Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1020

The air in the Joy Garden gambling den was thick with smoke that smelled like burnt wood and cheap incense. It stung Chae-gyu’s eyes and made him cough slightly, but he barely noticed. Around the rough wooden table, the game continued.

“Open!” Chae-gyu called out, his voice sharp.

“He’s dead,” one of his men grunted, pointing at the tiles.

“Damn it! This game is useless too,” Chae-gyu muttered under his breath.

The bone tiles, smooth and cold to the touch, kept spinning and spinning in the center of the table.

People watching the game realized how much silver was at stake. They pushed closer, their eyes wide and gleaming with greed as they stared at the stacks of ingots. Suddenly, the usual noise of the gambling den faded, and a strange quiet fell over the round table.

“Three.”

“I also have a three.”

“Heh heh. I have a four. I win this time.”

Stacks of silver ingots, an amount most people wouldn’t see in a lifetime, were tossed around like toys. Around the table, eyes widened, reflecting the glint of the silver. Some men licked their lips, their gazes fixed on the growing stacks of money like hungry wolves.

“Lost.”

A rogue in red robes tossed the tiles in his hand onto the table. He had lost three silver ingots in one go, but he didn’t look angry or upset at all.

Chae-gyu smirked inwardly. ‘Another one caught in the trap,’ he thought. He loved this part, the moment when hope turned to despair in their eyes. It made him feel powerful.

Chae-gyu thought the rogue was pretending to be calm. Inside, he was probably very nervous and extremely thirsty, like someone in a desert. The status of those who sat at the gambling table varied wildly, but the feelings of those who lost were all the same.

He deserved credit for not showing his anxiety. In a normal gambling place, the rogue might trick people by acting calm. But Chae-gyu knew the Joy Garden was different. Pretending to be calm wouldn’t help him here.

Slowly, step by step.

This place took money away little by little, like a swamp slowly pulls a person down.

“Two!”

“Five.”

“It’s a six.”

“…Damn it! Why a six of all things?”

“I thought I was sure to win, damn it!”

“That fellow’s lucky. How much is he taking in one go?”

The game went on. Sometimes the rogue won a little, sometimes he lost more. Chae-gyu made sure the rogue stayed in the game, giving him just enough hope to keep betting.

But Chae-gyu frowned, looking like he was in a bad mood. He felt something was wrong. The reason was simple: this was a game he had deliberately lost.

Unless someone was a complete idiot, they would know their money was dwindling. A bold fellow would aim for a comeback until his last penny was gone, but most would get scared after losing about half their money and leave the game.

‘That won’t do.’

Chae-gyu wanted to give them hope. He wanted them to think they could win back all their lost money quickly if they got lucky just once.

Winning money in gambling was fun. But Chae-gyu also really enjoyed watching people lose everything and become ruined. In that sense, this round table was truly a perfect game today.

“I have a two.”

“One.”

“Four. Heh heh heh. I’m so sorry, what should I do?”

The bone tiles went back and forth again, and the mountain of silver ingots piled up in front of the rogue gradually dwindled. It seemed like a lot of money to lose. But suddenly, the rogue realized almost all of it was gone.

It was a situation that would have driven an ordinary person mad.

But the rogue in red robes still stared at the round table with the same indifferent eyes as before.

Soon.

“I win.”

Chae-gyu looked proud and happy as he took all the money from the table. Silver ingots formed a tower in front of him and his colleagues. But in front of the rogue in red robes, no more silver ingots could be found.

“Oh dear. Looks like you’ve lost all your money.”

“I’m so sorry, what should I do?”

The three men laughed as if embarrassed.

“Do you have any money left? If not, I think you’ll have to leave.”

The rogue in red robes quietly looked down at where his stake had been, then slowly raised his head.

“I have no money left.”

“Oh, too bad. Looks like today is an unlucky day for you. Let’s do it again next time.”

“There are days like that. Take this with you.”

