Return of the Mount Hua Sect

Hyun Jong sitting in the center and the elders of Mount Hua are sitting on his left and right. That was definitely a sight he often saw in Mount Hua.

The problem is….

‘Who is that person….’

Hwang Jongwi blinked at the sight of a huge man leaning against one wall, looking as limp as soaked cotton.

‘I’ve seen him somewhere… Ah!’

Hwang Jongwi, who realized that the identity of the large lump of cotton was Beast Palace gungju he had seen at the founding ceremony of Heavenly Comrade Alliance in the past, flinched and trembled for a moment.

What could have happened to drain the energy from such a towering man? The sight of an ordinary person slumped in exhaustion and that of such a man gave entirely different impressions.

Besides, as Hwang Jongwi clearly remembered, Beast Palace gungju was an exceptionally polite person, despite his appearance….

‘How hard must it have been…’

He realized once again that if someone gets entangled with Chung Myung Dojang and Mount Hua Sect, they will all end up in hell, regardless of Beast Palace or Tang Family.

‘And so will I.’

What? Missing Mount Hua?

Come to think of it, has there ever been such a peaceful time as the past few months when Mount Hua left Shaanxi? They say that when people become addicted to alcohol, they think that being drunk is normal, so why did he miss these people?

“Oh, Danju-nim!”

The leader of the demonic sect, who saw Hwang Jongwi entered the quarters… No, Hyun Jong, sect leader of Mount Hua, stood up from his seat in delight.

Hyun Jong approached without delay and grabbed Hwang Jongwi’s two hands, smiling brightly.

“Danju-nim. How long has it been? I am so happy to see you came all the way here.”

“Yes. That… Right. Sect Leader, it’s nice to meet you too….”

One would think that such a warm welcome from the leader of Mount Hua would inspire gratitude, but strangely, Hwang Jongui felt a lingering unease.

‘No. It’s not Sect Leader’s fault.’

While holding Hyun Jong’s hand, Hwang Jongwi quickly looked around. He was looking for the person who was clearly the cause of all this.

The root of all evil was, as always, grinning as if none of this had anything to do with him.

“You’re later than I thought?”

That was certainly not something to say to someone who had rushed all the way from Shaanxi, but Hwang Jongwi didn’t take it to heart. He had gone through too much to be swayed by such comments.

“Have you been well?”

“What could possibly happen here? Of course, I’m doing well.”

“Hng.”

“Ugh.”

As soon as Chung Myung answered, sighs and groans came out from all directions. Hwang Jongwi, who was able to guess the reason for all these reactions, simply shook his head.

“Anyway…”

Hwang Jongwi, who was about to make a joke while looking at Chung Myung’s calm and composed appearance, suddenly tilted his head slightly.

“Hm?”

“What’s wrong?”

Hwang Jongwi, who had been pondering for a moment, quietly approached Chung Myung.

“Hey, can you stand up for a moment?”

“What?”

Chung Myung tilted his head but did as he was told and stood up. As Hwang Jongwi approached, Chung Myung slowly stepped back with a puzzled look on his face.

“I’m not into this kind of thing…”

“Aren’t you a bit taller?”

“Huh? Really?”

At those words, Chung Myung’s eyes widened.

Hwang Jongwi, who had been looking Chung Myung up and down, nodded again as if to confirm his opinion.

“It’s certain.”

“Oh?”

Chung Myung came close to Hwang Jongwi and drew a line with his hand to compare the height of his head and Hwang Jongwi’s head. Voices of agreement came from around them.

“It seems so. He does look a bit taller.”

“…Is he still growing?”

“Kuh! Heavens haven’t abandoned me! I thought I had stopped growing!”

This body was rather short compared to his previous body, which caused many inconveniences, but fortunately, it seemed that he still had the potential to grow further.

“No wonder I’ve been feeling more comfortable using the sword recently. Just you wait, damn Heavenly Demon!”

“…I think you’re excited about the wrong thing?”

“As you grow taller, your arms get longer, and having longer arms is good for wielding a sword. Of course, too much can be a problem, but right now, being a bit short is inconvenient. It’s better to grow a little more.”

Hwang Jongwi shook his head. This man hadn’t changed a bit since the first time he saw him. It was impressive how consistent someone could be.

“Oh, right. Did you bring that?”

“Who could take those words lightly? Of course, I brought them.”

“Keuh. As expected, the only person I can trust is you, Danju-nim.”

“…I hope there is even a little bit of sincerity in those words.”

“Hehe. I always speak with complete sincerity. So, where is it?”

“You seem more excited about the item than seeing me.”

“Ei. No way. I just wanted to be sure, be sure.”

At those words, Hwang Jongwi ended up laughing.

“The item is too large to bring inside, so it’s just outside the door.”

“Oh!”

As soon as Hwang Jongwi finished speaking, Chung Myung’s eyes sparkled, and he quickly ran to the door, flinging it open.

Even those who wondered what on earth Chung Myung asked him to bring were responding like this, snooped, and checked what was placed in front of the door.

“Cauldron?”

“What is that?”

The thing placed in front of the door was a dark cauldron. Those who saw it were puzzled. Among those in the room, only people of Mount Hua Sect knew what it was.

“It’s Cold Iron Cauldron.”

“Cold Iron Cauldron? Did you say cold iron?”

“It’s a cauldron made from ten-thousand-year-old cold iron. Now that I think about it, we had stored it with Eunha Merchant Guild.”

Those who weren’t disciples of Mount Hua Sect widened their eyes at those words.

No, what on earth were they thinking when they made a pot out of that precious, expensive iron? It wasn’t like they had too much money lying around.

