My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 7

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Bang!
My fist came down across Chejare’s crown. He let out a pained groan.
“Your tone shows disrespect to your teacher. And I don’t know my own bloodline either.”
“You don’t know your mother’s and father’s faces either—ow!”
“Say ‘mother’ and ‘father,’ not that.”
After another blow, he finally fell silent. Chejare’s eyes had grown wet as he looked at me.
“Yes, I understand. But what exactly is weak about you? I can’t sense your Blood Qi as strongly as before.”
Blood Qi is strength itself. As you cultivate your body and magical power, the Qi that flows through your blood transforms.
When that Qi becomes sufficiently dense, it permeates through blood vessels into bones, leaving its mark.
The flow of blood changes, the bones become inscribed with the traces of cultivation.
This state—the carving into bone—is called a Grade. Like the saying “Carving-bone-unforgettable,” such a state never truly fades.
“How many Grades had you reached before you died?”
“Seven.”
But now I had returned to Grade One. Chejare was looking at me with something like pity in his eyes—the way one might regard an aging mother wasted by age. He must be around Grade Three himself, so my weakness would seem considerable. I waved my hand.
“Such things are not my true weakness. It is merely a matter that training will resolve.”
“Then what exactly is weak about you?”
“I cannot kill more than three in a single day.”
It was an oath I had made long ago. Chejare’s brow furrowed as he asked.
“That’s far too fatal a weakness. Why can’t you kill more than three?”
“I made a bargain with a god.”
At the word god, Chejare’s expression darkened with resignation. He scratched the back of his head.
“So that’s why. Why the other masters always had to finish things for you.”
Only Balanus’s associates knew of my weakness. With their help, I had still been able to wield a blade.
I had kept it secret from my students. They were dear to me, but not ones I could trust with my back.
Now it seemed I could. As I looked at the grown Chejare, he began pressing me with questions.
“What did you receive in return for this bargain? Which god did you make this deal with?”
“I cannot speak of it.”
“Really, all this mystery? What happens if you break the covenant?”
“I can never wield a blade again.”
I did not wish to lie to my student, but I could not bring myself to speak of death.
Even at the words “cannot wield a blade,” his expression had grown so dark.
Chejare fell silent for a moment, seeming to turn something over in his mind, then fixed me with a grave stare.
“Teacher. There’s something else I need to ask.”
“Ask, then.”
“Does that mean you can’t even kill a mosquito?”
What nonsense is this.
It was an unexpected question, but Chejare seemed genuinely concerned with confirming my condition, so I answered him.
“Depending on the circumstances. To be precise, ‘intentional murder’ is forbidden.”
Crushing an insect thoughtlessly underfoot is another matter. At my explanation, Chejare burst out laughing.
“Understood. Then when a cockroach appears, call for me! I’ll catch it for you!”
Grateful though I was, having a teacher who cannot even catch a cockroach seemed absurd. I decided I might as well resign myself to sleeping in the cracks.
After this brief rest ended, we mounted our horses again. Before long, a small town came into view.
Chejare rubbed the back of his neck.
“Sigh. It would have been better if we’d left Jenia at the Aspenhel Orphanage. The one there still stands.”
“Why couldn’t you leave her at the Aspenhel Orphanage?”
“There was no space. When the city was invaded, orphans flooded in.”
Fifteen years ago, the collapse of Aspenhel—the city where we had lived—remained vivid in my mind.
The flames that consumed the city, the scorching air, the stench of blood that hung between them, the screams that tore at the ears, streets choked with corpses.
One question still nagged me. Who in the world had committed such horrors?
“Teacher, that’s where the orphanage used to be.”
We had arrived without my noticing. Looking at where he pointed, I saw a large sign hanging.
“Pawn Shop and Loan Office?”
The sign was pristine, but it was a place where usurers conducted their business. I turned to Chejare.
“How did the orphanage end up like this?”
“The director gambled away all the money. Even after turning over the building, there wasn’t enough to cover the debt, so he fled in the night.”
A pitiful reason. Did he abandon the children and run? Chejare heaved a sigh.
“Besides, all the orphans and staff have vanished, so we don’t know who to ask.”
“Let’s go to the loan office. The proprietor seems likely to know something.”

“The owner? I asked about it before, but they said they didn’t know anything about the director.”
After hearing that, I turned my steps toward the Pawn Shop and Loan Office. I spoke to Chejare, who was following beside me.
“A loan shark would never abandon a debtor who’s fled in the dead of night. At the very least, they’d have tracked him down.”
Men like that would chase their money to the ends of the earth. They’d seized the orphanage building itself—there’s no way they would have let him go. Chejare gazed at me in wonder.
“Wow. Were you a loan shark, Master? You know an awful lot about it.”
“I did haul in a few of them back in the day. Let’s go inside.”
I entered the building with Chejare. The moment we stepped in, a murky atmosphere washed over us.
