Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1552

A scream ripped through the air. A blade slashed through the man’s back as he tried to protect his wife. Then, the same blade stabbed into the woman’s shoulder as she held her child tight.

“Kill them!” someone yelled.

This was worse than planned. The violence was out of control. These were members of the Demonic Sect. They were known for wanting what others had, doing unfair things without shame, and taking from the weak as if it was their right.

Why join the Demonic Sect? Most people try to be good, but these people didn’t want to control their bad feelings. They wanted to do whatever they wanted.

That’s why things like this happened often. They joined the Demonic Sect so they wouldn’t have to stop themselves from doing bad things.

But recently, things had changed. Even though they were in the Demonic Sect, they had to control themselves. It was because of Jang Il-so. He was a terrifying man.

He had destroyed the Black Ghost Squad, who used to rule everywhere. He had even defeated the powerful Nine Great Sects. Everyone was scared of him, even good people. But the Demonic Sect members were even more terrified.

“Hahaha! Look how they run!”

To survive with Jang Il-so in charge, they had to be careful and quiet. They couldn’t even touch the weak people they used to hurt so easily.

For years, these men had loved stealing and hurting people. But Jang Il-so had made their lives miserable. Now, in Gangbuk, they felt free. They didn’t have to worry about anyone.

Their badness, which they had kept hidden for so long, burst out.

“Aaaaargh!” Another man stabbed a running person with his sword, then turned, eyes red with anger, and yelled, “Here! Food here!”

Some were stealing from the food stores. Others grabbed crying women by their hair and raised their swords.

Jonghyo smiled sadly as he watched the chaos. The fire was spreading everywhere, and it was beautiful in a terrible way. It reminded him of good times, maybe even better.

“…Captain,” a soldier said nervously, coming closer. “Isn’t this too much?”

Jonghyo turned his head, annoyed. This used to be normal, like eating. Had he become weak after a few years of holding back?

“We are far from our base, near the Yangtze River, but still in Hubei. What if the Nine Sects come?”

“You idiot!” Jonghyo snapped. “If the Nine Sects were coming, they’d be here already! Does it make sense they’d let us come this far and then arrive late?”

“Y-yes, but…”

“The really strong groups don’t care about people like us! Stop thinking stupid things and get back to work.”

“But still…”

“You fool, still talking back!” Jonghyo kicked the soldier hard in the chest.

The man fell with a small cry, looking up at Jonghyo with fear.

“If the good sects really cared about people like they say, would the world be like this? They would have joined together and fought the Evil Union a long time ago!”

“…”

“So, shut up and do what I say!”

“Yes! Yes, Captain!” The soldier ran away quickly.

Jonghyo clicked his tongue, watching him go.

“Tsk.”

Being a leader is annoying because of fools like him. That’s why Jonghyo acted like this. But those soldiers were just stupid. They would always be just foot soldiers.

Jonghyo stopped thinking about his soldier and looked at the burning village. People were lying on the ground, bleeding.

“‘Chivalry?’ he thought. ‘If being good was real, would I even be alive?’ His life was proof that being good was a lie.

‘Maybe the gods will punish me later,’ he thought, ‘but in this world, no one will stop me.’

Then he saw a child walking unsteadily in the distance, like he might fall. Jonghyo laughed quietly.

“Haha.”

He squeezed the handle of his sword tighter.

He took a big step forward, making the ground crack. He pulled his arm back and threw his sword as hard as he could.

Whoosh!

The sword spun fast, flying towards the child’s back. It would cut the small body to pieces.

As the sword got close, Jonghyo’s throat tightened with excitement.

Then, the child seemed to feel something and turned around. For a moment, Jonghyo saw pure fear in the child’s eyes. It sent a cold shiver down his spine.

Clang!

But the scene he wanted to see was suddenly ruined.

The sword he had thrown. It was heavy, but it broke into pieces as if it was made of glass.

Jonghyo’s eyes went wide. He couldn’t believe it. How could such a strong sword break like that?

“What…”

Then, a loud, animal-like roar shocked Jonghyo.

“You son of a bitch!”

A man was standing where the child had been. He was strong and young, with curly hair, wearing black clothes for fighting. His eyes were full of anger and hate. He held the tired child in one arm.

‘How…?’ Jonghyo hadn’t felt anyone coming. How did this man appear so suddenly and stop his sword?

But he didn’t have time to think.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Kraaah!”

Screams came from everywhere at once. He knew it wasn’t the villagers screaming.

He looked around. His soldiers were being killed by people who had come from nowhere.

“You bastards!”

“How can you do this to people!”

The fighters who were killing his men had plum flower symbols on their chests. As soon as Jonghyo saw the symbols, his feet started moving before he even thought.

‘Run…’

But something was faster than him.

Thwack!

Jonghyo gasped. His hand, which he had quickly raised to protect himself, was already stabbed by a sword. Pain shot through him, but he had managed to stop the sword from hitting his head.

