“Are you… very disappointed in me?” Ye Jin-rang carefully opened his mouth, asking Kang-oh, who had been silent so far. Kang-oh could feel his master struggling, even pleading in his demeanor. He could not understand why Ye Jin-rang was so concerned with his reaction, so carefully observing his expression. Frankly speaking, meddling in his master’s grudges and adding his own opinions would be an unforgivable act for Kang-oh as a disciple.

The reason he came to this meeting today was to plead with his master, prepared to put his life on the line in doing so. And yet, here his master was, scrutinizing his every reaction as though it were the most important thing in the world…

A surge of complex emotions welled up in Kang-oh, making him bite down on his lip. In one corner of his heart, there was an aching realization: this person, who was so kind and good to him, could also be excessively harsh toward others.

“That servant, Woo… I will take him with me.”

“Kang-oh!” Ye Jin-rang exclaimed in surprise.

Kang-oh did not back down and bowed his head. “You won’t be able to sever the connection on your own.”

After all, it had been an eight-year grudge. For eight long years, the hatred had only grown. If a resolute man like Ye Jin-rang, who was such an accomplished martial artist, couldn’t let go of this grudge, Kang-oh couldn’t even fathom the bottomless depths of that resentment. That was why Woo needed to be removed from his master’s reach.

Regardless of hate or love, Ye Jin-rang had been Kang-oh’s mentor, someone who had taught him everything and shown him great generosity. For that alone, Kang-oh’s allegiance leaned toward Ye Jin-rang more than Woo, even if it wasn’t something he could freely admit to himself. His decision to take Woo away with him stemmed from a mix of guilt and a sense of responsibility.

“I forbid it.”

At Ye Jin-rang’s firm refusal, Kang-oh raised his head. For the first time in his life, he saw a face on his master that he could only describe as cruel.

“You… you don’t understand. That boy’s mother stole from me. His blood carries the blood of a thief. Kang-oh… don’t be deceived. I fear that deceitful, pitiful-looking boy might one day steal you away from me.”

Ye Jin-rang’s voice trembled with anxiety. It was a rare moment of genuine vulnerability. He reached out and clasped Kang-oh’s hands, bringing his forehead to rest upon them.

“If I were to lose even you… I wouldn’t be able to endure it.”

“Master…”

Faced with Ye Jin-rang’s exposed frailty, Kang-oh’s eyes widened in shock. At the sound of his disciple’s distressed call, Ye Jin-rang slowly composed himself and raised his head. His eyes, possibly from the intensity of his emotions, looked bloodshot-red.

It might have been the effect of the demonic arts Ye Jin-rang had mastered.

“This time, I shall step back. But mark my words,” he said as he tightened his grip on Kang-oh’s arm. “Do not let your guard down. Do not give even a sliver of your heart. That… is a monster. It was born that way.”

“…….”

“In my life, there is a debt I cannot repay, so I cannot bring myself to kill it… but it is the most horrifying of creatures. A monster among monsters.”

Ye Jin-rang’s effort to ignore Woo was the greatest patience he could muster. He had restrained himself from intervening in the harsh treatment of Woo by the Third Overseer not because he was unconcerned, but because he feared that if he acted, he would eventually escalate the situation rather than prevent it.

That Woo—more accurately, the very existence of Dan Woo-hyo, the White Virtue Palace Lord who is now missing—had once forcibly taken away the most precious thing from Ye Jin-rang.

Jin-rang’s world had fallen into eternal darkness because of Dan Woo-hyo and his mother, Seol Bu-yong. Jin-rang had very little from the beginning. His life was a sequence of poverty, and the single joy he had ever tasted in his life was shattered before he could even fully embrace it. If only it weren’t for Dan Woo-hyo—if only he weren’t the son of that cruel princess… Jin-rang’s beloved would still be alive, by his side.

Thus, this hatred was all too justified.

“…I understand,” Kang-oh replied slowly. Ye Jin-rang pulled him into a tight embrace—the only family he had left in this world.

---

Kang-oh, having left Ye Jin-rang behind, headed straight for the mountain.

Worried that something might have happened while he was away, he summoned one of the members of the Honamdan, whom he had stationed there, and asked him various questions.

From the answers, it seemed that he had been doing well. He applied medicine morning and evening with great effort, took care of meals diligently, and, most notably, had been chopping wood with an ax. Hearing this news, Kang-oh felt his mood lighten a little, even amidst his complex feelings. What bothered him was that the items Woo had been using effectively were all provided through the Third Overseer, but focusing solely on the outcome, that was good enough.

While climbing the mountain after receiving the report, Kang-oh abruptly halted as the scent of blood permeated the air. His keen sense of smell indicated that some kind of battle had taken place somewhere on this mountain. Normally, he might have assumed it was just animals fighting over food, but now his nerves were focused on a single issue. How many could there be on this remote mountain who would spill blood? He had thought that nothing would happen in the brief time he’d been away, and yet he’d relaxed and listened to reports idly…!

His tension rose, his fists clenching involuntarily. Was Woo alive? Or… was it the worst-case scenario? Kang-oh immediately activated his light-footed movement technique. Moving quickly through the densely packed trees, his heart filled with unease, he tried to suppress the ominous thoughts that kept surfacing as he headed toward Woo’s dwelling.

When he finally arrived at the scene, Kang-oh saw Woo gritting his teeth, holding logs in both hands, and facing off against a wolf. It felt as though his heart, which had sunk to the ground, finally returned to its proper place. Without hesitation, Kang-oh drew his saber and swung it at the wolf that was lunging toward Woo.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

To Woo, it seemed as though a line was being drawn in midair. In that instant, the wolf attacking Woo had its jaws sliced horizontally, a testament to Kang-oh’s exceptional combat skills. At the same time, another wolf lunged at Kang-oh from the opposite side but was met with a fierce kick.

