By Zephyria What Doesn’t Change (1)
Baek Ryeo-il dashed forward without a moment to catch his breath.
‘Master.’
The face of his Master, aged with wrinkles, surfaced in his mind.
Nothing will happen.
Let all of this be just Seong Mu-yeon’s speculation. Nothing happened last time, so it will be the same this time. It has to be!
Baek Ryeo-il spurred himself to greater speed. Seong Mu-yeon was running behind him, quickly fading into the distance.
“Haa… haa…!”
He ran until his breath caught in his throat, but it was far from enough to catch up with Baek Ryeo-il. Baek Ryeo-il was already so far away that he was out of sight.
Eventually, his legs gave way. Just as he was about to fall spectacularly over a rock, a strong grip caught him.
“Seventh Young master.”
“Il-gwang?”
Unexpectedly, the one who supported him was Il-gwang.
“How are you here? Don’t tell me the Second Senior Brother…?”
Seong Mu-yeon hurriedly looked around, but Seong Mu-ryong was nowhere to be seen. Il-gwang shook his head.
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m alone this time. I realized you had my sword, Young master. So I came to retrieve it. I was just waiting for a chance, and I was lucky to see you.”
“Ah, that’s right. Here.”
Seong Mu-yeon handed over the sword and quickly regained his senses.
“This isn’t the time! Il-gwang, help me! Let’s go after that man!”
“Pardon?”
“Quickly!”
At Seong Mu-yeon’s urging, Il-gwang lifted him up and kicked off the ground.
“Isn’t that the Heartless Sword? What’s going on?”
He was already out of Seong Mu-yeon’s sight, but Il-gwang, enhancing his eyesight with inner force, seemed to see him.
“Il-gwang, we have a branch in Henan, right? Who’s in charge?”
“The Fourth Young master operates a branch there, but as you know, there was a vacancy due to his sudden passing. I believe one of the Young masters urgently sent someone to operate it temporarily.”
“Who did they send?”
“I don’t know that far.”
Seong Mu-yeon fell silent.
He didn’t know if he could prevent Ma Jin-cheon’s death even if he went now. If he died, he had to prevent what would happen next.
‘I should have been more careful.’
He was too preoccupied with his own problems to pay attention.
But regret was of no help.
‘I can only hope Baek Ryeo-il arrives in time.’
Seong Mu-yeon stared anxiously at the place where Baek Ryeo-il had disappeared.
Henan, Luoyang.
“You’ve worked hard.”
It was already night when Ma Jin-cheon and his Junior Brothers finished their business at the Shaolin Temple and came out. Shaolin had offered them accommodation, but the food didn’t suit their tastes, so they had come down to find a restaurant.
Because of the late hour, there were hardly any customers in the restaurant they usually went to. Only two people wearing bamboo hats were sitting in a corner.
As they settled down, the Server brought the menu.
The restaurant was quiet, but the atmosphere was a bit noisy.
“Hey, Server. What’s going on?”
Shouting could be faintly heard from the kitchen. It sounded like someone was fighting. When Ma Jin-cheon asked, the Server glanced at the kitchen with a dark expression.
“That’s… I’m not sure either.”
The Server had been hovering anxiously, unable to do anything.
“It seems like the cooks are having an argument.”
The Junior Brothers casually looked at the menu and began to choose their dishes.
“Wait.”
“Senior Brother, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t think it’s just a fight.”
At those words, the Junior Brothers grumbled in dissatisfaction.
“Can’t we just eat first? I’m hungry. It’s probably nothing. All sorts of people gather in places like this, don’t they?”
“That’s right. Senior Brother, aren’t you being a bit too sensitive? It’s understandable, though. The monks were so picky. Anyway, let’s eat first. Luoyang is under Shaolin’s jurisdiction, what could possibly happen?”
“Even if something happens, Shaolin will take care of it.”
Ma Jin-cheon sighed quietly. They were right. He was probably just sensitive because he had been arguing with Shaolin over the agreement.
He scanned the menu, but the faint, harsh shouts coming from the other side kept piercing his ears, making it difficult to focus on the words.
Eventually, Ma Jin-cheon stood up.
“I’m going to wash my face, so order something for me.”
“Noodles will be fine, right? Go ahead.”
He was led by the Server to a large water basin in the back, where he washed his face.
Suddenly, he realized why he felt uneasy. The face of his disciple kept appearing in his mind. Baek Ryeo-il, always grumpy and full of complaints about the world.
