Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 713

Chung Myung moved like a gust of wind.

He grabbed Jin Yanggun by the scruff of his neck. Jin Yanggun, dangling like a doll, squeezed his eyes shut and trembled like an aspen leaf.

“This is rough,”

Jo Gul, trailing slightly behind Chung Myung, shook his head.

This speed was probably a first for Jin Yanggun. Even riding a horse, he’d likely be terrified of falling. Being dragged along by Chung Myung… Imagine how scared he must be.

Looking at Jin Yanggun’s face, now a ghastly, greenish hue, Jo Gul felt sorry for the swindler who’d pretended to be a member of Mount Hua.

Just then, Yoon Jong spoke quietly.

“Sasuk?”

Baek Cheon just hummed, his eyes fixed on Chung Myung’s back.

Yoon Jong hesitated, then asked, “Do you think he’s okay?”

Baek Cheon was silent for a moment longer, then said quietly, “I don’t know, Yoon Jong.”

Yoon Jong’s face tightened slightly.

“I knew something was off with him, but… I never imagined he’d actually leave without taking anything.”

As it turned out, while Chung Myung was busy grabbing Jin Yanggun, the Ironclad Squad had been defeated, and the Gold Sword Division had subdued them without a scratch.

What was the Gold Sword Division? A sect known for its wealth.

Normally, they would have used this as an excuse to get as much money as possible from the Gold Sword Division. And by now, the head of the Gold Sword Division should have been in pain and upset.

But Chung Myung hadn’t shown the slightest interest in the Gold Sword Division. As soon as preparations were complete, he’d grabbed Jin Yanggun and started running, like money didn’t matter to him.

Yoo Iseol, watching Chung Myung’s back, murmured.

“That manual… is related.”

“Hmm. I think so too.”

“Yes?”

Baek Cheon agreed.

“It seems that the manual he mentioned has some connection to that Chung Myung.”

“How would he know what it is?”

Baek Cheon paused, thinking, then spoke again.

“Unam told me that Chung Myung tried to explain his relationship with Mount Hua, but the sect leader stopped him, saying he didn’t need to hear it.”

“That happened?”

Baek Cheon nodded at Yoon Jong’s question.

“The fact that he had something to explain means he has his own story. I think his current reaction is related to that story.”

Jo Gul, who had been listening silently, frowned.

“Why did the sect leader stop him? I’ve been wondering where that guy suddenly came from…”

Baek Cheon spoke sharply, looking angrily at him. Jo Gul moved back quickly.

“Ah, no… I didn’t mean the sect leader was wrong…”

“Do you think the sect leader would do something without thinking?”

Baek Cheon said sadly, his face becoming a little softer.

“Those who return to Mount Hua can only be those who left in the past. Whatever the reason, they turned their backs on Mount Hua.”

“So, he didn’t want to hear it. Whether they are descendants of someone who left for some reason, they returned to the ruined Mount Hua on their own, and that’s enough.”

“Ah…”

Jo Gul nodded.

He now understood a little why the sect leader hadn’t wanted to hear Chung Myung’s story.

Baek Cheon’s gaze turned to Chung Myung’s back as he ran ahead.

“We’ll find out when we get there. What his story is, why he’s in such a hurry.”

In truth, what Baek Cheon was truly worried about wasn’t Chung Myung’s story. To be perfectly honest, he had no interest in the story or the importance of the manual.

He only…

‘Chung Myung.’

He only hoped that when all this was over, that hardened face would return to its original brightness.

“Sahyung.”

“Hmm?”

Just then, Yoo Iseol glanced at Baek Cheon and said quietly.

“Guangdong.”

“What do you mean?”

“If we keep going like this, we’ll reach Guangdong. That’s…”

Baek Cheon’s face hardened as he closed his mouth.

‘The base of the Myriad Man Clan.’

Entering the Myriad Man Clan’s territory was always a tricky matter. But considering they had just killed two members of the Myriad Man Clan, entering Guangdong was even more unsettling.

“The Myriad Man Clan probably doesn’t control all of Guangdong. I heard his hometown is in a remote rural area.”

