Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 166

People shouted, “He’s alive!”

“Good heavens, he came back alive from in there!”

“…Wait. What about the Divine Artifact?”

The atmosphere changed as soon as someone mentioned the Divine Artifact.

At first, they were amazed that so many had survived the collapse.

But the thought that the survivors might have found the Divine Artifact made them greedy.

“What do we do?”

“What else? We take it! Isn’t that why we stayed here?”

“But there are the Taoists and the Beggars Union. And the others are strong.”

“Look at them! They don’t look like they have any strength left.”

They became very greedy, and they stopped thinking clearly.

When there is a chance to get something great, people forget reason and what is right.

That’s what happened to these men.

None of them had come here to be nice. They knew they could not enter the Sword Tomb. So, they stayed, hoping to get something.

Kill and take.

That’s how things are.

The first one to grab treasure doesn’t always get to keep it. Treasures always cause fights.

Greed shone in their eyes. Some licked their lips, imagining the treasure. Others clenched their fists, ready to fight for it. They looked at each other quickly, understanding without a word. Slowly, they started to surround the large pit. They knew the survivors were strong, so they decided to work together. At least, until they caught them.

One of the men surrounding the survivors looked down and spoke loudly.

“Welcome back. You are Heo Sanja, right?”

Heo Sanja’s eyes twitched. He was tired and just wanted to rest, but he knew trouble was coming.

“Who are you?”

“That’s not important. You don’t need to know.”

Hong Daeguang, who was watching, chuckled and said,

“Dan Sahong, the Lightning Spear. I heard he was in Zhejiang. So, he came here too.”

Heo Sanja looked at Hong Daeguang, then looked back at Dan Sahong.

“So, you are Great Warrior Dan.”

Dan Sahong frowned.

He didn’t want the Taoists to know his name. But now that it had happened, he had to act brave.

“Haha! Branch Leader Hong knows my name. I am honored. Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“What happened to the Divine Artifact?”

Heo Sanja calmly pointed down.

“Can’t you see for yourself?”

“So, you didn’t find even one Divine Artifact?”

“It wasn’t the right situation.”

Heo Sanja said firmly.

“There was nothing inside that could be called a Divine Artifact. After two hundred years, everything was rusted, broken, and rotten. Even if we had brought something, it wouldn’t have been what you wanted.”

“Heh.”

Dan Sahong frowned, looking sorry for them.

“If that’s true, that’s too bad. But Taoist, you know how the martial world is. We can’t just believe what you say, can we?”

“So, what do you want to do?” Heo Sanja asked with a slight edge in his voice, showing he was ready to fight even though he sounded calm.

Dan Sahong smiled slyly.

“Just allow us to search your bodies. If you are innocent, you will let us, right?” He smiled in a fake friendly way.

“That bastard!”

“Is he asking for a fight?”

The others, not Heo Sanja, responded.

Searching someone’s body is easy. But martial artists don’t do it. To let someone search you is like giving them your life.

To let someone search you is like letting them attack your pressure points.

Dan Sahong was breaking the rules of martial artists and being unfair.

“What if we don’t let you?”

“Haha. Taoist, you are not in a good spot. Can you beat all of us when you are so tired?”

Dan Sahong’s eyes turned cold.

“Give us everything you found inside, or you will die. If you don’t give it to us, you will wish you had died inside…”

“Oh, you little—!”

“…you’d think…”

Dan Sahong’s eyes widened.

A young boy jumped up and started climbing the wall towards him.

‘What is this?’

Dan Sahong was confused.

Why was this young boy charging into a group of martial artists?

And something was strange.

Even though the boy was doing something crazy, no one tried to stop him.

Even Heo Sanja looked at him with pity.

‘What is he doing?’

Then, the boy climbing the cliff shot up like a flash of light and landed in front of Dan Sahong.

‘Huh?’

Dan Sahong stepped back without thinking.

The boy’s face still looked young. He was covered in dirt, but he looked warm. But his face was full of anger.

