Chapter 40
"Martial arts?"
Jang Un-chu said,
"I've heard storytellers read martial-arts tales a couple of times before."
Storytellers weren't uncommon in town.
There was rarely anything new happening in the village, so whenever someone heard an interesting story in town, they would come back and retell it to everyone.
Many people enjoyed listening to such tales.
Gang Gye's eyes lit up as he nodded.
"I know how to do that."
"Martial arts."
"That's why I recovered this time."
"If I get better at it, I'll be able to heal Father's leg too."
"The medicine needed to treat Father's leg is very rare, so we can't buy it right now."
"But if I go to the academy, maybe it'll be easier to find."
"Anyway, I want to become a xiucai and then a juren as quickly as possible."
"If I become someone important, getting medicine won't be so difficult anymore."
Some medicines could only be obtained if one knew people from the right social circles.
In any case, Gang Gye was overflowing with motivation.
He firmly believed he would succeed.
And although he still didn't have a complete method for treating his father's leg, he suspected that problem would be solved sooner or later.
Meanwhile, Gang Jo-hang looked into his son's hopeful eyes and found him unbearably adorable.
He didn't actually believe Gang Gye could heal his leg.
But this martial-arts thing...
Well...
He thought for a moment before saying,
"Let's talk about that after you grow up."
"Father isn't in a hurry."
"We can treat my leg later."
"For now, let's go look at some other private schools first."
"...!"
It seemed Gang Jo-hang didn't believe him.
Gang Gye asked suspiciously,
"Father, did you really not feel anything just now?"
Gang Jo-hang honestly shook his head.
"I didn't feel much."
His son had acted before explaining anything, and everything had ended before Gang Jo-hang even had time to react.
Rather than believe his four-year-old son knew martial arts, it was easier to think Gang Gye had desperately wanted to cure his father's leg, misunderstood something, and was now acting on that misunderstanding.
"..."
Gang Gye was speechless for a moment.
Then he said helplessly,
"But it's true..."
Still, perhaps it was actually better that his father hadn't felt anything obvious.
If the sensation were too clear, then healing other people in the future might easily arouse suspicion.
"I'll do it again."
"Father, pay close attention this time."
Instead of merely sending over the faint healing force, Gang Gye decided to play a small trick.
The healing effect might be weak, but causing pain was much easier.
Gang Jo-hang had been completely unprepared.
A sudden stab of pain made him groan.
Gang Gye was startled and immediately eased the pain.
But his internal strength was still extremely weak.
Using it this way caused cold sweat to appear on his face, and his complexion turned pale.
He looked utterly pitiful.
Jang Un-chu was the first to panic.
She hurriedly supported Gang Jo-hang.
"Are you all right?"
Then she saw sweat running down Gang Gye's tiny face and panicked again.
"Little Six, are you hurting somewhere?"
Gang Gye had only overexerted himself for a moment.
There was nothing seriously wrong with him.
He shook his head.
"I'm fine."
"I'll recover soon."
"But Father..."
"Now you believe me, right?"
That was still the only thing on Gang Gye's mind.
Seeing her son's serious expression, Jang Un-chu unconsciously looked toward Gang Jo-hang.
Could what their son said actually be true?
This time, Gang Jo-hang nodded.
It really did seem real.
And his son had suddenly broken out in cold sweat.
That wasn't normal either.
Gang Gye had always been obedient and sensible.
He wouldn't behave carelessly about something this serious.
Even if he sometimes lied, he would never use his father's injured leg to give him false hope.
Then...
Didn't that mean there was a very high chance this was true?
Jang Un-chu was shocked.
She quickly asked,
"How did you learn something like this?"
Gang Gye no longer wanted to make up awkward excuses.
He simply shook his head.
"Mother, I can't tell you that."
Jang Un-chu thought about it.
For something this extraordinary, being unable to explain it actually seemed more normal.
If they weren't Gang Gye's parents, and if there hadn't been complications involving his schooling, he probably would never have told them about the martial arts at all.
Jang Un-chu didn't think there was anything wrong with that.
Whoever had taught her son martial arts had already given their family an enormous blessing.
There was no need to worry over such a minor detail.
"All right, all right."
"You don't have to tell us."
Jang Un-chu's voice was full of emotion.
Now that her son possessed martial arts, did that mean they no longer needed to worry about his weak body or his life being in danger?
And perhaps...
Her husband's leg really could be healed someday.
Jang Un-chu and Gang Jo-hang weren't fools.
Their son had received an extraordinary opportunity.
From now on, he no longer needed to worry as much about his health, and he had even gained some ability to protect himself.
In that case, attending White Crane Academy didn't seem nearly as dangerous anymore.
After thinking it through, the couple finally accepted Gang Gye's request.
Now the only problem was convincing Old Master Gang and Old Madam Gang.
Both elders adored their grandson.
They probably wouldn't want to send him to White Crane Academy either.
Gang Jo-hang said,
"I'll speak to your grandfather and grandmother."
"All right!"
Gang Gye answered with a huge smile.
His father had once been extremely capable.
If Father went to talk to them personally, he would definitely succeed.
Gang Gye threw his arms around Gang Jo-hang's neck.
"Thank you, Father!"
Gang Gye didn't know exactly what Gang Jo-hang later said to Old Master Gang and Old Madam Gang.
But when they came out of the room, everyone looked relaxed.
From that point on, no one opposed Gang Gye attending White Crane Academy.
Old Madam Gang said,
"Little Six has recovered, and we've settled on his academy."
