Return of the Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 780

“Your hands are playing, you bandit punk!”

The lion’s roar resounded.

The same thing that Hyun Jong had witnessed was happening on the other side of the island as well.

The only difference was… that Chung Myung was here.

It might seem like a minor difference, but the impact it made was tremendous.

“Ughh…”

“I, I can’t feel my hands.”

Some of those who had been groaning while clinging to the ship stealthily approached Chung Myung, who was standing on the water’s edge.

“What?”

When Chung Myung glared, the bandits all dropped to the ground as if they were toppled over.

“Aigoo, Taoist-nim! We’re all going to die at this rate!”

“More than thirty people have been swept away by the water just this morning!”

“Everyone is exhausted. Holding onto a drifting ship requires much more strength than you can imagine.”

Chung Myung tilted his head as if he didn’t understand the ensuing complaint.

“So?”

“…Yes?”

“So?”

“….”

They were speaking the same language, but their words didn’t connect. Essentially, words are meaningful only when they understand each other’s intentions. Unfortunately, while there were people who spoke here, the listener didn’t understand.

The bandits who tried to say, ‘Let’s give up this work if possible,’ changed their words while looking at Chung Myung’s expression, which seemed to be wondering, ‘What are they talking about?’

“We, we need rest…….”

“What? Rest?”

“A, a break…”

“A breaaaaaak?”

Sparks flew from Chung Myung’s eyes.

“No, are these bandits so absorbed in carefree life in the mountains that they left their common sense behind while coming down? All of you, with perfectly healthy arms and legs, want to rest in the middle of the day!”

‘Excuse me… Aren’t people who are stuck in the mountains and live a carefree life called Taoists? How can a Taoist of Mount Hua call out mountain bandits for living a carefree life….’

‘And we worked all through the night yesterday…’

“Taoist-nim, we’re all exhausted….”

“Exhausted?”

Chung Myung’s head tilted slightly to the side, clearly dissatisfied.

“You guys who happily climb the mountains are saying you’re exhausted after just this bit of work? This is why Nokrim is in such a mess! Why? Do you want me to take this opportunity to show you what exhaustion really means?”

“Tha- That’s not it…..”

“Anyway, you lack grit. Grit! That’s why you’re making a living as a bandit! Okay, I’ll take this opportunity to reform you! Can’t you get back to work right now?”

“Hiiik!”

The First Elder, who was watching Chung Myung kick his bandits’ asses with his eyes, subtly opened his mouth to Im Sobyong.

“Uh… Sir Nokrim King.”

“Hm?”

Im Sobyong who was enjoying the scenery and drinking tea leisurely while sitting on the watchtower looked at the First Elder asking why he’d been called.

“…Are you going to leave it the way it is?”

“Why?”

“His words seem a bit harsh…”

“Oh, that just now?”

Im Sobyong, who laid down the teacup gracefully at the table, let out a smile.

“Wasn’t he just stating the truth?

“….”

“Truthful words are usually bitter to hear. It’s about time First Elder accepted these harsh realities.”

The tongue-tied First Elder’s nostrils flared in frustration.

It is certainly a problem that such a fellow is Mount Hua Divine Dragon. It was definitely Kangho’s great misfortune that Mount Hua Divine Dragon, who is said to have held the position as the world’s greatest rising star and the world’s first in future generations, was such a guy.

However, from the perspective of Nokrim, it was more problematic that this person was the Nokrim King.

‘What will happen to Kangho?’

The pathetic situation of a bandit from an Evil Sect worrying about the future of Kangho was unfolding.

Just then, a group of people jumped off a ship that was cutting through the current at high speed.

“Dojaaaaaang!”

“Hm?”

The cheerful cry of joy that burst forth as they landed and rushed towards Chung Myung rang briskly.

“Hundred Thunder Cannon! We’ve recovered all six of them!”

“Keuhuk! We were really exhausted.”

“The pirates almost died. I’ve managed to live through it, but…… No, that’s not important. Anyway, we found them all, just like you ordered!”

