Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1250

Gwak Hwan-so’s mind raced.

“What is this crazy talk?” he thought.

First, he was just surprised. Then, he was speechless. Finally, he felt a little embarrassed.

Chung Myung was still talking, criticizing him and calling him foolish. But Gwak Hwan-so was the top student of Hainan. He wasn’t stupid. He understood what they were saying, but it still sounded crazy. He frowned, trying to make sense of it.

“So, um…” He opened his mouth, hesitating.

“The work as a special envoy of the Cheonwu Alliance has ended, so I will no longer discuss it…”

“Yes.”

“Are you saying that you will give up your role and join Hainan as a martial artist?”

“That’s right.”

Gwak Hwan-so’s mouth dropped open as he stared at the Cheonwu Alliance group. They were calmly eating rice, as if nothing strange had been said. He felt like what was happening wasn’t real anymore.

Gwak Hwan-so thought hard about what to say. He wanted to say it right. Finally, he said the best thing he could think of.

“Are you mad?”

Was it too much? No, not at all. From Gwak Hwan-so’s point of view, it was the mildest thing he could say. What could be a milder response to someone throwing their life away?

“Tsk, look at this brat’s manners! Talking to the acting leader of Mount Hua like that!”

“Chung Myung, calm down!”

“You’re the one who treats the acting leader of Mount Hua the worst…”

Chung Myung was angry, but Baek Cheon simply smiled.

“Do I look crazy?”

“…It’s not something you’d say if you were in your right mind.”

“Well, it’s hard to argue with that, since it’s not entirely wrong.”

Baek Cheon shrugged.

“But what can we do? That’s what’s been decided.”

Gwak Hwan-so, who had been staring blankly, suddenly stopped and looked surprised.

“So, then, everyone here?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Now he couldn’t even speak.

‘Are they really in their right minds?’

Who were these people?

The acting leader of Mount Hua (Mount Hua was a famous and respected group, and this man was in charge for now), the young lord of the Namgoong Clan, the young lord of the Tang Clan, and the palace lord of the Ice Palace. Even the Green Forest King was there!

Of course, the Green Forest King looked like he was thinking, ‘How did I get mixed up with these crazy people and end up here? I just want to bite my tongue and die,’ but he was still with them.

Gwak Hwan-so couldn’t decide what to do and scratched his head hard.

Of course, he was grateful. Everyone else was leaving Hainan. But this group came all the way here. Even though the talks failed, they said they would stay. How could he not be grateful?

He felt like crying and kneeling down to show thanks.

But Gwak Hwan-so realized something at that moment: he was a person who thinks logically. Or maybe he realized that there were many more people who don’t think logically than himself.

“Do you not know what position you are in?”

“…”

“You are the ones who hold the future of each group. Why on earth are you throwing your lives away in this distant land?”

“That is why.”

“Yes?”

Baek Cheon said calmly.

“As you said, we are the ones who hold the future of each group. So, everything we do will become an example for the group.”

“No, those who know that…”

Then Baek Cheon stopped Gwak Hwan-so with a firm voice.

“So, if we return like this, how will those who are waiting for us accept it?”

“…”

“Do we have to tell them that we went all the way to Hainan, but things didn’t work out, so we ran away before the Four Evil Sects attacked?”

Baek Cheon quietly shook his head.

“We cannot do that. If we did, it would make it seem okay to abandon our friends and run away when there is a strong enemy.”

“…”

“So, we have to fight. We don’t run away because the enemy is strong, but we fight because the enemy is strong. That is the least we can do, since we have gained respect by talking about being brave and good.”

“But the Cheonwu Alliance…”

“Yes. Of course, the positions of people, groups, and alliances are different. Sometimes, an alliance must stop people from making their own choices. But…”

Baek Cheon chuckled softly as he spoke.

“What does it matter? The alliance leader isn’t here. We’ll get scolded later, but they can’t do anything to us right now.”

“…?”

As soon as those words came out, the faces of those next to him, especially the Mount Hua disciples, turned gloomy.

“The sect leader will kill us if he finds out.”

“He’s not the sect leader anymore, he’s the supreme elder.”

“No, the sect leader will kill us even if he finds out. Senior brother.”

“…Oh, um…”

“Senior brother, you haven’t seen Senior Master Un Am get angry, have you?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen it…”

“I’ve only seen it once. Um… I saw it, um…”

Jo Gul shivered as if he was terrified just thinking about it.

“The sect leader shouldn’t have changed… We’re all dead.”

The faces of the Mount Hua disciples turned grim in an instant, but Baek Cheon remained calm.

“We can think about what will happen later. Right now, we only need to worry about what’s in front of us.”

Gwak Hwan-so knew for sure at that moment.

‘He’s really crazy.’

How strange was the thing inside this seemingly normal human being.

His tone was polite, and his face was trustworthy, but inside, he really had something like Mount Hua. Well, that’s probably why this person became the acting leader of Mount Hua.

Their reasons didn’t make sense to him. He couldn’t follow their thinking. He didn’t even know where to start pointing out the problems.

But Gwak Hwan-so couldn’t bring himself to point that out openly. It wasn’t just because their joining was helpful.

Comrades.

