Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1420. Even if it's meaningless (4)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
“...What did you just say?”
“I- I’ll report again!”
The prostrated man shouted with a pale face.
" Evil Tyrant Alliance's Ryeonju Jang Ilso has burned Qingcheng and Emei with the full military force! The next target appears to be Tang Family!"
“Ja- Jang Ilso?”
The color drained from the face of the general chief of Sichuan Tang Family, Tang Sangsu, in an instant.
"W- Why has Paegun suddenly appeared in Sichuan!"
No answer came to his furious question. Everyone knew it was a question that wasn't truly a question.
“W- Where are they now!”
“According to information from Beggar Union, they’re currently at Mount Emei! We've dispatched scouts, and precise information should arrive soon!"
Tang Sangsu barely managed to hold up his knees which threatened to give way.
‘What am I supposed to do?’
He was the general chief of Sichuan Tang Family. With the patriarch and heir absent, the responsibility of protecting the remaining family members and the assets of Tang Family rested entirely on him.
But now, the weight of that responsibility felt unbearable.
Evil Tyrant Alliance, and Jang Ilso. These were not opponents a mere general chief could possibly confront.
“Has there been any word from the Patriarch? Did Beggar Union relay any message from him!”
"Th- There was no such message..."
Tang Sangsu's fingertips trembled.
The distance from Emei here was certainly not close. But if the opponents were Evil Tyrant Alliance, they could arrive in barely half a day.
'We must flee!'
The thought flashed through his mind with terrifying clarity.
There are no individuals here now who could be called a fighting force. Most of Tang Family’s martial artists had already been led east to the Yangtze River by the patriarch.
Of course, there are some who could fight, but there was no way the remaining ones could stand against Evil Tyrant Alliance and protect Tang Family.
How could those remaining here possibly handle Evil Tyrant Alliance, which had reduced even Qingcheng and Emei to ashes while they were at full strength?
“Inform all the family members immediately! They must abandon the manor and run away....”
“General Chief.”
At that moment, a calm voice called out to him.
Tang Sangsu turned toward the source of the sound and flinched momentarily.
The cold-eyed elder who had not been here moments ago was now suddenly present, staring directly at him.
Tang Sangsu bowed his head.
"Greetings, Elder-nim."
Cold sweat began to bead on his skin.
This was not an enemy. How can he call the elders of Tang Family enemies? But they weren't on particularly good terms either.
'T- The Council of Elders...'
The elders had been completely pushed out in power struggles with the patriarch, losing their influence within the family. And now, one of those elders had abruptly appeared.
“I’ve heard the situation.”
“Yes? Ah.... Yes! Elder-nim. We must flee at once! If we delay....”
"Compose yourself."
“...Yes?”
The confused Tang Sangsu blinked. Tang Byeok (당벽(當闢)), an elder of Tang Family, clicked his tongue and looked at him sharply.
"Can you bear the responsibility, General Chief?"
Tang Sangsu stared blankly at Tang Byeok. Responsibility? Was this really the time to talk about responsibility?
“What does that....”
"Although Gaju entrusted the family affairs to General Chief, that arrangement surely didn't anticipate a situation like this. Isn't that right?"
"...T- That is true, but..."
It wasn’t a wrong statement.
If Tang Gun-ak had even the slightest idea that something like this could happen, he would never have delegated all authority to the general chief, Tang Sangsu. At the very least, he would have left behind Sogaju Tang Pae to prepare for the situation.
Tang Byeok's cold eyes bore into him as he pressed on.
"If you understand, then pass that authority to someone appropriate. The current situation is beyond what a general chief can handle."
Tang Sangsu swallowed nervously.
"I- I understand what you're saying. I certainly acknowledge that the current situation is overwhelming for me. But Elder-nim, when you say 'someone capable,' are you suggesting there's someone in the family capable of handling this situation?"
"Indeed."
"And who might that be..."
Tang Byeok frowned.
“You’re being needlessly suspicious. I’m not referring to myself, of course. It is difficult for someone like me. At a time like this, who but the former head of the Council of Elders could decide the fate of Tang Family?”
