And so, after a long time.

Since Baek Yoonjun had no intention of hitting Biyeon's back of the head all night, he ended that day.

Deep in the night.

When everyone was asleep, Baek Yoonjun moved.

Yoonjun quietly looked at his sleeping master.

Swoosh.

He placed his hand on his body and checked his condition.

'Clumsy.'

Baek Yoonjun checked Biyeol's dantian.

'I have to make it bigger.'

He made the dantian bigger and made it gather internal energy.

'If he's a master I'm going to put in front, he has to have at least a minimum of martial power.'

For now, he had no confidence in making him stronger than himself.

However, he could draw out a certain amount of strength within the limits of what he could do.

After the human modification of Biyeol was over, Yoonjun turned his gaze towards Biyeon.

Biyeon, who was stretched out as if he had fainted, not knowing the world.

"Hehehe."

Baek Yoonjun let out a sinister laugh.

It was a laugh that had naturally come out at the thought of making a shield called a junior brother, following the shield called a master.

'If he grows up well like this, I'll even pass on the position of the alliance leader.'

Baek Yoonjun shivered at his own timid and timid, evil plan.

And so, having finished the human modification of Biyeon, Baek Yoonjun came out.

The shabby and shabby training ground and the collapsing building came into his eyes.

'Looking at it again, it's just an abandoned house. An abandoned house.'

Baek Yoonjun looked at the building, which seemed as if it would collapse at any moment, with a bitter look.

Crack.

The building was not just about to collapse, but was actually being shattered little by little.

'Not just here, but the whole village is like this.'

Although that quiet and even gloomy atmosphere was comfortable for Baek Yoonjun.

'No matter how much, the condition of the buildings for people to live in is a bit...'

In the sight of Baek Yoonjun, who was pondering, a mountain a little away from the village came into view.

Since most of the trees were dried up, the quality of the wood could not be said to be very good.

'It's better than leaving it as it is.'

Baek Yoonjun moved to the mountain.

Having arrived at the mountain and about to cut a tree, Yoonjun witnessed a strange sight.

'What is that?'

It was the shadow of a person.

The problem was that there was only a shadow.

'A ghost? No, I don't think so...'

In the mountain, things like the shadows of people were literally walking around.

'What is this again?'

A jet-black night.

Baek Yoonjun was clearly seeing that sight, which could not be seen normally because it was not distinguished from the darkness.

The shadows were moving busily there, as if they were alive.

They moved their mouths, imitating speaking, and the shadows mingled, drinking and fighting.

One shadow acted as an inn owner, selling shadow food, and the shadows ate that food.

Everything was an act made of shadows.

'It's just like a village...'

A shadow village made of shadows.

That village, unlike the gloomy atmosphere of the village where the Biyeolmun was, was very lively.

Although it was lively, since it was a shadow, there was no sound.

Everything was expressed only by the movements of the shadows.

'It's creepy.'

A lively shadow village next to a gloomy village, it did not look very good to Baek Yoonjun, who preferred a gloomy and quiet atmosphere.

What was fortunate was that perhaps because it was a shadow, Baek Yoonjun's timid nature and shyness did not come out.

Baek Yoonjun, who had been observing the shadows for a while.

'I don't know what it is, but since it doesn't seem to be causing any harm to the surroundings, let's just go.'

He retreated from that spot.

After pondering for a very short moment whether to return to the Biyeolmun or to Shaolin.

'Shall I return to Shaolin for now.'

He moved his feet towards the secret residence of Shaolin.

Since he had come in a straight line, it was not difficult to go either.

Having arrived at the secret residence, Baek Yoonjun found out with his qi sense that someone was in the residence.

'Is it Monk Shinseung?'

The only person who knew that Baek Yoonjun was fine.

'When did he come?'

Yoonjun, like a teenager who had been caught running away from home, approached Shinseung, fidgeting.

"You're here, Benefactor Baek."

"...When did you come?"

"I thought Benefactor Baek would be lonely, so I stopped by to offer some refreshments."

Fortunately, since it seemed he had not stayed for long, Baek Yoonjun was relieved inside.

"Hmm, but since the refreshments have been out for a while and are not in a good condition, I'll have to bring them again."

