“We are truly grateful.”
“How can we repay this favor?”
Yoon Jong blushed at the genuine gratitude expressed by the people.
“If you keep doing this, I’ll be embarrassed. What should we do?”
“No.”
The leader held Yoon Jong’s hand tightly, bringing tears to his eyes.
“This little rest and warm food might not mean much to some, but we are so grateful.”
Yoon Jong let out a soft sigh.
The hands that clasped together with his were rough and calloused, a result of years of hard labor. It pained Yoon Jong to see them.
“That you… *cough*”The person trying to thank Yoon Jong suddenly covered his mouth and began coughing.
“…sorry. It’s been a while since we’ve had something warm to eat, and it’s like… *cough*.”
“Are you alright?”
“Yes… I’m fine.”
Yoon Jong looked at him with concern, his brow furrowing.
‘Their vitality is quite poor.’
Even regular warriors would eventually fall ill if exposed to such conditions for too long, but these individuals had their internal energy sealed.
“Have some warm drinks and rest peacefully for today.”
“Truly… thank you.”
Yoon Jong sighed as he watched the man return to his original spot and bow his head.
Then, he heard Jo Gul’s voice.
“Sahyung.”
“Hmm?”
“Chung Myung asked for sahyung.”
“Why?”
“Well, who knows what he’s thinking?”
Yoon Jong nodded, acknowledging the unpredictability of Chung Myung despite their long association. They hadn’t expected Chung Myung to provide food and drinks for the prisoners until they arrived here.
“Let’s go meet him.”
“Okay.”
The two of them made their way to one of the caves drilled into the valley. The entrance seemed narrow, but once inside, it was surprisingly spacious.
It wasn’t exactly a cozy living space, but at least it provided respite from the cold winds outside.
Inside, the disciples of Mount Hua, along with the prisoners, were already seated around Chung Myung.
“Take a seat.”
“What’s going on?”
“I have something to share.”
Yoon Jong sat down without further inquiry, respecting the formalities of speaking with someone directly in front of them.
“First….”
As soon as Yoon Jong settled, an elderly man sitting across from Chung Myung bowed and spoke.
“Once again, thank you for your kindness towards us.”
Taken aback, Yoon Jong tried to intervene, but Chung Myung interjected.
“If you’re truly grateful, skip the formalities. We have important tasks ahead.”
“Understood.”
The elderly man glanced at Chung Myung.
“Are you gentlemen from the Central Plains?”
“Yes. We are from the Mount Hua sect.”
“Mount Hua. Mount Hua….”
The old man frowned as if he were trying to think of something. However, the name of Mount Hua didn’t seem to jog his memory.
Now, the fame of Mount Hua has just started to spread in the North Sea, so for those who have been working as prisoners for years, the name must mean nothing.
Because Mount Hua had lost its name and reputation at that time. Baek Cheon moved to help the man.
“Do not worry. It isn’t such a famous sect.”
“What? Mount Hua isn’t a famous sect?”
Chung Myung asked him sharply. Baek Cheon looked at Chung Myung, his face filled with confusion.
“…it wasn’t that long ago since Mount Hua became famous, right?”
“I know that.”
“Then why?”
“But hearing such things annoys me.”
“…”
Baek Cheon’s cheeks twitched at this.
‘I know this jerk, but I still don’t know him.’
No, he didn’t know him before, and he still doesn’t know him now. “Right” was probably the right word.
“Well, if you don’t know Mount Hua, then remember it from now on. You will hear about it a lot in the future.”
“…I will keep that in mind, but…”
The old man wore a bitter smile.
“I don’t even know how many times we will hear news from the outside.”
The disciples all glared at Chung Myung.
But…
“Then why commit the sin?”
“…”
Chung Myung didn’t care. As the word “sin” was mentioned, the old man shook his head.
“We are sinners, but we have never sinned.”
“…”
“If protecting our lord from rebellion is a sin, then so be it. But how can it be a sin?”
Baek Cheon nodded.
“Just as I expected.”
At first glance, he assumed these people were the former lord’s subordinates. They must have revolted against the current lord and ended up here.
“A sinner, yet not a sinner…”
Chung Myung muttered, scratching his cheek.
“How many people are here right now?”
“About 100.”
The old man revealed more than he should have.
“In the beginning, it was twice that.”
It meant that a significant number of people had died. Baek Cheon furrowed his brow, realizing that the situation was more severe than he initially thought.
“Isn’t that too harsh…”
But before he could say anything, Chung Myung interrupted.
“But why are you telling us all this?”
“…”
“Are you asking for our help? To escape from here?”
The old man shook his head.
“That’s not possible.”
“Why not?”
A bitter smile clung to the old man’s face.
“To explain that, I have to introduce myself. My name is Yo Sa-Heon, and I used to be the North Sea Ice Palace’s general, serving the former palace lord.”
“Uh?”
Baek Cheon was startled and looked at the old man again. This ragged old man was the general?
Although there might be slight differences between factions, the title of elder or general was reserved for the top five in terms of power of any faction.
In the case of Mount Hua, Hyun Sang would be the general because he held the highest position among the elders.
However, even such a person was sent here and persecuted…
“That was in the past…”
The voice was calm, but the man’s face showed no regret.
“And those here were all warriors of the Ice Palace. However, they can no longer use their dantian due to our punishment.”
Yo Sa-Heon shook his head.
“If it is an ordinary seal on the dantian, we would have taken the time and resolved it, but the ones who did that were…”
“The Demonic Sect?”
The old man widened his eyes.