The interior was shabby, the air itself grim from lack of proper cleaning. From deeper inside came the sound of pleading—someone promising to repay the money soon.
And most striking of all were the appearances of the staff on the first floor. Their swaggering attitudes and threatening looks. It was hard to tell if they were employees or thugs.
As we entered, one of the staff members approached us. He was massive as a mountain, his eyes fierce and sharp.
“Customers? You look like our youngest customers yet.”
His tone was sneering, his gaze contemptuous. He called us customers, but the power dynamic was unmistakably in his favor.
“Why don’t we step inside and talk? We can start with how much money is needed…….”
The staff member’s words died. His face, which had been so confident moments before, was now pale as ash. His mouth hung open, revealing a missing front tooth.
I wondered what was wrong, but the staff member was staring at Chejare. He stumbled backward, his words faltering.
“Y-you’re the Life-Ender, Chejare?!”
Did they know each other? Chejare furrowed his brow.
“That nickname still going around? Who are you?”
“F-four years ago, we fought at the Dog Fighting Arena…….”
The Dog Fighting Arena. That’s what people usually called illegal fighting pits like that. Had Chejare been involved in that kind of work too?
Just then, another staff member caught sight of Chejare and began trembling violently. This one was missing both front teeth.
“You’re the Chejare who used to pulverize opponents? The one who’d break their limbs and pull out all their teeth as trophies?!”
“I never pulled out teeth, you bastard! I hit them—if they fell out, what am I supposed to do about it?”
“B-but you did take my Gold Tooth…….”
“That was a Gold Tooth, so I took it!”
No wonder the staff members were missing their front teeth. So that was why.
The staff member’s contemptuous gaze from moments before had completely transformed. Chejare had clearly beaten them thoroughly.
“W-what can we help you with?”
“Master, what are you going to do?”
I spoke to the staff member who was now watching for cues.
“I’d like to meet the owner, if possible.”
“I’m terribly sorry. The owner doesn’t meet with people unless there’s an existing connection…….”
The way he stumbled through those words made it sound genuine. After a moment’s thought, I opened my mouth.
“In that case, I’ll just borrow some money today.”
“Yes! I’ll show you the way. Please wait while I bring the person in charge.”
The staff member bowed and ushered us inside. It was a shabby consultation room, all for show. I sat on the stiff sofa and asked Chejare a question.
“You worked at the Dog Fighting Arena too? That seemed like a rough place.”
“That place was really… I mean, it was very profitable. The important people threw money around like crazy.”
He smirked, acting proud. No matter how many times I see him, he bears almost no resemblance to his younger self.
There was something I’d been wanting to ask for a long time, so I took the opportunity now.
“Why didn’t you stay at the orphanage? Why become a mercenary?”
“There was only one open spot at the orphanage. I had to hand over the little one—Jenia. What else could I do?”
He fingered his necklace, then tucked it beneath his shirt.
“You could have done something other than mercenary work. With your temperament, something else would have suited you better.”
“If I became a mercenary, I could wander here and there. I was looking for my missing brother. But there’s been no trace of him.”
I remembered that Chejare had been my second-oldest disciple. He’d been searching for his family alone all this time. Fifteen years. I felt both proud and sorry for him. I tapped him lightly on the head.
“What’s that for?”
“For your hard work. You were such a fearful child back then, but you’ve changed so much.”
“I had to change. A whining kid is just easy prey. I had to force myself to be tough.”
So that’s why he swore excessively and fought rougher than necessary. Chejare laughed without a trace of sorrow.
“Well, I have no regrets. So wipe that look off your face. You just got younger—don’t go getting wrinkles.”
Chejare playfully tapped his own brow. He’d truly grown so much. Even learning to comfort his master.
“True. Now that I’m rejuvenated, I should take better care of myself.”
“That sounds nice. But Master, I’m really curious—why did you even survive?”
In the middle of our conversation, the staff members returned. It was the man who’d been terrified of Chejare, and a neat-looking man in his late twenties.
“I heard you’ve come to borrow money. How much do you need?”
I’d asked to see the owner, and he’d refused. So I’d have to draw him out another way. I opened my mouth.
“I’m looking to borrow one billion Baht.”
At those words, the staff members and Chejare’s mouths fell open. One billion Baht. That was enough to buy a mansion.
With such a large sum, the owner would have no choice but to appear. The staff member’s face went blank, then he coughed and spoke.
“One billion Baht. I don’t know who you are, but to borrow a sum that large, you’ll need either a guarantor or collateral.”
So they were checking credentials at this stage. I could have fabricated an identity easily enough, but there was a more reliable way.
I placed a hand on Chejare’s shoulder and spoke.
“I’ll put Life-Ender Chejare forward as my guarantor.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Chejare blinked at me, his eyes widening.
Forgive me, Chejare.
Just vouch for me once.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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