“… Oh my.”
“That man is strong…”
The onlooking bandits couldn’t even close their mouths, they were so shocked.
One of the Green Forest Ten Shadows was defeated?
Of course, that could happen. The Ten Shadows were a symbol of strength, but they didn’t represent supreme power.
However, the fact that one of them had fallen in a contest of strength and not something else meant something different from a normal defeat.
Who was their man?
Among the many bandits in this place and the crowd gathered here, he could be called the second strongest. And such a person had been smashed to the ground by a tiny Taoist.
“…”
Confused and staring blankly at the fallen man, the crowd slowly came to their senses and hurriedly ran over to him.
“Sir!”
“B-Bring out the stretcher, hurry!”
Just looking at him, body tilted back and foaming at the mouth, it was really like he was seriously injured.
However, at their fuss, Chung Myung spoke with a sad face,
“There is nothing to worry about, he has just fainted. I made sure to use strength in moderation.”
“But his back…!”
“It is only a muscular injury. There is no problem, so do not worry.”
“Ah… then.”
The bandits just nodded. Directly fighting, he would know the condition of his opponent.
“You are amazing, Disciple.”
They looked with shining eyes at Chung Myung. Anyone trained in martial arts couldn’t be unaware of how difficult it was to control their own strength. But to even show such composure when dealing with one of their best.
“Well, it was nothing.”
“No. No! Oh my! Just where did you get that strength from?”
“Hehe. It really is nothing.”
“I heard that the power of a dragon comes from the sky! It seems like the heavens really have blessed you.”
Chung Myung smiled as he scratched the back of his head.
Then, the rest of the onlooking bandits rushed towards him,
“Oh my, even my body isn’t like this!”
“No, no! Look at his arm! They are like metal.”
“Euk! I pressed it, but it won’t go down.”
“Hey! At this point, he can surely defeat him! Size isn’t everything, then!”
Chung Myung’s lips twitched into a smile at this onslaught of praise.
‘This is a new thing again!’
Of course, this wasn’t the first time he had received such cheers, but the extent felt so different. Praising his strength, and not his martial arts, helped his macho thoughts.
“As expected, he has a diamond body!”
“Hehe.”
“Men are all about strength! Strength!”
“Hehehe.”
“Kuak! As expected of the best in the world!”
“Grrr…”
Maybe because they were bandits, but their cheering was too intense. Yoon Jong tilted his head at the sight of bandits swarming around like ants.
“…no, no matter how much the fight was interesting, their own person fell….”
Im So-Byeong smiled bitterly as he said,
“I told you. We support the strong.”
“Still…”
“Do not think of the Green Forest as an ordinary sect.”
Im So-Byeong opened his fan,
“Our bandits will spread across the world. Conversely, it means that most of them are people who have never even seen the other till now.”
“Ah…”
His eyes sank. Actually, this was the biggest problem of this place.
Green Forest was a huge force, and at the same time, there were several bandit factions. The authority of the King was absolute, but that was only when it needed to be. Bandits, whether they were weak or strong, did not bond with one another.
While the Beggars Union spread all over the world according to ranked and organized groups, the Green Forest had groups whose only direction was the completion of their duties.
As a result, it was common for individual bandit groups to fight their own allies and neighbors if territories overlapped.
This was the reason why the Green Forest King had to roam the world despite having a large force underneath him. It was his duty to rule over disputes and strengthen the bonds between these individual bandit groups.
“To the Green Forest, the concept of an ally isn’t that great, they are just partners. The concept of tying such a thing together is too much. Wouldn’t it be easier to live with someone strong on our side?”
“I don’t understand…”
When Yoon Jong said this, Im So-Byeong grinned.
“How can you not understand? You are not some kids from the Justice Faction, leaving their sect for the first time?”
“Hehehe!”
Baek Cheon coughed at those words,
“Come to think of it, Righteous Sword of…”
“That…”
He had also left with Chung Myung, defeating thugs and bandits, earning that title. He thought it was something to be proud of, but in front of a bandit leader, it felt a little odd.
