69 Chapter 68

The location was Yeongyowon.

Two people were seated inside the pavilion of the practice site that Kang-hyuk personally created.

They were both extremely good looking, wearing somewhat eye-catching attires.

The man was clothed in all black, while the woman was clothed in red. They were both wearing a blue tag, a symbol that they worked at the academy.

These two were none other than Shim-gu and Byeok Ae-rin.

"Has elder Hyung-nim come here to teach a class?"

"Indeed. He's over there teaching."

She then pointed at a building. Kang-hyuk's figure could be seen through an open window.

The sight of Kang-hyuk teaching touched Shim-gu. He had never seen such an expression beholding Kang-hyuk's face before.

Shim-gu knew what kind of feeling that expression conveyed.

It was the expression of happiness.

Shim-gu was overjoyed. This side of Kang-hyuk was something that all of the members of Kwaepungdae had been longing to see for so many years.

He then turned to look at Byeok Ae-rin.

"So, why did you want to see me?"

"I have a favour to ask of you."

"A favour?"

Byeok Ae-rin then took out a small piece of paper from her sleeve.

"Do you want me to investigate something?"

She nodded, and spoke, "I do. Orabeoni, you heard, right? What happened on the students' return journey?"

"I heard. Those Black Snake Sect bastards tried to target our kids!"

"My lord dealt with them personally. Unfortunately, there's still another problem."

"What problem?"

"We suspect that the Blood King Valley was controlling the Black Snake Sect's actions. You need to find their location."

Shim-gu expressed his dissatisfaction at the task. "Hey! That's no easy investigation. All the people that have spoken of the Blood King Valley's location ended up being beheaded!"

"I know."

"If you know, then why are you asking me of such a favour?"

"I'm just telling you that even if you only discover a crumb of information in regards to their location, let me know."

"Well, I guess that's not too bad."

Byeok Ae-rin then continued, "Also, there seems to be a rat infestation within the academy. Pay some attention to it."

"Of course."

Shim-gu's face suddenly froze, as he gnashed his teeth.

"What is that? That unpleasant energy?"

"What's wrong, Orabeoni?"

"I can smell the odour of rotten tobacco from somewhere."

Byeok Ae-rin lifted her head and looked around. She then nodded.

"It's Cheol-muk Orabeoni."

Having found the source of the smell within a short period of time, Byeok Ae-rin then spoke calmly, "I don't know why he's here, but I think things will become rather noisy with his presence, don't you think?"

"Indeed they will. We always get into fights."

"In that case, my lord's class will be disrupted, causing him to become angry, right?"

Shim-gu's mind began to wonder back to a time in the past where he caused a commotion.

He recalled Kang-hyuk's relentless blows to his abdomen, one after another.

Simply recalling his fists seemed to bring back the past pain.

Kang-hyuk's speciality was striking a location he had struck before.

Shim-gu responded to Byeok Ae-rin's prediction, "I'll be beaten…a lot….."

They sprang up, and began to run at full speed. What was most important was to leave the academy.

Ji Cheol-muk could sense Byeok Ae-rin's movement.

'Damn it! Where on earth are you going at such a speed?'

He grumbled, and changed his direction of movement. Byeok Ae-rin seemed to be heading for the northern mountains.

Ji Cheol-muk finally came to a halt.

A young man and a young woman were standing before him. Whilst he had never seen those faces, the young woman's face seemed to be somewhat familiar to him.

"Aerin-ah, it's been a while! What's with your face, is it the Ju-ansul technique?"

Byeok Ae-rin sighed at Ji Cheol-muk's greeting, and spoke, "It's good to see you again, Orabeoni."

"But why are you here?"

"Well…why are you here, Orabeoni?"

"Well, I heard that Shim-gu, that fellow, was working in the academy as a cleaner. I wanted to have a good look at his new occupation, but I couldn't sense his energy there so….."

Ji Cheol-muk trailed off.

It was because the young man standing next to Byeok Ae-rin suddenly seemed familiar. Unfortunately, Ji Cheol-muk didn't recognize the man's face.

