Chapter 113: Chapter 113

Chapter 113: Rampage (2)

Il-mok let out a long, languid yawn and flopped onto his bed in the Black Dragon Pavilion. This, right here, was the important “business” he’d told Bang Mi-hwa about at dinner. True to the vow he’d made that morning during training, he was dedicating himself to being properly lazy.

‘Clean body, full stomach. This is life. So cozy.’

As he rested his head on the pillow and surrendered to drowsiness, sleep quickly took hold of him.

Meanwhile, beyond the window of Il-mok's room, atop a tree hidden by thick foliage...

'Now he's openly sleeping without a care.'

Chu Il-hwan, who had been monitoring Il-mok's surroundings daily to catch any suspicious groups, wore a twisted expression.

It was barely the beginning of the Hour of the Dog (7-9 PM). Far too early to be going to bed.

In fact, no one else remained in the Black Dragon Pavilion except Il-mok. Everyone else was immersed in training.

While others were dedicating themselves to cultivation at this hour, there he was, rolling around in bed like that.

As Chu Il-hwan stewed over what to do with that lazy good-for-nothing genius, his senses picked up a presence approaching the Black Dragon Pavilion.

The presence was so faint that even Chu Il-hwan, an instructor, didn't notice it at first.

Only when the presence reached the entrance to Il-mok's room did it trigger Chu Il-hwan's qi perception.

The moment the presence opened the door…

‘Instructor Eun Ryeo!? What is she doing here!?’

Chu Il-hwan nearly lost his composure in that instant.

'Could it be that Instructor Eun Ryeo is one of those rats targeting the Young Master?'

If so, then Instructor Eun Ryeo must have come to kill Il-mok while he slept alone.

Chu Il-hwan hastily gathered his internal energy, preparing to launch himself forward before she could strike.

That is, if Instructor Eun Ryeo hadn’t promptly called out Il-mok’s name the moment she opened the door.

What kind of lunatic wakes up their target before trying to assassinate them? This wasn't Mak Ho-yeol or Dokgo Pae we were talking about.

Chu Il-hwan, who had been about to leap into action, abruptly halted his movement and nearly tumbled off the branch he was standing on. To make matters worse, as if sensing something, Instructor Eun Ryeo’s gaze snapped toward the window.

Gritting his teeth, Chu Il-hwan hung from the tree branch with all four limbs, desperately suppressing his presence while making cat sounds with his mouth.

That awkward performance only deepened the suspicion on Instructor Eun Ryeo's face.

"!? I-Instructor Eun Ryeo?"

Fortunately or unfortunately, Il-mok, who had been deep in sleep, opened his eyes. Thanks to this, Eun Ryeo's gaze, which had been directed toward the window, turned back to Il-mok.

Confusion was written all over Il-mok's face.

'Why is Instructor Eun Ryeo here?'

What business could a female instructor possibly have in the room of a man who was sleeping alone?

Naturally, certain scenarios between teachers and students began to flash through Il-mok's mind. Meanwhile, Eun Ryeo looked at Il-mok with cold eyes and spoke.

“Ahem. I must say, Instructor, I never took you for one to be so bold.”

"But did you at least bathe before coming?"

From Il-mok's perspective, someone who suffered from hygiene obsessions, a proper bath was absolutely necessary before engaging in any certain... activities.

And Chu Il-hwan, who was hanging from the tree with both arms and legs to avoid being detected by Eun Ryeo, turned pale with shock.

‘What’s this about bathing? And what does he mean by ‘bold’? Don’t tell me…!?’

While Chu Il-hwan was growing suspicious about the relationship between Il-mok and Eun Ryeo...

Eun Ryeo, still maintaining her cold expression, opened her mouth.

“I fail to see why an instructor visiting a student would need to bathe.”

Her frigid tone finally made Il-mok realize that he had misunderstood her.

Embarrassed, Il-mok cleared his throat and asked cautiously.

"Th-then what brings you here?"

“I came today in my capacity as an instructor to discuss a personal matter of yours, Disciple Il-mok.”

"...My personal life?"

