Chapter 132. Scars (4)

Teacher Sama began to break the ice by asking the children’s names and their hometowns.

I watched the scene with a pleased heart for a moment, then opened my mouth.

“Teacher Sama.”

“……Are you going to call me that too, Great Hero Jin?”

I nodded and said.

“I’m sorry, but I have something to discuss with Choyeon for a moment.”

As soon as my words ended, the girl’s gaze turned to me.

But there was no emotion in that gaze.

An expression of no questions, even though I had suddenly called her.

“Should I give you two some space?”

I shook my head at Teacher Sama’s words.

“There’s no need for that.”

Saying so, I looked at the girl.

Choyeon.

This girl, who might be the future Killing Demon, was dangerous.

Of course, in terms of level alone, she was no match for Seomun Ak, who had reached the peak.

But the prodigies had little practical combat experience.

If that girl set her mind to it and moved with the methods of an assassin, it seemed she could single-handedly wipe them all out.

Therefore, I could not entrust that girl to the prodigies.

But that didn’t mean I was going to abandon her because she was dangerous.

Because she was dangerous, I intended to take responsibility for her.

In my own way.

“I am only asking this of you.”

“Please ask.”

“Red Moon Falling Flowers are the ones who kidnapped you and your younger brother and forced you through terrible torture and training. What do you think of them?”

Was it because of the brainwashing she had endured for the past three years? The girl frowned faintly.

The headache seemed severe as she pressed her right temple.

Considering how she hadn’t blinked an eye at considerable pain before, the pain seemed to be substantial.

After observing her for a moment, I asked again.

“Do you have any intention of taking revenge on Red Moon Falling Flowers with us?”

This was also a test.

What if the brainwashing was so severe that she couldn’t harbor hostility towards Red Moon Falling Flowers?

Furthermore, what if she was still moving as they commanded?

Then I definitely couldn’t leave her by Brother Sama’s side.

At my question, the girl, her eyes slightly bloodshot, asked back.

“Revenge…… am I allowed to do that?”

When I nodded, the corners of the girl’s mouth lifted very faintly, even though her eyes and forehead were still furrowed in pain.

“Then……. I want to.”

“If you join us, you will have to be separated from your younger brother. Is that still alright with you?”

At my question, Choyeon’s head turned.

Choyeon and her younger sister’s eyes met.

The younger sister, unlike an assassin, was looking at her older sister with a complicated expression.

A very subtle ripple of emotion appeared in the older sister’s assassin-like eyes as well.

Soon, Choyeon, who had turned her head back, answered.

“Didn’t you tell us, Great Hero? That if we are with you, Red Moon Falling Flowers might attack. If we don’t kill them, my brother will always be in danger.”

This was a completely unexpected answer.

But it was also a welcome answer.

It wasn’t because a lengthy answer had come from the mouth of a girl I thought had her emotions castrated.

It was because she had drawn her own conclusion from the words I had said before.

That meant that although she hadn’t expressed it, she was capable of thinking.

Those who were truly steeped in brainwashing would just follow orders, unable to think for themselves.

It meant that she could improve enough with teaching.

If Choyeon, who was in the most serious condition, was at this level, I thought the other children might also improve quickly.

“Then spend time with your younger brother today and say your goodbyes. You will have to leave with us tomorrow.”

***

Choyeon returned to the other children.

Whether it was because of my instructions or because of her remaining emotions, the girl was talking with her younger sister.

The younger sister’s gloomy expression.

“I’m sorry, sister. It’s because of me again……”

And the unemotional girl’s expression seemed to contrast in many ways.

“I told you. Only when we kill them will we be safe. So we can just see each other again then.”

Was she pretending to be calm to reassure her younger sister?

Anyone else might have seen it that way, but for some reason, that girl seemed truly indifferent.

In the meantime, Teacher Sama continued to talk with the children.

Perhaps because they planned to be together for a while, the prodigies were also talking to the children.

“Hahaha. I am Pyo Daecheol. There’s no need to call me Master like Teacher Sama, so just call me Brother comfortably.”

Every time, the children would give short answers with unemotional expressions.

“Yes.”

It reached a point where I thought it was fortunate that the prodigies were on the lively side.

Thus, starting with introductions, the prodigies and the children talked about various things, and the day passed.

The next morning, as planned, we bid farewell to Teacher Sama’s group.

“Take care.”

“Have a safe journey.”

We gave them the carriage we had used to come here.

After watching their departing backs for a moment, I turned around and said to my companions.

“Let’s be on our way too.”

