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“Thi- This is Kugang!”

The Taoist.

Hyun Jong quickly surveyed his surroundings.

‘How many hardships there must have been!’

If Chung Myung had arrived on time, there would have been nothing dangerous, but even so, the opponent is the pirates of Yangzte River. They are not an opponent they can afford with a few numbers.

“Come on, everyone!”

“Yes! Sect Leader!”

But now, they are no longer few numbered.

Mount Hua’s forces from Shaanxi had just arrived in Kugang with him!

Of course, it’s impossible for Mount Hua Sect to deal with all those pirates of Yangzte River alone, but it’s easy to wipe out a water fortress or two. Now, Mount Hua is no longer a weak third-rate sect in Shaanxi!

Hyun Jong’s eyes shone with determination as he saw the disciples standing behind him.

“If they touch our disciples, they’ll pay the price! Let’s go!”

“Yes, Sect Leader!”

Mount Hua’s disciples proudly entered Kugang, exuding a ferocious spirit.

“…What did you say?”

“Ah, it’s all done already, Sect Leader.”

“Already…?”

“Yes, they’ve wiped them all.”

“….”

Hyun Jong blinked his eyes, dumbfounded. The beggar who delivered the message looked at him with a slightly apologetic expression.

“…Was the water fortress such a small place?”

“How could that be? It’s one of the Eighteen Water Fortress of the Yangzte River.”

“Right?”

“It’s a place called Great Whale Water Fortress, which has its own name among other water fortresses.”

“Daebyeolchae?”

“Daebyeolchae is of Nokrim! Great Whale Water Fortress, Great Whale Water Fortress (Daegyeongchae)!”

“…Why do they name all of the strongholds and water fortresses that way? It’s not even stir-fried vegetables.” (vegetables is ‘chae’ in korean)

“That’s… Probably just made it up without much thought.”

“Who?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

The frustrated beggar waved his hand as he tried to talk with the stunned Hyun Jong.

“Anyway, that Great Whale Water Fortress was smashed. They even smashed the new water fortress as well as the Great Whale Water Fortress. Kugang is in chaos because of that.”

Hyun Jong blinked his eyes again.

…Did they?”

“Yes.”

“To the water fortresses?”

“Oh, I’m telling you!”

“Explain what happened.”

“Ah. What happened was……!”

After a while, Hyun Jong opened his mouth wide after hearing all the circumstances from the beggar of the Beggar Union.

“…He brought the Nokrim?”

“Yes, he is, Sect Leader.”

“…Nokrim?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Hyun Jong’s wide-open jaw seemed like it could fall off at any moment.

So… A Taoist brought bandits to beat up pirates (water bandits)?

‘What on earth is this nonsense?’

‘No, I understand, but… Considering that guy Chung Myung, I can understand, but…’

He tried to force himself to understand something that he didn’t understand, but then he heard murmurs from behind.

“As expected of Chung Myung.”

“Actually, don’t you think they look a bit better together?”

“A bit? No, it suits them a lot!”

“Anyway, whether it’s a Taoist or a bandit, they all live off the mountains, right?”

‘It’s not the same, you punk!’

Hyun Jong, who was stuck between the frustrating absurdity and the strangely filling proudness, remembered what the first thing he had to ask was.

“So where are the children now?”

“Ah, That’s…”

There was a strange anxiety on Hyun Jong’s face when he saw the troubled expression of the beggar.

* * *

“….”

Hyun Jong stared at the island in the distance. His eyes were filled with indescribable confusion.

“What… are they doing over there?”

“I think they’re building something.”

“No, it looks like ships are swarming.”

“Why do they have to be there?”

“Well… They must be up to some unreasonable nonsense again.”

At times like this, he envies youth.

Mount Hua’s disciples were not particularly surprised at the bizarre sight. Because they already knew Chung Myung and understood him enough.

‘Why am I still not used to him?’

At that moment, a ship from the opposite side was seen approaching their side.

