Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1113

Baek Cheon trembled.

His hands were shaking from the poison from the very beginning. Even without the poison, he would still be shaking. He was just too tired.

“Cough!”

Baek Cheon coughed because of the poison and looked up at the sky.

Staring at the sky, which was already beginning to darken, he barely managed to raise the sword he was holding above his head.

And with a dying voice, he cried out with difficulty.

“I wo—won…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Baek Cheon’s body slumped forward.

“I wo—won…”

Plop.

The last remaining person collapsed like a rotten old tree.

It was a funny and sad sight at the same time.

They had fought so hard, it seemed like they would break the training hall. But now, everyone was on the ground. Regardless of whether they were from Mount Hua or the Tang family, all were sprawled on the floor, groaning or foaming at the mouth, unconscious.

“Ugh…”

“Bast—bastards…”

“Kill…”

Curses were occasionally mixed in with the groans. Whether this should be considered impressive or pathetic was hard to say.

Chung Myung, who had been standing blankly in one corner watching the scene, turned his head slightly.

Chung Myung looked around at the fallen fighters. “Well, that’s that, huh? Looks like it’s over.”

Tang Gun-ak didn’t answer right away. He just stared at the scene, his face red.

Chung Myung tilted his head. “Family Head? You okay?”

Tang Gun-ak’s eyebrows jumped up and down. His eyes and mouth were also shaking a little.

“Such…”

Tang Gun-ak’s teeth clenched involuntarily as he spoke.

“…a thing, it seems.”

He tried to look calm, but you could hear his teeth grinding together. He was angry that he lost again, even though he was ready to fight more.

“Hmm? Not enough fighting for you?”

“…You’ll die if you keep that up.”

“I don’t think you’re the one to talk.”

“…Even I think it’s too much, so that says it all.”

Tang Gun-ak’s brow furrowed at those words. It seemed he had been planning to give them a severe dressing-down today if Chung Myung hadn’t stopped him.

‘He’s really not normal.’

Chung Myung shook his head and stepped forward. He stood before those who had fallen and opened his mouth.

“So, originally…”

He scratched the back of his head reflexively.

“Normally, the team that loses has to train all night until the sun comes up.”

“Ugh…”

“Aigo… Aigo… I’m going to d—die…”

Chung Myung shook his head as he looked at those who were sprawled out so miserably, regardless of whether they were winners or losers.

Chung Myung looked at the exhausted disciples and realized they couldn’t train anymore. “Seeing as it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen, let’s call it quits for today. As promised, the Tang family will come out tomorrow morning, and Mount Hua will come out tomorrow afternoon.”

“…”

“Are you listening?”

“…”

“Hey?”

There was no reply. Chung Myung shook his head and turned away.

“…I wonder what’s going on over there.”

He sighed deeply and trudged towards the place where the Green Forest and Namgung were grappling.

“I’ll carry it!”

“No, I’ll do it!”

“I heard you’re not fully recovered yet…”

“I’m fine! Give it to me!”

Madam Chu took the plate from the cook as if snatching it away.

“Ah, no, you don’t have to overdo it so soon. We can do it.”

“No. It’s not like I’m doing it for free. I’m getting paid for it. Of course, I have to work hard.”

“If you insist…”

Madam Chu smiled and moved inside.

Since Hyun Jong’s visit, she had been working in the manor’s kitchen. She was still new to the kitchen and mostly did simple jobs, not cooking. But she worked very hard at everything she did.

‘I can’t be a problem for them.’

She knew that she wasn’t of great help right now. But even if she could be told that she wasn’t helpful, she didn’t want to hear that she was working carelessly, relying on sympathy.

She knew she had to be grateful for everything they had done for her.

It was her job to feed the disciples of Mount Hua, who had not only given her a grand place to stay but had also hired her so that she wouldn’t be uncomfortable. She had to be careful and work hard. She couldn’t be lazy at all.

Even for the sake of the child who would grow up.

The work was not as difficult as she had thought, and those who knew her situation to some extent were all considerate, so there was nothing uncomfortable.

If there was a problem, it was only one thing.

Madam Chu’s steps slowed as she entered the dining hall with the plate in her hands. She moved with reluctant steps, as if approaching something unpleasant, and carefully placed the plate on the table.

