Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 971

Finally, even the Tang arrived on Plum Blossom Island.

Justice watched with wide eyes, his fingertips trembling.

“What… What is going on?”

That’s insane. Crossing the river using wooden planks as stepping stones?

“Easy to say!”

The wooden path was very dangerous. The Waterway Company could destroy it at any time. If they had acted faster and broken the planks in front and behind Mount Hua and the Tang when they were in the middle of the river, those groups would have been trapped.

What kind of tragedy would have happened then?

That can’t be called a strategy. A real strategy thinks about what happens next. This plan doesn’t.

A desperate last stand at least tries to hurt the enemy before failing. But this is just a crazy act of jumping into hell without hurting the enemy if anything goes wrong.

And yet…

“Why is that working!”

Justice’s voice, full of confusion, anger, and frustration, burst out.

This is absurd. Why isn’t this reckless plan failing?

It was unbelievable. It was like watching people walk through fire and not get burned.

Logically, those who criticized it should be right, but now they look like fools.

That was exactly what Shaolin was like now.

No matter how he thought about it, his decision was right. Jumping into the Jang River, guarded by the Waterway Company and the Myriad Man House, was suicide.

But what does that matter now?

Even if the chance of reaching Plum Blossom Island safely was almost zero, the fact that the Heavenly Union succeeded made Shaolin look like a moron for hesitating.

“This…!”

Justice was furious. He clenched his fist and glared at the river.

People might say Mount Hua and the Tang took a gamble and won by using the Four Great Evils’ weaknesses, but that’s not the real reason.

There is only one reason why this happened.

“Jang… Il-So…”

Justice gritted his teeth.

Jang Il-So was a devil when it came to using his mind. He knew what Justice was thinking. Normally, he would have waited for Mount Hua and the Tang to reach the middle of the river and then destroyed the planks to trap them.

But Jang Il-So didn’t move at all.

The Myriad Man House’s ships were surrounding Plum Blossom Island from the Gangnam side, a place that Mount Hua and the Tang could never reach.

It looked like they were attacking Plum Blossom Island to pressure the Namgung Family, but they were really just watching everything happening on the Jang River!

As if he wanted Mount Hua and the Tang to safely rescue Namgung and return!

“Jang Il-So! You dog-like bastard!”

Justice shouted in anger.

His body trembled with hatred. What was worse was that no one would believe what he was seeing.

Who would believe him?

Even if he said that it was all Jang Il-So’s plan, no one would listen. They would just think Shaolin was desperate and laugh at him.

This was a dangerous situation. There was no way out.

“Abbot…”

Justice turned around, his face stiff. Jongli Hyung looked worried and asked in a low voice.

“…Shouldn’t we do something?”

“…It would have been better if we hadn’t come at all, but if we just watch and leave, everyone will criticize us. Shouldn’t we do something now?”

But what? What could they do?

Should they follow Mount Hua and the Tang to show off? Should the Nine Great Sects follow the Heavenly Union and struggle to catch up?

Jongli Hyung saw Justice’s face and added anxiously.

“Of course, I know it’s a difficult decision. But doing something is better than just watching…”

“Wait.”

“Abbot!”

“Wait! I said wait!”

Jongli Hyung looked dismayed. He was clearly disappointed in Justice.

But Justice just bit his lip.

‘It can’t be done.’

They couldn’t go.

It was hard to explain. Jongli Hyung wouldn’t understand.

What would happen if they jumped into the river now?

That evil Jang Il-So would ignore Mount Hua and the Tang and focus on Shaolin to get revenge.

He would make sure everyone knew that Shaolin suffered greatly just by following them, even though Mount Hua and the Tang did it easily.

Justice could see it.

The cruel trap that Jang Il-So had set on the Jang River.

‘Damn it.’

If only JaoGae was here, he would have understood why he couldn’t move and defended him!

But JaoGae had sided with Mount Hua. He was probably watching Mount Hua succeed with his own eyes.

“Ugh…”

His heart felt like it was burning.

It felt like everything that had happened on the Jang River was designed to trap Shaolin.

