Star Instructor, Master Baek-Chapter 389: He Disappeared

Mae Geuklyom frowned the moment he saw the man in the black hat approaching with a lazy gait. He knew who the man was just by the way he walked. After all, he had chased after this particular delinquent more than any other during his career as headmaster.
"Our reinforcements... is this worthless scoundrel?"
"Father-in-law! How could you call me a scoundrel as soon as you see me? There are other people here," Baek Muheun grumbled as he took off his black hat.
Mae Geuklyom realized his mistake and cleared his throat. "Ahem! It's not easy to break a habit."
"Just how often do you go around calling me a worthless scoundrel...?"
Noh Goonsang, who had been listening to their conversation with interest, asked, "I can tell who he is just by looking at him, but would you formally introduce us?"
"He is my... son-in-law," Mae Geuklyom said, still feeling awkward about introducing Baek Muheun this way.
Baek Muheun clasped his hands in greeting. "I am Suryong's father, Baek Muheun."
"I am Noh Goonsang, the Principal of the Azure Dragon Academy."
"Principal, I am also an Azure Dragon Academy graduate. Please feel free to speak informally."
"Hoho, I will. Were you a student when the former principal was in office?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"I am Namgung Su, Instructor Baek Suryong's senior at work," Namgung Su also greeted politely.
"I've heard a lot about you, including how you've taken very good care of my Suryong."
"...I most certainly have not. And please, no need for such formality."
While the three of them, who were meeting for the first time, were exchanging greetings, Baek Suryong arrived.
"It seems you're all here."
Baek Suryong looked at the faces of the people gathered around him. Mae Geuklyom, Namgung Su, and Noh Goonsang were the most trustworthy people at the Azure Dragon Academy, as well as the only martial masters who could defeat a Deathshroud assassin alone.
His gaze lingered a little longer on his father, whom he had not seen in a long time. A hint of admiration flickered in his eyes.
He surprises me every time I see him.
He felt that he understood why the Murim Alliance Chairman acted the way he did whenever they met. Since the last time they had met, Baek Muheun's aura had evolved yet again. He was finally blooming as a martial artist, as if to compensate for the years of guilt he had suffered because of his family.
Baek Muheun smirked. He could tell from the look in his son's eyes that he was surprised. "What are you staring at so intently?"
"...Are you hurt anywhere?"
Baek Muheun shrugged. "As you can see, I'm fine. I tried to capture the assassin alive, but the moment the tables turned, he immediately swallowed a poison pill."
The Ninth Shroud had sensed defeat the moment he exchanged a single sword strike with Baek Muheun. Ultimately, it was not the sword wound in his chest that had killed him, but the poison.
"I searched his clothes, but couldn't find anything special. Just a few hidden weapons and poison."
Baek Muheun handed his son the Ninth Shroud's belongings.
Baek Suryong examined them for a moment and nodded.
"Mr. Baek, are the four of us the only ones who know about the assassins?" Noh Goonsang asked.
Baek Suryong shook his head. "I told my students and a few of my colleagues. They might have been put on the kill list because of their friendship with me."
Namgung Su asked, "Who are they? Those were no clumsy assassins."
Baek Suryong replied gravely, "They're from Deathshroud."
The three men's expressions darkened simultaneously. They had all heard of Deathshroud, the best assassins' guild in the Central Plains.
"Deathshroud... Did the Blood Cult commission them?" Mae Geuklyom asked.
Baek Suryong shook his head. "I suspect that the Blood Cult secretly controls Deathshroud."
He was certain about this, but since he couldn't reveal the source of his information, he acted as if it were his own speculation.
He added, "Also, according to information I obtained from interrogating an assassin, Skykiller is among their number."
"Skykiller..." Noh Goonsang groaned.
Baek Suryong asked, "Principal, do you know anything about Skykiller?"
"...He's a monster that Deathshroud nurtured to kill peerless masters. The reason why Deathshroud is the first suspect when active masters suddenly go missing is precisely because of Skykiller. In fact, nearly half of those cases have been revealed to be his work."
The Deathshroud assassins were all exceptional, but it's not an exaggeration to say that Skykiller was the reason for their fame.
"Wait a moment." Baek Suryong blurted sharply. "When you said it was 'revealed' to be Skykiller's work, are you implying that he intentionally makes it known that he killed them?"
Noh Goonsang nodded. This was a secret known only to the top echelons of the murim, but now was not the time to keep hiding it. "He always carves the characters 'Skykiller (天殺)' somewhere on the body of his target, like an artist leaving his name on his work."
"What a lunatic," Baek Suryong remarked calmly.
In contrast, Mae Geuklyom and Baek Muheun's faces stiffened upon hearing that such a terrifying assassin was targeting Baek Suryong.
"How dare a mere assassin...!"
"The situation was more dangerous than I thought."
Mae Geuklyom gripped the hilt of his sword, fury evident on his face.
Baek Muheun met his son's gaze. "Can we still safely hold the Azure Dragon Festival under these circumstances? If those assassin bastards were to randomly massacre innocent civilians in the city..."
Baek Suryong interjected, "The Beggars' Gang, the Rogues' Guild, and even the authorities have cooperated to establish a surveillance network around Nanchang. If the assassins make a move, rest assured that we'll be able to respond promptly."
Noh Goonsang nodded in agreement. "Skykiller is known for carrying out clean hits. He doesn't like messy methods with a lot of unnecessary bloodshed."
Actually, this was the modus operandi of all of Deathshroud, not just Skykiller. Anyone here could guess just by remembering the Seventh Shroud, who had targeted Gongson Su previously.
At that time, Black Forest and Bloodletter had indiscriminately attacked innocent spectators to create chaos, but the Seventh Shroud had waited until the end to reveal himself.
