Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 771

“Wait, what? Are you sure?” Baek Cheon asked, his voice tight.

The bandit, Jo Seung, shook his head, fear in his eyes. “It’s not here. This isn’t the place.”

A murmur went through the Mount Hua disciples. “Not here? But we were told…”

“So, we came to the wrong mountain?” one of them said, sounding lost.

“This is bad,” another whispered. “Really bad.”

Baek Cheon felt cold sweat on his back. The bandits were looking at him with angry, narrow eyes.

“So, we’ll just die here for nothing?” one bandit grumbled. “A pointless death.”

“We’ll become angry ghosts,” another said, “haunting this river forever. Maybe later, someone from our group will remember us.”

“Great plan,” a third bandit said sarcastically. “Very reliable.”

Jo Seung made a muffled sound, trying to speak through his ropes.

“What was that? Speak up, I can’t hear you!” a bandit mocked.

“Be quiet,” Baek Cheon hissed at Jo Seung, “or they’ll hurt you more.”

Chung Myung suddenly turned away from Baek Cheon, his eyes sharp.

“Wait,” he said, his voice dangerous. “If this isn’t the place, then who attacked our people and took the villagers?”

Jo Seung stammered, “I-I really don’t know…”

Chung Myung’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t know?”

“I swear, I don’t!” Jo Seung cried.

“Don’t know is not good enough!” Chung Myung grabbed Jo Seung’s shirt and shook him hard.

“You’re trying to trick me!” Chung Myung yelled. “A bandit who knows nothing? You think I’m stupid? You’re supposed to be a good swimmer, right? Let’s see if you can swim with rocks tied to your legs!”

“No, please! Spare me!” Jo Seung begged. “You said you would!”

“Did I?” Chung Myung asked, his face cold.

“Yes! You promised…”

“Did I promise?” Chung Myung repeated, his voice soft but scary.

Jo Seung looked desperately at Baek Cheon and the other disciples. They looked away, pretending not to see him.

*’Sorry,’* Baek Cheon thought, feeling ashamed.

*’What else can we do?’* another disciple thought.

*’May you find peace,’* one silently wished.

Jo Seung felt a wave of despair.

*This is a cruel world.*

Jo Seung, who was clever and had survived many dangers before, knew he had to change his story quickly.

“So, you really don’t know anything?” Chung Myung asked again, his voice still cold.

“N-No,” Jo Seung said, shaking his head.

Chung Myung turned to Baek Cheon, looking doubtful. Baek Cheon quickly spoke up, trying to defend himself. “No, listen! We found a *special mark* on their ship! They attacked us even when we said we were from Mount Hua. Anyone would have thought they were the ones we were looking for!”

A *special mark*? Chung Myung repeated, looking at Jo Seung.

“Y-Yes,” Jo Seung said, seeing a chance. “There were rumors in Gugang that *those people* were on a ship like that. Bandits like us, we might try to rob anyone who looks important!”

“But why keep attacking after you knew we were Mount Hua?” Chung Myung pressed.

“Well…” Jo Seung scratched his head, pretending to be embarrassed. “Who would believe that the famous Mount Hua Sect would come all the way here from so far away? Haha…” He gave a nervous laugh.

“Haha!” the other bandits joined in weakly.

“Ha… Haha!”

“Laughing?” Chung Myung’s voice turned dangerous again.

*Crack!*

Jo Seung screamed as Chung Myung suddenly twisted his neck back, almost breaking it.

“Are you making fun of me, you little worm?” Chung Myung roared. “Laughing in my face when you know nothing!”

*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*

Chung Myung punched Jo Seung’s head over and over.

“Die! You useless idiot! Die! You know nothing, you understand nothing! You deserve to die!”

It was a shocking scene.

Jo Seung was a bandit, someone who deserved punishment. If the real authorities caught him, he would be executed. Even other heroes would kill him quickly.

But Chung Myung was making even this bad man look like someone to pity.

The disciples watched silently.

*’He’s making things up as he goes,’* one thought.

*’This is hard to watch,’* another thought, feeling uncomfortable.

Jo Seung’s face was now puffed up like a balloon, almost unrecognizable. He spoke quickly, desperate to say anything.

“R-Recently, I heard about some other bandits… near Dongting Lake.”

“What are you talking about?” Chung Myung frowned. “Aren’t you part of the River Bandits? What other bandits?”

“W-Well, our group, the Big River Bandits, is one of the groups on the Yangtze River,” Jo Seung explained, “but we don’t control *all* the bandits on the river. If we did, every new bandit group would have to ask our permission, and that’s just not how it works.”

“Is that true?” Chung Myung asked, looking at Lim Sobyeong. Lim Sobyeong nodded.

“Yes, that’s right. Small bandit groups start on their own. If they get bigger, they might join a larger group later. Then the big groups decide if they want to accept them or not.”

