Novel Return of Mount Hua Sect Chapter 1083
Paaaaaaat.
Mount Hua’s disciples rushed out like the wind. At the same time, they kept glancing at the child in Tang Soso’s arms.
“…Is the child okay?”
“The child is fine.”
“…Are you sure?”
“I said the child is fine!”
“Are you sure….”
“This man?”
When Tang Soso, who had been patient all along, finally snapped and her eyes blazing, Baek Cheon flinched.
“N- No. I was just worried…”
Tang Soso shook her head as she looked at Baek Cheon, who was acting unusually foolish.
“The child is fine. They’re just exhausted. It’s the woman who’s the real concern.”
At those words, everyone’s eyes turned again. To the woman being carried on Yoo Iseol’s back.
“If we had found her even a little later, it would have been irreversible.”
“Ah….”
Everyone shuddered at her words.
If they had just left Hangzhou, the woman and child would have remained buried in the rubble and lost their lives. She wouldn’t have been able to get out of there alone in this exhausted state.
“They won’t die, right…?”
“No, don’t jinx it!”
“Keep your mouth shut, Siju!”
“Stop it, I swear!”
“…Sorry, but which bastard was that last one?”
As Baek Cheon glared, Jo-Gol turned his head away sheepishly. Baek Cheon gritted his teeth, but held back because he didn’t have time to waste hitting Jo-Gol(?).
First of all, they needed to move the mother and child to a safe place as quickly as possible.
“What about the Yangtze River?”
Im Sobyeong, who was following behind, answered in a slightly urgent voice.
“If we run Gangbuk, it will take a full day.”
Baek Cheon’s gaze then turned to the woman carrying Yoo Iseol. Since the physician Tang Soso said it was okay, they shouldn’t have any problems right away, but he was anxious.
Perhaps the urgency he felt wasn’t entirely rational. He may be impatient that they should never lose what they had painstakingly rescued from the horrors of Hangzhou.
But Baek Cheon knows. That sometimes, there are things more important than rationality. The impatience they felt was not misplaced.
“Sasuk!”
“Yes, let’s increase our speed.”
“Wa- Wait a minute! Dojang-nim! Faster from here?”
Im Sobyong shouted with a face that seemed to say, ‘Hey, you madman! Are you seriously suggesting this with a sane mind?’ but instead of answering, Baek Cheon just glanced elsewhere.
Im Sobyeong naturally moved his gaze to follow Baek Cheon. Namgung Dowi, who looked pale and worn out, seemed to be silently screaming, ‘Even if I die running, I won’t slow down!’
“…Now I understand why my father told me never to associate with those Righteous Sects bastards…”
Whoever said that Evil Sects was crazy? Those who said that should all be thrown to these lunatics of Mount Hua Sect.
“Run!”
“Eeek! W- Wait, let’s stay together!”
Im Sobyeong, in a panic, matched the increasing speed of Mount Hua disciples.
For others, it might just be a simple matter of keeping pace, but for Im Sobyeong, it is a matter of survival. If he fell behind in the lands of Gangnam alone, there was no telling what might happen to him.
“N- No. Le- Let’s stay together…. Co- Cough! I’m a sick person…. Cough! Aren’t I also a patient, you bast…! Cough, cough, cough!”
The upset Im Sobyong coughed as if he was throwing up his lungs, but surprisingly no one paid attention.
No, actually, one person did glance at him. Perhaps feeling a bit more attached to him than the others, Chung Myung looked back at him with a slightly sympathetic expression.
“Do- Dojang!”
It was the moment when Im Sobyeong was about to shout out with a face filled with emotion.
“Tsk, tsk. This Sapa bastard. I wondered when he’d drop dead, and now it looks like he’s finally doing it.”
“….”
“Whether he dies alone here or while running, it’s all the same. Shouldn’t we just bury him now? That way at least the corpse will remain intact.”
“……You bastard……”
“What?”
“Cough! Cough! Cough!”
