Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1284

“They’re coming.”

Yeopwi murmured, his eyes fixed on the dark shapes growing larger on the horizon. He was the second-in-command of the Hao Moon group here in Guangdong, and a knot of unease tightened in his stomach. Something felt wrong.

“Deputy Chief,” one of his men snickered, “are those ships really carrying the Hainan fools?”

“Looks like it,” Yeopwi replied, his voice low. He didn’t share their amusement.

“Hee hee! Imagine! All that bragging, and they get their ships nicked!” another man crowed.

“Total disgrace!” someone else yelled, and a wave of mocking laughter rippled through the group.

It was not good to make fun of people who were now their allies. But Yeopwi did not tell his men to stop. He understood why they disliked the Myriad Clan.

‘Just because we’re on the same side now doesn’t mean the hate goes away overnight.’

From the start, the Five Supreme Clans of Shinju never got along well. But their anger towards the Myriad Clan was for more than just that.

The Hao Moon was an intelligence group. They did many things to make money, but mostly they worked with information. They had many spies who moved around secretly, gathering information.

The Hao Moon’s Guangdong branch first had the job of getting information on the Myriad Clan and the Guangdong area, while trying to avoid the Myriad Clan’s strong watch. Many people had died doing this, and becoming friends now would not erase that anger.

Yeopwi let them be, as long as it didn’t get in the way of their job.

“They made a big show going into Hainan, and then Guangdong got attacked in return.”

“Are the Hainan people smart, or are the Myriad Clan fools just dumb?”

Of course, neither was true.

Yeopwi didn’t join the talk, but watched the ships closely.

The ones who caused this were not the Hainan group or the Myriad Clan, but the main members of the Cheonwu Alliance on those ships.

Yeopwi rubbed his lips roughly, as if trying to tear them.

The men under him were just unaware and happy, but he didn’t think it was something to be happy about. They had last found the Cheonwu Alliance in the Yangtze River, so their way to Hainan must have been through Gangnam.

The Hao Moon was supposed to know everything about Gangnam, but they hadn’t seen the main members of the Cheonwu Alliance crossing Gangnam. They were like blind men.

What would happen if they got to Gangbuk easily like this?

‘Someone will be blamed.’

That’s how blame worked. It didn’t matter who was more wrong. What mattered was who was weaker and would get punished.

‘If it were Paegun, he’d use this chance.’

Just like he had done with the Suro Guild and the Black Demon Fortress, he would try to cut off the Hao Moon’s power and make them work for him. He had to stop that at all costs. If he did, it might even make the Hao Moon stronger. Capturing the head of that Hwasan Sword Saint would be the greatest thing anyone in the Four Evil Sects could do.

Yeopwi was lost in thought, his face grim. He looked at the men who were still cursing the Myriad Clan.

“Enough chatter. Shut up.”

At the quiet command, the men stopped talking at once and held their breath.

“You can curse the Myriad Clan after the job is done. What’s important now is not making fun of those guys, but not losing them.”

“Don’t worry, Deputy Chief.”

“Isn’t that what we’re good at?”

Yeopwi nodded silently. They were right to be confident.

Of course, the Hao Moon was not as good as the Beggars’ Sect at getting information. How could they be as good as the Beggars’ Sect, which some people called the Ten Thousand Beggars?

But that didn’t mean the Hao Moon was bad. The Hao Moon was good at something the Beggars’ Sect could never do: tracking and killing people.

‘Killing.’

If they could do it, that would be great. But…

‘Impossible.’

Based on what they knew about the Hwasan Sword Saint, any attempt to kill him would fail. He would never give them a chance.

‘But tracking is different.’

No matter how skilled the Cheonwu Alliance was, Gangnam was controlled by the Demonic Factions. The Hao Moon would never lose them here.

Yeopwi was sure that any problems they had from now on were just because they had underestimated the Hao Moon.

“The incense?”

“Ready.”

The men quickly took out small vials from their pockets. Yeopwi nodded. The vials were red, so they had brought the special kind.

“Check one more time.”

“Yes.”

“Following them will be easy, but if we miss the Cheonwu Alliance members among those Hainan fools, we’ll regret it forever.”

“Yes, Deputy Chief.”

“When they get to the coast, the team will risk their lives to put the Tracking Incense on them. Once that’s done, they won’t be able to escape us, even if they’re in hell, not just Gangnam. Understand?”

“Yes!”

The answer was strong. Yeopwi nodded silently.

‘Good.’

He knew this plan would work.