“…It’s a ship.”

“No, it might not be a ship. Can a ship move at such a speed?”

Before long, he saw a familiar face at the bow of the ship that was approaching at breakneck speed.

“Sect Leadeeeeeer!”

“U…Um. Yes, Baek Cheon.”

Baek Cheon jumped from the ship and landed right in front of Hyun Jong, expressing his deep respect. His face was full of delight at the sight of Hyun Jong.

“Greetings, Sect Leader.”

“You’ve been through a lot. Are you hurt?”

“Thanks to your concern, Sect Leader, all of the disciples are safe.”

“Right, it’s truly fortunate. Indeed… Yes, fortunate….”

When Hyun Jong blurted the end of his speech, Baek Cheon glanced at him discreetly. He knew what Hyun Jong wanted to say, and everyone else behind them knew too.

Sure enough, Hyun Jong lightly cleared his throat and asked.

“What’s… going on over there?”

“…That…”

Baek Cheon hesitated to choose his words carefully and couldn’t bring himself to explain.

“Maybe it’s better to go and see for yourself…”

“…Yes, let’s do that.”

Hyun Jong didn’t expect much either. The second-class disciples that can stop Chung Myung in Mount Hua are Baek Cheon and Yoo Iseol, but it’s just literally an attempt to restrain him, nothing more.

“Can we get on that ship?”

“Yes, Sect Leader. Let the ones who can board it first. More ships will come.”

Hyun Jong weakly nodded.

As the ship approached, Hyun Jong and several other disciples boarded without delay. The ship then made a sharp turn and swiftly headed toward the island.

It is Hyun Jong, who didn’t have much experience being out on the water, but at least he could tell that the speed of the ship’s movement was unusual.

“…There doesn’t seem to be any wind, but how is it moving so fast?”

“People down below are rowing. They are all experienced martial artists, so the ship sails very well.”

Following Baek Cheon’s explanation, Hyun Jong peeked over the railing and looked down. Indeed, the oars were moving at an enormous speed. Moreover, they were not wooden oars but iron oars.

“…Are all those people martial artists?”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“….”

Hyun Jong couldn’t bear to ask why so many martial artists were rowing beneath the ship. He could guess that much now.

And amidst the martial artists, the sounds of groaning and pain reached his ears clearly.

“Row! Row faster, you punks! If we’re late, you’ll be beaten to death!”

“What is the ghost doing! Why aren’t they taking him away!”

“I don’t know what the ghosts are doing right now, but I know they’ll instead take us if we’re late! Shut up and row!”

“Oh, Dragon King! Please, just that bastard! Euaaa!”

Hyun Jong put his head back and closed his eyes.

‘I didn’t hear anything.’

It must have been an auditory hallucination.

Right, auditory hallucinations…

The appearance of the island began to enter Hyun Jong’s eyes, which were tightly closed and opened.

To be exact, he can see ships anchored in line in front of the island, not the island itself.

It was a truly bizarre sight.

When ships anchor, they usually circle around the island. However, the ships that Hyun Jong saw were lined up in a straight line toward the riverbank from the island.

That alone is bizarre, but what was even stranger was that the ships lined up in this manner were all connected with huge chains, and large wooden planks were laid between the ships like bridges.

“Tha- That…”

At the end of the strange bridge made of a ship, a group of people clung to each other like ants and shouted.

“Hey! Heyy, I said hold it tight!”

“Connect it firmly, connect it firmly! Nail the wooden pegs there!”

“If this shakes, our lives will shake along with it!”

All of them were men with their tops off, and as if trying to connect ships to ships, they clung tightly between them and shouted loudly. It seemed like they were trying to fix the ships together, but the rough currents made the hulls sway with each wave.

“Uwaaaaaah! I’m falling!”

“Aaaaaah!”

In the end, the ship, which had barely been attached together, drifted apart and the people who were holding it fell into the river.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

“Aaaaaaakh! Help meeeeeee!”

