Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 601

“Hey, you bastards!”

“Where do you think you’re running off to?”

The disciples of Mount Hua, wearing black uniforms with bright red plum blossom patterns, chased after the bandits. Their eyes were full of anger.

“Aaaargh! Spare us!”

“We’ll be good from now on!”

The bandits screamed as they ran for their lives. But the Mount Hua fighters showed no mercy.

“Who said anything about killing you? Stop right there!”

“Stop! If you stop now, you’ll get off easier. Keep running like that, and you’re as good as dead!”

The bandits, terrified, ran even faster.

‘Those crazy fighters!’

The Taoist fighters from Mount Hua had suddenly taken over Daebyeol Mountain. They were capturing all the bandits who were left, the ones who had nowhere else to run.

‘Don’t they have any pity?’

The bandits were being beaten. Tears streamed down their faces as they tried to escape. If these fighters were kind at all, wouldn’t they let them pack their things and leave?

But these heartless people stormed into Daebyeol Mountain without stopping. They took the fortress and were now chasing down every last bandit.

“Damn you! You’re worse than beggars!”

“Hey, what’s that bastard saying?”

“Watch your mouth!”

The Mount Hua disciples ran faster, their eyes blazing.

No matter how hard they ran, bandits were still bandits. They couldn’t outrun the Mount Hua disciples who wanted to catch them.

*Thwack!*

“Aaaaargh!”

A bandit fell to the ground after being hit hard on the back of the head with a sword holder. The Mount Hua disciple running behind him jumped on his back and began to hit him again and again.

“Keep running your mouth, you bastard!”

“Ack! Ack, Taoist! I was wrong! Aaaaargh!”

Kwak-Hwi, pleased with himself, clicked his tongue and tied the bandit’s hands with a rope he had ready.

“Try to cut it if you dare. I’ll cut your lifeline right then and there.”

“⋯⋯.”

The other bandits who had fled were also tied up one by one by the Mount Hua disciples and brought back.

“You were going to get caught anyway, so why run so hard? You’re just wasting your energy.”

‘Wouldn’t you run if you were us, you sons of bitches?’

The bandits were furious but dared not talk back. These guys were too different from the righteous groups they had dealt with so far.

Let’s be honest. Were these guys even a righteous group?

The faces of those being captured were all swollen. Even the Black Faction thugs didn’t beat people this badly.

‘What kind of Taoists are these?’

“Hey, this bastard’s been glaring at me since earlier?”

“A-ah, no! I would never do that!”

“So, I saw it wrong?”

“W-well, that’s⋯⋯.”

Kwak-Hwi rolled his eyes. Just then, the other disciples standing behind him stopped him.

“Senior Brother. We don’t have time for this. We need to hurry. Cheong-Myeong will flip out again if we’re late.”

Kwak-Hwi looked at the sun to see the time and sighed.

“Alright. Let’s get back quickly.”

“Yes.”

The Mount Hua disciples, having successfully subdued all the bandits, led the tied-up bandits toward Daebyeol Fortress.

“⋯⋯There are more than I thought.”

“Right?”

In the center of Daebyeol Fortress, which looked twice as large as Nokchae Fortress, the captured bandits were kneeling. Around them, the Mount Hua disciples, swords drawn, kept a close watch, their eyes blazing.

Kwak-Hwi dragged the bandits he had tied up to Baek-Cheon, who was standing in front.

“Martial Uncle! We’ve caught them.”

“Hmm.”

Baek-Cheon, after checking the swollen faces of the tied-up bandits, spoke with a somewhat troubled expression.

“⋯⋯You beat them up quite a bit.”

“These bastards kept running their mouths⋯⋯.”

Kwak-Hwi, you are a Taoist.

How can you beat someone’s face just because they’re talking? Especially as a Taoist?

Baek-Cheon sighed deeply as he looked at his martial nephews, who no longer seemed to recognize the obvious.

“⋯⋯Alright. You’ve worked hard. Take them inside.”

“Yes!”

Kwak-Hwi dragged the captured bandits to where the other bandits were and made them kneel.

