"Master!!" Heuk-yeong dropped the luggage he was carrying and rushed to Gongsun-su, who was lying on the bed.
"Hehe. You've come?"
"A-are you alright?" Heuk-yeong, his face pale, quickly grabbed Gongsun-su's wrist to check his pulse.
At the same time, he pulled out a series of elixirs and golden needles from his pocket.
"First, take this and take off your clothes. I'll administer acupuncture right away!"
"What, what are you doing!" Gongsun-su pushed away the hands trying to force the elixir into his mouth and undress him, looking appalled.
"Come on, don't make a fuss. It's just a minor internal injury."
"But you were ambushed! Who dared to attack you, Master!"
"Hmm. I'm like this, but that guy lost an arm. I didn't cut it off, though... I won the duel..."
Lying on the bed, Gongsun-su seemed embarrassed to say he won, and he kept clearing his throat.
Seeing this, Heuk-yeong's eyes seemed to blaze with fury.
"Someone hurt Master, and you only cut off one arm? I'll go right now and tear him to pieces..."
Srrrng...
Heuk-yeong's fierce expression looked like he was ready to slice someone up at any moment.
Gongsun-su grabbed Heuk-yeong's arm as he was about to draw his sword and shouted to me.
"Mr. Baek! Don't just stand there, help me stop him. Something serious might happen at this rate."
"Calm down, Heuk-yeong! Master said he's alright!"
"Let go! Are you going to let go or not?!"
After barely managing to stop Heuk-yeong, who was determined to go kill Jo Mak-saeng or Jo Jin-saeng, I sighed and spoke to Wi Ji-cheon.
"I heard a bit on the way here. Still, Ji-cheon, explain in detail. What exactly happened?"
"Well..."
Wi Ji-cheon began to explain to us what had happened at the martial arts stage.
But during the story, something bothered me.
"... Suddenly, Jo Mak-saeng screamed and charged. His eyes turned blood red, and from his dagger, a gray sword aura..."
"Wait a minute. What sword aura?"
Seeing my expression suddenly turn serious, Wi Ji-cheon stopped talking and widened his eyes.
"Yes? A gray sword aura from the dagger..."
Gray, you say?
The color of sword aura varies greatly depending on the internal energy cultivation method practiced.
So a gray sword aura itself isn't strange.
However, combined with the surrounding circumstances, I felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
I turned to Gongsun-su and asked.
"Master. You said that guy attacked you with the intent to kill. Was he really that provocative?"
Gongsun-su shook his head as if there was nothing to think about.
"It wasn't to that extent. In the imperial palace, I've made many people clutch their necks and collapse... but I wouldn't do that to such a young child."
Then Jo Mak-saeng's sudden action must be attributed to his impulsive nature.
'That's too strange.'
To lose his mind and try to kill his opponent just because he lost once in a duel? 'And in front of so many people? Is he really that reckless? Even those who have mastered demonic arts aren't that...'
As I continued my thoughts to that point, I grasped the source of the unease that had been lingering in my mind.
"Could it be..."
"Teacher. What's wrong?"
"Why are you like that?"
Seeing my serious expression, Gongsun-su also looked at me with a grave face.
I forced a smile and said.
"... It's nothing."
I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, so I couldn't be sure yet.
There was enough circumstantial evidence, but...
'I guess I'll have to go meet Jo Mak-saeng myself soon.'
Just as I resolved to go meet Jo Mak-saeng, there was a loud bang! The door burst open as if it would break, and Heon Won-gang, with disheveled hair, rushed in.
"Grandpa! Where's Grandpa!!"
He quickly turned his head and, upon seeing us, sighed in relief and walked over.
"Are you alright? I heard you got hurt during the duel! Who the hell did this to an old, sick man? Wait, I'll go and half-kill them right now..."
Thwack!
Heon Won-gang, who got hit on the back of the head by me, clutched his head.
"Ouch! Why did you hit me!"
"Because we already talked about it, so don't bring it up again."
"Tsk. I rushed over because I was worried... Anyway, you're okay, right?"
Our voices, bickering around Gongsun-su, were so loud that a passing doctor frowned and cautioned us.
"You four over there. Please be quiet as there are other patients."
"Oh, yes."
"Sorry."
"Ahem..."
"..."
As we all fell silent at once, the patient, Gongsun-su, laughed heartily as if he was enjoying himself.
"Hahaha. Seeing so many people worried about me getting hurt, I must be lucky in my later years."
The next night, at Namgung-su's residence.
"M-master. Please don't abandon me. Forgive me just this once..."
Jo Mak-saeng, with bandages wrapped around his severed left arm, lay flat on the ground, begging in front of Namgung-su.
"I told you."
Namgung-su's expression, looking down at Jo Mak-saeng, was as cold as ice.
"You no longer have the qualifications to be my disciple."
Jo Mak-saeng lifted his head abruptly.
"It was really a mistake! Just give me one more chance. Then I'll definitely get revenge on those people..."
"Revenge? You still haven't come to your senses."
"Hup!"
A subtle anger appeared on Namgung-su's furrowed brow.
Realizing his slip of the tongue, Jo Mak-saeng shut his mouth, but it was already too late.
Namgung-su turned away coldly.
"Throw him out."
"Yes."
Namgung-seok and Jin-jin, who had been waiting behind, grabbed Jo Mak-saeng by the shoulders and dragged him out.
"Master, Masteeer!"
Jo Mak-saeng struggled desperately to resist, but even when his arm was intact, he was no match for the two.
Now, he didn't stand a chance.
In the end, he was dragged out and thrown outside the residence.
"Ungrateful orphan brat."
Jin-jin, as if he had touched something dirty, took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands.
