"Junior brother!"
"You're leaving already? Isn't it too early?"
Having packed his belongings, Cheonhwi nodded as he looked at Hyundo, Hyunjin, and the Plum Blossom Sword Guards who had gathered around.
"The Sect Leader summoned me, so I must go."
"But wouldn't it be better for your journey to make some preparations before leaving?"
Hyundo spoke cautiously.
"They say strike while the iron is hot."
Though he spoke firmly, Cheonhwi actually thought the timing was perfect.
'There's nothing more to see at the Murim Alliance anyway.'
His purpose in coming to the Murim Alliance was to observe the martial arts of the sects under its umbrella.
But far from observing martial arts, he had only dealt with troublesome tasks.
'If there hadn't been any results, I would have quit already.'
He lifted his head slightly and looked at the pavilion.
He had only stayed for four days, but that alone was satisfying.
'I've laid the foundation for the Huashan Sect to become the number one sect under heaven, so they can handle the rest on their own.'
Cheonhwi nodded.
There were two things he desired in this life.
To observe all the martial arts in the world.
And to make the current Huashan Sect the number one sect under heaven.
'Since it's the sect I belong to, after all.'
At that moment, the Plum Blossom Sword Guards approached.
"Take care of yourself."
"Don't go taking detours."
He scanned them as they spoke.
Beneath their worried expressions, a faint hint of amusement lingered.
'Oh ho.'
"You're not going to slack off on training just because I'm not here, right?"
"What are you talking about, junior brother!"
"Slack off on training? How could we?"
"That's nonsense!"
They exclaimed in sudden alarm.
Like children caught in a lie, frantically trying to hide it.
'Looks like they were planning to slack off alright.'
Looking at them awkwardly moving their lips, Cheonhwi smirked.
"If you keep training like that and your skills haven't improved when I next see you, I'll increase the training intensity a bit."
The Plum Blossom Sword Guards broke into cold sweats.
"Hmm? Why are you so flustered?"
Cheonhwi asked, pretending not to know.
"B-but, whether your skills improve or not is uncertain, isn't it?"
"R-right. Training doesn't guarantee improvement."
"That's exactly why we need to increase the training intensity."
Cheonhwi said firmly.
"If it still doesn't improve even then, shouldn't we train even more harshly?"
The Plum Blossom Sword Guards squeezed their eyes shut.
Even now, the training was so grueling that their minds would go hazy.
And yet, higher intensity than this?
"Why? Don't like it? Then forget it."
"N-no!"
"We'll train diligently!"
The Plum Blossom Sword Guards answered desperately.
Given Cheonhwi's personality, he might actually follow through.
"Then expect it if your skills remain the same next time."
"Y-yeah..."
"Under...stood."
As the Plum Blossom Sword Guards turned pale and hung their heads at Cheonhwi's continued words.
"Will you be alright on your own?"
Hyundo approached Cheonhwi.
Originally, he too wanted to return with Cheonhwi, but he couldn't.
'Having joined hands with the Beggars' Union, I can't just up and leave...'
Currently, the real figure of the Huashan Sect in the Alliance wasn't the Sect Leader, but Hyundo himself. And if he were to leave?
The hard-won position of the Huashan Sect might shrink once again.
"Am I your lover?"
"Haha."
Hyundo smiled awkwardly.
Actually, the intent behind his words wasn't because he was worried about Cheonhwi.
'If only he wouldn't cause any incidents.'
Having long observed Cheonhwi's personality and martial prowess, he was simply worried that some incident might occur.
"Please don't cause any trouble."
Only then did Cheonhwi realize why Hyundo was so anxious and let out a chuckle.
"I'll see how it goes."
* * *
Swish—
The bamboo curtain at the entrance of a small inn in Uichang County was lifted with a sound.
The faded curtain swayed widely, and the one who revealed himself was Cheonhwi, wearing grey martial attire.
'That's a lot.'
Perhaps because it was around sunset, the inn was packed with customers.
"Hahaha! So I..."
Creak—
The inside of the inn was filled with voices, the clattering of dishes, and the sound of instruments playing from somewhere.
It was noisy enough to make one's ears hurt, but the atmosphere wasn't bad.
Having this many customers proved that this inn was quite a decent place.
Moreover, the smell of food tickling his nose was stimulating his appetite.
'But will there be any seats?'
After standing at the entrance of the noisy inn, he moved his head to survey the entire interior.
Despite the inn being quite large, there were no empty seats to be seen.
Since it was the only inn on the official road heading to Shaanxi, it was crowded with travelers passing through.
'I thought I'd finally rest at an inn after a long time.'
Cheonhwi's brows furrowed involuntarily.
'Should I go somewhere else?'
Just as he was about to leave the inn.
"Welcome!"
A waiter's voice came from behind.
Turning his head, he saw a waiter with a friendly impression giving him a smiling glance.
"Do you have companions?"
"No."
"The only remaining seats are on the second floor. Would that be alright?"
He nodded.
Seeing the nod, the waiter looked relieved and quickly guided him to the second floor.
"Here you are."
After he sat down, the waiter turned back.
"What would you like to order?"
"Your most confident dish and wine."
"It's quite expensive... is that alright?"
When he asked with a slightly suspicious expression, Cheonhwi immediately took out a pouch and lightly tossed a silver ingot.
"Si-silver?!"
The waiter's eyes, which had only been wearing a perfunctory smile, flew wide open.
"I'll prepare it right away!"
The waiter hurriedly turned and rushed away, as if fearing the order might be cancelled.
"Here's the grain tea."
In the meantime, another waiter appeared and set down a warm teapot and teacup.
Sipping the tea with its bitter aroma, how long had he waited for the food to arrive?
"Sorry to keep you waiting!"
The waiter who had strode up the stairs set the dish on the table.
