Chapter 30: A Small Incident (3)

(TLN: we got the 10th positive review so 2 chaps today :D)

“The midterm exams are coming up, so we should have a get-together.”

Yeom-gwang’s suggestion was met with enthusiastic approval.

“Great idea!”

The instructors who always followed him around clapped like seals.

“As expected of Chief Instructor Yeom! You always know what we need.”

“I was just thinking about having a drink.”

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go!”

The new instructors, however, were less enthusiastic.

“Ugh… I don’t want to go…”

“I have plans, but I guess I’ll have to cancel them.”

“I can’t be the only one who doesn’t go.”

Some of them tried to protest, but…

“Don’t you know that team dinners are part of your job?”

Yeom-gwang’s words silenced them.

***

They went to an inn near the Shinmu Academy.

The new instructors, who were usually swamped with work, seemed to enjoy the brief respite from their duties.

The drinking party began.

Yeom-gwang lined up the new instructors and said, “Introduce yourselves.”

A skinny instructor stepped forward and announced, “Shinmu! Dongcheon Hall grappling techniques instructor, Yeo Mak!”

“Oh, Yeo Mak, you’re first.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“Why do you sound so weak?”

“Argh!”

The other new instructors followed suit, each of them shouting their introductions.

“I’m Jo Hyeon, a new instructor at Dongcheon Hall. I specialize in the Eastern Nine Swords Technique, and I trained at the Jeonguimun Sect.”

“I’m Yeo Mae-hong. I mainly use the Shinmu Sword Technique, and my sect is…”

It was Cho Un-hwi’s turn.

“I’m Cho Un-hwi.”

His introduction was brief, unlike the others who had listed their sects and specialties.

The room fell silent.

Instructor Yang, sensing the awkwardness, spoke up.

“Instructor Cho, is that all?”

“What else do you need?”

“Didn’t you hear your colleagues’ introductions? They told us about their martial arts, their sects, their specialties.”

“Martial arts… I’m proficient in most of them. Sect… Jeonggeom Sect, I think?”

He didn’t even know his own sect.

It was a disrespectful and unconventional introduction.

Yeom-gwang grinned, sensing an opportunity to criticize him.

“Are you kidding me? This is a serious…”

“My specialty is drinking.”

The room fell silent again.

The instructors who were known for their love of alcohol looked at him with interest.

“Oh? You think you can outdrink us?”

“Let’s have a drinking contest. One cup at a time.”

“You know what it means to boast about your drinking skills in front of your seniors, right?”

“Haven’t you heard that you should be respectful when drinking with your elders?”

They were like hyenas who had found a tasty prey.

They had successfully diverted the attention away from Yeom-gwang.

Cho Un-hwi replied confidently, “Who’s the best drinker here?”

“Oh? You want to challenge the champion? Fine, let’s have a one-on-one drinking contest.”

“You won’t be able to handle me alone. I need three opponents.”

The heavy drinkers cheered.

“He’s got guts!”

“He’s going to make us look bad.”

“Oh, I’m so scared.”

Despite their teasing, they were impressed.

A drinking contest usually involved drinking one cup at a time. Cho Un-hwi’s challenge meant that he would drink three cups for every one cup his opponents drank.

They were amazed by his audacity.

“What do you say?”

Instructor Oh Gil, who had been forcing drinks on the other instructors, stood up, his large frame towering over the others.

“I accept your challenge.”

“I’m Instructor Woo Chil. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Two more instructors stepped forward, their pride as heavy drinkers at stake.

Cho Un-hwi turned to Yeom-gwang.

“Chief Instructor Yeom, would you like to join us?”

The room erupted in cheers.

Yeom-gwang’s face hardened.

‘This insolent brat!’

He couldn’t refuse with everyone watching him.

“Fine!”

It was a three-on-one match.

He couldn’t possibly lose.

‘I’m going to make you crawl out of here on your hands and knees.’

Cho Un-hwi grinned.

“We need to make this interesting. How about the winner pays for the drinks?”

“Deal!”

The drinking contest began.

***

“S-shouldn’t we stop them?” Yeo Mae-hong whispered.

Jo Hyeon blinked, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Thud!

“Next!”

The room fell silent.

There were fifty empty bowls piled up next to Cho Un-hwi.

They weren’t even cups they were rice bowls.

Who would have thought that a monster who could drink rice bowls full of potent white wine existed?

‘How is he even fitting all that alcohol in his body…?’

It was as if his blood had been replaced with alcohol.

Thud!

“Next!”

Cho Un-hwi emptied his fifty-first bowl and slammed it down on the table.

Instructor Woo Chil, who was sitting across from him, trembled, his hand clutching a large bowl of wine.

His face was red, his lips tightly pursed, his cheeks puffed out like a toad.

‘He’s reached his limit.’

He looked like he was about to throw up.

‘Stop now!’

‘Don’t throw up in front of everyone!’

‘At least make a graceful exit!’

Woo Chil, sensing his impending doom, tried to put down his bowl.

But then…

“You call yourselves heavy drinkers? You’re all talk.”

“Don’t ever brag about your drinking skills again. It’s embarrassing.”

