Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1373

Inside the very fancy carriage, Jang Il-so was relaxing and enjoying the ride. He looked at the small window, just big enough to see out.

The view outside was very narrow. He could not see much, so he could not tell where they were going or how far they had traveled.

But he didn’t mind.

He liked to think about how small actions can cause big changes, like a stone making ripples in a lake.

He wondered how big these changes would become.

He chuckled softly.

“Lord Ryunju,”

A cautious voice came from outside the carriage. Jang Il-so replied in a relaxed way.

“Yes?”

“I have news about what’s happening in Gangbuk.”

Jang Il-so’s long eyelashes flickered slightly.

“Go on,”

“The Nine Great Sects and the Cheonwoo Alliance seem to understand what is happening. They are moving quickly, but they don’t seem to be following us yet.”

“Hmm…”

“It looks like the Cheonwoo Alliance is getting ready to move. But the Nine Great Sects are not moving much. Maybe they will just stay where they are…”

Jang Il-so laughed, as if he found it funny.

“We miss Ga-myung now.”

“Sorry,”

“They aren’t staying put. They’re merely slow. Important people are usually afraid of making even the smallest mistake, so they wait until they are sure about everything.”

Especially Beop-jeong.

He understood Beop-jeong well after what happened with the Namgoong Clan. He was a man who wanted his group to suffer no damage at all. He really didn’t want to be responsible for anything.

A man like that would never act quickly when things are not clear. He would wait until the situation became clearer, even if it meant accepting some losses. Because even if they lost a bit more, he would be less responsible.

This was normal.

This is common for proud people who talk about honor and doing the right thing. The seemingly good sects often act like this.

But Hwasan and the Cheonwoo Alliance were reacting to Jang Il-so’s actions very quickly and secretly, like ghosts. They were not behaving like the usual good sects.

“And… Ah, never mind.”

“Hmm?”

The hesitation in the voice made Jang Il-so curious. There shouldn’t be any more news, right?

“Do you want to say something else?”

“Well, it’s a small thing… I wasn’t sure if I should tell you, Lord Ryunju…”

“Tell me,”

“Yes! Well… about thirty people have gone missing in the south.”

“Thirty?”

“Yes. The missing people were not very strong fighters, so it’s not particularly important news… But, we don’t know why…”

Jang Il-so smiled a little.

“The location?”

“Near Muzhou. In the south.”

“Muzhou?”

“Yes! We thought it might be the bad guys from the Cheonwoo Alliance moving north. But the disappearances happened in places that are not empty. And they are far from where we thought the Cheonwoo Alliance would go. It doesn’t seem like they would want to show themselves and fight. Maybe there is another reason.”

Jang Il-so, who had been listening quietly, burst out laughing. It wasn’t his usual scary laugh. This time, he laughed because he thought something was very funny.

“Hahaha! Honestly!”

He wiped his face, like he was no longer annoyed by Beop-jeong.

“Really, what an annoying kid.”

“Should we send people to investigate…?”

“Ignore it,”

Jang Il-so chuckled softly and muttered to himself.

“That’s like someone inviting me to come. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Silence followed his words, not an answer.

Jang Il-so didn’t explain what he understood. He didn’t need to, and they wouldn’t understand anyway, so he didn’t want to waste his breath.

He could hear it in his ears.

‘I’m here. Don’t you want to come and kill me?’

That was the voice of the person.

“Haha.”

Jang Il-so couldn’t stop laughing.

“I don’t like being tricked by men.”

Anyway, Maninbang was hurt this time because of the Cheonwoo Alliance bad guys. Of course, that loss could be made up for by catching the bad guys who went into Gangnam…

“But it still doesn’t make sense.”

Even if Sa-Paeryeon won and Cheonwoo Alliance lost, the Nine Great Sects would still get the good things. How Sa-Paeryeon sees it, even if they didn’t lose, they would still feel bad.

The Hwasan Sword Saint in the Cheonwoo Alliance would think the same way. So, they would try to get the Nine Great Sects involved. The Hwasan Sword Saint would think the best way to make the Nine Great Sects move is to use Jang Il-so.

“Is he trying to use himself to make me move? He thinks too highly of himself.”

Jang Il-so smiled and looked carefully out the window.

These times were interesting.

The Hwasan Sword Saint was trying to make him come out so the Nine Great Sects would move. And Jang Il-so was already doing what the Hwasan Sword Saint expected. They hadn’t talked, but they were thinking the same thing.

He couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of a person who was trying to surprise him, after dealing with people who couldn’t even understand simple actions.

“Even if you don’t tell me to do it… I’m already doing it.”

