Episode 25: Return to the Dark Sect
“This is getting more complicated than I thought.”
Gok Bo-ok’s face was etched with worry as he looked down the hill.
He had seen Sa Bi-gang leave the academy with Yeom Ja-ryang in the dead of night.
Immediately, Gok Bo-ok and Yeon Woo-gyeong had followed them.
But the place Sa Bi-gang headed to was none other than the Black Serpent Sect.
How he found it was a mystery, but contrary to their expectations that he’d be thrown out at the gate, he had turned the place upside down.
Gok Bo-ok muttered in disbelief.
“Was Instructor Sa always this skilled?”
Though he was watching from a distance, it was the first time he had seen such prowess firsthand.
“Do you think things will go wrong?”
“Even if they do, it’s not our problem.”
Yeon Woo-gyeong replied coolly, standing beside him.
“But this is our doing…”
“We didn’t do anything. All we did was mention that Yeom Ja-ryang would be meeting someone outside.”
“True, that’s all we did.”
Gok Bo-ok nodded, feeling reassured by Yeon Woo-gyeong’s usual calm demeanor.
But then—
“What are you two doing here?”
A chilling voice.
A dark shadow loomed over Gok Bo-ok and Yeon Woo-gyeong.
**
Deung Bu-hyeong was momentarily speechless.
Of all places, Sa Bi-gang had to be here.
As Sa Bi-gang’s gaze flicked towards the Seung-ryong Blade, Deung Bu-hyeong quickly shouted.
“I… I just came for personal reasons. What about you, Instructor Sa?”
“I have personal business as well.”
Sa Bi-gang grinned.
Meanwhile, Wi Sang-tak, realizing the situation was taking an odd turn, furrowed his brow.
“Were you an instructor at Yongcheon Academy?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you here to collect money you never lent?”
“That man borrowed money from our cadet. So, I must collect it, with interest.”
Ah, so this is the one.
Wi Sang-tak glanced back, and Deung Bu-hyeong gave a barely perceptible nod.
Wi Sang-tak smirked inwardly.
The troublemaker Deung Bu-hyeong always complained about.
The one who, despite lacking the qualifications of an instructor, occupied a position and tarnished Yongcheon Academy’s reputation.
‘This might actually be a blessing in disguise.’
Crisis is opportunity.
That had always been his belief while leading the Black Serpent Sect.
If he handled this crisis well, the sect could gain even greater opportunities.
How Sa Bi-gang found his way here was unknown, but it was surely about the stolen membership fees.
However, Sa Bi-gang would have no tangible evidence.
Wi Sang-tak adopted a calm demeanor and clasped his hands.
“My son claims he never borrowed any money, so it seems you’ve come to the wrong place. I hope you’ll clear up this misunderstanding and leave.”
“Impossible. He definitely borrowed the money, and I intend to get it back.”
At this, Wi Deok-cheon burst out angrily.
“Shut up! Coming here without any evidence and causing a ruckus! You should be paying us damages! How can you call yourself a proper instructor?”
“Of course. As a proper instructor, I’m here to guide these rogue elements.”
“That’s outrageous!”
This time, Wi Sang-tak couldn’t hold back and shouted.
To label the Black Serpent Sect as rogues.
It was the one thing he hated hearing the most.
But Sa Bi-gang was unfazed.
“Did I say anything untrue? As a father, shouldn’t you be teaching your child better? Instead of just covering for him when he’s blatantly lying about borrowing money? Can you still call yourself part of the righteous faction?”
Wi Sang-tak’s patience was wearing thin.
He trembled with anger, and Wi Deok-cheon shouted again.
“You fool! How many times do I have to tell you? I never borrowed any money!”
“Then what? Did you steal it?”
“What?”
“In that case, the interest is higher. I’ll need double the principal.”
“What kind of nonsense…!”
“If you admit it and pay back now, I’ll reduce the interest by half.”
Wi Deok-cheon trembled with rage, gripping his sword.
He wanted nothing more than to cut down the man in front of him.
Just then, Deung Bu-hyeong stepped in.
“Instructor Sa, whatever the issue is, shouldn’t you stop? Making baseless accusations without evidence, what are you trying to achieve?”
“Those men are the evidence.”
Sa Bi-gang pointed to two martial artists sprawled on the ground.
They were the ones injured by Ja-ryang.
Wi Sang-tak quickly interjected.
“That can’t be considered solid evidence, can it?”
“Then what if we search and find concrete evidence?”
“Search…?”
“Yes. If we search and find a money pouch, will you admit it?”
“Ha! Are you saying you’ll search the entire premises?”
“Why not?”
Wi Sang-tak was incredulous.
How could just two people search this vast place thoroughly?
Even if the money pouch was still here, how could they possibly find it?
‘Foolish.’
Wi Sang-tak smirked inwardly.
“Hmm. And what if you find nothing?”
“Then… well, I’ll apologize.”
Sa Bi-gang shrugged, having not thought that far ahead.
Wi Sang-tak laughed in disbelief.
“Are you joking? You cause this commotion and think an apology will suffice? And you plan to search the entire premises?”
“Hmm. Then what do you suggest I do?”
Got him.
Wi Sang-tak stroked his prickly beard and looked at Deung Bu-hyeong.
