The morning was bright.

With a happy face, Hyun Jong looked at the disciples of Mount Hua, who were lined up in front of him.

These days, there had been a few accidents, but weren’t they all proud disciples from Mount Hua, disciples who defeated the bad people?

On such a special day like today, first of all, seeing the dignified appearance of his children…

Dignified…

‘Uh?’

What? Obviously dignified.

Those broad shoulders.

But the heads on those shoulders were becoming blackish and bluish…

“… you were hit?”

“…”

The disciple’s eyes avoided Hyun Jong’s gaze without answering. Seeing this, Hyun Jong’s face turned red, and he began to scream,

“Chung Myung!!! You bastarddd!!”

“Uh?”

Chung Myung, who had been standing there blankly, widened his eyes. And this made Hyun Jong even angrier.

“Are you really beating your sasuks and sahyungs until their eyes are bruised?”

“Me?”

Chung Myung narrowed his eyes, pointing to himself.

“Right! Who else could have done such a thing!”

“Me?”

“Yes! You!”

Chung Myung’s head turned to the side.

Flinch.

Receiving his gaze, Baek Cheon quietly whistled and looked at the distant mountains.

“… sigh.”

Even if you cursed someone in life, wasn’t it Chung Myung who constantly cursed others? But this moment felt particularly unfair.

“I…”

That fuckin’ Sasuk had lost it finally!

Just as Chung Myung was about to complain about this injustice.

“If they did something wrong, then they need to be hit.”

“You shut up! You!”

When Hyun Young sneakily helped Chung Myung, Hyun Jong shouted.

The sad thing was that even Hyun Young had no doubts that the one who hit these kids was Chung Myung.

“I didn’t hit them.”

“Then who will hit them? Who!”

At Hyun Jong’s questions, the disciples all turned their heads to one place.

“…”

And so did Hyun Jong, until he felt all hope was lost.

“You…?”

His face was drenched in despair as he stared at one person.

Righteous Sword of Mount Hua; Baek Cheon; the great sahyung of the baek disciples; and a swordsman from Mount Hua, was desperately avoiding his gaze.

“…”

You?

You and not Chung Myung?

Baek Cheon?

“Ahem.”

Baek Cheon covered his mouth with a fist and cleared his throat.

And looking straight at Hyun Jong, he spoke with confident words,

“Since this martial sect had its disciples shaken, I admonished the children as the great sahyung of Mount Hua.”

“Admonish?”

“Yes!”

“… and since when did Mount Hua’s disciple have to be hit?”

“Uh?”

Baek Cheon, who had answered confidently until then, tilted his head.

“Come to think of it…”

“…”

Hyun Jong’s shoulders slumped; he was at a loss for words. Almost as if Hyun Sang recognized something, he wrapped his arms around the shoulders of Hyun Jong.

“This is where the kids leave. Calm down, Sect Leader.”

“…it is wrong. We have gone wrong.”

“That is not something to say in front of the children. Calm down, calm down. Hyun Young, take Sect Leader back for a second.”

“Yes, Sahyung.”

Hyun Young pulled Hyun Jong to the back.

“…Mount Hua… Mount Hua’s teachings…”

They could faintly hear Hyun Jong’s mumbling, but no one even listened closely to what he wanted to say.

“Ahem.”

Hyun Sang stepped forward and said,

“I will follow Chung Myung to Sichuan…”

“Elder.”

Baek Cheon quietly spoke up,

“Through a clear discussion among the disciples, we have decided on who will follow you on your trip to Sichuan.”

“… why is it you who decides that?”

“…”

Baek Cheon flinched like he hadn’t thought of this.

“Tch, tch. These guys are moving so fast now. Were your sahyung-sajaes hit because of that?”

“It isn’t a fight…”

Those idiots attacked me first!

But Baek Cheon couldn’t say that. Even thinking of words like that, made it feel as if Chung Myung had won.

“Baek Cheon, Yoon Jong, Jo Gul, Yu Yiseol, Tang Soso and Baek Sang.”

“Yes!”

Those who were called stepped forward.

“Baek Cheon.”

“Yes, Elder.”

“Normally, Hyun Young and I should be directing this task. But things aren’t going well this time, and I wanted to send Un Geom. However, this would be difficult, so I have no one to send. You can lead them, right?”

“Yes, Elder. Do not worry,” confidently replied Baek Cheon.

