Chapter ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠198: South Sea-2

After turning all the pirates who had fallen into the water into lonely spirits and returning to the shore, the sight that Seonwoo Jin and Seol Pung beheld was that of the villagers kneeling before them.

They were kneeling and greeting them with an appearance of utmost earnestness.

However, their actions were not meant to express gratitude.

An old man who appeared to be the village chief was earnestly pleading with Seonwoo Jin's group.

"Hyeopsa-nim! Please protect us! Now that they know what happened to those bastards, the Hainan Sect scoundrels will soon come swarming like a pack of dogs! If you just leave, our village is finished!"

"Please protect us!"

"Hyeopsa-nim, please!"

Seonwoo Jin's group could not help but find themselves in an awkward situation.

For neither being tied down here nor continuing to clash with the Hainan Sect was something they were keen on.

But it could not be helped.

As they said, since they had not been able to deal with them completely, those scoundrels would surely return, and if they simply left, it was clear they would take out their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anger on the villagers.

Seonwoo Jin let out a sigh and spoke to the other two.

"It can't be helped. When the next lot comes, we'll have to deal with them all, even if it means pushing ourselves."

And so they had no choice but to stay for a while in the small seaside village.

After that, the villagers began to erase the traces of plunder they had suffered from the pirates, and the three of them were at last taking in the scenery at the peaceful seaside.

Seol Pung admired the clear, sky-blue sea, so transparent that its depths were visible.

"Truly a mysterious hue. No gem could produce such a color. It is far more beautiful than the sky itself."

At that, Jeung Chil, who had traveled here and there in his youth, laughed frivolously and said.

"Uhehehe! Know what's even more wondrous? The color of that sea changes according to the climate. In warm places, it takes on that transparent light sky-blue, but in cold places, it becomes a dark ultramarine."

"Huh, is that really true, Jeung hyungnim?"

"I'm telling you. If we go to Jiangsu Province, you'll probably see that kind of sea color. But that place is plenty splendid too. If the sea here is like a pretty spring landscape, then the sea there is like a cool winter landscape, I'd say."

"A pretty spring landscape and a cool winter landscape. That's a wonderful expression, hyungnim."

"Keuhehehehe! I do have a bit of a poetic side."

But even with the beautiful seascape he was seeing for the first time across two lives, Seonwoo Jin could not focus.

Unlike Jeung Chil and Seol Pung, who were conversing at ease, he had to prepare for and plan the matters ahead.

Yet that future did not feel particularly positive.

Of course, he did not think they would fall victim to mere pirate attacks.

But in the worst case, this location might have already been shared with the Hainan Sect.

Or, as had been happening, the situation of continuing to let the ships waiting behind escape one by one could repeat itself.

The fact that this place was the sea, and that they had to protect a fixed village, struck him as excessively disadvantageous conditions.

At that moment, Mukrang suddenly spoke.

- It is not only that. Do not take your attention off the villagers either.

At those words, Seonwoo Jin expressed his doubt.

'What? The villagers?'

Then Mukrang answered in a bitter voice.

- Yes. Do you happen to know what the weak abandon first for the sake of survival?

'...I do not know.'

- It is precisely their conscience.

It was a statement that felt deeply meaningful for some reason.

Seonwoo Jin abruptly turned around and looked toward the village.

The villagers were currently tidying up the village while also preparing food to serve them.

Seonwoo Jin abruptly spoke to his two hyungs.

"Hyungnims, I will go and come back for a moment."

"Hm? Alright. Go ahead."

"Maknae, going to take a piss? Or a big one?"

At Jeung Chil's words, Seonwoo Jin smiled bitterly and answered roughly.

"A big one. I'll be back in a bit."

Having said that, he used his stealth technique to begin moving along the shadows toward the village.

Jeung Chil's voice came from behind him.

"Looks like our maknae is embarrassed. Using even his stealth technique just to do his big business."

The place Seonwoo Jin headed to using his stealth technique was where the village chief was.

