Return of the Mount Hua Sect Chapter 1391: He Will Be Waiting For Us. (1)

“Faster!”

Baek Cheon kept barking orders without pause.

Even though speed alone wouldn’t solve their situation, Baek Cheon kept shouting as if enemies were poised to stab them in the back.

“More!”

But the group’s pace would not quicken.

“Strike them in one blow!”

The enemies they ran into along the way? Of course those slowed them down.

“Sasuk! Enemies are on our tail!”

“Damn it, I’ll go myself!”

The Ten Thousand People Clan that clung back the moment they thought they’d shaken them off? Naturally they were impacting things. In combat their speed inevitably slowed, especially for those running with the resolve to allow not a single person to fall behind.

But those who understood knew the lack of speed wasn’t only due to that.

“Done now! Move!”

After instantly annihilating the enemies with Namgung Do-Wei, Baek Cheon shouted in a thundering voice. But Tang Pae, hearing it, did not surge forward—he instead turned back.

Behind them there was nothing. The place they had already passed.

“What are you doing! Young lord.”

“...I’m sorry.”

Tang Pae gritted his teeth and looked forward. It was as if a creak sounded in his throat, like forcibly snapping something that could not be returned to.

His gaze kept drifting backward.

As if he had left behind someone he should never have left.

‘Why hasn’t he joined us yet?’

The closer they got to the Yangtze river, the more real it became: the distance between them and Chung Myung was widening drastically.

And they sensed it.

He wasn’t an idiot either, so he understood what it meant that they hadn’t seen the enemy main force or Chung Myung at all.

They were getting to safety.

This hellish journey south had finally reached its end. The Yangtze was within reach; if they could just avoid falling into the enemy’s trap in that short span, they would reach the river without major trouble.

But that fact made Tang Pae more uneasy.

“Green Forest King.”

“...”

Tang Pae, who had struck the ground, turned his head to look at Im So-Byeong, whose face was expressionless as if armored.

“Is there no one blocking the front?”

“...”

“Isn’t it strange? If they’ve driven us here they’d surely try to encircle us. Aren’t more than half of the Ten Thousand People Clan’s forces still by the Yangtze? What are they doing now...?”

“You have quite the temper.”

Im So-Byeong’s indifferent voice came out—an odd mismatch with his grave expression, which made the words ring even clearer.

“Why ask about what you already know? Are you trying to confirm it through my mouth because you’re unsure, or because you want to claim you didn’t know?”

The insult was full of venom, yet Tang Pae stayed silent, feeling the cold edge in those words wasn’t necessarily aimed at him.

Seeing Tang Pae’s reaction, Im So-Byeong lightly bit his lip.

“Where do you think they went?”

“...”

“Let’s not ask the obvious. There’s nothing we can do.”

What Tang Pae felt now was a weight hard to describe.

But perhaps Im So-Byeong felt beyond heaviness—he might have felt despair.

A soldier’s role is to find the best option within limited circumstances. The moment he fails to do that, a soldier becomes utterly worthless.

In that statement that there was nothing they could do, Im So-Byeong’s despair was fully contained.

“...They went to the Taoist, then.”

“...”

A touch of irritation crossed Im So-Byeong’s face. What would saying that out loud change?

Having seen Im So-Byeong’s expression, Tang Pae turned forward. He saw Mount Hua’s disciples fiercely cutting through the enemies.

‘Wouldn’t they know too?’

Why they were heading so easily to the Yangtze, and where the enemies were gathering.

How could they fight without ever looking back?

Even he, who did not share a roof with Mount Hua’s Sword Saint, felt as if someone kept tugging him from behind, forcing him to look back despite himself. What state of mind must they be holding their swords with?

He couldn’t even bring himself to guess.

“Tang Young lord.”

At that moment someone called Tang Pae. Turning, he saw Gwak Hwan-So had come up beside him, looking at him with hard eyes.

“Is it true that Mount Hua’s Sword Saint is luring the enemies?”

“...I’m not certain.”

Tang Pae couldn’t bring himself to answer that way.

Any answer would be painful from the Southern Island Sect’s perspective. These were not shameless or foolish people; they would feel keenly that Chung Myung was taking excessive risks.

How could he drive a knife into the faces of such people?

“Soon... probably soon they’ll join. Chung Myung Taoist has always been like that. It’s hard to judge him by a common person’s measure.”

Tang Pae said that much and turned his gaze away.

Because continuing would have been impossible.

“...”

Gwak Hwan-So seemed to sense Tang Pae was lying. He parted his lips as if to speak, then closed them.

“Hurry up!”

Baek Cheon’s strong voice rang at the right time, wiping away their lingering thoughts.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Now was not the time to let such thoughts slow their steps.

Even with worries and doubts, they had to bury them and follow Baek Cheon’s orders.

Because that was Chung Myung’s will—staying behind in danger to save them.

‘But...’

Tang Pae shifted his gaze and slowly scanned the surroundings.

Putting aside the faces of Mount Hua’s disciples, whose backs were all that could be seen, even Namgung Do-Wei, Hae Yeon, and Southern Island Sect’s disciples had faces set unyieldingly hard.

