The four mbers of the Vermilion Bird Class's first year were gathered together for the first ti in a while.
"Young Master Gwangcheon, are you feeling alright now?"
"Right as rain!"
"You were discharged sooner than I expected."
"Hahaha—! A wound like that is nothing but a scratch to this humble monk."
At Jong Seo-eon's question, Gwangcheon laughed heartily as he spoke.
To be fully healed in just half a month from what would normally take over a month.
He might not know about other things, but it seed he had to acknowledge that Gwangcheon's body was indeed sturdy.
"B-but, by any chance, has Miss Wol-yeong been discharged as well?"
Just then, Jong Seo-eon hesitantly asked Gwangcheon.
At that question, Gwangcheon stopped laughing and pondered for a mont, then replied with an ambiguous expression.
"Hmm... I heard she was probably discharged on the sa day as this humble monk."
"Really?"
"I think I saw her leaving the Cheonuidang first yesterday."
"..."
Hearing that, Jong Seo-eon let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
He had thought she was still hospitalized because he hadn't seen her in the lecture hall yet, but from what Gwangcheon said, it seed Tang Wol-yeong had also been discharged yesterday.
Thinking that he would be able to see Tang Wol-yeong's face after a long ti, Jong Seo-eon's heart fluttered without him realizing it.
"But the break is coming up soon."
"Has it already been that long?"
"Everyone, do you have any plans for the break?"
The Flying Dragon Academy conducted its classes in two sesters over a year.
How the students spent the sumr break that started after the first sester was up to them.
Jong Seo-eon and Gwangcheon looked a little surprised that so much ti had already passed.
"The break is already here... Ti flies, doesn't it?"
"I know. It feels like just yesterday that we took the entrance exam."
"That's right. The three of us passed the exam so dramatically back then. Right, Captain?"
Jong Seo-eon asked, turning to Namgung Il.
However, for so reason, there was no reply.
As Jong Seo-eon turned his head with a puzzled look, he saw Namgung Il lost in deep thought by himself.
"Captain?"
"...Huh? Did you just call ?"
"Yes. I called you a mont ago too."
"Sorry, I didn't hear you."
It was imdiately clear that Namgung Il hadn't been paying attention to the conversation at all.
Although this happened from ti to ti, Jong Seo-eon asked Namgung Il with a slightly worried tone.
"Is sothing troubling you?"
"...Have any of you heard of the Dugangchon Incident?"
The Dugangchon Incident?
As Namgung Il suddenly asked such an out-of-the-blue question, the three of them tilted their heads at the sa ti.
"...The Dugangchon Incident? Are you talking about that one?"
"..."
"The incident about ten years ago where the people of Dugangchon were all kidnapped by bandits."
The one who answered was Jeong Hyeon-yeong.
Jong Seo-eon, who reacted belatedly, seed to have heard of it as well, while Gwangcheon looked like he had never heard of it at all.
"Co to think of it, I think I've heard of it too. I believe it was quite a sensational incident at the ti."
"It was pretty famous. All the villagers living there disappeared overnight."
"They probably never found the missing people, right?"
"That's what I heard too."
Hearing the two's conversation, Namgung Il's eyes widened slightly.
They never found the villagers?
He hadn't heard that part from Cha Yul-ryeong, so Namgung Il asked the two for more details.
"They didn't find them? What do you an?"
"It's just as it sounds."
"..."
"The villagers were kidnapped by bandits in their entirety. I think I heard that not a single body was left in the village."
"Not even a body?"
Namgung Il couldn't help but find that strange.
Usually, when bandits raid a village, they leave traces.
But for not a single body to be left... There must have been a battle, so it was strange that no one died.
'The bandits have no reason to clean up the bodies... and the fact that they kidnapped all the villagers is also strange.'
The purpose of bandits raiding a village, simply put, would be plunder.
If not that, then kidnapping people to sell as slaves.
The ones who sold well as slaves were naturally won and children. Adult n were difficult to manage and resisted fiercely, so they were usually not taken.
