If You Don’t Want To Believe It, Don’t.

Shin Gi-yang collected the identity plaque from the corpse, and the group set off again.

Whether it was because of the corpse or simply exhaustion from fighting, everyone spoke less.

They just followed quietly behind Gyo-ha.

Even now, thick fog wrapped around them.

Then, Gyo-ha came to a stop.

The others instinctively reached for their weapons.

But there was no sign of an ambush.

When they glanced at Gyo-ha, his expression was bad.

There was a faint look of unease.

“…Is something wrong?”

Tang Ho asked in concern. Had he lost the trail?

The Shin siblings also watched Gyo-ha anxiously. Under their gazes, he scratched his cheek and shook his head.

“No, nevermind.”

Gyo-ha started walking again.

Soon the group understood why he had made that face.

After they walked a bit, a sound came from afar.

‘People.’

Their faces brightened for a moment, then turned just like Gyo-ha’s.

“You lousy bastards! You just abandon me and run? Heaven will damn you!”

Along with the sounds of fighting came an unbroken stream of curses.

“I never should have tagged along in the first place. Because of that horseface Taoist from Mount Hua I’m going through hell here. Seo Jong-dae, that bastard just nags me. And that Tang Clan guy does nothing and just acts all high and mighty!”

The group unconsciously reached up to hold their heads from turning toward the ‘Tang Clan guy.’

“The worst one is Gyo-ha, that bastard. He’s worse than a monster. You think being good at fighting is everything?”

A bit farther on, they saw a single figure moving busily in the fog.

He darted here and there, cutting down shadows.

He looked precarious, but he was fighting quite well.

Even though his physical limits were obvious, he kept the fight going by the narrowest margin.

If not for that mouth that never stopped, they might have admired him.

“What the hell are these things! They don’t even die! Fuck!”

Gyo-ha glanced back with a sour expression.

He was wondering whether he should help or not.

The others were no different.

“Wait, if you think about it, the branch master’s really the bad one. He’s the one who messed up…”

Tang Ho could not just stand there and watch him commit ‘betrayal of one’s master and bring dishonor to them’, so he threw a throwing knife.

Pung.

The head of a charging shadow exploded, and Bong Seok shut his mouth.

That was the signal for the others to leap into the fray as well.

Bong Seok jumped when a shadow’s head suddenly blew apart.

But when he saw the familiar shape of the throwing knife, he relaxed.

Tang.

A throwing knife stamped with that character.

There was only one group under heaven that used such knives.

Then a huge shadow dropped in front of him.

Kwa-jik.

Every time a fist swung, the shadows vanished.

“Gyo-ha!”

Bong Seok shouted in joy.

Now he could live. Hope had appeared.

At his call, Gyo-ha, who had crushed the shadows, turned his head.

His face was cold.

Bong Seok tilted his head.

He had already forgotten everything he had just yelled. He had just spat out whatever came to mind to survive.

He hadn’t slept properly for days, and the constant fighting had driven him past his limits.

With the party’s help, the shadows disappeared quickly.

There hadn’t been many left, since Bong Seok had already taken down most of them.

Once the shadows were gone, Bong Seok ran up to Gyo-ha.

“Gyo-ha, you punk. I knew you’d come for me!”

He bounced up and down.

Gyo-ha just stared at him.

“…Yeah. Let’s have a spar. It has been a while.”

“Come on, don’t joke. How can we spar in a situation like this?”

But Gyo-ha only looked at him calmly. Someone else moved even faster than he did.

“I prepared it here. Given the situation, I made it half the usual dose.”

“…Brother Tang?”

Bong Seok stared at Tang Ho in shock, but Tang Ho’s gaze remained cold.

And why half.

Considering Gyo-ha’s resistance, he should have increased the amount.

“I am sorry that this is all I can do for you, Young Hero Bong.”

He spoke to Bong Seok in an icy voice.

“Wait, what are you talking about? Gyo-ha, say something.”

Sensing danger, polite speech slipped out of Bong Seok’s mouth, but Gyo-ha was already downing the poison.

“I am busy, so it’ll be over quick.”

Bong Seok’s face darkened as he watched Gyo-ha limber up.

A short while later.

The group tossed the unconscious Bong Seok in a corner and took a break.

Shin Gi-yang glanced at the fainted Bong Seok.

He was, after all, a Beggars’ Union disciple from one of the Nine Sects, One Union.

He was not someone they should treat carelessly. Yet Shin Gi-yang was the only one who cared about that here.

Shin Yul also looked him over out of curiosity and soon lost interest.

‘I thought his mouth was like a beggar’s. Turns out he actually is one.’

That was about all the impression he made.

Noticing Shin Gi-yang’s mood, Tang Ho spoke.

“Young Hero Bong has not slept for a long time. If we had not forced him to sleep, it would have been dangerous.”

Shin Gi-yang nodded.

Bong Seok’s condition was far from normal. Dark circles reached down his cheeks and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot.

A martial artist of his level would not end up like that after just two or three days without sleep.

He had clearly not been sleeping even before entering this mountain.

Before long, he came to.

“Wh… where am I?”

When he opened his eyes, Bong Seok scrunched up his face.

“Gyo-ha? When did you get here?”

“Just now.”

He seemed to remember nothing from before. The others did not bother to tell him.

Soon his gaze turned to the two unfamiliar faces.

“And those two?”

“They’re from the Henan Shin Clan.”

“…Henan, Shin Clan?”

He searched his memory for a moment, then shot to his feet.

“They’re a branch of the Guizhou Shin Clan!”

Not only Tang Ho but even the Shin siblings looked at him in surprise.

‘He really is a Beggars’ Union disciple, even if he looks like that.’

