Return of the Mount Hua Sect

Riding a cart was quite comfortable.

Of course, this wasn’t as good as moving in a wagon, but it was still a lot better than walking barefoot.

So it was quite comfortable.

However, the heart of Do Un-Chan sitting in the cart was very uncomfortable, and it didn’t seem like he would ever be able to feel any comfort.

“Uhhhh…”

“Ah! Damn it!”

“I will kill him! I will kill that man one day.”

“… why me…”

Hearing the curses from ahead, Do Un-Chan broke into a cold sweat. It was terribly uncomfortable for him to look at the backs of those pulling the cart.

“…”

And his gaze moved down.

Clack! Thud!

Each time the cart moved forward, a thick iron sound would resonate.

‘No matter how they looked at it, this is a cart made for travel, right?’

Basically, carts needed to have an inflexible yet light frame. If one focused too much on making the cart sturdy, the horse pulling it would become burdened.

That was why carts were slowly made to have them be strong, so the horses weren’t put under too much weight.

However, this cart only managed to be robust, fulfilling only one purpose. It was like it didn’t matter if the cart was dragged or dropped.

… cause someone was pulling it.

“Uh… Disciple Chung Myung.”

“Yes?”

“… are we moving all the way to Guizhou like this?”

“Yes, why?”

“… Ha. Hahaha.”

Do Un-Chan broke into a cold sweat, unable to select the right words.

“N-No problem here, but I wonder if we will be slow if we go like this. So maybe…”

But before he could even make a point.

“Slow? Can’t these things run faster? These useless things!”

“AHHHHH!”

“That is it! He dies!”

The sound of Chung Myung hitting them in the back, then the resulting screams of anger and despair all happened at the same time, which unintentionally made Du Un-Chan wet with sweat. This was because those who were pulling the cart were now glaring at him.

Do Un-Chan looked at Chung Myung with resentment in his eyes.

‘That isn’t what I meant, you insane bastard!’

What kind of madman would even want a cart drawn by humans?

He could understand the rickshaws that humans pulled, but that was only for a short distance; no one would let humans pull them for thousands of miles.

This was an insane thing to do!

Do Un-Chan licked his lips and glanced at Gye Hyung, who was sitting comfortably.

“Gye Hyung.”

“Yes.”

“… sorry. I should have believed you.”

“… No, I understand. I wouldn’t have believed if someone told me either.”

The zeal which Chung Myung had wasn’t something to be explained solely with words. And such an important item had just gone and fallen into the hands of the worst possible person!

The human who shouldn’t be called a human was now holding the reins to a human-drawn cart.

“Do you know how much I struggled to make this happen? I tried so hard, everyone should be grateful to…”

“What was that, you insane bastard…?!”

“I will bite you to show just how grateful I am!”

“What the fuck is a ghost even doing to us!”

“Ugh, you have the strength to speak?” asked Chung Myung, who frowned.

“Ackkk!”

“Do not do that, you bastard!”

“W-waist! My waist!”

Meanwhile, Hae Yeon was drenched in sweat as he pulled the cart.

‘Abbot.’

The sun shone on his bright head.

‘You should have been more adamant when trying to stop me.’

Why didn’t you break my legs when I said I was going to Mount Hua? Why!

This is insane…!

“Monk, Are you alright?”

“Baek Cheon…”

Hae Yeon opened his mouth to speak, wanting to say something, but then closed his eyes tightly.

Baek Cheon looked at that with a sad face.

“… cheer up a little. He has some conscience, so he will let us rest once the sun goes down.”

“Rest… Won’t he just train us then?”

“Eh? That is normal.”

“…”

It seemed like all of them were insane…!

However, Hae Yeon and the disciples from Mount Hua were in an overall better condition than one person. It was none other than Hong Dae-Kwang who was going through hell.

“Ughhhh….”

Hong Dae-Kwang was pulling the cart with irons balls around his hands and ankles while looking like a madman.

“Why… why am I here?”

Others were in a position where it was normal to be trained by Chung Myung, so they were able to withstand the absurd training he put them through.

But was Hong Dae-Kwang the same?

“M-Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon! Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon!”

In the end, he couldn’t stand it and shouted,

“Why me! Why do I have to do this?! I am an informant!!”

“So?”

Chung Myung just clicked his tongue, watching him.

“Will the enemy not kill an informant? If you want to stick with Mount Hua, then from now on, train! There are no friends to Mount Hua who are weak!”

“Y-You bastard! Right. But how old am I? How can you do this to me?”

