The plan seemed sound. (3)

Swaaaak!

A small golden bird cut through the pristine blue sky.

“How is that bird so fast?”

“Birds are supposed to be fast, you idiot!”

“Monk! Can’t you do something?”

“Amitabha? Why me all of a sudden?”

“Well, it’s the same golden color, isn’t it?”

“Jo Geol Dojang, have you lost your mind?”

Though no one else was spouting nonsense like Jo Geol, their faces were equally strained. The idea of humans chasing a bird was absurd enough, let alone chasing a spiritual beast, not an ordinary bird.

“Sahyeong! Sahyeong! Shouldn’t I just shoot it down and capture the message? Just say the word, and I’ll make it into a bird skewer!”

“It’s not the message that’s important – it’s where the bird is headed! If you shoot it down, we can’t track it! Just follow it!”

“We can’t keep up with it, that’s why we’re complaining!”

“Exactly.”

“How are we supposed to follow that thing?”

“Hmm… Maybe if we do it just right?”

“Sago, he is crazy!”

“I know.”

Chung Myung squinted at Five Swords, who were groaning and complaining. However, seeing Hye Yeon’s sweat-drenched head shining in the sunlight, it was clear they weren’t just whining.

Come to think of it, even his breath was starting to come in gasps. He needed to come up with a solution…

“Ahhh! Get off, you jerk! It’s already hard enough!”

“Kiiiiiiiii!”

“Get down! Damn it, you’re driving me crazy! You’re just like your owner! At least sit on my shoulder!”

“Oh?”

Chung Myung’s eyes sparkled as he saw Baek Ah clinging desperately to Jo Geol’s head.

“Sahyeong! Give me that!”

“Huh?”

In an instant, Chung Myung dashed to Jo Geol’s side and snatched Baek Ah off his head.

“Ahh! My hair! Let go! Let go! I’ll end up like Monk Hye Yeon, losing all my hair!”

“…You are certainly destined for hell, Jo Geol Dojang.”

From Hye Yeon’s mouth, words unbefitting a Buddhist monk seeped out, laced with venom.

“Kiiii?”

Meanwhile, Baek Ah, grabbed by the nape by Chung Myung, let out a sharp cry and stared at him. His eyes seemed to ask, “What are you going to do?”

Seeing those bright eyes, Chung Myung grinned widely.

“Off you go!”

“Kiiiii?”

“Here we gooooooo!”

Chung Myung stomped the ground with a loud thud and flung Baek Ah into the sky with all his might.

“Kiiiiiiiiiiii!”

A heart-wrenching scream pierced the air as the pure white body of Baek Ah soared high into the blue sky.

“Wow, is it raining? Something’s falling.”

“It’s tears… tears.”

“Ah…”

In the midst of everyone’s solemnity, the white streak left by Baek Ah’s body intersected with the golden line traced by the golden bird. Despite everything, Baek Ah’s short front paws flailed mightily, trying to grab the bird.

“Chirp?”

However, with just a slight twist of its body, the bird easily evaded Baek Ah’s front paws. It then turned its head slightly, chirped dismissively at the failed attempt, and continued speeding forward.

“Cawwww!”

A rough cry escaped Baek Ah. Being toyed with by a bird no bigger than his head was a blow to his pride. Yet, even Baek Ah’s temperament, akin to Chung Myung’s, couldn’t sustain his anger for long.

“Ki?”

As Baek Ah’s ascent slowed to a halt, his once-squinted eyes widened in realization. And then…

“Kiiiiii!!!”

Despite being a spiritual beast, Baek Ah couldn’t defy the laws of nature. As he began to plummet back to the earth, tears streamed down, his short limbs flailing desperately.

“Oh myyy, Baek Aaahhh!”

“Catch it! Catch it! If it falls from that height, it will really die!”

Despite being a spiritual beast, there was no way Baek Ah would survive such a fall. Five Swords, terrified, threw themselves with all their might towards the plummeting Baek Ah.

“Too far!”

