The city was busy.
People walking in the streets looked very worried.
People kept looking around nervously. When they saw someone they knew, they talked quietly.
“Have you heard?”
“About Hengshan?”
“Yes. Another merchant group… gone missing on Hengshan today.”
“Oh no! How many is that now?”
(Everyone sighs)
“If this goes on… we’re in trouble. I heard… this time, they even had guards from the Ascending Sky Bureau.”
“What? Guards from the Bureau? And they *still* disappeared?”
“That’s what I heard!”
“Oh dear…”
Everyone knew the Ascending Sky Escort Bureau was strong here. If *they* couldn’t protect people, then these bandits must be very dangerous.
“We’ve been safe for years. Why now?”
“Rumor is… bandits from Daebyeol Mountain are all over Hengshan.”
“Daebyeol Stronghold? Those really bad guys?”
“That’s what people are saying!”
The man quickly looked around, his eyes darting into the shadows, as if he expected bandits to jump out at any moment.
It’s not confirmed, but people are disappearing in other mountains too, not just Hengshan.
“Ugh. This is crazy! Why isn’t the government doing anything about people disappearing?”
“When *does* the government ever help with things like this? Those officials can’t even handle problems right in front of them. They’ll just ignore what’s happening in the mountains!”
“It’s hard to feel safe with all this.”
Everyone was clearly worried. You could feel it in the air. This wasn’t just about not being able to travel through Hengshan anymore.
Jangsa was a city located between Lake Dongting in the north and Hengshan Mountain in the south. It wasn’t like other big cities. It didn’t make special things, and the land wasn’t very good for farming. Instead, Jangsa was important because it was a place where trade happened between the north and south of the Central Plains. Imagine Jangsa like a crossroads, where all paths meet.
But if merchant groups kept having problems on Hengshan, they would stop going through Jangsa. This would really hurt the city.
“Oh dear, what’s happening to the world?”
“Yes. Bandits are everywhere, and those so-called good groups just watch.”
“Are these just normal bandits? Daebyeol Stronghold is known as one of the worst bandit groups!”
“What kind of heroes can’t catch the big thieves, only the small ones?”
“Shhh! Are you trying to get us killed? Quiet! Someone might hear!”
“Who’s going to hear us? Since the bandits started causing trouble, no one from outside comes here anymore! Look, the city gates are wide open, and there’s not even a single person around… Oh?”
The man, who had been spitting as he spoke, suddenly widened his eyes as he noticed something.
“Huh…? What’s that?”
Then, people started appearing at the city gates. The gates were wide open and empty before, but now…
They wore black uniforms.
They had long swords at their sides.
They were strong men with broad shoulders and muscles. They looked very serious and determined.
‘Who are they?’ someone whispered.
‘Wow, so many!’
Even a single one of them would have been noticeable, but there were easily over a hundred.
Overwhelmed by the sight, the onlookers shrank back slightly, whispering amongst themselves.
“‘Are they from a group of fighters?'”
“‘Maybe bandits?'”
“‘Are you crazy? How could they be bandits? They look too well-trained.'”
“‘Well, those arms *do* look like bandit arms…'”
It was like the man at the front heard him. He frowned and turned around. The others behind him seemed surprised and quickly pulled down their sleeves, which they had rolled up their arms.
The people who were whispering from far away started to come closer.
They were still a little scared, but when they saw the newcomers weren’t trying to hurt anyone, their curiosity became stronger than their fear.
As more people gathered, some people who knew more started to speak up.
“‘Wait! That symbol! The… Mount Hua Sect!'”
“‘Mount Hua?'”
People looked at the person who spoke.
“‘Why would the Mount Hua Sect come all the way from Shaanxi? That’s so far away!'”
The people didn’t readily believe him. Wasn’t Mount Hua a sect in Shaanxi, more than fifteen hundred miles away from Jangsa?
‘What reason would they have to come to Jangsa in such a big group?’
“‘Maybe… because of the bandits?'”
“‘To fight the bandits?'”
“‘No, really, it’s them! Can’t you see the plum blossom symbol on their chests? There are many groups like this in the world, but Mount Hua is the only one that uses the plum blossom!'”
The crowd turned their gazes towards the Mount Hua fighters once more.
Sure enough, a red plum blossom was embroidered on everyone’s chest.
“‘You’re right! It *is* the Mount Hua Sect!'”
“‘But why are they here?'”
People looked at each other.
“‘Could it be because of the bandits?'”