The Guangdong branch, where he was second-in-command, was the Hao Moon’s front line. The men under him were the best agents of the Hao Moon, doing jobs even with the Myriad Clan around.

Even if they were fighting the main members of the Cheonwu Alliance, including the Hwasan Five Swords, these men could easily put incense on them, not kill them.

And that one incense was enough. Once it was on them, the Hao Moon’s special Thousand-Mile Tracking Incense would last for at least ten days.

Specially trained agents could smell it from ten miles away. And if they used trained dogs, they could track the smell from over fifty miles away.

From here to the Yangtze River was over two thousand five hundred miles. Once the Tracking Incense was on them, they could not return alive.

“They’re almost here.”

“Lower your stance.”

“Yes!”

Yeopwi’s eyes became serious.

‘If we fought fair with martial arts, you would win.’

But this was not that kind of fight. This was war, where they could do anything to kill the enemy. Now, they would see how cruel the Hao Moon could be in a war.

Boom!

Rumble!

The ship crashed into the sandbar.

Yeopwi smiled slightly. They didn’t even have time to park the ship properly. The Myriad Clan was chasing them, and they were being surrounded. How could they have time to park the ship safely?

Yeopwi clenched and unclenched his fist quietly. The enemy was in a hurry, which was good. They just needed to track them slowly and trap them.

“Target them when they get off.”

“Yes!”

Yeopwi tried to stay calm and hide himself.

‘Come on…’

He stared at the ship, his eyes strained and unblinking. But…

After a while, someone spoke.

“Um… they’re not getting off?”

“…That can’t be.”

“No, I don’t feel anyone there.”

Yeopwi narrowed his eyes.

‘What’s going on?’

He had been waiting for a long time, holding his breath, but no one was getting off the ship.

Finally, Yeopwi spoke.

“Guiho (Ghost Fox).”

“Yes!”

“Check it out.”

“…Understood.”

One of the men got up carefully and went to the ship as quickly and quietly as he could. He was on the ship in a moment.

Yeopwi watched nervously. After a moment, he heard a loud shout.

“Deputy Chief! The ship is empty!”

“…What?”

“There’s no one inside!”

Yeopwi jumped up, panicked.

“Empty?”

“Yes!”

He shouted quickly.

“Check the other ships! Now!”

“Yes!”

The men behind him rushed to the ships in order. Yeopwi frowned, thinking.

‘How did this happen?’

A trick? No, a trick must have a purpose. They needed time the most. What would they gain from this?

“There’s no one!”

“There’s no one here either! All the ships are empty.”

Yeopwi bit his lip.

“Then did they fly into the sky?”

“B-but there’s really no one! We looked everywhere, but there are only signs of people, not even a rat!”

“T-this…”

Yeopwi ran quickly and jumped onto the ship. There was no one there, and it was cold. He felt a chill down his spine.

‘Damn it. This is bad.’

This was a job for the Hao Moon. They had to do it. No matter how much they said the Hainan group and the Cheonwu Alliance didn’t come on the ships, it would only show that the Hao Moon was not good at their job.

“S-search!”

“Yes?”

“Scatter! They can’t have gone far.”

“B-but Deputy Chief!”

“Move instead of talking!”

Yeopwi shouted.

“They must have jumped off the ship and swam after reaching the coast. How far could they have gone? They must have landed close by. Find the footprints and the wet sand! Quickly!”

“A-alright…”

The man in front of him looked scared. Yeopwi realized he was too angry and took a deep breath.

“I was too excited. First, let’s calmly…”

“T-that’s not…”

“Hm?”

“Gack!”

Blood poured out of the man’s mouth like a fountain, covering Yeopwi’s face.

Yeopwi stared at him, covered in hot blood. The man’s face was pale, almost black.

“…Poison?”

“P-poison!”

“Stop breathing! The ship is poisoned!”

“Get out of here!”

But it was too late.

“Gack!”

“Uwaaaah!”

The men who had entered the ship fell, vomiting blood. Their black faces showed the terrible end they would meet.

“T-this… Ugh!”

Yeopwi felt sick and quickly moved back, gathering his energy.

“Blegh!”

Even Yeopwi vomited blood from the strong poison. The other men were in a worse state.

The men on the deck were shaking, with black blood bubbling from their mouths. Yeopwi’s face turned pale at the sight.

“Ch-Cheonwu Alliance…”

His teeth, stained with blood, clenched tightly.

“Those damn bastards! Aaaaargh!”

A scream filled with anger echoed through the sound of the waves.