Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1712

With a desperate cry, the disciples of Mount Hua ran through the burning forest. They climbed Wudang Mountain as fast as they could.

‘Please! Please!’

Baek Sang used all his energy. He felt like he was breaking apart.

He knew it. He wasn’t among the strongest in Mount Hua. It would be better for someone stronger to carry Baek Cheon up the mountain. For Baek Cheon’s sake, even.

But Baek Sang would not let anyone else carry Baek Cheon. This was his job. He wouldn’t give it to anyone.

Thud!

Kicking off the ground with all his might, his body shot up the mountain, incredibly fast.

“This way!”

He was out of breath, but he kept climbing the steep path. Finally, he saw old and grand buildings ahead. They looked different from Mount Hua, but they still smelled like Taoism, which felt familiar.

“Wudang…!”

“Which way to the Hall of Medicine!”

“T-this way.”

“It won’t do! The Wudang Hall of Medicine does not have the space to accommodate all of them!”

“Damn it! Then shouldn’t we bring in only those in immediate danger first!”

Frustrated, Baek Sang shouted angrily. The Wudang disciple flinched and nodded.

“Where is it?”

“There! That pavilion!”

Baek Sang rushed forward, about to burst open the doors of the Hall of Medicine, when—

“Wait! Please, no!”

Someone cried out urgently, stopping Baek Sang. Baek Sang and all the Mount Hua disciples turned to look at the speaker.

A Wudang disciple, whose injuries were relatively minor, looked at them with a pale face and cried out again.

“T-the Hall of Medicine is not permitted!”

“What are you talking about? What do you mean, ‘not allowed’?”

“Wudang is still closed off from the outside world. Normally, we can’t even let anyone from outside in.”

“…What?”

“And even the Hall of Medicine! This is beyond our authority. The Sect Leader must come….”

In that instant, Kwak Hwe, utterly dumbfounded, spat out a rough curse.

“Sect Leader! Damn it! Where are we going to find him? He wasn’t even here when we were fighting!”

“W-well, that’s the only way.”

“Then what? What are we supposed to do? Just die here?”

“Wudang disciples can go into the Hall of Medicine, but people from Mount Hua… you have to stay outside.”

Kwak Hwe’s eyes flashed with anger.

“What did you just say? Outside the pavilion?”

The other Mount Hua disciples felt the same. A murderous aura began to rise from their bodies.

Everyone looked at Baek Cheon on Baek Sang’s back, unable to contain their anger.

“Did you just say outside the pavilion?”

“N-no….”

Even the one who had initially tried to stop them couldn’t bring himself to continue speaking after seeing Baek Cheon. It was clear at a glance that Baek Cheon’s condition was dire. Beyond what could be described by the simple words ‘critical condition’.

“You son of a bitch! We risked our lives to help you, and this is what you say!”

“Why are you wandering around outside if you haven’t lifted the seclusion!”

“That’s… because the situation is what it is, the acting Sect Leader temporarily declared it. It cannot be seen as officially lifting the seclusion.”

“You…!”

“Of course, I understand your feelings. But the Wudang code is such. Please….”

“Code?”

Someone retorted coldly.

Hearing this, the Mount Hua disciples immediately put down the Wudang disciples they were carrying.

They had just been saving people with these hands. Now, they clenched their fists, feeling betrayed.

The Wudang disciples, who had been unceremoniously dropped, all looked at the Mount Hua disciples in bewilderment. In that moment, they had to endure eyes filled with a chilling animosity.

The Mount Hua disciples gnashed their teeth and muttered.

“There’s a limit to how badly you can treat someone who helped you.”

If they had been treated like this, they wouldn’t have been so angry. But this was Baek Cheon. For Baek Cheon, of all people, to receive such treatment was something no one in Mount Hua could ever tolerate.

“If you could understand….”

“Shut your mouth, you sons of bitches!”

Baek Ja and the others were now on the verge of drawing their swords. Baek Sang gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Enough!”

“But, Senior Brother! Those bastards…!”

“I said enough! Shut your trap!”

Baek Sang roared in fury, and everyone clamped their mouths shut. Baek Sang also bit his own lip tightly. If it was a matter of burning inside, he was the same. If anything, he was more so, not less.

But now was not the time to waste time on such trivialities.

“Very well. We will treat him here!”

“Senior Brother!”

Baek Sang stopped his angry disciples. His eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth as he bowed his head.

“Instead, you can provide the medicine needed for treatment. We need medicine right now! First, something to stop the bleeding, and some medicinal water!”

“That’s….”

However, Muui, who had blocked Mount Hua, showed a troubled expression again.

“That too….”

Baek Sang was silent. There was no animosity or anger in his gaze towards Muui. It was simply transparent.

Muui, rather flustered, stammered an explanation.

“Nothing from inside a closed-off sect can leave. People from outside are always seen as outsiders…“

“Haha….”

Baek Sang chuckled.

It was less than an hour ago that Baek Sang was disgusted by the evil Sa Pae Lord. The Lord had sacrificed his own people! Now, after escaping that terrible place, Baek Sang faced something even worse. The orthodox sects, like Wudang, seemed stuck in their old ways. They were even worse than the Sa Pae Clan in some ways.

“You can’t give it to us….”

Thud.

Baek Sang looked at everyone with cold eyes and gripped his sword.

“Then there’s no choice. If you won’t give it, we’ll have to take it.”

“W-what are you saying?”

“Move. If you don’t want to die!”

Baek Sang drew his sword. The faces of the Wudang disciples hardened all at once.

