Hyun Jong’s eyes, as he watched the party leave through the gate, contained an undeniable sense of unease.

“Will they be fine?”

“We sent Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong along with him for that reason.”

“Isn’t there anyone else we can send with them?”

“… We don’t have anyone, sect leader.”

Hyun Jong looked at Un Am. Un Am turned his head with a slightly nonchalant expression and avoided meeting Hyun Jong’s eyes.

“You don’t want to keep an eye on them?”

“It isn’t a grown-up thing to do. Also, if we do something wrong, things may spiral out of control.”

“If we let them go, won’t things get worse?”

… It was a difficult question to answer.

To be honest, it’s not strange for situations to explode when Chung Myung is involved.

“I am worried. Very worried.”

Hyun Jong took a deep breath.

Hyun Sang, who was watching from the side, burst into laughter.

Hyun Jong looked back at him with a sour face.

“Sajae seems to find this situation funny.”

“I’m sorry, sect leader. But how can it not be funny?”

“What’s so funny about it?”

Hyun Sang smiled brightly.

“Just two years ago we were worried that our disciples would be disgraced by the Southern Edge sect. But now, aren’t you worried that those same children are going to beat the Wudang disciples too harshly?”

“…”

Right.

If you were to see this situation from anywhere other than Mount Hua, then people may say that the sect leader was simply making excuses out of fear for the Wudang sect after they got lucky once against the Southern Edge sect.

However, it was natural to believe in the young disciples after seeing what kind of training the second and third-class disciples endured over the past two years.

“Trust and wait. They aren’t thoughtless children. They will return after increasing Mount Hua’s fame.”

“Fame is sometimes evil.”

“Yes?”

“Infamy is just another side of fame.”

“…”

Hyun Jong deeply sighed as he watched his students move farther and farther away.

“I hope they come back safely.”

Hyun Sang couldn’t bring himself to guarantee that they wouldn’t be hurt.

At first, Wei Soheng thought it was reasonable.

Young trainee. Shouldn’t we get to Nanyang as soon as possible? We don’t have any problems, but your stamina seems to be a bit of an issue here. So, why not try moving in a better way?

As a matter of fact, Wei Soheng had to agree.

First, he wasn’t in his best state. From Nanyang to Hua-Um, he had run the entire way and was exhausted.

Even if that wasn’t the case. Wei Soheng couldn’t catch up to them; even in his best condition, he would never be able to keep pace with Mount Hua’s true disciples.

However, they couldn’t possibly carry him on their back, could they?

It’s fine. It’s fine. I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.

Until then, they seemed reliable.

When they got two horses and a cart as soon as they reached Hua-Um, Wei Soheng began to feel guilty about judging others based on a shallow understanding of their personality.

Hey! Hey! I’ll take care of everything!

By the time the cart was full of food and ready for the journey, Wei Soheng believed that he could trust the man named Chung Myung.

No, I said I will handle it all! Can’t you understand me?

Unidentified bottles had piled up next to the food. It was only later that he found out that they were alcohol. But it was too late to turn around.

Thanks to that…

“Kuak!”

Chung Myung was drinking while lying in the cart.

“…”

Wei Soheng stared at the absurd scene and turned to Baek Cheon.

“The disciple is drunk….”

“Mount Hua doesn’t forbid alcohol.”

Ah, he knew that since he’s also a member of Mount Hua. But his seniors were here; isn’t it a bit unusual for this man to drink and laze about in front of them?

‘…and what the hell is that?’

Yu Yiseol, who was sitting next to Chung Myung, was tossing a piece of jerky into his mouth. And that bastard would chew it as if this was natural.

“….”

It was a bizarre sight.

Seeing this gorgeous woman serving him jerky, no, she was actually his senior…no, perhaps this is a beautiful display of friendship between disciples. But still, wasn’t this jerky thing a bit too strange?

It wasn’t like tossing a dog some snacks.

The person who gave it was doing it with care, while the other one took it for granted.

Wei Soheng was utterly baffled as he watched while Baek Cheon called for him.

“Young trainee Wei.”

“Huh? Ah, yes!”

“Don’t worry about it. Just because you see it, doesn’t mean you’ll understand it.”

Wei Soheng glanced at Yu Yiseol.

He couldn’t understand what that woman was doing.

“Right.”

“….”

Although they had already departed for Nanyang, Wei Soheng couldn’t help but doubt whether it was right to bring them along.

“We should get there in a couple days.”

Wei Soheng’s gaze shifted to the front.

Two horses were pulling the carriage, and Yoon Jong and Jo Gul were sitting on the coach seat.

‘Those horses look expensive.’

Even at this moment, the cart is speeding forward at an incredible pace. It was definitely much faster than what Wei Soheng could run at full strength.

With the carriage, there was no need to take a break either. This certainly seemed to be the correct choice.

However…

Gulp.

“Kua, it’s so great to be alive!”

Wei Soheng felt his stomach twisting as he watched the disciple gulping down alcohol.

Wei Soheng never thought of himself as the sort of person that would disparage someone else for what they found enjoyable. For some reason, though, when he saw Chung Myung, a strange and twisted feeling rose within him.

“Young trainee Wei.”

“Yes. Disciple Baek Cheon.”

“What kind of place is Huayoung Gate?”

When Wei Soheng hesitated at the sudden question, Baek Cheon added.

“I’m not asking for any particular reason. However, I didn’t get to hear the details as I needed to leave in a hurry. I know that the Gate is a part of Mount Hua, but I think I need to know a bit more to take care of everything properly.”

