Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1350

“This way,” Ho Gamyeong snapped, his voice like cracking ice.

Yu Gong froze, his blood turning cold. He stared at Ho Gamyeong, his face tightening with dread. Suddenly, it felt like every eye in the clearing was burning into him.

*Bloody hell,* he thought, his heart hammering against his ribs.

This was it. His last fragile hope – the foolish dream of fading into the background, of becoming invisible until this nightmare ended – shattered like glass.

“Can’t you hear me?” Ho Gamyeong pressed, and the air seemed to freeze around them. Yu Gong felt a chill that had nothing to do with the weather, a coldness that seeped from Ho Gamyeong’s words. It was as if he was saying that if Yu Gong ignored him again, his head would be cleaved off then and there.

Yu Gong bit his lip and forced his heavy feet to move. Ho Gamyeong’s gaze lasered into Yu Gong, sharp and assessing.

“What do you think?”

“…What are you referring to?”

“No games. I don’t like wasting time.”

“There is only one thing I wish to confirm. Whether you intend to cooperate or not.”

The tips of Yu Gong’s fingers trembled slightly.

Ho Gamyeong’s gaze remained indifferent and chilling, but Yu Gong, standing before him, felt like Ho Gamyeong knew everything, and that he shouldn’t even think about trying any tricks.

“Well?” Ho Gamyeong asked again, and Yu Gong’s lips twitched. But the words failed to form, crumbling in his mouth.

Ho Gamyeong stared blankly at Yu Gong with emotionless eyes before turning his head.

“I seem to recall there being one more person?” At those words, everyone’s gaze turned to the person behind them.

“Ah….”

As the gazes suddenly turned to him, Yu Gong’s junior brother, Go Hong, flinched. The color drained from his face in an instant, turning ashen.

“Bring him here.”

“Yes.”

Warriors from the Maninbang group, known for their strength, seized Go Hong by both shoulders and dragged him before Ho Gamyeong. Go Hong looked back at those who held him, his face pale, but he couldn’t muster the courage to resist and was helplessly dragged along.

Plop!

Those who dragged Go Hong threw him down before Ho Gamyeong. Go Hong, who had fallen to the ground, forced himself to look up.

“I, I’m….”

The moment his eyes met Ho Gamyeong’s, Yu Gong’s face turned from pale to blue.

“I will not force you.”

“But if you are here, you must follow the ways of the Demonic Sect. The only way to preserve your life in the Demonic Sect is to prove your worth.”

“I, I’m….”

Go Hong’s shoulders trembled. He knew what they wanted. He had been as quiet as a mouse, but he had been keenly aware of their movements and actions all along.

What they wanted from him was to sell out his Hainan martial brothers.

The one who had decided that even his martial brothers could be sold out in the process of survival and saving his hometown people was not him. It was Yu Gong.

“What do you say?” His lips were parched. Go Hong swallowed dryly and opened his mouth with a trembling voice.

“Wh, what are you talking about…? I, I’m….”

“Can you prove the value of your life?” Ho Gamyeong’s oppressive gaze bore down on Go Hong.

Go Hong’s gaze involuntarily turned somewhere. It was an instinct he couldn’t control, no matter how hard he tried.

Ho Gamyeong did not miss Go Hong’s instinct to struggle for survival.

“There’s something there.” Ho Gamyeong spoke slowly. The moment he was found out by that single, fleeting glance, Go Hong’s eyes trembled as if an earthquake had struck.

“Then it’s simple. There are only two options left. Cooperate and survive, or uphold your loyalty and die together.”

“Of course, that includes those who remain in Hainan.”

“Ugh….”

His whole body began to be soaked with cold sweat.

Since being dragged here by Ho Gamyeong, no harm had been done to his body so far.

But now, he felt it would be better to be hacked to pieces. Compared to enduring those words, which were sharper than any blade, the pain of the flesh would be nothing.

“I’ve given you enough time. Decide.”

“I’m….”

Go Hong’s pale lips moved.

The desire to live, but also the will not to sell out those who were once his comrades.

These two opposite desires were tearing him apart.

“I, I’m….”

Go Hong’s eyes wandered, not knowing where to go. Still, the gazes of countless people were fixed on him.

Ho Gamyeong’s indifferent gaze, the Maninbang’s angry gaze, and even Yu Gong’s gaze, which made it impossible to know what he was thinking.

In that instant, his vision blurred. The world spun around, and something foul churned in his stomach.

“I, I’m….”

When Go Hong finally failed to utter the words of decision, Ho Gamyeong cut him off without hesitation.

“This one is useless. Kill him.”

“Yes!” No sooner had the order been given than the Maninbang warriors on either side drew their swords. Knowing that this was not just a threat, Go Hong widened his eyes and shouted hastily.

“W, wait, just a moment! I, I’m…!”

Wham!

But the swords wielded by the Maninbang warriors flew mercilessly towards his neck.

“Stop!” At that moment, someone shouted loudly, as if in a fit.

The sword, flying with a blue aura, stopped with its edge against Go Hong’s neck.

Drip.

A stream of blood flowed from the split skin.

“I will speak.” It was Yu Gong who had shouted. He bit his bloodless lips tightly and squeezed his eyes shut.