Im Sobyeong coughed quickly and looked away from Chung Myung’s gaze. Of course, he cursed inside.
‘What did I say that was wrong, you bastard?’
These bastards talk about compassion and whatnot. They seem like the kind of bastards who’d make Taesangnogun (Ancestor of Tao) snap and bash their heads in with a knee.
“Ugh….”
At that time, a low groan escaped from the mouth of the woman on Yoo Iseol’s back. Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at her. It wasn’t a groan from regaining consciousness, but just a sound that slipped out.
“Samae, are you okay? Should we switch?”
“I’ll do it.”
“……Alright.”
Baek Cheon quietly nodded.
It might not be a big deal for a woman of Kangho, but for a woman from a prestigious family (??(私家)), being carried on a strange man’s back could be a serious matter. So, in the end, Yoo Iseol, who is the more stubborn among them, has no choice but to carry the woman.
‘It must be difficult.’
Baek Cheon looked at Yoo Iseol with pitiful eyes.
Running while carrying a patient is more difficult than one might think. If any shaking is transferred, it could worsen the patient’s condition, so even taking a single step requires care. This means that your physical strength and mental strength are consumed twice as much as usual.
However, Yoo Iseol was running with the woman on his back without a single complaint. Her sense of responsibility was evident in her expressionless face.
“Soso, should I hold the child?”
“Hands off, Sahyung! Where do you think you’re putting those dirty hands on the child!”
“…What do you mean dirty?”
In the corner, Jo-Gol was greatly hurt. But Tang Soso refused to hand over the child, baring her teeth.
“Anyone else is fine, but not you, Sahyung.”
“That’s right.”
“Just stay back there. If the child wakes up and sees your face, they’ll have a fit.”
“…But these guys….”
Mount Hua’s disciples quickly ran forward. They were cracking jokes to get rid of the sense of crisis that Evil Sects might attack at any moment, but their movements were desperate.
“Huff… Huff!”
As time passed, Im Sobyeong, who had been keeping up well, began to slowly fall behind. It is inevitable that there will be problems with endurance due to his long-term illness. Besides, hasn’t he been overexerting himself ever since they departed?
The disciples of Mount Hua briefly considered looking back, but then a calm voice pierced their ears.
“Just keep running.”
After leaving those words, Chung Myung slowly fell back. Then he placed his hand on Im Sobyeong’s back with a very shocked expression.
“What kind of bastard bandit has such weak stamina?”
“Why, why would a bandit run around like this…. Cough! Just why!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“B- But still, huff! You’re helping…”
“Well, you’ve earned your keep.”
“Well, I paid for my meal.”
If it wasn’t for Im Sobyeong, everyone would have died when Black Ghost Fortress attacked. He never imagined he’d ever say he owed his life to an Evil Sects member in his lifetime.
“Run faster, you bandit bastard. Before I really leave you behind.”
“…This snake-like man.”
“Huh?”
“…No.”
Im Sobyeong pouted his lips and forced strength into his legs. The crown on his head crumpled uncontrollably and fell down. Still, thanks to Chung Myung’s support, he was able to regain his composure to some extent.
Then suddenly he slowly slowed down again. Chung Myung asked curiously.
“What are you doing, this man?”
“Just a moment.”
Im Sobyeong, who distanced himself from the people in front, opened his mouth in a small voice.
“Isn’t it a little strange, Dojang?”
“Yes?”
“That woman and child.”
Looking at the woman on Yoo Iseol’s back, Im Sobyeong narrowed his eyes.
“I searched just in case, but there were no other survivors.”
“….”
“Even a strong man couldn’t stand the collapse, but for a woman to survive… I don’t know….”
Chung Myung ran without giving any reply. Im Sobyeong, who caught a glimpse of the stern complexion, ran silently without prompting for an answer. Then, after a while, he opened his mouth again. His voice was very heavy.
“Am I guessing correctly?”
“…Who knows.”
