Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1101

Heating water doesn’t make it boil instantly. But with continuous heat, the water will inevitably boil over someday.

The current situation was exactly like that.

People in Gangbuk lived simple lives, working in their fields every day. Jiangnan felt very far away. A disaster there didn’t seem real to them, like something from another world.

But then, news came across the river that made it all feel very real.

The news said: ‘The Demonic Sect attacked Hangzhou and killed everyone. Not even one rat survived.’

Hangzhou, once the most splendid city in the world, became a city of death in just a few days. Imagine a city full of life, suddenly silent and empty. That was Hangzhou now.

Those who heard the news couldn’t help but doubt their ears and be shocked.

What kind of place was Hangzhou? It might not be the largest city in the world, but it was undeniably the most prosperous. People said its markets were overflowing with goods from all over the world. Its streets were always busy and full of music and laughter. Everyone knew that, even those who had never been there.

How could they not be shocked when such a place was destroyed overnight?

It wasn’t as if such things had never happened before. Occasionally, when foreign enemies invaded from the north, a city would be completely destroyed, and refugees would flee in droves.

This was much more shocking. It wasn’t like attacks from the north. This was in their own land, where they felt safe.

“I-Is this really true?”

“The same story keeps coming up! It must be true!”

“No… Even if the Demonic Sect guys are hard to find, does it make sense for them to suddenly appear in Jiangnan? It’s not like they fell from the sky. And… how big is Hangzhou? How can it be destroyed? I can’t believe it.”

“Hey! All the merchants heading to Jiangnan have stopped, haven’t they?”

“T-The merchants?”

People always said, ‘Merchants will trade even in war.’ They would risk anything for money. Even when the Jang River was dangerous, merchants still crossed it. So, when people saw that no merchants were going to Jiangnan anymore, they knew something truly awful must have happened.

“W-What’s going to happen now?”

“What do you think will happen! It’ll be the same as a hundred years ago.”

“N-No way…!”

People were instantly filled with fear. And everyone began to remember.

They remembered stories of the last Demonic Sect war, stories their grandparents told them. Stories of terrible cruelty. People said the rivers ran red with blood, and bodies were piled so high they looked like hills. Just thinking about it made people shiver, even those far away from Jiangnan.

To be precise, it was about how ruthless those Demonic Sect people were. They didn’t just fight; they destroyed. They enjoyed hurting people.

“Shouldn’t we stop them?”

“How?”

“No, didn’t Shaolin and the Nine Great Sects step up to stop the Demonic Sect in the past? They should do something this time too!”

“Shaolin? That Shaolin is just watching the fire from across the river.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t the Four Great Evil Sects take over Jiangnan? Shaolin wouldn’t risk jumping into a fire in such a place.”

“What are you talking about! Does the Demonic Sect care about justice or evil? During the previous war, everyone desperately tried to stop the Demonic Sect, regardless of justice or evil! Shaolin was the most active in that war!”

“That might have been the case back then. But it seems Shaolin isn’t capable of that now. Or maybe they just don’t want to join hands with those evil bastards, even if they die.”

“T-These foolish…”

People avoid the Evil Sects. But they don’t fear their existence itself. The Evil Sects are already very familiar to them.

If they get unlucky and get involved, they might suffer great damage or lose their lives, but ordinary people who live normal lives rarely get involved with the Evil Sects.

For ordinary people, the small gangs causing trouble in their own streets felt more dangerous than the distant Evil Sects. So, people were angry that Shaolin seemed to care more about their own reputation than helping the people of Jiangnan.

“When is Shaolin going to move, then?”

“Who knows? They’ll probably fight when the Demonic Sect heads to Gangbuk.”

“What about Jiangnan? Are there no people in Jiangnan? Are those who live in the land controlled by the Four Great Evil Sects not worth saving? Are they just going to leave them to the Four Great Evil Sects?”

“Have you ever seen those noble folks care about such things? They were the ones who were just meditating on the mountain when the Water Faction was rampaging and the common people near the Jang River were dying in droves. It was the Sichuan Tang Family who saved people back then, not Shaolin.”

“T-Those damn bastards! They always talk about being honorable and protecting everyone! But when something happens, they always step back and watch. If they are just thinking about themselves, how are they any better than those bad Evil Sects!”

Once the water started boiling, it didn’t cool down easily.

The fear of the Demonic Sect, the worry that they might rush to Gangbuk at any moment, and the actions that the Nine Great Sects, led by Shaolin, had shown so far were all mixed together and their anger started to bubble up.

The righteous sects in the Central Plains were given special treatment.

They are not stopped even if they walk around with swords in broad daylight, and they are not stopped by the government even if they fight. Rather, many people deliberately use the businesses they run more often, and even directly sponsor them.

All of those things are tolerated because there is a belief that they will step up to help when the common people are wronged.

