Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1657

Everything was changing too fast. Jegeal Jarin felt like he was running to catch up, but the ground kept shifting beneath his feet.

“Wait! Just a moment!” Jegeal Jarin’s voice rose sharply, cutting through the tense air in the room.

He had to stop this madness. This ridiculous plan. *Jump into a trap?* he thought, his mind reeling. *And their answer is to ‘smash the trap’?* It sounded like a child’s game, not a serious strategy that could decide the fate of the martial world. Did any of this make sense?

“Ch-Chief! First of all… calm down!”

“Deputy Chiefs!”

But Chung Myung shouted as if he couldn’t even hear Jegeal Jarin’s voice.

“Summon the disciples right now. You have one minute!”

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

“Move!”

Even before Chung Myung’s words had finished, the Deputy Chiefs, who had been seated, jumped up and dashed out like arrows.

“Wh-What?”

Jegeal Jarin stared blankly, his eyes wide. Chung Myung’s words continued.

“The Clan Leaders should prepare to leave for Hubei immediately. Right now, as quickly as possible!”

“Understood.”

“We will follow the Chief’s orders.”

The Clan Leaders also rose immediately. Tang Gunak, Maeng So, and Pung Young-shin reacted instantly. Jongri Gok rose a little later, and then Mo Yong-wi-kyung also glanced at them before cautiously lifting himself from the chair.

“The Head of the Support Unit, Hwang Jong, will provide any necessary support! Hurry!”

“We will.”

The Clan Leaders also left without delay.

After a fleeting moment like a storm, only Hyun Jong, Chung Myung, and the two Strategists remained in the room.

“Green Forest King!”

Im So-byung snapped open his fan and half-covered his face.

A deep smile flickered in his eyes, visible above the fan.

“Call me Strategist Woo, Chief.”

“Or you can call me First Strategist.”

Chung Myung glanced at him silently before turning his gaze to Jegeal Jarin.

“Analyze and predict every move those bastards can make and report it to me.”

“Of course, I will, but…”

Tap.

As Chung Myung snapped his fingers, a flash of gold caught the light from the window as a small bird, feathers gleaming like spun gold, darted into the room.

The golden bird circled once above his head before landing gently on Chung Myung’s hand.

“Report through this one.”

Jegeal Jarin hastily reached out and took the golden bird that Chung Myung offered.

“A Thousand Mile Golden Bird… Is this from the Beggars’ Sect… ?”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ve decided to use it in the League until the war is over.”

“Ah…”

Jegeal Jarin, who had been blankly looking at the bird, looked at Chung Myung with a start.

“Wait a moment…! If this one is with me, how do you plan to issue orders to each clan?”

“It’s alright. There are more.”

“Yes?”

“Come here!”

As soon as Chung Myung shouted, the wooden door crashed open with a loud thud, the sound echoing in the tense room.

A blur of black and white shot into the room, moving faster than the eye could follow.

Whatever it was, it quickly climbed up Chung Myung’s body, settled on his shoulder, and raised its head high.

“…A ferret?”

It was even a pure white ferret wearing the black uniform of the Mount Hua Sect.

Undisguised bewilderment crossed Jegeal Jarin’s face. Chung Myung scratched the ferret’s chin roughly with his finger and said,

“If we’re just talking about speed, it’s faster than a bird, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Ah…”

Jegeal Jarin nodded with a slightly strange expression. At that moment, someone interjected in a gentle voice.

“By the way… I think you’ve forgotten about me?”

Im So-byung fluttered the fan he had been holding.

“Shouldn’t the orders you’re giving now actually be given to me, the First Strategist?”

He emphasized the word ‘First.’ Chung Myung watched him chuckle for a moment, then nodded as if he understood.

“First Strategist.”

“Yes!”

“You, come with me.”

“…Yes?”

“You’re coming with me.”

Thud.

The fan fell weakly to the floor. At the same time, Im So-byung’s face turned as white as a sheet.

“Me? Why would I…?”

“Jegeal Clan Head is here, so we don’t need you here. Come with me. You’ll be directing things on the field.”

“N-No, Chief! Do you not know what a strategist is? A strategist is supposed to be way, way back… Yes? In the back, I mean! Someone who gestures from behind!”

“Stop talking nonsense and come with me. Unless you want to die.”

…Im So-byung’s shoulders slumped.

In truth, going to the front lines was something he could somewhat accept. It wasn’t as if there hadn’t been strategists directing things on the front lines before.

The problem was that the position he had been assigned to was none other than beside that damned Taoist.

Anyone who knew the Heavenly Union… no, the current martial world even slightly, could never deny that the place where that damned Taoist was, was the most dangerous place in the martial world.

And he was going to be taken to such a place? Im So-byung thought.

‘I’d rather bite a knife and fall over!’

How could such a weak (?) scholar endure a place that even those insane Mount Hua lunatics couldn’t withstand?

“Th-That position, it seems like it would be better for the Jegeal Clan Head to go rather than me…”

“Just follow me without another word.”

“…Yes.”

Im So-byung eventually nodded lifelessly. He knew instinctively that if he refused even once more here, a fist, a kick, or a sword would definitely come flying.

“W-Wait a moment, Chief. This is…”

“Alliance Lord.”

The moment Jegeal Jarin tried to say something, Chung Myung turned his body and clasped his hands towards Hyun Jong.

“Mount Hua disciple, Chung Myung. I will depart to support Wudang. Approval!”

A look of worry flashed across his face for a moment, but Hyun Jong quickly erased it and said briefly with a determined expression.

“Granted.”

“Thank you!”

Tap.

Chung Myung, who had turned around, stared at the wide-open door for a moment before running out like the wind. He didn’t even bother to look back.

“Uh…”

Jegeal Jarin watched his retreating figure with an almost vacant expression.

