“Then rest!”

“Eat a lot and rest well!”

The young leader of the Ghost Clan… No, Do Un-Chan, now the clan leader of the Ghost Clan, smiled and held the hands of Chung Myung.

“Young Disciple, thank you so much.”

“Eh. It was nothing.”

Chung Myung looked around and whispered so only Do Un-Chan could hear him.

“I will do what you asked.”

“You mean about the Ten Thousand People Clan?”

“Yes.”

Do Un-Chan nodded,

“Do not worry. If they show any suspicious movements, I will report to Mount Hua right away.”

“I will not ask anything more if you can do that.”

“But… is there any reason for us to do it? The Beggars Union…”

“Ah, that?”

Chung Myung glanced at Hong Dae-Kwang.

“What should I say… Well… like I don’t believe it…”

Hong Dae-Kwang shouted from a distance, knowing that he was being talked about,

“Uh? What did you say, Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon?”

“Nothing. Nothing. It is nothing.”

Hong Dae-Kwang tilted his head, and Chung Myung waved his hand.

Do Un-Chan smiled bitterly.

“…anyway, I get it.”

Actually, it wasn’t that Chung Myung didn’t believe in Hong Dae-Kwang. He didn’t believe in the Beggars Union. And to put it more precisely, this fear was born from an overall mistrust of anyone from within the Nine Great Sects.

Now that the sects were clearly divided on both teachings and beliefs, the rising Mount Hua was now a concern for all. Didn’t Mount Hua clearly see how people of the Justice Faction had also betrayed their teachings?

Chung Myung wasn’t so stupid to let the same thing happen again.

At least he had no intention of putting all his trust into Hong Dae-Kwang, at least not until he had risen to a position no one could ignore.

‘And the Ghost Clan is in Guizhou, which is close to Guangxi.’

There was no better clan suited for keeping an eye on them.

“If you have any other problems, please feel free to contact Mount Hua.”

“Of course.”

While Chung Myung and Do Un-Chan were talking, the other disciples from Mount Hua and the Ghost Clan were bidding farewell to each other.

“Bye.”

“Travel safely.”

Akso and Baek Cheon looked at each other and…

“Do not go to a place where you will be hit.”

“Next time we meet, run a little faster. You are slow.”

“…”

“…”

The two, who had been growling at each other, turned away.

“Then let’s meet next time.”

“Head back safely, you Mount Hua people!”

Chung Myung shook his head and smiled… then turned to Baek Cheon.

“…”

Before he knew it, Chung Myung had brought out their iron balls.

“You need to put them on.”

“…Ugh.”

Baek Cheon and the other disciples sighed and put the lumps of metal on their limbs. Then, Chung Myung’s eyes turned elsewhere.

“Mister Beggar. Do not think about slipping away and put it on.”

“…damned bastard!”

Hong Dae-Kwang clicked his tongue and put the balls on his wrist and ankles.

“Now drag it.”

“…”

At those words, everyone clung to the cart.

“Let’s go!”

“Ugh!”

“Ugh!”

The heavy cart began to slowly move forward, and Akso, who was standing there, frowned.

“That skinny bastard…”

The sajae to his side mumbled,

“That Baek Cheon guy, didn’t he look stubborn? To win in the end…”

Before he could finish, the Ghost Clan disciples complained,

“Fucking pathetic!”

“So stubborn!”

“Are they Taoists?!”

As their voices grew louder, Akso frowned,

“What was that?”

He sighed.

“That Baek Cheon guy is…! He…”

“Who?”

“…”

Only then did the Ghost Clan disciples go silent and turn to Akso.

Akso glared at them with cold eyes,

“Although I am proud of my skills, the Ghost Clan isn’t yet a great clan that can be compared with Mount Hua. And Baek Cheon is a rising warrior who already has a title. If we had met in the outside world instead of here, I wouldn’t have dared to even talk with him.”

“…that is right…”

“And Baek Cheon knows best. If he had thought of himself as a prestigious sect’s disciple, he wouldn’t have even bothered talking to us.”

At those words, his sajaes nodded.

Actually, wasn’t this something everyone knew?

“But, how is he? He looks at us, grits his teeth, curses at us, and even gets angry with us. Do you know what that means?”