‘Taoist. Is this really what you wanted?’

Perhaps all here might survive without sacrifice.

But even if they survived, could they accept that survival honorably? Could they simply affirm the lives gained at the cost of sacrificing the one who should never have died?

If Chung Myung truly thought that way, Tang Pae would hate him.

If he had thought Chung Myung was a person with even a shred of decency, he couldn’t make that judgment. None of them would want to save their lives at the price of Chung Myung’s sacrifice.

‘Then why...’

Tang Pae bit his lip.

He was asking, but he knew. In the end there would be no choice.

Between the path that endangered himself and the path that endangered others—if those were the only two options, Chung Myung would naturally choose the one that put himself at risk.

He had always made that choice.

That’s why everyone followed him. That’s why everyone liked him.

But the way Chung Myung had always led them was now producing the worst result. As if it were a price he—and they—would inevitably have to pay someday.

So they could only resent him.

At least no one wanted this worst outcome. No one.

And then.

“Ah...”

A sight like a lie entered Tang Pae’s eyes—the end of a road that seemed endless, the end of a vast forest that seemed to stretch forever.

Over the low ridge the land unfolded, and its far edge was dyed a darker, deep black than the sky.

Those who recognized the black line’s nature stopped one by one, unable to contain the tremor running through them.

A voice, as if in a trance, quietly flowed through them.

“Yangtze... it’s the Yangtze.”

Yangtze river.

The great river dividing the Central Plains’ south and north—and the place they had so longed to see.

The Yangtze lay spread before their eyes.

Their legs went weak. Even Tang Pae, who hadn’t expected to falter, had to steady himself.

How to name this feeling?

Relief? Collapse? Or just plain joy?

It was impossible to define that complex swirl of emotion in a single word.

In that deep feeling, Tang Pae and the others around him only trembled.

“Ugh.”

At that moment, in front of Tang Pae, Lee Ja-Yang lowered his head.

“...Ja-Yang.”

Gwak Hwan-So put a hand on Ja-Yang’s shoulder. Ja-Yang opened his mouth in a choking voice.

“Honestly...”

Ja-Yang swallowed down something boiling inside, and a squeezed voice escaped.

“I honestly didn’t think... I’d live to see this sight... alive.”

Those words voiced the feelings of all the Southern Island Sect’s disciples.

Only ten of them.

Only ten had come to rescue them.

Who could dare think to break through the south trusting just ten? They had stepped into the southern lands determined they would not die a pitiful death even if it cost them their lives.

Yet after countless sacrifices and a hellish path, they had finally reached this place.

Of course it wasn’t over yet.

Crossing that river would not be easy either; in the process they might all lose their lives.

But even knowing that, the emotion of seeing the Yangtze with their own eyes was irresistible.

“...Now it’s truly one step away.”

“Yes, sahyung.”

Ja-Yang nodded at Gwak Hwan-So’s words.

“Now it’s really soon.”

Without dwelling on the dangers remaining by the river, Gwak Hwan-So and Ja-Yang steadied each other’s spirits. Hearing that, Southern Island Sect’s disciples set their faces firmly.

And at the same time, Baek Cheon, who had only looked ahead until now, turned his head.

With an icy expression, his face as hard as if encased in iron, Baek Cheon looked at Gwak Hwan-So.

“Warrior Gwak.”

“Yes, Acting Sect Leader.”

Gwak Hwan-So met Baek Cheon’s gaze squarely.

If Baek Cheon told him to leap into the flames, he would. If asked to give his life, he would. Baek Cheon deserved that.

“There is the Yangtze. Once we cross it lies Northern lands. When we reach the Northern lands, whether the Heavenly Friends Alliance or the Nine Great Sects, someone will come to meet Southern Island sect.”

Gwak Hwan-So’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

It wasn’t displeasure—just curiosity about Baek Cheon’s intention. The Baek Cheon he knew didn’t bother stating the obvious.

“By Mount Hua’s grace...”

“Warrior.”

Baek Cheon folded his hands in a formal salute and bowed deeply. Startled by the sudden courtesy, Gwak Hwan-So blinked and looked at him.

“Mount Hua’s help to you ends here.”

“...Sorry?”

Gwak Hwan-So echoed with a stunned expression.

What on earth did that mean?

“The Yangtze’s defenses won’t be as strong as you think. Cross the river before dawn. That should keep the Southern Island Sect safe.”

“W-wait. Acting Sect Leader. What do you mean? Cross the Yangtze? Then what about Mount Hua?”

Baek Cheon lifted his head and met Gwak Hwan-So’s eyes.

That gaze.

The unwavering look told Gwak Hwan-So immediately what Baek Cheon meant.

“You’re asking the obvious.”

Mount Hua’s disciples stepped up beside Baek Cheon. Their eyes matched his without a flicker.

“We are going to fetch that foolish sajil.”

“Now, Acting Sect...”

“I’m sure he’ll be waiting for us too.”

Baek Cheon’s voice came out resolutely.

“He will be waiting for us.”