Chapter 18
Sweep. Sweep. Sweep.
Yeo Un-jin was sweeping the courtyard with a stiff broom.
The students passing by glanced at him and whispered among themselves.
Yeo Un-jin couldn’t bring himself to lift his head.
His resentment was boiling up inside him, making him feel like he was going crazy.
If he had his way, he wanted to beat all the students who were stealing glances at him to death on the spot.
‘This is unfair. Unfair. So unfair!’
The demonic arts that Sa Bigang had shown him last night wouldn’t leave his mind.
That was definitely not righteous martial arts.
But why hadn’t the Demon Detection Cinnabar reacted?
Could it be that the Dean hadn’t actually touched Sa Bigang’s forehead?
But there would be no reason for that, would there?
The Dean was someone who always staked his life on principles.
Above all, he was someone who prioritized the Hall Rules.
What reason would such a Dean have to cover for a demon?
He had seen it clearly with his own eyes.
The Dean’s fingertip touching Sa Bigang’s forehead.
Then could it be that the Demon Detection Cinnabar was faulty?
What if the Demon Detection Cinnabar was fake?
Could Cheon Se-myeong have done it on purpose?
Yeo Un-jin quickly shook his head vigorously.
There was no way Cheon Se-myeong would do such a thing. He had no reason to.
How loyal had he been to him all this time?
“Right, there’s no way Chief Cheon would do that. But there’s no reliable evidence either, is there? No, no. I shouldn’t suspect him without cause.”
Yeo Un-jin muttered like someone who had lost his mind, sweeping the same spot over and over again.
Just then, some passing students saw this and giggled.
Their laughter flew into Yeo Un-jin’s chest like daggers.
“You brats! How dare you mock an instructor!”
Yeo Un-jin suddenly raised his head and snarled.
The students who had been laughing quickly looked around nervously and moved along.
But two of them were still grinning and staring at Yeo Un-jin.
One of them was Gok Bo-ok.
Yeo Un-jin glared and shouted at Gok Bo-ok.
“You brat! How dare you stare directly at an instructor and mock him!”
“Instructor? Where is there an instructor here?”
Gok Bo-ok frowned and deliberately looked around.
Yeo Un-jin clenched his fists tightly and trembled.
‘This young brat dares to look down on me?’
Regardless, Gok Bo-ok looked at Yeo Un-jin and then exclaimed “Ah!”
“I’m sorry. Young people like us adapt quickly to new environments, you see. Although you’re currently working as a servant, I forgot that you were once an instructor. Please forgive me generously, senior.”
‘What? Servant…? Senior?’
Yeo Un-jin was now on the verge of losing his mind.
But if he assaulted a student, any chance of recovery would become impossible.
As he trembled with rage…
“You’re shaking. Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
“Get lost.”
“Pardon?”
“Get lost right now. Before I kill you.”
“My, if you threaten like that, how can the students properly live their academy life? It’s not like I said anything wrong. And to threaten a student like this. If I were to report this…”
“These damn brats!”
Finally unable to contain himself, Yeo Un-jin swung his fist.
Even in the midst of this, he didn’t infuse his fist with fist energy because a thread of reason remained.
If he had struck with fist energy, the defenseless student could have died instantly.
That wouldn’t end with just a light punishment.
But then,
Whoosh!
The fist flying through the air was suddenly caught with a snap!
Gok Bo-ok’s eyes widened at the sudden turn of events, and Yeo Un-jin’s nostrils flared.
“Who dares…!”
As his last remaining reason snapped and he whirled around…
“You, you bastard…!”
An earthquake struck Yeo Un-jin’s pupils.
Sa Bigang…!
The one who had blocked his fist with bare hands was none other than Sa Bigang.
He looked at Yeo Un-jin with a cold smile.
“What are you doing to the students?”
Meanwhile, Gok Bo-ok also muttered with a surprised expression, as this was completely unexpected.
“When did you get here…?”
Sa Bigang turned to look at Gok Bo-ok and coldly commanded.
“Get lost. If you don’t want to get hurt.”
“Are, are you threatening a student right now?”
“Threatening? I’m guiding you.”
“Guiding… What kind of ridiculous…”
“Should I make it so you really can’t laugh?”
Sa Bigang’s expression hardened even more coldly.
For a moment, Gok Bo-ok gulped down dry saliva.
Somehow, looking at those eyes made his knees weak.
It was much scarier than Yeo Un-jin’s raging and shouting.
Eventually, Gok Bo-ok averted his gaze and backed away.
“Tch!”
As he clicked his tongue and walked away, Yeo Un-jin shook off his hand with an unpleasant expression.
“Let go!”
“No matter how angry you are, you shouldn’t lay hands on students, should you?”
“Hmph! The students being so rude in the first place is because their homeroom instructor’s guidance is wrong, isn’t it? The Special Purpose Class brats are all no good!”
“Hahaha.”
“What’s so funny?”
“The person who organized the Special Purpose Class in the first place was you, Senior Yeo. But now you’re blaming me, so I found it amusing.”
Yeo Un-jin flinched and glared at Sa Bigang.
He growled quietly.
“Don’t get cocky. I definitely saw you use demonic arts.”
“Demonic arts…”
Sa Bigang trailed off and spread his energy sense to quietly check the surroundings.
And then.
“Perhaps something like this?”
Suddenly, a dark blue orb of energy formed above Sa Bigang’s palm.
Crackle! Sizzle!
An orb creating intense energy waves.
Black energy was swirling around the surface of the blue orb.
Yeo Un-jin’s eyes bulged as if they would tear.
“You, you bastard! As expected, demonic arts…!”
He reflexively backed away, trembling all over.