But his relieved heart was broken by Shinseung's following words.

Fidgeting, Baek Yoonjun asked carefully.

"W-when did you get here?"

"It hasn't been a few days."

At the word 'a few days', Baek Yoonjun felt his hair stand on end.

'Crazy! He was here for a few days?!'

Although Baek Yoonjun wondered why on earth this human was doing this to him, no answer came out.

Since he did not have the courage to ask, he carefully uttered another question.

"W-well, aren't you busy?"

"Isn't the most important thing to serve Great Hero Baek, the most important person in the alliance?"

Although Shinseung's tone was very benevolent, Baek Yoonjun felt that its weight was like Mount Tai.

'No, since it's a temple, is it the weight of the Buddha's palm?'

With a scared heart, Baek Yoonjun uttered another topic to change the flow of the conversation.

"Come to think of it, I saw something strange when I went out. Shadows were forming a village and living there."

Except for the fact that he had gone out, had met a sect called the Biyeolmun, and had reconstructed the martial arts to be optimized for breaking the back of the head, that was all he had to say.

'No matter how much, a shadow village... I'm not a child, did I say it for no reason?'

Whether it was fortunate or not, unlike Baek Yoonjun's thoughts, Shinseung was lost in thought quite seriously and then opened his mouth.

"Benefactor Baek, in Buddhism and Taoism, the form and the shadow are seen as two roots that have come from one body. In the folk, the shadow is also called the 'anchor of the soul and spirit' that has descended to the earth."

Shinseung's eyes turned to the shadow that was at Baek Yoonjun's feet.

"If the soul is what soars to the sky, then the spirit is what sticks to the ground and supports the body. The shadow is the form in which that spirit is revealed to the outside. Therefore, from ancient times, it has been said that if one's shadow is stepped on, one's energy is broken, and if one's shadow is stolen, the root of one's soul is pulled out, and one becomes a phantom who has lost their reason."

Shinseung softly chanted a Buddhist prayer.

"If another's shadow attaches to one's own body... that is no different from taking on the fate and destiny of another entirely. Although the shell may be the same, the core inside has already become another person. Namu Amitabha."

At Shinseung's serious words, Baek Yoonjun glanced at his own shadow.

Fortunately, nothing had changed, and it was attached well.

As he turned his gaze from the shadow, his eyes met Shinseung's.

Shinseung was looking at Baek Yoonjun quite seriously.

Yoonjun, burdened by the serious gaze, broke out in a cold sweat inside.

Regardless, Shinseung opened his mouth with a serious look.

"While giving tasks to people, Benefactor Baek was also moving busily without resting."

"What?"

"The shadow strange phenomenon... I believe Benefactor Baek will solve it well."

At Shinseung's serious words, which seemed as if he should add 'amen' at the end, Baek Yoonjun broke out in a cold sweat in his heart again.

At this rate, a flood would break out in his mind-image.

Although he wanted to refute something, due to Baek Yoonjun's nature, he naturally could not.

"...Thank you."

He just added words of thanks to the advice and stood up from his spot.

"Please have a safe trip. This humble monk will guard the main gate well."

Seeing that, Shinseung politely performed a half-palm salute.

Baek Yoonjun nodded his head in a daze and then returned to the village where the Biyeolmun was.

Since he felt very reluctant, his steps were slow, and before he knew it, he saw the sun rising.

In the mountain he had stopped by on the way, perhaps because of the effect of the sun rising, or perhaps because they had moved, the shadows that had formed a village were not visible.

'Should I come back at night?'

With a reluctant heart, Baek Yoonjun moved his feet to the village.

And so, as he was walking, Baek Yoonjun could not help but stop at the village's butcher shop.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!!"

The sound of a dog barking.

However, the one barking was a person.

Baek Yoonjun looked at the man who was lying on the floor and barking, with a dumbfounded gaze.

His impression, which seemed as if he would be good at using a knife, was clearly that of the owner of this butcher shop, but for some reason, he was lying down like a dog and barking.

'What is it?'

Baek Yoonjun became dizzy.

At that moment, the door of the butcher shop opened.

What came out from inside was a dog.

Not only was the dog walking on two feet, but it was also holding a smoking pipe in its front paw.

"Woof woof woof!!"

