Chapter 81 : The Path of Chivalry
"Well done! Truly well done!!"
Han Baekho, who had heard the story of Jang Baekseo's party's four-month-long escape, shouted with tears in his eyes.
"With such young people full of chivalry, the future of the martial world is bright!"
"Y-you're too kind, Great Hero Han…"
"Yes, yes, so um… please don't overdo it…"
"…"
Hwa Mokyeon and Jang Yuran were sweating profusely and were at a loss at the sight of Han Baekho, who was pouring out praises to the point where it was a bit excessive.
"No! It's not excessive at all! Anyone in the world who hears your story will be moved by your overflowing chivalry."
Looking at such a Han Baekho, Jang Baekseo recalled the information about the Dao Star, Han Baekho, who was called the Heavenly Dao in this era.
The Dao Star, Han Baekho.
A brave and valiant general who had always participated in the back-and-forth battles on the front lines of the Righteous-Demonic War. The number of times the Sword Demon, Jang Baekseo, had fought with him was hard to count even with both hands.
'But to think that my life would be saved like this…'
The feeling of having his life saved by a sworn enemy who had always smiled while aiming for each other's lives was truly strange.
'And this man, like the Flame Star, is a man far from the Hundred River Association.'
The Hundred River Association. Although they were all pretending to be noble, saying things like 'the sky of the hundred paths', they were, after all, a political interest group.
And whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Han Baekho was a pure martial artist who was far from such politics.
"But… the letter of introduction was sent to Grandmaster Hyeon-gong, so why is Great Hero Han here?"
At Jang Yuran's question, Han Baekho answered with a smile.
"Ah~! It's nothing. That old man Hyeon-gong asked me for a favor, you see?"
The Han Baekho of this era was a person close to a wild man who lived as he pleased, not belonging to any group.
The reason why he, who was not a member of the Chivalrous Alliance, had come here was, of course, because he had been asked for a favor by someone. And the person who had asked for that favor was the vice-leader of the Chivalrous Alliance, the Divine Monk Hyeon-gong.
'It's true that the Dao Star and the Divine Monk were close…'
Recalling the information he had heard from the intelligence unit before his regression, Jang Baekseo nodded his head.
"It's okay now. Rest assured, because I'm here! I'll take you safely to the Chivalrous Alliance! Just trust me!"
At those words, the faces of Hwa Mokyeon and Jang Yuran lit up.
But.
"No."
At Jang Baekseo's words, the surrounding atmosphere instantly froze.
"B-brother? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"Yes, Jang Baekseo. What do you mean, no? Isn't this why we came all this way, going through all that trouble?"
Hwa Mokyeon and Jang Yuran were flustered by Jang Baekseo's sudden refusal, and Han Baekho also looked at Jang Baekseo with an interested face and asked.
"Hmm? Why not?"
"I spoke a little too shortly. What I meant was that we can't just go to the Chivalrous Alliance like this now."
At those words, not only Han Baekho but also Hwa Mokyeon, Jang Yuran, and Madam Ma, who was listening from behind, had question marks floating above their heads.
"If we go to the Chivalrous Alliance like this, what will happen to Madam Ma's whereabouts?"
"Um? That's… since dangerous people are after her, in the safest place possible…"
"She'll be confined. Not only Madam Ma but also the child will be under strict surveillance…"
"No, that's… damn it, I can't say with confidence that it won't be like that…"
Looking at Han Baekho, who could not say with confidence that it would not be like that, Jang Baekseo continued.
"You might say it's for her safety, but if Madam Ma were not a demonic person, for example, if she were a daughter of the Zhuge family, would she be treated like that?"
"…"
Confinement under strict surveillance… for Madam Ma, who was being targeted by the Hundred River Association, it might seem like an environment where her safety was guaranteed. But…
'They're not the kind of people who would be fooled by that…'
The infiltration power of the Hundred River Association was not ordinary.
Just now, it was the Hundred River Association that had created a traitor in the Qingcheng Sect in Sichuan, which was far from Hunan.
