Chapter 1086
“That’s right!”
“So, you’re saying they have already defeated Magyo? Not even four days have passed since they left?”
Tang Sumyeong (???(當水明)) asked with a dumbfounded look on his face.
The fear that comes from the name Magyo is deeply engraved in their bones. Who among them is unaware of that brutal war a hundred years ago? All martial artists would feel the same.
Even mentioning it was implicitly taboo, so it was rare to say it out loud, but it is no exaggeration to say that there is at least no person of Kangho who does not know that Magyo is a terrible and terrifying entity.
But to defeat them and return in just four days, how could one not be astonished?
“Is that possible?”
“Ei, is it really possible that all of Magyo came all the way here? It must have been an advance party.”
“No, this man. Do you think I don’t know that? Even if it’s an advance party, it’s still Magyo. Do you not understand what that means?”
“…Indeed.”
After hearing those words, Tang Munhyeok (???(當文奕)) shook his head. Even if it is only an advance party, Magyo is Magyo. Moreover, considering that the advance party devastated Hangzhou, it cannot be evaluated as simply an advance party.
“Why else would that snake-like, Ryeonju of Evil Tyrant Alliance, ask for help? There are even rumors that Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold also suffered greatly at the hands of Magyo.”
“It can’t be to that extent….”
“Good grief, this man! Do you think I would make that up? The news came from Beggar Union, no less.”
“Is that true?”
“Absolutely!”
Tang Sumyeong spoke firmly and slowly shook his head.
“However… No matter how much they borrowed the power of those Evil Sects bastards, they came back after clearing out those bastards in just four days… What the hell is that Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword….”
“How could it just be the Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword’s power alone? and the other Mount Hua disciple who went with him also helped.”
“True, true. That’s also correct.”
Unknowingly, a sense of pride subtly spread across the faces of Tang Family members.
Generally, the people of Kangho cannot watch the performance of other sects with much enjoyment. This is because saying that other sects are gaining power is no different from saying that the power of their sect is relatively weakening.
However, the faces of the Tang people discussing Mount Hua’s activities did not show the slightest displeasure.
“Indeed, the foresight of our Gaju-nim is truly remarkable.”
“That’s right. Who could have imagined Mount Hua would become what it is now?”
“Even the elders and most of the prominent members were against it. To be honest, who would have thought of forming an alliance with Mount Hua at that time? We are the prestigious Sichuan Tang Family of the world, and they were a crumbling sect.”
Everyone unanimously expressed their admiration.
During a time when Mount Hua’s reputation was significantly lower than it is now, Tang Gun-ak established an equal alliance with Mount Hua. Given the strong authority of the head of the Sichuan Tang Family and the dissolution of the actively opposing Taesang Elders, no one openly objected. But deep down, how much dissatisfaction must there have been?
Yet, who would have thought that decision would come back in such a favorable way?
“At that time, the only person in the world who truly understood the true value of Mount Hua was our Gaju-nim.”
“Ah, indeed! That’s our Gaju-nim for you.”
A sense of pride naturally bloomed on the faces of the Tang people.
At least to the people of the Tang Family, Mount Hua is by no means a simple another sect or an outsider. Isn’t Tang Family the one and only sect that Mount Hua has been in relationship with and supported by since they was not recognized by the world?
As Mount Hua’s prestige increased, it only highlighted the greatness of Tang Family, giving them every reason to be delighted.
“With this, Mount Hua’s status will rise once again.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? It’s not just Mount Hua! The status of Heavenly Comrade Alliance and Tang Family will rise once again.”
Tang Munhyeok laughed loudly.
“Just thinking about how the members of Ten Great Sects, especially those bald monks from Shaolin, will be furious makes me feel like a decade’s worth of indigestion has cleared up.”
“Exactly, exactly!”
The crowd burst into laughter.
From a long time ago, they didn’t have very good feelings about Ten Great Secys, including Shaolin. Due to the characteristics of the region, it was natural that Tang Family was in conflict with Qingcheng Sect, backed by Ten Great Sects. Since the ill-feeling has reached its peak due to the Plum Blossom Island incident, such a reaction is still warranted.
“But… where are our heroes who accomplished such a great feat? I heard even Miss Soso went along?”
“Tsk, tsk. You’re saying the obvious. Of course, they are receiving praise from the higher-ups right now.”
“I guess so?”
“What’s wrong with this? It’s not anywhere else, But Magyo. Wasn’t this also a feat that came back after crossing Gangnam, the enemy’s heartland? It’s a feat that wouldn’t be enough to be praised all day long and praised for seven days and nights!”
“Keuuhh. I envy them. I wish I could get a compliment from Gaju-nim.”
“That won’t happen to you even if you go on for the rest of your life, so don’t waste your breath and be careful not to get scolded instead.”
“What?”
The atmosphere grew lively and boisterous. Although they hadn’t achieved the feat themselves, as members of Heavenly Comrade Alliance, they felt a great sense of pride. As soon as everyone heard the news, they gathered in groups and were busy heaping praise on Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword Chung Myung and those who supported him.
The crowd do not doubt that they were being praised accordingly for their great achievements.
* * *
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
“Listen carefully.”
“….”
“I said listen carefully.”
The heroes of Mount Hua, who without hesitation entered Gangnam, the den of Evil Sects, defeated Magyo who were massacring civilians, and achieved an incredible feat by escaping from that bloody Gangnam without sacrifice… they were now kneeling in a row with their arms raised.
Baek Cheon, who had been bowing his head in silence, cautiously glanced at Hyun Jong, who was sitting at the head of the table. Seeing the bulging veins on Hyun Jong’s forehead, Baek Cheon quietly lowered his eyes again.
“I… live….”
“….”
“What? They give you a pirate ship, so you just hop on it?”
