Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 215

“Huh? You want us to wear *these*?” Baek Cheon looked at the pile of brown clothes. They looked rough and smelled a little dusty. He seemed confused.

“Yes, exactly. These are clothes from our trading company,” the manager said.

“But why do we need to wear them?” Baek Cheon asked.

“Oh, esteemed warriors,” the manager said, bowing slightly. “We are going to Yunnan. If you go there in your usual clothes, everyone will stare. But if you look like you are part of our group, you can enter quietly without any trouble.”

“Ah, I see,” Baek Cheon nodded slowly.

*First, I need to talk to Chung Myung… He can be difficult,* Baek Cheon thought, turning his head.

“Why are you so slow?” Chung Myung asked. He was already changed, wearing the brown clothes.

“Did you put it on already?” Baek Cheon was surprised.

“Yeah. Why not?” Chung Myung tilted his head.

“No… I thought you wouldn’t want to change,” Baek Cheon admitted. Their Mount Hua uniforms were very important to them.

Chung Myung shrugged. “Clothes are just clothes, what about it?” He stuffed his Mount Hua uniform into his bag. “Hurry up and change, Uncle-Master. We need to get to Yunnan quickly.”

“Ugh,” Baek Cheon felt a little sick to his stomach, but he took the clothes.

After they changed, the Mount Hua disciples looked at each other and chuckled. They were used to seeing each other in their martial uniforms, so the porter’s clothes felt strange.

“Jo Gul, these clothes fit you perfectly!”

“Ha! Just like we thought, he looks like he was born to wear these clothes.”

“D-Don’t tease me, Uncle-Master!” Jo Gul’s face turned red.

Just then, Kwak Kyung from the Hwapyeong Trading Company came to them, looking worried.

“As you know, Yunnan is a dangerous place. We’re not really allowed to bring anyone who isn’t part of our company on this trip.”

“Yes, Manager,” Baek Cheon replied.

“So, please, don’t do anything that will show who you really are. I’m begging you again!”

Manager Kwak Kyung kept begging them. Baek Cheon was curious and asked carefully, “Is Yunnan really that strict?”

“The people in charge of Yunnan are just there in name. The Beast Palace is very powerful in Yunnan. They control who comes into Yunnan from other places. The government can’t do anything about it, so the Beast Palace is even more cruel.”

“Why doesn’t the government do anything?” Baek Cheon asked.

“Yunnan is a barren land. Even if we fought them and won, we wouldn’t get anything. So, the government doesn’t really care about taking it back. Only the merchants who trade Yunnan tea are suffering.”

“Hmm.” Baek Cheon knew he wouldn’t have come to Yunnan if he didn’t need to find Jamokcho.

“So, I’m asking you again. If something goes wrong, our trading company won’t be able to go to Yunnan again. That would be the end of us.”

“Don’t worry. We won’t cause any…” Baek Cheon looked at Chung Myung.

“…trouble, or at least, we will try our best not to.”

“I’m really counting on you.” Kwak Kyung begged and went back to his spot.

Baek Cheon listened to Manager Kwak and realized just how strong the Beast Palace was in Yunnan.

“It sounds like they have more power than the Tang Family in Sichuan?” he asked.

“Probably,” Yoon Jong said. “In Sichuan, there are other groups that can challenge the Tang Family. But in Yunnan, there aren’t any famous sects.”

Baek Cheon was confused. “What about the Jeomcang Sect in Yunnan?”

Yoon Jong hesitated. Chung Myung, who was listening, said casually, “Jeomcang doesn’t care about any of that.”

“What do you mean?” Baek Cheon asked.

“Just what I said. Jeomcang doesn’t care about getting more power or being important. They just stay in the mountains, learning about Taoism and practicing martial arts.”

“Aren’t we the same?” Yoon Jong asked.

“Come on,” Chung Myung said. “Compared to Jeomcang or Kunlun, Mount Hua and Wudang aren’t really Taoists. We just call ourselves that.”

