“Wait! Wait!”
A beggar came running as fast as he could.
“Huk, huk, heuk!”
It was only when he reached the dock that he bent down and gasped for air. As if such a leisurely breath was a luxury, he looked around and grabbed someone.
“E-excuse me, I need to ask something!”
“What?”
“Well, wasn’t a merchant ship leaving this afternoon?”
“Ship?”
“Yes!”
“What does a beggar want to do with a merchant ship?”“That… It’s because someone I know is going on it. What happened to that ship? I don’t think it is time for it to leave yet.”
“They set sail because the people all came.”
“Uh?”
“They left earlier. They have gone past the canal now. If you want to find a ship, look for the next one.”
At those words, the beggar sat down in shock.
“No…”
In his hand was a letter in a red envelope.
“No, they say the ship is gone? How am I supposed to deliver this? I will be beaten to death by the leader now….”
His eyes were filled with despair as he looked at the Yangtze River, which was constantly flowing.
The ship was slowly moving along the Yangtze River.
It was a sight that was not unique. There were probably a hundred ships moving up and down the river daily.
But someone was standing at the bow, which made this unusual.
“I see that he is the son of a noble family.”
“Why did the young master get on a ship like this? They could have gotten on the expensive cruise?”
“He must have gotten sick of it.”
“Well, he is handsome.”
Baek Cheon’s face trembled at the whispering voices.
‘I didn’t want to attract any attention.’
Rather than avoiding attention, wasn’t this like attracting people in? But he couldn’t stop it either.
“Looks like the one next to him is a servant.”
“Since he is a noble, of course, he has servants following him.”
“He looks like a servant from the look of it, so why bother asking?”
Baek Cheon’s eyes were filled with sadness for Baek Sang. However, Baek Sang spoke in a toneless voice, with half-opened eyes and a face that looked as if he had attained enlightenment.
“… don’t say anything.”
“…Sang.”
“Because when I get comforted, I cry.”
“…”
Such cruel people.
It was a whisper that no one could normally hear, but it was heard very clearly by the warriors who trained their qi. So he couldn’t even blame them…
Uh?
Guys? Why were you all there whispering together?
‘And what are those baskets…?’
As he watched the disciples of Mount Hua, including Yoon Jong, pointing in this direction, his heart began to sweat.
All Baek Cheon could do was pat Baek Sang’s shoulder…
“Do not touch. I am a servant.”
“…”
This timid bastard.
“Anyway, will the pirates come?”
“Shh. Your voice is too loud.”
“… No. Why are you being this careful? This is a ship, and we have already started. No matter how sharp your hearing is, will you be able to hear everything everyone is saying?”
“There could be pirates on the ship.”
Surprised at those words, Baek Sang slightly tilted his neck.
“On the ship?”
“Even if the pirates know the Yangtze River, they cannot know all the ships that come on the river and move. They might have placed a person on the ship who will send a signal for them to come.”
“… I didn’t see anyone that skilled on the ship.”
“Just because they are with the pirates, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have learned martial arts. If it were me, I would recruit one of the sailors on a ship.”
“Ah…”
Baek Sang nodded his head loudly.
When he looked at the situation like this, it felt like Baek Cheon had long thought of the possibilities.
“So you think the pirates will come?”
“We managed to throw the bait in, and I guess they will come. Sooner or later, they will come.”
“Why?”
“It wouldn’t be very common for a special delivery package to move across the Yangtze River. So they wouldn’t want to miss this chance.”
Baek Sang nodded as if he understood.
It was unclear whether they were really targeting the packages, the people delivering them, or if they had some other purpose. But whatever the reason, the chance to aim for a special package, which cost a lot, didn’t come often. Thus, there was a high chance the pirates would come to seize it.
One might not know if they had very little information, but if they heard the news, they would definitely come.
“What if they don’t come?”
“Then it is a relief.”
“Uh?”
Baek Cheon sighed and turned to the waters.
“If they don’t come even after we do it once or twice, it means they were aiming for the packages on purpose, and it was just a coincidence. Then it will be an easy problem to solve.”
“Ahh.”
“But… well.”
If things had gone smoothly, they wouldn’t have had to go through all this.
“Well, nothing much will happen for a while. This is because the speed of the ship is slow, and there is a high chance they will come up in a sparsely populated place. Even so, we cannot simply relax.”
“Yes, sahyung.”
Baek Sang responded softly and glanced back.
It was a strange feeling to see people speaking happily with one another.
‘It is reassuring, but…’
Now, it can be said that Mount Hua’s disciples have joined the higher levels.
Although they haven’t yet reached their full potential, the Five Swords can already be considered skilled warriors, no matter whom they are compared with, be it in performance or skills.
But…
‘I wonder if those skills can be demonstrated in the water.’
This was difficult to predict.
Considering the skills of the Five Swords, one might wonder if any problem would even occur. But considering the fact that even the most skilled sects are unsure about dealing with the pirates, it might not be an easy thing.
‘I hope nothing happens.’
Baek Cheon seemed to anticipate that something would happen, but Baek Sang just hoped for peace and that nothing out of the ordinary would occur.
With these two harboring different thoughts, the ship sailed down the Yangtze River.
“… there is nothing to do.”
“Right.”
Yoon Jong’s face looked bored. The initial excitement of seeing the Yangtze River had gradually faded.
Since Chung Myung came to Mount Hua, this was the first time he experienced such a waste of time. He couldn’t even sit still for a moment.
“Would you like to do some training?”
“Oh my. There are so many eyes on us now, and we are merchants.”
“… Ugh. But I am dying here.”
Jo Gul looked like he was about to die for real.
