Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 461

No matter how long the road, if you keep moving forward, you will eventually reach the end.

But if it’s not a thousand miles but two thousand, things change a little, and if it’s three thousand miles, things change again.

And if it’s about six thousand miles, it becomes a completely different story.

“…Is it even possible to arrive?”

“If we keep going, we’ll get there someday.”

“…”

Ever since Chung Myung came to Mount Hua, the disciples learned to never give up. So, they were able to continue their journey somehow.

But now they had a new problem. Just being tough and not giving up wasn’t enough.

“Ugh…”

“…Eek.”

Jo Gul rubbed his face with trembling hands. Even that felt numb, and he couldn’t feel anything properly.

“M-my nose… I think my nose is going to fall off, Senior Brother.”

“…I have no s-sense of touch in my hands.”

His tongue felt frozen, so he spoke with a slight slur.

The wind was like a knife, slicing at his face over and over again.

He had heard it was cold, but had he ever imagined it would be this bad?

“Why is the wind blowing so hard!”

“…Why are you complaining to me?”

His teeth were chattering so badly that they seemed about to break.

He could understand the low temperature. He had expected it to get colder as he went north.

But no one had said the wind would blow this hard!

His whole body felt like it was being cut by knives, and his eyeballs felt like they would freeze and shatter at any moment.

“So this is a knife wind.”

“The swords of those Maninbang bastards were nothing compared to this.”

Jo Gul turned to the side, shivering.

“M-monk, are you alright?”

“…I am alright, Benefactor. I am…”

“You must be colder since you don’t have any hair.”

“…”

Hae Yeon looked at Jo Gul with eyes that seemed to ask, ‘What kind of guy is this?’ But seeing Jo Gul’s sincerely worried expression, he felt a little sad rather than angry.

“S-Senior… I-is it always this cold here?”

Tang Soso had always lived in the warm south, so this cold was especially hard for her. She had wrapped her whole body in wool and covered it with leather, but the fiercely blowing wind was rendering everything useless.

“…I don’t know either.”

Yoo Iseol barely moved her frozen lips and muttered softly.

“It’s unbelievable people actually *live* here,” Yoo Iseol whispered, her teeth chattering.

“…I agree. They all seem out of their minds, Senior.”

Everyone was shrinking smaller and smaller from the tremendous cold they were experiencing for the first time in their lives.

“…Are we almost there?”

“I’m not sure either.”

“Pardon?”

Jo Gul glared at Baek Cheon, then squinted again, unable to withstand the blowing wind.

“How can you not know, Senior Uncle?”

“Would I have ever been to the Northern Sea? I’m just making a rough guess.”

“But you must have heard something, right?”

“…We should be seeing something soon at this point.”

Baek Cheon turned his head to look at the luggage cart, then paused for a moment and tilted his head.

“By the way, where did that Chung Myung go?”

“Yes? He was there… Huh?”

Jo Gul frowned, still squinting.

“Where did this rascal go?”

“Didn’t he fall off on the way?”

“…Is he the type to fall off somewhere? He’s lived like that and hasn’t fallen into hell yet.”

“That’s true. Then where on earth did this rascal…”

At that moment, Yoo Iseol let go of the handle and approached the cart. Then, she jumped up and began to toss the piled-up luggage from side to side.

“Senior?”

Yoo Iseol had been searching through the luggage, like a rabbit in a burrow. She quickly pulled her head out and frowned.

“He’s not here.”

“Huh? He’s not there?”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

How could he not be in there?

“Where did he really go?”

“Didn’t he really fall off on the way?”

“I told you, he didn’t fall off. Would that leech fall off?”

“He might have frozen and fallen off.”

“Oh? I hadn’t thought of that?”

Jo Gul’s eyes shook greatly.

But even as they were bickering, Yoo Iseol narrowed her eyes and looked around. Then, at some point, she stared intently at one spot.

And then.

Thwack!

She grabbed a large sack from the pile and tossed it onto the luggage in one swift motion.

“S-Senior? Suddenly…”

Twitch.

“…”

But the sack thrown onto the luggage moved subtly. Baek Cheon’s mouth hung open blankly.

“…Could it be?”

Baek Cheon rushed over like an arrow, grabbed the sack, and tore it open. Inside, there was a jumble of leftover wool, leather, and blankets.