“This is crazy! How can we catch something thrown like that?”

“Just try to catch it!”

But how could humans, with mere hands, catch something thrown so far? Just as everyone’s faces turned ashen seeing Baek Ah falling, something unexpected happened.

“Amitabha.”

“Huh?”

Jo Geol turned around. What he saw was Hye Yeon, incongruously serene, smiling benevolently.

“Monk?”

C-could it be?

“Go! Dojang! Oooooooo!”

“You crazy monk bastard!”

With a burst of energy, Hye Yeon threw Jo Geol forward with all his might. The throw was fueled by pure emotion, sending Jo Geol hurtling through the air like a black streak.

Spinning mid-air, Jo Geol positioned himself to catch the falling Baek Ah with his body, ensuring his safe landing.

“Oh!”

“Monk! You’re the best!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Jo Geol’s body skipped across the ground like a stone on water, unable to control its speed, but Five Swords didn’t care. The small, white weasel was safe, and that was all that mattered.

“Amitabha. We won’t forget your sacrifice, Dojang. Rest in peace.”

“I’m not dead! Damn it, you bastard!”

“Let’s check!”

As they hurried over, they saw Jo Geol lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth. Everyone’s faces turned serious at the sight.

“Oh no! Baek Ah!”

“Are you okay?”

“That bastard’s belly had better be tough.”

“Let’s see. Are you alright?”

Everyone fussed over the half-conscious Baek Ah, who was lying on Jo Geol’s belly. They gently lifted and patted him.

Meanwhile, the cloud of dust their footsteps kicked up gently settled on Jo Geol’s face.

“Kiiiiiii!”

Baek Ah suddenly snapped to attention, his head shooting up. Dangling from Tang Soso’s arm, he pointed his tiny, furious front paws at someone, shaking with fury.

“Give it here.”

Chung Myung grabbed Baek Ah by the scruff of his neck and pulled him closer. Baek Ah flailed his little arms, trying to scratch Chung Myung’s face.

“Remember?”

“Kiii!”

“I asked if you remember!”

“…Kii?”

“The scent! The scent! They say you can follow a scent for ten thousand li, right?”

“…”

The white weasel pondered for a moment, then stretched his neck and twitched his pitch-black nose.

Sniff. Sniff.

After a while of sniffing, Baek Ah’s eyes widened.

“Kii!”

Apparently having caught the scent of the golden bird, Baek Ah nodded vigorously. Chung Myung smiled broadly and placed Baek Ah on the ground.

“Good. Lead the way!”

“Kii!”

Baek Ah spun around and dashed forward like an arrow.

“Keep up!”

“Got it!”

“Oh! So we didn’t need to chase the bird’s tail after all.”

“Seriously, sometimes this guy’s brain works in amazing ways.”

“Let’s go, Baek Ah! Take it easy on the speed.”

Everyone moved as a single unit, charging forward. From a step behind, Hye Yeon watched them, a peculiar expression on his face.

‘Didn’t that weasel just refuse to run earlier?’

Even though it was a spirit beast and all, it seemed like an animal was an animal after all. He saw that he completely forgot about it.

“Haha.”

However…

Meanwhile, far from the group, the clouds of dust they had stirred began to settle back to the ground.

“That damned…”

Emerging from the dissipating dust, Jo Geol lay sprawled out, frothing at the mouth.

“…bastards.”

A single, crystal-clear tear rolled down from Jo Geol’s eye, tracing a path down his dirt-streaked face.

❀ ❀ ❀

“Leaving a person behind?”

“Geol-ah… You’ve said that at least ten times already.”

“But how can you leave a person behind!”

“…Now it’s eleven times.”

Yoon Jong plugged his ears with his fingers. Jo Geol, who had managed to follow them despite the chaos, was unleashing his anger non-stop.

“No matter what, I’m a human being! How can you treat me worse than an animal?”

“No, Geol. You have to think the other way around.”

“What?”

“A person takes care of their own tasks, while animals need to be looked after. We can’t treat you worse than an animal, can we?”

