Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1432

“Lean on me,” she said.

“…I’m alright,” he replied weakly, his voice raspy from coughing.

“I’ll help you,” she insisted, her hand gripping his arm firmly.

Dang-oe felt the strength in her hand. He felt like pulling away at first, a flicker of his old pride, but he was too weak to move her hand. He knew every second wasted put the others in more danger. He had to keep moving, even if his body was failing him.

“Cough, cough.”

Dang-oe, who had been coughing lightly, gave a bitter smile.

‘Look at the mess I’m in,’ he thought.

Dang-oe had been in charge of the Dang family since the old leader died, maybe even before.

And now, he was being supported by a woman who hadn’t even learned martial arts.

He wondered, if he still had his martial arts, would things be different? Could he have stopped the strong Dang family from running away from the Demonic Sect? Probably not.

Dang-oe shook his head without realizing it.

The current situation was not so easily resolved by one person’s strength. Even if he hadn’t lost his martial arts, nothing would have changed.

‘How pathetic,’ he thought.

He believed that everything he had done was for the sake of the Dang family. He thought that the current head, who was strict on the outside but weak on the inside, would never be able to lead the Dang family to prosperity.

But in the end, he was running away, having lost the very essence of the Dang family: poison and weaponry. Where on earth had things gone wrong?

“Cough! Cough!”

“Are you alright, Elder?”

“…I’m alright.”

Dang-oe lowered the hand that had been covering his mouth, devoid of strength. There were no obvious signs of blood, but he knew instinctively that he didn’t have much time left to live.

What would happen to the Dang family after he died? Could the Dang family, having lost its foundation, survive in the face of the impending chaos?

Even if they somehow managed to survive, could they ever regain their past glory? The Dang family without poison and hidden weapons?

It felt like a heavy weight was crushing his chest, making it hard to breathe.

Just then, the hand holding his arm pulled him closer. Dang-oe involuntarily turned his gaze towards it.

“Lean on me a little more.”

“…I’m fine.”

“I still have strength left. Don’t worry,” she said, her grip on his arm tightening slightly to prove it.

Dang-oe was momentarily speechless.

‘She has strength left?’

That couldn’t be.

Even though Dang-oe had lost his martial arts and was left with only a weak body, this woman, who had never learned martial arts in her life, must be just as exhausted.

At least Dang-oe had the experience of enduring pain while learning martial arts, but the daughters of the Dang family were usually confined to their quarters, weren’t they?

Yet, the woman was calmly saying these words.

‘She’s strong,’ he thought.

A strange emotion crept into Dang-oe’s heart.

“Thank you.”

“…Yes?”

A bewildered voice reached him, but Dang-oe didn’t say anything more and closed his eyes tightly.

‘Elder,’ he thought.

The image of Dang Jo-pyeong came to mind.

Dang Jo-pyeong had said that what the Dang family needed to protect wasn’t poison or weaponry, but people themselves.

Frankly, Dang-oe still disagreed. But he understood Dang Jo-pyeong’s point: the Dang family should protect people, not just poison and weapons.

Perhaps what had protected the Dang family until now was the resilience of these nameless people.

“Whose daughter are you?”

“My father’s name is Go-wi.”

“Dang Go-wi, huh….”

Judging by the unfamiliar name, she must be from a collateral line. Dang Jo-pyeong subtly examined the woman’s face.

Was she barely eighteen years old? She had an ordinary appearance that could be seen anywhere, but her expression was exceptionally confident.

However, Dang Jo-pyeong noticed the anxiety that she couldn’t quite hide within.

“Don’t worry.”

“Yes?”

“The Dang family will rise again.”

Dang-oe forced strength into his voice as he spoke. Perhaps these words were not so much to comfort the girl, but to comfort himself.

“Even if the family is burned, even if we lose our poison and hidden weapons, the Dang family is still the Dang family.”

Dang-oe hesitated slightly before continuing.

“The head of the family is a great man, so he will surely revive the family.”

After speaking, he chuckled inwardly. He never imagined that he would say such a thing while he was still alive.

‘The head of the family,’ he thought.

But he had no regrets about uttering these words.

Because Tang Gunak would now have to suffer a long and arduous ordeal.

The hardships he would have to endure made even Dang-oe, who wasn’t particularly fond of Tang Gunak, sigh involuntarily.

“If you continue to believe in and follow the head of the family, then one day the Dang family will once again become the ruler of Sichuan.”

Even Dang-oe, who had uttered those words, didn’t really think they were very convincing. But he thought that this was the advice that these children needed in the current situation.

However… the answer that came back was a little different from what Dang-oe had expected.

“The Dang family… yes, the Dang family will be alright.”

“It has to be.”

“But… I won’t be able to be of any help to the head of the family, Elder.”

Slightly flustered, Dang-oe looked at the woman and asked.

“What do you mean by that?”

She hesitated, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Because there’s no way I can help. I’m of marriageable age now.”

Dang-oe’s face twisted strangely. Marriageable age? To bring that up in this situation meant that she would eventually become an outsider, so she didn’t care about the Dang family at all?

Everyone thinks about themselves first. But hearing this from someone in the Dang family was still surprising.

Dang-oe stared intently at the woman and said.

“I know women have their own lives… but shouldn’t the family be the most important thing right now?”

“Once I’m married, I’m no longer a member of the Dang family.”

“…”

“That’s what I’ve been taught, until now. Once I get married, I have to forget everything about the Dang family and live my life. I have to erase even the smallest memories I had here.”

