Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 382

The room was grand and beautiful. Everywhere you looked, there was something rich and impressive. Tall pillars painted a deep purple reached to the high ceiling. Smooth, crimson silks hung from every corner. Expensive furniture and shining ornaments filled the space. It was clear the person who lived here was incredibly wealthy.

But the strangest thing was not the riches. It was something else entirely.

Above a fancy staircase, where you expected a grand throne, there was only a wide, flat platform. It was made of dark rosewood, so it looked expensive and fit the room. But it still felt a little odd, like something was missing.

Then you saw him.

On that platform, a man lay leaning back, resting his chin on his hand.

What was he like?

The pure white robe over his body was decorated with golden dragons. Rings with colorful jewels covered every finger of the hand peeking out from the sleeve.

His hair was neatly combed back and held in place by a pure white coronet.

His face was pale as bone and without a single wrinkle.

He looked so showy it was almost funny, but no one would dare laugh at him.

This man was Jang Il-so, the Lord of the Myriad Manors, a powerful Overlord who shook the world.

Heeeuuuum.

Jang Il-so sounded a little bored. He looked tired and lazy.

“So?”

“L, Lord…”

Bang Seung’s body shook so hard his teeth rattled. He had not been scared even by Yeop Pyeong of the Scarlet Snake Brigade, but now he was sweating as if he had met death itself.

“You went into Xi’an, which Zhongnan had blocked off. You were badly beaten and chased out?”

“W, well… W, we didn’t expect Hwasan to be there…”

“Don’t tell me that.”

Jang Il-so sharply interrupted Bang Seung. “Even a fool would know that the Hwasan kids were in Xi’an. You just thought it wouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“Y, yes! Please, kill me!”

Bang Seung cried out in terror, pressing his forehead to the floor. His shaking back showed how terrified he was.

Jang Il-so slowly waved his hand.

“It could happen.”

The ornaments clinked.

“Your decision to go to Xi’an wasn’t wrong. In fact, it was a good move. I would have gone into Xi’an too.”

“T, thank you, Lord.”

“But you see.”

Jang Il-so slowly sat up.

As he moved, the pure white robe shifted, showing glimpses of a red military uniform underneath.

“The problem is what came next.”

Jang Il-so smiled.

His eyes curved into a soft crescent moon.

“So, you went into Xi’an and were beaten by the Hwasan whelps… And that idiot had his limbs cut off and his inner energy center pierced?”

“Th, that’s…”

“Yes. It could happen.”

Jang Il-so slowly stood up.

“But you know, there’s still something I don’t understand, Bang Seung.”

“Yes! Lord! Yes!”

He quietly looked down at Bang Seung.

“Why are you still alive?”

…”

His voice was soft.

It didn’t sound like a scolding. It sounded like a warm blessing to a close relative.

But when Bang Seung heard it, he felt as cold as if he had been thrown into an ice cave.

“L, Lord…”

“Ah, is it hard to understand?”

Thud.

Jang Il-so’s feet moved slowly. He walked down the stairs as if he were taking a stroll.

“The Scarlet Snake Brigade can do what they want because they get good results. That’s why I’ve never blamed you. Right?”

“Y, yes. It’s all thanks to your grace…”

“But all power comes with responsibility.”

A smile appeared on Jang Il-so’s lips.

How many people could see the evil in that smile?

It showed why Jang Il-so was also known as ‘Hiding a Knife Behind a Smile’.

“You went into Xi’an on a whim, were badly beaten by those who are still young, and dared to come back with your head held high?”

“L, Lord! But I had to bring Grand Master here!”

Thud! Thud!

Bang Seung slammed his head against the floor. Blood streamed down his forehead.

“If I had left him, Grand Master would have…”

“Should have died.”

Bang Seung’s body froze.

Jang Il-so’s calm but chilling voice cut into Bang Seung’s soul.

