Book 14 Chapter 5

A drinking game between two old men!

- Pour! Drink!

Liquor bottles rolling around, piles of plates that must have once contained tons of snacks. A mountain of empty plates were stacked on top of each other, with colorful marinades and fragments of annihilated vegetables clinging to their surfaces, showing the devastation of the chopsticks.

"Do you mean to tell me that those old monsters are really human?"

The Mae Ryung Liquor House is one of the top five liquor houses in Hua Yin County, Seomyeo Province. Mr. Zhang, the elder statesman of the liquor industry, who takes great pride in overseeing all of its affairs, could hardly believe the two eyes in his skull.

"Is that the main human volume?

It's safe to say that the bases were taken over by those two old men a few days ago.

"I'm not normal!"

It was evident that the two old men's wish was to drink themselves to death. How else could they have committed such atrocities, but they had not yet died, which was a mystery.

What started out as a casual "let's go for a drink!" a few days ago has continued to this day.

The next three days passed quickly, and Zhang, a man of calculations and reason, could not help but worry.

He couldn't help but wonder if the two ungainly old men had the ability to calculate what they had drunk and eaten so far. How could he not be worried when every time he asked them, they repeatedly told him not to worry and to ask for a drink? As a last resort, he even thought of enlisting the help of his ministers.

However, one person's visit would change all of that. He was a special guest, a trusted confidant, and a friend of Lu Zhu, one of the Hua Shan Ten Girls, and the first disciple of the Hua Shan Sect.

"What's going on, General Zhang?"

Sensing that this was a very different atmosphere from his usual one, Minister Zhang blurted out his thoughts in response to Hyuk Sun-woo's question. There was hardly a day that went by in this chordal county that Hwasan's breath didn't come through. The answer was as expected.

"What, was that all there was to it? Don't worry, I'll clean it up!"

Of course, Premier Zhang believed him; he was one of the most trusted people in the chord. And the way he handled it was truly remarkable.

Bam, bam, bam, bam!

As he walked to the location of the two old men in question, the steps of the Flying Cloud Swordsman Hyuk-Sun Wu were filled with determination and determination.

"Old man, let me see you for a minute."

When Premier Zhang saw it, he clapped his hands inwardly, calling for good fortune from afar.

The two old men's gazes shifted from the table to the face of the man who had interrupted their masterpiece.

But then the unthinkable happened. Zhang had known Hyuk Sun-woo for more than a decade, but he had never seen him display such status in front of him.

Furry!

Zhang's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, as did those of the Jumsoi who had been watching the events unfold with interest.

The stiff-necked Hyuk Seon-woo, who was one of the ten girls of the volcano and a master of the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Method, who was said to be the next generation of the volcano, bowed so deeply that one wondered if his handsome nose would be crushed. No matter how one looked at it, it was a posture of extreme reverence.

After that, they seemed to exchange a few more words, but I couldn't hear them, even though it was clear they weren't lowering their voices. It was as if there was an invisible curtain in the middle.

Finally, Hyuk Sun-woo is released by the elders, looking more cheerful after taking a cold bath.

"Who the hell are they, those guys?"

Having seen his bold (?) actions, I dare not call him an old man.

"Nothing… don't ask, about their work!"

His face was pale and drenched in a cold sweat, as if he had been to hell.

"Instead, serve those two with all your heart. I'll take care of everything, and you can leave the money for the liquor in my hands. And don't forget to caution all the staff not to disrespect them."

"Who the hell are they?"

This makes you wonder even more.

"I am not authorized to answer that question, but those men over there are my gods, so make no mistake about it."

Then, as if afraid to be here any longer, he hurried off the field, not daring to touch the two old men, who were now being served with the utmost sincerity.

If Chancellor Zhang had recognized these two old men, he would have been horrified: they were the elders of the two great schools, the Taishan Beidou of the Old Great School, both of which were highly respected. One of them, in particular, was the supreme elder of the Volcano Sect, which wielded great influence over the entire Hua Yin County.

The two old men were the same two men who had appeared in front of the Heavenly Martial Academy's guards a few days ago: the Plum Blossom Sword Sect's resident master, and the Three-Sectioned Sword Qingfeng's master.