No matter how thoroughly she was monitored and escorted in a safe house, if they were won over, everything would be over.
To protect Madam Ma and Ma Jinseo, such a one-dimensional method would not work.
Moreover, the problem was not just that.
Madam Ma and Ma Jinseo were demonic people. Moreover, they were the blood relatives of the Cold Demon, one of the Twelve Demon Palaces.
Although people like the Divine Monk or Han Baekho here might treat her and the child without discrimination, that would not translate to the will of the entire Chivalrous Alliance.
This situation would not just end with her and her daughter being treated coldly. It could easily develop into a form where she was sold off to the Hundred River Association.
At Jang Baekseo's continued explanation, Han Baekho's face contorted.
Although it was called the Chivalrous Alliance, that's how alliances were.
If it's sweet, you swallow it. If it's bitter, you spit it out.
In that process, the words 'chivalry' or 'righteousness' had no value.
Han Baekho, whose face was contorted by the bitter truth, soon continued.
"Seeing as you're saying all that, you must have some method in mind?"
At those words, Jang Baekseo nodded his head with a resolute face.
"Can you tell me?"
At Han Baekho's question, Jang Baekseo began to explain his plan.
As his words continued, the expressions of the people who were listening changed from moment to moment. And when the story was over, the faces of the party were full of bewilderment.
"…Do you really think that method will work, brother?"
"Wasn't that kind of absurd nonsense Hwa Mokyeon's department, Jang Baekseo?"
Unlike Hwa Mokyeon and Jang Yuran, who were showing a reaction of utter bewilderment.
"…What do you think the chances of success are?"
Han Baekho asked Jang Baekseo with a surprisingly serious face.
"Fifty percent… no, since Great Hero Han Baekho has joined, I think it will be seventy percent."
"Can you be sure?"
At Han Baekho's question, Jang Baekseo nodded his head and said.
"Well, the people of the martial world really like the words 'chivalry' and 'righteousness', you see."
***
A rumor began to spread rapidly throughout the world.
"Hey! Have you heard that story?"
"Ah~! If it's that story, I've heard it too!"
It was a story about the escort mission of young martial artists.
"Haha, it's an unbelievable story. Starting from Sichuan…"
"Through Guizhou, Guangxi, and Hunan, to Hubei… to think that they went on that long journey, hiding their identities and avoiding the assassins of the Demonic Cult…"
The story began like this.
There was a spy who had been secretly sent to the Demonic Cult by the Chivalrous Alliance. He fell in love with a woman he had met in the Demonic Cult, a love like fate.
The two loved each other sincerely, and even after the man revealed that he was a spy, their love did not change.
As their love grew and the fruit of their love was about to be born in the woman's womb, misfortune befell the man.
The man, who had stopped his spy activities while nurturing his love with the woman, had noticed the activities of strange people within the Demonic Cult.
Although the man had hesitated, he had soon begun to track the identity of those strange people.
But the result was tragic.
The man was assassinated, and his wife left the Demonic Cult to fulfill her husband's last wish, 'Please deliver this information to the Chivalrous Alliance', with the records he had left behind, and headed for the Central Plains.
The woman, with a child in her womb, crossed Xinjiang, passed through Qinghai, and reached Sichuan.
But her journey was by no means smooth.
Assassins were dispatched from the Demonic Cult to punish the traitor who had betrayed the Demonic Cult and had a child with a spy.
The woman, whose life was targeted by the assassins of the Demonic Cult, asked a group of young martial artists for help, and those martial artists accepted the request without a moment's hesitation.
And their long, long escort mission began.
They ran through mountains and fields, avoiding the pursuit of the assassins. Sometimes they took a boat, sometimes they received help from someone, and sometimes they upheld their chivalry. Their escort mission continued.
But a crisis befell the escort mission that had been continuing in that way. The woman's belly grew, and her delivery was imminent.
Even in a desperate situation, they did not give up on the woman.
