Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1371. I have to make it like that (1)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
"Nnngh."
“....”
"Nnnnnngh."
“....”
"Nnnnnnnnngh."
“Ah, for heaven’s sake!”
In the end, Baek Cheon lost his patience and snapped his head toward Im Sobyeong and shouted.
“If you have something to say, just say it!”
“Can I really?”
“…No, don’t.”
"But I'm about to burst!"
"...I said don't."
Baek Cheon attempted another meaningless attempt to stop him, but Im Sobyeong completely ignored it and continued.
“We can still contact them, right? Let’s just call back the people heading to the village!”
“No....”
“Do you have no pride, Acting Sect Leader? After being chased out like that, you still want to escort those people to Gangbuk?”
“....”
"Grain? Grain? Let's be honest here, will they carry that grain on their backs when they go to Gangbuk? They’ll have to leave it all behind anyway, so why are you so determined to take those ungrateful people all the way to Gangbuk?”
“....”
“Just say the word already! We can turn them back right now before they even get to Hyeongga Village!”
Baek Cheon, who had been silent all along, let out a deep sigh.
“…But there’s such a thing as human decency…”
“Decencyyyyy?”
Finally reaching his limit, Im Sobyeong rolled his eyes back. Baek- Ceon suddenly thought that Nokrim King was really starting to resemble Chung Myung a lot. He also couldn’t help but think that of all things, why does it have to be that part that he picked up?
“Decency? Decency! Well said! Did we violate this duty? Wasn't it those people, not us, who abandoned their human decency?"
Baek Cheon had no rebuttal for that. Though he still believed they should save them, he couldn't win against Nokrim King's logic.
Besides, weren’t Taoists the type to cover up illogical things with grand ideals goodwill? (게다가 애초에 도인들이란 논리로 어쩌지 못하는 부분을 커다란 뜻이니, 선의니 하는 말로 대충 덮어 포장하는 족속이 아니던가?)
"Dojang!"
“Ahem.”
“Dojaaaaang!”
When Baek Cheon still refused to budge despite his urging, Im Sobyeong’s eyes practically burst into flames.
"Really, in all my life, what kind of pushovers..."
Puuk!
“Gyaaaah!”
Im Sobyeong, who had been running, flew forward and fell. Namgung Dowi, who had been running behind, casually picked him up as if nothing had happened.
“Geez, he really never shut up.”
Chung Myung, who had kicked Im Sobyeong, brushed off his hands as if they were dirty.
"Nnnnngh."
Im Sobyeong groaned while clutching the back of his head where he had been struck before snapping his eyes open in anger.
"Why did you hit me! What did I say wrong..."
Puuk!
"Aaaaargh!"
"Has this demonic sect punk lost his mind? How dare you glare like that? Should I poke that eyes of yours?"
“...Chung Myung-ah. You should say that before you poke him.”
"Ah. Right, right."
Baek Cheon let out a long sigh. Not 'right', you rascal...
Chung Myung berated Im Sobyeong, who was clutching his eyes and groaning.
“You really are a bandit at heart, aren’t you!”
"Is that what you're saying because I'm a bandit?"
Im Sobyeong looked around with tears in his eyes. His poked eyes were filled with rage.
"Isn't that what everyone's thinking! Why save those who don't even know gratitude? If we meet them again in Gangbuk, do you really want to awkwardly laugh it off? Do you really want to see that?”
"Shut up!"
Chung Myung smacked Im Sobyeong on the back of the head again, this time with a loud thwack.
“You’re a bandit because you just do whatever you feel like!”
“....”
"What?"
"That's... not wrong, but at least you're not the one who should be saying it, Dojang."
“What, this punk?”
Everyone around nodded in agreement.
“He’s right.”
“That is certainly true.”
“There are times when a bandit speaks more truthfully than a Taoist.”
“But these punks?”
When Chung Myung glared at them, everyone turned their heads in a hurry and pretended to be busy. They just grumbled internally.
‘Is he acting like this because he rested for a few days…?’
'He was pitiful when injured, but at least easier to deal with.'
‘He’s the nicest when he’s asleep.’
Im Sobyeong pressed the corners of his swollen eyes with the edge of a fan and asked.
“No, does that mean Dojang isn’t frustrated at all?"
"Frustrated?"
“Yes! Are you really completely unbothered?"
“…Do you really want to know what’s in my mind?”
"...Huh? Ah, yes."
"If I followed my temper, commoners or whatever, I'd rip their skins..."
“Heyyy! Chung Myung-ah!”
"His mouth, his mouth! Stop! That mouth!"
"Someone shut that bastard's mouth!"
As words that a Taoist should never say flowed from his mouth, Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong desperately rushed to stop him.
Even so, Hye Yeon, who was standing close enough to hear the muffled words, turned pale and repeatedly chanted Buddhist mantras. He had to drive out the demons that had crawled into his mind somehow.
"Want to hear more? I've got plenty more to say."
“…You’re quite the fiery Taoist…”
Even bandits wouldn’t go that far… Im Sobyeong shook his head with a horrified expression.
Chung Myung snorted before speaking.
"But what can we do? At least some among them helped us."
“Couldn’t we have just saved that person?”
“You bandit punk… Did you crawl out of hell or something? Do you think that person would just leave his fellow villagers behind and go Gangbuk alone?”
Im Sobyeong pressed his lips shut. He knew that what Chung Myung said was not wrong.
The person who offered the sack of grain to Heavenly Comrade Alliance had shown at least some sincerity. Naturally, that person deserved to be saved. And if saving that person meant saving the others too… wasn’t that just how it had to be?
"And... I don't care about others, but you shouldn't say such things! By that logic, I should have taken your bandit head first."
