Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 777

The *thud* of the severed head hitting the sandbar echoed in the sudden silence. It wasn’t loud, but the wet, heavy sound sent a chill through everyone, like ice water down their spines.

“C-Chieftain….”

“Ugh….”

The chieftain was dead.

He wasn’t killed by the person who was fighting wildly before. Someone else killed him. This meant something important.

‘We can’t win.’

‘Damn it, we shouldn’t have come to a place like this.’

New bandit groups are usually made up of people who are not good fighters, people who don’t fit in, or criminals who escaped. Because of this, they had no loyalty, so with the chieftain dead, they had no will to fight. Only fear and confusion spread.

Despair flooded the eyes of the bandits, turning them dull and lifeless, like fish washed up on the shore.

Chung Myung, thinking the atmosphere was ripe, grinned and stepped forward.

“You’re all gonna die….”

“Drop your weapons. Those who surrender will be spared.”

Chung Myung narrowed his eyes and turned sharply.

Baek Cheon had stepped forward and was shouting.

“Those who resist should be prepared to give up their lives! I won’t warn you twice! Drop your weapons!”

The bandits trembled at his stern voice, exchanging glances.

In fact, the chieftain’s death was merely symbolic. Regardless of whether he lived or died, the outcome had already been decided. Their chances of winning had never existed in the first place.

Those who realized this quickly threw down their weapons and prostrated themselves on the ground.

“Hey! We’re letting them live? Again?”

“Why not just finish them off? What good are they alive?”

A bizarre situation unfolded, with the mountain bandits, faces still smeared with dirt and war paint, clamoring to kill all the water bandits.

Chung Myung might have yelled at the mountain bandits. But Baek Cheon knew it was polite to thank people who helped.

“I want to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.”

“Hmm… Well, you are a Taoist.”

The mountain bandits nodded as if they understood and stepped back.

From the start, they were only there to provide support, and they hadn’t achieved anything significant enough to raise their voices in this battle. Almost all the credit went to Chung Myung, who was trembling next to Baek Cheon.

“Drop your weapons, you bastards!”

“Oh? Is that resistance?”

Most surrendered immediately, but some fought to the end.

If they had been surrounded by the disciples of Mount Hua, they might have tried to subdue them without killing them. But they were surrounded by Green Forest bandits, who were unlikely to be merciful enough to spare those who resisted.

“Kraaah!”

“Guh!”

Those pierced by blades cried out in their death throes and collapsed. Seeing this, those who had held onto their weapons until the very end hastily surrendered.

“Hmm.”

Baek Cheon’s lips tightened as he watched the scene.

It was all so simple.

It had been difficult for them, but since Chung Myung had appeared, it had taken less than a day to clear out two water bandit camps and subdue them.

‘It’s almost anticlimactic.’

This simple task….

No, in fact, if you think about it coldly, it’s not a simple task. If all of this was actually simple, would there have been any reason for the other sects to stand by and watch?

It’s the other way around.

It’s not that this task is simple, but that Chung Myung handled it simply.

Looking back, everything they had experienced had been difficult and complex.

Fighting with Jongnam, forming a friendship with the Sichuan Tang Family, visiting the Beast Palace, fighting the Demonic Sect in the Northern Sea, and so on.

‘All of that was possible because he was there.’

He thought he understood that well enough. But looking back, Baek Cheon and the other disciples of Mount Hua had focused only on Chung Myung’s martial prowess and underestimated his skills.

“Why are you looking so gloomy?”

“Huh?”

Baek Cheon turned to the voice he heard. Chung Myung was looking at him with a puzzled expression.

“We won.”

“…Oh, right.”

Chung Myung chuckled softly at Baek Cheon’s awkward reply, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

‘He must have realized it.’

Improving one’s skills is a good thing, and more than anything, it’s important.

But what’s most important in actual combat is creating a situation where you can fully utilize those skills. The Five Swords’ biggest mistake this time wasn’t coming to the Yangtze River, nor was it prematurely moving and giving the enemy the upper hand.

It was being dragged into a situation where they couldn’t fully utilize their skills.

‘And this is my mistake too.’

Watching this situation, he deeply felt the meaning of what Hyun Jong had said.

Chung Myung’s existence was a great fortune for them, but conversely, it was also a great obstacle.

Even Tang Bo sometimes grumbled.

Even Tang Bo, who was a Tang Family elder, struggled to keep up with Chung Myung on the battlefield, so how much more would the disciples of Mount Hua, whose skills couldn’t compare to Tang Bo’s and whose experience was even less?

Learning is only useful if you understand it. If you just follow without understanding, you don’t learn anything new, you just keep doing the same things without thinking.

First, find and identify the enemy, and then find the best way to deal with the situation. This is the method Chung Myung uses most often. Baek Cheon had seen and felt something and moved in that way, but unfortunately, Baek Cheon and the other Five Swords are not Chung Myung.

If you only imitate Chung Myung’s method of finding the flow with his senses through numerous battles, this is what happens.

If Baek Cheon had been cautious in his own way, the situation would have been much better. This time, excessive ambition caused the trouble.

Chung Myung knew all of this, so he didn’t blame the Five Swords.

‘Failure is painful, but… the result was beneficial.’

As long as you survive, every experience will surely become an asset. This failure will become blood and flesh for them.

And this was a necessary failure for them.

‘Because they will have to lead and fight from now on.’

Chung Myung’s eyes darkened slightly.

Until now, they could fight on their own. But from now on, the scale of the battles they will face will grow larger and larger. And there will be more and more times when they will lead others and fight in places where Chung Myung is not present.

If they had failed too late, the damage would have been immeasurable. It was a great relief that they could experience and reflect in advance.

“Hey, Martial Uncle.”

“Huh?”

