“Ughhh…”

A groan filled the air.

This sound, emanating from a parched throat, was so thick and painful that just hearing it evoked sympathy. It would have been impossible for anyone with a shred of humanity to hear that and remain indifferent.

Yet, in the eyes of those who heard the sound right in front of them, there was a chilling indifference.

“Euk…”

One of those who hadn’t paid much attention finally turned their head and looked at the dying person with a look of annoyance. He frowned and scolded.

“Enough now, you brat! You should just use your internal qi to expel the poison!”

“Eukk… it, it’s not the poison…”

“Look at this brat, abandoning all manners and acting like a drunkard!”

Despite Jo Gul’s harsh words, Chung Myung didn’t lose his resolve in the slightest.

“Well, since I have no other manners, I had to manage with this one at least…”

“…”

Jo Gul, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but think it made sense.

Feeling manipulated by that silent reasoning, Jo Gul shook his head.

‘This is a guy who stands among the strongest in the Central Plains and also took down an elder of Wudang.’

The future of the Central Plains seemed so bleak it felt like they were watching it descend into darkness.

But…

“No, let’s agree on that, Chung Myung.”

Jo Gul’s gaze, which had been on Chung Myung lying to the right of the bed, shifted to the left. There lay another ‘corpse’.

“… Baek Cheon sasuk, why are you doing this now?”

“Uh… ugh, I feel like I’m going to die…”

Jo Gul eventually sighed and covered his face.

‘Mount Hua is ruined.’

Chung Myung was a scoundrel who would act like this.

But the real problem was that the person who insisted Chung Myung behave normally was now acting even weirder than Chung Myung.

So, Chung Myung could act like this, but why! Why that guy!

Jo Gul’s frown deepened as he looked at the half-dead Baek Cheon.

It was then.

Clack!

The door swung open, revealing Yoon Jong as he stepped inside.

“Sasuk. Chung Myung. The elders are looking for… no, never mind. I’ll handle it myself.”

“…”

Yoon Jong smiled, seemingly not expecting much from this place. He always felt a twinge of jealousy during moments like these.

Baek Cheon, who had been sprawled on the ground, stirred.

“No, no… not at all. I’ll go.”

Baek Cheon leaped to his feet and began straightening his clothes. It’s good to take responsibility, but perhaps one should drink less, to begin with…

“Let’s go!”

“Eikk!”

Jo Gul, who had been looking elsewhere and mumbling, jumped when he saw Baek Cheon as if he had seen a ghost.

The man who had appeared half-dead was now looking perfectly normal.

‘No, what kind of human is…’

Be human, man, be human!

“… are you alright?”

“Yes, sasuk.”

“People cannot always be alright.”

“…”

“But a person who is meant to be an example to others must maintain their outward appearance, regardless of what they feel inside. Now that you’re in a position with many sajaes looking up to you, you need to remember this.”

Those were indeed wise words.

But at that moment, Jo Gul couldn’t help but wonder.

“Then what about him?”

“…”

Baek Cheon turned to where Jo Gul was pointing.

There, a peculiar figure lay on the ground, completely wrapped in a blanket like a cocoon. Baek Cheon turned away as if it meant nothing as if he couldn’t even see it.

“Well, just keep that in mind.”

“…I will.”

Suddenly, he felt goosebumps rise at the sight of the man with neatly styled hair and a white uniform.

‘This is so…’

Baek Cheon was as strange as Chung Myung but in a different way.

“Then, I will come back later… in the meantime, try and do something about that.”

“I would rather fight an elder of Wudang.”

“… Go safely.”

Baek Cheon emerged while Yoon Jong and Jo Gul stayed behind, exchanging glances before approaching Chung Myung.

“Chung Myung… get up now.”

“… ughh.”

“Mount Hua should leave today, remember?”

“Uhhhh….”

“Wake up, you wasted bastard!”

“Sasuk! Leave me alone!”

“If you continue to sleep like that, I will throw you out! You damned human!”

But at that moment, the door, which had been closed, swung open.

Kwang!

“Euk!”

“W-what’s happening?”

Two figures entered through the wide door, causing Yoon Jong and Jo Gul to gulp and clear the path.

It was Yu Yiseol and Tang Soso.

“Soso.”

“Yes, sago!”

“Wake him up.”

“Yes!”

Srrng!

A large needle was swiftly pulled from Soso’s sleeve. Witnessing this, Jo Gul and Yoon Jong stepped back, almost pressing themselves against the walls.

Eukk…

“AACKKKKK!”

Chung Myung’s pained scream, which they couldn’t bear to hear, made them close their eyes.

“… ughhh.”

“Did it hurt too much?”

“I had a needle stuck in my head. Wouldn’t that hurt? Uh?”

Yoon Jong turned his head to avoid Chung Myung’s gaze, who seemed ready to attack at any moment.

‘I didn’t push the needle in, so why is he making a fuss with me?’

He couldn’t bring himself to shout at Soso.

Despite his grumbling, Yoon Jong could understand Chung Myung’s pain. Everyone was equal in the face of a needle.

“What is so urgent that you had to resort to such measures right from the start?”

“Why? Feeling sober now?”

At that moment, Soso approached him with a bright smile.

“Then tell me. The effectiveness of the Tang family’s sobering acupuncture is remarkable, isn’t it?”

Yoon Jong, shocked, asked.

“… Soso.”

“Yes?”

“Does the Tang family really have such acupuncture training?”

“If you don’t believe me, go and ask the Tang family itself.”

“…”

It was clear there was no reason to travel a thousand miles to inquire about the Tang family. And since she was a daughter of that family, he believed her.

“Why are you so angry right from the morning when we have to leave now?”

“You think we can head to Mount Hua faster if you wake up early! Uh? Early!”