Main entrance to Hwa Pyeong Market, Hua Yin County, Shaanxi Province, China

Boom!

The door of Hwapyeongjang, a fairly large manor house in Hwaeum County, was shattered by a thunderous roar in the dry sky.

Several unarmed men rushed out of the collapsed door. According to eyewitness accounts, the leader was a middle-aged man with hair as red as a blazing flame and a harsh appearance.

"Kids, jump!"

At the command of the middle-aged man, who seemed to be the embodiment of red, the young men ran like wildfire.

For them, the greatest enemy now was not the living pursuers pressing in on their backs, but the time they could never catch, even if they wanted to.

It was almost time for the sun to rise.

"Hmph…disgraceful, Archduke, kill me!"

Huo Yuguang threw himself to the ground and trembled. To make such a mistake in the presence of the Lord of Peace……. His forehead was already drenched in blood.

But the Grand Duchess did not even give him a glance.

"I care about my people."

Rain said in a quiet voice.

"Even if it's a big mistake, I don't want to make it a death sentence. It's a big loss for the organization!"

A shiver ran down Ho Yuguang's back as he struggled.

"That's why I give everyone a second chance!"

In a quiet voice, the Grand Duke spoke. These were the words that opened the door to Hao Yuguang's life.

"Bring her back, failure is not an option."

"Yes, leave it to me. Yi, I've already released the flesh-eaters."

Barely escaping death's door, the hobbyist cried out in a desperate voice.

The Archduke nodded.

"You better hope they bring her back."

Ho Yuguang could feel the shadow of death hovering behind those words.

"Shi, I won't let you down."

He barely managed to answer, his voice shaking as he broke out in a cold sweat.

"The dogs will smell it and come in! Cover everything up. We give up this place."

"Fuck!"

The long-overdue revelry among men calls for alcohol, and the law of cause and effect gives birth to the virtues of excess and binge drinking. Longevity, longevity, and wealth have nothing to do with it.

The Plum Blossom Sword Line's Yu Huanquan and the current swordsman were drinking in a tavern, forgetting that the moon was waning and the night was passing. It was hard to recognize them as the dignified elders of a sect.

Apparently, they've decided to spend the next few days digging deep and exploring the art of drinking instead of the art of the sword. Through human experimentation.

Where did it start, and where did it end?

"Do you think they'll do well?"

Slowly sipping his drink, the swordsman said, "It's hard to get drunk no matter how much you drink, because the taiqing qi in your body automatically burns off any liquor that exceeds a certain amount. But if you drink to this extent, forgetting about your January run, you'll get drunk even if you don't want to.

"If you knew the reality of this competition, you'd be discouraged, right?"

Answer the question with a question.

"They're probably going to think it's ridiculous."

The swordsman's answer was laced with bitterness. The elderly master Yu Hwan-kwon, who had been working on the opposite side of the room, did not deny it, but nodded.

"No wonder, for it would be waiting for them in a different form than they had imagined and expected! Perhaps it would have been no different for you, Nodo. If it were you, you would have forgotten who you were and gone roaming the streets."

The current swordsman did not deny it.

When people encounter a reality that is different from what they expected and hoped for, they are caught off guard. Discord and immaturity flow from the chasm.

It's similar to marriage. The reason most people are disappointed after marriage is because they think that the passion they had in a relationship will last forever once they get married. But dating and marriage are two different things, and that doesn't happen easily, which is why married people are often disappointed with their marriages.

"You have to let go of nearly two decades of preconceived notions. It's not going to be easy to accept, and it's going to be more painful than ever."

"We just have to hope they get over it, because some of it is our fault for teaching them wrong. It would be cruel to ask them to destroy a lifetime of common sense in one day."

"But if you don't, you can't move forward."

In frustration, the swordsman poured the cup into his mouth once more. The flavor of the liquor sparked a fire inside him.

"By the way, I didn't realize he called his brother."

The Swordsman nodded, not letting go of his drink from his hand.

"I don't know what he's thinking, I'm just following along."

Just who is it that has one of the highest elders of the Shaman Sect at his disposal? Liu Huanquan seems to know the person.

"Have we caught the tail yet?"

Yuhuanqing asked in a quiet voice. What is the tail of what?