“What do you think, Instructor Deung? If we’ve been wrongly accused.”
“Hmm.”
Deung Bu-hyeong’s expression finally relaxed.
Wi Sang-tak’s confidence meant he was sure of himself.
“If no evidence is found, Instructor Sa will have made a grave mistake. In that case, he will have to face severe consequences for tarnishing our academy’s honor and losing the cadet’s fees.”
“And Instructor Sa…?”
“He must resign from his position and cover all costs for the Black Serpent Sect’s damages. Additionally, if the sect demands, he must pay compensation.”
”…Is that acceptable to you? Do you really want to go through with this?”
Wi Sang-tak now wore a faint smile.
It’s your move now.
Will you back down?
Of course, even if you do, you won’t escape punishment.
‘Most would stop here…’
“Fine. But if we find the money pouch, you’ll have to pay a price too.”
“A price?”
“I’ll take double the stolen amount.”
“What?”
“Surely it doesn’t matter? If you’re so confident, no evidence will appear.”
Wi Sang-tak gritted his teeth.
He was confident no evidence would be found, but the arrogance of his opponent was infuriating.
And yet…
‘Why do I feel uneasy…?’
At that moment, Wi Deok-cheon shouted.
“Fine! Do as you wish! But if no evidence is found, you’ll have to take responsibility!”
“That’s what I wanted.”
Wi Sang-tak didn’t even have a chance to intervene.
Wi Deok-cheon was confident.
After all, the money taken from Yeom Ja-ryang had been squandered at a brothel over the past two days.
The money pouch had been given to a courtesan, so it couldn’t be found.
Even Wi Sang-tak, who had felt uneasy, soon calmed down.
Why worry about evidence that couldn’t be found?
Sa Bi-gang turned to Wi Sang-tak.
“Then may I take a look around?”
“Fine. But I’ll give you only one shikyeong (30 minutes). We have lives to live, after all.”
Wi Sang-tak smirked faintly.
Searching this vast place in just one shikyeong? Impossible.
It would take that long to search just one room.
Sa Bi-gang smiled.
“That’s more than enough.”
‘Enough?’
Wi Sang-tak raised an eyebrow.
“Come in, Jeok-san.”
Sa Bi-gang spoke softly into the air.
Wi Sang-tak and the others looked around, puzzled.
After a moment with no change, Wi Sang-tak frowned and asked,
“Who are you waiting for…?”
Just then—
Whoosh! Swish! Whoosh!
About thirty martial artists leaped over the wall, gathering in front of Sa Bi-gang and kneeling on one knee.
“You called, my lord!”
The voices of those clad in black echoed through the premises.
The martial artists of the Black Serpent Sect stared at them, dumbfounded.
‘Where did they come from…? And how did they hear…?’
Sa Bi-gang had merely murmured.
It wasn’t even a transmission of sound.
Just a simple mutter.
Yet those outside had arrived in an instant.
They hadn’t been near the Black Serpent Sect.
In truth, it was a magic mouth spell that conveyed his words over a distance, but no one here would recognize it.
Sa Bi-gang frowned at Go Jeok-san.
“Why did you bring them?”
His gaze fell on Yeon Woo-gyeong and Gok Bo-ok, who lay on the ground with sacks over their heads, unable to move.
“They were spying from the hill, so we brought them in.”
“Well, it wasn’t really necessary.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Forget it. Ja-ryang.”
“Yes… uh, yes?”
“What did the purse with the membership fees look like? Speak up so everyone can hear.”
“Uh, it was… a pouch embroidered with plum blossoms.”
“Alright, everyone heard that? Find it. You have one quarter of an hour.”
“We’ll find it within the hour.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
As Sa-bi-gang waved his hand, the men in black dispersed, searching the hall.
Wi Sang-tak, who had been caught off guard by the sudden commotion, soon wore a displeased expression.
“Look here, instructor! You didn’t say so many people would be searching the hall!”
“I never said it would just be the two of us, did I?”
“But still…”
“Come on, you didn’t really think we’d search the whole place in just a quarter of an hour, did you? That’s just unreasonable…”
“Hmph!”
Wi Sang-tak clenched his fist and glared at Sa-bi-gang.
‘Fine, go ahead and make a fuss! As if that pouch will magically appear…’
“I found it!”
Go Jeok-san swiftly approached Sa-bi-gang, using his martial arts to move quickly.
He knelt on one knee, presenting the pouch with both hands.
“Please verify it.”
Sa-bi-gang grinned.
The pouch was indeed embroidered with plum blossoms.
Yeom Ja-ryang, who was standing nearby, exclaimed with delight.
“Oh? Yes, that’s it! That’s the pouch I used to collect the fees!”
“Check the amount.”
The pouch, filled with silver coins, was quite heavy.
Yeom Ja-ryang quickly placed it on the ground and began counting the money.
Meanwhile, Wi Sang-tak and Wi Deok-cheon stared in disbelief, their mouths agape.
‘This can’t be! How is it here?’
They were sure it had been used outside.
There was no reason for it to be in this house!
‘Could it be…?’
Their eyes turned to Sa-bi-gang, who smirked.
“Looks like we’ve found some solid evidence.”