Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1357

Danger was coming. Im So-byeong knew it.

He had already escaped the earthen cave and ran for a full day.

While running, Im So-byeong stopped suddenly.

Those who were following behind, running as fast as they could, stopped in shock. Some almost fell over, struggling to keep their balance as they shouted in frustration.

“Augh! What was that about, all of a sudden!”

Loud complaints erupted. But Im So-byeong didn’t listen, busy looking around.

“Wow, he’s not even listening. And here I am, with angry words?”

“People from the Demonic Sect hear curses all the time. This kind of cursing doesn’t bother them.”

“Considering that, doesn’t Chung Myung get annoyed whenever he acts up?”

“That guy doesn’t just curse; Chung Myung’s curses are like weapons; they hurt people badly.”

“Ah, right.”

Im So-byeong, who had been looking around, finally nodded.

“Let’s camp here tonight,” he said. “This place is hidden, and we can get out of the damp night air.”

“Here?”

“Yes.”

Yoon Jong started to say, “But we don’t need to rest…” but then he stopped. He looked at the others. The Hainan disciples were stumbling with tiredness. Their faces were pale and sweaty, and their clothes were covered in dust. They looked like they could fall down any minute.

“It’s important to rest when we can,” Im So-byeong said. “If we just keep running because we’re in a hurry, we’ll waste more time in the end.”

“Understood.”

Baek Cheon agreed with Im So-byeong and nodded.

“We’ll rest here. Everyone, find a place to rest. But do not light a fire.”

Jo Gul, who carefully climbed down from Yoon Jong’s back, asked with a puzzled look.

“Why no fire? It’ll be a while before the Maninbang guys catch up.”

“This is Gangnam. Even if it’s not Maninbang, there are eyes everywhere. And we can’t assume that the common people climbing the mountain are on our side,” Baek Cheon explained.

Listening to Baek Cheon’s explanation, Jo Gul’s face turned a little sour. Baek Cheon chuckled and nudged his shoulder.

“How would people who only see a light in the distance know who we are? If Maninbang asks if they’ve seen anything suspicious, they’ll naturally say they have.”

“Ah, I see.”

Jo Gul nodded as if he finally understood.

“Then we need to be careful.”

“Yes.”

“Sect Brother, what are you doing? Let’s find a place to rest. If we waste time, the others will take all the good spots.”

Jo Gul urged Yoon Jong. Baek Cheon looked at him with a bitter smile.

Just then, a voice mixed with laughter was heard.

“You’ve become quite skilled at handling people, haven’t you?”

“Is that a compliment?”

“It means you’re turning into a con artist.”

“…Thanks for the compliment.”

Chung Myung smiled, looking at Baek Cheon’s expression.

Baek Cheon probably thought that even if the common people knew who they were, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t report them to Maninbang. But he couldn’t say that directly, especially not to someone like Jo Gul.

“You should find a place to rest too.”

“You worry too much. You’ve gotten even more naggy.”

Baek Cheon didn’t deny it and smiled bitterly. What he said wasn’t wrong.

The disciples of Hainan scattered to find places to rest. But all they could do was find a relatively flat spot and lie down.

Lee Ja-yang, having found a suitable spot, plopped down and stared ahead with an exhausted face.

“It’s too humid here. Go lie down over there. Give me the one behind you.”

“Ah, no, Great Senior Brother. You must be tired too…”

“Just do it.”

Kwak Hwan-so continued to move around, taking care of his fellow disciples. Lee Ja-yang watched him silently and let out a hollow laugh.

‘He’s really amazing.’

Lee Ja-yang didn’t have the strength to lift a finger. Yet Kwak Hwan-so, who had suffered twice as much as the others, checking on his fellow disciples and the injured, was now taking care of everyone else.

Did he have energy to spare? Of course not.

Lee Ja-yang could see Kwak Hwan-so’s legs trembling. He probably wanted to collapse right then and there.

