Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 784

“Finished!”

“Aaaaargh!”

“I think I’m going to cry!”

The Mount Hua disciples stared at the newly completed pier, their eyes shining with sweat and exhaustion.

They called it a pier, but it was really just a part of the riverbank filled with stones, rocks, and dirt. But it was impressive because they had built it themselves.

“I thought my back would break,” one disciple said, wiping his brow.

Another added, “Good heavens… We always said we could flatten a mountain if we wanted to, but I never thought we’d actually go and flatten one…”

Hearing this, the Mount Hua disciples all turned to look behind them.

A small hill that had been next to the pier was now gone, leaving an empty space. All the earth and stones from the hill had been used to fill the riverbank.

“I feel strangely proud,” one said.

“I also feel strangely sad,” another replied.

The Mount Hua disciples looked at the pier with strange expressions and shook their heads.

The sad truth was that the same thing was probably happening on the other side of the river. Which meant two piers. And two vanished hills…

“Looks like they’re almost done over there, too?”

The Mount Hua disciples looked towards the island. The pontoon bridge stretching from the island across the river was almost finished. The Green Forest bandits were working hard. They had tied boats together and laid large pieces of wood across them to make a bridge.

“Building a wooden bridge to an island… who even thinks of doing that?” one disciple wondered aloud.

If the stones, earth, and rocks from the mountain had been dumped into the water, where had all the trees gone?

The Green Forest bandits had carefully turned the trees they cut down into wood. This wood was used to build the bridge.

“They’ve tied a lot of boats together, but I wonder if they can really hold that much weight.”

“It’ll be very strong.”

“What good is strong? One fire arrow and it’ll all burn.”

“D-don’t say such unlucky things!”

“You’re jinxing us!”

“This will be a disaster like that famous river battle!”

Everyone shivered as they imagined the boats on fire. But Gwak-Hwi laughed, even after hearing those words.

“You’re dreaming. Do you really think Cheong-Myeong would let that happen?”

“Huh?”

“Do you think Cheong-Myeong would easily let something he put his money and effort into burn?”

“First of all, he hasn’t put a single penny into this, and it seems like all his effort has been talking.”

Gwak-Hwi was speechless.

“Well, whatever, that won’t happen. I heard that the Tang Clan brought a special medicine to cover the boats. A medicine that stops them from catching fire, or something?”

“There’s something like that?”

“It’s the Sichuan Tang Clan. What don’t they have? They even make Hancheol swords.”

“That’s true.”

Everyone nodded, as if the Sichuan Tang Clan was above the law.

“So, is it all over? The boats are all tied together, the pier is built, and we’ve set aside boats to carry people.”

“Looks like the pirates aren’t quite finished.”

“Why?”

“They still haven’t found one of the cannons.”

“It’s gone?”

Cheong-Myeong’s eyes narrowed. He stared at the pirates, and they jumped back, scared.

Cold river water dripped from their faces, making puddles on the ground. They looked like wet, shivering dogs. Anyone would feel sorry for them, even the meanest person. But Cheong-Myeong was not feeling sorry. He was angrier than ever.

He shouted, his voice sharp, “You pirates! All you do is swim! Is the cannon a tiny needle? How can you not find it? It’s huge!”

“D-dojang-nim. We searched the riverbed thoroughly… But we can’t find it…” one pirate stammered.

“It’s true! Please believe us. We searched all the sunken ships, but it’s really not there!” another added.

Cheong-Myeong’s eyes gleamed with anger.

“You didn’t find it?”

“No. Really, we did our best…”

Looking at the pirates, it was clear they had tried their best, even to the point of exhaustion. They hadn’t been able to get out of the water for days, and their faces were pale and tired from being in the cold water.

But unfortunately, Cheong-Myeong wasn’t moved at all.

“What if I find it?”

“Yes?”

“What are you going to do if I find it?”

“That’s…”

“Hey, come out!”

The pirates looked around, confused by the sudden words. But then, Cheong-Myeong’s clothes moved, and a fluffy white ball popped out from the front of his robe.

