Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 158

The Three Evil Ghosts narrowed his eyes slightly.

How did things end up like this?

The plan wasn’t bad.

In a struggle like this, reducing the number of rivals was most important. Finding allies was even more important.

With groups like the Taoists and the Choyoung Clan here, there were limits to what one person could do alone. So, he needed to find an ally to make his force stronger.

And he had found an alliance and made his power stronger. So far, everything was perfect.

At least, until those annoying guys showed up.

“Aaaargh! You damn bastard! Fight me fairly!”

“I am fighting you, plenty enough!”

A young man in white robes, looking more like a scholar than a fighter, was teasing Georyeokbu.

Baek Cheon looked calm, but the Three Evil Ghosts knew the truth. Baek Cheon was in a dangerous situation. One mistake could mean death.

Yet, he kept provoking Georyeokbu, stopping him from attacking the other Mount Hua disciples. The other Mount Hua disciples were the same.

He had seen many times how groups of fighters would band together and act cruelly. That was why the Three Evil Ghosts didn’t like people who belonged to any group.

But these ones were different.

Their trust in each other was stronger than any he had seen in other groups. They might insult each other, but they were desperately trying to help each other.

I can’t win.

Even those guys are a handful, and that Chung Myung is a monster. The Three Evil Ghosts wasn’t sure if he could last fifty moves against Jang Gang-mukdo, but Chung Myung killed him in just ten.

That young kid had easily done something that even elders of most groups would struggle with.

A monstrous bastard.

The Three Evil Ghosts had one rule: Fight those you can win against, and avoid those you can’t. And Chung Myung was clearly someone he couldn’t beat. Even if he died and came back to life, he couldn’t win against Chung Myung.

“Aaaaargh!”

Even now, those allied with him were screaming and falling. Once the balance was broken, the ranks fell apart instantly, without any chance of recovery. The price was death or injury.

I’m getting out of here.

The Three Evil Ghosts made up his mind.

From the start, this wasn’t a sealed room. If he wanted to escape, he could easily run into the cave behind him. If those guys from Mount Hua were this strong, some would have already run away.

Luckily, he was at the very back.

I just need to escape and join up with the warriors who went ahead.

Right now, this place was divided into three groups: The Taoists, those chasing the Taoists, and those right here.

This place could be divided into the alliance, Mount Hua, and the Beggars’ Sect, but that wasn’t important.

The most important thing was that even if he escaped from here, there was a place to join up. If the battle between the Taoists and the pursuers hadn’t ended yet, there was still a chance to turn things around.

So…

CRASH!

The sound echoed as one of the fighters slammed into the cave wall, thrown back by Chung Myung’s sword. Blood splattered. It was like a signal. The Three Evil Ghosts spun around and ran. He pushed off the ground with all his might, sprinting towards the dark opening of the corridor.

Whoosh!

The air rushed past his face. He had never run so fast. He was proud of his speed, his ability to move quickly. Now, he used every bit of it. The Mount Hua fighters were still busy with his allies. They would never catch him. He was sure of it.

It’s not the strong who survive, but the survivors who are strong.

The Three Evil Ghosts bit his lip.

He might be running away now, but there were more people ahead. They might be weaker than those here, but there were far more of them.

If he could persuade them, wiping out those Mount Hua bastards wouldn’t be too difficult.

The Three Evil Ghosts vowed to repay this humiliation and ran even faster…

“Hey, you bastard, that’s awfully low.”

At that moment, something hit the Three Evil Ghosts hard in the stomach.

“Gack!”

With a pain that felt like his windpipe was being squeezed, the Three Evil Ghosts lost his balance and fell to the floor.

Thud. Thud! Thud!

Unable to stop himself, his head repeatedly slammed into the floor before rolling and crashing again.

“Kuh, euh, euh…”

The Three Evil Ghosts, shaking from the terrible pain, lifted his head. And then, he saw a face he never wanted to see.

Chung Myung.

The monstrous bastard was clicking his tongue at the Three Evil Ghosts.

“Hey, you! I know this is just a quickly formed alliance, but your comrades are risking their lives to fight, and you’re running away alone? What kind of dirty bastard are you?”

The Three Evil Ghosts’ eyes trembled.

No…

This guy was fighting the others just a moment ago, so how did he catch up so quickly?

The Three Evil Ghosts’ head turned to the side. He had come quite far towards the exit, so he couldn’t see the entire scene, but he could see several of those who had been fighting Chung Myung lying on the floor.

H-How?

That meant that the moment the Three Evil Ghosts started running, he had knocked down all his opponents and chased after him.

Unable to understand what was happening, the Three Evil Ghosts forgot the pain and stared blankly at Chung Myung.

Chung Myung opened his mouth.

“Hey.”

Chung Myung tilted his head from side to side.

Crack. Crack.

