Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1757

“Hmm.” The sound was low, like a growl deep in the earth. Ho Gamyung felt a shiver run down his spine, even though it wasn’t a loud or scary sound. It was just… there.

Ho Gamyung thought, ‘Those Blood Palace people are trouble.’ He thought it was best not to bother Jang Il-so right away. If he could fix this problem himself, it would be better. He was in charge of plans, so it was his job to keep things calm.

But then, the Blood Palace did something crazy – they attacked Mount Hua! That looked like a big war. Ho Gamyung knew he couldn’t hide this anymore. Everyone, even Jang Il-so, would hear about a fight like that. And Ho Gamyung shouldn’t keep secrets from his leader, Jang Il-so. That would be like saying Jang Il-so wasn’t really in charge.

“Gamyung-ah.” Jang Il-so’s voice was soft.

“Yes, Sect Leader?” Ho Gamyung answered quickly.

“Did you know about this?” Jang Il-so asked, his eyes becoming narrow.

“…I knew they left. But I didn’t think they would go *there*…” Ho Gamyung said, his voice quiet.

“You knew…” Jang Il-so repeated slowly. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”

“……”

“Hmm?” Jang Il-so made that low sound again.

Sweat ran down Ho Gamyung’s face. He had thought he was doing the right thing. But now, he wasn’t sure how Jang Il-so would react.

“Sect Leader, I…” Ho Gamyung started to explain.

“Good job,” Jang Il-so said suddenly, shrugging his shoulders like it was nothing.

Ho Gamyung looked up, surprised.

“I don’t need to know everything, do I?” Jang Il-so said easily. “You handle it.”

Ho Gamyung just stared at Jang Il-so, his mouth slightly open. He couldn’t understand. *What was he so worried about?* he thought. He just needed to trust Jang Il-so. He told himself, *This is still Jang Il-so, the leader I know.*

“…I will, Sect Leader.”

“Then where is the Blood Palace Lord now?”

“The palace has been restored, but he is not yet…”

“Is that so?”

A slow smile spread across Jang Il-so’s face, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. His voice was calm and soft, like he was talking about the weather, not a battle. It was so normal, it was almost strange.

“May I ask what you mean by that?”

“Ah, I’m talking nonsense again. It’s alright. You don’t need to know now. It’s not certain yet.”

Ho Gamyung bit the inside of his cheek. He had to say something. “Sect Leader,” he said carefully. “What about punishing them? They didn’t listen to your orders. They left their posts to fight. If we don’t punish them, others will think they can do whatever they want. It will make it hard to control everyone.” He knew you had to be fair with rewards and punishments. If you let big things slide, people would get angry and cause trouble later.

“Punishment…”

Jang Il-so smirked. “Punishment?” He laughed softly. “No, let them go. We don’t need to do anything.”

“S-Sect Leader!” Ho Gamyung was shocked.

Jang Il-so sighed. “Why? Do you think I’m scared to punish them?”

“Of course not, Sect Leader!” Ho Gamyung said quickly.

“Good.” Jang Il-so smiled gently again. “Then just leave them alone. It’s not my job right now.”

“……” Ho Gamyung didn’t understand.

“It would be easy to crush those people who are just trying to live,” Jang Il-so said, his voice turning a little cold. “Like stepping on ants. But… it’s boring.”

Ho Gamyung frowned. He was still confused. *Why did Jang Il-so say that?* he wondered. *Did the Blood Palace have a good reason for what they did? Were they forced to attack Mount Hua to stay alive?* If they had a good reason, maybe it was okay. But who could force the Blood Palace to do anything? They were strong, especially now that they were with the Four Evil Sects. Unless… unless Jang Il-so himself was involved somehow.

“Gamyung-ah.”

“……I apologize.”

Ho Gamyung was so lost in his thoughts, he almost didn’t notice someone else arrive. He quickly looked up and bowed his head. *Never mind the questions now,* he thought. “Sect Leader,” he said. “Even if they had a reason, others will not ignore this.”

“Hmm? Others watching…” Jang Il-so smiled in a strange way. “Who are you talking about?”

“That’s…”

“What do you think? Do you disagree?” Jang Il-so’s voice was sharp now.

Ho Gamyung stopped talking. He realized Jang Il-so wasn’t talking to him anymore.

He turned around and saw Cheonmyeon Soosa, the leader of the Hao Moon, standing behind him. Ho Gamyung’s face became stiff. *Why is he here?* Cheonmyeon Soosa was the last person Ho Gamyung wanted to see right now. He always felt uneasy around him.

Cheonmyeon Soosa didn’t even look at Ho Gamyung. He just looked at Jang Il-so. “If you say so, Sect Leader, then it’s fine,” Cheonmyeon Soosa said slowly. “If we worry about every little complaint, we’ll never get anything done.”

Jang Il-so nodded slightly and looked down at Ho Gamyung. “See? That’s what he says.”

“……”

“Are you happy now, Planner?” Jang Il-so asked, a hint of mockery in his voice.

Ho Gamyung didn’t answer. Cheonmyeon Soosa, the leader of the biggest group in the Four Evil Sects, had just agreed with Jang Il-so. Cheonmyeon Soosa, who everyone knew was still angry about something that happened long ago. If even *he* was obeying Jang Il-so, then Ho Gamyung couldn’t argue anymore. Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe Cheonmyeon Soosa giving in meant things would be easier now. Maybe the Blood Palace problem wasn’t so important after all.

“Ga-myeong,” Jang Il-so said, waiting for an answer. He didn’t push, but his voice expected one.

Ho Ga-myeong sighed, a long, slow breath. “If you, Hao Moon Lord, say so,” he replied, “then I agree. We should not talk about this anymore.”

