Chapter 57: Darkness Under the Lamp (1)
Chapter 56 – Darkness Under the Lamp (1)
Once a fight ended, the physicians’ war began.
Since they had to take responsibility for the life and death of others depending on the situation, they were colder and stricter than anyone else when it came to their work.
“Here! Hurry!”
“Oh dear! Why are you lifting them so suddenly? The patient will get hurt!”
“I-I’m sorry!”
“Get your head in the game! Don’t you know that we physicians can kill a person without lifting a finger?!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
The shouts of the physicians echoed throughout the training room, and the medical apprentices bowed repeatedly in a fluster.
The physician who had first entered the training room following Tang Ye-seol slapped the cheek of a medical apprentice hard.
*Slap!*
“You are only in the way! Get out of here! Didn’t I tell you that while a martial artist takes responsibility for their own mistakes, a physician ends up passing their mistakes onto the patient?! An innocent patient will pay for your mistake with their life!”
“I-I’m sorry!”
In the end, the apprentice was chased out in tears, and the physician clicked his tongue with a fearsome expression.
He shook his head as he looked around at the injured filling the training room.
‘How could his hands be so cruel…?’
In truth, their lives were not in danger.
However, because he had to properly instill the mindset of a physician, he was colder than anyone else in these matters.
‘Even so… it is indeed a gruesome sight.’
The injured cadets were all complaining of extreme pain. Even if they made a full recovery, they would not easily shake off the memory of that pain.
Simply put, it was as if he had selectively beaten only their most painful spots.
The physician turned his head and looked at the single person who was the root cause of all this.
Namgung Cheon.
The child of the Great Killing Star…
Even if he tried not to have prejudices, seeing this mess, he could not help the thoughts that naturally arose.
Had he ever seen such a gruesome scene at the Joint Conference before?
A few cadets were so consumed by fear that they were on the verge of falling into deviation.
“Heh. They said the child of the Great Killing Star was a pushover. Rumors really cannot be trusted.”
Muttering as if to himself, the physician finally averted his gaze and tended to the other injured.
Meanwhile, there was another person watching Namgung Cheon closely.
Tang Ye-seol, who had been staring intently at only Namgung Cheon amidst the bustling physicians, slowly made her way over to him.
“You surprise me yet again.”
Namgung Cheon glanced at Tang Ye-seol and shrugged his shoulders.
“I am a bit of a surprising person.”
“There is one thing I am curious about.”
“Yes.”
“How did you suddenly become strong? I heard you were called the official pushover of Dragon Heaven Academy.”
Namgung Cheon smirked.
“The truth is, I am a pushover who hid his strength.”
“Then why did you hide your strength all this time?”
“Isn’t that the way to survive the Jianghu?”
“It seems to me that you didn’t just hide thirty percent, but all of it.”
“Well, you have to crouch low before you can soar.”
“So have you decided to soar now?”
“Who knows? Let’s just say this is the stepping stage before that.”
“So you are still hiding thirty percent?”
Instead of answering, Namgung Cheon stared blankly at Tang Ye-seol.
It lasted only a brief moment, but in that instant, Tang Ye-seol felt a strange sensation sweep across her entire body.
‘What is this…? From the gaze of a mere cadet…’
Chills ran down her spine.
She was not suppressed by energy, nor was she reacting to killing intent. It was difficult to put into words, but a strange sense of dissonance was felt from Namgung Cheon.
Like a simple aura of death…?
According to the experience she had gathered from living by the blade, one must always be careful of the type of people whose outward appearance was not everything.
Her subconscious was sending a warning now. That Namgung Cheon might be that kind of person.
Finally, Namgung Cheon spoke.
“You have a lot of questions for me. Do you perhaps like me?”
At his audacious response, Tang Ye-seol blanked out for a moment before bursting into laughter.
“Yes, I do like you. Sincerely.”
