Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1457

The Chief Manager looked scared. “Young Master, what should we do now?” he asked.

Jo Woong didn’t know how to answer. It had been a few days since the Evil Alliance, a group of bad people, came into Chengdu. They had burned down the Tang family’s home, a powerful family in this area. Jo Woong and his people were hiding in the Sanghoe building, their merchant group. They hadn’t planned anything to fight back. They were just waiting, holding their breath.

“What’s happening outside?” Jo Woong asked.

The Chief Manager’s voice trembled. “More and more people who look like they are from the Evil Sects are showing up.” Evil Sects were like smaller gangs within the Evil Alliance.

“What kind of Evil Sects?” Jo Woong wondered. “Are they from those groups like the Hao Clan or the Suro Troop?”

“I’m sorry,” the Chief Manager said. “I can’t see outside clearly, so I don’t know for sure.”

“Is that so.”

Jo Woong sighed softly.

It probably wasn’t the Myriad Man Manor group. If they had come back, Chengdu would be even more noisy. They had been chasing the Tang family before.

It seemed like smaller groups of bad people from nearby areas like Jiangnan were coming to Chengdu because of the trouble. Or maybe other groups from the Evil Alliance, but not the Myriad Man Manor, had arrived.

Either way, it was bad news for the Sahae Sanghoe.

Jo Woong looked at them as the question was asked again. All the members were shaking, and their eyes showed they were very worried. “Young Master, what should we do now?”

Of course, they were worried. Qingcheng and Emei were destroyed, and the Tang family had run away. There was nowhere safe for them in Sichuan anymore.

All they could do now was desperately hope that the Evil Alliance, which had seized Sichuan, would not want their lives. That was all.

‘This is useless.’

What good was it to have warehouses full of food and money? What good was their good name in Sichuan?

Against cruel swords and spears, all of that meant nothing.

Jo Woong quietly closed his eyes.

‘At least… it’s fortunate that Father is out on a business trip.’

His father and the main leaders of the Sanghoe were away on a trip, selling things near Mae Hwa Island. Even if the people here were captured, the Sanghoe could still continue.

So, in a truly worst-case scenario…

Just as Jo Woong was becoming determined, the Chief Manager asked, his voice shaking. “Y-Young Master. Th-that… perhaps…”

“What is it?”

“W-won’t someone come to save us?”

“No, no. Even if nobody cares about the Sanghoe, Qingcheng and Emei were destroyed! Surely the Nine Great Sects won’t just do nothing? They will come to fight the bad guys, right?”

“It would be good if that were the case. But…”

Jo Woong slowly shook his head.

“They won’t be able to come here so easily.”

“Yes? Why…”

Jo Woong didn’t explain everything. He knew it would just make everyone feel worse.

If even one group from Qingcheng or Emei was still fighting hard against the Evil Alliance, then the Nine Great Sects would have sent help quickly.

But there was nothing left in Sichuan. Even the Tang family had been burned down.

Should the Nine Great Sects start a war where they could all die, just to take back land that is now empty and not important to them? Would those smart Nine Great Sects really care that much about Sichuan?

Probably not.

“It’s good to hope, but don’t hope too much. You’ll only be disappointed.”

“…Are you saying the Nine Great Sects won’t come?”

“That’s right.”

“Then…”

The Chief Manager’s face darkened rapidly. But he couldn’t give up easily and asked urgently.

“Th-then, what about the Cheonwu Alliance?”

“The Cheonwu Alliance won’t come either?”

Jo Woong was silent for a moment, looking at the distant sky. The Chief Manager couldn’t understand what Jo Woong was thinking and spoke quickly, sounding worried.

“We are not officially part of the Cheonwu Alliance. But we do business with them, selling tea from Yunnan, right? And I think Hwasan, where Young Master Jo Gul is from, is in charge of the Cheonwu Alliance…”

“Isn’t this Young Master Jo Gul’s home? But surely they won’t just abandon us…”

“Geol is a third-generation disciple of Hwasan.”