“I have done so before, so there shouldn’t be too much difficulty.”

“Yes. The leaders of the Ghost Clan will be accompanying you, so make sure that nothing goes wrong.”

“Yes!”

A whisper came from behind Baek Cheon.

“If this was going to happen, why were we hit?”

They didn’t mind being hit by Baek Cheon, but the real pain was from the attacks of Yu Yiseol, who had suddenly joined the fight.

“She doesn’t have blood or tears!”

“We are their sajaes, shouldn’t they show mercy!”

“They should just throw away the titles they have!”

Baek Cheon could hear what they whispered without having to turn his head back.

“I can hear everything.”

“…”

“Should we go another round before I leave?”

“…No.”

Showing his dignity as a great disciple, Baek Cheon shrugged.

Meanwhile, in the back, Chung Myung and Un Geom were talking.

“I will handle them, so don’t worry.”

“Worry? I always believed in you, Training Master.”

Chung Myung smiled brightly.

“It just takes one…”

“Um?”

“Hehe. Well, there is something as such. When you see the disciples on the ground, your heart goes weak, and you might wonder if it is really necessary to do so. But then…”

“When something like this happens, it means saving the lives of the children, right?”

“Exactly! As expected of Training Master!”

“You mean the more I turn into a devil, the more safe the children will be?”

“Yes.”

Un Geom silently nodded.

“Do not worry. I will do anything for the safety of my kids.”

Chung Myung looked at Un Geom.

“I will train them enough, so you will be surprised upon your return.”

“Yes!”

“And…”

Un Geom calmly looked at Chung Myung a couple of times and softly spoke,

“Thank you.”

“Eh. What is up with that?”

“…”

Un Geom’s eyes looked at Chung Myung with pride.

Last night, Chung Myung visited and handed out two books. It was the Equilibrium of Six and the Seven Plum Blossom Sword. They were the basic techniques of Mount Hua.

But, the versions Chung Myung gave were special. They had been specifically made for Un Geom, who was now left-handed.

It was a new method, written in consideration of the balance and weight change that accompanied losing an arm.

‘It is amazing to be able to have that and use it.’

But what was even more surprising was the effort and sincerity put into creating the technique, which was made specifically for Un Geom.

“Don’t worry, and leave. My disciples will be strong, and I, who will be leading them, will also be strong.”

Looking at his eyes burning with determination, Chung Myung tilted his head.

‘Did I overdo it?’

Hopefully, he wouldn’t go after the kids, right?

Ehh.

Hwa-Um prefecture.

The scrap metal was placed into a large cart, and the disciples from Mount Hua tied it up, so it would not fall.

“… but this cart looks as if it is also made of iron?”

“Cold iron is heavy, so what can drag it? Do you think a wooden cart will be able to pull its’ weight?”

Baek Cheon, who was looking at the cart, said,

“Chung Myung.”

“Uh?”

“How many horses did you prepare?”

“Seven.”

“Well. Don’t you think seven is a small number? Can seven drag this?”

“It is fine. They are strong.”

“That is good then, but where are the horses? We need to weave them into the cart right now. Perhaps Eunha…”

“They are here.”

“Uh? Here?”

“Here.”

Chung Myung pointed to Baek Cheon with his chin. And standing next to Baek Cheon, he looked at all the other disciples.

“You can use internal qi and footwork. This isn’t a big thing.”

“…”

“Do not worry. I specially ordered this cart. No matter how hard you run, the cart will not break. You can run as fast as you like.”

“Shit…”

“Uh?”

“…Nothing.”

Baek Cheon nodded his head with tears in his eyes.

This wasn’t a surprise. He knew somewhere in his heart that this bastard would not let them rest.

This was how it always was.

“Disciple Chung Myung. Can I move it here?”

“Oh, you are here. I have been waiting for it. Leave it there.”

“Yes!”

The members of the merchant guild groaned as they put something in front of Chung Myung.

Thud!

These several crates of things made a clacking noise when dropped.

‘What?’

Everyone except for Chung Myung looked inside the boxes with anxiety.

‘Balls?’

Large iron balls were within the box; the strange thing was that the balls had a hole slightly smaller than a human fist.

“It is a strange thing.”

“Oh? Does it look like a lock? This looks like something is going to happen. Haha…”

A rare thing…

Too rare…

“Now.”

