Whoosh.
The disciples of Mount Hua dashed out like the wind. Yet, they kept glancing at the child cradled in Tang Soso's arms.
"…Are they really okay?"
"I said they're fine."
"…Are you really sure?"
"I told you, they're fine!"
"So really…"
"You, huh?"
Tang Soso, who had been patient all along, finally flared up, and Baek Cheon winced.
"Ah, no. I was just worried…"
Seeing Baek Cheon act unusually like a fool, she shook her head.
"The child is fine. Just exhausted. Rather, that person is the problem."
At those words, everyone's gaze snapped back to the woman carried on Yu Yiseol's back.
"If we had found her just a little later, it would have been truly irreversible."
"Ah…"
At those words, everyone shuddered.
Had they simply left Hangzhou, this woman and child would have been buried in the debris and lost their lives. In such an exhausted state, they could not have escaped alone.
"Nothing bad will happen, right…?"
"No, absolutely not!"
"Please shut your mouth, Taoist!"
"Enough!"
"…Sorry, but who was that last guy?"
Baek Cheon glared fiercely, and Jo Gul quietly turned his head. Baek Cheon gritted his teeth but held back, as there was no time to waste hitting someone like Jo Gul now.
First, they had to move that child to a safe place as quickly as possible.
"What about the Yangtze River?"
Im So-Byeong, following behind, answered in a slightly urgent tone.
"If we run north, it takes a full day."
Then Baek Cheon's gaze turned to the woman carried by Yu Yiseol. Since Tang Soso said she was fine, no immediate danger was expected, but he still felt uneasy.
Perhaps the urgency he felt was not rational. It might be the anxiety of never wanting to lose what they barely saved from the dreadful Hangzhou.
But Baek Cheon knows that sometimes something more important than reason exists. The anxiety they feel now is not wrong.
"Sasuk!"
"Yes. Let's increase the speed."
"W-wait! Taoists! Faster from here?"
Im So-Byeong shouted with a face that said, 'Hey, you crazy bastards! Are you serious right now?' but Baek Cheon only glanced elsewhere without answering.
Im So-Byeong naturally followed Baek Cheon's gaze. Namgung Do-Wei's face was pale blue, clearly saying, 'Even if I die running, I will never slow down!'
"…So this is why Father told me not to associate with those Justice faction bastards…"
Who said the Evil Sect guys were crazy? Those who say that should all be caught and thrown to that crazy Mount Hua sect.
"Run!"
"Eek! C-come with me!"
Im So-Byeong was terrified but followed the speeding disciples of Mount Hua.
For others, it might be just keeping pace, but for Im So-Byeong, it was a matter of survival. If he were left behind alone in this Jiangnan land, who knows what would happen next.
"Ah, no. C-come with me… cough I'm sick too… cough Am I not sick? You bastards! cough cough cough!"
Im So-Byeong, his insides churning, coughed as if about to spit out his lungs, but surprisingly, no one paid him any attention.
Actually, one person did glance his way. Perhaps out of a bit more affection than others, Chung Myung looked back with slightly pitying eyes.
"What!"
It was the moment Im So-Byeong was about to shout with a face full of emotion.
"Tsk tsk. That Evil Sect bastard. I wondered when he'd die, and looks like it's finally now."
"…"
"Whether you die here alone or while running, death is death. Might as well get buried early, right? Isn't that the way to leave a whole corpse?"
"…You bastard…"
"What?"
"cough cough cough"
Im So-Byeong quickly coughed and avoided Chung Myung's gaze. Of course, he cursed inwardly.
'Did I say something wrong, you bastard?'
Those bastards talk about compassion. The Grand Elder might get so mad he'd knee them in the head.
"Ugh…"
At that moment, a low moan escaped from the woman being carried on Yu Yiseol's back. Everyone stopped talking and looked back at her. It wasn't a moan of regaining consciousness, but just a sound that slipped out.
"Samae, are you okay? Shall we switch?"
"I'll do it."
"…Alright."
Baek Cheon quietly nodded.
For a woman of the murim world, it might be nothing, but for a private person like a woman, being carried on a strange person's back could be a big deal. So, among them, the woman, Yu Yiseol had no choice but to carry her.
'It must be hard.'
Baek Cheon looked at Yu Yiseol with pity.
Running while carrying a patient is harder than one thinks. Any shaking can worsen the patient's condition, so even stepping carefully requires great attention. It consumes twice the usual stamina and internal qi.
But Yu Yiseol ran carrying the woman without a single complaint. Responsibility deeply seeped from her expressionless face.
"Soso, shall I hold the child?"
"Take your hands off, sahyung! Don't put those dirty hands on the child!"
"…Dirty, huh."
In a corner, Jo Gul was deeply hurt by those words. But Tang Soso absolutely refused to hand over the child and bared her teeth.
"Anyone else is fine, but not sahyung."
"That's right."
"You go back there. If the child wakes and sees your face, the child will have a seizure."
"…Seriously these guys…"
The disciples of Mount Hua pushed forward quickly. Though joking to shake off the tension of a possible Evil Sect Alliance attack, their movements were desperate.
"Huff… huff!"
As time passed, Im So-Byeong, who had kept up well, began to lag behind. His chronic illness inevitably affected his stamina. Besides, he hadn't stopped pushing himself since departure.
The disciples of Mount Hua tried to glance back for a moment, but a calm voice pierced their ears.
