The young man sighed.
The man was none other than Kang-hyuk.
"Essence? Ha! Your face looks like it's asking for a good beating!"
Kang-hyuk looked at the man in front of him. The man was clothed in black leather, and was wearing a black conical hat made out of woven bamboo. His sword was stained with the blood of the wolves.
"Are you going to be pigging out on the Wolves' Spiritual Essence on your own? If it's not that…."
Kang-hyuk glared at the man.
"What kind of elixir are you planning on making?"
"...."
The man's facial expression said all that needed to be conveyed.
"As far as I'm aware, there's only one elixir that is made out of Wolf Essence- the Dark Medicine Valley's Blood Mad Wolf Elixir.
"...!"
The man cried out in exclamation.
"Th-that, how!"
Even the memories of his past encounters with the Blood Mad Wolf Elixir put Kang-hyuk in an unpleasant mood.
A person who had consumed the elixir would jump onto random people, like a blood crazed wolf.
After an hour of the experience, the blood vessels and tendons of the person would cut off and die from the strain, however, the effect of the elixir would be that their physical strength and Qi capacity would be greatly increased.
Those who would be cla.s.sified as unpaid, unemployed wanderers, and whose lives didn't seem to have much worth, were usually given a dose of the elixir. The trouble arising from this wasn't minimal.
"By the tattoo on your wrist, it seems that you're from the Black Snake Sect. Why would someone from the Black Snake Sect be working for the Dark Medicine Valley….."
All of a sudden, Kang-hyuk's eyes narrowed, with a fierceness enveloping over them.
"Thinking about it, the Dark Medicine Valley is under the Blood King Valley isn't it? Therefore if the Black Snake Sect is working for the Dark Medicine Valley, it means that the Black Snake Sect is also working under the Blood King Valley."
The warrior from the Black Snake Sect was clearly startled.
Kang-hyuk recalled what the man had said to him earlier.
'Carry on with your field trip….'
His words clearly meant that he had been aware that the Academy was on a field trip, and this in itself could have many implications.
"I just thought of something to ask you."
"Don't think I'm going to speak so easily!"
The warrior from the Black Snake Sect pulled out his sword, brandishing it towards Kang-hyuk. Kang-hyuk didn't remain still.
He immediately placed his hands into his sleeves and swung his arms in a rolling motion towards the sword.
"...?"
With Kang-hyuk's single movement, the warrior's sword had split in two. The man's mouth went agape in astonishment.
A sword that hadn't broken under the strain of the claws of Spiritual Wolves, had been snapped into two almost effortlessly.
"Wh-what on earth is this…?! My sword!"
"Ah, this?"
Kang-hyuk held out the object he had been clutching.
"Attendance book."
"attendance book?"
"Yes, it's an attendance book. It's a book you use to call the names of students."
"Yo-you broke my sword with an attendance book? It doesn't make…."
"It doesn't make sense? You're a funny fellow. It's a general rule that regardless of the power of a weapon, if the man who is wielding it doesn't have much to do with it, the weapon's power will be halved."
"Arghhh!"
The man attempted to attack Kang-hyuk once more, but his hands were unable to reach him.
"It's a little bothersome, but I guess I'm going to have to repay your murder of the Wolves by giving you a good beating."
"What? This b.a.s.t.a.r.d teacher must be crazy."
"I'm a little sick of hearing that I'm crazy. I've heard it one too many times. Why don't you think up of a different curse this time?"
At that instant, the Black Snake Sect Warrior had goose b.u.mps all over his body from head to toe. His natural instincts were reacting to the energy flowing out from Kang-hyuk.
"You should be thankful that I'm not going to kill you because I have a question to ask you. Seeing as you killed five wolves, I think five beatings should be okay, right?"
However, the warrior ignored his natural instincts and his snapped sword, speaking out in a mocking manner.
"What kind of bulls.h.i.t…."
The warrior was unable to finish his sentence. Kang-hyuk's attendance book had come flying towards towards him, and hit the left side of his face.
"...."
His spirit had been shattered in one blow.
Time seemed to have stopped for a while.
As the man's internal organs began to twist, Kang-hyuk felt that that level of pain would be sufficient. However, within a few moments, the man began to experience a level of pain that was beyond what a normal person could ever experience.
The blood that the man had vomited contained fragments of his internal organs.
It was a pain that he didn't want to experience again.
