633 Chapter 1521: Upon Reflection, I Was Wrong (Part 1)

It was late morning when the disciples of Mount Hua, unable to overcome the fatigue, had all collapsed.

Chorororok.

Pungyeong Shin Gae carefully filled an empty glass with alcohol. In the shape of the hand holding the bottle, there was an unparalleled politeness and reverence. Pungyeong Shin Gae silently placed the bottle down, then lifted his mouth toward the person sitting across from him.

"Sword Saint...."

Upon hearing those words, Chung Myung chuckled.

"Well, not anymore."

"Then...?"

"Call me whatever you want. You can call me Chivalrous Sword like before, or Chung Myung. Hmm... no, Dojang. Dojang suits me best."

Pungyeong Shin Gae's face turned slightly pale.

"How dare I...?"

"Forget it."

Chung Myung raised the glass that Pungyeong Shin Gae filled and drained it in one go.

"Kkoo."

"...."

"Getting old is nothing to be proud of. Moreover, strictly speaking, I'm the younger one, right?"

"Well, that's true, but..."

"Don't bother with all that. Just call me Dojang."

"If you say so."

The conversation between the two paused for a moment.

In fact, there was nothing particularly noteworthy to talk about between them. They only knew each other's true identities, and there was no real connection between them.

Pungyeong Shin Gae, who knew more about the other, had to continue the conversation.

"Thank you, Dojang."

"Don't make a big deal out of it."

Chung Myung shrugged his shoulders casually.

"You don't have to thank me for helping you. Even if it was someone else, I would have taken care of Beggar's Union sooner or later."

"But this method wouldn't have been the same."

"Hmm."

Chung Myung neither denied nor affirmed, pushing the glass in his hand slightly forward. Pungyeong Shin Gae quickly filled that glass with alcohol.

"I heard you would leave as soon as it gets bright."

"There's nothing good in dragging it out."

Although it seemed like a somewhat amicable agreement, if they continued to be conspicuous, resentment within Beggar's Union might rise.

So, at times like this, it was better to vacate the place quickly so that they could settle the situation among themselves.

A sigh escaped from Pungyeong Shin Gae's lips. He understood Chung Myung's intention. He knew it was the right thing to do. However...

"Why? Is there anything else I need to do?"

"If a person has any decency, how could they expect more than this? I feel uneasy because I haven't repaid even a little for everything you've done, Chivalrous Sword-nim."

"I've already received my repayment."

"What?"

Chung Myung's gaze went up, directed towards the ceiling, where someone was sleeping.

"It was an excessive repayment."

It was a voice filled with bitterness.

Pungyeong Shin Gae couldn't say anything. He couldn't even dare to guess. The feeling of living alone in a world where everyone he knew had died.

"...Thank you on behalf of Shifu."

"Come on, stop with the unnecessary chatter."

Chung Myung, who clicked his tongue briefly, lifted his glass. This time, he poured the alcohol slowly, as if savoring it without any haste.

A bitter and robust aroma lingered in his mouth. However, no matter how strong the alcohol was, eventually, the taste would disappear without a trace.

"Just to make it clear."

"Yes."

"He clearly made a mistake."

Pungyeong Shin Gae also nodded in agreement. Evaluating and acknowledging the Shifu's mistakes might not be right as a disciple, but this was already something even his Shifu had admitted.

And Pungyeong Shin Gae had already witnessed the results of the mistakes made by his Shifu with his own eyes.

If Chung Myung had arrived just a day later, the Beggar's Union would have fallen into Ilho Shin Gae's hands, and the courage of the Beggar's Union that they had to rebuild would have been seriously damaged.

At that moment, Chung Myung opened his mouth with a subdued voice.

"But."

Pungyeong Shin Gae looked at him inquisitively.

"Still, I don't want to blame him."

Pungyeong Shin Gae couldn't understand the meaning behind those words.

"He probably tried hard in his own way. Yeah. Like that..."

Even if he had been lonely.

The words couldn't come out fell apart in Chung Myung's mouth.

"Ahem."

