Chapter 1131
Confucius once said, ‘Befriend a righteous person and you will become righteous, follow the treacherous ones and you will become treacherous yourself.’
In other words, a person’s character is not only influenced by what their nature is, but also by the friends around them.
And if that statement is correct… then it was clear that all of those gathered as Heavenly Comrade Alliance right now were nothing but scumbags who should not be befriended at all.
“… S- Shit….”
“I’m definitely killing them today.”
Five Swords walked towards the training ground with a face twisted in anger. Their eyes were filled with venom.
“It was so cold I thought my mouth would drop.”
“No. Did we burn down the quarter! It was Nokrim who set it on fire! Then Nokrim should be kicked out, why do we sleep in one place?”
“That’s right! If they wanted to make someone sleep outside, it should have been those Ice Palace bastards. They sleep with all the windows and doors open because they’re so hot even with sleepwear!”
“Wow, they sleep with the windows open? If that’s the case, they should sleep outside themselves!”
Baek Cheon tilted his head from side to side.
“Enough.”
Murderous intent burned in his eyes.
“I don’t know about the others, but the punks of Nokrim are going down today. These crazy guys dare go as far as setting fire to the quarter?”
“I’m sure that Nokrim King bastard ordered them to do so.”
“Nokrim King my ass. Just call him a bandit bastard!”
Mount Hua Sect already has psychological scars from fire, especially from the fire that burns on quarters as is. Wasn’t it thanks to the fire that, as Chung Myung once said, is just to everyone and everything, that Mount Hua faced the risk of getting completely burned down to the ground?
“They set a fire while knowing that? Are they even human?”
Baek Cheon’s eyes become bloodshot.
He had nightmares all night because of the face of Im Sobyeong, who was laughing while watching the whole building burn down. That expression seemed to shout, ‘I’m not trying to win this fight, I’m just trying to piss off those Mount Hua bastards.’ It made him even more upset.
“Im Sobyeong….”
Baek Cheon was gnashing his teeth, but Jo-Gol seemed to have a slightly different opinion.
“No, is this the time to talk about Nokrim King? Aren’t Tang Family brats the bigger problem!”
Jo-Gol rolled his eyes and spoke passionately.
“No, those crazy brats, if those thoughtless bandits set fire to the quarter, they should at least try to put it out. Yet they threw poison bombs into the fire?”
“….”
“If it weren’t for that poison smoke (??(毒煙)), we could’ve put out the fire and saved the building. Don’t you remember that Tang Zhan bastard admiring the pink poison smoke, saying it was a beautiful sight?”
“It was quite a sight.”
“Kind of like a plum blossom field.”
“Yeah, it was pretty.”
“What are you agreeing on, you crazy bastards!”
“…Gol, calm down. After all, he’s still our Sasuk.”
“Huh? Sahyung? Why didn’t you hit me today?”
“…It’s hard to understand, but I happen to be thinking the same thing as you right now.”
Yun Jong shook his head as he spoke.
“…And aside from the poison smoke, if the beasts of Beast Palace hadn’t gone wild, we could have put out the fire before the entire palace was completely burned down. But what can we do when the so-called mystical creatures run amok with their tails on fire? We’re not even Baek-ah.”
“By the way, what happened to Baek-ah? I haven’t seen him.”
“He was desperately trying to control the beasts back then and collapsed from exhaustion…”
“So, he’s bedridden? Poor guy…”
“No, he’s more or less recovered from the exhaustion, but he got caught by Chung Myung when he heard that the beasts went wild.”
“…What does that have to do with anything?”
“He had said that if the beasts do something wrong, it’s all Baek-ah’s responsibility?”
Everyone closed their eyes tightly. From Baek-ah’s perspective, it must have been unfair. No matter how great he was, he was just a marten. What could he do when beasts the size of a house are running wild with fire?
This isn’t a problem of ability, but rather something that can’t be helped due to his innate size. But the problem is that such excuses won’t work for Chung Myung.
“Amitabha. May he find rebirth in paradise…”
“He’s not dead yet!”
But Hye Yeon shook his head coldly.
“That’s just an empty attachment. How can one who has been taken by a demon return alive? Next time we see him, he’ll probably be a nice scarf.”
“…How did someone like this come from Buddhism?”
“I was sure he was shy and kind when we first met him.”
“Then it’s our fault.”
“That’s hard to deny.”
Everyone became solemn in front of the original sin (?) of Mount Hua. In fact, just by looking at Hye Yeon alone, isn’t it understandable that Bop Jeong held ill feelings toward Mount Hua and the actions he committed because of it?
