Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1214. It's as good as it gets (4)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
"Sea route! The sea route sounds good!"
"N- No, wait a moment. First, the land route..."
"Ah, shut up! Just pick one quickly first!"
"Sea route! Let's go by the sea route! Riding a ship has been my lifelong dream!"
"Actually, thorns grow inside my mouth if I don't ride a ship regularly! It's true!"
Everyone was desperate. Because they knew exactly what kind of person Chung Myung was. Especially the disciples of Mount Hua, who knew Chung Myung all too well, felt like their lives were in danger and their neck veins bulging with panic.
But....
"Aah, noisy."
Chung Myung smirked and waved his hand.
"I haven’t decided anything yet, have I? I just thought let's hear it out first. Still, if Nokrim King, who ranks top in the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, brought up such a topic, wouldn't there be a reasonable explanation?"
"You called him an Eevil Sects bastard?"
"You said he should be burned?"
"Didn't you say listening to Evil Sects makes your stomach churn so much you have to take stomach medicine!"
"Me?"
Chung Myung clicked his tongue as he looked at Five Swords.
"To think that Taoists are discriminating against people based on their background—the world will really end soon. Tsk, tsk, tsk."
The Five Swords covered their faces with both hands and hung their heads low. Despair had settled on their shoulders.
Meanwhile, Namgung Dowi, who was still somewhat sane, asked Im Sobyeong.
"Nokrim King. What advantages does the third option have?"
Im Sobyeong snorted the blood in his nose and answered nonchalantly.
"Can't you tell? It's fast."
Namgung Dowi's eyes twitched faintly. He smiled at Im Sobyeong and said,
"Aah, my apologies."
"Huh?"
"I expected too much from Evil Sects yangban. Demanding excessive things that don't match your abilities is also impolite behavior..."
"What?"
This time, Im Sobyeong's face contorted.
"Well, well, the yangban who used to be all stick-in-the-mud seems to have picked up some sarcasm from hanging out with Mount Hua. Growing up well, aren't you?"
"How could that be thanks to Mount Hua? Isn't that thanks to Nokrim King’s personal guidance, rather than Mount Hua?"
"Ah, is that so?"
The two men's gazes collided fiercely in the air.
Tang Pae, who was watching the scene, started pressing his stomach with one hand. Then Tang Soso silently handed him a small paper bag.
"...What’s this?"
"Stomach medicine."
"......"
"I brought plenty so don't worry. We're used to it."
"...Thanks."
Really, it was only his sister who cared... No, wait, that’s not the point!
"Now's not the time for this! Please, let's get things done, the work!"
"Kuhum."
"Humhum."
Im Sobyeong, who greatly cleared his throat at Tang Pae's remark, said,
"Of course, it may sound a bit absurd, but..."
"A bit?"
"Isn't it very absurd?"
"I'm starting to wonder if you're in your right mind?"
"......"
Im Sobyeong was briefly at a loss for words but continued with a disgruntled face.
"But if you examine it one by one, it’s not as absurd as it seems.”
“It still sounds absurd?"
"Maybe your standard for absurdity is different?"
"Is this how Evil Sects do things? Then again, after seeing that bastard Jang Ilso, it’s clear he's not quite right in the head."
Im Sobyeong's cheeks twitched slightly. Those Mount Hua bastards clearly don't even regard him as much as a passing mountain bandit. No matter what, to say that right to the face of Nokrim King...
"Ah, enough with the nonsense, just explain cleanly! Anyway, these Evil Sects bastards are con artists by nature. Whenever you open your mouth, your tongue is long, your tongue!"
However, Im Sobyeong's dissatisfaction vanished like melting snow in front of Chung Myung's irritation. Right, just being by taking care of this guy is enough to prove that the people of Mount Hua deserve recognition as genuine Taoists.
“What? What now?”
"....No."
Im Sobyeong sighed and snapped open his fan. But perhaps because they had already seen all the unsightly sights, the reaction was lukewarm at best.
"The path that pierces through Gangnam by land route certainly requires taking on considerable risk. However, there is enough value in shortening our travel time to take on all those risks."
"Why?"
"Because it reduces danger."
