Return of the Mount Hua Sect
Chapter 893: It Is Better To Die Than To Not Possess It (3)

Fatigue wasn’t simply a physical problem.

Tang Gunak’s current state clearly proved that fact.

Those who had mastered the martial arts of Murim did not easily get tired even after working hard, and they always felt energetic. However, a dark shadow was cast over Tang Gunak’s face as he sat in his room.

‘It doesn’t seem like I read through it when I read it.’

Tang Gunak finally put the document in his hand down on the desk. He had already read it three times in a row, but the content didn’t stick in his head. It wasn’t like there was anything particularly bad written in it.

He quietly rubbed his eyelids.

‘I am exhausted.’

It seemed like he hadn’t had a proper rest in the past three years. He had to manage the chaos in the Yangtze River while also handling the issues in his home, Sichuan, so he didn’t have enough time.

He was trying his best not to miss out on training, even reducing his sleep, but now it felt like he had reached his limit.

“Are you alright?”

At Tang Chan’s question, Tang Gunak slowly nodded.

“Just a bit tired.”

“… Lord.”

A sigh escaped from Tang Chan’s mouth.

It was understandable. It would be strange if he weren’t exhausted, considering the hardships Tang Gunak had endured for the past three years.

“You need to rest.”

“It is alright for now.”

“Of course, it is fine. The Lord is always fine. You always have some energy left.”

“Hmm?”

Tang Gunak raised his head and looked at Tang Chan.

“That is why you won’t be able to rest till the end. You will not regret resting until the very end.”

Tang Gunak, who had been listening quietly, raised the corners of his lips and snickered.

“That is painful to say.”

“Father.”

It wasn’t Lord, but Father. Tang Chan sighed quietly with a serious look and continued to speak.

“Please get some rest. It is alright since my sister isn’t here. If Sister had seen this, Father, you wouldn’t have been so safe either.”

“… that is a bit scary to say.”

Contrary to the words, a gentle smile appeared on Tang Gunak’s face. He seemed to be in a good mood at the thought of Tang Soso.

“And before Father suffers, I will be the first to die.”

“….”

Tang Gunak didn’t deny what Tang Chan had said. It was a well-known fact that Tang Soso had always controlled Tang Chan like a rat.

Of course, when Soso was in the Tang family, Tang Chan’s strength was higher, but was a relationship something that could be established only through force?

If he had seen Tang Chan talking back to Tang Soso, Tang Gunak would have rushed over and stabbed Tang Chan between his eyebrows.

“Are you still afraid of your sister at this age?”

“It’s even scarier at this age. When I was young, I would have been alright with getting hit, but at my age, getting hit by Sister is a huge thing.”

“… I guess so.”

“In the past, if I had wanted to, I would run away. Now, it isn’t possible.”

“You cannot?”

Tang Chan sighed.

“With her nature, there is no way she would slack off from her training. She must have gritted her teeth and trained for the last three years. How can I beat her when she is training like that in Mount Hua with the Divine Dragon?”

“My son is…”

“Sister is also your daughter, Father; it is the same. You know.”

Tang Gunak laughed softly and agreed silently.

It was just idle chatter, but thanks to it, he felt a little better. Perhaps Tang Chan also had the same thought when he said those words.

“I know I need to rest. Let us just finish this work and rest.”

“I heard that more than ten times already.”

Tang Chan, who was about to say something, finally sighed and stopped himself.

What could he do?

Resting didn’t mean that the work would vanish. If one postponed the day’s work, they would only have more work to do tomorrow. There was no such thing as half-assing now.

But one could not expect Tang Gunak to do such half-hearted work. That was something the Tang family would never do.

‘I have to figure out a way….’

It was at that moment that resentment crept back into Tang Chan’s heart.

“Father, no, Lord!”

Burst!

Tang Pae kicked the door open and rushed in.

Looking at his thoughtful face, Tang Gunak instinctively felt something bad had happened and jumped up from his place. His eyes, which held brief comfort, turned cold instantly.

“What is happening?”

Tang Pae waved his hand as if it wasn’t true after seeing Tang Gunak’s reaction. But he didn’t seem to be able to speak easily and just continued to smile numerous times.

“… speak slowly. What happened?”

Even in the midst of all this, Tang Gunak maintained his composure and could be called a model of a lord leading the family.

That was certainly the case until the answer came out.

“Mount Hua has come out!”

“What?”

In an instant, Tang Gunak jumped over the desk and ran to Tang Pae, grabbing him by the collar.

“What now?”

Tang Chan’s mouth dropped.

Of course, it was shocking that Tang Gunak grabbed Tang Pae by the collar, but what was even more shocking was what happened before that.

‘He j-jumped over the desk?’

That Tang Gunak?

The one who always insisted on maintaining a proper form as a family?

“Kuak! Kuak! L-Lord! Let go of…”

“Ah! Sorry.”

Tang Gunak was startled and let go of Tang Pae’s collar, which he had been holding.

“What place did you say it was?”

“M-Mount Hua! Mount Hua sent us a communication. Here, the letter is right here….”

As soon as Tang Pae took the letter out of his robe, Tang Gunak snatched it away like a hawk.

Clack!

And without a moment’s hesitation, he tore open the envelope and took out the paper inside.

“….”

An expression that was hard to describe appeared on Tang Gunak’s face as he silently checked the contents of the letter.

It seemed absurd… or maybe even shocking. However, that strange expression soon turned into a gentle smile.

