Read Novel Full Chapter 1238: Who Did You Say Has Come? (3)
Chapter 1238: Who Did You Say Has Come? (3)
“Who came?”
“They said Mount Hua, Mount Hua! The Heavenly Friends Alliance has come!”
“What nonsense is that! A typhoon is raging like this?”
“This isn’t the time to argue about whether it’s true! They’re in the guest hall right now! Have you been living in ignorance?”
“...Good heavens.”
The man who heard this reached out and opened the window.
Whoooooooooosh!
Trees rocked as if about to snap under the ferocious wind and rain. A few trees had already been uprooted and were rolling.
‘They came through this?’
Never mind the sea, with a typhoon like this, even climbing a mountain would be difficult. A typhoon meeting you out on the South Sea is a different beast than one hitting land. And yet, in the midst of such a storm, people unfamiliar with the South Sea...
“Who, who did you say came?”
“Don’t be shocked! The Five Swords themselves came, the Five Swords!”
“Five Swords? Surely you mean the Mount Hua Five Swords?”
“Yes! That Mount Hua Five Swords!”
“...Heh heh.”
The name Mount Hua Five Swords stirred many emotions among the disciples of the Southern Island Sect.
‘So those were the ones back then.’
The Worldly Murim Martial Arts Tournament held at Shaolin. There, Southern Island’s disciples had gotten into an argument with Mount Hua’s disciples and traded blows.
Thanks to Shaolin’s mediation, the incident didn’t escalate then, but in hindsight it wasn’t wrong to say that it was Southern Island who first drew attention to the appearance of those Mount Hua Five Swords.
Thus, when Southern Island’s disciples heard the name Mount Hua’s Five Swords, their feelings were inevitably mixed. Those who hadn’t seemed much different back then had, in only a few years, risen as representatives of late-stage prowess and accomplished unimaginable feats, sweeping fame across the land.
“Then wait! Has the Mount Hua’s Sword Saint come too?”
“That’s right!”
“...It’s true. They really came.”
The listener shuddered.
Mount Hua’s Sword Saint, that epithet had long since become a symbol not just of Mount Hua but of the Heavenly Friends Alliance. Who could fail to understand what it meant for such a figure to come in person?
“Where are they now?”
“They’re in the guest hall... Sahyung! Where are you going? Sahyung!”
“I must see with my own eyes!”
“Let’s go together! Sahyung! Ah, Sahyung!”
News that the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s envoys had arrived at Southern Island spread through Southern Island faster than the gale. Some were bewildered, some thrilled, and a few hot-headed ones dashed off without thinking.
And those who received all that attention, the Heavenly Friends Alliance party...
“Rice! Give me more rice!”
“Wow. Southern Island chicken is tasty too.”
“That’s not chicken, Sahyung.”
“Why are the grains of rice here a bit long?”
“What does appearance matter? As long as it tastes good!”
They were devouring Southern Island Sect’s food stores, cut off by the typhoon, at an incredible rate. An outsider might mistake them for agents sent by Four Sects Alliance to deplete the Southern Island’s supplies.
The head cook of Southern Island stared dumbfounded at the battlefield of a dining table.
Normally they’d have prepared a feast for guests who traveled so far to visit Southern Island, but Southern Island, having received them unexpectedly, lacked such capacity. Thus the hastily prepared food worried him—would it suit their tastes?
But seeing the situation now, well...
‘Did a grand feast even matter?’
If it could be mashed and swallowed, they’d shovel it all in... putting rare food into those mouths felt like a waste...
“Is there no more rice?”
“...You all just finished one pot.”
“No more?”
“I’ll, I’ll bring more. Rice! Bring out more rice, quickly! Prepare more of the other dishes too!”
The cook ran back to the kitchen, sweating profusely.
After draining Southern Island’s stores for quite a while, the Heavenly Friends Alliance party finally clutched their stuffed bellies and slumped into their chairs.
“...I feel like I could live.”
“Indeed.”
Namgung Do-Wei squeezed his eyes shut as he looked at his bulging stomach.
To be honest, he used to think those Mount Hua people had no manners, gobbling food as if possessed.
‘They weren’t without manners.’