From the moment they tricked the genius monk who was supposed to lead the next generation of Shaolin into a drunkard who seeks alcohol every night, the relationship between Mount Hua and Shaolin became irreparable.
“Anyway, it was like hell.”
Baek Cheon shook his head as if he had enough.
The bandits who set fire to the quarter, and Mount Hua disciples who ran around screaming like wild boars who had been hit by lightning as soon as they saw the fire.
And when Mount Hua disciples got scared and tried to put out the fire, punks of Tang Family threw poison bombs into the quarter and laughed, and Beast Palace warriors were sweating bullets trying to catch the mystical creatures that were running wild with their tails on fire.
All the chaos and evil in the world seemed to be mixed together that night. If Asura had seen it, he would have shaken his head and mumbled, ‘Teacher, the class is progressing too fast.’
“…Now that I think about it, where were the people of Ice Palace back then? The Ice Palace’s Ice Energy Art would have helped put out the fire.”
“They ran without looking back, saying it’s too hot being even slightly near fire.”
Baek Cheon tightly shut his twitched lips.
‘How can there not be a single sane person among them?’
He can’t tell. Either the people who gathered were all insane to begin with, or the normal sects went crazy when they entered Heavenly Comrade Alliance.
“Anyway, I’m really going to kill them all.”
Everyone gritted their teeth.
“…I agree this time.”
“Me too.”
“Sibling or whatever, I’ll drive a needle right into the middle of their face!”
The disciples of Mount Hua headed to the training ground with their fighting spirits burning. And, as expected, other sects were already there setting up camp.
“Aigoo.”
As soon as Five Swords appeared, Im Sobyeong leisurely waved his fan. With his corpse-like face that had become even more gaunt these past few days, regardless of how nonchalantly he was acting, he looked like someone who would die soon.
“I wonder if you slept well last night, our Taoists-nim.”
Eudeuduk!
The sound of Mount Hua disciples gnashing their teeth resonated like music. Im Sobyeong chuckled at the sight.
As they watched the mastermind who had set the quarters on fire, the fires of hell burned within the hearts of the disciples of Mount Hua. It was a fire that would not be extinguished unless they caught that bastard and burned him to death.
“You, you talk too much!”
“Hahahat. You can’t sleep… Cough! Cough! Couuughh! Ca- can’t sle…. Ghueeeeeck!”
Im Sobyeong coughed as if he was going to vomit out his lungs. With each cough, red blood splattered everywhere, making even the surrounding bandits nervously step back.
“C- Cough. Sle…. Sleep…. Cough.”
“…That man will die on his own even if we just leave him alone?”
“Should we just leave him? Feels like we’re doing corpse duty.”
“No. If he dies, he must die by our hands. Beat him to death before he peacefully passes away.”
“As expected from our Sasuk. Truly worthy of being the second most ruthless in Mount Hua Sect.”
“What? I’m second? What about Jo-Gol?”
Even Baek Cheon couldn’t bring himself to claim any lower than third.
At that moment, several people approached, laughing mockingly. It seemed that it wasn’t just Nokrim and Im Sobyeong who wanted to make fun of the situation that Mount Hua had been in yesterday.
“Aigoo, you came out wearing those burnt and torn clothes. How undignified.”
“It looks like Mount Hua has no money.”
“With all their clothes burned up yesterday, what can they do? Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should have been more careful with fire, awake or asleep.”
Baek Cheon stared fiercely at those who laughed smugly.
“Enjoying yourselves… aren’t you?”
“Is there really any reason to be depressed?”
“Right. I enjoyed watching the fireworks too.”
“And a good show of people as well.”
“Oh, really?”
Baek Cheon twisted his neck and grabbed the sword at his waist.
“But what to do? It seems those eyes that enjoyed the fire show won’t stay intact for long.”
“Aigo. Taoists even make threats too these days. Why don’t you see whether you can?”
“Think I can’t?”
There was no longer a need for words.
Wasn’t it a relationship where they had already built up ill feelings with warm fists and resentment with gentle stabbing? Now, they’ve become close (?) enough to launch surprise attacks just because their eyes meet without saying a word.
Friendship that is shared through words is not true friendship. They now prove their bond through actions rather than meaningless talk.
“Kill them all!”
“You little punk, today is your funeral….”
Kwaaaaaaang!
“Aaaaaargh!”
At that very moment, someone shot up towards the blue sky at the speed of light.
“What, what is that?”
“Aigoo, Gol!”
“Jo- Jo-Gol Sahyung!”
The disciples of Mount Hua instinctively flinched when they saw Jo-Gol flying around and drawing a red trail in the sky. The disciples of other sects who had originally intended to blow Jo-Gol away were also momentarily taken aback and stopped in their tracks.