Im Sobyeong cast a meaningful glance at the woman and child. The person who unleashed the demonic energy to destroy the surrounding area in the first place was Dan Jagang. Because Jang Ilso and Chung Myung only attacked Dan Jagang.
Since Dan Jagang was the cause of the death of those who were swept away, the reason why that mother and child survived cannot help but be found in Dan Jagang.
But… Im Sobyeong immediately shook his head. It is a battlefield where lives are at stake. Could someone who had lost their reason to demonic energy truly avoid harming a specific place?
“It might just be a coincidence.”
“…Yes.”
Neither Chung Myung nor Im Sobyeong spoke further. The answer to that question would probably remain unknown forever. Because the only one who can give the answer is no longer in this world.
Chung Myung’s eyes, focused on the road ahead, were dark.
This was a question that even he couldn’t answer. Because Chung Myung did not know that there was a woman and child there. The current Chung Myung is not strong enough to be able to divert attention elsewhere in the face of Dan Jagang and Heavenly Murderer.
As Im Sobyeong said, all of this may just be a coincidence.
But if… In one in a thousand chances, if what Chung Myung thinks is right….
‘Even a Magyo follower… is still a person’s child in the end.’
It’s something he doesn’t even want to think about. Even if he knows, he must forget.
“That’s why… it’s something that must be done.”
In response to Chung Myung’s mumbling, Im Sobyeong cast a puzzled look. But Chung Myung did not pay attention to him. His mind was already filled with another presence.
‘Heavenly Demon.’
No matter how much they accept their doctrines, no matter how much they’re brainwashed, humans will always doubt and question. And he cannot let go of the little pity in his heart.
That’s why Heavenly Demon is so terrible.
Because he turns such humans into blind fanatics.
‘Absolutely… even if I have to stake everything.’
They must never create a world where Heavenly Demon runs rampant again. To prevent another catastrophe like Hangzhou.
Chung Myung bit his lip as if he had made up his mind and pushed Im Sobyeong forward with force.
“Sa- Say it in words!”
After running and running until nightfall, Mount Hua’s disciples finally arrived at the Yangtze River.
When they finally arrived, unable to even say they were exhausted, what they saw was a huge ship docked by the riverbank. Its affiliation was unmistakably clear.
Those who had been staring at the ship, silence and dumbfounded, glances at each other.
“Is that a pirate ship?”
“…I think so?”
“Doesn’t look like anyone’s aboard.”
“Why is this here…?”
Chung Myung, walking among the bewildered group, chuckled as he looked at the empty ship.
“Jang Ilso, that bastard, always had a nasty personality.”
Yoon Jong said, looking at the empty ship as if it was absurd.
“…When on earth did they prepare it?”
“No idea. Well, who cares?”
Chung Myung chinned towards the ship.
“It looks like they want us to use it. Let’s go.”
“T- This?”
“But it’s a pirate ship?”
“Then? Are you going to take them swimming?”
Mount Hua’s disciples looked at the ship with shocked faces and then nodded.
“…We have no choice. We must board.”
“Yes, Great Sasuk.”
When Un Gum said that, Mount Hua’s disciples looked uneasy but boarded the empty ship. They raised the anchor and unfurled the folded sails, and soon the ship began to move slowly along the river.
“…That was long.”
“I know right?”
Mount Hua’s disciples, barely able to lean against the railing as if they were about to fall, watched Gangnam slowly move away with eyes full of complex emotions. It was less than two days ago, but it felt like months had passed.
As they watched the land moving away in silence, the sound of a baby crying passed through their ears.
“…I think the child is awake.”
Tang Soso started to comfort the child she was holding. The child’s small hand was squeezing her thumb. Watching this, a small smile appeared on everyone’s faces.
Baek Cheon said, unable to take his eyes off the scene.
“Next time…”
“Yes, Sasuk.”
Yoon Jong answered calmly.
“Next time will be different.”
They looked at each other, then turned back to silently observe the baby in Tang Soso’s arms.
A single ship, bathed in the red hues of the setting sun, quietly sailed along the river.