“What? You’re not feeling sober enough?”

As she pulled out the needle once again, Chung Myung went silent.

‘Ugh. I need to put that thing to sleep.’

‘Maybe I need to also change my weapon to needles?’

It was strange that a person who wasn’t afraid of swords was afraid of needles.

“Ehhh.”

Chung Myung ate the bowl of porridge which was placed in front of him and then slumped into a chair and grumbled.

“If we had left earlier than now, we would have reached Mount Hua and rested comfortably there! Why does this happen…”

You did all this, you bastard!

Such a typical nature of a human who was excited when things were getting done and annoyed to clean up after.

“So we leave today?”

“That is what was agreed on.”

“I think staying for another week is good.”

“Why? You just said you wanted to head to Mount Hua? You just said that.”

“I did, but…”

“Uh?”

Chung Myung smiled.

“If we stayed here a bit longer, wouldn’t the Wudang feel like we are drilling holes into their starving stomachs?”

Devil! This man was the Devil!

“That will not happen.”

“Eh?”

Chung Myung turned his head at the voice he heard. After finishing the talks with the elder, Baek Cheon came back.

“The elders?”

“They said to leave right after breakfast is had, no more wasting time.”

“… why are they in such a hurry?”

“… if you’ve already flustered someone in their home, it is polite to leave quickly.”

“What about it?”

Chung Myung snorted as if it wasn’t even funny.

The mess was handled, so was there any way for the wound to heal if it was covered? The Wudang would probably have to suffer all the injuries they received this time.

‘Well, it is a self-inflicted one.’

Of course, he extended one arm as bait to entice them to rush in, but he had no idea it would provoke such a fierce lunge. And indeed, it did bring them advantages…

“Venerable Heo Do.”

He is certainly not an easy man to deal with.

“Well, we won this time.”

“Uh?”

“Nothing.”

Chung Myung waved his hand. Now that the plan was laid out, the moves would start to unfold…

Chung Myung’s face, previously deep in thought, twisted in frustration.

“AHHH, the more I think about it, the angrier I get at those Shaolin jerks!”

When the word Shaolin escaped Chung Myung’s lips, Hae Yeon, who was eating porridge on one side of the table, flinched and bowed her head over the bowl.

“The one guy who just cheers from behind and is of no use to anyone.”

“…”

“The old man who eats the food from a table prepared by others!”

“… Who is this ‘old one’?”

“There is one. That raccoon-like one.”

Though they had a rough idea of whom he was speaking about, they couldn’t dare to say that name out loud.

Despite the many great figures in the world, Chung Myung was probably the only one who would dare to refer to the abbot of Shaolin in such a manner.

“Well, my stomach hurts, and I feel like I’m going to die from it. I know that no matter what others eat if I eat something, it helps more, but isn’t it human nature to feel your stomach clench when you see someone else taking a piece of it, even when you’ve torn off a whole piece of meat for yourself?”

“… Chung Myung.”

“Yes.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“Uh? Really? Aren’t all people like that?”

“…”

Silence fell.

Oh, heavenly lord. What could be done with this guy?

As everyone looked at him with eyes filled with lost hope, Chung Myung seemed to realize something was amiss and let out an awkward chuckle.

“Hahaha. Just kidding, just kidding!”

‘He’s serious!’

‘This guy meant it with all his heart!’

‘How do his thoughts become more outrageous with each passing day?’

It was normal to get used to people the more you saw them, but that obvious truth didn’t apply to this guy.

“Ahem. Anyway!”

Chung Myung looked around at everyone near the table.

“Do not be too proud.”

Hearing the slightly subdued voice, the expressions of the Mount Hua disciples changed.

“To put it bluntly, Wudang aimed right for our weak point this time.”

“Hmm…”

Baek Cheon sighed unconsciously.

He knew that Chung Myung had handled it, but still, he was afraid that his stomach would turn unhappy when this was heard.

“Normal people wouldn’t care that we won, but thinking people would have understood the weakness of Mount Hua that Wudang aimed for.”

“Right.”

Chung Myung shrugged his shoulders.

“The thoughts of Wudang aren’t wrong. Mount Hua is lacking seniors.”

“Right.”

Baek Cheon also spoke with a heavy voice.

“We achieved a formal win in the spar, but to put it bluntly, the current strength of Mount Hua is difficult to handle even for our own First-class disciples. Since it was a one-on-one spar, we were able to get past it. If they had to fight against all the disciples on equal footing, then the chances of First-class disciples winning would be slim.”

Everyone nodded their heads as if they agreed with those words.

“If one thought about the elders in Wudang, the distance from Wudang to ours is far.”

“Right.”

Chung Myung looked at Baek Cheon as if he wanted the man to continue.

“It is good we gained a lot from this. But more importantly, we knew what we had to do.”

“Ohh?”

“If there is a lack of people to fight, we just make up for it.”

The eyes of Baek Cheon didn’t waver. And an extremely firm voice came.

“If we get stronger here, from then on, no one will be a threat to Mount Hua. We need to make sure that no one can dare speak of Mount Hua as if it lacks leadership. Does everyone understand?”

“Yes, sahyung!”

“Of course, sasuk!”

Among the Five Swords, with their newfound determination, someone was grinning with an unpleasant look.

Baek Cheon sighed and rolled his eyes.

“… Well, brat.”

“Hehe. Our Dong Ryong is now taking care of himself.”

“…”

Clap!

Chung Myung clapped lightly.

“I gained a lot. We need to think about it, and we have a lot to do in the future.”

“…”

“Forget all that!”

“Eh?”

He grinned as he looked at everyone in shock.

“Well, you should have fun when there is time! This is a victorious return! Let us head back to Mount Hua!”

Everyone went red-faced at this.

It was time to end this journey.