It was now time to leave for Zhejiang.

I said to Choyeon, who had joined us.

“Traveling is also a form of training. Run with the mindset of training your movement art and footwork.”

“Understood.”

Choyeon was quite skilled compared to the other children, so she could more or less keep up with our pace.

We ran without rest, and for a long time, each of us devoted ourselves to training by swinging our swords or weapons.

Around the time the sun was high in the sky, we stopped walking.

Even though her limbs were trembling and her whole body was soaked in sweat, I said to Choyeon, who didn’t let out a single groan.

“Sit down and rest.”

“Understood.”

The girl knelt on the dirt ground and sat in a proper posture. It was a posture that looked uncomfortable to anyone.

“Just rest comfortably.”

“What does it mean to rest comfortably?”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

But it was a great relief that there was an excellent example.

“You can rest like that bastard over there.”

I pointed at the Tang Clan bastard, who was sprawled on the ground, panting.

“Resting is also a part of training. You have to give your body time to recover to be able to handle more difficult training.”

“Understood.”

The panting bastard started to quibble again.

“Is that what a guy who knows that trains like?”

“I’m sleeping soundly.”

“If only you couldn’t talk.”

While having a trivial conversation with the Tang Clan bastard, Nam Geon and my junior sister opened the bundles they had brought.

They were rice balls and dried meat that we had packed from the inn when we left Anui.

“Eat well. This is also a part of training.”

“Ah. Is this poisoned food?”

I wondered what kind of crazy talk this was.

“Why would you eat poisoned food?”

“You said it was eating training, so I thought so. Please punish me.”

A sigh escaped me.

“It’s just food. To recover a body weakened by training, you must consume food. In other words, to endure tougher training, you must eat well.”

At this, Nam Geon chimed in as if adding a flourish.

“Th-that’s right! F-food mixed with poison doesn’t taste good! F-food should be eaten as food, and p-poison should be eaten as poison!”

“Yes. Training to eat poison is also necessary.”

At our conversation, the Tang Clan bastard muttered.

“Come to think of it, this place is no different from the assassins.”

I appropriately ignored the Tang Clan bastard’s nonsense.

After finishing the meal, we resumed our training and travel.

And that night, as usual, I continued my duel by striking Nam Geon’s body.

Clang!!

“H-hit harder is okay. Hyung-ah!”

Although he had mastered the Iron Blood Golden Skin Art and achieved the Diamond Indestructible Body, his training still continued.

His skin just wouldn’t be pierced. He said he still felt pain from powerful strikes.

And whether it was just a feeling, he said the pain seemed to lessen as he continued to train.

After striking Nam Geon for a long time, to the point where the Restoring Name Sword cried out.

“Keueuk.”

Right after Nam Geon collapsed, for some reason, Choyeon stepped forward.

“Do you also want to duel?”

At my question, Choyeon asked back with an unemotional face.

“Wasn’t this training to endure torture?”

“……”

The Tang Clan bastard chimed in again.

“As expected, they’re no different from assassins. No wonder he recommended hidden weapon arts to me.”

I sighed and answered Choyeon’s question.

“Haaah. Nam Geon is practicing external energy, so that’s why we did this. There’s no need for training to endure torture, so just rest.”

At that, Choyeon collapsed on the ground.

Perfectly mimicking the posture the Tang Clan bastard had shown earlier.

“Understood. Instructor.”

My forehead furrowed.

It wasn’t because the girl’s imitation of the Tang Clan bastard was unsightly.

“I am not an instructor.”

Choyeon replied while lying sprawled on the ground.

“Then what should I call you?”

As if she had realized something, she added.

“Should I call you Great Hero Jin?”

It gave me goosebumps.

I wondered if she was being sarcastic, but as expected, the girl’s expression was unemotional.

It seemed she had recalled the title the prodigies and Teacher Sama used to call me.

“I am not a Great Hero either.”

Considering that girl’s temperament, it seemed I had to give her a clear answer.

The deliberation was short.

“Just call me Senior Brother.”

“Understood, Senior Brother.”

As expected, she responded immediately when given a command.

At that moment, the Tang Clan bastard spouted some useless words again.

“If Miss Baek is Junior Sister, and Miss Choyeon is also Junior Sister, how will they address each other?”

Junior Sister Baek Hyang blinked and looked at Choyeon.

Choyeon, as expected, was looking at me with an unemotional expression. As if she would just do as she was told.

