Making a Miracle
It wasn't particularly strange for two Cheonun Sect disciples to arrive at the same time. But Naeng Chu and his companions could clearly see that the messenger kneeling on the ground did not look well.
"What—what's going on?"
Naeng Chu narrowed his eyes. The messenger kept his head bowed, working his lips again and again as indecision warred across his face. At last he clenched his teeth and delivered news that seemed to bring the heavens crashing down.
Clang!
Four teacups struck the table at the same instant. Naeng Chu, Gi Yeo-hae, and the others could scarcely trust their own ears.
"What? Fifty-five?"
As a commander of the Military Supply Bureau, Naeng Chu had presided over dozens of hunting tournaments. But never in his life had he heard of fifty-five participants completing their hunting missions at the same time.
Just how many vicious beast dens would you have to wipe out for something like that to even be possible?
While the four of them were still reeling, the most insufferable man in the vicinity recovered first.
"Hahaha!"
A laugh so loud and arrogant it raised goosebumps shook the entire camp. Maeng Chang-haeng's cheekbones looked ready to shoot into the sky as he grinned at the four seated at the table.
"Aigoo. Had myself a fine dream, I did. Dreamed our Cheonun Sect hit a lucky streak and more than fifty of our boys made the top hundred this time around! Heh, but a dream's just a dream. Couldn't possibly be real, now could it? How could our Cheonun Sect ever produce that many geniuses?"
At those words, Gi Yeo-hae's face went as black as a man who'd just crawled out of a coal mine.
"Impossible. How could those Cheonun Sect brats ever outscore the Military Supply Bureau and the Three Great Clans? Hahaha!"
With that next remark, even Naeng Chu's face went as black as Gi Yeo-hae's, as if he'd been doused in ink.
"Aigoo, but wouldn't it be wonderful if it were true? Then our Cheonun Sect would walk away with over four thousand spirit pills in one go! Enough to make a man laugh even in his dreams."
"Huh? What's the matter, you four gentlemen? Why the long faces? It's all right, it's all right. I've got some wine I brewed myself—one cup and you'll feel right as rain. Come, come, no sense wasting weather this fine. Let's have a drink!"
The four powerhouses shot Maeng Chang-haeng a look of murderous contempt, then rose as one and headed for the registration desk. They couldn't stand to spend another moment in that insufferable man's company.
"Don't go! At least tell me what's going on! Don't tell me that dream of mine was actually real? Hahaha!"
Maeng Chang-haeng's infuriating laughter followed them all the way from behind.
The entire camp at the foot of Taibai Peak erupted into an uproar. Everyone who heard the news was struck speechless with shock.
55 disciples passed in a single wave
Ranks 35 through 80 — claimed in full
A miracle without precedent
Fifty-five people from Cheonun Sect passing through all at once—it was a miracle without precedent in the history of the Autumn Hunt. In an instant, the registration desk was swarmed by a sea of people eager to glimpse the heroes who had rewritten history.
The Cheonun Sect elders, Han Un among them, were the first to come running. Elder Han, in particular, was so overcome that the moment he spotted Wang Maeng—caked in blood from head to toe—he strode up, clapped him on the shoulder, and grinned until his face was a web of wrinkles.
"Well done! Wang Maeng! You really pulled it off this time!"
"Haha..."
Wang Maeng offered an awkward smile. The Cheonun Sect disciples behind him looked equally uncomfortable. But as if they had all made a silent pact, not one of them said a word.
Inwardly, though, they were cheering themselves hoarse. It felt incredible. The envious, curious stares from every direction, the whispers laced with jealousy and admiration... How long had it been? When had Cheonun Sect disciples last been treated like this?
Soon Maeng Chang-haeng came bounding over as well, laughing with gusto.
"Bwahaha! You rascals! This old man underestimated you this time!"
Thud!
Maeng Chang-haeng landed with a heavy stamp of his foot, his face still split by a massive grin. He glanced around once, but the face he was looking for wasn't there. Even so, he didn't bother asking anything further, and simply poured praise over them all.
"Excellent! You are the pride of our Cheonun Sect! You haven't smeared mud on this old man Maeng Chang-haeng's face! When we get back, I'll reward every one of you with twenty second-grade spirit pills!"
"Really? Thank you, Peak Master!"
Wang Maeng, Yo Yeong-chun, and the others leaped with joy. Cheonun Sect was more alive with energy than it had ever been.
Right beside them, however, an entirely different scene was unfolding.
"What did you say? Say that again!"
Gi Yeo-hae seized a Gi Clan disciple by the collar and growled low, his eyes blazing with fury.
"Are you telling me Gongcheon was attacked by a pack of vicious beasts at Mucheon and had to retreat?"
"Yes, Patriarch!"
The Gi Clan disciple who'd come to deliver the news couldn't even lift his head.
"Young Master Gongcheon is unharmed. However, he asked me to tell you that he needs a little more time for the hunt, and that he'll come to Taibai Peak himself once he reaches his target!"
"Impossible!"
Gi Yeo-hae flung him to the ground and trembled from head to foot, unable to contain his rage.
"A beast pack appearing in the Dragon Tomb—and of all times, right when they had the Cheonun Sect brats surrounded? This can't be..."
He whipped around and fixed a sharp glare on Maeng Chang-haeng, who was roaring with laughter nearby.