“Who…”

“What? If you don’t want to die, what were you saying?”

“Ha… Haha. Young hero. This is not your fight…”

Wham!

Dan Sahong passed out. The world went black.

When he woke up, he saw the blue sky.

‘The sky?’

Why was he looking at the sky?

Then.

“Kraaaah!”

He felt a lot of pain where he shouldn’t. Tears came to his eyes, and snot ran from his nose because of the pain.

“Ack! Aargh! Ugh!”

Dan Sahong fell to the ground. Then he knew.

The young madman had kicked him and sent him flying.

Thud!

He fell back to the ground. Dan Sahong was now lying on the ground, twitching.

“Oh, really? You want the Divine Artifact?”

No! Forget that! Get a medic! I think it’s broken…

Grab.

Chung Myung grabbed Dan Sahong and pulled him up.

“If you want the Divine Artifact, go get it! It’s down there.”

“Huh?”

Then, he threw Dan Sahong.

“Aaaaaaargh!”

Dan Sahong flew through the air and into the hole that Chung Myung and his group had come from.

Then he disappeared.

A scream echoed, then faded away.

Gulp.

Everyone swallowed.

Chung Myung glared at them with his fierce, blue eyes.

“Anyone else want to check where the Divine Weapon is?”

Just then, everything changed.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The survivors below all drew their swords at once. The sharp steel flashed in the dim light. They stood tall and silent, their eyes cold and hard. Their presence was heavy, like a storm cloud about to break.

The survivors were strong and scary. The people who were loud before now felt afraid. They slowly moved back.

Then, Heo Sanja opened his mouth.

“I swear in the name of Wudang.”

“…”

“We couldn’t bring anything out. And there was no Divine Weapon down there as you imagined. There were some things that looked like Divine Weapons, but I don’t think they could have withstood that collapse. They’re probably badly damaged or broken. But if there are those who still want to obtain a Divine Weapon, dig through that place. It may take years, but you’ll be able to find some remains.”

Everyone held their breath at his chilling voice.

Swearing by Wudang was very serious for them. It was like making a promise that they had to keep. Everyone knew this.

“C-can we… can we believe you?” someone mumbled, nervously.

Heo Sanja’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying you don’t trust Wudang’s word?” he asked, his voice getting colder.

Everyone shut their mouths.

Before, they were angry. But now, they were scared and had lost their courage. They knew they couldn’t argue anymore.

“As you can see from looking at us now, there’s no place to hide any metal objects. Or perhaps? Do you want us to take off our robes to prove it to you?”

Those who had regained their reason eventually agreed with his words.

Divine Weapon. A term referring to weapons in the form of long swords or spears. But no matter how closely they looked, they couldn’t see any Divine Weapons on them.

Wudang, who would have been the first to obtain a Divine Weapon if there had been one, was merely holding their Songmun swords.

Besides…

“Who else wants to check! I’m a busy man! Come out quickly!”

That guy is too vicious. He glared at them, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. They remembered how easily he had defeated Dan Sahong.

“…Let’s go back.”

“Aww, it’s over!”

Everyone began to slink away. They lowered their heads, avoiding eye contact. They moved quickly and quietly, like mice escaping a cat.

Having realized that the situation had gone awry, they thought it would be advantageous to leave this place as quickly as possible and make sure Heo Sanja didn’t remember them.

They knew they couldn’t beat all of them in a fight. If they attacked Wudang, they would make powerful enemies. So, they had to leave.

The crowd of people who had rushed in like a tide retreated from Jeokgong Mountain like the ebb. Watching the scene, Chung Myung slightly gritted his teeth.

‘Those Jianghu bastards.’

Chung Myung knew he couldn’t trust these people. He thought, ‘If these fighters had even a little bit of goodness, Mount Hua would not be ruined like this.’

Chung Myung spat on the ground and jumped back down.

Spit.

Standing among his Mount Hua disciples, Chung Myung raised his head and looked at Heo Sanja.

They had been through many things inside, but there was no animosity in their eyes as they looked at each other.

