Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 486

The sled rushed quickly across the bright white snow.

He didn’t think a dog sled would be so fast. It moved quickly, pulling them forward. It was amazing to watch.

Songwon said, “Sago. These dogs run very well.”

“Yes, they do,” replied the other person. Even Yoo Iseol, who usually didn’t care about anything, watched the dogs with big, interested eyes.

But one person didn’t care about the fast sled or the dogs at all.

“Ughhh! I’m going to freeze to death!”

“Really! With this wind, you should have brought a tent! Who is silly enough to ride a sled without a tent?” Chung Myung complained.

Songwon’s face showed he was getting annoyed. He wanted to ask how a strong fighter could be so dramatic. But when he saw Chung Myung shivering a lot, he didn’t say anything.

‘He’s really a mystery.’ It was strange because everyone else was calm on the sled, except for him. Why was he the only one acting like this?

“We are almost there, please just wait a little longer.”

“How many times have you said that?”

Chung Myung’s annoyed reply made Songwon lose his temper. He shouted, “You’ve asked five times in less than a minute! Of course, I have to say it again! Just be patient!”

“I’m freezing!”

“Grrrr!” Songwon tightened his jaw, trying to stay calm.

‘What’s wrong with this guy?’

Songwon thought he might get angry himself before they even got to the mine. Also, the sable kept poking its head out and hissing every time Chung Myung complained loudly. This made Songwon even more annoyed.

Songwon bit his lip and told the dogs to go faster. He just wanted to get there quickly.

“Why is it getting colder and colder?”

“The place where we find Ice Jade has very strong Yin energy, even for this cold area. So, it will be very cold here.”

“Isn’t it supposed to get colder as you go north? I don’t think we’re heading north right now.”

“It’s a bit different.”

Songwon’s lips twisted slightly.

“You’ll see when we get there.”

Suddenly, Yoon Jong, who was on a sled next to them, shouted, “Chung Myung, look over there!” and pointed.

“Huh?” Chung Myung looked in that direction. His eyes opened wide, and his mouth dropped open.

“Wow! What is that?”

He saw a huge hole in the ground. It wasn’t just a hole; it was a giant opening, like a deep crack in the earth. It was so big, it looked like it could swallow whole buildings. It was like a giant mouth leading down to darkness. The Mount Hua disciples were silent, shocked by the sight of this deep pit.

“That is the mine where we get Ice Jade.” Songwon smiled in a strange way.

“I thought a mine would be inside a mountain or something,” Chung Myung said. Everyone else was thinking the same thing. They never thought an Ice Jade mine would look like this.

*Whoosh!* A strange, cold wind blew from the deep hole.

“Do they get Ice Jade down there?”

“Yes.”

“It looks dangerous.”

“It is very dangerous and hard work. Normal people can’t do it.”

Songwon pointed down into the deep pit. “It gets colder and colder as you go down, and the Yin energy gets stronger. Ice Jade can only be found in these very harsh conditions.” The Mount Hua disciples looked around, interested in the icy area. People wearing thick fur coats were moving around quickly.

Chung Myung said casually, “Let’s go.”

“Okay,” the others replied. The Mount Hua disciples and Hae Yeon followed him.

“I understand why Ice Jade costs so much,” one of them said.

“Yes,” replied another. Anything found in a place like this would be expensive.”

“This way, please.”

Songwon led them towards the very edge of the chasm. The wind grew fiercer as they approached. Finally, standing before the dizzying abyss, the deep pit seemed to spew darkness, threatening to swallow them whole.

“We are going down now. Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“You have to go down the cliff using ropes, so be very careful. If you fall, you will be completely lost.”

He said this to try and scare them, but the Mount Hua disciples just nodded, looking bored.

“I’m serious,” Songwon said.

“Yes, we know,” they replied. Songwon frowned, surprised by their reaction. ‘Are they not afraid of anything?’

Most people who see this cliff for the first time get so scared they can hardly stand up. But these people were just curious, not scared at all.

The Mount Hua disciples looked over the edge of the pit, talking quietly to each other.

“Looks about half as high as the cliffs back home?”

“No way. It just looks like that because it’s dark. It’s not even close to half.”

“Really?” Songwon looked at them, confused.

He didn’t understand. These were people who had trained by carrying heavy rocks and climbing cliffs every day. This cliff was like their backyard to them.

“Um, anyway, be careful.” Songwon frowned, took the rope that was fixed to the cliff, and started to climb down. He held the rope tightly with both hands and carefully put his feet on the cliff, taking each step slowly and carefully.

After climbing down a little way, Songwon frowned and looked up. The Mount Hua disciples were still at the top, looking down at him.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you coming down? There are ropes ready for you! Take one and come down!”

“We just go down?”

“Yes! As long as you don’t look down, there shouldn’t be any problems, so hurry down!” Then, Baek Cheon looked at Chung Myung.

“Shall we?”

“Why not.”

Baek Cheon nodded and grabbed the rope in front of him.

“Everyone, follow me.”

“Yes!” Then, he literally leaped off the cliff.

“Wh-what!” Songwon was so shocked he almost let go of the rope. But he was even more surprised when he saw that not just Baek Cheon, but all the other Mount Hua disciples and even the monk, just grabbed a rope with one hand and jumped off the cliff!

Tap tap tap tap!

They began to race down the cliff as if it were flat ground, descending lower and lower. It was an incredible speed.

Songwon stared blankly at the disciples of Mount Hua, who were already far ahead. Just then, a blunt voice came from right beside him.

“Hey, hurry up and come down. Did you eat a snail or something?”

“Tsk.”

Chung Myung didn’t bother with a rope. He just ran straight down the cliff! He even called out to them as he flew past.

