Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1362

Yu Gong spoke, his voice a little rough, and glanced back. Almost without thinking, he bit his lip.

He just said, “This way,” without pointing. But Ho Gamyung turned the right way anyway.

It was like Ho Gamyung understood the markings even before Yu Gong could point the way.

Yu Gong felt very uneasy about this.

It wasn’t just that Ho Gamyung understood the markings that only Hainan should know.

Even if Hainan’s sword skills helped, it was still about understanding. If you watched closely enough, you could figure out the sword marks and where they pointed.

Yu Gong felt uneasy because he thought he was becoming less useful. If Ho Gamyung could understand Hainan’s markings completely, Yu Gong would be useless.

What would Ho Gamyung do then?

“You seem deep in thought.”

Yu Gong jumped at Ho Gamyung’s words and turned around. His face didn’t show what he was thinking.

“Worried about being thrown away after I use you?”

Ho Gamyung’s words hit Yu Gong hard.

“You don’t need to worry about that. Using people and throwing them away like old shoes is what the good groups do, not us bad groups.”

Yu Gong jumped again, watching Ho Gamyung carefully. Even though he hadn’t said anything, Ho Gamyung seemed to know what he was thinking.

“The bad groups don’t abandon people.”

“…Is that what you people do?”

“It makes sense. You might say some people are useful and others aren’t, but the bad groups don’t. Most people are trash anyway.”

Yu Gong didn’t answer, unsure what to say.

“So, even if you’re trash, we won’t throw you away if you try. Even if you’re a traitor from the good groups.”

“…So, I should thank you for this, right?”

Yu Gong asked, and Ho Gamyung smiled strangely.

“That’s a weird reaction.”

“…”

“You chose to betray them. No one made you.”

Yu Gong bit his lip hard.

“If you want something, just think about how to get it. If you worry about other annoying things, you’ll lose everything.”

Ho Gamyung pointed forward with his chin.

“So, stop thinking useless thoughts and focus on your job. I decide if you’re useful, not you.”

“…Understood.”

Yu Gong sighed and was about to make his horse move again when—

“And.”

“…Yes?”

Wham!

Ho Gamyung’s palm hit Yu Gong’s cheek. The sharp force cut a long line across his face.

Plop.

Red blood ran down his cheek and dripped from his chin.

“If you’re going to do it, do it right. Tell me everything you find out, don’t hide anything. Like if you notice they’ve changed direction a little, which means they’re going somewhere else. Or if they’re leaving markings closer together, which means they’re traveling slower.”

“…”

“You just need to tell me what you see. I’ll figure out what it means.”

Yu Gong squeezed his eyes shut.

“…Understood.”

“Go faster.”

Yu Gong gritted his teeth and moved forward. Ho Gamyung watched him with a look of contempt.

‘How pathetic.’

Yu Gong was a traitor who couldn’t be saved.

He might have stepped up to save others at first, but now he was selling out his friends to stay alive. But he still acted like he had some conscience left.

From the moment he betrayed his group and sold out his friends, talking about conscience was pointless.

Ho Gamyung stared at Yu Gong’s back for a moment, then stopped thinking about him. He was just a hunting dog. There was no need to understand him.

‘The important thing is them.’

The enemies had changed their movements a little, but they were still doing what he expected. This meant they didn’t know they were being followed by someone who could read Hainan’s markings.

‘No, even if they do know, it doesn’t matter.’

Now that Jang Il-So had started to move, their fate was decided. Ho Gamyung just had to make Jang Il-So’s job a little easier.

Ho Gamyung told everyone to go faster, pushed off the ground, and moved forward.

Old Man Hyung, the village chief of Hyungga Village, stood outside his simple wooden house, gazing at the setting sun. Hyung Wook, who was watching him, spoke carefully.

“It seems they won’t come today.”

Old Man Hyung looked at Hyung Wook without saying anything. Hyung Wook understood and lowered his head.

“Let’s start unpacking our things again.”

“Father, not yet…”

“Do you still have hope?”

Hyung Wook lowered his head even more. But he still sounded hopeful.

“It hasn’t been that long. It could take a month to get here from Gangbuk, not just ten days.”

“That’s for ordinary people like us. How could it take more than ten days for people who can cross rivers quickly and jump over mountains?”

“…I heard that the Unorthodox Demon Alliance controls that river. So, crossing that river…”

“Tsk, tsk.”

Old Man Hyung clicked his tongue before he could finish. Hyung Wook sighed deeply.

“Why are you so attached to this?”

“…”

“Of course, I’m grateful too. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be alive, and the people of this village would have been in trouble. How can I thank them enough?”

