Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 465

A sudden gust of wind whipped around them. Then, like shadows forming in the snow, warriors appeared. They wore white robes, and on each chest was a symbol that looked like ice.

“Arctic Ice Palace,” Baek Cheon said, his voice suddenly serious. His face became tight with worry. They were going to the Ice Palace, but to meet these warriors here, like this… it felt wrong. He thought, ‘It’s never good when people appear like this.’

Jo Gul, another of their group, whispered, “Uncle.” Baek Cheon nodded, “I know.” He looked at the warriors’ cold faces. They did not look friendly at all.

The leader of the Ice Palace warriors looked them up and down with cold, hard eyes. Finally, his gaze stopped on two people: Hong Imyeong and the boy, Hong Jinbo. “You… vermin,” the leader spat out. His voice was even colder than his eyes.

Baek Cheon frowned, turning to Hong Imyeong. ‘What’s going on?’ he wondered. Hong Imyeong’s face was now hard and serious. It was like the gentle smile Baek Cheon had seen before had never existed.

“Hiding out here, so far away,” the leader said. “Trying to save your skin, are you?” His cold eyes moved to the boy beside Hong Imyeong. “…The child?” Hong Imyeong jumped slightly. He quickly put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, pulling him closer. The leader saw this and a cruel smile twisted his lips.

“If you had run away from the Arctic completely, you might have lived,” the leader continued. “But you were too attached to this place. Now, you will die here, in the Arctic snow.” He nodded his head slightly. “Kill them…”

“Wait! Hold on!” Baek Cheon, who had been ignored until now, suddenly raised his hand quickly. All the Ice Palace warriors turned to look at Baek Cheon and his friends from Mount Hua. Their eyes were full of anger and threat. Baek Cheon quickly put his hand down, feeling a little foolish. He cleared his throat.

“Outsiders?” the leader said, his face becoming ugly with anger. “Even if things are bad, to bring in outsiders… Have you forgotten what it means to be from the Arctic, Hong Imyeong?”

Hong Imyeong’s face twisted with rage. “How dare you talk about duty? You were the first one to bring outsiders here!”

“Still talking back, are you?” the leader sneered. He turned his angry gaze to Baek Cheon. “And who are you?”

“Ah, we are…” Baek Cheon started to say, but Jo Gul quickly nudged him with his elbow and jumped in. “…Just merchants, passing through.”

“Merchants?” The leader frowned, looking at the cart full of sacks. He seemed to understand then and made a clicking sound with his tongue, annoyed.

“Fools rushing to their deaths,” the leader said. “It has been a long time since anyone was allowed to trade between the Central Plains and the Arctic.”

“W-we weren’t trading,” Baek Cheon stammered.

“It doesn’t matter,” the leader said coldly. “You will die anyway.” He made a quick gesture with his hand, as if he was done talking. “Kill them all. And make sure the boy’s head is not damaged.”

“Yes, sir!” The Ice Palace warriors answered quickly and drew their swords, stepping forward.

Hong Imyeong squeezed his large hand tightly on Jinbo’s shoulder. “Jinbo.”

“F-Father…” the boy whispered, scared.

“I’ll stop them. You run, and don’t look back.”

“What?” Jinbo asked, confused.

“No time to argue! Go!”

“N-no, Father! I can’t…”

“What are you waiting for? Go now!” Hong Imyeong finally pushed Jinbo away from him. He stood with his arms slightly out to his sides, facing the Ice Palace warriors who were coming closer.

“You will not pass me unless you kill me.”

“You are saying what we already know,” the leader sneered. “Killing a child who can barely fight is nothing. But killing the Ice Fox? That is a chance we won’t miss easily.”

Hong Imyeong’s jaw tightened at the insult. He clenched his fists, getting ready to fight. Meanwhile, Baek Cheon and Jo Gul watched, unsure what to do.

“…Looks like they are going to fight,” Baek Cheon said quietly.

“Seems like it,” Jo Gul replied.

“…They don’t even care about us right now.”

“They said they’ll kill us later,” Jo Gul reminded him.

“So, what do we do?” Baek Cheon asked, scratching his head.

“I really don’t know.” They both felt lost. The situation was getting dangerous, but they didn’t understand why any of this was happening, so it was hard to decide what to do.

“That man is stronger than he looks,” Jo Gul murmured.

“Yeah,” Baek Cheon agreed. “But he can’t fight all of them alone, can he?”

