Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 751

“Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!” Baek Cheon’s breath came in ragged bursts as he ran. Sweat stung his eyes, and his wet hair whipped around his face. He ran as if chased by an invisible force, even though no one was behind them. Dressed in pure white, he pushed himself harder with each step. His jaw was clenched tight, and a deep furrow appeared between his eyebrows – he was utterly determined to keep this pace.

“Ah, wait! Just a moment!”

“Huh?”

At Baek Sang’s shout, Baek Cheon, still running, merely turned his head back.

“Ah, no! Please stop!”

“Eung?”

Only then did Baek Cheon come to a sudden halt.

As soon as he stopped, Baek Sang and Dang So-so collapsed to the ground like puppets with cut strings. Dust puffed around them as they landed, and they lay there, chests heaving.

“Haa! Haa! Haaa!”

“Ugh… Ugh, I’m dying.”

After panting for a long while, Baek Sang looked at Baek Cheon with an utterly bewildered expression.

“No, Senior Brother! Is someone chasing us?”

“……”

“Chung Myung isn’t here, so shouldn’t we be taking it easy for once? Why are you running as fast as you can?”

At those words, Baek Cheon wiped his damp forehead with an awkward expression.

“It’s just… I’ve gotten used to it.”

Jo Gul and Yoon Jong nodded in agreement, looking equally awkward.

“I don’t feel settled if I go too slowly…”

“There’s nothing to drag along, so I feel unnecessarily anxious… Feels like I should be dragging something.”

Baek Sang was speechless. All he could do was stare at them, thinking, ‘What’s with these guys?’ But even then, the three of them were better off. Yoo Iseol was tilting her head with a sulky expression, a deep frown on her face that seemed to say, ‘Why? What’s wrong with going fast?’

‘No, if this is how it is, there’s no point in Chung Myung not being here, is there?’

If they’re going to act the same whether he’s here or not, why did we leave him behind?

“I know the situation is urgent, but there’s no need to run with foam in our mouths like this.”

“I know, but…”

“Yes?”

Baek Cheon looked around anxiously.

“I feel uneasy and can’t relax if I go too slowly.”

“……”

“I keep feeling like I need to hurry up and finish things quickly.”

Jo Gul nodded vigorously, agreeing with him.

“I’m going crazy with anxiety and impatience. It feels like someone is constantly following us from behind.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Watching the three of them constantly looking around as if they were suffering from a nervous breakdown, Baek Sang squeezed his eyes shut.

‘It’s not like they’re being haunted by vengeful spirits.’

Even though he went to the trouble of leaving Chung Myung behind, these people couldn’t escape Chung Myung’s shadow at all.

“But Senior Brother, if we keep running this hard, not only me but So-so will collapse. Please take it easy…”

“No!”

At the voice from below, Baek Sang looked down in surprise.

Dang So-so, who had been panting with her face buried in the dirt, suddenly raised her head and gritted her teeth. Judging by the fiery glint in her eyes, even a tiger would tuck its tail between its legs and run away, wetting itself.

“Let’s go as we are!”

“Junior Sister! You’ll run out of breath.”

“If I do, I do.”

Dang So-so gritted her teeth, her face red with effort and anger. Her eyes flashed, and her voice was tight with frustration.

“Do you think I don’t know?”

“Huh?”

“That these days, you’re only using me as a medic and don’t expect much from me as a swordsman!”

Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong flinched. Her sharp gaze was fixed on them.

“I know that I’m falling behind step by step now, but if this continues, I’ll become a burden later on.”

“So-so, we’ve never thought of you that way. You are our precious…”

“Do you think I’ll stand for that? Keep running! If I can’t run on all fours, I’ll crawl. If that doesn’t work, I’ll grab onto your hair from behind and hang on!”

Baek Cheon closed his mouth and smiled faintly.

Yeah, that’s more like it.

Where would you find warmth in Hwasan?

“Ugh!”

Dang So-so steadied herself, placing her trembling hands on the ground. Fire seemed to be spewing from her eyes.

“Let’s depart!”

