The yard of Mount Hua was filled with people.
"Ah, I told you not to push!"
"No, this man? You are the one who got in the way and are blaming others now!"
"Got in the way? I have been waiting in line since dawn!"
"Dawn? What nonsense? I have been here since last night, soaked in the night dew! You came so late at dawn and are pretending to have come early now! You are not even a person who can be handled!"
"T-that cannot be! Don't bluff…!"
As the two people tried to grab each other, those standing nearby stopped them.
"Are these people insane? Where do they think they are standing?"
"This is Mount Hua, Mount Hua! Do you think you are going to get hit by lightning or what!"
"If we get kicked out because of you, I will push you off the cliff!"
Yoon Jong, who saw this scene while sweeping the training ground, mumbled with a blank face.
"Gul."
"Yes, sahyung."
"Why did all of them come here like that? What are they here for?"
"No, how can a person who aids the Sect leader not know that? Aren't they the people who came to show their faces after hearing that Mount Hua has lifted the Closed Gate?"
"… like that?"
"Not that many… well, they are indeed a lot."
Jo Gul coughed in vain as he looked at the line of people, which seemed endless beyond the gate.
"If you think about it, it isn't that shocking. Even before the gates were opened, there were a lot of visitors to Mount Hua."
"That is true."
"But since people I haven't seen in three years are stopping by to say their greetings, this is just natural. Furthermore, Mount Hua's status has also risen compared to before."
Even before the Closed Gate was implemented, Mount Hua had almost taken over the position of the representative sect in Shaanxi. And by blocking the invasion of the Evil Sect this time, they had almost firmly established that position.
Since public opinion suggested that even if Southern Edge had intervened, it wouldn't have been easy to turn the situation around, all the influential people in Shaanxi were eager to get into the good graces of Mount Hua.
Even outsiders who wanted to align themselves with the Heavenly Friends Alliance were coming from distant lands, so it was clear that the line wouldn't shorten as the days passed; rather, it would grow longer.
"The world really is like that…"
Jo Gul chuckled as he watched Yoon Jong shake his head.
"I don't know about other people, but you have to get used to it, sahyung. When you become the leader of the sect, you will have to deal with those people."
"…"
Yoon Jong looked at the crowd gathered at the gate with an exhausted expression.
Those people? All of them?
"No, no, it isn't just that. If it's like this now, by the time sahyung becomes the sect leader, the line might be as long as the entrance to Mount Hua."
"A-as if it would be that much…"
"Take comfort in your words. And that is the bare minimum."
"B-bare minimum?"
"Of course, when sahyung takes the place of sect leader, wouldn't it be at least 20-30 years later? The sect leader is still upright, and even sasuk would have his eyes open."
"… your choice of words is odd, you know. Anyway."
"What do you think Chung Myung will be like in 30 years?"
"…."
Chung Myung and not Mount Hua?
"W-what will happen to Chung Myung in 30 years…"
Yoon Jong closed his mouth.
"Until recently, he was Mount Hua's Divine Dragon, but now he is Mount Hua's Sword Saint. In thirty years, he might be the First of the World's Plum Blossom Invincible Sword Emperor."
"… you have to laugh at such jokes, but the problem is that even that doesn't sound like a joke."
"It isn't a joke?"
"…."
"If you want to take that guy and act like the sect leader, even sahyung will end up having his head hurt."
Jo Gul smiled. For the first time, Yoon Jong seriously considered handing over the sect leader position to Jo Gul.
"… The sect leader must have had a hard time too."
Just then,
"Mount Hua Divine DRAGOOOONN! No, Mount Hua SWORD SAINTTTTT! W-we have a problem!"
Someone leaped over Mount Hua's gate like lightning and screamed until their throat was raw.
"… We will have to deal with those people too."
"Right."
The two people who saw Hong Dae-Kwang, the beggar who jumped over the sect gate, shook their heads in unison.
"Plum Blossom Island is?"
"Y-yes!"
Hong Dae-Kwang gulped down the water Hyun Young had prepared for him, quenched his parched throat, and continued.
"The Namgung family has taken over Plum Blossom Island! Our cute blue pigeon had to fly thousands of miles to deliver this news!"
"… that should come under animal abuse."
Even so, it was just a pigeon, but it flew a thousand miles with effort just because it had little blue wings. Poor thing.
Chung Myung stared intently at the blue pigeon preening its feathers on Hong Dae-Kwang's shoulder.
Was that something that flew a thousand miles to get something delicious and didn't even run away? If it were Baek Ah, she would have caught and eaten two wild boars on the way, then lay down with her stomach out and had a drink.
Ah, right… right. When he thought about it, it did seem useful….
"N-No!"
Hong Dae-Kwang was startled and grabbed the pigeon on his shoulder with both hands.
"What?"
"You are eyeing our pigeon right now! This is the spirit of the Beggars Union! Absolutely not!"
"Why are you acting so petty now? It is good to share nice things."
"I said it cannot be done!"
"Tsk. Beggars have turned so harsh. It wasn't like this in the past."
"When is this past you are talking about?"
"There was such a time."
That was right. It wasn't like that back then.
Even when he hid a jug of alcohol in his pocket, he politely offered it to Chung Myung with both hands when they met. Even though Chung Myung said he was alright, the beggar insisted on giving it to him. Tsk tsk, these days, it wasn't like…
"No, forget it."
At that moment, Hyun Young interrupted the situation and asked again.
