The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 181: Scholar Juyul (4) - Starting Small to Achieve Great Things "Start with small things." *** —When two tigers clash and both fall, wolves and leopards and serpents eye each other, all coveting the empty throne. This was a phrase that expressed the current state of the martial world in a single line. When the absolute masters of the orthodox and evil paths, who seemed like figures from legends, perished together and left their positions vacant, the hyenas who dared not raise their heads while they were alive now scrambled to make the vast forest of the martial world their own. Dokgo Gang, the master of the Black Blood Sect, was one of those many hyenas. He had once been a mere member of Samaryeon, a massive evil organization, and after Samaryeon's fall, he betrayed his former superior, stole their secret manuals, and fled. Ambush, betrayal, traps. Using every means at his disposal, he crushed his competitors one by one, and as a result, became one of the most prominent forces in Mao Province, one of the twelve provinces of the Liu Empire. "...Hot water and broken fragments poured onto his head and face. If we prescribe spiritual medicine and he rests for a long time, recovery seems possible, but it will likely take at least a year." "That damned bitch! How dare she, how dare she touch my son!?" Such a man was now revealing murderous intent from his entire body. His face was flushed red, and every blood vessel bulged prominently, creating a truly demonic and savage appearance. The physician who reported the patient's condition trembled with fear, and the other subordinates desperately averted their eyes, afraid that sparks might fly their way. "Huff, huff..." Fortunately, even in this situation, Dokgo Gang had not completely lost his grip on reason. The master of the Black Blood Sect, who had endured the hardships and trials of the martial world to reach his current position, knew all too well that those who couldn't distinguish front from back due to anger were the ones who died easily. "Lady of Trampling Fire, Zhang Hualing. Yes, if she's one of the Seven Hegemons, I can't look down on her. She is indeed an opponent against whom I must stake the fate of my sect." Confirming that Dokgo Gang's reason had somewhat returned, his subordinates cautiously opened their mouths. "Even though she's one of the Seven Hegemons, isn't she the youngest and lacks any proper backing? She must be inferior compared to the other Seven Hegemons." "There are even rumors that she was chosen by gossipmongers because of her appearance. If you defeat her this time, Master, it's your chance to newly ascend to a position among the Seven Hegemons!" Even with his subordinates' flattering words, Dokgo Gang remained unmoved. "Those who let their guard down like that are the first to die with wind in their throats, unable to even scream properly. Prepare for interception immediately!" "Yes, Master!!" Watching his disciples move in perfect unison, Dokgo Gang, master of the Black Blood Sect, quietly ground his teeth. 'Come if you dare, Zhang Hualing! I'll make you pay dearly for daring to touch this Dokgo Gang's son!!' Awaiting the fateful confrontation that would soon come, the entire Black Blood Sect entered a state of tension. And about a day later. "......" "......" "......" Dokgo Gang, the disciples, and even the workers who handled trivial chores all thought the same thing. Why isn't she coming? "Isn't she waiting for us to attack first?" "She might have been trying to pick off our roaming disciples one by one for surprise attacks, but thanks to you ordering all disciples to gather, Master, she might just be stamping her feet in frustration." "Is that so." Dokgo Gang nodded his head. Whether she was acting recklessly with the arrogance typical of masters while waiting to attack, or cunningly watching for openings like a snake with the craftiness typical of the evil path, either scenario seemed quite plausible. "...Is there no particular news from the reconnaissance team?" "They say she's not visible at any of the high-class accommodations, busy districts, or inns she would likely use." "She might be deliberately hiding in shabby places to avoid surveillance." "If that's the case, she's truly dangerous." Dokgo Gang's eyes calmly settled. "It means she's not just a woman strong like a wild boar, but someone who can bend her pride when necessary. Everyone, don't let your guard down." "Yes! Master!!" *** Unfortunately for the Black Blood Sect, who were on high alert and sharpening their blades in wariness of Zhang Hualing, Zhang Hualing wasn't paying them any particular attention. To be precise, she had half-forgotten their very existence. Because she had the grand goal of taking revenge on the scholar Juyul, who had humiliated