Return of the Mount Hua Sect
Chapter 861: Even If You Don't Know Where You Are, Know Your Place (1)

“B-branch leader! We are in trouble! Another fight broke out!”

“What? Again?”

Hong Dae-Kwang’s face twisted in frustration.

“Those damned brats! Are they possessed by ghosts who died in fights? What are they trying to do, constantly fighting?”

The beggars flinched at his furious words and glanced around nervously.

“Where this time?”

“That…”

“Is it Hubei again? Or Anhui? No, no! Hunan? Hunan is still preoccupied with Shaolin, so that couldn’t have happened.”

“T-that is…”

“Tell me quickly! I am busy!”

“Shaanxi.”

“… Where?”

“Shaanxi…”

Hong Dae-Kwang’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Shaanxi?”

“… Yes.”

“Did you say Shaanxi? Right now? That Shaanxi?”

“Y-yes.”

Hong Dae-Kwang’s face turned pale.

“N-no! Not there!”

He darted his eyes left and right, then shouted with a dark expression.

“Beggars! Damn fighting bastards! Who is available with empty hands now?”

“… What beggars? The ones who can fight have all been sent to Hubei and Anhui.”

“None?”

“Right now, none…”

“If there aren’t any, is that the end?”

Hong Dae-Kwang grabbed the bowl on the table and hurled it at the beggars in front of him.

“Eik!”

“If there is none, then make one! There is a fight in Shaanxi right now, you brats! Who wants to see it end in death?”

One of the beggars, observing the enraged Hong Dae-Kwang, spoke up hesitantly.

“No, branch leader. It isn’t like there is chaos, just there. What is so special about…”

“What?”

Hong Dae-Kwang’s gaze bore into the beggar who dared to speak.

The beggar flinched under his stare but tried to avoid eye contact, speaking as if he had nothing to lose.

“Isn’t that the truth? Just leave it alone…”

“You brat!”

In the end, Hong Dae-Kwang leaped over the table and kicked the beggar in the chest with both feet.

“Ackk!”

As the beggar screamed and fell, Hong Dae-Kwang erupted with a roar that could put the Shaolin to shame.

“This brat doesn’t even understand the situation right now, or what!? Should I twist your arms to make it easier for you to beg? Huh?!”

“Oh my! Be patient, branch leader!”

“This guy hasn’t been here for long!”

“He is a country kid from Hunan and doesn’t know what Shaanxi is like!”

“Ugh, damn it!”

Hong Dae-Kwang couldn’t hold back his anger and gritted his teeth.

“You brat! If one accident happens in Shaanxi, we are all done for. What? Evil Faction? Four Precepts Alliance? Those kids who are afraid of those ones haven’t even experienced true bitterness in life! Have you ever had your head broken, brat!?”

The beggar who got hit out of nowhere, Bong Oh, looked around, not knowing what was happening.

Even though Hong Dae-Kwang was talking such nonsense, the other beggars weren’t stopping him. They just tried to prevent any violence towards Bong Oh.

‘What is this?’

Why was the Beggars Union a Beggars Union?

Wasn’t the Beggars Union because they were beggars who had nothing and who were satisfied by speaking the truth even if their bowls were broken or they were beaten?

Those who said that something was wrong, no matter what, were the ones who were the Beggars Union. The fact that there was no objection meant these people were sympathizing with Hong Dae-Kwang.

‘W-what is with Shaanxi?’

What was so special about Shaanxi?

“Mobilize all the beggars we have!”

“Due to the recent call of a meeting in Hubei, all the beggars who can fight were taken! There are no fighters left here.”

“Then what are you, you beggar!”

Hong Dae-Kwang glared.

“Ah, no, we are…”

“If we aren’t here, who will collect information? I am not saying this because I don’t want to go.”

Hong Dae-Kwang let out a deep sigh.

“Beggars”

“Uh?”

“Think about it. How long has that bastard locked himself there?”

“Around… a thousand days?”

“Then will that Gate open soon or not?”

“… It will open.”

“Of course.”

Hong Dae-Kwang’s eyes shone.

“If that bastard opens up the Gates and comes out to see Shaanxi in shambles, where do you think he will move to break heads?”

“… Southern Edge? Ack!”

Hong Dae-Kwang kicked the beggar who answered that way.

“Southern Edge? What Southern Edge, you brat! What will he do to find those bastards who have locked themselves in for 5 years now? Huh! This is where he comes, you bastard!!”

“Eik!”

“N-No…!”

“Amitabha! Amitabha! Amitabha!”

The faces of the beggars all turned dark then.

Only Bong Oh had a puzzled look, unable to understand the situation, and he asked.

“I… I don’t understand what you are talking about now… who is coming?”

“The devil.”

“Demon.”

“Beast.”

“… Uh?”

The beggar standing next to him put his arm around Bong Oh’s shoulder and whispered.

“Yah, fucking beggar.”

“Uh?”

“You haven’t been in Shaanxi for long, so you probably don’t get it. If you want to beg for food and survive in Shaanxi, you need to get one thing in your head, got it?”

“… What is it?”

“There is a demon living in Mount Hua.”

“…”

“If you get caught, you will be beaten to death, and then you will be beaten again, and then you will get your emergency funds taken away. If that isn’t enough, you will have to beg and pay him too.”

“That is if he is in a good mood! If you get caught by him in a bad mood… huh! Oh my, Jong Pal! Get your senses back!”

“Someone give that kid cold water! Who talked about Chung Myung in front of Jong Pal?”

The beggar, whose face became blue and eventually fell down, was dragged by other beggars.

“Well, there is no use in listening to it for a hundred days, and there is no need to understand. You will find out why anyway.”