“…”

Baek Cheon thought, *This crazy guy is even criticizing his own sect now.*

“A Taoist is a Taoist,” Yoon Jong insisted.

“No, I’m serious. Jeomcang and Kunlun don’t even care what people think about them,” Chung Myung said.

“…”

“They’d probably be okay if they were kicked out of the Nine Great Sects, right?”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Yoon Jong said.

“Think about it. If they cared about that stuff, would they have built their sect in Qinghai or Yunnan? Even Sichuan is like the countryside. What can you say about Yunnan?”

“Hmm. That’s true,” Baek Cheon agreed.

“As someone who also follows Taoism, I respect them. They don’t care about fame or money at all. Jeomcang probably doesn’t even care what the Beast Palace is doing,” Chung Myung said.

“That’s amazing,” Baek Cheon said, shaking his head. He couldn’t imagine living like that.

“So, don’t worry about Jeomcang. The Beast Palace is what’s important,” Chung Myung said.

“How do you know so much about this?” Baek Cheon asked.

“I’m from the streets, you know. I grew up hearing all sorts of rumors,” Chung Myung said casually. He quickly changed the subject. “We wasted a lot of time in Sichuan, so let’s not cause any trouble. We need to get to Yunnan quickly, so let’s help the trading company as much as we can.”

Baek Cheon spoke before he thought. *Wait, is Chung Myung really telling us what to do?*

“You’re the one who made us waste time! If you had moved faster, we would have left days ago!” Baek Cheon said.

“Hey, don’t be so petty! It was in the past!” Chung Myung replied.

“Ugh!” Baek Cheon felt his face getting red with anger. He took a deep breath and sighed. “Okay, I understand. We’ll help as much as possible and go to Yunnan quietly.”

Whether they would keep their word was another question.

The Mount Hua disciples walked around the baggage carts, following the trading journey. They were used to changing horses on the Sadu carriage when they came to Sichuan, so this was much slower. They felt frustrated.

But they had no choice. The traders couldn’t bring extra horses, so they had to move slowly to save the horses’ energy.

“Ugh. When will we get to Yunnan at this rate?” Chung Myung sighed. This was his first time going to Yunnan. He felt trapped and uncomfortable, like his muscles were tightening up.

“If the road was better, we could go faster,” Baek Cheon said, frowning at the poorly laid road. The further they got from Chengdu and the closer they got to Yunnan, the rougher the road became. There were big stones and holes, and everything was covered in dust.

Roads need to be taken care of. If they aren’t, the ground wears away, and stones stick out, making it difficult for the baggage carts to pass.

Usually, local governments fix roads. But Yunnan was too far away, so no one fixed this road. The road was full of holes and rocks. It was bumpy and hard to travel on. Dust flew up from the wheels as the wagons moved slowly.

Guo Jing smiled a little as he listened to them talk. He was used to hearing people complain about the roads.

“We are still in Sichuan,” Guo Jing said calmly.

“Oh, really?” the other person asked.

“Yes,” Guo Jing replied. “This road goes to Yunnan. The people in charge don’t care about fixing it because it’s so far from them.”

“So, the road will only get worse?”

“Indeed. And that’s not the only problem. As we get closer to Yunnan, there are more bandits. Traveling to Yunnan for trade is dangerous.”

Guo Jing sighed.

“The government and powerful fighting groups in the middle of the country don’t want to fight the Beast Palace. So, they don’t send fighters here. It’s almost a lawless zone between Yunnan and Sichuan.”

“Ah, so that’s why…”

Baek Cheon turned his head to look at the guards escorting the trading group.

He wondered why they had brought so many guards when they didn’t have enough people, but it seemed they were ready for bandits.

“We have already entered the border region, so everyone must be careful. If you spot anyone suspicious, please tell us immediately.”

“We will.”

“We are doing our best to go fast, so please bear with any trouble.”

“Ah, no. We are already sorry for causing trouble. There’s no need to push yourselves because of us.”

Baek Cheon bowed his head to Guo Jing.

However, that relaxed mood disappeared quickly.