Songwon watched Chung Myung disappear and stared blankly at the sky.

‘I can’t deal with this,’ he thought.

A short while later.

“Ugh.”

“Took you long enough.”

“You need to train harder.”

Songwon finally reached the bottom and desperately tried to ignore the comments. Normally, he would have snapped back, but he was utterly speechless.

“This is where you mine the Ice Jade.”

“Changing the subject, are we?”

“Enough. You’re embarrassing him.”

The one who spoke last was the most irritating.

That pale-faced…

Just then, Jo Gul shivered, tucking his hands under his armpits.

“Sasuk, this place is seriously no joke. I’ve been cold for a while now.”

“Is that so.”

It wasn’t just the cold. The wind was like icy teeth, biting through their clothes and stealing their warmth. But it wasn’t just the cold. A strange, heavy feeling filled the air, sinking deep into their bones. It was like a coldness that went deeper than just the air, a heavy, dark feeling some called ‘Yin energy.’

‘So this is what they mean by strong Yin energy,’ he thought.

If someone stayed here too long, their body would quickly get weak.

“To mine Ice Jade in a place like this…”

He looked up, and the sky seemed tiny, like looking out from the bottom of a well. The cliff walls were like a giant honeycomb, filled with dark holes – caves of all sizes dug into the rock.

‘A mine dug out by people, I see,’ he thought.

To dig through these caves in this environment, searching for Ice Jade…

This place was even worse than he’d pictured.

“You all are suffering greatly.”

Among the workers in animal hides, those wearing Ice Palace uniforms moved around like guards. It seemed these workers and martial artists were working together to mine the Ice Jade.

“Oh! Over there!”

Jo Gul, who had been looking around, pointed urgently, as if he had discovered something.

One of the workers heading towards a cave stumbled, as if exhausted, and fell. One of the Ice Palace martial artists rushed over.

“We should help…”

Baek Cheon spoke with a worried expression, then suddenly widened his eyes.

“You bastard!”

Whap!

The Ice Palace martial artist pulled a whip from his sleeve and began to lash the fallen worker without mercy.

“Wh-What are you doing!”

Baek Cheon was too shocked to speak.

Even as the worker writhed on the ground, the Ice Palace martial artist kept striking him with the whip, showing no mercy.

“How dare you be lazy!”

Whack! Whack!

Each time the whip cracked, the worker’s clothes tore, and red streaks of blood appeared.

“Th-That’s…”

Baek Cheon tried to rush forward, but Songwon stopped him sharply.

“Do not act rashly.”

Baek Cheon glanced at Songwon’s hand, then glared at him fiercely.

“What is he doing! That person didn’t do anything wrong!”

“That is not for you to judge.”

Baek Cheon didn’t ease his expression, and Songwon clicked his tongue.

“It seems you don’t understand. Didn’t I say? Ordinary people can’t work here.”

“What do you mean?”

He pointed towards the workers.

“Those aren’t just workers. They’re prisoners. They did bad things to the Ice Palace and now they’re being punished by working here.”

Baek Cheon looked at the workers again.

He hadn’t noticed from a distance, but now he saw they looked utterly worn out.

“What crimes could they have done to…”

“Treason.”

Baek Cheon closed his mouth.

“They’ve committed other crimes too.”

The Mount Hua disciples and Hae Yeon looked at the workers… the prisoners.

Their pale blue faces, dull eyes, and thin bodies were hidden under thick clothes.

They moved as if they could collapse any moment.

Baek Cheon didn’t know what to say. Chung Myung spoke indifferently.

“Are they all martial artists?”

Songwon looked at him, a strange light in his eyes. Chung Myung shrugged.

“Their inner strength is suppressed, though.”

“That is correct.”

“Hmph.”

Chung Myung looked around with interest.

‘Treason, huh,’ he thought.

The current Palace Lord had committed treason. So, these prisoners were followers of the previous Palace Lord.

They had been captured during the rebellion or resisted afterward.

‘So the Ice Palace is completely under control. They’ve pushed all their enemies into this place,’ he thought.

Those who were caught were here, and those who escaped, like Han Yi-myung, were hiding in the Northern Sea.

Yoon Jong spoke in a dark voice.

“Even if they’re criminals, is it right to treat them so badly?”

“You don’t understand,” Songwon cut him off.

“They should be dead for what they did. But the Palace Lord was kind. He let them live, but they have to work here to pay for their crimes.”

“…”

“So, don’t feel sorry for them.”

Yoon Jong tried to say more, but Jo Gul tugged at his sleeve, and he shook his head.

It wasn’t right to interfere in another sect’s affairs.

“Does it seem harsh?”

“Yes, it does,” Yoon Jong said stiffly.

Songwon smirked.

“Ice Jade must be mined by overcoming extreme Yin energy. It’s hard to get otherwise.”

“But…”

Yoon Jong tried to argue, but Songwon smiled gently.

“Didn’t you come here to get Ice Jade too?”

“…”

“How funny. You need Ice Jade, so you come to this faraway place and then feel sorry for the miners. If people like you didn’t want Ice Jade, these people might be freed, right?”

Jo Gul’s face hardened at Songwon’s sarcasm.

“That’s…”

He couldn’t find the words. Songwon shook his head and said,

“If you feel so sorry for them, help them work. Because Ice Jade production is down, their work time has increased. If you mine one piece of Ice Jade, it might make things easier.”

Then, Chung Myung, who had been listening, chuckled.

“How much do we have to mine?”

“What did you say?”

“A man keeps his word, right? Go get the person in charge. We need to know how much we have to mine to let these people rest.”

Chung Myung grinned.

“I’ll dry up the Ice Jade completely.”

Songwon frowned at his confident voice.