Chapter v9c5

Unauthorized Overnight Absence

– The Play of Fate

The moon tilts, and the night deepens.

The bedtime for the students at Cheonmu Martial Arts Academy’s dormitory, Geomhon Hall, had long passed. Children of the country are to sleep early and rise early!

Having completed another rewarding day, all the students had entered the state of slumber.

Although sleep is a temporary domestic state, providing deep rest and accumulating energy for a lively tomorrow, it is a noble act. Yet, there was a man with wide-awake eyes, neglecting this noble act.

The night grows old, and the stars increase their brilliance, but this man, Bi Ryu-Yeon, shows no signs of sleep.

“Hmm! The moon is so bright.”

The moon, seen through the window, looked incredibly bright and warm. The soft moonlight draped over the curtain of night. “A compassionate moon and stars like jewels! Only one thing can truly match their romance!”

Without it, it would be an insult to the moon, the stars, and this beautiful night. What was needed and what had to be done had already been determined.

“Unauthorized absence! And drinking and dancing!”

Bi Ryu-Yeon’s eyes sparkled cunningly, brimming with energy and showing no signs of fatigue. The problem was that he had no intention of investing this surplus energy in self-improvement or peace in the martial world.

“The shadows of the late night call me. The darkness of the night blinds my reason, and the soft moonlight tempts me.”

Unauthorized refers to the courage to commit acts that are against the law, and when followed by the word “overnight absence,” it signifies the despised wisdom and proactive energy to escape from the suffocating and tedious prison we call a dormitory.

An unauthorized overnight absence could be considered the romance of a young male student. It is a noble act of seeking freedom on one’s terms, away from rigid norms. Whether it is illegal or a rule violation, it’s all about how you package it.

At this moment, Bi Ryu-Yeon is planning to execute his courageous plan with the help of the moon, stars, wind, and clouds. Though not widely known, secret information circulating suggests that this excellent combination of courage and wisdom has been executed more than once. And it is said to be a perfect crime without a single mistake.

He will not commit unless it is a perfect crime!

That was one of Bi Ryu-Yeon’s firm beliefs.

The dormitory students, including Cheolhyeol Mu Jeong Geom Kang Ha-Yoon, known as the goblin without blood or tears, the incarnation of rules and discipline, had not yet gone to bed. The bedtime for students and the dorm supervisor naturally differed. Kang Ha-Yoon had to check the entire dormitory for any irregularities after lights out, which meant his bedtime was inevitably later than the students’.

Moreover, tonight Kang Ha-Yoon was on duty and sharing the duty room with his colleague Jeong Ho-Yu from Cheong Seong Faction.

“It seems the academy has become a bit noisy since that investigator came. Don’t you think?”

“Hahaha, but she is definitely a beauty, isn’t she? The more you look, the smoother the… behind…”

“Master Jeong!”

Kang Ha-Yoon raised his voice slightly at Jeong Ho-Yu’s joke.

Do you really want to show off your age like that?

Jeong Ho-Yu, from the Cheong Seong Family, had a more laid-back attitude, which didn’t quite mesh with Kang Ha-Yoon. However, since they had to be on duty together that night, they had no choice but to pass the time with idle talk.

There’s nothing longer than a duty night spent in silence. Duty, night duty, work – it’s all a battle with oneself and the psychological clock within.

In particular, Jeong Ho-Yu was weak in the fight against himself. Therefore, he could never stop talking. He knew from experience that the moment his tongue stopped, his inner clock would stop as well. But for Kang Ha-Yoon, Jeong Ho-Yu wasn’t the best comrade in the battle against boredom, so Jeong Ho-Yu’s mouth had to move twice as much as usual.

“It’s boring. It would be nice if a kid causing trouble like overnight absence came out.”

Jeong Ho-Yu was laughing. He may have been serious, preferring the fight against such incidents to the fight against boredom. He still showed no sign of tension.

“Night duty is not a joke, Master Jeong! And there is no one in our academy who would commit such a foolish act. Only children who always follow the rules.”

“But you never know, do you?”

“If I say there is none, there is none.”

Cheolhyeol dorm supervisor Kang Ha-Yoon’s tone remained firm.

“Hahaha! I know. I just mentioned the one in a thousand chance that might come up. It’s just a light joke. I don’t think there would be a student bold enough to try such a thing, escaping our sharp and keen senses. We’re not spreading our Cheonli Ji Cheong technique as a joke. So it’s just a light joke. Really, Master Cheol, you are hard to talk to. Hahaha!”

Jeong Ho-Yu laughed politely.

As Kang Ha-Yoon said, they weren’t just sitting on their hands, passing the night with jokes. Their ears and senses were always open to all directions, allowing them to monitor all movements around them.

