Return of the Mount Hua Sect Chapter 1427: So Is This Dagger A Failure? (2)
Previously on Return of the Mount Hua Sect...
A leisurely footstep sounded. It was Jang Ilso walking through the center of the Tang Family.
They had been delayed briefly by one old man, but it was a minor thing. Thoughts of Tang Jo-Pyeong had already been completely wiped from his mind.
Instead, what caught his eye were the half-collapsed pavilions of the Tang Family. Intact halls and burned ones scattered about looked like a miniature of the current Central Plains.
A strange sensation washed over him.
“Alliance lord! We’ve searched everywhere, but there don’t seem to be any survivors here.”
“You’re wasting effort. It’s pointless anyway.”
At Jang Ilso’s rebuke, Jeok Ho bowed his head deeply.
In a fifth-rank family like this, they’d typically prepare at least one hiding place within the clan. He had suspected they might have burned buildings to disguise and hide somewhere, but it had been a wasted effort. Confusion passed across Jeok Ho’s face.
‘If that’s the case… did the Tang Family really abandon their clan and flee?’
The Sichuan Tang Family?
Surely even Jang Ilso did not predict this. If he had foreseen this even a little, he would not have sent them on a wild goose chase.
“Hmm.”
As if knowing his thoughts, Jang Ilso emitted a low hum.
“…Which is it?”
“Yes?”
“Has the Tang Family gone mad? Or has my fame risen higher than I thought? Could the Sichuan Tang Family be so cowed as to abandon their home and flee?”
Probably both.
The Sichuan Tang Family they knew would never abandon their clan. That they fled means the Tang Family now is not the Tang Family they knew.
And even if they had changed, if the one crushing them weren’t Hegemony Lord Jang Ilso, they wouldn’t have chosen this. They would have fought to the death here.
A gloom settled into Jang Ilso’s eyes.
Whatever the reason, an unexpected event displeased him. It felt like pouring ice water on the exhilaration from toppling Emei and Dian-cang. An indescribable unease twisted in his gut.
“The Sichuan Tang Family… all those tangled with the Heavenly Friends Alliance are a headache. Or rather, should I say those tied to that kid?”
A chuckle escaped Jang Ilso’s mouth.
It probably had nothing to do with them. From this distance, what could Mount Hua’s Sword Saint do?
Yet Jang Ilso couldn’t shake the feeling that Mount Hua’s Sword Saint had some influence in this.
“Such a troublesome child.”
He had herded them strictly to the east in case something like this happened, yet even from this distance they made trouble.
Jang Ilso slowly licked his lips. A predatory glint flickered in his eyes.
“Alliance lord!”
One of the Red Dogs darted up and kowtowed before Jang Ilso.
“We’ve found traces of their movement. To the north.”
Jang Ilso nodded. Naturally north, there was no other way for them to survive.
“What is the scale?”
“Everyone. Even those at the Tang Family compound seem to have moved at once.”
Surprised, Jang Ilso’s eyes narrowed.
“All at once?”
“Yes!”
His red lips twisted for a moment.
“Hmm. So… you’re saying even those at the Tang Family compound were gathered and fled together?”
“Yes, Alliance lord!”
Jang Ilso laughed as if incredulous.
“That’s peculiar. I thought the Tang Family strictly separated direct and collateral lines… yet they’ve gathered not only non-direct members but even women and children and fled together? Even children without martial training?”
“…”
“Ha, if they’re going to change anyway…”
Jang Ilso’s gaze turned north.
“They could have been a bit smarter about it. Couldn’t they?”
Jeok Ho nodded.
If they had resolved to accept about half the casualties and scattered the family members everywhere, it would have been hard for Jang Ilso to respond. He wouldn’t know who to seize and who to let go until he had a hold.
But to flee deliberately in a single direction is like shaking your rear and daring someone to chase you.
“Chasing someone isn’t really my taste, but to tempt me so openly and not oblige would be mean. Prepare yourselves. We must catch them before they leave Sichuan.”
“Yes, Alliance lord!”
The Red Dogs were about to carry out the order at once.
“Ah, before that.”
“…Yes?”
Jang Ilso slowly looked around the half-ruined pavilions of the Tang Family and spoke.
“If someone made a great decision… helping that decision is also a kindness a benevolent person can grant, isn’t it?”
A radiant smile spread across Jang Ilso’s face.
“Set everything ablaze. Leave not a single thing bearing the Tang Family name in this Sichuan land. Burn them to ashes so the wind scatters them and they vanish.”
“Yes, Alliance lord!”
They all bowed once and ran off in unison. Jang Ilso’s lips parted slightly.
“I wonder… Tang Gunak.”
How will he accept this outcome?
With this, the Sichuan Tang Family has lost its roots. Given the nature of the Tang Family, they will never again regain their former prestige.
Even so, will Tang Gunak truly say this choice was right?
The descendants of the Tang Family will curse and reproach Tang Gunak for generations; can he nonetheless praise those who abandoned the clan and left?
