Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1625

Jo Gul slammed his hand on the low table, making the tea cups rattle. “Are we really just going to let this go?”

Baek Cheon raised an eyebrow, pretending not to understand. “Let what go, Jo Gul?”

Jo Gul’s voice rose. “Jongnam, you idiot! Jongnam! Are we just going to forget about Jongnam?”

Baek Cheon shrugged again, picking up his teacup as if nothing was wrong. “The Supreme Elder isn’t making a fuss, is he?”

Jo Gul seemed increasingly unable to shake off his anger. Baek Cheon glanced at him and said,

“It’s just a bit surprising, though.”

“Huh?”

Baek Cheon’s expression turned rather sullen.

“Didn’t you know? Not at all?”

“……”

“We learned the Plum Blossom Sword moves, and we saw their Snow Flower… whatever it was called… sword moves ourselves, remember?”

“M-my memory is a bit hazy… Wasn’t the order reversed? Or was it? No, that was already years ago…”

“……”

“Ah, don’t look at me like that! Why would I need to remember every single detail of those wretched Jongnam bastards’ sword techniques?”

Even though Jo Gul argued strongly, Baek Cheon still looked serious. So, Jo Gul turned to Yoon Jong.

“Say something, Senior Brother! Did you know?”

“I suspected as much.”

“See! Suspected… Huh? You suspected?”

“……Unless you’re an idiot, you would.”

Jo Gul leaned his head against the wall with a look of utter despair. Then, blankly, he began to mutter, “Right… It’s always just me, the only fool, just me.”

Yoon Jong didn’t even glance at him. Baek Cheon asked,

“Did you suspect it?”

“Since learning the Plum Blossom Sword moves, that sword technique has occasionally come to mind. No matter how I looked at it, it was too similar. I thought they must have some kind of common foundation. But I never imagined they would have taken the essence of it in such a way. At most, I thought they had accepted those who left Mount Hua and restored the lost sword techniques.”

“That’s right…”

Baek Cheon nodded heavily. He, too, had never imagined that Jongnam would have stolen Mount Hua’s sword techniques in such a way. Jongnam is so proud and distant. Could anyone believe they would want Mount Hua’s fighting skills?

“……If Soso knew, she’d throw enough poison into every stream on Jongnam Mountain to wipe them out.”

“Why does she keep doing that when she’s not even part of the Tang Family anymore?”

“It’s because she’s not part of the Tang Family anymore. And to be precise, even the Tang Family doesn’t do that. Soso is just extreme.”

“……That’s also true.”

Baek Cheon already felt a headache coming on as he imagined Tang Soso foaming at the mouth with needles in both hands.

At that moment, Jo Gul suddenly raised his head.

“Wait, does that mean that rascal Chung Myung already knew all of this?”

“Probably. It seems Chung Myung and the Jongri Sect Leader talked secretly last night. This story probably came up then, right?”

“Good heavens… Chung Myung knew that Mount Hua’s martial arts had been stolen, and he still let those Jongnam bastards live?”

“……I find it hard to believe myself.”

If it were the Chung Myung they knew, he would have rushed straight to Jongnam without taking a breath and set fire to the ancestral shrine. No, if it had ended with just that, they would have wept tears of joy, thinking, ‘Chung Myung has finally attained enlightenment.’

But he knew this fact and had been holding back all this time? What on earth could have made that wild dog restrain himself?

“……I’ve seen it all in my life.”

“You can say that again.”

“Could there be some kind of misunderstanding?”

“Seeing as he didn’t draw his sword on the spot, it doesn’t seem like a misunderstanding, does it?”

“I suppose not? Ugh…”

Both Jo Gul and Baek Cheon sighed, looking utterly bewildered. Only Yoon Jong was lost in thought, his face a mask of complexity.

“So, are you really going to let this go?”

“Umm.”

Baek Cheon let out a soft groan before speaking.

“To be honest, my insides are boiling… but we have a big task ahead of us, so we need to patch things up for now. Even if we have to discuss it again later.”

“Patching things up isn’t something we can just decide to do, is it? If those bastards let slip even one wrong word, it’ll be a disaster.”

“We’ll have to try to make sure that doesn’t happen. You, too, make sure to tell the other disciples. So that unnecessary problems don’t arise.”

Jo Gul reluctantly nodded and said,

“Well, the disciples will follow if Master Uncle has decided so. On the surface, anyway. But behind the scenes, they’ll end up saying that Master Uncle is from Jongnam and is brothers with Jin Geum-ryong, so he’s just letting it slide…”

“Shut your trap!”

“Ah, no! I’m not saying that’s what I think! Why are you always yelling at me no matter what I say?”

