"This is Su Yeohyang from Emei..."

"Hello. I am Su Yeohyang, the great disciple of the Emei Sect."

Baek Yoonjun, who was introducing, hesitated at Cheon Suhye.

Because it had become ambiguous how to introduce her.

'Hmm, for now, I'm calling her sister, but is it okay to introduce her as she is?'

Baek Yoonjun, who had been pondering for a moment.

'Ugh? The gaze...?'

At Cheon Suhye's indescribably intense gaze, he had no choice but to introduce her literally.

"This is my sworn sister, Cheon Suhye."

At that, the gaze that he had felt as if it were a mistake disappeared.

And instead, for some reason, Tang Yuhwa began to stare at Baek Yoonjun.

'No, why are you guys taking turns doing this?'

Since Baek Yoonjun had committed a sin, he could not dare to say anything.

'I'm really going to suffocate and die at this rate.'

Although it felt as if he would suffocate and die, there was nothing he could do.

At that moment.

"Daddy!"

A very young girl ran towards Baek Yoonjun.

"Daddy?"

Baek Yoonjun stared at the little child with a dazed look.

No matter how he looked at her, it was a face he had never seen before.

'Who is she?! And where is this chill coming from??'

Baek Yoonjun broke out in a cold sweat like crazy at the sudden chill that seemed to be blowing.

In the meantime, the little child got closer.

"Who are you...?"

Although Baek Yoonjun asked the child, the child passed by Baek Yoonjun and ran to Biyeon.

"Daddy!"

"Oh, Bi-ryeong, you're here?"

Biyeon naturally picked up the child.

Baek Yoonjun's head turned quietly, and a finger-pointing came out of its own accord.

"That child is...?"

"Ah, Great Senior Brother. She is my child. Child, greet him. He is my senior brother."

Baek Yoonjun froze at Biyeon's words.

'He had a child?!'

Astonished inside, he recalled Biyeon's past actions.

He had gotten drunk and had gambled away the family's money.

'This! Human scum!!'

Although it was a thing of the past, Baek Yoonjun, who was inexplicably furious, was about to hit Biyeon.

At that moment, the girl who had been held by Biyeon hesitated and then bowed her head to Baek Yoonjun.

"Hello..."

"Uh... right, hello?"

At the little girl's greeting, Baek Yoonjun's anger melted away.

And at the same time, a great question arose.

'No, but with what money did he raise the child?'

No matter how he thought about it, it didn't seem like Biyeon, who had been living a life of human scum, had raised the child properly.

Of course, there was Biyeol...

Baek Yoonjun pondered for a moment and then uttered a question.

"So."

"Yes?"

"With what money did you raise the child?"

Baek Yoonjun's voice sank coldly again.

Because although the child was cute, Biyeon was not cute.

"W-well, that's...!"

"Don't tell me you fed her with the money you won from gambling?"

"..."

Biyeon's pupils lost their place and trembled violently.

At that reaction, Baek Yoonjun intuited that he had hit the mark.

'Wow... this human scum, really...'

Baek Yoonjun was at a loss for words and let out a hollow laugh.

"This crazy bastard, really!"

"N-no! Still, I didn't starve her! Bi-ryeong is so strong! Isn't it enough that she grew up well!"

"Is that something a father should say!"

Baek Yoonjun, in a fit of anger, began to hit the back of Biyeon's head.

Of course, what was hitting the back of Biyeon's head was the Despicable Stab, which had been established as the representative martial art of the Biyeolmun by Baek Yoonjun.

"Ack! Aack! Great Senior Brother! Why are you hitting me!"

"I'm hitting you because you did something worth being hit for!"

"That's right!"

Biyeol, who had approached at some point, also joined in and began to hit the back of Biyeon's head.

"If I take my eyes off you, you cause trouble! You neglect the child!! It's because I was there that Bi-ryeong grew up safely!"

Looking at the way he was hitting, it seemed there were many things that had piled up.

The sight of the Despicable Stab alternately hitting the back of Biyeon's head looked very plausible.

The first collaborative attack, or joint formation, of the master and disciple in the Biyeolmun.

Of course, the fact that the target was the youngest disciple was a tragedy.

"Aack! Why are you doing this too, Father!"

"What? You raised her with gambling? It was fortunate that you didn't get ripped off! This brat, just!"

Although the direction of his anger seemed slightly different from Baek Yoonjun's, it was still an understandable anger.

And so, as a pandemonium was unfolding.

"Don't hit my daddy!"

Biyeon's daughter, Bi-ryeong, came running and clung to Baek Yoonjun's leg.

"Ugh..."

"Ahem."

Baek Yoonjun and Biyeol stopped their movements at the same time.

Since a child was clinging to them like that, they couldn't just keep beating up her father.

"Bi-ryeong-ah...!"

Biyeon hugged his daughter with a moved expression.

That sight was very unsightly to Baek Yoonjun.