“It’s slow…”

“…”

“Slow. It’s too slow! This is far too slow!”

“…Why are you in such a bad mood again?”

Chung Myung puffed out his cheeks.

“At this rate, when will we ever reach Yunnan!”

“What can we do? The horses are pulling the wagons, so it will be slow. We don’t have extra horses, and we can’t have people pull them, can we?”

“Still, it’s too slow! If we go to Yunnan and back this slowly, the year will change, not just the season! I’ll have to hope that the Sect Leader is still alive when we return!”

“Hey, you silly fool! Is that something you should be saying!”

“I’m frustrated, that’s why! Frustrated!”

Chung Myung scrunched up his face.

“How about we pull them instead?”

“…Besides the fact that it would be strange for people to pull wagons, the people of Yunnan would know we are fighters. How would you deal with that?”

“Kreeeeung.”

Chung Myung scratched his head hard.

‘But this is too slow.’

He had been somewhat ready since joining the trading group, but this was twice as slow as he had thought. If they were lucky, they would arrive in a month.

‘I need to think of something.’

Chung Myung sighed and turned his head.

“By the way, why is setting up camp taking so long?”

They had stopped and started setting up camp a while ago, but the merchants were still moving around busily.

“Jo Gul, does setting up camp usually take this long?”

“It doesn’t usually take this long, but…”

Jo Gul scratched his head.

“The merchants don’t have enough people because they have to use the guards, and it seems like even fewer merchants came with us.”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue.

“So, it’s taking so long because they don’t have enough people?”

“Looks like it.”

“Tsk! They should have asked for help sooner! We could have finished quickly! Why didn’t they say anything? It’s embarrassing.”

Chung Myung jumped up from his seat.

“They probably felt strange telling guests of the Tang Family Head what to do.”

“It’s better to help quickly so we can sleep early and leave early tomorrow!”

“That’s what we think, but…”

Baek Cheon smiled a little.

‘This is what makes this guy interesting.’

It was a nickname to laugh about in Mount Hua, but the name ‘Hwasan Divine Dragon’ was shaking the whole Central Plains. The title of ‘the best of the younger generation’ wasn’t given to just anyone.

So, you would think he would be arrogant, but Chung Myung was the same as always, whether he was famous or not…

‘A scoundrel.’

Ah. So, this isn’t a good thing?

“What are you doing? Help quickly. Those men need to rest so we can leave a little earlier tomorrow.”

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

Baek Cheon rose from his seat with a somewhat pleased smile.

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

“What is it?”

The disciples of Hwasan all looked at one place.

They could see the bushes moving in the dark.

And then.

“Hehehehe.”

“Hahahahaha!”

With evil and loud laughter, a dozen or so strange men came out of the bushes.

“Who are you!”

The guards escorting the merchants all drew their weapons and stood in front of the strange men.

“Hehehehe. You set up camp in a good place. Didn’t you know this is our Jangho Camp’s front yard?”

“Leave the goods, and we will let you live.”

“If not, then leave your lives with them!”

The disciples of Hwasan, who were looking at the strange men, all opened their mouths.

Someone groaned.

“Bandits?”

“Bandits.”

“No, shouldn’t we call them bandits in the fields since this is a field?”

“Anyway, they’re robbers.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Oh no!

Robbers.

Baek Cheon laughed weakly.

“I’ve lived long enough to be robbed.”

“Shall we take care of them?”

Jo Gul stepped forward.

“Eh, no.”

A very happy voice stopped him from behind.

The disciples of Hwasan turned around, looking uneasy.

Chung Myung was there, wearing a sly smile.

“What do you mean bandits? They look different to me.”

“…What do they look like?”

“Not bandits, but horses.”

“…Horses?”

“Yeah.”

Chung Myung grinned widely.

“Strong horses that will take us to Yunnan. Ah, we’re so lucky.”

“…”

“What are you doing? Catch them before they run away!”

“…”

Baek Cheon felt sorry for the bandits who had appeared to rob them.