Chapter 1091: I May Have Gone a Bit Too Far With My Words (Part 1)

At the edge of a spacious veranda, Chung Myung stood, holding a bottle of alcohol in one hand, staring blankly at the moon.

A bit further away, the Five Swords observed him in silence. Normally, they would have been frantically running around if a patient were drinking, but they could only watch from a distance at this moment.

"What do you think he's thinking?"

"Well..."

Baek Cheon shook his head at Tang Soso's question.

"He's a guy whose thoughts are hard to fathom."

"...Indeed."

Yoon Jong and Jo Gol both sighed simultaneously. The gazes of Mount Hua's disciples looking at Chung Myung were quite complex.

"Sahyung."

"Why?"

"How on earth does Chung Myung know all that in the first place?"

When Yoon Jong didn't answer, Jo Gol glanced at him and continued speaking.

"Well... isn't it a bit strange? Of course, if that guy Chung Myung is from a place that has a grudge against the Demonic Cult in the past, it's not strange for him to know some details about the Demonic Cult... But..."

Jo Gol couldn't finish his sentence and closed his mouth. The words he originally wanted to say were, 'Doesn't he know too much even in that case?'

But he couldn't bring himself to say it. Discussing Chung Myung's past was something they all implicitly considered taboo. It wasn't explicitly decided that someone shouldn't bring up such stories, but everyone unconsciously avoided mentioning it because they knew it would make each other uncomfortable.

What confused Jo Gol the most after experiencing this incident was the reaction Chung Myung had shown when he saw the Heavenly Executioner of the Demonic Sect.

'He recognized him.'

There were plenty of hypothetical situations.

For instance, maybe Chung Myung's ancestor was from the Mount Hua Sect, but right before the battle that was to take place on the Mount Hundred Thousand Mountains against the Heavenly Demon, he couldn't handle the burden and ran away.

So even though he knew all of Mount Hua's martial arts in the past, he couldn't come back to Mount Hua because of that guilt. Yes, just like Yoo Iseol's father.

A huge sect that declined and fell into ruin. Were there just one or two people who had a story related to that?

Therefore, until now, no one had actively tried to uncover Chung Myung's past. But now, Jo Gol's thoughts reached a slightly different conclusion.

'Even if that's the case... can that person really recognize the bishop from a hundred years ago? Did that person from the past really convey every detail of the appearance of the bishops from a hundred years ago?'

It was an unknowable matter. However, one thing was certain: Chung Myung's knowledge of the Demonic Cult was not something that could be explained merely by hearsay.

"So what if it's strange?"

"...Yes?"

At that moment, Yoon Jong turned to Jo Gol with dark eyes.

"Why? Are you starting to doubt Chung Myung now?"

"Oh, no, it's just...."

Yoon Jong cut him off with a frown.

"Don't say unnecessary things. Regardless of how or what he knows, Chung Myung has always been doing his best to help us so far. That is an unchanging fact."

"I know that too...."

Jo Gol lowered his head with a sulky face. Yoon Jong's words were undeniable, and Jo Gol had no intention of denying them either.

'Come to think of it, it feels like just yesterday when I got beaten up and pinned onto the ceiling by that guy.' 

Looking back, time had really flown by.

Back then, who would have imagined that things would turn out like this for Mount Hua?

"...When you think about it, it's all because of him coming to Mount Hua."

"Huh?"

"Isn't it true? If it weren't for him, would we be worrying about the future of Kangho?"

Yoon Jong, who was contemplating quietly, looked at Chung Myung with fresh eyes.

If it weren't for Chung Myung, Jo Gol would have returned to his family. Yoon Jong would have guarded the deserted Mount Hua alone. Yoo Iseol might have stayed somehow, but Tang Soso would never have come to Mount Hua, and it wasn't certain where Baek Cheon might have ended up.

No, perhaps even before that, the Mount Hua sect may have fallen apart, and everyone would have scattered, finding their own paths.

"Didn't this all start when that guy suddenly entered the Mount Hua Sect?"

"...That's right."

Yoon Jong, who answered quietly, fell into thought for a moment.

What was Chung Myung thinking at that time?

Looking back now, it was clear that Chung Myung had wanted to turn Mount Hua into a formidable sect just like in the past. How could he have had such thoughts when entering a failed sect? What had he been thinking?

"...I really don't know."

Just as Jo Gol uttered those bitter words, Yoon Jong glanced back with a very uneasy look.

"Then... Sasuk."

"Huh?"

"...It's a bit strange to be saying this now after telling Jo Gol to shut up... Right now, I've thought of something that might make a little sense... Well, not exactly make sense, but something like that... Anyway, I've been thinking about it."

Uncharacteristic of Yoon Jong, the introduction was lengthy and his tone was strange.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Well... It's about Chung Myung."

Baek Cheon's eyes slightly hardened. It was uncomfortable to bring up again a story that had already been buried once.

"Well... We, um, we're a little bit suspic... No, the reason we look at him with ambiguous eyes is because he knows too much about the past of the Demonic Sect, isn't it?"

"Is that so?"

"He knows too much about the war a hundred years ago. So, I mean... Maybe..."

Yoon Jong fell silent for a moment, and everyone swallowed dry saliva.

