Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1406

Jo Gul reacted in a way that was not normal for him. No one said anything about it or told him he was wrong.

When you saw the injuries on his body, you knew he and the others had gone through a very hard journey.

After facing so many difficulties, even someone like Jo Gul, who was known for being tough, might change.

“Seriously, crossing the river? What were you even thinking? Are you crazy?”

He stopped talking for a moment. “Actually, forget it. Jo Gul is still Jo Gul.”

“Geol… About the Supreme Elder…” Yoon Jong said weakly.

“No, listen to me!” Jo Gul interrupted loudly.

“I’m just saying the truth! What if you were caught crossing the river? We would all be dead! Do you think you have extra lives? You guys are unbelievable! You are alive because you were lucky. If someone had seen you…” Jo Gul kept scolding, while Chung Myung stayed quiet.

Yoon Jong, still being carried by Hyun Sang, mumbled, “Elder… can you move me closer to that jerk… I can’t hit him…”

“Hold on, Yoon Jong,” Hyun Sang replied. “He looks like he’s about to die anyway.”

“…good to hear,” Yoon Jong whispered, sounding relieved.

Yoon Jong shook his head weakly. But he really wanted to ask the same question as Jo Gul.

“But seriously,” Yoon Jong asked, “how did you cross the river?”

“There’s no big story,” Hyun Sang said. “The Sect Leader… no, the Supreme Elder, just said we had to cross. He even waved his sword around and made a big deal about it.”

“The Supreme Elder did?” Yoon Jong asked, surprised.

“Yes. He just kept pushing us to go,” Hyun Sang confirmed.

Yoon Jong’s eyes got big as he looked at everyone. The other Five Swords also looked surprised.

They looked at each other, then Yoon Jong stared at Hyun Jong’s back as he carried Baek Cheon.

‘Not Elder Hyeon Young, but the Supreme Elder?’ Yoon Jong thought.

If it was Hyeon Young, it would make sense. Hyeon Young was very direct. He seemed cold, but he would always risk his life for his students if there was danger.

But it was hard to picture Hyun Jong arguing and pushing people to cross the river. And he even pushed people from other groups?

“So, the other groups just listened to the Supreme Elder arguing?” Yoon Jong asked.

“Listened?” Hyun Sang laughed, still sounding like he couldn’t believe it.

“The Tang Clan leader and the Namgung Elder even yelled at us for being too slow!”

“Also, the Ice Palace and Beast Palace were supposed to stay in Gangbuk. But when I realized it, they were already following us.”

“Wait, what?” Yoon Jong asked, confused.

“They said they couldn’t just watch us go alone, so what could we do? We couldn’t argue with them then…” Hyun Sang explained.

Yoon Jong felt dizzy. He remembered that Maeng So and Han I-myeong had saved Chung Myung. If things had gone as planned, they might not have been here to help.

Hyun Sang seemed to understand what Yoon Jong was thinking. “It’s quite a lucky accident, isn’t it?” he said.

“…yes, it is,” Yoon Jong agreed.

Hyun Sang looked at Maeng So and Han I-myeong running ahead, like they were protecting them. “I didn’t ask anyone to risk their lives,” Hyun Sang said. “But they risked their lives because they wanted to.”

Yoon Jong was silent, thinking.

“Seeing them save Chung Myung here,” Hyun Sang continued, “made me think a lot.”

Yoon Jong held Hyun Sang’s shoulder tightly, feeling a strong emotion he couldn’t explain. Hyun Sang spoke quietly, “Sometimes, when Chung Myung and you all cause trouble, I wonder. You could live easily without doing all this, without making so much noise. Why do you worry so much that you go so far?”

Hyun Sang looked at Chung Myung, who Tang Gunak was carrying. “But this time, I think I understand. Maybe this is what Chung Myung wanted to see.”

Yoon Jong looked at Chung Myung’s back too.

‘The Heavenly Union…’ he thought. He used to think it was just a name without much meaning. But now he realized it was more than that.

What Chung Myung really wanted was for them to be connected in a way that they would drop everything to help each other when things were dangerous. A connection where they would risk their lives for each other.

That’s why Chung Myung acted like that. He must have thought if he helped others first, they would help him too.

His risky actions of helping others had now saved his own life.

If they hadn’t risked their lives like Chung Myung, he would be dead now.

How could he explain this?

Yoon Jong could only think of one word.

“It’s the Dao,” he said. ( *Dao is like a natural way or principle* – *optional brief explanation if needed for your target audience*)

“…yes, it is,” Hyun Sang agreed.

It felt right. The rules of the world might seem pointless sometimes, but in the end, things work out in the right way. That was the only way to explain it. But then again…

“It’s just luck,” Jo Gul said.

“…that’s also true,” Hyun Sang chuckled.

Yoo Iseol would have said it that simply and clearly, Yoon Jong thought.

Maybe it was luck from heaven, or something else. But many things had come together to let Chung Myung live, and for them to live too.

They would probably never forget this moment.

‘Does that jerk even know?’ Yoon Jong wondered. How many people had risked their lives for him? Of course, he wouldn’t know, since he was unconscious.

Just then, Baek Cheon, being carried by Hyun Jong, turned his head. “This is not the time to be emotional,” he said.

“…right,” Yoon Jong replied, brought back to reality.

“The danger is not over yet,” Baek Cheon continued. “You know the main group of the Myriad Man House is ahead of us, right?”

Yoon Jong stopped talking.

“If it’s Ho Gamyung,” Baek Cheon said, “he will tell Jang Ilso. Jang Ilso will know exactly where we are going. That means we will have to fight the Myriad Man House to get out of Gangnam.”