That disciple, for some reason, had done something he never used to do last time. He had accompanied him on his travels and personally served as his attendant.
He was like a wild beast. Constantly wary of his surroundings, not easily trusting anyone, and always prepared to react quickly, which was an excellent trait for a martial artist, but it also meant that accidents never stopped happening.
Especially that day, it was even worse. He was so on edge, as if an attack was imminent, that Ma Jin-cheon had been sweating bullets. When he asked why, he wouldn’t answer.
‘Could it be that he heard something from that Young master?’
Otherwise, there was no way Baek Ryeo-il would have done something he never used to do.
He hadn’t told him because he wasn’t sure, but something was definitely up.
The more he worried, the more he wanted to find the cause of his unease.
He looked towards the kitchen.
There were still many people faintly arguing inside. Since Baek Ryeo-il’s unusual behavior had left a deep impression on Ma Jin-cheon, he felt he needed to check even a minor issue to feel at ease.
Eventually, he carefully got up and approached the wall. He quietly listened, and voices began to be heard from inside.
“Chief! I can’t live like this anymore! Why do we have to suffer like this?”
A man with a rough voice complained loudly. His voice was full of resentment and anger.
“…What can we do? We have to endure, even if it’s dirty and despicable.”
“The Fourth Young master put so much effort into building this branch, and now it’s being taken away in an instant. I can’t accept it.”
Ma Jin-cheon’s pupils narrowed.
‘Fourth Young master.’
That title was similar to what they used to refer to the Young masters within the Demonic Cult. However, it wasn’t a term only used by the Demonic Cult, so Ma Jin-cheon hoped it wasn’t and enhanced his hearing.
“Even though the Fourth Young master passed away like that…”
Ma Jin-cheon was startled and took a few steps back.
‘Could it be that this restaurant is a business run by the Demonic Cult?’
He had recently heard news from within the Demonic Cult through Seong Mu-yeon.
The Cult Leader’s fourth Young master had died. This was a clear fact that Hwasan had separately cross-verified in addition to Seong Mu-yeon’s claims. If so, the ‘Fourth Young master’ they were talking about could only be the Demonic Cult Leader’s fourth Young master.
He knew that the Demonic Cult had taken root in various places, but he didn’t expect them to be so close.
That was because they usually hid their identities and didn’t cause major problems. Like Hwasan Sect and other Sects, the Demonic Cult needed funds to operate a large-scale Sect. They used figurehead CEOs to make it look like an ordinary business on the surface, so it was difficult to find them unless they were interrogated individually.
Listening carefully, it seemed that there had been changes in the business because the Fourth Young master had died, and the subordinates who originally followed the Fourth Young master were very dissatisfied with it.
‘The situation is unusual, so I should warn Shaolin first.’
Ma Jin-cheon quietly turned around.
Thinking of Baek Ryeo-il, he needed to be more careful. There were dozens of Demonic humans gathered inside, but as long as he didn’t provoke them first, there wouldn’t be an immediate conflict.
‘The rest is up to Shaolin…’
He returned to the restaurant to take his Junior Brothers out.
“Junior Brothers, let’s eat later and go back.”
“Yes? Why?”
“Something’s come up. I’ll explain later.”
“What’s going on? My stomach is sticking to my back.”
The Junior Brothers, who had already argued with Ma Jin-cheon once, protested loudly.
Ma Jin-cheon’s face hardened. It wasn’t new that his authority had fallen to the ground, but even at times like this…!
Ma Jin-cheon stopped trying to persuade his Junior Brothers. It would be better to cancel the order and somehow take them out.
Just then, the Server was heading to the kitchen to deliver the order list. Fortunately, it seemed they hadn’t placed the order yet.
“Hey, Server. Wait a moment.”
“What are you doing, Senior Brother!”
The Junior Brothers, who didn’t expect Ma Jin-cheon to actually cancel the food, stood up in protest.
The Server didn’t seem to hear him calling. Growing impatient, Ma Jin-cheon quickly approached him.
The moment he grabbed the Server’s shoulder, the kitchen door burst open.
“Hey! Didn’t I tell you not to interrupt…!”
A man with an angry expression shouted at the Server, then noticed Ma Jin-cheon standing with him. His gaze turned to the plum blossom pattern engraved on Ma Jin-cheon’s chest. Behind the Server and Ma Jin-cheon, weren’t there three other Hwasan Sect martial artists standing with fierce expressions, glaring at him?
“Hwasan Sect!”
As soon as someone shouted that, an intense killing intent exploded.