Instead, they often scared and punished people who didn’t pay taxes properly. The government is strict and generally not interested in the lives of the common people.

On the other hand, the righteous sects only help them without taking anything away. That’s why the common people often place more trust in those so-called righteous sects than in the government.

But at this moment, the common people, who had been holding back, began to doubt their sincerity. How many people lived in Hangzhou? How can they trust those who don’t move while so many people are dying?

“Then what should we do? Should we evacuate…?”

“Hey, is evacuation easy? How are we going to make a living if we leave here?”

“It’s better than dying. Will a spider web be spun in a living mouth?”

“What’s the difference between that and dying? Are you going to make your wife and children beg for food?”

“That’s…”

Days went by, and people worried and argued, but no one knew what to do.

Just when everyone’s anger was about to burst out, news spread like wildfire from Jiangnan.

– The Demonic Sect that was attacking everyone has been completely defeated.

– The best fighters from the Cheonwu Alliance, led by Mount Hua, went to Jiangnan and killed the Demonic Sect leader.

– The Cheonwu Alliance temporarily joined hands with the Four Great Evil Sects and defeated the Demonic Sect.

The common people, who heard the news that broke out simultaneously, cheered for now.

“Mount Hua! It’s Mount Hua again!”

“I knew Mount Hua would step up! Isn’t Mount Hua the one that solves problems whenever there’s one!”

“Hey! Why are you only talking about Mount Hua? Didn’t the Cheonwu Alliance move together?”

“Isn’t that the same thing! Mount Hua is the leader of the Cheonwu Alliance. The Cheonwu Alliance is Mount Hua, and Mount Hua is the Cheonwu Alliance!”

“Well, that’s right, that’s right!”

For people who had been so scared, this news was like cool water on a hot day.

“They killed the Demonic Sect leader? Then is the Demonic Sect completely eradicated now?”

“I don’t know. We have to see if the Demonic Sect that appeared this time is the main force or not.”

“But anyway, doesn’t it mean that all the guys who appeared this time have been dealt with?”

“I guess so. I knew Mount Hua was the only one to trust!”

Most of those who raised their voices didn’t even know that a sect called Mount Hua existed until a few years ago. But now, even those people had no hesitation in praising Mount Hua.

People judge you by what you do. Even if people didn’t notice Mount Hua before, their actions were starting to matter. Doing good things again and again makes people trust you.

Mount Hua’s actions of rushing to save the common people, starting when bandits were rampant in Jang Sang, or even before that when the Green Forest was in chaos, were clearly remembered by everyone.

“While those foolish Shaolin monks were just watching, Mount Hua risked their lives and rushed to Jiangnan.”

“Is that even surprising anymore? Wasn’t Mount Hua originally such a sect?”

“Mount Hua does all the hard work, and those fakes will try to take credit again! Those who are worse than the Evil Sects.”

“The Nine Great Sects are completely rotten. Ptooey! I regret the rice I gave to those monks who were begging for alms the other day!”

People’s reactions were more intense than expected.

There were many who had been watching Mount Hua’s actions with good intentions, but there were none who thought that their abilities and strength were better than Shaolin’s.

But the fact that Mount Hua went to Jiangnan and defeated the Demonic Sect was proof that Mount Hua’s strength was no less than that of Shaolin.

No, even if it was lacking, it was the same. No matter how sharp a famous sword is, it is no different from a club if it is not drawn from its scabbard. People began to pay attention to the dagger in front of them rather than waiting for a famous sword that would not be drawn.

“I’m a little uneasy.”

“Hmm? What are you talking about?”

“Even so, joining hands with the Evil Sects is a bit…”

“What are you talking about, you fool? Did the Four Great Evil Sects massacre the people of Hangzhou?”

“That’s not it, but…”

“If you care more about not working with Evil Sects than about saving lives, you’re getting it wrong! Is the job of those so-called prestigious righteous sects to defeat the Evil Sects, or to protect the common people? What’s the priority? Huh?”

“…”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Do you think Mount Hua didn’t know that there would be people who would say things like you? Frankly, they could have just stood by like those Shaolin bastards. But they went to Jiangnan, risking disgrace and danger, and saved people, but instead of praising them! I was very wrong about you!”

“I-I didn’t think clearly. Oh, please stop getting angry.”

“Don’t ever say foolish things like that again! If you say foolish things like that again, and Mount Hua doesn’t move the next time something like this happens, only people like us will die! Do you understand?”

“Y-Yes, I understand.”

Water does not boil at once.

And that was the same for public opinion about Mount Hua. The things that Mount Hua and the Cheonwu Alliance had been doing for years had been gradually heating up the world. And the moment it crossed the boiling point of the Demonic Sect, it finally began to boil explosively.

To a level that even Chung Myung and Beopjeong had not anticipated.