Encounter with the Enemy (5)
“Yong So-a doesn’t spout nonsense.”
On the way to Gonmyeong, Dang Seohee said that. Then, with slumped shoulders and a sullen expression, she asked, “Isn’t the hero being an idiot?”
It seemed Yong So-a’s words had been nagging at her the whole time.
…Well, technically, they hadn’t actually been Yong So-a’s words.
I naturally took her side and trashed Yong So-a.
“Yong So-a’s the real idiot moron jellyfish dumbass.”
Then, without thinking, I reached out and patted the head of the sulky girl.
“……”
For some reason, Dang Seohee was glaring at me with cold eyes.
Only then did I realize I’d messed up. Saryeon hated it when I touched her head, and women in general seemed to despise it.
But fortunately(?), that wasn’t the reason.
“…It’s not that bad.”
The chill in her eyes came from my words being off the mark.
Or at least, they didn’t seem wrong…
“Krng…”
Unlike her narrowed gaze, she was shaking her head side to side, as if asking for more pets. When I obliged, she let out a grumbling purr, and I recalled Yong So-a’s words from the night before.
‘Jin Sowoon. You’re… an uncertainty.’
I still didn’t get it. A guy at the pinnacle of the Jeongdo Alliance’s vested interests spouting whatever wouldn’t sound rational to me anyway.
“Hm…”
Still, if I tried to make sense of it, I was probably a pesky variable who produced results beyond their predictions.
The Jeongdo Alliance and Baekdohoe both had their envisioned futures, and I’d thoroughly shattered them every time.
In that sense, calling me an uncertainty—who could bounce anywhere unpredictably—might not be wrong for them.
Just look at my current state.
After regressing, had I ever imagined I’d become this version of myself? Sure, from the start, that insanely dangerous Azure Dragon Ring was bound to me, so my life had been a thousand miles from certainty the moment I returned.
‘But that’s not my fault, right?’
I’d just patched up my shortcomings as best I could and somehow ended up like this.
“But how are you so fine?”
I had no retort to Hwa Jeong-san’s snide remark. My condition alone screamed that I was an abnormal existence beyond anyone’s expectations.
“Even with Mandokmun’s excellent treatment… you look like you were never hurt at all.”
“……”
When we’d confronted Instructor Gang Sun-tak and his gang at Mandokmun, the Yongbong Assembly hadn’t ultimately sided with the instructors.
Anyone could see we’d been through hell—covered in wounds, desperately bandaging ourselves to staunch the bleeding.
But the problem was…
“How is your skin the only thing pristine like white jade…?”
“……”
I, who’d suffered the most and fought the hardest, had not a single scratch anywhere on my body.
Sure, I’d narrowly dodged or deflected strikes aimed at vitals and pressure points.
But I’d taken massive wounds just like everyone else. For example, my lower right abdomen—that punch from Jegumhak had left a fist-sized gash.
My left arm too. It had been sliced deep enough to expose the bone.
Yes, had been. I’d even joked to a horrified Saryeon that a huge scar had marred my silky-smooth skin.
Yet all those wounds had healed.
‘What the hell is going on?’
The small ones hadn’t even left scars. The big ones had mended quickly, leaving faint traces that looked ready to vanish soon.
Not leaving scars was great, but this monstrous recovery rate… was a bit troubling.
‘Damn… even I think it’s suspicious as hell…’
Anyone would want to investigate something this unnatural. Especially since I already had a mountain of skeletons in my closet.
I forced a casual smile at Hwa Jeong-san.
“Truth is… the wondrous conclusion of the Tae-eul Divine Scripture is the best in the world.”
“……”
Hwa Jeong-san stared at me with utter disbelief.
So I went on the offensive instead. After all, the best defense is a good offense.
“Don’t tell me you think, like in the old days, that a third-rate sect like Tae-eul Gate can’t have superior divine arts… or something like that?”
Hwa Jeong-san, who’d screwed up big in the past, looked predictably troubled.
Yeah, what’re you gonna do if you suspect me?
“Wh-what’re you saying…? Ahem, who said anything? I was just asking ’cause it’s weird.”
Indeed, brute denial beat persuasion every time—an eternal truth.
And so, burdened with all these unresolved issues, we arrived in Gonmyeong.
Yong So-a’s words clung to me like a curse, and sure enough, something unpredictable happened again.
“Jin Sowoon. Under the laws regarding defiance of orders and suspected espionage, you are under emergency arrest.”
I’d expected some trouble at the Gonmyeong branch. Maybe Gang Sun-tak and his cronies would be there, or branch members connected to them would come down hard on us.
But…
‘Execution Hall?’
The instructors, Gang Sun-tak included, were nowhere in sight.
Instead, these guys introducing themselves as Execution Hall were trying to arrest me.
Hard to run into even in the Murim Alliance heartland, and here they were, a world away. I was so thrilled I could cry.
Apparently not them, though.
“Restrain him!”
The man who’d spoken like he held a royal decree nodded, and those behind him surged forward to seal my acupoints.
I blocked their hands instantly.
Thud.Thwap.
Whether from my rough deflection or sheer shock that a mere academy student blocked them, their faces twisted viciously.
“This bastard!”
“Stay still!!”
They acted like they had absolute authority.
I stared blankly at their ugly mugs.
“Do you have a warrant?”
“Hah…”
The Execution Hall men burst into incredulous laughter.
Through it, the arrest leader’s voice continued.
“You’re suspected of serious crimes. Thus, we can arrest you without a warrant.”
“Was this Instructor Gang Sun-tak’s doing?”
