Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1764

Baek Cheon stood before them. “That’s why I’m here.”

The Evil Path Union members stared at Baek Cheon. Their faces twisted in disgust, like sour milk.

“A knight errant?” one sneered.

“Did he just say… a knight errant?” another choked out, then burst into laughter.

They roared with laughter. “Is he crazy?” one gasped between laughs.

They weren’t even angry. Just dumbfounded.

It wasn’t just the silly idea of a ‘knight errant’. He was pale and sick-looking, his arms like thin sticks. And strapped to one arm was a strange metal device.

Despite his strange look, his face was serious. It was hard to know if you should laugh at him or feel sorry for him. Everything about him felt wrong.

Did a madman just wander in here? He looked like he was lost, his eyes unfocused.

It seemed like some unlucky person had been hurt by this crazy man’s wild sword swings.

“Looks alright, but seems completely out of his mind.”

“Wait…” one of them frowned. “Doesn’t he look familiar?”

“Familiar? Don’t be stupid,” another scoffed. “Someone this weird? You’d remember him.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” the first one agreed, shaking his head.

Any worry they had felt disappeared quickly.

Yes, he was definitely someone you’d notice, but not for a good reason.

“Alright, get lost,” the leader waved his hand. “Even we Evil Path guys have some limits. Go on, live another day.”

The Evil Path Union member at the front waved his hand dismissively, as if Baek Cheon was a nuisance.

They weren’t kind people who’d show mercy to a madman or a weakling. They had bigger things to do, more people to hurt. No need to waste time on this one.

But Baek Cheon didn’t seem to care about their ‘kindness’. He slowly raised a shaking arm, like he was trying to do something.

“Huh?”

They frowned. What was he doing? He looked so strange and weak. Then, he stuck a finger in his ear and opened his mouth, like he was saying a spell.

“Where did I…”

The Evil Path Union members narrowed their eyes and focused. Baek Cheon, head raised, sneered.

“Sounds like I heard a dog barking.”

“…”

“No, I feel sorry for the dog. Should I say it’s the sound of those less than dogs yapping?”

The Evil Path Union members’ eyes narrowed. They could hear from his voice that he wasn’t crazy at all. He was making fun of them.

“This guy… does he really want to die?”

The leader growled, his face twisting in anger. He stomped towards Baek Cheon, not worried at all.

The Evil Path Union member, seething with rage, approached within striking distance and slashed his sword diagonally without the slightest hesitation, as if intending to cut Baek Cheon in two with a single blow.

“Oh dear.”

“Honestly, that brute…!”

His companions clicked their tongues or chuckled at the sight.

It seemed like too much force against someone who looked so weak. They were sure the attack would cut him in half.

Since it wasn’t a particularly interesting sight, they all turned away, feeling let down.

But at that moment…

Clang!

“Huh?”

A strange sound pierced the ears of those who were turning away.

It wasn’t the sound of a sword cutting flesh and bone, but a familiar metallic sound. A sound that shouldn’t be heard right now.

Thunk.

The sound of something piercing flesh followed, and everyone paused and turned back again.

The sword that the Evil Path Union member had swung earlier was now pointing high into the sky. How could the sword, which had clearly been swung downwards from the upper left to the lower right, suddenly be pointing upwards?

That wasn’t the only strange thing.

The odd fellow’s sword, attached to that strange metal arm… was stuck in their friend’s neck.

“Uh…?”

“Gurgle…”

Thud. Thud.

The sound of blood gushing out and soaking the ground followed. The other Evil Path Union members, who had been blankly staring at the scene, finally snapped out of their daze.

“What…!”

Plop!

As the sword was pulled out, the corpse slumped to the ground.

It was hard to believe what they were seeing. If it wasn’t for their friend’s body on the ground, with a huge hole in his neck, and the blood dripping from the strange man’s sword, they would have thought it was a trick.

This was a friend who had lived through so many dangerous fights in the Black Ghost Fortress. And now he was dead, killed by a weakling who looked like he couldn’t even hurt a fly. It was impossible to understand.

“You…”

They could barely speak. Even if he was weak, they should have felt something from him, some sign of danger. They wouldn’t have been so careless if they had.

Even now, after two of their friends were dead, one with his neck cut open, they still couldn’t sense anything dangerous about Baek Cheon.

‘Weak. No, even weaker than that.’ The others felt a strange mix of feelings. How could their friend be killed by someone so weak?

Even the ones who weren’t close friends felt many things at once. They were confused, angry, shocked, and couldn’t believe it. Some even felt a strange emptiness inside.

“What did you do?”

These mixed-up feelings made them feel strange and uncomfortable, in a way they had never felt before.

They looked at him again and again, trying to see if they had missed something. But he still seemed ordinary, not dangerous at all.

And his look was confusing too. He didn’t wear any sign of belonging to a famous group. And his sword, held up by that strange metal arm, was just a simple, cheap sword, the kind anyone could buy.

“Answer me, you worthless piece of trash!”

One of them yelled, unable to stand the bad feeling any longer. He ran at Baek Cheon, screaming like a wild animal.

“Wait, hold on!”

Another shouted, feeling something was wrong. But it was too late. The first man’s sword was already close to Baek Cheon’s head.