How Jang Il-so saw it, there was no reason to let the Nine Great Sects just watch without getting involved. He thought the more groups got involved, the bigger and more exciting the situation would become.

His long fingers tapped his white cheek.

“But Hwasan Sword Saint…”

His red lips smiled widely.

“You must be careful. That flame could swallow you up.”

He tilted his head back and spoke in a relaxed voice.

“Tell the Surochae to move.”

“Yes, Lord Ryunju!”

“If the old and slow people are being slow, we’ll have to make them move.”

Jang Il-so closed his eyes slowly with a happy and proud look.

“Reporting!”

The person who opened the door suddenly and rushed in raised his voice, being very impolite.

“The Sa-Paeryeon forces, led by Paegun, have reached Mount Huang!”

Beop-jeong frowned and asked.

“Already to Mount Huang?”

“Yes! The Beggars’ Sect has reported it.”

“…I understand.”

“Yes.”

Right after the door closed, Beop-jeong sighed, like he was expecting this news. Jongli-hyung, the second leader, was looking serious and worried. He opened his mouth.

“If they are at Mount Huang, can’t they quickly reach Hapbi if they go north?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“Oh, how could this…”

Jongli-hyung asked, worried and unable to stay still.

“Then shouldn’t we do something too, Leader?”

Beop-jeong closed his eyes without a word.

‘How could this…’

Jongli-hyung was only worried about what was happening right now, but what was making Beop-jeong very angry was something else.

‘Because Namgoong joined the Cheonwoo Alliance, this happened!’

This should not have happened. When they crossed the Yangtze River, they should have gone to Anhui. Anhui was the area where the Namgoong Clan was very powerful.

If Namgoong, who was called the leader of the Important family, had kept his power, even the Sa-Paeryeon would not have been able to easily attack Anhui.

Even if the Sa-Paeryeon was strong, if Namgoong had only slowed them down for a little while, Wudang and Shaolin could have helped them.

But that strong defense was gone. Because Namgoong Clan was gone and Wudang was closed.

Even though Wudang was not helping, the Namgoong Clan joining the Cheonwoo Alliance was terrible. If Namgoong Clan had stayed in Anhui and protected it, this would not have happened.

‘Namgoong Hwang’s foolish actions are causing this to happen.’

Beop-jeong sighed again, very frustrated.

At that time, Peng-yeop, the leader of the Peng Clan, said.

“As Jongli-hyung said, it would be good to act quickly. If we let those bad guys cross the river, the damage will be too much to handle.”

Beop-jeong slowly opened his closed eyes.

‘Paegun Jang Il-so.’

There were many people in the world, but could there be anyone else besides him who could hurt people so badly by tricking them?

“What is the Cheonwoo Alliance doing?”

“It seems they are thinking of moving east after Paegun, but they have not left yet.”

“…They are very slow.”

Beop-jeong sounded annoyed. Jongli-hyung carefully watched how he was feeling.

“I heard that the Hwasan Sword Saint is not with the Cheonwoo Alliance right now. Maybe that’s why?”

Beop-jeong bit his lip nervously.

Wasn’t he a useless person? When he was here, he caused trouble just by being here. But now that he’s gone, it’s also a problem.

When the Hwasan Sword Saint led the Cheonwoo Alliance, you could guess what they would do. But now that the Hwasan Sword Saint is gone, Hyun Jong is leading. Even Beop-jeong, who is very wise, can’t guess what the Cheonwoo Alliance will do now.

In the end, there was only one thing Beop-jeong could say.

“Let’s wait a little longer.”

“Abbot! There is no time for that. If they really cross the river…”

“I know.”

Many normal people would be hurt, and Anhui would become very messy and dangerous quickly.

“I’m not happy about this either. But… we can still move after we see what the Cheonwoo Alliance does.”

Jongli-hyung sighed.

Beop-jeong might be right. Unless it was Jang Il-so.

Why didn’t Beop-jeong understand that when they knew what Jang Il-so was planning, it would be too late to stop him? Even after learning this many times!

‘Being careful has its limits.’

Jongli-hyung bit his lip nervously, thinking things he couldn’t say to Beop-jeong.

“A, Abbot!”

Thump!

At that moment, the door burst open and someone rushed in.

“What’s going on?”

Beop-jeong widened his eyes, realizing something was wrong.

“The, the enemies are crossing the river…!”

“What?!”

He hurriedly jumped up from his seat.

“Jang Il-so, who was at Mount Huang, is crossing the river? What are you talking about?”

“N, no, it’s the Surochae! It’s the Surochae!”