Strangely enough, everything had started going wrong the moment this damned man showed up. Could the Cheonun Sect brats have actually prepared some hidden card this time? Damn it. I let my guard down.
Cheonun Sect was, after all, a storied sect with a thousand years of history. There was no telling how many more like Maeng Chang-haeng might be lurking in the shadows...
No. If this keeps up, never mind checking the Military Supply Bureau—we might just hand Cheonun Sect a windfall on a silver platter!
Gi Yeo-hae's eyes flashed cold. He flicked his sleeve and strode toward where the other powerhouses had gathered. The cheering beside the registration desk went on for a full hour.
By the time the crowd's astonishment and delight had begun to settle, Maeng Chang-haeng was already dragging Han Un off to a celebration banquet. How, he insisted, could anyone go a whole day without drinking on a joyous occasion like this? Han Un honestly didn't want to go, but he was all but hauled away.
Once the atmosphere had calmed, Wang Maeng and his companions exchanged bitter smiles. Other people might not know, but they did. They knew how this miracle had come about, and who the true protagonist was. It was all thanks to Yeop Pung—Cheonun Sect's public enemy number one.
"Brother Wang!"
Just then, someone came running over, looking delighted. It was Beom Undae. Wearing the world's most amiable smile, he appeared before the group as if carried on the wind.
"Brother Wang, congratulations! That was truly incredible!"
"Heh, Undae!"
Wang Maeng answered with a smile.
"There were some truly dangerous moments this time, but luckily we all made it through. Sorry to have worried you."
"Worried? Not at all!"
Beom Undae said, clearly thrilled.
"What you and your group accomplished is a feat without equal in the history of the Autumn Hunt! I have nothing but respect."
Everyone laughed at Beom Undae's pleasant flattery.
"Ah, it's a shame that Yeop Pung bastard isn't here for this."
Beom Undae kept the mood going, offering what he thought would please everyone.
"If that guy were here, he'd be so jealous he'd drop dead on the spot. Am I right? Hahaha!"
Beom Undae blinked. The reaction around him was off.
Huh? Why isn't anyone laughing?
A sudden chill crept down the back of his neck. The way every person in front of him was looking at him had changed.
"Brother Wang, what's wrong?"
"Undae..."
The smile was gone from Wang Maeng's face. He looked at Beom Undae in silence, then walked right past him.
"Go wash up and get some sleep."
What is this? Why did the mood shift so suddenly?
Beom Undae was bewildered.
"Yo Yeong-chun?"
He tried asking Yo Yeong-chun, who was walking past him with a blank expression. But Yo Yeong-chun just shot him a sidelong glance.
"Washing up and going to sleep sounds like a good idea."
Beom Undae took a devastating internal wound. And then, to his astonishment, he realized that everyone hated him.
Of the more than fifty people there, not a single one would speak to him anymore. They all filed past in silence. Only one person—Baek Reung—quietly approached him after everyone else had gone, frowning and shaking his head.
"Brother Undae, you put your foot in your mouth."
"Baek Reung?"
Beom Undae was both glad to have finally found an ally and frustrated enough to ask,
"What did I say wrong? I talked the same as I always do."
"You shouldn't have talked about Yeop Pung like that. We're only here thanks to him."
Baek Reung quietly recounted everything that had happened. Beom Undae's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"What? Yeop Pung saved you? And he was involved in the results too?"
"I wouldn't say it was entirely thanks to Yeop Pung. But one thing's certain—if it hadn't been for Yeop Pung, no, Brother Yeop, we'd all have been eliminated. Brother Undae, I think from today on you'd better not make an enemy of Brother Yeop."
"Brother Yeop, my ass!"
Beom Undae nearly exploded on the spot. He was about to go on, but Baek Reung shook his head and walked past him. Beom Undae sank into thought.
The atmosphere I worked so hard to build flipped in an instant? How? Yeop Pung was clearly alone. How did he win over this many people all at once?
He stood there in a daze, then realized that tonight's wind was unusually cold.
It was quite a while later that Baek Reung came back to fetch Beom Undae, who was still standing there. Seeing him, Beom Undae snapped out of it and asked,
"Just one question. Where is that Yeop Pung bastard? There's no reason he wouldn't come back."
"I don't know... He just said not to say anything, to go ahead and report in first, and that he'd move separately."
Baek Reung started walking, saying they should head in. Beom Undae followed, still utterly unable to understand.
Move separately? That Yeop Pung... what's he plotting this time?
Late that night, a shadow raced through the forest around Taibai Peak like a ghost. It was Yeop Pung.
Even tonight, Yeop Pung did not rest. He circled halfway around Taibai Peak without stopping, and only as dawn approached did he halt and sink into thought.
"Just as I thought. There's no other path up the mountain from here..."
Yeop Pung was already preparing for the next Ascent Battle. After leaving Mucheon and confirming that Wang Maeng's group had passed through safely, he had parted ways with them and come alone to scout the terrain around Taibai Peak.
He wanted to become the champion of this hunting tournament, and he wanted the whole world to see it. Not merely to obtain the Black Frost Sword awarded to the winner, but also to repay Maeng Chang-haeng, who had looked after him all this time.
"I hope this counts as repayment."
Remembering the smiles that had filled Maeng Chang-haeng and Elder Han Un's faces when Wang Maeng's group arrived at camp, Yeop Pung felt a quiet warmth.