“Oh?”

Chung Myung’s face softened for the first time in a while.

“You found them all?”

“Yes, Dojang! Keuheuk! Really…. It was really hard. The chain was short, so we had to dive into the water while holding onto it. It was…”

“Yes, yes. You’ve done a great job.”

Chung Myung’ smiled happily as he roughly listened to the words explaining their struggles. Then he suddenly asked again.

“But how many cannons did you say?”

“Six cannons.”

“Oh, is that so?”

At that moment, Chung Myung flew like a bolt from the blue and kicked one of the bandits.

“Kkwaeeeek!”

The bandit was sent rolling backward with a pig-like scream.

“Are my eyes holes, you punk? What? How many cannons? Six cannons? I clearly saw the number of cannons on the sunken ships while fighting! What? Six cannons? Six cannoooooons?”

The body of the bandits who fell on the floor trembled.

‘That tough guy……. He was counting it during such a fierce battle.’

“Oh, you’re an ignorant bandit who can’t count, aren’t you? Come! I’ll tell you how to count from now on!”

Chung Myung jumped on the bandit and began to swing his arms like a windmill.

“One hit! Two hits! Five hits! Ten hits! Count, you bastard! Count as many as you hit! If the number of the last hit is wrong, you’ll start from the beginning again!”

“Argh! Aaaarrrgh! Spare me! Dojang! I’m sorry! It was so hard that I made a slip of the tongue!”

“Hard? If you die, it won’t be hard, you bastard! Just die!”

The faces of the bandits and the pirates gradually paled.

In the first place, bandits can’t resist the strong.

Not because they follow the laws of the strong, but because they originally are not those who follow the morals or laws of the world, they can’t resist the oppression of the stronger with anything other than force.

What can they do?

Would a bandit argue about morality with someone who uses force? Or would the pirates go to the officials to report?

In that sense, Chung Myung is no different from the natural enemy of bandits.

After all, basically….. He’s a Taoist, in his own way…. He has a justification for being of the Righteous Sect and is extremely strong. It’s unreasonable to be chased with murderous intent by such a guy.

“Just damn it!”

Chung Myung took his eyes off the collapsed bandit and looked around.

Everyone who made eye contact with him flinched and cast their eyes down.

“Bandits expecting to be treated like humans! Useless guys who won’t even be of any help when alive, I’m going to gather you all up and bury you at the bottom of the river!”

The guy working with those bandits is cursing at the bandits and losing his temper.

“Don’t even think about eating until we retrieve all the Hundred Thunder Cannons!”

“What, what do we eat then?”

“Catch and eat fish or something! There are plenty of fish over there!”

“….”

“And, don’t think about sleeping until all the ships are repaired!”

“….”

“Don’t straighten your back and get to work! Don’t straighten your back! If you take breaks intermittently, it’s more tiring! Finish everything and take a break all at once! Definitely finish it! If you always have that mindset, there’s nothing a person can’t do!”

Their ears felt like bleeding from nagging.

‘I want to go to the mountains.’

‘I’d rather get cursed by Chaeju.’

But unfortunately, this place was an island.

The bandits had no way to escape from the eyes of Chung Myung and Im Sobyong, and the pirates all had iron shackles on their legs. No matter how good at swimming they are, isn’t it only a dream to run away from Chung Myung wearing this heavy collar?

‘What else is a slave? This is it.’

‘Alas. My fate….’

Slave… No, the faces of the bandits were turning dark.

In the first place, Chung Myung doesn’t show mercy to ordinary people, but to Evil Sect, like bandits, he doesn’t understand why they should be treated like human beings.

Chung Myung himself, who is born to be a bandit by nature, lives with such patience (?) according to Mount Hua’s teachings, but on what grounds can he tolerate these guys who live recklessly claiming to be bandits, with no basis whatsoever.

“Anyway, these bastards need to be beaten up more to come to their senses!”

“Chung Myung-ah.”

“What! You son of a…”

‘Huh?’