“Were there any problems?”

“I thought they would draw their swords and resist, but they were more compliant than I expected.”

“Hmm.”

At those words, Baek-Cheon slowly looked around at the bandits.

“They’re just a disorganized rabble, as expected of bandits. They gave up resisting as soon as their leader died.”

The faces of the Daebyeol Fortress bandits flushed red.

‘That shameless bastard.’

‘That bastard is worse!’

Why wouldn’t they want to resist? But they had already seen clearly how Mount Hua had fought at Nokchae Fortress.

They had not only cut down all the Bloodclad Warriors, who were terrifying to behold, but also severed the head of Go-Hong, who had reigned like a king in Daebyeol Fortress.

There was no way that those brutal blades would spare their necks.

If they foolishly drew their swords, they would surely end up waiting for their turn to be cremated. How could they possibly resist?

But Baek-Cheon and the Mount Hua disciples had no way of knowing their feelings.

“But why aren’t there more people? Did we come too early? Judging by the number of captured bandits, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“Everyone has returned.”

“Then where⋯⋯.”

“Cheong-Myeong said that if even one bandit remained in Daebyeol Mountain, he would return to Mount Hua doing handstands, so everyone went out to check if there were any remnants they had missed nearby.”

“⋯⋯.”

Kwak-Hwi’s face turned pale.

Cheong-Myeong had many annoying habits, too many to count. But one of the most annoying things was that he always did what he said.

Huh?

Why is that an annoying trait?

‘Of course, it’s annoying.’

Usually, it would just end with exaggerated threats made in jest, but that bastard actually did it. He was the type of guy who would applaud and say it was good for training if he had to go to Shanxi doing handstands.

“⋯⋯Should we join them?”

“No. You guys wait a bit. You’ll have to destroy the fortress.”

“Excuse me? Destroy the fortress?”

Kwak-Hwi turned his head sharply and looked at the fortress in front of him.

Those bandit bastards had built it so diligently that dozens of log houses, like palaces, were packed together.

“All of this?”

“Yes.”

“B-but, why?”

“If the fortress remains intact, the bandits who have nowhere to go might gather and start banditry again, so he says to tear it all down as if there was never a fortress in the first place.”

“Cheong-Myeong said that?”

“Who else would it be?”

“⋯⋯.”

There was nothing to say.

‘He’s trying to wipe out the Daebyeol Mountain bandits completely.’

Come to think of it, it was the right thing to do. It’s better to do things thoroughly. If they went to the trouble of clearing out Daebyeol Fortress, only for some mediocre bandit group to settle there again, it would all be for naught.

“⋯⋯But where is Cheong-Myeong?”

“Isn’t he over there?”

“Yes?”

“There.”

Kwak-Hwi’s gaze moved forward to where Baek-Cheon was pointing.

He saw bandits carrying something between the buildings.

“Ughhhh.”

“Huuuuh!”

Someone was pointing and shouting among the bandits who were carrying luggage with deathly pale faces.

“That goes over there.”

“Yes!”

“That goes that way.”

“Yes, Taoist!”

“⋯⋯.”

Kwak-Hwi watched the scene with a blank face. Hyeon-Young was pointing and directing the bandits, while Cheong-Myeong was squatting next to him, eating sweets.

After watching for a while, Kwak-Hwi tilted his head, as if he couldn’t understand what was going on.

“What are you doing?”

“Looting.”

“⋯⋯Yes?”

Kwak-Hwi’s eyes widened at Baek-Cheon’s calm voice.

“⋯⋯Martial Uncle, I think I misheard something⋯⋯.”

Baek-Cheon frowned and sighed deeply.

“We’re taking out the stuff in the Daebyeol Fortress warehouse. That bastard Go-Hong really saved up well.”

“Ah⋯⋯.”

“I wondered why he was suddenly so adamant about clearing out Daebyeol Fortress⋯⋯.”

Baek-Cheon gritted his teeth.

A good excuse to screw over the Nine Great Sects⋯⋯. No, of course, that’s not a valid reason to put forward as a disciple of a righteous sect, but still, he came up with a plausible excuse.