“‘Is that possible?'”
“‘Even Wudang and Shaolin, which are closer, haven’t come. Why would Mount Hua, from so far away, come all the way here? To fight the bandits?'”
“‘To fight those dangerous bandits?'”
“‘Nah, no way!'”
Everyone looked at the Mount Hua disciples with a mixture of doubt and faint hope.
“‘But can they really do it? Fight those dangerous bandits?'”
“‘Hey! Don’t think they are weak! Didn’t Mount Hua beat Wudang and Shaolin at the big fighting competition?'”
“‘And didn’t they fight against the Ten Thousand People Clan and win recently? Mount Hua is really strong right now!'”
“‘Y-You’re right! They did!'”
The way people looked at the Mount Hua fighters changed.
And the Mount Hua fighters, who were being looked at, were…
‘Hey, shoulders back! Shoulders!’
‘Stand up straight and walk tall! Look impressive!’
‘Look strong! Look strong in your eyes!’
…doing their best to look as impressive as possible.
Even the finest goods wouldn’t fetch their proper price if the packaging was poor. In the past, they hadn’t paid much attention to such things, but now, influenced by Chung Myung, they were all somewhat concerned with appearances.
Thanks to that…
‘Why am I always at the front?’
Baek Cheon was at the very front, and everyone was staring at him. It felt like all eyes were on him. And to make it worse, Chung Myung was still nagging him from behind.
‘Ah, straighten your back a little.’
‘…’
‘Chin up, chin up. Why are you hiding your face? You need to impress them now. Show them your face!’
Baek Cheon thought angrily. Because Chung Myung kept poking him in the back, Baek Cheon had to lift his chin.
The tassel on his hat moved a little, and people could see his face. He was handsome.
People gasped in admiration. ‘Ooh, he’s so handsome!’ ‘He’s good-looking. Really amazing!’ Compliments came from everywhere, but Baek Cheon just wanted to disappear.
‘Mount Hua is here to save Jangsa!’
‘They’ve come to fight the bandits!’
Just then, a few people shouted these things. Their voices sounded a little too loud, like they were trying too hard.
The excited people watching started clapping loudly.
Chung Myung smiled, happy with how things were going.
‘Those beggars are doing great.’
‘I should get them extra food at the inn today.’
‘Hong Daeguang must have given them clear orders. The beggars were running around quickly, getting the crowd excited.’
‘If they always worked this hard, they wouldn’t get in trouble for being useless.’
The Mount Hua fighters arrived at the inn they had planned to stay in. Cheers and attention were pouring down on them.
Unam gave one last instruction.
“Everyone will rest here today. We have rented the whole inn, so there will be no other guests. But still, be very careful and don’t make trouble.”
“Yes!”
The disciples of Mount Hua walked into the inn together, all at the same time. It was a magnificent sight.
People watching were amazed and whispered, “Wow, they are incredible!”
Chung Myung was the last to enter. He turned back to the crowd and grinned widely.
“Don’t worry too much! I’ll handle everything!”
“Woooaaah!”
“Long live Mount Hua!”
A loud cheer went through the city of Changsha.
“Ah… I can finally breathe easily,” one disciple sighed.
“Wow! Hot water feels so amazing!” another said.
Baek Cheon watched the disciples. They looked clean and happy after many hard days. He smiled a little sadly.
‘They have been through so much,’ he thought.
The older disciples were used to Chung Myung’s crazy plans, so they weren’t surprised by how difficult this trip was. But for the newer disciples, it was their first time traveling so hard and fast.
Even though they complained a lot, they never gave up. Baek Cheon thought this was very brave of them.
Baek Cheon smiled kindly and started to speak.
“Everyone, you have worked very hard…”
“Senior Uncle Baek Cheon! You worked so hard for us!” one disciple cried.
“We didn’t know Senior Uncle was suffering so much because of Chung Myung!” another sobbed.
“Sob, Senior Uncle!”
Baek Cheon stopped talking. He didn’t say his praise.
Kids… don’t look at me like that.
You are making me want to cry too.
Baek Cheon thought, This is not the time to feel sorry for them. Isn’t I the one who suffered the most? Everyone knows that!
He sighed quietly and said,
“Okay, it’s good to rest. But remember, people are watching us here. Don’t relax too much.”
“Yes, Senior Uncle! Don’t worry!”
The disciples of Mount Hua stood up straight. Then, they started talking to each other again.
“Did you see everyone staring at us?” one disciple whispered.
