Chapter 663: Who Touched This? (3)

The number of dogs that the Nanman Beast Palace brought had reached close to 100.

"No. Just how does one push away the children who want to be with us?"

"Then you just abandon the starving kids?"

"The people of the Central Plains have no affection, I'm telling you."

"Even the engraving is so neat! It isn't like you don't have money either!"

"..."

The disciples of Mount Hua, who were being criticized again, couldn't even speak back. They were Taoists who spoke about kindness; they could not criticize the man for bringing along dying animals, right?

Mount Hua, which was on the verge of becoming uncaring, money-greedy bastards who didn't care about the dogs starving to death, couldn't overlook the actions of the Beast Palace.

The good news was that the dog management had been easily resolved despite their concerns about it.

Kiiik!

Grrr!

Kiaaaik!

Kiaaaik!

The people of the Central Plains kept silent at the odd sight.

"No, just what am I seeing now?"

"... Right."

"I cannot even tell from looking... despite seeing with both my eyes."

All eyes were in one place.

The pure white paws, which were so small that one would call them cute, were pointed down. And the dogs, all being sorted by size, fell to the ground.

Wheik!

When the small paw moved up, the dogs rose up in speed, and then the paw drew a circle, and the dogs rolled on the ground.

"... What even is that?"

"Am I dreaming now?"

If one hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't even believe this, but those who climbed Mount Hua were realizing that what they were witnessing might be difficult.

Every time the little marten, which seemed like a bundle of white fur, moved, the dogs as big as people turned.

They were worried about something happening if the dogs moved too much.

"Ah, no, it doesn't look like it is worth it."

"Is that a marten? Isn't the problem why the dogs are listening to the marten?"

"I find it odd that the marten is waving its paw at the dogs."

Something, from the start of it to the end, made no sense.

Hik!

When the marten slightly showed its teeth in anger, all the dogs would have their tails curled in.

This pure white marten finally nodded as if to say this was right.

'No matter how I see it, it seems like a person. Who would even think of it as a marten?'

'What? Did that stick its stomach out?'

Everyone was shocked at how human-like this marten was.

"Isn't that a spirit beast?"

"There are spirit beasts in Mount Hua?"

"... but I thought those things only appeared in stories."

Right now, the condition of the Central Plains was so bad that finding a spirit beast was unheard of, so everyone thought it was odd or found it unfamiliar.

Shhh!

When Baek Ah flipped her front paw to the side, the dogs rushed to the back of the pavilion. Everyone there was shocked and impressed, and some even applauded it for the training, which was neatly organized as if there were no dogs there at all.

"Is this the power of the Beast Palace?"

"What did you even see? That marten was raised by the Mount Hua disciple!"

"Huh? But why?"

"... do you even understand?"

They really couldn't understand what was happening, so everyone just went silent.

'Since earlier, something felt so odd.'

'I don't really understand anything.'

The people began to realize that Mount Hua wasn't like any other sect. But it felt absurd for Mount Hua, too.

"... it was handled."

"That one is surprisingly useful. At first, I thought it was just a useless scarf."

"It is better than you."

"... you are going to be like this?"

As Jo Gul groaned, Yoon Jong sighed.

'While you are at it, why don't you give this bastard some training too, Baek Ah?'

Even if it was not possible for Chung Myung, couldn't Baek Ah do something for Jo Gul? That guy was also a form of beast.

"Actually, the dog isn't the problem."

Baek Cheon looked away, shocked. Chung Myung was barking at Meng So... no, protesting.

"Dog's Palace! This place is entirely messed up! Right!"

"Hahahah! Do not worry about such small things! Now, since I was coming to meet you, I brought the alcohol from Yunnan! Wouldn't you like a refreshing drink?"

"How many? Did you bring many?"

"You will be so drunk that you'll be happy to die! I had a hard time getting them! How is it? Now, will you like a drink?"

"Nice!"

