Thud~ thud!
The disciples of Mount Hua, who had parked their carts in front of the manor, all collapsed onto the ground.
"Ughh…"
"I-I am done…"
"Finally… finally, damn it…"
It was a sight worthy of applause. After shuttling back and forth between the regions of Wuhan and the Yangtze River several times in one day, they had finally succeeded in moving all the refugees who wished to migrate to Sichuan to this point.
"… I cannot do it again. Not again."
"Same here."
The disciples of Mount Hua shuddered.
Of course, some might question this. How could it be so hard for such physically trained warriors to travel between Wuhan and the Yangtze River?
If they had just gone back and forth, it wouldn't have been so hard. If only there hadn't been that devil behind them, yelling at them to move faster.
"Tsk!"
That devil had jumped down from the cart and looked around with a displeased expression.
"… What's so hard about that, tsk."
"…"
"I think we can go one more time."
"It is done for today, you moron!"
"We robbed the entire village of its people!"
"We even took dogs from the cages! What else do you want us to move?"
"Kill him! Just kill him!"
As Mount Hua's disciples frothed and groaned, Chung Myung licked his lips as if he were disappointed.
If there was even a little bit of room, he would roll these damned things one more time, but unfortunately, Chung Myung could no longer move anything.
At that moment, Hyun Jong got off the cart and looked down at the disciples with a sad face.
"You have all suffered so much."
"No, sect leader!"
"It is something we should have done!"
The disciples of Mount Hua, who had been lying down, suddenly got up from their places and answered. Chung Myung's cheeks swelled up when he saw that.
"Woah, you all discriminate against people."
"Do you not discriminate?"
"Of course I should!"
"That guy has gone insane, and now he wants to be treated the same as the sect leader!"
"This punk doesn't know his place!"
Chung Myung tilted his head as he listened to the complaints pouring out.
'We should do something about it soon.'
Those who were obedient when they were beaten up after the Closed Gate was put on started crawling back up again after drinking some water from the outside. In times like this, you should just stab that swollen liver with a needle and make it burst.
"Hyun Young."
"Yes, sect leader."
"All done?"
In response to Hyun Jong's question, Hyun Young took out the ledger and flipped through it to check.
"Yes, sect leader. We have completed all the preparations for moving without exception. In addition, all the civilians who wanted to go with us have come over, and we have checked with the remaining people one by one, so there is nothing more to do."
"Hmm. Right."
Hyun Jong's expression was not very bright.
Mount Hua did its very best and did everything it could, but there were still many who wanted to stay in the Yangtze River. So it was impossible to simply be happy that it was done.
But it was impossible to show such feelings in front of the disciples who had suffered so much. Hyun Jong nodded with a warm smile.
"You have all suffered so much, let us rest for a while."
"Yes! Sect leader!"
"T-thank you!"
The disciples' eyes widened at the warm words.
But Chung Myung kept mumbling as if he wasn't happy that Hyun Jong had given them time to rest.
"What did they even do to get rest? They haven't been able to train all this time, and now that they are done with the chores, they should start training. Their swords will get rusty at this rate. They should train when they are exhausted like this so that their sword skills won't get messed up when they get exhausted…"
"Hehehehe!"
Hyun Jong buried the grumbling with his big, loud laugh.
Chung Myung couldn't continue teasing the sect leader, so he began to glare at the disciples who were looking around.
At his dazzling eyes, Mount Hua's disciples trembled.
'Look at him, seriously.'
'Look at his eyes.'
'That bastard. Oh my, ancestors. That bastard is a bandit.'
Hyun Jong dragged Chung Myung, who was glaring at the Mount Hua disciples with eyes like a snake waiting for its prey.
"You go in and rest a bit."
"Ughh."
Chung Myung groaned as if he was still feeling sad, unable to let go of the ill feelings. At that time, Tang Gunak, who had come out of the manor, smiled broadly at the sight of the Mount Hua people, who had become familiar to him.
"You have done so much, alliance leader."
"No, no, it was nothing at all…."
Hyun Jong glanced at the tattered disciples, covered his mouth, and coughed in vain. Looking at that sight, he couldn't say they worked hard.
Tang Gunak looked at the Mount Hua disciples and asked. To be exact, he glanced at Chung Myung and the Five Swords.
"Then, are you planning on returning to Shaanxi now?"
"Hmm, well."
Hyun Jong sighed slightly with a troubled expression. Didn't they originally come here in response to the Tang family's request for support? It seemed that their work was done.
But there were many obstacles to returning to Shaanxi just like that.
"… I am worried for those who remain in the Yangtze River."
"Sect leader."
Tang Gunak shook his head.
"How could I not understand the feelings of the sect leader? But… as you already know, sect leader, if we fight to save them now, we will inevitably end up interfering with the affairs of the Yangtze River."
"Hmm."
"Isn't that different from what we thought?"
"I know. I know that, but…"
Hyun Jong glanced somewhere. At the end of his gaze was Chung Myung, looking south. Lately, Chung Myung had been staring towards the Yangtze River more often.
'He must be worried.'
There are times when a person's heart and mind are in conflict. Chung Myung was likely experiencing such a situation.