“It would have been better for him to die there than for the Scarlet Snake Brigade to be shamed by some unknown kid. At least he would have protected his name. Right?”

“…Th, that’s.”

“And if he had died like that, the rumor that the Myriad Manors was beaten by Hwasan and chased out of Xi’an wouldn’t have spread. I’d rather… I’d rather you all had died.”

Jang Il-so’s voice was cold.

“But why are you alive? After being shamed, you should have died there with that crippled fool. And if you didn’t die and ran away…”

Raising his voice, Jang Il-so closed his eyes slightly.

When he opened them again, he was smiling softly.

“…You should have run away where I couldn’t see you and lived like a dead rat. Bang Seung, Bang Seung. You only trusted your cleverness, so why are you acting so foolish, you rascal? Huh?”

Thud. Thud.

Finally, Jang Il-so stood right in front of him, looking down at Bang Seung’s head pressed to the floor.

“Were you scared?”

“L, Lord.”

Crack.

Jang Il-so stomped on Bang Seung’s hand. The sound of bones breaking was clear, but Bang Seung only trembled with bloodshot eyes and didn’t even groan.

“It’s strange. Were you more afraid of dying there than of coming back to me and telling me this?”

Crack.

His wrist was crushed.

“Bang Seung.”

Jang Il-so knelt in front of him with his foot on his wrist, smiling and whispering softly.

“Do you know why the Myriad Manors is the Myriad Manors?”

“L, Lord. I, I…”

“Because people are afraid.”

…”

Jang Il-so reached out and twisted Bang Seung’s neck slightly, as if pinching it.

“A Demonic Sect that people aren’t afraid of is meaningless. So, those who claim to be Demonic Sects must not be shamed. It’s better to die than be shamed. Huh?”

A silence as deep as death fell over the grand hall. You could hear the tapestries on the walls not even rustling, and the torches seemed to burn without a flicker. The only sound was *drip… drip… drip…* Bang Seung’s sweat hitting the stone floor, each drop echoing like a drumbeat in the stillness. Everyone stopped breathing, their hearts pounding in their chests. They were scared to even whisper. They looked down and covered their mouths, hoping Lord Jang Il-So’s cold anger wouldn’t turn to them.

“But… I don’t understand. What more do you want? Have you not shamed me enough? I’d rather… I’d rather do anything else!”

“L-Lord… Bangju…”

“No need to tremble so.”

Jang Il-So smiled thinly.

In that smile, in that soft voice, Bang Seung saw a flicker of hope. But it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

“After all, won’t the result be the same?”

Crack, crack, crack.

In that instant, Jang Il-So seized Bang Seung’s neck and twisted it, tearing it clean off.

Splat!

Blood shot from the stump of his neck like a crimson fountain.

“Aaaargh! Ack! Aaaargh!”

Bang Seung clutched at his ruined throat, screaming in agony. But Jang Il-So, watching the blood splatter his white robes and Bang Seung’s desperate struggles, merely smiled wider. His smile was cruel and cold.

“How amusing. To think I would suffer such disgrace.”

“L-Lord Bangju! S-Spare me…”

“Take him away.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Tear him limb from limb and feed him to the dogs. But! He mustn’t die. Not until he’s watched his own body torn apart by dogs. If he dies before then, you will take his place, and watch your own flesh ripped from your bones.”

“Yes, sir!”

The guards, faces now ashen, began to drag Bang Seung away.

“Aaaargh! Bangju! Bangju! Spare me! Bangjuuuuu!”

His desperate screams echoed through the hall, but no one dared to even glance at Bang Seung, fearing what might happen to them if they were caught looking.

“Tsk. And it was such an expensive robe.”

Jang Il-So frowned at the blood staining his clothes.

Seeing his displeasure, Ho Ga-Myung, the strategist of the Myriad Man Clan, cautiously spoke.

“Shall I summon the maids?”

“Forget it.”

Jang Il-So waved his hand dismissively.