Awkwardness settled in the air as Chung Myung coughed briefly. Then, he looked up at the ceiling.

"Anyway... When the time is right, bury him in a place with good feng shui."

"You said to bury him there before..."

"Yeah, that's right."

Chung Myung chuckled wryly.

"I couldn't overcome my own emotions. It's better not to leave regrets. Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, the remaining person has to bear the burden."

Pungyeong Shin Gae silently accepted it. Even if not everyone could understand, he understood at least that there was goodwill in those words.

Chung Myung, glancing briefly, added.

"Don't blame yourself either."

Pungyeong Shin Gae smiled broadly.

"Just having the opportunity to repay my sins satisfies me."

"You're brave."

In that moment, Pungyeong Shin Gae burst into laughter without even realizing it.

The four characters "you're brave" sounded like words praising a child. Of course, from Chung Myung's perspective, Pungyeong Shin Gae might indeed resemble a child.

"Uncle Hong does have some clumsy aspects. However..."

"Yes, originally Beggar's Union was not a perfect place."

Pungyeong Shin Gae smiled, seemingly already aware of what Chung Myung wanted to say.

"I think that under his leadership, Beggar's Union will become an excellent place, despite whether he can be a great Sect Leader or not."

"Hmm."

"That would be the right path. It would have been better if I had known earlier."

Chung Myung nodded as if to say that's enough, then drank the alcohol that Pungyeong Shin Gae poured for him. There were no more words to follow. What he wanted to say had ended.

However, Pungyeong Shin Gae still had something he wanted to ask.

"Sword Saint."

Instead of answering, Chung Myung narrowed his eyes slightly.

Not Dojang but Sword Saint. Pungyeong Shin Gae wasn't foolish enough to forget the words he said a little while ago.

"Will you continue to fight?"

This question was not about Beggar's Union or Mount Hua; it was a question from Pungyeong Shin Gae to Chung Myung as an individual.

Thud.

Chung Myung, who had set down his glass, responded calmly.

"I guess so."

"...Do you know, Sword Saint?"

The main reason Beggar's Union deteriorated.

It was because they had reached the conclusion that no matter how hard they struggled, they would never be able to withstand the black storm that would eventually surge in.

"He will come back."

Chung Myung turned his head to look out the window.

"More powerful than before."

The torches lit by those still recovering spread all over Beggar's Union.

The light of the fire was evidence that people were alive.

And 'he' was the one who devoured that light.

Where he passed, the light disappeared, and eventually, the world returned to its original state.

The sight of the lights illuminating Beggar's Union fading away like being consumed by something vividly appeared before Chung Myung's eyes.

A natural disaster that couldn't be prevented no matter how hard they tried.

In that black tempest…

"Hmm."

Chung Myung breathed out shortly as if trying to push away something.

"So?"

"Huh?"

"What should I do when he returns?"

For a moment, Pungyeong Shin Gae opened his mouth with a puzzled look on his face.

"Well... you know..."

"What, if that bastard resurrects, we'll probably be someone who went out to take a leak and got swamped in a landslide"

"...."

"However..."

Chung Myung chuckled.

"Is it just me?"

"...Yes?"

"Isn't that guy likely to be in the same situation? He was barely resurrected after dying once, and there's that guy who cut off his own head down there, right?"

For a moment, Pungyeong Shin Gae looked as if he had been hit on the head.

He had never thought about it in that way.

"The one who will whine, saying it's too much no matter what, won't be me. That guy would be even more terrified, right? His throat should feel a bit prickly, shouldn't it?"

"Haha..."

Pungyeong Shin Gae burst into laughter. He seemed to understand why this person, unlike his Shifu, hadn't collapsed.

Chung Myung laughed.

"Also, in this world, you don't just not do what you can't do. You do the impossible. As human beings, that's how we've come so far."

Pungyeong Shin Gae nodded in agreement.

"You speak the truth."

"And I'm sick of it, whether it's the Heavenly Demon or Satan. Just thinking about that prostitute there gives me a headache."

"You mean Paegun."

"Yeah. If you guys had acted more like human beings, this wouldn't have happened. Well? Anyway. Jang Ilso is in Sichuan, right?"