The chief ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was at the place where the food to be given to them was being prepared.

And at the voice heard from there, Seonwoo Jin's expression could not help but grow heavy.

For a village woman was crying out softly in a startled voice.

"Y-you're telling us to put in sleeping drugs?!"

"Yes, since they seem to be masters, put in plenty."

"B-but what will you do if we get caught? If those people get angry and kill us..."

At that, the village chief cried out softly in a frustrated voice.

"Do you still not understand?! We are already dead because of those people! Now when the Hainan Sect scoundrels come, all that remains is for everyone to be massacred! The only way we can survive is to capture those people and offer them to the Hainan Sect scoundrels! If they catch on? Then what else can we do but beg? Still, since those people pretend to be righteous warriors, we can only believe they won't kill us."

It was talk that could not help but weigh on the heart.

Those they had saved were trying to preserve their lives by offering them to the Hainan Sect.

It was a moment when he suddenly thought of the Sword Saint, who had once said with a bitter face that the results of chivalrous deeds were not always beautiful.

Mukrang spoke.

- Do not be too disappointed. To them, that might perhaps be a natural thing.

'...A natural thing?'

- Did I not say earlier? That which the weak abandon first for survival is their conscience. If opposing the Hainan Sect is already perceived by them as annihilation itself, then choosing the side with a higher chance of living is only natural.

Abandoning one's conscience.

Only then could Seonwoo Jin understand.

For if one thought about it excluding the value of conscience, they might very well have chosen the side with a higher chance of living.

As they said, even if they discovered the sleeping drugs, they would not massacre them, would they?

But just because he understood it in his head did not mean he could accept it.

Seonwoo Jin asked with a frustrated heart.

'Then, does that mean chivalry is something utterly meaningless in the face of survival?'

At that, Mukrang answered in a voice tinged with laughter.

- You ask a question to which you already know the answer. Did you not say to the assassin girl before? That chivalry too is ultimately a choice. When someone chooses survival, someone else will choose conscience. And is it not ultimately your choice that determines which of the two ought to be respected?

It was what he had said to Jeok Ha-yeon, the younger sister of Jeok Ma-hyeok, whom he had taken in as a subordinate.

Mukrang had apparently been watching Seonwoo Jin's actions even back then.

Seonwoo Jin suddenly felt both embarrassment and pride at the same time.

It was the embarrassment of having discussed chivalry before a righteous warrior hailed as the greatest of all time, and the pride of having received empathy from such a person.

It was true.

If their choice was to betray kindness for the sake of survival, then he too had no need to remain here to protect them.

In the end, they had essentially determined their own treatment by themselves.

Mukrang spoke again.

- I do not think they became that way because their fundamental nature is evil. Since ancient times, countless weak people in harsh environments have made the same choice. Ultimately, if we trace the cause, it is because of the environment those lawless scoundrels have created.

Seonwoo Jin agreed with those words.

That was less their fault and more the fault of the Hainan Sect, which had made them that way.

Mukrang continued speaking.

- But as always, humans have the opportunity to make a choice. Chivalry may sometimes be a choice that runs counter to survival, but is that not precisely why it is a noble value that only humans, not beasts, can possess? At least, that is what I think. Even Confucius's 'benevolence' and Mozi's 'universal love' shone all the more brilliantly precisely because they were amidst the battlefields of fierce struggle.

Seonwoo Jin slowly savored those words, then returned to where the other two were while remaining stealthed.

And he explained the situation to the two of them.

At that, having heard Seonwoo Jin's explanation, Seol Pung merely nodded with a heavy expression.

"So that's how it was."

Jeung Chil let out a hollow laugh.

"Thanks for telling us, maknae. I nearly saw that sorry sight again."

At his unusually bitter tone, Seonwoo Jin and Seol Pung asked.

"Has this sort of thing happened to you before?"

At that, he furrowed his brow deeply as if anger was boiling up at the memory of old times and answered.