“Will the Evil Faction show mercy to an old man?”

Uh?

What is this?

Ha! I shouldn’t talk with him! It only hurts my mouth very much hurts my mouth. That is why this is bad!

“You have the power to nag. Then we can speed up to Guizhou!”

When Chung Myung grumbled, Baek Cheon looked back with surprise.

“C-Chung Myung.”

“What?”

“Guizhou? We aren’t going to Sichuan?”

“Of course. The Ghost Clan is in Guizhou. So we need to move there first.”

Somehow it kept hitting him that the path they were taking was different, and after a thought, Baek Cheon asked,

“W-Wait. But Guizhou is after Sichuan, right?”

From Sichuan, heading southwest would take you to Yunnan, and to the southeast was Guizhou.

“Right.”

“Then we can just stop by Sichuan first. Why go all the way to Guizhou? That is like going all the way around!”

“I want to.”

“…”

Baek Cheon held onto the sword at his waist. Which, at this point, was a real sword.

But Chung Myung didn’t even flinch.

“Why? Want another one?”

“Ugh….”

Frustrated, Baek Cheon nervously grabbed the iron rod used to pull the cart.

‘Why are you doing this when nothing good will happen?’

‘Leave him alone.’

Jo Gul, who had been whispering a little with Yoon Jong, turned his head and looked ahead, and smiled,

“Sahyung.”

“Uh?”

“This is the worst.”

“Why?”

“It is a mountain road up ahead.”

“…”

When Yoon Jong raised his head, he noticed the steep mountain road.

He chuckled and thought,

‘Should I hit him and run away now?’

“D-Dae Hyung!”

“What?”

“Guests!”

“What? A guest?”

The one who had been lying down with a troubled face got up and smiled,

“Guest? You are sure?”

“Yes, I am sure!”

“They aren’t bandits, right?”

“I am sure!”

The one called Dae Hyung frowned.

“Damn it. The world is so cruel! How can there be not a single person who doesn’t bring a sword to this mountain!”

“Isn’t this because of the tea trade? We will be fine.”

“Well! A guest! And they have swords?”

“But their number doesn’t exceed ten, and their cart is huge.”

“There are enough guests!”

The one called Dae Hyung stood up and grabbed an axe.

“It has been a while since I managed to find something. Call the kids!”

“Yes!”

The bandits of Mount Seo joyfully took out their weapons.

“… they aren’t coming.”

“They will come soon.”

“Did you see it right?”

“Ah. I am telling you!”

“Why are you raising your voice!”

Slap!

The one who groaned was hit in the back of the head. And then he raised his head sad-faced,

“Ah, for real, I saw it clearly! And they cannot pull the cart the other way, so they have to come here!”

“Maybe your eyes aren’t working that well today.”

The one called Dae hyung frowned.

“I feel like this guy needs to have his eyes checked. Even if we put up a watchtower, I doubt you would see anything!”

“… it will be fine this time… uh! There! They are coming!”

“Oh?”

The bandit grinned, showing his yellow teeth.

“Hehehe. These idiots don’t know what this place… is…”

The man tilted his head.

“Yah!”

“Yes, Dae Hyung.”

“There… are people pulling the cart?”

“Seems like it.”

He blinked a couple of times, but no matter how much he looked, it was humans and not horses or cows.

“Are they crazy people…? What do they think this place is? People pulling a cart?”

“This is a hill that even robs cows of breath!”

“That… wow. They really are coming.”

“Seriously. Tch.”

The world was wide, so it should hold that there were different levels of crazy, but this was a whole new world of crazy!

“Well, anything works. Even if they are crazy, they are guests, and they should have money! Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

Waiting for the cart to come close, they burst out the thick fireworks and stopped the cart.

“Stop!”

Halt!

The cart, which was moving at a slow speed, halted. And instantly, the ones who were pulling the cart up collapsed to the ground in unison.

“Huk! Huk! Huk!”

“W-water, water please…! Ahh… I will… die.”

“…”

Looking at the people who slumped down and gasped for air, the bandits went still,

‘T-this is wrong…’

When one sees bandits, they go wide-eyed, shocked, or they piss their pants.

Then…

The one next to the bandit poked him in the side.

‘What is this?’

‘Ah, as if I know!’

The bandit cleared his throat and shouted,

“Kuahahahah! You people! You did well coming this far! If your life is worth anything, put everything you have down and leave, I will spare your life!”

An unhesitating voice.

The animal skin wrapped around his body and the beard both suited him. And no one could help but feel like he was a strong man in his actions.

