Chapter 80: Scoundrel (2)

After quickly finishing his meal, Il-mok left the dining hall. It felt like if he lingered, more lunatics would inevitably come his way.

As usual, he headed towards the secluded clearing.

"Huu. Huu."

As Il-mok crossed the training grounds, he heard someone's rough breathing.

The sky over the mountainside glowed as the sun began to set.

Beneath the crimson sky, a lone figure walked across the training ground.

Thud.

He collapsed to the ground as if prostrating himself, then rose to his feet again.

After walking a few more steps, he collapsed and prostrated himself again, repeating this pattern.

Il-mok knew who it was.

That's because the reason that man was receiving such a punishment was because of Il-mok.

It was Baek Cheon.

He was paying the price for his transgression of calling the Heavenly Demon a “dog.” He was punished to do a punishment called Three Steps, One Bow (三步一拜).

In fact, the first thing that came to Il-mok's mind was the punishment he had often seen in the South Korean army.

The infamous 'laps around the field in full military gear.'

But there was no equivalent of 'full gear' here, and since the people here were fanatical cult members, a more fitting punishment was needed.

That would be the only way to persuade the Hall Master.

So, what Il-mok came up with after much deliberation was running around the training grounds doing Three Steps, One Bow.

Additionally, each time he prostrated himself, he had to recite a passage from the doctrinal texts.

So that the scripture and faith would be completely engraved in his mind.

So that his faith remains firm even in the face of adversity.

So that he would never again make the mistake of disrespecting the Heavenly Demon, even by mistake.

Using such justifications, Il-mok had succeeded in persuading the Hall Master.

As a result, Baek Cheon continued circling the training grounds.

With his internal energy sealed, he has to perform the Three Steps, One Bow repeatedly while relying solely on his physical strength. Each time he did that, he would have to recite a passage from the doctrinal texts.

However, Il-mok didn't think it was his fault.

If anything, he thought it was thanks to him.

At least this punishment was better than limb amputation and becoming food for wild beasts or having one's tongue cut off.

‘Though I doubt he sees it that way.’

Losing his interest in watching Baek Cheon, Il-mok continued on his way.

***

Shortly after Il-mok left.

A woman dressed in flowing clothes that seemed out of place in a martial training facility was walking toward the dining hall.

The red sunset illuminated her face and clothes, creating a somewhat mystical atmosphere.

No, it was more accurate to say she was a woman who believed herself to emanate a mystical aura.

With haughty steps, the woman arrived at the dining hall, then froze.

'...He's not here?'

It was because Il-mok, who should have been waiting for her, wasn't there.

She had even worn her ultimate killer outfit, the only one she'd deliberately brought when entering the Hall just for this occasion.

Bang Mi-hwa who had meticulously bathed and cleansed herself before coming momentarily froze at this cognitive dissonance.

"Hmph."

However, she quickly regained her composure and gave a haughty smile.

"I suppose he must have been too shy."

As befitting someone who suffered from narcissistic personality disorder, she promptly accepted the situation in a way that was convenient for her.

She had a rough idea of where Il-mok might be.

He would probably be hiding in that empty lot.

But instead of heading there, Bang Mi-hwa walked with dignified steps toward the Black Dragon Pavilion.

"Hehe. Young Master, opportunities don't come just any time. If you come begging with tears later, I might forgive you once."

She decided that the one who got rejected was Il-mok, not her.

***

The next day. Early morning.

Rising from his bed, Baek Cheon walked toward the dining hall with sunken eyes.

"Tsk."

The sound of someone clicking their tongue upon noticing him pierced his ears.

Unconsciously, Baek Cheon clenched his fist, but he didn't rush at the peer who had clicked their tongue.

While trying his best to ignore that sound and walk, the sound of his classmates' conversation was heard from behind him.

"I can't believe he's still walking around normally after saying such things."

"Shameless."

"With such recklessness, I knew he'd cause trouble someday."

"It's not just about being reckless. He must have had such thoughts in his heart to blurt out those words."

They deliberately gossiped in a voice that he could hear.

Baek Cheon gritted his teeth.

Although anger rose to the top of his head, he dared not unleash it on them.

It wasn't because his internal energy was sealed.

He is a direct descendant of the Baek Family. One of the five major families in the Divine Cult. From childhood, he had been hearing the cult’s doctrine so much that his ears got calloused from hearing it so much. But his faith was genuine nonetheless.

He was aware that he had committed an unspeakable grave sin.

He knew that attacking them at this moment would be tantamount to denying his sin. This is why he endured their contemptuous words.

Forcing down the humiliation, Baek Cheon finished his breakfast and headed alone to the training ground.

And just like yesterday, he continued the Three Steps, One Bow.

He had to recite the next passage of the scripture every time he prostrated himself, but it wasn't particularly difficult.

It was a scripture that he had heard until his ears were calloused since he was young and had read and read again until it was engraved in his brain.

Leaving aside whether it resonated in his heart, it was engraved in his brain as it was.

He repeated the process wordlessly.

Before he knew it, training time had arrived, and he could see his peers and juniors passing by.

Every time their gaze turned to him, humiliation surged from the depths of his being even without them saying anything.

He had to walk and prostrate himself while becoming a spectacle for them.

Lunchtime passed, afternoon training resumed, dinnertime arrived, and the evening's self-study time began. Still, he walked and bowed endlessly, forced to be a spectacle for those passing by.