"The Namgung family drove out the pirates and occupied Plum Blossom Island?"
"Right, elder. The disciples in the Northern Land immediately sent up the Blue Pigeon. This is the hottest news that the main sect sent us."
"Hmm. The Namgung family, huh…"
Hyun Young looked at Hyun Jong with a displeased expression.
"Things seem to be going badly, sect leader."
"… I see. Could it be that the Namgung family has…"
While Hyun Jong and Hyun Young were talking, Hong Dae-Kwang glanced at Chung Myung with bright eyes.
'What is this guy doing?'
Things had turned out this way, and he was truly shocked.
Before this even happened, Chung Myung had gone to meet him and asked about the Namgung family's movements. While no one, not even the Beggars Union, could think of it as a variable, this guy was sitting in a faraway land alone, looking through the events that would unfold in the Yangtze River.
'Is this something that can be done just because you are smart?'
He was confident that he knew enough about Chung Myung, but the more he learned about this strange Taoist, the more difficult it was to predict.
"Um, Branch Leader Hong."
"Sect leader."
Hong Dae-Kwang suddenly came to his senses and looked at Hyun Jong. It was impolite to have other thoughts in front of the sect leader, especially of Mount Hua.
"What does the Beggars Union think about this? It seems like the Four Precepts Alliance won't stay still."
"The Beggars Union is also on edge about the movements on the Yangtze River."
Hong Dae-Kwang gulped dryly.
"However, it is hard to predict what will happen in the future. As you know, there are so many variables…"
If a normal war were to break out, predicting the flow wouldn't be as difficult as one might think. Even if the number of people participating in the war increased, the individuals who actually moved the army were ultimately only a few.
However, the war in Kangho was different.
Since each sect had such a strong personality and had formed an independent force, orders didn't work well. That was why the flow of war was completely different from what the person who planned it thought.
No one would have thought that the Namgung family, who had been living like mice for three years, would rush to the Yangtze River and defeat the pirates as soon as they heard the news… No, didn't almost everyone think of it?
"So, the Beggars Union has asked for the opinion of Mount Hua."
"Our opinion?"
"Yes."
Hong Dae-Kwang's eyes shifted to the side.
Hyun Jong, who didn't miss that gaze, smiled bitterly. The Beggars Union, second to none when it came to information, wondered why they would bother to ask Mount Hua's opinion.
'Because of Chung Myung.'
Perhaps Chung Myung had said something to Hong Dae-Kwang to find out the situation at the Yangtze River without his knowledge. That must have been right.
"Chung Myung."
"Yes?"
"How do you think the Four Precepts Alliance will act now?"
"That is, well…"
Chung Myung shrugged calmly.
"Jang Ilso must be fine with this."
"Well, that is true."
It was really true, but it was a useless remark.
"But actually, that isn't very important."
"What do you mean?"
Chung Myung snickered.
"Actually, the Four Precepts Alliance is a constant. It is obvious how those people will act now."
"But then?"
"The variables are those people. The bald head and the hypocrites."
"Hy-hypocrites…"
Of course, the bald head referred to Shaolin, and the hypocrites referred to Wudang.
"First, let us see how the hypocrites react."
Chung Myung chuckled.
"Even if they sealed the gates now, they probably wouldn't be covering their ears. If they heard that the Namgung family was beating up the Evil Sect, they would definitely be furious."
"… of course."
Right now, the ones who wanted to restore their honor more than anyone else was none other than Wudang. No matter how much the Namgung family was shaken by the humiliation of the Yangtze River war, how could that humiliation and anger compare to Wudang's?
"If it were me, I would have lifted the seal on the gate and run to the Yangtze River right away… but the sect leader there is Venerable Heo Do."
Chung Myung scratched his cheek.
Venerable Heo Do's thoughts were so unpredictable that it was hard to foresee them.
"And more importantly, the bald…"
"Ygh."
Hae Yeon, who was sitting in the corner, groaned.
But Chung Myung ignored Hae Yeon's reaction and continued speaking.
"The situation will change a lot depending on how that man reacts."
"How do you think it will turn out?"
"… my thoughts?"
"Yes. Your thoughts."
"If you want my thoughts…"
Chung Myung had an odd expression.
"I think I know."
"Right."
"I hope it doesn't happen if possible. If people had a minimum amount of shame, they wouldn't do that. But since they are all shameless, I think they would."
"W-what is that supposed to mean?"
"That is really hard to put into words, so if my thoughts are right, then by now…"
That was it.
"Sect leader!"
Bam!
Un Am hurriedly kicked open the door and came in, his face slightly pale.
"What is happening?"
Hyun Jong, sensing something ominous had happened, asked. Un Am opened his mouth with a perplexed expression.
But.
"Now!"
"… uh?"
Before Un Am could even finish his words, someone spoke first. Everyone's eyes turned to the one who had opened his mouth, Chung Myung.
"In the yard."
"…"
"The abbot of Shaolin has arrived."
"…"
"Right?"
Un Am stared blankly at him, as if he had encountered a ghost, and nodded his head in shock.
"H-How did you know? I came running as soon as he met me."
"Huh."
Chung Myung turned to the ceiling and snickered.
"T-that is really shameless. A beggar who begs for money would have more shame. This bald moron. A rich monk is worse than a beggar."
"…"
Hae Yeon, sitting in the corner, had his hair dyed red like a plum blossom.