Return of the Mount Hua Sect
Chapter 894: It Is Better To Die Than To Not Possess It (4)

Swish.

Even the moon hid behind the clouds, and a dark night fell. A black shadow slowly walked towards the warehouse at the top of Eunha.

He looked around and hid secretly in the shadows, avoiding the eyes of those passing by.

His martial arts skills seemed quite strong, and even the warriors of the merchant guilds, who must have trained quite a bit, could not detect his presence and passed by him calmly.

“…”

He waited for the warriors to completely pass in the darkness and cautiously approached the warehouse. His eyes flashed ominously as he looked at the large lock on the door.

Kiikik.

The man placed his finger gently on the keyhole of the lock. He held that position for a moment then took his hand away and took out a thin wire from his robe, bending it here and there.

The wire, folded into a shape, went into the keyhole.

And after a while.

Click.

The lock opened naturally without a problem.

He carefully opened the lock, looked around once more, fixed his mask, and then crept into the warehouse.

Swish. Swish.

The sound of the cloth laid on the floor to prevent the goods from being damaged quietly spread out.

The man, who succeeded in quietly closing the door, looked around the warehouse with sharp eyes. It was filled with all sorts of things, but he didn’t seem to be searching around rashly, so it seemed like he had something else in mind.

After a while, he quietly closed his eyes in the middle of the warehouse, as if he couldn’t find what he was looking for.

And then…

Blink.

A dazzling light emanated from the man’s eyes as he opened them.

‘Over there.’

He walked ahead without hesitation and lightly tapped the box stored in the innermost, coolest place with the back of his hand.

Thud! Thud!

The corners of the man’s lips, hidden under the mask, curled up.

‘This is it.’

He was careful with his hands as he unwrapped the cloth covering the box. When the box was fully revealed, he grabbed the tightly nailed lid and applied force.

Crack. Crack.

That was the moment when the lid of the box was finally ripped off.

Clack!

The warehouse door, which had been closed, opened violently, and a group of warriors rushed in.

“Stop moving!”

The one who opened the lid flinched. The two eyes revealed through the mask contorted.

“… damn it.”

His hands moved before his head. As soon as he confirmed there was a problem, the man stuffed the contents of the box into his arm sleeves and kicked the ground.

“Catch him!”

Several people with drawn swords rushed at him like lightning, but the man leaped up faster than those who were chasing him. He intended to escape by breaking through the ceiling.

But at that moment, a golden light quickly rose above the masked man’s head.

“Ohhh!”

Hae Yeon, who had flown, threw a fist of resentment at the masked man. The masked man flinched for a moment and tried to change direction by flipping his body in the air. But at that moment, Baek Cheon immediately pulled out his sword and attacked the masked man with his sword qi.

“Kuak!”

The masked man’s eyes became even more distorted.

He could fight if he wanted to, but if he stalled, more would come at him. He shouldn’t fight them one by one but should pull himself out….

That was the moment.

Clack!

He heard the sound of metals entangling each other from below, and then a large iron net flew in and covered the man.

“Ack!”

The masked man, crushed by the net, fell down.

“Hold him tight!”

“Don’t let go!”

“Caught him, this brat!”

Yoon Jong and Jo Gul held the ends of the net tightly and pinned him to the ground. The man, who was struggling for a moment, glared at those who had subdued him with poisonous eyes.

“This…”

A snapping sound came from the man’s mouth. Baek Cheon slowly approached him, looked down with cold eyes, and spoke.

“…take this off this man’s mask.”

“Yes, sasuk.”

Jo Gul reached into the net and removed the mask, revealing a very familiar face.

“Kuaak!”

Those who saw the face sighed in unison.

The masked man, or rather Chung Myung, glared at Hae Yeon with eyes full of resentment.

“That damn bastard! Did you really hit us?”

“…Amitabha! It is all a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding? Misunderstanding, acckk! Ah, really? Misunderstanding? If you misunderstand twice, you could kill someone! Misunderstanding?”

“Ahem.”

Hae Yeon turned his head slightly, feeling shy. Baek Cheon saved him from further embarrassment.

“No matter what….”

He frowned, unable to comprehend the situation.

“Even if you want to drink, is it worth robbing it from the merchant house? Uh? You insane bastard!”

Just then, a pure white bottle rolled out of Chung Myung’s sleeve.

When Yoon Jong snatched the bottle, Chung Myung glared at him and shouted in a hurry.

“I haven’t even sipped it yet!”

Baek Cheon shook his head. Then he turned his gaze and praised Tang Soso.

“…the net is effective like you said.”

“You have to use a net to catch animals. It wouldn’t be of any use if they had swords.”

“Even if he isn’t in the right mind, he wouldn’t draw the sword and swing it at his sahyungs.”

“He swung it?”

“…let us just say he isn’t in the right mind.”

Baek Cheon crouched down in front of Chung Myung, looking at the situation behind him as if being rude.

“Please act like a human, okay? Where do you think this is…”

“No, then give me money!”

“….”

“I don’t have a penny! I cannot go out! I cannot even drink! Why am I even training for?”

“…you are a Taoist, Chung Myung.”

And a Taoist was someone who trained in the Way of Tao.

At that moment, Baek Cheon’s head drooped as if he had no strength to say anything.

Pung!

A refreshing sound rang out as Yoon Jong thoughtlessly opened the bottle of alcohol.

Instantly, a fragrant scent of alcohol spread through the warehouse.

Gulp.

Baek Cheon’s Adam’s apple moved noticeably. He gulped without realizing it and turned his head in surprise, only to see Chung Myung’s eyes completely red and drooling.

“… that….”

Even the others couldn’t take their eyes off the bottle.

