Chapter 1371: That's How It Should Be Done (Part 1)

"Cough."

"..."

"Coooooough."

"..."

"Coooooooouuuuuuugh."

"Ah, seriously!"

In the end, Baek Cheon, who had reached the limits of patience, turned his head and shouted at Im Sobyeong.

"If you have something to say, say it!"

"Can I really say it?"

"...No, don't."

"I'm bursting inside!"

"...I said don't."

Although Baek Cheon attempted futile resistance again, Im Sobyeong cleanly ignored him and continued speaking.

"Can I contact them now? Let's just send those guys going to the village back!"

"No..."

"Deputy Sect Leader, are you without any speed? [not sure] After being driven away like that, do you still want to gather those people and take them to Gangbuk?"

"..."

"...Grain? Grain? Seriously, do you think they'll carry those grains on their backs when they go to Gangbuk? They'll have to abandon those anyway, so why bother bringing those people all the way to the North, who can't even give up a single thing?"

"..."

"Just say it! We can turn those heading to Hyeong Village back right now!"

Baek Cheon, who had been silent all along, heaved a deep sigh.

"...But still, there's a matter of human decency..."

"Deeeeeeecency?"

In the end, Im Sobyeong, whose patience had run out, flipped his eyes. Baek Cheon suddenly thought that Nokrim King resembled Chung Myung quite a bit. Even though they only resembled such things.

"Decency? Decency! You said it well! Did we violate that damned decency? It's not us who threw away the decency of being human, but those guys, isn't it?"

Baek Cheon had nothing to say to that. He still had the same determination to save them, but it seemed that logic couldn't overcome Nokrim King.

Moreover, weren't Taoists the type of people who covered up the things they couldn't explain with logic by saying they had a greater meaning or good intentions?

"Dojang!"

"Cough."

"Dojaaaaaang!"

Even when urged, Baek Cheon remained motionless, so Im Sobyeong completely lit up his eyes.

"No, living this long, what kind of fools are these guys..."

Pow!

"Kya-a-a-ah!"

The running Im Sobyeong fell forward as if shot. In response, Namgung Dowi, who had been running behind, casually picked him up.

"Wow, he's really acting up."

Chung Myung, who kicked Im Sobyeong away, flicked his hand, shaking off the dirt.

"Ughhhhh."

Im Sobyeong grabbed the back of his head, groaning for a while before opening his eyes.

"Why are you hitting me! What did I do wrong..."

Pow!

"Aaargh!"

"Is this Evil Sect guy crazy? Where did he open his eyes like that? Should I just stab him?"

"Chung Myung. You should say that before stabbing him."

"Ah. Right, true."

Baek Cheon let out a long sigh. Not like that, damn it...

Chung Myung squinted at Im Sobyeong, who was groaning, and scolded him.

"Anyway, it's because he's a bandit!"

"Am I saying these things really because I'm a bandit?"

Im Sobyeong looked around with teary eyes, rubbing his eyes. His stabbed eyes were bloodshot.

"In fact, isn't everyone thinking that! Why bother saving those who don't even appreciate it? Imagine meeting them again in Gangbuk. Would you awkwardly laugh and make jokes with each other? Do you want to see that!"

"Noisy!"

Chung Myung slapped Im Sobyeong's back of the head loudly once again.

"You're a bandit because you do whatever you feel like!"

"..."

"What?"

"Well, that's not a wrong statement, but at least the Dojang shouldn't say such things, right?"

"What, you punk?"

The surrounding people nodded in agreement.

"That's right."

"That's definitely a correct statement."

"Sometimes bandits make more sense than Taoists."

"But what about these bastards?"

When Chung Myung glared at them, everyone turned their heads and pretended to be indifferent. And then, they grumbled inwardly.

'Did he recover just by resting for a few days...'

'Even if it was pitiful when he was injured, it was more comfortable.'

'He's the most adorable when he sleeps.'

Im Sobyeong pressed his teary eyes with his fingertips and asked.

"Well, does the Dojang's heart not burst?"

"Heart?"

"Yes! Aren't you really okay?"

"Really, tell me about my heart?"

"...Yes? Ah, yes."

"Your temperament is like a commoner or a beggar, just..."

"Hehehe! Chung Myung!"

"Mouth, shut up! Shut that mouth up!"

Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong rushed in to block the words that a Taoist should not say.

Nevertheless, due to the close distance, Hye Yeon had no choice but to hear the muffled sounds, and his face turned pale instantly. Inside his head, he mentally created a broom that had to somehow sweep it out.

"Tell me more? I can talk a lot more."

"...Taoist sir, you're really passionate..."

Even bandits wouldn't do that... Im Sobyeong shook his tired face.

Chung Myung snorted out a breath and said.

"But what can we do? Anyway, among them, there were people who helped us."

"There was a way to save just that person, right?"

"Did this bandit climb up from hell, not the mountains? If I told him to leave the village people he lived with and head to Gangbuk alone, would he go?"

Im Sobyeong tightly shut his mouth. He knew that Chung Myung's words were not wrong.

Offering a bag of grain to the Heavenly Comrade Alliance showed at least minimal sincerity. If that person did that, then it was only natural to rescue them. And if, in the process, they had to rescue others for that person...

"And... I don't know about other people, but you shouldn't say things like that! If you think about it that way, I would have been the first to cut off the head of you, a bandit."

With his skull tingling, Im Sobyeong awkwardly smiled and unconsciously touched his pale neck.

