Chapter 48
Left Demon swallowed his saliva and looked at Sa Bigang.
Sa Bigang turned his gaze with an emotionless expression and walked step by step toward him.
‘What, what kind of monster is this all of a sudden…!’
A supreme master?
No, perhaps even beyond that.
An opponent whose strength was impossible to gauge.
He had merely flicked his finger, yet Right Demon’s head was crushed and he died instantly.
‘This makes no sense….’
Left Demon drew his black blade and retreated step by step.
It felt like a giant mountain was approaching.
Seeing that no one was coming in despite the situation, it seemed all his subordinates had been dealt with.
Finally, when Sa Bigang reached right in front of him.
“Sp, spare me! Great Hero!”
Left Demon prostrated himself flat and trembled violently.
Sa Bigang lowered his eyes and gazed down at Left Demon beneath his feet.
“You fellows don’t seem like the type who can be reformed through guidance. How many people have you killed so far?”
Left Demon trembled as he thought.
But there was no way to know.
He had never bothered to count such things.
He squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
“I, I don’t know for sure. But from now on, I’ll live virtuously!”
“Should I believe those words?”
“Of course! I’ll swear on my life!”
“Hmm. Good, then I’ll spare you.”
“Ah…?”
This easily?
Left Demon looked up with a somewhat bewildered expression.
Sa Bigang had already turned around as if he had no more business and was walking away.
Just then, the corpse of Right Demon with his crushed head came into view.
‘Foolish bastard! How truly simple-minded! To dare show his back in front of me!’
In an instant, Left Demon launched himself like lightning.
“Die!”
In a flash, he reached Sa Bigang’s back and brought down his black blade.
Shuaaaang!
‘Huh?’
He was certain he had cut his opponent, but….
Crash!
The blade cut through empty air and struck the ground.
‘Wh, where did he…!’
Then.
“Here, over here.”
A voice from behind.
Left Demon turned around stiffly.
Grab!
Sa Bigang’s hand seized his head.
“Huk!”
“Don’t turn around. Looking at your disgusting face might annoy me.”
“Sp, spare me….”
“Hehe. How well you babble. I knew from the beginning you would act like this.”
“I, I’ll never do it again….”
“I know. I know you won’t do it again. Because….”
Suddenly Left Demon let out a scream.
“Huk, uak, uaaaaaaaak!”
In an instant.
Splat!
With a dull sound, his head burst like a watermelon.
Sa Bigang muttered with coldly chilled eyes.
“…a dead bastard can’t do it again.”
Only then did Sa Bigang’s gaze turn to Mok Dan-hwa standing to one side.
She had retreated to one wall and was hugging her arms while trembling faintly.
Sa Bigang picked up the clothes that had fallen on the floor and threw them to her.
“Put these on. The day is still cold.”
***
The next day.
News of the Black Blade Twin Demons’ deaths spread quickly throughout the village.
People somehow knew that Sa Bigang, who had eliminated the Black Blade Twin Demons, was the benefactor who had saved Angang from crisis, and they gossiped about this fact.
The owner of the inn where Sa Bigang had taken lodging decided, after consulting with the village people, not to charge any lodging or meal fees.
It meant they couldn’t take money from the benefactor who had eliminated the village’s scourge.
Moreover, he treated Sa Bigang and the Yongcheon Hall students with great hospitality.
“Hahahaha! I don’t know if we should be receiving such good treatment!”
When Sa Bigang laughed heartily, the innkeeper smiled broadly and replied.
“Oh my, what are you saying? If the Great Hero hadn’t come to our village, who would have dealt with those vicious bastards? Great Hero, you are our village’s benefactor!”
Sa Bigang half-listened to the innkeeper’s words while being absorbed in eating his food.
Chomp chomp. Smack smack.
“This boiled chicken is very delicious! The broth is also light and excellent.”
“Haha, thank you. If there’s anything lacking, please let me know anytime. This is a small token of sincerity from the village residents and myself to the Great Hero.”
“Thank you.”
Empty plates piled up high in front of Sa Bigang.
