there are also famous treasures. These treasures ignite human greed and can easily lead to bloodshed among those blinded by desire.”

“…So you’re saying just swipe anything that looks good?”

“Thus, the thief of the world. But if that brings peace to the world, then isn’t it fine if someone gets called a thief?”

Cheon Yu-hak was a character known for accumulating good karma.

If it had been a person with bad karma saying this, it might have just been dismissed as nonsense, but it was persuasive coming from someone with good karma.

Especially since he had literally seen someone sell off books to build up good karma.

Thinking along those lines, you could also argue that he might have started with an exceptionally high level of good karma.

“From now on, that’s your duty. Once you steal something, you can deal with it however you like. You can burn it, bury it, or find a suitable owner. I melted down gold and used it to write ‘Gold Coin.'”

“Swipe all the good stuff. Steal it and do whatever you want with it. Not doing it would just be a loss.”

“And don’t forget to find the next person with the greatest talent. To be honest, this is actually more important. Treasures can be stolen any time, but the lineage of Shintu must not be broken.”

“I got it. Cultivate the best disciple.”

Hearing this, Shintu nodded in satisfaction.

“There are four martial arts techniques I’ll pass down…”

Mugeong Shinsu, the stealth technique used in pickpocketing.

Gyeokgong Sunshin, the unparalleled swift movement technique that boasts the ultimate speed in short distances without a sound.

Yulryu Yeonryeon, which significantly expands the range of motion of the human joints.

And then there’s the Inner Strength Meditation Technique, which is merely something you need to memorize and don’t really have to learn.

Since it was common for someone in Shintu’s position to have at least one inner strength technique.

“Speaking of which, the schoolmaster said you could master several meditation techniques at once. You successfully followed in the footsteps of the Nine Thousand Celestial Woman, didn’t you?”

“Yes. That’s what they said.”

“Indeed, the Nine Thousand Celestial Woman, who is a peak of wisdom and harmony among the nine realms, might as well be considered the best of martial arts.”

One of the things Qing had matched with Seomun Sulin was indeed this.

In case it became apparent that she was using multiple kinds of inner strength, this was the excuse they would have.

Until now, Qing had wondered if that ruse would actually work, but seeing it in action made her realize how truly wise her master was.

“Perfect! Then you can learn the Awakening Skill. It’s a meditation technique that suits Shintu perfectly, and it should have become a necessity for finding a disciple or even adopting a child to teach.”

When Qing casually searched for it, she found none with a purple background.

Mugeong Shinsu, Gyeokgong Sunshin, Yulryu Yeonryeon, and the Awakening Skill—all golden colors. All of them golden.

Qing felt a sense of disappointment.

The Shaolin bunch, every time they picked something up, they always got a purple one, didn’t they?

Because after all, all the martial arts in the world originated from Shaolin, they proudly claimed to be the ancestors of martial arts.

“Alright. From now on, they’re yours.”

Cheon Yu-hak handed over the books.

Once Qing touched them, she saw the Martial Arts Inventory flashing a notification, letting her know it was a flawless manual.

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll be teaching you in earnest, so today skim through it and stuff some basics in your head. Remember, don’t plan on sleeping tonight. That’s how studying works, after all. Hehe.”

The laugh Cheon Yu-hak let slip felt suspicious.

It sounded like something along the lines of ‘get ready to suffer’.

But for Qing, a brief session of eye-rolling and wearing herself out with side effects was just enough time.