NOVEL NEXT Chapter 229: Character Education (2)
If you asked 100 people what the greatest temple in the Central Plains was, every single one of them would respond with Shaolin’s.
The Shaolin monks were famous not only for their martial prowess but also for their profound Buddhist nature and virtue.
Then, what about the greatest Taoist temple?
Which was the best among the Taoist sects?
Nowadays, some might place Wudang first, but unlike Buddhism, opinions would be divided.
This was because of the existence of the Azure Forest.
Though less known due to its lesser involvement in worldly affairs compared to Wudang, those who knew, knew.
The Azure Forest was an ancient sect and the greatest Taoist sect.
This was the same for the noble families and royalty residing in Beijing.
“I have persistently declined, but His Majesty insisted on entrusting me with this burden…”King Gye-yeong entrusted Yi-gang with his child’s education for a reason.
The fact that Yi-gang was a disciple of the Azure Forest, and a highly ranked one for his age, was a clear advantage.
“With a loyal heart, I will be guiding the Crown Prince to develop proper character…”
“What character!?”
The Crown Prince, who screamed in anger, clearly seemed to lack character.
Yi-gang subtly released intangible Qi.
The Crown Prince’s face turned pale under the oppressive pressure on his body.
“Ugh!”
“Words are a mirror that reflects a person. Please be mindful and respectful in your attitude.”
Regardless of the content of his words, what Yi-gang was doing was nothing short of intimidation.
A child who couldn’t even utter a proper sound under the intangible Qi of a Supreme Peak master could not remain unscathed.
The Crown Prince gritted his teeth, stiffening.
“I will begin the punishment.”
Yi-gang finally drew out the whip.
It was the first time Yi-gang had drawn the gold-plated bamboo whip.
Even though he was about to punish a eunuch or a court lady, wielding the whip was undoubtedly a burdensome task.
The young eunuch, who had rolled up his pants, shivered.
“Though the eunuch bears the sin of failing to properly serve His Majesty, the fundamental fault lies with the Crown Prince.”
“…Hmph.”
The Crown Prince snorted, pretending not to listen.
He even forced a smile.
“Are you not feeling well? The eunuch is suffering in your place.”
“Why would I care? What does it matter to me?”
“Haha, if that is how you feel.”
Seeing the Crown Prince’s brazen smile, Yi-gang subtly glanced at the Honorable County Princess.
Hers was slightly better. At least she showed some discomfort, avoiding eye contact or fidgeting with her fingers.
‘There’s more room for improvement with this one.’
It was when Yi-gang made this assessment that Zhang Sanfeng murmured as if amused.
「You have become quite sincere.」
‘Pardon?’
「Not long ago, you seemed to find it extremely bothersome, didn’t you? The responsibility of being a royal tutor is not light.」
‘It still bothers me.’
「Then why are you working so hard?」
Yi-gang remained silent.
It might have been because he was contemplating how to respond to Zhang Sanfeng’s words, but to the Crown Prince and the County Princess, his demeanor appeared somewhat tense.
‘I don’t want to deal with a lot of trouble, so I have to bear a little trouble, don’t I?’
「Heheh.」
Initially, it seemed like he could just get by with some rough protection.
Yi-gang realized that the real tasks would come from meeting the emperor, and that protecting the royal siblings was just a pretext.
If he could have just managed roughly, Yi-gang would not have bothered the royal siblings.
However, the situation did not go as planned.
Whether it was due to their pride or some other reason, they kept provoking Yi-gang.
Just like when he first met Dam Hyun, Yi-gang had no choice but to act with a heavy heart.
If something bothered him, and seemed it would continue to bother him in the future, then Yi-gang’s nature was to eliminate the root cause altogether.
“I am not very good at controlling my strength, so the punishment will be painful.”
Yi-gang flicked the flexible bamboo whip with his fingertips.
“I will limit it to just two strikes.”
“Hmph.”
The other teachers had often given dozens of strikes, so he scoffed at the mere two strikes.
However, Yi-gang demonstrated by striking the floor with the whip.
Snap!
Everyone except Yi-gang covered their ears.
The sound was so intense and eye-popping that it was like thunder.
“I will strike with this intensity.”
“O-oh…”
The spot where Yi-gang had struck the floor was horribly dented.
“What is…”
The sound and the mark left behind made it seem like the whip should have broken.
However, the whip in Yi-gang’s hand remained annoyingly intact. It was clear that he had infused it with inner strength.
