Forest Of Gratitude

Roh Ki moved his body in a swift motion and dodged the physical attack from the ghost. All the viscous ghosts in the forest were trapped by the array and were rendered immobile, so by the fact that this one ghost was moving around freely, Roh Ki was sure this one was much stronger than the rest, and strong enough to escape his array. There was only one possibility given the situation. He was certain that the ghost in front of him was a 'hungry ghost'.

They looked similar to ordinary viscous ghosts but were actually more of ghouls than ghosts, as their strength was much higher. Roh Ki drew out his sword Zue Dan using qi to make it float in the air. He directed it to attack the hungry ghost in swift sharp movements. As the ghost managed to dodge each of Roh Ki's sword attacks, Yue Haneul flew from behind and lopped the hungry ghost's arm off. Yue Haneul had aimed for its head, but the ghost managed to move away in the last second and sacrificed its arm for its head.

Roh Ki turned to the direction Yue Haneul had come from and saw elder Beom Hajoon rushing past the trees and aiming a kick at the hungry ghost. With not much surprise, he pushed the hungry ghost back and rushed at it again as he grabbed his sword that had struck the floor in a vertical position and attacked again relentlessly.

In between attacks he peeked behind him and asked, "Are you okay peak leader Roh Ki?"

Roh Ki replied as he directed Zue Dan back into his hand. "Mm. I'm okay. More importantly, is elder Beom and the rest of my disciples unharmed?"

Beom Hajoon answered with a nod. "Yes, they are on their way here. I came ahead of them when I noticed a peculiar ghost rushing towards this direction."

"I see,"

Beom Hajoon continued, as he launched qi attacks and sword attacks at the ghost. "Peak leader Roh Ki, this thing is a hungry ghost isn't it?"

"Mm. Yes it is." Roh Ki answered, watching Beom Hajoon fight the ghost.

Someone of elder Beom Hajoon's level should have long taken care of a hungry ghost and moved on to other things, so why was this fight taking so long? The reason behind Roh Ki's unsettlement was uncovered. This ghost was much stronger than what an ordinary hungry ghost should be. The yin energy emanating from it was just too much, and didn't make sense. Moreover, there was never any mention of a hungry ghost being present in the forest when they took care of the problem in the novel. 'Was it because the assignment was given to us months later than it should have been?'

If that was the case, then Roh Ki surmised that the reason the hungry ghost was much stronger than it should be was probably because of all the yin energy filling the forest, that attracted the viscous ghosts here in the first place. 'Indeed, purification was the right call.' Roh Ki thought, surmising that purifying the forest of yin energy would greatly reduce the hungry ghosts strength and leave it vulnerable to elder Beom Hajoon's attacks.

Roh Ki once again moved towards the center and joined his hands together. "Elder Beom. I will start the purification spell now. Once it is done, I will leave it to you to finish off the ghost."

Elder Beom Hajoon was quick witted, and had come to the same conclusion in an instant, after Roh Ki's statement. He gave a simple nod in agreement and turned his attention to keeping the ghost occupied enough to not bother Roh Ki while he casted the spell.

Roh Ki breathed in and out as he drew qi from his surroundings. He was careful to filter out the yin energy that surrounded the forest, though it took a lot of concentration and effort. Then, he began casting the spell. The spell reached the far corners and outskirts of the forest, as a warm bright light covered the area under the spell. Roh Ki's qi could be felt in every inch of the forest, as he poured it all into the spell.

The viscous ghosts all around the forest screamed as they turned to dust and disappeared. He wasn't sure if he had enough qi to eliminate every viscous ghost in the forest as he purified it, but he was glad as he felt almost all of them turn to dust and disappear. Equally, the hungry ghost defending against elder Beom Hajoon's relentless attacks let out a loud shriek as its strength began to drain along with the fading light of the purification spell.

Now that it had weakened considerably, Beom Hajoon's attacks were finally going through. It was a fierce fight, with the ghost evading and dodging before, but now, with swift movements, elder Beom Hajoon had the hungry ghost's head rolling on the floor as he cut it clean of its shoulders.

Roh Ki let out a sigh of relief before slumping over. He was extremely dizzy and his vision was hazy. As he struggled to lean against a nearby tree, he coughed up an ounce of warm red blood. Every vein in his body was screaming out in pain, and he felt as though he would lose consciousness. He hadn't exhausted all his qi, but he had lost enough to bring his meridians such pain.

'Shit,' He thought as his knees buckled and he toppled over.

"Master!"

From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his disciples racing towards him from the distance. Elder Beom Hajoon rushed to his side and caught him in his arms before his body hit the ground.

Beom Hajoon exclaimed as he held Roh Ki comfortably in his arms, "Peak leader Roh Ki! Are you okay? Can you hear me?"

'Do I look okay?' He thought. He was about to say that when he noticed a silent figure trailing hurriedly behind his disciples that were rushing towards him.

Just a few steps behind Yong Kyubok who was at the back, a single viscous ghost was angrily trailing behind them. He was tired, and dizzy, but as soon as he saw the viscous ghost leap into the air, preparing to attack Yong Kyubok his body moved on its own.