The wolf, which had only staggered back slightly when Woo kicked it earlier, was sent flying into a tree in the distance by Kang-oh’s powerful leg strike. The body of the wolf collapsed onto the ground and twitched a few times before coming completely to a halt.

It seemed Kang-oh’s internal energy wasn’t yet enough to split the tree the wolf struck, but his display of power was more than enough.

A fierce and intimidating bloodlust emanated from Kang-oh’s body. Having lost one of their own in an instant and now faced with the overwhelming aura of an unexpectedly powerful human, the wolves were severely intimidated. Kang-oh executed a step forward with such force that the ground trembled. The resulting vibrations caused two or three wolves to lose their balance and stumble, while one wolf launched itself off the ground and charged at Kang-oh.

Kang-oh thrust the short sword straight into the wolf’s throat and swiftly pulled it out in one motion. The blade had clearly pierced through bone and flesh, yet the way he shook off his hands made it look as effortless as cutting through paper. For his age, it was a truly impressive accomplishment. Woo found it frustrating that with his current skills, it was difficult to fully follow Kang-oh’s movements. Instead, Woo focused his attention on the remaining wolf targeting him.

Swinging a burning log, the flames singed the wolf’s hide and scorched its flesh. Woo, who had one leg shorter than the other, found it challenging to maintain balance. Using this disadvantage to his benefit, he pretended to stumble, baiting the wolf into letting its guard down. Then, without hesitation, he brought the log crashing down on the wolf’s abdomen.

Thud!

Though Woo wasn’t particularly strong, he had the strength of at least an average adult male. The wolf, struck squarely on a vital point, fell to the ground and let out a low growl, unable to immediately rise. Woo gripped the log tightly and approached the wolf, delivering a final blow to end its life. Since it was an enemy that had attacked him, he did not hesitate.

With this, the six wolves were subdued in no time. Kang-oh had handled five of them, leaving Woo to take down one on his own.

“You’re unharmed,” Kang-oh remarked, speaking belatedly as if impressed by Woo’s unexpected effort. Woo, flustered by the concern in Kang-oh’s voice, awkwardly stammered in response.

“Th-thank you. I owe you my life.”

“You fought well,” Kang-oh acknowledged. He wasn’t wrong; had Woo not held his ground, wielding the burning log, he would have become the wolves’ prey long before Kang-oh arrived. Woo bowed deeply.

“If you hadn’t come, I would have d-died.”

“I came to this mountain to hunt these man-eating wolves and failed to complete the task. This is my fault for neglecting my duty, so there’s no need to thank me so profusely,” Kang-oh murmured. If he had been determined to follow through with his mission, this wouldn’t have happened. The thought occurred to him that the situation had escalated because he had merely driven away the wolf from Woo’s hut instead of killing it. He fiddled with the hilt of his short sword.

“N-no, truly, I am deeply grateful,” Woo replied, bowing repeatedly. This time, it seemed his gratitude stemmed not from his typically servile nature, but from genuine thankfulness. Kang-oh, recalling what his master had once mentioned, gazed down at the bowing servant with a complicated expression.

“Pack your belongings,” Kang-oh ordered.

“Are you, are you talking about me?” Woo’s eyes widened at the unexpected words from Kang-oh. Using the excuse of the Third Overseer, Woo tried to step back, but Kang-oh responded impassively, as if he had anticipated it.

“From today, your master is no longer Black Sky Lord but me.”

“What?” Woo quickly lifted his head and asked again. His mouth hung open wide enough that he wouldn’t have noticed even if a fly entered, making him look quite foolish.

However, Kang-oh didn’t care. “I told you to pack your belongings… but it seems like that’s not happening. If you don’t want to do it yourself, I’ll do it.”

Kang-oh strode forward, brushing past Woo, and began gathering Woo’s belongings one by one from the hut. Woo limped behind, desperately trying to stop him, but there was no way for him to match up to a martial artist’s strength or speed.

“I-I will do it instead!”

“Too late,” Kang-oh replied tersely. He wasn’t the type to be overly gentle, and he knew that if he gave Woo any leeway, Woo would continue to refuse. At this point, one might have expected Woo to give up chasing, but he showed no sign of backing down.

Kang-oh intentionally slowed his pace because he knew that if he walked at his usual speed, Woo’s injured leg would struggle to keep up.

“Please, I-it’s really something I should be doing…” Woo stomped his feet anxiously. Kang-oh let Woo’s plea go in one ear and out the other.

After packing the simple belongings into a bundle and tying them up like a sack, Kang-oh tucked it under his arm. Then, he motioned to Woo.

“We’re heading down the mountain now, so come here.”

“W-we’re not going down by foot, are we?” Woo’s gaze looked nervously at Kang-oh, sensing that something was amiss.

“I’ll use light-footed techniques. Hold tight.”

Woo bit his lip, fully aware that no matter how much he resisted, Kang-oh could easily grab him by the waist and move. Running away from a martial artist as an ordinary person was no different from a rabbit trying to escape a hunting hawk.

Woo clenched Kang-oh’s clothes tightly, trying his best to hide his uneasy expression.

“P-please take care of me…”

Without responding, Kang-oh pushed off the ground. At that moment, Woo tightly closed his eyes. The sensation was vaguely similar yet entirely different from the fall he experienced ten years ago.

Woo instinctively knew that with this, everything was about to change.

–END OF CHAPTER ONE–