Chapter 11
A quiet room.
The subtle fragrance of tea spread through the darkness, groping its way forward.
Yeon U-gyeong took a sip of tea and opened his mouth.
“Yeom Ja-ryang is indeed a simple fellow, just as you mentioned.”
“Hehe. Perhaps the environment he grew up in made him that way.”
Deung Bu-hyeong, sitting across from him, chuckled softly in response.
Yeon U-gyeong smiled faintly and said,
“I’ve lit the fire for now. It seems he’ll likely take action soon.”
“Hehe, you’re quite an unpredictable person yourself.”
“You’re the frightening one, instructor. To conduct such an experiment by deliberately sacrificing even the Jahanak-indo. We who watched that sparring match could tell it wasn’t an ordinary sword.”
Deung Bu-hyeong felt inwardly stung but replied with feigned composure.
“It looked like an ominous object at first glance.”
“Truly impressive.”
“Well then, how is the Spring Manor Lord getting along?”
Deung Bu-hyeong changed the subject as he set down his teacup.
Yeon U-gyeong smiled properly and answered,
“Yes, father is doing well. However, he’s somewhat displeased about my assignment to the Special Purpose Class this time.”
Subtle pressure.
There was no way to know if the head of the Hegemon Sword Yeon Family had truly reacted that way, but Deung Bu-hyeong couldn’t help feeling inwardly uncomfortable.
Deung Bu-hyeong smiled awkwardly and replied,
“As you know, assigning students isn’t within my authority. It’s Yeo Un-jin instructor’s domain, so there’s no particular way I can intervene…”
“Well, I don’t mind. I even find it rather interesting.”
“I-Is that so?”
“Then, I’ll be taking my leave now.”
Yeon U-gyeong emptied his teacup and rose from his seat.
“Of course. If you encounter any inconveniences during your academy life, feel free to visit me anytime.”
“Thank you.”
Yeon U-gyeong bowed his head and left the room.
Deung Bu-hyeong watched Yeon U-gyeong’s retreating figure intently, then shook his head from side to side.
‘Really, what a troublesome fellow.’
In fact, contrary to Yeon U-gyeong’s behavior, the Hegemon Sword Yeon Family was renowned for their upright character.
If it had been his older brother Yeon Cheon-gi instead, such a secret meeting would have been impossible from the start.
‘Is there some universal law that all second sons of families grow up crooked?’
Deung Bu-hyeong chuckled and refilled his teacup.
However, he remained unaware until then.
Outside the slightly open window, a bird had been sitting motionless from beginning to end.
And at some point, that bird’s eyes rolled back white before it soon flew away somewhere.
***
Two shadows crouched low in the bushes.
One was Yeom Ja-ryang, and the other was Cho Mun-tak.
The place both were staring at intently was none other than Sa Bigang’s quarters.
Sa Bigang’s quarters were located in an isolated spot, unlike other instructors’.
There were rumors that the academy had offered to provide him with new quarters after he became Head Instructor, but Sa Bigang had declined.
Cho Mun-tak, feeling the chill, rubbed his forearm once and asked cautiously,
“But is it really okay to do this?”
“What’s the problem? Even if we get caught, we’ll just be confined for a few days. Of course, that won’t happen.”
“But…”
When Cho Mun-tak made a worried expression, Yeom Ja-ryang glared at him.
“What? Are you trying to back out now?”
“No, that’s not it…”
“Then be decisive. If you hesitate, we might mess up the job.”
“Ah, I understand.”
Cho Mun-tak barely managed to answer, overwhelmed by Yeom Ja-ryang’s intensity.
Yeom Ja-ryang turned his gaze back to look at Sa Bigang’s quarters.
‘Hehe. Go ahead and sleep. I’ll flatten that nose of yours.’
He clenched his fist tightly.
What? Attempt assassination at any time?
Of course, he couldn’t really attempt to assassinate an instructor, but stealing a sword was manageable.
The sword Sa Bigang possessed was definitely genuine.
He had already confirmed this through the Yongcheon branch manager.
The sword that shattered the Jahanak-indo in one strike.
Something that good would be difficult to even estimate the price of, they said.
‘If I succeed this time, father might acknowledge me.’
Father always praised only his older brother.
To father, he was always the useless son.
Poor martial arts, slow calculations, and unable to judge profit and loss.
Hopeless and a burden.
That was exactly how father evaluated him.
Moreover, when father learned about his assignment to the Special Purpose Class, he had openly told him to disappear from sight…
‘Just wait and see.’
