Chapter 777: Life Is Innately Painful (1)

"Thank you! Thank you!"

"Oh my... oh my, Taoist, I survived thanks to you Taoists!"

"How do I repay this favor...?"

Yoon Jong shook his head.

"Favor? It isn't something like that. We did what we had to do."

"Thank you so much. But we need to repay you somehow!"

"It is really fine..."

"Woah! Repay? It is good to repay! Who said repay! Repay!"

Chung Myung pushed Yoon Jong aside and grabbed the hand of the old man in front of him.

"You said repay, right?"

"Uh? Ah... yes..."

Yoon Jong's face contorted.

"It would have been enough to remove the pirates, but you even bothered to help us...!"

"Then, when you get out of here, spread the word about the Mount Hua sect defeating the pirates and saving you all."

"... Sorry?"

"Rumors, rumors! That we saved you! All you have to do is tell the truth as well, saying the two pirate groups got destroyed! Then it will be a great reward, right?"

"Well, is that alright?"

"Oh my, that is truly a great reward. Instead, you have to be really proactive. You understand, right?"

"If it helps, I will do my best."

"Kuak. He is someone who understands it all."

Yoon Jong, who was trying to scold Chung Myung, fell silent.

Because this wasn't even a reward.

"Then what about us?"

"First, we will check those in weak condition, and if they are alright, we will send them to the land right away."

"L-land...."

"Ah, don't worry, go to the nearest port. Or would you like to wait and go to where you originally wanted?"

"Well, I cannot ask you to take up so much trouble."

"W-what? I don't even drive a ship."

"Uh?"

"Hehe. Just a joke."

Chung Myung giggled and laughed.

The old man held his hand with a bewildered look.

"We sent all the civilians on the ship."

Jo Gul asked with an anxious face after hearing Yoon Jong's words.

"Would it be alright? It is a ship driven by pirate people, right?"

"We sent the Green Forest bandits with them, so it should be alright."

"... I guess it is okay because we sent the bandits and pirates together."

Something sounded quite wrong here.

It was difficult to pinpoint, but there was surely something off about this.

"We found two of the Ghost Clan people among the prisoners. Including the one found before, I think we've located everyone except for one."

"Then what about that one person?"

"Maybe..."

As Yoon Jong trailed off with a heavy look, Baek Cheon sighed.

It was tough to find and save everyone when something bad like this happened, but his heart felt heavy at the news.

"Baek Sang."

"Yes, sahyung."

"Any results from the questioning?"

"... I haven't gotten anything in particular. Most of them were runaways settling here, idiots hired for money, and wanderers."

"Wanderers?"

"Yes. It is said that there were quite a few wanderers around. They said it was difficult to advance because such people had no affiliation with sects and were hired on whims."

"Hmm."

Baek Cheon's face went stiff as he thought.

'Wanderers.'

Wanderers among pirates...

And he turned his face to Jo Seung.

"Is it common to hire a wanderer when forming a pirate crew for the first time?"

"... This is my first time hearing this. If they had money, why not?"

"Well, right."

There was something strange about this situation.

'No, it isn't a good situation.'

Well, they had all been wiped out, so whatever they did now was meaningless. What was important was that those who messed with Mount Hua's friends were punished properly, and that would give a clear warning to other pirates.

"Now we clean up and leave."

Baek Cheon looked at the wide Yangtze River with a slightly relaxed expression.

There was a lot of work involved, but it was a journey where he learned a lot.

"I don't even want to see the water anymore, sahyung."

"When I return to Mount Hua, I won't even wash my face for a while."

"Jo Gul sahyung doesn't normally wash his face, right?"

"What are you talking about! I often wash my face!"

"You always smell like sweat, though."

"That's because I train after washing! Woah, this is so unfair!"

Mount Hua's disciples regained their spirits.

They had many things to reflect on, so they couldn't head back feeling down.

'If you fall, get up and run again.'

Baek Cheon composed himself and spoke.

"Then let's end this... but, where is Chung Myung?"

"Huh? Wasn't he here?"

"... where did he go? Don't you feel anxious when such a thing happens?"

The disciples of Mount Hua tilted their heads and looked around. The land was wide and flat, so he couldn't possibly hide around. They soon found Chung Myung standing on the edge of the island and approached him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Sasuk."

Chung Myung, standing at the edge of the long island and looking towards the land on the other side, spoke without turning his head.

"How far is it from here to there?"

"Huh?"

Although the question was shocking, Baek Cheon answered.

"Maybe... 100 feet? No, around 300 feet?"

He realized now how wide the Yangtze River was.

Usually, it is called a river even if it was 100 feet wide, but 300 feet was too big.

Even this was just the distance from the island in the middle, so it must be enormous. Didn't it mean that the actual river was twice as wide as this?

"Is it close?"

"Huh?"

Close?

"I understand why the pirates left this place alone for so long. This place is too close to the land. One can get here and get out fast."

"Don't you think this concept of movement is strange, though?"

Wasn't 300 feet big enough? Across the water at that?

"It is so conspicuous when it comes to attacking from land. It only takes 300 people to cross them, right? At least, it is worth holding on to with the rapid waves around, but if one looks at this objectively, it is easy to be attacked from the land."

"Listening to you..."

Baek Cheon looked around at Chung Myung's words, his face contorting.

"No, that means if we had moved by land along the river and then took the ship here, we could have crossed this and attacked them. Then why did we come by ship? The damn motion sickness hit everyone...!"

"Ah, not important now."

Chung Myung smiled.

"How's it?"

"Uh?"

"Isn't it nice? So close to land, an ambiguous place to attack by ship."

"What is so nice about this?"

"If we just occupy this place, won't it be difficult for the pirates to approach?"