“My legs were shaking!” another replied.
Everyone was still surprised by all the attention they got when they entered Changsha.
The Mount Hua Sect didn’t go out into the world very often. Even when they did, people never looked at them with such admiration before.
The disciples of Mount Hua didn’t really understand how famous their sect had become. Now, they were starting to realize how much people respected them. They finally understood why the elders always told them to think about the sect’s good name.
‘We need to train harder,’ one disciple thought.
‘We will become stronger than the Wudang and Shaolin sects!’ another thought fiercely.
Baek Cheon watched the disciples. They were full of energy and wanted to prove themselves. He smiled softly.
“We might have to fight tomorrow, so rest well today. Be ready to fight!”
“Yes, Senior Uncle!”
“Don’t worry, Senior Brother!”
“Good. Eat a lot.”
After making sure the disciples were okay and finishing his tasks, Baek Cheon went up the stairs to the top floor.
Knock, knock.
“It’s Baek Cheon.”
“Come in.”
He opened the door and saw who was in the room.
Hyun Sang and Hyeon Young were there, along with the five Yun-generation disciples, including Un Am and Un Geom. Im So-byeong was also there.
Baek Cheon saw Chung Myung last. He sat down in a chair near the end, trying to look calm.
“The disciples are all eating and resting,” Baek Cheon said. “Everything should be fine.”
“You have worked hard,” Hyun Sang said.
“But… do we really need to make such a big show of this?” Baek Cheon asked quietly.
Im So-byeong laughed. Baek Cheon’s face turned a little red.
“The more exciting, the better!” Im So-byeong said. “Why are you embarrassed? We are fighting bandits for justice! That’s something to be proud of!”
“…”
No, it’s okay, but… shouldn’t you be the last person to say that? Baek Cheon thought.
Wait… you are a bandit!
Baek Cheon sighed deeply.
“Then I will get ready so we can leave tomorrow morning.”
“Wait a minute,” Chung Myung said.
“Hm?”
Baek Cheon turned to Chung Myung.
“Let’s wait a little longer, Senior Uncle,” Chung Myung said.
“Wait? Why?”
“We made a big scene. The bandits will probably hear about it soon.”
“…”
“Don’t you think they will attack us?” Chung Myung asked.
“Bandits here? In a city? You think bandits will attack us here?” Baek Cheon was surprised.
“Normally, no. But we have a hostage, right?” Chung Myung pointed to Im So-byeong.
“A… hostage?” Baek Cheon looked at Im So-byeong.
Im So-byeong smiled shyly. “I feel like I am the most important person in the world right now,” he said. “Haha, I feel kind of proud.”
That guy is crazy, Baek Cheon thought.
Oh no, I shouldn’t call the Green Forest King ‘that guy’…
Baek Cheon was confused. Chung Myung looked at Im So-byeong.
“They will come, right?” Chung Myung asked.
“Of course,” Im So-byeong said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Go Hong is very impatient. He won’t wait for us to attack him.”
“W-wait!” Baek Cheon said quickly.
“If bandits attack the city, it will be chaos! We should go outside the city!”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Chung Myung clicked his tongue. “You are still so innocent.”
“Hm?” Baek Cheon frowned.
Chung Myung said, “We finally have a chance to make our sect famous by beating up bandits. But if we just do it in the mountains, who will see it?”
“…” Baek Cheon was silent.
“We need to beat them up where everyone can see! That way, rumors will spread fast, and it will be much more exciting! That’s what I’m saying!” Chung Myung grinned.
Baek Cheon stared at him, speechless. Then, he closed his eyes tightly.
Where is Mount Hua going? he thought.
Oh, Primordial Celestial Lord!
That guy is a menace! A menace! Why haven’t you sent lightning to strike him down?
“If we are going to do this, we should do it right,” Chung Myung said. “Let’s wait a little longer. Something will happen in a few days.”
But Chung Myung was wrong about one thing.
Go Hong was even more impatient than Chung Myung thought. And his spies had already reached Changsha.
High on a mountain outside Changsha, Dong Woong, called the Herculean Overlord Bear, looked down at the city gates. He grinned, showing his yellow teeth.
“They are inside this city, you say?” he growled.
“I don’t know who these crazy fools are,” Dong Woong said. “But I will show them what the Great Byeolchae is really like!”
The Green Forest bandits behind him laughed roughly.
“Let’s go!” Dong Woong shouted.
“Yes!” the bandits roared.
In the dark night, their fierce eyes glowed coldly.