Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 961

“…Please.”

Namgung Dowi was kneeling, head bowed low. For a strong fighter, kneeling like this was like showing weakness, something they usually avoided. But no one watching thought Namgung Dowi was weak or shameful. How could they?

“…Young Lord,” Hyun Jong said softly, moving forward. “Young Lord, what… what is wrong?” He almost asked, “What happened?” but stopped himself. Did he really need to ask? Didn’t Hyun Jong know the terrible things Namgung Dowi had been going through on the Jang River?

Instead of asking, Hyun Jong went to Namgung Dowi and gently held his shoulders. Namgung Dowi winced as Hyun Jong’s hands, shaking slightly, touched him.

“…Sect Leader,” Namgung Dowi whispered, slowly lifting his head to look at Hyun Jong. His eyes were red and bloodshot, and seeing them, Hyun Jong bit his lip without thinking.

“In Plum Blossom Island…” Namgung Dowi began, his voice hoarse. Silence hung in the air.

“The Namgung family… they are still trapped there.”

“The injured are dying each day. The ones still alive are just waiting to die… yes, only waiting.” Hyun Jong’s own shoulders began to shake.

“Please… Sect Leader, help them. Please… help them.”

As Namgung Dowi tried to bow his head to the floor again, Hyun Jong tightened his grip on his shoulders, stopping him.

“…Please, Young Lord, don’t do this,” Hyun Jong pleaded.

“I beg you,” Namgung Dowi repeated, his voice breaking.

Tang Gunak had been silently watching everything. Now, he turned to Jao Gae, his eyes burning with anger. Seeing that anger, Jao Gae sighed heavily and began to speak.

“The Shaolin…” He stopped, biting his lip. Was it really all Shaolin’s fault? He wasn’t sure anymore.

“The Beggars’ Sect and Shaolin… we did not help the Namgung family,” Jao Gae admitted.

Tang Gunak’s voice was sharp. “Why?”

Jao Gae hesitated. “…The Myriad Man Clan helped them. With the Surochae also on the river, we couldn’t fight them all.”

“That’s not what I’m asking, Elder,” Tang Gunak said, his voice cold and empty. It was a voice filled with so much anger, it felt like it came from the grave.

“I understand the situation on the river. What I want to know is why you just watched and did nothing until now.”

“…”

Jao Gae couldn’t readily answer.

There were too many reasons, but none of them were the real reason.

“I-…” Jao Gae started to speak, but Tang Gunak glared at him, teeth clenched. Jao Gae couldn’t meet his fierce gaze and looked away, ashamed.

Didn’t Tang Gunak know how hard the Dang Clan had fought to protect people the Nine Sects had failed?

When Jao Gae was part of the Nine Sects, he might have looked down on others. But here, now, he felt like he had done wrong. No one who claimed to be from the Nine Sects should dare to look proud in front of Mount Hua and the Dang Clan. They had no right to.

“…Namgung Hwang?” Tang Gunak asked, his voice lower now.

Silence.

“What happened to the Namgung Clan Lord?” Tang Gunak asked this for a reason. He knew Namgung Hwang. He knew Namgung Hwang would never send his son on such a dangerous escape alone. It just wasn’t the kind of thing Namgung Hwang would do.

“Maybe…” Jao Gae started, but he couldn’t finish. He just lowered his head.

*Crack!* The sharp sound of Tang Gunak grinding his teeth cut through the silence. You could see the thick veins standing out on Tang Gunak’s fist, even under his wide sleeves.

“I beg you,” Namgung Dowi said again, lifting his head to look at everyone. Fresh tears streamed down his face, mixing with the dried blood already there.

“Save them… please, save them. I truly beg you.”

“…”

“Please…” Namgung Dowi whispered again. Hyun Jong held Namgung Dowi’s shoulders tighter. But he couldn’t say yes. If it was just his own life at risk, he would have run to Plum Blossom Island already. But it wasn’t just him now. He couldn’t ask others to risk their lives. He just couldn’t.

“…I’m sorry,” Hyun Jong whispered. His shoulders shook. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Young Lord. I… I’m sorry.” But this wasn’t just an apology to Namgung Dowi. It was also an apology to himself. To his own past pain. To all those terrible days when he had to carry the weight of Mount Hua alone, just surviving, just enduring, again and again.

Hadn’t Hyun Jong felt bitter resentment back then? That no one had helped him. That no one had listened when he cried out. Hadn’t he cried and raged inside countless times? And yet, now, he couldn’t easily take Namgung Dowi’s hand and promise help. The pain of this choice was so strong, he had to clench his teeth to bear it.