He remembered that he had four beatings remaining.
The man felt as though cutting his right arm off would be preferable to receiving another beating.
He quickly cried out.
"Wwait a minute! I'll tell you! I'll tell you every…"
Kang-hyuk's attendance book flew towards the other side of the warrior's face.
"Arghh!"
The pain seemed to be worse than his last experience.
The man immediately slumped down, beginning to beg.
"Ahhh! I have done a great wrong! Please forgive me! I've done something incredibly unforgivable!"
"If you knew that you were performing misdeeds, then why did you proceed in your ma.s.sacre of the peaceful wolves? The fact that you did it whilst knowing that it was wrong is more disgusting! You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"
"Oh no!"
The Black Snake Sect warrior spat out blood once more.
He went in a daze. Despite his state of consciousness, he realized that Kang-hyuk was intending on giving him the full five beatings he had promised.
This was what had spurred him to make an unfortunate decision.
"Aaaahhhhh!"
He decided to run away.
"Ah. That's annoying."
Kang-hyuk threw his attendance book at the warrior, who was running for his life.
The attendance book flew through the air at a speed that was faster than the pace of the warrior, hitting the back of his head.
Kang-hyuk reached his hand in the direction of the warrior, who had fallen backwards at the strike of the attendance book.
He had used the technique of Heogongseopmul*.
The warrior had been pulled back, and was now face-to-face with Kang-hyuk thanks to the utilization of the energy technique.
The attendance book was also back safely in Kang-hyuk's hands.
"Uhhhh….."
The warrior, who was trembling in fear, looked up at Kang-hyuk. Kang-hyuk clicked his tongue and asked.
"Tsk tsk, didn't I tell you?"
"...?"
"That if you tried to run away, the five beatings would turn into fifty beatings."
"….Y-you didn't mention that."
"Are you now trying to say that I'm lying?"
"Sorry?"
"Did I not just say it right now?"
The Black Snake Sect warrior was in disbelief.
'He's mad! He's really a madman!'
Kang-hyuk spoke nonchalantly, not giving a d.a.m.n whether the man would internally curse him or not.
"And so, if we minus four beatings from the fifty…. You know what? It's bothersome having to calculate it. I'll just have to beat you fifty times."
*Pok-! Pok-! Pok-! Pok-!*
"Arghhhh! Please forgive me!"
*Pok-! Pok-! Pok-!*
"I'll never do such a thing again! After this, I'll retire to the countryside and live the life of a farmer!"
"Do you think anyone can start just farming?"
The warrior had a vision of the G.o.d of Death, smiling in front of him and holding out a gla.s.s of alcohol.
Kang-hyuk's beatings continued.
"Ahem, did I go too hard?"
Kang-hyuk looked a little perplexed at the sight of the warrior, who was lying unconscious on the ground.
He had finished the fiftieth beating with a little more energy added to it, which resulted in the current state of the man.
'Tsk tsk, a warrior of the Black Snake Clan being so weak….'
There was no one who would be able to survive Kang-hyuk's fully energized blow, so he had put minimal strength in his beating, around the amount he would use to swat a fly, but it had still resulted in the man losing his consciousness.
Kang-hyuk lifted the unconscious warrior up with the help of Heogongseopmul.
He had to take the warrior with him somehow, while knowing that he didn't want to dirty his shoulders with the man's blood.
Kang-hyuk decided to take the man with him, as he had been aware of the Academy's field trip, and wanted to make sure that he didn't cause any trouble after regaining consciousness.
He met the gaze of the wolf who had been staring at him, then spoke sternly.
"Are you satisfied now?"
*Aooo!*
"My time's nearly up. I'll have to get going. I hope you live well."
The wolf howled in response. Kang-hyuk could sense sadness in the wolf's howl, and spoke in response. "Well, when we meet again, I'll bring a bone with me. Ah! Wolves don't like bones, do they? Anyway, seeing as I saved your life, be sure to keep it well."
Within moments, Kang-hyuk had disappeared far off into the distance.
The white wolf, the leader of the pack, was looking at Kang-hyuk fading into the distance. It then turned to look at its son.
****
Kang-hyuk was in front of a cave. It was the very cave from which he had separated from Yun Hseong and Ok Hae-mi.
Exactly half an hour had gone by.
Yun Hseong and Ok Hae-mi's presence inside the cave confirmed to him that he wasn't late.