‘His real intention must have been this.’

Daebyeol Fortress was one of the top fortresses among the Seventy-Two Green Forests. Naturally, the wealth they had accumulated over the years would be considerable.

Even during the life-or-death subjugation, that bastard Cheong-Myeong hadn’t missed the wealth that would be in Daebyeol Fortress. It was a truly chilling level of obsession.

“⋯⋯Is he possessed by a ghost who died because he had no money?”

“No, Uncle. Ghosts can’t take over Cheong-Myeong. Ghosts are too smart to choose him!”

“I suppose so.”

Still, he’s supposed to be a Taoist⋯⋯ He shouldn’t be possessed by a ghost.

No, even if he wasn’t a Taoist, a ghost wouldn’t possess that bastard.

“But still, it’s Cheong-Myeong. We didn’t even think about it. If you take a fortress, you should naturally take the treasure.”

Baek-Cheon stared silently at Kwak-Hwi.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“⋯⋯It’s nothing.”

Looking at his disciples, who now thought nothing of looting fortresses, he couldn’t help but wonder if something was fundamentally wrong.

Hyeon-Young stood in front of the treasure that had piled up like a mountain, his face solemn.

“Open it.”

“⋯⋯Yes.”

When the sack was opened, glittering jewels and ornaments were revealed.

At the same time, Hyeon-Young’s eyes shone just as brightly, emitting a radiant glow.

“Hee hee hee. These are truly expensive-looking trinkets. With this much⋯⋯.”

Hyeon-Young’s fingers flew across the abacus. He was counting so fast! It was hard to believe he had ever been a fighter.

“Indeed! Indeed, it’s Daebyeol Fortress! They’ve saved up so diligently! I wondered how great Daebyeol Fortress was! At this rate, it seems like they have more wealth than an average sect could accumulate in decades!”

“⋯⋯.”

“⋯⋯.”

The faces of the bandits carrying the luggage turned blue.

‘Is this person really a Taoist?’

‘In some ways, he’s scarier than the fortress lord.’

But there was also someone who welcomed that chilling reaction.

“It seems like there are more valuable items than we expected?”

“Of course! These guys really saved up properly. Daebyeol Fortress, Daebyeol Fortress, I wondered how great it was! At this rate, it seems like they have more wealth than an average sect could accumulate in decades!”

Hyeon-Young laughed as if he couldn’t contain his excitement.

“I didn’t know banditry could be so lucrative. If I had known, I would have changed our business from the Mount Hua Sect to the Mount Hua Bandit Gang long ago⋯⋯.”

“Ahem! There are ears listening! Ears listening!”

“Ahem. Yes. That’s right.”

Hyeon-Young covered his mouth and coughed softly. Then, he reached out and grabbed Cheong-Myeong’s head, shaking it vigorously.

“You! You devilish bastard! To find a way to make money even in this situation! That’s why I can’t hate you.”

“Ouch, that hurts!”

“You! You!”

Hyeon-Young, having affectionately squeezed Cheong-Myeong’s head, smiled contentedly.

Anyway, he has a nose for money like a ghost.

“So, what are you going to do now? Are you planning to take all this luggage back to Mount Hua?”

“Hmm.”

Cheong-Myeong looked at the mountain of luggage and his eyes lit up.

“We could, but⋯⋯ wouldn’t that look bad? People are watching, after all?”

“I suppose so.”

“So, I was thinking.”

“Hmm?”

His shining eyes looked more sinister than ever.

“We’re not exactly short on money right now, so wouldn’t it be nice to screw them over properly, since we’re already doing it?”

“⋯⋯Hmm?”

Hyeon-Young turned to Cheong-Myeong as if to ask what he meant.

“Heh heh heh. Let’s start by getting rid of it.”

Hyeon-Young just smiled contentedly as he looked at Cheong-Myeong.

My precious baby.

How can he be so devilish?

Hyeon-Young started to feel sorry for the Nine Great Sects. They had made Cheong-Myeong angry, and that was a bad thing.