“Haaah. Since Junior Sister Baek Hyang joined first, from now on, address Junior Sister Baek Hyang as Senior Sister.”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

After roughly sorting out the titles, we took turns standing guard and rested.

The next day, our journey continued.

Nam Geon would make a pained face whenever his eyes met Choyeon’s.

Once, Choyeon asked Nam Geon.

“Are you in pain?”

“Wh-when Choyeon looks, my h-heart hurts.”

Choyeon asked back with an unemotional expression.

“Do you have a heart condition?”

The Tang Clan bastard, who was drinking water next to them, spewed it out.

“Keok. Cough. Cough.”

He seemed to have choked badly.

Was it because she felt sorry for Choyeon’s strange behavior?

Junior Sister Baek Hyang began to take care of Choyeon with all her might.

“The heart and the mind are separate, Junior Sister. It just meant he was sad.”

“Understood.”

Her expression showed she didn’t understand at all.

Even during training, Junior Sister Baek Hyang took care of Choyeon.

“Junior Sister. It’s okay to rest a little if you’re tired.”

“Understood.”

Even when we stopped at villages, she always prepared something for Choyeon.

“Here. I thought you only had one set of clothes, Junior Sister, so I bought a spare.”

Was it because she had another woman in the group for the first time?

Or was it because she was no longer the youngest?

Unlike Nam Geon, who made a pained face every time he saw Choyeon, my junior sister always smiled gently and took care of Choyeon.

One peculiar thing was that every time she called Choyeon, she always attached the word ‘Junior Sister.’

It also seemed like she was enjoying being a senior sister.

A faint smile escaped my lips.

Only now did my junior sister seem a bit like a girl her age.

Whether it was because of her innate insight or the environment she grew up in, Junior Sister Baek Hyang was too mature for her age.

She was meticulous, considerate, and always looked after the group.

Thanks to her, our journey was much more comfortable, but I also felt a little sorry for her.

I looked at Junior Sister Baek Hyang and Choyeon.

My junior sister’s faint smile and Choyeon’s unemotional face contrasted.

When will this girl, who seems to have had her emotions removed instead of maturing, get better?

The training she received as an assassin, its scars, seemed to remain very deep.

As I was thinking that, Junior Sister Baek Hyang briefly left her seat.

As if he had been waiting for this moment, the Tang Clan bastard approached Choyeon and whispered in her ear.

“It would be troublesome to take Miss Baek lightly just because she’s always kind, Miss Cho.”

I wondered what kind of nonsense that madman was about to spout.

Choyeon also looked at the Tang Clan bastard with an unemotional face.

The Tang Clan bastard said, as if warning her.

“Remember this well. The scariest person when angry is not that Jin family bastard over there, but Miss Baek.”

It seemed he had said it out of consideration for Junior Sister Baek Hyang, but it was absurd.

A moment later, Junior Sister Baek Hyang returned after finishing her business in the marketplace.

“They were selling candy. In addition to what big brother Nam Geon will eat, I thought it would be nice for you to have a bite too, Junior Sister.”

“A-as expected, Hyang-i is the best!”

Nam Geon, with a happy face, took the candy his junior sister gave him and stuffed it into his mouth.

Soon after, as Junior Sister Baek Hyang held out the candy to Choyeon, Choyeon knelt on the ground with a thud.

Not only that, she bowed her head deeply and received the candy respectfully with both hands.

In the midst of all that, her face remained expressionless, as expected.

Junior Sister Baek Hyang made a face full of confusion.

“J-Junior Sister?”

Looking at Dang Sopyeong, who was nodding with a satisfied face, a sigh escaped me.

“Haaah. You madman.”

***

Late at night.

Beyond the lush forest of Limgosan. The place where Red Moon Falling Flowers’ assassin training facility used to be.

People clad in black visited that place.

Amidst the stench of rotting corpses from the already decomposed bodies of the assassins, one person in black moved forward.

Soon, he reached the vicinity of the corpse of the man called Fourth Moon or Moon Elder.

The leader of Red Moon Falling Flowers, the man called the Moon Lord, lowered his head and examined the corpse.

Under the faint moonlight, the scar left on the corpse’s body was engraved in the Moon Lord’s pupils.

[Ghost Sword]

The Moon Lord, who was examining the characters with an indifferent gaze, opened his mouth.

“Find the location of the Ghost Sword Young Master.”

A harsh voice, as if scraping metal, spread under the moonlight.

“Who should we send?”

At the Vice-Moon Lord’s question, the Moon Lord answered in an indifferent tone.

“He seems to be more skilled than I thought, so I will go myself.”

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