Of course, the elderly were out of the question.
Thinking so, Jeong Hyeon-yeong's words couldn't help but sound strange.
"..."
If he were a bandit, he would have killed the n and the elderly, who were hard to sell as slaves, on the spot.
Since they were the ones who raided the village, they wouldn't have spared them out of compassion.
But there were no bodies left in Dugangchon... Namgung Il was bothered by that part.
"I heard that a punitive force was ford to rescue the villagers."
"That's right. A few young chivalrous n who happened to hear the news nearby chased after the bandits."
"..."
"The punitive force was probably ford after that."
A few young chivalrous n.
Namgung Il instinctively knew that Cha Yul-ryeong's disciple was among them.
"...What happened? You said no one was rescued."
"Unfortunately, the chivalrous n who went as the advance party were all found as corpses."
"..."
"The rear guard found the bodies and continued to track the villagers' traces, but I heard they ultimately failed to rescue them."
Just from hearing this much, he could roughly understand the whole story of the Dugangchon Incident.
'Cha Yul-ryeong... as expected, he wasn't lying.'
After hearing the story from the two, Namgung Il was convinced of that part.
Of course, even then, it didn't feel like Cha Yul-ryeong was lying to him, but he could at least confirm it, right?
There were no discrepancies between what he had heard from Cha Yul-ryeong and what he had heard now, so it seed okay to put aside his suspicions about Cha Yul-ryeong to so extent.
'Still... pretending not to know about that corpse is a separate issue.'
Namgung Il had been pondering that part since yesterday.
No matter the circumstances, to preserve a corpse using a thod that would be used by the Blood Dragon Cult... Was it okay to just let this be?
Of course, even if the direction of the purpose was different, Cha Yul-ryeong was now doing sothing not much different from the Blood Dragon Cult.
"..."
Using the Blood Spot Grass to revive the dead.
He wasn't even sure if this was an act that could be tolerated in the first place.
Of course, from the position of having swallowed the Blood Spot Grass, he didn't think he had the right to say anything, but he could say for sure that it was not what could be called the Righteous Path.
"I don't know what you'll think after hearing this. But... if you interfere with from now on, I will never forgive you."
The words Cha Yul-ryeong had said to him then echoed in his ears.
That was undoubtedly the appearance of soone who had made up their mind.
Namgung Il had seen people similar to Cha Yul-ryeong a few tis in the past.
"..."
As expected, it seed he needed to think about this part a little more.
It didn't seem like a problem that could be decided rashly for now.
If he thought it wasn't a problem he could judge on his own, it seed okay to at least discuss it with Seo Shin-won.
"But why are you suddenly asking about that?"
Just then, Jeong Hyeon-yeong asked with a puzzled look.
He had answered because Namgung Il had asked, but to suddenly ask about an incident from ten years ago was quite strange in this situation.
Of course, he couldn't tell the whole story, so Namgung Il answered with a calm face.
"I think that part ca up in history class."
"Did it?"
"Yeah, didn't you pay attention in class?"
"...I don't want to hear that from a guy who sleeps with his head on his desk all the ti."
Fortunately, it seed he had managed to gloss it over.
As if to erase the na Dugangchon from the three's minds, Namgung Il continued to change the subject.
"By the way, what were you guys talking about earlier?"
"Ah... that. We were asking if everyone had plans for the break."
"Break..."
Co to think of it, had that much ti already passed?
Hearing the word 'break', Namgung Il also had that thought.
It was then.
"Alright, everyone take your seats!"
Ho Jeong-won appeared inside the lecture hall with a hearty voice.
At his voice, the students all scurried back to their seats, and the four also corrected their postures and sat up straight.
Swoosh—
Just then, Jong Seo-eon sat up straight and looked around.
'...She's here.'
Discovering Tang Wol-yeong sitting a little distance away, Jong Seo-eon smiled broadly.
At that mont, a thump sound was heard from the front.
