Episode 118: The Return of the Demon Instructor
As Cheon Sae-myung watched the Sabigang River fade into the distance, he ground his teeth in frustration.
“What was that nonsense? People don’t change easily? Hmph! We’ll see about that. I’ll make sure you regret knowing me!”
His face twisted with anger as he turned to the man standing beside him, Deung Bu-hyung.
“What has that man been up to lately?”
“He’s still teaching the special class cadets. But there are some troubling rumors.”
“Troubling?”
“Yes, they say Instructor Sa has been giving the cadets strange weapons and equipment that no one has ever seen before. I’ve even seen some bizarre shoes myself.”
“Strange weapons? Where on earth did he get those?”
“The source is unclear.”
“Are you sure these weapons are real?”
“There are many rumors, but nothing has been confirmed.”
Deung Bu-hyung’s expression soured, recalling the fake report he had received from Sabigang last time. How embarrassing it had been when the Ho Yeon-gak Lord revealed it was a fake. He felt a surge of anger just thinking about it.
Cheon Sae-myung muttered under his breath, “Unidentified weapons…”
“Doesn’t it seem suspicious?”
“Have you looked into these weapons?”
“I asked the Ho Yeon-gak Lord, who knows more about weapons than anyone, but even he hasn’t seen anything like them.”
“So they might not be genuine. Or… someone might be backing him.”
Deung Bu-hyung flinched at Cheon Sae-myung’s words and turned to him.
“Now that you mention it, I’ve heard something along those lines.”
“What is it?”
“There’s talk that the former military advisor of the Justice Alliance holds Instructor Sa in high regard…”
“The former military advisor?”
Cheon Sae-myung looked at Deung Bu-hyung with surprise, then smirked coldly.
“Of all people, he chose a rotten lifeline.”
“Even if it’s rotten, he’s still the chief military advisor. We can’t touch him easily.”
Cheon Sae-myung nodded slightly. “Exactly. It’s a line that’s still holding, no matter how frayed. Directly confronting Instructor Sa might be risky.”
“So… are you just going to let it be? He might be ruining the Yongcheon Academy cadets.”
“Of course not. As an instructor, I can’t let that slide. I’ll make sure he pays.”
“How will you do that?”
“I can’t touch him directly, but if there’s something he cares about, that’s a different story.”
Cheon Sae-myung’s smile turned icy. “Who is the cadet he cares about the most these days?”
“He seems to care for all the special class cadets, but I’ve heard he’s particularly fond of a cadet named Dan Ri-jeong.”
“Dan Ri-jeong…?”
Cheon Sae-myung furrowed his brow, then nodded as if recalling something.
“Wasn’t he the cadet who couldn’t pay the fee during the martial arts trip?”
“Yes, that’s right. Perhaps he’s been receiving special treatment since then.”
“Interesting…”
A sly smile crept onto Cheon Sae-myung’s lips.
**
Knock, knock.
The sound of knocking roused Sabigang from his nap. He had been dozing with his feet propped up on his desk. Stretching, he called out, “Come in.”
The door opened, and Dan Ri-jeong entered.
“You called for me, Instructor?”
Dan Ri-jeong greeted him politely, as always. Though he didn’t stand out much compared to other cadets, he had many strengths. Most importantly, he was one of the few who had trusted and followed Sabigang from the start.
Sabigang placed two items on the desk. “Here, these are your gifts.”
“Are you sure I can accept such valuable things…?”
Ever the polite one. A bit dull, perhaps, but reliable. Sabigang chuckled.
“Why? Weren’t you pestering me to hurry up and give them to you?”
“Oh, that was…”
Dan Ri-jeong trailed off, realizing he hadn’t known how hard it was to obtain these items. Thinking back to what Sabigang had done to acquire them, he felt they were too precious to accept so easily.
Sabigang pointed to the items on the desk. “This is the Shadow Ring. You’ll figure out how to use it. It senses physical threats nearby and automatically deploys a shield, with the buckle ring counterattacking. But remember, the shield has a cooldown.”
Dan Ri-jeong stared blankly at Sabigang, not understanding most of what he said. Energy? Shield? Buckle? Cooldown? These were all unfamiliar terms. He only vaguely understood “shield” because Yeon Woo-kyung had used one before. And he had seen the Shadow Ring in action, so he had some idea.
“The shield takes time to activate again after it’s used. And if a master attacks, it might break. So, think of it as a way to block one or two surprise attacks. Relying on it too much is dangerous.”
“I understand.”
“Don’t worry, you won’t have any trouble using it. It doesn’t require precise mana control.”
“Yes…”
“Well? Aren’t you going to put it on?”
“Oh, right now?”
“Unless you want to wait until this time next year?”
“Oh, okay.”
Dan Ri-jeong quickly fastened the belt under his uniform, deciding it was better to wear it discreetly. Sabigang agreed; there was no need to show all your cards.
Sabigang pointed to the next item. “And this is the Dragon Eye… or ‘Yongan.’”
“How did you…?”
