Inside the Crouching Dragon Basin, tens of thousands of people were still alive.
As recently as half a day ago, this place had been filled with hot fervor.
It was thanks to the hope that they could escape this place alive.
Orthodox, Unorthodox, Demon. Even the imperial army gathered in one place.
Those who could never mix, like water and oil, joined forces.
It was to send Yi-gang and the others outside.
Cracks formed in the barrier that had stayed intact even when hammered with Sword Aura, even under the charge of iron cavalry.
In particular, the Azure Forest Honor Flower Disciples’ Power Borrowing displayed power that truly shook heaven and earth, and at last they managed to punch a hole in the barrier and get several people out.
After that great escape succeeded, cheers loud enough to shake the ground continued for a long while.
Soon, those who got out would dismantle the barrier.
The trapped would be freed.
But more than three hours had already passed since then.
With food rations cut to the limit, it was enough to go hungry.
That intense hunger drew up the doubts buried deep in people’s hearts.
“…What if we can’t ever get out?”
“Maybe even the Blue-Eyed Sword Immortal who went out doesn’t know how to dismantle the formation.”
Three hours might be a short time to dismantle a formation.
Not knowing that outside time had already passed by years and another sixty days, they shared those doubts with each other.
But not everyone was like that.
Some worried more about those outside than about themselves trapped in here, and one of them was Baek Ryu-san.
He was worried about his two sons who had gone outside.
Baek Ryu-san let out a long sigh without realizing it.
Then he heard the same kind of sigh beside him.
When he turned his head, True Demon Palace Lord Yo Dae-sun was sitting beside him.
Their eyes met, and the two awkwardly looked away.
“…Looks like you’re worried.”
It was Baek Ryu-san who said it, as if to himself.
Yo Dae-sun glanced at Baek Ryu-san, then said nothing.
Baek Ryu-san regretted bringing it up for no reason.
But Yo Dae-sun wasn’t ignoring Baek Ryu-san. He simply answered a bit late.
“Because of my son…”
Yo Dae-sun had a son too.
A foolish son, Yo Yeon-bi, who was like an aching finger.
But even if he was a wastrel, a child was still a child.
Unexpectedly, there was common ground between Baek Ryu-san and Yo Dae-sun.
“A son. Same for me.”
“Your children looked reliable, though…”
“…Thank you.”
“I don’t think you need to worry that much.”
That was the last of it, and the conversation ended.
They clearly weren’t in a relationship to chat idly.
No matter how much that conflict had been orchestrated by someone…
“Alliance Leader—!”
At that moment, someone called to Baek Ryu-san.
Baek Ryu-san sprang up and turned, and it was none other than the Heretical Alliance Lord, Seomun Jae.
“Alliance Leader! Look over there!”
Even without that, Baek Ryu-san had been staring past Seomun Jae as if bewitched.
The sky and all around were blocked in red by the Red Cloud Barrier.
It was the area where Yi-gang had gotten out.
Obvious cracks began to form in the barrier there.
Jjeojeojeok-
A cracking sound as if the sky were collapsing.
It didn’t take long for the cracks to spread across the entire barrier.
The Shamanic Gu Formation, once so sturdy, shattered.
And a clear sky appeared.
A painfully blue sky filled people’s eyes.
The sudden blue light dazzled their eyes, but in some people’s eyes, moisture unmistakably glimmered.
Someone let out a cheer.
It spread in an instant.
“We’re alive!”
More than the joy of saving their lives, the relief of gaining freedom was even clearer.
Some hugged their comrades and shouted.
Baek Ryu-san, the Alliance Leader, couldn’t hide his excitement either.
He used movement arts just enough that his dignity was only barely not compromised.
Baek Ryu-san succeeded in reaching the basin’s boundary almost first.
He had no choice but to stop short.
Just as Yi-gang had been surprised when he left the Crouching Dragon Basin, Baek Ryu-san was surprised for a similar reason.
The state outside had changed.
The corpses that had been strewn around had all been collected, but in their place there were countless unnamed burial mounds.
Still, it was hard to realize that more than four years had passed from that alone.
Because there were martial artists standing before him.
Martial artists who had been waiting after hearing that the Crouching Dragon Basin’s barrier was slowly dismantling.
