Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1611

Jegeal Jarin stopped before the main building. His face was tight, like a mask carved from stone, showing how angry he was. The morning sun glinted off the roof tiles, but his eyes were shadowed with annoyance.

Jongri Gok walked beside him, calm and agreeable, leaving Jegeal Jarin no choice but to come. But inside, Jegeal Jarin fumed. *A newcomer ordering me around?* he thought, his jaw clenching. *The nerve of this brat!*

If Hyun Jong or Tang Gunak had asked, even just as a polite gesture, Jegeal Jarin would have bowed his head. But this? He shook his head slightly. *How disorganized is this Heavenly Alliance? Can’t they even get simple things right?*

But then…

“Hey, what took you so long!”

Jegeal Jarin’s mouth fell slightly open as he stepped inside. A young brat with a spiteful face was pointing a finger right at him.

*What is happening?* he thought.

He was too bewildered to even be angry. He even began to wonder if he had done something wrong.

“Are you… talking to me?”

“Is there anyone else here who’s late besides you, then?”

The little brat glared fiercely, and Jegeal Jarin found himself speechless.

“Huh…”

Jegeal Jarin, who had been muttering in disbelief, was just about to say something when the young brat barked again.

“Are the others here early ’cause they got boils on their feet? We told you to come a while ago! Why so slow? Being late once not enough for ya?”

Jegeal Jarin’s reason snapped.

“You…!”

Just as he was about to roar in fury, Jongri Gok, who was behind him, placed a hand on his shoulder to restrain him and stepped forward.

“I apologize. We will arrive a little earlier next time.”

“Yes. Still, the Sect Leader is more reasonable.”

“……”

“I’m used to handling situations like this.”

Chung Myung nodded as if he understood.

“Ah, well. I suppose that’s understandable.”

“……”

A vein throbbed slightly on Jongri Gok’s forehead.

He had expected it and tried to bear it, but he couldn’t help the sudden surge of anger.

How did something like that crawl into the mountain next to Mount Jongnam of all places!

“Ahem.”

Jongri Gok cleared his throat as if to shake off his unpleasant feelings and found his seat. Then, he gestured to Jegeal Jarin and Mo Yong Wi-kyung, who were still standing dumbfounded.

“Please, sit down.”

“Sect Leader.”

“Isn’t it true that we don’t have much time?”

Jegeal Jarin, with a very displeased expression, remained silent for a moment before finally taking a seat. Mo Yong Wi-kyung also glanced around before sitting next to them.

Chung Myung clicked his tongue softly as he looked at them, then began to speak.

“Anyway, now that everyone’s here…”

“I apologize.”

Jin Geum-ryong and Lee Song-baek of Jongnam entered the room. Chung Myung frowned deeply.

Jegeal Jarin, not missing this, inwardly rejoiced.

‘That rascal!’

He was clearly planning to question whether the young disciples of Jongnam were qualified to participate here! If the Mount Hua Divine Dragon did that, Jegeal Jarin could attack Chung Myung by bringing up his age and status.

‘I will make sure this arrogant brat, protected by his sect, understands reality.’

Jegeal Jarin eagerly awaited Chung Myung’s words. And finally…!

“Wow, you’re so fast it makes my head spin.”

“We came as soon as we heard…”

“Aigoo! Even the Sect Leader is here already. Heavens, a disciple arriving later than the Sect Leader and making him wait is something I’ve never heard of in my life. The world is turning upside down! Things weren’t like this in my day!”

Grrr.

Jin Geum-ryong gritted his teeth and reached for his sword. But Lee Song-baek gently grabbed his wrist to stop him.

“We can’t win with words anyway, Senior Brother. Unless you’re really going to draw your sword, just bear with it.”

“……”

Jongri Gok, unable to watch any longer, said in a stern voice.

“Don’t waste time and sit down. There are important people here.”