“Sounds complicated,” Chung Myung said, uninterested.

“Sometimes, you seem to know everything,” Lim Sobyeong said to Chung Myung, “but you don’t know simple things like this. It’s just common knowledge.”

“Why would I need to know about bandits?” Chung Myung scoffed. “I just need to catch them and punish them.”

Lim Sobyeong sighed, not knowing what to say. Baek Cheon patted him on the back, trying to be kind.

“Don’t worry about it,” Baek Cheon said. “Everyone can see who the bad guy is here.”

“Thank you,” Lim Sobyeong mumbled.

“But,” Chung Myung said, looking at Baek Cheon and the others with a serious face.

“Just being eager is not enough in this world of fighters.”

“…We understand,” Baek Cheon said quietly.

“Good.” Chung Myung nodded once. The air was still tense and quiet.

The Mount Hua disciples felt guilty, and Chung Myung was not one to offer comfort. They stood in awkward silence.

Lim Sobyeong tried to change the subject.

“So, Divine Dragon of Mount Hua,” he said, “what about these other bandits?”

Chung Myung pretended not to notice the change. “What else? We have to destroy them!”

“First,” Lim Sobyeong said, “I sent some of the captured bandits to other bandit groups nearby. To see if they know where the villagers are.”

“Will they really help?” Chung Myung asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Not really,” Lim Sobyeong admitted. “I gave them poison. I told them if they don’t come back in five hours with information, they will die. They ran very fast.”

Chung Myung was about to say something about being smart, but stopped himself.

*I keep forgetting he’s a real bandit.*

“So, it seems these attacks are not from the main River Bandit groups,” Lim Sobyeong continued.

“Looks like it,” Chung Myung said. “Well, too bad. We wasted our time here.”

Yoon Jong listened and thought, *’Poor River Bandits. They got beaten up for no reason.’* But he kept quiet.

*Bandits don’t always need a reason to be attacked,* he thought.

*Especially when the attackers are a bandit and a Taoist who is even worse.*

“From what the bandits told us,” Lim Sobyeong said, “these new bandits are based on an island.”

“Island?” Chung Myung tilted his head, confused. Lim Sobyeong explained more.

After listening, Chung Myung looked surprised. “There are islands in the river big enough for bandits to hide on?”

“It seems so,” Lim Sobyeong said.

“The world is full of strange things,” Chung Myung muttered.

“What are we going to do?” Lim Sobyeong asked.

“What else?” Chung Myung said, shrugging.

“I really don’t think we should attack an island,” Lim Sobyeong said. “We are land bandits, not river pirates. We are strong on land, but fighting on boats is risky. And we don’t know how to sail a ship.”

“You worry too much,” Chung Myung said dismissively.

“Do I?” Lim Sobyeong asked.

“Look around,” Chung Myung said, pointing at the tied-up bandits. “We have plenty of sailors right here.”

“Wait, you’re not thinking…” Lim Sobyeong’s eyes widened.

“The best way to fight river pirates is to use river pirates!” Chung Myung declared. “We’ll make them fight for us!”

The Five Swords whispered to each other again.

“He really likes that idea,” one said.

“Just let him be,” another replied. “It makes him happy.”

Chung Myung turned to the river, his eyes burning with anger. “Island or not, if they dared to hurt Mount Hua, we will hunt them down and make them regret it! Tell these bandits to steer the ship! We are attacking now!”

“Wait, maybe…” Lim Sobyeong started to say, but Chung Myung put his arm around his shoulder, cutting him off.

“Why are you hesitating? We are all in this together now!” Chung Myung said, too cheerfully.

“I’m hesitating because we are really going on a boat,” Lim Sobyeong said nervously. “And I get terribly seasick.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Chung Myung said, patting his shoulder hard. “I’ll take care of everything! Don’t you trust me?”

“Can I be honest?” Lim Sobyeong asked weakly.

“No,” Chung Myung said firmly.

“Okay,” Lim Sobyeong sighed.

Lim Sobyeong said carefully, “Maybe… since we’ve come this far, we should ask for help from Mount Hua? Wouldn’t it be easier if we went together with more people?”

“No way,” Chung Myung said immediately. “That won’t work.”

“Why not?”

Chung Myung looked at Lim Sobyeong like he was an idiot. “What if the ship sinks and our people fall into the river? It’s obvious!”

“But… aren’t we people too?” Lim Sobyeong asked, confused.

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Chung Myung asked, his smile fading.

“No, please,” Lim Sobyeong said quickly.

“Then hurry up and get ready,” Chung Myung ordered. “I don’t have all day.”

Lim Sobyeong sighed again.

Lim Sobyeong was not wrong to be careful. But he didn’t understand one thing about Chung Myung.

Some people follow the rules. Others make their own rules and break everyone else’s.

Sadly for anyone in his way.