"Just run."
After saying that, Chung Myung slipped back. Then, with a displeased expression, he placed his hand on Im So-Byeong's back.
"What kind of bandit has such weak stamina?"
"W-why would a bandit run like this… cough What is there!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"S-still, huff! I am helping…"
Chung Myung clicked his tongue lightly.
"Well, you earned your keep, at least."
If not for Im So-Byeong, they would have all died when the Black Ghost Fortress attacked. He never thought he'd say he owed his life to an Evil Sect guy.
"Run faster, bandit bastard. Before I really leave you behind."
"…You scoundrel."
"Huh?"
"…Nothing."
Im So-Byeong pouted and pushed strength into his legs. The hat on his head was crumpled and slipped down. Still, thanks to Chung Myung pushing his back, he regained some composure.
Then suddenly, he slowed down again. Chung Myung asked curiously.
"What are you doing, bastard?"
"Wait a moment."
Im So-Byeong, having put some distance from the others, spoke in a low voice.
"Isn't it a bit strange, Taoist?"
"What is?"
"That woman and child."
Looking at the woman carried on Yu Yiseol's back, Im So-Byeong narrowed his eyes.
"We searched just in case, but there were no other survivors around."
"…"
"Even strong men couldn't endure it, so how could a woman like that survive the collision… It's just…"
Chung Myung didn't answer and kept running. Seeing his grim expression, Im So-Byeong didn't press for an answer and ran silently. After a long while, he spoke again, his voice very heavy.
"Am I right in my guess?"
"…I don't know."
Im So-Byeong cast a meaningful glance at the woman and child. The one who unleashed demonic qi to devastate the area was Dan Ja-Kang. Jang Ilso and Chung Myung attacked only Dan Ja-Kang.
Since Dan Ja-Kang was the cause of the deaths of those swept away, the reason that child and woman survived must also be found in Dan Ja-Kang.
But… Im So-Byeong soon shook his head. This was a battlefield where lives were at stake. Is it really possible for someone consumed by demonic qi and raging to avoid harming a specific place?
"It might just be a coincidence."
"…That's true."
Neither Chung Myung nor Im So-Byeong said more. Perhaps the answer would never be known. The only one who could answer was no longer in this world.
Chung Myung's eyes, watching ahead, darkened.
This was a question even he couldn't answer. Chung Myung didn't know the woman and child were there. Facing foes like Dan Ja-Kang and Heaven Killer, he wasn't strong enough to divide his attention elsewhere.
As Im So-Byeong said, all this might just be coincidence.
But if… just one in a thousand, one in ten thousand, what Chung Myung thinks is right…
'Even if they're from the Demonic cult… in the end, they're still human children.'
It's something he doesn't want to think about. Even if he knows, he must forget.
"So… it's something that must be done."
At Chung Myung's muttering, Im So-Byeong gave a confused look. But Chung Myung didn't look at him. His mind was already filled with another presence.
'Heavenly Demon.'
No matter how much doctrine one accepts, or how much brainwashing one undergoes, humans ultimately doubt and doubt again. And they cannot abandon the small compassion in their hearts.
That is why the Heavenly Demon is so terrible.
Because it turns such humans into blind fanatics.
'Definitely… even if I have to stake everything.'
Never again should a world where the Heavenly Demon runs rampant be allowed. To prevent the tragedy of Hangzhou from repeating.
With resolve, Chung Myung bit his lips tightly and pushed Im So-Byeong strongly.
"S-say it in words!"
After running again until dusk, the disciples of Mount Hua finally arrived at the Yangtze River.
Exhausted beyond words, they barely arrived and saw a huge ship standing by the riverbank. Its affiliation was unmistakably clear.
Speechless, staring blankly at the ship, they looked at each other.
"That's the Water pirate bastards' ship, right?"
"…Seems like it."
"Looks like no one's inside?"
"Why is this here then…?"
Among those who couldn't hide their dismay, Chung Myung walked out and chuckled at the empty ship.
"Anyway, what a nasty personality, that Jang Ilso bastard."
Yoon Jong looked at the empty ship in disbelief and said.
"…When did he even prepare this?"
"Who knows. Does it matter?"
Chung Myung gestured toward the ship.
"Looks like we're supposed to board it. Let's go."
"T-this?"
"It's the Water Pirate bastards' ship."
"Then what? Swim with these people?"
The disciples of Mount Hua looked at the ship reluctantly but soon nodded.
"…No choice. We have to board."
"Yes, senior sasuk."
Even Un Geom said so, so the disciples of Mount Hua, though uneasy, boarded the empty ship. Raising the anchor and unfolding the folded sail, the ship slowly began moving along the river.
"…It is far."
"Indeed."
Leaning weakly against the railing, the disciples of Mount Hua looked at the slowly receding Jiangnan with eyes full of complex emotions. Though less than two days had passed, it felt like months.
As they silently watched the fading land, a child's cry brushed past their ears.
"…Looks like the child woke up."
Tang Soso began soothing the child in her arms. The child's small hand tightly gripped her thumb. Seeing this, everyone smiled faintly.
Baek Cheon, unable to take his eyes off the scene, spoke.
"Next time…"
"Yes, sasuk."
Yoon Jong answered calmly.
"Next time will be different."
They looked at each other, then silently gazed at the child cradled in Tang Soso's arms again.
A ship quietly sailed over the river dyed red by the sunset.