And she glanced at the person sitting there.

He was a very handsome man. Usually, if he went to the market, everyone would look at him.

But Madam Chu didn’t look at him because he was handsome. She looked because his face was so thin and pale. ‘Gaunt’ wasn’t even a strong enough word to describe how bad he looked.

“…Eat a lot.”

“…Thank…you…”

Yes. If there was a problem, it was only one thing. It was that this place called Mount Hua didn’t seem to be an ordinary place at all.

‘…The state of these people…’

If she had never seen this before, she might have fainted. They looked like they were sick or injured, like zombies.

Why wouldn’t she? Everyone’s faces were thin and pale. They had bandages all over. They were sitting at the table, slumped over like dead bodies.

“You should…eat…something…”

“Yes…”

Baek Cheon nodded weakly at Madam Chu and listlessly picked up his chopsticks. Madam Chu, seeing this, left the dining hall.

Baek Cheon said in a dying voice.

“…Let’s eat. We have to eat, everyone…”

“Yes… Sasuk.”

“We…have to eat…”

The Mount Hua disciples moved their bodies with great effort and picked up the bowls in front of them. They moved so slowly, it was painful to watch.

Frankly speaking, it was not a situation where they could eat.

But the disciples of Mount Hua knew from experience. If they skipped a meal because they didn’t want to eat right now, even greater pain would await them tomorrow.

It wasn’t just about eating to stay alive. It was about eating to get stronger and survive the next day’s training. Everyone at Mount Hua knew this, even if no one said it out loud.

“Aya, aya, aya…”

“Ugh. My mouth is all torn.”

“Aoh. It stings…”

Groans leaked from the mouths of the Mount Hua disciples as they chewed their food.

Curses naturally came out when food touched the torn areas that had been beaten. But the pain felt in their mouths was nothing.

“Ugh, ugh.”

“Ah… I feel like I’m going to be sick.”

“Teacher, my stomach is churning so much I can’t swallow it…”

“Augh… what kind of poison is this?”

The Mount Hua disciples grimaced. Their stomachs were so upset by the poison that even the smell of food made them nauseous.

“Seriously. Those dirty bastards, do they want to win that badly? Poison in a martial arts contest…”

It was then, in one corner of the large restaurant—originally a warehouse converted to store goods for merchants traveling the Yangtze River. The Tang family members, who couldn’t bring themselves to eat and were only watching, turned their heads in unison, reacting to the Mount Hua disciples’ conversation. The restaurant was a big, open space with high ceilings and rough wooden tables. It smelled of river water and cooking food.

“What? Cowardly?”

Baek Sang, realizing what he had said, quickly put his hand over his mouth.

“Ha… Haha…”

Yoon Jong laughed awkwardly, trying to smooth things over.

“Ah, I apologize. We got a little excited…”

“Do you think words are free? If we had really used poison in a cowardly way, do you think anyone from Mount Hua would be alive right now?”

“Zana!”

Tang Zan, who had jumped up, awkwardly sat back down after hearing Tang Pae’s roar.

“I’m sorry, Brother.”

“Be careful. No matter how right you are, you shouldn’t make the other person feel bad. Either way, we lost, didn’t we?”

It was a very textbook statement. But if the listener’s heart was twisted, even the right words sounded unpleasant.

Jo Gul stared hard at Tang Pae and Tang Zan. “Right words?” he repeated, his voice dripping with anger. “Is that what you think? We should thank you for letting us live?”

“Ahem. No. I don’t mean it like that…”

“If you’re so upset, you should have used the poison properly and won. Why are your tongues so long after losing?”

“What?”

“Geol! That’s too harsh.”

“No, Teacher! Isn’t it true! Those bastards subtly look down on us every time they speak!”

“So what if they’re a prestigious clan! Even the truly prestigious Namgung Clan doesn’t act like that. Since when was the Sichuan Tang Clan more prestigious than the Namgung Clan?”

“What, you little punk?”

At that moment, Tang Pae couldn’t hold back his anger and jumped up from his seat. The Sichuan Tang Clan had always been second to the Five Great Clans. Along with the Habuk Peng Clan, they couldn’t help but feel a subtle inferiority to the Namgung Clan. So, when someone directly poked at that sore spot, he couldn’t help but get angry.

