Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 498

Tap tap tap tap tap!

Short legs scurried rapidly across the hard, icy snowy ground. A biting wind whipped around them.

He ran as fast as he could. He would run a bit, stop to look around, then run again. He did this many times.

Baek Ah looked around again. Then, he started running with his short legs.

“Augh!”

Wham!

Chung Myung kicked Baek Ah with a loud thwack. Baek Ah flew into the air, but he wasn’t scared. He quickly twisted his body and landed on his feet, ready to defend himself.

Chung Myung’s eyes blazed. “What the heck? We’ve been running for three days straight! Are we even going the right way?”

Chung Myung started to lunge forward, but the Mount Hua disciples grabbed him, holding on tight.

“Hold it! Chung Myung, hold it!”

“Why are you taking it out on an animal!”

“Animal or not!”

Cold sweat trickled down Baek Ah’s back. He froze, still as a rock. *’Oh no,’* he thought, *’He’s really going to make me into a fur coat!’*

Chung Myung glared at him. “You *are* sure you’re finding the right way, aren’t you? You’re not just running around for fun, are you?”

Baek Ah squeaked softly.

“Just try going wherever you want,” Chung Myung said, his eyes flashing dangerously. “If you don’t find the right path, you’ll become a fur coat for Mount Hua. Got it?”

Baek Ah sweated even more. Baek Cheon shook his head, watching them.

“Hey, Chung Myung,” Baek Cheon said. “Let’s be honest, how can you find someone in this huge Northern Sea just by their scent?”

“Can’t do it?” Chung Myung challenged.

“Of course, I can’t,” Baek Cheon replied.

“So, you’re telling me you can’t even do that, and you’re calling yourself a spirit beast? Just eating and wasting food?” Chung Myung asked.

“⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung glared at Baek Ah, shouting so he would hear. “If you weren’t a spirit beast, you’d already be a fur coat! I’ve been feeding you and letting you sleep because you’re a spirit beast. But if you can’t earn your keep, you’re going back to where you belong.”

“⋯⋯Where do I belong?” Baek Ah asked quietly.

“What did you hear earlier? The treasure vault, of course!” Chung Myung snapped.

“⋯⋯.”

Baek Cheon gave up arguing and chuckled. ‘This isn’t even about being a Taoist or anything,’ he thought.

Even normal people wouldn’t act like this. He’s not a wise old man; how can his personality be so awful all the time?

“Seriously, I trusted Meng So because he seemed so great. But he’s a swindler? What kind of spirit beast from the Southern Barbarians is this! All it does is tremble and waste food!” Chung Myung complained.

“⋯⋯But he caught a lot of fish,” Baek Cheon mumbled.

“Oh, he did a great job, he really did!” Chung Myung said sarcastically.

Yeo Sahon had been watching the Mount Hua disciples. He cleared his throat and spoke carefully. “⋯⋯Chief. Maybe we should try a different way, even now⋯⋯.”

The former Palace Lord’s men had thrown the guards and Ice Sword Unit members over the cliff. Then, they went to a hidden base of the Ice Palace to meet up again.

But Yeo Sahon didn’t go with them. He stayed with the Mount Hua group instead.

Commanding them was important, but finding Seol Sobaek was much more important. The Mount Hua disciples agreed that he could stay with them because he made sense.

Finding Seol Sobaek and getting him and Han I-myeong to come back to the Ice Palace were two different things. Yeo Sahon would be helpful.

“I think so too, but…” Baek Cheon scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

“Isn’t the other way not very good?” he asked.

Yeo Sahon sighed. “Chief, please listen carefully and don’t misunderstand me.”

“Yes, speak,” Baek Cheon said.

“Han I-myeong was very skilled,” Yeo Sahon said.

Baek Cheon tilted his head, confused by the sudden statement.

“If he really wanted to hide, you would never find him,” Yeo Sahon explained.

“Yes, we think so too,” Baek Cheon agreed.

Han I-myeong must have wanted to be found. The Mount Hua disciples already thought so.

“Right now, he’s hiding from the Ice Palace. If he doesn’t want to be found, it will be almost impossible to find him…”

Squeeeeeak!

“⋯⋯to find him.”

Everyone looked at Baek Ah.

Baek Ah was tapping his short hind legs on the ground, pointing with his front paws.

“⋯⋯Wait, front paws?” Yeo Sahon’s jaw dropped. *’What kind of sable points with its paws instead of its snout?’* he wondered.

