Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1418

Abbot Beopjeong turned away, biting his lip hard. He stared at the wide Yangtze River, but the sight did nothing to calm his frustrated heart.

“Beopgye!”

“Yes, Abbot!”

“Tell the Beggars’ Sect to deliver this news to Sichuan by any means possible! No matter what it takes!” Beopjeong ordered.

“A-Abbot… But it’s already…” Beopgye started to say.

“I know that!” Beopjeong snapped.

Beopgye closed his mouth, his face pale from Beopjeong’s outburst. Beopjeong glared at him, took a deep breath, and spoke again.

“It may be too late for Qingcheng and Emei,” he said, “but if we deliver the news quickly, Mount Diancang might be able to retreat. Now is the time to try anything possible!”

“Y-Yes, Abbot!” Beopgye nodded quickly.

As Beopgye hurried to send a message to the Beggars’ Sect, Jongli Hyeong cautiously approached Beopjeong.

“Abbot…” Jongli Hyeong began.

Beopjeong turned to Jongli Hyeong with cold eyes. Jongli Hyeong flinched at the look but found the courage to speak again.

“Are you really not thinking of going to Sichuan?” he asked.

“I know, Abbot. I know it’s too late to go now. But as you said…” Jongli Hyeong continued.

“You mean, if we hurry, there might be a way to save them?” Beopjeong finished the sentence.

“Yes, that’s what I mean. Even though the enemy is Paegun and the Four Evil Vanguards, aren’t they Qingcheng and Emei? They won’t fall so easily.”

Beopjeong sighed. Jongli Hyeong still did not understand. Even after all they had been through, he still did not see how dangerous the other groups were.

Qingcheng and Emei were famous, but Paegun was now far stronger than them. At best, only a few would survive. Even if they gathered those survivors, what difference would it make?

“Sect Leader,” Beopjeong said.

“Yes, Abbot,” Jongli Hyeong replied.

“It’s not that I’m not going, but that I can’t go,” Beopjeong explained.

“What does that mean?” Jongli Hyeong asked, confused.

“Where do you think the Four Evil Vanguards’ forces, which retreated from Nanjing, are going?” Beopjeong asked.

“Well, to Sichuan, of course, aren’t they?” Jongli Hyeong responded.

“What if they don’t?” Beopjeong pressed.

A question appeared in Jongli Hyeong’s eyes. He didn’t understand what Beopjeong was saying.

Seeing Jongli Hyeong’s confusion, Beopjeong shook his head and continued, “They’ve retreated from Nanjing, but they haven’t gone to Sichuan yet. The same goes for the Waterway Bandit’s fleet. They’ve also retreated from here, but they’re still on the Yangtze River.”

“Then?” Jongli Hyeong asked.

“Yes,” Beopjeong nodded heavily. “If we rush to Sichuan, they will surely attack Henan.”

“That…” Jongli Hyeong looked towards the Four Evil Vanguards’ forces, which were staying back.

Their retreat was slow, as if they could change direction at any moment.

“Even though Jang Il-so isn’t here?” Jongli Hyeong asked.

Paeng Yeop answered, “Paegun isn’t here, but there are Myriad Man Clan members who went to Heukgwi Fort and Hainan, and small sects.”

“With that much force alone, it wouldn’t be hard to sweep through Henan, which is now empty,” Paeng Yeop added.

Jongli Hyeong stared at Paeng Yeop, dazed.

“Then…” he mumbled, finally understanding. “Even though we know they’re destroying Sichuan, we can’t leave here?”

“What kind of situation is that? What…” It felt like falling into a deep mud.

Jang Il-so’s trap wouldn’t let them go easily. The price for stepping into it was too high. Once they were stuck in the mud, the more they struggled, the deeper they would sink.

“Amitabha,” Beopjeong quietly chanted the Buddha’s name. He felt unbearable rage. All of this was because of the Cheonwu Alliance’s foolish actions. But the Nine Sects were the ones suffering.

The total destruction of Qingcheng and Emei was certain, and even Mount Diancang was in danger. But the Cheonwu Alliance had only lost the Tang Clan, after their main force was gone.

The Tang Clan used poison and hidden weapons, so losing them was bad. But losing one sect was not as bad as losing three.

Beopjeong was tormented because he could only watch the destruction of those three sects.

‘In the end,’ he thought with a hollow laugh. ‘We lose even though we did nothing wrong, and they gained Hainan even though they did what they shouldn’t have done.’ How could he accept this crazy situation? Should he say they were right, since they gained in the end?

“Then…” Jongli Hyeong asked, his face pale. “Are you saying there’s nothing we can do, Abbot?”

Hearing this, Beopjeong turned and looked at the Four Evil Vanguards’ forces. After staring at them for a long time, Beopjeong looked at the Cheonwu Alliance.

There was something they could do.

“There is something,” Beopjeong said, his eyes dark.

Everyone went silent. The feeling coming from Beopjeong made them hold their breath. After staring at the Cheonwu Alliance with cold eyes, Beopjeong finally spoke slowly.

“What we can do…”

Hyun Jong, who had been silently watching the Nine Sects, turned his head, feeling helpless.

‘It hurts,’ he thought. The words were like a sharp blade, made to hurt. But Hyun Jong felt even worse because the words were true. Maybe their arrogance had caused all of this.

He couldn’t blame them for not helping. He could only feel the pain in his heart.

“Don’t look like that, Alliance Lord,” Geum Yang-baek said.

