Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1735

The aftermath of a battle is never easy.

Especially after a defeat, leaders face many problems.

These include falling morale, broken supply lines, and the constant fear of another attack.

Most of all, there’s the fear that the next battle will also be a defeat.

Fixing all these issues is like trying to restore a torn, old cloth to its original, perfect condition.

However, Doksim Narachal Ho Gamyeong, the Supreme Commander of the Four Evil Paths Alliance, a group of powerful warriors, was managing everything surprisingly well.

He understood that he couldn’t do it all alone.

The tent was quickly put up and not fancy at all. It was a simple place, and felt cold and empty inside. Yet, no one would dare say that.

This was because of the large chair in the center and the man relaxing in it.

Jang Il-So didn’t need to show off his power. Just by being there, he controlled the whole tent.

“So?”

Jang Il-So leaned back and asked, looking uninterested. “I don’t like wasting time. What do you want to say?”

Grandmaster Jin-pyeong of the Sun Palace, a respected group known for their fiery skills, bit his lip.

His wound from the Mount Hua fighter in the last battle still hurt. It was an injury that almost killed him. The physical scars were gone, but he couldn’t forget that moment.

But the Grandmaster was more upset about something else. He spoke angrily.

“The Thousand-Faced Instructor… What are you going to do with that villain?”

The Grandmaster’s angry eyes seemed to look right through Jang Il-So.

“You must have heard he attacked me! But he’s still alive and well! Why?!”

His angry shout filled the tent.

The Thousand-Faced Instructor wasn’t really strutting about. He had been hiding since the battle.

But everyone knew what the Grandmaster wanted.

“Answer me, Alliance Leader! Is this how the Four Evil Paths Alliance works?”

The Grandmaster had just woken up after almost dying. He wasn’t angry about the defeat or the deaths of his followers.

He was angry that the person who attacked him hadn’t been punished.

He couldn’t accept this.

“Are you listening to me?!”

Jang Il-So didn’t move, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the Grandmaster. Then, he spoke casually.

“I already said I don’t like wasting time. Get to the point.”

Jang Il-So leaned forward, no longer resting against the chair. He leaned his head toward the Grandmaster and asked quietly.

“What do you want? Tell me. What is it that you want?”

“……His head.”

“……Hmm.”

“At least an arm. No, I want one of his legs. Or I won’t be satisfied!”

Jang Il-So tapped his cheek, pretending to think hard.

“If this isn’t taken care of, our Sun Palace will go back to the Southern Seas. This is……”

“A warning? Or a threat? Which one?”

The Grandmaster stopped talking. Jang Il-So’s eyes, smiling as he rested his chin on his hand, felt very cold.

“It’s not hard. If someone does wrong, they should be punished. Right?”

The Grandmaster was about to nod, but Jang Il-So spoke again.

“But… that wouldn’t be fair, would it?”

“……Unfair?”

“The Thousand-Faced Instructor did wrong. He attacked a friend. But if that means losing an arm, what should happen to those who couldn’t stop those fighters and caused our defeat?”

The Grandmaster’s face turned hard.

“Alliance Leader, that is……”

“Answer me. What should they get?”

The Grandmaster had something to say, but he couldn’t. The anger on Jang Il-So’s smiling face was clear.

The Grandmaster had forgotten how scary Jang Il-So was in his anger. It made his blood run cold.

“I……”

But he didn’t back down easily. It wasn’t just anger. The Sun Palace’s pride was the Grandmaster himself. He couldn’t retreat.

The Grandmaster bit his lip.

“If that’s your answer… we’ll go back to the Southern Seas.”

Jang Il-So sighed, sounding sad, and shook his head.

“Goodness, why are you getting more foolish?”

“……Alliance Leader!”

“Don’t you understand? You can’t go back anymore.”

Jin-pyeong thought Jang Il-So was threatening him and gritted his teeth. But Jang Il-So’s next words were different.

“The war will end soon. We’re both too weak to keep fighting. Then what?”

Jin-pyeong’s eyes flickered.

Jin-pyeong wasn’t foolish. He understood what that meant.

After the war, there would be a winner and a loser.

They had used most of their strength. They couldn’t just hurt each other a little and stop. One side would be crushed.

If that happened……

Would the winner, full of anger and resentment, be happy just taking the Central Plains?

When Jin-pyeong didn’t speak, Jang Il-So chuckled.

“Once you’re in the mud, you can’t get out without getting dirty. You either survive miserably… or you die there. Those are the only choices.”