“W-what does it say?”

“Look at it.”

Tang Chan accepted the letter that Tang Gunak handed him. The letters written on the large piece of paper were barely a single line long.

-Why are you struggling for nothing? Just throw everything away and come to Mount Hua first.

“Huh….”

A squeak sound came from Tang Chan’s mouth.

“Hehehe…..”

For a moment, he doubted his eyes, thinking that he had seen it wrong, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it couldn’t have been wrong.

Who in the world could send such a letter to the head of the Sichuan Tang family? Even the head of Shaolin couldn’t dare send a single letter to the head of the Sichuan Tang family and tell them to come.

Only one person could do it in this world, Chung Myung.

“… What will you do?”

“Hmmm.”

As the smile on Tang Gunak’s lips grew deeper, Tang Chan found himself smiling back. It seemed like the first time in years he had seen Tang Gunak with this expression.

It wasn’t a smile that showed he could escape from these suffocating situations now that Mount Hua had returned. Tang Gunak wasn’t the kind of person who would smile so brightly just because he could throw away his work.

That smile right there was the smile of someone who confirmed the health and well-being of a close friend he had lost contact with for a long time.

“Anyway, I cannot stop him.”

Tang Gunak shook his head.

Right.

“Are you leaving?”

Another loud voice was heard from the outside. Tang Gunak, who could guess the owner of the voice, turned his head.

“Enter.”

The door opened without delay, and a person rushed in.

“Did you receive the letter?”

Green Forest King, Im So-Byeong, asked without even greeting him. Tang Gunak silently handed the letter he received.

“As you can see.”

“… Ugh.”

Im So-Byeong groaned after checking the contents.

“Did you receive it?”

“Please check it.”

Im So-Byeong also handed Tang Gunak the letter he was holding.

-Take all the ledgers and come to Mount Hua.

“… Hahaha.”

It was even more concise than the letter Tang Gunak received.

“Mount Hua has finally stepped out.”

At Tang Gunak’s mumbling, everyone exchanged glances with each other, feeling a sense of emotion.

“Ugh.”

However, only Im So-Byeong was frowning.

“It seems that the Green Forest King isn’t happy.”

“It isn’t that I am not happy…”

When Tang Gunak asked casually, Im So-Byeong grabbed his head.

“I don’t know how many of the ledgers, which have been accumulated over the past three years, are there, and he is asking me to bring them all in! I kept sending copies to the Eunha merchant union to avoid this!”

“….”

“Five carts will start first! Five carts!”

“… calm down.”

“Oh my. What…”

Im So-Byeong groaned.

“He is making people suffer like this as soon as he steps out, so I am worried about what will happen in the future. If we meet face to face, he will scream.”

Im So-Byeong shivered as if trembling.

However, Tang Gunak, who was watching him, smiled broadly.

“You look happy for someone who has worries.”

Im So-Byeong touched his face at those words. He could clearly feel the corners of his lips curling up under his fingertips.

Im So-Byeong, who was slightly embarrassed, bit back at Tang Gunak for no reason.

“… But still, do you think I should come?”

Tang Gunak covered his mouth with his fist and coughed lightly. He realized belatedly that he was unusually excited.

Up until then, they had done what they had to do. However, it was also true that even when things went well, they couldn’t help feeling suffocated for three years.

The moment they received Chung Myung’s letters, they could clearly see what the suffocation that had been tormenting them had been.

“What should we do?”

“What can we do?”

Tang Gunak smiled brightly.

“If he tells us to come, we should go. What power do we have to refuse the words of Mount Hua’s Sword Saint?”

“… Since the Lord says so, I will have to be dragged along without fail. Ugh.”

Tang Gunak turned and looked at Tang Pae.

“We head to Mount Hua.”

“Yes, Lord. But… who will hold the position of Lord if you move?”

“Hmmm.”

Tang Gunak recalled the words written on the letter, ‘right away.’

“Tell the servants to stay back and not come out unless needed.”

“That could be a problem.”

“I know.”

Tang Gunak nodded.

“But Mount Hua’s Sword Saint isn’t the type of person to bother writing unnecessary words on a letter.”

“… Right.”

Im So-Byeong nodded as if he completely agreed with those words.

“You seem to have something in mind, so I will do as you say.”

“Yes, Lord. I will.”

“We leave.”

“A-already? No matter how urgent things are, leaving this swiftly?”

Tang Gunak spoke to him with an expressionless face.

“I need to check with my own eyes.”

“Check?”

Tang Gunak turned his head. Through the door that Im So-Byeong had opened just a moment ago, the blue sky was clearly visible. He mumbled in a small voice.

“How much they have changed in the past three years.”

An unconcealed sense of anticipation rose.

“I wonder if that bad-tempered imoogi really has come back as a dragon.”

No one opened their mouths at those words.

Only Im So-Byeong sighed, hitting his head with the fan.

“Even if he became a dragon, he would still be an evil dragon….”

“There is nothing we can do about that.”

Tang Gunak said while looking at Tang Pae.

“Then I will go.”

“Uh? Father? What?”

Tang Pae was still flustered, but Tang Gunak quickly left the room without even listening to the answer. He disappeared in an instant, and Tang Pae lowered his head.

Im So-Byeong shook his head and patted the kid on the shoulder.

“… you must be having a hard time.”

“He isn’t that kind of person…”

A strange place where the next head of the Tang family received comfort from the Green Forest King.

This was the Yangtze River.