Hyun Jong turned to the voice. Geum Yang-baek, the Sect Leader of Hainan, was looking at him with wise eyes.

“Sect Leader…” Hyun Jong said.

“If it weren’t for the Cheonwu Alliance, if no one had rushed to Hainan, none of the Hainan disciples here would have lived,” Geum Yang-baek said.

Geum Yang-baek looked at his disciples and shook his head.

“But Sect Leader, if you blame yourself, does that mean our sacrifices were pointless?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I’m sorry, Sect Leader.”

Geum Yang-baek straightened his back, his voice gaining strength despite his pale face.

“Even if the result wasn’t as desired, no one in the world would say that the intentions of the Heavenly Union were wrong.”

“But we can’t forget Sichuan! People there need our help now.”

Hyun Jong stared, bewildered. Geum Yang-baek was clearly dying. His face was ashen, his breathing shallow, yet he spoke of Sichuan.

“But Sect Leader, you’re dying! We need to help *you* first!”

“No,” Geum Yang-baek interrupted firmly. “My time is past. Sichuan needs us now.”

Geum Yang-baek looked at Hyun Jong with resolute eyes.

“I know too well what it feels like to be in a desperate situation where no one helps. The Heavenly Union extended a hand to us. But right now, no one is helping Sichuan, are they?”

“Even if it’s hopeless, we have to try. Someone has to fight for those who are dying.”

Hyun Jong hesitated, his heart heavy. But looking at Geum Yang-baek’s unwavering gaze, he finally nodded. He understood. Even if it seemed pointless, they had to go to Sichuan. It was the only thing they could do.

Hyun Jong, having steeled his resolve, turned to look at the leaders of the other sects.

“Since the Nine Great Sects have acted like this, we must find a way to go to Sichuan on our own. How…”

“Impossible.”

At that moment, Im So-byeong cut off Hyun Jong’s words decisively.

“Green Forest King.”

“I understand your heart, but there’s no way. Unless the Nine Great Sects fight with us, it’s difficult for us alone to break through that defense line. Even if we do break through, we’ll be attacked all the way to Sichuan, suffering damage, and the moment we arrive in Sichuan, we’ll be ambushed from all sides and wiped out.”

Cold words. But extremely realistic words. Especially for those who had already suffered the same thing to get here, the words sounded several times more terrifying.

“Th, then can’t we cross the river?”

At Namgung Dowi’s words, Im So-byeong’s eyes turned cold.

“Do you really think they’ve just given up?”

At those words, Namgung Dowi turned his head to look at the Four Seas Alliance. They had stopped, but not gone far, like wolves circling, ready to attack again.

“Ho Gamyung must have already joined them there. He will try to buy as much time as possible. If we attempt a reckless crossing, they will surely rush at us again. Then our backs will be attacked.”

Those who still saw the Waterway Fortress’s fleet on the Jang River bit their lips.

“Then…”

“We can’t move until they retreat.”

“Isn’t there anything we can do! Are you saying we should just watch like this?”

Namgung Dowi shouted frustratingly, but Im So-byeong didn’t even blink an eye.

“They can’t attack first either. And if the Shaolin Abbot calls in support, including the Beggars’ Sect, they will realize the disadvantage and retreat. At most, it will be a day…”

“Then it’ll be too late!”

Jo Gul slammed his fist on the ground, the force shaking the very floor beneath them. But Im So-byeong only looked at everyone with a cold face.

“Reality is reality…”

“Not everyone needs to go,” Baek Cheon said, his voice weak but firm. “Some of us will go to Sichuan. The rest must stay and protect our retreat.”

Im So-byeong looked at Baek Cheon with a dumbfounded expression.

With a face as pale as death, what foolishness was this?

“Is that possible?”

Im So-byeong looked at Baek Cheon with a face unable to control his anger. How far was this man going to go?

“Just what are you thinking!”

“Whether it’s possible or not.”

Baek Cheon looked at Im So-byeong with a resolute face.

“Just tell me, Green Forest King, will you help us or not?”

Behind Baek Cheon, several people approached and stood. With faces that said there was no use in stopping them.

The fact that they, the ones standing behind him, were the most severely injured people here made Im So-byeong sick to his stomach.

“Impossible.”

“Green Forest King!”

“Sichuan is far more dangerous than Hainan. A small group can’t make a difference there. You’ll be throwing your lives away!”

“We have to try…”

“Trying doesn’t change reality! If it’s impossible, it’s impossible!”

It was at that moment that Baek Cheon bit his lip until it bled.

“Amitabha.”

The Buddhist chant came from not too far away. Everyone was surprised and turned their heads at the sound, which was clearly different from Hae Yeon’s voice.

Beopgye.

Beopgye, the second most important monk from the famous Shaolin Temple, had already approached them. They hadn’t noticed because of the intense conversation.

“Ah, no?”

“Amitabha. I am here to deliver the Abbot’s message.”

“Message?”

Everyone stared at Beopgye with blank eyes. What else could Beopjeong have to say to them now?

“If you truly wish to go to Sichuan.”

“Yes?”

Beopgye looked at them, his eyes sharp and serious.

“We, the Nine Great Sects, will block the remnants of the Four Seas Alliance here with all our might. You should select elites and cross the river.”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

“Wh, what are you saying…”

“We will reliably protect your rear. But.”

A sonorous voice flowed from Beopgye’s opened lips.