“…bad character?”

“…”

Uh…

That is true. That is true… but…

Akso cleared his throat before responding,

“He didn’t think that we were inferior to him. Wasn’t he fighting like he really meant it?”

“…Ah.”

“Sure, their methods are rough and irritating to counter, but… right. He didn’t look down on us. And what are we if we curse that?”

At Akso’s words, the disciples of the Ghost Clan lowered their heads.

“Do not curse those who reveal their true intentions without knowing this. They are a hundred times better than those who hide their true feelings and pretend to be nice!”

“…I understand, Sahyung.”

“I apologize.”

Do Un-chan, who was quietly listening to Akso, smiled.

‘Akso saw them properly.’

Of course, they were bizarre and radical, but he had seen the right things within them.

‘Now the Ghost Clan will change.’

Do Un-Chan never believed that they would harm the Ghost Clan.

He smiled and looked at the receding backs of the Mount Hua disciples for a long time.

‘Take care, Disciple.’

“Ughh.”

“Phew.”

“Uhhhhh.”

The cart continued to creak as it was pulled toward the west.

Chung Myung poked his head out and mumbled,

“Isn’t our speed slow?”

“What, you bastard?”

“So what?”

“Then you drag this too!”

As their words poured in like knives, Chung Myung went back to staying silent.

‘My sahyungs are all too extreme now.’

Uh?

Hae Yeon?

Come to think of it, it looked like he was also cursing…?

After realizing that their patience had hit the limit, he smiled.

“Well, since everyone seems to be having a hard time, I will give you a chance.”

“What is that?!”

“What else are you going to harass us with!”

“I won’t listen! Get lost!”

Chung Myung shrugged,

“It is a good one, though?”

“I don’t want to listen!”

“It should be a bit better than what you think.”

“…so?”

“If you can go all the way to the Tang Family without stopping, I will not bother you on the way back to Mount Hua.”

“What?”

Baek Cheon, who had been staring straight forward the whole time, turned around.

“For real?”

“Do I ever lie… no, this time, it is for real.”

Thinking of the obvious answer to the question, Chung Myung changed his wording.

“What is wrong with him? We can come back safely?”

“Eat rice and stew?”

“Do we get to sleep in an inn instead of on the grass?”

“Amitabha! No sleeping on the grass because I eat grass, and they are similar?”

“…Monk. You went through all that?”

At the reaction of the shocked Mount Hua disciples, Hae Yeon’s eyes were clouded with tears.

‘There is no other Mara¹.’

See there, the Mara!

Everyone was frightened, but Chung Myung was calm,

“Yes. Because we should head back comfortably, I will sell this cart too.”

All the disciples from Mount Hua looked shocked.

Actually, when they thought about it, it felt too obvious. Isn’t this the spirit of Kangho? Walking down the road, enjoying the taste of food.

But the disciples from Mount Hua had never gotten to enjoy that.

“If you change the deal in any way later, I will skin you alive!”

“I want to know too! Are you really doing this?!”

“Right, what is with all these doubts you have?”

Chung Myung smiled,

“Instead, we continuously march to the Tang Family. You get that? No rest at night.”

Everyone’s eyes turned.

“Let’s us go right now Sasuk!”

“Right! Right! Let’s go somewhere and then drink!”

Baek Cheon grabbed the rod connected to the cart.

“We now go to the Sichuan Tang family without stopping!”

“Ohh!”

“Run!”

“Amitabha!”

Golden light shone from the eyes of Hae Yeon.

“I will speed up, hold on tight.”

“Let’s go, Monk!”

“Let’s go, Fallen Man!”

“What! What was that, you bastard!”

In the midst of the chaos, Hae Yeon summoned more qi to help him run.

“AHHHHH!”

“We rest only after reaching our destination!”

“MOVEEEEE!”

Hong Dae-Kwang smiled.

‘Shit, fucking shit!’

The cart moved, and the wind cut across.

Straight to Sichuan.

The Sichuan Tang family.

The ruler of Chengdu, the ruler of Sichuan Tang… The Tang Family was strong because of their knowledge of martial arts and their ability to deal with poison. Yet, they were usually forced to remain quiet.

However, Sichuan Tang was now noisy.

