Chapter 1763
That’s why I am here. (3)
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“It’s impossible to live with this constant anxiety. Damn it, how long do we have to put up with this chaos?”
A merchant, glaring at the desolate street with a gaze full of dissatisfaction, cursed under his breath.
“Hey, calm down a bit. Did you forget that those lawless Sapaeryeon’s bastards are still around here? I’m worried they might hear you.”
“And if they do? What if they hear me! What’s the worst that could happen? Would they kill me? Even if they don’t, my business is so dead that I’m on the brink of starving to death anyway!”
The person who had just scolded him to be careful with his words could only sigh in response.
Honestly, sitting here in an empty street with barely any passersby, it’s no wonder someone would complain about starving to death.
But it’s hard to blame people for not going out. With the terrifying Evil Sects’ members camped nearby, there aren’t many bold enough to leisurely stroll the streets and shop.
“I just don’t understand what the hell the government troops are doing. They’re so greedy when it comes to collecting taxes…”
“Have they ever cared about anything outside of Beijing? Besides, I heard Beijing itself is in chaos right now.”
“Damn it.”
Under normal circumstances, no one would even bother looking for the government troops.
The common folk who toil in the dirt know better than anyone that the authorities have no interest in the lives of ordinary people.
But now, things were so stifling that even the useless government had to be brought up in conversation.
“Then what about Cheonumaeng? What are they doing?”
“Hey, have you no conscience? Do you know how much those folks have fought against Sapaeryeon up until now?”
“…Ugh.”
“They’ve shed enough blood by now to dye the Yangtze River red. Even if you can’t thank them, you shouldn’t complain about why they haven’t done more, unless you’re some kind of a beast!”
The man who had tried to complain found himself suddenly branded a beast and twisted his face in displeasure.
“Damn it, if only I had saved up some money…”
Some might easily wag their tongues, asking why people don’t just flee in situations like this, but abandoning the land where one’s family has lived and survived for generations is not as simple as it sounds.
Especially for those who live hand to mouth, how would they fill their hungry stomachs if they abandoned their homes? They’d be lucky not to die miserably in a foreign place, gnawing on tree bark.
“Enough. Complaining like this over and over again won’t change anything. Besides, aren’t we fortunate that things are at least this good?”
“Fortunate? Did you just say we’re fortunate?”
“Honestly, isn’t it true? Those Evil Sects’ bastards are right on our doorstep, yet no one’s been killed or harmed so far. To be frank, when they burned down Mount Wudang, I thought we were all done for.”
A man who had been quietly listening burst out in anger.
“Hah! So what? Are you saying those bastards are kinder than we thought? Should we be bowing down, thanking them for sparing us?”
“No… that’s not what I’m saying. Why are you twisting my words like that?”
“Oh, boy! You’re going to get yourself into real trouble with that thinking! Do you know why they call them the Evil Sects? Do you think any sane person would join them? They’re all like beasts – scum who wouldn’t even recognize their own parents. That’s why they’re in the Evil Sects to begin with!”
An elderly man, his face as red as an overripe persimmon, was ranting so vehemently it seemed he might collapse at any moment.
“Just because those bastards are quiet now, do you think it’ll stay that way? It’s only a matter of time before they reveal their sharp claws! People like you, who think so naively, are always the ones to get stabbed in the back.”
“Um… but…”
“Shut up and listen! I’m not done talking yet!”
“N-No, that’s not what I meant…”
“Huh?”
Sensing something unusual, the old man furrowed his brows. The face of the person he had been speaking with had turned pale in an instant. Moreover, the man was no longer looking at the old man but at something behind him.
Feeling a sudden sense of dread, the old man flinched and slowly turned around.
And he saw it.
A group was approaching, filling the largest road in the center of the village.
“There…”
There was no need to recall the saying, ‘Those who come are not good, and the good ones do not come.’ From that group emanated a clearly ominous aura, and they didn’t even bother to hide the sinister weapons each of them held openly in their hands.
Though his prediction had been spot on, the old man could not feel any satisfaction. Soon, a scream-like shout erupted from his mouth.
“Sa… Sapaeryeon’s bastards are coooooooming!”
❀ ❀ ❀
“Aaargh!”
Desperate screams echoed from all directions.
A blade was brutally embedded into the back of a fleeing commoner. The eyes of Sapaeryeon’s member gleamed with a ferocious energy. Soon, the blade twisted to the side with a gruesome sound.
The commoner, who was on the verge of death, widened his eyes in unbearable pain and convulsed violently.
Sapa watching this licked his lower lip, feeling his blood boil with excitement. The sensation that traveled through his hand was electrifying.
‘This is it!’
How long had he held back?
Of course, he had fought many battles. But if his body had been satisfied with simply fighting opponents, he wouldn’t have bothered joining an Evil Sect.
These were people who enjoyed not just combat but also carnage. They didn’t find pleasure in overcoming the strong but in trampling on the weak.
Such people are what make up Evil Sects. Until now, they had only suppressed their instincts out of fear of Jang Ilso.
But now, Ryeonju had granted them permission. There was nothing left to fear, nothing to hold them back.
“S-Save m-“
Swish!
A blade swung with full force slashed across the chest of someone desperately writhing to retreat. The sensation of flesh tearing and bones snapping traveled up the swordsman’s wrist.
His heart pounded like a drum.
He savagely hacked at the collapsing figure, trembling with euphoria as he watched the dying person’s eyes lose their light.
“Stop dawdling and set the fires! Burn everything to the ground!”