“Then you should at least go back.”

A cold voice interrupted him.

It was such a cold voice that it was hard to believe it was directed at the Abbot.

Justice quickly turned his head. Hye-Bang was looking at him, a cruel smile on his face.

“If you’re just going to watch, why are you even here?”

“…Hye-Bang.”

“Are we just here to watch Mount Hua be heroes? Should we all wear black robes like them to get things done? Is that what Shaolin has become?”

“Can’t you shut your mouth!”

Justice shouted, unable to listen anymore.

But his voice was weak. He knew that his words wouldn’t have any effect.

Hye-Bang stared at Justice before speaking.

“The Elder told me something before.”

His eyes were colder than ever.

“Following your own path isn’t the only way. A true Buddhist should lead others to enlightenment, even if it means sacrificing himself. Just watching them suffer is wrong.”

Justice closed his mouth.

“Who is sinning now?”

“You, you…”

“Yes.”

Hye-Bang said expressionlessly.

“I will go to the Repentance Cave to reflect on my actions.”

He turned and left without hesitation, as if he couldn’t stand to watch any longer.

“You, you! Stop right now!”

But Hye-Bang didn’t stop. Some Shaolin monks who were watching Hye-Bang turned and looked at Justice with contempt.

Dozens of Shaolin monks, including Hye-Bang, turned away from the Jang River without looking back.

“Th, th…”

Justice watched, embarrassed, and bit his lip.

How could they do this, even if they disagreed with him? How could Shaolin disciples disobey the Abbot’s orders?

As the head of Shaolin’s Disciplinary Hall, he couldn’t allow this.

But…

He clenched his fist but couldn’t stop them. He just closed his eyes.

What could he say?

They were too innocent to understand how to survive in this harsh world. He couldn’t tell them to become corrupt.

He understood both sides. That’s why he couldn’t say anything.

“Abbot.”

Jongli Hyung spoke in a cold voice.

“Are you really going to just watch?”

“Then!”

Justice shouted nervously. It was hard to believe it was his voice.

“If you think so, shouldn’t the Common Faction do something? Can’t the Common Faction make its own decisions without using Shaolin as a shield?”

Jongli Hyung bit his lip.

He nodded slowly, glaring at Justice with a face full of anger and humiliation.

“…I understand the Abbot’s intentions.”

He turned and walked away from Justice.

Justice’s shoulders trembled as he clenched his fists until they bled.

‘Jang Il-So, and… the Mount Hua Sword Master!’

He glared at Plum Blossom Island and the ship on the river.

‘I will never forget this humiliation.’

“Hmm.”

Jang Il-So, watching from a large pleasure boat, smiled quietly.

“The Abbot seems very angry, doesn’t he?”

Ho Gamyung replied, looking mocking.

“He can’t do anything about it. Once someone stops, they always find a reason to justify it. They don’t even realize they are fighting with themselves.”

“You’re right. But…”

Jang Il-So stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“It’s a shame. I wanted him to jump in, even if he was angry. That old badger is too careful.”

“Should we provoke him more?”

“Leave him alone. He doesn’t even know that his caution is hurting him. There’s no need to tell him.”

Jang Il-So sneered and looked at the river.

People who are too confident in their intelligence can’t admit they are wrong. They just think the world doesn’t understand them. They are easier to deal with than fools.

The fact that he couldn’t leave that place will hold Shaolin back for a long time. That alone makes everything that happened on the Jang River worth it.

“Then what’s left now…”

Jang Il-So looked at Plum Blossom Island.

At that moment…

Whoosh!

A black figure flew from a ship that was breaking away from the Waterway Company and heading towards Plum Blossom Island. Like a black meteor, he landed on Plum Blossom Island.

Jang Il-So laughed.

To jump over twenty yards with a single leap…

“He’s unpredictable.”

He stared at the person who had reached Plum Blossom Island with a smile.

It was Chung Myung, running towards the battlefield with his sword.

“Now it’s the climax.”

Jang Il-So narrowed his eyes and licked his lips.

He looked like a snake with prey in front of him.