Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 742

Splash! Muddy water sprayed high as a speedboat, gleaming black like a beetle, sliced through the brown Yangtze River. It was heading straight for them, fast.

A young crew member gasped, his throat suddenly dry. “They… they are too many!”

“W-we’re going to die, aren’t we?” another stammered, his eyes wide with terror.

Panic erupted on the deck. People scrambled, bumping into each other, tripping over ropes. Captain Ma Byeong, a large man with a booming voice, bellowed above the rising fear.

“Quiet! Stay calm!” His voice was strong, but So Jeong-bok, watching from the side, saw a flicker of worry in the Captain’s eyes.

“River pirates are normal on the Yangtze!” Ma Byeong shouted, trying to sound confident. “We usually pay them a little something. It will be alright! Don’t panic!”

Then, someone asked in a trembling voice:

“A-are you sure it’ll be alright?”

“There’s nothing to worry about. Just like people traveling for trade brave mountains full of bandits, meeting river pirates on the Yangtze doesn’t always mean disaster. But, we shouldn’t make them angry, so everyone, please gather to one side!”

Having calmed the passengers, Ma Byeong quickly told the crew what to do.

“What are you doing! Get the people to one side!”

“Yes, Captain!”

“Drop the anchor and stop the ship! Now!”

“Yes!”

The crew moved quickly and well, following his orders. Ma Byeong glanced at the approaching speedboat.

‘What’s going on?’

What he had said was true.

The Yangtze was so big and long that the government didn’t control everything. So, those who sailed the Yangtze had to deal with the risk of river pirates.

The reason they panicked at the sight of the pirates was that this area wasn’t known for pirate activity.

Even on a river where you could just float along, there had to be places to stop. Because of this, pirates usually stayed near their main bases.

Also, with about eighteen pirate groups on the Yangtze, they usually stayed in their own areas to avoid fights.

Like groups of animals that stay in their own areas, these pirates usually stay in their own part of the river.

But Ma Byeong knew that this wasn’t where any pirate base was.

‘Has a new pirate group started?’

You could see Ma Byeong’s fear as his throat moved.

If he knew the pirate group, he could fix things easily, but if it was a new group, there could be problems. Plus, a new group might do anything to show how bad they were.

‘I need to be careful.’

Ma Byeong got ready to face the speedboat.

As the ship slowed, the speedboat matched its speed and came up beside it.

Boom!

The sides hit, making the ship shake hard.

“Waaah!”

“Oooh!”

People looked scared.

As soon as the speedboat was right beside them, about twelve ropes with hooks flew onto the deck at the same time.

Thud! Thud!

The hooks dragged and scraped before catching on the ship’s railing. It looked like a dozen men were holding the railing. The ropes were pulled tight.

Seeing the scary hooks, everyone was so nervous they could barely breathe.

“Climb aboard!”

With a rough shout, several warriors quickly climbed onto the deck using the ropes.

They wore blue uniforms, the color of the Yangtze.

They had the symbol of a black dragon on their chests.

They carried Emei daggers, which looked like small harpoons, and tridents.

They looked like typical river pirates. Ma Byeong wiped the sweat from his face and stepped forward.

“I am…”

“Shhh.”

At that moment, the sharp point of an Emei dagger was aimed at his neck.

“Be quiet. Or I’ll rip your mouth open.”

Ma Byeong nodded without arguing. At the same time, he quickly looked at the faces of the pirates who had come aboard. Sadly, he didn’t know any of them.

‘Looks like today will be bad.’

He looked anxiously toward the back of the pirates. Usually, the leader came later.

And then he appeared.

Behind the pirates, a man with a cold face slowly showed himself.

‘Hmm.’

Seeing this, So Jeong-bok’s face, who had been watching from the back, became tense.

The man who came last seemed different from the other pirates. He was… calmly walking across the rope.

This was on the water, and the water was always moving. The rope between the two ships was swaying a lot. But, this man was walking across it like it was flat ground?

So Jeong-bok was from the Phantom Gate. They were known for being light and quick on their feet. He knew how hard it was to walk on a swaying rope like that.

‘He’s strong.’

His back started to get damp with sweat.

“Hmm.”

Thump.

The man jumped lightly onto the deck and looked around.

He looked cold. Also, two scars on his face made him look even more scary.

Those who he looked at couldn’t meet his eyes and looked down.

The man looked all over the ship, then stopped at one place.

“Are you the captain?”

Ma Byeong quickly spoke.

“Yes! I am Ma Byeong, the captain of this ship! It is an honor to meet the heroes of the Yangtze!”

