Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 220

Baek Cheon quickly looked around, counting. ‘One, two, three… Five in total.’ Five members of the Beast Palace were coming towards them.

Could they fight them?

Baek Cheon paused. Then he understood. Thinking about winning or losing didn’t matter.

The important thing was to avoid a fight. They were here for the Jamok grass, not to fight.

“Hey! What’s going on here?”

A man in Beast Palace clothes shoved past the children, his eyes hard. He glared at the sacks of grain and the food in the children’s hands. “Who are you?” he snapped.

Baek Cheon stepped forward calmly. “We are merchants. Hwapyeong Trading Company. We are just passing through, and we saw these hungry children. We gave them some food.”

“Food?” The Beast Palace man’s face twisted in anger, like he’d been slapped. “You call this ‘helping’?”

Baek Cheon tilted his head, confused. He didn’t expect this reaction.

‘Was it really that bad?’

They were just helping. Why were these people angry instead of grateful? Even if they didn’t like outsiders, this was strange.

“You Central Plains dogs! You think we are beggars?! You do whatever you want here? If you want to trade, do it quietly and leave!” The Beast Palace member’s face grew fierce.

“You Central Plains people hurt us first, and now you pretend to be kind? Yunnan is poor because of you! Are you making fun of us by giving out food?”

Baek Cheon was shocked.

‘They hate us more than I thought.’

He couldn’t reason with this man. He quickly lowered his head.

“I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” Baek Cheon said, bowing deeply. He frowned secretly.

‘He thought it was strange. Where were the adults? If people were starving, wouldn’t adults be here too?’

Would hungry people care more about insults than food?

‘I should have known the people of Yunnan hate those from the Central Plains.’

He realized his mistake too late, but he could still fix it. Baek Cheon spoke politely.

“We will clean this up now.”

But the Beast Palace member still looked unhappy. He clicked his tongue.

“What company are you with?”

“Hwapyeong Trading Company.”

“Hwapyeong, Hwapyeong…” The Beast Palace member wore a sly smile.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you at the Hwapyeong Trading Company before.”

Baek Cheon’s face became stiff.

He thought the man couldn’t possibly know everyone.

But if this man was in charge of Kunming and knew the traders who came and went, it was possible.

Baek Cheon chose the safest answer. “I’m new.”

“Oh, really?” The Beast Palace member pointed behind him. “Then everyone with you must be new merchants too.”

“Yes, that’s right. You can check with the Hwapyeong Trading Company.”

“Hmm. I see.” The Beast Palace member’s smile grew wider.

“So, the new merchants left the group to do charity work?”

“We…”

“Ah, I know. You want me to check. So…” The Beast Palace member smiled slyly. “Would you mind waiting here while I check who you are? If you really are from the Hwapyeong Trading Company, that is.”

Yoon Jong’s eyes darted around.

The Hwapyeong Trading Company would say they were new merchants. But the Beast Palace members already suspected them.

“Of course,” Baek Cheon said, trying to avoid trouble. That was the best thing to do.

Baek Cheon nodded. The Beast Palace member looked bored and gave him a strange look.

“You…”

“Enough,” another Beast Palace member said coldly. He had been watching from behind.

“They are from the Central Plains, but they were helping people. Should we let them say we are ungrateful?”

“…Understood, Senior Brother.”

Baek Cheon sighed in relief.

At least someone was reasonable.

And then, the Beast Palace member who had seemed to give up suddenly drew his sword and swung it at Baek Cheon’s neck.

Baek Cheon quickly drew his own sword, blocking the attack.

Clang!

The Beast Palace member smiled, even though his attack was blocked. “A martial artist, I see.”

“…”

“A martial artist who can block my sword, but pretends to be a merchant.”

Baek Cheon bit his lip.

He couldn’t lie anymore.

“They are suspicious! Capture them!”

“Yes!”

Baek Cheon slowly stepped back, holding his sword. The Beast Palace members began to surround the Mount Hua disciples.

“Sasuk…”

“What do we do?”

They had to fight or run.

