There was a crackling sound inside the White Plum Hall. Before long, someone’s thumbnail had slightly diminished.

But the person biting the nail didn’t seem to even know what he was doing.

“Uh… sasuk.”

“Uh?”

“… it will bleed to this extent.”

Clench.

Baek Cheon, who couldn’t bear it anymore and bit his fingernails again despite being told not to, raised his head and looked at Yoon Jong.

“Woah, shit!”

Only then did Yoon Jong, who saw Baek Cheon’s face properly, get startled and step back.

His face wasn’t near or pretty like usual. The skin looked rough, the darkness under his eyes was so visible that it reached his chin, and the facial features that made him stand out were nowhere to be found.

“D-did you end up eating something bad? Why is your face…?”

“Yoon Jong….”

“Uh?”

“… will it be alright?”

“…”

Baek Cheon’s face turned pale as if he had come across a ghost, as if just saying the words made him more anxious. Now, seeing even his lips tremble, Yoon Jong began to get anxious, too.

And Baek Cheon asked again,

“Will it be alright?”

It was a complicated question, but Yoon Jong understood what he was trying to ask.

“You worry about everything. No matter what… will he do it the same way he did to us? Chung Myung also has a head.”

“His head is different from us.”

Baek Cheon bit his nails again.

“… it’s because something is missing in his head.”

Uh… there was no thought to rebuke.

Baek Cheon helplessly mumbled as if he wasn’t fully sane.

“… what do we do now… right, because the body has already been thrown away.”

“Wait a minute, sasuk. You cannot freely dispose of other people’s bodies.”

“But sect leader… for the elders and all, this is the first time experiencing Chung Myung.”

Baek Cheon held his head high with trembling hands. His hair, which had always been neat and clean without a messy strand, had turned frazzled.

“No matter how much I think about this, I cannot get a clear picture. Wouldn’t it be better to just stop it now? Should I go stop him?”

“No… still, you cannot….”

Yoon Jong tried to comfort Baek Cheon but couldn’t finish the sentence in a reassuring tone. This was because he, too, felt anxious.

“… still, he’s up and down in the head… no, nothing, right? No, it… cannot be?”

Yoon Jong’s face was now filled with confusion.

Right… it’s like his head is up and down, and it’s also like it isn’t there.

“Anxious?”

“… yes.”

The more he thought about it, the more his stomach twisted.

As the two faces gradually became stained with anxiety, Jo Gul, who was resting next to them, chuckled.

“Anyway, you both worry a lot. So many worries.”

“Uh?”

“When it comes to training, it doesn’t always work out the way you want it to, no matter how hard you try. If it’s something like sword technique or footwork, you can beat people to death, but how can you beat people when it comes to cultivation? In the end, qi is what makes one move.”

“….”

“….”

The two faces turned blank at Jo Gul’s calm words. Jo Gul hesitated for a moment and tilted his head.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“Nothing….”

When Baek Cheon hesitated, Yoon Jong spoke for him.

“I thought there were times when the right words came from your mouth.”

“Seriously, you people…”

Whether Jo Gul was upset or not, Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong looked at each other and nodded.

“That makes sense.”

“Right… that is true. No matter how much of a bastard Chung Myung is, he couldn’t possibly hit someone who is learning cultivation arts.”

Now, they finally felt relieved.

But it seemed that there was someone who had different thoughts from them.

“You think so?”

Everyone’s eyes focused on one place.

Yu Yiseol, who had been sitting silently, mumbled with a sullen look.

“Maybe?”

“…”

She could make people anxious by saying the fewest words.

“Sago has different thoughts?”

“Someone who will harass others no matter what.”

“… true.”

It was the moment when it became clear what Mount Hua’s disciples thought of Chung Myung.

“… should we sneak a peek then?”

“They told us that ordinary disciples should never approach them. And if we go and get caught, senior sasuk Un Am will not be pleased.”

“… right, that won’t work.”

Baek Cheon trembled slightly.