“…”

Yoon Jong wrapped his arm around Jo Geol’s shoulders and smiled brightly.

“Do you understand now?”

“Just go die.”

“Ah, it’s not working.”

Baek Cheon, watching the two of them with a bitter smile, looked around.

“But where exactly are we now?”

“Who knows?”

“I’m not familiar with this terrain. Does anyone know Henan well?”

At those words, everyone turned to Hye Yeon. Meeting their expectations, Hye Yeon nodded.

“Aren’t we heading east continuously?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“If we keep going this way… we’ll probably end up there.”

“There?”

“Kaifeng [개봉(开封)].”

At those words, everyone’s faces tensed slightly.

“Kaifeng means…”

“Yes.”

Hye Yeon nodded.

“It’s where the Beggars Sect headquarters is located.”

“Hmm.”

A low groan escaped Baek Cheon’s mouth.

They hadn’t had time to confirm it while rushing here, but in hindsight, it made sense. The people who would send a message upon seeing them were obviously from the Beggars Sect, and naturally, that message would be directed to the Beggars Sect headquarters.

Then…

“Chung Myung!”

“Yeah?”

“Are you planning to go to the Beggars Sect headquarters?”

Chung Myung, hearing those words, smirked.

“I’m not an idiot. I wouldn’t come all the way here without knowing that the Beggars Sect headquarters is in Kaifeng.”

“Right?”

That’s why it was hard to understand. If their destination was Kaifeng, there wouldn’t have been any need for such a troublesome process. So where were they headed now?

“Then why did we come here?”

“I told you, it wasn’t on purpose. We ended up here by chance.”

“…Huh?”

Baek Cheon’s face went blank for a moment. What kind of nonsense was this?

“Oh, I see!”

Chung Myung scratched his head.

“I wasn’t specifically looking under the lamp, but while groping around, it turned out to be under the lamp all along. That’s it.”

“Ah.”

Baek Cheon immediately grasped the meaning of his words.

“You weren’t searching for the headquarters, but it happens to be in Kaifeng?”

“Yeah, exactly!”

“Ah, I get it now.”

Baek Cheon nodded vigorously. In that situation, it made sense. It was simpler than he thought.

Chung Myung wasn’t looking for the headquarters, but what he was looking for happened to be in Kaifeng. It was just a coincidence that the two overlapped.

“Then we can ignore the headquarters and keep pursuing our goal.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Simple.”

“Yes, simple…”

Baek Cheon’s face contorted for a moment.

“Hold on.”

“Yeah?”

“…Considering how eagerly you’re pursuing that bird, isn’t the destination it’s heading to a place even the Beggars Sect wants to keep hidden?”

“That’s right!”

“Normally, wouldn’t they try to prevent anyone from getting close to that area?”

“Hey! Our Dongryong is smart again. Did sweating a bit make you sharper?”

Chung Myung joked, but Baek Cheon didn’t have the energy to respond to his jest at the moment.

“Yeah, right. That’s… that means…”

In that moment, as Baek Cheon ran along, the distant sight of a large city began to appear before his eyes.

“So… we just need to enter the place the Beggars Sect is trying to hide from everyone’s eyes?”

“Yeah! That’s it.”

“In Kaifeng where the Beggars Sect headquarters is?”

“…”

“…Entering the place hidden by the Beggars Sect, avoiding the eyes of the Beggars Sect’s beggars, in Kaifeng where beggars outnumber commoners?”

“Um…”

Everyone’s steps slowed down gradually. Even Baek Ah, who had been running furiously, straightened his back and looked at Chung Myung.

Receiving those stares, Chung Myung also stopped in his tracks, lost in thought. His expression shifted subtly, and then an awkward voice escaped him.

“Um…”

“Do you have something to say?”

“Well, actually, um…”

Chung Myung chuckled softly.

“The plan seemed sound.”

Hearing these simple words, Baek Cheon also smiled brightly at Chung Myung.

“Just die, you crazy bastard.”

He knew it would come to this.

He knew it.