Ch. 37
What would have happened to us if it weren't for Yeon Cheongha?
We might have died in Nether Shadow Valley without surviving until graduation.
A few children's legs gave out, and they collapsed to their knees and burst into tears.
Other children gathered around them and cried together.
"Can you let us out of here?"
Someone asked, but without even waiting for an answer, some children pointed to a group and said.
"Those kids are from the Cho family. Are you going to let them live too? If you let them live, the martial artists of the Cho family will try to kill you."
I looked at the group the children were pointing at.
The First Class.
Those children must have belonged to that group.
The children who had reigned under the protection of the instructors.
"Kill those kids too. They killed my friend."
A child said and burst into tears.
Being young is not an excuse.
I also remembered how the children belonging to the First Class had tormented the other children.
At some point, Pae Maseong came to my side.
It seemed he had found and dealt with all the instructors in the area he was in charge of.
"What should we do with those kids?"
Pae Maseong said with a face that said he couldn't decide.
The First Class children also seemed to have noticed the atmosphere.
Since they had seen us kill the instructors, they would have some sense that they were no match for us.
"What do you want to do? If you want to live, you'll have to pay the price."
When I said that, the First Class children trembled and looked at each other.
They had faces that said they didn't know what to do.
Still, seeing that I had spoken to them like that, they seemed to think that there was a way to live, and hope appeared on their faces.
"If you cripple your dantian and cut off the arm you use for the sword, I'll think about letting you live."
"No. We can't do that. Cripple our dantian? For a martial artist, crippling the dantian is the same as dying."
Someone shouted.
At that, as if it had spread, the other children also shouted that they couldn't do that.
"If you don't want to, then don't. I know very well how evil you are. You know why? I was also in the First Class. Wouldn't the First Class know the First Class best?"
I don't know how they understood those words, but the children's faces contorted and then became expressions of resignation.
I looked at the children who were gathered in another place.
Thinking, 'Will they be satisfied with my disposal?'
The children looked at each other and then slowly nodded.
"Those kids are from good families, and even if they lose their dantian, they might be able to exercise power. If they meet you again, they might try to take revenge and torment you. If you're going to let them live, you have to be prepared for that. If that's annoying, it might be better to just kill them here."
Hearing those words, they seemed to think a little more and then whispered among themselves.
If I used my internal energy, I could know what those children were talking about, but I deliberately didn't listen.
After a long time, a child said.
"We'll take that risk. Since we've entered the path of a martial artist anyway, people who are targeting us have already appeared. If we escape from here, people might release a pursuit team to catch us, so it might be better to let those kids live."
"Why is that?"
"Because those children will testify to how amazing your martial prowess is. Then the pursuit team might not be able to move rashly."
I was also going to tell them about the pursuit team, but seeing the child who spoke first and asked to save the First Class children, I nodded.
It was impossible to solve everything anyway.
Each person had to fight their own battle and survive.
I had neither the strength nor the will to save everyone.
In that respect, I quite liked those children.
Looking at Pae Maseong, he nodded.
I had seen it as a meaning to protect those kids from the pursuit team for a while, but Pae Maseong seemed to have taken it as a meaning to carry out the work.
He went straight to the First Class children and crippled their dantian.
The children who had lost their dantian lost consciousness and collapsed from the shock and pain.
The real shock would be even greater after they came to their senses and woke up.
I could more than imagine what it meant to be raised as a martial artist and then no longer be able to use internal energy.
"What should we do with their arms?"
Pae Maseong asked the children.
He seemed to think that it was right to let the children decide for themselves, but the children argued for a while and then said.
To cut off their arms.
I thought that those children had made a very wise decision.
Whether the First Class children had arms or not was not really important.
Those children would have other people do their work for them anyway.
But whether a child who had lost their dantian and the arm they used for the sword could create their own force and make people follow their words was another matter.
Even those who wanted to become subordinates would only go under a lord if the lord had power and could protect them, and if they lost the arm they used for the sword, it would be difficult to create a force itself.
Pae Maseong cut off the arms of the collapsed children.
"Now you have a new grudge."
At Pae Maseong's words, the children nodded.
They didn't have just frustrated faces.
"The formation that was around here has now been undone. I will take you out. Will you all go together?"
When I said that, the children all nodded at once.
"Can we bring our luggage?"
"You can bring your luggage, but if you carry it around outside, you might be caught by the pursuit team."