‘Damn it.’

Baek Cheon gripped his sword. He didn’t think this would happen so quickly. He had underestimated Yunnan.

Yoon Jong looked miserable. “I’m sorry, Sasuk. It’s my fault…”

“Don’t apologize,” Baek Cheon said firmly.

“I made the decision. I’m responsible.”

It didn’t matter if it was right or wrong. Baek Cheon had allowed it, so he would take the blame.

He took a breath and shouted, “We fight back!”

“Yes, Sasuk!”

Jo Gul drew his sword. Yoon Jong reached for his waist.

“…”

Ah.

He had sold it.

Yoon Jong’s face went white. His sword! Gone!

Jo Gul stared at Yoon Jong, dumbfounded.

“…Find a stick.”

“I can fight with my hands.”

“Find a stick.”

“…”

He knew the basic Six Harmony Fist, but it wasn’t the same as swordsmanship.

Chung Myung had called the Six Harmony Fist a ‘basic’ skill, so Yoon Jong wasn’t very good at it.

Baek Cheon’s face hardened. Yoon Jong couldn’t fight.

‘This will be hard.’

The Beast Palace members were closing in. They were strong. The Four Great Clans of the Outer World were as good as the Nine Great Sects. People weren’t wrong about that.

“We’re breaking through! Yoon Jong, stay behind me!”

“Yes, Sasuk!”

Baek Cheon pointed his sword forward.

The Beast Palace member in front laughed. “You think you can escape? This is Yunnan. You can die here by the sword, or die in the fields.”

“Neither one sounds good.”

Baek Cheon looked for a way out.

‘We need to leave the city first.’

He could worry about the rest later.

Baek Cheon looked back. The Beast Palace member grinned, showing his teeth. “You can’t! I’ll show you what the Beast Palace can do! Charge!”

The Beast Palace members charged.

“We’re going forward!”

The Beast Palace members charged.

“Yes! Sasuk!”

Baek Cheon gritted his teeth and tried to dash forward.

But before he could move, something strange caught his eye.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Beast Palace warriors who had been charging at them were suddenly sent flying backward.

“What in the world?!” one warrior yelled.

“Who is doing this?!” another cried.

Baek Cheon’s blood turned to ice. He felt the hairs on his neck prickle and stopped moving, his feet stuck to the ground. A cold trickle of sweat ran down his back.

*No… it can’t be.*

Then, a familiar, annoying voice echoed, “Hooooh?”

Baek Cheon cursed under his breath. *Of all times!*

Slowly, dread weighing him down, he lowered his sword. He turned his head, each movement heavy, to look behind him.

Standing there, grinning like a mischievous imp, was Chung Myung. A devil in disguise.

“Who is…”

“Causing trouble?”

The devil was, of course, his beloved Sajil, Chung Myung.

Chung Myung tilted his head to the side.

“Me?”

“Or Sasuk?”

Baek Cheon squeezed his eyes shut.

He’d rather be captured by the Beast Palace. *Why did that monster have to show up now?*

“Well, well, well, look who it is! The one who was so worried about causing trouble has caused a huge one! A massive one! Good heavens, how can you cause such a large-scale incident less than half a day after entering Kunming?”

“Th, that’s…”

“I shouldn’t have said anything. Sigh! Sasuk, cleaning up after you and the other Sahyungs is my job. Alas, my fate!”

Baek Cheon, Yoon Jong, and Jo Gul trembled.

‘Does he have no conscience at all!’

‘Why, of all times, does he appear like a ghost!’

‘I’d rather face the Beast Palace! Anything is better!’

It was truly a dreadful situation.

However, even as they trembled, their expressions began to ease. They figured that if Chung Myung was here, he could somehow resolve the situation.

But that faint sense of relief didn’t last long.

Chung Myung’s gaze, which had been darting around, stopped at one spot.

“Where did you sell the Plum Blossom Sword this time?!”

“…”

Yoon Jong desperately tried to think of an answer. But Jo Gul wasn’t very perceptive.

