Chapter 19
“We don't lend money unless you bring a house or land deed, but since you're such a regular, we'll lend to you on credit this one time.”
When the gambling den's attendant said that, Bang Sun-taek hesitated for a moment. But he was wearing a human-skin mask anyway, and no one here knew who he was.
Moreover, he was the Chief Head Instructor of the Martial Arts Academy, a man who had practiced martial arts. No matter how capable the people here were, it didn't seem like it would be difficult to escape from their grasp.
Having already lost so much money, his thinking was becoming too lax. It seemed that once he thought there was a possibility, he wanted to easily believe it.
He borrowed money like that, but the result was disastrous. Before he knew it, he had accumulated a huge debt.
“Sir, you should stop now.”
The attendant said, but Bang Sun-taek could not back down now.
“One round… I'll play one more round. I'll play one more and bet more money on it! I can just pay the money back, can't I? So lend it to me!”
However, the attendant shook his head. Then, burly men approached and surrounded Bang Sun-taek.
Bang Sun-taek wondered if he had no choice but to escape now. If he watched for an opportunity and used his lightness skill to its utmost, a chance would surely come. He thought that if he could just get out of the gambling den, he wouldn't have to pay back any of this debt. He thought, 'Who would recognize me if I take off the human-skin mask and my outer clothes?'
However, he couldn't even leave the gambling den.
The people inside the gambling den glanced at Bang Sun-taek. They didn't know who he was, but they were watching because they knew things were taking an unusual turn.
Bang Sun-taek ultimately did not get the opportunity he thought he could easily obtain. Without even knowing when his sleeping point had been struck, he slowly fell asleep and collapsed to the floor right where he was.
***
When he slowly regained consciousness, Bang Sun-taek felt pain all over his body. He tried to open his eyes, but they wouldn't open. It felt like his eyelids were stuck shut.
At first, he didn't know why, but he later realized it was because blood had congealed and stuck them together.
When he touched his eyes with his hand, he felt a hard scab on and around his eyelids.
The pain was one thing, but wondering what kind of situation he was in, his mind snapped to attention.
He forced open his eyes, which were hardened with blood scabs. He was out of his mind from a type of pain he had never felt before in his life, but he felt he had to grasp the situation quickly.
‘Why does everything look so blurry?’
His heart sank at the thought that he might have gone blind. Then, wondering where he was now, he felt around his surroundings.
“Are you awake?”
Just then, an unfamiliar voice was heard. No matter how hard he thought, Bang Sun-taek did not know that voice.
“Where… is this? Why did you bring me here?”
Come to think of it, the human-skin mask he had been wearing seemed to have already been removed. If it hadn't, there would be no way for blood scabs to have formed on his eyelids.
“What would the people of the Divine Cult think if they found out that Bang Sun-taek, the Chief Head Instructor of the Martial Arts Academy, was dragged away and imprisoned for a gambling debt from a gambling den?”
The moment he heard those words, Bang Sun-taek felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen solid.
His wonder at how this man knew about him was brief.
“Including the interest from the past two days, what you have to pay back is a total of two hundred fifty-two taels of gold. I've rounded off the change, so that's the amount. Let's talk now about how you're going to pay that money back.”
“Th-That's… That's absurd! How on earth can the money increase that much!”
The price for saying those words was brutal.
Until then, Bang Sun-taek had thought there were only two people there, but a foot suddenly flew from behind and kicked him in the back. His breath caught in his throat from the force, but right now, such pain was nothing.
“Why are you doing this to me? I didn't even intend to gamble in the first place. The backer! I'm telling you, I only did it because that bastard lured me in!”
Even so, that was no basis for having his debt forgiven, but he shouted desperately.
“So what of it? If you can't pay it back with money, there is one other way.”
Bang Sun-taek's ears perked up.
“What… is it? What do I have to do?”
“You just have to do one very minor thing, so there's no need to worry too much.”
“Just tell me what to do, and I'll do anything!”
As soon as the words were out, Bang Sun-taek immediately prostrated himself and spoke.
The men who were there on So Ga-woon's orders were dumbfounded at the sight. They had thought that this level of threat wouldn't be enough and were planning to capture Bang Sun-taek's family to pressure him. But wasn't he being overly cooperative without them even needing to say it?
“We won't ask you to do anything too difficult. We are people of the Cheok Demonic Clan. If you just help us so that Young Master Cheok can become the Young Cult Leader, we will never forget it.”
“...!”
Bang Sun-taek thought something was strange about how things were unfolding. He had already met the person sent by the Fourth Demonic Marquis. So if they had something to say to him, they could have just sent that person to tell him.
Since he had received money before, they could have just threatened to expose that. There was no reason to appear at a gambling den and make things so complicated just to order him to do this.
However, for the time being, he listened as if he knew nothing.
“You just have to let us in after the Martial Arts Academy has closed.”
“Is that… really all I have to do?”
Considering the trouble they had gone to, the request was too simple.