“Quiet!”

Jo Gul pouted at Yoon Jong’s roar. But he must have been scared, because he shut his mouth. On the other hand, Baek Cheon, the person actually involved, remained calm.

“……I’ll have to bear it. As long as I’m upright, that’s all that matters. And… no matter how much my insides are burning, it can’t compare to that Chung Myung rascal, who’s been keeping this to himself and suffering in silence all this time, can it?”

“Umm.”

Yoon Jong nodded slowly. Baek Cheon spoke firmly to the two of them.

“First, you two need to control the other disciples as much as possible so that problems don’t arise. I’ll make sure to tell Baek Ja to keep a close eye on Baek Sang.”

“Yes, Master Uncle.”

Unlike Yoon Jong, who answered indifferently, Jo Gul still seemed dissatisfied. Baek Cheon, reading his inner thoughts from his expression, sighed.

“The reason Chung Myung resolved things this way is probably because the task ahead of us won’t be easy.”

“……That’s right.”

“That foul-tempered bastard has put aside his personality to save even one more person. If we can’t help, at least let’s not get in the way.”

“Ugh.”

Jo Gul groaned faintly, as if suppressing his frustration.

“Well… even if my insides are churning, his must be churning even more.”

“……That’s right, Geol.”

“I understand. Even the disciples who don’t sympathize with Master Uncle’s position will understand if Chung Myung decided to do so. Everyone knows that he’s the one person who’s so consumed with hatred that he can’t grind Jongnam into dust. Who would dare to question a choice made by such a man?”

“That’s right. Tell them well. As for me…”

“Yes. I understand that it’s a bit difficult for you to step forward completely, given your position.”

The disciples of Mount Hua didn’t particularly care, but Baek Cheon himself felt somewhat uneasy about actively getting involved in matters related to Jongnam.

Baek Cheon sighed.

“Anyway, Chung Myung must be the one with the biggest headache right now.”

Both of them nodded at those words. That was certainly true. They only needed to discuss their feelings, but Chung Myung now had to materialize what he had started.

“Will it work out?”

“Who knows?”

Everyone knew. Although the situation had been resolved dramatically, the path Chung Myung was trying to take was by no means easy.

“We can only hope that he didn’t just rush into it without a plan.”

“……And if he did rush into it without a plan?”

“Then what…”

Baek Cheon smiled cheerfully.

“What else can we do but fail?”

An ominous silence fell. An unknown anxiety swept between Yoon Jong and Jo Gul.

Je Gal-jain tried hard to understand what was happening.

‘Why… am I in this place?’

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t understand.

The man called the King of the Green Forest, who had many important titles, looked very angry right now. His face was twisted in anger.

“You mean you haven’t thought of anything?”

“Nope.”

“You really don’t have any pre-established plans at all?”

“Nope.”

“And you just blurted out that we should do this without any plan?”

“That’s right.”

Im So-byeong smiled brightly, but it was strained.

“Does that make any sense, you crazy bastard!”

“Why are you shouting! You evil person!”

“Is this the time to be arguing about what is right and wrong? What on earth were you thinking when you did this?”

“It’ll all work out somehow, won’t it?”

“Aaaaargh!”

Im So-byeong screamed as if he were about to vomit. It was not a dignified sight at all. Im So-byeong looked silly. But even Je Gal-jain understood how he felt for once.

“Why are you making such a fuss? Just mix it all up and divide it according to the number of people.”

At Cheong-myeong’s words, Im So-byeong scratched his head so hard that blood seemed about to seep through his scalp. His hat was askew, and his hair was disheveled like a ghost’s.

“I must be crazy… I should have just stayed a bandit.”

“Then you’d be dead.”

“…Dying might be better.”

“Really? I can still help you with that now.”

“…I’ll think about it.”

He hadn’t expected a detailed plan, but he had thought that at least the framework would be in place. Who would have imagined that there would be such a lack of planning?

“Ugh. There’s so much to consider…”

“No, I’m saying just divide it roughly!”

“There’s no such thing as ‘roughly’ in the Alliance! Even if it looks like we did it roughly!”

“…You act like you made the Alliance! Why do you care so much about it now?”

“Whose fault do you think this is!”

Je Gal-jain, who had been watching the bandit and Mal-ko bickering fiercely, couldn’t bear it any longer and cautiously opened his mouth with an awkward expression. If they continued like this, he wouldn’t be able to say a word until dawn.

“Um, excuse me…”

Je Gal-jain blinked, surprised to be addressed. “Yes?” he asked cautiously.

“Why am I here?”

“Ah.”

Seeing Je Gal-jain finally bring up the question he had been holding in, Cheong-myeong smiled brightly.

