Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 712

Red veins pulsed in Chung Myung’s eyes, like angry worms under his skin.

Creak! The hand around his throat squeezed tighter, cutting off his air.

Each time Jin Yang-geon was slammed against the wall, dust rained down and the cracks in the stone grew wider. The old palace wall groaned like it was about to break apart completely.

“Kkeueuk… Keuk….”

Jin Yang-geon’s eyes rolled back, and white foam came from his mouth. He looked like he would stick out his tongue and die at any moment, but Chung Myung seemed to have no intention of showing him any mercy.

“Speak.”

“Keureuk….”

“This…!”

Chung Myung was so angry he almost slammed Jin Yang-geon again. But then he stopped and looked away, his eyes cold.

“What is it?”

Baek Cheon stood behind him, sword drawn. And beside him, Yoo I-seol twirled her sword.

“Think he’s gone too far?” he murmured to Yoo I-seol.

“Thought about stopping him… maybe a quick jab with my sword? Might knock some sense into him.”

Yoo I-seol’s voice was quiet but firm. “Sect Leader won’t be happy if you stab him.”

Baek Cheon sighed.

Chung Myung gave a short, humorless laugh. “Thanks, Uncle-Master. Really.”

Baek Cheon: “Forget about it.” He waved a hand dismissively, though a small smile touched his lips.

“Tsk.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue briefly and released Jin Yang-geon as if tossing him away.

Thud!

Jin Yang-geon, who had crashed into the wall, collapsed to the floor with a thud, coughing incessantly.

“Ke-eck! Keck! Cough! Cough! Hoo-oo-ooh!”

Making sounds close to vomiting, Jin Yang-geon gasped for breath and coughed. Chung Myung, who had been staring at him, turned his head slightly.

“What about outside?”

“As you can see.”

Baek Cheon stepped aside slightly to show the situation behind him. People who looked familiar were rushing in, driving back the Iron Helmet Bandits.

The Iron Helmet Bandits, utterly terrified, had already lost their will to resist and were scattering in all directions, too busy fleeing to even think of fighting back.

“I don’t know who the Beggars’ Union branch leader here is, but they seem quite capable. They must have persuaded the Gold Sword Vice-Lord to bring the entire Gold Sword Squad.”

“Even beggars know they need to be smart and fast if they want to survive.”

Chung Myung nodded slightly, staring intently at the back, then turned his gaze back to Jin Yang-geon. When their eyes met as he spat out phlegm, Jin Yang-geon was instantly startled and cowered in the corner as if trying to disappear into the wall.

“P-p-please, s-s-spare me!”

Chung Myung silently watched the spectacle.

Slightly worried that Chung Myung might rush at him again, Baek Cheon took a step forward without realizing it.

Normally, after saying this much, he would have understood and returned to his usual nonchalant self, but today, Chung Myung was definitely acting strange.

“What’s your name?”

Fortunately, however, Chung Myung opened his mouth instead of charging forward.

His voice was lower than usual, creating a strange sense of pressure, but it was still a relief that he wasn’t immediately going to start a ruckus.

“J-Jin Yang… Jin Yang-geon!”

Jin Yang-geon replied with a face as white as a sheet.

He had boldly lied to the Gold Sword Vice-Lord and made up stories to help himself. But now, he wouldn’t even think of lying.

‘He really had eyes that could kill.’

No, putting aside his eyes and everything else.

Hadn’t that butcher turned two people into wandering spirits right before his eyes? And not just anyone, but guests from the Myriad Man Manor.

To argue with falsehoods in front of such a person was no different from drawing a sword and holding it to his own neck.

“Answer me.”

“…Yes?”

“That martial art….”

Chung Myung, who had opened his mouth, paused for a moment.

It was as if he couldn’t organize his thoughts on what to ask.

“Where did you get that martial art?”

“M-Martial art, you say?”

“The martial art you’re practicing.”

Chung Myung’s eyes narrowed slightly again.

“Where did you learn it?”

“W-Well, my martial art, you mean? This is just….”

Jin Yang-geon swallowed hard.

“Passed down in our sect….”

The moment Jin Yang-geon saw Chung Myung’s hand grip the sword hilt, he screamed and covered his head with both hands.

“No! No! Let me! Let me finish! It’s just a combination of our sect’s martial art and the contents of a secret manual I happened to find!”

Baek Cheon, who had been listening quietly, frowned.

“…Combination?”

“Yes! W-Well, it’s a bit grand to call it a combination, but I just mixed some of the stances, yes.”

Beads of sweat dripped from Jin Yang-geon’s face.

‘Damn that wretched martial art!’

Combining two martial arts was no easy feat. If Jin Yang-geon had known the result would be like this, he would never have attempted it.

Thanks to vaguely mixing the martial arts, his swordsmanship had become all show and no substance.

He wasn’t particularly strong to begin with, but as he learned the martial art he had created by mixing two styles, he became a complete half-wit. It was flashy, but he couldn’t properly execute it.

As a result, even his original swordsmanship kept getting distorted, making it difficult for Jin Yang-geon to live as a martial artist.

Seeing Chung Myung’s cold gaze, Jin Yang-geon babbled on without being asked.

“T-The combined martial art didn’t produce proper power, but someone who saw me using the martial art asked if I was perhaps from the Mount Hua Sect….”

“Does that even make sense?”

Baek Cheon interjected, but Yoon Jong, who had entered and was listening to the story, nodded as if it made sense.

“Someone who doesn’t know might think so. The stance I saw earlier looked like a badly mangled plum blossom.”

“It just looked like a blur of red and white.”

“There aren’t many martial arts like that. It’s not strange for someone who has only heard of Mount Hua’s swordsmanship to misunderstand.”

