No matter how they looked at it, it was a small ferry boat with no sails being rowed by hand.

But was it okay to call it a ferry boat when it flew across the water like a swallow, creating more than just a splash?

Kwakwakwakwang!

Just looking at the speed, it seemed like it would split the Yangtze River. It was questionable how a small boat made only of wood could sustain such speed.

At that amazing sight, strange, indescribable emotions began to appear on Mount Hua’s disciples.

“… am I really seeing this?”

“Why is he there?”

“C-Chung Myung…”

Yoon Jong’s voice trembled a bit. But then,

“Ah, shit! It is so fucking hard! No, if they were out on the Yangtze River, then fight on the water! Fuck! Are you here to crawl on land and pick something up? Just throw them into the fucking water if you have to!”

Yoon Jong, who felt touched, soon closed his mouth. And a happy smile came.

“Chung Myung is right.”

“Seeing as how he has that dirty temper, he is still pissed.”

“… just how did he get to know about this place?”

“Amitabha… there is no other hell in the world.”

It wasn’t just Mount Hua’s disciples who were shocked. The opponents also couldn’t hide their shock. This was because even though they had lived on the Yangtze River their entire lives, they had never seen such a thing.

“W-what is that…”

At that time, Jo Seung let out a loud shout.

“What are you all looking at! Shoot the harpoon! Sink it!”

“Yes!”

Some of the bandits who heard Jo Seung’s order rushed inside and pulled out a huge cart. Then, they turned the land cannon to the ferry boat.

“Shoot!”

Kwaang!

A large harpoon cut through the air and flew towards the ferry boat on which Chung Myung was riding.

“Uh?”

Crack!

The harpoon destroyed the ferry boat. A huge splash followed.

“We did it!”

“That bastard must be shocked!”

Although the pirates cheered loudly, there wasn’t a single look of worry or concern on the faces of the Mount Hua disciples.

They just looked at the splashing water with a sad expression.

“If he was the kind of person who would die from that, we wouldn’t have had to go through so much trouble.”

“… my words exactly.”

As expected.

Splash!

One person jumped out at an incredible speed from the moving water and rose to a considerable height. The eyes of the Mount Hua disciples widened.

“That… that…”

“Fuck…”

What was with that reaction?

Surely, they did expect Chung Myung wouldn’t die from that. With that level of attack, it would be lucky to even have a scratch on his body. Wasn’t Chung Myung stronger than a whale?

But the reason they were surprised was because he was ‘running’ towards them at a fast pace.

“He is running.”

“Yes.”

“Running on water.”

“… yes.”

“Hehehe. My life, my life, the stars above…”

Wherever Chung Myung put his foot, the water rose as if it had exploded. Because he was running so fast, water splashed up from behind him like fireworks.

“Ah, shit! I should have been doing this from the start! I lost all my strength in rowing! They say that if you have a bad head, your body suffers from it!”

Baek Cheon covered his face with both hands in embarrassment.

No… no, Chung Myung. That wasn’t right…

Your body was just so good that your brain didn’t suffer anymore, you insane bastard…

“W-what is that…?”

“C-can people run on water?”

The pirates were equally shocked.

Of course, since they were also warriors, they knew that there was a thing called the Flying Step on Water, where you could walk on water. But they had never actually seen it with their own eyes.

Although the pirates’ captains occasionally showed their skills in stepping or jumping on water, it was just for a second.

Wasn’t it strange if a person could actually run on water?

“O-On water…”

“AOHH!”

“Running…”

Chung Myung, who was cheerfully running on the water, gradually sank below. He was submerged up to his ankles, making it look more like sliding than running, and soon, he was submerged up to his waist.

“H-He is falling!”

It was then.

Splash!

Chung Myung, who was submerged up to his head, began to swim in the water smoothly. It was as if he belonged in the water.

“… it was natural then.”

“Ten points for that.”

“…”

It was a sight that was surprising and strange at the same time, so much so that they didn’t even want to speak of it. Everyone just watched in fascination.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

Chung Myung swam quickly like a mermaid and reached the shore.

Trudge. Trudge.

Chung Myung pulled himself up a few steps like a drowning rat and sat down.

“Oh my… my waist. I thought it was breaking. Why should I do this after enjoying wealth and fame?”

And he began to babble all sorts of nonsense.

The gaze of the Mount Hua disciples, who were looking at him in silence, turned up to the sky.

‘Honestly, I am a bit touched.’

‘You have to be careful what you wish for.’

At that time, a pirate near Chung Myung gathered courage and rushed at him with a piercer.

“You! How dare you come here!”

Uh?

The Mount Hua disciples all turned.

N-no…

“Ohh, shit!”

Chung Myung kicked the pirate in the stomach while sitting still.

Kwaang!

There was a loud noise that felt too loud for a human being to make. The charging pirate bounced back faster than a piercer fired from a cannon.

Paaang!

The body, blown by the wind, flew over the heads of other pirates and landed in the middle of the cliff.

Wooong!

Then came the silence.

All the pirates’ heads turned slowly to the back. When they returned after checking on their colleague who had been thrown off the cliff, their faces were filled with shock.

Chung Myung grumbled.

“It must be hard, but are you being this rude to just stab me? Do you want to die?”

No. Chung Myung. That guy could already be considered dead.