Tang Sangsu's expression shifted rapidly through several emotions in an instant.
The head of the Council of Elders, Tang Wei.
No, the former head of the Council of Elders, Tang Wei. Since the Council was now disbanded, he could no longer use the title, but in the past, he had wielded as much influence within the family as even the patriarch... no, perhaps even more.
Had he not been completely stripped of power after his defeat in the martial arts duel with Chung Myung, he would still be controlling the family.
"B- But the Council Head was stripped of all positions..."
"Are you discussing such matters at a time like this?"
“....”
“Then? Does General Chief prepared to bear full responsibility for whatever happens? Even if your mistakes plunge Sichuan Tang Family into irreversible ruin?"
The General Chief's hands were trembling.
He couldn't handle it. It was too great a burden for Tang Sangsu, who was maintaining the position of general chief only by virtue of being from the main family line.
“What will you do?”
But passing the decision-making authority to Tang Wei was also unthinkable. Wasn't Tang Wei originally a criminal of Tang Family who had been stripped of all authority and imprisoned on Tang Gun-ak's orders? How could such a person be given this weighty authority again?
“General Chief!”
“....”
"Whether the one wielding the sword is correct is a secondary issue. What matters is whether they have the strength to wield it. Does General Chief have the courage to wield the sword called Tang Family’s fate?”
Tang Sangsu’s shoulders trembled finely.
"The courage you must show now is recognizing your own inadequacy and stepping aside. Do not commit further sins against the family!"
"...The Council Head..."
Finally, Dang Sangsu's head dropped helplessly.
"I will meet the Council Head."
Only then did Tang Byeok nod with a resolute face.
"That's how it should be."
Tang Sangsu tightly closed his eyes with a heavy heart. Forcibly ignoring his tumultuous heart that could neither do this nor that.
‘This is for Tang Family.’
Everything was just for Tang Family.
"Hmm."
Thus, in the depths of Tang Family's quarter.
The old man seated on the bed in the room gazed at those before him with a peculiar look.
Tang Sangsu swallowed hard.
Now that he thought about it, it was strange. The man before him was nothing more than a powerless old man who had long lost his martial arts. As someone who had at least steadily cultivated his own martial prowess, Tang Sangsu should have no reason to feel fear.
Especially since this old man had been imprisoned for his crimes and was only permitted to live in a back room at the patriarch's mercy.
But Tang Sangsu could not bring himself to meet the old man’s eyes.
This is because the great power and ability that the former Council Head \ had in the past, as well as the cunning mind he employed to control even the world-renowned Tang Gun-ak, still linger vividly in Tang Sangsu’s memory and pressure him.
Tang Sangsu raised his head slightly only to lower his gaze again.
‘What kind of eyes are those...?’
Generally, martial artists who lose their martial arts become crippled, or at least lose their past momentum.
But Tang Wei's gaze seemed no less than in his formidable days of the past. If anything, it was even sharper now.
“So....”
“Yes, Council Head-nim.”
Tang Wei’s wrinkled face twitched slightly.
“I am no longer the Elder Head, address me as Grand Elder.”
“...Yes, Grand Elder. Right now, Jang Ilso of Evil Tyrant Alliance is about to storm into Tang Family with his forces. We must quickly lead our people and escape..."
“Tsk, tsk.”
A soft tongue-click escaped Tang Wei's mouth. Tang Sangsu instinctively shrank back and was unable to continue.
"Abandoning the family... Do you even understand what that would mean?"
“...Yes?”
“Tang Family does not abandon its home. We would rather accept annihilation than turn our backs."
"B- But it's impossible for us alone to handle them!"
“And why would that be impossible?”
Tang Sangsu suddenly raised his head.
The absurdity of the question made him wonder if Tang Wei was being deliberately obstinate out of sheer stubbornness.
But the old man’s eyes remained calm and razor-sharp.
"What? Do you think this old man has gone senile?"
"Tha- That's not it..."
"General Chief. Do you know why Tang Family does not retreat?"