Even though the Sichuan Tang Family will never be called the Lord of the Sichuan again?
“Hypocrisy that great is a disease.”
Jang Ilso chuckled.
Pitiful. Regrettable. So perhaps one might grant him a little mercy?
Whoosh!
Flames rose up on all sides.
The slowly kindling flames quickly swelled like a demon’s maw and devoured the remaining pavilions of the Sichuan Tang Family.
Everything of the Sichuan Tang Family — a famous house of Sichuan and the clan’s ancestral root famed across the land — was burning.
A blaze visible from across the capital. It was like a beacon announcing that Sichuan had come under the Four Sects Alliance’s dominion.
The firelight cast deep shadows across Jang Ilso’s face. Watching the burning halls with a strange smile, he turned away without regret.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
The mercy he could grant Tang Gunak.
Was to let Tang Gunak let go of attachments easily. If those who fled all died, he could vent anger and blame them without hiding his true feelings.
Otherwise, by needlessly trying to save doomed lives, he’d end up watching the Tang Family’s seat burn and shedding bitter tears while cursing.
“Really, I’m in such a good mood I could burst.”
Jang Ilso laughed as if embarrassed and took a light step forward.
Their destination was north.
Where the Tang Family’s elders had fled.
❀ ❀ ❀
Fwoosh!
Tang Gunak, who had been pushing off the ground hard, flinched and slowed for a moment.
When he glanced back, the distance to those behind had widened again. Even though he knew they needed to keep pace together, his steps kept rushing ahead.
He bit his lip hard.
He knew.
They were already exhausted. Even if they weren’t, few could keep up with Tang Gunak’s full-speed lightness skill.
So there was no need to keep showing this and revealing his anxious heart. It was meaningless and only made him fret.
Even knowing this clearly, his heart kept rushing ahead and causing mistakes.
Tang Gunak glanced down at Chung Myung tucked at his side.
‘Mount Hua’s Sword Saint.’
Tang Gunak also knew how much of an unreasonable burden he was imposing. Mount Hua’s Sword Saint and the Five Swords were not in normal condition. Anyone with a bit of medical knowledge would foam at the mouth insisting they must rest.
But Tang Gunak’s stubbornness was making it hard on them, perhaps for something already too late.
But…
“Family Lord!”
At that moment Hyun Jong, who had caught up beside him, panted as he spoke.
“Family Head, I’m sorry. Your heart must be impatient, but our inability…”
Tang Gunak bit his lip with even more despair.
Why is he apologizing?
It’s not only Mount Hua who can’t keep up. The Tang Family’s elites can’t follow either. So why is Hyun Jong bowing his head to him?
Tang Gunak spoke with a heavy heart.
“I’m sorry. But please muster a little more strength. We are nearly in Sichuan; Chengdu is within reach.”
“Yes! Don’t worry. Even if our legs burst and we die, we will reach the Tang Family and die there.”
At those words, Tang Gunak glanced back.
As expected, the Five Swords following Hyun Jong also wore resolute expressions. Deep down they probably wanted to collapse right now.
‘If…’
If even one person of the Tang Family could be saved by this forced march, the Sichuan Tang Family would owe Mount Hua an unpayable debt. Tang Gunak etched that truth into his heart.
And at that moment.
Screeeee!
At the sharp cry of a bird from the sky, everyone hastily looked up.
“It’s the Beggars’ Union! It’s definitely a message rocket fired from the Beggars’ Union in Sichuan!”
Thought was short and action quick.
Tang Gunak immediately pushed off the ground and shot into the air. He reached out and grabbed the flying message rocket.
Smack!
Landing again, with lightning-fast hands he tore open the message tube hanging from the rocket’s leg. Reading the slip inside, Tang Gunak’s face visibly hardened.
“Family Lord, what does it say?”
“…Read it.”
Tang Gunak handed the slip to Hyun Jong. After reading it, Hyun Jong’s face also hardened.
[The Lower District Sect and another sect are moving south towards Dian-cang. The Ten Thousand People Clan is moving north pursuing the Sichuan Tang Family survivors.]
The message conveyed the situation concisely, but the implications were anything but simple.
“Are you saying they’ve split into two groups?”
“…It seems so.”
Embarrassment clouded Hyun Jong’s eyes.
If they had moved together, they could have countered whichever side they targeted. But split into two forces… helping both is impossible.
Dividing already insufficient forces into two could lead to the worst, Mount Hua and the Tang Family being defeated separately.
Hearing this from behind, Yoon Jong shouted as if there were no question.
“What are you thinking? Then we must go north! That’s where the Tang Family is!”
Of course, that’s the obvious conclusion.
But the confusion and anguish etched on Hyun Jong and Tang Gunak’s faces deepened.
“…So that’s it.”
Hyun Jong muttered in a slightly trembling voice. Tang Gunak bit his lip.
Those were Beop Jeong’s words, urgently relayed by Beop Gye. Only now did they painfully grasp his intent.