"That's right. As an instructor, I had no intention of meddling in a student’s private affairs. However, I've concluded that your case has gone too far."

Hearing her cold tone, Il-mok felt a twinge of guilt in his heart and subtly averted his gaze.

'Did she find out I've been taking naps every day?'

Il-mok assumed she had come to scold him for being too lazy, but Eun Ryeo's next words were far beyond his expectations.

"At the very least, shouldn't a man have some sense of responsibility toward women?"

The reason Eun Ryeo had come to find Il-mok was to confront him about Jeong Hyeon, whom she was currently hiding in her quarters to protect her from Bang Mi-hwa, Ha Young, and Ju Seo-yeon.

‘To gather a herd of women like that and then just abandon them irresponsibly. How can such an irresponsible man exist?'

She believed that Ju Seo-yeon and Bang Mi-hwa, who admired Il-mok, were jealous of Jeong Hyeon, who got along well with Il-mok, and were bullying her because of it. Ha Young was simply helping her friend Bang Mi-hwa.

While the direct fault lay with Bang Mi-hwa, Ju Seo-yeon, and Ha Young, who had tried to bully her, the root of the problem was Il-mok’s failure to sort things out.

That was the conclusion Instructor Eun Ryeo had reached.

Of course, having just woken up to a lecture about responsibility, Il-mok was completely at a loss.

'Disciple Il-mok is an irresponsible man toward women?'

The mind of Chu Il-hwan, who was secretly eavesdropping, was also spinning into a complicated mess.

'I knew it!! Their relationship must be deep enough for her to talk about responsibility! So he wasn’t just messing with the female disciples!!'

As Chu Il-hwan became convinced of the affair between the instructor and the student…

“R-Responsibility? W-What are you talking about, Instructor?” Il-mok stammered, still unable to fully gather his wits.

"Exactly what I said. Did you think everything would work out fine after drawing in so many women like that?"

After briefly wondering what kind of insane talk this was...

Il-mok was soon able to grasp the situation.

"Instructor, while I did bring Bang Mi-hwa into this, how can I be held responsible for one person liking another?"

She must have come to confront him about the situation between Baek Cheon and Jeong Hyeon.

Jeong Hyeon had a one-sided crush on Baek Cheon. And Il-mok also knew that Jeong Hyeon and Instructor Eun Ryeo had a fairly close master-disciple relationship.

It stood to reason, then, that Instructor Eun Ryeo was at least vaguely aware of Jeong Hyeon’s crush.

And into that dynamic, he had introduced Bang Mi-hwa, who got along perfectly with Baek Cheon.

From Jeong Hyeon’s perspective, or that of her ally Instructor Eun Ryeo, it was an unwelcome development.

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“Disciple Il-mok, are you listening to yourself?”

That didn't mean she could come here and chew him out.

'People should handle their own romantic affairs. Isn’t this overstepping a bit?

Honestly, it was absurd. Most importantly...

“I’ve already spoken with Bang Mi-hwa, Instructor. She said she has no ulterior motives, so everything now rests entirely on Jeong Hyeon.”

He had already done his part to sort things out. Therefore, there was absolutely no reason for him to be treated in this manner.

At Il-mok's confident response, Eun Ryeo couldn’t stop herself from pressing a hand to her forehead.

This is why men are hopeless.

What woman in her right mind would openly declare, “Yes, I have ulterior motives toward you, and therefore I will bully Jeong Hyeon who gets in my way!'

Eun Ryeo started to feel deeply sorry for Jeong Hyeon, who had fallen for such a dense man.

“You believed her just like that?”

“Why would she have any reason to lie?”

Eun Ryeo let out a deep sigh but didn't press the matter further.

She felt it would be rude to Jeong Hyeon to directly mention that she had been bullied by other women.

“Try to be a little more responsible. There’s no telling what might happen while you’re away, Disciple Il-mok.”

After leaving this final warning, Eun Ryeo left the room while still radiating a cold aura.

"...Why is she acting ?"

Even after Eun Ryeo left, Il-mok couldn't understand her excessive meddling.

