Chapter 46
Seeing Mae Seol-lan glaring at him with a completely flushed expression, Sa Bigang couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
“Really… really, you can get us out of here? If you’re just bluffing, then stop it. I barely managed to get back here after escaping this place. If we get lost in the maze, we won’t even be able to find water.”
“Well, then it wouldn’t be bad to stay here a bit longer…”
“Hey!”
“Alright, alright. Let’s go.”
Sa Bigang got up from his seat while putting on his clothes.
Mae Seol-lan also quickly got up to follow, but Sa Bigang furrowed his brow and asked.
“Are you planning to go out like that?”
“What do you mean?”
“You should at least put something on…”
“Ah!”
Only then did Mae Seol-lan realize she was naked and quickly picked up her clothes to cover her chest.
“Wh-what are you staring at like that!”
“Anyone who saw this would think I had violated you or something.”
“Qu-quiet! Just hurry up and get us out of here!”
“Let’s do that. First, put on some clothes. If we go out together with you like this, it would be embarrassing for me too.”
Mae Seol-lan was inwardly irritated, but she couldn’t think of any words to argue back, so she gritted her teeth and put on her clothes.
“But why are you fine?”
“Ah, well, various things happened but it’s hard to explain…”
“No. I’m asking why you’re fine even after having relations with me.”
Normally, any martial artist would have lost all their Internal Energy.
But she wasn’t able to absorb even a handful of Internal Energy from Sa Bigang.
Moreover, she couldn’t feel any Internal Energy from Sa Bigang’s body at all.
Sa Bigang grinned.
“I converted all my Internal Energy into Mana.”
“Ma… what did you say? What does that mean?”
“Well, you’ll find out gradually. Now that I think about it, Mae Seol-lan being here means… the students have been left unattended all this time.”
Mae Seol-lan let out a deep sigh.
“Is that what matters right now? Anyway, since several months have passed, all the students must have returned to the Hall. I can only hope they all returned safely.”
“That’s not the case.”
“Why not?”
“The time inside this barrier flows differently from the time outside.”
“Barrier? Is that the name of the mechanical formation installed in this cave?”
“Well, something like that.”
Seeing Sa Bigang give a casual response, Mae Seol-lan bit her lip tightly.
Somehow, the longer she conversed with him, the more she felt like a fool.
“But I’ve never heard or seen of a mechanical formation that makes time flow differently.”
“Nevertheless, it’s true.”
“That’s…!”
Such an absurd story.
Time flowing differently?
But why did this man’s words seem believable?
Sa Bigang adjusted his clothing and said.
“Probably not even a full day has passed outside yet.”
“That’s impossible!”
“Well, check it later. Whether I’m wrong or right.”
“Then let’s get out of here right now!”
“Let’s do that. Now that I think about it, I saw signal flares go off before, but I thought Mae Seol-lan would be with them… but that wasn’t the case either.”
“Signal flares? Then we shouldn’t be taking it easy like this! A student might be in danger!”
“It’s fine. Even if we spend another day here, not even half a Gak would pass outside.”
“Even so, how long are we going to dawdle here! The students must be waiting for us!”
“It’s fine to make them wait a bit. Those kids need to learn the importance of instructors through this opportunity.”
“How can you say that right now?”
In the end, Mae Seol-lan was the first to start walking with quick steps.
“Mae Seol-lan?”
“What is it this time?”
“Not that way, this way.”
Sa Bigang pointed to the path in the opposite direction.
“What are you saying? That’s the way you came in, isn’t it?”
“Still, it’s this way.”
Sa Bigang grinned.
For a moment, Mae Seol-lan felt her cheeks burning and quickly averted her gaze as she spoke.
“Th-then since you know the way, lead the way.”
“Let’s do that. Now, take my hand.”
“H-hand? Why?”
Mae Seol-lan quickly touched her own hand and asked.
Even though they had embraced each other just moments ago, she was acting shy like this, which was rather cute.
Sa Bigang chuckled.
‘How did a woman like this learn Soul-Bewitching Absorption Art?’
He shrugged his shoulders.
“What if we get separated and you get lost again… then you might have to spend several years alone, don’t you think?”
Something too horrible to imagine.
“Well, if you really don’t want to, there’s nothing I can do.”
As Sa Bigang was about to start walking, Mae Seol-lan quickly ran over.
“W-wait! Who said I didn’t want to? I was just asking for the reason. The reason!”
Sa Bigang chuckled and firmly grasped her hand.
Mae Seol-lan blushed slightly and murmured in a small voice.
“Don’t… don’t let go of my hand. Ever.”
“Of course.”
***
Midnight had passed.
The students gathered in the inn’s front yard each kept their mouths tightly shut as they stared only at the end of the alley.
With expressions of waiting for someone.
Finally.
“This won’t do. Let’s go by ourselves.”
At Dan Li-jeong’s words, all the students looked at him.
When they had departed for the Martial Arts Study Journey, he had been so timid that he couldn’t even answer questions properly.
But now he was taking the lead more than anyone else, making the most dangerous statement.
“Then what about the instructors?”
One of the students asked.
Dan Li-jeong’s expression darkened completely.
“It doesn’t seem like they’ll return today. At this rate, it might be too late.”
A Shijin ago, signal flares had been launched from the inn.
But Sa Bigang and Mae Seol-lan still showed no sign of appearing.
Yeom Ja-ryang joined Dan Li-jeong’s opinion.
“Right, we can’t just wait for the instructors anymore. Let’s go by ourselves. Let’s go and rescue our classmates.”
“Us against the Black Blade Twin Demons? You said with your own mouth that those guys are so strong!”