A chill ran down Im Sobyeong's spine, and he instinctively rubbed his pale neck with an awkward laugh.
"He- Hehe... But haven't I reformed?"
Chung Myung looked at him with pity.
“That’s what I’m saying.”
"What?"
"Even a murderous bandit can be beaten into reform and become a decent human, so why should we abandon those people to die when they haven't done anything nearly as bad?"
“...No, their wrongdoing..."
“Everyone makes mistakes.”
Chung Myung's gaze drifted toward the distant sky for a moment. Then he muttered as if to himself.
"Right. Everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes mistakes so grave they're hard to even forgive."
Im Sobyeong didn't say anything. He felt like he shouldn’t say anything at that moment.
“Still, people can change when someone understands them."
Just as a few people were about to nod in agreement,
“Right, Dongryong?”
“I knew you’d say that, you bastard!”
Baek Cheon swung his fist in anger. Chung Myung smoothly dodged and cackled.
“What, it’s not just about Sasuk. It’s the same for Namgung too, right?”
"…Can we please let the past stay buried? Honestly, how many people here can proudly discuss their past?"
“Ahem.”
“Ehehem!”
Several people coughed awkwardly as if struck by his words.
Setting aside Mount Hua disciples, Tang Pae once stabbed Chung Myung in the stomach, and Namgung Dowi once acted tough before him only to get hit in the groin and foam at the mouth. And weren’t the words Hye Yeon had spat at Chung Myung during the Murim Competition finals still being talked about to this day?
So they could only cough awkwardly and remain silent at Namgung Dowi's words.
“That’s why I don’t really believe in the saying that the sprout is yellow from the start. Of course, I was a promising sprout from the beginning!”
(H: It means someone shows signs of going bad or being troublesome from an early stage. It's often used to describe someone who shows problematic tendencies or appears likely to turn out badly.)
"...What nonsense."
"You weren't just a yellow sprout, you were black and dead..."
Chung Myung shrugged.
“Even if they resent us, we can save them first and deal with the resentment later.”
“....”
"That's what Grand Sect Leader would say if he were here."
Mount Hua disciples nodded at those words. Hyun Jong would have certainly done so. When in doubt, they only needed to think about what Hyun Jong would have done. That path was never wrong for the disciples of Mount Hua.
Im Sobyeong, who had been listening quietly, spoke up with dissatisfaction.
“No… The words sound nice, but it's my kids who are taking the risk because of this."
“What do I care if a few bandit punks die or not? Ther There are too many of them to handle anyway, right?”
“…Are you even human?”
“Anyway, let’s leave the past behind.”
Chung Myung cut off Im Sobyeong who was about to continue grumbling.
“We don’t have time to worry about that now. They’ll be chasing us soon.”
Baek Cheon nodded in agreement and said.
"Nanjing is closer than expected. Once we descend the mountain, we'll pick up speed, then it'll take at most a day or two."
Tension suddenly spread across everyone's faces.
Neither descending the mountain nor reaching Nanjing in a day or two was news that could be taken lightly.
It meant they had to overcome an even greater mountain and face even greater dangers.
"We chose Nanjing because we believed it to be the least dangerous route, but honestly…”
“It’s uncertain.”
“Yes.”
Baek Cheon nodded solemnly at Im Sobyeong’s words. ‘Uncertain’ was the right word. Right now, the entire Gangnam region was being shaken up because of their movements. Thus, there's no guarantee that the Nanjing they'll soon reach will be the Nanjing they knew.
"Steel your resolve. We will cross the Yangtze River no matter what."
"Yes!"
Everyone responded loudly to Baek Cheon’s words. It was both an answer and a pledge to themselves.
How long did they run like that? Im Sobyeong matched his pace with Chung Myung, who had fallen slightly behind the others running ahead. Unlike earlier when he had been complaining, his expression was now serious, devoid of any trace of laughter.
"Dojang."
"Speak."
“…The pursuit is slower than expected. And… we’re not seeing anyone blocking our path. You know what that means, right?”
Chung Myung nodded silently.
In war, when small attacks cease coming, it only means one thing: the enemy is preparing a powerful, decisive blow to completely crush them.
"By now... Right, that person must have figured out where we're heading."
“It’s not like we thought he wouldn’t know anyway.”
“Yes, that’s true. But...”
The reason Heavenly Comrade Alliance and Hainan Sect are heading to Nanjing isn’t to deceive the enemy’s eyes. Considering time, distance, and the position of each force, Nanjing was simply their most promising battlefield.
“Will he move?”
“Whether he moves or not doesn’t matter.”
“...What?”
"What's important is that someone will move to Nanjing even if he doesn't move personally. That's enough."
Chung Myung's eyes darkened.
'Then Bop Jeong will have no choice but to follow.'
Bop Jeong was someone who hated taking unexpected losses. That much has been made abundantly clear by his actions so far.
Therefore, Bop Jeong had no choice but to follow to Nanjing. He'll want to keep all situations under his watch. Because he wants to somehow block out any variables that might arise from Chung Myung and Jang Ilso.
Not realizing that this itself might be Chung Myung's aim.
"Someone once said."
"Yes?"
“The world eventually moves according to its natural order.”
“....”
“But my thoughts are a little different.”
The corner of Chung Myung's mouth lifted. It was somehow a chilling smile.
Originally, it should have been Ten Great Sects who saved Hainan Sect. So the hardships their group is experiencing now should have been Ten Great Sects's burden.
“If the world doesn’t move according to its natural order, then we have to force it to. So that no one is wronged.”
His cold gaze turned toward the distant north.
Toward Nanjing, the land of chaos where all the forces of the world were gathering.
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