‘What?’
No one had approached Mount Hua yet, though? Bewildered, they blinked and looked at the place where Jo-Gol had been. Instead of Jo-Gol, there stood someone else they recognized.
“Chung… Myung-ah?”
“Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword?”
“No, why….”
Drip, drip, drip.
The blood that Jo-Gol had sprinkled in the air fell like a drizzle. Chung Myung smiled brightly in the midst of it.
At that moment, Baek Cheon’s heart sank.
‘Da- Dangerous…’
The mouth was smiling, but the corners of his eyes were awkwardly stiff. His eyebrows twitched subtly. This was the ultimate warning signal among warning signals.
“Ch- Chung Myung! I don’t know what’s going on, but… L- Let’s calm down first…”
“Calm down?”
Chung Myung’s smile grew even brighter. Baek Cheon’s face began to turn pale. At the same time, the quick-witted Yoo Iseol quietly stepped back.
Chung Myung opened his mouth.
“No, no. Sasuk, I think you misunderstood something. I didn’t come here with bad intentions.”
“I- Is that so?”
Any person with common sense would question why he had beaten Jo-Gol, but at this moment, no one mentioned it. No, it’s none of their business whether Jo-Gol lives or not…
“I just wanted to ask.”
“Huh? What, what is it?”
“No… I heard that strangely these days, Sasuks and Sahyungs are having dogfights instead of sparring. So, I wanted to check. Are you in a fight right now?”
Baek Cheon’s face turned pale. Whether Chung Myung was the one who created all this or not is meaningless now.
“Tha- that can’t be.”
“No way!”
“Eiii! That’s ridiculous, Dojang-nim!”
“Who- who would say something like that! We’re so close!”
“It’s just sparring, sparring! Just a spar!”
Those who knew what kind of person Chung Myung was instantly agreed on what to say. Tang Family and Mount Hua Sect, who had been cursing each other as if they were going to kill each other, laughed with their arms around each other like old friends, and bandits of Nokrim also shook hands with Namgung Family while sweating profusely.
It was a historic moment that seemed impossible to happen in which Ten Great Sects, Five Great Family, whether it is Evil or Righteous Sects, came together in harmony. However, the true meaning behind it was horrifying.
“Oh, really? Then did I misunderstand?”
“O- Of course!”
“This is all for the sake of bettering us all.”
“It’s not in the slightest bit personal, I’m telling you? Hahahahahaha!”
“That’s right, Siju!”
Even Yoon Jong and Hye Yeon were busy making excuses while sweating profusely.
But when in a large group, there are bound to be some who don’t have much tact.
“No, why are you pretending to be close all of a sudden, you damn bastards!”
“Who said we were pretending to be close to you! You barbarians!”
“What did you say, you little punk?”
The heads of those from the four sects of Jungwon turned sharply. Ice Palace and Beast Palace, who had no understanding of this situation at all, bared their teeth at each other and fought again.
‘Shut up!’
‘Please read the room!’
‘I swear I’m killing those bastards later!’
At that very moment when no one could open their mouths.
“Oh, so you weren’t fighting? Then you are close to each other, aren’t you?”
“O- Of course!”
“Absolutely!”
“Eii. We can’t live without each other now.”
Chung Myung nodded with a satisfied look.
“Yes. In the process of becoming close, you fight and all. As you fight, your bond grows stronger, right?”
“Of course!”
“Hahaha. We couldn’t be closer.”
Tang Pae and Namgung Dowi desperately tried to make up a story. Then Chung Myung spoke.
“That’s why I felt a bit sorry.”
“…Yes?”
He smacked his lips with a grin.
“Come to think of it, I’m of the same status, but everyone is becoming close without me. Isn’t that right?”
“N- No way!”
“We’re closest to you, Dojang!”
“Not at all, really!”
“Eii. Don’t be so polite. So, from now on, I’m also going to hang out and try to get to know you better.”
“Si- Siju. Wait a minute….”
Chung Myung excitedly cracked his neck from side to side.
“That. being. said.”
Everyone there saw it.
Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword. The greatest enemy of Evil Tyrant Alliance who defeated the bishop of Magyo. The sight of the eyes of such a man with great name emitted a ferocious light that even the demon himself could not rival.
Kuuung!
As Chung Myung stomped the ground, a crack like a spider web appeared along with a crunching sound.
“Come on, let’s get to know each other, you little bastards!”
He overturned his eyes and lunged forward.
“Heeeeeeek!”
Everyone was thrown into chaos. The desperate screams of the poor(?) lambs filled the manor as the enraged tiger lunged at them.
