Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 983

“You’ve worked hard, Leader Jang.”

“Hmph.”

Jang Il-So, now on the ship, smiled bitterly. Seeing his face, Ho Ga-Myung looked a little confused and asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Something wrong…? I don’t know, Ga-Myung. Should I call it that?”

“…”

“We were supposed to send back the Black Dragon King, and the fighting has stopped, so I got what I wanted.”

“Then why…?”

“Hmph.” Jang Il-So glanced at Plum Blossom Island and shook his head.

“No,” he said, cutting off the conversation. He looked calm as he ordered, “Tell our soldiers not to hurt those leaving Plum Blossom Island. Let them go peacefully.”

“Yes, Leader Jang.”

Ho Ga-Myung gave the order to his man and then watched Jang Il-So quietly.

“Why?”

“…I know I shouldn’t guess your plans, Leader Jang. But…”

“Tsk, tsk. Don’t talk indirectly, just ask. Why are you being so formal all of a sudden?”

Ho Ga-Myung looked uncertain for a moment.

“It’s true that the Black Dragon King is important. Without him, our side will lose control. It would be good if we could take them over easily, but Hao Mun and the Black Demon Fortress won’t just watch.”

“That’s right.”

“But… still, isn’t it a waste to let them go like this? We could have hurt them at least a little. They were trapped and surrounded on Plum Blossom Island.”

“Hmph, that’s right. You’re right.”

“Then what…”

Jang Il-So spoke calmly, “The reason is simple. First, it helps me more if those guys get back to Gangbuk safely than if they die here.”

“…”

“Second…” Jang Il-So smirked and turned to Ho Ga-Myung. Then, he suddenly asked a question that seemed to have nothing to do with what they were talking about, “What do you think of the Mount Hua Sword Saint?”

As soon as Jang Il-So said ‘Mount Hua Sword Saint,’ Ho Ga-Myung’s face became serious.

‘What do I think?’

What did he expect him to say after watching everything that happened on Plum Blossom Island?

“…He’s a monster.”

“That’s right.”

Jang Il-So nodded quietly. “I doubt he was born like a normal person. I still remember how strong he was before, and in just three years…”

The Mount Hua Sword Saint had defeated the Black Dragon King all by himself.

That meant the Mount Hua Sword Saint should now be known as one of the best fighters in the martial world.

There have been many great fighters in the long history of the martial world, but has anyone ever become this strong so young?

In terms of fighting skill, the Mount Hua Sword Saint was better than anything Ho Ga-Myung could imagine or understand.

“So, he is dangerous. Very dangerous.”

“Yes, dangerous.”

Jang Il-So smiled slightly. “But the Mount Hua Sword Saint isn’t dangerous just because he’s strong.”

Ho Ga-Myung didn’t understand what he meant.

“…What do you mean?”

Jang Il-So turned his head slightly and glanced at Chung Myung, the Mount Hua Sword Saint.

“A strong person is just annoying, not hard to deal with. If you can’t beat them alone, you fight them with two, and if you can’t beat them with two, you attack them with three.”

This was how the Demonic Sect thought. Ho Ga-Myung nodded. Jang Il-So spoke slowly, “Just being strong in fighting isn’t true strength. True strength is knowing how to survive. But the problem is…”

He stopped, narrowing his eyes.

“The Mount Hua Sword Saint knows how to survive.”

“…?”

Jang Il-So’s face seemed to have a strange aura around it.

“Ga-Myung.”

“Yes, Leader Jang.”

“Do you really think the Mount Hua Sword Saint jumped into Plum Blossom Island without any plan?”

“…”

“No. He wouldn’t do that. Someone so clever and careful wouldn’t act without a plan. Even if he started without thinking, he would have finished planning while rushing here.”

“Th, that’s…”

“Here they come.”

Jang Il-So pointed towards the river. Ho Ga-Myung looked that way and his eyes opened wide.

He could see many ships coming.

“Wh, what is that…?”

“Those must be the ships the Mount Hua Sword Saint called for, to escape from Plum Blossom Island.”

“But didn’t we order our soldiers to take all the ships nearby?”

“That’s right. But there’s one guy who is good enough to get this many ships even with that in the way, isn’t there?”

“…?”

Jang Il-So smirked. “The guy who sticks to the Orthodox Sect like a bat, but hasn’t shown himself yet.”

Ho Ga-Myung bit his lip.

“…Im So-Byung.”

“That’s him.”

Jang Il-So chuckled. But Ho Ga-Myung’s face turned pale.

So, the Mount Hua Sword Saint had prepared ships through the Green Forest King, Im So-Byung, while rushing here to save Namgoong? To escape safely from Plum Blossom Island?

“But the fighting at sea…”

“There’s no need to fight at sea. Even if we only scatter a few ships, those guys can cross over by using the ships like they’re pieces of wood.”

“…”

Cold sweat ran down Ho Ga-Myung’s back.

The people gathered on this Jang River were all famous fighters. But how many of them had realized that so much planning was hidden behind this battle?

“Th, then?”

Ho Ga-Myung’s face turned pale as if he had just understood something.

“Leader Jang, you went into Plum Blossom Island alone, even though you thought Im So-Byung was bringing ships?”

“That’s right. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Ah, no…”

“It’s the same anyway. No matter how good that guy is, he can’t know exactly when the ships will arrive. I can’t depend on ships that might not even come.”

Ho Ga-Myung sighed as he watched the ships cutting through the water.

The more he heard, the more scared he became.

