“I-it’s the pirates! The pirates have come!”

“Damn it! Why now?”

A look of despair flashed in Deung Gyeom’s eyes as he saw the passengers scrambling around and the ship drawing closer.

“…they are really coming.”

In a way, this was a natural result.

It wasn’t long ago that an order was given to hide their identity and be as careful as possible when traveling to and from the Yangtze River, as the pirates on the Yangtze were looking for the special package.

In such a situation, since word spread that a special package had come and they were on the ship, it wouldn’t be strange for the pirates to come.

And so it happened as planned. Surely so, but…

‘Why does it feel so unfair?’

If one thought about it, this was such a dangerous situation.

‘I am going insane!’

Even though Mount Hua’s disciples were there, his heart was pounding, and he broke into a cold sweat at the thought of the pirates coming onto this ship for one person.

Even as Deung Gyeom was wetting his dry lips, looking at the ship approaching.

Flustered, the passengers ran to the captain and asked.

“C-can’t we escape?”

“It is overwhelming. That ship is twice as fast as ours.”

“E-even so…”

“If we don’t fight back, there shouldn’t be any problems. Everyone, please gather in one place. Ask everyone in the cabin to come out as well. If they are caught hiding, we will be in big trouble!”

“I-I understand!”

Passengers gathered together on one side of the ship.

Yoon Jong, who was looking at them, asked Baek Cheon.

“What do we do, sasuk?”

“Hmm.”

After thinking for a moment, Baek Cheon calmly ordered.

“For now, let us all stand together. I guess we need to see how they will react. Hide in the back.”

“Yes.”

Mount Hua’s disciples also stood on one side of the ship with the other passengers. Because they were wearing normal clothes, they didn’t stand out too much.

And not long after.

Shhhhh!

The chains with hooks flew one after another from the ship that approached quickly through the current.

Knock! Knock!

The sound of the hook catching on the railing felt so eerie.

Grrrk!

The chain was pulled taut, and the ship tilted once.

‘This….’

Yoon Jong gulped.

He hadn’t really noticed it when he saw it from a distance, but up close, the pirate ship was much bigger than he had thought. It seemed to be twice the size of the ship they were on.

‘Are you saying that all the people there are pirates?’

A group of people dressed in blue robes moved along with the chains as if answering Yoon Jong’s question.

Tak! Tak!

They lightly landed on the deck and quickly surrounded the passengers and crew.

Kuung!

Soon, a dirty-looking man who seemed more like a bandit than a pirate jumped up with a light movement that was odd for his size.

“Eung!”

The man looked around, wide-eyed.

Seeing that, Jo Gul softly whispered.

“Seems like the boss. Sahyung?”

“Shh.”

Yoon Jong gave the warning, telling him to shut up, and looked at the pirates.

‘It seems like each individual is superior to that of the mountain bandits.’

Although the bandits were more numerous, the pirates seemed to have better skills.

“You peopleeee!”

At that moment, the man shouted loudly.

The voice was so loud that they unconsciously raised their hands and covered their ears.

“Who received the permission to go up and down the Yangtze River?”

The captain, who was in the lead, trembled at the shout and fell flat on the spot.

“Due to my poor nature, I didn’t get permission in advance from the heroes of the Yangtze River. I ask for you to forgive me with an open heart.”

“Hmm!”

A satisfied smile appeared on the man’s face as if he was happy with the response.

“If you dare cross the river without permission, you will have to put your life on the line!”

The captain bowed his head even lower.

“But you have nothing to worry about. We, the Great Whale Pirates, are famous for having big hearts, even among the pirates on the Yangtze River!”

“I-I am thankful!”

At that moment, Jo Gul, who had been holding back well, tilted his head and whispered to Yoon Jong.

“… sahyung.”

“Uh?”

“Do whales live in the Yangtze River?”

“Is that possible? Whales live in the sea.”

“Then why are they called the Great Whale Pirates? There are no whales here.”

“… well?”

Baek Cheon, keeping his gaze ahead, spoke up.

“They bought a dolphin.”

“… dolphins? Even so, it’s strange. Why call themselves the Great Whale Pirates when dolphins live here? I wouldn’t know if I were blind.”

“It is a bit odd if you think about it. It’s like having stir-fried beef and veggies together.”

“Ahh.”

As they continued to whisper, the dirty man rolled his eyes.

“Who’s making fun of us?”

Jo Gul and Baek Cheon were shocked and quickly shut their mouths.

Then the captain said hurriedly,

“I will prepare the tax to pay to the leader of the Yangtze River, so please, just a moment…”

“Forget it!”

“… Uh?”

“Hehe, I don’t need much money!”

He looked left and right with wide eyes.

“I heard there is a special package here from Eunha Escorts?”

“…”

“Which one of you is it? Come out now!”

A loud voice boomed. A weaker person might have fainted from the sound.

Of course, Deung Gyeom, who had been scared from the start, couldn’t help but look at Baek Cheon with a pale face.

‘Please do something now!’

But Baek Cheon didn’t even glance at him, whether the poor man was lost or not.

Deung Gyeom’s face contorted further. If he had known the situation would be this dangerous, he wouldn’t have joined hands with them, even if he had a knife to his throat.

“Hmm?”

When no one stepped forward, the leader’s thick cheeks twitched.

“You won’t come out!”

He grinned, showing his yellow-stained teeth.

