71 Chapter 959: Where is Mount Hua? (Part 3)

Thud! Thud!

The disciples of Mount Hua who had placed the carts in front of the manor all fell forward.

"Ugh..."

"It's over..."

"At last... at last, damn it..."

It was a sight deserving of applause. After shuttling back and forth between Guangzhou and Wuhan several times a day, they had finally succeeded in moving all the refugees hoping to relocate to Sichuan to this manor.

"We can't do this again. Never again."

"I agree."

Mount Hua's disciples shivered.

Of course, someone might wonder why it was so difficult for well-trained martial artists to make a round trip between Wuhan and Guangzhou.

It wouldn't have been so hard if there hadn't been a devil prodding them from behind, urging them to speed up.

"Tsk!"

The devil jumped down from the cart where it had been seated atop the luggage and looked around with an unsatisfied expression.

"...What's so hard about it? Tsk."

"..."

"I think we can go one more time."

"It's over, you bastard!"

"The villages have been emptied!"

"Even the dogs in the village were brought along! What more do you want to move from here?"

"Kill him! Just kill him!"

As Mount Hua's disciples frothed at the mouth and ranted, Chung Myung smacked his lips in disappointment.

If there was a little more to move, he would probably try to roll these unlucky souls one more time. Unfortunately, even for Chung Myung, there was nothing left to move.

At that moment, Hyun Jong got off the cart and looked at his disciples with an embarrassed expression.

"You've all worked hard."

"No, Sect Leader!"

"It's something we should naturally do!"

The fallen disciples stood up and replied. Seeing this, Chung Myung's jowls puffed up in disappointment.

"Wow, I see how everyone discriminates against people."

"Like you don't discriminate!"

"Of course, we should discriminate!"

"That crazy bastard even dared to ask for the same treatment as Sect Leader now!"

"That upstart!"

Chung Myung tilted his head in annoyance as he listened to the complaints pouring out.

'I'll have to do some pounding again.'

The creatures were obedient when they were sealed in and pounded on in full swing, but after drinking some water(?) from outside, they slowly started to crawl back up again. In times like this, you had to stick a needle into the swollen liver and pop it open.

"Hyun Young."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

"Is everything really finished?"

In response to Hyun Jong's question, Hyun Young took out the records and handed them over for confirmation.

"Yes, Sect Leader. Everyone has completed their preparations for the relocation without missing a single person. All the peasants who wanted to go with us have crossed over to Wuhan, and I've checked the remaining ones again. There's nothing more to do."

"Hmm, I see."

Hyun Jong's expression was not particularly bright. Mount Hua had done its best and had done everything it could, but despite that, the number of people who still wanted to stay near the Yangtze River was remarkably high. So he couldn't be entirely happy just because he had finished his tasks.

However, in front of the disciples who had worked hard until now, he couldn't show such dissatisfaction. Hyun Jong smiled warmly and nodded.

"You've all worked hard. Let's take a good rest for a while."

"Yes, Sect Leader!"

"Thank you!"

The disciples' eyes became teary at the warmth of his gratitude.

But Chung Myung, on the other hand, seemed to be dissatisfied with Hyun Jong giving the disciples a break and grumbled endlessly.

"No, resting because of what... I haven't trained during this time, but I've been doing all the chores. The sword is rusting! When the sword loses its edge at times like this, you should train so that it won't get dull later."

"Ahaha!"

Hyun Jong laughed heartily, brushing aside his grumbling.

Chung Myung couldn't continue complaining to the Sect Leader. So, he started to glare at the disciples who kept glancing at Hyun Jong.

When they noticed Chung Myung's intense gaze, the disciples of Mount Hua trembled with fear.

'Hey, look over here.'

'Look at that glare.'

'That bastard. Oh my, ancestors. That punk is poking around.' [?lol]

Chung Myung, who was eyeing Mount Hua's disciples like a snake hunting its prey, was pulled aside by Hyun Jong.

"You should go in and rest for a bit."

"Ugh."

Chung Myung made a sound of disappointment as if he couldn't let go of his lingering regrets. Then, Tang Gunak, who had come out of the manor, smiled broadly as he watched the familiar sight of Mount Hua.

"You've all worked hard, Sect Leader."

"No, it's not that... hard work..."

Hyun Jong glanced briefly at his disciples, who were all worn out, then covered his mouth and coughed lightly. Looking at them in this state, there was no room for saying that their efforts weren't hard.

When Tang Gunak looked at Mount Hua's disciples, or more precisely, at Chung Myung and the Five Swords, he asked.

"So, are you thinking of returning to Shaanxi now?"

"Well, I don't know."

Hyun Jong let out a small sigh with a slightly troubled expression. Weren't they here in the first place because they had received a request for assistance from the Tang Family? Their job here was now done.

But going back to Shaanxi was not an easy decision.

"I'm still a bit worried about the people who are staying by the Yangtze River."

"Sect Leader."

Tang Gunak nodded.

"How can I not understand Sect Leader's feelings? But... as Sect Leader knows as well, if we end up fighting to save them, we will inevitably end up entangled in the Yangtze River's affairs."

"Hmm."

"Isn't that what we had in mind all along?"

"Yes. I agree, but..."

Hyun Jong looked briefly in another direction. At the end of his gaze, he saw the southern direction, where Chung Myung's back was turned. Lately, Chung Myung had been gazing at the Yangtze River more frequently.