"Because... we are Tang Family?"
“What a childish nonsense. You’re wrong.”
"Huh?"
Tang Wei said calmly.
"Tang Family does not retreat because retreating would mean the end of everything. Literally."
“....”
"Other sects can rebuild their foundations so long as their people survive and their martial arts remain intact. Given enough time, they may even surpass their former glory. But we cannot. Do you know why?"
Tang Sangsu tried to answer that he didn't know, but he couldn't.
Because the moment he heard that question, the reason flashed through his mind.
“Whi- White Furnace....” (백로(白爐))
“That’s right.”
A cold sweat trickled down his spine.
The only furnace Tang Family has was White Furnace (백로(白爐)). Within it lies the culmination of all the techniques Tang Family has developed over hundreds of years.
This means... if the White Furnace is ever destroyed, there's no way to recreate it, no matter what.
"Do you understand what it would mean to lose the White Furnace?"
“....”
Without that White Furnace, the most excellent hidden weapons that have been created by concentrating all of Tang Family's craftmanship would be impossible to produce.
“And it’s not just White Furnace. Even recreating Blue Furnace (청로(靑爐)) is no easy task.”
Tang Wei paused for a moment and shook his head.
“And compared to what truly matters, even the White Furnace is a small piece. Our abandonment of this place means Tang Family's Poison Vault (독고(毒庫)) is burning. Every poison painstakingly crafted since the founding of our family, every rare toxin gathered across the realm at the cost of blood and sweat. Reduced to ashes. Do you grasp the magnitude of that?"
They cannot stand up again.
If the people survive, the name Sichuan Tang Family might remain. But that family would never again be Tang Family of old.
How could a Tang Family without poisons and hidden weapons be a Tang Family?
All the martial artists survive? What meaning would that have? When there are no hidden weapons to throw, no poisons to spread.
Who would fear Tang Family martial artists who can use neither poisons nor hidden weapons?
Martial art accumulates in a person's body and do not disappear. Secret manuals can be rewritten anytime as long as they remain in one's memory.
But once poisons burn, they are gone forever. The precious poison that has been accumulated all over the world cannot be recovered simply by making an effort.
It might take Tang Family centuries to restore what they had now.
No, perhaps they would never reach the same heights again..
Looking at Tang Sangsu's bewildered expression, Tang Wei clicked his tongue.
"Do you understand now? Why we cannot retreat. Why our ancestors never retreated. Why they would rather die than abandon this land."
"B- But, Grand Elder... In the past, we clearly fled from Heavenly Demon..."
“Magyo never cared for pavilions and buildings. It was rather strange that they burned Mount Hua at all. But... do you think Paegun would leave an abandoned Tang Family alone?"
...That couldn't be. Jang Ilso would thoroughly destroy this place, ensuring Tang Family could never again spread its name under heaven.
“Do you understand? Our ancestors knew this, and that’s why they made our Sichuan Tang Family into the world’s greatest impenetrable fortress. Setting traps and arranging formations so that no outsider would dare invade! All because they knew that the moment we retreat, Tang Family ends."
Tang Sangsu bit down hard on his lip.
“And now you want to end Tang Family name here just to save a handful of lives? Is that something a man who carries the Tang name can say?”
A cold killing intent poured from Tang Wei's eyes as he glared at Tang Sangsu.
Before that reproachful gaze, all Tang Sangsu could do was remain silent.
“Gather the family members.”
"Grand Elder..."
"Gather every single person who bears the Tang surname without leaving a single one behind. No matter who the enemy is, the Tang family does not back down. We will fight to the last man, to the last tile that burns. And of course…”
The outsider slowly rose from his seat.
“That includes me."
Those words struck Tang Sangsu like a nail through the heart. Even an old man who had lost his martial arts was prepared to die, how could he dare to discuss retreat?
Tang Sangsu clenched his fist and finally nodded.
“I will gather the families.”
"Hurry."
"Yes."
Tang Sangsu bit down on his lip once again.
Yes. This is all for Tang Family, so it cannot possibly be wrong.
...Never.
|Note
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