Realizing he might have made a mistake, Yoon Jong quickly put the cork back onto the bottle.

“….”

“….”

There was an odd silence.

The first one to break the silence was, of course, the bravest man of Mount Hua, Jo Gul.

“Well… actually, Chung Myung did his part, but… wouldn’t one bottle of alcohol be alright to take?”

Of course, Chung Myung just watched the battle from behind, but no one pointed it out.

“Ah, right. Actually, if he endured this much with sahyung, he must have been through a lot. It’s strange that a tiger doesn’t go crazy when it’s tied up for so long and only given grass to eat instead of meat. Right?”

Tang Soso quickly took Jo Gul’s hand.

“Hmm. But we haven’t even paid tribute to the souls of the victims yet….”

“Isn’t it normal to drink at a funeral?”

Yoon Jong, who was trying to politely object, glared at Jo Gul, who suddenly interrupted. However, he was too speechless at this logic.

“Of course, you shouldn’t be drinking too much, right? But the right amount. Maybe one bottle… wouldn’t we just show gratitude to the dead?”

Baek Cheon was about to cut off Jo Gul, saying it was ridiculous.

“… we can have a drink while watching over.”

“S-samae?”

Baek Cheon looked back at Yu Yiseol with a face that seemed like he’d been hit on the back of his head. However, she clearly avoided his gaze.

“Sasuk!”

“Uh?”

Jo Gul spoke firmly, his expression as serious as if he were facing a life-or-death battle.

“…make the decision.”

“A wise decision.”

“….”

Baek Cheon’s trembling eyes were fixed on the bottle of alcohol that Yoon Jong held.

To be honest, the ones who really needed alcohol weren’t Chung Myung, but them. Chung Myung must have sought out and drunk the alcohol Hwang Jongi had given him while training.

After leaving Mount Hua and entering the mountains, Chung Myung must have had a hard time, but in any case, the others had endured the longest.

‘N-no, even so…’

Baek Cheon shook his head, trying to demonstrate his superhuman patience and reason as the next Sect leader. Still, the gazes of the Five Swords pierced Baek Cheon like fiery arrows.

‘These bastards.’

Their decision was frozen. They had already made up their minds.

“Ahem.”

Baek Cheon coughed with a distressed face and wiped the corner of his lips. A faint wet spot appeared on the sleeve.

“Just one bottle then…”

At that moment, everyone raised their heads at the small voice from ahead.

“…monk?”

Before long, Hae Yeon was lifting the box Chung Myung had opened.

“O-One bottle…”

“Uh?”

Hae Yeon asked, her large eyes sparkling brightly.

“…it is nothing.”

Jo Gul and Yoon Jong approached Baek Cheon and whispered softly.

“Let’s sneak out first.”

“If we’re going to do it, let’s eat outside the merchant manor. We might get caught.”

“We need to erase the traces.”

“Ahem.”

Jo Gul and Yoon Jong discussed Yu Yiseol interfering, while Baek Cheon coughed innocently.

A feeble voice escaped from Chung Myung’s mouth as he blankly watched this.

“…they are growing up well.”

Get rid of the net, you brats!

Baek Cheon, Yu Yiseol, Yoon Jong, Jo Gul, Chung Myung, Tang Soso, and Hae Yeon.

If any martial artists saw these people sitting together, they would all be amazed.

Mount Hua’s Sword, Chung Myung, received recognition from Jang Ilso, surpassing the skilled individuals of Mount Hua, including the Righteous Sword, Baek Cheon, who garnered attention as the next Sect leader. Then there are Mount Hua’s Five Swords, incomparable to their peers of other sects, and Hae Yeon, the best warrior in Shaolin.

These individuals were truly worthy of being called the future leaders in murim. It would certainly be impressive to see such people sitting together.

It would certainly be impressive. It would be shocking…

“Kuaak!”

“Woah! This is sticking to me!”

“Is it because it is expensive alcohol? Or is it because it has been a long time since I’ve had alcohol?”

“One more glass!”

“Taoist, pour it for me! Me!”

Baek Cheon felt indescribable as he watched Tang Soso and Yu Yiseol fill the glasses with alcohol.

‘Is this alright?’

No matter what, stealing alcohol from someone else’s warehouse was…

Gulp! Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

“…”

But he soon ended up laughing happily.

From the moment he realized that the person drinking the bottle vigorously was not Chung Myung but Hae Yeon, such worries were meaningless.

‘Let us not think about it.’

But…

“Ugh!”

Ah, the alcohol tasted so good. It really stuck to the throat.

Baek Cheon, who had let go of his thoughts, downed the glass of alcohol and looked back at Chung Myung with a relaxed face.

Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.

He was drinking.

Chung Myung was pouring alcohol as if he had finally found a house after wandering around the desert and drinking water.

“Kuaaak!”

Finally looking at Chung Myung’s expression, he pulled the empty bottle from his mouth with a wet sound… he couldn’t help but think, what is happiness in life?

“Ah. I really thought I would die.”

“… No one has died from not drinking.”

“I almost got one for the first time.”

“… I said it wouldn’t happen.”

I should just stop talking.

“Rather….”

Baek Cheon opened his mouth while looking at Chung Myung with a serious expression.

“What do you think will happen to you?”

“Hmmm? What are you talking about all of a sudden? You’re drinking well.”

“I mean the Four Sect Alliance.”

Baek Cheon’s face naturally became clouded as he thought of them.

“I heard that the situation there is not so good either. Do you think they can handle this?”

Chung Myung wiped a drop of alcohol from his chin.

“Hmm.”

He then quietly placed the bottle of alcohol to the side. His eyes, which had been raised, were slightly dim.