“Phew. That was really dangerous this time. One wrong move and we’d all be dead, you know?”
Baek Cheon blinked, watching Chung Myung, who was grinning and chattering away. Chung Myung, noticing his gaze, asked,
“What?”
“…No. Nothing.”
Baek Cheon paused for a moment, then shook his head. He tried not to ask, ‘How can you laugh even in this situation?’
“But… did the Four Evil Sects really just leave?”
“You think they pretended to leave?”
“No, that’s not what I mean…”
Baek Cheon quietly looked at the horizon, in the direction where Jang Il-so and his group had disappeared. He felt uneasy.
“It seems too easy for that bastard to back down.”
Baek Cheon turned his head at the voice from beside him. Lim Sobyeong, who had spread open his fan, wore a knowing smile.
“His feet are on fire, you see.”
“…Fire?”
“Yes. To be precise, it’s a fire he started himself.”
When Baek Cheon looked at him, seemingly not understanding, Lim Sobyeong kindly explained.
“Jang Il-so was already trying to take control of the Suro Troop. The Black Dragon King was weak there. Now, Man Geumdaebu has also fallen. This means Jang Il-so has even more work to do.”
“Hmm. Are you saying a rebellion might break out within the Four Evil Sects?”
“Ah, that would be difficult. Both the Suro Troop and the Black Demon Squad have lost their leaders, haven’t they? A rebellion can only happen when there’s a clear leader. But…”
Lim Sobyeong snapped his fan shut.
“Other cases can occur.”
“Other cases?”
“Yes. Defection.”
“Defection?”
The other disciples of Mount Hua, who were listening intently, focused on Lim Sobyeong as if they didn’t quite understand. Lim Sobyeong chuckled.
“It might be a difficult issue for the orthodox sects to understand, but the heretical sects don’t have much loyalty. Many don’t even like being part of a group, and quite a few will leave the sect at any opportunity.”
“Ah.”
“What keeps them tied down is the presence of the leader and punishment for leaving. So, those who feared being out of the leader’s favor will try to escape the sect, taking advantage of the chaos.”
Baek Cheon nodded, understanding what he meant.
“Indeed, that’s something unimaginable in the orthodox sects.”
“But for us, people like Baek Cheon Daojang are even harder to understand. Mount Hua was already a ruined sect, and there was nothing to gain by staying there, was there?”
“We weren’t there to gain anything.”
Lim Sobyeong chuckled at Baek Cheon’s calm reply.
Perhaps this was a difference they couldn’t understand, even after a long conversation. This wasn’t about right or wrong, but about values.
Lim Sobyeong scratched his head with his fan.
“The story got a bit off track, but anyway, the Black Demon Squad was also heavily reliant on Man Geumdaebu’s control. When people find out Man Geumdaebu is dead, it will fall into great chaos. Many will try to take advantage of this opportunity or escape the sect.”
“Indeed…”
“So Jang Il-so has no choice but to be busy. He wants to absorb all the power of the Suro Troop and the Black Demon Squad. He probably won’t have time to look elsewhere for a while. It’s like he has to manage a much larger area.”
Everyone nodded.
“It might be fortunate in a way.”
“Yes?”
Lim Sobyeong asked, wondering why they thought that.
“Isn’t it true that Jang Il-so will have difficulty moving for a while? If it’s as you say, even Jang Il-so wouldn’t find it easy to seize all the forces of the Black Demon Squad and the Suro Troop.”
It would be easy for Jang Il-so to put them under his control. But stopping people from leaving and recovering all their forces would be more difficult than one might think.
Even Jang Il-so would be tied down for a while.
“Indeed. That’s what you meant. You’re not wrong.”
Lim Sobyeong nodded. At that moment, Baek Cheon supported Yoon Jong’s words.
“Besides… Man Geumdaebu died, and the Black Dragon King lost an arm, didn’t he? The heretical sects already had few absolute masters. Now that they’ve lost two, shouldn’t we see the Four Evil Sects as having suffered a great loss?”
“That’s also correct.”
Lim Sobyeong smiled.
“Indeed… even if we use all the power of the Myriad Man House and the Hao Clan, we’ll for sure have problems for a while.”
“As expected…”
“But Yoon Jong Daojang, do you really understand what that means?”
“Yes?”
Yoon Jong looked a little confused. Lim Sobyeong spoke with a meaningful expression.
“The Four Evil Sects will have internal strife for a while. Jang Il-so might cause a lot of bloodshed in the process. The overall power of the Four Evil Sects may decrease even more than it is now.”
Everyone swallowed hard.
Such changes always involve blood. Those who want to keep things the same always resist change.