*I am…*

Just then, as Hyun Jong struggled with his decision… *Clang.* The sharp sound of a sword being drawn echoed from behind him. Hyun Jong turned, his eyes wide and still trembling.

Baek Cheon slowly looked down at the sword he had drawn, then calmly slid it back into its scabbard. He tightened the belt around his waist, making sure the sword was secure, and stepped forward. He looked at Hyun Jong, not saying a word, but his eyes were filled with firm determination.

“Baek Cheon…” Hyun Jong breathed his name.

*Clang!* Yoo Iseol drew her sword and checked it even faster than Baek Cheon. She too, quickly put it back and stood beside Baek Cheon, her sword now firmly at her waist.

And it wasn’t just Baek Cheon and Yoo Iseol. Yoon Jong stepped forward, his eyes also firm, standing beside Baek Cheon. Behind Yoon Jong, Jo Gul stood, his face tight with anger, like he was ready to charge into battle right now. Tang Soso stood silently next to Yoo Iseol. Then, one by one, the rest of the Mount Hua disciples, even Baek Sang, drew their swords, checked the blades, and silently lined up behind their seniors.

“…You guys…” Hyun Jong could only whisper, his throat tight. He couldn’t speak. No one said a word. They knew Hyun Jong was the Sect Leader, and the decision was his. But their actions spoke louder than words. They were ready. If he gave the order, they would rush to the Jang River without a second thought.

*Step. Step.* Un Geom walked slowly forward and stood behind the younger disciples. Unam, his face unusually stern, stood right beside him.

Hyun Jong watched them all, biting his lip hard. His heart was a battlefield. He desperately wanted to help. He wanted to run to the Jang River right now, himself. But… *I am the Sect Leader of Mount Hua.*

Hyun Jong was about to close his eyes, overwhelmed. *Clang.* The sound of another sword. Chung Myung, who had been silent the whole time, drew his sword halfway out of its scabbard and glanced down at the blade.

“Chung Myung…” Hyun Jong said his name in surprise. But Chung Myung didn’t look at Hyun Jong. He was looking at Namgung Dowi. Slowly, Chung Myung spoke.

“Answer me.”

“…” Namgung Dowi slowly raised his head again, his body still shaking, and looked up at Chung Myung.

“Answer me.”

“Why should we help you?” Chung Myung asked, his voice hard.

“⋯⋯.” Namgung Dowi stayed silent, looking down.

“That place is a death trap,” Chung Myung continued, stepping closer. “If we help, we risk our lives too. So, tell me, why should *we* risk our lives for *you*?”

Namgung Dowi’s eyes darted about, wide with desperation.

He wanted to say so much. He knew many words, but none felt right. He was desperate, and all his clever ideas were gone. He felt like just a normal man, Namgung Dowi, with nothing left to offer.

“I⋯⋯can’t bear to watch.”

Chung Myung’s lips tightened further.

Namgung Dowi sobbed, his shoulders shaking.

“Them⋯⋯. My brothers, my family⋯⋯ my comrades dying like that⋯⋯ I can’t bear to watch it happen.”

Chung Myung’s gaze fell upon Namgung Dowi’s hunched back.

“Please⋯⋯. Please.”

Chung Myung could feel the raw emotion coming from Namgung Dowi’s shaking back. It wasn’t just a little tremble; it was a violent shudder, like his body was breaking apart from fear.

Namgung Dowi was trembling with fear.

Fear that Chung Myung would refuse, fear that he would be forced to face himself, the one who ultimately failed to protect those he had to protect.

Fear that he would watch everyone die, and in the worst-case scenario, be the only one to survive.

He was trembling before that immense fear.

“⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung, who had been silently glaring at Namgung Dowi, finally turned his gaze towards Hyun Jong.

“Sect Leader.”

“⋯⋯.”

“What will you do?”

His voice seemed without any feeling. There was no urging, no dissuasion. He was simply asking.

The choice was entirely Hyun Jong’s.

Hyun Jong bit his lip so hard it turned white.

“I⋯⋯.”

Originally, he was going to say, ‘We will not help.’

He could bear being called someone who didn’t understand doing what is right. He could bear being made fun of for being no different from those Shaolin bastards. But he simply couldn’t order his precious disciples to risk their lives for others.