Among them was Baek Ryu-san’s proud son, Ha-jun, the young master of the Baek Clan.
He, who had managed to control the Demonic Qi that had been consuming his body, stood waiting for his father.
“Ha-jun—!”
“Father.”
Baek Ryu-san approached, clutching at his swelling chest.
“How… how did it happen?”
“Everything was handled well. Thanks to that, this formation was dismantled too!”
It was good news. Unbearably good news.
“Yi-gang succeeded!”
Baek Ryu-san burst into a hearty laugh.
Then he looked around.
“Where is Yi-gang? Where is your brother?”
Ha-jun couldn’t answer.
The smile on Baek Ryu-san’s face stiffened awkwardly.
“He… couldn’t… come?”
“Brother…”
Ha-jun’s face was deeply bitter.
“Elder brother is…”
Baek Ryu-san’s face turned pale.
About three months later.
Henan.
The biting cold was gone, and the warmth of spring was in full bloom.
Leaves were green, and the streets were full of people’s laughter.
It was a marketplace where countless people had died just this past winter, yet it looked peaceful as if no such tragedy had happened.
Henan was where the Murim Alliance’s main base was.
To rebuild Murim and the Kangho, which had nearly collapsed, a dramatic reconciliation was reached with the Heretical Alliance and the Demon Cult.
Their representatives were to gather here in Henan today.
They said matters that would decide Kangho’s fate going forward would be decided in today’s conference.
Perhaps because of that, Henan’s marketplace was especially crowded.
Children naturally ran around as if the market were their living room.
But even the most mischievous children were holding their breath and huddling together now.
“Amazing…”
They even shushed each other.
Unless it was something like candy, it was rare to captivate children like this.
But a troupe.
And if it was a lavish heroic play troupe from Beijing, it was possible.
The one acting as the announcer shouted in an exaggerated tone.
“Then! The Blue-Eyed Sword Immortal raised that meteorite iron sword high!”
The one playing the Blue-Eyed Sword Immortal, Baek Yi-gang, was a fairly robust young man.
He wore red silk clothes and blue makeup around his eyes, looking quite heroic.
“He swung down a single sword. It was like thunder striking from a clear sky.”
Someone struck something like a gong.
The villains in black clothes froze stiff.
“With that single sword, he cut down five Evil Cultists at once.”
Something amazing happened.
Red blood burst from the villains’ chests.
It was staged with red-dyed paper scraps, but it was flashy enough to steal the children’s souls.
When one act ended, the troupe members brought bowls up to the audience.
It was a dazzling show, so the response coming back was decent.
Coins flew in, and even the children handed over a coin or two.
If someone tried not to pay, the one holding the bowl stopped with a broad smile.
Then most people, mindful of others’ eyes, would cough up money.
But there was a stubborn one who wouldn’t open his purse…
“So what?”
And he was even curt. The troupe member’s reaction wasn’t good either.
“Hehe, fine if you don’t want to, so be it… so stingy.”
“Hey.”
“Hey? You green little punk.”
In a troupe, the collector was usually a big guy.
Compared to him, the young man who didn’t pay was skinny and didn’t look strong.
But the irritable-looking youth didn’t shrink back at all.
“I don’t know which loudmouth went around blabbing about what happened back then to make this a trend.”
He pointed at one of the actors.
“I’m not that ugly. Huh?”
It was Dam Hyun.
What he pointed at was the role playing him.
“Do I have a big mole like that on my face? Check properly!”
The collector examined Dam Hyun’s face as if tearing it apart.
The battle between Azure Forest and the Evil Cult that happened in Nanman was a hero tale spread across the Central Plains, but that didn’t mean everyone could recognize the faces of all the martial artists who took part.
But this was Henan, where the Murim Alliance was.
Someone recognized him.
“Uh, A-Azure Forest!”
“It’s the purple flower! It’s the Freak Immortal!”
Freak Immortal? What kind of byname did they slap on some old cranky Taoist? And it was his first byname, too.
Whether the byname was lousy or not, Dam Hyun’s popularity was enormous.
“Waaah! Freak Immortal!”
“Mister! Mister! Did you really fight riding a dragon?”
In particular, a hailstorm of cheers poured in from the children.
Dam Hyun panicked.
He couldn’t get used to everyone recognizing him and showing favor like this.