“Heroes?”

The man asked quickly, and Ma Byeong nodded many times.

“Those who keep order on the Yangtze under the Black Dragon King, how can they not be called heroes?”

“Haha.”

The man laughed softly, seeming happy with the flattery.

“You know well.”

“Yes. Anyone traveling the Yangtze should know this. Thanks to the heroes of the Yangtze, we can travel this dangerous river safely, right?”

“That’s right.”

So Jeong-bok, who was watching, was impressed by how well Ma Byeong spoke.

He seemed scared, but he said the words ‘order’ and ‘protection.’ This meant he would pay the protection money, so let’s get through this without anything bad happening.

The man nodded, as if he understood.

“Controlling the Yangtze is hard work. So, people who travel through *our* part of the river should thank us, right?”

“Your words are wise. If you don’t know this rule, why are you even on the Yangtze? The Dragon King will be angry!”

Things were going better than he thought, and Ma Byeong smiled with relief.

“Good. Have you prepared the offering?”

“J-just a moment, please. I didn’t know there were heroes here. If you give me a little time, I will get it ready quickly.”

“We are not very patient. I can wait, but those guys over there get bored easily. If you don’t want anyone to get hurt, hurry up.”

“A-alright!”

As soon as the man nodded, Ma Byeong ran to the back. Then, quietly, he told the passengers what was happening.

“As you all heard, it seems you will have to give a little something.”

The passengers nodded and opened their money bags.

Losing money was better than losing their lives. They were a bit angry, but seeing the sharp weapons the pirates had, that anger went away.

Everyone took money from their bags and gave it to the crew members.

So Jeong-bok sighed as he watched.

‘It’s a relief.’

Unlike what he had feared, nothing bad had happened.

So Jeong-bok knew a bit about bandits from the Green Forest, so this wasn’t new to him. Usually, when people think of bandits or pirates, they think of them killing people and taking money, but that didn’t happen often.

If robbery and murder happened a lot in one area, people would avoid that place. Then the pirates would have to move to another area to live.

But in this world, each group had its own area, so moving meant risking a fight.

It was better to take a fair amount from those passing by, without causing too much trouble. Even if they earned a little less now, they could keep getting money later.

At that moment, one of the crew members came to So Jeong-bok and whispered.

“Listen, the passengers don’t have much money, so it’s not a lot. I’m sorry, but could you give a little more?”

“…I understand.”

So Jeong-bok took out a silver coin from his bag. The silver coin was a lot of money for him, but it was better to solve the problem with money than to cause trouble. Besides, he would get much more money from this job.

“Here you go.”

The crew member looked happy when he saw the silver coin.

“Thank you.”

The crew members took the money to the captain. The captain put the money in a sack, added some money from his own bag, and carefully gave the sack to the pirate.

“This is a small gift to thank you. Maybe enough for you to buy some drinks tonight.”

“Hmm.”

The man took the sack. Without even checking how much was there, he tossed it to his helper behind him.

Thud! Thud!

He patted Ma Byeong’s shoulder.

“I’ll remember your face.”

“It’s an honor!”

“If you keep working with us, there won’t be any problems. Remember that the Yangtze is calm, but it can get rough when the wind blows. Whether the wind blows depends on you.”

“I will remember that.”

“Good.”

The man nodded and turned around. He seemed ready to leave since he was done.

Everyone secretly sighed with relief.

They had been robbed, but they were alive. In the middle of the Yangtze River, where the government had no power and even martial arts groups couldn’t do much, anything could happen, so this was a small price to pay.

But then,

Just as the man was about to turn and step over the railing, one of the pirates whispered something in his ear.

“…Hmm?”

His eyes flashed, and he slowly turned back.

The man, not knowing what was happening, looked at the people who were tense again, and stopped at one person.

“Well… I didn’t know there was someone famous on board.”

So Jeong-bok, who was being stared at, froze and bit his lip.

“To think that there would be a special guest from the famous Eunha Escort Agency. It would have been a shame if we had left.”

Cold sweat started to form on his face.

If he was on land, this wouldn’t be a problem. He was fast, so he could run away. But this was on the wide Yangtze River. No matter how fast he was, it wouldn’t help.

Even if he jumped into the water, he couldn’t escape the pirates who were trained to fight in the water.

“Special guest… A special guest, huh? I didn’t expect to meet someone who carries valuable things. I’m lucky today. Haha!”

The man slowly walked toward So Jeong-bok. The pirates surrounded him.