“….”
“And you tore apart the pirate ship to light a fire just to cook a meal?”
Hyun Jong’s eyes fluttered with murderous intent.
Of course, the Hyun Jong here was not the same Hyun Jong who had been losing sleep, worrying about his disciples, and waiting endlessly.
After receiving news of a scorched pirate ship that seemed to have been through a fierce battle, he rushed over a thousand Li upstream to Nanjing. Then, upon hearing that those he had been worrying about had arrived in Kugang on the pirate ship and were having a drinking party, he rushed another thousand Li back and had just arrived in Kugang.
“Hoho…. Ho. Hohoho….”
Hyun Jong, who had been laughing as if it were absurd, suddenly overturned his eyes and charged at them.
“Are these bastards even human!”
“Hold him!”
“Stop him!”
As Hyun Jong hurled himself forward, Tang Gun-ak and Hyun Sang, who had been tense on the sidelines, quickly moved to restrain him. Hyun Jong, dangling from their grasp, kicked the air furiously.
“I was so worried, thinking you were all dead! And what? You took a pirate ship back? Tore it apart to light a fire because you were hungry? You’re as good as Evil Sects!”
“P- Please calm down, Sect Leader!”
“Aigoo, Sect Leader! Restrain yourself! After all, they did achieve a great merit and returned safely, didn’t they?”
“Merit? Meriiiit? Oh, damn it! What’s the point of achieving a feat if you’re not even a proper human beings! Human beings!”
Hyun Jong’s foot, stretched out with all his might, narrowly passed right in front of Baek Cheon’s face. The wind pressure grazed Baekcheon’s pale face.
But Baek Cheon couldn’t even bring himself to put his head back and just avoided his gaze.
‘I didn’t know…’
Who would have thought that Hyun Jong would not be waiting at Kugang but instead would be wandering around the Yangtze River? They thought it would be enough to send a message in advance once they were near Kugang.
They had no idea that while they were returning home, warming themselves by the fire, Hyun Jong, worried sick, would rush upstream.
“No, this… We’re hungry, so we just have some meal….”
“Shut up, you bastard!”
“Be quiet!”
“That snout!”
“Don’t open your mouth! Never open your mouth! I’ll kill you, really!”
The five swords were frightened and fired a barrage of fire at Chung Myung.
“No, did I say something wrong?”
“Shut up!”
Chung Myung, who had been hit hard with words, pouted.
Unlike Chung Myung, the other Five Swords had nothing to say even if they had ten mouths.
Think about it. The parent heard that a child went to the river even though they were told not to and fell into the water. The parent ran out immediately and wandered around all day looking for the child, until they heard that the child was playing peacefully at home. How would the parent feel? Wouldn’t it be natural for their inside to be churning with worry and anger.
‘If it were me, I’d beat them black and blue first then ask questions later.’
‘Sect Leader is truly a Taoist. He’s sparing us.’
Hyun Jong looked back at Un Gum with murderous eyes.
“And you! You bastard! you!”
Un Gum’s head lowered further.
“I was afraid something like this would happen, so I sent you with them! What? You’re eating porridge there with them? How could that go down your throat? That?”
Un Gum’s head drooped even lower, almost touching the ground. Looking at his back, which looked like a snail burrowing into its shell, Five Swords couldn’t hold back his tears.
‘Sasuk.’
‘I’m sorry, Great Sasuk.’
‘Aigoo….’
Un Gum also has a mouth. But now it has completely lost its purpose for speaking. If only they had stopped by the riverbank and sent a message as they leisurely traveled up the river, things wouldn’t have turned out this way. Because he missed that one simple thing, he made Sect Leader and other disciples travel all the way to Nanjing.
When he thinks about how worried they must have been while rushing to Nanjing with all their might….
“I’m sorry…”
“Aigoo, my fate! How could it be like this for three generations…”
To prevent accidents, they sent together Un generation, Baek generation, and Chung generation. However, a situation arose where the three generations did the same thing side by side. At this point, isn’t it a situation where they need to seriously consider whether there is really a demonic influence on the sect?
Of course, there were some circumstances where Un Gum might have felt unjustly treated. However, he couldn’t utter a single word because there were others present who were feeling even more wronged than he was.
“Even Sogaju shouldn’t be doing that!”
“Yes?”
Namgung Dowi, hit by a spark that flew out of nowhere, opened his eyes wide. Until now, he had been quietly kneeling in a corner, trying not to draw attention.
“If the others are doing something crazy, you should have stopped them! How could Sogaju of Namgung Family behave the same way as these punks?”
Namgung Dowi’s eyes grew even wider.
“M- Me?”
“Of course!”
“Against these people?”
“That….”
“Me?”
“….”
“Me?”
The soul drained from Hyun Jong’s face. Just by looking at that reaction, he felt like he could understand what Namgung Dowi had seen and experienced.
And at that time, Chung Myung opened his mouth as if he could not understand this situation at all.
“No, didn’t I say that we’d be fine, and that you should just wait and not worry? Has Sect Leader gotten older now? Sect Leader is worrying too much for no reason.”
“….”
“Anyway, everyone’s back safe and sound, so it’s fine. Isn’t that right?”
At that moment, everyone present witnessed it.
Hyun Jong’s face, which was staring blankly at Chung Myung, gradually changed, and soon became distorted like a brutal evil ghost (凶神惡殺).
It was a sight the disciples of Mount Hua had never seen before. At that moment, the word “escape” flashed intensely in their minds.
“Euaaaaaah! These damned fieeeeeend!”
In the end, Hyun Jong shook off Tang Gun-ak and Hyun Sang, who were holding his arms and rushed at Five Swords.
In the distant future… Hyun Sang would recall that he saw an Asura in that place.