Return of the Mount Hua Sect

‘I have to, I have to fix this!’

If he couldn’t handle the situation somehow, the moment he left this room, he might be stepped on by those ghosts glaring at him with eyes like demons.

Then a gravestone would be set up with the inscription ‘Namgung and the Yangtze River side by side’.

Everyone would be shocked. At least his father had fought bravely, but the foolish son, in his stupidity, played with his mouth wrong and met his demise.

‘Ah, no.’

Among the countless images Namgung Dowi had drawn of his own demise, he had never imagined this. Trembling with a sense of impending doom, Namgung Dowi desperately spoke.

“W-Well, for now, let’s postpone this matter a bit…”

“Why? It looks good. We can do it right away. It’s not that big a deal.”

“N-No, that’s not it!”

Namgung Dowi’s head began to spin more fiercely than ever before.

“Creating a suitable position and appointing the right person to that position is a really important task. It’s not something to be decided hastily!”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t they say people are everything? Dynasties that have not properly handled people from generation to generation have always perished! So, you must take it seriously!”

“…Even to that extent?”

“Y-Yes, of course!”

“Hmm.”

Chung Myung licked his lips as if savoring a missing taste.

“But isn’t it okay to just decide on a few important positions in advance and fill in the other minor positions later?”

“T-The human heart doesn’t work that way. If you decide on the important positions first, the process of selecting the positions that follow may become a bit sluggish!”

“….”

“Everything is for my sincere consideration of Cheonwoo Alliance!”

“Well, if you put it that way….”

“Well, Chung Myung. It seems that this is not something to be decided on this spot.”

“Yeah, Mount Hua’s Chivalrous Sword. We’ll think deeply about this with the elders.”

As Hyun Jong and Tang Gunak took Namgung Dowi’s side, Chung Myung subtly stepped back, tasting his words once again.

“Well, if that’s how it is….”

“Haha. Yeah, yeah. It’s not that simple, then.”

At that moment, Chung Myung turned his head to glance at Namgung Dowi.

“But….”

“Yes?”

“Namgung Sogaju-nim seems to have become quite eloquent.”

“…”

“It didn’t seem like that originally. Is it because you’ve been hanging out with those Evil Sect bastards these days?”

“…”

“You’ve learned good things. Very good things.”

With a face twisted in injustice, Namgung Dowi pouted. Even if it was like that, to be compared to that Evil Sect monster!

“I’ll let it go once.”

Chung Myung chuckled and turned his head to look at everyone.

“So, what about other matters?”

“Hmm. Other matters…”

Tang Gunak cleared his throat awkwardly. Even though he had experienced this several times before, he still wasn’t quite used to exchanging opinions in an equal setting. But at times like this, he had to express some opinion.

“Look, Mount Hua’s Chivalrous Sword.”

“Yes, Gaju-nim.”

“War will break out, right?”

Chung Myung’s gaze at Tang Gunak softened. It meant, ‘Why bring up such a obvious story now?’

“Then, do you intend to maintain this Yangtze River front until the war breaks out?”

“That’s not something up to us to decide.”

“Huh?”

“It’s up to what those Ten Great Sects guys decide. If those guys aren’t pulling out, wouldn’t it be strange for us to pull out first?”

“That’s a valid point.”

Tang Gunak furrowed his brow slightly.

‘What is Beopjeong thinking?’

The Heavenly Comrade Alliance had partly found its place here by chance, but in reality, it was Shaolin, the Ten Greats Sect, and the Five Great Families, that hastily established a foothold along the Yangtze River more suddenly.

More precisely, among them were a few sects that shared the same intentions with Shaolin.

Baek Cheon scratched his head at the mention of this.

“Come to think of it, we couldn’t pay attention to them because we were caught up in our immediate concerns. What on earth are they doing?”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t that right? We’re training here, and actually, there was no clear place for the newcomers to join, so naturally, we’ve settled here. But the Ten Great Sects and the Five Great Families are not in such a situation.”

“That’s true.”

“If they want to pull out, they can do it anytime…”

In the early days, even the Ten Great Sects couldn’t easily leave the Yangtze River. Because they couldn’t predict when the Evil Tyrant Alliance would cross the river. But now?

“… The Evil Tyrant Alliance needs internal restructuring, and they can’t possibly be unaware of that.”

“That’s just underestimating the Ten Great Sects. They must know it well.”

It just didn’t make sense. If the Evil Tyrant Alliance wasn’t advancing north, the Ten Great Sects didn’t need to guard the Yangtze River basin. So why were they still holding their ground here?

“Why make things so complicated?”

“Hmm?”

All eyes were fixed on Chung Myung’s face. His expression was especially inscrutable.

“It’s not that deep of a thought. Just think from their perspective.”

“…What do you mean?”

“If you were in the shoes of that big bald guy, what would you do? You’ve run all the way here, and there’s nothing left for you. You heard that the Demonic Cult was in full swing, so you tried to use that as an opportunity, but some guys went and resolved it.”

When they tried to put myself in his shoes and think about it, it felt quite awkward.

“We don’t pay much attention to such things, but that big bald guy has something he cares about a lot.”

“Face and legitimacy.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Chung Myung chuckled and continued.