“N-no, it’s no problem. I was just wondering how to tell you….”

Wei Soheng shyly scratched the back of his head.

“There’s nothing special about the place.”

“It’s special enough.”

Baek Cheong answered in a serious tone.

“Until recently, Mount Hua’s name had no meaning. Nevertheless, your Gate has proudly declared itself to be a sub-sect of Mount Hua. Even if we searched the whole world, there would never be another place like Huayoung Gate.”

Even Chung Myung, who was lying down, turned his gaze towards Wei Soheng.

“I didn’t do it with some great sense of duty. It’s just that my father was very proud to be a disciple of Mount Hua.”

Wei Soheng’s face wasn’t very bright when he spoke.

‘He must have suffered a lot.’

Chung Myung, who was lying down, lightly clicked his tongue as he listened.

Wei Soheng must have wanted to give up on Mount Hua countless times. Such is the way of the world. Students learn martial arts, but nobody wants to learn fading techniques from a dying sect.

Those who knew about Mount Hua would want to learn because they knew how far they had fallen, while those who didn’t know had no reason to choose such an obscure sect.

“I can’t even tell you how much my father loved hearing about the last Southern Edge conference. Even though he never drinks, he downed two entire bottles of alcohol and started talking about how Mount Hua is beginning to spread its wings again.”

“Hmm.”

Baek Cheon quietly nodded his head.

“You said your father was proud to be a disciple of Mount Hua?”

“Yes. To be precise, it was my great grandfather who was a disciple of Mount Hua, not father… Well, it’s exactly as you thought. He often said that being unable to enter Mount Hua as a disciple was his lifelong regret.”

Baek Cheon nodded his head.

“Anyway, my father is very proud to manage Huayoung Gate. Besides, I was lucky enough to live without ever having to starve. If only those Path’s Edge bastards hadn’t shown up….”

“Did you say that the Gate leader was defeated in a fight?”

“Yes. But… frankly it’s strange.”

“Strange?”

Wei Soheng nodded his head.

“Father has never neglected his training. It’s a bit strange for me to say, but there’s no way that he would be defeated by young disciples.”

It was natural.

Those who learn martial arts grow stronger over time. Ordinary people grow weaker and weaker with age, but warriors have no choice but to gradually become stronger by steadily developing their bodies and refining their qi.

Therefore, in the Murim, the elders are strong.

“But the leader of the training center was too young. I can’t understand why my father lost to that young man.”

“Hmm.”

Baek Cheon frowned.

‘There’s more than just one or two things that seem out of place.’

At first, he thought that it was a simple argument between two sub-sects, but now that he heard more about it, there are a couple of things that seemed strange.

Whatever it was, it was enough for the sect leader to call him separately and give some advice.

Wei Soheng glanced at Baek Cheon and then spoke.

“Actually, I should apologize.”

“For what?”

“My father did tell me to ask for help from Mount Hua, but I honestly didn’t think Mount Hua would be willing.”

“Oh.”

Baek Cheon nodded.

“It isn’t easy to handle the Wudang sect. That’s why we were so desperate. But to help us out so quickly….”

Wei Soheng paused for a moment as if he choked on his words. Baek Cheon waited silently until he spoke. Covering his mouth, Wei Soheng started speaking with an emotional voice.

“I think I can understand why my father liked Mount Hua. No matter what the outcome is, I will live my life feeling grateful for it.”

A heartwarming declaration.

Unfortunately, there was a person in this cart who had a disease that made him feel goosebumps when he had to listen to such flowery words.

“Whatever the outcome?”

Chung Myung raised himself up with shining eyes. Yu Yiseol pressed her fingers against his head, and his rising body began to lay down again. However, his words continued.

“Whatever the outcome!? There’s only going to be one outcome! We’ll have to split the heads of those bastards!”

“Didn’t the sect leader tell us not to do that?”

“Will we stop just because of that? I’m sure he wants it as well! The sect leader doesn’t have much time left to live, so I’ll show him how we crack the skulls of those Wudang bastards! That way, the sect leader can smile when hears about it before he heads across the river!”

‘How can you talk about respecting the sect leader at the same time you’re cursing him?’

It felt wrong just listening to Chung Myung speak.

“And honestly, aren’t we here to beat up the Wudang bastards anyway?”

‘What?’

‘Uh… that is true, though.’

“And we have this opportunity!”

A fire was raging in Chung Myung’s eyes.

“I was trying to live as quietly as possible.”

‘Ah, I doubt you were aiming for that.’

“Those bastards touched us first. Then they should be punished! Great sahyung! What are you doing!? Speed up!”

“We’re already moving as fast as we can! If we rush anymore the horses will get tired.”

“How much did they cost us!? It’s fine, it’s fine! We can go twice as fast as normal horses, so don’t worry, and speed up!”

“Yes.”

Yoon Jong shook his head and patted the horse’s ass.

As the cart’s speed increased, Chung Myung’s body shook.

“I don’t know why you did it, but I’ll show what happens when you touch Mount Hua!”

Hearing that triumphant voice, Baek Cheon sighed.

‘The other side can’t even imagine what they’ve caused.’

It was a fact that the unprecedented asshole that even Mount Hua could not handle was heading to Nanyang.

Baek Cheon, innocent and hopeful, sent heartfelt condolences to the disciples from the Wudang sect who were going to arrive in Nanyang full of hope.