Seo Jong-bok instinctively grabbed the package box on his back.

For an escort service, it was their lifeline, something that shouldn’t be taken away.

‘Damn it.’

But there was nothing he could do in this situation. Unless he had wings, he couldn’t run, right?

“It seems like the item is a special delivery. I heard high-ranking officials in Beijing entrust you with expensive items; is that right?”

“Hehe. I heard that you mainly carry items of value which cannot be exchanged for a life.”

“It would be nice to see such a thing once in a lifetime.”

As the enemies laughed sinisterly, Seo Jong-bok bit his lip. In this case, there was no other way than to attack head-on.

He held out both hands and waved them politely.

“Excuse me. I am a special delivery person for Eunha Merchant Union. Seo Jong-bok.”

“Right.”

The man nodded as if he preferred talking.

“I understand that the relationship between the Eunha merchants and the heroes of the Yangtze River isn’t that bad. If you need more tax, I will give it, so please don’t cause trouble.”

“Problem….”

The man thought for a moment and then laughed.

“It sounds like you are going to do something to us if we cause problems?”

“I didn’t mean that….”

Seo Jong-bok, who thought he had made a slight mistake in how he phrased his words, wiped the sweat that had accumulated on his palms onto his pants and continued to talk.

“It meant that it would be better if we could continue good ties. I understand that the ties between the Mount Hua and Eunha merchants aren’t bad…”

“Mount Hua?”

The man’s expression turned to a smile.

“So, there is Mount Hua and Eunha behind you, and if we don’t want to get in trouble, we should back off?”

“… that isn’t what I meant. The thing is….”

“It is a good thing. I don’t have bad intentions either. If you agree, I don’t want to cause trouble either.”

“Thank you.”

Seo Jong-bok quickly took the pouch from his pocket.

Protecting the item was more important than money. And if it was the Eunha merchants, they would certainly reimburse the money.

However, it seemed that things wouldn’t get resolved as easily as Seo Jong-bok thought.

“Ahh, that won’t do.”

“… Uh?”

“This mount is worth the life of a normal person. Aren’t you an escort of the Eunha merchants? Which means an expensive body?”

“… then…?”

“It shouldn’t be very difficult for you. I think the box you are carrying now on your back would set a right example.”

Seo Jong-bok’s face went stiff.

“… that is impossible.”

“You don’t understand. That isn’t up to you. It is me who decides it.”

The man approached Seo Jong-bok with an eerie smile.

“Now, what are you going to do? Give it up? Or not….”

Seo Jong-bok grabbed the box containing the item and quickly shook his head.

‘What did they tell us to do in such times?’

The training he received clearly included ways to deal with such situations.

After a while, he finally sighed, put the box down, and held it forward.

“Hmm?”

Take it.

The iron law of Eunha Merchant.

There was nothing more important than life.

The package was precious, but life was more precious. If an escort realized a problem would come because of the item, give up without hesitation.

“Haha. They said that special items are more precious than life, but it seems like a simple rumor?”

“Is there anything more precious than life?”

“Right. Right. That is true. I like it.”

The man slowly approached, took the box which Seo Jong-bok held out, and handed it to the back. The waiting pirate ran and took it.

“I am glad I met someone I can have a good talk with.”

Tak.

The man who came right in front lightly tapped Seo Jong-bok on the shoulder.

A mocking gesture that seemed like a compliment.

“I think you and I have a lot in common. We are particularly similar in how we consider our lives to be important.”

“….

“So, I believe you will understand.”

“Uh?”

Pat!

At that moment, a dark, three-pointed bird claw, like a falcon’s, popped out of the man’s sleeve. It pierced the side of Seo Jong-bok.

Crack!

“Kuaaak!”

With a terrible sound, an uncontrollable scream burst from Seo Jong-bok’s mouth.

It was warranted, as the long, sharp claws had pierced his side.

“Kuak…. Ackk….”

Trembling in pain, Seo Jong-bok looked at the man in disbelief. The man was smiling as he watched Seo Jong-bok suffer.

“Uh… why…?”

“Just think about it.”

The man spoke sweetly, soothingly.

“If you survive like this, won’t you run and report to your superiors? Then, this matter will reach the ears of Mount Hua?”

“….”

“Will the Mount Hua Sect remain still? Of course, I am not afraid of Mount Hua or anything, but I hate such annoying meetings.”

“T-that…”

Crack!

The man twisted the trident still lodged in Seo Jong-bok’s side. The three blades tore through flesh and internal organs.

“Ugh…. Ekkkk….”

The pain was so intense that Seo Jong-bok’s eyes rolled back. Unable to scream, he trembled. Strength left his knees, and his body stumbled greatly.

“The fish in the Yangtze River must be starving, so think of this as charity for them. I will have no regrets because I ended up earning a lot of money in the meantime.”

“Mo-Mount Hua will…”

“Fine, fine.”

Tap!

The man responded and lightly pushed Seo Jong-bok. The weakened body stumbled and caught on the railing, teetering on the edge.

“Trust them and go.”

Finally, the trident was pulled out from his side. Seo Jong-bok’s body lost all strength and fell overboard.

Plop!