The men each picked up one of the silver ingots in front of them and slid it towards the robed man.

Three silver ingots.

It was a huge sum for an ordinary person, but considering the money the rogue had lost today, it was an insignificant amount.

The rogue looked at the three silver ingots. The corners of his lips just barely turned up in a small smile.

“…I have no money. But I have something to bet.”

“We don’t accept anything but money here.”

“You will.”

“…Hmm?”

Chae-gyu frowned a little and looked closely at the man.

‘It would have been better to just lose the money and leave.’

Just as Chae-gyu, with his hand under the table, was about to grab the hilt of the sword at his waist…

“Before that… let me ask you something.”

“…What is it?”

The rogue slowly leaned back in his chair. Then, he tilted his head back.

Chae-gyu felt goosebumps rise on the back of his neck.

‘What is this?’

He felt confused because he didn’t understand why he was reacting this way. It wasn’t as if he was afraid of the man in front of him, so why was his body reacting like this?

Then, the rogue’s voice pierced his ears.

“Are you enjoying this?”

“…”

Chae-gyu had been watching carefully, ready for anything. He narrowed his eyes.

“What are you talking about?”

“Just what I said.”

The rogue’s head slowly returned to its original position. Long, unkempt bangs still covered his eyes. Therefore, Chae-gyu had no way of knowing what kind of eyes he was looking at him with.

“Are you enjoying this?”

“…Crazy bastard…”

Chae-gyu exchanged glances with the men sitting on either side of him. So that they could respond at any time if he tried anything.

The rogue said.

“Stakes, you say. Yes, I have no money left. But I still have something to bet.”

“…What is it?”

“Lives.”

The rogue’s dark lips curled up eerily.

“…Damn it! I told you, we don’t accept anything but money here!”

“What are you doing? Get this bastard out of here!”

Then the rogue lightly waved his hand. The red robes fluttered.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. I’m not betting my life.”

“…What?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of betting my own life. No, I was thinking more… about the lives around us. Wouldn’t you agree they are quite valuable?”

“…Crazy.”

“No, the lives of everyone in this place. Furthermore, the lives of everyone in this Hangzhou. Perhaps the lives of everyone in this Central Plains.”

Chae-gyu suddenly realized how strange the situation was.

He was not a man who put up with nonsense. How many times had he seen fools lose their money and cause trouble here? Usually, he would have already drawn his sword, cut off an arm or a leg, and thrown the fool out. Or maybe just ended it quickly by cutting off his head.

But…

‘Why am I standing here, listening to this rubbish?’

“I have a question.”

The Ronin spoke slowly.

“What do you think your lives are worth?”

“…”

“Isn’t it because you have these lives that you can live in this bad situation and call it enjoyment? So, I ask, what are they worth? I need to know how much money I can get.”

Yeom-ho, known as ‘Devil Face,’ who was sitting next to Chae-gyu, could not hold back any longer and shouted.

“You miserable dog! Where do you think you are, acting like a madman! Why does it matter what my life is worth! Why would you be the one to take it—”

That was the exact moment.

The Ronin casually raised his hand. Instantly, Yeom-ho’s body flew across the round table, as if pulled by an invisible rope.

‘What?’

The sudden, unnatural sight froze Chae-gyu.

Clatter! Bang!

Domino tiles and silver ingots flew into the air, spinning and glinting in the dim light of the gambling den, scattering everywhere.

He had worked hard to win that money. Now it was scattered everywhere. But Chae-gyu did not look at the silver. The Ronin’s hand was now clamped firmly around Yeom-ho’s face, which was pressed against the table.

‘How… how is this possible?’

Cold sweat dripped down Chae-gyu’s back, making his shirt stick to his skin.

‘Spirit power?’

It was the only explanation that made sense.

But even that was strange. To move an object with one’s inner energy was something only those with great mastery could do.