“To Gok-sang.”

“…Huh?”

“Gok-sang. The grain merchant.”

“…You actually sold it?”

“…”

“…”

Chung Myung stared blankly at Yoon Jong and Jo Gul.

“No… Now you’ve gone too far… Ha… Haha…”

Under his dumbfounded gaze, their heads sank lower and lower.

In truth, they could probably explain it somehow, but this was hardly the time for explanations.

“The Sect is doing great! Just great!”

What saved the two from Chung Myung, who was now beyond disbelief and starting to get angry, was, ironically, a Beast Palace warrior.

“Who are you!”

At the Beast Palace warrior’s shout, Chung Myung snapped his head around.

“Seriously, is that bastard trying to die?! Who are you calling ‘you’ to someone you’ve never met before! Who are you, you little punk!”

“…”

The Beast Palace warrior’s eyes widened at the storm of abuse.

‘What is with this guy?’

All he did was ask who he was, and he got this reaction? He was more confused than angry.

“Y, you bastard.”

“Still calling me ‘you,’ even after all that. I’ll deal with you later.”

Chung Myung frowned and turned to look at his Sahyung brothers.

All three subtly avoided Chung Myung’s gaze and stared at something else.

Chung Myung singled out Baek Cheon and stared intently at him.

“Don’t worry, Sasuk! I didn’t cause any trouble!”

“…Just admit you were wrong.”

Just stop, you blasted Sajil!

Chung Myung said mockingly.

“Now that things have come this far, I did a little investigating on the way here, you see? And it turns out this isn’t something we can handle here.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“To get the Jamocho, it seems we have no choice but to talk to the Beast Palace in the first place?”

“Really?”

“That’s what a pharmacist who knows the situation well told me.”

“…So what are you going to do?”

“What else can we do?”

Chung Myung grinned and raised his sword, still in its scabbard.

“We’ll beat these guys up just enough to capture them, then go to the Beast Palace and meet the Palace Lord. Isn’t that the fastest way?”

“Sounds like the fastest way to die.”

“Life and death are the same, Sasuk. Don’t worry so much about living!”

“That’s Buddhism, you crazy bastard!”

“Ah. My mistake.”

Chung Myung grinned and raised his sword.

“Well, then…”

Chung Myung cracked his neck twice from side to side, smirked, and looked at the Beast Palace warriors.

“Are you going to guide me to the Palace Lord willingly? Or after I beat you?”

“…”

Anyone would be furious, but the Beast Palace warrior who seemed to be the highest in rank showed no reaction.

He simply stared at Chung Myung for a long time before speaking calmly.

“You wish to meet the Palace Lord?”

“Yes.”

“You’re asking for a guide?”

“You catch on quick.”

He nodded readily.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a guest visit Kunming, so I should guide you.”

“You’re a smart one. Lead the way.”

“Ah, however. I can guide you, but the method might be a little different from what you expect.”

“Huh?”

That was when it happened.

A commotion began behind them.

“Huh?”

Chung Myung turned his head slightly. He saw dozens of Beast Palace warriors walking out from around the corner.

“Haha. To think they’re relying on this…”

He scoffed and turned his head forward, only to see dozens more Beast Palace warriors appearing from the opposite direction.

“Oh, there are quite a few? Looks like I’ll get some exercise today…”

Dozens of Beast Palace warriors revealed themselves on top of the adjacent building.

“…”

From the alleyways, on top of the walls, and even from inside the buildings, Beast Palace warriors emerged.

“…At this point, they might as well come out from under the ground, too?”

Fortunately, it didn’t go that far.

Chung Myung’s expression was awkward as he looked at the hundreds of Beast Palace warriors surrounding them.

“So, you’re still going to guide us?”

“Of course.”

The Beast Palace warrior in front of him smiled brightly.

“The rule is to bring intruders to the Palace Lord alive.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Chung Myung looked at his Sahyung brothers and nodded as if it was a good thing.

“They said they’ll take us there?”

“…”

They’re not taking us, they’re capturing us, you idiot!