They had to eat to live.
With the training Mount Hua’s Sword Saint demanded and the ventures he dragged them into, no matter how they cultivated their internal qi, they lost weight relentlessly.
If Namgung Do-Wei had kept his usual intake, he’d now be skin and bone, perhaps no better than a cadaver. Eating like this kept him afloat.
“I really thought I was going to die.”
“Maybe we’re already dead? We’ve sunk to the bottom of the sea and this is all a dream...”
“...Don’t say such unlucky things.”
Tang Pae scowled and scolded.
He didn’t know why Namgung Do-Wei grows stranger by the day. Even if he used to be a bit irksome, he was a serious man before.
“...He really came back from the brink of death, that’s why.”
“I can relate to that.”
Tang Pae shook his head with a pale face.
Just imagining a wave the size of a house still made his joints numb.
‘We survived somehow, we really did.’
They faced the typhoon in the middle of the vast ocean. No matter how trained a warrior, it would be normal for survival to be unlikely.
If Im So-Byeong hadn’t told them to dive deep, they might have exhausted themselves halfway and met some disaster.
“...We’re lucky the outcome was good.”
“Good?”
“...We’re fortunate the result wasn’t the worst.”
Namgung Do-Wei also shook his head.
‘How on earth did he know that?’
He discovered the moment they went under: the currents that raged at the surface quieted as if lying once you were inside.
Of course, diving deep and swimming wasn’t easy; they had to surface occasionally for air, but it couldn’t compare to swimming on the surface.
“Where did this bastard get such rare herbs!”
At that moment Chung Myung kicked Im So-Byeong, who was holding a medicinal bowl. Im So-Byeong fell but somehow protected the bowl, thrust his face forward and began sucking greedily.
“Not giving it up? Some Evil Sect bastard is wasting rare herbs on themselves!”
“Oh come on, Sahyung! He’ll really die if you keep that up!”
“That’s what I’m saying! You’re from the Tang Family, and you’re letting an Evil Sect brat use medicine? That expensive stuff?”
“...We save people. I’m a physician, after all.”
Namgung Do-Wei sighed deeply. Chung Myung and Im So-Byeong were, in many ways, consistently themselves. Though he said nothing, Tang Pae nodded in agreement.
Suddenly Namgung Do-Wei’s gaze shifted sideways. He hadn’t noticed in the commotion, but quite a few people were now pressed against the window peering out, despite the gale outside.
A strange mix of expectation and anxiety showed in their eyes. Namgung Do-Wei spoke in a low voice.
“The expressions of Southern Island Sect’s disciples don’t look pleased.”
“That’s to be expected. They’ve endured years under the pressure of not knowing when the Four Sects alliance might strike.”
“Then shouldn’t we be welcomed even more?”
“You’re forgetting one thing as well.”
“Yes?”
“We’ve been equally guilty of leaving Southern Island out and ignoring them until now.”
Namgung Do-Wei’s expression hardened slightly at that.
“Of course we could deflect responsibility by saying that belonged to the Nine Great Sects, but they won’t see it that way.”
Namgung Do-Wei couldn’t avoid that remark in particular.
Before Namgung Hwang died and Namgung Do-Wei shifted the Namgung Family’s enemies onto the Heavenly Friends Alliance, the Namgung Family too had acted alongside the Five Great Family and the Nine Great Sects.
During those three years they had turned their backs on Southern Island. That was an unchanging fact.
‘It shouldn’t be forgotten.’
So they hadn’t come as saviors. They had come to apologize for having neglected what they should have done and to let them know that the Heavenly Friends Alliance now stood properly.
“For us to presume that because we came with good intentions we should be met with goodwill would be the arrogance of the one extending the hand. First, we must reflect on what we have done.”
Namgung Do-Wei nodded at those words.
‘We must approach with more humility.’
He thought that would be the key to reconciling Southern Island.
And then.
Whoooooooooosh!
The guest hall door flung wide as a fierce gust poured in. Under everyone’s gaze, Gwak Hwan-So entered.
Step. Step.
Gwak Hwan-So walked straight to their table and nodded at the clean, emptied plates.