"While I was away? Don't tell me that bastard Baek Cheon did something weird while I wasn't there?"

Il-mok began to wonder if there had been some development between Baek Cheon and Bang Mi-hwa without his knowledge.

“Damn it. I’ll have to subtly probe Baek Cheon about it when he gets back.”

Feeling his head spinning, Il-mok lay back down on his bed with an expression that showed utter weariness.

And outside the window, up in the tree…

‘I see. So he seduced Instructor Eun Ryeo first! And then he brought in a whole group of women!’

‘This is too much. He even drew in Disciple Bang Mi-hwa and then claims he has no reason to be responsible for her feelings.’

‘…Disciple Bang Mi-hwa has no ulterior motives? And what’s this about everything being up to Disciple Jeong Hyeon?’

'And why is Baek Cheon's name coming up?'

Chu Il-hwan, who had been eavesdropping on the entire conversation, found his mind becoming more jumbled as the dialogue between Il-mok and Eun Ryeo progressed.

Il-mok and four female disciples. Plus Instructor Eun Ryeo and Baek Cheon.

The relationships between these seven people swirled chaotically in Chu Il-hwan's mind.

Right after Instructor Eun Ryeo left the room with her cold aura...

Chu Il-hwan let out a soft groan and quickly assumed a cross-legged position to regulate his qi.

The shock of Eun Ryeo’s sudden appearance and the subsequent act of hastily stopping his surging energy had shaken up his meridians. It made his Demonic Art rear its ugly head again.

The strain of hiding his presence, combined with eavesdropping on that nonsensical conversation, had exacerbated his condition.

—Promiscuous bastards deserve to die!

—I, who have been alone my entire life, have the right to kill that trash!

—Kill them! Kill them all!

The other self inside him began rampaging in his mind.

Chu Il-hwan focused on his cultivation.

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he fought to suppress his Demonic Art.

And just as he descended deep into his inner world to battle his demons…

'I didn't expect the opportunity to come this quickly.'

A dark shadow slipped toward the tree where Chu Il-hwan was hiding.

Maybe it was because of the strange conversation with Instructor Eun Ryeo, or maybe because he’d been startled awake after falling asleep once already....

After tossing and turning for some time, unable to fall back asleep easily...

A faint sound resembling laughter came from somewhere nearby.

Puzzled, he sat up in bed and turned his head toward the window where the sound had come from.

With a loud explosion, the paper and wood window shattered.

"Eh heh heh heh heh."

A strange figure bursting with bizarre laughter burst into the room through the destroyed window.

The moment he saw the attacker’s face, a chill ran down his spine.

"I knew this would happen."

It was the sexually frustrated Chu Il-hwan.

He’d had a nagging feeling that he might get ambushed one of these days, but he never thought it would be today of all days.

'Shit. His eyes have completely rolled back.'

Just looking at the bizarre laughter and bloodshot eyes left no room for doubt. He had completely fallen into Qi Deviation.

With my chastity on the line, I moved with swiftness.

I drew the sword I had placed beside my pillow and swung it in a single motion.

I barely managed to block the black lightning-wreathed palm that Chu Il-hwan had swung.

Black lightning traveled up the blade where we clashed, sending my internal energy into turmoil. The power was on a completely different level from our previous spars.

'He's really going all out!'

That crazy pervert was using his full strength.

We had only clashed once, but my arm was already numb where the black lightning had struck, and the boiling internal energy had sent my blood churning.

I instinctively realized it. Even if I used my full power without hiding my strength, it would be difficult to protect my chastity.

Watching the pervert swing his arm wreathed in black lightning again while bursting with bizarre laughter, I let my heart settle.

I hadn't given up on my chastity.

My sword, already in motion, struck Chu Il-hwan’s palm.

To deal with a madman who succumbed to the influence of his Demonic Art, I just had to do the same.

A secret technique I learned thanks to the elders of the Peach Blossom Ridge.

Going Batshit Insane.

I stopped thinking. I cast aside reason.

—Too slow! You’ll never complete the technique at this speed!

I simply surrendered my body to the commands of the other self created by my Demonic Art.