“I may not know, but in such a situation, they probably wouldn’t want to pull out of the Yangtze River before us. At least they want to go back claiming that they guarded the Yangtze River until the end. Initially, you probably thought just one thing. We would keep watch for a while, then disband and return to our respective sects, then they would leave too.”

“Ah…”

“Yes. But they’re not going back.”

“…”

“In that situation, if we ask them why they don’t go home, their insides would burst. They’d probably die from holding in their laughter.”

Tang Gunak chuckled dryly.

“Your words aren’t entirely wrong, but leaving a sect’s headquarters and spending time here isn’t as easy as you think. It won’t be a major issue if their province has a sect like the Southern Edge Sect, which can guard Shaanxi in Mount Hua’s absence, but for other sects, even a brief vacuum can be catastrophic.”

“Hmm?”

“Of course, what you said about face and legitimacy might have some influence, but it seems a bit excessive to think they’re staying there just for that one reason. It’s definitely not the only reason.”

When Tang Gunak spoke with confidence, Im Sobyeong interjected abruptly.

“What half-baked thoughts are you entertaining?”

Tang Gunak’s gaze turned towards him. Im Sobyeong spoke with a lazy expression, leaning against the wall.

“It is said that if you nurture your grandson, a hundred generations will flourish, but our noble and prestigious righteous sects seem to only know their enemies well and understand little of themselves.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

When Tang Gunak asked, Im Sobyeong chuckled.

“Think about it, think. Haven’t they have been watching what we’ve been up to all this time?”

“That…I guess so?”

In the first place, this manor wasn’t structured to conceal internal affairs from the outside. Moreover, considering the constant comings and goings of those in charge of the manor’s affairs, it would be easy to obtain information about this place without the need for any special measures.

And in fact, in some ways, they would be more curious about the movements of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance than the Evil Tyrant Alliance, so they would naturally have paid attention.

“So what do you think they’re thinking?”

“What are they thinking?”

“Think about what they might have seen and heard all this time.”

“What they might have seen and heard… well…”

At that moment, Baek Cheon spoke up.

“Mount Hua and the Tang Family have been fighting all day.”

Yoon Jong followed up.

“The head of the Tang Family was so furious he mobilized the elders and beat the disciples like catching rats.”

Tang Pae sneaked in.

“Suddenly, the Beast Palace from Yunnan entered the war there and engaged in fierce battles with other sects.”

Namgung Dowi, sweating coldly, spoke.

“And, could it be that the Namgung Family is rumored to be engaging in a rough and tumble with Nokrim?”

When Tang Gunak’s expression distorted, Jo Gol, who had been silent, laughed and spoke.

“They must have heard that Chung Myung was half out of his mind after seeing that final spectacle.”

“…Huh?”

“Do you understand?”

Lim Sobyeong pointed as if to say, ‘Look at this.’

“Right now, they’re probably the ones asking, ‘What the hell are you guys doing here?’ and not us.”

Tang Gunak could neither cry nor laugh anymore. [Trauma triggered…yeah, that book…]

* * *

“Bangjang.”

“…”

“How long do you plan to stay here?”

“…”

“You surely don’t intend to bury yourself here, do you?”

Beopjeong remained silent with closed eyes. Jonglihyung, persistent, confronted him again.

“Bangjang, don’t you know? For a while, the Evil Tyrant Alliance won’t be advancing north. The Su Lo Chae, currently occupying Plum Blossom Island, doesn’t have the capacity to cross the Yangtze River. How can Su Lo Chae, led by an injured leader, carry out tasks without the support of the Evil Tyrant Alliance?”

“…”

“But why do you keep staying here? How many days have you been idling away time here without end?”

Jonglihyung couldn’t overcome the frustration and pounded on his chest.

“I can’t even express the complaints among the disciples. I understand your feelings, but shouldn’t you also understand the feelings of those whose feet are tied in this distant place after hastily leaving their hometown? Rumors are already circulating from the Peng Family that they are considering leaving this place alone, even if it’s just them!”

“…”

“Bangjang! Please say something, anything!”

At that moment, Beopjeong slowly opened the eyes that had been closed. But that was all; he looked at Jonglihyung with deeply sunken eyes. Still, he remained silent.

“…Bangjang.”

In response to that, as if Jonglihyung had made up his mind, he spoke again. His voice was lower than usual.

“I tried not to say such things… but now among the children, there’s talk that the Bangjang has become frightened. They say that when you grow up, you become afraid when you look at the lid of the pot. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“…Lid, you said?”

“Yes. Bangjang! To this extent, now…”

“What’s the problem with that?”

“…Yes?”

A bewildered Jonglihyung widened his eyes and looked at Beopjeong. Beopjeong was still nonchalant.

“If someone bitten by a dog is surprised at the sight of the lid of the pot, is that a mistake? It’s more foolish to pretend nothing happened and get bitten again.”

Beopjeong clenched his teeth.

“Even if I hear complaints about being sentimental and frustrating, wouldn’t it be unwise for me to let my people suffer disgrace again? Am I wrong?”

“Gu, Bangjang.”

While Beopjeong’s eyes were clearly directed towards Jonglihyung, what he truly saw was the figure of Chung Myung rising beyond Jonglihyung.

‘Mount Hua’s Chivalrous Sword.’

Beopjeong let out a deep breath through his nose.

‘What tricks are you playing again?’

The illusion of Chung Myung laughed mockingly. Unconsciously, Beopjeong clenched his fists.