Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“Euk! Euk! Euk! Euk!”

Drops of sweat continued to flow in the wind, and Baek Cheon’s wet hair moved around.

Dressed in a white robe, Baek Cheon ran ahead. With every step, he was firm with determination, and his slightly furrowed eyebrows showed supreme resolve.

“Ah, wait! Wait!”

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At Baek Sang’s desperate cry, Baek Cheon stopped running.

“A-Ah! S-stop a moment!”

“UH?”

Only then did Baek Cheon come to a halt.

As soon as he stopped, Baek Sang and Tang Soso collapsed.

“Huh! Huh! Euk! Euk!”

“Oh my… oh no, I am dying.”

Baek Sang, panting heavily, looked at Baek Cheon with an expression of disbelief.

“No, sahyung! Who are you even chasing?”

“…”

“Since Chung Myung is gone, shouldn’t we just move leisurely on our own? Why are you running like your tail is on fire?”

At those words, Baek Cheon wiped his sweaty forehead with an awkward look.

“This is… I guess it has become a habit.”

Jo Gul and Yoon Jong nodded with equally awkward expressions.

“If I do something slowly, my mind will not be at peace….”

“I am impatient for no reason because I don’t have anything to drag this time… I feel like I need to pull something.”

Baek Sang felt so lost at those words. All he could do was look and ask, ‘What is with these people?’ But at least the three were a little better. Yu Yiseol asked silently, ‘What?’ ‘What is wrong with going fast?’ She tilted her head with a sullen look.

‘No, if this is the case, then there is no point in leaving Chung Myung behind, right?’

If they were going to behave the same regardless of his presence, why separate them?

“I know the situation is urgent, but there is no need to run like we are waiting to die.”

“I know. I know….”

“Uh?”

Baek Cheon looked around anxiously.

“If I go slowly, I feel anxious, and it doesn’t feel safe.”

“…”

“It is because I keep feeling like I need to hurry up and get things done.”

Jo Gul nodded, agreeing with what he said.

“I am so anxious and nervous that I might go insane here. It feels like someone is following me from behind.”

“I feel the same.”

Baek Sang closed his eyes tightly as he watched the three people look around in a nervous breakdown.

‘It isn’t like we have some vengeful spirit following us.’

Even though they left Chung Myung behind, these people were unable to escape from Chung Myung’s shadow.

“But sahyung, if I continue to run like this, then not just me, but even Soso will get sick. Let’s take our time….”

“No!”

At that moment, Baek Sang looked up in surprise at the voice coming from below.

Tang Soso, who had been gasping for air with her head bowed down, raised her head. Looking at those burning flames in her eyes, even a tiger would make a fuss and run while peeing.

“Let us continue like this!”

“B-But! Then you will pass out.”

“If you pass out, then it happens.”

Tang Soso gritted her teeth.

“You think I don’t know?”

“Uh?”

“These days, they are only using me as a member of Medicine Hall and not a swordsman!”

Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong flinched. This was because her knife-like eyes were focused on none other than those two.

“I might be one step behind now, but I know that if this happens, I will turn into a burden later.”

“Soso. We have never thought of you like that. You are our precious….”

“Do you think I care? Keep running! If I cannot run on all fours, I will even crawl my way back. If I don’t do it right, then I will grab your hair from behind and hang on it!”

Baek Cheon closed his mouth and smiled.

Right, this was right.

When was there ever warmth in Mount Hua?

“Ugh!”

Tang Soso put her hands on the ground and, with those trembling arms, lifted herself. It seemed like her eyes would breathe out fire at any moment.

“Let’s go!”

“No, after all, it would be nice to take a little break….”

“There is no need to worry about that, sasuk! I will follow you! Don’t worry about me, let’s go!”

“Ah, no. not you.”

“Uh?”

Tang Soso turned her head to the side.

Baek Sang was sitting with his face down, which seemed to say, ‘I cannot run anymore. Beat me to death if you want, or even eat me.’

Tang Soso looked at him with a face that called him pathetic.

“What! What! I work in the Finance Hall!”

“… uh, that bat-like bastard!”

Baek Cheon sighed as he mumbled. When needed, he worked in the hall, and when things didn’t go his way, he was a proud swordsman of Mount Hua. He was quite a guy, right?

‘I don’t think he was like this before.’

Well, if one thought about it, was there anyone in Mount Hua like this before? Even though everyone changed, this guy changed too much.

Baek Cheon, who was lost in thought, threw a glance at Yoon Jong.

“What are you looking at, sasuk?”

“Nothing…”

In response to Yoon Jong’s question, he shook his head.

“I thought the people left in Mount Hua must be having a hard time.”

Yoon Jong burst into laughter.

“They must be so. Isn’t there no one who can stop him? But still, since the sect leader is there, he wouldn’t try anything bad.”

“He won’t cause a mess, but it is scary to think how angry he will get. Once he grows the horns, he cannot be stopped.”

“Haha. That is right.”

The disciples of Mount Hua, who had been laughing while looking at each other, stopped laughing awkwardly and glanced towards Mount Hua, which couldn’t be seen.

“… let us finish this swiftly and head back.”

“Yes, sasuk.”

“Let’s go!”

“Ah! No! Let us take some rest!”

“Stop acting up and get up now you brat. We don’t have much time left. We are close to Yangtze now.”

“… we have to run an entire day to get there, though?”

“It will take just one day.”

“Uh?”

At that moment, Baek Sang realized.

He hadn’t realized it before, but now that Chung Myung wasn’t here, he felt certain. Chung Myung wasn’t the only problem with Mount Hua.

“Kuak!”

Baek Sang got up and began to run again.

“Euk! Eukkk! Eukk! Ah, I am dying!”

