Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1415

A sudden rustling made Jang Il-so slowly turn his head.

He saw someone approaching.

It was a face he didn’t recognize. Jang Il-so couldn’t possibly remember every member of the Sahae Lyeon, but surely no one with that face could approach him so closely.

Then, the person’s identity became obvious.

“What’s the situation?”

“The cleanup is mostly finished, Lyeonju.”

Cheonmyeon Susa.

The only person who would dare to come so close to Jang Il-so with a face he didn’t recognize was Cheonmyeon Susa, the Moonju of Hao Mun.

Cheonmyeon Susa arrived. His face was so plain, so easily forgotten, that you’d struggle to remember him a moment later. He watched Jang Il-so’s back in silence.

The Sahae Lyeonju stood against the backdrop of Cheongseong, devastated and burning.

‘The Overlord…’

At first, he was amazed.

Throughout Gangho’s long history, no Sapa person had ever manipulated the Jeongpa so easily.

It wasn’t just that he was outstanding.

Jang Il-so seemed to see something others couldn’t. That’s why he admired him, and that’s why he acknowledged him.

But now, after Cheongseong, one of the Gu Pa, had been so mercilessly trampled, that feeling had completely changed.

“Did you take care of everything?”

“…A few rats managed to escape, but we’ll send a pursuit team now to clean them up.”

“A pursuit team?”

“Yes. From Hao Mun…”

“Enough with the useless details.”

Jang Il-so cut him off, and Cheonmyeon Susa shut his mouth.

“They’re just rats. No need to waste resources on them. Leave them be. They’ll spread the word about how miserably Cheongseong was defeated.”

Cheonmyeon Susa nodded almost unconsciously.

It wasn’t that he agreed with his intentions. He just believed Jang Il-so was more right than he was.

Cheonmyeon Susa realized he could never see what that man saw.

“Are you going to leave the Hyeol Gungju as is?”

At Cheonmyeon Susa’s question, Jang Il-so glanced sideways.

The elite of the Hyeol Gung were here, slaughtering Cheongseong’s disciples, but the Hyeol Gungju was nowhere to be seen.

It was hard to say the Gungdo hadn’t listened to Jang Il-so’s orders, since they had been sent without delay, but the fact that he hadn’t shown his face felt strange.

Jang Il-so shrugged.

“He did the minimum, at least.”

“You mean that’s enough?”

Cheonmyeon Susa narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t expect loyalty or anything like that. He’s just paying the price for what he did. Whether that’s a good price or a bad price…”

Jang Il-so’s lips turned up. At first, his smile seemed kind. But Cheonmyeon Susa saw the coldness hidden beneath, like ice under a thin layer of snow.

Jang Il-so didn’t like waste. He wouldn’t want to be at odds with the Hyeol Gungju in this situation. Yes, that would have been enough for Jang Il-so until now.

But Cheonmyeon Susa knew.

Right now, Jang Il-so was just paying a little more attention to the situation.

Jang Il-so never forgets.

Even if he temporarily accepted the limitations of the present situation, he would never forget that he had succumbed. That was why Mangeum Daebu met a miserable death, and the Black Dragon King became Jang Il-so’s dog with one arm cut off.

Perhaps the Hyeol Gungju’s fate wouldn’t be so different either.

If he continued to evaluate Jang Il-so from a safe distance, without fully committing, Jang Il-so’s fingernails would eventually be embedded in his neck as well.

Then, what about Cheonmyeon Susa?

Was he really safe right now?

Now, all that could be seen in Cheongseong was a sea of fire. Before sunrise, Cheongseong would be completely reduced to ashes.

Cheongseong’s strength was formidable, and Cheonmyeon Susa had braced himself for massive damage even as he climbed the mountain. It was only natural, since they were attacking Gu Pa Il Bang. He had to be prepared to pay that price.

But now, Cheongseong was being trampled under Jang Il-so’s feet far too easily.

‘If it had been normal, this would never have happened.’

Since they were attacked by an unexpected enemy, at an unexpected time, they didn’t even have a chance to fight back. Trampling on those who hadn’t braced themselves for a desperate fight with a stronger force was easier than twisting a child’s wrist.

But it’s always easy to evaluate after the fact. What’s really difficult is turning that easy evaluation into reality.

There was someone in front of him who calmly accomplished the impossible. Cheonmyeon Susa stared at him blankly.

Then, Jang Il-so raised his eyebrows and asked.

“What’s wrong?”

Cheonmyeon Susa flinched.

Jang Il-so’s eyes looked strange. Whether it was because of the heat of the flames, or because of the desire filling him, his light-colored eyes were shimmering with an indescribable light.

Those were the eyes of a cunning hero. That gaze pressed down on Cheonmyeon Susa.

From the time they first gathered to organize the Sahae Lyeon, until now, as they were burning Cheongseong, Jang Il-so had always looked at the world with those eyes.

What had changed wasn’t Jang Il-so. It was Cheonmyeon Susa himself, who was looking at Jang Il-so.

Jang Il-so’s lip curled into a sneer. “Suddenly scared, are you?”

“Even if you’re scared, there’s no way to go back now. Now that we’ve burned Cheongseong, the only path left is for one of us to be annihilated.”

Cheonmyeon Susa chuckled.

He was so used to hiding his true self, his expressions, and his emotions, but rarely was this smile as clearly from the heart as it was now.

He couldn’t help but laugh.

“Of course, I’m afraid of the Gu Pa.”