“It is fine, you don’t have to make excuses. It is a good thing.”
“… ahem.”
When Baek Cheon turned his head away with an awkward look, Im So-Byeong shrugged.
“And those bandits were small fries who didn’t belong to us.”
“Ah, I see.”
“However, even larger bandit groups cannot escape the inherent threat that name possesses. There are many people who want to gain notoriety by defeating bandits like the Righteous Sword of Mount Hua has.”
Jo Gul nodded.
“If you say that strength is great, putting it the other way around, it means each one is weak in a way.”
“Exactly.”
Im So-Byeong looked at Jo Gul as if he liked him,
“Green Forest is scary, but there are quite a few people who have the idea that something can be done if we are united. What can be done if absolute strength ran wild here? It cannot be reported to anyone, and there is no one to help.”
“…”
“That is why we all worship those who are strong. They don’t worship them just because they are strong, but they want to establish a relationship so their lives can be protected.”
“Hmm.”
Yoon Jong nodded. After listening to it, they can understand why they were cheering so much.
Im So-Byeong smiled at Chung Myung with a different face.
“In that sense, Disciple is definitely not normal.”
“Uh?”
“He spoke to us naturally and made it clear that he was no enemy by joking around. Would such a scene be this happy if he didn’t react like this? It means he knows exactly what he has to do.”
“Uh…”
“Considering that he is a Taoist, it shouldn’t be easy to have a casual conversation with bandits, but to make this a happy place… indeed, he is a good person.”
“…”
The disciples of Mount Hua looked at each other.
‘He is always like that…’
‘I think this is some serious misunderstanding.’
Chung Myung was always cocky, and when someone praised him, it heightened his ego too much. Bandit or not, he just liked praise.
“Anyway… it worked out?”
“Yes. Right, very….”
Im So-Byeong sighed and continued,
“It worked out very well.”
His eyes shone softly.
‘I never thought he would break it with strength alone.’
It was said that they worship the strong, but even the strong have their own rules. If worshipping the strong came from a will to live, preferring those with physical strength could be considered the Green Forest’s taste.
Chung Myung had succeeded in capturing their hearts.
And this fact would soon spread to the world, Im So-Byeong would make sure of that.
“Cheers!”
“Long Live Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon!”
Those he planted in advance were raising the mood. But looking at it now, they weren’t even needed. This was something Chung Myung did on his own.
With a satisfied look, Im So-Byeong nodded his head and got up, saying,
“Now, let’s start drinking! We have a large task ahead of us, drink and blow out your messy thoughts! Bring the drinks…. Cough! Cough!”
“…you are coughing blood.”
“Ah, this isn’t contagious, so do not worry… cough! Cough!… I am dying! Cough.”
Baek Cheon and the others stepped back from the guy who was coughing his life away before looking toward Chung Myung.
“I don’t know if I am the only one who feels this,” said Yoon Jong.
“I am thinking the same.”
“Sasuk also? Me too!”
Baek Cheon mumbled, looking at Chung Myung.
“… I don’t know who is a bandit and who is a Taoist.”
“He really fits in well. It is like he was supposed to be born here.”
“Right.”
They sighed at the same time.
The bandits continued to cheer, and then a bonfire was started.
Pigs were roasted over the fire, with jugs of alcohol being served, sitting in groups of twos and threes, the bandits began to drink.
Hong Dae-kwang’s eyes trembled.
‘I think I saw this somewhere.’
Maybe I am mistaken?
N-Not mistaken…
No matter how well-informed he was, how could he know how bandits feasted?
So, saying that the feast on Mount Hua was like that of a bandit might be a bit too….
“Are they really the same?”
No, on the contrary, Mount Hua seemed more natural, these bandits were drinking straight from bottles.
Oh, there were things that were the same, but some things looked out of place here.