and toyed with(?) her. So what was Zhang Hualing currently doing? "Sister, sister. That's wrong!" "It's okay. Our teacher said mistakes aren't something to be ashamed of!" "......" Trembling. Surrounded by children, she was having her wrong answers pointed out by those same children. Trembling with humiliation, Zhang Hualing recalled how the situation had reached this point. First, becoming Juyul's disciple had been successful. The problem came after that. To begin with, given the martial world's sentiment, it was very difficult for women to attend an academy and receive lessons. It wasn't that there were no cases of women building culture and learning, but such people were usually born into high social positions and learned by inviting tutors to their homes, not by mingling with men and receiving lessons in places like academies. Even if Juyul himself didn't mind such things, there was nothing he could do about the fact that there were no women among the disciples who came seeking him in the first place. In other words, Zhang Hualing was left alone in a classroom swarming with only men, and quite naturally, their concentration turned not to Juyul at the front of the classroom but to Zhang Hualing. Of course, there was no way Zhang Hualing, a master of the martial world, would be harmed by mere common people, but it was beyond doubt that it interfered with the lesson's progress. "It can't be helped. Since there aren't enough people to create a separate class for women, you'll have to take lessons together with the children." Zhang Hualing rebelled. She argued that those men were the ones who couldn't concentrate, so why should she be pushed away to another place as if being driven out. "Then why don't you at least change your clothes? I don't particularly like chattering about personal preferences, but just changing your attire would reduce their confusion by half." Saying this, Juyul held out a new outfit, but no matter how you looked at it, it was clothing that only country housewives who had abandoned any sense of style or beauty would wear. For Zhang Hualing, who still had memories of living wretchedly and poorly when she was weak and poor branded like a scar, it was an absolutely unacceptable proposal, but since she couldn't just run out of the lesson, the choice was ultimately decided. Whether fortunately or unfortunately, unlike the adult class that was entirely full of men, the children's class had girls mixed in reasonably well. No matter how strict the martial world's gender concepts were, very few people would talk about the separation of men and women when it came to children gathering and chattering together, and since the academy provided one free lunch once you sent your children there, those in difficult circumstances would send their children regardless of whether they were sons or daughters, thinking they might as well try it first. Of course, since there were far more parents who thought it better to just have their children do trivial chores rather than send them to such a suspicious academy, the children's class was maintained at a size that one academy could adequately handle. And Zhang Hualing's academic performance in her new class was... below average. In fact, Juyul's learning method wasn't simply reading books and memorizing passages, but actively utilized songs or had students solve problems directly, which was somewhat different from traditional academy methods, and this was why the children's learning speed was faster. However, having never attended a proper academy and thus unable to compare, she could only think that her own abilities were lacking. For Zhang Hualing, who had strong pride, falling behind children was an extremely great humiliation. Therefore, she asked to suppress her shame. "All this talk about music and mathematics—what help does any of this provide in living life? The children here won't be able to attain government positions anyway." To Zhang Hualing's question, Juyul looked at her intently and then answered. "Suppose you're eating at an inn. If someone at the next table burps, scratches their belly roughly, and spits phlegm loudly, what do you think you'd feel?" "Such a disgusting fellow should be killed immediately." "Not cutting in line, not relieving yourself in the middle of the street, not laughing loudly next to someone grieving the loss of family. Is there anything particularly unfair or difficult among these?" "No. They're all natural things." "Exactly. That is propriety. Even if not necessarily set by law, these are basic rules that people must follow. Not keeping them is discourtesy, so a world without propriety is a world where everyone is discourteous to everyone else. Will you still say propriety is unnecessary?" Zhang Hualing frowned, but unable to easily refute this, she found fault