Hearing the sound of Ho Jeong-won putting his textbook down on the lectern, Jong Seo-eon was startled and looked back to the front.
"Ugh... my head hurts."
"..."
"Han Yu-wol... I shouldn't have drunk so much after falling for that guy's provocation."
As if the students in front of him were not in his sight, Ho Jeong-won buried his head in the lectern and muttered to himself.
'He drank again.'
The sll of alcohol was strong enough to reach the students sitting in the front row.
Seeing that, it seed he had been drinking all night yesterday.
It wasn't the first or second ti he had co to class reeking of alcohol, so the students reacted calmly to his appearance.
"Hic—."
"..."
"First, before we start the class, I have a few announcents."
Ho Jeong-won said, lifting his disheveled head.
At that mont, a few students turned their heads.
The students sitting in the front row unintentionally found out what Ho Jeong-won had eaten as a side dish with his alcohol yesterday.
"First, as of today, Gwangcheon and Tang Wol-yeong have been safely discharged and will be attending class with us again."
"..."
"Applause."
At Ho Jeong-won's words, a chanical sound of applause imdiately echoed through the interior.
"Thank you! This humble monk is also happy to be with you all again!"
"..."
Gwangcheon, without being told, got up from his seat and was greeting the students.
On the other hand, Tang Wol-yeong was just sitting quietly in her seat.
Compared to Gwangcheon, who was enjoying this situation, Tang Wol-yeong looked a little embarrassed.
"Stop!"
"..."
"Ugh... the sound of applause is making my stomach churn. Who told you to clap so hard?"
Ho Jeong-won scowled and suddenly got angry at the students.
He was the one who told us to clap, so why is he suddenly getting angry?
As if they were used to this sight, the students just quietly lowered their clapping hands under their desks.
"Phew— Ah, and there was sothing I had to say..., what was it."
"..."
"Right, I rember now. We'll be taking applications for field trips starting in half a month."
Field trips?
At that unfamiliar word, questions appeared on the students' faces.
"..."
Everyone seed not to know what the field trip he had just ntioned was.
However, the students looked at each other and couldn't ask Ho Jeong-won what on earth it was.
Because in this situation, one wrong question could get on Ho Jeong-won's nerves.
Just then, one fearless fellow raised his hand and shouted at Ho Jeong-won.
"Teacher! What on earth is a field trip?"
The one who asked the question was Gwangcheon.
That bright face that couldn't read the atmosphere at all.
The students quietly sent their condolences and thanks to Gwangcheon.
"A field trip can be thought of as a kind of special class."
"...?"
"The various martial arts sects that have a relationship with the Flying Dragon Academy. Or the various institutions in the martial world. The students visit those places and experience them firsthand."
Unexpectedly, Ho Jeong-won did not get angry and continued to explain calmly.
'Field trips? That's new.'
In the past, when Namgung Il had attended the academy, such activities did not exist.
The various martial arts sects that had a relationship with the Flying Dragon Academy... Perhaps the Five Great Families, including the Namgung Family, and the Nine Sects One Gang were also included?
For students to be able to visit such places in person. For a martial artist, it was a good opportunity that was hard to co by.
'Should I apply too?'
Of course, Namgung Il might not particularly need such an experience.
However, apart from that, there was a place Namgung Il wanted to visit.
If that place was also included in the field trip, Namgung Il thought it would be okay to apply.
"It's a rare opportunity. So try to apply if you can."
"Yes!"
"But before that, only those who pass this safely can go."
"...?"
The students looked at Ho Jeong-won with puzzled expressions.
At that mont, a aningful smile appeared on Ho Jeong-won's lips, as if he had forgotten all about his hangover.
Soon, the word that students would fear the most flowed from Ho Jeong-won's mouth.
"We will have the final exams in ten days."
"...!"
"Those who get a failing grade will have supplentary classes during the break."
F-final exams...?
At that mont, not only the students, but also Namgung Il's face turned pale.
(End of Chapter)
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