"In my early days in the martial world, my dream too was originally to be a righteous warrior. So I put in quite a lot of effort, saying I'd save people in need. But then, wouldn't you know it, the very people I'd worked so hard to save stabbed me in the back. And not just once, but several times. So I gave it up. Said I couldn't stomach that righteous warrior business."

But he, who had said that with an angry expression, soon smiled bitterly and spoke.

"But... I suppose that's what we've come to now. The first thing the weak abandon for survival is their conscience. Heh, to think I only realized this fact after living to this age and hearing it from the youngest. I've lived in vain."

Seonwoo Jin and Seol Pung gazed with heavy eyes at Jeung Chil, who muttered those words with a look of disillusionment.

It was because they guessed that for him, someone not good at reading people's hearts but who nonetheless was deeply affected by loneliness, the betrayal of those who had helped him must have been a great wound.

At that moment, Jeung Chil suddenly rubbed his stomach and spoke.

"But can I really not eat anything? I'm hungry. Should I ask them to bring out food that hasn't been drugged?"

Seonwoo Jin and Seol Pung were letting out involuntary laughs as they watched Jeung Chil, who had quickly reverted to his usual self.

Someone was walking toward them from the village, carrying a bundle.

Seeing that person, Seol Pung murmured suddenly.

"That child?"

"...A child whose face looks familiar."

That person was a young girl, the very same eleven-year-old girl whom Seonwoo Jin had first saved.

Watching the child struggling to carry the bundle, which likely contained food, the group's expressions grew heavy again.

It was because they felt they knew why they had made that child carry the food.

'They must have thought that even if the drugging was discovered, surely no one would unleash great fury upon that child. As they said themselves, we're the kind of scoundrels who pretend to be chivalrous heroes.'

Even though they already knew, the feeling of emptiness was unavoidable.

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment later, the pretty, sun-darkened girl set down the food bundle in front of the three watching people.

The three were looking at the child with heavy expressions.

But what happened next was something no one had expected.

The child glanced furtively behind her, and then with an urgent expression, whispered in a small voice.

"Dear heroes! You absolutely must not eat this!"

The three asked back in bewilderment.

"What?"

At that, the child spoke again with a desperate expression.

"The food has drugs in it! The village adults are trying to put the heroes to sleep and hand you over to the bad men! They say that's the only way they can survive!"

It was something no one could have imagined.

Even Mukrang seemed taken aback.

Seonwoo Jin suddenly asked the child.

"If they can only survive by offering us up, why are you telling us this?"

At that, the child flinched in surprise for a moment, then soon bowed her head deeply and spoke.

"The village adults... they always say that even if others die, it's fine as long as they themselves survive. When my mother was taken away, they said the same thing and rejoiced that they had survived. But that's wrong, isn't it? If the heroes survive, you'll help other people again, but if the village adults survive, they'll just offer other people to the pirates. I think that is a terribly wrong thing."

At those pure and upright words, the three sighed.

Seonwoo Jin looked at the child with deep eyes and asked again.

"Then what about you? If you tell us this and we just leave, you might be killed by the pirates too, you know? Are you not afraid of that?"

At that, tears quickly welled up in the child's eyes.

Shedding tears from those eyes, the child spoke.

"I'm scared. I'm so scared. But still... that's wrong, isn't it? You can't live like that, can you?"

The three felt a sudden tightness in their chests.

Seol Pung smiled gently as if finding her praiseworthy, and Jeung Chil was already sniffling.

Seonwoo Jin stroked the child's head and said.

"You are the true hero."

The child widened her eyes in bewilderment and asked back.

"Huh? I am a hero?"

Seonwoo Jin suddenly asked the child.

"If we were to say we want to take only you and leave this place, what would you do? Are you willing to come with us?"

At that suggestion, the child's expression changed several times in a brief moment. Surprise, joy, worry, and finally resignation. It seemed they could guess what she was thinking without even hearing an answer.

A moment later, the child finally spoke with a crestfallen face.