As he spoke, Ho Ga-myeong quickly looked at Cheonmyeon Susa. He wanted to see what Cheonmyeon Susa was thinking, to read his face.

But Cheonmyeon Susa showed nothing. His face was calm, like stone. It seemed he wanted to forget everything that had happened, no matter what it was. *Good,* Cheonmyeon Susa thought to himself, *let the past stay buried.*

They would never talk about peace, it was too disgusting to even think about. But they could say the matter was ‘sealed,’ finished.

“Then it is settled. Now, then…”

“However, there is one thing I would like to ask,” Cheonmyeon Susa spoke suddenly, cutting off Jang Il-so’s words. His eyes were strangely subtle, as if searching for something.

Jang Il-so asked calmly, “What are you curious about?”

“Earlier, the Lord mentioned that there was no need to punish him, may I ask what that means?”

The corners of his red lips lifted, and a soft chuckle escaped.

“It means exactly what it says.”

“……Yes?”

“There is no need for me to punish him. There will be someone else to punish him.”

The Hao Moon Lord’s expression subtly hardened.

There was something he did not know. Something was happening that even the Hao Moon’s information network could not reach. But he couldn’t delve any deeper into this.

Jang Il-so smiled faintly and stared at the Hao Moon Lord.

“More importantly, do you know why I called you here?”

“……Yes.”

“Start preparing. I don’t care about punishing him. But I will be angry if you waste the chance I’m giving you.”

“As you command,” Cheonmyeon Susa bowed respectfully. He seemed to have no doubts or worries. However, his mind was incredibly complex.

‘What is it?’ The thing he was missing. Jang Il-so knew, but he did not.

Cheonmyeon Susa’s gaze was fixed on Jang Il-so, who was smiling faintly. As expected, he couldn’t understand what he was thinking at all.

In the meantime, Jang Il-so’s calm eyes, which had seemed so relaxed, suddenly tightened. A fire seemed to flicker behind them. His heart was seething.

He could sense it. The dam that had maintained the world was already collapsing.

Soon, the world that everyone feared would arrive. A hell where even Jang Il-so could only struggle.

However, ‘Just because it’s something that must be lost… doesn’t mean I don’t have to possess it.’

He would obtain it. Even if it was just an empty shell of everything. Even if he had to throw everything away for it. That was how Jang Il-so lived as Jang Il-so.

“Now is the time to struggle.”

A gaze filled with mockery and madness turned north.

“Everyone in their own way.”

His forehead was pressed so hard against the cold stone floor, it felt like he was trying to burrow into it. “Pressed close to the ground” wasn’t strong enough to describe it. He was *buried* in the floor.

He was shaking. Not just a tremble, but a full-body shudder of fear. Small groans escaped his lips with each breath.

Anyone watching would have been shocked. Here was a man bowing down, begging for forgiveness as if facing a god. But there was nothing there. Nothing visible, at least, in front of him.

Bandages were wrapped around the face of the person bowing his head. The bandages began to get wet around the eyes.

“I have tried to carry out the orders you have given… but my abilities are too small to complete them. I beg you to understand that I am not good enough, and I beg you to stop your anger…”

His body was shaking terribly.

Normally, he was not allowed to be filled with fear when looking at others. He was a sacred body who had to lead a cult, and a strong person who had to bear many things.

But now, he looked like a pathetic weakling. He seemed like someone who could not survive without acting like a servant, and could not be forgiven without bowing his head.

Even in this situation, the Blood Cult Leader did not feel any shame.

“If you forgive my sins and give me one more chance, I will surely do what you have said with all my heart. Please…”

The Blood Cult Leader slammed his forehead again with a thud.

Then he stopped talking. It was true that acting like a servant was a weapon of the weak, but using it too much often led to bad results. He knew this well.

Time passed.

For a time that was somewhat long for others, and felt like a very long time to the Blood Cult Leader, the Blood Cult Leader simply kept doing this crazy thing.

After a long time, a voice was heard.

“I thought you were at least a rat.”

The Blood Cult Leader trembled in terror.

Still, he could not feel anything with his senses. But he was definitely here now. Right in front of his bowed head.

The Blood Cult Leader’s whole body was filled with fear. What did it mean that he could not feel the one who was only a step away?

“It seems you are nothing more than a bug.”

The Blood Cult Leader’s breathing quickened. The voice continued.

“But if so, then it is also my fault. It was my fault to give a small bug a hard job.”

“I am just…”

Crack!

At that moment, one of the Blood Cult Leader’s arms twisted.

Crack. Crack!

With a terrible sound, the arm, untouched by anyone, twisted and spun on its own. And soon, it was torn to shreds and fell off the Blood Cult Leader’s body.

“Ugh, ugh…”

The groan was small. It was not because it was bearable. Rather, he felt like he would faint at any moment from the pain he had never felt before, but he was not even allowed to scream loudly now.

“But even bugs seem to listen a little when beaten. What do you think?”

“I, I will definitely… an opportunity…”

“I will give it.”

“……”

“But remember, you who have gone away from the path. You don’t need thoughts. If you disappoint me again, you, and all your followers, will want to die.”

“I, I will keep it in mind…”

“Do not forget. You are free from my control. None of you are worth even a penny.”

The Blood Cult Leader nodded quickly and strongly.

“I will obey!”

“Go and do it.”

“With all your heart.”

The eyes of the one looking down at the Blood Cult Leader were chillingly cruel. Soon, a deep evil energy filled those emotionless eyes.

Madness raged as if it would explode at any moment.

Holding it back with difficulty, he turned his gaze to the south.

“……The Central Plains.”

Endless longing and anger stayed at the same time. Only hatred filled the eyes staring at the land he had once stepped on.

“I will find out. If this long wait has been worth it.”