My wallet is empty.
Since becoming Ho Cheon-an, I haven’t really been able to save any money this year.
I blew it all on gambling, leaving only enough for my survival fund.
Although I’ve received a few requests after hitting it big in gambling, the amounts were too ambiguous to be considered meaningful… The last time I held on to any substantial cash was back when I was called to the Tang Clan.
When I entered the Tang Clan and the Tang Clan’s Bat-Leaping Tiger Method, the fees for the gambling techniques and lectures made me roughly 100 nyang.
I spent all of that to acquire the Wood Attribute Spiritual Medicine.
After that, my big income was the 270 nyang I earned from the Seongrakru. After distributing 70 nyang to Miss Yeo Il-ye, my remaining earnings totaled 200 nyang.
Since then, I squandered various earnings buying a cart on my way to the Jeomchang Faction.
I received a gift of 100 nyang from the imperial palace, adding to my assets.
Ultimately, my current fortune was just over 300 nyang, and I ended up putting it all into Gwang Jae-ryeon.
“Sweet as honey.”
In truth, it’s a basic principle in the Martial World to invest in a trading company as soon as you save a little gold. With little time to practice and travel, it’s a massive waste to hustle for money.
Ordinarily, that’s what I’d do.
However, the shockwave from the Hwang Gold Clan in Sacheon was too immense. With the Hwang Gold Clan and Sacheon trade heavily shaken, I couldn’t invest in a trading company, so I had no choice but to sit on my money…
But upon learning that Gwang Jae-ryeon’s workshop was drowning in debt, I thought this was it.
Gwang Jae-ryeon’s new steel refining method was essentially a stock poised for a grand rise.
I was so excited that my sensible reasoning was barely functioning. I confidently shut my reference book and propped my feet up on the desk, closing my eyes.
Ah, I could see it—the red arrow piercing through the graph window.
The dream of money printing would come true.
While I was soaking in the sweet dreams of a wealthy Ho Cheon-an…
“Instructor. Can I come in?”
Jae Sang-hae had arrived.
*
Jae Sang-hae remembered when he was assigned to the Twelfth Squad.
While it wasn’t as concrete a suspicion as it was now, he still held some discontent.
“Isn’t it a bit unjust that our squad doesn’t have the proper number of members? The Commander of the Golden Guards couldn’t even offer this level of equity?”
If it were a squad like that, they should at least assign a seasoned instructor. But to assign someone who had never experienced the Golden Guards’ test as an external advisor?
At first, he simply thought that way.
And that suspicion flew away like a mist after the mock battle. Ho Cheon-an was on a different level compared to the other instructors.
He assumed that Song An-seong approached him often with a serious face for that reason. With such overwhelming training results, maybe he was asking for restraint.
Jae Sang-hae had judged it like that and moved on.
However, as Jo Ga-ju and Kang Chumo-ru left the barracks, doubts began to blossom in Jae Sang-hae’s heart.
Could it be that Ho Cheon-an really didn’t anticipate Jo Ga-ju and Kang Chumo-ru quitting the Golden Guards? Why didn’t he do anything and just let them go?
Wasn’t he the one who had trained the Twelfth Squad with immense enthusiasm? Did he really just abandon those leaving at the moment of fruition, as if his passion were rendered meaningless?
His fleeting suspicion began to take shape as he experienced Ho Cheon-an’s odd behavior.
So he asked his peers to investigate and went to gauge his father’s reaction.
“He must have heard something.”
His father, who took caution as a virtue, almost confidently predicted their elimination. And then he gathered intel on other squads’ members.
Most of the trainees were either from the Imperial Army or were disciples of famous martial arts houses or dojos. Other backgrounds were scarce.
“But our Twelfth Squad… only four came from military backgrounds. Shouldn’t the proficient sons of prominent clans like mine be an exception?”
Yet in the Twelfth Squad, there were successful candidates from various backgrounds, and they were even one short of the required number.
A conclusion formed in Jae Sang-hae’s mind.
“The Twelfth Squad has been arranged from the start for elimination.”
Talented individuals who could stand out in other fields. In other words, they were people who wouldn’t particularly miss the Golden Guards position even if they quit. Since there were so many talented individuals, was the intention to eliminate those who were likely to be fleeting?