Baek Cheon covered his face with his hands.

'What is wrong with dogs? People are the problem here, people!'

No, the problem was that they didn't exactly behave like people.

Such a sad thing for Mount Hua. Here, human-like animals and animal-like humans coexisted.

"Taoist Baek Cheon."

"Uh? Ah, yes! Young master."

Tang Pae greeted him and smiled.

"Now that the Beast Palace has arrived, I am going to select a couple of my friends and send them down to the village."

"The village?"

"Yes. Not everyone who comes to Mount Hua can stay here, so we will need people to open up temporary tents, which I mentioned earlier, and manage them."

"Ah!"

Baek Cheon nodded.

"I didn't even think about that till now; thank you, young master."

Upon hearing the sincere thanks, Tang Pae shook his head.

"This isn't the task of Mount Hua but of the Heavenly Friends Alliance. I will feel sad if you continue to speak like that."

"Ah..."

"And..."

Tang Pae smiled.

"Even if this is Mount Hua and not the thing of the alliance, Mount Hua and the Tang family aren't strangers."

Baek Cheon, who saw the eyes of Tang Pae, smiled.

"Right. Not strangers..."

"Excuse me."

But then came a voice that cut off their happy bonding. Tang Pae and Baek Cheon flinched at the sight of the person.

"So, Soso."

"Soso..."

Tang Soso was looking at them with an angry look.

"Others are all busy working and you two seem to be having a great time?"

"..."

"..."

"You look tired. How about I get a bed for you?"

"... I apologize."

"I committed such a grave sin!"

"What are you doing! Go and work!"

"Yes!"

Tang Pae and Baek Cheon rushed over and began to mumble.

"Was Soso always like that?"

"... She wasn't such a bad kid, but when she came to Mount Hua, her killing intent..."

"... We apologize."

"So this is Mount Hua!"

Meng So looked around, elated.

"This is a lot more glamorous than I thought. I thought it would be this quiet and simple place like a temple."

"It is because there were many who helped, right? And the Tang family, too, added a hand."

"That is a good thing."

Meng So smiled broadly.

"I never thought that I would step into the central plains or even to Mount Hua. Thanks to Mount Hua's Divine Dragon, I am doing well."

"You will have to come here often from now on."

"Haha. That is how it will be! That is how it will be!"

Meng So smiled wide and nodded. That was when Hyun Jong and Tang Gunak walked out from behind. It seemed like they heard about the Beast Palace arriving and came to greet him in person.

"Ah, Lord Tang! And next to..."

The eyes of Meng So changed when he saw Hyun Jong.

"Mount Hua's Divine Dragon."

"Yes."

"Is that man the sect leader of Mount Hua?"

"Ah, your first time meeting? Right. That is Elder Hyun Jong, the sect leader of Mount Hua. Let me introduce you..."

But Meng So walked to Hyun Jong before Chung Myung could even finish speaking. His movement was so fast and animal-like that everyone looked at Meng So.

Even without an introduction, they could recognize that this man was the Lord of a Palace.

On one side was the Nanman Beast Palace Lord.

On the other side was the head of the Sichuan Tang family, the ruler of Sichuan, and the Sect Leader of Mount Hua, the man who gained immense power recently.

Everyone gulped at the thought of these three shaking up the world.

"What is that?"

"Is something happening?"

A glance was enough to know that Meng So was strong. To say that he looked like a beast didn't fit; wasn't he an outsider, unknown to the manners of the Central Plains?

Everyone was tense, wondering what would happen next.

And after a while, Hyun Jong smiled and bowed.

"Welcome to Mount Hua, Palace Lord. I have heard so much about the Nanman Beast Palace and the stories about the Palace Lord from Lord Tang and my disciples. I should have come to greet you right then, but I couldn't. Please forgive my lack of courtesy."

Meng So, seeing such a humble form, snorted.

