Return of the Mount Hua Sect

It wasn’t exactly a charismatic step. He just walks fast as if he’s busy. However, everyone who saw him as they passed by was busy lowering their heads while turning pale.

The reason was simple.

It was because he was Paegun Jang Ilso’s military Ho Gamyeong.

In terms of the official position of Evil Tyrant Alliance, Ho Gamyeong wouldn’t even make it into the top ten.

But none of those in Evil Tyrant Alliance thought Ho Gamyeong’s actual power didn’t rank in the top ten.

When Ho Gamyeong reached Jang Ilso’s quarters with a cold face, the guards hurriedly bowed their heads in respect. The arrival of Ho Gamyeong justified such a response.

However,

Uttuk.

Contrary to his swift approach, Ho Gamyeong halted, not moving an inch.

“…….”

He narrowed his eyes and looked at the guards, who had bowed their heads.

“Come here.”

“Yes!”

The guards quickly approached Ho Gamyeong’s front.

“Anyone entering Ryeonju’s quarters must have his body searched. Isn’t that a rule of Evil Tyrant Alliance?”

“That’s, that’s right.”

The guards, now pale, nodded quickly.

“Then why don’t you search my body?”

“How, how dare we…….”

“How dare you?”

Ho Gamyeong’s short voice made the guards’ faces turn even paler.

“If I were the assassin who killed Ho Gamyeong and disguised himself, could you bear the consequences?”

“…A- Advisor.”

“Search.”

“Yes!”

Instead of further explanation, the guards searched Ho Gamyeong’s body with tired faces. They searched the clothes with trembling hands as they went through his clothing and even checked his face for any disguise.

“There’s nothing unusual.”

Ho Gamyeong stared at them with an emotionless face as the guards retreated.

The guards, whose faces were drenched in sweat, nervously dropped their fingertips like criminals awaiting the judge’s decision.

“This time, I’ll overlook it.”

“Thank you….”

“But if this happens again.”

Ho Gamyeong’s sharp gaze pierced through them.

“You’d better think it’s better to die.”

“We- we’ll keep that in mind!”

“The only person you owe your loyalty to is Lord Ryeonju-nim. To you, who are the guards of Ryeonju-nim, no one in Evil Tyrant Alliance, not even me, has to be treated with courtesy.”

“…….”

“Keep that in mind.”

“Yes!”

Finally, Ho Gamyeong turned his eyes and walked inside the quarter.

The guards who barely managed to survive from the tiger’s maw desperately held on to their weakened legs.

Slam.

Ho Gamyeong, who opened the door and went inside, surveyed the surroundings with a sharp eye.

After a few breaths and taking in every detail, he nodded lightly and approached the bed in the center of the room.

It was from that moment that his face, which had been as frozen as ice the whole time, was loosened.

“…Ryeonju-nim.”

“…….”

“Ryeonju-nim, please wake up. The sun is high in the sky.”

“…….”

“Ryeonju-nim!”

“Hngggg.”

Jang Ilso, who was lying on the bed, wriggled.

“You have to wake up!”

“S- Speak quietly… My head is ringing, can’t you see?”

Jang Ilso groaned, pulling the silk blanket over his head.

While Ho Gamyeong couldn’t disrespectfully say how pitiful it was, he sighed deeply.

“You must get up.”

“…In a moment.”

“Yes?”

“In a moment, come back. Just… let me sleep for one more moment.”

“Ryeonju-nim!”

Since Jang Ilso showed no sign of waking up, Ho Gamyeong grabbed the blanket himself and pulled it.

“Get up!”

“Ugh….”

In the end, Jang Ilso, who could not win, slowly raised his upper body. His messy hair and weak, drooping shoulders made people doubt whether Jang Ilso was really the same Paegun from yesterday.

“Gamyeong…. Can’t you see my head is killing me?”

“Why did you drink so much then?”

“…A guy who looks like a giant rat guzzled down a whole pot of alcohol without even blinking. What could I do? I couldn’t just back down and admit I couldn’t drink more than him, could I?”

“Why did you learn martial arts? Just use your internal energy to dissolve the alcohol!”

“Ugh… Speak softly. My head is pounding.”

Jang Ilso groaned again and continued.

“You usually seem smart, but at times like this, you become foolish. If I had used my internal strength while drinking, he would have thought I was admitting his martial arts were superior to mine.”

“Then…”

“However.”

Jang Ilso chuckled and said.

“Now he can’t help but admit that I’m a stronger drinker! After all, he passed out first! Kekekek. You should have seen his face before he fell!”

Ho Gamyeong pressed his temples.

His head aches.

His head was really hurting. It wasn’t a joke, he was actually feeling a headache. His blood pressure seemed to soar.

“…Fine, then start circulating your energy. You’ve proven that you’re a stronger drinker, so there’s no need to suffer from headaches anymore.”

“Not yet.”

“Yes?”

Jang Ilso clicked his tongue and waved his hand. Then, a servant, who was waiting behind him, came running like the wind and offered honey water.

Jang Ilso took a sip of the honey water and shook his head.

“I have to meet Hwang Se-ak again today. I need to show him a groaning face.”

“…All for that insignificant person.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Gamyeong, Gamyeong. Why are you saying such obvious things, which is so unusual for you these days? You never know. One day, the moment may come when that insignificant person decides my life.”

“…….”

Ho Gamyeong tried to say something bluntly but immediately closed his mouth. Jang Ilso’s expression suddenly changed.

“Regret isn’t about not doing something you couldn’t do. It’s about not doing something you could. So, of course, what can be done must be done right away.”

