"……."
Gong Munyeon quickly composed himself.
Even if one is caught in a tiger's den, as long as they keep their wits about them, they can survive, right?
"W-what do you mean?"
"Huh? Look at this guy?" Cheongmyeong scoffed.
"Do you think I have eyes like a gourd hole? Do I look like someone who wouldn't recognize Taeeul Divine Art?"
"……."
Cheongmyeong continued with a mocking tone.
"How amusing. How amusing indeed. The one who was running the Zhu Lu in Huayun and demanding debts from Huashan is coincidentally learning the martial arts of Jongnam? And he has learned the Taeeul Divine Art quite well?"
Cold sweat trickled down Gong Munyeon's forehead.
He was so shocked that he couldn't even feel the pain from the blows he had received. 'Damn it.' He should have held back.
Even if it meant losing his head, using the Taeeul Divine Art was out of the question.
Especially in front of someone from Huashan!
A fatal mistake.
But could this even be called a mistake? If the author hadn't pressed Gong Munyeon so hard, and if he hadn't suddenly drawn his sword in front of a dazed Gong Munyeon, he would have never used the Taeeul Divine Art, even if it meant death.
If it was a coincidence, it was the worst kind of coincidence, and if it was intentional, one could only imagine how deep the author's schemes ran.
"Did Jongnam send you?"
"……."
Gong Munyeon tightly shut his mouth.
No matter what he said now, it wouldn't serve as an excuse.
If he could turn the situation around with even a pitiful excuse, he would, but that was no longer possible.
In that case, it was better to remain silent and not give away any more information.
"Oh? You choose to keep your mouth shut."
Cheongmyeong approached Gong Munyeon, cracking his neck.
"Well, fine. That's a form of loyalty. I see it as a good choice. But you are mistaken about one thing."
"……?"
"Do you know what that is?"
"……What?"
"I'm not going to tell you."
"……."
Jongnam was not an easy place.
Historically, Jongnam had been at odds with Huashan, and their feelings were not particularly good, but one could not deny that Jongnam was one of the major sects among the Nine Great Sects.
A sect of that caliber would not handle matters carelessly.
That was Cheongmyeong's thought.
The information Gong Munyeon knew was extremely limited, and even if he knew more, it was unlikely to be accurate.
As long as they knew it was related to Jongnam, that was enough.
Anything beyond that was something Cheongmyeong or Huashan needed to figure out.
Of course, there was no need to share that fact with Gong Munyeon.
"Hah, these bastards. Even though the martial world was bleak in the past, it wasn't so despicable. Are these guys from the Nine Great Sects trying to ruin others' sects not with martial arts but with money? And through deceit? What a fine thing to do."
Gong Munyeon could no longer maintain his composure and shouted.
"Hmph. From Huashan's perspective, isn't that better?"
"Eh?"
"You must know! Huashan has no hope left. Wealth? Money? Those are just supplementary things for a sect. Huashan, having lost its martial arts, can no longer be the Huashan of the past. It's just a matter of whether it collapses a little sooner or holds on a little longer before it falls!"
"Oh?" Cheongmyeong listened to Gong Munyeon's words with interest.
"I just wanted to cut off the dying Huashan's breath quickly. They should be grateful to me for that. Someone like you should know, right? That Huashan can no longer revive! A sect that has lost its martial lineage will simply wither away."
"Who says so?"
"Don't you understand?"
"No. Who says Huashan's martial lineage has been severed?"
"……."
Gong Munyeon stared blankly at Cheongmyeong.
If someone else had said such words, he would have scoffed.
But the weight of Cheongmyeong's words was different.
At least in Gong Munyeon's eyes, Cheongmyeong was clearly a former master of Huashan.
"These bastards are trying to sever the lineage of a perfectly healthy Huashan. And! Whether Huashan lives or dies, it's still Huashan's fate. Who are you to question the well-being of Huashan? What authority do you have?"
"……."
"Anyway, those who run their mouths come up with the most ridiculous logic. You might as well say Huashan is so miserable that you wanted to kill it. If the Jongnam sect said that, I might even acknowledge it."
There had been many conflicts.
The closer the neighbors, the higher the chances of clashes.
Just as the basic principle of diplomacy is to maintain friendly relations, neighboring sects are bound to have disputes.
Huashan and Jongnam shared many similarities as they were both strong in their family traditions, and they both primarily used swords.
When a major sect of a similar lineage is right next to you, one of them is bound to suffer.
As a result, Cheongmyeong had often beaten up Jongnam in the past.
To be precise, it was more like Jongnam would pick a fight and end up getting wrecked by Cheongmyeong.
"I am not from Jongnam!"
"That would be the case."
"You seem to be misunderstanding. That technique I just used was merely something I learned by chance."
"Ah, yes. That must be it. Shall I tell you something truly surprising?"
"……What is it?"
"I am not from Huashan either."
"……."
"That makes sense…"
"You, you bastard!"
"……."
Cheongmyeong almost spat on the ground but caught himself.
Ah, the mask.
That could have been a disaster.
"Anyway, as a reward for showing you the Taeeul Divine Art, I will show you something interesting. If you can recognize it, it will be quite amusing. If you can't, it will be a pity."
Cheongmyeong slowly drew his sword.
"Make sure to convey this clearly to whoever sent you."
Cheongmyeong's demeanor changed.
The playful appearance he had until now vanished.
His hunched back straightened, and his drooping shoulders regained their form.
He stood in a perfect posture, as if painted.