They risked their lives and tried to uphold their chivalry, disregarding death. And they were saved by the help of the absolute master, the Heavenly Sword Han Baekho, who had heard their rumors and had rushed over.
The Heavenly Sword had said this.
-I thought chivalry and righteousness were dead in the four seas and nine provinces, but here, true chivalry was alive!
The Heavenly Dao praised this escort mission as the 'Path of Chivalry' and declared that the Heavenly Dao Han Baekho would also join this escort mission and uphold chivalry.
In an inn in Hubei, a man in navy blue clothes and a man in light blue clothes were in full bloom, talking about the Path of Chivalry.
"Keu~! What a damn cool story!!"
"I know, right~… but is this really a true story? Isn't it just a rumor?"
"You don't know! Haven't you heard that rumor?"
"A rumor? What rumor?"
At the words of the man in navy blue clothes, not only the man in light blue clothes but also the other customers who were drinking in the inn focused their attention.
"Hey~ how are you going to be a merchant if you're so slow with the rumors?"
"Ah, don't drag it out and just tell me!"
At the words of the man in light blue clothes, the others who were eavesdropping on their conversation from the surroundings nodded their heads in their hearts.
"They say all the heroes in the world are gathering in Hubei now, don't they?"
The man in navy blue clothes said, and the man in light blue clothes tilted his head.
"Huh? Why are the heroes suddenly gathering in Hubei?"
"Oh! You frustrating person! Why do you think!? To join the Path of Chivalry!"
"Ah!!"
"The martial world has been quiet lately, hasn't it? At a time like this, a story like the Path of Chivalry, which makes the hearts of many martial heroes burn, has spread. How can the gentlemen who call themselves heroes just stay still? They say they are flocking to Hubei from all over the world to lend a hand even now."
"Haha! Indeed, even my heart, which is not a martial artist, is burning like this. Why wouldn't they?"
"I heard that the number of people in the Path of Chivalry has already exceeded a dozen?"
"Haha! The hero gentlemen must have been very eager!"
As they were talking, a man interrupted them.
"But where are they passing through now?"
At the question of the man in black clothes, the man in navy blue clothes counted the numbers, folding his fingers one by one as if he were counting the time.
Then…
"Oh!? Come to think of it, it's about time they passed through Wuhan, here…"
At that moment, a man rushed in from outside and shouted.
"The Path of Chivalry!! The Path of Chivalry has just entered the city of Wuhan!!!"
At that one shout, the customers who were sitting in the inn began to pour out like a tide.
They wanted to see the famous Path of Chivalry in person.
In the place where the people had poured out like a tide, the men in light blue, navy blue, and black clothes, who had been talking exaggeratedly just a moment ago, stood up from their seats and disappeared like ghosts.
The agents of the Black Dot, who had finished their mission, had moved to another place to carry out another information operation.
***
A group of people was marching majestically on the main road of Wuhan.
Women, men, the old, the young. There was only one common denominator in the march of a group of people of all ages and genders. It was that they were martial artists who were called heroes by the public.
And at the very front of them, a man and a woman of four, and a baby, were walking.
"…Does it really work this well?"
"No, more than that, it seems like everyone around us is staring at us."
"Well, if we're marching on such a large scale, it's natural that they would stare, isn't it?"
"Hahaha, I never imagined it would turn out like this. Isn't that right, Jinseo?"
"Goo, goo!"
Jang Baekseo, Hwa Mokyeon, Jang Yuran, and Madam Ma and her newborn daughter, Ma Jinseo. Gazes were pouring in from the surroundings at the procession of the main characters of the Path of Chivalry.
"You're cool, heroes!!"
"You must succeed!! You are the real heroes!!"
"Cheer up! I'm rooting for you!"
"Hey, hey! I believed in you, damn it!!"
The escort mission, which had begun with them being chased by men in black and hiding in mountains and fields, was now heading towards its end, receiving the cheers and shouts of the people.
(End of Chapter)