Chapter 125: Clubs (3)

That evening, after the exam, in a pavilion at the Hall of the Demonic Way.

Following Il-mok's reform proposal for the Hall of the Demonic Way, the place that came to be called the "Medical Office (醫務室)" was where Il-mok and Physician Seo Jae-pil were conducting a consultation.

"Your Demonic Arts went berserk?"

Il-mok nodded with a sour look on his face at the physician’s question.

'Why does he look so happy about this?'

While one was dead serious about it, the other one had the look of observing a fascinating new lab rat.

“Could you tell me what happened in detail?”

Despite his misgivings, Il-mok sighed and decided to talk.

'I might switch councilors later, but for now, he’s all I’ve got.'

Since there was no alternative for the time being, Il-mok gave up and opened his mouth.

The incident where he was ganged up on by five people: Dokgo Pae, Gwak Sul, Choi Woong, Seong Hwan, and Mun Gyu.

And how he went berserk right after dirt got on his body and clothes.

“Luckily, I managed to wrestle it back down at the last second, so no major harm was done.”

It had been dangerously close.

The Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword, in its quest to draw a ‘perfect sword path,’ had been aiming for their necks, hearts, and vital points. He had only regained control at the last possible moment, twisting the blade just enough to beat them with the flat of it instead.

"Indeed... You received rubbing alcohol from the Demonic Physician to wash your hands, and now this. It seems that in addition to your obsession with perfect swordsmanship, you also suffer from a rather severe case of cleanliness obsession.”

Despite his lab-rat-gazing eyes, Physician Seo Jae-pil responded to the consultation with sincere dedication, diligently scribbling all the details of his consultation with Il-mok.

He even added, “While not identical to your side effects, there was a case where a patient gradually learned to manage their condition by exposing themselves to situations they disliked little by little.”

He immediately shared his treatment approach as well.

“Would you hold out your left hand for a moment?”

Il-mok did as he was told, and the physician dipped a brush in ink and let a single drop fall onto the back of his hand.

"!!!"

When Il-mok shot him a glare, the physician asked with a relaxed expression.

“Do you feel like you’re about to lose control now?”

“…I desperately want to wash it off, but no, I don’t think I’ll lose my mind over it.”

“In that case, let’s try to endure it for a count of ten today.”

Following his instructions, Il-mok forced himself to look away from his hand, gritting his teeth against the obsessive urge.

"Eight. Nine. Ten."

And as soon as Physician Seo Jae-pil finished counting to ten, Il-mok immediately poured water on his hand to wash off the ink, and then doused it with alcohol for good measure.

"Well done. This tea has been confirmed to have a calming effect on the mind and body. For now, please drink a little of this.”

"Whew."

With a deep sigh, Il-mok took a sip of the tea and focused on his breathing, trying to quiet the Demonic Art that kept threatening to rear its head.

Once Il-mok’s breathing seemed to stabilize, Physician Seo spoke again.

"When did the side effects become serious?"

The consultation continued for quite a while.

'...Still, I guess a physician is a physician.'

Although he couldn't trust a man who was so obsessed with medicine, he was starting to realize that, conversely, it made him entirely trustworthy when it came to medicine and counseling.

While he couldn’t be sure if the exposure therapy would work, just talking about his side effects had already eased some of the tightness in his chest.

'Indeed, the Hall of the Demonic Way really needed a physician.'

Il-mok himself could serve as proof of that.

His rapid progress in the last six months had caused his side effects to worsen dramatically. If he had been able to visit the Pure Mind Hall as he had at the main headquarters, he probably wouldn't have been driven to this state.

Of course, setting aside his medical skills, he still didn't trust Physician Seo one bit.

While Il-mok was observing him with mixed feelings, the physician finished organizing all the consultation content and looked up at Il-mok again.

While Il-mok was observing him with mixed feelings. Given Young Master's symptoms, I believe it will be of great help in managing your side effects. However, will you be alright?”

It was a bit of a random question, but Il-mok easily grasped his meaning.

“You mean the instructor in charge?”

"That's right. According to Elder Demonic Physician, there's a high possibility that the newly selected supervisor is connected to the forces targeting Young Master."

Il-mok nodded. He was already aware of the problem.

"There were two main reasons. One was, as Physician Seo said, to manage the side effects."

Unlike others, Il-mok felt it might be okay to reveal half his true feelings to Seo Jae-pil, who was a physician.

If he’d revealed this to one of the Demonic-Art-addled old-timers, he would only hear insane talk about weak willpower or insufficient faith, but Physician Seo Jae-pil was different.

Of course, the whole truth was a little different.

'Even without side effects, the club would still be a meditation club.'

Side effects or not, Il-mok’s favorite activity was doing absolutely nothing.

“And the second reason was to make myself bait. As the old saying goes, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

"......."

Physician Seo Jae-pil showed a surprised expression at Il-mok's words.

'Is this really a surprising thing? Wait… is it because I, his test subject, am in danger?

Il-mok had pegged Seo Jae-pil as some kind of mad scientist, but the councilor’s next words completely blindsided him.

“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer? Was there such an old saying? I've never heard such words before. To think you know a proverb I have never heard. You are a man of profound knowledge.”

"...Ahem. It, it was something I picked up somewhere."

Il-mok coughed and tried to manage his expression.

'Damn. Wasn't that an Eastern proverb?'

He had almost gotten himself labeled a lunatic or drawn some very strange suspicion.

While Il-mok was reminding himself to be more careful with his words, Physician Seo’s expression turned worried again.

“I understand your intent, but isn’t it dangerous?”