Just as Namgung Cheon’s answer had been unexpected, Tang Ye-seol’s reply was also quite unexpected.
Uh… this isn’t it?
For some reason, Namgung Cheon also felt a chill and stealthily backed away. It was not the kind of wariness one felt toward an ordinary enemy.
Rather, how should he put it… he just didn’t want to get involved with her for no reason?
Namgung Cheon shook his head as if to brush aside the thought that had briefly occurred to him, and asked with a serious expression.
“Can I trust that the examinations are being conducted fairly?”
There was only one reason he asked such a question.
It was because of the heavy bow that had fired when the training room door opened.
If someone else had opened the training room door, would they have been able to block that heavy bow?
Even if they were lucky enough to survive, they would have at least suffered severe injuries.
Yet, coincidentally, he was the one who had opened it.
The other groups had conspired to just wait outside.
Could all of this be considered a coincidence?
And now, the split arrow was in the possession of the Vice Leader of the Red Wave Corps.
‘I must find out. Which bastards are targeting me.’
Namgung Cheon’s gaze deepened.
However, Tang Ye-seol misunderstood his meaning.
“I thought you would think differently. No examination is fair. Just as this world is not, the examinations are also…”
“That is not what I mean. Of course, how could I complain about a few bastards conspiring and attacking me during the exam? As you said, Captain, this world is shit. But from the perspective of the hosts, shouldn’t they provide the same environment and conditions to the participants?”
“What do you mean?”
Tang Ye-seol’s eyes narrowed.
Namgung Cheon continued with a cold smile.
“Exactly what it sounds like. If there is someone the hosts are rooting for, or conversely, someone they view as an eyesore and want to eliminate, or if they want to nip a sprout in the bud early on so it can never win…”
“Silence!”
Tang Ye-seol shouted coldly and stared intently at Namgung Cheon.
“Are you implying that the Alliance is rigging the Joint Conference?”
“I do not think it is out of the question.”
When Namgung Cheon replied while looking straight into her eyes, Tang Ye-seol was temporarily at a loss for words.
How could a cadet, whose experience in the Jianghu must still be shallow, pressure her with such a resolute expression?
Though he was called the official pushover, he had achieved amazing feats in the first and second rounds, and in the third round, he had beaten down the cadets of the Righteous Chivalry Academy all by himself.
But now, he openly doubted the Alliance.
‘He is incredibly audacious.’
Although she felt unpleasant to suddenly become the subject of suspicion, she could not shake the thought that the suspicion was reasonable.
‘That heavy bow was indeed…’
An ominous thought crept in.
However, she could not agree with Namgung Cheon here.
If she did, it would look like she was admitting that she also doubted the Alliance over something she did not know for sure.
Tang Ye-seol sneered and asked back.
“You talk quite audaciously. So, in your opinion, do you think the target of elimination is you?”
“I won’t deny it.”
Look at this guy?
He didn’t even bat an eye when asked directly like this?
Rather, she felt as if Namgung Cheon’s cold gaze was overwhelming her.
What kind of greenhorn… no, is he even a greenhorn?
Once again, that chilling sensation ran all the way to the crown of her head.
However, hiding her inner thoughts as much as possible, she asked back coldly.
“Why do you think the Alliance would resort to such troublesome means just because we couldn’t eliminate a mere cadet like you?”
“Because I am the child of the Great Killing Star.”
“…”
“For the Martial Alliance, which pursues justice in an unfair world, a clean and unremarkable story would naturally be preferred. Rather than the child of the Great Killing Star winning, it would be better for a rising star from a proper orthodox sect to win and spread their fame.”
“Even so, to go that far…”
“But wouldn’t using a mechanical trap be perfect for disguising it as an accidental death? Doesn’t ‘the child of the Great Killing Star died to a trap’ sound much more stable than ‘the child of the Great Killing Star was murdered by someone’? An accidental death definitely carries a different weight. It is also good for removing an unsightly sprout in advance.”