“No. Did I say something wrong? Isn’t that right? Namgung So…”

Jo Gul, who had been speaking smoothly while turning his head, suddenly closed his mouth. He had intended to gain the upper hand by bringing in the young master of the Namgung Clan, but Namgung Dowi’s condition was a bit strange. His usually neat appearance was nowhere to be seen, and his eyes were bloodshot as he glared at someone as if he wanted to kill them. Namgung Dowi’s eyes were bloodshot, like he hadn’t slept in days. Veins stood out on his forehead, and his hands were clenched so tight his knuckles were white.

“Young Master Namgung?”

“Goodness. He’s going to kill someone with his eyes.”

And right in front of Namgung Dowi, unfortunately, Im So-byeong, sitting almost lying down in his chair across from him, was fanning his face with a fan while his feet were on the table.

“Does that mean a lost fight will turn into a win?”

“Y…”

“Ah, if you don’t like it, then win. What did I do wrong? The Green Forest! Our Green Forest! Those insignificant bandit bastards are stronger than the Namgung Clan or whatever. Sigh, there’s nothing I can do about it.” (The Green Forest is a group of strong fighters.)

Grrrr!

The sound of Namgung Dowi grinding his teeth echoed throughout the restaurant.

Of course, Im So-byeong’s condition wasn’t that great either. Every time the fluttering fan moved away from his face, his bluish-purple eyes were visible. But regardless of his condition, Im So-byeong exuded the confidence of a victor.

“Ah, there’s no need to be so upset, you know? It’s not that Namgung is weak, it’s that the Green Forest is strong. Hahaha!”

“Ugh… Ugh…”

Namgung Dowi’s eyes were bloodshot.

“We would have won if we fought with skill!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“We just weren’t used to melee combat. It’s just experience…!”

“Yes, yes. Of course. Is there any doubt?”

“Y…”

Jo Gul instinctively flinched when he saw Namgung Dowi’s hands trembling.

‘He’s going to kill someone at this rate?’ People like that are scarier when they lose it, but the Green Forest King isn’t scared at all. He’s really pushing his buttons… But how did the atmosphere over there get so bad?

Just then, Im So-byeong turned his head to look at the Tang family and chuckled.

“Oh dear. It seems even the great Sichuan Tang Clan got beaten up pretty badly. This, this righteous faction is in bad shape.”

“That bandit bastard?”

“Do you really want to die?”

“Die?”

Im So-byeong smirked.

“Ah. Are you even capable? You’re getting beaten up by Mount Hua too?”

“Ugh… Ack!”

Tang Zan, unable to hold back any longer, slammed the table and tried to charge forward, but Tang Pae shouted.

“Calm down!”

“But Brother!”

“Didn’t you hear? The Clan Lord and the Mount Hua Sword Master said they would punish anyone who draws their sword privately! Endure it!”

“Ugh…”

Everyone revealed their animosity towards each other, but they couldn’t rashly charge forward. Then, a low voice rang out.

“But that.”

“Huh?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Yoo Iseol, who had spoken.

“…It just means you can’t draw your sword.”

Madam Chu quickened her pace. Holding plates in both hands, she quickly opened the restaurant door.

“Here’s more food…”

But at that moment, someone flew right past her and crashed through the wall.

“Aaaaargh!”

“I never liked you from the start! You son of a bitch!”

“Look who’s talking!”

“You rotten bandit bastard!”

“Who are you calling a bandit, you bookworm! Dieeee!”

The painstakingly prepared food was scattering everywhere. Tables and chairs, people flying through the air, and someone climbing on top of someone else, swinging their fists. They were so tangled up that no one knew who was who, and they were biting each other as much as they were hitting each other.

Madam Chu couldn’t even think of dodging and just stared blankly at the scene.

“Alliance or whatever! You sons of bitches!”

“Since when have you been on par with us!”

“Even the bandits are acting up! I’m going to kill you all!”

“Aaaargh! Everyone, charge!”

Seeing the carnage before her eyes, she unknowingly squeezed her eyes shut.

‘Can I… really do this…?’ It was the first time Madam Chu thought that maybe she hadn’t received a favor, but had been thoroughly scammed.