It was right to respond to a hit with the same force. But instead of being polite, Meng So chose another method.

Thud!

He took a step back and bowed deeply.

"Uh?"

"What?"

Everyone was shocked at that.

Reaching out to the same level of manners was nice. But Meng So now didn't do that and lowered his head.

'Is he saying he is going to recognize Mount Hua as the better sect?'

'Eh, even so, it cannot....'

Not everyone could understand the actions. But then Meng So spoke in a loud voice.

"Great!"

Great? What great?

"It is my honor to meet the sect leader of the Great Mount Hua Sect!"

Those watching were all shocked.

'W-what?'

'What does this mean?'

The Nanman Beast Palace.

Of course, the people of the Central Plains tended to secretly refuse or ignore the sects outside their lands. And actually, it was true that the strength of the palace didn't reach that of the Nine Great Sects. But still, the Nanman Beast Palace was a member of the five palaces.

Even though Mount Hua's recent feats were amazing, it was still not a sect that dared to approach the Nanman Beast Palace.

But now, in front of their eyes, the Beast Palace Lord, Meng So, was showing extreme respect to Mount Hua's sect leader.

Even Hyun Jong felt a bit embarrassed.

"Ahem. Palace Lord. You are showing excessive kindness."

"No!"

However, Meng So raised his head and shouted.

"I apologize for only coming to meet you now. On behalf of the Nanman Beast Palace and all those who live in Yunnan! I am grateful for the grace of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint who protected Yunnan, and I am even more grateful to Mount Hua for teaching the Plum Blossom Sword Saint!"

Meng So placed his hands in front of his chest and bowed deeply once again. Although his manner was different from what the Central Plains people would do, it was obvious to anyone that he was showing respect.

As a result, Meng So's words from earlier became more credible.

"The Plum Blossom Sword Saint saved Yunnan...?"

"Who is the Plum Blossom Sword Saint?"

"You know that man! He is one of the Three Great Swordsmen in the world and he fought against the Demonic Sect 100 years back!"

"What? Mount Hua had such a swordsman? But why didn't I know of it? And for the Nanman Beast Palace to show that respect when talking, doesn't it mean he was amazing? But why didn't I hear anything about it?"

"I-I am also hearing the name for the first time."

The people around were confused.

But before they could talk and discuss, Meng So shouted loudly.

"Nothing can repay the grace of saving a life! Nanman Beast Palace will be the eternal friend of Mount Hua and the enemies of Mount Hua will be our enemies! Sect leader, Beast Palace will not betray it!"

Hyun Jong felt a stinging sensation at the tip of his nose, so he turned to the side and looked at the distant sky.

No one recognized them.

The reason why he had to keep the feeling of regret within his heart while seeing so many people come to Mount Hua was because he thought no one knew about the past of Mount Hua.

But now, wasn't Meng So bowing down in front of everyone and mentioning the name of Mount Hua and the Plum Blossom Sword Saint?

"... it was so long ago. There....."

"No!"

Meng So shouted loudly.

"Save the Beast Palace, save Yunnan! Furthermore, what does time have to do with us discussing the grace that the Plum Blossom Sword Saint showed when saving the world from the clutches of those wicked, evil Demonic Sects!"

"...."

"That is something which cannot be forgotten for a thousand years to come, let alone in a hundred years!"

"... I really appreciate those words,"

Meng So smiled.

"I brought a nice gift from Yunnan! We have a lot to talk about, too! So let us head in."

"Right."

Everyone who witnessed the shocking scene looked at the three people, unable to hide their despair.

A strange silence.

And in the midst of all this came a sound.

"Ughh...."

People turned their heads.

Chung Myung covered his mouth with both hands, and his shoulders were shaking.

"Euek,... "

"...."

But why was that brat laughing?

No one knew why.

And then.

"The North Sea Ice Palace has arrived!"

Before they had time to think and calm down from one shock, another announcement came from the gate.