Kwak Hwan-so was simply enduring it because he had things he needed to do.

“…Amazing.”

It seemed the saying that crises make people stronger was true.

In fact, Lee Ja-yang had acknowledged Kwak Hwan-so as the Great Senior Brother, but he hadn’t particularly thought highly of him. He thought his quick temper and selfish nature weren’t right for the position of sect leader, who had to embrace everyone.

But now, Lee Ja-yang couldn’t find any of the bad qualities he had seen in Kwak Hwan-so in the past.

Having come all the way from Hainan to this place through that difficult journey, Kwak Hwan-so was becoming an amazing person who deserved to be the leader of Hainan, no matter what anyone said.

Even after experiencing the same crisis, Lee Ja-yang didn’t seem to have changed much, but Kwak Hwan-so was using the crisis to grow.

‘He’s got a different level of ability.’

Lee Ja-yang smiled bitterly.

There was a time when he had planned to put Kwak Hwan-so in the position of sect leader and secretly control him to move Hainan according to his wishes, but now he didn’t even dare to think about it. How could he control Kwak Hwan-so, who had grown so much?

He had no choice but to think he was dead and do as he was told.

‘…If we survive, that is.’

A small hope appeared in Lee Ja-yang’s eyes.

The eyes of the fellow disciples looking at Kwak Hwan-so were filled with complete trust. It was a look that could never have been seen in Hainan in the past.

It was too difficult and painful now, but if they could escape this place and Kwak Hwan-so became the leader of Hainan, and Lee Ja-yang could support him with all his might, then recreating the glory of Hainan might not be impossible.

Lee Ja-yang, who had been blankly imagining the scene for a moment, laughed as if he was surprised and took out some dried food from his pack.

‘I’ve gone too far.’

First, he needed to survive…

“Senior Brother, do you have any food left?”

Just then, someone approached and asked. Lee Ja-yang asked back.

“Why? Didn’t you bring enough food?”

“…I lost my luggage while fighting.”

“Ah…”

When they left Hainan, they had brought as much food as they could carry, but keeping their belongings safe during the fierce battles hadn’t been as easy as they thought.

Especially for the injured, there were fewer people with luggage left than those who had lost it.

“Then eat this for now.”

“S-Senior Brother, then can I have some too…”

Lee Ja-yang’s face slightly hardened. Some people were subtly getting up and starting to look for food.

“Does anyone have extra water?”

“I’m out of wound medicine; does anyone have any wound medicine?”

“…Oh dear.”

Watching the situation, Lee Ja-yang’s face gradually hardened.

They thought they were ready to go through Gangnam. But their food started to run out quickly, even before they were halfway there.

Normally, they could get more food with the money they had, but not now. Where in Gangnam could they spend their money? Especially when they had to stay quiet and not get in the way.

In this situation, money was just heavy and useless.

‘Even if other things are okay, the food is a big problem.’

Of course, a martial artist could last longer without food than a normal person.

But that was just lasting. If they were using all their power, running fast, and not eating well, the results were clear, right?

“I… I don’t have any dried food either…”

“I only have enough for one meal. If I give it to you, what am I going to eat?”

“Does anyone have anything hidden? This isn’t the time to be stingy!”

At first, they were a little confused and worried. But slowly, everyone became tense. It looked like a big problem was coming if they didn’t do something.

“Everyone…”

Gwak Hwan-so started to speak, his voice low. He was about to tell them to stay calm when – THUD! A heavy weight landed hard on the dusty ground in front of them.

“Are you blind or just slow?” a voice snapped. “Watch where you’re going, sleepyheads!”

Cheong-myeong stood there, dusting his hands like it was nothing. At their feet lay a deer, its eyes still wide. The Hainan disciples just stared, their mouths open in surprise.

Baek Cheon glared, looking annoyed, and nagged.

“Hey! I told you no fire! Are you even listening to me?”