“…Is that so?”

Baek Cheon looked as if he didn’t understand at all, but Jin Yang-geon nodded vigorously with the expression of someone who had grabbed a lifeline from the heavens.

“Yes! Yes, that’s right! I didn’t start saying it first, people started asking me if I was a disciple of Mount Hua….”

“Heh heh.”

A hollow laugh escaped Baek Cheon’s lips as he roughly understood the situation. Jin Yang-geon couldn’t even meet his eyes and spoke with his head bowed.

“So, somehow, I ended up pretending to be a Mount Hua disciple, and that matter snowballed until….”

Baek Cheon narrowed his eyes.

That’s bull.

Even if it started with a misunderstanding, Jin Yang-geon ended up claiming to be a Mount Hua disciple and tried to deceive the Gold Sword Squad by using Mount Hua’s name.

Baek Cheon was about to say that Jin Yang-geon was lying, but Chung Myung spoke first.

“Manual.”

“Yes?”

Yoon Jong, who had been listening from behind, tilted his head and asked Chung Myung.

“Why the manual? From what I can see, it seems like a swordsmanship with a form vaguely similar to Mount Hua’s sword was created by chance while mixing different martial arts.”

Chung Myung didn’t reply and only stared intently at Jin Yang-geon.

When an answer didn’t come immediately, he grabbed Jin Yang-geon by the collar again.

“Heeik!”

Then, he brought his face close and gritted his teeth.

“Can’t you hear me?”

“The, the manual! I bought that manual from a hunter in my hometown!”

“Hunter?”

Chung Myung’s eyes clouded with suspicion, and Jin Yang-geon nodded vehemently.

“Yes! A, a wild animal was carrying it in its mouth….”

Suddenly, the strength in Chung Myung’s hand loosened.

Thinking he had barely survived, Jin Yang-geon cautiously looked up at Chung Myung’s face and instantly shut his mouth.

He had never seen it anywhere.

A person with such an expression, that is.

“…The manual is?”

“Yes?”

Chung Myung’s voice was shaking a little, but then it became calm again.

“Where is that manual?”

“I-In my hometown….”

“The hunter who found that manual must live near there too, right?”

“That’s right.”

Chung Myung nodded slowly.

“Let’s go.”

“…Yes?”

“Guide us. To your hometown.”

Jin Yang-geon’s eyes widened at the unexpected words.

“M-My hometown is very far from here….”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Chung Myung said firmly.

“It doesn’t matter. Wherever it is, even if it’s the end of the world, we’re going.”

Having finished speaking, Chung Myung turned around. The Five Swords of Mount Hua, who had all gathered, were looking at him.

Just as Chung Myung was about to say something, Yoo I-seol spoke first.

“Really.”

“……”

“It’s real, that manual?”

Chung Myung nodded.

“Yes.”

“And it must be recovered.”

“Yes.”

“And….”

Yoo I-seol paused and stared intently at Chung Myung. It was Baek Cheon who completed the question.

“We also need to find out where that manual came from.”

Chung Myung nodded silently instead of answering. A slight hesitation crossed Baek Cheon’s face.

“But Chung Myung, we are under the sect leader’s orders….”

“Uncle-Master.”

However, Chung Myung gently cut off Baek Cheon’s words. His voice was calm and not forceful.

“I….”

Chung Myung bit his lip for a moment and said.

“I need to confirm it.”

“……”

“So….”

There was no need to hear all his words. Baek Cheon turned his head sharply.

“Yoon Jong, Jo Gul.”

“Yes, Uncle-Master!”

And he instructed in a calm and collected voice.

“Clean up the situation. Move quickly. Confirm the destination from that man and prepare so we can run without stopping along the way.”

The two nodded quickly.

“Yes, Uncle-Master!”

“So So.”

“Yes!”

“Tell the Beggars’ Union the situation and say we’re leaving immediately. Tell them we’re leaving the cleanup to them.”

“Yes!”

Baek Cheon turned to Yoo I-seol.

“Junior Sister, explain the situation roughly to the Gold Sword Vice-Lord, just in case.”

“Okay.”

“Move!”

As the disciples of Mount Hua dispersed in an orderly fashion to their respective tasks, Chung Myung stared intently at Baek Cheon.

“Uncle-Master.”

“It’s fine. Let’s hear the explanation later. I should go and check the outside situation first.”

“……”

Baek Cheon turned his body sharply and secretly sighed. His steps were heavy.

‘Damn it.’

How could I say no when you say it with that face, you wretched brat.

Chung Myung’s gaze, which had been fixed on Baek Cheon’s back as he walked away, turned to the sky. The sun shone brightly through the broken palace, almost too bright to look at.

“…One volume, was it?”

“…Yes?”

“That manual, one volume would have contained a divine art and a sword technique, right.”

“T-That’s right. It was an old manual that looked like it would crumble at any moment… It seemed like two volumes were stacked together. Two different martial arts….”

Chung Myung nodded very slowly.

It was too damn dazzling.

– Why are you sticking perfectly good manuals together and causing a fuss?

– It’s easier to carry around this way.

– Why are you carrying it around? What madman takes a manual to the battlefield?

– My role is to protect Mount Hua’s martial arts. This martial art must never be lost. It’s safest for me to carry it on my person.

– Don’t you think it would be more of a problem if you died first?

– Haha. How could I die with Senior Brother around? That won’t happen.

The stinging in his eyes and the difficulty in breathing were all because of that damn dazzling sun.

‘Wait for me.’

Even if all that’s left is bones. No, even if those bones have crumbled into dust….

I will definitely recognize you.