"Asking me that means you're saying you'll save only me and not the others, right?"

Seonwoo Jin nodded.

"Yes, because they have lost the right to be protected."

At that, the child cast her eyes down to the ground and answered.

"If I don't follow the heroes, I'll probably die for sure, and I really don't want to die.... But even though he just drinks and beats me every day, my father is here. I also have two younger siblings I need to take care of. So following you to save only myself seems like it wouldn't be the right thing to do."

Then she bowed her head deeply and greeted them.

"Still, thank you, heroes. For asking me that."

Seonwoo Jin smiled gently.

In other words, this child had revealed the truth because it was wrong, even though her family lived in the village and even her family could all die if things went slightly wrong.

The more they heard, the stronger their praiseworthy feelings grew.

At that, Jeung Chil, whose eyes had reddened as if deeply moved, asked Seonwoo Jin.

"What are you thinking of doing, youngest?"

He seemed to be worried that Seonwoo Jin might suggest they just leave.

Seonwoo Jin smiled gently at him and said.

"The villagers must pay the price, but we can't let this brave hero and her family get hurt, can we? I will think further on a better method."

At those words, Jeung Chil let out a sigh of relief as if reassured.

"Phew, I knew it. This hyung knew you'd say that."

That was when it happened.

Seol Pung, looking toward the sea, spoke.

"If we can't come up with that method as quickly as possible, it seems our next task has already been decided."

Seonwoo Jin and Jeung Chil shifted their gazes to follow Seol Pung's line of sight.

Then they could see it.

Ships appearing as dots below the distant horizon.

Jeung Chil snorted and said.

"Hmph! They've come already. Let the bastards come. At most, with one ship... Huh? Two ships? Three, four, five ships? What? Why does it keep increasing?"

The number of ships kept increasing even while Jeung Chil was speaking.

Then finally, Seol Pung spoke in a heavy voice.

"Eleven ships in total."

Indeed.

Eleven ships were approaching.

All were warships of the Hainan Sect.

***

It did not take very long for the ships to reach the coast.

Ten of the eleven ships, all except one, had stopped at a distance of ten jang from the shore and were lining up in a single row, their sides facing the coast.

Their movements were very smooth.

Even to Seonwoo Jin and the others, who didn't know ships well, the movements appeared extremely skilled.

Seol Pung murmured.

"Five cannons per ship are aimed this way. That's fifty cannons total."

Seonwoo Jin continued.

"Moreover, unlike before, the crew seems to be well-trained elites. About thirty men per ship have arrows nocked on their bowstrings, ready to shoot immediately. That looks to be around three hundred men total."

At that, Jeung Chil snorted and spoke.

"Hmph! They're just pirates in the end. You two handled it earlier, so this time this hyungnim will show his skills. I'll make them realize they're not safe just because they're hiding on a ship."

It seemed Jeung Chil's baseless confidence had flared up once again.

Thinking it would be dangerous to act recklessly at sea, Seonwoo Jin tried to warn Jeung Chil.

But the enemy's voice came first.

A voice carrying powerful internal energy, resounding thunderously, came from the ship.

- I am Oh Ik-deok of the Hainan Sect! Did you dare sink our Hainan Sect's ship?

Oh Ik-deok.

It was a name he had heard before.

If he was indeed the One Blade Killing Edge Oh Ik-deok, he was the top master of the Hainan Oh Family among the Twelve Families of Hainan and one of the few transcendent peak masters in the entire Hainan Sect.

Seonwoo Jin amplified his senses with the Moonlight Illusion Sword Dance and examined his appearance.

He was a giant of a man, nine cheok tall, large in frame with a long beard like Gwan Un-jang of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, carrying a great dao on his back.

Seeing that appearance, it seemed certain he was indeed the One Blade Killing Edge Oh Ik-deok.

Eleven ships commanded by a transcendent peak master, along with fifty cannons and over three hundred archers.

Seonwoo Jin's mind was growing complicated.