"It's hard to see every hair on your head."

The Swordsman shook his head nervously. Something was weighing on his mind and body.

"Are you sure about this? That heavenly being………."

Boom!

Their conversation went no further.

Kudos, kudos, kudos!

Pfft!

Outside the dugout window, a loud bang rang out, almost deafening.

"Loud!"

With a shout, a bottle sailed through the air. Sure enough, it was empty.

The practice of the old monk was not so weak that he would do such a terrible thing as to waste the remaining sake.

Pashak!

The bottle shattered with a loud crack as it hit the masked man in the back of the head. He fell face first to the ground.

The gaze of the leader of my teenage band of chasing horses, the Flesh Ghosts, turned slightly in that direction, but right now he was on the run, and as the distance closed in, it was imperative that he abandoned his escape, turned around, eliminated the group of raiders he was facing, and retrieved the woman.

The roar that had just shaken the enchanted courtyard was the aftermath of another clash between the fleeing intruders and their pursuers. And it seemed to be a clash that had ended in their losses. Three of their men were already on the ground after this single encounter. On the other side, everyone was still standing on their feet.

"Who the hell are you to stand in the way of this old man, he's running out of time, damn it!"

It wasn't these 'bastards' he feared; they were fierce enough, but there was no one in the group weak enough to turn their backs on them and run. Not even if they had twice as many heads. But their time was too short to be held back by these men.

The recklessness of this attitude offended Zeng Gui very much, so he held up three fingers, then his index finger, and pointed to the bunkhouse window where the bottle had come from. It was a signal for the three of them to go up and deal with it. He wanted to set a brutal example and turn the momentum in his favor.

But his prediction was spectacularly off.

Boom!

Crashing through the same second-story window from which the bottle had flown were three of his own men, who had just gone to capture a man. Their bodies were as rigid as stone statues, their limbs twisted in strange ways.

Soon, the old man's ranting erupted from inside the window.

"Grown men drinking and smelling blood…, you have no manners!"

The voice belonged to none other than the current swordsman.

"Who are you, reveal yourself!"

"Uh-oh, look at this guy, he's getting fiercer and fiercer."

For a martial artist, the current swordsman was also quite outspoken. But he wasn't the type of person to hide or restrain his emotions out of discipline. He was said to be quite outspoken, but it was his free-spiritedness that made even those in his own school shake their heads at times.

"Nodo usually enjoys moonlight gymnastics after a night of drinking."

Not bothering to come back out, two old men appeared through the gaping hole in the wall.

People's eyes went wide.

The one in the faded purple robes wore an odd, crude-looking mask, while the one next to him in the faded, worn blue robes wore a shades over his face.

Although they were hiding their faces, none of them were unaware of their identity, especially Yoon Jun-ho, a former member of the Hwasan faction.

"Wow, that's the famous plum blossom!"

The voice came out of nowhere and was full of emotion and excitement. As everyone's mouths dropped open, it was Jang Hong who broke the tension with his inarticulate shout.

The response was equally strong. Plum Blossom's head slowly turned toward him, and she gave him a thumbs-up! Jang Hong chuckled and gave him a thumbs-up as if in response.

There was a glint of envy in the gaze of the shamanic old monk as he watched this behavior, which could be called a gimmick at best and a scandal at worst.

"Hmm, I wonder if I should make a mask and put a swastika on my forehead……."

A muttering to himself, filled with inexplicable envy and impatience. Luckily, no one heard his mutterings, and he did not become a member of the Shaman Sect.

"Suck!"

The people's eyes were wide open, as if they had nothing to fear. As the two old men descended from the sky to the ground, their speed was as slow as a feather falling. It was a clear indication of their mastery of ascent.

Settling down on the ground, the Swordsman glanced at the group of flesh-eaters and frowned.

"Well, you are addicted to the taste of blood, and the swords in your hands are of no use to you in this life, so I will reap them all."

Then he turned around and said.

"You look like you have a busy road ahead of you. Leave this place to us two old men!"

The entire salvage crew took up positions and saluted.

"Thank you, sir!"

That's when the Swordsman spoke up again.

"Oh, and we've never met each other!"

After a moment of confusion, Yeomdo understood the implication and bowed again.

"Thank you!"