That one word, ‘comrades,’ that Baek Cheon said without thinking, forced Gwak Hwan-so to be quiet.

“We…” Gwak Hwan-so struggled to get the words out.

“We have rejected the Cheonwu Alliance’s offer.”

“Yes.”

“We have given a definite answer that we will not join the alliance.”

“I know.”

Gwak Hwan-so stared straight at Baek Cheon with strength in his eyes.

“Even so, are we comrades of the Cheonwu Alliance? Worth fighting together, even risking our lives?”

“…Yes?”

Baek Cheon, hearing those words, looked rather surprised.

“No, just because Hainan didn’t join the Cheonwu Alliance doesn’t mean it became a demonic group, and it’s still a good and proper group, so why can’t we fight together?”

“…”

“Of course, the relationship between the Nine Great Sects and the Cheonwu Alliance is a little awkward. But to be honest, it’s the relationship between the Cheonwu Alliance and Shaolin that’s bad, so why should we have bad feelings towards Hainan?”

Gwak Hwan-so couldn’t answer and closed his mouth. Baek Cheon smiled and continued.

“The important thing is not that. The important thing is that Hainan is now facing the Four Evil Sects alone, and that we are here now.”

His voice was calm from beginning to end, as if he was talking about a simple and normal thing that didn’t need to be argued.

“So, we’re just fighting. I don’t know why we need other words there.”

A moment of silence followed.

Gwak Hwan-so’s head dropped down because he was very emotional. He didn’t want to show them the expression he was making now.

He spoke in a quiet voice with his head bowed.

“…There’s no reason why Mount Hua would have good feelings towards Hainan, is there?”

“Of course, well, to be honest, it’s not a very welcome feeling. There are some past problems, after all.”

“But…”

“But that’s not a reason for us to leave Hainan.”

Gwak Hwan-so bit his lip. He didn’t know what to say. Where to start, how…

“And it seems like there was a bit of a misunderstanding… The position of the alliance and the position of the individual are different. But that doesn’t mean that if the alliance knew about this situation, they would have abandoned Hainan.”

“…”

“We just came without knowing the situation here properly. If we had known the situation, we would have tried to help Hainan with all our might, even if Hainan didn’t join the Cheonwu Alliance.”

Gwak Hwan-so bit his lip tightly and asked.

“Is that… the way of the Cheonwu Alliance?”

“No.”

“…Yes?”

“This is not the way of the Cheonwu Alliance, but the duty of one who uses a sword.”

Gwak Hwan-so’s heart beat faster.

It was so easy to say these words. Gwak Hwan-so had heard them many times in his life, and had said them many times.

But how many people in the world could really say these words while risking their lives? And those few people were right here, right now, right in front of his eyes.

“…Thank you.”

For now, Gwak Hwan-so also forgot about his position. These words were not spoken as the chief student representing Hainan, but simply as a student of Hainan.

“Even if it’s just words, thank you for saying that. For saying that you’ll die with us…”

“Who?” Then, an unhappy voice suddenly cut in, stopping Gwak Hwan-so.

“…Yes?”

“Who said they’re going to die with us?”

“…Ah, no. Now.”

“Aish, is this guy really out of his mind?” Chung Myung made a very angry face and started cursing.

“Who’s dying, you idiot! Am I crazy? To die in this faraway place? I should be carefully buried in the Mount Hua plum blossom forest and praised for generations!”

“…I wouldn’t want to see that.”

“A curse, a curse.”

“We should throw him off Danjang Cliff.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to bury him in Jongnam Mountain? It would be a curse for generations to come, too?”

Chung Myung turned his head sharply and glared, and the Mount Hua disciples quickly moved back.

“Who said they’re going to die with us, you idiot.”

“Ah, no… Isn’t that the situation?”

“Situation? What situation?”

“The Four Evil Sects…”

“Hey!” Flames sparked from Chung Myung’s eyes.

“If the Four Evil Sects attack, should we just let them kill us? They’re not all coming, it’s just a part of them, and seeing the Nine Great Sects acting like old men waiting for their death day makes me sick! Hey, you idiot! If you have time to argue here, you should be thinking about killing all those who come!”

“The strength…”

“Strength, my foot! The strong don’t win the fight. The one who wins is strong. If we were going to talk about strength, the Central Plains would have been destroyed a hundred years ago!”

“That’s true, too.”

“The Demonic Sect people were really strong.”

“…They say they were even stronger in the past. I don’t know how they won against them.”

“Compared to that, the Four Evil Sects are nothing.”

Gwak Hwan-so, very surprised, stared blankly at everyone. Then Chung Myung said clearly.

“Listen carefully, you idiot.”

“…”

“Fighting ready to die and going to die are different. Who said they’re going to die here? Don’t talk nonsense. I’m going to fight the Four Evil Sects people, not die here.”

“Mount Hua Sword Saint…”

Chung Myung glared at Gwak Hwan-so with slightly sunken eyes.

“So, if you have time to waste talking nonsense, go and prepare. I’ll talk to you right after I finish eating.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“What are we talking about.”

Everyone’s eyes were on Chung Myung.

“We need to discuss how to kill those Four Evil Sects people.”

A twisted smile appeared on Chung Myung’s lips.