But…

“… what is with them?”

“They look like bandits?”

“Bandits? Huh, the thief of the past is the bandit of now?”

“It is normal to meet bandits along this way.”

“…this place smells.”

The reaction which came back was entirely different from what was expected.

‘Have they all turned crazy?’

Just as he was about to shout at them, Im Sheng, who was next to him, yelled,

“You idiots, how dare you act like this! This man is Leader Kwak Gyeong, The Giant Mountain Great Axe!”

Then, the handsome man, on the ground near the cart, asked with a weak voice,

“What was that?”

“Something called Giant Mountain.”

“Bandits are just dogs, cows, and tigers.”

“You see them like that?”

“… Yes.”

Im Sheng’s eyes glared at them. Even when he said their name, the reaction was lukewarm.

“You people! Even when you see great bandits, you react like this! I tried to spare your lives, but this is it!”

“Yes!”

“Show them what we are like!”

“Yes!”

The bandits all had weapons in hand and moved to the cart. And right then…

“Oh, Fu…!”

A head poked out from the cart.

“What is it?”

“Bandits.”

“Move them out! How dare you rest? Hurry up and do it so we can leave.”

“Ughh!”

At the pushing of the man above the cart, those sitting on the ground raised their weak bodies.

“Ha, he is really showing us stars.”

“Sasuk, should I kill him?”

“You are a Taoist! Just half-kill him.”

“Yes!”

Kwak Gyeong couldn’t hold back his shock.

He announced their name, and yet not a single one of these people who had climbed such a famous mountain had heard of their name? Was this a reaction that made any sense?

Isn’t it normal for at least one of them to be startled at their name?

‘Are these really crazy people?’

Well, looking at their appearance, they did seem like such people. The one in the lead was the one in the middle.

A monk was pulling the cart. He was wearing a yellow and red robe.

‘If someone saw him, they would think he is from Shaolin. Hahah.’

And that wasn’t it.

And the guy behind him, he was a beggar in rags.

Where would one see a beggar pull a cart to make a living?

And the rest…

‘2 women?’

He didn’t notice them at the start because they were covered in dirt, but now he could see that women were pulling the cart too.

“What is with the robes they have? It seems like stars? What is it? Did they embroider something on the cloth? Some flower on cloth…”

Uh?

Flowers?

That… Uh?

So…

‘Plum blossom?’

Kwak Gyeong’s eyes widened. His eyes grew a little but then widened too far.

‘Plum Blossoms?’

Taoists wearing plum blossom robes?

‘Where? The waist…’

Sword? Sword with a plum blossom engraved onto it.

Kwak Gyeong’s face trembled.

‘I didn’t hear…’

Right, he had heard of things…

Plum blossoms… a sect that uses a plum blossom as its symbol… just a while back, they had a super fight…

‘… Uh? Uh!’

Kwak Gyeong’s face went pale.

But Im Sheng, next to him, arrogantly spoke, not grasping the situation.

“You bastard! I will drag you out alive and feed you to the animals! You will regret stepping out…”

“AHHHH! Shut up! You insane man!”

Kwaaang!

Kwaang!

Kwak Gyeong’s fist turned to Im Sheng’s chin, and along with a broken tooth that bounced out, his body fell to the ground.

Kwak Gyeong didn’t even look at him and was just shocked.

“Huk! Huk!”

He was already sweating too much. In the eyes of the rest of his bandits, who didn’t know the reason for this, Kwak Gyeong shouted,

“I greet the warriors of the great Mount Hua Sect!”

It was a cry-filled wish to survive.

“Will you not get down right now? You idiots!”

Kwak Gyeong desperately shouted, and the bandits around fell flat right then. In order to make a living, wasn’t being alert the first rule for bandits?

“…”

Baek Cheon, who drew his sword, looked at the bandits with blank eyes.

“… what is with them?”

“Well?”

At that time, the face that had been in the cart came out once again.

“Ah, aren’t we leaving?”

“…”

At that moment, Kwak Gyeong, who noticed him to be the leader, shouted,

“Disciple!”

“Uh?”

Chung Myung looked at him.

“Please spare me!”

Thud!

And he slammed his head to the floor.

“…”

Seeing this, Chung Myung asked Baek Cheon,

“Bandit?”

“… yes.”

“Then what is with him?”

“… don’t know.”

Chung Myung tilted his head and looked at the disciples of Mount Hua, who were dusty. And he just nodded his head as if he understood.

Well…

Weren’t these people more like bandits than the actual bandits?

Objectively, just an objective statement.