Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 421

Treasure was piled high on thick carts made of steel.

Gold coins were stacked high, like golden towers that reached for the sky. Red, blue, and green jewels sparkled like tiny stars in the gentle moonlight.

“Aigoo, there’s so much, I don’t think it’ll all fit!”

“Hey, move that crate next to it! There’s space there!”

“Put the fragile stuff on top. On top.”

Baek Cheon watched the Mount Hua disciples load the treasure. He looked unsure.

‘They’re having fun.’

He couldn’t help but smile a little.

He thought, ‘They are enjoying this too much. Are they the real bandits?’

Even Baek Cheon didn’t realize that he was also smiling.

While the disciples were busy with the treasure, Chung Myung was dealing with the bandits nearby.

“Hammer it in straight!”

“…Keueup.”

Chung Myung sat on a wooden chair, legs crossed, and took a big gulp of alcohol. He swallowed loudly, “Keeuh!”

He wiped his mouth and glared at the line of bandits. “Are your backs getting lower? Do you want me to bend you in half like a pretzel?”

“Please, no!”

The bandits cried out in fear. They straightened their backs so fast they almost fell over.

“Tsk. Fine,” Chung Myung said, sounding a little bored. He tipped the bottle back and the sound of the drink going down echoed.

The bandits were lined up with their heads to the ground.

“Try to use your power if you want. Go ahead. If you want your power to explode and disappear, try it.”

“No!”

“We will never use it!”

The bandits trembled and shouted.

“Tsk. I’ve become so much nicer. In the old days, I would have just buried you all alive,” Chung Myung said with a small smile, “Maybe I’m getting soft.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue, then yelled as if getting angrier. “No. The more I think about it, the angrier I get! This bastard!”

He rushed forward and kicked Gwakgyeong, who was bowing in the front, sending him flying.

“Aaaaargh!”

Gwakgyeong screamed, flew out, and slammed into the ground. He bounced back up and put his head to the ground, clasping his hands behind his back.

“What? Food? Life? I can’t believe I’m hearing a bandit talk about life. Why? Want me to end that miserable life of yours right now?”

“I was wrong!”

“If you were wrong, you should be hit!”

Chung Myung kicked Gwakgyeong again. Gwakgyeong rushed back and shoved his head into the ground.

Chung Myung looked at the treasure.

“Guys who say it’s hard to make a living have saved up quite a lot. You can never trust what robbers say.”

Hong Daegwang ran into the mountain fortress, its rough stone walls looking old and worn under the moonlight.

“Hwasan Shinryong!”

“Yes.”

Hong Daegwang said, “According to what I heard from the beggars, these guys don’t seem to have actually killed anyone. It wasn’t a lie.”

Chung Myung responded jokingly, “Beggars? You trust beggars more than me?”

“It’s certain,” Hong Daegwang said seriously.

Chung Myung nodded and looked at Gwakgyeong again. Gwakgyeong said, sounding a little sad and treated unfairly.

“L-look at this! I…”

“I?”

“I told you I didn’t kill anyone! I’m innocent!” His voice trembled, but there was a hint of pride in his words.

“Erai!”

Chung Myung kicked Gwakgyeong’s legs out from under him and began to stomp on him. Chung Myung started to stomp on him, his foot rising and falling heavily, like he was crushing grapes.

“No, this bastard! What on earth! What’s wrong with your morals? Hey, you bastard! If a person says it’s okay because they didn’t kill anyone, it’s already over, you bastard! Even Confucius would break your head open with the Four Books and Five Classics. How dare a robber open his eyes wide and argue back?”

Gwakgyeong had never argued back. He felt it was unfair. But he knew making excuses would only shorten his life.

“How dare you able-bodied people become robbers to make a living! I work to earn money, too, damn it!”

Chung Myung glared, kicking more intensely. Baek Cheon stepped in.

“Chung Myung! Stop! You are going too far. We are not murderers.”

“Isn’t it a benefit if he dies?”

“…Well, it is, but, uh…”

Baek Cheon was speechless, trying to find a reason. He was startled.

“Ah, no! Hey! Still, you can’t kill someone when you’re a Taoist!”

“Tsk.”

Chung Myung stopped hitting him. He frowned at Gwakgyeong.

“If I had my way, really.” He felt a little bad for them, but he also knew bandits were a problem.