In a flash, he moved from Beom Hajoon to stand between Yong Kyubok and the viscous ghost who he defended against with Zue Dan. He sliced the ghost apart before collapsing onto the ground, this time caught by Yong Kyubok who stood behind him, before he fell to the ground.

Though Yong Kyubok supported Roh Ki in his arms, he still stared ahead in disbelief. Did Roh Ki really just risk his life to save his? Was all he could think. Six days ago he would have been able to confidently swear on his life that his existence had no meaning to his aloof master. But now, he wasn't sure of anything. Did his master hate him or not?

"Master!"

Voices called at him, but at this point, Roh Ki could not maintain consciousness and fainted.

This wasn't a novel. Even though a novel allowed him to predict events in the future, this was still real life. If a character in the novel was in unforeseen danger in real life, thy would die like any normal person. Which meant, Roh Ki could die at any moment. And so could Yong Kyubok.

Roh Ki had originally wanted to use this as an excuse as to why he risked his life to save Yong Kyubok's, but knew he was only lying to himself. If Yong Kyubok were to die, that would mean that all his problems were solved. No Yong Kyubok meant no death to him in the future, but just as the thought hadn't crossed his mind when he first learnt of this, so did he refuse to allow the thought to take root in his mind. Why did he not want to kill Yong Kyubok and solve his problems easily? He couldn't really answer that. He only knew that, it was probably meant to be this way from the moment he was reborn.

He slowly peeled his eyes open to the setting of a room he was much too familiar with. It was his room. His eyebrows furrowed as his eyes landed on the figure of a young man resting on the table. He recognized the sleeping face of his disciple. Yong Kyubok. Had he been waiting here for him to wake up all this time? He wondered how long he'd been asleep. From the amount of light drifting into the room, it seemed it was very early in the morning, and probably hadn't been long since the sun rose.

He sat up and let out a sigh. He was tired of waking up after being unconscious for a long time. The five months he spent in a coma were enough. The rustling sounds of his bedsheets as he sat up were enough to wake Yong Kyubok up. His eyes glistened as the light hit them perfectly, and his gaze fell on a mesmerized Roh Ki.

He sat up and glanced at the figure of his awake master. "Master, you're awake!"

Roh Ki pressed his lips together before responding, "How long has it been?"

Yong Kyubok answered, shifting his position into a kneeling one. "Master has only been unconscious for a day."

"Mm. I see."

Roh Ki sighed again, then shifted out of bed, fixing his hair as he stood up gently.

"Ah!" Yon Kyubok gasped, watching his master saunter out of bed.

"Master, please this disciple begs that you take some more time to rest."

Roh Ki stood, gazing at Yong Kyubok intently before saying, "I'm alright. I'm tired of lying down. It is not your place to worry about me."

"Yes it is,"

Another voice answered, causing Yong Kyubok and Roh Ki to turn to its source. Sect Leader Heo Kwan-Ah stood gracefully at the door way, taking light steps into the room. "Your disciple is only worried about his master's health."

"Sect leader Kwan..." Roh Ki muttered, watching Heo Kwan-Ah walk up to him, and place a gentle hand on his forehead.

Sect leader Heo Kwan-Ah looked at him and said, "You seem fine, but how do you feel?"

Roh Ki bowed slightly and answered, "I am feeling much better Sect leader Heo Kwan-Ah. Thank you for your concern."

Heo Kwan-Ah smiled gently as he added, "You are my junior brother. Of course I will always worry for you. So you have to put my heart at ease and take care of yourself."

Even though Heo Kwan-Ah and Roh Ki weren't related by blood, the Heo clan had taken Roh Ki in after a tragic incident of his past, so he and Heo Kwan-Ah had been raised like brothers. No matter how much time passed, Heo Kwan-Ah still treated Roh Ki as his younger brother.

Roh Ki returned a smile, and said, "Mm. You're right. I will do as you have said."

Placing a hand on Roh Ki's shoulder, Heo Kwan-Ah added, "Good. Don't make your poor disciple worry over you as well. Teach him well with good health. I have other important matters to attend to so I will be leaving first. Take care."

Roh Ki exhaled gently as Heo Kwan-Ah left the room. He turned to Yong Kyubok and said, "I will eat now. Get me something."

Yong Kyubok responded after getting over the slight shock from being directly given a task concerning his personal needs. "I will get it right away master."

Once Yong Kyubok left, Roh Ki turned to face the open status window in front of him. The alert bar was glowing with a soft blue light.

[Scenario completed]

[Story progression... 20%]

[Loading Rewards...]

[You have acquired 'Beifang Jade Crystal']

A gasp escaped Roh Ki's lips as a wrapped item dropped out of the status screen and onto his hands. His hands trembled slightly as he slowly unwrapped the item. A beautiful green glow emanated from the item that he'd opened. It was the truly Beifang Jade Crystal. His heart skipped a beat as he held it in his hands. For the first time in the last few days, he was able to relax, and let the pent up tension that built inside him escape.