“You knew?”
“Well, it isn’t such a big secret.”
Chung Myung shrugged his shoulders, and the old man nodded.
“Right, it was them. Their martial arts are quite different from ours. So despite us trying to remove the seal for years, we couldn’t remove it.”
“Hmm.”
Baek Cheon let out a groan.
“We, who cannot use the internal qi, are nothing but a burden. That is something we know clearly and wouldn’t try anything.”
“Then what is it that you want?”
He looked at Chung Myung and said,
“… please speak of the situation here.”
“Uh?”
“Please inform Central Plains that there are North Sea people being persecuted. So they can help us out.”
Chung Myung sighed and looked at the old man.
“… what meaning does this hold now?”
“The current lord is a devil.”
The swollen hands of the old man trembled.
“He erected a barrier over the Ice Palace. The palace was not isolated from the people in the past by a wall. It was a place that was both cared for and caring. But now, the lord accepts those who follow him within the wall and rejects those who don’t to the outside.”
Baek Cheon’s expression hardened as he thought about how dire the situation was for those outside the wall.
‘That wall…’
He didn’t want it to be that way.
“He grants a privileged life to those who follow him and exploits those who don’t, even allowing them to fall into the hands of the Demonic Sect. Anyone who rebels will be sentenced to death through harsh labor. How can someone like that be the palace’s lord?”
Chung Myung nodded.
“That does sound quite harsh.”
“Exactly. So please make the situation in the North Sea known to the Central Plains! Whether it’s Shaolin or Wudang, anyone will do. They might be able to help us.”
At his final words, Chung Myung stopped smiling.
“I know one thing for certain.”
“… Huh?”
“Just why you people lost.”
The man’s eyes trembled.
“What do you think will change by informing them?”
“I’ve heard that the Central Plains is filled with righteous people! No, even if they aren’t, they’ve fought the Demonic Sect in the past, so they won’t just sit back when they find out the Demonic Sect is here.”
“Do you truly believe that?”
“…”
“Do you really think the Central Plains are unaware of this situation and haven’t acted on it?”
Chung Myung chuckled, and the old man fell silent.
Chung Myung didn’t press him further. A drowning man would cling to even the thinnest straw. He understood the feeling of just wanting to do anything when all hope seemed lost.
But still, a straw was just a straw.
“The Central Plains won’t help the North Sea.”
“…”
“Because they aren’t the kind of people who extend their hands for tasks that don’t benefit them.”
The old man licked his lips and cast his gaze downward.
“Do you know why people simply stayed quiet? Even though they knew you folks could always say things like that to outsiders?”
“…”
“Because they know there’s nothing we can do, even if we hear about it.”
The old man was aware of this, but it was his last glimmer of hope. And now, after hearing from someone else that this last straw meant nothing, his emotions must be shattered. No, even those words would be an understatement.
“The Central Plains have no reason to help the Ice Palace. There’s no reason to risk their lives to protect this place. Even if everyone knew that the Demonic Sect was here, nobody would be willing to step forward first.”
Because they had already witnessed it before.
They had seen what happened to the martial sect that tried to protect the Central Plains by leading the way.
They knew the price of such actions.
And those who had witnessed the consequences would never risk their lives to save others. Chung Myung spoke quietly.
“Think about it.”
“…”
At this sudden odd feeling, the old man fell silent. Even the disciples of Mount Hua had to clench their thighs.
“No one will protect you from this. No one will fight for you. If you want to protect yourself, grab things with your own hands, and if you want to fight, shed your own blood.”
“… young warrior.”
“If you don’t, nothing will change.”
Yo Sa-Heon, who was looking at Chung Myung, lowered his head.
“… but… what can we do?”
A voice of despair.
“We are now half of our original numbers and cannot use internal qi. And the disciples of Ice Palace won’t help us. It is because they fell into the hands of the Palace Lord.”
Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
“Even if the body cannot be used, there are eyes and ears.”
“… Ugh?”
“There is no way that the Demonic Sect people are calmly waiting for the ice crystals to be moved to the Ice Palace, considering their impatient nature, and they must have received ice crystals from here, right?”
“… yes.”
As expected.
Chung Myung frowned and asked.
“Then, did you hear anything? What do they intend to use the ice crystals for?”
The old man tilted his head as if searching for his memories.
“Ice crystals… well. I didn’t hear anything.”
Chung Myung drooped his shoulders and sighed.
‘Bullshit.’
He had hoped to get some clues….
“T-there.”
It was then.
A man, who had been sitting behind the old man and silently watched, raised his hand.
“I’m not sure if it’s related, but I did hear something related…”
“Something related?”
“Yes, but since it sounded so odd, I’m unsure if it matters…”
Chung Myung nodded.
“Go ahead and say it. Anything works.”
“Yes. Th… I played the role of carrying the ice crystals and overheard the Demonic Sect people talking. They said this at that time.”
“What?”
The man gulped as he said,
“With this, the second coming of the Heavenly Demon is getting closer. If this continues, the Heavenly Demon will descend onto the land within a month.”
Chung Myung was speechless.
He just stared at the man, not moving.
No, actually, he didn’t even move. His form didn’t change. He just continued to look frozen.
“… Chung Myung?”
Baek Cheon cautiously called to him.
That moment
“… uh?”
“Uh?”
“The Second Coming of the Heavenly Demon?”
Chung Myung’s face twisted. His mouth was smiling in an odd manner. His face could be compared to a devil from hell.
A terrible killing intent, which none of them had ever felt before, began to rise from Chung Myung’s body.
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