Sect Master’s Guide to Babysitting

As the sunlight started to beam towards the scratched curtains, painting the manor's dust filled chambers in spotted stripes of yellow. There were birds twittering outside in the overgrown garden, as if they could sense the weird gathering of warriors of today and the past inside. 

In the main chamber, which was just recently cleaned of past debris. Heuk Cheon was sipping a boiling cup of tea, his eyes was fixated on surveying across the building's interior like a predator stumbling upon a new territory. There was an indisputable amount of determination in his eyes. Even if he didn't like doing manual labor, he disapproved of children living in this kind of filth. Nor did he want them to be in risk of hurting themselves. 

On a wobbly table sat next to him was Lee Jin-Ho. Silently analyzing parts of the manor that needed to be urgently repaired. In front of them, the two Murim Alliance escort guards, Do-won and Jung-soo, they tried their best to not look like they were scared of the demon lord's aura. And leaning next to an almost broken down pillar was Seo Ryung, fiddling with a piece of straw in his lips. Looking like a big buff henchman who had lost his job.

"So," Lee Jin-Ho said in a soft and measured tone, "We have fortified four of the larger rooms up the stairs for the kids. That is progress. Congrats everyone!" 

Heuk Cheon nodding, "And how about the roof? We absolutely cannot have the brats drenched when it starts to rain."

"I have patched a couple of holes," Seo Ryung inputted in while spitting away the straw into a nearby trash can. "But it is a temporary fix at the most. "The wood is practically rotten from all over."

The group looked at each other. They all knew that the children would come in just a couple of weeks from now, and the estate still needs more than shallow renovations. However, no one had any experience that an expert carpenter should have. Their time was running shorter and shorter.

Right before anyone could come up with a plan, a diminished flapping of wings resonated through the Redwood Estate. A couple of minutes later, a bird featuring the symbol of the Murim Alliance showed up. A small note was in between its leg, and it landed on the ledge of a window, waiting for someone to come and get it. 

Lee Jin-Ho quickly ran to retrieve the note, feeding the bird a small tidbit of dried meat from his bag. The hawk gave a cry of contentment and flew away. 

"Well? What is it?" Heuk Cheon asks with his arms folded. "What do they want with me now?"

Lee Jin-Ho opened the note and hurriedly scanned the contents. A wrinkle manifested on his usually clean and smooth face. 

"It reads..." he started to read the letter while his voice wasn't sure. "The Murim Alliance has sent one of their inspectors to make sure that the orphanage has met the proper living conditions. He will arrive at any point of today. 

A quick silence went by, then Jung-soo, the junior between the two escort guards, made a very dramatic groan. 

"Fantastic," he whispered. "If our own superiors were to see this place in its current state..."

Do-won while scratching the back of his head, with his expression darkening. "We will probably get scolded. Or the ex-demon lord here might."

Heuk Cheon put down his tea cup with a soft click. "Let them come over," he says with a low but unwavering voice. "If they think that I would be scared by one of their own inspector, they are more than welcome to try me."

Although he said it with such confidence, there was still a slight bit of tension among the group. This inspection came around to a time where they were still struggling with a lot of tasks, so they felt more pressure. 

After hearing that, they all split up to try and repair different parts of the estate before the inspector could arrive. However, even though they tried their very best, their days swiftly turned into a comedy of failures. 

1. The Leaking Roof: Seo Ryung went up onto the rooftop with a bunch of wooden planks, he was keen on reinforcing the most broken section of the manor. However, the sunlight had made the roof tiles sticky and with dew. He misplaces one step, and he almost fell of the roof's edge with his arms flailing like he wasn't a martial artist. He caught himself on a broken chimney. 

"Are you alright up there? I heard a lot of noise." Heuk Cheon called up from below, he was aware but he was also entertained. 

"I am alright, thanks!" Seo Ryung replied, although his voice was shaking. "I was just uhm... testing its durability."

2. The Pest Problem: On the other hand, Jung-soo had the worst task. It was cleaning out a rusty shed at the back of the garden. It was thought to have a bunch of rodents running around, that is why nobody bothered to take care of it until now. The sounds of rats echoed but there was also shouts of an entire family of raccoon that could be heard throughout the entire courtyard. 

Jung-soo managed to chase them out, but he got out covered in dirt, leaves, and hopefully not animal feces. 

Do-won almost had a heart attack laughing so hard when he first saw him emerge from the shed. 

3. The Kitchen Incident: Lee Jin-Ho is inside the manor looking at an out of date stove and that it had a damaged flue. He tried to test the kitchens , he started a small fire in the stove, but it started to smoke hard in the entire kitchen space. He gasped for air while spitting out char that got into his mouth, he quickly opened windows until the clouds of smoke finally disappeared. 

"If anyone enters the kitchen and finds me knocked out in here," he made the joke while coughing, "tell them I died doing what I wanted to do most... cooking for children." 

And watching all of them like an annoyed parent was none other than the ex-demon lord, Heuk Cheon. He went from task to task, yelling out orders from left and right. He was torn between annoyance and concern for them. 

"Please try to focus, all of you!" He couldn't take it anymore, he pushed the front door shut. After he cleaned out the leaves inside it for the 5th time. "We do not have time to make mistakes like these."

Despite all the attitude he gave them, there was a particular soft and warm gaze whenever someone in the group did something right. Or at least when they avoided something dangerous. 

After a couple hours, an on beat stomping of hooves resonated from the cobblestone road that led to the Redwood Estate. One of the escort guards took a slight peek on a newly dusted window and whispered a curse under his breath. 

"GUYS HE IS HERE!" 