I eyed the lead man. He looked around the age of Instructor No and Instructor Gang.
His furrowed brow betrayed that he couldn’t fully deny it. If he’d moved at Gang’s request, they were likely academy classmates.
“Hmm…”
Guessing he was branch leader rank, I scanned my mental roster.
One name matched perfectly.
“Branch Leader Na Jak-chung.”
“……”
His usually inscrutable face cracked for once, filled with confusion at how I knew him.
But true to Execution Hall training—where showing emotion was showing weakness—he quickly reverted to stoicism.
“Coming from Mandokmun, right? We’ve confirmed you stayed there and received hospitality. Do you need more evidence?”
Words are scary things—interpretation is everything.
I had stayed at Mandokmun, eaten their food, gotten treatment, even a small banquet. So “hospitality” wasn’t a lie.
Why hadn’t Gang Sun-tak been here? He’d slipped away to lobby the Alliance first, erasing traces of external pressure.
Clapping for their confidence that they wouldn’t fall was tempting. Nice one, Gang Sun-tak. Truly.
Their faces when reality hit would be priceless—even if everything cleared up later, I had no intention of going quietly.
It’d take time to prove innocence, and Execution Hall’s basement wasn’t much different from Inspection Hall’s.
Plus, I had a way to make Na Jak-chung back off right now.
“Hah… seriously.”
As I organized my thoughts to speak—
“What the hell is this nonsense?!”
A thunderous lion’s roar shook the entire Gonmyeong branch.
“Emergency arrest of Captain Jin?! This is outrageous!!!”
There stood Ilgak, his bald scalp redder than red-hot iron.
“We suffered massive losses in Mukrim. We had no choice but to seek Mandokmun’s aid. Slapping us with espionage charges based on surface appearances without investigating… How does that even make sense?!”
Ilgak was far more agitated than usual.
What’s up with him…?
As I tilted my head—
“Monk Ilgak is right. This is utterly incomprehensible. To arrest Captain Jin…”
Cheol Sunjik stepped in front of me with a man-eating glare.
“…you’d have to arrest everyone here.”
What’s his deal?
Before I could react—
Shing—
“Instructor Gang’s confession is already out. Nothing more to hear.”
This time, Namgung Seonhwa drew her sword and advanced.
The atmosphere turned deadly serious in an instant.
No, why’s everyone doing this? It’s not like it’s the first time…
“Fuck…! After what we went through in Mukrim. And you dare call us spies?”
Crack, crack—
Nam Hwaseong and Zhongnan’s Gwak Su-san.
“We protect the captain.”
Then Dangga’s Dang Gi-han and Yuwolmun’s Wang Jo-eun.
Everyone exuded a bloodthirsty aura like war was about to erupt.
“The captain threw his life on the line for us at the front. Accusing him of being a spy is the same as accusing us!”
“You should be arresting those instructor bastards! The ones who abandoned us in Mukrim!!”
“Treating us—who barely survived—like this?!”
The academy students raged like it was their first false accusation ever.
Faced with their boiling fury, the Alliance members faltered.
The Execution Hall crew hadn’t anticipated this resistance.
They looked lost. No one had imagined the entire student body rebelling like this.
Hell, even I was dumbfounded.
Anyway, the mood lightened considerably.
I smiled at Na Jak-chung.
“You must be close with Instructor Gang Sun-tak. Risking your neck for him.”
“……”
Na Jak-chung kept a poker face, but after facing Yong So-a recently, his subtle muscle twitches betrayed richer emotions.
Like someone properly caught off guard.
“Didn’t you hear the full story?”
“The full… story?”
“Why do you think the students are like this?”
Na Jak-chung’s gaze shifted to the students—fuming but barely able to stand.
I scanned them one by one, explaining softly.
“We were attacked in Mukrim. Instructors like Gang Sun-tak abandoned us students and fled. The very people duty-bound to protect us.”
“……”
Na Jak-chung’s face twitched faintly.
“They’re using you now to cover their asses.”
“……”
“Once it’s revealed they abused authority in the wrong…”
I stepped closer to him.
“An apology won’t cut it.”
Didn’t Ak Byeongbi get disciplined for swinging his authority around in Inspection Hall?
Still, Na Jak-chung couldn’t back down easily. Admitting fault in front of these juniors wasn’t simple.
“…Do you have evidence of the attackers?”
Fishing for an out, huh.
Hm. I wanted to play along, but we had no solid proof to show.
“If you killed that many, you must have something, right?”
We’d been lucky just to carry the wounded. No time for souvenirs.
Couldn’t go back into Mukrim on the way here either.
What if those lunatics were still lurking?
Then—
A clear voice rang from the branch entrance.
“The students speak the truth.”
At that voice, like elegant fragrance wafting out, the tense students blankly stepped back.
And through them strode a handsome man in blue martial robes.
“I’ve brought evidence.”
The utterly obnoxious Yong So-a, carrying a massive bundle with dignified steps.
Thud.
He unpacked it, spilling the contents onto the floor: weapons, broken arms, severed and rotting body parts tumbling out.
“Traces of fierce battles litter Mukrim. And the enemies’ iron weapons use rare Gyeok-cheol not common in the Central Plains.”
“…You went to Mukrim?”
“I needed to inspect the scene.”
“……”
The Execution Hall men looked confused. The students buzzed—what was this?
They’d doubted he’d gone in alone anyway.
But…
“Hah…”
The most baffled was me.
‘What the fuck is this guy?’
The bastard who’d tried to kill me spouting weird shit days ago.
“His words are true.”
Was now defending me.