A hint of admiration rose in them. Standing there, Bong Seok tilted his head.

Was he hurt somewhere? He even began testing his footwork.

“What is it?”

“My body feels lighter than before… No, that isn’t what matters right now.”

Answering Tang Ho’s question, Bong Seok suddenly shouted.

He had lost his memories of the fight, but his body had not returned to how it was. He had clearly gained some insight in the middle of that frantic battle.

It was not common, but it was not unheard of.

Many people realized things on the brink between life and death.

The group once again marveled at Bong Seok’s talent.

It was a level of talent worthy of being chosen as Swift Wind Beggar’s successor.

‘Heaven truly has no mercy.’

Yet that same Bong Seok pointed a finger at the Shin siblings.

“What are ‘they’ doing here!”

Shin Gi-yang frowned at the sudden jab. Shin Yul reacted immediately.

“You beggar bastard, who are you calling ‘they’!”

Shin Yul looked ready to swing her spear. Flinching, Bong Seok hurried to speak.

“You girls… I mean, you bitches.”

It was not much better. He was so flustered that nonsense slipped out.

He looked to Gyo-ha and Tang Ho for help, but they only watched blankly.

If anything, there was a hint of contempt in Tang Ho’s eyes.

The surprising one was Shin Yul.

“Hmm.”

She thought for a moment, then nodded.

Shin Yul sat back down.

‘So “bitch” is fine, then.’

He had only changed the word ‘bastard’ to ‘bitch.’

The party stared at Shin Yul in disbelief, and Shin Gi-yang let out a quiet sigh.

“So why are they with us?”

He spoke cautiously, watching Shin Yul’s mood.

He instinctively knew Gyo-ha and Tang Ho would not take his side.

It would be different if Shin Gi-yang stepped in, but in this case, Bong Seok was clearly in the wrong.

“What are you so unhappy about?”

Shin Yul answered bluntly.

“Of course I am. If you think about it, we got trapped in here because of you.”

“Ha. Who was it who picked a fight out of nowhere again?”

“What fight?”

As Shin Yul’s brows shot up, Shin Gi-yang stepped in to smooth things over.

“The Murim Alliance people stirred up the surrounding unorthodox sects, saying they were looking for the missing. They came to our clan too.”

Bong Seok closed his mouth. It did not sound like a lie.

Besides, he would have done the same if he had been on the investigation team.

“And yet, you ambushed them?”

“Our clan opposed it. And you lot did the same thing anyway.”

“What do you mean, the same. That is bullshit.”

“Bullshit? You damn beggar.”

At Bong Seok’s retort, Shin Yul grabbed her spear and stood. This time he seemed unwilling to back down either and rolled up his sleeves.

“You promised to stop fighting, then hit us in the back the moment you turned around.”

“Do not lie. You ambushed us and killed our people.”

“Wait.”

Tang Ho raised his hand as he listened to them argue.

“Yul.”

Shin Gi-yang also stopped his sister.

Their expressions were serious. Leaving the two snarling at each other, Tang Ho and Shin Gi-yang faced one another.

“What do you mean, hit in the back? Were you ambushed as well?”

At Tang Ho’s question, Shin Gi-yang nodded.

“We fought with the Murim Alliance folk, but it ended cleanly on both sides. Then, on our way back, we were ambushed by masked people.”

“We followed the traces of the Murim Alliance investigation team. We fought twice and were driven into these mountains. Along the way we confirmed casualties as well.”

“What are you talking about? People got hurt, but no one died. And the ones who ambushed us used orthodox martial arts.”

Shin Yul cut in from the side.

“The traces on the corpse we found were too thick with killing intent to call it ordinary martial arts.”

“It was a different group.”

At the sudden voice, everyone turned.

Gyo-ha spoke calmly.

“The ones you fought the first time and the ones you fought the second time are different.”

“What do you mean?”

“The ones who were with you. They used swords, right?”

At his words, the Shin siblings nodded.

“But the traces left at the end were a mix of sabre and fist.”

“In that case…”

“There is a third group.”

There was no other way to see it.

“Now that I think about it, the numbers of the ones who attacked us did not match either. I thought some had fallen back because of injuries…”

But that might not be it. The group’s faces grew grim.

“Do you think they are the ones who made this place? That formation you only hear about in rumors?”

Shin Yul clenched her fist.

“That is not it.”

But Gyo-ha shook his head.

As everyone looked to him, Gyo-ha sniffed and spoke.

“It is an oddity.”

At his words, the Shin siblings frowned, but Tang Ho and Bong Seok nodded.

They had already suspected as much.

“Can you find it?”

“I already have.”

At that, Tang Ho and Bong Seok tilted their heads.

“This fog. The fog itself is the oddity.”

He could feel it every time he breathed.

This place was no different from inside the belly of the thing.

“…Like that tree monster?”

A pale Bong Seok asked.

“It’s similar but a little different. It does not take your internal energy.”

“So it only steals life.”

“W-wait. What are you even talking about?”

At Shin Yul’s bewildered voice, Bong Seok, who had shrunk back, raised his head.

“You live in Henan and do not know this?”

Seeing him puff himself up, Shin Yul clenched her fist.

Shin Gi-yang spoke up before she exploded.

“What exactly do you mean?”

“This Qinghai Province has become a land of monsters and spirits.”

“Monsters and spirits?”

Shin Yul’s voice was thick with mockery.

This time it was Bong Seok who bristled, but he quickly calmed himself.

“Fine. If you do not want to believe it, then don’t.”

Shin Yul’s face twisted.

“Big brother. Say something too.”

She turned to ask for help from her brother, but Shin Gi-yang’s face was rigid.