"Considering what has happened so far, they won't be able to move easily either. It seems they’re trying to operate without leaving any evidence.”

"You mean they won't target Young Master in situations where they might arouse suspicion?"

"That's right. If something unfortunate were to happen to me during club hours, the instructor in charge would be the prime suspect, wouldn’t he? Plus, I’ve secured three witnesses, so I should be relatively safe.”

The three witnesses were, of course, Choi Woong, Seong Hwan, and Mun Gyu.

While he had brought them in to fill the numbers needed to establish the club, Il-mok would have dragged them in even if he could have started the club by himself.

“It’s a relief to know you’ve thought that far ahead. However, if they feel cornered, they might resort to a desperate gamble.”

"...I'm aware of that."

"And you still chose to take on such a dangerous bait role?"

"Whew."

Il-mok sighed.

Given Il-mok's safety-oriented nature, a bait role was absolutely not a choice he would make.

"This is also something I'm doing because of this guy."

Saying that, Il-mok pointed to his own head with his right index finger.

There might be people within the Hall of the Demonic Way who wanted to kill him.

The thought had been circling his mind ever since he returned, making it hard to do anything properly out of sheer anxiety. So, after a lengthy debate with his side effect, he had come up with the idea of reverse-baiting.

While he couldn't deal with misfortune that might come at any time, if he kept a suspected enemy close and under observation, he’d at least have a fighting chance.

Seeing Il-mok point to his head and call it "this guy," Seo Jae-pil's eyes lit up as he picked up his brush again.

"Could you tell me about this in detail? You truly are a magnificent test subject… I mean, a source of medical inspiration for me.”

"......."

Il-mok was convinced.

'This bastard. He’s not worried about me. He’s just upset he might lose his favorite lab subject.’

***

While Il-mok was spending time in the medical office.

A meeting was underway in the Vice Hall Master’s chamber with the new instructor, Ma Do-yeong. The official purpose was for Vice Hall Master Yu Geuk, who had been covering Chu Il-hwan’s classes for the past twenty days, to hand over the duties for the students Ma Do-yeong would be teaching.

Under that pretext, they were having a frank conversation.

"Lie low for a while?"

“Those were his orders. Our repeated failures have put us at risk of being discovered by the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons.”

Yu Geuk frowned.

“So, we’re just supposed to let the Young Master graduate without incident?”

At Yu Geuk's question, Ma Do-yeong made a subtle expression.

"You mustn't misinterpret his will. Lying low for a while means exactly that. It means to wait at least until the Supreme One’s surveillance has lessened.”

"The Young Master has only a year and a half left until graduation. What if the surveillance remains tight until then?”

"Then it can't be helped."

A corner of Yu Geuk’s mouth quirked up at Ma Do-yeong’s nonchalant tone.

"If that happens, neither you nor I will have results. Now that you're stuck in this tedious place called the Hall of the Demonic Way, the chance for you to climb up might as well be none."

At Yu Geuk's point, Ma Do-yeong smiled faintly and answered.

“Now that I am here in the Hall, under the Supreme One’s intense scrutiny, I can no longer communicate with him. And in a state of war, when communication with the top is impossible or in an emergency, is it not the most basic of principles to act first and report later?”

This time, both corners of Yu Geuk’s lips curled up in interest.

"Acting first and reporting later."

“Getting rid of Instructor Chu was also done without a report, was it not?”

Yu Geuk had no intention of denying it with pointless word games and nodded freely.

"So, do you have a plan in mind?"

“Not at the moment. But one thing is certain. We must seize an opportunity that will leave absolutely no evidence. In that sense, Vice Hall Master, I find myself in a rather advantageous position.”

"...You mean becoming the advisor of the Young Master's club?"

"That's right."

At Ma Do-yeong's confident answer, Yu Geuk nodded.

"Good. Keep a close watch and look for an opportunity."

***

The next day.

After all the usual meetings and counseling with the instructors as usual, Il-mok headed not to the usual training ground he had always gone to, but to a certain hall.

Together with the trio of Choi Woong, Seong Hwan, and Mun Gyu.

The three of them looked like they were being led to the slaughterhouse as they followed him into the clubroom.

"Please take care of us, Instructor!"

Unlike the miserable trio, Il-mok, looking perfectly happy, greeted the instructor, sat down, and closed his eyes.

“Haaaaaah. Hooooo.”

As Il-mok began to take deep, deliberate breaths, the trio, after some awkward hesitation, followed his lead and sat down to meditate.

He wasn’t circulating his energy or anything. He was just sitting there with his eyes closed, breathing in and out. Seeing this, Ma Do-yeong nearly let out a snort of derision.

'He’s completely defenseless.'

It felt pathetic that they had consecutively failed to kill this careless fool.

'Right now, I could end it with just one swing of my hand.'

The thought was painfully tempting. If only these three losers weren’t here.

If only leaving no evidence wasn’t a requirement. This mission would have been over long ago.

'Kill? Or not?'

Seeing his prey so unguarded, a murderous impulse kept flaring up in Ma Do-yeong’s heart.

Just then…

“Zzzzzzz.”

Il-mok started to doze off, even snoring. Veins bulged red on Ma Do-yeong's forehead.

'Damn it! I could kill him right now with a flick of my finger!’

He felt like he was about to fall into Qi Deviation if he kept watching his defenseless prey.

Meanwhile.

'Shit.'

'Why did we have to be dragged to a place like this?'

'For the love of god, read the room, Young Master Il-mok!!'

Caught between their snoring leader and the fuming instructor who was glaring daggers at him, the trio felt their mouths go dry.