Chapter 13: The Taste of Sharing

“This bastard!! How dare you insult me? Look at your hand!!”

Bai Yougang, who had been speaking calmly, finally shouted.

Surprisingly, Jin Lin Mu was holding the key to the elixir storage.

‘W-why is this in my hand…? Did I really do this?’

I didn’t want to believe it, but all the circumstances were pointing to me as the culprit.

“Akchim!! Explain the situation again!”

One of the disciples rushed out from behind Bai Yougang.

“Last night, between 1 and 3 AM, this person broke into the medical hall, subdued me, and stole the key. They waited for the moment after Master left to strike. If it weren’t for Master Jin helping, I would still be tied up in the chair!”

“Jin Lin Mu!! Did you hear that? I will send you straight to the disciplinary committee. The Jin family will have to compensate for this damage many times over!”

However, Bai Yougang’s words didn’t reach Jin Lin Mu.

Only one name was echoing in his head.

‘Master Jin, huh? Right… after I fought that guy yesterday…!’

“The culprit is Jin Sojin! It’s not me!! I’m innocent!!”

I shouted desperately, but the air grew even colder.

No, it felt as though the atmosphere had turned to ice.

“Jin Lin Mu… you’re truly disgusting. Did you think I wouldn’t know that you were constantly bullying Jin Sojin? Jin Sojin was trying to cover for you…”

“It’s okay… Master, I’m used to being framed.”

Before I knew it, Jin Sojin had stepped out from behind Bai Yougang.

“Sojin, are you okay?”

“Master, Jin Lin Mu is not a martial artist but just an immature child. I hope you can consider that…”

“Master!! It’s really not me!! Jin Sojin is the one who framed me!!”

Although there was no evidence, Jin Lin Mu rambled on, but the outcome was not in his favor.

“Shut up—!!!! How can you keep lying? Do you really think it’s believable that you, a top-tier martial artist, would lose to someone like Jin Sojin, who’s only at a second-rate level?”

“Th-that’s… yes! It’s… sorcery. That bastard Jin Sojin used sorcery! It’s unfair!!”

“You trash!! I don’t want to hear it! I was going to let it slide for Jin Sojin’s sake, but not anymore. Take him away! I’ll personally ask the head of the academy to punish him!”

Jin Lin Mu’s face turned pale, like a blank sheet of paper.

Life is all about practical experience.

“S-sorry! Master!! I… I did it! I confess, I’m sorry… Please forgive me just this once!!”

“Shut up! It’s too late now!! Akchim! Take Jin Lin Mu and the others to the holding cells!”

“Understood, Master!”

Don’t speak ill of others’ parents.

“Serves him right. Look at his belly. How much elixir has he consumed?”

“He’s a complete troublemaker. All that pretending to be tough was so annoying…”

“I knew Jin Lin Mu would cause trouble someday.”

I had given him a lesson in life, and hopefully, he wouldn’t act like this again in the future.

A man who teaches even his enemies.

That’s me.

As soon as I returned to my quarters, I sat on the bed and took out the elixir to consume it.

Gulp—

I crossed my legs and slowly absorbed the energy of the elixir.

Things hadn’t been going too well, but at least I had made progress.

‘This helps in situations like this.’

It was thanks to Cheon Sojin’s usual behavior, which often seemed so foolish.

Logically, it wouldn’t make sense for someone who had been beaten recently to suddenly become strong.

In contrast, Jin Lin Mu was a notorious figure, known for his bad reputation.

This was all the result of his own karma.

I practiced Soju Cheon, opening up the meridians all over my body.

It was a hard-earned elixir, and I needed to at least open all the meridians with it.

Thud—

Thud—

I made my way toward the Jeongdo Muhakgwan.

As a diligent person, there was no real need for me to attend any more lessons, and I had another reason for going.

After skipping meals and sleep to train, my body felt incredibly light.

The meridians, after all, were the basic channels—essential even more than cultivating inner strength itself.

One corner of my mouth curled upward.

In the distance, I saw familiar faces at the So Yeon Mu.

I waved at them naturally, raising my hand.

“Huh? Isn’t that Jin Sojin coming this way?”

“Jin Sojin?”

“You know, the useless son of the Jin family. The one everyone’s been talking about recently. There’s even a rumor that he defeated Namgungjin.”

“Hey, don’t spread rumors. He didn’t defeat him, Namgungjin was just drunk and fell on his own.”

“Really? Yeah, I guess it’s impossible for Namgungjin to lose.”

“I heard that when the great thief Jin Lin Mu raided the medical hall the other day, he helped capture him.”

“What’s that about? Tell me more.”

As I approached, most of them wore curious expressions as they chatted amongst themselves, but only one person had a sour look on their face.

Don’t want to acknowledge me, huh?

Well, I’ll make sure to tease them more.

Sometimes, this is more effective than just insulting or hitting them.