“Kuahahaha! Now I can say I have lived! There came a day when I got to drink with a monk! Eat! Eat, Monk!”
“Amitabha. It seems that you are not familiar with grain tea. Drinking tea from a mug is not a good thing.”
“What? Look at this monk!”
“Now, take the cup. Let’s have a good drink.”
Eventually, at the sight of Hae Yeon naturally sucking down his glass, Hong Dae-Kwang turned his head and looked up.
‘Abbot.’
Why did you send your child to Mount Hua?
What am I being made to witness here?
Hae Yeon was already colored thick in the shade of Mount Hua.
Hong Dae-Kwang sighed and unfolded a yellow robe. It was similar to Shaolin’s, and anyone could see that this man was someone who had sinned and run.
And…
“You go!”
Thud!
“Kuak!”
There was another rolling on the ground.
Jo Gul put down the bottle in his hand, rather it was more like he threw it to the ground. Clicking his tongue at the fallen man, he spoke with closed eyes,
“Eh. Is there no one who drinks well? What kind of bandits are this weak?”
“G-Get away! I will handle this one!”
“Nice, nice! Let’s do it!”
Hong Dae-Kwang closed his eyes.
On the other side, Jo Gul was fighting with bandits.
No one knew Mount Hua had strong drinkers. In a place with no tigers, a king could take the throne… and in a place with no alcohol lovers, Chung Myung and Jo Gul were kings.
“…”
How to put it?
The bandits, led by Mount Hua, were undoubtedly responsible for this, it was like Mount Hua was setting up a place for them.
“Well, they are unique ones.”
Hong Dae-Kwang’s eyes turned to one side, sticking out his tongue.
Anyway, the most unusual thing was this one.
“Have a drink,” Im So-Byeong lifted his cup and smiled, handing the bottle to Chung Myung.
“Hmm.”
Chung Myung also smiled as he accepted it. As Chung Myung poured the drink into his mouth, Im So-Byeong said,
“Thanks to you, things went well.”
“Eh. Thanks to this, Green Forest… No, it is thanks to your hard work.”
“What did I do?”
“I will say you used your head.”
“Hmm.”
As if he liked this, Im So-Byeong smiled,
“Haha, as I thought, his judgment isn’t bad.”
“Right, right.”
“And Disciple is smart too.”
“Hehe. I am like that.”
The faces of Yoon Jong and Yu Yiseol were gradually contorting.
‘Isn’t he embarrassed?’
‘The two of them are heading towards the sky.’
Even if no one lifted them up, the two would praise themselves enough to get there.
“Hahaha. I never thought a day would come when I would drink with a Taoist.”
“Me too. To party with the Green Forest.”
Im So-Byeong smiled broadly and poured another drink into the empty glass.
“If you agree, then we are of the same mind. What is the problem?”
“Yes, yes. Meaning is important. And…”
The eyes of Chung Myung brightened, making a chill run down Im So-Byeong’s spine, but he didn’t shy away.
“At least we can be friends. As long as everyone exists.”
Im So-Byeong smiled.
“An enemy of an enemy, huh.”
Chung Myung nodded and emptied his glass, pouring in another drink behind it.
When his glass was full, Chung Myung took the bottle and poured it into Im So-Byeong’s glass.
The two lifted their glasses, and they smiled brightly as if they loved the other. And this was what Yoon Jong and Yu Yiseol were getting worried about.
However, unlike their appearance, their inner thoughts were different.
‘This son of a bandit!’
‘This Taoist is a scammer!’
The two smiled brightly and looked at each other.
“Friendship!”
“Colleagues!”
Clink!
The two glasses collided,
“Hahaha. I never thought I would meet someone like this.”
“I know, I am curious too.”
The two of them thought as they smiled.
‘Since you walked in on your own, I will make sure to use this.’
‘I will eat everything. You tried to catch the wrong person!’
This was the moment when the two most influential people in the world were confident that they had cheated the other.
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