Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1214

“Okay,” someone said, breaking the silence. “So, how do we actually *get* to Hainan?”

Dang Pae, known as the most sensible of them, carefully turned his head to Namgung Dowi. This was tricky.

Just by their names, you knew these were powerful people. They could change a whole province if they wanted to. There was Namgung Dowi, young lord of the Namgung Clan. And Dang Pae himself, from the Dang Clan. The Ice Palace Lord was here, and even the Green Forest King. Not to mention the Five Swords of Mount Hua – everyone said Mount Hua was the strongest sect right now. And Hae Yeon, who everyone expected to be the next abbot of Shaolin, unless he gave up his monk’s robes.

Dang Pae knew he *should* be impressed. But he mostly felt nervous.

*Why isn’t anyone talking?* he thought.

The idea of actually starting a conversation with any of these famous figures made his chest tighten. A cold trickle of sweat slid down his spine, like ice water against his skin. He had to say something. Finally, Dang Pae turned to Namgung Dowi. At least Dowi seemed… normal.

“What are you planning to do?”

“Why are you asking me…?”

Of course, Namgung Dowi was confused, unaware of Dang Pae’s worry.

“When you think about it, isn’t it strange? Going to Hainan is really important. But we haven’t talked about how to get there, and we’re leaving today. Does that make sense?”

“No, I mean, why are you asking *me*…?”

Dang Pae sighed. He looked at the person who had caused all this trouble.

“…Baek Cheon.”

“I was just about to say something about that,” Baek Cheon said.

Dang Pae’s eyes lit up. Baek Cheon had a plan.

“Someone told us to keep quiet about it, so we should listen to them. But…”

“But what?”

“Well… uh… that is…”

Baek Cheon looked away awkwardly.

“Say that again, you little rascal! What? The Mount Hua Sect Leader ceremony is meaningless?”

Smack! Smack!

“Is this the mouth that says such nonsense? This! Mouth? This?”

Smack! Smack!

Baek Cheon sighed, looking at Lim Sobyeong’s swollen mouth.

“Let’s wait until the swelling goes down a bit.”

“……”

*(Lim Sobyeong thought, wincing)* Someone, anyone, stop this crazy man from hitting me again!

“Well…”

Lim Sobyeong rubbed his mouth and dabbed at his eyes, looking upset.

The others looked away. It was true that trouble often comes from speaking carelessly. But it was still awkward to watch the Green Forest King get treated like a rat and start crying. Besides, wasn’t it just common decency to look away?

“What are you crying for, like you’ve done something great?”

Of course, not everyone here was acting like a decent human being…

Lim Sobyeong blew his nose loudly and was about to speak, but his face twisted. His split lip must have been stinging.

“Well… the reason I said not to talk about the plan before leaving is that the information might leak.”

“Don’t you mistrust people too much?”

Lim Sobyeong glared at Dang Pae angrily.

“What kind of naive nonsense is that? Do you think this is just a small town? So many people come and go, from the cooks to the servants! Do you think they are all so loyal to the Heavenly Union that they wouldn’t tell the plan even if someone threatened them with a knife?”

“Well, not exactly, but…”

“Saying things so carelessly is why everything goes wrong! The Jianghu – the world of martial artists – is a dangerous place! This is what happens when you grow up sheltered!”

Dang Pae seemed to shrink under Lim Sobyeong’s glare, his shoulders slumping like a flower in the heat. Baek Cheon gave a small smile as he defended him.

“Trusting people isn’t a bad thing.”

“No! Baek Cheon…”

“Keep going. See if that mouth of yours survives.”

A low growl rumbled in Chung Myung’s chest, like a warning from a wild animal. Lim Sobyeong quietly closed his mouth. He didn’t know how dangerous the Jianghu was, but it couldn’t be more dangerous than Chung Myung’s fists.

Baek Cheon said.

“But it’s also true that we need to be careful. It’s not likely that information will leak to the Demonic Sect, but we can’t be too careful with the Nine Great Sects.”

“Do we really need to go that far…?”

“Ah, this guy! He really doesn’t understand!”

This time, Chung Myung glared at Dang Pae.

“He’s saying that Great Wang Daemerī might tell the Four Evil Sects! About our Sect Leader!”

“Surely, he wouldn’t do that.”

“Surely, my foot! He’s the kind of guy who would do anything when it comes to those orthodox sects! Now that you’re not even considered an orthodox sect, what *wouldn’t* he do!”

“But isn’t he a Buddhist?”

“A Buddhist? A Buuuddhist? If that baldy is a Buddhist, then I’m Buddha, you idiot! There aren’t any Buddhists in Shaolin anyway! They’ve been rotten since they started calling themselves Buddhists while stabbing people with swords!”

“Chung Myung… stop it. Hae Yeon is crying.”

Yoon Jong patted Hae Yeon’s drooping shoulders.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You’ve given up your vows, haven’t you?”