Sapaeryeon’s memeber clicked his tongue.
‘Really?’
If they set fires, the neighboring areas would immediately know of their raid. It was an annoyingly unnecessary order without any clear reason.
But it didn’t matter. Right now, all that mattered was the chance to vent what had been suppressed.
Following the order, the men who set the fires quickly scanned the surroundings.
It wasn’t enough yet. They needed to see more blood. They had to act fast, before the others claimed their share.
Thick black smoke began to rise simultaneously from several villages. It was so dark and dense that it almost obscured the midday sun.
❀ ❀ ❀
“Th…this…”
Baek Cheon’s face turned pale.
Thick black smoke was billowing up from the village. He instinctively knew what was happening. It was clear from a glance that this was no ordinary fire.
Besides, wasn’t this a scene he had witnessed multiple times when the Evil Sects bastards of the Yangtze River rampaged?
‘An attack…?’
But now, of all times?
After a moment of hesitation, he bit his lip hard.
The reason didn’t matter. The current Baek Cheon was no longer the man who had to predict the enemy’s movements as a key figure of Cheonumaeng or as the Vice Sect Leader of Hwasan.
What mattered now was the simple fact that innocent commoners were being slaughtered by Sapaeryeon right before his eyes.
So, what must he do now?
‘Fight.’
Or protect.
In any case, he had to run there immediately and stop them. Wasn’t that the very reason Baek Cheon had bowed his head and sought teachings under Heo Do Jinin, ultimately descending from Mount Wudang?
However…
He instinctively looked down at his arms.
‘Can I do it?’
Even though he had learned the secret techniques of Wudang from Heo Do Jinin and even though he now had a means to wield a sword, was it truly possible for him to confront those beast-like Sapa bastards?
It wouldn’t have been easy to face them alone even if his body were in perfect condition. But now, having lost almost all of his original strength, he wasn’t confident he could fight them at all.
His hands began to tremble.
‘The Alliance?’
He considered waiting for Cheonumaeng to arrive instead of rashly charging in. However, he quickly shook his head.
Due to a recent attack, Cheonumaeng was likely reinforcing their main base’s defenses. Even if they saw this smoke and rushed over at top speed, it would still take more than one hour.
An hour was more than enough time for everything to end.
He quietly tightened the grip on his sword.
In the worst-case scenario, he would die. And his death might go unnoticed by anyone.
Like a mantis raising its front legs against an oncoming cart, he would die a miserable death, burning away to ash among the other corpses. The Alliance, and even Hwasan, might never know that he died here like this.
He feared not death itself, but the possibility that his death would be meaningless.
Even so, Baek Cheon took a short, deep breath.
His trembling eyelids slowly closed and then opened again. The tremor and anxiety that had been in his eyes had vanished.
‘So what if that’s the case?’
He hadn’t sought to become someone great. He had only wanted to uphold his duty.
‘It doesn’t matter.’
It didn’t matter if no one acknowledged it. Right now, the only enemy he had to face was himself – or more precisely, the fear within him.
Swoosh!
Baek Cheon kicked off the ground.
To call this determination would almost feel ridiculous. The sword he picked up at the beginning was still in his hand. Therefore, there was no reason for his initial resolve to change.
He took up his sword to protect someone.
This isn’t something that should only be said for the strong. It should never be a saying only for the strong.
Running with all his might, he charged straight into the village where the black smoke was billowing.
Baek Cheon’s eyes caught sight of a Sapa holding a blade to the neck of a fallen woman. His body reacted before his mind could process it.
Awkwardly, yet naturally. Dully, yet swiftly, he swung his sword. With that strike, Sapa’s head separated from his body.
Swoosh!
Crimson blood sprayed into the air.
Thud!
The severed head fell to the ground and rolled away. As blood splattered in all directions, Baek Cheon instinctively looked down at his sword. His reflection stared back at him from the blade, now stained red with blood.
It was a pitiful strike. In the past, he might have scoffed at such a dull, clumsy attack.
But now, his perspective was different.
‘I can fight.’
Feeling a surge of confidence, Baek Cheon turned his head.
Sapaeryeon’s members, realizing something was wrong, spotted him and started to approach.
Before the fear could take hold, Baek Cheon took a deep breath, filling his chest with air.
“…Who the hell are you?”
Maybe it was because the man with a strange device attached to his arm didn’t exude an overwhelming aura, or perhaps it was because there was no real sense of camaraderie among the Evil Sects’ members.
Even though their comrade’s head had been severed, there was no trace of anger on the faces of Sapaeryeon’s members as they approached Baek Cheon.
“I asked you, who the hell are you?”
Hearing the question repeated, Baek Cheon quietly exhaled.
The plum blossom emblem that had always been with him on his chest had already been removed. Moreover, he was no longer the leader of Cheonumaeng.
He suddenly realized he was at a loss for words to define himself.
In the end, the only thing left to say was this. The phrase that, in the past, he had thought was crude and contrived – a line he believed belonged only in old tales.
“Just a chivalrous warrior* passing by.”
Sure enough, the faces of Sapaeryeon’s members twisted into bizarre expressions.
Feeling a bit awkward and embarrassed, Baek Cheon added another remark to shake off the discomfort.
“You bastards.”
“…”
In the ensuing awkward silence, Baek Cheon extended his sword, aiming it at his enemies. His stance was quite different from the past, but his resolve remained unchanged.
“You won’t lay a hand on these people any longer. Come at me. I’ll take you all on.”
His hands no longer trembled.
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