"Now let's start making Koukouxiang again and take it to sell."
Because Gang Gye had been ill, no one in the Gang family had been in the mood to make and sell Koukouxiang.
Once Old Madam Gang made this announcement, the rest of the family still didn't understand why Gang Gye had suddenly been allowed to attend White Crane Academy.
But no one pressed for details.
At the same time, everyone was delighted to start making Koukouxiang again.
The Gang household returned to its usual atmosphere.
Everyone became busy.
Those who needed to work the fields went out.
Those responsible for preparing the spicy konjac began working.
By tomorrow, they would be able to go back to the market and sell Koukouxiang again.
Meanwhile, Gang Jo-hang asked Old Madam Gang for the day off so he could take Gang Gye into town and buy books.
Gang Gye had been sick for around half a month.
Munsaeng had already bought all the books he needed and started attending Scholar Zhou's private school.
Only Gang Gye had fallen behind.
"All right. Go quickly."
Old Madam Gang readily agreed.
Gang Gye followed his father onto an ox cart headed for town.
But when his father didn't go directly toward the bookstore, Gang Gye asked curiously,
"Father, where are we going?"
Gang Jo-hang answered,
"Let's go to White Crane Academy first."
"You're going to study there, and you've also just recovered from an illness."
"I want to confirm the conditions we discussed before."
"There are some details I'm still not comfortable with, so I want to ask again."
White Crane Academy stood halfway up a mountain behind the town.
The winding road leading there was well maintained.
They followed the mountain path upward.
Before long, the view opened into a broad stretch of land.
The academy's gate stood tall and imposing.
At its center hung a plaque bearing the neat characters:
White Crane Academy.
An elderly man was sweeping near the entrance.
When he saw Gang Jo-hang and Gang Gye, he asked,
"Who are you here to see?"
Gang Jo-hang replied,
"Sir, is the headmaster at the academy today?"
"We've come to see him."
The old man asked again,
"What business do you have with him?"
Gang Jo-hang answered,
"The headmaster visited our home some time ago to discuss my child's studies."
"But the child recently became ill, so his enrollment was delayed."
"We came to speak with the headmaster again."
After hearing this, the old man looked them over kindly and nodded.
"Please wait a moment."
"I'll send someone to ask."
"Thank you."
Gang Jo-hang replied.
Before long, someone came to lead them inside.
White Crane Academy covered a huge area.
The buildings were large and impressive.
Their guide walked for quite a while before finally stopping in front of a room and knocking.
"They've arrived."
The guide told them to enter, then left.
Inside, Liu Yunhe rose to his feet.
Several days had passed since they last met.
His manner was still warm and gentle.
Rather than looking down on them from a superior position, he somehow felt quite approachable.
"You came."
"Please, come inside."
Liu Yunhe thought inwardly that since Gang Jo-hang had brought Gang Gye here personally, they were almost certainly here to enroll him.
Still, remembering how seriously ill Gang Gye had been left him feeling somewhat regretful.
When teaching the child in the future, he would have to be careful not to place too much pressure on him.
Of course, with talent this exceptional, Liu Yunhe had no intention of refusing him merely because his constitution was somewhat weak.
Gang Jo-hang sat down and spoke with Liu Yunhe.
There wasn't actually much left to discuss.
When Liu Yunhe visited their home before, they had already gone over nearly all the conditions.
This visit was mainly to confirm whether Gang Gye would truly be safe inside the academy.
Gang Jo-hang said,
"Last time, Headmaster Liu said you would guarantee Little Six's safety and make arrangements in advance."
"What arrangements have you made?"
Liu Yunhe's expression became serious.
"You may rest assured."
"There are mainly two troublemakers in our academy."
"One is the spoiled young master from the marquis household."
"The other is the nephew of one of the prefect's concubines."
"The young master from the marquis household is usually the one who relies on his status and behaves arrogantly."
"But he has become much quieter recently."
"However, we also have another student of very high status."
"His name is Chu Wei, the younger brother of General Chu."
"I've already spoken to Chu Wei."
"If anything happens, he has promised to personally step in and protect Gang Gye."
Liu Yunhe had briefly mentioned Chu Wei when he visited the Gang household before.
But at the time, he had only gone there to invite Gang Gye.
He hadn't yet worked out any detailed arrangements.
Nor had he discussed it with Chu Wei.
So he hadn't been able to promise anything definite then.
"I'll also remain at the academy most of the time."
"And I'll ask the students in his class to keep an eye on him."
"Since Gang Gye is only beginning and doesn't know all the characters yet, he'll have to start in Class C."
"He won't be in the same class as those troublemakers."
"So there shouldn't be any major problem."
Even Gang Jo-hang could tell Liu Yunhe had put considerable thought into this.
Gang Jo-hang had heard of General Chu.
The man was famous throughout the border region of Changzhou.
Perhaps because Gang Jo-hang already had a favorable impression of General Chu, he naturally felt more at ease about General Chu's younger brother as well.
Surely Chu Wei would be just as dependable and steady as his elder brother.
Gang Jo-hang nodded.
"Thank you for taking such care."
Liu Yunhe smiled.
"There's no need to thank me."
"This is something I should do."
He absolutely would not allow the same mistake to happen twice.
Gang Gye sat beside them listening to the conversation.
When everyone looked toward him, he nodded with an extremely serious expression, showing that he approved too.
His pale, soft cheeks looked like two tiny steamed buns.
He was so adorable that even Liu Yunhe's mood brightened considerably.
