Yun Hseong nodded in response to Ok Hae-mi's question.

"It seems like it."

In front of them stood an enormous white wolf, whose height was beyond that of an average person. The wolf's white coat was completely stained with blood.

The coat was so blood-drenched that it was difficult to identify its original colour.

"But...why is it here?"

Kang-hyuk pointed towards the wolf's behind.

"It's probably come here due to that."

The highest concentration of blood was indeed in that particular place on its body. It seemed as though the wolf had somehow injured its leg, and so, dragged itself into the cave.

"There must be a reason why its leg is injured though…"

"What should we do?"

Yun Hseong drew his sword in response.

"Nothing else can be done. For the safety of the students, we're going to have to deal with the wolf."

Kang-hyuk looked at the wolf. Whilst its life was being threatened, it was looking at him with a pitiful yet trembling gaze.

Therefore, he immediately set upon trying to dissuade Yun Hseong.

"Must you kill the wolf?"

"Why do you ask such a question? Aren't you aware that such a huge wolf would obviously pose a threat to the students?"

"I know, but it's currently in an injured condition. Judging by the severity of its injuries, and blood loss, it's unlikely that it could harm any of the students."

"I guess….that's true."

"It's not right to senselessly take life. Even though it is an animal that cannot speak, is it not precious life?"

"Then...what do you think we should do?"

"Let's dispatch it outside the cave."

"Urm...…"

Yun Hseong dropped his sword as he thought over Kang-hyuk's suggestion.

"Fine. But seeing as you're insisting on it, you can dispatch the wolf outside the cave."

"Don't worry about that."

"In that case, Ok Seonsaeng and I will check the other end of the cave, so the wolf…."

"I'll deal with the wolf."

"Will you really be okay with doing it on your own?"

Kang-hyuk nodded at Ok Hae-mi's concerned query. At his confident response, Ok Hae-mi and Yun Hseong then turned around to search the other end of the cave.

As the sound of their footsteps grew further and further away, Kang-hyuk looked at the wolf and asked.

"You aren't an ordinary wolf, are you?"

The wolf looked taken aback at Kang-hyuk's sudden question.

It had clearly understood Kang-hyuk. Just from that alone, it was clear that the wolf wasn't ordinary.

"An ordinary wolf wouldn't have such a powerful aura, but that's not why I saved your life."

Kang-hyuk observed the wolf more closely.

"Your only good leg is the front leg on the right side. Your stomach and backside seem to be injured as well. But these wounds…they look like they've been inflicted by a sword."

The wolf looked at him nervously.

"What on earth happened?"

"Well, I guess it's none of my business. I'll treat your injuries. Even if you're a spiritual animal, you're barely alive even with those wounds."

Kang-hyuk removed the silver key to his warehouse from his sleeve. Within moments, a door appeared from thin air.

"To the third warehouse."

The third warehouse contained medicines of all kinds, from elixirs, to poisons, and even healing medicines.

Whilst the weapons and artifacts found in the first warehouse had to be accessed by pa.s.sing through various corridors, the items in the third warehouse simply manifested by speaking the name of the substance.

Kang-hyuk hurriedly took a few medicines from the warehouse.

The wolf was in shock at the unexpected scene.

"This is a secret, okay? I'll kill you if you say anything about this!"

The wolf's head drooped downwards as it sulked.

"I'm just joking."

Kang-hyuk smiled, and then began to splash a liquid from a red bottle onto the wolf's body.

As the liquid was absorbed by the wolf's body, its injuries instantaneously began healing.

***

When Kang-hyuk was still a member of Kwaepungdae, there had been a fellow member that was part of the Mysterious Medicine Valley.

The Mysterious Medicine Valley was an organization whose values were completely opposite to that of the Dark Medicine Valley. As the name suggested, its ways were secretive.

Its members went around nursing and treating patients without asking about the patient's ident.i.ty, or even demanding a price for their services.

Whilst this particular Kwaepungdae member claimed to have been from the organization, his refusal to speak of its inner information meant that most didn't believe him, and thought that his claims as false.

But somehow, the man had ended up at Kwaepungdae of all places.

It wasn't surprising that people doubted his authenticity, as for someone who claimed that they were from the Mysterious Medicine Valley, his martial skills were impeccable.

His physical stamina was beyond what one would expect from a person spending their days preparing medicine.

Kang-hyuk, however, believed him.

He felt that the man's gaze wasn't the gaze of a liar.

Therefore, Kang-hyuk was curious as to what his reasons could have been for leaving the Mysterious Medicine Valley, and joining an organization of the Hwacheon Clan.

He replied, "I fought with my father."

"What was the disagreement about?"

"He told the girl I liked that I used to pee my pants when I was younger."

"Hahaha!"

"Do-don't laugh!"

"So you left your house after fighting with him?"

"Yes. I said that I would leave his house, and then after I left, I had to do something so I…"

"You left home in a fit of rage?"

"…..I guess so."

"Don't you regret your actions?"

"I don't know."

"You shouldn't act so rashly when it comes to familial matters."

"Sorry?"

"You'll be crying tears of regret in the future."

After deliberating on what Kang-hyuk had said to him, the man wrote a letter home.

He finally returned to the Mysterious Medicine Valley around twenty years later, when Kang-hyuk became the Clan Leader.

As a member of the Mysterious Medicine Valley, he had given Kang-hyuk a large number of different medicines, pills, and potions.

However, as Kang-hyuk was rarely wounded, he usually distributed the medicines to others.

Since his retirement deep in the Sacheon Mountains, Kang-hyuk didn't have much contact with anyone, and so, he hadn't been able to use up or distribute the medicines.

'I always remember Ho-seong whenever I use the medicines he gave me. I wonder whether he's doing well?'