Gok Bo-ok raised his eyebrows sharply and argued.
“But we have no choice. At this rate, Mok Dan-hwa’s group might be in danger…”
“Rather than that, how about we inform the Hall first?”
It was Yeon U-gyeong.
Everyone’s gaze turned to him.
“What are you going to do by informing the Hall?”
“Since an accident has occurred, shouldn’t someone rush to the Hall and report this fact? We need to inform them that both instructors have gone missing and that Mok Dan-hwa’s group has been kidnapped by the Black Blade Twin Demons.”
“We can do that later! Right now, we need every single person’s strength!”
“What if we all end up in trouble?”
“What?”
“Actually, I don’t understand why all the instructors disappeared either. Maybe the instructors were also taken by the Black Blade Twin Demons?”
“What kind of nonsense…”
Yeom Ja-ryang muttered with a wavering expression.
He had argued against it, but he too had considered the worst-case scenario.
‘It can’t be. The instructors wouldn’t be defeated by such guys.’
That’s when it happened.
“That’s obviously nonsense.”
A familiar voice!
Not only Yeom Ja-ryang but all the students turned their heads.
“Instructor!”
Dan Li-jeong shouted first.
There, Sa Bigang and Mae Seol-lan were approaching.
Yeon U-gyeong stared at the two with a darkened expression.
‘What? They were alive and well?’
He suddenly stepped forward and confronted them.
“Instructor. Where have you been all this time? Did you see our signal flares…!”
“I came because I saw them, didn’t I?”
“It seems rather late.”
“That’s just your feeling.”
Just then, Dan Li-jeong quickly ran up to Sa Bigang.
“Instructor! Mok Dan-hwa and Min Yu-hyang…!”
“I know. You’ve all had a hard time worrying. Leave it to me now.”
“How do you know…?”
“I overheard you talking on the way here.”
Before Dan Li-jeong could say anything, Sa Bigang turned toward Yeon U-gyeong.
“And… you guys. I heard from Mae Seol-lan. You followed Neung So-so last night, but it’s not related to Mok Dan-hwa’s kidnapping incident, is it?”
“Wh-what are you talking about? We never followed anyone…!”
At that moment, Mae Seol-lan stepped forward.
“Are you going to play dumb with me? Do you think I wouldn’t have sensed your presence when I approached So-so last night?”
“Th-that’s…!”
A look of bewilderment crossed Yeon U-gyeong’s face.
Soon he regained his composure and replied.
“We were just trying to play a prank. Anyway, that doesn’t seem to be the important issue right now, does it?”
“Really? You’re saying it’s completely unrelated?”
“That’s right.”
“I understand. I’ll accept you playing pranks on me as much as you want. But if other students get hurt because of it, then I won’t forgive you.”
“…!”
“Then, everyone go to your lodgings. Mae Seol-lan will stay with you.”
The students began to bustle and enter the inn.
Mae Seol-lan approached and casually spoke while pretending to look at distant mountains.
“B-be careful.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Who’s worried…”
She muttered quietly and quickly walked away.
But there was one student who didn’t enter the inn until the end and lingered at the entrance.
It was Cho Mun-tak.
He approached hesitantly.
“Um… Instructor.”
“What? Do you have something to say?”
“Those female students. Do you… have to rescue them?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Actually, those female students… they were kidnapped on purpose!”
“Kidnapped on purpose?”
Cho Mun-tak looked around once and then spoke in a whisper.
“Last night, I happened to overhear while passing by Yeon U-gyeong’s room. I saw Mok Dan-hwa’s group entering Yeon U-gyeong’s room.”
Feeling Sa Bigang’s strange gaze, Cho Mun-tak quickly waved his hands.
“Ah, I eavesdropped out of simple curiosity. A-actually, I wondered if they were playing some kind of naughty prank… I’m sorry.”
Since eavesdropping on others’ conversations wasn’t honorable behavior, Cho Mun-tak’s voice gradually became smaller.
“Well, I didn’t call you out because of that.”
When Sa Bigang spoke nonchalantly, Cho Mun-tak told him everything he had overheard that day.
“So I don’t think you need to rescue those students, Instructor! It’s their own fault. If necessary, I’ll testify at the Hall too. I don’t think you need to take unnecessary risks.”
“Hmm. So that’s how it happened.”
Sa Bigang nodded, but inwardly he was recalling different memories.
‘Mun-tak originally died early.’
Actually, he didn’t have many memories of Cho Mun-tak.
A guy whose very existence was dim.
He dies at the hands of Unorthodox Faction martial artists even before the Demon Realm’s invasion begins.
So he didn’t know much about him.
But now that he sees…
‘This guy also has some useful skills.’
Mok Dan-hwa is one of the students with excellent Energy Sense.
To kill his presence and eavesdrop on such a person is definitely a talent.
If raised well, he could be helpful in the future.
“Anyway, since you eavesdropped on your classmate’s conversation, which isn’t right, come find me every night starting tomorrow. I’ll give you a light punishment.”
“Yes? Ah, yes…”
“Then go inside to your lodging.”
“Are you… going? To rescue Mok Dan-hwa?”
“I have to. I’m an instructor, after all…”
“But to take such risks for students like that…!”
“There’s something you’re mistaken about…”
“Yes?”
“For me, it’s not really taking a risk.”
Sa Bigang grinned and walked away with big steps.
Meanwhile, there was someone on the second floor of the inn quietly looking down at the scene outside the window…
‘Tsk, was the presence that Mok Dan-hwa sensed that guy? That bastard, saying unnecessary things…!’
He ground his teeth and glared at Cho Mun-tak entering the inn.