“Once something is ruined, it can never be perfect again.”

Jang Il-So stripped off the bloodied white robe and tossed it carelessly onto the floor of the hall.

“Reputation is like this robe. Once it’s stained, it’s ruined forever. Right, Yeop-Pyung?”

Yeop-Pyung, kneeling in a corner, weakly raised his head. He was no longer the Crimson Saber Demon of old. His arms and legs were broken, and he had lost all his strength.

Jang Il-So shook his head, seeing the empty look in his eyes.

“This one too…”

“L-Lord Bangju…”

Jang Il-So paused as Yeop-Pyung’s lips, cracked like dry earth, parted.

“D-Do not underestimate… Mount Hua…”

Thwack!

Jang Il-So kicked Yeop-Pyung, sending him tumbling across the floor.

“A defeated dog has no right to bark.”

Jang Il-So gestured at Yeop-Pyung with his chin.

“Don’t kill him. Death would be a release for him now. Keep him alive, so he can endure every humiliation imaginable. Use him as a slave for the Myriad Man Clan, as an example to others.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Take him away.”

“Yes!”

Once Yeop-Pyung was dragged away, Jang Il-So, looking agitated, walked up the steps and sat on the dais.

“You blithering idiots.”

Ho Ga-Myung, knowing his master’s mood was foul, spoke very carefully.

“What are your orders?”

“Do I have to explain everything?”

Jang Il-So ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. A single strand that had fallen across his face seemed to bother him.

“They must die.”

“Mount Hua is in Shaanxi, far from our territory. Also, it is close to Henan, making an attack dangerous.”

“I know.”

Jang Il-So said quietly, staring at his fingers.

“And we are currently fighting with the Green Forest League.”

“Exactly.”

“Those righteous sects will work together even with their enemies if they can gain something, but these orthodox sects can’t even share a single coin and fight each other.”

“We don’t have much to spare. So…”

“That’s why they must die.”

The rings on Jang Il-So’s fingers clinked together.

“There is no gain, only loss.”

“Ga-Myung, why are you being so foolish? Gain isn’t just about money.”

Jang Il-So slowly raised his hand and removed the pure gold crown from his head.

“What matters is making sure we can continue to make money in the future. If people hear that the Myriad Man Clan was humiliated by Mount Hua, a sect that isn’t even one of the Nine Great Sects, who will fear us? Then our business is finished.”

Crrrrrunch.

The pure gold crown crumpled in his hand like paper.

“If we look weak because of situations and money, we’ll be underestimated. Fame and fortune, Ga-Myung, fame and fortune. If you only chase money, your reputation will fall apart. And when your reputation falls apart, so does your money. You must use your head.”

Jang Il-So lazily stretched out his hand and waved it in the air.

“Gather all those who are left.”

“Shall we send them to Xi’an?”

“Why there? I told you, money is not the most important thing. What matters is getting back the name of the Myriad Man Clan, which has been dragged through the mud.”

“Then…”

“Yes.”

A cold light shone in Jang Il-So’s eyes.

“Shaanxi. Send them to Mount Hua. That mountain, said to be the steepest of the Five Great Peaks, would look beautiful stained crimson.”

I can’t wait until the autumn leaves, so we’ll have to dye it with blood.

“Ah, and bring back the heads of all those Mount Hua bastards on carts. And bring back that Hwajung Sword fellow and the kid called the Mount Hua Divine Dragon alive. I want to hear their screams with my own ears.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ho Ga-Myung bowed his head deeply.

Everything would be as Jang Il-So commanded. In this Myriad Man Clan, his word was law, like an order from the emperor.

Having given his orders, Jang Il-So once again sprawled lazily on the dais.

“Mount Hua… Mount Hua, is it?”

A small smile appeared on his lips.

“Burning twice in a hundred years is quite rare, wouldn’t you say? Hahaha!”

His loud laughter echoed through the grand hall.