“Ugh. I’m going crazy.”

Now, Im So-byung was the only one Jegeal Jarin could cling to.

“Now, wait a moment. Green Forest King.”

Im So-byung, who was already deep in worry, replied with a sullen face.

“Yes?”

“Wh-What on earth is going on here?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Until just a moment ago, we were arguing about whether it was okay or not, whether it was right or wrong…”

“Ah, that?”

Im So-byung sighed deeply once again, as if the ground would cave in.

“Well, we can share opinions, can’t we? Everyone thinks differently.”

“…Yes?”

“But the important thing is not to look back once a decision has been made. Isn’t that what this organization is for?”

Jegeal Jarin swallowed hard, looking at Im So-byung’s face, which was full of the implication of, ‘Why are you asking such obvious things?’

‘Once a decision has been made, don’t look back?’

The words were right.

But how easy was that? If it were as easy as saying it, which clan would be suffering from internal conflicts?

If there are a hundred people, there are a hundred thoughts, and if there are a thousand, there are a thousand thoughts.

Could they really bring all those different opinions together so quickly? It was like they had planned it all beforehand.

“There’s no need to think so difficultly.”

“…Yes?”

“Debate fiercely, act simply.”

Im So-byung picked up the fan he had dropped, folded it, and looked out the door.

“It’s the method that the people who have been involved with that man have learned through their bodies. And… hmm. Well, this is unnecessary.”

Im So-byung left Jegeal Jarin behind, as if he didn’t feel the need to say any more.

The remaining Jegeal Jarin was lost in thought for a while. Im So-byung hadn’t said everything, but he seemed to know what the unspoken words were.

‘And that’s now the Heavenly Union’s way?’

He had never thought that such a thing would actually be possible.

But what if this really happened? What if those ragtag gangs, scraped together and mixed up, could move like the wind at Chung Myung’s single word, just like what had happened before his eyes?

A chill ran down his spine.

It was difficult to even imagine what would happen after that. It was the ideal that those who dealt with strategy dreamed of, even in their dreams.

Because it was such a high ideal, it was difficult to predict the ripple effect when such a thing actually happened in reality.

“Th-Then what on earth should I do…?”

“The Information Pavilion.”

“Yes?”

Jegeal Jarin turned around sharply. Hyun Jong was looking at him with a gentle smile.

“The information gathered by the Beggars’ Sect and the information sent by each clan will be gathered here through the branch offices that Chung Myung has created. Strategist, you just need to handle that. In addition, you will be in charge of logistics, support, and other things that need to be done from the rear.”

“Ah…”

“Perhaps the battle here will be even more intense. Are you prepared?”

Jegeal Jarin looked at Hyun Jong silently.

Even though it was a situation where he was sending his disciples to a place that might be a trap, Hyun Jong had a soft smile on his face.

But that smile didn’t come from simple composure. That was… to reassure Jegeal Jarin.

The moment he realized this, Hyun Jong loomed even larger in Jegeal Jarin’s eyes.

“Hoo…”

Jegeal Jarin took a deep breath. He straightened his clothes and faced Hyun Jong directly. Then, with sincerity, not formality, he bowed his head.

“I look forward to working with you, Alliance Lord.”

“The same here.”

Hyun Jong’s eyes, which had accepted Jegeal Jarin’s greeting, turned past him to the wide-open door.

“Assembled!”

“Damn it, what should we be called? The Second Unit? The Second Unit has completed assembly!”

“The Fourth Unit has also fully assembled!”

“This side too!”

The road leading into Hwayeom.

It was just the entrance to a small village, but because it was the road leading to Mount Hua, it was famous to some, meaningful to others, and poignant to others.

Numerous people were lined up there.

The units of the Heavenly Union, which couldn’t all be lined up even in the training ground that was at least three times larger than the training ground of an ordinary sect, were lined up on the road leading to Hwayeom.

In front of them stood the Clan Leaders and Deputy Clan Leaders leading each unit.

The meaning of this was much greater than what the world imagined.

The world had suffered numerous invasions and calamities, and each time, the martial world had joined forces to stop the enemy.

However, there had never been a time, in any moment, when the walls of the sects had been completely torn down. How many people would understand what it meant for people wearing different clothes, using different weapons, and having different titles to stand together without distinguishing themselves from each other?

However, there was one person who understood that meaning better than anyone else. He stood straight in front of the assembled Heavenly Union disciples.

Chung Myung, wearing the black uniform of Mount Hua, scanned everyone once and nodded slowly.

In some people’s eyes, anxiety flickered, and in others’ eyes, determination blazed. Perhaps Chung Myung’s inner thoughts were no different from those gazes. But…

Chung Myung’s gaze suddenly turned back.

He could see the road leading to Hwayeom and the towering figure of Mount Hua behind it.

It was a road leading to Mount Hua, but it was also a road leading away from Mount Hua. The road was always open in both directions.

He would move forward through this road, and he would also walk back the road he had walked.

It was different from the past. It was different from then.

Looking ahead again, at the Heavenly Union disciples, there was no more wavering in Chung Myung’s eyes.

Even if it was insufficient, even if it was still lacking, there was no hesitation in moving forward. He now knew that the moment to discuss perfection would never come.

Tap.

Chung Myung took a step forward. Then, looking at everyone, he opened his mouth.

“When we return…”

“…”

“…it will be after the war is over.”

This was a declaration that he would not set foot on this land again without seeing the end of the war.

The faces of everyone who understood the meaning of his words filled with determination.

“Depart!”

“Yes!”

The disciples of the Heavenly Union, without anyone starting first, let out a great but controlled shout and moved their feet.

There was nothing to specifically instruct or be instructed about.

The goal was one place: Wudang.