Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1222

Jo Gul turned to Yoon Jong, his eyes red and tired.

Yoon Jong’s hand was firmly on Jo Gul’s shoulder. Usually, Jo Gul would shout right away. But this time, he was silent.

Was it because he knew he shouldn’t make a big deal out of it?

No, that wasn’t it. Yoon Jong’s eyes were fixed forward, not even glancing at him, and they were utterly terrifying.

Crack.

Yoon Jong ground his teeth. He spoke through clenched teeth.

“…Wait.”

“⋯⋯.”

Jo Gul silently bit his lip and glared at the village again.

“Ah, Father! Father!”

A villager standing behind the elder turned pale and frantically clutched at the elder’s chest. A red stain bloomed on the elder’s chest, quickly spreading. Blood poured from the deep cut.

“Fatherrrrr!”

The villagers became very pale. No one shouted or cursed. They were too scared. The sword in the man’s hand looked sharp and dangerous. It glinted in the sun.

“…Are you crazy?”

It was the man’s companion who protested.

The man with the grim face wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and smirked.

“…Do I look crazy?”

“…What on earth are you thinking?”

“What am I thinking? We gave them the grain, right? Mission done.”

“⋯⋯.”

“There were no further instructions after that. So, I haven’t disobeyed any orders.”

“You madman… Is that what you call it?”

The clever man’s face turned pale.

“Do you even realize what you’ve done, Ak-bung? Do you think you’ll be safe if the higher-ups find out about this?”

“How would they find out?”

“…What?”

Ak-bung grinned.

“How would those great superiors know whether one village in this remote mountain area disappears or not?”

“⋯⋯.”

“The mission was accomplished, wasn’t it? It’s not our fault if something happens after that, is it?”

The clever man’s eyes narrowed. He understood what Ak-bung was saying now.

“You don’t mean…”

“No, think about it. They sent small fries like us because this is a small village stuck in the mountains.”

The word ‘small fries’ wasn’t pleasant to hear, but it wasn’t exactly wrong.

“If we go back empty-handed, how would the superiors know if we properly distributed the grain or not?”

“Damn it, there’s no good place to sell the grain!”

“If you’re determined to sell, you can sell it anywhere. And you don’t necessarily have to sell it. Isn’t rice more valuable than money in the Gangnam region right now? You can do almost anything just by taking the grain.”

“⋯⋯.”

“It’s not like we’re doing anything wrong by having a little fun, is it? The ones who are wrong are the ones who exploit people without giving them proper pay.”

The clever man licked his lips. His face had softened considerably.

“Can we handle the aftermath⋯⋯?”

“Stop talking nonsense. The superiors might find out if there are any survivors left to talk. But… something could happen to the village by chance after we leave. Like bandits attacking the village, or a tiger appearing. Don’t you think so, guys?”

At those words, the eyes of those escorting the cart turned sinister.

“We’re going to Hyeongyang next, right?”

“So?”

“Hyeongyang is a big city, so there must be places to have fun. Let’s take care of things quickly, take the grain, and go to the pleasure houses! Let’s have some fun for once!”

That seemed to be the deciding factor. A hungry eagerness began to emanate from those following behind. Seeing this, the clever man licked his lips with a worried frown.

“Haa… I still feel uneasy…”

“Uneasy, my ass. When did you become such a coward? You piss your pants just hearing the name Maninbang.”

“Are you done talking?”

“What about Maninbang? We’re the Black Ghost Squad! Do you think the Great Leader would have been defeated so easily if it weren’t for those Demonic Sect bastards?”

“⋯⋯.”

“It makes my stomach churn just watching those lucky bastards who took over the Mount Hua Sect strut around, and now you want us to be obedient dogs?”

“Tsk.”

As the man contorted his face like someone swallowing bitter water, Ak-bung, who had been relentlessly pushing, subtly changed his tone.

“It’s not that big of a deal anyway. We just have to not get caught, right? If we don’t get caught.”

“⋯⋯The cleanup must be thorough.”

“Heh heh. That’s my specialty.”

Thinking the decision had been made, Ak-bung raised his voice.

“Hey guys! Now that it’s come to this, we need to hurry a bit! That way, you’ll have time to play!”

No answer was needed.

As if they knew what they had to do with just those words, those at the back of the cart rushed out and surrounded the villagers in a circle. As if they wouldn’t let a single person escape.

The clever man smirked.

“I wondered why you were counting the number of people so meticulously, so unlike you.”

“Heh heh. It’s good to be sure. Good to be sure.”

Jo Gul, who had been watching the situation without missing a detail, growled and chewed out the words.

“…Senior Brother.”

“Wait.”

“Senior Brother.”

“I said wait.”

Yoon Jong bit his lip tightly. He bit so hard that his lips turned white and blood began to show.

He wanted to rush in and smash them to pieces right away. But this was Gangnam, not just anywhere. He couldn’t know how many lives would be at stake because of one thoughtless act they committed. Yoon Jong’s heart was pounding. He hated waiting, but he knew Baek Cheon was right.

“Don’t interfere…”

“Senior Brother!”

Jo Gul looked at Yoon Jong with pleading eyes. But Yoon Jong’s eyes were not directed at Jo Gul this time either. His gaze was fixed on Baek Cheon’s back in front of him.

‘Uncle-Master.’

