Chapter Ten: Reunion with Han Guo (Part Two)

They waited for six days in the forests along the Korean border before Moon Worship finally led the members of the Sunset Glow Sect to join them.

After being apart for so many days, both sides were overjoyed at the reunion.

As expected, Moon Worship and her group had not encountered any serious trouble on their journey. Only ten days ago, during the night, they ran into a few disciples of the Flying Immortal Sect while resting, but those had been swiftly dealt with. After that, the road was clear; they never saw any sign of Zheng soldiers or the Flying Immortal Sect. Bu Jingxian knew their plan had worked—the Zheng troops and Flying Immortal pursuers had indeed been misled, relaxing their search of the mountainous regions.

Having endured restraint for several days, Ghostbane couldn't help but begin boasting to the Sunset Glow Sect about his great feats along the way. No one believed him, not even Bi Lian, who irritably told him to stop spouting nonsense. In desperation, he pleaded with Bu Jingxian to vouch for him and tried to enlist the Zhao siblings as witnesses.

The Zhao siblings had met Moon Worship, Star Worship, and the Sunset Glow Sect before. Upon hearing that Bu Jingxian had taken them as disciples and learning of the events en route, the Sunset Glow Sect felt deeply grateful. Even if they did not quite believe Ghostbane's tales of martial prowess, they admired his courage in accompanying Bu Jingxian on such a risky journey and heaped him with praise in return.

Once the idle chatter ended, they began to discuss their next steps. Bu Jingxian said, "Now that we've come this far, there's no need to hide in the shadows. The fugitives wanted by Zheng are friends of both Korea and the Black Wolf Army. Let's find a village or town to rest and refresh ourselves, and tomorrow morning we can hire a few carriages and head north."

Having spent many days in the mountains, none of them had slept well for even a single night. The prospect of resting in a proper town delighted everyone.

The Zhao siblings, being native Koreans, took on the responsibility of leading the way. When they reached the checkpoint, the Korean soldiers questioned them, seeing they were all armed, but ultimately let them pass without trouble.

The city was filled with refugees, and it took them quite some time to find an inn of reasonable size.

After washing and changing clothes, they questioned the inn boy over dinner and learned that the Zheng army had nearly breached the pass during a recent counterattack. It was only thanks to General Cheng of Korea, who sent reinforcements in time, that the pass was saved. Originally, more than a hundred li around Xiangyang City had been taken by the Black Wolf Army and the Koreans in their joint offensive, but these lands had long since been recaptured by the Zheng. With their front stretched too thin, the Black Wolf Army was now struggling everywhere and could no longer spare troops to help Korea.

However, the main force of the Zheng army was still locked in fierce battle with the Black Wolf Army and could not spare troops for a major assault on Korea just yet.

The people along Korea’s borders were uneasy; many wished to flee to Zheng, but with strict inspections at the borders, ordinary folk found it hard to leave.

Since war broke out, many Zheng merchants had found ways to escape home, and Korea's economy had been dealt a heavy blow. Many people were out of work, and numerous farmlands had been abandoned due to the flight of their landlords. The authorities had yet to come up with a way to handle these lands.

Mistaking them for martial artists seeking employment, the inn boy kindly warned them:

"All the capable martial artists have already gone to Zheng to seek their fortunes in the war. You don't look like locals—why would you come from outside to make a living in Korea!"

"Do you think Korea will lose?" Bu Jingxian asked with a light laugh.

The boy quickly waved his hands. "I never said that!" Then, lowering his voice, seeing they didn't seem like villains, he added, "But who really thinks Korea has a chance? How could Korea possibly stand against Zheng?" With that, he hurried off to serve other guests.

Bu Jingxian noticed many beggars at the inn's entrance, yet not one dared to come inside. When the boy returned to serve dishes, a man rushed in, heading straight for their table to beg for food. The other patrons shouted at him to leave, complaining of his foul smell. Bu Jingxian saw him touch his forehead—a gesture of the Soul Spirit Sect.

He handed the man a cooked chicken and returned the Soul Spirit salute.

Unexpectedly, the man’s face changed dramatically. He barked, "Are you a follower of the Soul Spirit Will?"

"I am."

"Hmph!" The man threw the chicken back, which Bu Jingxian caught. "A soul corrupted by betraying the Will shall not be forgiven. I refuse to associate with you!" With that, he turned and ran out. The inn boy, seeing him, chased after, cursing, "If you filthy beggar come in to bother guests again, I'll break your legs!" Then he turned to apologize to the guests for the disturbance.

"How ungrateful!" Star Worship was furious. Seeing Bu Jingxian still holding the chicken, she urged, "Throw it away, his hands were filthy."

Bu Jingxian came to his senses, laughed, and said, "It would be a waste—never mind," and ate it himself, feeling a pang of loss and regret. He hadn't expected that, after so many years, a follower of the Soul Spirit Will would rather beg than associate with one allied to the powerful, regarding it as a betrayal.

A follower of the Soul Spirit Will must not associate with the privileged class—not even with moderately wealthy merchants. Otherwise, it was considered a betrayal of the Will, merely currying favor with the elite.

Bu Jingxian was the son of the founder of the Soul Spirit Sect. Though he’d long understood that the old ways of the Soul Spirit Sect had no future, being rebuked by a follower of the Will still left him feeling disappointed.

Star Worship, seeing him actually eat the chicken touched by a beggar, tried to snatch it away, but he refused to let go. She managed to tear off the dirty skin and threw it away, exclaiming, "It's filthy!"

Bu Jingxian didn’t mind, smiling as he continued to eat.

Back when he and July begged their way through Zheng, they had treasured far dirtier things than this. If not for their current circumstances, he might not have acted this way. Yet, seeing the crowd of beggars outside, he could not bear to waste food. He recalled the many times he and July had watched diners from outside the inn, hoping to receive leftovers, only to see the servers throw it all away. Rarely did anyone spare a thought for the beggars at the door.

He did not wish to return to a beggar’s life, but he also did not want to become like those people he had seen as a child.

Star Worship, seeing him still eating the chicken, was about to speak again when Moon Worship gently patted her, and she fell silent.

After the meal, everyone returned upstairs to rest.

Bu Jingxian stood by the window, watching the hungry people huddled against the cold outside, thinking of July, and of the perfect world promised by the Soul Spirit Will. No nation could truly solve the hardships of poverty, illness, hatred, or disaster. Only the power of the Soul Spirit Will, returned to its former glory, could bring about freedom and strength to change these things.

At that moment, Moon Worship knocked and entered, with Star Worship following behind.

Seeing the window open, Moon Worship walked over and looked down.

"Why are you so moved by the beggars today?"

"Because there are hardly any beggars in Golden Light City or New City of Chu." Seeing Star Worship still sulking, Bu Jingxian smiled wryly. "I was a beggar once. Back then, I often watched diners from outside the inn, hoping they’d give us leftovers, but they rarely did, preferring to have the servers throw it away. Today, seeing so many beggars gathered outside, though I have little power to help them, I simply couldn’t waste food in their presence."

Star Worship, hearing he’d lived through such hardship, felt her anger melt into remorse. "I—I didn’t know…"

Moon Worship added, "We still have enough money. We could spare some for charity."

"Helping others can only be done within our means. As for having enough money, who knows how much we’ll need tomorrow or in the north. If we give in to temporary emotion and spend for the sake of feeling good, we may find ourselves without even tents to sleep in. I can’t do that, nor will I. Still, I’m grateful you care so much about how I feel."