Jae Sang-hae grasped the intention of the Golden Guards. No, he no longer cared about the Golden Guards’ intentions.
“Song An-seong’s vice-captain had been continuously warning Instructor Ho Cheon-an.”
The elimination squad was being trained too harshly, hence the regular reminders. Thinking that way made all of the vice-captain’s actions seem to fit perfectly. Even the suddenly convened mock battle was ultimately a check on the Twelfth Squad. By revealing the Twelfth Squad’s capabilities, it was a tactic to instill a sense of crisis in others!
Jae Sang-hae glanced at the book Ho Cheon-an had been reading. Though he hadn’t deeply studied, he had learned various scripts and spotted strange characters for the first time in that book.
He really was consistently a suspicious person.
“I understand everything now.”
“What do you mean, Jae Sang-hae trainee?”
“It’s about intentionally inducing the trainees’ dropouts. Didn’t the Golden Guards instruct to eliminate the Twelfth Squad altogether?”
“The main office is not particularly busy right now, but I am also not idle enough to entertain Jae Sang-hae trainee’s random conspiracy theories.”
Looking at Ho Cheon-an, who showed no signs of concern, Jae Sang-hae merely nodded.
“Yes. It’s my conspiracy theory. That scoundrel Gwang Jae-ryeon, on the other hand, came back with puffy eyes yesterday. I hear he was leaving. Apparently, some instructor decided to invest in his workshop.”
Ho Cheon-an remained silent.
“Oh, that wasn’t what Gwang Jae-ryeon said. I’m just voicing my conspiracy theory of how I think things might turn out. That brat Gwang Jae-ryeon simply said he was returning to the workshop.”
Jae Sang-hae sighed heavily while looking at Ho Cheon-an.
“And now that I’ve understood everything surrounding it, I painfully realize how you treated me, Instructor Ho.”
“I don’t particularly recall treating you with any special favor.”
“There was a tendency to pay a bit more attention to Jo Ga-ju, but… still, you tried hard to provide opportunities fairly to all members of the Twelfth Squad. And that was the problem.”
Jae Sang-hae adjusted his posture. It had now become a more relaxed and comfortable position.
“Instructor, I’ve lived my whole life receiving special treatment. Wherever I went, I was treated like a rare bird in a flock.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It was so. Even at the academy, I could be lazy openly because the Master treated me affectionately, and my friends at the academy admired and envied me. It was the same everywhere, whether in literature, music, or martial arts.”
“I learned everything quickly and got bored just as fast, and there were many times I belittled my masters in the process.”
As Jae Sang-hae spoke, he chuckled.
“I, the rare crane, was first treated normally at this Twelfth Squad under Instructor Ho Cheon-an. When I showed even a bit of talent, everyone’s eyes would change in an instant. But you, Instructor, didn’t seem to care whether I showed talent or not. You rather pushed me if I showed any!”
Ho Cheon-an continued to listen without a word.
“The truth is, I was afraid of becoming a chicken. That’s why I showed a bit of talent and ran away. Once I started truly seeking to rise higher, I’d be faced with those who have equal or greater talent and effort. I was afraid of being seen as just one of the chickens.”
As Jae Sang-hae’s words flowed, he started to laugh.
“I ran away while trying to ignore that fact, expecting that flashing talent would suffice. In the process, I ended up reaching the Golden Guards. And now, here I am, becoming a chicken.”
“The main office recognized Jae Sang-hae trainee’s talent highly.”
“Yes. But you didn’t give me special treatment. You ultimately treated me like a trainee who is just slightly better than others at some techniques. Not only that? You did accommodate Jo Ga-ju, Kang Chumo-ru, and Gwang Jae-ryeon, giving them the path for their rise, while you did nothing for me until the very last day. It’s not that you didn’t see the potential in them, yet you felt no regret about the potential in me, Jae Sang-hae.”
Jae Sang-hae’s tone was boiling over. Why didn’t they acknowledge my talent? I don’t know how much, but they made enormous financial investments in Gwang Jae-ryeon while they didn’t recognize me.
“Is that not correct?”
Jae Sang-hae said so.
“But there’s one thing I should correct.”