“That’s probably true.”

“Since we can’t stop him now, we can only hope nothing serious happens.”

Everyone nodded and ran even faster.

Like rays of light, the disciples of Mount Hua shot forward, and forward again.

“Is this it?”

“Yes, yes! This is it!”

Jin Yanggun nodded repeatedly, his face looking as if he was about to cry. When they had set off, his face had at least been somewhat oily, but now he was so thin and pale he looked like he was dead.

“This is my hometown.”

Chung Myung’s gaze went past the small village in front of him, further into the distance. In the far distance, jagged mountain peaks could be seen.

Here, they looked very small, but if one approached, they would find hundreds, thousands of mountains forming a mountain range.

The people of the world called that mountain range this.

“The Ten Thousand Great Mountains.”

Hearing that voice, the disciples of Mount Hua all stared in the direction of Chung Myung’s gaze. They couldn’t help but sigh.

“Ah…”

“That’s…”

Where else in the current Jianghu could one find a word that could feel so heavy with meaning and history? It felt like a great burden on their shoulders.

‘The former base of the Demonic Sect…’

‘The place where Mount Hua fought.’

As they just stared at the mountain ridge, Jo Gul suddenly asked in a puzzled voice.

“Weren’t the Ten Thousand Great Mountains in Xinjiang?”

“Huh?”

Then Yoon Jong slightly agreed.

“I heard that too.”

“No, I heard it was in Guangdong? On the border between Guangdong and Guangxi.”

Tang Soso tilted her head and said something different again.

Chung Myung, his eyes fixed on the ridge in front of him, opened his mouth.

“Both are right.”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung frowned. “Do you think the Demonic Sect always comes back from the same place?”

His companion nodded slowly. “It makes sense. If they were beaten, they would have to run away.”

“The martial artists of the Jianghu aren’t fools; they thoroughly destroyed and monitored the places where the Demonic Sect used to reside. That’s why the Demonic Sect started in different locations each time they reappeared. Among those places, the most frequent were the Shiwandashan Mountains on the border between Qinghai and Xinjiang, and the Shiwandashan Mountains here.”

“Ah….”

“It’s like a bad omen,” the man explained. “Wherever the Demonic Sect makes its home, people start calling that place ‘Shiwandashan’.” Chung Myung’s eyes narrowed. This mountain… this Shiwandashan… could it be connected?

Chung Myung’s eyes narrowed. *Shiwandashan*. The name echoed in his mind. He knew these mountains. A cold feeling settled in his stomach. *It was nearby.* Cheongjin… he had been heading this way.

Now, there would be no traces of the Demonic Sect left in those mountains. A hundred years was a long time, and the remnants would now be residing somewhere beyond the reach of the Central Plains, striving for the sect’s revival.

So, that place was now just a mountain.

But….

Chung Myung squeezed his eyes shut as he looked at Shiwandashan.

Chung Myung sighed softly and asked,

“Where is the manual?”

“A-at my house….”

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

Following Jin Yang-geon, who was hurrying ahead, they entered the village. They walked through the village, past small houses with straw roofs. Finally, they reached a house that looked very old and run-down.

“J-just wait a moment, please!”

Jin Yang-geon looked like a man possessed. He threw himself into the house, the wooden door banging against the wall. He dropped to his knees and started ripping at the floorboards with his bare hands, splinters flying. His breath came in ragged gasps as he dug frantically, like his life depended on it. Then, with a grunt of effort, he pulled out a small, dusty chest.

“H-here it is.”

He quickly handed the chest to Chung Myung.

However, Chung Myung didn’t reach out to receive it, only silently watching.

Nervous, Jin Yang-geon swallowed hard, his hands trembling. But no one in this place could break the silence and urge Chung Myung.

Chung Myung stood still for a moment, just watching Jin Yang-geon. Then, slowly, as if afraid to break something precious, he reached out and lifted the lid of the chest. His breath seemed to catch in his throat.

The scent of old books brushed the tip of his nose, and then a single book, seemingly about to crumble at any moment, revealed itself.