White foam formed, and soon red blood spread across the surface of the water.

Even if he was fine, there would be no way for him to survive if he fell in the middle of this wide river. But with such serious injuries, the probability was much lower.

“Hmm.”

The man wiped the blood off his trident and turned.

“It means that people without any skills are trusting and working hard. Not knowing that skills learned for the sake of fighting on the ground cannot protect in the river.”

“Right.”

The pirates chuckled.

“Captain, what do we do with them?”

“Hmm?”

“Didn’t they see everything?”

“Hmm.”

The man called the captain looked at everyone with strange eyes.

“Right. This won’t end by just cutting their tongues. What do we do with…”

“Do we kill them all?”

The pirates raised their weapons in a threatening manner.

The passengers and the sailors all stepped back in thought. They had just seen a person fall into the river and die, so their horror couldn’t be described.

“Even if you kill them and throw them into the river, at least two corpses will surface. Then someone will know there is a problem…”

The man thought for a moment and then laughed.

“The entire ship will be towed away. It would make us some money if they were sold as slaves in other nations. Kill those who resist.”

“Yes!”

As soon as the order fell, the enemy rushed ahead.

“Ackkk!”

“Please spare me! I have a family at home!”

“Please send me! Send me out!”

The man who enjoyed the screams smiled as he turned around.

He gestured to a pirate and took the box, turning it around.

“They should have prepared something when taking such a precious thing. They weren’t planning on making easy money, right?”

Amid the echoing screams, the man burst into laughter.

And.

Drip.

In the middle of the river, far away, two ships with their sails open, and a person stuck his head out of the water.

“Kuak…”

Seo Jong-bok, whose face had gone pale and bloodless, kept spitting out water with only his head sticking out.

‘I need to let them know… I need to let them…’

Seo Jong-bok, heading toward the riverbed with his weak body, soon sank helplessly into the water.

“Puaaah!”

He desperately tried, but his consciousness kept slipping away, becoming more and more distant.

‘Let Mount… Hua know….’

Soon, Seo Jong-bok’s body, completely unconscious, slowly floated along the cold waves of the Yangtze River.

In front of Mount Hua’s main gate.

“Woah, so cold!”

“Ugh, I can never get used to the mountain’s coldness in the early morning.”

The Chung disciples moving around trembled.

Although they had learned martial arts, the winter in the mountains was enough to crack their skin.

When it snowed last night, they thought it would be less cold, but after the snow stopped, the biting wind continued to sting their arms and armpits. Since it was a mountain with a steep mountainside, the cold felt worse than it actually was.

“If it’s this cold here, how cold is it in the North Sea then?”

“Don’t say anything. The sahyungs who have been to the North Sea are wearing the summer uniform these days.”

“Really?”

“Not long ago, Jo Gul sahyung was swimming in the valley water, right? Was it warm?”

“… isn’t that just insanity?”

“…”

“If it was someone else who did it, I would say that it was because they went to the North Sea. But if Jo Gul sahyung did it, don’t you think it would be like that even if he didn’t go to the North Sea?”

“… after hearing you say it, right.”

In the past, there would have been no need to endure the cold so early in the morning. Still, now that so many people are going to and fro from Mount Hua, it has turned into a necessity.

So, even though it was cold, they didn’t have any major complaints about it. They just wanted the boring time to pass quickly.

“Uh, when will your shift be done?”

“Soon.”

“I wish I could at least practice during this time. It’s such a waste to just sit here. I could perform the 24 Movement Plum Blossom Sword technique five times by now.”

“What? You can only do it five times? If you’re that slow, can you even catch a fly? I can do it ten times.”

“Tsk tsk. You’re talking nonsense now. A low-level warrior is obsessed with speed, but an expert focuses on accuracy. If I used a sword as roughly as you, I could do it fifteen times.”

“Ahh, expert? Is that why you got your ass handed to you by me last time?”

“I wasn’t feeling well! Yah, again.”

“As many times as you want.”

While they were arguing and growling, one of them stopped and tilted his head.

“Uh?”

“What?”

“I think someone is coming from there.”

“Who could be coming at this time? The sun isn’t even up yet.”

“No, look over there first.”

What he pointed to wasn’t the cliff path that the disciples used but the gentle path next to it. It was a place that had recently been organized and expanded.

When they looked closely, they could see dark shapes moving in that direction.

“Uh?”

He reflexively brought his hand to his sword.

It didn’t seem like the person climbing up now had any good intentions. Just as he was wondering whether they should sound the bell or not, the face of the person standing there became clear.

“Uh? Young master?”

Hwang Jongi, the young master of Eunha merchants, was urgently approaching, leading a group of people.

“What are you doing here so early?”

“Please inform the elders that I have something to say.”

“Uh?”

Hwang Jongi was biting his sweaty lips, looking like he didn’t have time to explain. His expression was serious, and the Chung disciples knew that something bad had happened.

“We have a problem. I know it isn’t polite to do this so early, but this isn’t the time for me to elaborate. I need to see the sect leader.”

One of the Chung disciples nodded, opened the gate without delay, and rushed inside.

An unusual atmosphere began to hover over Mount Hua in the early morning.