A sigh came out of Ho Gamyeong’s mouth.

It’s a straightforward argument. But is it easy for a person to stick to that principle?

Although he has now reached a position where he no longer needs to pay attention to such trivial people, Jang Ilso has not changed from when he was Bangju of Myriad Man Manor.

As a result, Jang Ilso’s schedule was almost brutally demanding. From Ho Gamyeong’s point of view, he was naturally concerned, but on the other hand, it could not be denied that Jang Ilso was able to completely dominate Evil Tyrant Alliance because of such an attitude.

“No matter what, you still need to take care of your health.”

“Gamyeong, you’re getting more and more rigid day by day.”

“Ryeonju-nim.”

“Okay, okay.”

Jang Ilso waved his hand as if he was fed up.

“If anyone sees me, they’ll think I’m the most pathetic person in the world. Sigh.”

Listening to his light grumbling, Ho Gamyeong sighed inwardly.

Pathetic?

Even if they are united in spite of their malice against Evil Tyrant Alliance, they wouldn’t dare to address Jang Ilso with such a term.

These words are extremely unbecoming of a person who organized Gangnam in just three years and achieved the Unification of Evil Sects.

Hwang Se-ak voluntarily pledging his loyalty was quite significant. This is because it is clear evidence that the influence of the Evil Tyrant Alliance has begun to shake even Gangbuk beyond Gangnam.

“I have something to report.”

“What is it?”

Jang Ilso dragged his speech with a sour expression on his face. His face was full of determination to get rid of Ho Gamyeong quickly and lie down again.

“Mount Hua’s Bongmun.….”

However, the moment Ho Gamyeong spoke his words, Jang Ilso’s face, which was full of drowsiness and annoyance, changed. His pale face distorted strangely, and a heart-stopping momentum poured out.

“……has been lifted.”

But the momentum faded away as if it had been washed away in an instant. As if Ho Gamyeong had been mistaken for a while.

But it was no illusion.

Though his face became hazy again, the bored look in his eyes had completely vanished. A small madness flickered in his dim eyes.

“Mount Hua?”

“Yes.”

“It took them long enough. A long time, indeed. That punk.”

Jang Ilso raised the corners of his mouth.

Of course, Ho Gamyeong knew who that ‘That punk’ that Jang Ilso was referring to was.

‘Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword.’

He doesn’t know the reason, but the only person in the entire world who can bring out that kind of expression from Jang Ilso is Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword.

“I was getting a bit annoyed and even thought about dragging him out myself….”

“The idiot moved as expected.”

“That’s right. That… That…?”

Jang Ilso scratches his head.

“What did he say? That, the name is……?”

“…It’s Gal Cheonrip. The Ruthless Ghost Dao Gal Cheonrip.”

“Ah. Right. That Gal Cheongrip.”

“It’s Gal Cheonrip.”

“Let’s skip the details. He’s just a nobody.”

Jang Ilso waved his hand dismissively as if there was no reason for him to remember the name of such an insignificant person.

“Anyway, it seems that Gal whatever died in Shaanxi as expected. I guess he couldn’t even do any real damage, right?”

“He was utterly defeated.”

“I suppose so. ‘Cause they’re idiots.”

Jang Ilso smirked.

“Now, finally, all the pieces and the stage are set. All we need now is for the situation to ripen, right?”

The face even looked pleased at first sight.

Does the world know that it was Jang Ilso who waited for Mount Hua’s return more than anyone else?

“Good!”

Jang Ilso sprang to his feet.

At the same time, his body emitted white steam, similar to boiling water. With his internal strength, he immediately blew away the alcohol toxin accumulated in his body.

“Clothes!”

“Yes, Ryeonju-nim!”

The servants rushed in and began to dress Jang Ilso’s whole body. Jang Ilso, who was waiting for the servants to adorn the accessories, frowned, seeming slightly annoyed.

“Alright, step aside.”

Pushing the servants aside, he began to put on rings by himself.

Ho Gamyeong swallowed dry saliva.

He thought the name Mount Hua would make Jang Ilso move, but even he hadn’t expected such an intense reaction.

But at the same time, a strange sense of anticipation bloomed in Ho Gamyeong’s eyes.

Three years.

The promised three years were almost up.

That meant the world would soon be engulfed in a storm once more. At the hands of Jang Ilso, not anyone else.

“Cancel all my appointments.”

“…What do you plan to do?”

“Once the rice is cooked, you have to move. Before you wait too long and burn out.”

Jang Ilso laughed, twisting his brightly red-painted lips.

“I have a place to visit.”

Ho Gamyeong’s heart sank when he saw that truly evil-looking smile. It was because he knew what happened every time Jang Ilso made that kind of expression.

It wasn’t the smile of someone enjoying what they were about to do.

It was the smile he wore when he threw his life into the fire pit.

“It’s time to get the last card. I’m curious too. Whether I will be able to grasp this piece, or if I will have to lay down my own life. Hahahahahahahat!”

With a laugh bordering on madness, Jang Ilso stepped out of his quarter. And despite the pouring sunlight, he stared at the sun rising in the sky, undeterred in the slightest.

Jang Ilso exposed his teeth as he bathed in the blinding light of the sun in the middle of the blue sky.

“If I can’t have it, then death is preferable.”

His hand stretched out and blocked the sun. He pretended to grab it at once, then burst into loud laughter as he strode forward with large steps.

The black snake, laden with madness and venom, had finally awakened from its long slumber and began to stir.