“S, Senior Brother, no! Senior Brother!” Go Hong desperately tried to dissuade him, but Yu Gong opened his eyes and stared at him blankly. A chilling aura began to gather again on the sword touching Go Hong’s neck.

Yu Gong finally pointed to a large tree in front and said.

“There.”

The tip of his finger was trembling slightly. It was a sight that showed how complicated his inner thoughts were, but no one cared about his feelings.

“Senior Brother! Stop…!”

“There is a pattern engraved on that tree.” Go Hong bit his lip until it bled. Ho Gamyeong glanced at his reaction. Just seeing that, it didn’t seem like Yu Gong was lying.

On the upper part of the large tree that Yu Gong pointed to, there was a faint pattern engraved that was hard to find unless you looked closely.

“What does it mean?”

“…It’s hard to explain in words.”

“Why?”

“Senior Brother!” Go Hong cried out with a pained expression. However, Yu Gong, as if resigned, revealed what he knew without hiding anything. After all, it would be impossible to deceive Ho Gamyeong.

“That is the sword trace of the seventh stance of the Hainan’s Jangpung Parang Sword Technique.”

“Hmm?”

“A sword… No, even a saber will do.”

Yu Gong reached out his hand, asking for a weapon, and the Maninbang warriors looked back at Ho Gamyeong as if seeking permission.

“Give it to him.”

“Yes.”

They handed over the saber they were holding. Yu Gong took the unfamiliar saber in his hand and took a brief breath. And soon, he unfolded a sword form without internal energy into the air.

“And that stance ends like this.” As the lightly unfolded stance ended in a simplified manner, the tip of the saber pointed in one direction. All eyes turned to that end. The tip of the saber was pointing to a certain forest.

“Do you understand?”

“The direction the sword points when the stance ends, huh….” Ho Gamyeong nodded as if he understood.

“You’ve used your head quite well.”

It was certainly reasonable.

No matter how elaborately made, a code is bound to be deciphered someday. And using a code that the opponent can quickly grasp will cause unspeakable and fatal damage.

But with this method, it is difficult to figure out the meaning of the code. Only a disciple of Hainan who has learned the Hainan sword can interpret it.

‘A prestigious clan is indeed a prestigious clan.’

Each group will include those who can reliably confirm and interpret this code. People with good eyes who won’t miss this trace even while moving quickly.

Ho Gamyeong, who nodded lightly, asked again.

“The distance?”

“I don’t know.” Yu Gong shook his head.

“Basically, this mark is used with ten li as a base, but this may vary depending on the situation. I don’t know how they agreed….”

“But if you go along this direction, the next mark will appear, that’s what you’re saying.”

“That’s right.”

“If not….” Ho Gamyeong stared at Yu Gong with cold eyes.

“You will meet those who are going ahead.”

The faint hostility that had lingered in Yu Gong’s eyes flowed down powerlessly at those words.

“…That will be the case.”

“In other words, you need to be kept alive in order to find those bastards. Is that right?”

“I thought you were being too kind in explaining it so thoroughly.”

Ho Gamyeong nodded quietly.

“Good.”

“However, I will not allow you to waste time. Since you seem to be a smart one, you can probably guess why I brought so many people with me, right?”

“…I know.”

“Lead the way.”

Yu Gong nodded silently. As he sighed and tried to move forward, he suddenly saw someone glaring at him. It was Go Hong. His eyes were bloodshot.

‘Is he resenting me?’

Having come this far, he has already become a traitor who sold out the sect. What is he trying to protect now, even sacrificing his only life?

If he had the courage to do so in the first place, he wouldn’t have come this far.

Seeing him looking for someone to resent without the courage to risk his life or betray the sect, an indescribable disgust washed over him.

He must survive.

The only goal left for Yu Gong now was that. Pride as a Hainan disciple, even the path he had dreamed of, all thrown into the dung heap, all that remained for him was his life and the safety of his family left in Hainan.

But even so, Yu Gong could not bring himself to meet Go Hong’s eyes. He wanted to glare back at him with venomous eyes, but strangely, he averted his gaze first.

“Move out.”

“…Yes.”

Watching Yu Gong grit his teeth and run forward, Ho Gamyeong curled up the corners of his lips.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!” The others followed Yu Gong into the dense forest.

‘Certainly, the move you prepared was fatal, Mount Hua Sword Saint.’

But Chung Myung clearly wouldn’t know either. The fact that they, too, had prepared a card that they hadn’t anticipated.

“You wouldn’t think a jackal would use a dog. Even if it’s you, the world’s best.”

Even if he anticipates it, it doesn’t matter. Because this battlefield is no longer Ho Gamyeong’s.

Even if he is defeated by that bastard again, the result will not change.

The flow of this battlefield was directed into the hands of the one who should rightfully hold everything.

A strange heat surged in Ho Gamyeong’s eyes.

He, too, wanted to confirm it. No, precisely because it was him, he wanted to confirm it even more desperately.

Mount Hua Sword Saint. No, Plum Blossom Sword Demon. He wondered how the Alliance Lord would crush the overwhelming monster that even he had never laid a hand on.

What would happen when the Hegemon, who had shown an incomprehensible favor to that Plum Blossom Sword Demon, finally drew the sword he had buried?