with something else. "Then what's the reason music is necessary? It would be useless except for conducting grand ceremonies or entertaining men's ears in taverns." "Music is the power to govern human emotions. Joyful music can give vitality to the weary, warm music becomes comfort to the wounded, and peaceful music calms a rough heart. Work songs sung to overcome the hardship of labor, lullabies that mothers sing to their children, folk songs containing old legends and local stories. All of these are important elements of life, so how can you conclude they're useless?" Zhang Hualing shot back again with an unpleasant expression as if she had chewed on an insect. "Then what use is mathematics! I've never learned such things until now, but I've had no problems living in the world!" "It's not that you had no problems without learning mathematics. You simply acquired it naturally, so you don't know its value." "What?" "If you ate a bowl of noodles at an inn and the innkeeper demanded a lump of gold, how would you respond?" "Isn't he crazy? I'd kill him immediately for the crime of mocking me!" "What's the reason?" "Just a lump of gold for a single bowl of noodles—where is there such an absurd calculation!" "Then suppose the innkeeper said he would lightly scrape the surface of your gold lump and take payment with that powder. Would you still kill him?" "That is..." When Zhang Hualing couldn't easily answer, Juyul nodded his head. "A gold lump for a bowl of noodles is an absurd calculation, but that powder might be reasonable depending on how much is scraped off. The reason you can't easily answer is because you know this. Numbers are like that. You can properly know the value of things, clarify big and small, long and short, prevent unreasonable transactions, and protect your own property. When it's this practical and useful, how can you call it a useless discipline?" Zhang Hualing, who had been about to point out another discipline, soon hesitated and fell silent, and to such Zhang Hualing, Juyul continued speaking clearly. "Are you ashamed that your learning falls behind the children? Then there's no need for that. Those children entered the academy before you, and they're people who cling to learning more desperately than you." "Desperately? How can you use such words for mere studying? Are they going to die by someone's sword if they don't learn it?" "They may not die by the sword, but they can be crushed to death by the world." "......" "These are people who couldn't learn because they had no opportunity, because their environment didn't allow it. These are people who might never catch another chance to learn anything again if they miss this opportunity. They might not be able to use everything they learn here, but if they can usefully apply even one thing, their lives might change. The children know this too, whether consciously or unconsciously, so how could they not be desperate?" "......" *** After the dialogue with Juyul ended, Zhang Hualing leaned against the pine tree next to the academy and fell into deep thought. Some ripple had formed in the lake of her heart, but she herself couldn't quite understand what that ripple was. It was during this time. "Hey, Sister Zhang! Teacher, where is our teacher?" One of the children in the same classroom as Zhang Hualing frantically searched for Juyul. "He went to the market saying he needed to buy new stationery. But what's the matter?" "So-Soyeon was taken by strange adults!" Zhang Hualing's eyebrows twitched. In her mind appeared the image of a small girl who chattered incessantly like a little bird, living up to her name. Whether it was admiration for a beautiful woman or just consideration for a 'junior' who had entered later than herself, she was also a child who had clung to Zhang Hualing friendly and struck up various conversations. Zhang Hualing hesitated for a moment. In fact, it was a matter that had nothing to do with her. Whether the little girl named Soyeon acted friendly toward Zhang Hualing or not was just a troublesome matter to her, and in the evil path's world, the principle was that one must protect oneself. Unless she could expect some grand compensation, there was no way a family that basically dumped their child here just to save on food costs could provide satisfactory compensation for saving their daughter. "—Tsk. Guide me." "Yes?" "You must have seen where she was taken. I said guide me." Even knowing this, Zhang Hualing decided to intervene in this matter. 'If I say I saved one of his disciples, that bastard Juyul will probably treat me somewhat differently. Or maybe he'll lower his guard a bit more. Either way, it won't be bad.' It's absolutely not personal affection or anything like that. It's just a move for later. Whispering this to herself, Zhang Hualing took a step forward.