Hyun Jong, as a leader, knew he *should* be brave and help. But Hyun Jong, the man who remembered the terrible times Mount Hua had been through, felt fear. He remembered the ‘hellish days’ when so many were lost, and he didn’t want to risk his disciples again.

But the words ‘We will not help’ simply wouldn’t come out of his mouth. No matter how hard he tried, only a faint groan escaped, as if his throat was blocked.

At that moment, Chung Myung, who had been silently watching Hyun Jong, opened his mouth.

“There was one person I thought was great.”

“⋯⋯.”

“He was an excellent Sect Leader. Everyone trusted and followed him, and no one hesitated to risk their lives for him. He was, in every sense of the word, the perfect person to lead a sect.”

Hyun Jong squeezed his eyes shut. Those words sounded as if they were rebuking his weakness.

“But.”

Chung Myung looked straight at Hyun Jong and said,

“In my opinion, you are by no means inferior to him.”

“Chung Myung-ah⋯⋯.”

“You just lack one thing.”

Chung Myung closed his mouth for a moment.

A brief silence fell, and Hyun Jong, unable to bear the weight of it, sighed and asked first,

“What is it?” His voice even contained a hint of desperation.

“What is it that I lack?”

Chung Myung replied with a blank face.

“Knowing.”

There was not a trace of wavering in Chung Myung’s gaze.

“The sword in the Sect Leader’s hand⋯⋯.”

He paused for a moment, the corners of his lips twisting as his pearly white teeth were revealed.

Swoosh!

His sword was completely drawn from its scabbard.

“⋯⋯How sharp it is.”

The moment those words fell, all the disciples of Mount Hua simultaneously drew their swords.

In the dark morning light, the swords of Mount Hua flashed white. They were like streaks of moonlight suddenly appearing in the shadows. The cold steel shone, ready for action.

Tang Gunak, who had been silently watching, clenched his fists tightly. This sensation that sent shivers down his spine could probably be described as great joy.

Chung Myung’s calm voice flowed out.

“I am the Sect Leader’s sword.”

Hyun Jong’s body trembled slightly.

“Give the order.”

Chung Myung, baring his teeth, spoke powerfully in a strong and clear voice.

“The sword executes the will. If the Sect Leader commands, I will fulfill that will. I, and all of them!”

Hyun Jong’s gaze swept over the disciples of Mount Hua, who were in formation.

Everyone was looking only at Hyun Jong with eyes that held not a trace of hesitation.

What dwelled in those eyes was an unwavering trust. A belief that their Sect Leader would never make the wrong choice.

“We will simply accomplish it.”

Hyun Jong closed his eyes tightly.

As if thinking hard and making himself strong, or perhaps looking once more at the path he had to take.

After a long silence, when he finally opened his eyes again, not a single trace of hesitation remained in them.

Hyun Jong took a deep breath. He looked at each of his disciples. His voice was still a little shaky, but it was getting stronger. “Disciples of Mount Hua, listen!”

“Yes, Sect Leader!”

All the disciples of Mount Hua knelt on one knee, paying their respects.

“We will go to the Yangtze River.”

Everyone’s eyes shone clearly even in the darkness.

“We will rescue Namgung, who is trapped on Plum Blossom Island, and let those evil martial arts groups know that doing what is right still exists on this land!”

“Yes!”

The answer echoed as if it came from a single mouth.

The disciples of Mount Hua rose to their feet in unison.

Namgung Dowi, who had been watching the scene, sobbed loudly. His tense body collapsed. But before his body could even touch the ground, someone grabbed him and forcibly pulled him up.

“Get up.”

“D-Daojang.”

Chung Myung gritted his teeth and dragged Namgung Dowi along.

“If there’s something you need to do, do it yourself. We’re not just rescuing you.”

His voice was like that of an angry beast growling.

“We fight together.”

“⋯⋯.”

“There’s no such thing as someone accomplishing something for you. You’re the one leading the charge. You’re the one who saves Namgung.”

The trembling in Namgung Dowi’s eyes, which had been looking at Chung Myung, slowly subsided. And a fierce determination, an angry determination, filled them.

“Yes! I will!”

Chung Myung turned around and saw all the disciples of Mount Hua staring at him with faces full of strong belief. They seemed to be waiting only for Chung Myung’s words.

Chung Myung responded to their will with a light nod.

“Let’s go!”

Finally, the eastern sky began to brighten faintly, tinged with red.

And Mount Hua and the Sichuan Tang Family, in the name of the Cheonwoo Alliance, began their advance on the Yangtze River.