If there was someone who harbored the dream of an unauthorized overnight absence, they would have to get past these two peak masters. For those confident enough to risk their lives, the challenge was worthwhile. However, there have been few challengers and even fewer successes lately.

Of course, there are exceptions to everything.

While these two were casually having this conversation, Bi Ryu-Yeon had already moved beyond the range of their sensory perception.

It seemed that the much-praised Cheonli Ji Cheong technique of these two had failed to detect Bi Ryu-Yeon’s presence.In order to carry out an unauthorized overnight stay, one must first engage in about an hour of preparatory exercise and breathing control. During this time, one should silently pray for ‘absolute success’ and steel their determination. If one is caught in the eyes of others, it could be a fatal deduction point, so one must not be detected at all.

The most important things are secrecy and speed. It is also convenient to know the usual movements of people when carrying out the plan.

Of course, during the act, not even a single breath should be leaked outside. Boldness is next in importance to secrecy. One must not lose their composure during the process, as mental distraction can lead to physical distraction. Even a minor mistake here could lead to immediate failure, so extraordinary caution is necessary.

And in all things, the finishing touch is important. That is, one must return at the proper time the next day and not be late for class. One must not leave any loose ends that could be picked up by others.

Thus, to avoid the watchful eyes of the experts and carry out an unauthorized overnight stay was a difficult task fraught with obstacles and difficulties. But for Bi Ryu-yeon, who even frequented Bai Xiang Guan, this was a piece of cake!

The security of Cheonmu Academy is nearly perfect, with no one slacking off, at least during work hours. However, guarding the vast expanse of Cheonmu Academy with a small number of people was impossible from the start.

Even though guards regularly patrol the walls, the patrols take longer due to the small number of personnel, so gaps are bound to appear. Therefore, these gaps are supplemented with traps set up like spider webs in all directions. After bedtime, death traps unfold across Cheonmu Academy. This was what made this place a perfect fortress.

But for Bi Ryu-yeon, all these were useless. Bi Ryu-yeon had rendered the hard work of the artisans, who sweated to create these devices and arranged them to deliver the most fatal blow at any moment, into bubbles in an instant.

Bi Ryu-yeon could easily leap over all obstacles with just five jumps and on the sixth leap, gracefully clear the final obstacle, the eight Zhang high walls. Experience is truly something that cannot be ignored, as doing this often led to no hesitation in the act. The initial tension was now imperceptible.

There was no need to use the Wall Walking technique (also known as Lizard Climbing Skill, a martial art that allows one to climb over walls without support).

On this night, the moon and stars in the night sky could have spotted Bi Ryu-yeon’s leisurely form scaling the walls of Cheonmu Academy without any hindrance, but they did not tattle to anyone.

“This place is always so bright and clear! Good! Good! The stars on earth seem to be welcoming me, drunk!”

The brightness was not just from the moon. The various lanterns lit in the Juga, spread out along the main road, shone in colorful lights, reminiscent of a cluster of stars descended to earth. Moreover, these earthly stars could provide alcohol to people, a two-for-one deal.

“Come to think of it, last time I came with Yeom Do…”

The unauthorized overnight stay disguised as a regular night out last time also involved Yeom Do as an accomplice. It was convenient in many ways to be with the martial artist, Yeom Do. Saving on drinks money and avoiding the risk of being caught…

“It would have been nice if he came with me today. To decline in such a way…”

Bi Ryu-yeon felt deeply disappointed.

“I am busy. Very busy. These days I think several times a day that I wish I had two bodies, hoping that if I cut myself in half, maybe I’ll end up with two. It’s all because of that annoying master of yours that I’m suffering from such an excess of work.”

“Why? Why would you attack a living person out of nowhere?”

A confused Bi Ryu-yeon questioned back. It was natural to feel wronged when attacked personally like this.

“If the master hadn’t dumped the Ju-jakdan puppies on me, I wouldn’t have had to suffer from such heavy work.”

Bi Ryu-yeon glanced over his shoulder at his desk, which was piled high with documents. Just looking at it was enough to make one dizzy.

“Therefore, I can’t deal with you today. I have to submit a comprehensive report on the Ju-jakdan guys by tomorrow. we’ll see about these guys tomorrow. How dare they make me suffer so much?”

Crack! Crack!

His whole body erupted with resentment towards those who had imposed such a heavy paperwork burden on him. Since he couldn’t take out his frustration on the most original culprit, the arrows of his anger concentrated on the second culprits.

Bi Ryu-yeon had a premonition that tomorrow would be gloomy for the Ju-jakdan. Of course, he conveniently overlooked the fact that he was the fundamental cause of that gloom.

“It’s still a pity!”

It felt empty not having the usual host by his side for a while.

“Today, I’ll thoroughly enjoy myself alone!”

The young master decided to have fun in place of the hard-working, aged disciple.