“… Uh?”

“Wear that on your limbs.”

“…”

Baek Cheon looked at Chung Myung and inside the box.

“This?”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung had a bright smile,

“It got finished right on time. It cost me good money.”

“…”

“What are you all doing?”

Everyone’s eyes trembled.

‘…that bastard…’

This was a mistake.

Chung Myung, they had looked down on this guy. No matter how hard the training on Mount Hua was, it was much worse being next to him!

“We don’t have time, so hurry up. Or should I put them on for you?”

“… No.”

Giving up on everything, Baek Cheon weakly picked up the iron balls in the box.

“W-What? Does it have to be this heavy?”

“Black iron. Known to be ten times heavier than iron.”

Hwang Jongi spoke with a bright face.

“Hahaha! It is hard to get!”

Do not laugh man!

No, wasn’t this guy a bit insane too? Wasn’t he laughing at them?

“Ah, hurry up, I don’t have time.”

“Phew….”

Everyone wore their black iron balls on their wrists and ankles.

“Kuaak.”

“Wow… wow… this.”

“M-My shoulder is falling off.”

It felt like the black balls were pulling down their arms.

“Now that our preparations are all finished, should we finally move?”

Chung Myung pointed to the iron cart.

The horses of Mount Hua… No, the disciples trudged forward and took their respective positions with blank eyes, which said they had given up on everything. Normally a man pulling a cart should be a strange sight to see, but Chung Myung wasn’t too happy.

“What are you doing?”

“…Uh?”

“Why? You want to ride?”

“…”

Hae Yeon, who had been avoiding Chung Myung’s gaze from behind the cart, moved forward.

“Move quickly.”

“…yes.”

Clack.

Hae Yeon, who also had iron balls wrapped around his body, headed to the front of the cart like a cow being prepared for slaughter.

“Look at them.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue and turned to Hwang Jongi with a smile.

“You did so much.”

“What much? Just be careful.”

“And please solve that problem.”

“Yes. We just received a letter from the Elder of the guild, and we will share the same thoughts as you, Disciple.”

“… you surely are like a ghost that won the lottery.”

“Hahaha. Isn’t that what it means to be a merchant?”

After exchanging vague words, the two shook hands.

“Okay, then…”

“Yah! Yah! Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon!”

Now as they were about to start, a person jumped up from afar.

“Where are you going again? Take me with you too!”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“No, the beggar does nothing but blame us, so why are you coming with us?”

Hong Dae-Kwang, who arrived near Chung Myung, bent down, gasping for breath, and shouted,

“Brat! Wherever you go, you have to get reports from me!”

“You want to come?”

“Of course! Who will give you information without me, huh? And I need to report back to the branch too. If you take me with you, you will also know if something is happening on Mount Hua.”

“Hmm.”

But Chung Myung looked like he didn’t want him still. Hong Dae-Kwang hit his chest,

“Ha… Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon! I am Hong Dae-Kwang!”

“So?”

“You still don’t realize how useful I am? I have come up with information which will surprise you. This time too!”

“This time too?”

When Chung Myung finally showed interest, Hong Dae-Kwang glanced to the sides and moved closer,

“According to the information we got, it seems like the Sichuan Tang Family Head went to the Ten Thousand People Clan alone.”

“Uh?”

Chung Myung was wide-eyed.

“And what happened?”

“Well. I don’t know what happened inside, I just heard that he came out without wounds and returned back to Sichuan?”

“…”

Chung Myung went silent as if lost in thought and turned to Sichuan.

‘Overdid it.’

He could guess what had happened. And he felt like their stay would be long.

“See! I am such a useful human being! So take me along!”

Hong Dae-kwang spread his shoulders wide. Chung Myung still looked like he didn’t want to take him, but he still nodded.

“Yes, well. Let’s go.”

“Huhuhu, nice!”

Chung Myung turned his head and said to Hwang Jongi,

“Young Master.”

“Uh?”

“Any iron balls left?”

Hwang Jongi looked at Chung Myung and then at Hong Dae-Kwang and nodded.

“… I do have some.”

“Good.”

“Uh? Iron balls?”

Hong Dae-Kwang came late, so he didn’t know what had happened a couple of seconds ago.

And after a while…

“AHHHHHH! Damn ITTTTTTTT!”

The beggar had walked into hell on his own feet and began to pull the cart to Sichuan.