The thoughts of the Mount Hua disciples.

‘The Plum Blossom Sword Saint.’

‘He is so great…!’

‘Of course, that man is the pride of Mount Hua.’

‘But it is only within Mount Hua that he is so famous. In other places he isn’t regarded highly. Even when we met the Wudang Sect disciples, hadn’t they joked around saying that Wudang was the best?

‘Mount Hua’s pride.’

‘And that person was being recognized as the pride of Yunnan.’

Baek Cheon reached out, grabbed his glass and gulped it down.

“Ha!”

Its fragrance spread through his mouth and his mind felt relaxed. It was difficult to suppress the pride that was rising up his chest. When had Mount Hua ever been recognized this much?

Baek Cheon was a disciple of Mount Hua after all. How could he not feel happy when his ancestor was being recognized this much?

But.

‘Calm down.’

People make mistakes when they feel extremely happy. This was the Nanman Beast palace. No matter how friendly they were now, things could always change.

“Then…”

It was the moment when Baek Cheon tried to speak.

Gulp gulp gulp…

“…”

“Kuak! Let’s drink some more!”

Chung Myung was chugging down the peach extract!

Baek Cheon’s face darkened.

‘In front of the Palace Lord!’

‘He was acting like this in front of the Palace Lord?’

“Kyak! This side dish is delicious. I think I might get drunk today!”

“Kuahahaha! Hot blooded young man! I like you! Have as much as you want! You! Bring out more extract! More and more! Don’t hold back!”

“M-my lord.”

He spoke in a way that a mere servant couldn’t dare say anything back, but the servant still tried his best.

“We brought out all the extract in the warehouse.”

“Uh? Then bring the ones from the treasury too! There must be two more boxes in here!”

“T-that is for the Palace Lord’s grandson’s wedding…”

“You idiot!”

Kwang!

Palace Lord slammed the table. The table rose into the air and fell back down.

In the meantime, Chung Myung grabbed onto the bottles to make sure none of them spilled or broke. Baek Cheon, who saw that, sighed, and closed his eyes.

He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to admire the tenacity of the table which flew into the air and withstood the abuse of the Palace Lord.

No, more than that, he admired the feat of the drunk bastard holding onto all the bottles without spilling anything.

“The descendants of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint have come, and you are talking about some marriage?”

“B-but!”

“What?”

His eyes looked red.

“You idiot! Don’t we make an offering to the shrine of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint every year?”

“Yes, he is our hero and saint!”

“And if we don’t treat these people wholeheartedly, what would he say to us when we meet in the afterlife? Shouldn’t we hear something nice when we meet?”

“Ah.”

Chung Myung nodded his head.

Only he knew that they weren’t treating the descendants of Plum Blossom Sword Saint, but the Plum Blossom Sword Saint himself.

Sure, things were a little strange, but what about it? It was better to treat him than his descendants, right? And if the Palace Lord died and came to find out about who Chung Myung really was, he would feel even prouder.

“Now go and bring it, right now!”

“Yes, Palace Lord!”

In the end, the servant couldn’t win, and the Palace Lord laughed.

“It must have been unsightly.”

“Ugh. It was. But you were amazing.”

“Huh? Is that so? Hahaha! You, the more we talk the more I like you!”

“Me too, I like the Palace Lord too. Let’s have a drink.”

Chung Myung held the bottle and handed it to the Palace Lord. And then he picked up a full bottle.

“Oh? A full bottle? Right, right! A man has to be able to hold his alcohol! You certainly know how to hold your drink!”

“Ahhh. I am well versed in all kinds of tao too.”

“What? Hahaha! Right! Good! Where else can we see a taoist drink!”

Then, they both began to drink at the same time.

The disciples of Mount Hua couldn’t smile nor cry at this sight. They just kept watching it dumbfoundedly.

‘Am I seeing things right?’

‘It looks like an interaction between old friends who were separated and then reunited after a long time.’

‘This bastard should have been born in Yunnan!’

Unable to continue seeing the two drink and laugh, Baek Cheon spoke.

“But Palace Lord.”

“Um?”

The man turned to him. Baek Cheon was a bit startled by his huge eyes, along with the imposing size of his body and the rough breathing. Nevertheless, he continued.

“Was everything you said really true?”

“About? The Plum Blossom Sword Saint?”

“Yes, Palace Lord.”

“Is a disciple of Mount Hua really asking me that?”

“Ah. Don’t be angry!”

“Uh? Right? Right! Hehehe.”

The Palace Lord laughed again.

“Of course. I haven’t seen him in action. But whatever I’ve told you now is known not just to the former Palace Lord, but the whole of Yunnan.”

Baek Cheon titled his head.

“But if the Plum Blossom Saint was really as great as the lord says, why is this rarely talked about in our place?”

Puck!

The man smashed the bottle he was holding. And the disciples all flinched.

Regardless of whether it was his actions, his words, or anything he did, their hearts would race every time he did something.

The man shouted. His roaring voice made their ears hurt all over again.

“Because those damned moths made it that way!”

The man pounded his chest indicating his displeasure.

“History is only written when people talk about it! history doesn’t just tell us what happened! It only becomes history when what happened is actually reported!”

His emotions could be clearly understood. He looked at Baek Cheon with a face of regret.

“I heard that the situation on Mount Hua isn’t good.”

“…”

“Normally, Mount Hua should have told you. Fortunately, we have ancestors who did a good job speaking about what happened. However, Mount Hua lost its name, its fame and even the people within it, which in turn made it lose the power to speak about it.”

The Beast Palace Lord grabbed the wine and opened the lid as he gulped it down.