The dog hit the barking person with the pipe.

At that sight, Baek Yoonjun was startled.

'Could it be that the people have changed? Then will the dog try to speak human words?'

But Baek Yoonjun's that prediction was wrong.

"Woof! Woof woof! Woof!!"

The dog barked.

Although the tone of the barking was strangely human-like, perhaps because it was an animal and could not speak human words, it barked.

"Whimper! Woof!"

The person also barked.

"Woof woof woof woof!!"

"Woof! Woof! Woof woof!"

The dog barked, and the person also barked.

Baek Yoonjun's mind went roughly blank.

'C-could it be that all the villagers have gone strange?!'

Engulfed in anxiety, in the sight of Baek Yoonjun, who was unconsciously stepping back, another person came into view.

In a field, a person was lying flat on the floor and was eating grass.

Baek Yoonjun was relieved at the sight.

'There are normal people too.'

Since Baek Yoonjun's disciple, Hong Yungae, also, perhaps because he was born a beggar, would eat things like grass roots and tree bark without a second thought, it was not particularly strange.

"Moo!"

But Baek Yoonjun's composure was broken by the following action of the man.

"The sound of a cow mooing?"

Although eating grass was within the normal range, making a cow sound was clearly strange, so Baek Yoonjun stepped back again this time.

Thump.

The hem of such a Baek Yoonjun's pants was caught by someone.

Baek Yoonjun slowly lowered his gaze.

There, an old man was squatting and looking up at Yoonjun, sucking his finger.

"Goo."

Then he began to make a sound that should not come out of an old man's mouth.

"Goo goo gaa gaa!"

At the sight of the old man crying loudly, Baek Yoonjun was disgusted.

He hastily shook off the old man's hand and left the spot.

In the mind of Baek Yoonjun, who was running away, the words of Shinseung he had heard yesterday came to mind.

'Did he say that if another's shadow attaches, one becomes that other?'

While thinking, Baek Yoonjun was engulfed in doubt.

'But what is the standard for attaching? Do you detach a shadow and transplant another shadow? Is that possible?'

And so, in the sight of Baek Yoonjun, who was running away, the roof of a building came into view.

Although his sight was fixed on the roof, the roof was not important.

On the roof, a young and slender woman, who was rare to see in this village, was squatting.

Naturally, squatting on the roof was not the problem.

The fact that her attire was her underwear was also a trivial thing for now.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!!"

The woman was crowing loudly like a rooster and was flapping her arms.

At the disgraceful behavior of the woman, who seemed to have no chance of getting married, Baek Yoonjun quickly turned his head.

At that, he saw a scholar hanging on a clothesline.

His feet were struggling slowly, as if he were reenacting fluttering.

And next to him, a cow was holding a laundry bat and was beating a woman, but that woman was lying stiffly on the floor without a single movement.

'Now, not even animals are enough, so it's laundry?!'

Startled, Baek Yoonjun moved his feet like crazy towards the Biyeolmun.

And what greeted him was.

"Master?"

The door of the martial arts school was gone, and Biyeol was blocking the way with his arms and legs stretched out in the place of the door.

"Uh... um... well... could it be that you've become a door?"

Although Baek Yoonjun carefully spoke to Biyeol, there was no answer.

Yoonjun, with a feeling of 'could it be, could it be', stealthily pushed Biyeol.

"Creak."

Biyeol, as if he had really become a door, moved only his feet slightly in time with Yoonjun's touch and made a door sound with his mouth.

Baek Yoonjun, dumbfounded, pulled Biyeol.

Biyeol, who was continuously making the sound effect of 'creak' with his mouth, stood in a position where he was level with the side door.

"Bang!"

He made a closing sound effect with his mouth.

Baek Yoonjun moved his hand again.

"Creak."

He moved his hand in the opposite direction.

"Bang!"

Yoonjun, at that strange addiction, repeated opening and closing without realizing it.

"Creak."

"Bang!"

"Creak."

"Bang!"

At that moment.

"Help me!!"

At the voice of Biyeon heard from inside the martial arts school, Yoonjun came to his senses.

"Junior Brother?!"

Baek Yoonjun opened the master-door again and then hastily stepped into the martial arts school.

(End of Chapter)