“The Sect leader instructed that guests be made comfortable. If you require anything...”
“Oh? I remember now!”
At that moment, Chung Myung pointed at Gwak Hwan-So.
“That’s him, Sahyung! Him!”
Yoon Jong swayed left and right under Chung Myung’s rough jostling and calmly asked.
“Who?”
“Ah, that time! The guy who got hit by the sasuk. At Shaolin!”
“Ah! That time?”
“Yes! The one who got punched by the sasuk and cried...”
“Who cried, who!”
Gwak Hwan-So barked in anger. He was hit, but he didn’t cry! Though he did lose consciousness from that one blow!
“Well. It’s good to see you here.”
“...”
“But the way guests are being treated here is lackluster?”
“Yes?”
Chung Myung said indifferently.
“Is this how guests are treated in the South Sea? How can they not bring out a bottle of liquor?”
Gwak Hwan-So snorted in amusement.
“Ah, you mean alcohol. Of course the South Sea has fine liquors. But their content of alcohol is so strong that they might be too much for your tired selves...”
“They’d be strong even for you.”
“...”
“It’s the kind of liquor drunk by pale weaklings who faint after one hit from a sasuk, anyway.”
Gwak Hwan-So’s cheek twitched.
“...As I said, South Sea liquor is potent. And the men of the South Sea...”
“Weaklings?”
“...”
At that moment Gwak Hwan-So ground his teeth audibly.
“...Ja-Yang.”
“Yes, Sahyung.”
“Go fetch the liquor.”
“...Yes?”
“Bring all of it. Right now!”
At the command, several of Southern Island’s disciples hurried outside and soon returned carrying large wine bottles and jars.
Jars large enough to fit a person quickly filled the guest hall. A casual glance showed there were easily ten or more.
Thud.
Gwak Hwan-So pulled the cloth sealing a jar, and a strong spirit’s aroma filled the hall.
“As you wished, we’ve brought the liquor. But... as you can tell from the scent, it’s quite strong. So please don’t...”
“Sasuk, is the aroma strong?”
“It smells fragrant.”
“They’re just country folks, perhaps. Big on bravado.”
Bloodshot veins showed in Gwak Hwan-So’s eyes.
“Then we’ll whoop it down, so those who can’t drink should leave. We’ll enjoy it.”
Unable to contain his anger, Gwak Hwan-So grabbed a jar and hoisted it as if ready to hurl it.
“Sahyung!”
“Sa-sahyung! No, you can’t!”
Thunk!
But he walked forward and slammed it down in front of Baek Cheon. Then he sat down heavily facing him.
“...These guests came a long way, so it’s only proper to give them a grand drink.”
“Oh?”
Baek Cheon smirked meaningfully at Gwak Hwan-So. Gwak Hwan-So twisted his lips and spoke.
“But... I’m worried. Even those with pale, white faces—if the drink gets the better of them and they wet themselves, that memory will follow them for life.”
Baek Cheon just smiled amiably.
“Is it any more shameful than being punched once and collapsing foaming at the mouth?”
“What?”
“Why?”
Sparks flew from both their eyes at once.
“So? Do you have the guts to try again?”
“If you still don’t understand after that experience: Mount Hua doesn’t start quarrels, but it never shies away from a fight that comes to it.”
Those hearing the comment murmured behind them.
“We don’t start fights?”
“Don’t we pick fights wherever we can?”
“The sasuk’s lies come out as if breathing now. He could probably advance to the imperial palace.”
“No conscience?”
Baek Cheon shot a murderous look at those whispering from behind, ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) then met Gwak Hwan-So’s eyes again.
Gwak Hwan-So’s face twitched into a forced smile.
“You’ll regret it.”
“Regret?”
Crack. Crack.
Baek Cheon snapped his neck left and right and lifted his chin slightly.
“Try making me regret it.”
“Um, Acting Sect Leader?”
“Mind your manners...”
“...Well, let them be. They’ve already lost their senses. Can’t help them now.”
No matter what was said around them, the two who glared only at each other simultaneously grabbed their bowls.
“The one who passes out first!”
“Is the one at fault!”
Two large drinking bowls clashed violently in midair.