The children also seemed to think that was right and nodded.
In the end, the children did not go back to get their things and waited for our disposal there.
Pae Maseong sealed the blood vessels of the First Class children so that no more blood would flow and came back to us.
"Let's go."
Until I came to Nether Shadow Valley, I had no intention of taking these children, but somehow the plan had changed.
I had to think in advance about what to do with the children, but I had no regrets.
It would be a little troublesome, but it didn't seem that it would be just difficult.
Looking at Pae Maseong, he asked quietly.
"What should we do with the poisonous creatures in the underground cave?"
Ah...
There's that too.
There was no end to the things that had to be thought of at the same time.
"Let's take that with us, Socheong. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to undo the formation when we come next time."
Pae Maseong's words seemed to be right.
"We're going to the underground cave to get the poisonous creatures. In the meantime, you bring the carriages."
At my words, the children moved quickly.
The children were all between ten and fifteen years old, but they were children who had survived in Nether Shadow Valley until now.
It meant that they could quickly grasp what to do.
"Everyone has to be careful from now on. As you know, the poisonous creatures in the underground cave are very poisonous. You could lose your life even with a small bite. We will also be careful, but you also have to be on high alert and protect yourselves."
When I warned them, the children nodded with tense faces.
"Wouldn't it be helpful if we had something like a jade bottle? I saw something like that in the instructor's room."
A child said with shining eyes.
"It's good if you have something like that. If you have a bag made of deer hide, that would also be helpful."
"I saw that."
"It's not deer hide, but I saw a tough leather bag. Should I bring that too?"
"I saw a sturdy box."
The children talked to each other and then scattered in all directions.
It seemed they thought that it would be better to just bring it and show it than to explain it all in words.
Pae Maseong and I looked at each other.
Until a moment ago, we had been thinking that those children would be a burden.
Still, we had thought that we had no choice but to take them, but if it turned out like this, it seemed that they could become our reliable allies.
Since they had endured in Nether Shadow Valley until now, they would have learned things from each instructor, and each of them would be able to easily learn assassin skills.
"I'm glad we came here. I think we can get help when we subjugate the mountain bandit strongholds."
Hearing Pae Maseong's words, it really was so.
While subjugating the mountain bandit strongholds, we could leave a few places unburned and let these children stay there.
At first, it had just been dark, but it seemed that a path was gradually appearing.
The children were really useful, and they went around the various places in Nether Shadow Valley, brought what was necessary, and laid it out in front of us.
And as if they had realized that they had done a good job, they had proud faces.
"You did really well. From now on, we're going to fish out the poisonous creatures, so stay far away. Because they shouldn't suddenly go to you."
The children listened for sure.
Since they had heard so much about the poisonous creatures, they seemed to know that it was not the time to be curious, and they ran away really far.
Pae Maseong and I fished out the poisonous creatures.
When we lowered a thick rope, all sorts of things climbed up it.
We put the things that came up like that into jade bottles and bags, and some of them, while coming up, flew at us and tried to attack, but were cut in two by the sword.
The attempt was good, but it would have been better if they had known in advance that we were not easy opponents.
By the time a certain amount of poisonous creatures had piled up around us, the children stealthily approached.
"Should we load them onto the carriages?"
"Yes, then the work will end quickly."
At that, the children, as if they were excited, moved the bags and bottles.
Then, as if they thought that that would not be enough, they went around each building and found more things to confine the poisonous creatures.
Although they were not as perfect as what they had brought at first, things that were somewhat usable were gathered.
Seeing that, I liked the children more and more.
Pae Maseong also nodded with satisfaction.
Thanks to that, we were able to get much more poisonous creatures than we had initially thought.
Since there were children who could drive carriages among the children, we could drive several carriages at the same time.
A few children said that they were fast learners and that they would try to drive a carriage if they were taught how.
If so, I wondered if we could take some of the wealth in Nether Shadow Valley, and looking at Pae Maseong, he also nodded.
It was convenient that we could communicate with each other just by exchanging glances without needing to speak separately.
Since we had come here and killed the Valley Lord and the instructors anyway, it didn't seem that much would change just because we took the wealth.
And since we would have to feed all these children in the future, it would cost a lot of money, so it seemed better to take whatever we could.
A little later, several carriages left Nether Shadow Valley.
No one would have known how much of a change that would bring to the Cho family.
(End of Chapter)