“I haven’t!”

“Haven’t you?”

“……”

Amidst the chaos, Lim Sobyeong cleared his throat and continued.

“Anyway, that’s why we couldn’t talk about it inside. Now that we’re about to leave, let’s share the plan.”

Whirr!

Lim Sobyeong pulled out a map from his sleeve. It wasn’t just paper; it looked old and worn, with lines drawn and redrawn many times. The paper crackled as he unfolded it on the dusty floor.

“How many kinds of maps do you have?”

“I have them in all sizes! I even have a smaller one, would you like one?”

“……No, thank you.”

At this point, it was more of a hobby than preparation.

“First, we need to agree on something.”

“Hmm?”

“The most important thing is whether we have someone we can trust in the area we’re traveling through.”

Everyone tilted their heads.

Lim Sobyeong explained step by step.

“As you know, it’s best to travel with as few people as possible. But we can’t convince Hainan with just a few people. So, we have to take more than ten people… The more people, the easier it is to get caught.”

“Hmm.”

Everyone nodded.

“So, until the last moment, we should travel through areas where we have helpers who can hide us. With that in mind, we have three choices. First, the sea route.”

“Did you say sea route?”

“Yes.”

Lim Sobyeong pointed to the map.

“We take the Yangtze River to Zhejiang Province, then a boat to Hainan. Anhui and Zhejiang have many members of the Namgung Clan, so they can help hide us. We can hide the fact that we even took a boat to Hainan.”

“Indeed…”

Namgung Dowi nodded.

“The best thing about this route is that we can hide our tracks well. Also, we can use the sea route. The Four Evil Sects have been everywhere in Jiangnan, but not the sea. They aren’t fishing, so they won’t be out there.”

Everyone nodded. Even the Four Evil Sects couldn’t control the sea.

“So, if we get a good boat, prepare well, and leave, we can reach Hainan safely. The problem is…”

“It will take a long time.”

“Tsk. That’s right.”

Lim Sobyeong nodded at Baek Cheon.

It was already a long trip, and this would make it longer. Plus, it’s hard to make a boat go faster with just manpower.

“That won’t work.”

“We don’t have time to take it easy.”

“Also, if something happens to the boat, we could get stuck on the Jiangnan coast.”

It seemed good at first, but there were too many problems.

“Okay, we understand the sea route. What’s the other route?”

“This way.”

Lim Sobyeong pointed to another line on the map.

“We go around the mainland. We enter Sichuan, then Yunnan, and finally Linyi, and take a boat to Hainan. I’ve said this before.”

“Yes.”

“This isn’t bad either. The problem is… there’s a lot of snow on the way to Sichuan and Yunnan.”

“Hmm.”

Dang Pae nodded.

The Dang Clan was called the emperor of Sichuan, but that was just a title. The Dang Clan was strong in the north, including Chengdu. The Nine Great Sects were stronger in the south, where Emei and Qingcheng were.

Yunnan was home to the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace and the Diancang Sect. It would be hard to hide.

“Even if we get through all that, it’s hard to find a boat to Hainan in Linyi. We don’t know how the Southern Sea Sun Palace will react. We might cause trouble.”

This was what they had said before.

Even after thinking about it, there were good and bad points. It wasn’t just about getting there.

“Green Forest King.”

Baek Cheon looked at Lim Sobyeong.

“You said there are three routes?”

“Yes.”

“Then what is the third route you’re thinking of?”

Baek Cheon looked at Lim Sobyeong meaningfully. He thought the third route, the one Lim Sobyeong hadn’t mentioned, was probably the one he liked best.

Lim Sobyeong grinned.

“Yes, I’ll tell you. The third route I’m thinking of is…”

Lim Sobyeong pressed his finger hard on the map. It was Jiujiang, where they were now.

“Here.”

He dragged his finger down from Jiujiang, as if tearing the map.

Everyone’s eyes widened.

“Are you crazy?”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“I knew this guy would show his true colors! How much did Jang Ilso pay you, you Demonic Sect bastard!”

“Let’s not go too far.”

Lim Sobyeong smirked.

“Why are you all so upset? Surely, you aren’t scared, are you?”

Baek Cheon’s face twisted. Everyone had to react this way. It would be strange if they didn’t. The line Lim Sobyeong drew went straight from Jiujiang to Hainan.

The shortest way, straight through Jiangnan, which was controlled by the Four Evil Sects. That was Lim Sobyeong’s last route.

“The sea route would be better.”

“No, I think the Yunnan route is more realistic.”

“Let’s just go anywhere, as long as it’s not the third one!”

Just as everyone was trying to agree quickly…

“Hoo-ooo-ooo?”

A chilling voice reached them.

“That’s quite…”

“……”

“……”

“Tempting, isn’t it?”

Everyone slowly turned their heads. An unavoidable despair clouded their faces.

Chung Myung… was smiling.