His father, the trading company master, was someone who converted everything in the world into money.
If he brought something valuable, father would come running barefoot.
‘I’ll make you see me differently.’
Just then, the light illuminating the quarters went out.
“Looks like he’s going to sleep.”
“Shh!”
Warning Cho Mun-tak, Yeom Ja-ryang quietly stared at the quarters.
The lamp had gone out, but he wouldn’t fall asleep immediately, so they had to wait for the right moment.
Cold night wind brushed past his nose.
How long had they waited like that?
Yeom Ja-ryang slowly raised his body from among the bushes.
Cho Mun-tak looked up at Yeom Ja-ryang.
“Are you going in?”
“Yeah.”
Yeom Ja-ryang nodded with a raised corner of his mouth.
At least he was confident in his lightness skills.
Since childhood, whenever he caused trouble, he would always use lightness skills to quickly escape.
Growing up mainly as a troublemaker, lightness skills and stealth techniques had become Yeom Ja-ryang’s unofficial specialty.
“I’ll infiltrate and steal the sword, so you keep watch outside.”
“Al-alright. Be careful.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve secretly infiltrated the Assistant Fist Instructor’s quarters before to steal dumplings.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Swallowing the words ‘dumplings and swords are different’ down his throat, Cho Mun-tak carefully followed behind Yeom Ja-ryang.
Finally reaching the entrance, Yeom Ja-ryang pulled the door at a snail’s pace.
Squeak.
At the faint sound, both froze like ice before breathing out again.
‘Nothing to be scared of. The opponent is just a second-rate spear instructor.’
Finally, when a gap just wide enough for one person to enter appeared, Yeom Ja-ryang slipped through like smoke.
This was the stealth technique he had learned directly from his bodyguard while living at the family estate.
Once inside, Yeom Ja-ryang quickly scanned his surroundings.
Regular breathing sounds.
‘He’s definitely sleeping!’
He cheered inwardly.
Approaching the bed area, he saw something propped up at an angle right beside it.
A sword case?
He had thought it would be hung on the wall in its sheath, but this was unexpected.
‘Does he treasure it enough to store it in a case? Hehe.’
Looking elsewhere, no sword was visible.
It must be inside the sword case.
‘Then I’ll have to take the whole case.’
Fortunately, the size wasn’t burdensome.
Opening the lid here and taking out the sword might make noise, so stealing it whole would be safer.
Having made up his mind, Yeom Ja-ryang executed the Cat Path Steps he had learned from his bodyguard and approached the bedside.
Truly cat-like, nimble yet light movements.
Finally, as he picked up the sword case.
Wooong.
The case trembled once.
But whether the object inside the case was wrapped in cloth, it wasn’t audible to the ears.
However, he could feel the vibration through his hands.
Sword resonance!
Yeom Ja-ryang’s heart pounded.
Sword resonance, where the blade trembles and rings, was a phenomenon that could only be seen in the finest of famous swords, wasn’t it?
‘This might be an even more amazing item than I thought!’
He suddenly recalled the conversation he had with Sa Bigang during a recent class.
It was right after hearing about Sa Bigang’s sword from the Cheonhwa Trading Company’s Yongcheon branch manager.
“Instructor, where did you acquire that sword?”
“I picked it up on the way.”
At the time, he had been annoyed by such an insincere answer, but where could there be better conditions than this?
‘Right, what owner does a picked-up item have? Hehe.’
Yeom Ja-ryang slowly moved his feet, even killing his breathing sounds.
As he emerged through the door gap, the frozen Cho Mun-tak sent him a look.
‘Did you succeed?’
‘Yeah, run!’
Yeom Ja-ryang signaled with his eyes.
Both simultaneously deployed their lightness skills and escaped the scene as quickly as possible.
***
“Huff, huff, huff. Isn’t this far enough?”
Deep in the forest.
Cho Mun-tak gripped his knees and gasped for breath.
Yeom Ja-ryang also stopped walking and wiped the sweat flowing down his forehead.
Despite the rather cold weather, sweat poured down like rain.
‘Hmm. Was it a complete success?’
Looking back, he felt no presence.
There had been no feeling of being pursued from the beginning.
However, he had run as far as possible to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.
“Tch, it was nothing special, yet I got nervous for no reason.”
He felt completely deflated.
Wasn’t he just an Assistant Spear Instructor?
Though his recent behavior had been peculiar, how could a person change overnight?
Either there was some mistake at the academy, or Sa Bigang had pulled strings behind the scenes.
That sort of thing was common in these times.
Anyway, that’s not what’s important right now.