He wanted to catch them all and bury them, or hand them over to the government.

“Alright, alright. Calm down, Hwasan Shinryong.” Hong Daegwang intervened.

“They haven’t killed anyone, and from what I hear, they don’t really take everything. You could say some killers are okay and some are not okay?”

Uh…

That’s right. It’s not wrong, but…

Chung Myung trembled as if his fist was crying, then sighed.

“Tsk. Fine, what would I gain from beating you guys?”

Bandits are impossible to get rid of. Even if he wiped them all out, a new group would appear.

If the new group was worse, people might die because he chased away the bandits who were doing well enough.

“Stand up.”

The bandits jumped up and stood at attention.

“The more I think about it, the angrier I get. Are these guys crazy, doing banditry in Shaanxi?”

When Mount Hua was strong, there wasn’t a single evil sect in Shaanxi. He never got to do bandit extermination.

“What’s your name?”

“G-Gwakgyeong! Geosan Daebu Gwakgyeong!”

“Geosan Daebu, my foot.”

Chung Myung growled. Then he said.

“Run your business well.”

“Yes?”

“I’m watching you. If I hear that there’s a problem around here, all you guys will die that day.”

“I-I will keep that in mind.”

“Tsk.”

Chung Myung looked at Gwakgyeong with complicated eyes.

‘It’s annoying.’

Leaving them be felt uneasy, but wiping them out bothered him too.

Besides, the biggest problem was the Illusory Spirit Clan.

The business he was starting needed goods transported everywhere. He was already selling tea all over, except to the Illusory Spirit Clan.

‘I didn’t think it through.’

The tea was one thing, but if the Illusory Spirit Clan ran into bandits, it would be a problem. The goods were valuable, so the compensation would be huge.

They were fast, so they wouldn’t get caught easily, but the Illusory Spirit Clan’s martial skills were lacking, so he wasn’t sure.

But how much stronger would they get even if he taught them? He should be transporting even one more item during that time…

“Heeuuuum.”

Chung Myung pondered, then nodded.

“Hey.”

“Yes, Great Hero!”

“Just call me Leader.”

“Yes, Leader!”

“Where do I have to go to meet your boss?”

“Yes? Boss? Are you talking about the Green Forest King?”

“Honestly, are these bandits all so unimpressive? Give them a fancy title, and suddenly they think they are tigers or giant mountains? King of the Green Forest? Even bandits call themselves kings these days…”

Hong Daegwang, listening nearby, chuckled nervously at Chung Myung’s words.

“You’re a dragon too, you know. The Divine Dragon of Mount Hua.”

“Did I give myself that title?” Chung Myung said sharply to Hong Daegwang. His face felt hot every time he heard it. *I can’t stand this. I need to quickly defeat someone and get a new title.* He was so embarrassed.

“Anyway, where are we supposed to go?”

“N-No, the Green Forest King is not someone you can simply meet because you wish to.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just like people say the Black Dragon King is everywhere the great rivers flow, they say the Green Forest King is everywhere there are green mountains. He is said to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time! That is the Green Forest King!”

“Ah⋯⋯”

Chung Myung nodded as if impressed.

“What kind of bullcrap is that?”

“⋯⋯”

“Do they teach you to answer like that? You don’t seem too bright; must have been hard memorizing all that, huh?”

“⋯⋯Yes, a little.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk.”

Utterly pathetic!

“Enough nonsense. Just tell that Green Forest King or whatever that I want to see him.”

Hong Daegwang was very startled by these words.

“Divine Dragon of Mount Hua, you can’t just order the Green Forest King to come! He is one of the Five Great Evils of the world! The Five Great Evils!”

“If he doesn’t come, tell him that any bandits who catch my eye from now on are dead.”

Hong Daegwang covered his face, his expression blank with disbelief. *This guy is hopeless.* No matter how much you explain, he just doesn’t get it. Or maybe he does understand, but he just doesn’t care. *It’s like talking to a brick wall!*

“Y-Yes, I will be sure to tell him that!”

“Tsk.”

“B-But where are you going?”

“Why? Planning revenge or something?”

“R-Revenge, you say!” Gwak Gyeong jumped back in shock.

“How dare I even dream of such a thing? I just need to know where you are going so I can tell the Green Forest King!”