“If someone gets hit by that… their leg would break,” the Honorable County Princess muttered unconsciously.
She was right.
A eunuch who had just reached adulthood could not withstand the shock that broke the sturdy floor.
Even the eunuch accustomed to punishment trembled.
“U-ugh…”
His pupils shook, and his breathing became rough, indicating his fear.
-Do not be tense, I do not have a hobby of oppressing the innocent.
Yi-gang sent a quiet telepathic message.
Only then did the eunuch stop trembling.
“I will only strike exactly twice.”
“…”
The Crown Prince also seemed frightened.
Yi-gang swung the whip not to inflict pain, but as if to break a leg.
Swish–
Just like before, he lifted the whip effortlessly.
However, the Crown Prince and the County Princess had clearly seen what happened when that whip came down.
During this time, Yi-gang glared at the Crown Prince.
His cold, glassy eyes seemed to penetrate deeply into the Crown Prince’s heart.
Frightened, the Crown Prince tightly closed his eyes.
He was ultimately fleeing from the problem before him.
Yi-gang’s gaze then shifted to the Honorable County Princess behind him.
She appeared more terrified than the Crown Prince, her face pale.
However, she did not avoid Yi-gang’s eyes.
Though very scared, she burst into tears.
“We were wrong!”
And with that, she apologized.
The Crown Prince tried to stop her in surprise, but it was too late.
“We were wrong. So, please stop!”
Yi-gang lowered the whip.
The Honorable County Princess could not speak any further.
It was rare for someone of her royal status to apologize in such a manner. Overcome with sorrow, she sobbed.
It was something that a mentally and physically immature child could at least manage.
Yi-gang asked quietly, “Where did you get these metal pieces?”
“T-that eunuch… from the embroidery room, ugh.”
“Did the Crown Prince order this?”
Nod, nod.
Yi-gang asked a few more questions.
Who the eunuch was, why a eunuch instead of a maid from the embroidery room brought it, and how long he had been serving the royal family.
The Honorable County Princess, who had stopped crying, wondered why he was asking such questions.
Yi-gang looked at the Crown Prince and spoke clearly, “Do you know what the first of the four virtues—the four moral inclinations humans should have—mentioned by Mencius is?”
It was a question that the Crown Prince, who had studied Confucianism, could not fail to know.
“It is the heart of compassion. More important than the sense of shame and aversion to evil is the heart of compassion and benevolence.”
“…”
Playing a mischievous trick on the teacher and then denying it was wrong.
But it was an even greater wrong to stand by and watch an innocent eunuch’s leg get broken because of it.
By discussing these things, Yi-gang genuinely conducted character education.
“Do not forget today’s lesson.”
Then something unexpected happened.
In the warm atmosphere that was forming, Yi-gang suddenly lashed the eunuch’s calves.
The whip mercilessly cut through the air.
Snap!
Hadn’t he promised telepathically not to strike hard?
Wasn’t this the moment to say, ‘In honor of Her Highness the County Princess’ courage, I will stop the punishment’?
The eunuch’s scream burst out.
“Aaaaah!”
It was a chilling scream.
The guards patrolling nearby were startled and came to see what was happening, understood the situation, and then left.
「That startled me.」
Even Zhang Sanfeng was surprised.
The eunuch’s leg was not broken. But with just one lash, a clear wound appeared.
The skin had split, and drops of blood formed and trickled down.
“One more.”
When Yi-gang raised his hand again, the eunuch foamed at the mouth and pleaded.
“Ugh, I’m sorry, I apologize. Please…”
Had he been prepared, it wouldn’t have been so painful.
The assurance that it wouldn’t hurt had made him feel safe, making the actual strike even more painful.
Seeing the eunuch’s face streaming with tears, Yi-gang nodded.
“Is it too painful? Then I’ll give you a choice.”
Yi-gang gathered the scattered needles from the floor.
With a swift motion of his sleeve, he collected them instantly.
He then scattered them in front of the eunuch.
“Take one more strike or walk over this.”
“What? W-what?”
Both the eunuch and the siblings were bewildered.
What kind of demand was this all of a sudden?
But to them, walking over the needles seemed a hundred times better.
Since he was wearing shoes, it would only hurt his soles a little.
But the eunuch was too flustered to respond.
The Honorable County Princess shouted, “What are you hesitating for? Walk quickly!”