“I’ve swept awaaaaaaaaay!”

As those who fell into the water screamed while being swept away by the currents, the people on the ship didn’t even look at them as if it was something they were used to.

“Tighten it! Tighten the chain!”

“Ah, hold it tight! The boss said if we fall again this time, he’ll throw us in the water!”

“Uwaaaah! Quickly! Pull it quickly! Before our arms fall off!”

When those who grabbed two ships with both hands clenched their teeth, when the ship narrowed, those holding the chains took advantage of the narrowing distance and moved to the other ships and somehow weaved the two ships together.

Those who tightly grasped both ships as if their lives depended on it took advantage of the moment the ships narrowed and moved from one ship to the other with the help of those holding the chains.

“That….”

Hyun Jong was about to say something but stopped. It wasn’t because he had nothing to say or because he was flustered.

It was because something even worse was happening right before his eyes.

“Puwaaaaaat!”

“Hiiiiik!”

“My, my breath…”

Another group of people rose in the raging river and began to gasp violently as if they had not been able to breathe for ten years.

“I can’t do this anymore…. Keureuk.”

“Wa- Wake up! If you lose your mind here, you’ll really drown!”

“Swi- Switch! Please, switch places with me! Please… It’s so cold I might freeze to death…”

“Mother….”

An unbearable scene. (???? (目不忍見))

Watching the horrifying spectacle, Hyun Jong blinked silently and turned his head to look at Baek Cheon.

Baek Cheon’s gaze was already turned to some far-off place.

“…Baek Cheon.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Those people?”

“Pirate.”

“….”

‘Ah, they’re pirates.’

‘A pirate is about to drown. Haha…’

“What are they doing right now?”

“…They’re doing two things.”

“Two things?”

“Yes. One is anchoring the ships firmly under the water. Since the currents are so strong here, ordinary anchors wouldn’t hold the ships in place…”

“….”

“So we dug up the riverbed and planted a specially made anchor. They are connecting those anchors with chains to secure the ships.”

“….And the other thing?”

“They are salvaging the necessary supplies from the sunken ships that sank before.”

“….”

Hyun Jong’s gaze turned towards the pirates.

Drowned rats… No, rats are a bit excessive. Drowned dogs… No, not that either…

Anyway, the faces of the fallen pirates were as blue as a water ghost. Even they would never have imagined themselves to be like that in the water.

“…To pirates…You’re making them work?”

“Yes, each and every one of them is a valuable labor force…..”

Yes, it’s possible. In life, anything is possible. Especially with Chung Myung, it’s even more possible.

However, what he could not understand at all was not the pirates who were captured and forced to work by bandits and Taoist, but something sparkling connected from their feet to the island.

“Then, Baek Cheon.”

“Yes. Sect Leader.”

“Those people… Why are they wearing such chains on their legs?”

“Oh, that’s….”

Baek Cheon looked down as if he was unable to say this at Sect Leader’s face.

“Chung Myung said that letting pirates into the water is the same as cheering them on to run away, so we prevent them from escaping…”

“So that’s why they tied those chains on human legs?”

“…That’s right.”

Hyun Jong didn’t ask any more questions and silently looked up at the blue sky.

Today, the sky was exceptionally clear and blue.

“Hohoho… Hoho…. I sent them to save people from becoming slaves, and they are treating the pirates and bandits as slaves. Hoho… Hohohoho…..”

Hyun Jong, who laughed for a while, looked at Baek Cheon with a refreshed expression. Baek Cheon was somewhat taken aback. That relaxed face was scarier.

“I have a rough idea of what they are doing.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Then let’s go back to the fundamental question.”

“…Yes.”

“Why on earth are they doing this?”

This time, Baek Cheon looked up at the sky without saying a word.

Tears welled up in his beautiful eyes.

‘Sect Leader.’

‘That… That’s what I’m most curious about.’