“Ah? Is that so? Hmm, then tell him to come to the Phantom Gate⋯⋯”

“Aaaaargh! No! No, Master!” *This crazy man!* Do Woonchan, the young lord of the Phantom Gate, who had been watching from a distance, trying to stay out of trouble, rushed towards Chung Myung as fast as he could. *This madman is bringing the Green Forest King to the Phantom Gate! He might as well be trying to destroy us all!*

“N-No, the Phantom Gate is out of the question! We can’t handle someone like that!”

“He’s just a bandit, isn’t he?”

“Absolutely not! Absolutely not! Just take my head instead.”

“How timid.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue.

“Then I have no choice. Tell him to come to the Tang family.”

“T-The Tang family? Do you mean the Sichuan Tang family?”

“Is there another Tang family besides that one?”

Gwak Gyeong blinked, confused. *The Sichuan Tang family is part of the Orthodox Faction.* They are known as the most dangerous group in the Orthodox Faction. *To ask the leader of the Unorthodox Faction, the Green Forest King, to go to such a place…* *I don’t understand anymore.* He couldn’t understand this man’s thinking at all.

“I-I will pass on the message, but I don’t know if he will listen just because I say so.”

“You just need to deliver the message.”

“Yes!”

Chung Myung gave Gwak Gyeong a distrustful look, then spoke to Baek Cheon.

“Did you pack everything?”

“I put everything in as you said, but⋯⋯ is it really okay to take all of this?”

“It’s fine. We left them some grain. They won’t starve, so they won’t cause trouble.” Chung Myung smiled and put his hand on Gwak Gyeong’s shoulder.

“Or maybe it’s okay if they cause a little trouble. You know, fate is funny. Even in this big world, we might meet again sometime, you know?”

“⋯⋯T-That will absolutely not happen! Absolutely!”

“Aha, that’s how it should be.”

The cart was now piled high with treasures – chests overflowing with gold coins, jade ornaments, and bolts of silk, all neatly stacked and covered with a rough cloth. Chung Myung nodded, satisfied.

“Alright, everything’s done. So, since we’re done here…”

“Y-You’ve been a great help! Please be careful on your journey.”

“What do you mean, ‘on our way’?”

“Yes?”

“Wow, how cold. We should leave in the morning. Go and prepare a feast again.”

“⋯⋯”

“Quickly.”

“⋯⋯Yes.”

“Be careful on your journey, Master!” “Take care!” “Please come back and see us again!”

The bandits of Jeokho Stronghold waved their hands wildly at the cart as it slowly went down the mountain path. But what they were doing and what they were really thinking were completely different.

‘Please leave quickly, you dog-like bastards!’

‘What kind of Taoists rob bandits! The end of the world is truly upon us.’

‘Let’s never meet again in our lives! Please!’

As the bizarre cart pulled by people finally disappeared far down the mountain, Im Saeng spat on the ground.

“Kaak! Ptooey! Those accursed bastards!” He shook his fist at the air, gnashed his teeth, and turned his head sharply.

“Big Brother!”

“Call me Chief when the others are here.”

“Yes. Chief! What are we going to do?”

“⋯⋯About what?”

Im Saeng’s face twisted in worry. “It’s shameful but necessary, but the way things are now, shouldn’t we move our base? How do we know that crazy man won’t come back and cause trouble again?”

“⋯⋯Im Saeng.”

“Yes! Should I prepare right away? I’ve already found a good spot.”

“⋯⋯Jin Dae.”

“Yes?”

“If we move, we’re dead.”

“⋯⋯”

Im Saeng blinked, not understanding the words for a moment. Gwak Gyeong sighed deeply and spoke again.

“He came back before leaving and said if we run away, we’re dead. We have to watch carefully and make sure no other bandits set up camp nearby. And from now on, we only take a quarter of what we used to take from people.”

“Ah, no. What can they do if we run away? They won’t follow us and watch us, will they?”

“Do you know who that beggar in rags was earlier?”

“⋯⋯A beggar?”

“He’s a Seven-Knot Beggar from the Beggars’ Union. Do you think you can hide a base from the Beggars’ Union? If you think you can, go ahead and try.”

“⋯⋯No, I don’t.”

Gwak Gyeong sank to the ground, completely defeated. “We’re completely ruined! Waaah! Damn it!”

A mournful cry echoed in the desolate Seosan.