“This……”

“And, sadly… to survive in that mud, you have to use everything. Even if it means hurting a friend, even if he’s just a dog.”

Jin-pyeong’s face trembled. He was about to explode with anger and shame, but Jang Il-So smiled again.

“Let’s make it half. Half of the Hao Moon’s wealth. That should be enough. Don’t you think?”

Jin-pyeong looked surprised.

“If that’s not enough, I’ll add more. It’s also my fault for not handling things well. I have some of the Black Ghost Faction’s wealth, so it’ll be enough to save face. How about it? Are you happy?”

After thinking, the Grandmaster nodded slowly.

He hadn’t expected anything, but the wealth Jang Il-So offered was amazing. With that money, he could strengthen the Sun Palace and quickly control Yunnan after the war.

With that much money, he could handle any anger.

“The promise must be……”

“Of course.”

Jang Il-So lifted the bottle of alcohol and poured it into the empty glass.

“I’ve never broken a promise, not once.”

His eyes, like a snake’s, fixed on Jin-pyeong. They seemed to look right through him, cold and unsettling. He was still smiling.

“Drink. Alcohol helps wash away old feelings.”

Jin-pyeong reached out and took the glass. He hesitated, then slowly drank the alcohol.

Jang Il-So watched him with a gentle smile.

Jin-pyeong didn’t know.

Jang Il-So’s eyes were cold, hidden behind his smile.

Eyes that were endlessly cold and deep, like an abyss, were pulling Jin-pyeong into a deep, dark place.

After the Grandmaster left, Jang Il-So stayed in the tent and looked at the glass of alcohol, which was sloshing as if it would spill.

It stayed in the glass, just like the Four Evil Paths Alliance right now.

“Was he happy?”

Ho Gamyeong asked. Jang Il-So, still looking at the glass, said.

“That’s not important. What’s important now is understanding, not happiness.”

“Understanding……”

“Simply put, a good reason, right?”

Jang Il-So smiled gently.

“Even though he seems that way, he’s important. Some people value big reasons more than money.”

Ho Gamyeong nodded.

The money wasn’t important. What mattered was that he got it as an apology from the Hao Moon and compensation from the Four Evil Paths Alliance. The Grandmaster could show that to his followers.

‘How pathetic.’

He knew the Grandmaster had a reason to be upset. Even if the Grandmaster blamed Ho Gamyeong and tried to hurt him, he would understand.

But this was pathetic. If he was angry at the Hao Moon Master, he could go find him. He was hiding, but he hadn’t left the battlefield. Asking Jang Il-So about the Hao Moon Master was……

‘Maybe he didn’t want to blame the Hao Moon Master in the first place.’

Or maybe they couldn’t lose that much power before the war. Either way, the Grandmaster would be quiet for now.

“It’s always like this.”

“Yes?”

“It’s always unstable.”

Jang Il-So said, looking at the glass that seemed ready to spill.

“Giving everything is never stable. Problems will happen, and things will shake. It’s like it’s about to explode.”

Ho Gamyeong nodded.

“Dealing with that is what ability is, I guess.”

Jang Il-So, who had been talking to himself, looked at the entrance where the Grandmaster had left.

“Children are easier. Give them candy, and they stop crying.”

“Are you worried about the Thousand-Faced Instructor?”

“Even old ginger is hard to handle. People who value their lives don’t take risks. No matter how angry they are.”

Jang Il-So’s eyes darkened.

“The ones who are hard to handle are those who don’t know what they want.”

Ho Gamyeong knew who Jang Il-So meant.

“Where were they then?”

“They went to Wudang Mountain.”

“No, Gamyeong, what happened after that?”

“……Yes?”

“After that, they disappeared for a day. Then, they came back to the Alliance. Right?”

Ho Gamyeong said yes. But he wondered why.

Things like that happened all the time, especially in war.

It was right after a big defeat. Even if they spent the day wondering if they should stay with the Four Evil Paths Alliance, it wasn’t a big deal. No one has more than one life.

But Jang Il-So, who knew that, was making a problem of it.

“Alliance Leader. They are……”

“I know, Gamyeong. Nothing is certain.”

They seemed to understand each other, but something was off. Before Ho Gamyeong could figure it out, Jang Il-So spoke.

“But we can still threaten them, right?”

“……”

“Bring the Blood Palace Lord.”

Jang Il-So’s mouth twisted.

“I’m curious. What are they thinking?”

His eyes, which had been calm, started to boil again.

“Oh.”