“How have you been? Long time no see! It’s really good to see you!!”

I exaggeratedly waved my hands from side to side, smiling widely.

“What? Do those two know each other?”

“Are you deaf? They were engaged.”

“I heard they called off the engagement…”

“But Jin Sojin’s face is too bright for that. Is this another rumor?”

The more I smiled, the closer I got, and the darker her expression became.

The beautiful woman with pink hair, which reached down to her neck, glared at me.

Her face stood out even more in contrast to her bright, multicolored clothing.

“Ugh… What are you doing here?”

She crossed her arms beneath her chest and looked up at me.

My ex-fiancée, Gu Yang Jihee.

“A little hurt, aren’t you? Is it so strange that I’m here? I’m still a student of Jeongdo Muhakgwan.”

“That’s not what I meant! What I’m asking is, why are you showing up in front of me?!”

Jihee responded irritably, and soon, someone walked out from behind her.

‘Gu Yang Jihee, what’s going on? Ah… is this person…?’

A tall man with a sharp jawline walked up beside Jihee, enough for our eyes to meet.

Though not as handsome as Cheon Sojin, he was still considered quite a handsome man.

On top of that, he had impressive martial arts skills…

‘What an unpleasant guy.’

The son of the Martial Alliance leader, Wei Shiyun.

“Nice to meet you. I’m…”

“It’s nothing. Just ignore him. He’s someone insignificant.”

Hmph… This is bad.

Is it really okay to cut me off like that?

From this alone, I could already feel the contempt directed at me.

I hadn’t even done anything yet, but he was already scanning me up and down with a look of disdain.

‘Must’ve been tough.’

But don’t worry.

This is my specialty.

He’s just my ex-fiancé. Since the engagement is broken off, this person and I have no relationship anymore. No. Honestly, I’ve been so…

“It was so frustrating… the family politics, you have no idea…”

Looking at the situation, it seemed that Gu Yang Jihee had either finished her engagement with Wei Shiyun or was at least closely associated with him now.

Standing quietly, Gu Yang Jihee continued her tirade as if spilling out bitter water.

“How stupid can you be? He even got disqualified from the Jin family heir position, can you believe it? Pathetic… I was so embarrassed, you know?”

I didn’t know exactly what Cheon Sojin had done wrong, but each of Jihee’s words dripped with hatred and disdain for me.

It seemed her goal was to belittle me by stirring up provocative talk in front of others.

“Always grinning like an idiot, acting like some animal? A man without any backbone… I just can’t stand him.”

Wei Shiyun laughed heartily and inserted himself between us.

“Hahahaha! Gu Yang Jihee, even so, we’re fellow students at the academy, so please calm down.”

“But this person…”

“Getting involved with someone like this will only lower your status.”

Wei Shiyun looked down at me and smiled slyly.

I silently cheered inside.

This is it, after all. He’s the son of the Martial Alliance leader, and if he had a good personality on top of everything, that would be too much.

Right now, he’s just a second-rate student at the academy, but once the Demonic Sect and Blood Sect rise up, he’ll be dead before he knows it. He’s far more ignorant than he seems.

“Hmm… I suppose. Once we graduate, we won’t have to deal with this person anymore. If you understand, don’t come near me again. I can’t be bothered…”

As she coldly turned away, I didn’t miss the opportunity.

I spoke in a slightly louder voice, pretending to sound hurt.

“Jihee Sojeo, you’re being so cold…”

“…What did you just say?”

Sure enough, Gu Yang Jihee, who was about to disappear into the crowd, paused in her tracks.

“Are you afraid that I might reveal the secret?”

“Gu Yang Sojeo, don’t worry. I am a person of few words.”

“What… What did you just say? What kind of crazy talk is that?!”

“Even though there were many men who have been around you in the past… I’ve never minded, because I have only loved you.”

The moment the words ended, the scene grew chaotic.

Before long, Wei Shiyun, who had been watching Jihee, had a slight change in his expression.

“Sojeo, what does this mean?”

“No, this crazy person is just spouting nonsense!!!”

Rumors.

Rumors always get exaggerated.

Whether they’re good rumors or bad ones.

Especially when it comes to juicy topics like the young master of the Jin family, the heir of the Martial Alliance, and the daughter of the Gu Yang family.

“She has pink hair, right? Makes sense.”

“Well, it does, when you think about it. It’s been a while since Jin Sojin and she got engaged.”

“Did you see how Jin Sojin didn’t say anything when Gu Yang Jihee spoke? You can tell how much he’s been harassed…”

“Yeah, it’s strange that they broke off the engagement now.”

“Even though Jin Sojin is incompetent, he used to follow Jihee around all the time… I guess there was something else going on.”

Before long, all eyes were focused on Gu Yang Jihee alone.

There’s a saying that you should share even a single bean.

I was willing to share a bit of the gossip with my ex-fiancée.