Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1529

The new town was full of energy and life.

People who ran away from their homes became poor because they couldn’t find food, homes, or jobs. But in this new town, things were different.

The people who had built the town were now needed to train again. This meant there were not enough workers in the town.

Two leaders, Tang Gunak and Hwang Jong-ui, solved this problem by giving jobs to the refugees.

The refugees were already happy to have food and homes. So, when they were also given jobs, they were very grateful and worked hard.

Hwang Jong-ui especially focused on getting more farmland. Finding good land and making it ready to grow food is hard work.

You can’t just cut down trees on a mountain and plant rice. You need to find flat land that is good for growing things. Even with good soil, it takes years to make it ready for crops.

Also, there’s another problem with finding new land. It’s not just about finding space to farm.

When people take land, the animals that lived there lose their homes. These animals become angry and wait for a chance to take back their land.

When people and animals live close together, there are always problems. Everyone knows this. But strangely, this wasn’t happening in this new town.

“…Is it still just lying there?”

“…They said it’s okay.”

“…How can I not be scared?”

“…Well, that’s true.”

Every time they chose land, pebbles and tree roots were still being pulled out. The farmers clearing them away kept glancing back at one side with uneasy expressions, as if something was bothering them.

A sleek, streamlined body. A sharp, inverted triangular face and glimpses of sharp teeth. And fur as black and glossy as if it had been coated with coal.

A black panther was sprawled out lazily, enjoying the afternoon sun.

“…Can panthers even be that black?”

“…Yeah, it’s a black panther. Never seen one before?”

“…I’ve only heard about it…”

For those who lived in the peaceful lands, seeing a black panther with their own eyes was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

And in fact, this sight would be rare even for those living in remote areas.

“…So, why is it doing that?”

“…Haven’t you heard? That’s its job.”

“…Job?”

“…You know how wild animals attack people when we take their land?”

“…That’s right. My friend’s father died that way. They said it was a tiger back then.”

“…You know, then you also know how dangerous it is for us to be here?”

“…That’s…”

The one who answered tilted his head.

Come to think of it, that kind of thing should have happened a few times by now, but strangely, he had never heard of such an incident happening here.

“…Are there no wild animals here?”

“…Ha! No animals? There are mountains here where people can’t even go! Of course there are animals.”

“…That’s right. That’s true, but…”

“…They say those animals are guarding this place, so other animals can’t even come close.”

“…Really? But just one panther can guard all this land?”

“…You don’t know anything. They’re not ordinary animals, they’re mystical creatures. They say they were brought from the Southern Wilderness Beast Palace.”

“…Ah…”

“…So, because the Heavenly Union isn’t here anymore, normally wild animals would cause trouble. But these special animals are stopping them.”

“…So that’s how it is… Then what? The animals are protecting us?”

“…That’s about right.”

“…It’s really strange.”

Of course, it’s not that rare for animals to protect people. Even dogs guard houses, and there are plenty of stories about horses blocking enemies to protect their owners.

But… what kind of panther…

It was then.

Woof! Woof woof!

The sound of a dog barking fiercely came from somewhere.

“What’s with the dog barking…”

And at that moment, the black panther, which had been lying down lazily, jumped up from its spot. Without even glancing at the startled people, it quickly took a defensive stance, as if wary of the mountain side.

Woof! Woof woof!

The sound of the dog barking seemed to be getting louder and louder, and soon, dozens of dogs began to rush in.

“…Huh? What’s that?”

“…Dogs? Are those dogs?”

“…Yes, dogs! But why are there so many all of a sudden?”

Of course, packs of stray dogs could be anywhere, but there was one strange thing.

No matter how ferocious a stray dog is, it should run away with its tail between its legs when it sees a panther, but these dogs were rushing fiercely toward this place.

Woof! Grrrr!

With rough dog sounds, the dogs that rushed in stopped all at once in front of the panther. Even in the midst of all that, the black panther maintained its defensive stance without turning its gaze.

And…

Grrrr. The dogs stepped back to the left and right. Something waddled out from between them.

“…A w-weasel? Walking on two feet?”

“…What’s it wearing?”

The weasel, which walked out slowly from among the dogs, looked at the black panther as if it didn’t like something.

Tap.

Then it tapped its small front paw.

The black panther, which had been taking a defensive stance, rushed toward the weasel like the wind. It looked as if it would bite the weasel in one gulp and twist its neck!

“…Th-That!”

But the scene that unfolded was truly bizarre.

The black panther, which had rushed like lightning, prostrated itself in front of the small weasel, which was only the length of its front paw.

Squeak!

The weasel stomped the ground hard with its hind feet. Then the black panther flinched and let out a groan.