'Shall I kill him? Wouldn't it be better for the child's future to kill him?'

Although a killing intent boiled up for a very short moment, since Biyeon seemed to have repented, for now, he decided to let it go.

And at that chaotic time.

Tang Yuhwa was staring intently at Hong Yungae.

To be precise, not at Hong Yungae, but at the Dog Beating Jade Staff in his hand.

Tang Yuhwa, who had been staring intently at the Dog Beating Jade Staff, took out the chest containing the recipe for the Great Return Pill from her bosom and checked it.

'This...'

Tang Yuhwa, who had thought of something, quietly approached Hong Yungae.

Hong Yungae was in a state of being distracted, watching Baek Yoonjun beat up Biyeon.

Tang Yuhwa brought the groove of the chest to the end of the Dog Beating Jade Staff.

Click.

The groove of the chest fit perfectly.

Only then did Hong Yungae notice Tang Yuhwa's action and turned his head.

"Senior Sister, what are you doing...?"

"Be quiet."

Tang Yuhwa quieted Hong Yungae and then turned the chest with the end of the Dog Beating Jade Staff stuck in it.

Creak.

As if it were natural, the groove of the chest turned.

Clank.

The chest opened.

"Huh? Senior Sister, what on earth is this...?"

Hong Yungae, not knowing what that sight meant, asked Tang Yuhwa back blankly.

Tang Yuhwa, having taken out the old book with no cover from inside the chest, thought of something for a moment and then quietly answered Hong Yungae's words.

"Junior Brother."

"Yes?"

"It seems that's a Green Jade Fire Palm."

"What?!"

At Tang Yuhwa's words, Hong Yungae could not help but be startled.

Since it was a story that had been there when he had first obtained the Dog Beating Jade Staff.

Of course, at that time, since Baek Yoonjun had told him a plausible story that a precious item like a Green Jade Fire Palm would not be rolling around in a pawnshop like this, he had not paid attention to it until now.

'It can't be, right? It really can't be, right?'

At Tang Yuhwa's words, which could only be called a conviction no matter how he looked at it, a sense of anxiety flashed through Hong Yungae's mind like crazy.

"S-Senior Sister, how are you so sure?"

"This, it's a chest that can only be opened with a Green Jade Fire Palm."

Hong Yungae's pupils began to tremble like crazy, as if there were an earthquake.

Although Hong Yungae could not come out of that shock, a very small hope that it was not yet confirmed bloomed in his heart.

"How does Senior Sister know that that chest can only be opened with a Green Jade Fire Palm?"

"Jihwa Shinni of the Emei Sect said so."

The small hope that had bloomed in Hong Yungae's heart was shattered.

---

Since they had obtained the recipe for the Great Return Pill with the Green Jade Fire Palm, the party had no choice but to quickly return to Shaolin.

On the way up Mount Song.

Baek Yoonjun stealthily glanced at the party.

The faces of the other people were not bad.

The face of Biyeon, who had followed for some reason, was not just not bad, but was sparkling, full of anticipation.

However, only one person had a long face.

"My Dog Beating Jade Staff... no, is it a Green Jade Fire Palm... no. It's not a Green Jade Fire Palm, it's a Dog Beating Jade Staff..."

Hong Yungae was hugging the Dog Beating Jade Staff as if it were a lover he was about to part with and was stroking it with a gentle touch, with a tearful face.

As if that were not enough, he began to deny reality.

"No! Dog Beating Jade Staff! You're not a Green Jade Fire Palm, you're a Dog Beating Jade Staff!"

Hong Yungae even began to talk to the Dog Beating Jade Staff, no, the Green Jade Fire Palm.

"Do you remember? Our memories. We met in a dark corner of a pawnshop and smashed the heads of the villains together with gusto."

"..."

"Dog Beating Jade Staff. Say something. Why can't you say that you're not a Green Jade Fire Palm?!"

Only around Hong Yungae was it a tragedy itself.

An atmosphere as if a lover were being forced to part began to seep into the surroundings.

As Baek Yoonjun was walking, staring blankly at such a Hong Yungae, Tang Yuhwa came up next to him and whispered.

"Are you just going to leave that?"

"What do you mean?"

"He's in a state where he'll throw a tantrum, saying he won't give it up even if he dies, when we go to Shaolin."

"That's..."

Although he wondered if he would really do that, looking at the atmosphere, the thought that he would naturally do so came to Baek Yoonjun's mind.

'Aww. Damn it, I should have just ignored it then! Why did I have to pretend to know!'

Baek Yoonjun's mind began to spin furiously.

A situation where he could be blamed if things went on like this.

He had to somehow separate Hong Yungae and the Green Jade Fire Palm.

At that moment, a large tree came into Baek Yoonjun's sight.

A sturdy-looking jujube tree.

'Come to think of it, a jujube tree. On top of that, I think I heard that a jujube tree that has been struck by lightning is something very good.'