“Switch the actor out!”
Dam Hyun backed off in a hurry.
He looked like a villain shouting ‘just you wait!’ and fleeing.
He wasn’t slow, so the kids swarmed after him, but they immediately got confused.
“Huh? He’s gone!”
“Must be sorcery. Whoa…”
Dam Hyun vanished without a trace.
It was sorcery.
Dam Hyun’s concealment art could evade even the eyes of Transcendent masters. Hiding from ordinary people was easy.
Dam Hyun decided to keep this concealment art up all the way to his destination.
It was something to feel sorry about to those guarding the Murim Alliance’s main base.
He would surely be reprimanded later.
He kept moving quietly.
The leaders of Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demon.
Toward the conference hall where all the pillars leading Murim were gathered.
“Therefore, we acknowledge the pact. In Jiangnan Murim, the Heretical Alliance will halt its expansion, the Demon Cult will establish a branch in Qinghai Province, and the Orthodox Murim Alliance will continue financial support.”
Baek Ryu-san was a man worthy of the byname Iron-blood.
In chaotic times, you need a strong leader more than a gentle one.
Baek Ryu-san was leading Kangho’s reconstruction excellently.
Heretical Alliance Lord Seomun Jae.
Yo Dae-sun, who had risen to become the Demon Cult’s Vice-Cult Leader.
They too, while opposing Baek Ryu-san, did not let go of cooperation.
“As for the various matters that were not negotiated, we resolve to go through a process of adjustments and then confer further at the conference nine days from now. If there are objections, raise your hand.”
No one raised a hand.
“Then, we will conclude here.”
The tension in the hall loosened a little.
But no one left their seats.
Baek Ryu-san remained seated and opened his mouth quietly.
“What I’m about to say is personal, and separate from the agenda of this council for rebuilding Kangho.”
In a low voice, Baek Ryu-san continued.
“While we were trapped in the Crouching Dragon Basin, I believe you all know that we overcame a great danger thanks to the sacrifice of those who remained outside.”
The Evil Cult’s threat.
Who would have known preparations for that ruin were being carried out beyond the Central Plains.
Even those who had strutted like they owned Kangho had nothing to say about that.
“And you also know that the swordsman named Baek Yi-gang, who beheaded the Evil Cult Leader and drove them back, has gone missing.”
It didn’t even need that introduction.
No one seated here didn’t know Yi-gang.
But Baek Ryu-san described Yi-gang’s matter as objectively as possible.
“He is my son, yet I too owe him greatly. And I believe the same is true for the Murim comrades here.”
No one objected.
“I do not know whether that child is dead or alive. But I wish to search for my missing son. If he is alive, it is a joyful thing, and if he is dead, I wish to recover at least his remains. Therefore, what I ask is…”
Baek Ryu-san looked around and cupped his fists.
“In that process, I may need the help of the Kangho comrades. When that time comes, I would be grateful if you remember this request from Baek.”
It was a personal request.
But the response was immediate.
“The True Demon Palace Lord and all Demon Cultists will assist his search to the utmost.”
“The Heretical Alliance and its allied sects will sincerely support the searchers.”
“The Green Forest Alliance’s members will guide the routes, and the Waterway Fort will provide ships.”
Everyone present responded like that.
A smile rose on Baek Ryu-san’s face.
And suddenly, Dam Hyun appeared.
Most in the hall didn’t even notice his sudden arrival.
Before the startled martial artists, Baek Ryu-san introduced Dam Hyun.
“Yi-gang’s senior brother, the Taoist called the Freak Immortal. He will lead the search party. As for the rest…”
At Baek Ryu-san’s gesture, the door opened and those waiting appeared.
“My son, and the Peng Clan’s daughter will participate.”
It was Ha-jun and Peng Mu-ah.
Those three were chosen as the search party to find the vanished Yi-gang.
“I would like you to aid their road ahead.”
“Don’t worry.”
Dam Hyun said, looking at Baek Ryu-san.
“If Yi-gang’s already dead, I’ll bring back every last shard of bone.”
Wasn’t that a bit harsh to say to the missing man’s father?
But Baek Ryu-san had already heard a lot about that eccentric senior brother from Yi-gang.
So Baek Ryu-san simply smiled.
“…That’s reassuring.”
Dam Hyun grinned too.