His stomach, which had not been fed since morning, screamed until he eventually felt nothing.

His muscles and joints, deprived of energy, creaked with each movement. His head grew more and more foggy.

About two hours after complete darkness had fallen.

"Go back for now."

Instructor Cha Eun-yeong came by and ordered him to rest.

She didn’t bother to hide her face that blatantly saying he was pathetic. The proud gaze she had given him until just a few days ago had turned into contempt. Ashamed of that gaze, Baek Cheon barely managed to move his trembling body back to the Black Tiger Pavilion.

Fortunately, his peers had already returned to their rooms.

Time passed.

The same routine was repeated for several days.

After breakfast, he simply walked and prostrated himself endlessly.

How many days did he repeat this?

The anger and humiliation inside him died. Instead, a different feeling replaces them.

'Why do I have to keep doing this?'

It wasn't defiance.

'Isn't it all over anyway?'

Graduating from the Hall of the Demonic Way at the top seat, then solidifying his position in the family… Those ambitions now turned to dust.

What reason was there to endure this punishment?

"Go back for now."

Today again, Instructor Cha Eun-yeong dismissed him with the same contemptuous eyes as yesterday’s.

'Yes. Let's end it all.'

Just as Baek Cheon, feeling that all this was meaningless, had such a thought.

Someone blocked his path.

"Eat this before you go in."

It was the man who caused all of this.

***

After finishing dinner at the dining hall and offering the rice ball he had prepared in advance to Baek Cheon, Il-mok thought.

'Tch. Seeing him like that still bothers me.'

Honestly, just seeing him shouldn't have warranted his attention.

The problem was Baek Cheon’s condition kept getting worse with each passing day. His eyes now changed to the look of a dead fish.

'No matter what, it's a bit too much to only feed him one meal a day and push him around like that.’

Although it was Il-mok himself who had suggested the Three Steps, One Bow punishment, he hadn't expected them to be so brutal about it.

After staring blankly at the rice ball Il-mok offered for a moment, Baek Cheon raised his head and looked at Il-mok's face.

Soon after, life returned to his dead fish eyes.

A lively anger at that.

"Because of you..."

Since he had only eaten one meal a day and spent the whole day performing the punishment, he lacked the strength to shout. Baek Cheon muttered in a raspy, hoarse voice.

Il-mok chuckled at the malice shown by Baek Cheon.

"How is it my fault that this happened because of your shitty personality?"

He felt some sympathy because the punishment seemed excessive compared to what he had done, but he had no intention of accepting the malice directed at him.

At Il-mok's pointed remark, Baek Cheon, who had been glaring at Il-mok, laughed deprecatingly.

"Fine. It's all my fault. So, I'm going to end it myself instead of receiving such a humiliating punishment."

"End it yourself? What do you mean?"

Il-mok frowned and asked with a sinking feeling.

"I mean, I'll kill myself, so leave me alone."

And when the answer Il-mok had feared came out of Baek Cheon's mouth, Il-mok burst out with profanity.

"Are you crazy? Why are you acting up again when I tried so hard to save you?”

Baek Cheon's expression turned strange.

"Save me? What do you mean?"

“You were originally going to have your body dismembered and be fed to wild beasts.”

"Don't tell me... You spoke to the Hall Master and changed my punishment?"

When Il-mok nodded, Baek Cheon's expression crumpled.

"Why didn't you just let me die! It's all over for me anyway. Since I got on the Hall Master’s bad side with that mistake, I can't climb to higher places anymore, and my standing in the family will soon fall to the bottom now! What's left for me to live for!?"

Listening to Baek Cheon's desperate cry, Il-mok thought.

'Ha. What is this? He's not even a kid.'

It was somehow a familiar sight.

How should he put it?

It felt like watching a high school student who thought college entrance exams were their entire life and committed suicide after failing one test.

'Ah, seventeen is still a child, I guess.'

Come to think of it, Baek Cheon was seventeen years old. In modern terms, he'd be at most a high school junior or senior.

'Damn. Now he just looks even more pitiful.'

A sigh leaked out unconsciously as the news that would come out right after the college entrance exam came to mind. He had felt sorry for those kids every time he watched the news.

'They say people don't easily change... but he's still young, so there might be some chance.'

People don't change easily.

It was an old adage Il-mok himself had experienced countless times in his life.

However, the most important part of that adage wasn't the phrase "don't change."

The adjective "easily" was what mattered.

Occasionally, one or two out of ten people would change when facing a major turning point in their lives.

Since he had already caused a major incident and reached a turning point, there might be a sliver of possibility for him.

After organizing his thoughts, Il-mok sighed and said. "First, let's eat and talk."

Pat!

As soon as he finished speaking, he moved his hand unexpectedly, pressing Baek Cheon's acupoints.

"Mmph!?"

Il-mok approached the paralyzed Baek Cheon and grabbed his mouth open with one hand and shoved the rice ball in with his other hand.

This was Il-mok's way of showing his greatest kindness.

That's because.

'Aish.'

It was inevitable that Baek Cheon’s saliva would get on his hand when he shoved down that rice ball.

Moreover, he had to support Baek Cheon’s exhausted body while doing so.

For Il-mok, who suffered from germophobia, this was a grace bestowed at the risk of going mad.

"Mmph!?"

Of course, from Baek Cheon's perspective, having a rice ball forcibly stuffed into his mouth was anything but.