"This is the famous Qingzheng Wuchang Yu from Hubei Province. It was caught this morning, so it should be fresh."
Oh ho. This is?
Cheonhwi's eyes widened.
Qingzheng Wuchang Yu was quite famous, but it was a dish with a demanding cooking method.
'The smell is good though?'
The vegetables and red seasonings mixed on top of the neatly steamed fish stimulated his nose.
But that wasn't the end.
Next, the waiter set down a wine bottle.
The wine bottle looked crude, as if homemade, but pride was etched on the waiter's face.
"And this is a fruit wine brewed by our chef himself."
He immediately uncorked the wine bottle.
With a pop, the fragrant aroma from the bottle made his mouth water involuntarily.
"It's good?"
"Isn't it?"
The waiter's face beamed.
"I'll take my leave now. If you need anything else, please call again!"
As the waiter retreated with quick steps.
Clatter—
Cheonhwi immediately moved his chopsticks and picked up a piece of the fish on the dish.
"Delicious."
A smile appeared on Cheonhwi's lips.
He then immediately downed the fruit wine as well.
'Good thing I took off the daoist robes.'
A satisfied smile formed on its own.
The first thing he did after leaving the Murim Alliance was to go to a fabric shop and change into new martial attire.
Exactly this.
To avoid the public's gaze as a daoist and do as he pleased.
"This makes me want to travel the murim even longer before returning."
While contemplating whether to delay his return on this quite satisfying journey.
"E-excuse me, sir."
The waiter called out to Cheonhwi hesitantly.
With a troubled expression, he glanced back and asked cautiously.
"I-if it wouldn't be an imposition, would it be alright if they share your table?"
'Share the table?'
Cheonhwi's gaze turned to the group standing behind the waiter.
There were three of them, all dressed luxuriously like children of influential families.
"Go ahead."
"Thank you."
The waiter bowed deeply.
Then he turned to the group and said with a broad smile.
"You can sit here."
"Thank you for allowing us to share your table."
The woman in the center expressed her gratitude in a calm voice and sat down.
In contrast to her gorgeous attire, her expression was icy, giving off a feeling as if cold air flowed from her.
"Thank you."
"Thanks!"
The man and woman who seemed to be her companions also sat on either side of her.
"What would you like to order?"
"First..."
While they were ordering from the waiter, Cheonhwi ate his food.
After the waiter took their order and left.
Gulp, munch.
Only the sounds of eating Qingzheng Wuchang Yu and drinking fruit wine could be heard.
Click.
After finishing his meal, Cheonhwi stood up.
As he tied the sword he had leaned against the chair to his waist and left, the eyes of the group who had been quietly eating changed.
"So he's a martial artist."
The handsome young man murmured.
Dressed in luxurious silk garments with a serious expression, the young man looked like a painting.
"How was he?"
At the cold-looking woman's question, the young man recalled the man who had shared their table earlier.
"I couldn't sense anything."
He was just an ordinary person holding a sword, with nothing else discernible.
"He seems like someone carrying a sword out of fear of encountering bandits on his journey."
"Then we don't need to pay any attention."
The woman immediately lost interest.
"We'll stay here tonight."
At those words, the cute-looking younger girl's eyes widened.
"We're not sleeping rough tonight?"
"That's right."
"Wow!"
"But Miss, rushing like this..."
The young man spoke urgently, but.
"No."
The woman with a cold expression cut him off.
"I know it's dangerous, but we need to rest, if only for the rest of the journey."
Seeing the woman's unyielding demeanor, the young man sighed.
"I'll prepare the rooms."
* * *
In the quiet dead of night, Cheonhwi, who had been seeking sleep, opened his eyes.
The moonlight was bright, and all around was still.
The intermittent chirping of insects from outside the window made the silence feel even more desolate.
Cheonhwi slowly rose.
"Did I do something to deserve being attacked?"
He pondered carefully.
But there wasn't any such thing.
"No matter how I think about it, there isn't."
His pitch-black eyes pierced through the darkness.
"Why did they come?"
At that moment.
Whoosh!
A loud wind rose, and three or four people emerged from the darkness.
At the same time, daggers rained down.
It was a sudden ambush, but as if he had already known, Cheonhwi moved his hand.
A hand gesture like the fluttering of a butterfly's wings.
However, the sharply raining daggers were sucked into that gesture.
"Compared to your meager skills, you're carrying far too fine daggers."
The daggers seemed to have been made by a craftsman, containing a rather extraordinary aura.
He caught and tossed the daggers lightly for a moment.
Twing!
He flicked his finger and launched flying daggers.
It was the Flying Lightning Blade.
The Flying Lightning Blades, shot like lightning, pierced through the attackers' bodies and penetrated the wall.
"Urk!"
As he watched the attacker who let out a short groan stagger, Cheonhwi immediately raised his index finger at the killing intent he felt from the side.
Thud!
A chilling sound was heard.
The charging attacker fell with a hole in his forehead.
Thump!
The remaining ones swallowed hard with expressions of disbelief as they witnessed the carnage that had occurred in barely a single breath.
"Was that guy Shen Weizhen?"
At someone's muttered words among the attackers, Cheonhwi's brow furrowed slightly.
"What? Shen Weizhen? Who's that?"
"What?"
"He's not Shen Weizhen?"
The assassins' eyes wavered.
"But he was with them."
"Could there be another expert besides Shen Weizhen?"
He was with them?
As he listened to their hasty whispers, a group of people suddenly crossed his mind.
The group he had shared a table with last night.
'So they were after them?'
He understood the unfolding situation.
But that didn't change anything.
'What matters is that they attacked me.'
Cheonhwi glared at the attackers with cold eyes and spat out a warning.
"Whether you misunderstood or not, you'll have to pay the price for attacking me?"