"I can't be sure they'll act the same way, though, so I'll tell my friends outside to tighten security," Baek Suryong added firmly.
Everyone nodded. An assassin posed an extreme threat when their existence was unknown, but once exposed, preparations could be made.
He seems to want to play a game of tag with me.
At the very least, Baek Suryong was confident. He had been preparing since before the Azure Dragon Festival began.
"For now, the four of you, please take charge of your respective areas and keep watch. There's something I'd like to ask..."
He began to explain the game of cat and mouse he had planned with his comrades.
"So all five are dead... Interesting."
Due to the sorcery he had cast in advance, Skykiller knew that all five of the assassins who had infiltrated the Azure Dragon Academy were dead.
"I thought at least one of them would escape, but they were far better prepared than I thought."
He scratched his cheek, looking troubled, but the corners of his lips were raised in glee.
[What should we do?] someone asked from the darkness.
Skykiller looked up at the sky. Perhaps because he was slightly drunk, the multitude of stars in the inky night sky stimulated his artistic sensibility. "Ah, it seems their abilities are beyond imagination, but we also brought plenty of consumables. Execute the second plan."
[Understood,] the assassin answered flatly before disappearing.
"How boring. Don't they care that I'm treating them as consumables?"
Smirking faintly, Skykiller staggered back to the drinking party.
"You said you were going to the privy. Why did you take so long? I thought you had fallen into the latrine."
He smiled awkwardly at the fellow instructors who welcomed him, then took a seat.
"Haha, I was just taking a walk to sober up."
"Since you're late, you have to drink three penalty shots!"
"Hahaha! I'll drink as many as you want!"
Skykiller was enjoying himself. When he was working, he was the type to completely immerse himself in his role.
Being an Azure Dragon Academy instructor was a lot more fun than he had expected. He enjoyed participating in the Azure Games with everyone today. It was one of the most memorable experiences of his life.
"This friend is really going for it today."
"Are you okay? If it's too much, just take it easy."
"What are you talking about? Life is short, so we have to drink our fill today! Hahaha!"
And so, Skykiller drank, ate, and enjoyed the festival all night long, reveling in the excitement.
Occasionally, he felt suspicious gazes on him, but he didn't mind.
Until dawn broke, Baek Suryong found and killed five more assassins hiding around the Azure Dragon Academy.
"Something's off," he muttered, looking down at the fifth assassin's decapitated corpse.
[What do you mean?] the Divine Azure Dragon Sword asked.
Baek Suryong shook the blood from the blade onto the floor. "Why did the assassins just hide all night without doing anything?"
[Isn't it because you found and killed them before they could do anything?]
"I thought so too, but..."
Although the assassins of Deathshroud were all skilled, they weren't a threat to Baek Suryong's life. Additionally, their stealth skills weren't advanced enough to evade his senses.
"I have a feeling that something else is going on."
Baek Suryong did not hide his location. In fact, he openly revealed it and went around looking for the assassins. Of course, Mae Geuklyom, Namgung Su, Noh Goonsang, and Baek Muheun secretly observed the assassins from afar the entire time.
Their plan was to see how the assassins would act in response to Baek Suryong's actions. If the assassins fled, they would track them to find Skykiller.
Unfortunately, there were no results. The assassins did not run away. Instead, when they encountered Baek Suryong, they charged desperately at him, then died.
The more this happened, the more uneasy he felt.
"I should head back to the academy for now."
No sooner had Baek Suryong returned to the Azure Dragon Academy than he felt a familiar presence approaching.
"Hyung-nim!" Ak Yeonho called out. He reeked of alcohol, but his gaze was sharper than ever.
Last night, Ak Yeonho and his colleagues had stayed at the academy in case of any unforeseen circumstances. While they pretended to be drunk at the tavern, they actually used their inner arts to rid themselves of the alcohol and monitored the academy.
Ak Yeonho lowered his voice. "We suspect that one of the instructors has been replaced by an assassin. He asked a lot of questions about you, Hyung-nim."
"...Who is it?"
"Mr. Jin Euihyeop."
Baek Suryong recalled the name. Although they had often clashed during the Azure Games, he had never even spoken to Jin Euihyeop before today.
Jin Euihyeop is an assassin? I didn't sense anything suspicious about him... No, if he's Skykiller, he might have deceived my senses, especially since I didn't pay him any special attention.
"Where is he now?" he asked.
Ak Yeonho grinned. "He's at the tavern. We made him drink a lot. He's completely passed out right now."
"...An assassin got drunk and passed out?"
"Fufu, perhaps knowing we suspected him, he couldn't refuse. We surrounded him and made him chug."
"You didn't harass an innocent person for no reason, did you?"
Baek Suryong headed for the tavern with Ak Yeonho. In any case, since his colleagues had apprehended the man under suspicion, it was worth checking for himself.
The inside of the tavern was a mess. There were traces of liquor having been poured and drunk from night until dawn. Jugs and cups that had held cheap rice wine rolled around, and leftover snacks were scattered everywhere. Instructors and the more mature students were sprawled over the tables, sound asleep.
Baek Suryong couldn't help but bristle. "While someone couldn't get a wink of sleep and was running around, you guys were living the good life, huh?"
As if he had heard him, Kwak Duyong let out a strange groan and lifted his head. His face scrunched up as if he had a headache. "Baek Suryong...? Where have you been? Why are you only showing up now? Since you're here, shall we have a drink together to cure our hangovers?"
Baek Suryong ignored him. "Where's Jin Euihyeop?"
"Over there with Il'oh-hyung..."
"Suryong-hyung!" Myeong Il'oh rushed over, looking panicked. "Mr. Jin Euihyeop has disappeared!"
"What?"