Instead of answering, Sabigang picked up the Yongan, about the size of a fist, and slowly brought his fingers to it. A small amount of energy gathered at his fingertip, and as he made a motion, the Yongan’s shell peeled away slightly, revealing something the size of a human eye. It floated in the air, controlled by Sabigang’s internal energy.
“It’s called a ‘lens.’”
“A lens…?”
“I’ll skip the details. You just need to wear it on your eye.”
“On my eye?”
Dan Ri-jeong pointed to his own eye, wide with surprise.
“Yes.”
“It won’t hurt, will it?”
“Not at all. Once you wear it and rub your eyes a bit, you won’t even feel it.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Come here.”
“Yes.”
Dan Ri-jeong leaned in, and Sabigang carefully maneuvered the lens toward his eye, their faces naturally drawing closer. Dan Ri-jeong tried not to blink, holding his eyes wide open with tension.
Just then.
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking interrupted them.
“Instructor… someone’s here…”
“Stay still. If we don’t get this on in one go, we’ll lose a valuable item. Don’t move.”
“Oh, okay…”
Sabigang gently held Dan Ri-jeong’s eyelid open and placed the lens over his eye. Just then, the door swung open, and Cheon Sae-myung entered.
Dan Ri-jeong quickly pulled back and straightened up, but the strange scene had already registered with Cheon Sae-myung.
‘What on earth was that…?’
He was taken aback, glancing between Sabigang and Dan Ri-jeong. Dan Ri-jeong was covering his face with one hand, avoiding eye contact as if embarrassed.
Of course, he was simply pressing on his eye to ease the discomfort of the newly inserted lens.
Finally, Dan Ri-jeong turned to Cheon Sae-myung and bowed.
“Hello, Instructor.”
“Ahem. Yes, hello.”
Cheon Sae-myung looked at Dan Ri-jeong with a puzzled expression. The way he kept blinking made him seem like someone caught in the act.
‘Could it be… are they…?’
Dan Ri-jeong was neatly dressed but not particularly feminine in appearance. Then again, who said those who indulge in such things only like feminine faces? Rumor had it that even the manliest of men sometimes found comfort in each other’s arms.
‘This man is truly despicable!’
But without concrete evidence, he couldn’t say anything.
Sabigang’s sharp voice cut through his thoughts. “Is barging in without waiting for a response your style, Chief Cheon?”
“Haha, my apologies. I assumed you’d be here. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important?”
“You almost did, but it’s fine now.”
Though Sabigang was referring to the lens, Cheon Sae-myung interpreted it differently.
‘This wretched man… taking advantage of an innocent cadet…!’
Now he understood why Sabigang hadn’t fallen for Mae Seol-ran. He had blamed Instructor Mae without knowing the truth.
‘I was foolish too.’
But now it was time to get to the point.
“It seems you hold this cadet in high regard, Instructor Sa.”
“All my students are important to me. But what brings you here?”
“Unfortunately, as of today, Cadet Dan Ri-jeong will be expelled from Yongcheon Academy.”
“What?”
The one who cried out in shock was Dan Ri-jeong. Sabigang frowned and looked at Cheon Sae-myung.
“Why?”
Cheon Sae-myung glanced at Dan Ri-jeong before answering. “Are you aware that if Dan Ri-jeong were officially enrolled, he would be in his second year now?”
Sabigang nodded silently.
Dan Lijeong was one of the cadets who had been held back.
It wasn’t because he lacked ability.
It was because he hadn’t been able to pay last year’s tuition in full.
“You still owe last semester’s tuition. And this semester’s, too. As the academy, we can’t overlook this any longer.”
At those words, Dan Lijeong hung his head, as if he were guilty of some crime.
Sabi Kang’s expression hardened slightly.
“Is that true?”
“Of course. If you don’t believe me, you can check the records yourself…”
“No, I’m questioning the academy’s decision. Are you really expelling a cadet just because he couldn’t pay the tuition?”
Cheon Saemyeong’s expression tightened.
There it was again, that tone.
Whenever something didn’t sit right with him, his tone would change like that.
Cheon Saemyeong replied with a stiff expression.
“Yes, of course. We have to be fair.”
“How petty. Kicking out a cadet over a few coins of tuition.”
Sabi Kang muttered to himself, and Cheon Saemyeong’s eyebrow twitched.
“What, what? Petty…? Listen, Instructor Sa, do you even know how much the tuition is?”
“How much?”
At Sabi Kang’s question, Cheon Saemyeong sneered.
‘He really has no idea about the real world.’
The tuition at Yongcheon Academy was exorbitantly high, unmatched by any other institution.
Only the wealthiest families or the most prestigious sects could even dream of sending someone there. Dan Lijeong’s sect, Ilseong Sword Sect, had stretched their resources to make it happen.
“Last semester, this semester, and the current one combined, the total comes to eighteen hundred nyang. Add in various fees, and it’s easily two thousand.”
Cheon Saemyeong smirked inwardly.
How about that?
He must be shocked out of his wits.
It’s an amount you couldn’t save up even if you didn’t spend a single coin for years.