This was because, in Bang Sun-taek's mind, this was a job worth two hundred fifty-two taels of gold.
“Can you do it?”
“I can do it. I can open the gate for you on the day I am guarding the Martial Arts Academy.”
Bang Sun-taek spoke without the slightest hesitation. It would be impossible for him to prepare two hundred taels of gold with his own strength, even if he died and came back to life. The men in this place were no match for him. And it wasn't like there was anything that great in the Martial Arts Academy, so it seemed there was no need to feel guilty.
“If I have been here for two days, then I can open the Martial Arts Academy for you two days from now.”
The matter went smoothly.
So smoothly that it made one laugh hollowly.
Bang Sun-taek was half in doubt, wondering if he could really be released just like this.
“If someone asks why your face has become like that, what will you say?”
“That is… I will take care to explain it well myself.”
“It would be best to handle it flawlessly. If you fail to do so, you will have to repay the debt with your life and the lives of your family.”
It seemed the threat had already worked sufficiently, but he said it just to be sure, and Bang Sun-taek nodded so hard it looked like his head would break off.
“Good. Just remember that if you change your mind halfway, something unpleasant will happen.”
Bang Sun-taek tried to read the situation, wondering if that meant it was okay for him to leave. But the man who had finished speaking left the place first.
Bang Sun-taek confirmed that no one was left in the spot and fled in a flurry. He hadn't even put on his shoes and his clothes weren't on properly, but this was no time to worry about such things. At the thought that the men might return at any moment, he was in a complete panic.
***
When the promised day arrived, Bang Sun-taek was nervous from early on and made mistakes.
The Principal, watching him continuously make such absurd mistakes, got angry and later wore a dumbfounded expression.
It was no different for the other Head Instructors or candidates. The only difference was whether they looked at him with open contempt or not.
However, Bang Sun-taek didn't even have the leeway to notice how others were looking at him. It felt as though sweat was running down his spine even when he was doing nothing.
‘It's no big deal. I just have to open the gate. Right. They're probably people who want to see the mnemonic verses of the Heaven-Shattering Will Art. At most, that's the only thing worth coveting in the Martial Arts Academy. Anyone who enters the Academy can see it anyway, right? They must be people who don't qualify to enter. Or maybe they want to see again the verses they couldn't understand when they were in the Academy.’
Once he thought of it that way, he felt his heart grow a little lighter.
It was already spilled water anyway, and he had to think that way to reduce even a little of the burden he felt.
Time passed, and when it was finally time for people to leave the Martial Arts Academy, Bang Sun-taek's tension reached its peak.
Cheon Ha-seong and Seo Hyo-eun also left the Martial Arts Academy.
Now, the only people left in the Martial Arts Academy were four, including Bang Sun-taek. Once people left the Academy, the Mechanism Formation would activate, and just its activation alone took care of most of the Academy's security. Unaware that the Mechanism Formation had been deactivated by Bang Sun-taek, the others were carelessly at ease.
The people remaining at the Martial Arts Academy moved to their respective patrol areas, and Bang Sun-taek also took his position.
When nothing happened even after four hours had passed like that, Bang Sun-taek thought that he must have been nervous for no reason.
‘Right. The plan could have gone awry midway, couldn't it? They might have just asked and then decided not to come. In any case, since I've already done everything they told me to do, they won't come looking for me to threaten me again, right?’
He was just thinking in a way that was convenient for himself.
It was then that a sound was suddenly heard from outside.
CRRAAASSH—!
Bang Sun-taek snapped to his senses.
‘Where is that sound coming from? No. More importantly, should I be moving right now?’
He was originally the Chief Head Instructor, so he was usually the one in charge. This was even more so in a situation like this. Bang Sun-taek thought the other Head Instructors would come looking for him soon.
‘What should I say when they come to me? Aish! It's better to just hide.’
As soon as that thought occurred to him, Bang Sun-taek moved quickly.
Just as he had thought, the moment he hid, the other Head Instructors came to that spot.
“Chief Head Instructor! It seems there's an intruder. Chief Head Instructor. Chief Head Instructor?”
Then they were flustered, seeing that Bang Sun-taek was not there. Then one person shouted first.
“We don't know if the Chief Head Instructor was the first to be taken down. He must have known about the intrusion and was taken down while trying to stop it. Let's go!”
Bang Sun-taek wanted to stop them. The intrusion had already begun anyway, and their skills were so strong that even he couldn't do anything about them, so he wanted to tell them to just stay put.
However, if he were to step forward, it would be like admitting that he was the one who had made the intrusion easier by deactivating the Mechanism Formation.
‘What should I do?’
After agonizing, Bang Sun-taek finally decided to remain in that spot.
In the meantime, the sound of people swarming in from outside was heard.
“Who are you?! What have you come for?!”
A sound that Bang Sun-taek had ultimately not wanted to hear reached his ears. And following that sound, the clash of weapons continued.
‘Is that all they've got? Strange…’