Un Geom, who faced them every day, they could get away from him by joking around. But Un Am was a difficult person for Baek Cheon to deal with. He was more familiar with the Hyun disciples than Un Am.

‘There should always be someone like him in a sect.’

It wasn’t necessarily a good thing for everyone to be like family. At some point, there needed to be someone who would control the discipline of the sect and fine-tune it. In the Un Disciples, Un Am plays that role, and in the Baek Disciples, Baek Sang is that person.

“Right. Even if my stomach hurts, I cannot check it.”

“Now that we don’t hear anything, should we be relieved?”

“…. But that too…”

Baek Cheon was just about to sigh.

The door to the White Plum Hall burst open, and Baek Sang hurriedly stuck his head inside.

“Sahyung! The sect leader and elders are coming down!”

“What?”

Baek Cheon jumped up from his place and rushed to the door.

“Move!”

“Ack!”

He even kicked Baek Sang, who was half blocking the door and ran without looking back. The other Five Swords followed him.

“Where? Where are they?”

“That side!”

Baek Cheon’s eyes suddenly turned to where Yoon Jong pointed. Indeed, several people could be seen moving along the path leading to the back of Mount Hua.

“They look okay?”

“They should be telling you that, you idiot!”

Yoon Jong reflexively grabbed the neck of Jo Gul and almost strangled him.

“Kuak! Cough! S-sorry!”

Baek Cheon broke into a cold sweat as he watched Yoon Jong shaking Jo Gul’s neck.

‘If we look closely, it seems like this brat is ready to beat up Jo Gul at any time.’

But no matter who saw it, it wasn’t Yoon Jong’s fault. It was Jo Gul’s fault for making Yoon Jong like this and Chung Myung’s fault for turning Jo Gul like that.

“Well, let’s go first.”

“Yes!”

The Five Swords, led by Baek Cheon, rushed in the direction where the sect leader was. Seeing as he wasn’t limping or stumbling, it felt like nothing had happened.

‘But Chung Myung is the one there.’

‘If he has a conscience, he wouldn’t do that to the sect leader.’

‘He is a devil, but he doesn’t seem like the real one!’

Everyone sat there for an hour in tension. But it was then.

“… Uh?”

“Uh?”

“T-that…”

The steps of the sect leader and elders turned slower and slower.

“…s-sect leader?”

Baek Cheon seemed embarrassed and called Hyun Jong. Hyun Jong slightly raised his head and looked at him.

Flinch.

Baek Cheon felt startled and stuttered like someone who had forgotten how to speak.

“Ah, no… why… why do you look so troubled… you… I…”

Of course, Hyun Jong’s face was beyond what words could describe.

Baek Cheon’s face wasn’t in a good state either, but compared to Hyun Jong’s face, it could be said that he had a clean and good night’s sleep and even washed his face with rice water.

‘His skin and bones are this close to a body?’

‘N-No, what did that guy do?’

‘I am scared.’

The same was true not only for Hyun Jong but also for Hyun Young and Hyun Sang’s faces. Didn’t it seem like they got mummified in one day?

“S-sect leader. Just what happened…”

Hyun Jong spoke in a low tone like he was dying.

“It is… nothing.”

No, this seemed like something?

“Ugh, it is refreshing.”

At that time, Baek Cheon’s gaze turned to the voice.

From behind, Chung Myung was walking briskly, his face resembling that of a cat after a good night’s sleep.

“Y-You bastard!”

Baek Cheon, who had lost his sanity, rushed towards him and grabbed him by the collar. Or at least, he tried to.

But a dream always stays a dream, and Baek Cheon bounced off faster than he had run, rolling on the ground.

“Oh my, fuck. What.”

Chung Myung looked between his extended fist and Baek Cheon, clicking his tongue.

“H-How many times have I told you not to do that? Am I reflexively raising my fist without even realizing it?”

“Ugh… bastard….”

Baek Cheon raised his head, his eyes full of sadness.

