By Zephyria What Doesn’t Change (3)
Baek Ryeo-il squeezed his eyes shut.
The teachings of the scriptures, the words of his Master, and the admonitions of his elders flashed through his mind.
Drawing a sword is not to harm people.
It is to save them.
As a disciple of Mount Hua, you must always remember, and remember again.
Baek Ryeo-il clenched his fist.
‘……Since when did I care about that kind of thing?’
Soon, he steeled his resolve.
He decided to find his Master first.
He might be reprimanded for this decision. The Sect would not tolerate it. He would be punished for prioritizing personal matters over the public good.
‘Punishment? Let them punish me if they want.’
As his momentary anguish ended, Baek Ryeo-il opened his eyes. It was then, as he was about to turn away from the carnage before him.
“Headmaster!”
A familiar voice pierced his ears.
Seong Mu-yeon arrived right in front of him in an instant, along with someone else. Now that he looked, the person who had brought him was also a familiar face. Il-gwang was greatly disturbed by the pandemonium that had unfolded everywhere.
“W-What is this……? Aren’t those our demonic cultists? Why are they doing this……?”
It wasn’t out of pity for the suffering commoners or a sense of guilt.
The Demonic Cult was also merely a force that had taken root and lived in the Central Plains. They walked a tightrope, crossing invisible lines, but they still protected what needed to be protected. Otherwise, they could no longer live in this land.
But now, before his very eyes, he was witnessing the breaking of the unwritten rules that had been so well observed. Right in front of them, hundreds of demonic cultists with crazed eyes were rampaging.
“Seventh Young master, I’m afraid something terrible has happened. This is no ordinary matter. If we’re not careful, the Cult’s very existence……”
“Il-gwang! This is no time for that.”
Seong Mu-yeon said firmly.
“Take care of the aftermath first.”
“……Yes.”
He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but soon drew his sword and rushed out. He seemed to have judged that it would help the main Demonic Cult if he lent a hand to reduce the situation even a little.
“Go. We’ll take care of this.”
Seong Mu-yeon pushed Baek Ryeo-il away firmly. But Baek Ryeo-il, who was out of his mind, was pushed away powerlessly and didn’t even think of moving.
“Go! Save Mazincheon Headmaster!”
Baek Ryeo-il snapped to his senses at the sharp cry. He nodded and ran. He seemed to look back at Seong Mu-yeon for a moment before disappearing into the alleyway.
Seong Mu-yeon looked around with a sunken face.
‘It’s more serious than I thought.’
Il-gwang may not have known, but Seong Mu-yeon knew in advance. He already knew about this incident, in which people would lose their lives, lose their homes, and the Demonic Cult would hide in darker places.
To him, this incident was something he could dismiss as someone else’s problem. He thought that it would be good to save Mazincheon, but if not, then so be it.
Since the original work took place a long time after this incident, it was only mentioned as ‘something that happened’. So he didn’t know the details and didn’t even feel any emotion.
But the carnage he saw with his own eyes…… was different.
‘I was complacent.’
It was utterly miserable.
Flames were spreading everywhere, and people were running away. The smoke spewed by the fire demon filled the night sky with black.
Collapsed buildings…….
Burnt debris…….
Each one was a place where someone made a living and a warm home where their family was waiting.
Fortunately, Il-gwang fought well. He dealt with two or three in the blink of an eye, and he roamed the battlefield. The problem was the number of enemies, but most of them had barely escaped the level of third-rate martial artist, so it didn’t seem difficult to deal with them.
Seong Mu-yeon didn’t even have to step in.
‘But let’s save our strength in case something happens.’
When Ma Jin-cheon arrived at the Shaolin Temple, they had already sensed the commotion. The warrior monks, fluttering their yellow robes, set out to suppress the Demonic Cult.
“I can’t believe it. To commit such an act within the Shaolin Temple.”
The old monk who had sent the warrior monks quietly chanted a Buddhist prayer.
“Amitabha, they will pay the price for their killings.”
The streets of Luoyang shone like daylight with the light emitted by hundreds of warrior monks.
Now there was nothing to worry about.
“Hoo……”
Ma Jin-cheon’s legs gave way and he collapsed on the landing. But he had to get up soon. It was because he heard a child’s scream not far away.
“Mommyyyy!”
This place seemed to have already been swept over by the warrior monks, and there were many Demonic humans lying around. When he got closer to the sound, he saw a young child crying loudly.
“Hey. What’s wrong?”
Ma Jin-cheon hurriedly approached the child and asked.
“Mommy is……. Mommy is over there.”
The child pointed to the rubble of a collapsed building. It seemed that someone was buried underneath. He looked around, but he couldn’t see any warrior monks. The newly dispatched warrior monks were focused on suppressing the enemy first. A follow-up team for rescue would arrive soon, but…….
“Step back for a moment.”