Kang-hyuk cut a vine near the cave entrance, and used it to tie the Black Snake Sect warrior up.
He had no need to check for the presence of venom within the warrior's mouth, as the man had already thrown any poison up when vomiting blood during Kang-hyuk's beating.
He ma.s.saged his shoulders with the attendance book whilst waiting for Ok Hae-mi and Yun Hseong to come back.
Soon, the sound of footsteps were heard, accompanied with the sight of Ok Hae-mi and Yun Hseong emerging from the mouth of the cave.
They had emerged, wearing bright expressions on their faces. This only had one meaning — that the cave had been deemed appropriate for usage as overnight shelter.
"Were you waiting quite long?"
"Kang Seonsaeng! Were you okay taking that wolf out of the cave? When we reached the end of the cave, it had a small hole at the top, through which the wolf had most likely fallen through…."
Their expressions suddenly stiffened. They had noticed the bound up warrior lying on the ground at Kang-hyuk's feet.
"But...who on earth is this!"
"I found the man acting suspiciously nearby, so I knocked him unconscious and tied him up."
This was of course, a false story.
"He's definitely suspicious. Anyone intruding on the Clan Leader's private property without permission would be cla.s.sified as such."
"The man also mentioned the field trip."
"What!?"
Taken aback, Yun Hseong immediately slapped the Black Snake Sect warrior's cheek, attempting to awaken him.
*Slap, slap.*
"Uhh….."
"Ah!"
The warrior surprised, opening his eyes in a flash.
Yun Hseong abruptly pushed his sword into the warrior's abdomen.
"Ow!"
"Reveal your ident.i.ty immediately!"
"I, I am….."
Kang-hyuk quickly spoke up.
"Judging by the tattoo on the side of his wrist, he must be from the Black Snake Sect!"
Having confirmed Kang-hyuk's words, Yun Hseong's gaze became filled with fury.
"What is your name, and who are you affiliated with?"
"...."
"If you want to keep your wrist, I would advise you to speak up!"
The warrior, having become aware of Kang-hyuk's presence, immediately replied.
"…..My name is Heuk-sim. I'm a subordinate of Mun-ju-nim."
"What is your purpose for being here?"
The man began to roll his tongue, in preparation of biting it.
Yun Hseong pressed his sword underneath the warrior's chin and spoke.
"Ahhh…"
"Don't even think of trying to die so easily! I promise you that I won't inflict any pain if you speak up."
The warrior recalled the pain that he had experienced from Kang-hyuk's beatings, including his incessant vomiting of blood and poison.
His body automatically responded from the mere thought of the experience, and his mouth opened out of its own accord.
"Oh no, I, I….."
In an instant, Kang-hyuk sent the warrior a telepathic message.
-I'm sure you know they wouldn't want to hear of your wolf hunting.
The warrior swallowed his groan.
Kang-hyuk spoke up coolly.
"I'd like to know more about the field trip you mentioned earlier."
"...."
The warrior hesitated. It wasn't something he could speak of carelessly.
Yun Hseong, who had his suspicions, spoke a single word.
"Cheon Jam-sa."
"...!"
The warrior's eyes trembled at the mention of the name. His reaction had a single conclusion — that he doubtlessly had some sort of connection to Cheon Jam-sa.
"So it has something to do with that."
Yun Hseong drew his sword and stabbed it into the left hand on the warrior, who was still lying on the ground.
"Arghhhhh!"
"It would have been better for you if you just spoke up. If you don't speak up, my sword is going to have to be marred with your blood repeatedly, which is something I would prefer not to happen."
"...."
"I could also use my special torture method if you'd like? You might have heard of it. We have a man who's an expert in torture at the Hwacheon Clan, who greatly improved the effects of this particular torture method."
The torture expert that Yun Hseong was referring to, was none other than Byeok Ae-rin.
But despite this, the warrior refused to speak.
"Where's my attendance book?"
Kang-hyuk searched around for his attendance book, whilst Ok Hae-mi looked at him slightly confused with her head tilted.
"Why are you looking for your attendance book?"
"Because I thought I had lost it somewhere in the process of catching that b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
Kang-hyuk replied, referring to his attendance book.
"Ah! There it is!"
However the warrior, who had almost been beaten to death with the attendance book, experienced Kang-hyuk's finding of it in a completely different way.