Plop.

Baek-Ah landed on the ground, stood up straight, and cried out loudly.

“Kiee!”

“Did you hear that?” Cheong-Myeong asked.

Baek-Ah nodded seriously.

“Go find it.”

Whoosh!

The snow-white sable shot away like a white arrow and jumped into the water.

The pirates blinked in surprise.

‘What the hell?’

‘What did I just see?’

‘Why is a weasel going into the water? It’s not a seal!’

Anyway.

There wasn’t a single normal person or beast among those Mount Hua bastards.

But the truly amazing thing happened a little later.

Splash!

Suddenly, something black shot out of the water.

“What is that?”

“A, a dragon?”

“N-no, it’s a snakehead! How can a snakehead be that big?”

“But why is a snakehead coming out of the water…? Huh?”

Flap! Flap!

The snakehead, pulled out of the water, twisted and flapped its body. Looking closer, Baek-Ah was behind it, pushing the snakehead, which was ten times larger than himself, onto the shore.

‘The master catches black carp…’

‘…and the pet catches snakeheads.’

What a pair…

Whether it made sense for that little weasel to catch that big snakehead was no longer important.

“Hey, what is this? I told you to find the cannon, and you bring me dinner?” Cheong-Myeong shouted.

Baek-Ah startled and shook his head. Then, he stretched out his small front paw and pointed to the water’s edge.

“Ah, you found it?”

Baek-Ah nodded.

“Take the kids and go get it.”

Baek-Ah nodded again.

Baek-Ah scurried forward, climbed onto the head of the nearest pirate, and sat there. He stood up straight and stretched out his front paw. He looked like a general.

“Kiee!”

He was practically shouting, “Hurry up, you lazy dogs!”

Someone watching might say, “Like master, like pet.” Meaning, the pirates were acting as mean as Chung Myung was being to them.

“What a strange person…”

“Hurry up!”

“Y-yes! We are! We are going!”

“Right now! We’re going right now!”

Chung Myung roared and ran at them, fists clenched, face red with anger. He looked like he would actually kick them into the next life. The pirates shrieked, eyes wide with terror, and tripped over each other to dive into the muddy river water.

Hyun Jong, who had been watching the scene from a short distance away, groaned.

This is definitely bullying.

It was unthinkable for a Taoist to bully people, but the problem was that they were pirates. If they were the sort who made a living by robbing and causing others to shed tears of blood, then they deserved to be punished. It was difficult to simply scold Chung Myung for tormenting them.

“Sect Leader.”

“Hmm?”

“It seems Chung Myung is right. Preparations are almost complete, but there’s no sign of the pirates.”

“Aren’t they over there?”

“⋯⋯Not those ones. I thought the Surochae would attack…”

“It’ll be difficult.”

Hyun Jong muttered, lost in thought.

They, too, had received news from Hong Daeguang.

Hyun Jong sighed. “Shaolin and Wudang… the most powerful groups of the Nine Sects. Then the Namgung Clan, leaders of the Five Great Families. And even Cheongseong is involved…”

Hyun Jong stared at the river, his jaw tight. His face was like stone.

“We seem to have heard their names so often lately that we don’t realize it, but that’s practically half of the Nine Great Sects in motion.”

Hyun Sang paused for a moment before speaking.

“I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.”

“Hyun Sang, have you noticed how often we’ve seen people from Shaolin lately?”

“That’s right.”

“Then have you ever seen them set out to fight?”

Hyun Sang, who had been about to say something, closed his mouth.

Only then did he understand what Hyun Jong was trying to say.

It’s like… Shaolin has gone to war.

The terrible weight of those words began to press down on Hyun Sang.

“Shaolin and Wudang are pressing down on the Yangtze from above, and the Namgung Clan and Cheongseong are moving from the left and right. This vast Yangtze is surrounded on three sides by the attacks of those four sects.”

“Sect Leader⋯⋯.”

Hyun Jong shook his head.

“It’s been a hundred years since the war with the Demonic Sect.”

“⋯⋯.”