It was Baek Cheon, not Yoon Jong, who would make the decision. Baek Cheon hesitated until the very last moment. Is he worried about the rules? Is he afraid of making a mistake?

Even amidst holding his breath, the sound of grinding teeth and fiddling with swords pierced his ears chaotically.

And then, Ak-bung began to move slowly from below.

“I should have been given a job that suited me. If you had told me to raid a village, extort what I could, and bring back the remaining money, I would have been more loyal than anyone else. What’s the use of telling a dog to graze?”

The clever man couldn’t refute those words.

These men were not happy with normal jobs. They didn’t want small pay or to just stand guard. That’s why they joined the Evil Sect.

They became part of the Evil Sect because they couldn’t live that kind of life. But now, telling them to live like the Orthodox Sect members? Was that even reasonable?

‘The higher-ups are the ones at fault here.’

The man, having completed his rationalization internally, spat out the words.

“Just in case, don’t use swords.”

“Huh?”

“It’ll be strange if there are too few bodies. Tear them apart with your hands. Make it look like wild animals attacked.”

“Heh heh. Always thinking.”

Hearing those words, Ak-bung chuckled and pushed his sword into its sheath. It was a bit of a hassle, but he could tear apart and kill ordinary people who didn’t know martial arts with his bare hands. He eyed the grain carts greedily.

“Lords, what are you doing⋯⋯.”

The villagers, who hadn’t even dared to run away and were watching the situation unfold, trembled with pale faces. Are they trembling? Are children crying silently? Do they clutch each other?

And among them, someone with a bit of sense quickly realized what he had to do.

“Please, spare us!”

He fell to the ground on the spot and shouted with a desperate voice. His voice cracked with fear.

“We received it! We received the grain!”

“Huh?”

“The lords gave us the grain, but we were foolish and tried to hide it, and then we lost it!”

“Ho-oh?”

The clever man, Seop Pyeong, stared intently at the kneeling middle-aged man with a glint in his eyes.

“We’ll say that! If anyone asks, we’ll say that even if a knife is held to our throats! Then the lords will be more justified, right?”

“An interesting fellow.”

Seop Pyeong smirked.

“But what should we do? We’ve already stabbed that old man.”

“What’s so important about one old man who doesn’t have much longer to live anyway? If we bury him properly, no one will know how he died!”

“Wow…”

Seop Pyeong looked at the man as if he was surprised.

“If, if not, we’ll throw him off a cliff! Then no one will know he was stabbed!”

Seop Pyeong looked at the man with an admiring face. If things went as the man was saying, they could really be at ease.

“Can you do that?”

“Of course, Lord! How could we tell a lie? We ignorant people know better than anyone else how to survive!”

“Don’t you want revenge?”

“Why would we even talk about revenge for the life of an old man like that?”

“⋯⋯If you guys talk, it could be troublesome for us.”

“Lord, we are uneducated people, but we know how the world works. If we carelessly upset the lords, how could we possibly stay alive?”

“He’s too smart to be in this mountain village.”

Seop Pyeong clicked his tongue.

Even if this incident was discovered, not everyone who came here would die. No matter how cruel Maninbang was, the Mount Hua Sect was short on people right now.

And if even one of them survived, this village would definitely face retaliation. So, they meant that they would rather keep their mouths shut.

“Certainly… it would be easier for us if you did that.”

“Then…”

“But you know.”

Seop Pyeong grinned.

“No matter how I look at it, you’re just too smart.”

“Lord?”

Seop Pyeong’s eyes turned sinister.

“I’m the kind of person who would rather endure a little trouble than feel uneasy keeping someone like you alive. Killing you all is just a little bit of trouble for me.”

“You… You bastards…!”

The middle-aged man’s eyes filled with resentment.

“I’ll curse you even in hell! You Evil Sect bastards who are worse than dogs!”

“Alright!”

Seop Pyeong, his eyes blazing with murderous intent, kicked off the ground and flew towards the middle-aged man in an instant. Red energy flared around his hands like flames.

“Don’t…”

In the end, Yoon Jong, Jo Gul, and Namgung Dowi couldn’t bear it any longer and kicked off the ground.

But at that moment, what they saw was Baek Cheon rushing towards Seop Pyeong in a straight line, even faster than them.

‘U, Uncle-Master!’

Meanwhile, Baek Cheon’s eyes, which had shot forward, were shaking with frustration.

‘Ah, no!’

Because he had hesitated until the very last moment, he was half a step late. At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to stop that middle-aged man from being killed.

‘Damn it!’

He should have either committed or stayed out of it, but hesitating had led to the possibility of losing both. Just as Baek Cheon was about to let out a roar, unable to bear the bursting frustration!

“This Evil Sect bastard!”

Wham!

Seop Pyeong, who had been rushing towards the middle-aged man, was knocked back even faster than he had come.

Seop Pyeong, who had been spitting blood, crashed into the ground and then twitched.

Baek Cheon blankly stared at the scene. In the rising dust cloud, Cheong Myeong, with a face more like an Evil Sect member than the Evil Sect itself, was grinding his teeth.

“I was trying to be patient, but this bastard is really trying to die.”

…Oh, right…. Now that I think about it, I couldn’t stand it, so there’s no way you could have.

Heh heh….

Heh heh heh…