How, then, could one move a person, let alone someone like Yeom-ho, with just energy?

While Chae-gyu struggled to understand what was happening, the Ronin in the red robe slowly pulled Yeom-ho closer.

“Why would I take it?”

A horrible smile stretched across the man’s dark lips.

“The reason is simple. Your lives are just part of the plan, you see. The only reason any of you in the Central Plains are allowed to live is because the Sect still allows it.”

“Guh… Guh-err…”

“But… alas. It seems your lives are worth less than a penny. Such cheap, worthless lives.”

“Keee… Aargh!!”

Veins, thick and blue as ropes, swelled on Yeom-ho’s skin, pulsing like angry worms. He trembled violently, twisting in pain as if countless needles were piercing his flesh.

And in that moment, Chae-gyu saw it clearly.

The exposed parts of Yeom-ho’s body were drying up, shriveling like dry earth in a drought, cracking and splitting before his eyes.

‘That…’

Even in the middle of this horror, the Ronin calmly swept his bangs back with his free hand.

“Ugh…”

Chae-gyu took a step back without thinking.

The man’s eyes, now that his forehead was exposed, were a shocking shade of red. Not just a little red, but filled with it, as if full of blood.

His dark lips, pale skin, and bloodshot eyes filled Chae-gyu with a fear he had never felt before.

“Kraaah…”

Yeom-ho’s shaking body finally went still.

Thud.

Yeom-ho’s mummified dead body lay on the table. Instead of money and dominoes, a chillingly still corpse now filled the space.

“Uh…”

“Insignificant things.”

The Ronin’s energy changed in an instant.

A wave of cold energy rolled off the Ronin, making the air itself seem to shiver, as he slowly stood up. It was a presence that stole breath and made the blood feel like it was boiling.

“Who… Who are you…?”

Chae-gyu stammered, his body shaking.

Fight back? Rebel?

He couldn’t even think about it.

It wasn’t just that they were not equally strong. A huge difference in power froze him like a mouse before a snake.

“Who am I?”

The man in the red robe slowly shook his head.

“That is a hard question to answer. I am a man without a name.”

“…”

He twisted his lips into a mean smile.

“Maybe all of this is just a desperate struggle to get one.”

At that moment, red light poured from his eyes.

Chae-gyu did not understand the words, but it didn’t matter. A man doesn’t need to worry about what happens after he dies.

Chae-gyu’s body was pulled toward the man’s hand.

“Gack!”

The man grabbed Chae-gyu’s neck in an instant, staring right into his eyes.

“Compared to your sad life, this is a glorious death. Don’t you agree?”

“You… You’re insane…”

Crack!

The bones in his body were crushed and twisted.

“Kee… Aargh… Ack…”

Chae-gyu’s corpse, unable to even make a proper death cry, fell to the floor. His body, twisted and broken as if every bone had been broken, was a terrible sight to see.

A wave of shock froze everyone. Disbelief widened their eyes. Terror made them gasp and stumble back.

The man, coldly looking at those frozen like mice before a snake, began to speak as if to himself.

“I will build a mountain of dead bodies…”

“…”

“And if I kill and kill and kill, until the sea turns red with blood…”

Step.

“Then the world will know what has happened here. Yes, the entire world.”

“…Ugh…”

A moan of terror echoed through the deathly still gambling den.

His eyes blazing red, the man raised a hand.

Zzzzzing!

A jet-black energy, shooting from his fingertips like a blade of pure darkness, pierced through the ceiling of the gambling den.

“The Heavenly Devil Descends! Ten Thousand Devils Bow Down!”

The man’s screech, like a demon’s wail, echoed through the air.

“Your worthless lives will become our cry! A desperate plea to the one who has been reborn somewhere in this world!”

Kaaaa-boooom!

The buildings that filled the back alleys of Hangzhou exploded like fireworks.

It was a scream, a wail—the raving madness of extreme belief echoing through the world for the first time in a century.