'Th-thinking about it….'

The man was clothed in black.

Someone that he knew also went around permanently clothed in black.

The fan in the man's hands, and his earrings were also familiar.

He soon came to a realization of who the man really was.

"It can't be…are you Shim-gu?"

"This fellow, you finally realized! What? You wanted to come to see me clean?"

Ji Cheol-muk was taken aback.

"This bastard, let's settle things today, shall we!"

"Th-that's what I was going to say!"

Ignited into fury by Shim-gu, Ji Cheol-muk picked up his long white pipe.

Byeok Ae-rin sighed.

"Hah…Both of you are too much. You two aren't kids, for how many more years are you going to quarrel like this?"

Ji Cheol-muk and Shim-gu then spoke in unison, "This is something that is of significance between two men!"

"It's more important than life itself!"

"Well, I understand that there is something important enough that you would risk your lives on it, but is it so important that you would accept my lord's beatings for it?"

"...!"

The men hesitated at Byeok Ae-rin's words.

"You know of the catastrophes that ensue after a fight between you two, right? We're close to Jungcheon right now. If you fight here, people's lives are at risk."

Byeok Ae-rin grinned, but for some reason, her smile had a fear-inducing effect.

Shim-gu suddenly cried out, "Oh no! Come to think of it, I need to clean the classroom after the lesson finishes! I completely forgot! I guess I'll have to leave now!"

Shim-gu immediately ran towards the academy, while Ji Cheol-muk spoke with sweat dripping down his back, "I-I'd like to visit Kwaepungdae, I haven't been there for a while. Ahem. Ahem ahem."

He too left, with the speed of a flying arrow.

Byeok Ae-rin smirked as she looked upon them.

"My two Orabeonis are quite funny, aren't they! Hahahaha!"

***

"Hm, so I've finished watering this area…."

Cheon Hae-gwang took a small book out from the inside section of his robes. The cover of the book read 'Yeongyowon Log.'

It was a log that Cheon Hae-gwang himself had made for jotting down the tasks of his day.

He nodded after looking at the log.

"My work is done after I water that spot. I'd better hurry up and finish before Seonsaengnim finishes his class."

As Kang-hyuk's assistant, Cheon Hae-gwang was looking after the plants of his practice plot.

His education had been cut short after the extermination of his family, and so, his knowledge of

sacred herbs in comparison to most people of Moorim was a little lacking.

However, as he had a resolute wish to pay back Kang-hyuk's grace, he was studying the subject with dedication.

'I have to be a good assistant to him at the very least!'

As he was also receiving Baek-gap's assistance in his study of sacred herbs, his learning process hadn't been too challenging.

'Thinking about it….'

He remembered that he had just seen a maid and a cleaner coming, and then leaving Yeongyowon afterwards.

He knew that she was named Ae-rin, and did her job as a maid well, cooking delicious meals.

But for some unknown reason, Baek-gap, who seemed a lot older than the maid, behaved strangely around her, as though he was treading on eggshells.

He addressed her as 'Shikmo-nim [1]' and could barely reply when she spoke to him.

Therefore, following Baek-gap's example, he too called her Shikmo-nim.

'But it's quite strange. She looks at me in the same way that a grandmother would look upon her grandson.'

She seemed to be a maid with many mysterious facets to her, so much so that one could never really figure out her true identity.

'If we're thinking about mystery…. that young cleaner I saw earlier looked a bit strange as well.'

The cleaner was an acquaintance to Cheon Hae-gwang. They met on the day the field trip had ended, at Kang-hyuk's residence.

He found it fascinating that despite most cleaning staff preferring to wear grey, the man was always clothed in black, and didn't have a single speck of dust on his clothing.

'But I remember that the maid addressed him as 'Orabeoni' earlier despite them looking similar in age, and they can't be in a romantic relationship at the academy either…..could they be silblings?'

This was the most logical conclusion he could come up with.

The person that he found the most questionable was the person he was serving, Kang-hyuk.