"Be grateful it ended like this. The master could have destroyed your dantian and severed your meridians, and you wouldn't have been able to say a word."
Jin-jin turned around and went back inside the residence.
"S-seok!"
Jo Mak-saeng crawled on the ground and clung to Namgung-seok's pants.
"Can't you talk to the master for me? You're from the same Namgung family... I'll do whatever you say from now on. Please?"
"Let me give you a warning."
Namgung-seok squatted in front of Jo Mak-saeng.
Crack!
He roughly grabbed the hair of the boy who had once been his fellow disciple.
A chilling murderous intent flowed from his eyes.
"Don't go around using my uncle's, no, Master Namgung-su's name or insulting him. If I hear even a little rumor, I'll come find you myself and kill you."
"Ugh, ugh..."
Namgung-seok released his grip on Jo Mak-saeng's hair and smiled.
Then he took out a few silver coins from his pouch and shoved them into Jo Mak-saeng's arms.
"I hope that doesn't happen. After all, we once learned martial arts together."
Jo Mak-saeng, frozen with fear, nodded desperately.
"O-okay."
"Then get lost. I'll go in after I see you disappear."
Jo Mak-saeng got up and staggered away from Namgung-su's residence.
He was too afraid to look back, fearing Namgung-seok might be watching.
'Damn it.
Damn it.
Damn it...!'
He felt wronged and resentful.
It was miserable and pathetic.
He hated the world and wanted to kill everyone.
Jo Mak-saeng's eyes were filled with bloodlust.
'It's all because I'm an orphan, because I'm an orphan.'
Jo Mak-saeng was an orphan.
He didn't remember his parents' faces.
He was abandoned around the age of five and grew up in an orphanage.
The fortunate thing was that the orphanage he was abandoned at was one of the orphanages sponsored by the Namgung family.
He learned basic martial arts at the orphanage.
They said if he had talent, he could become a warrior of the Namgung family in the future.
So he learned desperately, and luck was on his side.
-You have quite the talent.
Jo Mak-saeng proved his skills in front of Namgung-su and eventually caught his eye.
-Take the entrance exam for the Blue Dragon Academy this year.
I'll help you.
He received martial arts tutoring, which others paid hundreds of nyang for, for free.
Namgung-su even wrote a recommendation letter for him.
-This is Namgung-seok.
This is Jin-jin.
They're both much better than you, so learn a lot from them.
-I'm Namgung-seok.
Let's do well.
-You're an orphan, right? You're lucky.
The two fellow disciples were annoying in a different way, but it didn't matter.
As long as he could enter the Blue Dragon Academy, his future would be bright.
It should have been...
"To be ruined because of a smelly old man and a brat..."
Jo Mak-saeng didn't think any of this was his fault.
Losing an arm, being abandoned by Namgung-su, and being kicked out of the residence.
It was all the world's fault, and because he was an orphan.
'If it were Namgung-seok who lost an arm, would they have stayed still?'
Jo Mak-saeng couldn't even imagine.
If Namgung-seok had done the same thing, he would have returned to the Namgung family and received an even more terrible punishment.
"This isn't my fault. It's the old man's, the brat's, Namgung-seok's, Jin-jin's, and Namgung-su's fault..."
His victim mentality turned into uncontrollable rage against the world.
It felt like there was a burning lump inside him.
If he didn't release it, he felt like he would burn to death.
"Hehe..."
Seeing the one-armed maniacal laughter, people quietly moved away.
Jo Mak-saeng, wandering aimlessly, found a dark alley and entered it.
Leaning against the alley wall, he muttered.
"Hehe. I'll kill them all. Wi Ji-cheon, that bastard, the old man, Jin-jin, Namgung-seok, Namgung-su, I'll kill them all someday."
But first, he would kill someone, anyone.
Jo Mak-saeng didn't enter the alley for no reason.
A drunkard coming to relieve himself, a merchant in a hurry taking a shortcut, a beggar looking for a place to sleep, a child who took a wrong turn.
"Hehe. It doesn't matter who. I'll tear them apart and kill them..."
"That's a relief. I won't feel guilty then."
"!!"
Startled by the sudden voice, Jo Mak-saeng flinched.
From the darkness of the alley, a person slowly emerged.
"Wh-who..."
Fortunately, it wasn't Namgung-seok or Namgung-su, whom he had just cursed and vowed to kill.
It was an unexpected but familiar face.
"... Baek Su-ryong?"
"Call me teacher."
Baek Su-ryong, smiling faintly, approached Jo Mak-saeng.
"Hmm. Come to think of it, no. You won't be able to enter, so call me whatever you like."
"Wh-why are you here..."
"Let's not waste each other's time."
Whoosh!
In an instant, Baek Su-ryong closed the distance and grabbed Jo Mak-saeng by the neck.
Jo Mak-saeng had prepared for a surprise attack, but he couldn't even see it properly.
"Gah, gah!"
Dangling from Baek Su-ryong's arm, Jo Mak-saeng widened his eyes.
The strong grip felt like it would break his neck at any moment.
'Why?'
Was it because he said he would kill the old man? Because of that bastard Wi Ji-cheon? Did Namgung-su order it? Or... because he was an orphan?
Whatever it was, Jo Mak-saeng didn't want to die here.
"Please, spare me..."
"Answer me first."
The face of Baek Su-ryong, whom he had seen a few times at the Blue Dragon Academy, was different.
His expression was colder than an assassin's, and his eyes gleamed with madness like someone who killed as easily as eating.
The murderous intent he felt from Wi Ji-cheon seemed like a joke compared to the terrifying killing intent that enveloped his entire body.
"Are you a spy for the Blood Sect?"
The moment the word Blood Sect came out, Jo Mak-saeng's eyes turned completely blood-red.