Ma Jin-cheon rolled up his sleeves. He had to rescue the person buried as soon as possible.
He began to lift the pillar.
Creak.
He used all his strength and all his inner force, but the pillar that had crushed the person only rose a few inches from the ground.
Ma Jin-cheon’s face flushed red as if it would burst.
Just a little more…….
Just a little.
“Hmm?”
He felt something touch his nerves and raised his head. That side was a dark place where no light entered beyond the rubble of the collapsed pillar.
Something very small seemed to be shining in the pitch-black shadow like an abyss…….
But Ma Jin-cheon turned his head when he suddenly felt the pillar, which had not risen even with all his strength, suddenly rising up.
“Ryeo-il……? Why are you here?”
Before he knew it, his disciple Baek Ryeo-il was supporting the pillar with an indifferent face. What had been as heavy as a mountain when he had lifted it was lifted as lightly as a feather when it was in Baek Ryeo-il’s hands.
“Mommy! Mommy!”
Fortunately, the person buried was safe. When the light came in, the woman desperately crawled out and hugged her daughter.
“If you go that way, there will be monks from Shaolin Temple. Get your injuries treated and be protected.”
“Th-Thank you……. Thank you.”
Ma Jin-cheon, who had sent the mother and daughter away, stared at Baek Ryeo-il as if he were looking at a strange object.
“Why are you here? I thought you went to Shanxi.”
Baek Ryeo-il shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
“It just happened that way.”
Ma Jin-cheon glared at his disciple at the unsatisfactory answer. This child was always like this. He never answered properly no matter what he asked.
“Since you’ve come all this way, that’s good. The demonic cultists are rampaging now. Follow me. Shaolin Temple is enough, but you have to help too.”
The Demonic humans were spreading widely around the downtown area, so it would take time to completely suppress them.
Ma Jin-cheon was about to take a step when Baek Ryeo-il grabbed his shoulder and dragged him somewhere.
“What are you doing! Let go! Baek Ryeo-il! Can’t you hear your Master!”
The monks were setting up a temporary shelter at the Sungshan Mountain Gate, and Baek Ryeo-il sat him next to the mother and daughter he had just rescued.
“Master, stay here.”
“What?”
“You’re old and your bones aren’t in good shape, so why are you running around? Why don’t you leave it to your disciple and help these people here?”
“……This rascal.”
But there seemed to be a lot of work to do here too. People who had lost their homes and were injured were gathering one after another. With no other choice, Ma Jin-cheon sighed and nodded.
“I understand, go.”
Baek Ryeo-il left without delay. Ma Jin-cheon looked at his disciple’s receding figure with a fresh gaze.
His disciple was strange after all.
Didn’t he run over as if he had predicted that this kind of thing would happen again?
It seemed that even the reckless child, who seemed like he would never grow up, was getting better with age.
Ma Jin-cheon smiled with satisfaction at such a disciple and got up.
There was a lot to do. First, he had to bring a blanket to the mother and daughter who were sitting on the bare ground.
Seong Mu-yeon, led by Il-gwang, advanced to the city center, knocking down Demonic humans.
There was nothing for him to do except kick away any who rushed at him.
This was even more so when the Shaolin warrior monks soon began to rush in, emitting light.
The Demonic humans, who were the epitome of terror to the commoners, fell like autumn leaves in the autumn wind to the light of the warrior monks in yellow robes.
If there was a person with thick black hair among the bald heads, he would be particularly noticeable.
“Hahahaha! Where are you running to!”
As the man rampaged, his long braided hair and the bamboo hat on his neck fluttered behind him. The Demonic humans, who had been driven to a disadvantage due to the Shaolin Temple’s joining, were busy running away as if they had never been so elated and stirred up the city. He laughed heartily and wielded his huge Greatsword. His voice was so loud that it attracted everyone’s attention from far away.
The man, who had suddenly appeared like a bouncing ball, froze when he saw Il-gwang.
“Hmm? You……!”
Seong Mu-yeon’s heart sank.
Even a three-year-old child could see that the man with the bamboo hat was a young master from a well-known orthodox sect family, so he was worried that he might recognize Il-gwang’s identity.
It didn’t matter after the situation was resolved, but now he should never be caught being a demonic cultist. If something went wrong, he might have to face the fierce reaction of the martial artist, whose blood was boiling with fighting and anger, in the middle of the incident.
The man, who had been observing Il-gwang with narrowed eyes, soon laughed loudly.
“Hey, your swordsmanship is amazing?”
Then he reached out his right hand to Il-gwang and asked for a handshake. He had to be especially careful with those hot-blooded types.
A bamboo hat, a huge Greatsword, a hearty laugh, long braided hair…….
Seong Mu-yeon somehow felt like he knew who he was.
“Since we met like this, let’s get to know each other. I am Peng Do-hwan of the Peng family of Hebei!”
As expected.