Although he could not recall its efficacy, for now, Baek Yoonjun approached the jujube tree in one step.

'It's a pity that it hasn't been struck by lightning... no. Can't I do something similar?'

Baek Yoonjun quietly moved the energy of nature.

Accordingly, a lukewarm wind began to blow around him.

Baek Yoonjun, conscious of the point where that wind was blowing, swung it towards the tree in front of him.

Crack!

The jujube tree split in half, as if it had been struck by lightning.

Although it was not charred as if it had been struck by lightning, perhaps because he had condensed the energy of nature itself and had split it, it seemed a faint scent was wafting.

'Good. Isn't this something similar to a lightning-struck wood?'

Baek Yoonjun, convinced of what he had done, drew the Black Iron Dark Night.

'A staff, a staff... considering the use that Yungae uses it for, he uses it to break the heads of villains and also for miscellaneous uses...'

Having finished his conception to some extent, Baek Yoonjun began to swing the Black Iron Dark Night towards the tree.

The ink-colored blade of the Black Iron Dark Night glinted, drawing a faint black color.

Slice.

The jujube tree was cut off according to that sword strike.

Towards that place, Baek Yoonjun began to swing his sword continuously.

That appearance was like a sword dance, and the party stared blankly at Baek Yoonjun.

Rustle. Rustle.

The bark was peeled off, and the hard, concentrated red flesh was revealed.

Since Baek Yoonjun had split it using the energy of nature, it was far from a lightning-struck wood, but it was an appearance as if something mysterious energy, no less than that, was imbued.

At the tip of Baek Yoonjun's hand, the jujube tree was ground away, and the sawdust flew faintly.

The party stared at that mysterious sight, at a loss for words.

And so, after a little time had passed, the jujube tree was completely carved and trimmed, forming a single shape.

'Good, it seems it's roughly done.'

Baek Yoonjun had no particular thought.

He had just thought that he was making a single club.

But in the eyes of others, that process itself was reflected as a single martial might.

Clang!

Finally, the Black Iron Dark Night made a cheerful sound and returned to its scabbard.

After that, Baek Yoonjun stretched out his hand.

Whoosh!

The jujube tree, which had turned into a single club, flew as if it were being sucked into his grasp and was held.

'The appearance is not bad. And since it has a faint scent, it's fine.'

Baek Yoonjun looked at the club he had made with satisfaction.

"Here."

He threw it to Hong Yungae indifferently.

"Huh? Uh, uh?!"

Hong Yungae, who had caught it in a daze, opened his eyes wide at the heavy weight.

A density that was on a different dimension from an ordinary tree.

It was to the point that he had the illusion that he was holding an iron club.

"W-well... Master? What is this?"

"What do you mean, what is it? It's a club."

"A club? No matter how I look at it, it doesn't look like an ordinary club.'

Not only Hong Yungae, but even Tang Yuhwa and Su Yeohyang looked at the club with surprised eyes.

Although it had been an ordinary jujube tree at first, as Baek Yoonjun had touched it, it had turned into a somewhat unusual club.

As the party members were at a loss for words and were staring blankly at the club, a sense of anxiety began to rise stealthily in Baek Yoonjun.

'What? Why are they silent? It looks fine to me, but is it not so good in the eyes of others?'

Baek Yoonjun's head began to spin rapidly again.

'Uh... so in my previous life, if a story followed a work, the price would jump by double, right?'

Thinking so, a story came to Baek Yoonjun's mind.

"Yungae-ya."

"Y-yes, yes?!"

Hong Yungae, who had been staring blankly at the club, was startled at Baek Yoonjun's call and answered.

'Why is this brat so startled? Has he still not gotten over the Green Jade Fire Palm?'

Baek Yoonjun clicked his tongue inside and then opened his mouth indifferently on the outside.

"What is a thing that suits a beggar? For a beggar who roams the world, wouldn't a club made by carving a piece of wood rolling on the street suit him better than jade?"

In a word, it was a statement that since you're a beggar, a wooden staff would suit you better than a jade staff.

But the same words are interpreted differently depending on the atmosphere.

At the mysterious manufacturing process he had just seen and the faint presence wafting from Baek Yoonjun, that statement began to be interpreted differently in Hong Yungae's mind.

'I see. Master is telling me to abandon my lingering attachment. In that sense, he must be calling the staff made through such a mysterious process an ordinary wooden club.'

Perhaps because of the faint scent wafting from the club, the lingering attachment in Hong Yungae's mind melted away, and something began to sprout in his mind.

Hong Yungae quietly put down the Green Jade Fire Palm.

Then, holding the jujube tree staff, he sat on the floor with his legs crossed and closed his eyes.

A moment of enlightenment.

Baek Yoonjun looked at that moment with coldly sunken eyes.

'No... what's with the club...?'

(End of Chapter)