Tang Ye-seol clenched her teeth at his incredibly direct statement.
What on earth was this green youth that he could spout such words so casually?
She wanted to deny it immediately as nonsense, but she was not without such thoughts herself.
For that reason, Tang Ye-seol narrowed her eyes and looked at Namgung Cheon.
‘He talks as if he has already lived through the whole world.’
Ultimately, Tang Ye-seol took a step back.
“You have a good imagination. However, if imagination goes too far, it becomes a delusion.”
“Then the arrowhead being clearly meant for killing must have been a simple mistake.”
“…”
“Which is probably why you are confiscating it.”
Namgung Cheon flashed an innocent smile.
It was absurd.
To turn her inside out and then make that face as if he knew nothing.
Tang Ye-seol twisted the corner of her mouth.
“Yes. You caught on quickly. I plan to find the one who made the mistake and hold them accountable.”
“I hope you find them without fail. I was truly startled.”
“I must.”
As Tang Ye-seol replied with narrowed eyes, Namgung Cheon said, “Well then,” and turned around to walk away.
Watching his retreating figure, Tang Ye-seol called out to stop him.
“Namgung Cheon.”
“Yes?”
“Congratulations on passing.”
“Thank you.”
Namgung Cheon grinned and clasped his hands in greeting.
‘Just what is that child…’
Tang Ye-seol shook her head.
The more she knew him, the less she understood him.
* * *
“Did you look into it?”
At Tang Ye-seol’s question, the Vice Leader bowed his head and replied.
“Yes, Captain. They say the Iron Rectitude Pavilion definitely used training arrowheads.”
The Iron Rectitude Pavilion could be described as the forge where all weapons issued by the Martial Alliance were manufactured.
Tang Ye-seol raised her eyebrows sharply.
“Are you sure?”
“It is certain, as the Lord of the Iron Rectitude Pavilion completed the inspection himself.”
“Is that so…”
Tang Ye-seol muttered faintly and narrowed her eyes.
In that case, it meant someone had tampered with it in the middle.
* * *
“Who on earth could it be?”
At the words Namgung Cheon quietly muttered, the Ghost King standing beside him bent his waist deeply and asked back.
“Yes? Who are you talking about, master?”
“The bastard who wants to kill me.”
“Heavens! Yes…? What? I-It’s absolutely not me! Really! Hey! You, you guys know too, right? You bastards, when did I ever say such a thing? Why isn’t there any answer? You bastards…!”
*Whack!*
“Ugh!”
When Namgung Cheon smacked the back of his head, the Ghost King withdrew his neck like a turtle.
Seriously, this guy invites a beating whether in his past life or the present.
Since my heart is as wide as the ocean, I will let it slide with this much.
The Ghost King spoke in a thoroughly intimidated voice.
“It really isn’t… me. That is… I mean, since I haven’t made any concrete plans to put it into action yet…”
“I need information.”
“Yes? What kind of…”
“Information about the Martial Alliance. Because of me… no, because of my father, personnel shifts within the Martial Alliance have intensified. I think I also need to roughly grasp the relationships between key figures.”
“Um, but information costs a lot of money. Our funds right now aren’t really…”
“Where did you spend all the money you earned?”
‘You took it all!’
The Ghost King swallowed the words that surged up to his throat and grinned sheepishly.
“There haven’t been many customers lately because of the Joint Conference. As you can see, we are a bit far from the Martial Alliance…”
Come to think of it, there weren’t many customers at the Ghost King Eatery. No, right now, there were none at all.
Indeed. No matter how delicious the food was, it was not easy to become a tycoon just by running a small eatery.
“So information and money are the issues.”
“Hmph. But if it’s information about the Martial Alliance… wouldn’t it be that place after all?”
“If it is that place?”
“You know, that place right under our nose… the Obscurity Society.”
In an instant, Namgung Cheon’s eyes flashed.