Dang-oe was momentarily speechless.

“That…”

What she had said was the law of the Dang family. It was their effort to protect the secrets of the Dang family, and Dang-oe was the one who had most revered and adhered to this law that had been passed down from their ancestors.

But the words he had said so many times were now coming back to him.

“…Of course, that’s true, but aren’t you still a member of the Dang family?”

“Yes, but… Ah.”

The woman, who was about to say something, caught herself and glanced at Dang-oe before slightly lowering her head.

“I’m sorry. I…”

Her confident words were strong, but Dang-oe noticed her fingers fidgeting nervously on his arm. If it were Dang-oe in his usual state, he would have clicked his tongue disapprovingly and turned his head away.

But for some reason, Dang-oe wanted to hear the words she had hidden behind. Perhaps it was because he didn’t have much time left to live. Or perhaps it was because this woman was still firmly supporting him.

“Child.”

“…Yes?”

“Can you tell me what you were trying to say?”

“I…”

“I beg you.”

The woman, who seemed to be contemplating, sighed and opened her mouth.

“You may not know this, Elder, but when things get difficult, girls like us tend to get married off quickly. Because they need to reduce the number of useless mouths to feed.”

Dang-oe slightly frowned. But on second thought, what she said wasn’t wrong.

Since women in the Dang family weren’t particularly helpful, it would be difficult to lead them and revive the family. So, they would generally send them off to families that they wouldn’t normally marry into, and in return, they would get support for the Dang family.

“And even if that doesn’t happen, people like us aren’t helpful.”

“Not helpful?”

“All we can do is cook and do laundry.”

“…”

“Those who married into the family from prestigious clans can at least wield a sword or throw a punch when a crisis strikes. But we can’t even do that.”

Speechless, Dang-oe looked at the woman and barely managed to ask.

“…Do you resent it?”

At those words, the woman shook her head.

“No. I’m not saying this out of resentment. We also want to help the head of the family. But there’s really no way we can help.”

Dang-oe felt a strange tightness in his chest. He wanted to say that doing even trivial things was helping, but he couldn’t. Because he knew best that such things wouldn’t be of much help to Tang Gunak.

Useless mouths to feed. It was an inappropriate term to use in the prestigious Dang family, but in this situation, the daughters of the Dang family were nothing more than useless mouths to feed.

It was none other than the Dang family, and Dang-oe himself, who had made them that way.

“So… you’re planning to find a husband right away?”

At Dang-oe’s question, the woman smiled brightly. It was a forced smile.

“That might be an option, but I doubt anyone would be willing to take in a daughter from the Dang family in such a difficult situation… especially one from a collateral line.”

Dang-oe’s throat tickled, and he was about to let out a dry cough.

“So… I’m thinking of leaving the family once we arrive in Shanxi.”

“Leaving the family? What do you mean?”

“I’m going to Mount Hua.”

“…What?”

Dang-oe forgot to cough for a moment and widened his eyes.

What was she talking about? Mount Hua?

“Other places won’t accept us, but Mount Hua might. And Soso is already there.”

“…You’re going to rely on Mount Hua?”

“No. I… I want to learn the sword at Mount Hua.”

“The sword…?”

At those words, the woman nodded. Her eyes were shining.

“You wanted to learn the sword?”

“Not exactly…”

The woman hesitated slightly before speaking.

“But if I join Mount Hua and learn the sword, I can at least do something with my own strength. And if things get tough, I can protect myself. Soso has already shown us that.”

“…”

“If Soso had stayed in the Dang family, she would have married into a prominent family in Sichuan by now. Then she would have lived a completely different life. Everyone thought Soso was strange, but… they were secretly envious of her.”

The woman’s calm words were etched into Dang-oe’s mind.

“We wondered if we could live like that if we went to Mount Hua. If there would be a day when we would be called by our own names, not just as daughters of the Dang family. But until now, we didn’t dare to. Because we’re not Soso.”

“So…”

“Yes. I’m going to try to be brave this time. Of course, I know that Mount Hua is a very strict place and that the training is difficult, but still… I think I can do something there. And I don’t think the head of the family will stop us from going to Mount Hua.”

The woman mimed wielding a sword with the arm that wasn’t holding Dang-oe.

“Who knows? Maybe I’ll have a talent for the sword and become a famous female knight-errant!”

While she was speaking, the woman’s face was filled with bright hope. Then, she suddenly turned back to Dang-oe and flinched, becoming dejected again.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been talking too much, haven’t I?”

“…Have you?”

“Yes?”

“Are there many children in the family… who think like you?”

“That’s…”

“Don’t be afraid and tell me. What’s there to be afraid of from an old man who has lost all his power and authority?”

The woman scratched her forehead with her finger and said.

“There aren’t that many… but you can’t say there are that few either. At least the direct line sisters can find other paths, but we have no other choice now that things have turned out this way.”

Dang-oe suddenly looked up at the sky without a word.

It was clear and bright. The vast blue sky felt desolate today.

“What is your name?”

“Yes…? I’m…”

“I’m not going to punish you. I just want to know.”

Only then did the woman nod in relief.

“It’s Sobo. But my mother calls me Sobu.”

“Sobu… a small step.”

The corners of Dang-oe’s lips trembled slightly. He was silent for a long time, and just as he was about to say something…

“Grand Elder!”

A desperate shout came from behind. Startled, Dang-oe hurriedly turned around.

“Rear! The Myriad Man Clan is in the rear! They’re coming!”