It wasn’t polite to live like that…

“Ugh. These people are such shitty beggars…”

Chung Myung, who had calmly made a remark that would have made the beggars of the Beggars Union furious, stood up and turned to the Five Swords.

Flinch.

“Wait…!”

It was when Chung Myung was getting ready to nag them all at once.

“How did you get here?”

“Uh?”

Baek Cheon quickly interrupted with a question. Chung Myung, momentarily speechless, tilted his head.

“How did you come here when you should be at Mount Hua?”

“Ah. The sect leader sent me.”

Hearing this conversation, Mount Hua’s disciples all felt relieved.

‘As expected of sasuk!’

‘See how the nagging passed away. He would have made a mess if he got to speak first.’

‘Such a skilled scholar.’

“Sect leader?”

“Right. After all, everyone is having a hard time here!”

Chung Myung stuck his stomach out.

“He told me to come save you. Sigh, I came because it’s so annoying.”

“…”

“But why did you come here?”

“Those bastards did it. They put the chain on the ship and pulled it; otherwise, we wouldn’t have come! It isn’t our fault!”

“Those bastards did?”

Chung Myung slowly turned to the pirates.

Baek Cheon, who had so neatly diverted Chung Myung’s attention, secretly gave a thumbs-up to the others. Everyone returned the gesture in unison.

Chung Myung grumbled with a displeased look.

“You are struggling because you cannot even handle these bastards who just outnumber you?”

“Those bastards even used poison.”

“What, poison? All these things happen because you have no courage! Back in my day, when I got hit by five poisonous swords, I thought, ‘Ah, my back is sore today, so I should scratch my lower back!’ But you kids!”

“You are the youngest, Chung Myung…”

“Ah, right. Right?”

Chung Myung tapped his forehead and shrugged his shoulders.

“Anyway, I have a lot to say…”

Chung Myung took a long inhale and turned to the pirates. The Great Whale Pirates’ captain, Chan Bo-Heuk, was looking at him with shocked eyes.

Crack. Crack.

Chung Myung bent his neck to the left and right as he slowly pulled out his black sword from his waist.

“First, let’s throw all those outnumbered bastards right into this river….”

“They swim well.”

“Then throw them off the cliff!”

“Ha ha.”

Baek Cheon laughed at Chung Myung’s loud response.

Actually, nothing had changed. Only maybe seven or eight things.

But eight was never the same as seven.

The poison that invaded his body was still there, but he no longer felt dizzy like before. And above all…

Kuak.

The hand holding the sword naturally clenched.

The other disciples standing next to him felt the same. He could see their composure return to faces that had looked lost just a moment ago.

There were so many things he wanted to ask.

How did he find out? How did he get from Shaanxi to here so quickly, and how could he find them here…

But…

‘Those are not important now.’

Chung Myung took two steps ahead and stood upright. The moment Baek Cheon saw the small yet broad back, a bright smile bloomed on his lips.

“Okay. First, let’s deal with these outnumbered bastards…”

“Okay!”

“Listen to what I have to say, and then go, you bastard!”

Suddenly, Chung Myung leaped ahead like lightning and rushed at the pirates at a tremendous pace.

“Uh?”

Kwaaang!

The pirate in the lead got kicked without even knowing what was happening.

Puak! Puak! Pow!

The flying body hit numerous pirates around. It looked like an aimless piece of wood bouncing around after a kid threw a ball at them.

“W-what!”

“This bastard!”

“What, this bastard? What, you bastard!”

Chung Myung was now throwing flames from his eyes as he grabbed the pirate in front and hit him right in the face with his forehead.

Kwang!

“I!”

Kwang!

“Because of you!”

Kwang!

“I had to run all the way to Shaanxi, you bastards!”

“ACKKKK!”

The pirates flew like leaves caught in a storm.

“My accumulated anger… no, I will show you the price you pay for messing with Mount Hua’s friends!”

“Your true intentions have come out, you bastard!”

The Five Swords also rushed after him.

At that moment, the pirates, confused by the situation, hesitated and thought to retreat. The Five Swords had already approached them and were stabbing them.

“Woah, that guy has a temper for sure!”

“He cannot be stopped now!”

The atmosphere changed so suddenly. The sword felt so light, and the steps felt so cheerful.

“Damn it!”

Baek Cheon happily cursed for the first time.

He didn’t want to admit it, but having Chung Myung in front gave them strength as if someone was pulling them ahead.

The number of pirates didn’t seem like an issue anymore.

‘Chung Myung…’

“This shameless act of using a harpoon! Am I a fish or what! You bastard!”

Baek Cheon closed his eyes tightly at the sight of Chung Myung taking the pirate’s harpoon and stabbing it into the man’s ass.

‘Let’s only look at good things. Just the good things.’

“I don’t get it! Did you at least boil and eat your snails? Why aren’t you coming quickly to fight!”

“I-I am coming, you bastard!”

“Die!”

“Yes!”

Chung Myung jumped up without a shout.

And without delay, Hae Yeon rose up and unleashed his fist.

“Ohhh!”

It was strong, not overpowering.

Rather than a crushing force, this strong force felt like a fan that pushed them back.

“Now!”

“Yes!”

The Five Swords rushed forward like a beam of light. Plum Blossoms of various colors bloomed from the tips of their swords.

Normal cliffs and wide rivers.

Among them, the red, exquisitely wonderful plum blossoms were in full bloom.