“It is said that all the ones performing the special delivery from Eunha are as light as the wind, and their guts are so feeble that they flutter. You are scared, right?”

And that was it.

He soon pulled out the blade from the sheath he had. The blade, which wasn’t even neatly maintained, made a dull sound as it rubbed against the sheath, but this gave goosebumps to all those who heard it.

“Right. If he doesn’t come, I will find him. I will catch and kill every one of you until he comes out! What are you doing? Bring them here one by one!”

“Yes!”

The subordinate went and pulled out the passenger who was at the lead.

“Eikkkk! I-it isn’t me!”

Shouts of fear came from all around, and Deung Gyeom, unwilling to watch this, closed his eyes and was ready to step ahead.

Puak!

“Ackkkk!”

The pirate who tried to pull the middle-aged man in the lead fell back.

“What!”

“Who did this!”

The pirates all raised their weapons in anger and aimed them at the passengers.

“I let it happen for a while.”

And after a while, Baek Cheon walked out politely among the passengers. Mount Hua’s disciples followed with proud steps.

“… what is this?”

The leader’s face contorted in disapproval.

“What is this escort-like-looking guy doing!”

“…”

“Are you trying to mess with me now?”

This was something everyone he met said, so he wasn’t even angry at the statement anymore. Baek Cheon sighed and opened his mouth at the insult, which felt so outdated.

“I am…”

“You seem like a noble kid who knows nothing of this world, kid. This is the water. No matter what your status and background is on the land, this isn’t a place where you solve the problem.”

“It isn’t that, I am….”

“Or maybe you believe in that smooth face of yours but trust me when I say I am not interested in you. No, no, just looking at your face, I think you can be sold at a high price.”

“Oh my, Captain! It is pretty expensive. You can sell him for great money, though.”

“Hehe. I think he is better than most women!”

Crack!

In the end, Baek Cheon’s jaw clenched, and the sound of his teeth gritting came out. The disciples of Mount Hua who heard that slowly closed their eyes.

‘All good solutions are lost now.’

‘No, why are they bringing up such things?’

‘Has he lost it now?’

One of the unaware pirates approached Baek Cheon and threatened him with a dagger in hand.

“Now then, without further ado, come here now, pretty girl.”

“…shut.”

“What? I couldn’t hear what you said?”

“…shut your mouth. If you don’t want to die.”

“What?”

Paaaak!

The pirate’s head bent badly as if it would break.

And slowly, very slowly, it started to fall back.

“Uh?”

“…uh?”

Drip.

There was saliva dripping from his mouth. While caught off guard, he was hit and lost consciousness in an instant.

Passengers and pirates were all shocked at this absurd sight.

“Shhh.”

Baek Cheon, who calmed his anger by taking a deep breath, looked at the dirty man who seemed like the captain and said,

“We are Mount Hua from Shaanxi.”

“M-Mount Hua!”

The pirates’ eyes widened when they heard the name Mount Hua.

“I want to ask you something.”

Baek Cheon’s knife-like eyes fell on the captain.

“Are you the ones who attacked the Eunha escorts before?”

The captain’s face turned bright red as he heard this condescending behavior.

“How dare these fucking dogs… so what if it is us?”

At the harsh cry, Baek Cheon put the sword on his waist and lightly gripped the handle. He straightened his shoulders, and cold air emanated from him. It was hard to believe that this guy, who had only seemed like a good-natured young master until a moment ago.

This sight made the pirates flinch one by one.

“Then…”

Srrng.

Baek Cheon slowly pulled out the Plum Blossom Sword.

“I should make you pay for messing with Mount Hua’s friend.”

At the same time, Mount Hua’s disciples, who were guarding the back, also pulled out their swords.

“Huh…”

The dirty man looked at the scene and burst into laughter.

“Mount Hua?”

“…”

“All I see are merchants, workers, and one middle-aged guy. And you are Mount Hua people?”

“If we didn’t do this, you wouldn’t have come.”

The faces of the pirates stiffened in an instant.

They had also heard of Mount Hua’s reputation. A few years ago, they wouldn’t have paid any attention, but now the name of Mount Hua has become so high that even they, the pirates, couldn’t ignore it.

“Captain…”

The guy’s face contorted when he was asked what to do.

“… let’s kill them all!”

“Captain! There are only a few people around, and if the Mount Hua sect finds out, things will get out of control.”

“Mount Hua sect? So what? This is the Yangtze River, and we are kings here! Cut all those arrogant bastards into pieces right now and throw them into the river! Today is the day those bastards’ names fall to the ground!”

“Yes!”

Once the order was given, there was no going back.

The pirates surrounded the Mount Hua sect, holding their sharp weapons. Then, the disciples of the Mount Hua sect spread the distance from Baek Cheon and stood protecting the passengers.

Baek Cheon said in a calm voice.

“We will subdue them for now.”

“Yes, sasuk.”

The two groups faced off tightly.

And!

“Kill them all!”

With a loud shout, even the remaining pirates on the ship began to come over. At the same time, the pirates surrounding the disciples of Mount Hua rushed at them.

“Defeat them at once!”

“Yes, sahyung!”

“Yes, sasuk!”

“Let’s go!”

The disciples of Mount Hua took a step ahead and swung their swords.

The hem of Baek Cheon’s long cloth blew back in the strong wind.

The sword lunged forward and pierced the chest of the blue-dressed warrior.