Hong Dae-Kwang, who was getting anxious, scratched his head.

“Fucking Shaanxi is where they touched.”

This was happening every day in Hubei, Anhui, and Hunan. But now, in Shaanxi, of all places? This meant the entire Central Plains would be caught in this chaos.

“Damn those Nine Great Sects bastards!”

“Branch leader, if this keeps up, all the beggars will die. Shouldn’t we say something to the Nine Sects?”

“Then, what?”

“Uh?”

“You brat, don’t you think all of them are the same? How many sects are north of the river? The Southern Island Sect is stuck on the island beyond the southern side! The Danciang Sect is in Yunnan! Kunlun is at the end of Sichuan! Qingcheng and Emei are in Sichuan, in Sichuan!”

“….”

“Kwangdong is stuck way across near the North Sea! Since something happened in Hubei, should we tell those bastards to come and handle it?”

“… that is tough.”

“The land of the North is taken by Shaolin, Wudang, and Southern Edge! The rest is sucked up by the Namgung family. But aren’t three of them currently behind closed gates? And what are we to do? Should I tell the Hubei Peng family to come to the central plains and help?”

“C-calm down, branch leader.”

“I told everyone we should end things with the Nine Sects and join with the Heavenly Friends Alliance!”

“Heavenly Friends Alliance isn’t that good either.”

“Ohhh.”

Hong Dae-Kwang scratched his head.

If it were as before, he could have asked the Nine Great Sects outside of the Central Plains for help. No, he actually did it.

But the answer he got was simple.

-Tell the sect which caused the problem to resolve it.

Of course, the answer, which came back in a long sentence, can be cut through small details; it was this. It meant that those who invaded the Yangtze River and returned in disgrace should handle it.

‘… Actually, that isn’t entirely wrong either.’

From the perspective of the other sects, it seemed as if they were caught off guard, like being struck by lightning out of a clear sky. Would they really travel all the way to Hubei and Anhui to assist Wudang and Namgung in their battles? What would they gain from it?

The war along the Yangtze River had also created a significant rift in the unity of the Nine Great Sects. It was hard to predict how many years it would take to mend this division.

‘How could the situation have deteriorated this badly?’

Observing it all was beyond absurd and shocking.

The ties between the Nine Great Sects had fractured, and the Five Great Families were no longer the same as before.

They were forcibly containing the riots and chaos occurring throughout the Central Plains. Still, if the situation worsened even slightly, chaos would spread like a breached dam.

“Branch leader.”

’What?“

“Is this alright?”

“What?”

“I’m talking about the Central Plains.”

Hong Dae-Kwang frowned at the unpleasant question.

“What are you suddenly talking about after having such an expensive meal?”

“N-No. Isn’t it true? Honestly, I didn’t think much of the Four Precepts Alliance. They are strong, but no matter how strong, if the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families unite, they should be able to defeat them, right?”

“….”

“But that’s not the situation. The Four Precepts Alliance hiding in the south of the river is growing stronger, while the Nine Great Sects are…”

The rest of the story didn’t need to be heard to be understood. It implied that they were divided despite not being united.

The emotional rift had a more significant effect than one might realize. Hong Dae-Kwang couldn’t even imagine the Nine Great Sects moving in unison under someone’s command anymore.

“If this continues, the Four Precepts Alliance will suddenly advance on us…”

“…”

Something terrible would happen.

“I really don’t get it. The Four Precepts Alliance hasn’t even moved against us, so how could things have gotten this strange?”

“… it isn’t that they didn’t move and this happened, but because they didn’t move.”

“Uh?”

Hong Dae-Kwang laughed bitterly.

If the Four Precepts Alliance had pushed into the North and started a war after the non aggression treaty, the Nine Sects would have had no choice but to unite. They would have to put out the fire first and talk.

But since Jang Ilso didn’t move and kept hiding, they had time. And that time made emotional rifts happen within the Nine Great Sects.

“… he couldn’t have planned for this, right?”

“Uh?”

“N-nothing.”

Hong Dae-Kwang shook his head like he didn’t even want to think of it.

If Jang Ilso had thought of this and moved, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the entire Central Plains was in his hands.

And if this ridiculous assumption was true…

‘This means that Jang Ilso must have a plan in the head to make the most of this situation.’

Hong Dae-Kwang shook his head quickly and rubbed his ears as if shaking off the thought.

That was too far-fetched.

“So what do we do, branch leader?”

“Kuak.”

Hong Dae-Kwang rubbed his face and said.

“If it happened once, it will happen again. There must be a limit to temporary patches.”

“I think so too.”

“Someone who can help… Ah! Hwa-Young clan! Yes! Contact them! I don’t know about Hubei, but if it is about protecting the civilians, they will surely come!”

“Yes! I will send an immediate letter!”

“Hurry up! You beggars!”

“Yes!”

After the beggars ran out as if their butts were on fire, Hong Dae-Kwang walked around and opened the broken door, and looked up at the sky.

“Shit.”

Up high, he could see the peak of Mount Hua hidden by the clouds.

“I don’t know where you are, but I know where you belong. You damned Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.”

It was a hundred times easier to deal with that person who caused trouble than this current time. At least, back then, he knew exactly what to do and how to do it.

Even if he didn’t know, that damned bastard would have grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away.

If that guy was there, it wouldn’t have been this frustrating…

“It is taking too long. That damned guy!”

The two years he had expected had passed. Even so, the closed gate of Mount Hua showed no signs of opening.

“Phew…”

Hong Dae-Kwang sighed deeply and turned his gaze far to the south.

‘Please…’

He prayed and prayed that nothing bad would happen before the tightly closed gate opened.