‘This is the one.’
Yeom Ja-ryang plopped the sword case he had carried down on the ground.
Cho Mun-tak, still gasping for breath but curious, approached closely.
“Seeing how it’s stored in a sword case, it must really be a famous sword.”
“Hehe. As I told you, if we make a profit from this job, I’ll give you this percentage.”
“Hehe. I’m grateful.”
Though the share was small in a way, Cho Mun-tak didn’t particularly mind.
After all, all he had actually done was participate in the plan and keep watch.
Besides, this sword was…
“It’s crying.”
“Right. That’s proof it’s a jackpot.”
Yeom Ja-ryang put his hands on his hips and grinned.
“Sword resonance. I’ve never seen it before. Let’s hurry and open it.”
“Wait.”
Yeom Ja-ryang slowly opened the sword case lid.
The handle carved with a demonic figure gleamed golden.
Contrary to expectations, it wasn’t wrapped in cloth, but instead the inside of the case was entirely made of soft cloth.
It must be because of the sword resonance.
WooongÂ
Even now, the sword was trembling sound.
“Hehehe!”
“Huhuhuh!”
Both burst into laughter simultaneously.
And then…
Whoosh!
Without anyone going first, they both reached out their hands at the same time.
“What are you doing?”
Yeom Ja-ryang, who had grabbed the handle, glared at Cho Mun-tak with bulging eyes.
Cho Mun-tak, gripping the scabbard, faced him with a crazed expression and replied as if possessed,
“Why are you acting like that? We stole it together, didn’t we? I have a share too.”
“First, let me see it.”
“That’s not right. We should share the opportunity fairly. Don’t you think?”
“Are you crazy?”
“It makes me feel bad when you talk like that. This isn’t even yours.”
Somehow, Cho Mun-tak’s pupils had turned red.
But Yeom Ja-ryang didn’t notice his change.
He too had red pupils.
“You bastard. Let go while I’m being nice.”
“Hehehe. You let go first. I just want to look at it.”
“You crazy bastard!”
Instantly, Yeom Ja-ryang gathered his qi and struck out with his palm.
But Cho Mun-tak quickly twisted his body to dodge and glared at Yeom Ja-ryang.
“Hehehe. You just tried to kill me?”
“A bastard like you should die.”
“You die first!”
Suddenly, Yeom Ja-ryang leaped back.
Shing
Veritas was drawn from its sheath.
Veritas, receiving the moonlight, was blindingly brilliant.
“You son of a bitch! Try dying!”
“Shut up! We’ll see who dies!”
Cho Mun-tak held the scabbard, Yeom Ja-ryang held the sword, and they clashed.
Clang!
As an eardrum-splitting loud sound rang out, the surrounding trees shuddered.
Soon after, Yeom Ja-ryang spun his body and immediately thrust the sword forward.
Thud!
“Guhhhh!”
The sword point pierced deeply into Cho Mun-tak’s abdomen.
“Haah, haah! Hehe! Serves you right!”
“You… to me…”
Cho Mun-tak, spitting up blood, reached out his hand pointing at Yeom Ja-ryang.
Somehow, his pupils had returned to normal.
Finally, as Veritas was pulled out of his abdomen with a swoosh, Cho Mun-tak collapsed on the spot, spilling blood.
At that moment, Yeom Ja-ryang flinched and looked at his own hands and the sword.
His pupils had also returned to normal.
The reddened blade greedily absorbed Cho Mun-tak’s blood.
Only then did Cho Mun-tak, collapsed on the ground, come into view.
His legs trembled.
“Wh-what? Th-this is…!”
At that moment, his pupils turned red again.
“Haaaah!”
It’s still not enough.
He wants to drink more blood.
He wants to see blood!
An irresistible craving began to seize Yeom Ja-ryang.
“Grrrr…! No…!”
Even while instinctively resisting, his body moved on its own.
Finally, Yeom Ja-ryang gripped Veritas in reverse and raised both hands.
Like someone about to commit seppuku.
“No… hey…! This is…! This is…!”
Finally, Yeom Ja-ryang brought down Veritas with all his strength.
Just as the sword point was about to pierce through Yeom Ja-ryang’s belly.
Grab.
“Huh!”
Someone’s hand seized Veritas’ handle.
At that moment, the craving that had captured Yeom Ja-ryang also disappeared like a lie.
“Instructor…?”
Looking up, Sa Bigang stood there with a stern expression.
“Let go. This isn’t a toy for children.”
A cold wind swept across Sa Bigang’s face.