Jae Sang-hae swallowed hard out of nervousness. This was the first clear expression of Ho Cheon-an’s intention since he’d sat down.
“One: the main office did not see special potential in Jo Ga-ju, Kang Chumo-ru, or Gwang Jae-ryeon. However, I acknowledge that they currently hold qualities that are exceptional.”
“…What is that? If it’s not talent, what made you consider them like true scholars, Instructor?”
“Goals.”
Ho Cheon-an spoke plainly.
“They simply had a very clear direction of what they were striving for, and I only provided a hand to support them.”
“…Is that so?”
Jae Sang-hae leaned back against the chair, at a loss for words. Goals… goals.
Was that ultimately the reason I became a chicken? It’s true; how could a bird that knows neither the will to fly nor the direction expect to take to the skies? A bird that cannot fly is nothing but a chicken.
Jae Sang-hae understood.
“I’ve spent my life running away out of fear of becoming a chicken. Yet being treated like a chicken is not that bad. I don’t even know why I was so afraid. Even as a chicken, being honest, working hard, and trying to fly would still feel like being a scholar.”
“Secondly, there’s something else I need to correct, Jae Sang-hae trainee.”
With Ho Cheon-an’s words, doubts gathered in Jae Sang-hae’s eyes.
“All trainees are birds. The main office firmly believes everyone is capable of spreading their wings and soaring.”
Jae Sang-hae’s eyes trembled.
“As I mentioned earlier, Jae Sang-hae trainee, Jo Ga-ju, Kang Chumo-ru, and Gwang Jae-ryeon were not true scholars. They merely hatched from their eggs a little earlier. On the other hand, Jae Sang-hae trainee is still in the egg. Nonetheless, Jae Sang-hae trainee, is it true that those who hatch first become great eagles while those who don’t are just sparrows? It’s not so.”
“…Instructor.”
“Scholar or chicken? Those are nothing but illusions. There are just birds that have flown and those that haven’t yet. Don’t label yourself as a chicken and limit your belief that you cannot fly. The sky is eternal, and those who dare to challenge it will inevitably soar.”
Jae Sang-hae looked at Ho Cheon-an with trembling eyes. Ho Cheon-an asked him a question.
“Jae Sang-hae trainee, do you think you should just watch Jo Ga-ju, Kang Chumo-ru, and Gwang Jae-ryeon soaring in the sky?”
“No!”
Jae Sang-hae clenched his fists and replied.
“Right now, they may have taken a step ahead, but this Jae Sang-hae! I will catch up soon! So… I too will resign from the Golden Guards.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It seems I’m really not cut out for a military career. Following orders… I’m still trembling!”
Jae Sang-hae had a bout of banter and then expressed his true feelings.
“I thought deeply about when and why I became like this. Ultimately, it seems to have started from my rebellion against my family. My father always wanted me to be humble, and I rebelled against that. Perhaps… that’s why I always thought I had to be a scholar.”
“Are you thinking of going home?”
“Yes. I’ve resolved to earn my father’s acknowledgment and to change our family traditions.”
Ho Cheon-an thought that Jae Sang-hae’s smile seemed refreshing.
“Isn’t it something you can just do by rising to a height where even your father can’t dispute? After all, why not aim to at least be a chancellor?”
“Is that so?”
Jae Sang-hae watched Ho Cheon-an, who answered calmly, and he reflected. Why did Ho Cheon-an let the Twelfth Squad, which originally should have failed, pass? However, he now at least had some idea.
Because it would help the trainees’ futures.
If a trainee bore the title of the Golden Guards, they would stand on a higher hill. If they hatched and flapped their wings, they’d find flying far easier than if they had been forcibly thrown off the hill of the Golden Guards.
Jae Sang-hae was convinced. This instructor, Ho Cheon-an, was genuinely focused on nurturing the trainees’ potential, even defying the will of the Golden Guards.
This seemingly indifferent instructor, who appeared to have no kindness, actually embraced the trainees with a heart warmer than anyone else’s.
“Thank you, Instructor. I will absolutely, absolutely not forget this kindness.”
Jae Sang-hae engraved that kindness deeply into his heart.
It was the last day of training for the Golden Guards.