“Look here! Don’t you know it’s forbidden to draw a sword within Wudang’s grounds? Even if you don’t take the courtesy of unsheathing your sword, at least the minimum….”

“Yeah, keep talking. Let’s see if you can still talk with a sword in your face.”

“What an outrage…!”

Baek Sang strode towards the Wudang disciples. Supporting Baek Cheon on his back with one hand.

Seeing this, the Wudang disciples squeezed out the remaining strength and stood up.

It was a dangerous moment. They were about to fight each other, unlike the fight with the Sa Pae Clan.

“Open the Hall of Medicine and bring the Sect Leader Representative inside.”

“S-Senior Uncle!”

Everyone was startled and turned their heads. Heo Gong, supported by Mujin, was looking at them.

“Right now.”

“But, Senior Uncle! The Sect Leader….”

“I will take all responsibility. Bring them in.”

“…Yes, Senior Uncle. T-this way, please!”

The Wudang disciples hurriedly opened the doors of the Hall of Medicine wide.

Baek Sang, who had been watching the scene, glanced at Heo Gong. Heo Gong coughed and said.

“Rules are supposed to help people.”

“…….”

“I dare to apologize on behalf of Wudang.”

It was hard for him to even bow his head. He was very weak, but he was trying his best to be respectful. Seeing this, Baek Sang entered the Hall of Medicine like an arrow without another word.

Saving Baek Cheon was the priority now.

“Clan Lord!”

“I know.”

He hurriedly laid Baek Cheon on the bed. Tang Gunak ripped Baek Cheon’s upper garment without hesitation.

“Ugh….”

“Heo….”

Gasps and sighs came from everyone in the room.

It was worse than terrible.

His body was burned black and red. Looking at him, they felt shock, not just sadness. He looked like something not human.

But no matter how much they tried to deny it, they couldn’t deny the fact that the person lying in this state was Baek Cheon.

“Clan Lord! Is Senior Brother going to be alright?”

“Stand back!”

“A-alright! Stand back!”

Baek Sang grabbed the clothes of his gathered senior and junior brothers and pulled them back. Tang Gunak looked at Baek Cheon with a very grave face. He started searching in his robes.

“B-but, Clan Lord, you also need treatment now….”

“Quiet!”

Tang Gunak firmly shut everyone’s mouths.

In fact, it wasn’t wrong. He was also in a state of extreme injury and fatigue from dealing with Chunmyun Susa.

But this wasn’t the time to think about himself. Baek Cheon might die. How could he worry about his own small injuries when Baek Cheon was dying?

Click.

Tang Gunak opened a small box he had taken out of his chest. Inside the box were golden needles wrapped in blue silk.

“Guard the area. Even the smallest mistake could kill him. Don’t let anyone disturb me.”

“Yes, Clan Lord!”

The Mount Hua disciples began to guard the surroundings like an iron wall. A murderous will to cut down anyone who approached, no matter who it was, emanated from everyone.

Soon, Tang Gunak infused inner strength into the thin golden needle he held in his hand. The golden needle glowed faintly. It became a little longer as he used his inner energy.

Tang Gunak carefully brought the golden needle to Baek Cheon’s body.

But he hesitated, unable to stab it into his body. He gently touched Baek Cheon’s skin, which was so black it barely looked like skin anymore. Then he pulled his hand back.

Drip.

Sweat dripped from his chin. He was sweating heavily, completely focused.

And finally.

Sssst.

He inserted the golden needle into the area near Baek Cheon’s shoulder with the utmost care.

One.

Crack.

Tang Gunak’s eyes widened in shock. The skin where the needle went in… it crumbled like dust.

Tang Gunak quickly retrieved the needle and bit his lip until it bled.

‘Again!’

He tried again, focusing his energy into the golden needle. He carefully pushed it into Baek Cheon’s shoulder.

Fsss.

But this time, he pulled it back before it even went in halfway.

“This is….”

Tang Gunak’s hand began to tremble slightly.

After searching for a place to insert the needle several times, he hesitated for a long time, then closed his eyes and straightened his back.

“…Clan Lord?”

Baek Sang asked in a dazed voice. He desperately tried to ignore the bad feeling growing inside him.

“Why aren’t you treating him…?”

Tang Gunak sighed deeply. His eyes, facing Baek Sang, were dark.

“I… it’s impossible.”

“…Yes?”

“Normally, medicine works by helping the body’s own energy to heal. Dang Clan medicine is especially like that. But… Baek Cheon has no energy left in his body for the medicine to work with. His body is too weak, even for my energy.”

“What, what are you saying?”

Baek Sang looked at Tang Gunak with a face that he didn’t understand, or rather, didn’t want to understand. His expression was distorted with desperation.

“Clan Lord!”

“…….”

“So… what exactly….”

But soon, Baek Sang’s legs suddenly felt weak.

The Dang Clan is the master of poison and the master of medicine. Therefore, Tang Gunak, the head of the Dang Clan, is bound to be one of the most renowned doctors in the world.

But he was saying strange things now.

“Even with all my medical skill…“

“Clan Lord!”

Baek Sang shouted without realizing it. He wanted to cover his mouth. He didn’t want to hear it.

Tang Gunak also couldn’t help but feel sorry. But soon, he uttered the words that everyone was so reluctant to hear.

“Even with all my medical skills, I cannot save the Sect Leader Representative.”

As if he couldn’t bear to see Baek Sang any longer, Tang Gunak tightly closed his eyes. Baek Sang slumped down on the spot.

Plop.

He looked at Baek Cheon and Tang Gunak alternately with a blank face.

“Lies….”

These words, which he couldn’t argue with, hurt more than a knife.