Episode 16: The Missing Records
The wooden pavilion was completely burned to ashes. The warriors from the Sangwon group gathered the remains, but no one dared to approach the bones suspected to belong to the Poison Master.
"I'll take care of it. He was my mentor, after all."
Won Seung, hiding his tears, collected the remains and buried them on the hill where the children were laid to rest.
As he carved the epitaph, he recalled how the Poison Master, with his grotesque appearance and harsh words, had frightened the children.
Looking around the hill, Won Seung spoke softly, "If you have souls, you'll know. Master wasn't cruel like the other instructors. He had a warm heart. So, take good care of him."
*
A while later, a new instructor arrived from the main sect.
On the first day, he gathered the children and spoke from the podium.
"I am Instructor Ak. I've dealt with many like you before. It seems training here was easy. More of you survived than I expected."
As the saying goes, when the fox leaves, the wolf arrives. A more vicious figure had come.
The children didn't know, but Instructor Ak was the first instructor of the assassin training camp. Despite producing a top-grade assassin, too many children died under his watch, and he was never properly recognized for his efforts. After Instructor Jang's death, he was urgently brought in.
That winter, five children died. Even though it was winter, the fact that five trained children died was due to the harsher training.
By spring, only thirty-eight children remained.
Won Seung's anger deepened.
*
The forest was turning green. It was time to administer the Bright Vitality Pill.
Instructor Ak frowned as he reviewed the children's records.
With Instructor Jang's office completely burned down, all the children's evaluations were lost. Even the documents detailing their backgrounds were gone, so they had to be rewritten in numerical order. The children who had taken the Manghondan had no memories, so past records were, of course, missing.
The evaluations were filled in based on the instructors' memories, but they were inevitably incomplete. Moreover, instructors from outside, like Master Gong and Master Eum, had already left after completing their courses, leaving no way to verify the records.
'Hmm... I need to find the ones who will die.'
Instructor Ak was searching for the weaker children in the records.
The Bright Vitality Pill must be taken three times for the Blood Drying Powder's poison to be effective. During his previous tenure at the first assassin training camp, Instructor Ak had a brilliant idea after administering the second Bright Vitality Pill to the children.
When it was time to administer the third Bright Vitality Pill, he selected ten children with poor evaluations and gave them fake Bright Vitality Pill. The Bright Vitality Pill itself is a rare item in the martial world, known for enhancing one's internal energy.
Instructor Ak sold the ten real Bright Vitality Pill pills for a significant amount of money. He then killed the children who took the fake pills during training. In his mind, they weren't even worthy of becoming first-class assassins, so he felt no guilt.
He was planning to do the same this time, looking for sacrificial lambs.
"Hmm. With these poor records, I can't separate the wheat from the chaff."
As Instructor Ak grumbled about the incomplete records, an aged voice interrupted him.
"Your job is not to separate the wheat from the chaff but to ensure the children complete their training safely."
Before the voice had even finished speaking, a slightly built middle-aged man entered the office.
Though small in stature, his straight back and solid chest exuded a sense of strength. His sharp eyes glared at Instructor Ak.
Instructor Ak stood up abruptly.
"What brings you here, Elder Bi?"
He hurriedly stepped forward and bowed. An elder from the main sect was someone of such high status that one couldn't dare to look directly at them.
Elder Bi circled the table and sat down heavily in the chair Instructor Ak had just vacated.
His gaze was icy as he looked at Instructor Ak.
"Five died last winter. Children who were nearing the end of their eight-year training."
"That's because Instructor Jang was too lenient..."
Bang!
As Instructor Ak tried to explain, Elder Bi slammed the table, cutting him off.
A tense silence followed.
Elder Bi pulled out a letter from his robe and tossed it onto the table.
- ...Thanks to your consideration, as I mentioned before, we expect to produce one Ten-Star Assassin, four top-grade, and more than ten first-grade assassins. We will submit the trainees' evaluations to the main sect this coming spring, and you will surely be surprised when you see them. When that time comes, I hope you will remember my small contribution...
It was a letter Instructor Jang had sent to Elder Bi. After reading it, Instructor Ak shouted with a cunning look of anger.
"Jang Iksan, how dare he make such a personal request to an elder. Even without the Poison Master's incident, he should have been severely punished..."
Bang!
Elder Bi slammed the table again.
"Who told you to read that!"
Instructor Ak, bewildered, read the letter again and was startled.
"Ten-Star Assassin? Four top-grade? Jang Iksan, his bluff is really something..."
Elder Bi suddenly stood up, approached Instructor Ak, raised his hand, and slapped him.
Smack!
Elder Bi's palm struck Instructor Ak's cheek with such force that he staggered.
"You know what kind of person Jang Iksan is. He may be greedy, but he's not one to speak nonsense. Do you think he would lie about something that would be exposed in just a few months? Is he someone who can't discern such things?"
Instructor Ak quickly knelt and bowed his head.
"I'm sorry! I couldn't grasp the situation because all the children's records were burned."
The fifth assassin training camp was the last chance to produce top-grade assassins.
Elder Bi was responsible for the grand plan of assassin training, so he had shown much interest and support for the fifth camp. Knowing this, Instructor Jang had sent letters to update him on the situation.