Yoon Jong’s face became serious. Then, Hyun Jong spoke calmly, correcting Baek Cheon, “I heard the Black Cloud Corps is coming too.”

“…the Black Cloud Corps also?” Yoon Jong asked, surprised again.

“Yes,” Hyun Jong said. “And the Suro Troop is moving north along the Yangtze River. And the Hao Clan will come too, of course.”

Baek Cheon’s face became very serious.

“That means…”

Hyun Jong nodded. “Yes. It’s not just the Myriad Man House blocking us now. All of the Four Evil Sects are gathering at the Yangtze River.”

Suddenly, it became very quiet around Hyun Jong.

They had just escaped death because of the Heavenly Union, and they felt strong after saving their friends. But now, they understood the real danger.

The Four Evil Sects. Even if they tried to ignore it, the name was just too powerful and scary.

Just then, Jo Gul spoke quickly, “Wait, they are not all there yet, right? The Black Cloud Corps is still coming, and the Suro Troop is still moving! If we are fast, we can cross the river before they all arrive! Right?”

Tang Gunak nodded at what Jo Gul said. “The Captain is right,” he agreed.

“Y-yes, of course, Clan Head,” Jo Gul said, pleased.

“If we hurry, we might make it,” Tang Gunak said.

“Then we have to hurry! Hurry! Sasukjo! What are you doing? Run faster!” Jo Gul started complaining to Un Geom.

Hyun Sang looked at Jo Gul and asked Yoon Jong, “Yoon Jong, should I move over there?”

“…please,” Yoon Jong begged. “Even if I die, I have to punch that jerk at least once before I go…”

Everyone felt a little lighter for a moment because of his joke.

Tang Gunak watched them with a small smile, but then his eyes became serious.

What Jo Gul said wasn’t wrong, but Tang Gunak knew something he didn’t say out loud. No matter how fast they went, they couldn’t avoid the Myriad Man House. The Myriad Man House was already ahead of them. And the main group of the Myriad Man House included Jang Ilso. *Tang Gunak felt a knot of worry in his stomach.*

Of course, Jang Ilso was very strong. And they didn’t know exactly how strong the main group of the Myriad Man House was. But Tang Gunak thought, the Myriad Man House alone probably couldn’t stop *them*.

“…Green Forest King?” Tang Gunak asked, looking for Im So-byeong.

“Me?” Im So-byeong, being carried by the Namgung Clan Elder without any shame, looked at Tang Gunak.

“What do you think?” Tang Gunak asked.

It was still a bit strange for them to talk openly together. But Chung Myung was unconscious, and Im So-byeong was the only one who could see the whole situation clearly. Im So-byeong was a faster thinker than Tang Gunak.

“Hmm,” Im So-byeong hummed.

Tang Gunak didn’t need to ask more. Im So-byeong understood what he wanted to know. Im So-byeong frowned and thought for a moment. Then he said, “If we look at it without emotion, the Myriad Man House won’t block us by themselves. It’s that jerk Jang Ilso who is making the Myriad Man House move right now.”

Tang Gunak nodded.

The Sichuan Tang Clan was strong. The Namgung Clan had become weaker, but they were still as strong as a good group. The Ice Palace had only a few people, so maybe they were not as strong. But the Beast Palace was very powerful. Most groups would be scared to even challenge them.

And most importantly, there was Mount Hua.

Tang Gunak and Jang Ilso were the two people who knew how strong Mount Hua really was. Maybe even Jang Ilso knew better than Tang Gunak. Jang Ilso always thought Mount Hua was very strong, maybe even stronger than Tang Gunak’s own group.

“It won’t be easy,” Im So-byeong said.

“No,” Tang Gunak agreed. “It’s actually a foolish thing for them to do.”

Im So-byeong scratched his head with his broken fan.

“Actually,” Im So-byeong said, “because it’s Jang Ilso, maybe there won’t even be a fight. Jang Ilso hates to lose. Even if it’s about the reputation of the Four Evil Sects, he won’t want to waste all the Myriad Man House’s power to stop *us*.”

“If things were normal,” Im So-byeong said, “we might cross the Yangtze River without any fighting, as long as we get there before the Black Cloud Corps.”

“If things were normal?” Tang Gunak repeated.

“Yes,” Im So-byeong said. “If things were normal…”

For a moment, Tang Gunak and Im So-byeong looked at each other with the same expression.

They both imagined Jang Ilso’s face, always looking arrogant and looking down on everyone.

“…it won’t be that easy,” Tang Gunak said.

“Probably not,” Im So-byeong agreed.

If things were normal, there would be no fight.

But that’s why Jang Ilso would definitely try to stop them. He always did things differently.

He wouldn’t do what everyone expected. He would trick them in ways they couldn’t even imagine.

“No matter what, we need to hurry,” Tang Gunak said.

“Yes,” Im So-byeong agreed.

Tang Gunak and Im So-byeong both looked determined.

Jang Ilso was impossible to predict. No one could guess what he would do next.

So, they had to make sure he had fewer chances to act.

Reaching the Yangtze River before the Black Cloud Corps and the Suro Troop joined the Myriad Man House. That was the most important thing for *them* to do right now.

‘If things go really bad…’ Tang Gunak thought. He looked at everyone running with him. He looked at each person’s face. Then he looked down at Chung Myung in his arms.

‘The future of *our group* must continue,’ he thought.

That was the job of those who were still alive, the responsibility of the older ones.

Tang Gunak looked at Hyun Jong, and they understood each other without words. Tang Gunak pushed off the ground and ran even faster.

‘The Yangtze River is only about two hours away!’

Their fate would be decided in the next two hours.