Hyung Wook nodded. How could they ever repay such kindness?

“But, son, don’t expect too much.”

“…”

“It’s not because they’re bad people. They helped us a lot. But that’s just how people are.”

“They were different.”

The old man shook his head again.

“Even ordinary people would help a rabbit that fell into a snake pit.”

“…”

“But they wouldn’t chase after that rabbit to see if it’s hurt or help it find food. That’s normal, right?”

“But…”

“To those people, we’re just like that rabbit. They might be kind and help us if we’re in trouble, but we’re just ordinary people they don’t need to spend time protecting or helping.”

“Father, those people…”

“Why can’t you understand? I’m saying it’s not that they’re bad people. It’s just how the world is.”

“…”

“So, let’s stop now. The villagers can’t focus on their work because they’re hoping for something that won’t happen. It’s hard to care about a place if you might leave soon. Your hope is hurting the village.”

Hyung Wook looked at his father with a complicated expression.

His father had been the village chief of Hyungga Village for many years. Before he was born, when he was young, and even now.

So, he knew more about the world than Hyung Wook did.

But even Hyung Wook, who usually listened to his father, couldn’t agree this time.

“I know what you’re saying, Father. And I know it makes sense.”

“…”

“But… Father, they were really different. I…”

Hyung Wook sighed. He still wanted to believe they would help the villagers move to Gangbuk.

“Let’s wait a little longer. Something must have happened.”

“Hmm.”

Old Man Hyung looked at his son sadly.

Everyone hopes for things like that at some point. They admire stories of heroes who save people.

He used to tell Hyung Wook stories of heroes when he was young, telling him to be like them.

But the more you hope, the more disappointed you’ll be.

‘In the end, it’s poison…’

Stories are just stories. If people like that were common… No, if there were even a few, the world wouldn’t be so hard.

But Old Man Hyung couldn’t say anything more.

If they stopped hoping, the villagers would just live in fear under the Unorthodox Demon Alliance.

How could he tell people who were dreaming because reality was so painful that their dreams were worthless?

So, he had to wait for the villagers to give up and accept reality.

The old man sighed and said.

“Alright. Let’s do that. But… that doesn’t mean we can do nothing. So, let’s slowly…”

Just then.

“Chief, Village Chief! Hey, Hyung Wook!”

The door burst open, and a man rushed in, looking scared.

“Wh-what’s wrong?”

“Has something happened?”

“Th-they’ve come! They’ve come!”

“Who’s ‘they’?”

“No, that…”

The man was too surprised to speak, stammering and pounding his chest.

“Ah, you know! The ones you were waiting for!”

“Waiting? I’m waiting for the people from Gangbuk…”

“Yes! The ones who called them!”

The words were mixed up, but Hyung Wook understood right away.

“Are you saying the heroes who visited us back then have come again?”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

“Why are they here?”

“They’re in front right now!”

“Huh?”

Hyung Wook blinked, confused, and the man raised his voice, looking annoyed.

“I’m saying they’re here again! They’re looking for you! What are you waiting for? Go see them!”

The man grabbed Hyung Wook’s arm and pulled him.

“Th-they’ve come?”

“Yes, they have!”

“Get out of the way!”

Hyung Wook pushed the man away and ran out. He ran to the village entrance and saw several people.

“Ah…”

He almost didn’t recognize them. They looked so different from before.

Before, they looked clean and like real heroes. Now, they looked very tired and worn out. They looked like they had been through a lot.

But their eyes were the same as before.

“Yo.”

A smaller man next to the handsome man grinned and waved.

“Uncle, how have you been?”

“H-Heroes!”

Hyung Wook smiled.

His father was wrong. They hadn’t forgotten the villagers. That’s why they came back, right?

“Sorry to bother you, but could we get some food?”

Hyung Wook nodded quickly.

“Of course! We’ll give you food! Please come in. I’ll tell them to get it ready!”

“Really?”

“Of course. Who would refuse food to people who saved our lives?”

“Well… there are a lot of us, but is that okay?”

“Of course!”

“There are really a lot.”

“It’s fine, no matter how many.”

Hyung Wook said again, and the smaller man, Chung Myung, turned around and said.

“It’s okay! Everyone, come out.”

As soon as he said that, a group of fighters came out of the dark trees of the forest behind them.

The men looked like there were over a hundred of them. Hyung Wook’s mouth dropped open.

“…Is it really okay?”

“…”

“Heh heh. He’s very kind. We’ll enjoy the meal.”

Hyung Wook couldn’t speak for a moment. Chung Myung looked… sly.