Chung Myung sneered, mimicking a theatrical gesture. His eyes were frighteningly twinkling. Pungyeong Shin Gae bowed his head deeply.

"Even if I had ten mouths..."

"Damn bastards, seriously."

Chung Myung clicked his tongue.

"I never told you to sacrifice yourselves."

"...."

"If sacrifices are inevitable, I'll be at the forefront. So don't feel unfairly treated."

"I will keep that in mind, Sword Saint. No, I mean... Dojang."

That was enough.

If, in the past... If the leadership of the world had been held not by the Ten Great Sects, but by the Plum Blossom Sword Saint Chung Myung, the Beggar's Union at that time would not have shed tears and blood of sacrifice.

It wasn't the fear of death; it was the fear of a meaningless death.

Chung Myung raised his wine cup and filled Pungyeong Shin Gae's glass. Pungyeong Shin Gae flinched and quickly accepted the glass.

"You should drink too."

"I dare not..."

"You too..."

"Yes?"

Chung Myung cleared his throat with a loud cough, then spoke in a slightly lowered voice.

"You've also worked hard."

For a moment, Pungyeong Shin Gaen was at a loss for words, then a faint smile appeared on his face.

Chung Myung clinked the cups.

"Well, drink!"

"Yes, Sword Saint."

Words such as "It will be different from before" and "We will show a different Beggar's Union from now on" were meaningless.

'Shifu.'

Pungyeong Shin Gae, who had taken a sip of the alcohol, closed his eyes quietly.

'This person seems to be different from what Shifu has mentioned.'

He isn't a leader.

Yeah, this person...makes you want to follow him.

* * *

Early dawn.

"Gruu..."

"Why is this guy in this state?"

"I don't know. Did he drink himself to death?"

"A so-called expert of the Mount Hua Sect!"

"Hey! Quickly wake him up from this intoxication!"

"Just leave it. He won't wake up, saying it'd be a waste of alcohol, even if he dies."

Looking at the mushy and withered Chung Myung, the disciples of Mount Hua sighed collectively.

"Then how do we handle him?"

"There's no choice. We have to carry him..."

"This guy?"

"If you don't want to do it, step aside. I'll..."

"Ughhh!"

"..."

Watching Chung Myung vomit, Baek Cheon turned blue in an instant. He turned around as if he had never come out.

"...Just leave him."

"Carry him. Sasuk."

"As a senior, you should set a good example!"

"Shut up!"

At that moment, Chung Myung rubbed his forehead and held his head.

"Gruu... Oh, I'm dying."

That beggar, the alcohol was damn strong. He looked so sluggish.

At that moment, Tang Soso tilted her head.

"But, are we really going to go like this?"

"What?"

"Should'nt we bid farewell or something..."

"Forget it. The entire headquarters has collapsed, and we're in a place where funeral wails echo. What kind of farewell can we receive?"

"We're lucky if we don't die."

"It's not our fault, right?" 

Tang Soso protested with a slight frown. Baek Cheon gave a bitter smile.

"We will have to face each other again soon, so let's just go quietly."

"Hmm. It seems different from usual. Was that sincere, Sasuk?"

Tang Soso squinted and looked closely at Baek Cheon's face, and a gloomy expression passed over his face.

"Can I be honest with you?"

"Sure. What can't be honest about between us?"

"No, well... Shaolin and Lee Sohyeop all came here and left without expecting any gratitude. If we complain and whine about receiving a farewell from this place..."

"Let's go right away."

"Let's go quickly."

"Even thinking about it is too nauseating."

"I'm sorry. My thoughts were short-sighted."

Everyone's mind was unanimously made up in an instant. They had to escape from here right now.

"All right. Let's go."

"Wait, how should we handle this guy?"

"Thanks, Gol-ah!"

"Cheer up, Sahyung!"

"Hey?"

Unable to get a word in, Jo Gol found himself holding onto the unconscious Chung Myung. His martial siblings had already moved away.

"Sahyung my ass... "

"Uweeeeek!"

"...."

Ugh. Disgusting.