“Hmm.” Baek Cheon sighed. Normally, he would have helped Hong Imyeong without thinking twice. But they were on their way to the Arctic Ice Palace. He didn’t want to start a fight with them before they even arrived. ‘If we don’t help, that man might die,’ Baek Cheon thought, worried. ‘But if we do help, what will the Ice Palace do to us?’ He was stuck, not knowing what to do.

“What should we do?” he asked again, more urgently.

Clang! Suddenly, the sound of metal scraping metal cut through the air. Baek Cheon and Jo Gul jumped and turned around. Yoon Jong was pulling his sword out of its sheath, looking calm and sure.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Baek Cheon stammered.

“We have to help,” Yoon Jong said simply.

“Huh?” Jo Gul was confused.

“Even animals are grateful when someone helps them,” Yoon Jong explained. “As someone who follows the Tao, how can I just stand here and watch?”

Baek Cheon rolled his eyes. ‘Is he going to start with his principles again?’ he thought.

“And did you hear what they said?” Yoon Jong continued.

“Huh?” Baek Cheon asked again.

“They said they are going to kill everyone. They won’t leave anyone alive to tell the story. So, it doesn’t matter if we fight now or later. We should choose to save people if we can.” Baek Cheon opened his mouth to argue.

BOOM! A huge explosion burst out from where Hong Imyeong was standing. The Mount Hua disciples stared, shocked. Then, they saw it. Ptoo! Hong Imyeong spat out blood, flying backwards. THUD. He hit the ground hard and rolled. He quickly got back to his feet, but blood was pouring from his mouth. Bright red blood stained the white snow. His hands were still held out, ready to fight, but his legs looked shaky and weak.

“The Ice Fox is done for,” one Ice Palace warrior said confidently. “He’s just old and weak now,” another added, laughing. The Ice Palace warriors who had attacked Hong Imyeong looked relaxed and sure of themselves.

“F-Father…” Hong Jinbo cried out, his voice shaking, as he watched from nearby.

Then, Hong Imyeong spun around, his eyes bloodshot with fury. He let out a huge roar.

“DIDN’T I TELL YOU TO RUN!”

“B-but…” Jinbo stammered again.

“Are you trying to make me angry here?”

Hong Jin-bo was too scared to speak.

“Go! Please, you must live! Go quickly!”

Hong Yi-myeong’s voice became more urgent, but Hong Jin-bo was too terrified to understand.

“How touching,” one Ice Palace warrior said with a sneer. They moved closer, surrounding them even more tightly, showing no mercy.

“Don’t worry so much,” another warrior said. “Once you are dead, the young one will die soon after.” When Hong Yi-myeong heard this, he clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ground together. His eyes burned with anger as he stared at them.

“If you have any honor as Ice Palace warriors, you wouldn’t say such things! Don’t you know who he is?”

“We know very well,” the leader replied.

He smiled coldly. “We know exactly who he is. That’s *why* we say these things. You are just an old man stuck in the past. You wouldn’t understand.”

“You cursed fools!”

“Enough talk! Die!”

With that signal, the Ice Palace warriors rushed at Hong Yi-myeong. Hong Yi-myeong quickly waved his hands, gathering his energy again.

*Whoosh!*

Pure white energy burst from his hands. It swirled like snowflakes, then exploded outwards in waves of cold power.

“Hanseoljang! Cold Snow Palm! You still have some fight left!” one warrior shouted.

The icy energy was strong, but the Ice Palace warriors didn’t stop. They charged right into it.

*Wham! Wham!*

Swords glowing with a blue light crashed down on the white energy.

The Hanseoljang power broke apart like snow swept away by a strong wind.

“Ugh!” Hong Yi-myeong cried out.

He couldn’t fight so many warriors alone. He coughed up blood again and stumbled backwards. But the Ice Palace warriors were fast. They wouldn’t let him get away.

“Die!”

A sword flashed towards him, aimed right at his neck.

Hong Yi-myeong’s eyes went wide with fear.

*Clang!*

A loud, sharp sound of metal crashing against metal echoed. The sword flying towards Hong Yi-myeong was suddenly knocked aside.

“What?!”

The warrior who had thrown the sword stared, his eyes wide with shock.

*Thud.*

The sword spun through the air and stuck into the deep snow.

“…”

Hong Yi-myeong, who was sure he was about to die, looked in amazement at the person who had saved him.

“You… you…”

He saw wide shoulders, a straight back, and a powerful presence. This man looked like a hero.

“Oh, bother, I did it again!”

