“There will be no more problems now.”

At Tang Soso’s words, Un Geom nodded.

“It will take some more time for your wounds to heal completely, but if you don’t overdo it, you can assume that we are at no risk for further complications.”

“Thank you.”

“As long as you do not overdo it,” added Tang Soso, her voice sharp.

To this, Un Geom could only let out a chuckle.

He was in a position where he could only be scolded by their youngest disciple, and he could make no excuses; he had shown them something quite traumatic.

“Patients are patients because they require patience. If you hadn’t overdone it right after getting up from bed, you would have recovered twice as fast. Why did you do that?”

Un Geom just chuckled without saying anything, and seeing this, Tang Soso sighed.

Like Chung Myung, Un Geom was also a troublesome patient.

“I will say it again, do not overdo it. You are forbidden from wielding a sword for at least fifteen days.”

“That will be a bit difficult.”

“Great Sasuk! The more you do, the longer it will take to heal. I know you are in a hurry, but do not overdo it, or you might never hold your sword again.”

Un Geom just smiled.

As he did that, Tang Soso shook her head.

“Seriously. Even Chung Myung Sahyung is not an idiot. If you hadn’t pretended to be normal, he wouldn’t have asked you to pick up a sword.”

“I did it because my heart felt rushed.”

“…for real…”

Enigmatically, Un Geom, who was wrapped in bandages and a robe, stood up.

“Thank you.”

“Where are you going?”

“Sect Leader called for a meeting, and so I have to go too. He didn’t call me, but there is no reason to stay when I am awake and can go, right?”

“…”

As Un Geom left, Tang Soso sighed again.

All the people on Mount Hua were idiots.

“Sigh…”

Hong Dae-Kwang’s eyes were anxious.

“That is… what I mean… it is a one of a kind…”

Nervous, his voice trembled slightly… no, he was trembling.

“That… as you might know, I am not that skilled… well, rather I might… have gotten in your way, so…”

Hong Dae-Kwang smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

“It might have been more helpful to bring warriors from the Beggars Union…”

“Yah!”

Chung Myung rushed in and kicked him on his side.

“Kyaa!”

He screamed strangely and flew like a ball flying toward a net.

“Just because I let you talk, you cross the line!”

Chung Myung rolled his eyes,

“I wondered where you disappeared to! Everyone else was coming to fight, but you, like a fucking rabbit, had to find a hole and sneak right in then! What? Bring men? Warriors? Do you think warriors are things you can buy? Huh? It was no banquet getting here! You fucking beggar! Just bring them and leave? What? All you can give me are beggars! Skilled warriors? Fucking shit!”

“Well, what more can the Beggars Union bring if not beggars?”

“Are you for real?”

Chung Myung yelled and roared, trying to attack Hong Dae-Kwang again. But Baek Cheon and his party threw themselves at Chung Myung and grabbed him.

“Chung Myung! Calm down!”

“He is an adult, adult!”

“What the fuck is a young and old beggar? A beggar is a beggar!”

“Still, you cannot say that when the person is in front of you!”

With his sahyungs holding him, Chung Myung gritted his teeth and glared at his target.

“What kind of Beggars Union Branch Leader runs before a fight? This is the first time I have seen such a thing happen!”

“I did not run!”

Hong Dae-Kwang shouted like this was unfair. Actually, he was shocked.

‘No, how could I think that they would hold a grudge over this?’

Judging objectively, it was almost impossible for Mount Hua to deal with the Ten Thousand People Clan. Even when considering Chung Myung, who was strong, Hong Dae-Kwang thought being alive after the fight would be a great outcome for Chung Myung.

So he decided that it would be best if he left rather than bringing skilled warriors to their deaths, unable to change Mount Hua’s fate.

This wasn’t a bad idea, rather, it was the best option for the Beggars Union.

The problem was that Mount Hua had escaped all the dangers, and they hadn’t even lost anyone. This made the situation rather difficult for Hong Dae-Kwang.

‘Just how strong has he become?’

It was confusing because he knew Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon was strong. He knew that Mount Hua’s Five Swords were decently strong.

But, preparing a sect for war was another matter entirely.

Although it was said that only a single great warrior was needed to dominate the flow of war, wasn’t it also true that the strength of a group was dependent on their overall power and morale?

Mount Hua was considered a ruined sect only a couple of years ago. Who could have imagined that such a sect would come out unscathed after a battle against one of the strongest forces in Kangho?

‘There must be far too many forces stronger than Mount Hua throughout the land. But has there been a sect that has gotten as strong as Mount Hua in such a short period of time?’

It was Hong Dae-Kwang who couldn’t figure out the answer.

Anyway, that didn’t matter now!

