Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1430. So is this sword a failure? (5)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
“Ugh....”
“....”
"Uuuuugh..."
“....”
"Uuuuugh..."
“Oh, seriously! You’re disgustingly noisy!”
Chung Myung, who was being carried, burst out shouting and slapped Jo-Gol's head in front of him repeatedly.
“What, is carrying one injured person such a big deal? Huh?”
“I- I’m injured too, you bastard!”
“You’re perfectly healthy with all these screams!”
"Uuuuuugh."
Dew formed in Jo-Gol's eyes.
"Why me, why! There are perfectly fine people everywhere!"
"Can't be them. It'd make me uncomfortable. They're already struggling to run at full speed. A person should have a conscience, how could I ride on their backs? Wow, Sahyung, what a personality.”
"Then what about me?! Am I not uncomfortable? Is it fine if I'm exhausted?"
"Yeah."
Jo-Gol's head dropped limply down as he was instantly shot down. Chung Myung chuckled.
"Sahyung can suffer a little. You grew up comfortably.”
“I’ll really die if I suffer more, you punk!”
"Enough! If you have time to flap your mouth, run faster! We're in a hurry now!"
“Ugh.”
Jo-Gol swallowed his tears and rushed forward.
As pissed as he was, it wasn’t wrong. There was no time for complaints or whining right now. Even at this moment, those Myriad Man Manor bastards were probably chasing down the Tang Family people who had fled.
Haven't they already experienced to the bone how persistent and terrible their pursuit is? Now, just thinking about Ho Gamyeong's face was enough to trigger a seizure .
"Eurachaa!"
Jo-Gol kicked off the ground and leapt forward in one go.
“But, Sahyung.”
"What?"
"Are you okay? Sahae Merchant Guild is in Chengdu. How about at least you go to Chengdu?"
“No....”
Jo-Gol's face distorted.
“What kind of bastard Jang Ilso is? If he was going to start something, he would’ve done it already!”
“....”
“And don’t underestimate our merchant guild! Do you think it's easy to make a living through trade across the entire Jungwon? They're people who have overcome crises like this many times!"
“Good for them.”
Chung Myung snickered. In fact, he wasn’t that worried. The information from Beggar Union naturally would have come under the direction of Hong Dae-gwang or Neung Sam. Those two would naturally have included information about Sahae Merchant Guild as well.
The absence of any mention about the merchant guild meant there likely hadn't been any major incidents there. If there had been even a single character mentioning the merchant guild, Chung Myung would have beaten Jo-Gol up if necessary to send him to Chengdu.
Jo-Gol added.
“And if we can’t stop those bastards anyway, no one in Chengdu will be safe. It's not over just by evacuating my family. If we're going to protect, we should protect properly!"
Listening quietly, Chung Myung looked down at Jo-Gol without saying a word. For some reason, the shoulders carrying him seemed much broader.
Just then, Baek Cheon approached Chung Myung.
“Chung Myung-ah.”
"Yeah?"
“It’s not too late, is it?”
At those words, Chung Myung's eyes sank slightly.
To be honest, even Chung Myung didn't know much. If he hadn’t lost consciousness and had kept track of the situation, he could probably calculate roughly how much time they had. But with only what he had just heard, the information was too lacking.
Perhaps the Evil Sects had already caught up with Tang Family, or perhaps there was still plenty of time left.
But either way, what they had to do didn’t change.
"If we're late, should we turn back?"
"Nonsense."
"Right. Then that's settled. Just empty your head and run. Whether we’re late or not, we’ll find out when we get there.”
Baek Cheon nodded. Hearing those words, the noisy thoughts cluttering his mind seemed to clear away completely.
At that moment, Chung Myung, who had been staring intently at Baek Cheon, spoke.
"More than that... Sasuk’s face is quite pale? He looks like he'll collapse?"
“Huh? Sasuk’s face is always pale though?”
“Sahyung, noisy. Just run.”
Baek Cheon glanced at Chung Myung and smiled.
“Who’s worried about whom now? You weakling.”
"...Wow, look at that shitty face."
Chung Myung grumbled but laughed as he turned his gaze away.
“No point trying to stop you anyway. Just hang in there as long as you can. If you can’t, then just collapse.”
"You worry about yourself, you damn bastard."
A bitter smile tugged at Baek Cheon's lips.
'What a ghost-like guy, I swear.'
There was no way Chung Myung’s body was in any normal condition right now. Although Tang Gun-ak had poured everything into healing him, objectively speaking, it was more like barely keeping a corpse alive. Wasn't that what Tang Gun-ak, who treated Chung Myung, had said?
Yet in the midst of all that, to assess the situation, make decisions, and even worry about others...
It was a strange feeling. The situation itself hadn't changed. They were still heading toward Tang Family, and Tang Family was still in crisis. No, if anything, things had grown even more urgent.
Yet despite that, the feeling was distinctly different from before.
Baek Cheon clicked his tongue as he gazed at Chung Myung on Jo-Gol's back.
'I can’t handle him, really.'
Everyone here knows that Chung Myung right now can't even display half of his abilities.
No, even that's an overestimation. Perhaps the current Chung Myung was no different from ordinary commoners who couldn't even swing a sword.
Even so, it gave them confidence. Just the fact that that damn rascal had regained consciousness.
Not only the disciples of Five Swords and Mount Hua, but also the elders of Mount Hua including Hyun Jong and even Tang Gun-ak had his momentum shifted.
They were still in a hurry, but at least they weren't anxious. The deep unease that had wrapped around them had clearly subsided.
"No, run faster! Did you starve? You bastards, I told you to pay that much attention to the lightness art! Just you try being late, you bastards. As soon as I get back, I'll..."