And right he was, there stands an elegant black horse in front of the double iron gates. The horse was ridden by a lanky man in sky blue robes. A rectangular symbol was stuck to his belt, it was the symbol of the Murim Alliance. His hair was groomed properly and it appeared his boots was just recently polished.

"Greetings," he said with a stern and commanding voice. It carried an arrogant tone. "I am known as Inspector Yoo Si-Won, I was sent here by the Murim Alliance to sp- gauge your progress into fixing this estate."

He mounted out of his horse with a dramatic flair, as a royal magistrate would. Heuk Cheon and the rest of his group gathered to meet him at the entrance. They each quietly prayed that what happened before in the estate will not be apparent when the inspector checks in.

"Greetings, Inspector Yoo." Lee Jin-Ho says as he steps forward all politely and courteously. "We are honored by your visit. Although, as you can see the orphanage is still under very significant renovations and -"

Inspector Yoo raises hand to cut him off and said, "Hmm, I can smell your so called significant renovations." As his nose was wrinkling at the smell left from when the kitchen bursted into smokes and the musty smelly scent of the decaying wood. He switched his attention to Heuk Cheon, focusing his eyes.

"So you're the ex-demon lord, Heuk Cheon." He said with emphasis. "I have read everything about you, even your records. Do not think that your sins have been forgotten simply because you are playing a role of caretaker."

A slight moment of anger passed over Heuk Cheon's face. But instead of unleashing his rage, he calmed down and rolled his head. "I will let the work I have done here speak for itself."

As Inspector Yoo was walking through room from room, a tense sensation filled the whole group. On occasion, the inspector would swipe his fingers across a window to see its dustiness or he would poke a newly patched hole in a section of a wall with distaste. 

In the main chamber, he criticized a cracked tile. 

In the kitchen, he coughed dramatically while flailing his arms around to blow away the smell of the smoke.

Upstairs, he faked almost falling down because it was missing a banister rail that they have not yet swapped. 

Every notes felt like a needle going through the group's morale. Lee Jin-Ho tried his hardest to explain the current states of the repairs that they had already succeeded in. Yet, Inspector Yoo barely looked at anything with glee. 

Seo Ryung began whispering under his breath when Inspector Yoo saw an almost transparent leak on top of the roof. "This fancy-robed twig has never once hammered a single nail in his entire life." He barked, only to receive a death stare from Heuk Cheon. 

And finally, Inspector Yoo called a gathering to the large dining hall, wherein they all desperately prepared some tea to serve him. He sat down with one leg crossed over the other with a sense of grace.

"I acknowledge that you have worked hard and put effort to at least make this estate a little habitable," he started speaking while arching one brow. "However, this estate's current state is far from being able to house the poor orphans. They should be arriving in what? a couple of weeks?"

Heuk Cheon tried to compose himself. He disliked people like this that speak with such arrogance, but he could not deny that there was a hint of truth in Inspector Yoo's words. 

"You would need to double your efforts," Inspector Yoo continued to speak. "If the kids come to a place like this, with leaky roofs, unstable floors, and a rodent infestation, the Murim Alliance will not hesitate to come with a decision that you are not cut out for this role. Or even worse, we might consider your original sentence again... death."

A dense silence followed after Inspector Yoo's comment. His threat was up in the air like a blade that has been drawn.

And at last, Heuk Cheon broke the silence, his voice was low but it was brimming with conviction. "I have never once avoided a fight. And I will not start that cowardly way of life now." He calmed himself down, and looked at the inspector with a piercing stare. "Do not worry, you have my word. The Redwood Estate will be ready for the children. As long as the Murim Alliance keeps their promise and provides the materials that I have requested."

Inspector Yoo analyzed him, but he could not deny the focus and determination in the eyes of the ex-demon lord Heuk Cheon. A slight bit of judgement faded away from the face of the inspector. 

"Hay, Very well." he said breaking the tension, he stood up and adjusted his robe. "I will inform the alliance that you are in need of additional materials, tools, and resources. But please see to it that you do not intend to squander them."

And with that, after inspecting Heuk Cheon for a long while, He made is way out the entrance. The moment he left through the iron gates, the dense tension surrounding their group fated as sudden as it came. Lee Jin-Ho could finally let out a sigh of relief, Do won and Jung-soo swapped glances at each other, and Seo Ryung spat another piece of straw onto the ground in a disgusting manner.

In the quiet moment that followed their banter, Heuk Cheon started to look around the messy dining hall. A gust of dust started to drift through an open window, dancing like a butterfly in the air. Not minding the inspector's words, a certain spark started to manifest inside Heuk Cheon, defiance. But also a new found strength in resolve. 

He looked at the faces of each member, Lee Jin-Ho, with his peaceful but focused eyes. Do-won and Jung-soo, desperately trying to patch up their job as part of the Murim Alliance's escort guards in assisting a former demon lord who ruled the martial world with an iron fist. And lastly, Seo Ryung, he was steadfast, however he was not yet polished. Although, he still possessed unwavering loyalty towards Heuk Cheon.

"Let us get back to work," he said quietly, his voice was crammed with an unspoken vow. "We will prove to them and to everyone else, that we can do this."

The group members nodded simultaneously. Outside, as the sun kept going up, climbing over the Redwood Estate. A warm light enveloped everyone that could not be described as anything else but hope. Beneath the manor's broken roof, a group of misfits and former enemies found themselves having the same goal at the same time, to build and make a refuge for children who had no longer any support.

And although none of them would dare say this out loud to one another, all of them quietly felt that maybe... just maybe they were closing on something much more valuable than an act of penance or sentence.