"He must be feeling conflicted."

There were moments when a person's heart and head moved in opposite directions. Probably, Chung Myung was currently caught in such a situation. In times like this, he should pull himself together. What Chung Myung said, not getting involved in the Yangtze River's matters, was right; there was no contradiction.

"...It seems that we should return."

"Yes, Sect Leader. The Tang Family plans to lead the people to Sacheon."

"That would be the right thing to do."

Hyun Jong nodded silently. In the end, it was only fitting. After all, there was no way to face Shaolin and Cheokjin [?idk] again. 

"After taking some rest and regrouping, we will head to Sichuan."

"Yes, that would be best."

Tang Gunak smiled broadly. Originally, it was the Tang Family that had more reservations, but now, as they prepared to lead the group from Tang to Sichuan, it seemed their reservations had diminished significantly.

While there was undoubtedly some regret, it was incomparable to just letting go and leaving. 

"Yes. Well..."

Hyun Jong was about to call his disciples to head back to the manor when something happened.

"Hmm?"

Tang Gunak's head turned to one side. He had sensed the approaching group before they arrived. 

'Martial artists?'

From their speed and momentum, it was clear that these were no ordinary individuals. Hyun Jong and Mount Hua's disciples had noticed their approach and stood up to look in that direction.

And then, someone appeared with a crackling sound, parting the dense underbrush. The moment Tang Gunak saw his face, he couldn't hide his astonishment.

"...Isn't that Elder Jao?"

The figure who revealed himself at the front was undoubtedly Elder Jao Gae, the elder of the Beggar's Sect. While they hadn't had much interaction, there was no way the master of the Tang Family wouldn't recognize the elder of the Beggar's Sect.

'How... did you end up here?'

His appearance was unusual, to say the least. The rags on him were almost like the symbol of the Beggar's Union. However, what was even more peculiar was the fact that Jaogae, along with the other members of Mount Hua, only wore pants and didn't have tops.

"Hooook! Hooook!"

Jaogae wiped the sweat streaming down his face with one hand.

"...Lord."

Then, he cast a glance toward Hyun Jong, who stood beside Tang Gunak.

"Sect Leader."

Hyun Jong opened his mouth with a somewhat stern expression.

"...We've brought someone who wished to meet you."

"Is that so?"

As soon as those words left Jaogae's mouth, a man, drenched in sweat, laboriously descended from the back of one of the bare-chested members of the Beggar's sect. He had no strength left to support himself and used his sword as a makeshift cane.

Upon seeing him, everyone present gasped. Describing his appearance as pitiful would be an understatement.

His clothes were soaked and stained entirely with crimson blood. His body, visible through the torn parts of his clothing, bore gruesome scars. His hair was disheveled, flowing down in a tangled mess, and his lips, once a healthy color, were now parched and cracked, twisted in different directions.

Initially, nobody recognized him, given the chaotic state he was in, making it difficult to connect this ragged figure with his usual glamorous and immaculate appearance.

However, after staring at his somewhat familiar face for a while, someone among them inhaled sharply and whispered as if moaning,

"Nam... Gung..."

Those who heard this gasped in astonishment. 

"Nam Gung... Do Wi..."

Everyone in the room turned their shocked gazes toward him.

No one questioned why Nam Gung Do Wi, who was supposed to be on Plum Blossom Island, was here. They could only look at the wounded man with his familiar but now disheveled appearance.

Thud.

At that moment, Nam Gung Dowi managed to take one unsteady step.

Thud.

Another step.

Before he could even take two steps, a Mount Hua Sect member unconsciously tried to support him, but quickly withdrew, understanding that helping him was what Namgung Dowi wanted.

Chik. Chik.

The sword, which had become a symbol of his life, relentlessly struck the ground, but no one dared to intervene.

Everyone in the room could tell how much pain Namgung Dowi was enduring just to lift that one foot.

Thud. Thud.

The continuous and unrelenting steps eventually stopped in front of someone.

In the silence, the eyes of Namgung Dowi and Chung Myung met. Namgung Dowi's eyes, restless and seemingly yearning for something, met Chung Myung's eyes, unwavering and firm.

"…Dojang."

His voice quivered.

Namgung Dowi knelt down as if collapsing on the spot. Initially, the Mount Hua disciples, who had rushed forward, stopped in their tracks, thinking he had lost consciousness.

Namgung Dowi, on his knees, looked up at Chung Myung, and then, slowly, he lowered his head to the ground.

His cracked voice, which seemed to shatter with each word, came out of his mouth.

"Help…"

The room fell into an oppressive silence. Baek Cheon, Yu Iseol, Yoon Jong, Jo Gol, Tang Soso, Hyun Jong, the elders, and even Un Geom, as well as the other disciples of the Mount Hua Sect, all closed their eyes. Witnessing that sight was too painful.

"Namgung…"

A voice, as if scraping metal, continued.

It wasn't a cry or a scream. To some, it may have seemed almost cold and composed, but the voice clearly conveyed an urgent plea.

"Namgung… Please help."

Namgung Dowi, with his bowed head, clenched the dirt on the ground as if scratching it.

"…Please."

After quietly watching Namgung Dowi, Chung Myung, the only one who had kept his gaze steady on the struggling figure, eventually turned his head.

The darkest part of the night sky, still devoid of the first light of dawn, filled his vision.

"Damn it..."

A deep sigh escaped Chung Myung lips.