Baek Cheon closes his eyes tightly.
‘If only that damn mouth would shut too.’
Of course, that was an impossible wish.
"So like I was saying, huh? From the start....”
"Now! Let's run faster, more!"
"Yes!"
Baek Cheon quickly cut off Chung Myung's nagging and shouted, prompting both Mount Hua and Tang Family to pick up speed even more.
Chung Myung chuckled faintly and then looked forward. His eyes, unlike before, grew dark and still.
❀ ❀ ❀
Tang Byeok looked back at Tang Wei with worried eyes.
"Elder! A- Are you alright? Please let me carry you!"
No wonder, Tang Wei's face was drenched in sweat pouring down like a waterfall. It looked like he might lose consciousness and collapse at any moment. Yet Tang Wei stubbornly pushed Tang Byeok away.
“Don’t do useless things.”
“B- But....”
“If you have energy to spare, take care of the women and children! I’m fine!”
Tang Byeok stared at Tang Wei with slightly exasperated eyes.
He didn't look fine to anyone. But when Tang Wei came out this way, there was nothing Tang Byeok could do.
"We must go faster! Even now, those Evil Sects bastards will be chasing us. We must reach Shaanxi before they catch up to us."
"Yes!"
Tang Wei swayed unsteadily but shoved away Tang Byeok's outstretched hand and looked behind him. Countless people of Tang Family were following behind him.
"You stupid fools! Shouldn't you be carrying the children yourselves instead of leaving them with their mothers!"
"We- We're already doing that."
“Do the elders have no hands? No backs? Are you saving your strength for the afterlife? Why are you not moving already?”
“U- Understood!”
Tang Wei gasped for breath as he watched Tang Byeok rushing out. When he wiped his face, sweat came off as if he had dipped his hand in water.
But he absolutely cannot stop his feet.
He still believed this choice was wrong. The place where Tang Family people should die is within Tang Family’s lands. Tang Family poisons and Tang Family smithy. These were things that must never be lost.
But now that it has come to this, they must protect what remains. If they failed, they would be nothing but fools who threw everything away with a stupid decision.
At the very least, when facing his ancestors after death, shouldn't he be able to make the excuse that he did his best?
"Huuk! Huuk!"
Tang Wei breathed heavily and desperately moved his trembling legs.
'To Shaanxi....'
Jang Ilso must have already considered Sichuan his own land. And it was difficult to deny that reality now.
But Shanxi was different. Shanxi was still a land that Evil Tyrant Alliance forces couldn’t easily invade. If they could just reach it, they could shake off their pursuers.
The only question was whether they could reach Shaanxi before Evil Tyrant Alliance catches their backs. That was all that mattered.
'More....'
Tang Wei bit his lips and shouted in a hoarse voice.
"We're almost there! Just hold on until Shanxi! Everyone, push forward!"
He didn’t expect any response. It was better to put all their energy into running than to waste it on words.
'How much is left? Three hundred li? Five hundred li?'
If all of these were Tang Family men, they could have quickly broken through that distance. But more than half of those remaining here were children and women who haven't learned martial arts.
The women of Tang Family, even if they were direct descendants, were not taught martial arts. Children who were in the direct succession of the patriarch were taught simple fist martial arts and basic internal strength techniques for self-defense, but that was all.
'The law.'
Yes, that was the law of Tang Family. It has been passed down from generation to generation, and it must never be broken, no matter what happens.
But… if these daughters of Tang Family had learned martial arts like the men… would they have had to go through such a desperate escape?
No, even if that much was unavoidable, would they have had to be in such a hurry while fleeing like this?
The first thing that came to mind was none other than the face of Tang Soso, the daughter of Tang Gun-ak. The child who had rejected the laws of Tang Family and gone to Mount Hua Sect.
When he had heard of her choice, Tang Wei had scoffed and poured scorn upon her. ‘Truly fitting for that Tang Gun-ak’s daughter,’ he had said.
But... the fame she gained as a disciple of Mount Hua Sect echoed across the world, and soon reached Tang Wei’s ears.
What would have happened if that child had not made that choice and had remained in the family?
Perhaps now, she would have been unable to do anything more than support the exhausted women here.
Was she special?
Tang Wei looked at the women of Tang Family with fresh eyes.
Perhaps not. Perhaps all those here could have lived lives like Tang Soso. If that was the case....
“...No.”
But soon Tang Wei shook his head.
The choice of the ancestors wasn’t wrong. The women eventually left Tang Family and became part of other families. If they were taught poison and hidden weapon techniques, the powerful families across the world would eventually become immune to Tang Family’s poison.
Isn't it only natural to avoid such situations?
How could the ancestors have been without concerns? It must have been a conclusion they reached after much deliberation. To judge their choice as wrong simply because circumstances had changed was nothing but the arrogance of later generations.
Yes, what he must do now is protect Tang Family…
“Huh?”
At that moment, Tang Wei's outstretched foot caught on a stone. His aged body wavered for a moment before lurching forward. As he was about to fall, someone tightly grabbed his arm.
“Are you alright, Elder-nim?”
Tang Wei turned his head to look at the person holding his arm.
'Who is it?'
He didn’t know. He recognized the face but didn’t know the name.
There were so many people in Tang Family. He only knew that this person was someone’s daughter.
He felt the hand gripping his arm trembling slightly. It wasn’t from fear but exhaustion. Even though she was so exhausted she could barely stand, she had been watching over Tang Wei and reached out.
“I’m… fine.”
With the force of the strong pull helping him up, Tang Wei steadied his legs again. Letting out a small cough, he stared blankly at Tang Family’s daughter. She had a simple and innocent-looking face.
|Note
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