"Four top-grade! And a Ten-Star Assassin! Do you know what a Ten-Star Assassin means? Huh? Even if there were ten like you, I wouldn't trade them for a Ten-Star Assassin or even a top-grade one. And you killed five? If any of them had the potential to be a Ten-Star Assassin, you'd be dead too."
Unable to contain his anger, Elder Bi kicked Instructor Ak. Instructor Ak gasped as he was kicked in the chest but quickly composed himself and bowed.
"I'm, I'm sorry. I only thought of training strictly to nurture skilled assassins."
'Hmph.'
Elder Bi snorted inwardly at Instructor Ak's excuse. He couldn't kill an instructor just for being strict.
Elder Bi's eyes were not kind as he looked at the prostrate Instructor Ak. Although the first assassin training camp under his charge had produced a top-grade assassin, it had the lowest number of graduates. This had turned the hopeful gaze of the main sect's leaders into skepticism.
Elder Bi, who had initially proposed the assassin training camp process, found himself in a difficult position. He had intended to pin the blame for poor results on Instructor Ak, but no top-grade assassins had emerged since then. Thus, Instructor Ak was like a chicken rib to Elder Bi—something of little value but a waste to discard.
When Instructor Jang died, Elder Bi was away in a distant region. Upon returning, he read Instructor Jang's letter from the pile of delayed correspondence. Then, while checking the Bright Vitality Pill application status, he learned that five children had died in the meantime.
In the early stages of training, losing children wasn't a big deal. But now, it was different. These were children who had been nurtured for eight years. Having endured harsh training over a long period, they could become competent assassins with just another year or two of refinement.
Even if they weren't first-grade now, they could eventually become first-grade assassins. Hearing that five children with such potential had died, Elder Bi was furious and rushed over.
Calming his anger, Elder Bi spoke.
"Fill in the evaluations by any means necessary! And find the Ten-Star, top-grade, and first-grade ones. Don't think of doing it half-heartedly. I'll be checking personally. If you mess up, I'll take your head myself."
"Understood."
Instructor Ak, his head pressed to the floor, gritted his teeth and replied. Elder Bi turned to leave but then paused and turned back.
"Fill in the evaluations for the children who died last winter too!"
"What?"
Instructor Ak, puzzled as to why he should fill in the evaluations for children who were already dead, looked up and was startled by Elder Bi's murderous gaze.
And then he realized.
The evaluations for the dead children must be low. And...
Now, the burden of producing one Ten-Star Assassin, four top-grade, and ten first-grade assassins was squarely on his shoulders.
Otherwise.
Elder Bi's eyes said he would die by his hand.
After causing such a commotion, Elder Bi left, leaving behind thirty-eight Bright Vitality Pill pills.
*
The day to administer the Bright Vitality Pill was approaching.
Instructor Ak couldn't help but contemplate pilfering some of the Bright Vitality Pill. He had planned to make a profit using the same method, but Elder Bi's intervention had disrupted his plans.
Despite Elder Bi's stern warning, Instructor Ak couldn't shake his greed for the money right in front of him.
"If I produce the Ten-Star, top-grade, and first-grade ones, I'll be recognized for my contributions at the main sect. But that's two years from now."
Instructor Ak made a compromise.
"There are thirty-eight of them now, so I'll just take five."
If five died, thirty-three would remain. Among them, if there was a Ten-Star Assassin, four top-grade, and ten first-grade, it would be an enormous success.
Old habits die hard, and once he made up his mind, he faced the challenge of creating fake Bright Vitality Pill.
The Bright Vitality Pill also has a tolerance, so when taken for the third time, it only enhances one's internal energy by three to four years. The key was to replicate the taste and aroma rather than the efficacy.
In his sudden appointment, he hadn't thought to bring the necessary herbs. Moreover, the instructors from the main sect were under the deceased Instructor Jang's command, so he couldn't act without caution.
Instructor Ak looked beyond the window at the Poison Master's residence.
"There should be herbs left there."
The Poison Master was truly a vicious person. Upon leaving the mountain, he had set up poison traps in his residence.
After the Poison Master and Instructor Jang perished together, a warrior entered the Poison Master's residence and died from the poison trap. Since then, no one dared to enter.
They were about to burn it down when an order came from the main sect. They were to preserve it until a poison expert could be sent to investigate any remaining poison legacy.
Instructor Ak pondered and thought of Dokdong. Number Fifty had served the Poison Master, so perhaps he could enter the poison trap?
Having made up his mind, Instructor Ak summoned Won Seung.
"I heard you served the Poison Master."
"Yes, I brought him meals and prepared his sleeping quarters."
"It's been months since the Poison Master died. Who knows what he might have left behind in his residence? Go and check it out."
"What?"
Won Seung had also heard about the Poison Master's poison traps. Of course, he could enter, but he couldn't reveal that fact.
"If you enter the poison trap, you'll die. How can I go?"
"You've served him for years; you must have learned something."
As he spoke, Instructor Ak scrutinized Won Seung's face. He had ten years of experience dealing with a hundred children. He knew well how cunning children could become as they grew.
Under Instructor Ak's sharp gaze, Won Seung widened his eyes and said, "I did learn a few poisons, but I know nothing about the poison traps. They weren't there when I was serving him."