Having already been severely dealt with by demonic arts, his complexion instantly turned pale.
He quickly looked around.
Unfortunately, there was no one else in sight.
Sa Bigang approached with a grin, finding Yeo Un-jin’s reaction amusing.
“Or maybe you mean something like this?”
Whooshhhh!
This time, a flame spear appeared above his hand again.
“Gasp!”
Yeo Un-jin swallowed empty air and stumbled backward.
That flame spear that Sa Bigang had launched at him that night!
“What, what exactly are you?”
“Well. What could I be?”
“You really are a demon!”
“Hehe. That’s not entirely wrong.”
“You bastard! I’ll definitely expose your true identity to the world… Huh!”
Yeo Un-jin, who had been pouring out words, recoiled in horror and fell on his buttocks.
Sizzzzle!
A pitch-black orb was forming before his eyes.
It was exactly that orb that had exploded before his eyes that night.
Sa Bigang looked at Yeo Un-jin with an ice-cold smile and then.
“Bang!”
“Aaaah!”
At Sa Bigang’s shout, Yeo Un-jin screamed in terror, covered his head with his hands, and prostrated himself.
But realizing that nothing had happened, he slowly raised his head.
Sa Bigang was covering his mouth with his hand, chuckling.
Yeo Un-jin’s face flushed red as he jumped up and shouted.
“Enough! This is Yongcheon Hall under the Jeongdo Alliance!”
“Who said otherwise?”
“Didn’t you just display demonic arts before my eyes until just now?”
“When did I?”
When Sa Bigang made a genuinely puzzled expression, Yeo Un-jin’s eyes flickered.
“You, again, lying again!”
Just then.
A group of people came walking around the corner of the building.
It was Cheon Se-myeong and his close instructor associates.
Yeo Un-jin brightened and ran to Cheon Se-myeong.
“Chief Cheon! Perfect timing!”
Cheon Se-myeong glanced at Yeo Un-jin and coughed uncomfortably.
“Ahem! Cough!”
Then Deung Bu-hyeong subtly blocked Yeo Un-jin and asked.
“What’s the matter? Instructor Yeo.”
“That bastard just used demonic arts again!”
Yeo Un-jin kept looking at Cheon Se-myeong as he shouted.
Cheon Se-myeong glanced at Sa Bigang.
Sa Bigang just shrugged as if he didn’t know what this was about.
Cheon Se-myeong said coldly.
“That’s enough. Instructor Yeo.”
“Chief Cheon…?”
“Let’s stop discussing that matter.”
“Chief Cheon! You don’t trust me? That bastard really just displayed demonic arts before my eyes until just now…!”
“Instructor Yeo!”
Cheon Se-myeong shouted angrily.
This time it was a shout infused with internal energy, so Yeo Un-jin also flinched and shut his mouth.
Cheon Se-myeong stared at Yeo Un-jin and said.
“That matter is already finished. Don’t make any more scenes.”
“Chief Cheon…”
“And Instructor Sa.”
Cheon Se-myeong walked toward Sa Bigang step by step.
Sa Bigang spoke first with a deliberately pitying expression.
“Instructor Yeo’s delusion symptoms are getting serious. This is troubling.”
“Hmph! Whether it’s delusion or reality, I couldn’t confirm it directly, so I wouldn’t know. However, it would be good for you not to get too carried away either.”
“Carried away? I was just on my way out on business when I happened to meet Instructor Yeo.”
“Be careful.”
“Yes, thank you for your concern.”
Sa Bigang cupped his hands in salute and turned around.
Cheon Se-myeong trembled slightly and stared intently at Sa Bigang’s retreating figure.
Just then, Deung Bu-hyeong and Eon Byeok approached him and spoke.
“He’s quite cocky.”
“Are you going to just leave that bastard alone?”
Cheon Se-myeong muttered through gritted teeth.
“As if I would. I’m planning to assign the newly recruited Assistant Spear Instructor to the Special Purpose Class.”
“Who would that be?”
When Cheon Se-myeong quietly recited the name, the instructors’ eyes widened in surprise.
“Is that really true?”
“If that happens, Sa Bigang won’t be able to hold out any longer.”
***
Sa Bigang, who had been napping on a tree branch in the forest, slowly opened his eyes.
He stretched and jumped down from the branch.
“If you’re not planning to assassinate me, come out quickly.”
Who was he talking to?
As soon as his words ended, a breeze seemed to blow, and soon a shadow appeared from under the tree.
Hong Yeom, wearing a hood pulled low, bowed her head and said.
“Assassination? That’s absurd.”
“Hehe. That’s something I wouldn’t know unless I looked into your heart. Someone I know once said that you should never trust humans.”
Hong Yeom said with a haggard expression.
“I found the person you mentioned.”
“It took two whole days longer.”
“But we did our best!”
Hong Yeom cried out somewhat desperately.
Sa Bigang replied with an indifferent expression.
“What’s important to me is results. ‘Best efforts’ would only matter to you all.”
“…!”
“Well, I’ll let it slide this time. I usually give people one break. But there won’t be a second time.”
“I’ll, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“So what’s the result?”
“Jigui.”
Jigui was one of the place names Sa Bigang had written down.
Sa Bigang slowly nodded.
‘Jigui… It’s farther than I thought. Well, I have to go there once anyway, so this might actually work out well.’
Having finished his thoughts, Sa Bigang lightly patted Hong Yeom’s shoulder.
“Good work. You may go.”
“Then you won’t be searching for anyone else anymore?”
“What kind of sad thing to say? Let’s meet often and build our relationship.”
When Sa Bigang casually put his hand on her shoulder, Hong Yeom’s complexion turned pitifully pale.