A moment of silence passed. Everyone listening looked at him with sympathy, thinking, 'After all that beating, he ended up injured his head.' Im Sobyeong shook his head and quickly added more context.
"Now! Think carefully! Just think about it the other way around. It's very simple. What's the problem that arises when our travel time gets longer?"
"Hainan becomes more at risk?”
"That’s possible. Hainan is in a time-critical situation right now."
At least Namgung Dowi and Tang Pae offered reasonable opinions, but Im Sobyeong firmly shook his head.
"No, that's a secondary issue. The real problem is that Evil Tyrant Alliance and Ten Great Sects will find out about our absence."
"Ah..."
At those words, Yoon Jong nodded his head greatly as if he realized. Jo-Gol asked quickly, still not understanding.
"What does that mean, Sahyung?"
"Think about it. Whether it's Ten Great Sects or Evil Tyrant Alliance, don’t you think they’re watching the situation in this manor very closely?
"...That's right."
Of course, they wouldn't be able to directly observe the situation. It's realistically impossible for the weaker ones to monitor the stronger. Unless Jang Ilso or the sect leaders directly step forward, they can't fool Chung Myung and spy on the surroundings closely.
But it wouldn’t be too hard for them to guess the situation at the manor by observing those coming and going.
"Among them, what they're most concerned about is that bastard Chung Myung, the sect leaders, and the movements of Sasuk who became the acting sect leader this time. But what would they think if stories about them disappeared overnight as if washed away?"
“…They’ll figure out that we’ve left the manor.”
"That's right."
Tak!
Im Sobyeong struck his hand with the folded fan.
"Exactly. From what I see, it won’t take them more than three days to be certain that we’ve left the manor."
Everyone had no choice but to nod. After thinking about it, it was such an obvious conclusion.
"If that happens, no matter how discreetly we move, we won't be able to hide the fact that we are heading toward Hainan by any route. And what do you think they’ll do then?"
“They’ll send people to track us down.”
"No."
Tak, tak!
The tip of Im Sobyeong's fan lightly tapped the Hainan Island drawn at the bottom of the map.
"There's no need for that. It's enough to just mobilize those who have the spare power and blockade Haenam. Regardless of which path we take, we'll eventually come to Hainan, won't we?"
"Ah..."
"If not that...."
A cruel smile slightly grazed Im Sobyeong's mouth.
“One option would be to erase Hainan before we even arrive.”
For a moment, everyone fell silent. An indescribable tension solemnly lingered. The thought dawned on them that their very movements could hasten Hainan's downfall if they weren’t careful.
“The critical moment is those three days.”
The tip of Im Sobyeong's fan drew a line from Kugang to Hainan once again.
"The distance from here to Gugang is two thousand five hundred li in a straight line. It's an enormous distance, but... for those who are here now, running at a speed that would make horses seem trivial is possible. Even if we only go a hundred li in two hours, if we run for 24 hours a day, then?"
“...That’s 1,200 li.”
“Exactly. Two days would be enough. We could reach Hainan before Evil Tyrant Alliance even realizes we’ve left.”
“W- Wait! Nokrim King!”
Namgung Dowi raised his hand with a perplexed face.
“Isn’t that far too optimistic? First of all, the path to Hainan isn’t a straight path. Moreover, we're in a position where we can't run on the official roads or main roads. If more than ten people dash on the official road at that speed, forget two days, all of Gangnam will know our whereabouts before even two hours pass."
“Of course, we won’t do that. And as long as we're human, it's also impossible to run at the same speed for two days without rest."
"Yes."
“But even taking all of that into account, it remains the same. If it's this many people, even if we use mountain paths out of people's sight and move while being vigilant of the surroundings, it won't take more than five days to reach Heiyan close to Hainan."
"......"
"If that happens, even if they find out about our absence on the third day and send troops to Hainan?"
"...We can arrive at Hainan first."
"Yes, that's right."
Tang Pae responded cautiously to Im Sobyeong's words.
"Wait a minute. If that happens, even if we reach Hainan, won't we just be surrounded along with Hainan?"
"Tsk, tsk. It seems that the esteemed Tang Sogaju lacked understanding of the movement of large-scale troops. Think about it. Consider this: how long did it take for Sichuan Tang Family to reach the Yangtze River after deciding to move?"