“Rational! Eh? I thought it was rational! If I had joined, it would have meant getting stabbed and dying!”

“Right! You know well. You would have been stabbed and killed, right?! Let’s try to get you killed right now!”

As Chung Myung looked for the sword around his waist, Baek Cheon and the other disciples turned to think as they held back Chung Myung.

“C-Calm down!”

“T-This bastard hasn’t changed!”

“Candy! Someone go and bring sugar candy!” screamed Baek Cheon.

Clack!

The door opened, and the person who entered shook his head.

“…”

“…”

Everyone was speechless and just looked at the person who had come inside.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes?” answered Chung Myung, as if the fuss a second ago was a lie.

“….behave moderately.”

“Yes!”

Chung Myung turned and sat down.

“…”

Hong Dae-Kwang, who had just barely had his life saved, looked at Chung Myung with fear.

‘This guy is a complete madman.’

What kind of man has such rapid mood swings? It was hard for people to watch.

Un Geom, who came in, sat down at the seat he found, and after a moment’s silence, Hyun Jong said,

“Un Geom.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

A glimpse of pain was clear in Hyun Jong’s eyes as he looked at the fluttering sleeve.

“Are you already fine?”

“I know my body well. I will not overdo it and hurt myself, so do not worry, Sect Leader.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Beads of sweat began to move down.

Hyun Jong couldn’t hide his sad face. But he soon remembered that this was a place with many eyes and adjusted his face.

“Sit down.”

“Uh? Ah… yes!”

Hong Dae-Kwang sat down quickly.

At their sect leader’s direction, the other figures from the Mount Hua Sect sat down to Hong Dae-Kwang’s left and right. In the meantime, Hong Dae-Kwang was sitting alone, feeling the pressure of being there.

In particular, the dignity felt emanating from Hyun Jong made Hong Dae-Kwang tremble.

‘They say the position makes the person.’

No, the position was not what made a person, but their achievements.

This was not the first time he had met Hyun Jong. But the Hyun Jong he had seen so far and the one he was currently seeing looked the same, but they felt different.

Had Hyun Jong changed?

No.

What changed was Hyun Jong’s attitude toward him.

In the past, Hyun Jong was the sect leader of a sect called Mount Hua, a sect that had once been famous. But now that he had managed to fight against another clan and proven his strength, his presence felt different.

Whether or not he knew how Hong Dae-Kwang felt, Mount Hua’s sect leader smiled like before.

“Thank you for all the hard work you have done.”

“No, Sect Leader! How can you say that? Mount Hua and the Hua-Um Beggars Unions are like one family!”

The voice of Hong Dae-Kwang resounded around the room.

However, it seemed that someone didn’t like what he said.

“You must like your family. Even though you have nothing to provide.”

Hong Dae-Kwang desperately turned a blind eye to the mumblings of Chung Myung. This was the reason why his head, which was fixed forward, didn’t move to the side.

“Even I don’t think of the Beggars Union Branch as a stranger.”

“Thank you, Sect Leader!”

Hong Dae-Kwang bowed his head and thought,

‘A person needs to know how to walk the rope.’

When he had first stated his intentions to move the branch from Luoyang to Mount Hua.

‘That beggar has finally lost it.’

He remembered the faces of the people who pointed their fingers. How jealous they must now be of both the Hua-Um branch and Mount Hua.

This was why people needed to know how to hold onto little seeds in advance. It was clear that choosing Mount Hua without questioning its worth had brought Hong Dae-Kwang the best results.

However, another voice interrupted, making his pride die down.

“No, Sect Leader. We can discuss that later…”

…it was absolutely perfect, except for that one bastard from Mount Hua.

For real…

Hyun Jong smiled and continued,

“If the branch doesn’t think of Mount Hua as a stranger, I will be asking an unreasonable favor. As you know, it isn’t easy to predict how they will react if the situation is like this. If you can, can the Beggars Union lend its strength?”

“Of course, Sect Leader! How can that be an unreasonable request? I have already asked for assistance from the beggars in Guangxi!”

A bluff.

To be precise, he had only made a fussy report about how he had managed to monitor things, but…

‘And it wasn’t a complete lie.’

Because the Beggars Union was in a mess after seeing the Ten Thousand People Clan come into Shaanxi.

Perhaps the special alert had already been issued before Hong Dae-Kwang spoke about it.

“Hmm. As long as we keep an eye on them, I don’t think there will be any problems.”

Uh?

But why was everyone calling the evil clan ‘them’?

Hong Dae-Kwang tilted his head as he turned his head,

“Yes. We are monitoring the Ten Thousand People…”

“…UHHHHHHH.”

“…”

Hong Dae’Kwang’s head, which had been fixed forward this whole time, turned to the side.