Chung Myung didn’t need to hold a grudge against Wudang, and Heo Sanja had been saved by Chung Myung anyway. So, even if there was resentment, he couldn’t bring it up.

“Little Taoist.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

Heo Sanja deeply clasped his hands in respect.

“I owe you my life.”

“It’s nothing. I didn’t do anything great.”

Chung Myung glanced downwards and sighed deeply.

‘I worked my butt off, but in the end, I didn’t get anything.’

Heo Sanja seemed to be thinking similarly, as he said with a bitter face.

“We will now return to Wudang. In the end, all of this was greed. We coveted precious things without even being able to digest what we already had, so perhaps all of this is a natural consequence.”

Heo Sanja said something wise, like a Taoist priest would. He was talking about being greedy and learning from mistakes.

“Have you thought about my offer?”

“That will never happen. I am a disciple of Mount Hua.”

Heo Sanja meant that he would always be a disciple of Mount Hua. That would never change.

Heo Sanja, who had been quietly looking at Chung Myung, nodded with a serious face.

“That’s right. It should be. Perhaps Little Taoist is a greater man than I thought.”

“I’m just a stubborn mule.”

“Haha. A stubborn mule. A stubborn mule, you say. Indeed.”

Heo Sanja slightly shook his head as if he couldn’t win, and then sternly declared in a slightly colder tone.

“Wudang will remember Mount Hua.”

“…”

“I hope we never become enemies.”

The words themselves were mild, but it was a clear warning. But Chung Myung didn’t bother to respond. He was tired of arguing now.

“Then.”

Wudang left like that.

Then, those who had entered the Sword Tomb alone and other sects also left the Sword Tomb with regret.

It was easier for the other groups to leave and forget about it. They had seen for themselves that there was nothing special in the cave.

And finally…

“Mount Hua Divine Dragon. We’re too tired to go all the way to Luoyang today. Let us stay overnight at the Hwayeong Gate.”

“…Even if you are beggars, aren’t you asking for too much?”

“Please, just this once. I really feel like I’m going to die.”

Chung Myung sighed.

It was the Beggars’ Sect who were taking care of others even in that urgent situation. They had contributed the most after Wudang and Chung Myung in digging up from the bottom to this place, so they must be tired.

“The sect leader is over there, so ask him.”

At Chung Myung’s gesture, Wi Rip-san, who was nearby, approached with a gentle smile.

“Who would refuse the heroes of the Beggars’ Sect? Let’s go. I will offer you good food and wine. In celebration of your survival.”

“Oh! Thank you, Sect Leader!”

Hong Daekwang and the Beggars’ Sect members were all delighted and wore smiles on their faces.

Chung Myung let out a low sigh and turned to look at his fellow disciples.

Baek Cheon approached Chung Myung with a hollow look.

“In the end, there was nothing.”

“We were all fooled by that damn old geezer.”

Mount Hua, Wudang, and even the Beggars’ Sect and other sects. They realized that Yakseon, the old genius, had fooled them.

“Ggrrrr.”

Chung Myung scratched his head roughly.

‘I am so angry!’

He felt like he wanted to beat that old man for three days and nights if he were in front of him. But Yakseon was already dead, and there was nowhere for him to vent his anger.

After whining for a while to calm his mood, Chung Myung said with a hollow expression.

“…Let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

“There’s no use thinking about it anymore. I’m angry, so I should just have a drink and pass out.”

“A Taoist talking about drinking!”

“You’re not drinking?”

“…I am.”

“Let’s go.”

The disciples of Mount Hua followed behind Chung Myung, who was walking with heavy steps. Each step seemed slow and tired. Their shoulders were slumped, and they dragged their feet, dust puffing up with each step.

It was something they had to be satisfied with as a great experience.

Like this.

Mount Hua, who had entered the Sword Tomb, had no choice but to conclude the matter of the Sword Tomb without gaining any results.

Everyone. Even Chung Myung.

That’s what they thought until this moment.

That they had gained nothing.