While trying to swear, Chung Myung slowly looked back.

“Huh?”

Why is this face here?

Tilting his head, he eased his expression a little awkwardly.

“Uh… When did you get here, Sect Leader?”

“…I just got here.”

“Ah… if you come, you should contact me in advance…”

‘No, I’m sure I did.’

‘How could I have gotten here if I hadn’t contacted…’

Chung Myung sneaked his head to the side and saw Baek Cheon hiding behind Hyun Jong.

“…You called Sasuk….”

“Keuhum.”

Chung Myung, who clenched his teeth and muttered, quickly changed his expression and greeted Hyun Jong with a bright smile.

“Sect Leader, you must have had a tough journey, welcome…… Ah! Aah! Ear, ear! Ah! My ears! Sect Leader, my ears! My ears are falling off!”

“Come here.”

“My ear! Ear! Ah, please let go! Aahh!”

Despite Chung Myung’s whining, Hyun Jong continued to grin and pulled his ear even more.

“I told you to prevent the commoners from being sold as slaves, and here you are, employing the bandits and pirates directly as slaves? Let’s go hear this story in detail.”

The tyrant is dragged along leaving a long footprint on the sandy beach. Even amidst this, he glared at Baek Cheon with his eyes full of poison. But Baek Cheon merely looked away.

“Euaaaaaaaaaa! Baek Cheoooooon! Jin Dongryoooooong! How could you bring Sect Leader here without saying anything… Aaahh! Ears! Sect Leader! My ears! Aah… I think it’s ripped off! No, really, ack!”

“Keep your mouth shut and follow me! I’m losing face because of you!”

“Sect Leadeeeeeer!”

All the bandits looked like they saw a ghost when they saw Mount Hua Divine Dragon dragged away pitifully.

“…Mount Hua Divine Dragons?”

“And that too by his ear?”

Those here saw Chung Myung defeat Great Whale Water Fortress Chaeju at once, running on the water to cut the ship with a sword.

Seeing such a fearsome human being dragged away screaming, it felt like their souls were departing their bodies from the sheer absurdity.

“… That person is the Sect Leader of Mount Hua Sect…”

“My gosh… How powerful he must be to subdue such a monster so easily.”

“Keuhum.”

Baek Cheon gave a very small, fake cough.

It seemed that unnecessary misunderstandings were occurring, but… there didn’t seem to be any need to correct them.

“He won’t be able to come out for a while, so everyone takes this opportunity to rest.”

“Tha- Thank you, Dojang!”

“Keuheuk… I can finally rest!”

“Long live Sect Leader! Long live!”

The bandits of the Evil Sect, who should be at odds with the Taoists of the Righteous Sect, gathered their mouths to praise Mount Hua’s Sect Leader.

To those unaware of the circumstances, it might look like a historic scene of unity, but the underlying reality was quite heartbreaking and tear-jerking.

“But why did that person come all the way here?”

“Well… It seems like he brought a bunch of Mount Hua Sect people with him.”

“Could he have predicted this situation in advance and come to occupy this place?”

“Ei. No way… It’s not like he had Divine Eye (??? (???)).”

“No, no. If you think about it, that makes sense. Even though Mount Hua Divine Dragon is one of the world’s greatest rising stars, he’s still a third-class disciple, isn’t he? It makes no sense for a third-class disciple to make the decision to occupy a place like this and create a settlement on his own.”

“Huh? Now that you mention it, that’s right?”

The bandits looked at each other’s faces.

“Well, then, the Sect Leader of Mount Hua predicted all of this…”

“Indeed, they say Taoists with deep Tao can read the heaven’s sign. They are magical.”

“…Should I believe in Taoism too?”

“Yuanshi Tianzun.”

“Muryangsubul!”

Baek Cheon closed his eyes tightly.

‘I’m sorry.’

He didn’t have the courage, nor the will to correct them.

Well… regardless of the intent, the result is good, so….

“Yuanshi Tianzun….”

A weak Taoist chant came out of Baek Cheon’s mouth.