Jo Woong said firmly, as if he didn’t need to hear any more. His voice even felt a little cold.

“Even if Geol is called ‘Hwasan Five Swords’ or something important, a student like him doesn’t decide big things like this.”

“…Th-that’s true, but…”

“Even if Geol could help, he’s not stupid. He might be a bit quick to act, but he’s smarter than me when it comes to planning. He knows that just rushing in won’t fix this.”

Having finished speaking, Jo Woong slowly turned around.

He looked around at the less than thirty people left in the Sanghoe. He wondered, if his father and the main leaders were here, would the Cheonwu Alliance try to rescue them then?

Jo Woong shook his head.

‘That can’t be.’

Even if the Sanghoe was still strong, who would fight the Evil Alliance just to save this small group?

This was just a useless hope.

“We have to be strong.”

“…Yes, Young Master.”

The Chief Manager replied. But Jo Woong’s words were also directed at himself.

‘I must protect them.’

They would probably have a very hard time.

Luckily, Jang Il-So didn’t care about them anymore. But the bad people in the Evil Alliance probably didn’t like the Sahae Sanghoe. Even without thinking about Jo Gul, it was clear how they would treat a group of merchants who worked for the Tang family in Sichuan.

They had to get through this very difficult time. Because the bad times would end someday.

Jo Woong sighed deeply and said.

“You need to keep everyone calm and in order. From the noise outside, it sounds very dangerous.”

“Noise? I haven’t heard anything.”

“Yes?”

“That’s right? The bad guys from the Evil Sects are running around with angry eyes. Who would dare to make a noise?”

“No. That’s true, but…”

Jo Woong tilted his head, looking confused.

“Then, am I the only one hearing this sound?”

Jo Woong looked confused. “Huh? What do you mean…?” he asked the Chief Steward.

The Chief Steward replied, “No, please, listen. Haven’t you noticed something noisy outside for a while now?”

“Ah, now that you mention it?” Jo Woong responded.

The Chief Steward’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Indeed, the area outside the Merchant Guild, which had been silent, was now bustling. It was hard to tell exactly what the sounds were, but they conveyed urgency.

“It seems something has happened,” the Chief Steward said.

“Could it be the Nine Great Sects are sending reinforcements…?” Jo Woong asked with a frown.

“But we said that couldn’t happen, right?” Jo Woong asked.

“My apologies,” the Chief Steward replied.

Jo Woong nodded, even though he could see the Chief Steward was still very disappointed. Maybe it’s just the Murim Alliance people fighting. Beom is gone, so they might be arguing and causing trouble.

“I should check it out,” Jo Woong declared.

“Young Master, it’s dangerous! Please, don’t!” the Chief Steward exclaimed.

“If they’re taking advantage of the Administrator being away to start looting, we can’t just sit here doing nothing, can we?” Jo Woong countered.

The Chief Steward fell silent, unable to argue.

Jo Woong bit his lip slightly and headed towards the main gate. He carefully pushed aside the wooden plank that had been temporarily put in place of the shattered gate and cautiously slipped through the opening.

Reaching the main street outside the Merchant Guild, he narrowed his eyes, peering in the direction of the noise.

‘What’s going on?’ Jo Woong wondered.

If it was just the Murim Alliance fighting, that would be a relief. But if looting was happening, he would have to get all the family members into the underground warehouse and lock the door…

“Huh?” Jo Woong’s eyes widened slightly as he considered the countermeasures.

Over there, in front…

“Uh…?” His eyes widened as if they were about to tear.

“Uhh!”

What on earth is that?

Do Han-gok was extremely dissatisfied with his current situation.

‘Bloody hell,’ he thought.

Of course, he understood.

Chengdu was vast, and until recently, it had been under the influence of the Five Great Families and the Nine Great Sects.