Baek Cheon, who had been staring at Chung Myung, nodded.

“You’re right.”

Baek Cheon, his jaw set firmly, looked back at the water bandit camp. ‘We need to finish cleaning up. There’s still work to be done.’

He immediately gathered the disciples of Mount Hua.

“First, rescue the civilians who were captured in the water camp. Some of them may be weakened, so Soso should check their condition immediately.”

“Yes, Martial Uncle!”

“And check if the missing disciples of the Ghost Gate are here. There may be prisoners. Sangi, interrogate the bandits to see if there are any other hostages in places other than this.”

“I understand, Senior Brother.”

“Okay.”

Baek Cheon nodded, listening to the quick and clear replies.

‘We had been winning.’

We always achieved results beyond our skills. At some point, I must have believed that all of that was my own skill.

I pretended to be humble, but I wasn’t really humble.

The training was over. Baek Cheon looked at his students. They were tired, but they were thinking. He spoke in a calm, strong voice. “The biggest mistake is not losing or failing. It is learning nothing when you lose or fail.”

He paused, looking at each of them. “I will think about what I did wrong first. You must remember what you learned today. Learn it deeply.”

“Yes!” the students said together. They nodded, their eyes bright and serious. A small, pleased smile touched Baek Cheon’s lips.

“Ooh, trying to look cool, are we?” a teasing voice said.

Baek Cheon’s smile disappeared quickly. A mocking voice spoke, and it was gone.

The Black Hair Demon gasped as he reached the shore. The cold water dripped from his hair and clothes. He shivered, but the sand felt warm under his bare feet. Looking back, the island was just a tiny green dot far away.

The island he had left was now just a speck.

“The battle must be over by now, right?”

One of his men, who had followed him out of the water, glanced back at the island as he asked.

“Probably,” the Black Hair Demon replied.

“Then the Muddy Stream Azure Snake is dead too, I think.”

The Black Hair Demon wiped his wet face with his sleeve, a twisted smile on his lips.

“The poor fool. He probably never suspected anything until the end.”

“How could he? He was the one who gave us that expensive White Lightning Cannon and the ship, wasn’t he?”

“It’s a waste, now that I think about it.”

The White Lightning Cannon and the ship cost a lot of money. It was a waste to leave them at the bottom of the river.

But it didn’t matter. They were never really his anyway.

“I don’t understand it. All this, for something that was going to happen anyway.” The Black Hair Demon clicked his tongue and shook his head.

He thought about the plan. It was like throwing money into the river. He couldn’t understand why they were doing this.

“Well, I only need to get paid.”

“That’s right.”

The Black Hair Demon turned quickly at the sound of a voice that wasn’t his man’s. A figure was coming from the forest by the river.

The Black Hair Demon narrowed his eyes and spoke quietly.

“You really didn’t have to come all the way here…”

“Things are happening faster than I thought, so I came to see for myself.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve done everything you asked.”

“It seems so.”

The man, who looked like a scholar, stood in front of the Black Hair Demon and nodded coldly.

“Do you want proof?”

“Is it really needed?”

He reached into his sleeve and took out something, giving it to the Black Hair Demon.

“Here.”

The Black Hair Demon carefully took the paper and opened it.

“A confirmation slip from the Central Plains battlefield. The money has been sent to the place you said. With the money you got before, it should be the right amount.”

“It seems right.” The Black Hair Demon nodded, carefully folded the paper, and put it in his robes.

“You could have gotten it yourself.”

“You never know what might happen. Someone like me has to be careful. I hope you understand.”

“I understand. You have to be wise in all things.” The man nodded slightly.

“Then the deal is done.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“What will you do now?”

“I promised to stop this and never go into the Jianghu again. I will take the money and go to a faraway place or live in a quiet corner of the world for the rest of my life.”

“You are honest, I see.”

“It’s not that people would believe me, but it’s best to be sure.”

“That’s why I found you.”

A small smile appeared on the Black Hair Demon’s lips.

“It’s nothing to trick those guys, but I think I got too much money.”

“You were worth it.”

“If I may… can you tell me why you’re doing this?”

The scholarly man put a finger to his lips.

“Talking too much is dangerous. Some things are better kept secret.”

“I’ll forget it. I’ve already forgotten it.”

“Good. Thank you for your hard work. Goodbye.”

“Yes. Goodbye…”

At that moment…

Suddenly, many knives flew from the forest. They hit the men by the water in their necks. They were very fast.

“Guh!”

“Ugh!”

The men’s eyes widened in shock. They grabbed their necks, shook, and fell to the ground.

The Black Hair Demon stared at his chest. A short knife was stuck there, almost all the way in.

He slowly looked up at the man and spoke, his voice shaking.

“Why…?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself?” the scholarly man said with no emotion.

“It’s best to be sure. And I don’t need you to talk, do I?”

“The money is already…”

“That doesn’t matter. The money has been sent. And don’t worry about your family looking for it. I promise I won’t hurt them. Your family will live in peace.”

The Black Hair Demon fell to the ground, kneeling and gasping for air.

“Why me…”

“This is more important than you know. No one can know about it. No one at all. So, the cost wasn’t too high. Not when you think about the price of your life.”

“Now, rest.”

As the Black Hair Demon died and fell, the man spoke calmly.

“Cut off his head and bury it separately. Throw the body in the river.”

“Yes, strategist!”

The man, Ho Gamyeong, the strategist for the Myriad Manifesters, looked at the distant island with a complicated expression.

“Harvest. A harvest, you say…”

A twisted smile appeared on his thin lips.

“If you plant the seeds, you must harvest. Thanks to those Huashan bastards, things will be easier.”

Ho Gamyeong turned and left.

“Return before we’re found. Hurry.”

“Yes!”

Some time passed.