“No. I think we should rest a little…”

“You don’t have to worry about me, Senior Brother! I’ll follow you no matter what! Don’t worry about me and just go!”

“Ah, no. Not you.”

“Yes?”

Dang So-so turned her head to the side.

Baek Sang was sitting down with a face that said, ‘I’d rather die than run any further, so leave me behind or boil me and eat me, do whatever you want.’

Dang So-so looked at him with an utterly pathetic expression.

“What! Why! I’m an office worker!”

“……That bat-like bastard.”

Baek Cheon sighed and muttered. When it’s necessary, he’s a Jaegyeonggak office worker, but when it’s disadvantageous, he’s a proud Hwasan swordsman. What a great sycophant, isn’t he?

‘I don’t think he used to be this bad.’

Come to think of it, who in Hwasan is the same as they used to be? Everyone has changed way too much.

Baek Cheon, who had been lost in thought for a moment, slyly glanced at Yoon Jong.

“What are you looking at?”

“No……”

At Yoon Jong’s question, he lightly shook his head.

“I was just thinking that the guys left in Hwasan must be having a hard time.”

Yoon Jong chuckled.

“They must be. There’s no one to stop them, is there? But still, the Sect Leader and the Senior Brother are there, so nothing major will happen, right?”

“They might not cause a big accident, but it’s chilling to think about how much of a tantrum that guy will throw when he can’t follow us.”

“Hahaha. That’s true.”

The disciples of Hwasan, who had been laughing while looking at each other, awkwardly stopped laughing and glanced at Hwasan, which was already far away.

“……Let’s finish quickly and go back.”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

“Let’s go!”

“Ah, no! Let’s rest a little!”

“Stop whining and get up, you rascal. It’s not much further. The Yangtze River is just around the corner.”

“……But we have to run for a whole day to get there, right?”

“A day will pass quickly.”

“Yes?”

At that moment, Baek Sang realized.

He didn’t know when Chung Myung was around, but now that Chung Myung was gone, he knew for sure. The problem with Hwasan wasn’t just that Chung Myung guy.

“Ugh!”

Baek Sang stumbled as he ran, gasping for air.

“Heeck! Heeck! Heeeeck! Oh, I’m going to die!”

Baek Cheon heard Baek Sang’s heavy breathing as he struggled to keep up. He smiled slightly.

“Alright, let’s go a little faster!”

“Hey, you…!”

Baek Cheon ignored the angry shouts and heavy footsteps behind him.

“It’s the Yangtze River.”

“Hmm, it is.”

They finally reached the Yangtze River, and Baek Cheon took a deep breath.

Every time he saw the Yangtze River, he thought it was truly magnificent. The Mount Hua disciples, who were from Shaanxi, didn’t often get to see such a huge river.

Usually, Baek Cheon would enjoy seeing such a big river. It was beautiful. But now, looking at it, he felt worried. The river was too wide and too long.

‘How can we search all of this?’ he wondered.

It was scary. The Yangtze River was so long that it cut the Central Plains in half. It was also as wide as the sea. Searching this huge area with so few people seemed impossible.

“Baek Sang?” Baek Cheon asked, his voice a little louder.

No answer.

“Baek Sang!” Baek Cheon turned around quickly. He expected to see Baek Sang right behind him, ready to complain as usual. But instead, Baek Sang was on the ground. His body was shaking.

“Baek Sang! What’s wrong?” Baek Cheon knelt down beside him, worried. “Are you hurt?”

Baek Sang groaned. “Ugh… if you weren’t my Sahyung…” He pushed himself up slowly, his face covered in dirt. He glared at Baek Cheon. “What do you want now? Can’t you see I’m dying here?”

“What is it?” Baek Cheon asked.

“Where did you say the Ghost Gate disciples disappeared?” Baek Sang looked away, as if to say, ‘How should I know?’

“Didn’t you hear? Somewhere along the Yangtze River, I guess.”

Baek Cheon slowly clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white. Seeing the veins popping out on Baek Cheon’s forehead, Baek Sang carefully added,

“So… Jiujiang. Yes, around Jiujiang, they said. They were attacked while crossing over to Poyang Lake.”