…or so it sounded.

Baek Cheon, who had blocked the sword, sighed and scratched his head under his hat, looking a bit annoyed.

“Well,” Baek Cheon said, “it was going to happen sooner or later.”

Yoon Jong walked to his side. “They were going to attack us anyway. It doesn’t matter when we fight.”

Jo Gul pulled out his sword too, standing next to Yoon Jong. Yoo I-seol and Dang So-so also drew their swords and walked forward slowly.

“Who are you?” the Ice Palace leader demanded. “You are not normal traders, are you?”

“No,” Baek Cheon replied, shrugging. “We are not.”

“But I don’t think we need to tell you who we are. It’s not important.”

“What? This insolent fool!” one Ice Palace warrior growled.

Jo Gul spoke up, supporting Baek Cheon. “You haven’t told us who *you* are either! You are the rude ones!”

“He’s right! Jo Gul is actually making sense for once,” Yoon Jong said, surprised.

“Really?” Jo Gul grinned, happy to be praised by Yoon Jong for the first time in ages. The Ice Palace warriors watched all this, their faces turning colder and angrier.

“Do you dare to get involved in the Ice Palace’s business in the Northern Sea? You people from the Central Plains?”

Baek Cheon’s mouth curved into a small smile, and he tilted his head.

“Didn’t you just say you were going to kill us?”

“…”

“Are you joking? You were trying to kill us a minute ago, and now you’re telling us not to interfere? Do you even hear yourselves?”

Jo Gul and Yoon Jong looked at each other quickly.

‘Sasuk (Senior Brother) is starting one of his speeches again,’ Yoon Jong thought.

‘Just let him talk. It’s what he does,’ Jo Gul thought back.

Baek Cheon always thought carefully before a fight, but once he decided, he never hesitated.

“Amitabha,” Hye-yeon said softly, stepping forward.

“I don’t know what’s happening here, but all life is precious. I cannot allow killing in front of me.”

“A monk?” the Ice Palace warrior said, surprised. Then he sneered. “The people from the Central Plains really are too arrogant, just like everyone says. You dare to interfere with the Ice Palace in our own territory? You will regret this deeply.”

The leader yanked his sword out of the snow and gritted his teeth, looking furious.

The Mount Hua disciples’ faces became serious.

‘Are we in trouble?’ Yoo I-seol thought, worried.

‘Something still feels wrong here…’ Dang So-so thought, feeling uneasy.

*Sway… Sway…*

“Huh?”

“He’s coming out!”

The Mount Hua disciples looked at the luggage cart, their faces brightening. The Ice Palace warriors, confused, also turned to look.

The neat piles of round bundles wobbled and then tumbled to the sides. And then, from underneath, a much bigger, rounder bundle popped out…

‘Wait, is that… not luggage?’ one Ice Palace warrior thought.

A person covered in fur from head to toe peeked out.

With a face like he was the most annoyed person in the world, he yelled, “Why are we still stopped?! It’s freezing if we just stand here!”

The Ice Palace warriors were so shocked they couldn’t speak.

*Why is a person climbing out of the luggage?*

“Hey, you idiot!” Baek Cheon hissed. “Look around before you start shouting!”

“What? What is it?” Chung Myung asked, confused.

“It’s the Ice Palace! The *Ice Palace*!”

“So?” Chung Myung said, completely unimpressed.

Baek Cheon, who was about to explode with anger, stopped and tilted his head.

Chung Myung was crazy, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly what meeting the Ice Palace here meant.

Which meant…

“Can I fight them?” Chung Myung asked casually.

“Just do whatever you want,” Baek Cheon said, rolling his eyes.

Chung Myung’s casual words made Baek Cheon smile slightly.

“Alright then!” Baek Cheon said, feeling all his worries disappear. He stood up straight, looking confident and a little arrogant, and glared at the Ice Palace warriors.

“Did you hear him?” Baek Cheon asked.

“…”

“If you turn around and leave now, I’ll let you off easy. But our kids can get a bit wild.”

The Ice Palace leader ground his teeth even harder.

“These useless fools! I’ve been too soft on them for too long…”

He roared, “Kill them all!”

“Yes!”

The Ice Palace warriors charged at the Mount Hua disciples and the monk.

Baek Cheon didn’t even blink. He pointed his sword forward and commanded, “Don’t kill them!”

“Yes!”

The Mount Hua disciples, with Baek Cheon leading the charge, rushed towards the Ice Palace warriors like a flash of lightning.