The Mount Hua disciples murmured, looking confused.

“I don’t think that’s a sable,” one said.

“But it’s supposed to be a spirit beast,” another replied.

“No. Even if it’s a spirit beast, still…”

Even if it’s a spirit beast, a beast is still a beast…

But Chung Myung didn’t care. His eyes gleamed. “Did you find them?”

Squeak!

“Really?” Chung Myung asked.

Squeak!

Baek Ah nodded confidently. Chung Myung smiled and gently stroked Baek Ah’s small head.

“If you’re lying, I’m really making a fur coat out of you, got it?” he threatened.

Baek Ah nodded repeatedly, even though he was scared.

“Let’s go!” Chung Myung shouted.

Squeak!

Baek Ah ran forward very fast.

“Follow him!” Chung Myung ordered.

The Mount Hua disciples ran after Baek Ah before Chung Myung even finished speaking. Yeo Sahon stared blankly, then quickly followed them.

He thought, ‘Are they out of their minds?’

He knew Baek Ah was special.

But this was the Northern Sea. Finding someone by scent here was like finding a grain of sand in a desert.

Even if they searched for a month, they wouldn’t even find Seol Sobaek’s pee.

‘Did I trust them too much?’ he wondered. *Maybe I was wrong to trust these young people. They are strong, but finding someone by scent in this huge place? It’s impossible.*

Their fighting skills were certainly enough to impress Yeo Sahon. The sword skills they displayed were so strong and intense that they instantly shattered any doubts about how much help a small group could provide.

But fighting skills are fighting skills. Experience is experience.

‘I forgot that they are still young and don’t have much experience⋯⋯.’

“There’s something ahead!” a Mount Hua disciple shouted.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Yeo Sahon shouted back.

The Mount Hua disciples looked at him, confused.

Yeo Sahon looked down, avoiding their eyes. *’This can’t be true,’* he thought.

How could a sable find someone by scent? It was too absurd!

‘Ah, no. Not yet,’ he thought. Even if they found something, it might not be Seol Sobaek. Maybe they just found someone else.

There was no reason to panic yet.

‘I’ve been in the valley too long. My thoughts are confused,’ he realized.

He felt relieved and cleared his throat, lifting his head.

And…

“There’s someone there!”

“Oh! A person! It’s really a person. And there are houses too?”

Yeo Sa-hon’s eyes twitched.

In the distance, he could see some dark shapes moving. They looked like people.

‘No. It can’t be Han Yi-myung, can it?’ he thought. ‘Impossible.’

He strained his eyes until they were bloodshot, but he couldn’t see clearly. How could he recognize someone who had covered their face with thick fur to avoid the freezing wind?

‘It just can’t be…’

They were getting closer.

“Wow! Is that really you? Disciples of Mount Hua? What are the chances!”

The man, who had finally noticed them, jumped up and ran towards them with open arms, looking very happy. He quickly pulled down the fur that covered his face.

It was Han Yi-myung, greeting them with a bright smile.

“Wow! Look who it is again!”

“It’s a pleasure to see you, Great Hero Han!”

“Hahaha. To be greeted with such joy…”

Everyone was happy to see Han Yi-myung again.

But Yeo Sa-hon was not.

Yeo Sa-hon stared at Han Yi-myung with a blank expression. He had aged and suffered, and his face was a little different from the one he remembered, but it was definitely Han Yi-myung.

“What…”

Finding someone with a sable? In this huge, snowy place?

‘It makes no sense!’ he thought. ‘How is this possible?!’

Baek Ah, who had found Han Yi-myung, puffed out his chest so much that his back almost bent over backwards.

“Kuh! Truly the king of spirit creatures!”

“One good sable is better than ten Imugis!”

“Excellent! Excellent!”

The disciples of Mount Hua clapped their hands and cheered for him.

Han Yi-myung noticed Yeo Sa-hon, who was watching their funny actions with confused eyes. He widened his eyes and rushed over.

“E, Elder Jang! Are you not Elder Jang!”

He came closer and spoke.

“Ah, how on earth did you…? Huh? Why do you look like that? Elder Jang?”

Yeo Sa-hon stared blankly at Han Yi-myung and quietly opened his mouth.

“Just…”

“Yes?”

“…I was just thinking about how absurd the world is.”