But then he realized it was worse.

“Ugh…”

The sword that went through his hand was now pushing towards his face.

Jonghyo gasped.

With his good left hand, Jonghyo grabbed for the blade.

The dark sword cut through his hand easily and moved towards his face.

He groaned in pain.

He stumbled back and fell as the sword went into him.

The tip of the sword was very close to his face. Terror filled his eyes.

Someone watching from far away might think this was an execution, like a prisoner with tied hands.

“S, save…” Jonghyo tried to say.

“…I,” he whispered.

Then, Jonghyo heard a voice. It was young and calm, which surprised him. He finally saw the person holding the sword.

It wasn’t the curly-haired swordsman.

He looked like a young Taoist. He had slender eyes, neat hair, and a small crown on his head. But his eyes were very cold. He didn’t seem like a real Taoist.

“I never really liked the way that fellow brutally killed people.”

‘What is he talking about?’ Jonghyo thought, confused and scared.

“People who do bad things should be punished. But I used to think being too cruel was just showing off power.”

Jonghyo looked confused. His face was twisted with fear and pain. He couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“But now that I’m in a position to deliver punishment, I’m starting to think: can you truly atone for all your sins with mere death? You only have one life. But you have killed many, many more than one person. Many times more.”

The sword stopped for a moment, then moved again, slowly.

He gasped again, louder.

Jonghyo held onto the sword stuck in his hand, desperately. His hand burned like it was being burned with hot metal, but he couldn’t let go.

But the young Taoist moved the sword slowly. It was like Jonghyo wasn’t even trying to stop him. Terribly slowly, but surely.

“S, save…”

“I know,” the young Taoist said. “Taoists should help souls find peace. We should care for people who died unfairly, not punish bad people. What I’m doing now is not really what a Taoist should do.”

The young Taoist looked at Jonghyo, but it seemed like he was looking past him, at something else. He wasn’t even interested in killing Jonghyo.

Jonghyo was terrified and frightened of this man.

He choked. The sword cut through his skin and went into his head. Blood poured out. Tears ran down Jonghyo’s face. His eyes, which had been so cruel, were now crying.

“S, save me! Please! Please save m…”

But the sword didn’t stop. It kept going.

He gurgled.

Finally, the sword that killed him was stuck in the ground.

Yoon Jong watched the body. It moved a little, then stopped. He pulled his sword out. He shook the blood off his sword quickly, like it was dirty.

“Rot here. You don’t even deserve to be buried in the ground.”

Yoon Jong turned away from the body. His words were as cold as his eyes.

“Senior Brother…”

Jo Gul looked at him, worried.

“What about the others?”

“We caught them all a little while ago. Over there…”

Jo Gul pointed. Yoon Jong saw the other disciples dragging the captured villains. Yoon Jong’s eyes twitched.

“What are you doing?”

“Yes? We’ve caught them for now…”

“Are you going to take them somewhere?”

Jo Gul was surprised by Yoon Jong’s sharp words.

“N, no, but we can’t just kill those who aren’t resisting, can we?”

Yoon Jong stared at the tied-up men. He clearly didn’t like something.

“While we waste time, someone else dies, while we are being kind to these bad people.”

“S, Senior Brother.”

Yoon Jong walked quickly towards them, sword in hand.

Jo Gul felt something bad was going to happen. He quickly followed, but…

“Senior Brother!” Yoon Jong’s sword swung through the air. He quickly used his sword to hurt the captured villains badly. He broke something inside them and cut the muscles in their arms and legs.

The other disciples holding the villains jumped back for a moment. Even Jo Gul stopped in his tracks.

“Kraaah!” The villains screamed in pain. They couldn’t take it. Foam came from their mouths, and they fainted. When they woke up, their lives would be worse than death.

Jo Gul looked upset. Of course, it was fortunate that he hadn’t beheaded them as he had feared, but still, this was…

“Gag them.”

“S, Senior Brother?”

“If you’re not going to kill them, stop them from talking. Someone else can decide what to do with them later.”

The other disciples nodded silently.

If they had time, they would deal with these people properly and leave. But they didn’t have time now. Really, they were just passing by on their way somewhere else. So, it seemed like a sensible and efficient order.

It bothered them that it was Yoon Jong who gave the order.

“Senior Brother. But…”

“Enough.” Yoon Jong stopped Jo Gul from talking quickly. He looked silently at the child Jo Gul was holding. He turned away coldly.

“Get everything ready in one hour. We are leaving right away.”

“Th, then there’s no time to take care of the injured…”

“Just give them some basic help. People who are strong enough will survive.”

“No! What kind of…”

“Are you saying it’s okay for others to die?”

Jo Gul was quiet for a moment, shocked by Yoon Jong’s cold words.

“…”

“Clean up.”

“…Yes.”