“You’re honest.”

“I’m not afraid of destruction either. The fact that the path to living moderately like a king in Gangnam has collapsed isn’t exactly pleasant either.”

Jang Il-so nodded slowly.

He despised those without ambition, but he didn’t particularly hate those who were honest with him. Acknowledging oneself was also a great thing.

“But what I’m afraid of isn’t them or my destruction, it’s you, Lyeonju.”

“…Me?”

Jang Il-so looked at Cheonmyeon Susa as if he was amused. Jang Il-so’s eyes were calm even as they flickered in the firelight, but Cheonmyeon Susa’s eyes were clearly shaking.

“They say that if a person feels afraid of someone, the method is obvious.”

“Yes.”

A strange smile appeared on Jang Il-so’s face.

“Kill them. So they can’t scare you anymore.”

Jang Il-so glanced around.

“How about it? There happen to be two of us. It doesn’t seem impossible for you, does it?”

A silly laugh burst from Cheonmyeon Susa’s mouth.

There might certainly be a possibility. He was also the Moonju of Hao Mun. It couldn’t be said that he would definitely lose to Jang Il-so. Jang Il-so’s martial prowess was an unknown, but an unknown didn’t necessarily mean it was great.

“That’s not a bad method. But… I know an even better method.”

Slowly, Cheonmyeon Susa lowered himself. He bent one knee – a knee that was never meant to bend – and touched it to the ground.

Jang Il-so merely stared at that symbolic sight with an indifferent gaze.

“Hao Mun’s Moonju, Cheonmyeon Susa Dam Yeo-hae.”

Cheonmyeon Susa bowed deeply, very deeply.

A man kneeling in the midst of raging flames. That might be more spectacular than the burning Cheongseong.

Jang Il-so twisted the corners of his lips into a smile and let out a low hum.

“Hmph. How new.”

“…”

“Wasn’t it always like that?”

Cheonmyeon Susa raised his head. The moment his eyes met Jang Il-so’s, he sensed it.

Eyes that hadn’t changed in the slightest.

What that gaze, which showed not even a hint of change even after gaining Cheonmyeon Susa’s loyalty, meant.

And Cheonmyeon Susa naturally understood what he had to do.

Cheonmyeon Susa’s hand slowly moved towards his face. The hand, carrying a faint tremor, covered his face and came down the moment…

Finally, a different smile than before bloomed on Jang Il-so’s lips.

“Cheonmyeon Susa’s true face.”

He nodded slightly. And he added playfully.

“There was no need to show me even that.”

“It is only natural to pledge allegiance to Lyeonju.”

Jang Il-so slowly approached the kneeling Cheonmyeon Susa. The red Jangpo fluttered like a flag and then settled down.

Thud.

Jang Il-so lightly placed his hand on Cheonmyeon Susa’s shoulder and lowered his head slightly.

“You see.”

A whispering voice echoed in Cheonmyeon Susa’s ear.

“I’m someone who doesn’t care about intentions.”

“…”

“Because no one can know what’s true. So all I need to know is what you want. What do you want?”

Cheonmyeon Susa’s shoulder trembled slightly.

“…Life.”

“How pathetic.”

Jang Il-so lightly tapped Cheonmyeon Susa’s shoulder.

There were no other words.

There was no promise to guarantee the life he wanted, and he didn’t praise him for kneeling and entering his command. He simply touched his shoulder once.

But Cheonmyeon Susa didn’t want anything else either.

Because everything was meaningless in front of this man. Promises, emotions, even the sincerity he showed, all of it was just a card that could be used when needed.

What Cheonmyeon Susa wanted was just mercy and value.

For those cold, metal-forged flames to burn him and Hao Mun as late as possible.

“Clean up.”

“Yes, Lyeonju.”

The attitude and tone had changed quite a bit.

This didn’t just mean that the relationship between Cheonmyeon Susa and Jang Il-so had changed.

The Sahae Lyeon, which was created from the alliance of five Munpa from the beginning, meant that it was harmonizing in a different form than it had been until now. In the flames that were kindled by sacrificing Cheongseong.

“Are you going to Ami?”

“I have to.”

Jang Il-so’s gaze flickered to Byeok Hyeon-ja’s corpse.

A worthless death. The value of that death was only that it bought a few moments of time.

“The news will not have reached Ami yet. It will be easy to get to Ami.”

“That’s right. But we still have to hurry.”

A red line was drawn on Jang Il-so’s white face as he smiled.

“It wouldn’t be fair if only the Gu Pa were affected. We have to make Cheon Woo Maeng feel the same way. We’ll have to hurry to burn Ami and trample down the Dang Ga.”

“Yes!”

Cheonmyeon Susa bowed deeply and turned around.

Staring intently at his receding back, Jang Il-so’s face twisted strangely.

‘A rat…’

It’s good to be quick-witted. But… those who lower themselves in advance because they don’t want to die will eventually reveal their true colors when they no longer feel they are in danger.

It will be he himself, not Jang Il-so, who decides Cheonmyeon Susa’s fate. Anyway, he’s a useful force.

“Tsk.”

Jang Il-so, who clicked his tongue briefly, cast his gaze towards a distant place. Not towards the north where Ami was, but towards the east where the Jang Gang was.

“I’m going to get scolded by Ga-myeong again.”

He chuckled and soon turned around.

The flames that had consumed Cheongseong were spreading north. The momentum was so fierce that it seemed no one could stop it.