But the eunuch, his face pale, just trembled.
Yi-gang asked quietly, “Then would you like to take one more strike?”
“Yes, I-I will.”
The whip was surely dozens of times more painful. It was an unexpected choice.
Yi-gang’s response changed as well.
“No, I dislike that.”
“Pardon?”
“Walk.”
Yi-gang spoke firmly, “Walk over this.”
“…”
Everyone realized that the atmosphere was becoming strange.
The eunuch did not move at all.
Yi-gang lightly pushed the whip, poking the acupuncture point on the eunuch’s inner thigh.
The eunuch’s legs gave out, and he fell forward.
“Aaaah!”
He screamed excessively and struggled to support himself with his hands on the ground.
Of course, a needle stuck in his palm, but it could have been worse.
“Ahhh! Ahh!”
Even after removing the needle from his hand, the eunuch screamed in distress.
“You’re lucky.”
“Ugh.”
“Not all of them were poisoned. You got lucky.”
The eunuch gaped in shock.
The court ladies let out small screams at the mention of poison.
“This kind of poison has a fishy smell,” Yi-gang explained, pointing to his nose.
From the very beginning, he had sensed a strange scent. It was a subtle characteristic only noticeable to someone like him, a Supreme Peak master and possessor of the Great Yin Meridian Blockage.
“I thought it was the smell of carp… but it wasn’t.”
“N-no, that’s not it…”
“Court ladies, call the guards. We’ll reveal the details then.”
After instructing the court ladies, Yi-gang pressed acupoints on the eunuch’s body.
The eunuch had a foul smell from the start.
He had assumed it was just sweat, but it was different. It was the stench of someone who had been sweating from nervousness for a long time.
Hearing what the Honorable County Princess had said, Yi-gang became certain that the eunuch was suspicious.
Soon, the guards arrived and tied the eunuch with ropes.
「Your sense is uncanny. It seems even better than mine.」
‘It’s natural.’
Yi-gang brushed off Zhang Sanfeng’s sort-of compliment.
The Crown Prince and Honorable County Princess stared at Yi-gang with blank expressions.
Yi-gang spoke to them, “Today’s lesson will end here.”
“L-lesson…?”
Their hearts had been stirred when he spoke of compassion and a sense of shame.
However, the sudden attempt to poison Yi-gang had left them bewildered.
They still couldn’t fully grasp if the eunuch was truly the villain.
“See you next time.”
With that, Yi-gang disappeared.
The Crown Prince trembled with a profound sense of defeat.
The eunuch was dragged away and subjected to severe torture.
Upon investigation, it was found that the eunuch had subtly suggested to the Crown Prince the prank of scattering the needles.
The cunning eunuch had lured the Crown Prince and had brought needles smeared with poison.
The poison wasn’t an instant killer; it was smeared with the pus of a sick person.
If pricked, one would suffer from a lingering illness and eventually fall into a high fever after a few weeks.
It was clearly an attempt to harm Yi-gang.
The most crucial question was who was behind this plot.
However, the details remained unknown.
The eunuch was beheaded within a day.
King Gye-yeong, who received the news a bit late, was furious.
He was certain that the swift execution was to prevent uncovering the mastermind.
In his fury, King Gye-yeong handed over the subsequent investigation to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot.
But even with them, he did not expect any fruitful results.
King Gye-yeong forcibly shook off his unpleasant emotions.
There was also some good news.
“You have done well, exceptionally well,” he said to Yi-gang with a serious expression.
Coming down from the throne, King Gye-yeong personally took Yi-gang’s hands in his.
“Preventing such a covert assassination attempt is indeed a very difficult task, certainly so.”
“I was lucky.”
“You’re perfect in every way except for pretending to be modest with that completely unmodest expression. Haha.”
King Gye-yeong smiled broadly.
“I’ve judged you too harshly. Please continue to protect my children well. Accompany them even when they are taught by other royal teachers.”
“…”
“Come to think of it, tomorrow is the time to learn martial arts. I want the Crown Prince to learn Qigong and keep his body healthy. Please take care of him tomorrow as well.”
The expression on Yi-gang’s face must have clearly shown his reluctance.
But King Gye-yeong, looking confident, patted Yi-gang’s shoulder.
“I will not forget this favor!”
When royalty speaks of favors, Yi-gang couldn’t continue to resist.
Yi-gang sighed and bowed his head.
“I am deeply grateful.”