Episode 370

“Euk!”

Nam Ja-Myung took a deep breath.

It was as if his pride had fallen to the ground. True, but… no, that is why he couldn’t move any further. If he stepped back, then he would lose his pride and get nothing in return.

He took a deep breath and opened his mouth calmly,

“Young Disciple.”

“Yes?”

Chung Myung tilted his head with a bright face.

Seeing that flawless smile, he felt his stomach churn, so there was the urge to pull out his sword and swing it at this ass, but he couldn’t, so he showed the utmost patience.

‘No, not now.’

Still, how much experience did he have living as the gate leader of the West Moon Gate?

He knew to negotiate, so he turned to Hyun Young, who was standing next to Chung Myung.

“Elder!”

There was a little despair sounding in his voice,

“Please help us! If Mount Hua doesn’t help, the Southern Edge sub-sects will fall victim to those wicked Forces of Evil!”

He did everything to make himself look like a pitiful man,

“Of course, we realize that what we did to Mount Hua isn’t something that can be forgiven! But, even those who fight against each other should join forces when a foreign enemy invades, right?”

“Hmm.”

Hyun Young nodded lightly; there was truth to what was being said.

“If you can help us out just this once, your grace will show! It will never be forgotten!”

“Um. I see.”

“Yes.”

There was hope in his eyes.

Unlike the two disciples, who he thought looked rather odd, he was sure this was the elder he was speaking to. An elder of a sect. And he knew that this was the person who held the most decisive power in such situations.

But his hopes shattered when Hyun Young smiled at Chung Myung.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes!”

“What is he talking about?”

“Ah, that?”

Chung Myung answered,

“Well, to put it simply, these guys are useless idiots, and now they want us to come and take a hit for them.”

“…”

“…”

Nam Ja-Myung’s eyes shook.

Uh…

Ah. Of course, he was… right. And their previous actions to them would not bring any trust.

But how could they talk like this when the person was right in front of them? That too, a Taoist?

‘N-No!’

Now isn’t the time for such thoughts!

“I-It isn’t like that!” shouted Nam Ja-Myung, continuing, “If you help us this time, we will never forget your kindness. These are not just empty words. We will make sure to repay Mount Hua enough so that you are satisfied! So please, Elder, please…!”

Hyun Young looked at Chung Myung again.

And without even clarifying, Chung Myung replied,

“We will lose our land and have to move out. But… if you can get rid of them for us, we can give our condolences to the ones who put their lives on the line.”

“…”

Hyun Young smiled warmly,

“I see.”

Nam Ja-Myung was speechless, looking at the two.

‘What the hell…’

A young man accepting people’s words harshly was fine, but what was with this elder who was letting this young man do so?

It seemed impossible to convince them with words.

“Hmm.”

But then, Dan Byungip, who had been silent, coughed and said,

“Elder, I am Dan Byungip, and I am a gate leader too.”

“I guess you are.”

This time Hyun Young smiled kindly and nodded his head.

“Elder. We know that the people of Mount Hua are not happy. We were voices who asked you to leave Xi’an not long ago.”

“We know.”

“…”

Dan Byungip looked at Chung Myung, who intervened.

“What?”

“N-nothing.”

He constantly coughed to stop the awkwardness and desperately tried and managed to hold his expression.

“But, Elder, do not dwell on such personal matters and think about the future. They are all people of the Shenzhou Five Sects. What would the world say if Xi’an fell into their hands?”

Chung Myung tilted his head and asked,

“Southern Edge is made of morons?”

“…”

And next came a bright smile…

“T…That… could… be right…”

“Leader Dan!”

“Ahem!”

At the shout from Nam Ja-Myung, Dan Byungip coughed.

‘Damn it! He continues to intervene!’

He was speaking with such a bright face that no one could ignore him.

And so Nam Ja-Myung took over,

“Surely… Southern Edge will be criticized. But as long as Mount Hua is in Xi’an, Mount Hua cannot escape criticism either! Is it fine for everyone in the world to criticize Mount Hua?!”

The last words were spoken loudly, and the disciples of Mount Hua looked at each other silently.

“That…”

The proof that this tactic worked was shown when Baek Cheon, who had been silent till now, tilted his head. And with this, hope came rushing back to Nam Ja-Myung.

But then, Baek Cheon looked at Yoon Jong and said,

“It doesn’t matter, right?”

The disciples all around nodded.

“Right, criticism. We didn’t even get any attention until recently.”

“… do people care so much about Mount Hua? They call us famous, but I do not feel that way at all.”

“…”

Dan Byungip was at a loss for words.

“T-The heavens will condemn you.”

“A criticism is an insult.”

“What is so bad about being cursed?”

“We get cursed every day by that damned bastard.”

“Right.”

Both Dan Byungip and Nam Ja-Myung kept their mouths silent.

‘No. What is with these people’s minds?’

Isn’t Mount Hua a prestigious sect?

Of course, not all sects on the path of justice claimed to solely be seeking justice.

Only young children would dream like that. The world was a lot tougher than one at that age would think.

‘But aside from that, shouldn’t they have honor?’

If they didn’t intervene even after Southern Edge had gone behind their doors and the evil sect stepped in, the number of condemning words around them would be large.