Baek Cheon smiled slightly as he felt Baek Sang’s presence eagerly following behind him despite panting.

“Come on, let us pick up the pace!”

“Ugh…!”

It seemed like there was something akin to a curse coming from behind, but Baek Cheon didn’t care about it.

“It is the Yangtze River.”

“Hmm. Right.”

Baek Cheon, who had barely arrived at the Yangtze, exhaled.

The moment he saw the scenery, the first thing he felt was that the Yangtze River was amazing. This was more so for Mount Hua sect disciples who stayed in Shaanxi and rarely saw any rivers.

Normally, they would have admired this wide river with astonished hearts, but now this river filled them with despair.

‘Do we have to search this place thoroughly?’

They were at a loss.

The Yangtze River is long enough to cross half the central plains, and its width is wide enough to remind one of the sea. They couldn’t search this entire place themselves.

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“Baek Sang.”

“…”

“Baek Sang?”

There came no answer, so Baek Cheon turned his head. What he found wasn’t Baek Sang standing next to him and responding like usual, but Baek Sang trembling on the ground.

“… Are you alright?”

“… If you weren’t my sahyung, you…”

“Uh?”

“Kuak.”

Baek Sang struggled to get up. With a face covered in dirt, he said,

“What?”

“… Where did you say the Ghost Clan disciples went missing?”

Baek Sang turned his head as if asking how he could know.

“Didn’t you hear? It was somewhere around the Yangtze River.”

Clench.

Baek Cheon clenched his fist. Baek Sang quietly added to his words, seeing the anger rising.

“And so… information. Mouths are speaking around us. They said there was an accident near the crossing of Poyang Lake.”

“…”

“Ah, right! It was through the talks. It is also around here that the others went missing.”

“Who said what?”

Baek Cheon unclenched his fist.

Well, Baek Sang, indeed, had to be scolded.

“I dragged you all the way here without giving you a chance to rest. Your head must be spinning now, right? If that is the case, I will give you some time to catch your breath and ask then. Ah, the blood and tears….”

So, Baek Cheon tried to ignore Baek Sang’s mumbling.

“Poyang Lake… Then we have come to the right place.”

Baek Cheon frowned as he looked at the wide waters in front of him.

The Yangtze River was connected to large lakes in many places. And these lakes were the best areas for pirates to operate.

First, since it was a lake, the current wasn’t fast, so boats could not move easily. Also, the area where the water flowed into the lake was several times wider than an ordinary river, and the lake was so wide that it was almost a sea, so chasing down people wasn’t easy either.

“Then we should start by searching around this lake.”

“… Sasuk. Even though it is wide, it is too wide. Can we search such a large area by ourselves?”

“If you keep looking for it without a clue, we won’t be able to make out the rice in porridge, too.”

Baek Cheon nodded at Yoon Jong’s words.

“Yoon Jong.”

“Yes.”

“The Beggars Union has been placed in advance here, so ask for cooperation from the branch here. And check to see if anyone has been injured recently.”

“Yes, Sasuk. I understand.”

“Baek Sang, take Jo Gul with you and ask around through the merchants. This won’t just happen normally. We need to check things around and see if any merchants have been attacked by the bandits recently.”

“… Sahyung.”

“Uh?”

“I will go to the Beggars Union. I cannot work with him.”

Jo Gul protested, feeling that what Baek Sang said was unfair.

“No, sasuk. That is a hurtful thing! I always respect sasuk!”

“You should be glad that this isn’t the time of Confucius. If Confucius had been around to see you, the three major religions of his time would have changed from Buddhism to something else.”

In those words, everyone imagined the same thing. They trembled at the picture of Confucius holding a fan and ruthlessly breaking open Jo Gul’s head.

Such a bizarre sight.

“Well, if that doesn’t work, please send me alone to the Beggars Union. No matter how close we are to the Beggars Union, they are just an intelligence group. Even though they only handled things for us without taking money, it is now time for us to pay a reasonable price. And since it involves money, I will go.”

“Hmmm.”

“And Jo Gul, being the son of a merchant, would be better at inquiring with the merchants….”

“Uh?”

“As if.”

“Not even as a joke.”

Baek Sang quietly looked at Jo Gul in response to the unexpected comment. Before he knew it, Jo Gul had taken a step back and looked at the distant mountains.

‘Take the blame for your actions?’

No, it wasn’t that.

“Fine, let’s do it.”

When Baek Cheon nodded, Jo Gul mumbled and moved to Yoon Jong.

“Then let us say it is Yoon Jong’s task. Samae, take Soso with you and check to see if there are people who know anything about this. In particular, we need to find out if there are new pirates instead of the old ones.”

“Yes.”

As Yu Yiseol answered, Tang Soso went close to her and crossed her arms. Yu Yiseol’s expressionless body tilted to the side.

For normal people, Yu Yiseol was scary to be with, but since there was Tang Soso, things would be handled well.

“Sasuk, then where are you planning to go?”

“I….”

Baek Cheon turned his head towards the Yangtze River.

“I guess I should go out to the river.”

“Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“There will be no harm in experiencing it in advance. Anyway, we are on a time constraint, so move. When getting information, don’t forget to ask about the missing people.”

“Yes, sasuk!”

“Yes, sahyung.”

“Let’s move then.”

When the disciples of Mount Hua all left, Baek Cheon turned to take a slow look around at the Yangtze River.

‘This doesn’t feel right.’

He had an ominous feeling that things were a lot more serious than he expected.

“I need to confirm it.”

Baek Cheon slowly walked towards the river.

Was it because they were all exhausted or because of missing Chung Myung?

None of the Mount Hua disciples who arrived at the Yangtze River noticed that a dark gaze was watching them from afar.

Not one noticed it.