“Do you need some help?”

Cho Un-hwi’s words struck a nerve.

“You bastard!”

Woo Chil, his pride wounded, gulped down the remaining wine.

His eyes glazed over.

And then, it happened.

“Ugh!”

He vomited, spraying alcohol and chunks of food all over the table.

Instructor Oh Gil, who was sitting next to him, was caught in the crossfire.

He had already reached his limit, and now Woo Chil’s vomit was spilling into his bowl.

The pungent smell of white wine mixed with the sour stench of vomit made his stomach churn.

He couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Blaaaaargh!”

He erupted like a volcano.

The other heavy drinkers, disgusted by the spectacle, fled the room.

Yeom-gwang was the worst off.

He had been sitting at the same table as Woo Chil and Oh Gil, and he had been hit by the full force of their vomit.

The potent alcohol surged up his throat, making him gag.

‘Damn it!’

He circulated his internal energy, trying to suppress the urge to vomit.

It was considered dishonorable for a heavy drinker to use their internal energy to counter the effects of alcohol, but he had no choice.

He couldn’t join the chorus of vomiting instructors.

He would lose all face.

He fought back the urge to vomit, his face turning red, his veins bulging.

“Ugh… ugh…”

He was on the verge of losing control when…

Cho Un-hwi filled his bowl to the brim with wine and grinned.

“This place has great pancakes.”

He glanced at Woo Chil’s vomit.

It looked like a pancake batter that had been dropped on the floor.

‘Pancake batter.’

Yeom-gwang’s resolve crumbled.

“Blaaaaargh!”

He buried his face in the table and vomited.

***

“Disgusting pigs!”

A middle-aged man, who had been drinking quietly in a corner of the room, scowled.

He was dressed in white robes, and his face was pale. He placed a hand on his sword, trying to control his anger.

‘Damn it, they’ve been annoying me all night…’

He had been irritated by the noise and commotion, but he had tolerated it because he had overheard some useful information about the Shinmu Academy.

But the drinking contest had turned the inn into a chaotic mess.

“Blaaaaargh!”

He couldn’t stand to watch them vomit any longer.

‘This is disgusting.’

Should I kill them?

He was a member of the demonic sect, and he wasn’t known for his patience.

There were a lot of witnesses, but he wasn’t afraid of them.

He was far stronger than them.

His name was Gang Sok, the Green Blood Swordsman.

He calmed himself down and observed the drunken instructors who were stumbling towards the latrine.

‘I’ll just kidnap a few of them and interrogate them about the Shinmu Academy.’

They were drunk and wouldn’t put up much of a fight.

“Yeom-gwang, was it…?”

He was about to approach Yeom-gwang when…

He felt a chill run down his spine.

He whirled around.

The young man who had just won the drinking contest was grinning at him.

‘Did he notice me?’

He couldn’t tell where the young man was looking, his eyes hidden behind his messy hair, but he could sense his intent.

If his instincts were correct, he had to leave immediately.

‘I’ll have to abandon the kidnapping plan.’

It was a gut feeling.

A warning bell was ringing in his head, urging him to escape.

He grabbed his sword and dashed out of the inn.

***

“Gasp! Gasp!”

He ran and ran.

He knew he shouldn’t use his movement techniques if he wanted to remain hidden, but he couldn’t help himself.

He leaped from rooftop to rooftop, his feet barely touching the tiles. He scaled walls and vaulted over fences.

He raced through the labyrinthine streets of the pleasure district.

“Gasp! Gasp!”

He had been running at full speed for half an hour.

“I think I lost him.”

He was about to relax when…

“Why don’t you run a little further?”

A voice echoed behind him.

He froze.

He slowly turned his head.

Standing in the moonlight, leaning against a wall, was a man with his arms crossed.

He looked as if he had been there all along.

‘B-but there was no one there…’

His body trembled uncontrollably.

“If you’re done running, I have some questions for you.”

“W-who are you?”

“I ask the questions. You answer them.”

Gang Sok’s grip on his sword loosened.

He couldn’t fight this man.

It was better to confess everything and beg for his life.

He surrendered, his body paralyzed by fear.

“Why is a dog of the Heavenly Destruction Society sniffing around here?”

Gang Sok’s blood ran cold.

‘He knows about the Society?’

He had been about to feed the man false information he had received from the Society, but now he was too terrified to speak.

“What’s wrong? Surprised?”

“I…”

Crack!

“Ugh!”

He gasped in pain as his right hand was severed from his wrist.

His hand lay on the ground, twitching.

He wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

The man’s voice echoed in his ears.

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I-I was investigating the Shinmu Academy.”

“The Shinmu Academy? Why?”

“I don’t know. I’m just an informant… ugh.”

Crack!

His entire right arm was torn from its socket.

“Argh!”

He screamed, his eyes bulging.

The pain was unbearable.

He had been trained to withstand torture, but this was beyond anything he had ever experienced.

The man must have done something to him.

“Tell me the truth,” the man said. “Lie to me, and you’ll die slowly. Tell me the truth, and you might live.”

I don’t care either way.

I’ll enjoy it anyways.

What do you think?

A voice whispered in the darkness.