So, even if they had completely occupied Chengdu, they hadn’t yet controlled everyone. If they withdrew after occupying it, these people would try to escape Chengdu. To prevent them from running away, they needed people to guard Chengdu.

The surveillance force was mostly made up of the Black Cloud Clan members who had been summoned from Guizhou in advance…

‘That’s the bigger problem,’ he thought.

No matter how much you tame them, the Murim Alliance is the Murim Alliance. These people can’t control themselves even if you give them some freedom.

Just like gamblers running to the gambling house knowing they’ll ruin themselves, they know they’ll die if they lay a hand on the common folk, but they still swing their swords at the slightest problem.

Someone was needed here to control those people. The problem was why Do Han-gok himself was one of those ‘needed people.’

Of course, he wouldn’t have been so dissatisfied if things were normal. But after tasting blood while attacking Qingcheng and Emei, he wasn’t at all happy with this situation where he had to monitor and control someone.

‘Half would have been enough,’ he thought.

There were over five hundred Black Cloud Clan members summoned from the Guizhou area alone, so was it really necessary for an entire unit of the Ten Thousand People Clan to remain here?

“Bloody hell… Meeting the wrong Captain,” Do Han-gok muttered.

It wasn’t that his Ten Thousand People Clan’s Underworld Stage was less skilled than other units. It was just that his Captain wasn’t as famous as the other unit Captains. He felt like he was stuck doing boring guard duty, instead of being in the real fight. This made his stomach churn.

“Tch,” Do Han-gok spat irritably and raised his head.

He was standing at the massive gate leading into Chengdu. A group was approaching the gate.

There were only ten? No, a little more than that. They were all wearing thick cloaks pulled over their heads, probably having come from quite a distance.

What was annoying was that they didn’t seem to be in a hurry, even though they had clearly seen Do Han-gok. They were arriving late.

Crack.

‘Filthy vermin…’ he thought.

He was also Murim Alliance, but seeing those Murim Alliance people twisted his stomach.

Do Han-gok glared at them, his eyes blazing with murderous intent, and gripped the sword at his waist. He was thinking of using them as an example, under the pretext of punishing any insolence, and drawing their blood.

“Hey, you lot there!” Do Han-gok shouted.

The leader of the group looked up, a little surprised. “Yes?” he asked.

“Which group do you belong to?” Do Han-gok demanded.

“…Yes?” the leader asked again.

“Which clan do you belong to that only a dozen of you have come!” Do Han-gok exclaimed.

“Ah…” the leader said, hesitating for a moment before answering. “We belong to, uh… Mount Hua?”

“…What?” For a moment, Do Han-gok blankly asked back without realizing it. What did he just say…?

“Oh, and Namgung Clan, Beast Palace, and Ice Palace,” the leader added.

Do Han-gok’s face twisted, turning red and blue.

“You, you dog-like bastard, dare to mock me…”

But he couldn’t finish his words. A flash of silver, faster than the eye could follow, and then a coldness bloomed in Do Han-gok’s neck.

“Kkeu… reuk…”

Disbelief filled Do Han-gok’s eyes. But the moment he recognized the face of the one who had wielded the sword, that disbelief turned into shock and terror.

“Ah, I forgot the Tang Family,” the leader said.

The one in the lead took off the cloak that covered his head and smiled. “It’s true there are only a dozen of us, but ‘only’ might not be the right word. We came a bit excessively.”

Plop.

Do Han-gok’s body crashed to the ground and began to cool down.

“Aww. He should have listened a bit longer before dying,” Chung Myung said.

There were still many people to introduce.

Chung Myung stepped over the fallen Do Han-gok and strode towards the wide-open gate of Chengdu.

“Well, it’ll be alright. There are still plenty of people who will recognize us. Now then, where…”

The corners of his lips twisted upwards in a crooked smile.

“Shall we go wild?”

At those words, those standing behind him threw off their cloaks all at once. Leaving the cloaks fluttering and falling in the air behind them, they entered Chengdu.