A book with nothing written on the front.

Chung Myung silently reached out and grabbed it. Baek Cheon saw Chung Myung’s fingers tremble slightly.

The book Chung Myung lifted out was strange. It looked like two books joined together, with holes punched through them to tie them as one.

Chung Myung unfolded the book with a delicacy he had never shown before, turning the pages one by one.

Scritch.

Scritch.

The sound of the pages turning echoed softly in the silence.

After checking each page without missing a single one, Chung Myung closed the last page and put the book back into the chest.

Thud.

Chung Myung, who had closed the lid, took the chest held in Jin Yang-geon’s hand and held it himself.

Baek Cheon sighed silently as he watched Chung Myung, who would kick even chests full of precious items, now handling this one as if it were a sacred object.

He couldn’t know exactly what that book was, or what story it held, but at least it seemed they hadn’t made a wasted trip here.

“Guide me.”

At Chung Myung’s short words, Jin Yang-geon nodded quickly again.

“T-this way. The hunter who found that manual lives in the house across from here!”

And without waiting for an answer, he started running towards the house across the way like someone being chased.

“Mister Pyo! Mister Pyo!”

Jin Yang-geon, who had burst into the yard in one go, pounded on the door of the house like someone being pursued.

“Are you there, Mister! It’s Geon! Jin Yang-geon!”

Just as Jin Yang-geon’s voice was gradually becoming more urgent, the door burst open. And an old man, who seemed quite old, poked his head out.

“Who is it?”

“I-it’s me, Mister! It’s Geon.”

“…Geon? Oh… um…? Are you that Geon?”

“Yes, it’s me!”

“Geon? Is that really you?” the old man squinted. “Back already? Didn’t last long trying to be a hero, eh? You look like you’ve been dragged through a bush backwards! Come crawling home, have you?” Jin Yang-geon stammered, “Ah, no, Mister Pyo, it’s not like that…”

“Excuse me, may I ask you something?”

Baek Cheon stepped forward and bowed politely to the old man. The old man looked at Baek Cheon and his party with a slightly wary expression.

“Wh-who are you?”

“We came to ask you a few things. We are not bad people, so you don’t have to worry.”

The old man, looking back and forth between Jin Yang-geon and them, tilted his head.

“What could you possibly want to ask an old man who is just waiting for the day he dies in this remote village….”

“Chung Myung.”

At Baek Cheon’s call, Chung Myung silently opened the chest and showed the old man the manual inside.

“Jin Yang-geon said he received this manual from you, sir. Do you perhaps remember?”

“…A manual? A book?”

“Yes. We are talking about this book.”

The old man muttered, looking at the old book.

“Did I have something like that… Ah!”

Then, as if something had come to mind, he clapped his knee and nodded.

“That’s right, that’s right! I picked that up. Since it had a person wielding a sword drawn inside, I thought it would be good to give it to that Geon kid who goes to the martial arts school!”

Baek Cheon asked with a stiff face,

“Where did you pick up this book?”

“Well, that’s… it’s a bit difficult to explain in words. My memory is also hazy, and since it’s in the mountains….”

Baek Cheon, watching the old man frowning and pondering, gave a slight nod. Then, Jo Gul took out a heavy money pouch from his sleeve and placed it in front of the old man.

“The reward isn’t much, but we are in a hurry, so could you guide us to that place?”

“…I would like to, but I’m old now and my energy is….”

The old man, who had been speaking, opened the money pouch slightly and widened his eyes.

“T-this, all of this…?”

“We need your help.”

The old man quickly nodded his head.

“I will guide you, of course! Gentlemen! Although my energy has waned, my memory is very clear. I remember it clearly! Yes, indeed!”

“We need your help. Right now.”

“Yes! Don’t worry.”

Baek Cheon, watching the old man making confident promises, glanced at Chung Myung. His face still unreadable, as if he didn’t know what he was thinking.

‘Don’t worry, you rascal.’

A sense of determination settled on Baek Cheon’s face.

Whatever it is you’re looking for, we will definitely find it for you.