Gong Munyeon, seeing that, couldn't help but slightly part his lips.
It felt as if a breeze was blowing from somewhere.
With the gentle wind came the rich fragrance of plum blossoms, blooming like an illusion.
"Plum blossoms give off their strongest fragrance when they bloom in the snow. Though it is winter now, the spirit of Huashan does not cease. When spring finally arrives, the plum blossoms will bloom profusely across the mountains."
Gong Munyeon watched.
The tip of Cheongmyeong's sword began to move slowly.
A tremor.
The movement that started from a very small tremor soon transformed into a great shaking, and that great shaking turned into a sword trajectory that filled the sky like an illusion.
The tip of the sword, which seemed to cover the heavens, blossomed with vivid plum petals.
Just as the harsh winter passed and the warm spring announced itself, the plum blossoms drawn by Cheongmyeong's sword filled the world.
'This is an illusion.'
The wind blew.
The plum blossoms that covered the sky began to flutter as if dancing in the spring breeze.
Soon, the petals flew up into the sky, gently landing on Gong Munyeon's forehead.
The petals brushed past Gong Munyeon, sweeping his consciousness away like the wind.
Until the very end, he did not know what he was witnessing.
Thud.
The sound of Gong Munyeon collapsing to the ground echoed hollowly.
The plum blossoms that had covered the sky had already vanished like a mirage.
Cheongmyeong, having retrieved his sword, turned around with a smile.
"Spit!"
Due to the excessive use of energy, blood surged back to his mouth.
Cheongmyeong, having removed his mask, spat out the blood that had surged up, his face contorted.
'I'm going to die, for real.'
Even if his body was broken, that was one thing, but he still lacked inner strength.
If it were the past him, he could have drawn the sword as if it were a joke, but now he felt as if all his inner strength was being drained away.
'The foundation is good, but at this rate, I'm going to die.
Ah, no.'
As he thought about devising some countermeasures, Cheongmyeong put his mask back on.
"Now then."
His gaze shifted from the fallen Gong Munyeon to the merchants.
"……."
The merchants looked at Cheongmyeong as if they were seeing a ghost.
Why wouldn't they? The harmony of blooming plum blossoms in the sky with a sword was something they had never seen or heard of in their lives.
No, they had heard tales of such masters in the past of Huashan, but they thought those were exaggerated legends.
Yet, the man who had torn through that legend was now standing right in front of them.
From the perspective of the merchants who had tried to swindle Huashan, Cheongmyeong was no different from a grim reaper.
"Who wants to take a hit?"
"……."
"Who wants to leave quietly?"
"Me!"
"I'll just leave!"
"Just spare me!"
Cheongmyeong nodded his head vigorously, as if he liked their responses.
"Good. Very cooperative."
The merchants rushed to the side.
But of course, Cheongmyeong had no intention of letting them go so easily.
"Stop right there."
"……."
The merchants all came to a halt.
"If you all leave like that, how am I supposed to pull all these carts? Think a little, think!"
"……."
The merchants looked at Cheongmyeong with eyes full of grievance.
Were they supposed to consider the convenience of a robber? No matter how upside-down the world was, there was no such law.
But no one dared to voice a rebuttal.
"You all."
"Yes!"
"From now on, check how much wealth is loaded on each of your carts. The last one to report will be laid next to this guy."
No further words were needed.
As soon as he finished speaking, the merchants rushed to their carts to start calculating their wealth.
"One thousand eight hundred taels!"
"Two thousand three hundred taels!"
"I have eight thousand……."
"What? You had that much wealth?"
"Is that important right now, you fool?"
They even began to argue among themselves, trying to report first.
Cheongmyeong frowned at the sight.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"Did you include the cost of the carts and horses?"
"……."
"Calculate again."
"Yes."
After some time, when the calculations were finally done, Cheongmyeong nodded.
"Then I'll lend you a horse, so one of you go to the nearest battlefield and bring back the money. I'll sell it for cash."
The merchants stared at Cheongmyeong with blank eyes.
They were also people who rolled in money, but they had never seen someone like him in their lives.
"Bring the money as an unmarked promissory note. If you get caught with a marked note, there will be a murder today. Got it?"
"Yes."
He was meticulous to the point of being thorough.
"One person go."
"……But."
"What?"
One of the merchants asked.
"What if the person going to the battlefield runs away?"
Cheongmyeong chuckled.
"Run away to do what?"
"……."
"Do you have any money?"
"No."
"Your assets have been seized, right?"
"Yes."
"Then what do you think you can do by running away with what you have here? If you want to eat dog food, you better come back."
"……Then if I report it to the authorities……."
"Go ahead."
Cheongmyeong lightly lifted his leg and stomped the ground.
Boom! The ground cracked with a loud noise.
"Instead, report it and never come back. Run to the ends of the continent. Even if I die, I will catch that bastard. Never come back. Never."
"……."
At that moment, the merchants gave up on reporting.
Thinking about it, there were still their families left in Huayun.
They couldn't think of a way to escape from this madman.
They didn't think the authorities could catch him either.
"Set off."
"……Yes."
Huashan, as a prestigious righteous sect, was benevolent.
Yet the reason these people were unfortunate was simple.
Huashan was benevolent, but not everyone living in Huashan was benevolent.
Before the sun had fully set that day, the masked man, holding a stack of promissory notes as thick as a book, climbed Huashan with a grin.
The wealth created from the sweat and tears of countless people was thus carefully stored in the greedy master's warehouse.