But what was even stranger was… Jang Il-So, who had almost been killed, was smiling happily.

“Do you understand now? Why I’m letting them go?”

“Yes, Leader Jang.”

Having prepared the ships, they would have been able to escape from the island even if they were hurt. If that had happened, the Black Dragon King would have certainly died.

“This is bad,” Jang Il-So said, looking out at the retreating ship. “Letting the Black Dragon King go is a loss for us.”

He sighed. “It would have been better to capture him and send him away quietly.”

“…Lord.”

“Hmm.”

Jang Il-So looked at Plum Blossom Island again, a small smile forming.

“Ga-myeong,” Jang Il-So called out.

“Yes, Lord,” Ga-myeong replied, stepping forward.

“Things have gone as I planned,” Jang Il-So continued. “We should give them a parting gift.”

“I will.”

Jang Il-So waved his hand, as if annoyed, and walked slowly towards the front of the ship. The river wind blew against him as he looked out at Plum Blossom Island, his eyes calm.

“In this world, if you gain something, you also lose something,” he murmured.

His lips curved slightly.

“Do you know what you have lost now?” Jang Il-So murmured. But it doesn’t matter if you know or not.

—

Meanwhile, on the escaping ship…

“He’s coming quickly, that useless human!” Cheong-Myeong watched the approaching fleet, gnashing his teeth. If he had arrived just a moment earlier, he could have lopped off Jang Il-So’s head.

“Tsk.”

Plum Blossom Island was now quite distant. The bandits there were merely watching them escape.

With the Black Dragon King as Hwasan’s hostage, and Jang Il-So having spoken, they had no choice.

At that moment, Namgung Dowook approached Cheong-Myeong, staggering.

“Elder.”

“Hmm?” Cheong-Myeong turned his head.

Namgung Dowook walked unsteadily in front of Cheong-Myeong and took a long, deep breath. Then, he bowed deeply, a bow of pure gratitude.

This was the courtesy shown by Namgung Dowook, the human being, not the young lord of the Namgung family.

“Thank you… Thank you so much,” Namgung Dowook said, his voice thick with emotion.

Cheong-Myeong stared blankly at Namgung Dowook, his face expressionless.

The Five Swords, a little distance away, began to whisper.

“Why is he acting like that?” One of them asked.

“Leave him alone. How often has he heard ‘thank you’ in his life? He’s probably heard ‘you’re awful’ more often than he eats.”

“Those bastards?” Cheong-Myeong thought.

Just as Cheong-Myeong was about to glare at them, Namgung Dowook raised his head.

“Thanks to the Elder’s intervention, Namgung will be able to continue its name. I don’t know how to repay this grace…”

“The grace can wait,” Cheong-Myeong said.

“…Yes?”

“What you shouldn’t forget first is the grudge.”

Cheong-Myeong glanced to the side, where the unconscious Black Dragon King lay.

“How about it, even now? There’s no need to keep a promise with a Demonic Sect bastard, right?” He meant, would he kill the Black Dragon King?

But Namgung Dowook shook his head without hesitation.

“No.”

“Hoo?” Cheong-Myeong raised an eyebrow.

Namgung Dowook’s eyes did not waver. “Killing the Black Dragon King like this is not revenge for Namgung. It would only be an outlet for my anger. Someday, I will defeat the Black Dragon King with my own strength and honor the souls of the dead.”

Cheong-Myeong nodded, satisfied. Namgung Dowook added, “My father would want that too.”

When Namgung Hwang was mentioned, the ship fell silent.

Cheong-Myeong patted Namgung Dowook’s shoulder. “Yes. He would.”

Namgung Dowook bit his lip.

“Cheong-Myeong!”

“Huh?”

“A ship is approaching.”

“What?”

Cheong-Myeong ran to the other side of the deck.

The ship approaching them was a small rowboat with only one person. It was the boat Jang Il-So had been on earlier.

“…What is it?” Cheong-Myeong wondered.

Jang Il-So was not on the boat. It was someone who had been by Jang Il-So’s side.

When the rowboat was close, a loud voice was heard. “Hwasan Sword Saint!”

Cheong-Myeong narrowed his eyes.

“This is a gift from the Lord.”

The person on the boat grabbed a large coffin.

‘A coffin?’ Cheong-Myeong thought.

The large coffin flew onto the ship.

Thud!

Cheong-Myeong silently caught the coffin.

The boat turned around and left.

A strange silence fell on the ship.

Cheong-Myeong carefully placed the coffin down and looked at Namgung Dowook. Namgung Dowook slowly opened the coffin with trembling hands.

“Lord!”

“Kheu-heu-heuk! Lord!”

“Aaaargh!”

The swordsmen of the Namgung family burst into tears.

Inside the coffin was Namgung Hwang’s terribly disfigured body. His face was bruised and swollen, and his clothes were torn and stained.

“Father! Father! Kheu-heuk…” Namgung Dowook cried, clutching the corpse.

He had thought his father would be lost in the river. The thought of leaving without recovering the body had torn his heart apart.

But Namgung Hwang’s body had returned in a coffin.

Cheong-Myeong watched Namgung Dowook and the Namgung family members wailing, his eyes dark. He turned his gaze towards the ship in the distance.

‘That damned bastard,’ he thought.

He would never understand Jang Il-So. They would always be enemies.

But…

“He does something human once in a while,” Cheong-Myeong muttered, turning away.

On the ship heading towards Gangbuk, a sorrowful wail continued.