“Ah, that’s right! They said Jiujiang. The other missing people disappeared around here too.”

“Who said anything?” Baek Cheon asked, relaxing his fist.

Baek Sang was right to be upset.

“You dragged me all the way here without a break. How am I supposed to remember? If you’re going to do that, at least give me a moment to breathe before asking. Ugh, you’re so mean, Sahyung!”

Baek Cheon tried to ignore Baek Sang’s quiet complaining.

“Poyang Lake, huh… Then we’ve come to the right place.”

Baek Cheon narrowed his eyes, looking at the large body of water in front of him.

The Yangtze River was connected to many big lakes. These lakes were good places for bandits.

First, the current in the lakes wasn’t fast, so ships couldn’t get away easily. Also, where the lakes flowed into the river, it was much wider than a normal river. The lakes themselves were so big that they were like seas, making it hard to chase bandits.

“Then we should start by searching around Poyang Lake.”

“Sasuk, it’s too big. How can we search this huge place by ourselves?” Yoon Jong asked.

“If we just search without a plan, we won’t find anything,” Baek Cheon said, nodding slightly.

“Yoon Jong.”

“Yes.”

“I’ve already contacted the Beggars’ Sect. Ask the Jiujiang branch to help us. Ask them to check if anyone has recently taken in injured people.”

“Yes, Sasuk. I understand.”

“Baek Sang, take Jo Gul and ask the merchants around here. This probably isn’t the first time this has happened. We need to find out if any merchants have been attacked by bandits recently.”

“Sahyung.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll go to the Beggars’ Sect. I can’t work with him.”

Jo Gul protested, sounding hurt. “No, Sasuk! How can you say that? You know how much I respect you!”

“You should be glad this isn’t like the old days with a strict teacher. If a teacher like that saw you, things would be very different.”

Everyone imagined the same thing. They shivered, picturing a teacher hitting Jo Gul over the head with a fan.

That would be a strange sight.

“Anyway, if that’s not possible, then please send me to the Beggars’ Sect alone. We have a good relationship with them, but they are an information organization. They might have been nice to us when we were weak, but now we should pay them fairly. Since it’s about money, I’ll go.”

“Hmm.”

“And Jo Gul, being the son of a merchant, would be better at asking the merchants than I would be…”

“Yes?”

“Just kidding.”

Faced with the sudden reactions, Baek Sang quietly looked at Jo Gul. Jo Gul had already stepped back and was looking at the mountains in the distance, pretending not to notice.

‘Serves him right,’ Baek Sang thought. ‘I don’t feel sorry for him at all.’

“Then let’s do that,” Baek Cheon said, nodding. Jo Gul grumbled as he moved next to Yoon Jong.

“Then Yoon Jong will do that. Yu Yiseol, take Tang Soso and check with the people around here to see if they’ve heard any rumors about bandit hideouts around Poyang Lake. Especially if there are any new hideouts, not just the old ones.”

“Yes,” Yu Yiseol answered. Tang Soso moved close to her, linked arms, and pulled. Yu Yiseol’s expressionless body tilted to the side.

Yu Yiseol might seem a little scary to people, but with Tang Soso around, she should be fine.

“Sasuk, where are you going?”

“I…” Baek Cheon turned his head and looked at the Yangtze River.

“I should probably go out on the river.”

“Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“It’s good to see what it’s like. Anyway, we don’t have much time, so move out now. Remember, the most important thing is finding the missing people.”

“Yes, Sasuk!”

“Yes, Sahyung.”

“Let’s go.”

The Mount Hua disciples left. Baek Cheon slowly turned and looked at the Yangtze River.

‘I have a bad feeling about this,’ he thought.

He had a feeling that things were more serious than he first thought.

“I’ll find out when I check.”

Baek Cheon walked towards the river.

Were they too tired? Or were they not paying attention because Chung Myung wasn’t there?

The Mount Hua disciples who arrived at the Yangtze River didn’t see the dark eyes watching them from far away.

None of them.