“Is it really fine if the honor of Mount Hua falls to the ground like this?”

Hearing this, Chung Myung laughed,

“You seem to have misunderstood something, but this is not about losing face or honor.”

“… Uh?”

“Even though we are Mount Hua, we will not ignore the influence Southern Edge has on Xi’an. Should we call it a bit embarrassing to meddle in the matters of other people’s lands?”

“…”

‘Someone else’s land.’

Dan Byungip’s lips trembled.

This phrase was what they had said just a day back to these people. Surely it was Nam Ja-Myung who had said that Xi’an was their land and they wouldn’t give a centimeter to anyone, least of all to Mount Hua.

This brat was recalling the words and feeding them the same thing.

“T-That…”

“Eh, do not worry.”

Before Dan Byungip could say anything, Chung Myung smiled.

“What kind of sect is Southern Edge? No… that… thousand… thousand people what?”

“Thousand People Clan!”

“Ah, yes. What could they even do to the Southern Edge Sect? Do not worry too much. Everything will be fine.”

“…”

No, why was he speaking like that?

Are they in a position to say that right now?

Dan Byungip, realizing that he couldn’t say anything, looked at Nam Ja-Myung with anger.

‘Why did you have to let that mouth of yours run!’

Nam Ja-Myung felt the resentment in his eyes and averted his gaze with a humble face.

Actually, even he was feeling horrible.

‘… did you think I knew this would happen?’

Yesterday they were trying to drive Mount Hua out, and the one who laughed down on them along with him was now shifting the blame to him just because the situation changed?

No matter how harsh this world was, did it make sense?

“That…”

However, Nam Ja-Myung was trying to protest.

Now wasn’t the time to be scrutinizing all the things. If they could not get help from Mount Hua, then Southern Edge was down.

“Elder! Do not do that. Please help us just this once! Aren’t the people of Xi’an pitiful?”

Hyun Young smiled at those words.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Starting today, we were thinking about moving on our own to protect the people of Xi’an. Everyone knows that civilians shouldn’t be caught in the fights between sects.”

“T-then…?”

“We will take good care of the people, so do not worry. Go ahead and handle the problem with the clan.”

“E-Elder!”

Hyun Young smiled at the men who cried out like the world broke down and glanced at the disciples.

“The guests will leave.”

“Yes!”

The disciples of Mount Hua moved and pushed the two out of the gate.

“E-Elder! You cannot do this! Elder!”

“Mount Hua! Think about the name of Mount Hua… Elder!”

Hyun Young covered his ears.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

“You are the Forces of Evil!”

In the end, evil words began to come up, but Hyun Young shrugged.

Soon the two were pushed out of the door, and the gates were closed.

“Tch.”

Hyun Young clicked his tongue.

“It is said that a person with choices running out will change depending on the time, but this is truly absurd. Thinking about coming here and asking for our help.”

And he glanced at Chung Myung.

“We did kick them out, but what do we do now? This cannot continue for long.”

“Because we have a name to uphold?”

“No. If this enters the ears of Sect Leader, he will run barefoot to Xi’an.”

“…”

Ah, right.

I didn’t think of that.

“I am glad he didn’t come to Xi’an.”

“Same here, child.”

If Hyun Jong were here, things wouldn’t have been like this. From the moment he heard of their trouble, he would have run to help them.

“Don’t worry. It won’t take long.”

“And there is something right in what we say.”

“Right.”

“If there are rumors that civilians were harmed, Sect Leader might truly put me into closed training for three days and nights and make me read Taoist sutra.”

“… this is better.”

“My words!”

Seeing Hyun Young’s red face, it must have been because he had been through something similar.

Hyun Young looked at Chung Myung and said,

“I did as you said, but honestly, I don’t think it would be bad to hold hands with Southern Edge. The Thousand People Clan is known to be strong, and the Southern Edge sub-sects might be wiped out.”

“It sure looks that way.”

“But is this fine? If we don’t work with one, we may have to deal with the other on our own.”

“Hmm.”

Chung Myung looked back and said,

“Kids mature through fighting.”

“Uh?”

He smiled.

“I thought that they needed some practical experience. There is a limit to spars and practice matches.”

Hyun Young stopped laughing.

‘Does he not know how strong the Thousand People Clan is?’

No, that could not be.

Although he was misunderstood because of his erratic actions, Chung Myung was by no means a dull child. Rather he was too smart and looked at things differently from normal people.

There was no way he didn’t know what it meant to go against such vicious people.

“Will this be fine? It can be dangerous?”

At those words, Chung Myung looked at Baek Cheon and the others.

“Well, as if they could die?”

“…”

“…”

At those words, the faces of the disciples turned pale.

Like it or not, Chung Myung continued,

“Hmm. Southern Edge is surely good…”

Come to think of it, the situation in which many people were coming to Xi’an.

‘I hope they rot in hell.’

In the past, when he was in full swing as the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, everyone from the evil sects was stopped.

And in just a hundred years, they were now entering into every nook and cranny?

“I will have to deal with both at once. Those filthy people of the evil sects are trying to set foot in other people’s land!”

“You said Southern Edge was what you wanted to take down.”

“Ah, I did?”

I don’t remember that.