“Oh my! Here it is! Here are twenty bottles of Sichuan liquor! Wuliang liquor!”

People clung to a wooden cart that had entered the Tang Family and were moving alcohol bottles.

“What is this?! I must have told you to bring thirty of them!”

“Oh my god! So many precious things at once! Now the others are coming please wait!”

“Hurry! Do you understand?”

“Yes! Why would we neglect your words!”

It wasn’t just alcohol.

Countless carts came through the wide gates. The Tang Family’s kitchen was busy preparing different foods.

“Is everything going well?”

“Of course it is, General! Do not worry!”

Despite the trustworthy reply, the so-called general frowned, looking around.

“It isn’t that I don’t believe you, but the head is very concerned about this. If there is a problem, it won’t end with just him swearing. Do you know what I mean?”

“W-We do!”

The man broke into a sweat and nodded his head.

“This is a place where precious guests are coming. Make sure to do your best.”

“Yes!”

The general looked at the kitchen and went out. The place he was heading to was where the lord stayed,

“Lord. It is the general.”

“Come in.”

The general carefully opened the door and entered, seeing Tang Gunak sitting on the topmost seat with Tang Pae and Tang Zhan.

“The preparations are almost complete.”

“There is no need to make such a fuss over it.”

“…”

Isn’t this what he ordered?

When Tang Sang-Su didn’t answer back, Tang Pae cleared his throat and, realizing that it was a signal, he lowered his head.

“Still, guests are coming, shouldn’t we be careful? Please understand our concerns.”

“Yes, right.”

Tang Sang-Su stepped back.

And Tang Gunak looked as calm as he could, but when Mount Hua’s name came out, it felt like too much to handle.

It wasn’t like they couldn’t understand, the head’s only daughter, who had gone there, was coming back.

“Anyway!”

“Yes, Lord!”

Tang Gunak shouted, and both his sons bowed their heads.

“Although they are close friends, Kangho is a place where the strong prove their worth. Do not act shamelessly in front of the disciples of Mount Hua!”

“I will keep that in mind!”

“And no matter how good Mount Hua is right now, we, the Tang Family, cannot be far behind Mount Hua. Act with confidence.”

“Yes!”

“And…”

“Lord! Mount Hua people are coming!”

Bang!

“…”

Tang Gunak, who had been stuck in place, got up. And the two brothers looked at the half-broken door and sighed.

“…make sure to follow his words.”

Tang Pae clicked his tongue at Tang Zhan’s mumble.

“Tch. You didn’t understand what Father said.”

“Uh?”

“Didn’t he tell us to protect things?”

“…”

“It was only for you.”

“Ah…”

He still couldn’t understand…

“It is the Tang Family!”

“Damn it! Tang Family!”

“Now, wait a moment! Sasuk! My house is there! My…!”

“Shut up! Go there later!”

Mount Hua’s disciples ignored the cries of Jo Gul and rushed toward the Tang Family.

“Get out!”

“Move out of my way!”

“Someone wash the head of Monk Hae Yeon! It doesn’t seem like light is hitting him properly! It has to be shiny for people to avoid it!”

“No, I kept asking what this is! Just where did you sell your character!”

Grrrr!

The cart that rushed for the Tang Family moved faster than one drawn by horses whose tails were on fire.

The eyes of the disciples shone with madness.

“AHHHHH!”

“Arrived! Arri…!”

But the moment they were ready to push through the gate.

The wheels, which were creaking and screaming, finally made a different noise.

“Uh?”

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

The Mount Hua disciples jumped up as the cart began to sink to the ground.

Thud! Thud!

“…”

The Tang Family members, who were lined up at the gate to welcome their guests, could only blankly stare at this.

“…”

Tang Gunak’s eyes trembled at the sight of the Mount Hua disciples.

And then…

Jump!

A person who had fallen forward jumped up.

“Ugh!”

Their nose was bleeding, their mouth wide from gasping, but they confidently walked forward with the momentum of a raging spear.

Tang Gunak’s eyes twitched at this.

Thud!

Standing in front of everything, they opened their arms wide and said,

“Father! Soso has returned!”

“…”

It was more dramatic and splendid than the term ‘returned’ implied.