"Well, maybe what?"

Hearing the urging voice, Yoon Jong glanced uneasily at Chung Myung and then opened his mouth.

"Um... Chung Myung..."

Then he closed his eyes tightly and blurted out.

"Could he be... from the Demonic Sect?"

For a moment, silence filled the air. Baek Cheon's eyes widened. Those standing beside him also widened their eyes and opened their mouths in surprise.

Baek Cheon fumbled with a bewildered face.

"Oh, no... No... This son of a... That's an absurd thing to say...."

But at that moment, someone next to him clapped their hands with a loud sound.

"That's convincing!"

"...The riddle has been solved."

"Huh?"

Baek Cheon turned his puzzled face around. The disciples all nodded with faces full of realization.

"Come to think of it, he does seem more suited for the Demonic Sect than the righteous sect."

"...And he knows so much about the Demonic Sect."

"Personality too."

"That's right, Sago, his personality!"

"Oh, no...."

Cold sweat began to trickle down Baek Cheon's neat forehead.

This was so absurd, ridiculous, and incredibly plausible... No! Damn it! Plausible! What am I thinking!

"Say something that makes sense! Is there anyone in the world who hates the Demonic Sect more than Chung Myung? That guy's hatred of the Demonic Sect is at a level that requires treatment and counseling from a specialist."

"Please calm down, Sasuk."

At that moment, Jo Gol interjected, clicking his tongue.

"It seems Sasuk might not know because he grew up so nicely."

"Why are you saying that?"

"...Never mind that."

With a brazen gesture, Jo Gol pointed at Baek Cheon with his chin and asked,

"What is the sect Sasuk hates the most?"

"Southern Edge Sect."

Without a moment's hesitation, the answer came out. Jo Gol nodded as if to say, 'See?'

"Where is Sasuk originally from?"

"...Southern Edge Sect."

"Any more to say?"

Wow... This couldn't be refuted.

"In the first place, people who turn their backs are more scary. If that bastard used to be with the Demonic Sect and then got fed up and ran away, I can understand everything. With that crazy personality and absurd martial arts."

Yoon Jong, listening to Jo Gol's words, looked at Baek Cheon seriously.

"If it were someone else, I wouldn't know, but if it's that guy, he might go to Mount Hua, the place the Demonic Sect hates the most, and cause trouble just because he hates the Demonic Sect. That's what he would do."

Baek Cheon remained silent.

Didn't Baek Cheon, at some point, charge into the Mount Hua Sect, the place where Jin Geum Ryong and the Southern Edge Sect despised the most? Whether this statement was plausible or not, Baek Cheon had no right to say it wasn't possible.

"...No, let's stop the nonsense."

"Is there a possibility?"

"Not just a possibility, it's high."

"Confirmed."

Baek Cheon pressed his temples firmly. Now, he couldn't distinguish whether these guys were sincerely saying such things or making jokes. The situation was getting extremely tangled.

He let out a deep sigh.

"Anyway... If there's something that needs to be said, I'll say it. You all know it, right? Chung Myung is a guy that doesn't bother telling us unnecessary things, but if it's necessary, he'll definitely speak up."

"That's true."

"He knew about the Demonic Cult but hadn't mentioned it to us until now. You know why, right?"

"...Yes."

Everyone nodded knowingly. It was impossible not to know. If they had learned about the true power of the Demonic Cult three years ago, their spirits might have been broken.

Even now, they were dumbfounded at the overwhelming gap between the Demonic Sect and themselves, so how would it have been back then?

Chung Myung was still holding a bottle and staring blankly at the moon. Baek Cheon, who glimpsed at him, spoke calmly.

"On the other hand, it means that we've grown enough to handle everything we can handle this knowledge."

"..."

"So let's wait a little longer. If a situation arises that we need to know, he'll definitely tell us."

"Yes, Sasuk."

Yoon Jong nodded. Then, after discreetly surveying everyone, he spoke in a lower voice.

"More importantly... um... Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm the only one thinking this."

"What are you thinking?"

"The conversation between the Sect Leader and Chung Myung earlier, did you understand that?"

Baek Cheon remained silent. Yoon Jong scratched his head with a sheepish smile.

"I felt like it ended ambiguously after starting off well... If you understood, can you explain it?"

"Uh... well..."

Baek Cheon's face was somewhat troubled. In fact, he also didn't fully grasp the conversation between the last two. The phrase 'Just do as what Heavenly Comrade Alliance has been doing' wasn't precisely clear on what it meant.

"To be honest, I'm not sure either..."

"Let me explain it!"

"Oh, sir! You surprised me!"

Startled by the sudden voice, Baek Cheon stepped back.

Im Sobyeong, who had appeared out of nowhere, was waving a fan.

"Hehehehe."

"..."

"Hehehehe."

Im So Byeong covered half his face with the fan and laughed unpleasantly.

"Why are you doing this? There must be a reason."

"Oh, sorry. Just thinking of it makes me happy."

Im So Byeong shrugged and got to the point.

"It's nothing extraordinary. Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword, that is, Chung Myung Dojang, has simply declared that they will unite Kangho with the Heavenly Comrade Alliance."

"Ah, was that it... Wait, what, you crazy guy?"

Baek Cheon's pupils shook.