The students watched Sa Bigang in a daze.
“Eating like that, his stomach will burst.”
“Anyone seeing this would think he’s someone who hasn’t eaten for days.”
In reality, Sa Bigang hadn’t eaten anything for over a month after consuming the Dragon Heart, but the students who had been outside the barrier had no way of knowing this fact.
Mae Seol-lan’s situation was the same.
Having been trapped in the barrier’s cave for months eating only grilled fish, seeing the precious foods laid out on the table made her mouth water naturally.
Therefore, she too forgot about dignity and ate frantically.
The innkeeper brought out more food personally and said.
“But how did the Great Hero kill those bad bastards in just one night?”
“Well… those bastards touched our student, so I had no choice.”
“My! Those bastards who didn’t know their place dared to touch the Great Hero’s disciple!”
“That’s right. Those bastards stripped that child’s clothes and put a dog collar on her. And then they told her to crawl on all fours, didn’t they? Something about making a tail for her?”
“Ah, th, there’s no need to speak in such detail….”
“Of course, that child refused, but those despicable bastards slapped her face. And then….”
Sa Bigang continued rambling while eating his food.
The innkeeper, who had suddenly found himself listening to detailed accounts of last night’s events, fidgeted restlessly while glancing at Mok Dan-hwa sitting in one corner.
Meanwhile, Mok Dan-hwa clenched her molars and glared at Sa Bigang’s chattering figure.
‘Sa Bigang…!’
Just then, Min Yu-hyang, sitting beside her, subtly read the mood and asked.
“Dan-hwa. Are you okay?”
“That man wasn’t trying to rescue us.”
“Huh? Ah, but… in the end, the instructor came and….”
“Don’t tell me you want to thank the instructor now?”
Mok Dan-hwa looked back at Min Yu-hyang with a cold expression.
Min Yu-hyang quickly waved her hands.
“N, no. It’s not that, but….”
“Just wait and see. I’ll soon unmask that instructor.”
Mok Dan-hwa bit her lips tightly.
She couldn’t forget Sa Bigang’s gaze as he looked at her beside the Right Demon.
Truly the gaze of a bystander.
If she hadn’t confessed everything honestly, Sa Bigang would never have stepped forward.
‘I’ll tell father everything. Just wait and see.’
She quietly gritted her teeth like that.
***
Thud!
Following a heavy sound, the tree shook and soon pine needles scattered and fell.
In an instant.
Swish! Swish swish!
Following sharp cutting sounds, flashes of light streaked through the air in all directions.
Rustle rustle rustle.
The scattered pine needles were already finely chopped like powder and scattered around.
The man standing tall in the center.
It was none other than Mok Cheol-u, head of the Flash Sword Mok Family.
As he sheathed his sword, a middle-aged man approached.
“Truly befitting of the Family Head. Your Lightning Flash Sword has reached a profound level.”
However, Mok Cheol-u shook his head with a dissatisfied expression.
“Not yet. It’s still lacking.”
“Family Head, you are too greedy.”
“Nonsense. More than that, there must be a reason Chief Manager Seo came all the way to the rear garden to find me?”
“There is word from the Young Miss who departed on the Martial Arts Study Journey.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Only then did Mok Cheol-u’s stone-like expression brighten.
His affection for his daughter Mok Dan-hwa was more special than anyone’s.
People even gave him the nickname ‘daughter fool’ because of this.
“So, where is she now?”
“The place where she sent the letter was a small village called ‘Jayang.’ By now, she should have arrived at a place called ‘Pungyang.'”
“Pungyang?”
“Yes, after stopping by there, she plans to return to the academy. At that time, there’s a high possibility she’ll pass near here, near Songbaek.”
“Oh, then I’ll be able to see her face after a long time.”
“But… it seems various things happened during the Martial Arts Study Journey.”
“Various things?”
Mok Cheol-u asked in a deliberately sharp tone, sensing an ominous feeling from the chief manager’s voice.
The chief manager handed over a letter.
“It would be better if you read it directly….”
“Hmm.”
Mok Cheol-u almost snatched the letter and began reading.