Jin Geum-ryong, who had been resisting Lee Song-baek’s persuasion, couldn’t defy Jongri Gok’s words and took his seat. Of course, he didn’t forget to glare at Chung Myung as if he wanted to kill him.

From Jegeal Jarin’s perspective, who had been anticipating a major conflict, this was an ‘huh?’ moment.

The Mount Hua Divine Dragon had first made a name for himself by defeating Jin Geum-ryong of Jongnam. So there should be layers of resentment between the two.

Moreover, considering the relationship between Jongnam and Mount Hua, there was no way they would let this go so easily, right?

But Chung Myung, with his arms crossed, only showed a displeased expression and didn’t seem to have any intention of kicking them out.

As nothing was going according to his plan, Jegeal Jarin grew impatient and cautiously opened his mouth.

“Are those two from Jongnam even allowed to participate in a meeting like this?”

“Pardon?”

“Judging by their seniority and… position, they can’t be considered senior figures. Wasn’t this a meeting for senior figures?”

Jin Geum-ryong and Lee Song-baek’s faces hardened.

Jegeal Jarin pretended not to notice their expressions. He had unintentionally attacked Jongnam, but the regret of simply glossing over it was too great.

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I’m unhappy with their attendance, but I’m simply questioning their qualifications…”

“Qualifications?”

Chung Myung tilted his head.

At that moment, several people in the conference room hurriedly averted their gaze from Chung Myung and began to look elsewhere.

“Qualifications? Qualifications, you say? Qualifications?”

“W, why are you suddenly like this? Is there something I shouldn’t have said…?”

“No, I’m just amazed.”

Chung Myung smiled brightly and glanced at Jongri Gok.

“I don’t think we need to bother fighting the Four Evil Sects, Sect Leader?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Seeing the people who were sticking close to that baldy king and cursing us to death until a few days ago sitting here and talking about qualifications, I think the world is about to end anyway. What else could be a sign of doom? This is a sign of doom. In that case, I don’t think we need to bother fighting so hard?”

Jegeal Jarin’s face turned bright red. Just as he was about to let out a scream-like retort…

“Heh heh heh.”

“……”

The laughter that leaked from the side shut Jegeal Jarin up. It was Jongri Gok, of all people, who had burst out laughing at Chung Myung’s words.

“S, Sect Leader!”

“Ah, I apologize. I couldn’t help myself.”

Jongri Gok cleared his throat and suppressed his laughter, subtly avoiding Jegeal Jarin’s gaze.

Chung Myung sneered and snapped.

“If we’re going to talk about qualifications, the two of you over there are the least qualified.”

He didn’t give Jegeal Jarin a chance to retort.

“And these two? Of course, they’re qualified. These two are the ones who saw the horrors of that battlefield before anyone else. ‘Anyone,’ I say.”

Under the table, Jegeal Jarin’s hands began to tremble. He couldn’t possibly misunderstand what Chung Myung’s words meant.

‘That damn dog…’

His teeth ground together.

He had tried to use the hostile relationship between Jongnam and Mount Hua to attack, but thanks to that bastard suddenly defending Jongnam, he was the only one who looked ridiculous!

But it was difficult to argue back right now. The more he did, the more he would remind everyone of his mistake.

When Jegeal Jarin fell silent, Chung Myung clicked his tongue openly.

“People should have some shame.”

“……”

“It’s like the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what makes you so great that you keep getting angry at others and pointing things out. If it were up to me, I’d just…”

“Now, now. Grandmaster, calm down. This isn’t something to get angry about, is it?”

“I’m not angry?”

“Yes, yes. I know. So let’s just leave it at this…”

“No. I’m telling you, it’s not that I’m angry! I’m just pointing out that you’re doing something ridiculous. Anyone would think this is Henan, and those people are the owners here? I’m just dumbfounded, really…”

“Yes. Yes. I understand. I understand.”

Tang Gunak was sweating profusely as he coaxed and soothed Chung Myung. And he thought.