During these moments, the sect leader must calm his mind. Chung Myung's advice not to interfere with the affairs of the Yangtze River was not incorrect.
"… I think we should head back."
"Yes, alliance leader. I plan to lead those here to the Tang family and head to Sichuan."
"That would be the best decision."
Hyun Jong nodded quietly.
Ultimately, that would be the natural course of action. Facing Shaolin and Qingcheng would make it impossible to accomplish anything.
"I will rest a little, reorganize, and then head to Shaanxi."
"Yes, please do so."
Tang Gunak smiled broadly. Initially, the Tang family had lingering desires, but when many of their supporters were relocated to Sichuan, those desires seemed to fade significantly.
It must have been regrettable, but it couldn't compare to simply letting go and leaving.
"Yes. Then…"
Just as Hyun Jong was calling the disciples and heading into the manor.
"Hmm?"
Tang Gunak turned his head to one side. He sensed the presence of those approaching quickly.
'A warrior?'
Judging by the speed and momentum, it seemed the approaching group was no ordinary group of civilians.
Hyun Jong and the Mount Hua disciples also sensed the presence, so they all stood up, looking in that direction.
And then.
Pat!
A person appeared, pushing through the thick bushes as if they were going to crush them. Tang Gunak couldn't hide his confusion upon seeing the person.
"… elder?"
The person who appeared was indeed an elder of the Beggars Union, the Gentle Crow Beggar. Although they hadn't been in contact, as the head of the Tang family, there was no way Tang Gunak wouldn't recognize an elder of the Beggars Union.
"How are you here…"
Even his appearance was odd.
The rags were the symbol of the Beggars' Union. However, Gentle Crow Beggar was not wearing that robe there. What was even odder was that the Beggars Union warriors who came after him were wearing only pants.
"Euk! Euk!"
Gentle Crow wiped the sweat off his face with one hand.
"… Lord."
He then looked at Hyun Jong, who was standing next to Tang Gunak.
"Sect leader."
He opened his mouth with a stiff face.
"… I brought someone who wanted to meet you two."
"Uh?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a man got down from the sweaty backs of the Beggars' Union disciples. He seemed to have no strength to support himself, so he used the sword he was holding as a cane.
Everyone who saw him gasped. It was not enough to call his appearance miserable.
The clothes were soaked in red blood and stuck to the skin. His body, visible through the torn clothes, was full of horrifying wounds.
His hair was disheveled and flowing down, and his blue lips were dried and deformed, splitting around.
At first, no one recognized him. It was difficult to connect the messy appearance with the usual appearance, which was always gorgeous and handsome.
But someone who had been staring at the familiar appearance for a long time gasped and mumbled in a groan.
"Namgung…"
Those who heard that were shocked.
"Namgung… Do-Wei."
Everyone who belatedly learned the identity looked at him in shock.
No one wondered why Namgung Do-Wei, who should have been on Plum Blossom Island, was there. They just stared at Namgung Do-Wei's eyes, visible through the flowing hair.
Step.
At that moment, Namgung Do-Wei took a step with difficulty.
Step.
And another step.
Before he could even take two steps, he stumbled, and Gentle Crow Beggar flinched, trying to support him without realizing it. However, he soon bit his lip and pulled his hand away because he knew he shouldn't be helping Namgung Do-Wei now.
Tap. Tap.
The sword, which was as important as the life of a swordsman, repeatedly struck the dirty ground, but no one could point it out.
Everyone could see how much pain Namgung Do-Wei was enduring to take that one step.
Tap. Tap.
The steps, which continued without stopping, finally halted in front of someone.
In the silence, Namgung Do-Wei and Chung Myung's eyes met.
Namgung Do-Wei's eyes, which were constantly swaying as if they were longing for something, met Chung Myung's eyes, which looked at him without the slightest wavering.
"… Taoist."
Thud.
Namgung Do-Wei collapsed to his knees right then.
At first, the disciples of Mount Hua thought he had fainted and tried to run to him, but then they all halted in their tracks.
Namgung Do-Wei, who had been looking up at Chung Myung while kneeling, slowly lowered his head to the ground.
A cracked voice escaped from his mouth as he knelt down, looking like he might fall over.
"Hel…"
"…."
"… please help."
Everyone closed their eyes at that.
Baek Cheon, Yu Yiseol, Yoon Jong, Jo Gul, Tang Soso, Hyung Jong, and the elders, along with the Un disciples and the other disciples of Mount Hua.
It was too painful for them to see it calmly.
"Us Namgung…."
A voice, which sounded close to scraping iron, continued.
He didn't vent his anger. He didn't scream. In some ways, it felt excessively calm, but the desperation in the voice was clearly conveyed to everyone.
"Help… Namgung."
Namgung Do-Wei, who had his head bowed, grabbed the dirt on the ground like he was scraping it.
"… Please."
Chung Myung, who had been silently watching Namgung Do-Wei's kneeling body with a straight back, eventually turned his head away.
The darkest night sky before dawn filled his field of vision.
'Damn it…'
A deep sigh escaped from Chung Myung's mouth.