It was said that some enjoyed the scenery of the Yangtze River by taking a slow ship ride, but this didn’t suit them.
For those who enjoyed the scenery, mountains were better than rivers. Because they could jump and run on them.
“I hope they come quickly.”
“Don’t say such disgusting things…”
“Why? We came here to find the pirates in the first place!”
“But it is better if we can avoid meeting them.”
“Why?”
“Ugh. That is too long to explain. But it is better if no problem comes.”
“Is it because Chung Myung isn’t here?”
Yoon Jong went silent at Jo Gul’s question.
He didn’t really mean that to be an answer, but seeing Jo Gul’s question, he was speechless.
‘Is that so?’
If Chung Myung were there, everyone would have been busy trying to stop the guy who would be on a rampage trying to catch the pirates.
But at least he didn’t think he was afraid of encountering enemies.
‘There is no need to speak of what is thought.’
Yoon Jong opened his mouth, pretending to be calm. But before he could say anything, Jo Gul spoke.
“Honestly, I am anxious, sahyung.”
“Uh?”
“… Chung Myung.”
Yoon Jong looked at Jo Gul with slight surprise. If he were to choose one of the Five Swords who wouldn’t say something like that, the first would be Yu Yiseol, and the second would be Jo Gul.
“When he is there, he just really… so sure of getting hit in the face…”
“So randomly speaking things when he isn’t here….”
“Isn’t it true? He has a temper that makes him want to run and turn things upside down.”
“No. ‘If only you have strength.’”
“Right, that is true. Anyway, since he isn’t here….”
Jo Gul trailed off.
“Well… I am not sure if I can explain this.”
“Forget it. I know it even if you don’t say it.”
Yoon Jong lightly waved his hand and smiled bitterly.
He was surprised that Jo Gul would say something like this, but he could understand the feeling. Because he was feeling the same thing.
Although he had already expected it, the empty space left by Chung Myung was actually feeling a lot bigger than he had anticipated.
“Still, don’t look weak. Unless you want to go back and listen to Chung Myung making fun of us and telling us to die.”
“Yes, sahyung.”
Jo Gul nodded with a heavy look.
“What are you thinking, sago?”
Yu Yiseol, who was standing on the railing and looking out at the river, turned her head to Tang Soso and said,
“Mount Hua?”
“You are looking for Mount Hua despite coming all the way here?”
“Because it is home.”
A slightly strange expression crossed Tang Soso’s face.
‘Because it is home.’
Although Tang Soso was a disciple of Mount Hua, she still didn’t think about Mount Hua as much as Yu Yiseol did. No, perhaps none of Mount Hua’s disciples thought of Mount Hua as importantly as Yu Yiseol did.
“You are not worried because of the sahyung we left behind?”
“A troublemaker. He can handle himself.”
“… right.”
“I am worried about the sect leader.”
“… that is also right.”
Yu Yiseol looked at Tang Soso with an expressionless face and asked.
“Are you worried?”
“No. I am not worried. Except for.”
“Sajil.”
“…”
When Tang Soso couldn’t readily answer, Yu Yiseol said silently.
“Don’t worry.”
“Right, when it is dangerous, sago…”
“You, too, are a proud swordsman of Mount Hua.”
“…”
“I am not weak. So it is alright.”
Tang Soso, who was looking at Yu Yiseol blankly for a moment, bit her lip. And after a while, she raised her head and smiled.
“Yes, sago! I will protect you this time!”
A small smile appeared on Yu Yiseol’s lips.
“Right.”
And it was then.
Hae Yeon approached Baek Cheon, who was standing at the bow, and spoke softly.
“Taoist Baek Cheon.”
“Yes, monk.”
“The ship approaching in front is looking a little strange.”
“Uh?”
Hae Yeon said with a stiff look.
“The ships which have passed so far have turned their bows in advance when they got this close, but that ship isn’t doing this. It’s still a long way away, so we cannot make any hasty conclusions….”
Baek Cheon frowned slightly and looked at the ship that Hae Yeon pointed at.
‘It doesn’t look like there is anything special about it.’
But that’s natural.
If one could recognize in advance that it was a pirate ship, they would naturally run as soon as they saw it from afar. It was common sense to approach a location that could not be avoided while hiding their identity.
“Baek Sang.”
“Yes, sahyung.”
“Call the guys.”
“Yes!”
Baek Sang carefully called the disciples, who scattered throughout the ship. A slight tension flashed across their faces as they gathered around Baek Cheon.
“Are they here?”
“I don’t know. But…”
Baek Cheon was lost in thought, and his eyes were still on the ship.
‘It is still not changing direction.’
It was difficult for those on the receiving end of headwinds to change direction. So, it was common sense for the side receiving the wind to adapt. If this were a normal ship, it would have turned around by now.
But now they were close enough to see the other side clearly, and yet the ship didn’t seem to have any intention of changing direction.
The helmsman also moved to change direction since the ship wasn’t turning. But then, a new sail unfurled on the ship approaching from the other side.
“Huk!”
“T-that!”
Everyone gasped in shock.
A vivid black dragon pattern that looked as if it would jump into the Yangtze River at any moment. It was the Yangtze River pirates.
“They are the pirates!”
“They are coming!”
Sounds that couldn’t be described as shouts or screams erupted from all over the ship. Baek Cheon let out a long breath and opened his mouth, not looking tense.
“It seems like…”
But before the instructions could be given, everyone pulled out the plum blossom swords they had hidden in their luggage.
Baek Cheon, who took over the sword, pulled it out slightly and nodded.
“It seems our moves worked. Get ready; they are coming!”
“Yes!”
Everyone watched as the pirate ship approached.
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