Chung Myung, who was being held back by his shoulders by Baek Cheon and Yu Yiseol, who were both shaking.

“…so the Ten Thousand People…”

“UGHHHHHHHH.”

“…”

Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.

Human. Live like a human.

Please.

“Ahem.”

Hong Dae-Kwang cleared his throat and continued,

“The fact that the Evil Faction has led troops into Shaanxi has alerted all the nearby sects. This time it was a surprise attack, so we were late to handle it, but if it happens again, we will warn the other sects before they even arrive in Shaanxi. We can get support now.”

“Hm.”

“So, do not worry too much. Even if it is the Ten Thousand People….”

“Ugh!”

“…”

When the name of the Ten Thousand People Clan was mentioned, Chung Myung finally began to move,

“T-The need to kill! Those bastards need to be killed! Ten Thousand People Clan!”

When Chung Myung opened his eyes wide open and tried to get up, Baek Cheon rapped him on the head and pushed him down again.

“Ugh, Chung Myung!”

“You promised not to do it! Now is not the time!”

“Please, huh! Uh? Please!”

But Chung Myung was still losing it.

“No! I understand, but I cannot hold back! Let me go! I will go and kill that one! All I need to do is kill the one those bastards called their leader!?”

“Yah, stay still, you bastard!”

Hyun Jong smiled at the chaos happening in front of him.

‘Nothing changed.’

As a human being, one needs to go a little further and change little by little, experiencing various things. But, despite going through so much, this guy hadn’t changed.

At that time, Hyun Young let a bit of laughter leak out, as if he was watching his grandkids mess around.

“Hahaha! That guy is like an evergreen tree.”

‘That isn’t a word that is used to describe such humans, Hyun Young…’

Describing someone as an evergreen tree is a good thing. However, if you describe Chung Myung as evergreen, it means this dog would not stop biting people.

And, evergreen wasn’t a pitiful expression like that….

Chung Myung kept his eyes wide open as he grunted,

“The more I think about it, the angrier I get! Those bastards must be sleeping peacefully right now! I will just cut their heads off so their bodies don’t stretch out again!”

“…Chung Myung, we are the ones who won.”

“Is it something to be happy about after being beaten like that? If you get hit, get hit till you die!”

“…”

Oh heavens, was this child a Taoist?

What were you trying to do, making this child? Why?

But then a gentle voice came,

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes?”

“You are losing it. Calm down.”

“Yes!”

Chung Myung quieted down again like it all had been a lie. And everyone who had been sweating turned to Un Geom, looking at him with shock.

‘Oh my, that mad dog was quieted down with such few words.’

‘Is that what dignity is?’

‘Amazing.’

Since Chung Myung had entered Mount Hua, Un Geom achieved a feat no one had done before. As the room turned silent, he said,

“Sect Leader.”

“Yes, tell me, Un Geom.”

“Mount Hua has won a bit of a victory.”

A calm voice.

Which was why it felt even more powerful.

“It is a feat that will go down in the history of Mount Hua, winning without sacrificing a single life.”

No one dared to say such words till now.

And it was something only Un Geom could say,

“Things that are happy need to be properly celebrated. But the atmosphere right now is too heavy. The elders should be happier, the sect leader should be happy so that the kids can rejoice without too many thoughts in their minds.”

“… Um, right.”

“Achievements should be rewarded in the right manner. This victory will be a great experience and stimulus for the children. So I hope you will stop covering this up.”

“Huh? Did I have such a bad face?”

Hyun Jong touched his face… and Un Geom smiled.

“It is better now, Sect Leader.”

The back of Un Geom’s head was wet as if it was tiring to sit down, and seeing that, Hyun Jong closed his eyes.

‘Thank you.’

Knowing about Un Geom’s injury, no one could even enjoy this victory. So who could discuss such a victory with a swordsman who lost his arm in that fight?

However, thanks to Un Geom, everyone felt relieved.

It was Hyun Jong who realized all over again that each one of them was supporting Mount Hua.

He cleared his throat because it felt clogged, and he said,

“Disciples, listen.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“We defeated the enemy amazingly. Of course, that isn’t the end now. But, we can be proud of what we have achieved.”

The faces of the disciples were slightly better now.

“All you have to do is honestly just enjoy the victories you have achieved and reflect back on the mistakes that have happened. Stand tall as you all have done great.”

Hyun Jong smiled as he looked at his disciples.

“Hyun Young.”

“Yes.”

“It is fine to enjoy a day or two. Serve the children a drink. And let us drink and eat till our heart’s content tonight!”

“Yes!”

Joy spread across the faces of all.

This was the moment Mount Hua declared complete victory.