And this time, everyone could see it clearly.

A sword strike that seemed as if water was flowing upwards.

Of course, it didn’t make sense. Water flows from top to bottom. That’s the only way to explain it.

The sword moved up like water, smoothly blocking the other sword that was coming down hard.

Clang!

As his sword pushed the other sword aside, it flowed around and added its power to the downward swing.

“Huh?”

The sword crashed down with even more power than he had put into it. He lost control.

Craaaash!

The sword shattered the ground and became embedded in it.

Swoosh!

Using the force of his sword stuck in the ground, Baek Cheon pulled it up and cut the man’s neck.

“Guh…”

A look of disbelief flashed across his face, unable to comprehend what had happened even after his neck had been cut. He stared intently at the one who had severed his neck, mouthing words as if trying to say something, but no sound could express his will.

Only the sound of air escaping through the severed gap echoed emptily.

Plop!

Another life ended, and he tumbled to the ground.

The roaring fire, the sporadic screams, and the chilling shouts of pleasure could be heard everywhere, but a strange silence settled in amidst them.

Within that silence, Baek Cheon gripped the sword he held even tighter.

‘It works.’

The sword had pierced the enemy’s neck, just like he planned.

Frankly, he hadn’t been sure until now.

No matter how much he had been taught by Heo Do-jin, actual combat was a different matter. He couldn’t be sure if this method, squeezing out everything he had left, would work against the enemy.

But at this moment, his doubts vanished and certainty filled him.

Drawing up the meager amount of internal energy he had each time he swung his sword, deflecting attacks that would inevitably shatter him if he faced them head-on, moving his feet, which were no longer as swift as before, as if dragging them, and facing the enemy—all of it was still difficult. He was also afraid.

But even so…

‘I… can fight.’

As certainty settled in, his mind grew rapidly colder.

“You…”

A chilling stare fixed on Baek Cheon.

Baek Cheon knew that the previous few times had just been luck. It was only the result of catching the enemies off guard, who had rashly underestimated him because of his appearance.

And now, they would no longer look down on Baek Cheon. He couldn’t hope for luck anymore.

But no new fear arose.

The important thing was that he could fight. That he could swing his sword again.

“I was going to let you go because you looked so weak… but now you’ve made me angry. I’ll make you suffer.”

“Even in this state, I seem to be much better than you?”

“You…!”

His eyes burned with hate.

“I’ll shut that mouth of yours for good!”

With a shout, the Evil Path Union members rushed at Baek Cheon.

These were enemies he would have defeated easily before. They would have been scared just to face him.

But now, for Baek Cheon in his weak state, they were dangerous. He wasn’t even sure he could win, even if he fought with everything he had.

If you ask if he was afraid, of course he was afraid. But wasn’t that normal? He wasn’t fighting because he wasn’t afraid, but fighting because he was afraid.

“Come!”

Baek Cheon shouted with all his might and raised his sword.

Through the blackened, burnt trees and accumulated ashes, grass struggled to grow.

They raced through the Wudang foothills, a place of both death and new life. Burnt trees stood next to new green shoots.

“Hurry, faster!”

“We’re running!”

“We need to go faster!”

“Blast it, I know!”

The disciples of Mount Hua, their faces hardened, spurred each other on and ran desperately.

“Blast it!”

Black smoke billowed from every village they looked down upon. They couldn’t help but know what was happening without looking closely.

Of course, it could be a trap.

But so what if it was? Should they just ignore the dying people because it was obviously a trap?

They couldn’t do that. It shouldn’t happen.

Even if that place was a terrible fire, they had to go.

“I’ll kill them all, those damned Evil Sect bastards!”

Someone roared, unable to contain their anger. The faster they ran, the more violently their hearts pounded.

Their concern for the safety of the common people was immense, and on the other hand…

“Senior Brother. Is Uncle-Master alright? What if…”

“Don’t say bad things!”

“…Yes.”

Yoon Jong, who had cut off Tang Soso’s words, secretly bit his lip.

If Baek Cheon was still in the vicinity, could he escape this disaster with that body? No, with that personality, could he really hold his breath, endure, and stay alive? Wouldn’t it be fortunate if he hadn’t rushed out first?

Whoosh!

Yoon Jong put even more strength into his legs. His speed increased. Then, Jo Gul asked Tang Soso.

“Where’s Chung Myung?”

“I don’t know where he is.”

“Why is that damned bastard always playing separately these days!”

Listening to Jo Gul’s annoyed voice, Yoon Jong silently tightened his lips.

Many things were worrying him. He couldn’t stop thinking about them.

These were the worries that he didn’t have to have until now, but now he had to bear them all alone.

“Will he be alright? Or should we find Chung Myung Senior Brother first…”

“Even without Chung Myung, we are still Mount Hua.”

“…”

“And Mount Hua does not turn away from those in trouble. That’s enough. Isn’t it?”

“Yes!”

Listening to Tang Soso’s firm answer, Yoon Jong nodded.

Yes. This reason alone was enough.

“Let’s hurry!”

“Yes!”

Everyone answered loudly.

‘Please…’

Yoon Jong was hoping and hoping that Baek Cheon would not be hurt in the fire.