Han Yi-myung’s eyes narrowed slightly. It was a look that seemed to say, ‘Has this old man gone senile while I haven’t seen him?’

Yeo Sa-hon silently wiped the moisture from his eyes.

“That’s what happened.”

Steam rose from the cups held by the disciples of Mount Hua.

It was hardly tea, just lukewarm boiled water, but drinking something warm made them feel as if their frozen bodies were melting away.

Han Yi-myung stared at Yeo Sa-hon with a stiff expression.

“I am sorry, Elder. I knew that you and many other comrades were suffering, but I… I could do nothing.”

“Why would you say such a thing?”

Yeo Sa-hon shook his head with a determined look.

“We were merely living without doing anything. If the one who protected the only true lineage of the Northern Sea from them says such a thing, how could useless eaters like us even lift our faces?”

“Elder.”

“You have suffered greatly. You have done very well.”

At those words, Han Yi-myung seemed choked up and gripped his thigh. It seemed that the many hardships he had endured were flashing through his mind.

“It has been a long time…”

“Ah, save talking about old times for later.”

But that moment of overwhelming emotion, unfortunately, meant nothing to Chung Myung.

“The situation is urgent, so let’s get straight to the point. Where is the brat?”

A look of surprise crossed Han Yi-myung’s face. But only for a moment, as he seemed to remember what kind of person Chung Myung was, and quickly replied with a resigned expression.

“Young Master Seol is here.”

“Judging by the looks of it, it seems there are more than just old men here? Everyone seems to have some skill.”

The place Han Yi-myung led them to was a valley between large snow mountains. No matter how good the eyes of the Mount Hua disciples were, they would not have been able to find this hideout without Baek Ah.

Inside the valley were houses close together. People lived in these houses. Dozens of people were there, and they looked strong.

“This is one of the places where those who fled when the rebellion broke out in the Ice Palace in the past hide.”

“One of the places?”

“Yes. This is not the only one. There are about ten more such places in the Northern Sea.”

Chung Myung’s eyes gleamed.

‘There are more than I thought.’

If they could gather all those who had escaped from the valley this time and those who were scattered throughout the Northern Sea, it seemed possible to have a showdown with that Ice Palace.

“Mister.”

“Yes.”

“You heard everything, right?”

Han Yi-myung nodded instead of answering.

“What are you going to do?”

“Escape.”

Han Yi-myung said calmly in a voice without feeling to Chung Myung’s question.

“We are fugitives.”

“⋯⋯.”

“We once prided ourselves on being the elite of the Ice Palace, but we are now old and weakened. We have been too busy running and surviving to train consistently, and we have not learned any new martial arts. Seol Cheon-sang is cunning, but he is not incompetent. Perhaps the current power of the Northern Sea is so strong that we cannot do anything even if we all gather.”

Chung Myung’s brow furrowed deeply.

It was a natural reaction, as he hated words steeped in giving up.

But just as he was about to say something, Han Yi-myung continued without giving him a chance.

“But!”

Unlike a moment ago, he stood up from his seat with a very determined expression.

“There is such a thing as fortune in the world. If we miss this opportunity, the Northern Sea will forever fall into their hands. And we will have to watch those cunning Demonic Cultists ravage the Northern Sea!”

Flames flickered in Han Yi-myung’s eyes.

“I will fight. And all those who share my will will gladly fight as well.”

Chung Myung raised the corner of his mouth and lightly flicked his finger.

“Then that’s settled.”

And he said firmly.

“Tactics and whatnot, this is a race against time. Gather all those who share your will right now. We will strike the Ice Palace in one fell swoop and reclaim the Palace Lord’s seat!”

“Will it work?”

“If the Palace Lord’s head falls now, what can they do? If they block us, we’ll beat them until they move aside, and if they don’t listen, we’ll beat them until they do! What’s so special about it! So, first of all…”

While Chung Myung glared and explained the plan for the future, Yoon Jong, who was slightly embarrassed, whispered to Baek Cheon.

“Uncle-Master.”

“Hmm?”

“…Isn’t this, when you think about it, a plot to commit treason?”

“Isn’t it?”

“No matter what, we are Mount Hua, but planning to take over the Palace Lord’s seat of another sect…”

“Yoon Jong.”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t it too late to worry about such things now? We’ve already come too far.”

“⋯⋯.”

Baek Cheon smiled and looked at the sky with satisfaction.

“Whatever will be, will be, damn it.”