The sound of his neck bones cracking echoed.

“A man’s gotta have loyalty.”

Something welled up inside the Three Evil Ghosts.

He gritted his teeth and spat out the words.

“Loyalty? You’re telling me to risk my life for that damn loyalty?”

“Huh?”

As the Three Evil Ghosts struggled, a strange light appeared in Chung Myung’s eyes.

“Damn it! What loyalty are you talking about with guys I just met today!”

“Oh… that’s also true.”

Chung Myung nodded as if he agreed. The Three Evil Ghosts’ eyes widened.

Huh?

He agrees?

“Don’t worry. I didn’t catch you because you’re disloyal.”

…Then why?

“If I let you go like this, you’ll definitely tell the guys up ahead about us, right?”

Chung Myung smiled brightly.

“I can’t stand things like that, you see.”

The Three Evil Ghosts, watching Chung Myung slowly approach, finally closed his eyes tightly.

Hooo…

Yoon Jong took a deep breath.

He hadn’t noticed it while fighting, but now that the battle was over, his whole body was trembling.

This is a real battle.

It was completely different from sparring. The pressure of having his life on the line made his sword less effective and clouded his mind.

Jo Gul had simply collapsed on the spot. His back was soaked with sweat. Yoon Jong dragged his heavy legs over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You did well.”

“No, senior brother. You did well.”

Jo Gul spoke in a slightly quiet voice, not like his usual self.

“They say you have to experience a real battle to know your true skills. Now I know what that means. I didn’t realize I was such a mess.”

A mess…

It was a slightly strange thing to say.

Even with Chung Myung’s help, Yoon Jong and Jo Gul had fought Son Myeong together. If Mount Hua knew this, they would be shocked. That was how famous Son Myeong was. The two were not at a level to be compared.

But Jo Gul said this for a simple reason.

His standards are abnormally high.

Because he was comparing himself to what Chung Myung showed and demanded, he couldn’t be happy even after winning.

He thought he was finally reaching the level Chung Myung was talking about, but in a real battle, he realized he couldn’t even use half of what he had learned.

“Don’t be disappointed.”

Baek Cheon approached them and said.

“It’s normal not to be able to use your full skills in a real battle. Everyone wants to use as much as they practiced, but that’s impossible for anyone.”

“Ah…”

“Don’t be disappointed, but look at your current skills. The skills you show in a real battle are your true skills.”

“Yes, master.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Baek Cheon nodded silently.

Just as he was about to say something else, a low sneer came from behind him.

“Kuh! That is! Your! True skills.”

“Stop it.”

“Hee hee hee hee.”

A vein popped out on Baek Cheon’s forehead.

Chung Myung was dragging someone’s leg as he walked over. Baek Cheon didn’t bother to check who it was. It was probably the guy who ran away earlier.

Chung Myung threw the guy he had dragged into a corner. The place was already full of people the Mount Hua disciples had dragged there.

No one was dead.

The two Chung Myung had personally killed were dead, but the others had only lost consciousness. Some might be injured and in danger, but none of the Mount Hua disciples had killed anyone.

Baek Cheon knew.

This wasn’t because they were holding back. It was just that the Mount Hua disciples weren’t ready to kill yet.

Unlike Chung Myung.

They’re still soft.

So far, this hadn’t been a problem. But in more urgent situations, in more terrible battles, the hesitation to kill would definitely hold them back.

There was no need to kill people on purpose, and they shouldn’t. But if necessary, they had to be ready to kill to survive.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“Nothing.”

Baek Cheon sighed as he looked at the sly Chung Myung.

I can’t keep up.

The image of Chung Myung cleanly cutting off Dae Raegyeom’s head without hesitating was stuck in his mind. This sight would probably not disappear from Baek Cheon’s mind for a while.

Baek Cheon had stepped in not only to help Chung Myung but also to prevent Chung Myung from killing more people.

You could say he was soft. Maybe that was true. But at least those who wanted to do good should avoid unnecessary killings.

No, if they were human.

Chung Myung glanced at the place where Georyeokbu and his group were lying unconscious.

“Hmm.”

If Baek Cheon hadn’t stopped him, Chung Myung would have killed them all without hesitating.

No, if it was the Chung Myung of the past, he would have killed everyone even if Baek Cheon had tried to stop him.

He still didn’t think it was wrong. Those who tried to kill others had to be ready to die themselves. That was the rule.

But…

Well, it wouldn’t be bad.

He couldn’t be better than the past if he was the same as the past.

It wasn’t that Chung Myung was changing. It was Mount Hua that had to change. If they were willing to support him, it wouldn’t be bad to rely on them a little.

“Ready?”

“For what?”

Chung Myung grinned.

“Let’s go catch those Taoist bastards!”

The Mount Hua disciples grinned at Chung Myung’s words.