Baek Cheon frantically pulled out the wool and leather inside.

And then.

Thwack!

Baek Cheon’s eyes flashed at the unfamiliar sensation on his hand.

“This rascal!”

He shouted and pulled out what he had grabbed in one swift motion. Then, a familiar head (?) revealed itself.

“This rascal! Senior Uncle and Senior Brothers are pulling the cart while getting hit by the knife wind! Now he’s gone and crawled into a sack? Get out here right now!”

But there was no immediate answer. Chung Myung, who would have usually struggled at this point, simply raised his head slightly without any particular reaction.

After a moment, a small, trembling voice flowed out.

“D-Dong Ryong.”

“…”

“C-cold.”

“…”

“T-too cold. Ugh.”

Chung Myung quickly picked up the fallen wool and stuffed it back into the sack.

Baek Cheon, who was dumbfounded by the sight, hurriedly grabbed Chung Myung again.

“Get out here!”

“It’s cold! I’m going to freeze to death!”

“Where do you think you’re being so dramatic! You’re not even human!”

The disciples of Mount Hua, watching the two bickering, muttered with blank faces.

“Does… a normal person even think of getting into a luggage sack? Even if the sack is big.”

“It’s Chung Myung.”

“Even so… does anyone think of going under the luggage even if it’s cold? Isn’t it heavy?”

“It’s Chung Myung.”

“…That’s quite the all-purpose excuse.”

It was amazing how anything could be understood as long as the name Chung Myung was mentioned in any situation.

“Aren’t you getting out here right now?”

“Haaah!”

“This rascal is even hissing now! He’s gone crazy!”

“…It’s not me.”

“Huh?”

Baek Cheon looked into the sack with a bewildered expression. Then, a white fur ball, whiter than the wool, raised its head from among the wool and bared its teeth.

“Haaah!”

“…”

Baek Cheon’s eyes, watching the scene, looked like those of someone who had lost their country.

“…I can barely handle one, but now two rascals… No, two animals are turning me inside out.”

What sin did I commit in my past life?

What sin could it be…

Baek Cheon was rotting inside, but Chung Myung also had plenty of excuses.

“Ugh! What kind of place is this?”

In the past, Chung Myung had even reached the state of being impervious to the cold and heat. His energy overflowed, so the cold couldn’t dare to invade his body.

But that’s a story from the past!

“I’m going to freeze to death!”

He was not ready for this cold. He had lived in warm places for so long, he had forgotten what real cold felt like.

“Seriously, it’s like knives are cutting my hands if I take them out! How am I supposed to endure this?”

“Use your inner energy! It will help you! Idiot!”

“I can’t do that, I can’t!”

Chung Myung snapped.

Chung Myung’s inner energy was very powerful, but he didn’t have much of it. It was like a strong flame that burned quickly. If he used it to warm his body, he would use it up quickly.

“This is a terrible place to waste my energy! What if the Demonic Sect attacks us?”

“Ugh, damn it! Why did I cultivate such a useless inner strength! It’s only good for fighting! Absolutely useless for anything else! Absolutely!”

“Haaah! Haaah!”

Even in the midst of all this, Baek Ah was frantically slashing at Baek Cheon’s hand with his sharp claws as it reached into the sack. Then, he quickly hid himself in the pile of wool.

“Um… Martial Uncle.”

“Yeah?”

“Isn’t the white sable supposed to live in cold places?”

“I thought so too.”

“Then why is he acting like that?”

“How would I know? Living in the South must have made him weak.”

“…Living in the warm South must have spoiled him.”

Baek Cheon sighed deeply.

Anyway, both this one and that one!

Taking advantage of Baek Cheon’s attention being focused on Baek Ah, Chung Myung wriggled into the wool and leather and began to tighten the opening of the sack again.

“Get out of here, you little rascal!”

“I’m telling you, I’m freezing!”

“I’m freezing! I really will die from the cold! Are you going to act like this the whole time we’re in the Northern Sea?!”

“Martial Uncle!”

“Yeah?”

“Take care of me!”

“Get out!”

When Baek Cheon didn’t back down easily, Chung Myung groaned and poked only his head out of the sack. Then, he peeked around to check the surroundings.

“All I can see is white stuff.”

The world was white. A blinding, endless white. The freezing wind cut through his clothes, making this white place feel like a frozen hell.