Tang Pae, who recalled the past events in his head, slightly reddened his face and answered,
"I think it took ten days."
"It only took that much because it's Sichuan Tang Family who can exert strength with a small number. In order to blockade or annihilate Hainan, it would take an incomparable number of resources compared to what Sichuan Tang Family has brought. It will take at least fifteen days."
"Ah... "
"With that time!"
Tak!
Im Sobyeong struck the map with his fan.
"There will be enough time to persuade Hainan and devise a way to escape before it gets surrounded. Of course, we'll have to see the situation in Hainan though."
Chung Myung, who was quietly listening, chuckled.
"And if things go wrong, it's enough time for you to escape too, right?"
"Well... I won't deny it. I'm not someone with a sense of loyalty to risk my life for those yangbans like you all."
Chung Myung smirked and nodded. It would be even more awkward to hear words of loyalty and chivalry coming out of that man’s mouth.
"It sounds plausible, but would this work? Will they really not know that we're heading to Gangnam?"
Im Sobyeong chuckled at Jo-Gol's question.
“Of course, it is. That's why I requested to have the succession ceremony so grandly like this."
"Huh?"
"Changing the leader of a sect is an extremely crucial matter. Even Jang Ilso is laying low and staying silent to handle the aftermath after swallowing up Evil Tyrant Alliance, isn't he?"
"...That's true."
"No matter how rootless and thoughtless Mount Hua may seem... No, no! That’s what they think! Not me! Please lower your fists!"
"......"
"At any rate, even if they consider Mount Hua as such, they wouldn’t expect the sect leader to send the acting sect leader out immediately after appointing him. Especially not Evil Tyrant Alliance, who can't be certain of what transpired during the conversation with Bangjang."
Everyone nodded.
The people here knew with what thoughts Baek Cheon became the acting sect leader, and also knew what kind of person Baek Cheon was, so they accepted this situation without difficulty.
But from the perspective of Evil Tyrant Alliance, doesn’t it just seem like a situation where a second-class disciple of a certain sect suddenly became the acting sect leader out of the blue?
And such a person leaves the sect not the next day, but that very day, pierces through Gangnam, and heads to Hainan?
‘That's crazy.’
'It's not something a sane person would do.'
'At that point, they should be sent to a physician.'
'But that's what we're doing?'
Im Sobyeong smiled faintly.
"Do you understand now?"
"......"
"They won’t see it coming. Later, when they find out, even Jang Ilso will be muttering to himself, ‘I’ve heard they went crazy, but I never imagined they would be this crazy...’"
"Hey! No, it’s not an insult! Someone, please hold that guy!"
When everyone was somewhat taken in by Im Sobyeong's dazzling rhetoric, Yoon Jong spoke.
"I understand that. But, Nokrim King, is it really possible to pierce through Gangnam without being caught by them? In the territory of those Evil Tyrant Alliance? Doesn't that not make sense?"
At that moment, Im Sobyeong raised a corner of his mouth into a mocking smile.
"You forgot what I said at the beginning."
"Yes?"
"In deciding all these routes, the first consideration is to move to areas where Heavenly Comrade Alliance's position is strong and minimize exposing our whereabouts to them. That's why the places we chose were Zhejiang, Anhui, Sichuan, and Yunnan."
"......That's right."
"So then, what's the problem?"
"Yes?"
For a moment, Yoon Jong blinked without understanding, and Im Sobyeong narrowed his eyes slightly.
"When I said we would pass through Gangnam, where did you think we would pass?"
"Well… through the mountain paths that avoid people’s eyes... Ah!"
Yoon Jong's eyes widened.
In that moment, an overwhelming momentum radiated from Im Sobyeong.
"You all seem to have forgotten, but I am Nokrim King."
"......"
"Whether it is Gangnam or Gangbuk, all the mountains under the heavens are the territory of Nokrim."
At that momentum, everyone looked at Im Sobyeong with a renewed look.
"Let me guide you. Through Gangnam. Under the protection of Nokrim King."
A confident smile spread across the face of Nokrim King, Im Sobyeong.
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