The medicine that Kang-hyuk had just applied to the wolf had been made by his colleague from the Mysterious Medicine Valley, Ho-Seong.

The medicine was commonly known as the 'Red Medicine' but its official name was the Safflower Restorative Skin and Blood Nourishing Health Liquid.

'The name's too long.'

That was why it had been shortened to 'Red Medicine'.

The effect of the medicine was that it would heal wounds within moments of its application.

Taking a blue bottle out of his sleeve, Kang-hyuk addressed the wolf.

"Open your mouth."

The wolf didn't move, looking reluctant.

"I don't want you to die. Open your mouth before I give you a good beating!"

Sensing that it won't be able to ignore Kang-hyuk's command, the wolf immediately opened its mouth. Kang-hyuk poured a liquid from the blue bottle into his open mouth.

The medicine was commonly called the 'Blue Medicine'.

The medicine acted as a restorative for the body. As the official name of the medicine was too long, Kang-hyuk had forgotten it.

After having been administered two medicines by Kang-hyuk, the wolf's body had healed within a short period of time.

"You can move around quite well now, can't you? Let's exit the cave, okay?"

The wolf followed Kang-hyuk's hand signal, and soon, they had reached the mouth of the cave.

The sun had set while they were in the cave, and so, the surroundings had darkened.

"Can you go alone from here?"

The wolf nodded. But surprisingly, it wouldn't take a step forward, and continuously held onto the hem of Kang-hyuk's robes.

"Hm? Do you want me to come with you?"

The wolf nodded.

The wolf had a pitiful gaze. It was clear that it was troubled by something.

"Huh! Really!"

Kang-hyuk was aware that wolves had stubbornly prideful personalities, and so, they would never ask for help even if their lives was at stake.

'But this fellow is asking for my help?'

Kang-hyuk had a suspicion on what kind of matter the wolf was being troubled by.

'Is there a threat to his pack?'

He felt that this was the most plausible theory, as their pack and leader were most important to wolves.

'Even if I refuse to accompany him, he'll still go back to help his pack. Judging by the sword wounds, they seem to have been inflicted by a Dark Cultivator…..'

The wolf's ending was obvious to Kang-hyuk.

'He'll probably die.'

Kang-hyuk's heart was troubled at the thought of the being he had just saved walking in the clutches of imminent death.

"It'll be okay if I'm gone for half an hour right?"

That long would be enough so that Yun Hseong and Ok Hae-mi wouldn't have finished their cave inspection before his return.

"Well, I guess I have no other choice. I only have half an hour. Let's go! Lead the way."

The wolf let out a long, sonorous howl, and shot off, with Kang-hyuk swiftly following suit.

***

A large white wolf howled.

A wolf from his pack had just been killed by a human whose ident.i.ty he was unaware of.

He wondered how many wolves from his pack had lost their lives.

The large white wolf stepped forward, through the other wolves of his pack that had surrounded him in protection.

The other wolves tried to dissuade him as the leader of pack from doing so, but he persisted, and stood in front of the unknown human.

He felt the duty of protecting the pack was his, as the leader. It was not the duty of his fellow pack-mates.

If he died, his successor would have to lead the pack in his stead.

However…

He thought about his son.

His son had disappeared after fighting the unknown human, who was attacking them.

He knew that it was most probable that his son was dead. However, he couldn't accept such a possibility.

The white wolf felt enraged.

His pack had lived in the region in peace, without any kind of persecution for hundreds of years.

It was because they had made an active effort to avoid injuring humans.

He had learned that as Spiritual Animals, they would receive no forgiveness, or second chances if they hurt humans.

However, he had yet to understand the reasons behind the unknown human's merciless slaughtering of his pack.

But he brushed the thought aside, and felt that it was something to consider at a later date. For now, his only mission was to eradicate the unknown human.

He leaped towards the man.

Sparks flew as the white wolf's long claws clashed against the man's sword.

The leader of the pack groaned. The man's sword had brushed the side of his body.

"I apologize, but I'm under orders to take your spiritual essence."

The leader of the pack bared his teeth.

There was another reason for their persecution, despite them not posing a threat to humans.

It was due to the unique wolf spiritual essence that was contained within them.

The leader of the pack was truly saddened.

He felt that if being a Spiritual Animal came at a price of being attacked for their spiritual essence, it would be better to not be a Spiritual Animal at all.

But alas, he had no time to wallow in misery.

Gathering his strength, he brandished his front leg.

Unfortunately, his opponent had been faster than him.

He had placed his sword at the nape of the leader's neck.

Or more accurately, he had the sword at the white wolf's neck for a few moments.

A stone had hit the man's arm, accompanied with the sound of a bone breaking.

The leader of the pack immediately backed away at the opportunity, and looked in the direction of where the stone had been thrown.

He was taken aback. Standing there was his missing son, with a...human next to him.

He was a young man clothed in blue.

He was most definitely a human.

The white wolf was angered by the sight.

One human was already slaughtering his pack, and now, another human had been brought into the scenario!

He felt that his son had most likely gone mad.

However, the wolf wasn't given a chance to express his anger.

"How many have you killed already? One, two…wow! You've already killed five?"

The young man that had accompanied his son was now counting the dead bodies of his pack.

The unknown man, who was clothed in black, stepped forward.

"So it was you, huh? You're the b.a.s.t.a.r.d that did this, alright!"

"Who are you!?"

The unknown human observed his newly arrived opponent. He had a strange expression on his face.

"The teacher's uniform? Could you be a Hwacheon Academy teacher?"

His opponent, the young man, grinned at the question.

"I am a teacher!"

"Then, why don't you get lost and carry on with your field trip or whatever…"

"Shut up, what have you been doing here? This Mountain is the private property of the Clan Leader. Unauthorized people are not allowed!"

The man wryly smiled.