“Yah, you fucking insane bastard! What did you do to the sect leader! You bastard who doesn’t know how to do things right!”

“TT-this? This….”

“You bastard with no manners or rules!”

“Ah, so you….”

“You idiot who only knows greed! The guy who needs to get rid of the brain and fix the hair! Let me break you….”

“Ugh, seriously!”

Puaj!

The shoe that Chung Myung had taken off struck Baek Cheon in the face. Baek Cheon finally fell silent and collapsed to the side.

Thud.

“… look at you, so excited, so excited. Tsk tsk.”

Seeing him collapse, Chung Myung clicked his tongue. Baek Cheon had been alright in the past; he didn’t know what had happened, but he was getting worse the longer they continued.

At that moment, Yu Yiseol quickly approached Hyun Jong. Yoon Jong suddenly came to his senses and shouted.

“Sect leader, are you alright? Help them quickly!”

“Yes!”

Yu Yiseol, Tang Soso, and Jo Gul quickly assisted the sect leader and the elders. Yoon Jong turned to Chung Myung.

“Weren’t you teaching martial arts today?”

“Yes.”

“Well, why is it like this? Even if you are the devil…?”

“I will freeze to death, I am telling you. That also requires some learning. If coins are melted in a day, they will not be remembered in history.”

“T-then why?”

“Sigh.”

Chung Myung shrugged his shoulders.

“It isn’t that big of a deal. It’s just their first time doing it, and they don’t seem to understand.”

“Because it is the same?”

“I thought about giving them time… but I thought it was a waste too. So I put a bit of qi into the body and forced it back?”

“… You infused qi into someone else’s body and forced it back?”

“Yes.”

“Uh… that is the problem? You are a Taoist with righteous qi. No, that was before….”

“No.”

“Uh?”

Chung Myung smiled.

“The righteous qi sends the qi to a place where it needs to flow. Forcibly twisting it to a place it wasn’t supposed to go.”

Twist? Twist what?

“Through qi and blood?”

Pushing it?

“Scraping, breaking, crushing, and tearing it up!”

Jo Gul, who was listening and supporting the elder, began to break into a cold sweat.

“W-well then, what happened?”

“Hmm. Uh… well, it isn’t a big problem. Anyway, I succeeded in doing it. Now, all that is left is for them to get better.”

Yoon Jong tilted his head.

“Then why is the sect leader’s condition like this…?”

“It is nothing, and in the end, it is a good thing. When the flow is changed from one place you always directed it to, to another… um, I mean, it hurts a little bit.”

“… How much?”

“Um. How do I compare it?”

Chung Myung, who had been thinking for a moment, smiled like he remembered something.

“Would you be able to understand if I told you that it feels like a hole the size of a finger being dug inside the body from head to toe? Wrongly following the qi?”

“Eikkkkk.”

Yoon Jong turned thoughtful and stepped back. Sweat was coming down his face.

“You… you insane bastard, how can someone in their right mind endure it!”

“Hold on, hold on. They can do it. Look there. They did great jobs at this.”

That? Their soul… their soul was gone, you bastard!

“Are you alright, sect leader?”

Yoon Jong approached the sect leader and checked his condition. There was a low light in Hyun Jong’s eyes, which couldn’t focus on him.

“Yoon Jong…”

“Yes, sect leader! It is me! Yoon Jong! Are you alright?”

“… pull back.”

“Uh?”

“… clear his name and kick that bastard out.”

“….”

“… rotten bastard.”

Hyun Jong’s body moved and fell to the side.

“Ughhhhh! Sect leader!”

“Elder! Elder, come to your senses!”

“This insane bastard, what did you do to make someone faint from learning a cultivation skill!”

“Medicine! Take him to the Hall! Quickly!”

Chung Myung, who was looking at the noisy scene, clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk, it is because they are weak.”

Well, it was alright because they wouldn’t be weak for much longer.

Chung Myung stretched out his body.

But at this moment, he didn’t even know.

What kind of storm this thing he committed to would bring upon Mount Hua.