‘I knew this would happen.’

He thought Chung Myung was being remarkably patient, considering Jegeal Jarin’s attitude. Even though he had repeatedly shown disrespect to Hyun Jong.

Chung Myung was probably holding it all in his heart and was about to strike now. That’s why you should always be careful of people who hold grudges.

“Tsk.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue loudly and looked around at everyone.

“So, is everyone really here now?”

Bang!

“I, I apologize! I received the message late…”

Chung Myung covered his face as he saw Baek Cheon bursting through the door.

“Ugh. Damn it. I should just go out and die.”

“……”

Meanwhile, Jegeal Jarin took a deep breath and tried to calm his mind.

In fact, he knew it too.

The reason his words had worked so far was that the Heavenly Alliance had been considerate of him in their own way. The moment they abandoned that ‘consideration’ and attacked his mistakes, his position would rapidly diminish.

The moment the consideration disappeared, all that would remain were two things: the last seat of the collapsed Five Great Families, and the assessment that he was the cause of the defeat.

That’s why Jegeal Jarin had quickly tried to unite Jongnam and the Mo Yong Family. Even if the justification disappeared, he could still maintain his voice if he had power.

But that damn brat seemed to know his intentions and humiliated him before the meeting even started. In front of everyone.

He couldn’t even properly refute those words, so his position was now practically shattered.

‘This isn’t over.’

Then there was only one path left. He was the head of the Jegeal Family. He was confident in arming himself with logic and suppressing that arrogant bastard with words.

“But… why did you suddenly gather everyone like this?”

Just then, Jongri Gok opened the gate for him.

“We need to have a meeting.”

“Didn’t we already have one?”

“Can you even call that a meeting? Everyone just said what they wanted to say and then it ended?”

“Hmm.”

Jongri Gok nodded as if he agreed with that statement.

Certainly, the only thing left as a result of that meeting was the suspicion that there was a traitor. Of course, that one thing was very significant.

“Does that mean you’ve figured out the identity of the traitor?”

Jongri Gok’s eyes sharpened as he looked at Chung Myung. Everyone’s attention was focused on Chung Myung.

“As long as there is a traitor within the Orthodox Faction, any countermeasures we establish are meaningless. That’s why we couldn’t continue the meeting. If there’s a spy, our strategies will be exposed, and if there’s a traitor, we might be attacked in the back by someone we believed to be a comrade. But seeing you gather everyone so urgently like this, you must have figured out the identity of the traitor. Isn’t that right?”

Various emotions flickered in the eyes of the crowd.

Curiosity, anger, concern, and a strange unease.

Amidst all those gazes, Chung Myung… was picking his ear. Very nonchalantly.

“What?”

“Huh?”

“What strange things are you talking about? What does having a traitor have to do with anything?”

“Huh?”

Jongri Gok didn’t even try to hide his bewildered expression.

“What do you mean by that? Do you know the identity of the traitor, or do you not?”

“No, how would I know that? Do you really think I’m a Taoist priest who can tell fortunes or something!”

Chung Myung burst out in annoyance.

“If I had that kind of talent, why would I bother struggling with a sword! I could just plant a flag somewhere and make a fortune!”

At the unexpected answer, Jongri Gok gaped blankly, forgetting all about his dignity.

“You don’t know?”

“Nope. I don’t.”

“Then… why did you suddenly gather everyone at this late hour?”

“That’s why things are such a mess.”

“……”

Chung Myung chuckled and said.

“The important thing isn’t whether there’s a traitor or not. The really important thing is…”

“What nonsense is that! How can the existence of a traitor not be important!”

At that moment, Jegeal Jarin interrupted Chung Myung and jumped to his feet.

“Hoo boy?”

“Can you take responsibility for that statement!”

Jegeal Jarin’s eyes were bloodshot as he shouted.

The corner of Chung Myung’s mouth slowly curved upwards as he stared at him.