He knew that Kang-hyuk was around twenty-four in age, yet Kang-hyuk claimed that he was older than his father.

He laughed at it at the time, taking the remark as a joke. Nonetheless, as something was still bothering him, he secretly asked Baek-gap after their return to the academy.

"Hyung-nim, how old is Kang Seonsaengnim?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Kang Seonsaeng said that he was older than my father. So that's why….."

"Ahem. Ahem ahem."

Baek-gap coughed, seemingly startled by his question.

He then responded with a somewhat vague statement, "When you walk up Moorim's Wudang Mountains."

"...?"

"My younger brother, the only truth is what you experience personally."

Baek-gap's strange response convinced Cheon Hae-gwang.

That there was indeed something more to Kang-hyuk.

"Have you watered all of them?"

Just on time, Kang-hyuk's voice resounded out from behind him. Cheon Hae-gwang immediately turned around and bowed.

"Yes, I've just finished watering them all."

"Good work."

A familiar face stood beside Kang-hyuk. It was the music teacher, Chu Gung-wol.

He was a teacher that was close to Kang-hyuk, and would often come to Yeongyowon to relax, as well as help with tasks.

"We should go and have lunch. We're going to eat with Chu Seonsaengnim today. Ae-rin said that she would prepare something special."

"Okay! I'll get the tools to take back with us to the residence!"

A thought flashed through Kang-hyuk's mind in that instant.

'Why didn't I think of that before?'

Up until now, they brought the tools needed for gardening up to Yeongyowon from the residence, then take them back when a class was over. Kang-hyuk had finally realized that this was a waste of time.

'We can build a tool storage shed!'

A certain man appeared within Kang-hyuk's mind.

'That fellow's pretty good at making things, if I remember correctly.'

Kang-hyuk looked at the rain bead that was dangling from his waist. The person that made this particular accessory for him was quite dextrous, and had a special skill for construction.

His skills were beyond that of an ordinary person, and so, the man had even been recommended for the head position of Kwaepungdae.

'I'll have to meet that fellow, seeing as he's already in Nakyang.'

Kang-hyuk was already aware of that person's presence in Nakyang.

***

The moon had risen.

Ji Cheol-muk was walking through the moonlit streets of Nakyang. He just had a large drinking session with his old subordinates at Kwaepungdae.

He called them to have a drink with them, and as he was buying, no subordinate of his could refuse.

The bill for the alcohol was quite high, but it wasn't something that Ji Cheol-muk couldn't afford.

He had stacked up a lot of money throughout his lifetime.

"Where did our…..hiccup...promise go…..hiccup."

He was drunk.

He could easily eliminate the drunken energy from his body, but he didn't wish to do so.

When he was heavily drunk, he would unconsciously begin to sing. Then again, at the same time, he would also feel a sense of sorrow.

The world was currently at peace. It was a world where one didn't have to spill blood on a daily basis, like the world before.

He felt wronged.

'I wish I could have lived in a world like this in my youth, damn it!'

He imagined that if he had met his elder Hyung-nim and the other members at a peaceful time, they wouldn't have had to endure such pain and difficulty together.

'We didn't fight so hard for a reward, but still…but still….'

He thought about the appearances of Shim-gu and Byeok Ae-rin when he met them earlier. They looked youthful, under the guises of the Byeonyongsul and Ju-ansul techniques.

Despite the fact that they may be accused of living under illusions, he could understand their feelings behind using the appearance changing techniques.

'If only I could be youthful again, and live in a peaceful world….'

All of a sudden, a group of men strutted up to him.

"Hey, you! Old man!"

Ji Cheol-muk lifted his head to look at them. They were almost definitely thugs.

"Where are you going on your own?"

"You look like you've got some money, why don't you give us some of it as alms for alcohol?"

"It would be better than you giving your life as alms, right? Hahaha."

"You don't look like you have much longer left to live, shouldn't you try to preserve your body?"

The men sniggered at their own words, while Ji Cheol-muk looked upon them with a pitiful gaze, and spoke, "You bastards are like insects."