The weasel nagged the black panther for a while, then let out a sharp cry again, and the black panther hurriedly returned to its spot. Its fur was standing on end as it guarded its surroundings, completely different from its lazy self from before.

Squeak!

The weasel shook its head as if it was very displeased, glared at the black panther as if to keep an eye on it, and then scurried away.

Woof! Grrrr!

The dogs, which had been surrounding it as if to protect it, quickly began to follow the weasel.

Those who had watched this process without missing a single detail muttered one word each, dumbfounded.

“…What kind of neighborhood is this, really?”

“…Is it because of this place?”

Those who shook their heads began to work again. Until they finished their work, the black panther did not relax its stance even once.

While the refugees were busy in the town, the martial artists who had helped build it were even busier. They were doing something very strange.

The martial artists were staying at the Qinghua Inn in the town. The Heavenly Union had rented the whole inn for them because the town’s restaurant wasn’t finished yet.

Inside the inn, the martial artists from Mount Hua were sitting around a table, close together. It was almost dinner time, after their afternoon training. Usually, they would be relaxed and noisy at this time. But today, everyone was quiet, looking down at something in their hands.

“Ugh…”

It was Jo Gul’s groan that broke the silence. His wide-open eyes trembled.

He glared at the cloth in his hand as if he would burn it with his eyes, and then, as if he had made a firm decision, he fiercely shot the needle in his other hand toward the cloth.

Stab!

“Aaaaargh!”

“Be quiet, Geol.”

“No, what’s wrong with that idiot? Why does he stab his finger every time he sews?”

“Isn’t this supposed to help us train?”

“That’s… strange…”

Jo Gul huffed and threw the blood-stained cloth and needle on the table.

“Damn it, why do I have to do this!”

“Geol, I told you to be quiet!”

“No…!”

Jo Gul started to argue back, but then he stopped.

He saw Baek Cheon. Baek Cheon had pushed his hair back with his headband and was sewing very carefully, like a graceful lady. He looked so calm, you would think he was happily making embroidery.

“Don’t blame others for what you can’t do.”

“Am I the only one who can’t do it?”

The angry Jo Gul pointed his finger at Yoo Iseol, who was sitting on the other side.

“Take a look at that accident! At this rate, her fingers will disappear.”

All ten of Yoo Iseol’s fingers were wrapped in bandages. Yoo Iseol said briefly with a blank face, but looked a little sad.

“It’s okay. I’m fine.”

“It’s not okay! It’s not okay! What if it interferes with holding a sword? What kind of fingers are those!”

“I didn’t know you cared so much about your junior sister. Anyway… I’ll say it one last time. Be quiet and sit down.”

“Ugh!”

Jo Gul sat back down in his chair. Of course, it wasn’t because his doubts had been resolved.

“No, why are we doing this…”

“Geol. If you keep grumbling like that, I’ll send you to extra training?”

At Yoon Jong’s words, Jo Gul hurriedly closed his mouth. Then he looked at Baek Cheon with trembling eyes.

“Right?”

“If you don’t want to be sent to extra training, shut up and do it.”

“…Yes.”

So, Jo Gul stopped complaining for now. But he wasn’t the only one having trouble.

“Aaaargh! My finger!”

“Tsk tsk. I told you not to put too much inner power into the needle.”

“Is that as easy as it sounds! My whole life, whenever I’ve held something in my hand, I’ve been stabbing, cutting, and slicing!”

“…Are you talking like a member of a heretical sect?”

“Ouch!”

Screams came from different parts of the room. Baek Cheon shook his head.

“This is harder than I thought, Uncle.”

“What’s so hard?”

“Maybe you are just good at this, Uncle.”

“Good at what? Medicine?”

“No. Sewing.”

“Oh.”

Yoon Jong sighed and looked away from Baek Cheon.

“Sewing is easy, but it’s hard to put your inner power into the needle and do it fast… No wonder Soso is so good at sewing, she’s like a master.”

“It’s easy to poke something with a needle using inner power. But it’s very hard to control the power and only push the needle in halfway. You need to control your inner power like you control a knife.”

“…If you learn this when you are young, no wonder the Tang family are the best assassins.”

“Yes, that’s right. Now I see why Soso learned swords so fast. Swords also need you to control your inner power carefully.”

“Right.”

So, this training that looks silly will actually make our swords better. But Baek Cheon didn’t say this.

“Aaaargh! Nail! My nail is pierced! Blood!”

“Band-aid! Quick, a band-aid!”

Well… there’s no real important reason for this training. It’s just a little funny to watch them struggle.

“Where’s the guy who started all this? I haven’t seen him all day.”

“He’s probably drinking somewhere by himself again.”

“After making us do this?”

“He never cares about things like this.”

Yoon Jong sighed. Baek Cheon sighed too. He remembered the meeting a few days ago, when all this started.