“No, you lunatic!”

In particular, Tang Gun-ak ran out and examined the cauldron. He soon murmured in a dazed voice.

“It really is made from ten-thousand-year-old cold iron… No, last time, they made all their swords out of cold iron… Does Mount Hua have a cold iron mine? Now they’ve even made a cauldron…”

Hyun Jong, who was watching Tang Gun-ak’s soul leaving his body, whispered to Chung Myung.

“Didn’t Tang Gaju know about that?”

“Now that I think about it, I guess we never mentioned it to him. Well, there wasn’t really a reason to.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“But why were you so late?”

Hwang Jongwi smiled bitterly at Chung Myung’s question.

“Do you think that’s an ordinary item? If Mount Hua carried it around, it wouldn’t be a problem, but if we were transporting it and encountered robbers, it would be a big issue, wouldn’t it? It took some time to arrange for warriors to escort it.”

“Ah…. I didn’t think of that. If I had known, I would have sent the bandits who were playing around to get it.”

“….”

Hwang Jongwi decided to stop trying to understand.. The events that took place in Heavenly Comrade Alliance had long since fallen outside his scope of thought.

“Anyway, you’ve worked hard.”

“Hngg.”

At that moment, Maeng So, who had gotten up from his seat with a groan, looked at the cauldron placed outside the door and let out a hollow laugh.

“Why did you ask for that?”

“It has its uses.”

“Its uses?”

“The kids seem weak these days.”

“And whose fault is it!”

Chung Myung shrugged.

“They say, ‘Give the illness, then the cure.’ We gave them the illness, so now it’s time for the cure.”

“…That’s not how that saying is used.”

“Eii. I know Jungwon’s saying better than Gungju-nim. I think it’s right to use them at times like this?”

Beast Palace gungju’s huge head drooped down. Everyone felt sorry for him, but no one dared to come to his defense. It was a well-known truth that exchanging words with Chung Myung would only hurt their mouth.

“But, by cure you meant?”

“I had the ingredients, but I forgot to bring the cauldron. Now that we have the cauldron, we can make some elixir for the kids.”

At those words, Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung as if impressed.

Indeed, he had been worried and considering whether to tell Chung Myung to ease up upon seeing the alliance members struggling too much recently.

“I see. That’s a good idea.”

The moment Hyun Jong was about to nod, Maeng So asked hurriedly with a look of confusion clearly on his face.

“W- Wait! What are you giving it to who?”

“Elixirs to the kids.”

“To whom?”

“I said it’s to the kids. Gungju-nim, you seem very exhausted. You’re not understanding my words.”

Maeng So stared at Chung Myung with a dumbfounded expression.

“…When you say the kids, do you mean the disciples of Mount Hua Sect?”

“No, I’ll give it to all of them. All the kids that’s here.”

Maeng So’s eyes wavered in shock at those words.

“Even Beast Palace?”

“Of course. The most important materials were brought by Beast Palace and Ice Palace, so we can’t leave them out. One must have a conscience.”

Maengs So’s mouth was tightly shut. He kept his mouth shut for a long time as if pondering something but then opened his mouth in a heavy voice.

“…That doesn’t make sense.”

“Huh?”

“The value of the ingredients and the finished elixir cannot even be compared. No matter how much we brought the ingredients, no one would think that receiving the elixir in return was a fair trade.”

“….”

“And you’re planning to give it away for free?”

This is too much. It is true that Heavenly Comrade Alliance announced that they would treat the alliance members and their affiliated sects without discrimination, but no one truly believed it was possible.

Even Maeng So, one of the core members of Heavenly Comrade Alliance, didn’t actually expect that. But now, doesn’t it seem like Chung Myung is planning on really doing that nonsensical thing?

At Maeng So’s flustered voice, Chung Myung chuckled.

“What do you mean for free? How can you say that?”

“…Yes?”

A wicked smile spread across Chung Myung’s face.

“Even livestock work better when fed well, and horses do as told when given carrots, right?”

“….”

“If even mere animals are like that, wouldn’t people work even harder if they are well-fed?”

“….”

“These kids have been whining about how hard it is these days, so let’s see if they can still complain when I shove some elixir in their mouths. If people had the slightest bit of conscience, they’d grind without complaint. Kikikik!”

Maeng So shivered. Seeing that expression, Chung Myung nodded in understanding.

“Don’t worry. The sect leaders and elders will each get one too.”

“U- Us too?”

“It seems like you have a hard time dealing with the kids these days. How will you handle them once they have the elixir and run wild? Especially since you’re getting on in years and your stamina might be lacking.”

“….”

“Even older people should eat well to work as cows and hors-… No, to deal with the lively young kids smoothly, don’t they? I’m doing this with everyone in mind. Everyone in mind.”

…It’s a nice sentiment. How could giving away such a precious elixir for free be a bad thing?

But everyone there was painfully aware that depending on the situation and the person saying it, even those kind words could turn sour.

“Eat well and grow well. Once you’ve taken this one elixir, you won’t dare complain about being tired for the next few months!”

As Chung Myung’s eyes began to sparkle, Maeng So slowly moved his butt away.

“I, I don’t think I need tha-….”

“Take it.”

“No, really, it’s fi-….”

“Take it.”

“…Yes.”

A happy and proud smile spread across Chung Myung’s lips as he looked at the cauldron placed outside the door.

“After I feed them Jasodan, I’ll be able to grind them a little better than I do now, won’t I? I was already frustrated, but this came at a perfect time. Kikikikik.”

Everyone’s face grew darker upon hearing those words. Dark clouds were gathering in the manor where Heavenly Comrade Alliance was staying.