“Ugh, more nagging! You probably nagged instead of crying when you were born. Shut up and watch!”

“Huh?”

Cheong-myeong quickly skinned the deer with his sword. He seemed to have done it many times.

“…He’s too good at that, isn’t he?”

“Wasn’t he a Taoist priest?”

“I think so?”

He then lifted a large piece of deer leg with both hands.

“What are you going to do… Huh?”

Baek Cheon’s eyes widened. White steam rose from the deer leg like smoke in the cold air. Cheong-myeong chuckled proudly.

“This is the power of the Fiery Yang Palm!”

“…Have you ever seen such a crazy person…”

Baek Cheon’s jaw dropped.

“In all my life, I’ve never seen anyone cook meat with the Fiery Yang Palm…”

“No, Martial Uncle. He did that before, in the Northern Sea.”

“Really?”

If the people of the Southern Sea Solar Palace, who knew the Fiery Yang Palm well, heard this, they would be sad.

Even as Baek Cheon blinked, Cheong-myeong was busy cooking the deer leg. After a while, he casually tossed the cooked deer leg backward.

“Eat.”

“…Yes?”

Seol So-baek, who caught the deer leg, quickly shook his head.

“Ah, no! I… Others need it more than I do…”

“Enough, just eat.”

Cheong-myeong smirked at Seol So-baek.

“You’ve done well enough. So don’t think useless thoughts and eat your fill.”

“…Sect Leader.”

Seol So-baek bit his lip slightly.

Although he was the Lord of the Ice Palace, he was still young and didn’t have much experience, so it was hard for him to be strong in this battle. Maybe he knew this himself, so he had been trying to stay quiet and not get in the way.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t tired.

Cheong-myeong kept cutting and cooking the deer without caring. The smell of roasting meat filled the air, making their stomachs rumble.

The Hainan disciples couldn’t ask for it and just stared blankly at the scene. Then, when they got the meat from Cheong-myeong, they thanked him a lot.

“Thank you, Sect Leader!”

“Thank you so much.”

Cheong-myeong grinned and asked.

“You’re all tired, aren’t you?”

“…A little, actually…”

“Your bodies don’t have any strength, right? You feel like you’d get a boost of power if you ate meat, don’t you?”

“Y-yes! I’m really gratefu…”

“But that’s not true. I know from experience, you don’t get much strength just from eating meat.”

“…Yes?”

“There’s something else that really gives you strength.”

Cheong-myeong shoved his hand deep into the deer’s belly and pulled something out.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Cheong-myeong said, his eyes shining.

“This is the best, this is.”

“…That is?”

He held the deer’s liver, still steaming.

“If you eat this raw, even a dead person will jump up. It’s the best thing for you. Let’s all have a piece.”

“…You’re saying we should eat that raw?”

“Alright, who wants to eat first?”

Cheong-myeong cut off a piece of the deer liver and slowly walked toward the Hainan disciples.

“Eeeeek!”

The Hainan disciples all stepped back together.

Cheong-myeong frowned, looking confused.

“How strange. You people eat fish raw, why are you making such a fuss about this!”

“How… How is that the same thing? How can a person eat tha…”

“Um…”

At that moment, everyone looked at Seol So-baek, who was standing behind Cheong-myeong.

Seol So-baek smacked his lips, staring at the hot liver in Cheong-myeong’s hand.

“Could you give me that instead of the meat? In the Northern Sea, raw reindeer liver is a delicacy.”

“…”

“And… the blood keeps dripping on the ground. Why are you wasting it? It’s so good for you.”

“…”

“If you’re going to throw it away, give it to me! We don’t have anything like that to eat.”

“Oh… Alright, take it.”

“Thank you, Sect Leader!”

Seol So-baek’s face lit up with joy. Watching him walk toward the deer with his mouth watering, Cheong-myeong suddenly thought.

Bringing the Mount Heaven Alliance together might be harder and more awful than he had thought.