"Hehe, hehe... Haven't I changed my ways?"

Chung Myung looked at him with eyes that said he found him pathetic.

"Well."

"Huh?"

"Even a bandit who goes around killing people will change his ways and become a decent human being if you beat him up enough, so why should we leave those people alone regardless of what they did so wrong?"

"...No, they were wrong..."

"Everyone makes mistakes."

Chung Myung's gaze briefly shifted to the distant sky. Then, as if muttering to himself, he said,

"Yeah. Everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes, it's even hard to be forgiven for such mistakes."

Im Sobyeong didn't say anything. It felt like he shouldn't have said something.

"Still, people can change when there's someone who understands and forgives."

At that moment, several people nodded in agreement.

"Right, Dong Ryong?"

"I knew you would say that, this bastard!"

Baek Cheon got angry and swung his fist. Chung Myung skillfully dodged it and chuckled.

"Well, it's not just Sasuk. Namgung is the same, right?"

"...Please bury the past. In fact, how many people here are proud to discuss the past?"

"Cough."

"Ahemehehehem!"

Several people cleared their throats as if they were being stabbed.

Even besides Mount Hua, Tang Pae stabbed Chung Myung in the stomach once, and Namgung Dowi had boasted in front of him and gotten beaten up. And weren't Hye Yeon's words to Chung Myung in the final match of the martial arts competition still occasionally mentioned?

So, there was no choice but to silence themselves in response to Namgung Dowi's words.

"So, I don't really believe the saying that new shoots are yellow. Of course, I was a promising seedling from the beginning!"

"...I'd be damned."

"Because your shoots weren't yellow, but black and dead..."

Chung Myung shrugged his shoulders.

"Even if you end up resenting them, just save them first and then resent them."

"...Uh."

"If Great Sect Leader were here, he would have definitely said something like that."

In response to his words, the Mount Hua disciples nodded. If it were Hyun Jong, he would have surely said so. To understand what to do when there was confusion in one's heart, one just needed to think about what Hyun Jong would have done. That path was undoubtedly the right path for the disciples of Mount Hua.

Im Sobyeong, who had been listening silently, expressed his discontent.

"Well... the words are nice, but isn't it my kids who have to endure the danger because of that?"

"Whether a few bandits live or die, I don't know. In any case, aren't there too many of them in the first place?"

"...Are you really human?"

"In any case, let's stop talking about the past here."

Chung Myung decisively cut off Im Sobyeong, who seemed to continue grumbling.

"Now, there's no time to worry about that. They'll soon come tracking us."

Baek Cheon responded, nodding his head.

"We can reach Nanjing sooner than you think. Once we descend, our speed will pick up, and at most, it'll take a day or two."

An air of tension settled over everyone's faces.

The news that they would reach Nanjing in two days after descending the mountain posed a threat that left no room for relaxation.

"We initially thought Nanjing would be the least dangerous, but in reality..."

"It's an unknown variable."

"Yes."

Baek Cheon responded positively to Im Sobyeong's words. The term "unknown variable" was accurate. Currently, Gangnam was being shaken entirely due to their movements. Hence, there was no guarantee that the Nanjing they would soon reach was the same Nanjing they knew.

"Be prepared. We will definitely cross the Yangtze River."

"Yes!"

Everyone responded loudly to Baek Cheon's words. It was not just a response but also a commitment to themselves.

After a while, Im Sobyeong matched his pace with Chung Myung, who was running slightly ahead, and approached him. Unlike earlier when he was expressing dissatisfaction, he now had a serious expression, devoid of any traces of laughter.

"Dojang."

"Speak."

"The pursuit is slower than expected. And... there are no signs of those blocking the way ahead. Dojang must understand the implications of this."

Chung Myung nodded silently.

During a war, the absence of minor attacks only meant one situation – the enemy was preparing a powerful strike to completely obliterate this side.

"By now... Yes, he must have figured out where we're headed."

"Anyway, it's not like we thought he wouldn't know."

"Yes, that's true. However..."

The reason the Heavenly Comrade Alliance and the Southern Island group were heading to Nanjing was not to deceive the enemy. Considering time, distance, and the positions of each faction, Nanjing was the battlefield where they had the highest chance of success.

"Will he move?"

"Whether he moves or not doesn't matter."

"Yes?"

"The important thing is that even if he doesn't move directly, someone will move towards Nanjing. That's enough."

Chung Myung's eyes sank into darkness.

'Then Beopjeong will have no choice but to follow us.'

Beopjeong hated bearing unexpected losses. That was abundantly clear from the actions he had shown so far.

If that's the case, Beopjeong had no choice but to move towards Nanjing. He would want to keep all situations under his watchful eyes. And he would want to somehow block the potential variables like Chung Myung and Jang Ilso.

He didn't even know that this was Chung Myung's aim.

"Who was it that said that?"

"Huh?"

"That in the end, the world flows according to its natural state."

"..."

"But my thoughts are a bit different."

Chung Myung's mouth curled upwards. It was a chilly smile.

Originally, it was the Ten Great Sect's duty to save Southern Island. So, in fact, the hardships the group was currently experiencing should have been the responsibility of the Ten Great Sect.

"If things don't flow according to their natural state, we should forcefully make them go that way. So that no one feels unfairly treated."

His sharp gaze turned towards the distant north.

To the land of chaos where all the forces of the world were converging – Nanjing.