“After talking for a bit, it seems like you’re good at using your head.”

“How dare you say that to the head of the illustrious Je Gal Clan! This illiterate can’t even finish reading the Thousand Character Classic!”

“Who says that? Which bastard is saying that?”

“When I saw you writing the other day, all the strokes were wrong!”

“Do you have proof? Huh? Do you have proof?!”

Another fight breaks out. Je Gal-jain silently looked up at the ceiling.

It would have been better to listen to Mo Yong-wi-gyeong’s complaints, who was still busy huffing and puffing. After waiting for quite a while longer, Cheong-myeong got to the point.

“Ah, well, it’s nothing really grand.”

“Yes?”

“We need to reorganize the formation, and I think the Clan Head would be good at it.”

“…”

“Right?”

For a moment, Je Gal-jain couldn’t even think about controlling his expression. With a blank look, he asked, half in disbelief:

“Are you telling me to participate in reorganizing the Alliance’s formation?”

“No.”

A look of relief spread across Je Gal-jain’s face, as if to say, ‘I knew it.’ It was definitely something that didn’t make sense.

“Not participate, but to lead it. To lead it.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Even if you make some mistakes, it will be better than if a bandit does it. You are a smart and educated man.”

Im So-byeong flared up.

“What nonsense are you spouting! I’m an educated man too. Believe it or not, I’m a graduate of the civil service examination…”

“Ugh, you’re so noisy!”

The shoe Cheong-myeong threw hit Im So-byeong’s face squarely. Cheong-myeong, who had cursed at Im So-byeong after he fell backward with a thud, smiled brightly at Je Gal-jain as if nothing had happened.

“Can you do it?”

Je Gal-jain’s eyes twitched.

“D-Duty. I am the… the newly joined head of the Je Gal Clan. Ah, no, now that I’ve relinquished the authority of the Clan Head position, I’m just a newly joined member of the Alliance.”

“Yes, well, that’s right?”

“And you’re entrusting me with such a momentous task? Especially since until recently, I’ve been at odds with the Cheonwoo Alliance. No, even just yesterday…”

Didn’t we just fight and yell at each other? This was what he couldn’t bring himself to say.

But Cheong-myeong shrugged nonchalantly.

“Does that matter?”

“…Excuse me?”

“It’s actually a good thing. People can’t see everything objectively from the inside, after all.”

“Th-That…”

“Can you do it?”

At the repeated question, Je Gal-jain closed his mouth. The words were, ‘Can you do it?’ but the look in his eyes and his aura said something different.

‘You have to do it, even if you die.’

Unable to overcome his bewilderment, Je Gal-jain laughed in vain.

“Am I the right person for the job?”

“Yes.”

“If I’m the right person, then background, status, and even what kind of relationship we had don’t matter?”

“Isn’t that obvious? We didn’t gather here to play house.”

Yes, it was obvious. But Je Gal-jain knew well that many forces and rulers had fallen because they couldn’t do that obvious thing.

“…I understand what you’re saying.”

He straightened his posture, unlike before.

“I don’t know if I’m the right person, but I know that it’s my duty to do it. I, Je Gal-mo, will do my best to do what the strategist asks.”

Seeing the clearly changed look in his eyes, Cheong-myeong flinched slightly.

“No. Haha, there’s no need to be so serious…”

“First, I need the personnel charts of all the sects affiliated with the Cheonwoo Alliance, the roster of small and medium-sized sects that have crossed over to Shaanxi, and the documents on the wealth and military provisions held by the Cheonwoo Alliance. Ah, please select one person from each sect who is well-versed in their affairs. They need to understand the information on the martial arts level of those affiliated with the sect, and also convey approximate information on the sects that have not yet joined Shaanxi. It would be better to go through the Beggars’ Sect, so it would be good to ask the Beggars’ Sect to dispatch working-level personnel as well. This is what needs to be prepared urgently as a first step, and next…”

Cheong-myeong’s mouth slowly opened.

Cheong-myeong started talking very fast. His words were hard to follow, like a river flowing quickly. Cheong-myeong’s eyes began to dart back and forth.

“Strategist? Are you listening?”

“Y-Yes.”

“You must hurry. This is a matter of utmost urgency. Ah, and the first thing you need to do is…”

Cheong-myeong smiled faintly.

‘I think I’ve gotten myself into something really bad?’

He had tried to make things a little easier, but instead, the work had doubled… no, it was about to increase tenfold. Damn it…

Thus, with Je Gal-jain’s joining, the reorganization of the Cheonwoo Alliance’s formation began to pick up speed, quite literally. In a slightly different direction than the intentions of the person who brought him in.