“There have been minor disturbances, but the leaders of the Nine Sects and the heads of the Five Great Families have never moved all at once like this.”

Hyun Sang nodded heavily.

“We can’t help but think about the meaning of this.”

Hyun Jong stared at the flowing river with a complicated expression.

A full cup will eventually overflow. There is no peace that lasts forever.

Moreover, everyone in the Jianghu knew that this tedious peace would eventually be broken.

‘We can only hope that it’s not now.’

A low sigh escaped from Hyun Jong’s lips.

“That’s beside the point⋯⋯.”

“Yes?”

Hyun Jong glanced sideways. His gaze fixed on Chung Myung, who was gesturing wildly at the river.

“I can’t understand what he’s thinking at all⋯⋯.”

“What can we do? He’s always been like that.”

“Keueung.”

Well, that was true, so there was nothing he could do… Hyun Jong couldn’t help but feel frustrated and worried.

“C-chieftain!”

“⋯⋯.”

The cheeks of Nam Jeok, the chieftain of Waryuchae, which operated mainly around Wuhan, were twitching.

“C-chieftain! We’re being pushed back!”

They were bound to be pushed back.

They were a suchae that hadn’t even made it into the Eighteen Jianghu Pirate Groups yet. But the ones pushing in from over there were none other than the famous Wudang Sect.

The Wudang disciples surged forward. They wore pure white robes that stood out sharply against the grey sky. Seeing so many of them rush in, all at once, was like watching a huge, white wave crash onto the shore on a stormy day. The sound of their boots on the ground was like thunder.

“Th-this⋯⋯ this⋯⋯.”

Nam Jeok’s eyes were bloodshot.

“Damn those Taoist fools! Why now? Why attack us? They’ve stayed away from the Yangtze for so long!”

“Chieftain! You must make a decision!”

“Damn it! Retreat! Tell everyone to scatter and run!”

He hadn’t made it into the Eighteen Pirate Groups yet, but he was still the chieftain of a suchae that was notorious on the Yangtze. He had made such a dispirited decision. But no one objected to Nam Jeok’s words.

It wasn’t because Nam Jeok was violent. It was because everyone knew that no matter how hard they tried, it was impossible to withstand the Wudang Sect that was determined to push in.

“Retreat! Retreat! Damn it! Everyone, run away!”

It was the moment Nam Jeok shouted with all his might.

“You’re doing something meaningless.”

A low voice came from behind him.

“⋯⋯.”

Nam Jeok flinched for a moment and turned his head.

An old swordsman stood behind Nam Jeok. He wore the white robes of Wudang, the Taijitu symbol clear on his chest. His face was stern, his eyes like ice. He held a simple sword in one hand, but it looked deadly in his grip.

“You⋯⋯.”

“You will pay for your crimes. Die.”

“You son of a b⋯⋯.”

Shwick.

One sword. It was just one sword.

The one sword, swung as if in jest, casually slit Nam Jeok’s throat.

“Keureuk⋯⋯.”

Nam Jeok, his Adam’s apple neatly severed, staggered backward, clutching his neck with both hands. His bloodshot eyes were filled with horror.

But the moment he heard the words uttered by the one who had cut his throat, all of Nam Jeok’s doubts vanished cleanly.

“I am Wudang Sect Leader, Heo Do.”

“⋯⋯.”

Nam Jeok’s body collapsed.

At least if someone in the afterlife asked who had killed him, he could proudly reveal the name. That was his last thought before his breath was cut off.

Plop.

Heo Do’s gaze, having cut down the chieftain with one sword, held no warmth. He mercilessly swung his sword, cutting down the trembling pirates one by one.

Sreung.

A moment later, True Man Heo Do, having slid his sword, which had not a single drop of blood left on it, back into its scabbard, coldly addressed his disciples.

“Don’t kill those who give up! We are Taoists.”

“Yes!”

“But show no mercy to those who fight back! We must punish evil!”

“Yes!”

With a thunderous response, the disciples of Wudang swept away the pirates. The eyes of True Man Heo Do, watching this scene, grew even darker.