"... Uh?"

Wait. Why was this brat speaking so much?

Occupy?

"... Chung Myung?"

"The more I look at it, the better it seems. Those little people are stupid and settled here to do their pirating, but from our side, this place is a bad spot."

"... You, what are you saying?"

"Let's have it here!"

"...."

Baek Cheon stared at Chung Myung and then looked back. Indeed, the sajaes behind him had the same confused faces.

'Right, I am not the only one confused, right?'

Baek Cheon smiled and shouted.

"Yeah, you insane bastard! Why do we have to be here? This isn't Shaanxi! It is the Yangtze River!"

"Is there any law about us not being here? Those bastards also came here to set up a pirate group, right?"

"... There is no law about it, but..."

"Do not get so easily convinced, sasuk!"

"Don't interfere!"

"R-right!"

Baek Cheon nodded, looking lost, but he quickly came to his senses and asked.

"What do we do after taking this place? You want to try and rob people?"

"Tsk, tsk. You cannot seem to get your head around the concept."

"Uh?"

Chung Myung frowned disapprovingly.

"Why did we come here in the first place?"

"Uh... it is because the special deliveries of Eunha were attacked."

"Is there any guarantee something like that won't happen again?"

"..."

Chung Myung pointed to Jo Seung.

"Once is tough, but doing it twice will be easy. As soon as the rumors spread about the special delivery escorts being attacked, everyone will do so. And all the troubles sasuk went through till now will be in vain."

"... the Great Whale pirates were a larger group than this. It is a bit..."

"They are pirates."

"..."

Jo Seung, who spoke with an unfair feeling, was struck down with a blow and went silent.

"If something like this happens again, are you going to run all the way to the Yangtze River again to fight them? Then, you will have to run without wasting time to get here, right?"

"... Yes."

As long as the enemy were pirates, there was a chance of the Yangtze River transport route always being hit. It was a risk that could not be avoided. Moreover, the escorts carried expensive items due to their nature, so anyone would want them.

On flat ground, they could avoid danger with quick feet, but wasn't it different on ships?

"So we stay here?"

"If things are going to happen like that, wouldn't it be better for us to take this land? Look here. That side and this side are close. So I am saying the problem can be solved by just bringing in two ships to move back and forth from the mainland to the island, right?"

Baek Cheon looked at the sajaes, asking them to do something.

Then Jo Gul, reading that, spoke.

"For a base, this isn't a bad location!"

"Yah, you crazy bastard! How can you agree to it!"

"N-No. I don't get what is so wrong?"

"Are you saying this just for the special deliveries?"

"Then the other merchants can also use it. They can just pay the ship toll and move."

As expected of the youngest son of a merchant family. Why was his calculation only quick when it came to money?

"No! Never! It is too easy to be attacked, you said it too. What will you do if pirates rush in?"

"What can they do on a ship? We will be on land here, right?"

"Uh?"

"If the pirates come too, they are third-rate warriors at best. We won't lose in a land battle."

"..."

Baek Cheon was starting to be persuaded.

"And there are good things too."

"Good things?"

"White Thunder cannons."

"..."

"They will be plundered soon, and we won't move in water. They can be placed on the water's edge on land and shoot the pirates when they come. They cannot even approach us."

"N-No..."

Baek Cheon closed his eyes tightly.

'We are ruined.'

The nonsense was starting to sound plausible now.

"B-basically! We cannot be stuck here doing that!"

"Has sasuk lost it?"

"Uh?"

"Why will we do it? It isn't just 1-2 people around here. Take this chance and tell the Green Forest to advance to the Yangtze River. They can split the toll in half with us."

"..."

Yah... at this point, he felt like Chung Myung had planned ahead.

Baek Cheon was biting his nails, nervous because he couldn't find a way to attack with logic.

"I am feeling a bit anxious."

"Uh?"

Yu Yiseol, who was the sane person among them, expressed an opposing opinion.

"The range of the cannon. The breadth of the river. If a ship occupies the middle of the river, that will be isolated, too. Too far also."

"Yes, yes! Even so, 300 feet is impossible to hit!"

"Then we reduce it to 200."

"Uh? Using what?"

"Bridge."

"... on water?"

"Yes."

"Here?"

"Yes."

Chung Myung smiled brightly and nodded.

"Yah, you insane bastard. It cannot be done right on land, and you want to do that on water! At least speak sensible things! I have never heard of a bridge made on the Yangtze River!"

"Eh. There is no need to make a full bridge. And no need to make it right. Just throw things left and right. Just so the ships cannot move too much."

"Uh?"

"Anchor the ships around and build a bridge on them. All we need to do is connect the ships to make it a bridge, place the cannons on top of it, and use it for docking."

"..."

"Then we can shoot arrows and cannons from the bridge, and if there are people too, we can fight them! Ugh! I think this is awesome! As far as I know, this is a strategy thought up by a famous tactician long ago. So it can be true."

... All the people on the ship get hit by arrows and are burned to death! That insane bastard! That place isn't even far from here! But it is on a river!

"Hehehe. The more I think about it, the more amazing it gets. These bastards have brought us everything we need! We need to thank them!"

"Ch-Chung Myung!"

"Let's start by getting a ship here! Hehehe! This seems fun, right?"

"Chung Myung..."

"Yah! You insane person! Where are you going?"

Chung Myung had no intention of listening to others; he was running alone.

Someone placed a hand on Baek Cheon's shoulder as he was about to move.

"... monk?"

Hae Yeon had a bright smile.

"Amitabha, Taoist Baek Cheon. You know?"

"... what?"

"Life is innately full of suffering."

"..."

Really... Thank you.

Yes.