But Jang Il-so is not the type to calm down and comfort such people. He will crush them, making sure they can never rebel against him, just like he did in the Suro Troop in the Jang River.
“Once all that is over, the Four Evil Sects will be completely different. The Four Evil Sects, which have been a loose alliance, will disappear. In its place, a united Four Evil Sects will appear, moving in perfect order with Jang Il-so’s every command.”
It is truly the unification of the heretical sects by the Myriad Man House. They won’t use the name Myriad Man House again.
It smells like blood somewhere.
“Now that even the Hao Clan Lord has yielded to the Overlord, there is no one left to stop him. At most, half a year. Within that time, Jang Il-so will unite all the heretical sects under his command. And after that…”
Everyone knew what he would say next.
“Jang Il-so will surely aim for the next prey. He is someone who is never satisfied.”
The words ‘at most half a year’ stuck in everyone’s minds.
Everyone here had seen what kind of person Jang Il-so was.
Dan Sajang and Cheonsal. The martial prowess of those two leaders was terrifying. But what they remembered was Jang Il-so.
“Perhaps cooperation…”
“No.”
Chung Myung’s strong voice cut off Yoon Jong before he could finish testing the waters.
“That will never happen.”
Everyone turned to look at Chung Myung.
“Jang Il-so is Jang Il-so. He’s just a heretical sect bastard. Cooperation with such a guy is impossible.”
“…But it was possible this time.”
“Because our interests aligned. But they won’t cooperate with us to stop the Demonic Sect. Especially if that bastard is the head of the heretical sects.”
Yoon Jong sighed.
He doesn’t fully know why Chung Myung is so sure. But if he is, then it must be right. It’s always been that way.
“Half a year…”
Chung Myung muttered quietly. His eyes were darkly sunken. He knew how short that time is.
“Alright.”
He looked back at the other disciples.
“Let’s go back for now. The Sect Leader must be worried. We can talk later.”
“Okay, sure.”
“Understood.”
The disciples of Mount Hua nodded. They still had many questions, but this was Jiangnan. It wasn’t a place for comfortable conversation. They could talk after leaving Jiangnan.
“Okay. Then first…”
“Wait a moment.”
“Yes?”
Chung Myung stopped and turned to look at Un Geom, who stood there calmly.
“What’s wrong, Grand Uncle?”
Un Geom stared at the empty land of Hangzhou with a stiff face.
“I’m worried about saying this. Don’t think of this as an order, but as my opinion. Give me an answer.”
“Yes, Grand Uncle. Please speak.”
“I don’t feel comfortable just leaving like this.”
“Yes…?”
Baek Cheon asked, puzzled. Un Geom answered sadly.
“Too many people have died, haven’t they? Even those who were just living their lives.”
A moment of silence followed. Everyone became serious. They had been very happy to survive and had forgotten what had happened here.
“I know the situation is not good. I might be putting you in danger again, so it’s hard to say this. But… if possible, I would like to hold a simple ceremony to remember those who died unfairly here. Would that be alright? A requiem is a ceremony to remember and comfort those who have died.”
Baek Cheon squeezed his eyes shut. They sometimes forget that they are Taoists before they are martial artists. And what they must do before winning.
‘Sasuk.’
Un Geom was the only one who hadn’t forgotten that. Every time this happened, Baek Cheon felt he was still far from catching up to his grand uncles.
“I think it’s okay to liv…”
“We should!”
Chung Myung answered quickly, before Baek Cheon could finish.
“We were too weak to save these people, but we should at least comfort them. Because that’s the duty of a Taoist. Taoist duty means helping people and bringing peace.”
Lim Sobyeong, who had been watching, spoke with an uneasy face.
“Um…? This is Jiangnan, and we don’t know how the Four Evil Sects will react yet…”
“We have to do it.”
“Damn it, you stupid bastard. I forgot about that. I would have kicked myself if we had just left.”
“Exactly.”
“What should we prepare first? We should start quickly, right?”
“A place first.”
“Hello? Can’t you hear me? Hello?”
The disciples of Mount Hua started moving around and talking excitedly, leaving Lim Sobyeong out. Even Hae Yeon raised his voice with a flushed face.
“I will also help, benefactors!”
“You don’t know the requiem that’s done in the Taoist temple.”
“I will do anything that requires strength. But after it’s over, please let me chant at least one sutra for these people!”
“That’s only natural.”
Lim Sobyeong looked up at the sky with soulless eyes, watching the crazy orthodox sect members start to bustle around.
‘Perhaps Jang Il-so is a little more sane than these people?’
It was hard to judge.