As time passed, his expression gradually distorted, and soon his hand holding the letter began trembling.
Finally, he crumpled the letter and shouted.
“How can this be! I must go to the academy immediately and confront them!”
“This is not a matter to act on lightly. Currently, that Sa Bigang fellow is nothing short of a hero in Jayang.”
“A hero? A hero for killing just two such bastards? Ha! My daughter was subjected to terrible treatment by those bastards!”
“It’s unfortunate, but the Young Miss also bears some fault in that matter….”
“Even so, how could he just watch with his eyes wide open when a student was being subjected to such terrible treatment!”
“That too, since there are no witnesses, it can only be received as one-sided claims from our side.”
Since these were all reasonable words, Mok Cheol-u grumbled but couldn’t retort.
Still, he felt so furious that he wouldn’t be able to sleep if he just sat still.
Chief Manager Seo Jin-rip quietly sighed.
He knew this would happen.
When it came to his daughter, getting excited first without considering the consequences was the Family Head’s weakness.
That’s why he had deliberately informed him first that she would be passing through this area.
Seo Jin-rip spoke calmly.
“First, please calm down, and since she’ll be passing nearby later, how about meeting her directly then?”
“Hmm. That would be good! I must see that bastard’s face directly and have a conversation with him!”
“You’ve thought well. When that instructor meets the Family Head directly, he’ll acknowledge his wrongdoing.”
This method was the best.
Going all the way to the academy to confront them might unnecessarily escalate the matter.
Since the Young Miss was clearly at fault in this incident, it was better to meet quietly and crush his spirit.
‘Well, that instructor wouldn’t be foolish enough to engage in a battle of wills after meeting the Family Head directly.’
Of course, even at this point, Seo Jin-rip didn’t realize he was making a grave mistake about Sa Bigang.
“How could my daughter be assigned to the Special Purpose Class where only problem students are gathered! I must confront them about that too!”
Mok Cheol-u trembled with indignation.
***
Pungyang was a poor village.
Being located relatively on the outskirts geographically, it was a place where even the common inn was hard to find.
“Instructor. We’ve entered Pungyang, but where should we go?”
Yeom Ja-ryang approached the side of the carriage and shouted his question.
Just then, Sa Bigang opened the window and looked outside.
His appearance of frowning and looking around suggested he had taken a nap.
‘Really, the students have been on a forced march for days without proper rest….’
During the Martial Arts Study Journey, Sa Bigang’s daily routine consisted entirely of teaching the students a strange breathing method morning and evening.
“Hmm. Tell Dan Li-jeong to keep following the road.”
“Yes? But then we’ll leave the village.”
“That’s right. We’re not staying in this village.”
“But didn’t you say you’d stop by Pungyang village and then return toward Songbaek?”
“That’s because the village I really want to go to isn’t officially known.”
“A village that’s not officially known… exactly where are you trying to go….”
“Do you see over there?”
Sa Bigang’s finger pointed to a distant mountain.
A mountain that blocked like a folding screen.
Considering the terrain, Pungyang was like a village existing at the end of the world.
“That’s a mountain valley.”
“Right, we’re going to that valley.”
“What? What’s there?”
“There’s something that will surprise you. Anyway, why do you talk so much? When I say go, just go!”
Sa Bigang, who had shouted angrily, slammed the window shut.
Yeom Ja-ryang sighed lightly and conveyed Sa Bigang’s words to Dan Li-jeong, who was driving the horse in front.
Then he stopped a passing old man and asked.
“Elder, do you happen to know what’s in that mountain valley?”
Instantly, the old man’s complexion turned pale.
He made a fierce expression and shouted.
“Why do you want to know that?”
“Ah, we’re heading there now….”
“Crazy…! Aren’t you afraid of divine punishment!”
The old man turned around abruptly as if he didn’t want to exchange another word and walked away.
Yeom Ja-ryang watched the old man’s retreating figure with a blank expression.
‘What? Divine punishment….’
He scratched his head and looked at the mountain valley shrouded in clouds.
Somehow it looked more ominous than before.