“So, it wasn’t talked about. History belongs to winners. If there is no winner to speak the truth, then the next one will take the credit. If the Central Plains and Yunnan hadn’t cut ties with each other, this would have never happened! It is all because of those bastards in the Central Plains! Those fucking bastards who live off the dead!”

‘Excuse me…’

‘Sorry, but we are from there too.’

‘But I don’t want to say it because I shake at the sight of you!’

Right now, the Palace Lord was angry on behalf of Mount Hua.

‘It isn’t just that.’

‘It is a debt.’

It was obvious to Chung Myung that even though he played a significant role in the war and finally made the incredible contribution in killing the Heavenly Demon, the Central Plains didn’t leave the already ruined Mount Hua alone.

Normally it was impossible for the sects to negotiate and turn away from the person they were indebted to.

But since there was no one of importance in Mount Hua who had survived the war after the main task was done, the debt wasn’t immediately enforced. So, an agreement would have been made to get rid of the debt itself and make it look like they owed nothing to Mount Hua.

‘The world is still the same as ever.’

But if there was one… just one person.

‘Shouldn’t we repay the kindness Mount Hua showed to us?’

If just one said person had said that, things would have been different. But such a person didn’t exist.

Chung Myung smiled.

But what could you expect? Kangho has always been ruthless. Those who knew that would realize that having a shrine for him was unusual.

With a bitter smile the Palace Lord spoke,

“The war took away so much. If the Plum Blossom Sword Saint hadn’t been taken away during the war, the history of Kangho would have proudly recognized Mount Hua… that man went so far but Mount Hua didn’t receive what it deserved.”

Baek Cheon closed his eyes.

Once again, he could see how great the existence of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint meant to Mount Hua. He never realized how great the ancestors of Mount Hua were.

And that forgotten history was welcoming them in a distant land… in Yunnan.

“Both the Nanman Beast Palace and Mount Hua lost too much in the war. And we are still trying to heal our wounds from then.”

The man filled his cup and then filled the cups of the disciples.

“Have it. This is the alcohol given to you as a person in a similar situation. It isn’t a drink given by the Palace Lord, but a drink given by a colleague who shares the same heart-breaking history.”

The disciples who received it, held the glass with both hands and gulped it. They looked at the empty cups for a second in thought, and the man continued.

“The world is heartless. You must have been through a lot.”

“N-Not at all.”

“Uh?”

Chung Myung spoke as he gulped the drink.

“Kuaaak!”

His bottle was placed on the table with a thud.

“It is weirder to think you’ll be rewarded for all the work that you’ve done in a place like Kangho.”

“…”

“It wouldn’t have been like this if those bastards had been rewarded something!”

“Yah! Those bastards are our ancestors!”

“Yeah them!”

“Yah, idiot!”

“Ah, fine.”

Chung Myung scratched his head.

‘I cannot tell them that I am the bastard.’

‘Then what should I call myself?’

Chung Myung smiled and continued talking.

“Anyway, the past is past. What can we do at this point, screaming about the unfairness of the past? It is already over.”

“Hmm.”

“The important thing is the present. We just need to make sure that the current Mount Hua is the best. Then, in time, our past will have to be recognized. History belongs to the winners, after all!”

The Palace Lord looked at Chung Myung and he smiled.

“Yes, that is it.”

With a low voice, he reached out and patted Chung Myung on the back.

“Hahahaha! The more I listen to you, the more I like your words! You are indeed the descendants of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint!”

That single gesture of his didn’t simply praise the Plum Blossom Sword Saint but was infinitely close to sending the man back into the underworld all over again!

Chung Myung even thought that his body had been made this strong so that he could survive the touch of this man.

“Ah, right.”

The Palace Lord looked at Chung Myung again and asked.

“But I forgot to ask. Why did you come all the way to Yunnan? Getting here from Shaanxi couldn’t have been an easy journey.”

“Ah, right. I was meaning to tell you.”

“Um?”

“Is there anything called the purple wood grass here?”

“Purple wood grass?”

The man titled his head.

“It… it is my first time hearing about this.”

“You are sure about that?”

Chung Myung frowned.

If this man didn’t know of it, then they had a problem.

“Don’t look at me like that, I am the Lord of the Beast Palace, but I cannot know everything in Yunnan. Besides I am not the kind to care about such things.”

‘Ah, right.’

‘There is no way someone interested in building such huge muscles could show interest in grass.’

“Don’t worry! I will have my subordinates find it right away!”

“Kuak! Good!”

“Hahaha! The Plum Blossom Sword Saint descendants have come, so how can we not at least do that? Stop worrying and drink more! Today is a good day! Hahaha! Come on!”

Chung Myung and the Palace Lord lifted the bottles once again and began to gulp it down.

Seeing the resemblance, Baek Cheon sighed again.

‘I heard there is always one person who resembles another.’

Of course, it wasn’t exactly the same, but he never imagined he would see someone else even remotely resembling Chung Myung.

‘Well, at least things were going great thanks to him.’

“Kuak! The young disciple has a strong body!”

“Even the Palace Lord has a strong body!”

“What? Hahah!”

The Palace Lord held the bottle again.

“Come on! Let’s end this today!”

“Ah. Won’t you be embarrassed to lose in front of your subordinates?”

“I never lose when it comes to alcohol!”

“It is the same with me.”

“Drink!”

“YES!”

And the drinks began to vanish extremely quickly.

The disciples of Mount Hua also finally eased up and began to drink in peace. It wasn’t polite when they were the guests here to constantly refuse their host.

“So, the Plum Blossom Sword Saint!”

“Kyaaalk!”

But…

The disciples of Mount Hua couldn’t participate in the conversation at all.