“The Northern Sea Ice Palace or whatever, those crazy people. What the hell are they eating to live in a place like this?”

“…I never thought I’d agree with your harsh words.”

He could understand why things like iron ore and ice crystals formed. This wind is so strong, it could break anything over time, even iron.

“Even so, shouldn’t we be arriving by now?”

“It seems like it’s still far. I can’t see the sea.”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung turned his head to look at Baek Cheon.

“What sea?”

“It’s the Northern Sea, isn’t it? They say the sea doesn’t freeze, no matter how cold it gets. So, we should be able to see water, but I still can’t see it.”

“Hic…”

Chung Myung twisted and shook his neck as if he was frustrated.

“Hey, you ignorant human! Is the Northern Sea a sea?”

“…Isn’t it?”

“It’s a lake, a lake! A huge lake in the north!”

“Why do they call a lake the Northern Sea? Shouldn’t they call it the Northern Lake then?”

“It’s a lake so big that it looks like the sea!”

“Ah, is that why?”

Baek Cheon nodded as if he finally understood.

“Ah, so a lake would freeze.”

“That’s right.”

“So, we have to find a frozen, huge lake…”

Baek Cheon looked around and then stared back at Chung Myung.

“…How?”

“…”

All they could see was a pure white plain.

Trying to find a frozen lake here is like trying to find yellow dirt in a desert.

Chung Myung silently looked around, then pulled his hand out and scratched his head.

“Maybe we’ll find it if we look carefully?”

“Chung Myung.”

“Yeah?”

“Put on your clothes and come out. Unless you want to die.”

“…”

Chung Myung’s face was contorted as if he had been told to die.

“Martial Uncle!”

“Yeah?”

“Isn’t that a person over there?”

“Huh? A person?”

Baek Cheon’s head snapped around.

Before arriving in this snowy land, they had seen huts where people seemed to live, though very rarely, while passing through the northern grasslands. But even those had disappeared after entering the snowfield.

And suddenly, a person?

“Where?”

“There! Over there!”

Baek Cheon stared intently in the direction Yoon Jong was pointing.

‘Where is a person…?’

“Hmm?”

His eyes narrowed.

There was definitely something like a black dot far away.

“Isn’t that a bear?”

“It seems a bit small for a bear, though.”

Baek Cheon pondered for a moment, then nodded and said.

“Let’s go check it out. Whether it’s a person or a bear, it’s better than staying here.”

Thud thud!

“Huh?”

Baek Cheon turned his head and his face twisted in annoyance.

That crazy rascal had crawled through the luggage he had dug out, collapsed the pile, and hid himself.

“Act like a person, you rascal! Just act normal!”

“…Please give up a little now, Martial Uncle. Isn’t this something that happens every day?”

“I’m like this because it happens every day!”

“…Well, that’s true.”

Baek Cheon gritted his teeth and finally sighed deeply before jumping off the cart. The expression on his face as he grabbed the cart’s handle was resolute.

“Let’s go for now!”

“Yes!”

The disciples of Mount Hua pulled the cart and ran quickly. Fortunately, it seemed like pulling the cart wouldn’t be too difficult on the plain…

“Ack! My legs keep sinking!”

“Martial Uncle! The cartwheels are buried in the snow and won’t move!”

“Aaaargh! There was a rock!”

Baek Cheon gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut.

Will we be alright? Can we really accomplish this mission and return safely to Mount Hua?

“The Northern Sea, the Northern Sea. I’ve only heard about it…”

He was simply amazed every moment that such a place existed in the world.

After a long ordeal, Baek Cheon, who had approached the thing that looked like a person, unknowingly let go of the cart handle.

The others were the same.

“Wow!”

“Is this… it?”

A sight they had never seen before unfolded before their eyes.

Transparent ice.

Clear, transparent ice, shining white in the sunlight, stretched out endlessly.

It was like a desert of ice. The Mount Hua disciples stared in amazement, their mouths open.

“…So, this is the frozen lake?”

“How big is this lake?”

“…It’s beautiful.”

The disciples of Mount Hua all exclaimed at the dazzling and amazing sight that could never be seen in where they live.

But then.

“Martial Uncle! Over there!”

“Hmm?”

The person, or bear, sitting on the lake slowly turned his head towards them.

“He speaks our language!”

Baek Cheon’s eyes widened.