Return of the Mount Hua Sect - Ch. 832
The rumor that the Four Precepts Alliance had signed a non-aggression pact with the Nine Great Sects in the Southlands swept through the central plains like a storm. Even those who initially doubted it ended up believing, their mouths agape as the news spread.
“How can the Justice Faction collude with the Evil Faction?”
“Isn’t it too much to call it colluding?”
“This is colluding, or what else can this be called?”
“Yes, but…”
The news that angered those who heard the rumor the most was that they had abandoned the Yangtze River.
The pirates on the Yangtze River suffered damage due to the war. In such a situation, if the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families were not going to set foot on the Yangtze River, wasn’t it obvious the place would turn into chaos?
This was no different from the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families abandoning the people of the Southlands.
People across the realm were angry about it, but the news that followed was even more shocking.
-The person who was at the root of this is Wudang’s Venerable Heo Do, the sect leader.
-Byeop Gye, the elder of Shaolin, Namgung Hwa of the Namgung family, and Byeok Hyun, the sect leader of Qingcheng, sympathized with elder Heo Do’s decision.
-The Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families who didn’t go to the Yangtze River will also agree with the treaty.
At first, there was just shock; then it built up to anger, and finally, it turned into hatred. Those who exploded at the news they heard climbed Mount Wudang one after another.
Those who crossed the mountain reached the main sect of Wudang but couldn’t help but be astonished at the sight of the tightly shut gates.
“You caused things to end up like this and then close the gates!”
“There is a limit to shamelessness!”
“Come out! Right now!”
Actually, the situation would have been a little different if the Wudang had greeted the visitors without making them climb up. No matter how wrong things went, there wouldn’t be many people who would openly curse Wudang.
But the tightly shut gate set fire to the hearts of those who were trying to be polite.
“You damn bastards! Even after all this, you call yourselves the Justice faction?”
“You talked about being traitors, and now you abandon the innocent civilians!?”
“It was a waste to spend so many years trusting you!”
Those who flocked to the gate began to throw the items they were holding over the fence.
The first step was usually difficult. As those in front began to curse and throw things, those following them also raised their voices.
The curses went too far, and some people even kicked the closed gate with all their might and spat.
“…”
On the other side, inside the mountain gate, Jin Hyun, who was silently listening to the curses, closed his eyes.
“Jin Hyun.”
Mu Jin carefully placed his hand on his shoulder.
“Let us leave. It will only hurt to stay here.”
“… no, sasuk.”
But Jin Hyun shook his head and held on.
“I need to see clearly. Looking away will not change anything, right?”
“That could be true, but…”
Jin Hyun sighed and looked back at the gate. The sound of the gate slamming and the dirt flying broke his heart.
‘This much…’
He mumbled in a hollow voice.
“Actually, I didn’t expect them to be this cold-hearted. Still, there must have been quite a bit done in the name of Wudang.”
“They aren’t angry because we didn’t do anything; they are angry because of what we did. If there are no expectations, there can be no disappointment, right?”
“… true.”
But those words didn’t comfort Jin Hyun at all. In other words, his disappointment was at its extreme.
“Sasuk.”
“Yes.”
“I know that the choice of sect leader wasn’t wrong. And the fact that all those choices were for us. “
“…”
“But… looking at this now, I wonder if it would have been better for us to die there. It isn’t that much of a disgrace… if I had known that the name of Wudang would fall to the ground like this…”
Mu Jin sighed in frustration.
Why wouldn’t he know the feelings of Jin Hyun?
To them, being a Wudang disciple was an extremely honorable thing.
How could he forget the envious looks that poured in when they walked down the street in Wudang’s robes?
But they wouldn’t get that look anymore.
To them, the Wudang was someone who held hands with the Evil Faction just to live.
Mu Jin sighed and tapped Jin Hyun on the shoulder.
“Life is a waste for everyone.”
“…”
“What is wrong is wrong. But if there is something wrong, we can always make up for it. If the day comes when we establish the Wudang’s name again, then even those who are angry at us will look at us again.”
“… yes, sasuk.”
“Let’s go now.”
“Yes.”
When Mu Jin nodded and turned, Jin Hyun followed him and turned. But he couldn’t move his foot so easily.
Jin Hyun, looked at Mu Jin’s back with a bitter look thought.
‘But Sasuk. There were people there who didn’t regret it.’
Wouldn’t they be afraid of the situation too? No, that couldn’t be true.
There was just one difference between them and Wudang.
Could one carry out that will even in the face of fear?
Were they able to take a step forward even though they were afraid?
That small difference led to such drastic results.
‘This is tough.’
What was righteousness? What was justice?
Things they thought they knew had turned unclear.
The harsh curses from the people were still coming through.
The fact that there was nothing wrong with those curses made him sad.
‘I am sorry.’
He said it with all his heart. It was an apology that wasn’t listened to by anyone.
Although the rumor spread quickly, this time, thanks to the Lower District Clan’s active movement, the word traveled through the world even faster than before.
Everyone who heard it was angry, but among them were people who didn’t have time to be angry.
There were those who lived on the Yangtze River, relying on it as their only means of survival.
Kwaang!
A ship mercilessly rammed into another vessel crossing the Yangtze River. As the ship tilted, chains flew from the attacking ship and connected to one another. Stepping on the chains, the pirates boarded the ship.
“Please spare me!”
Those who saw the pirates fell to the ground in fear.
The pirates on board had such evil looks in their eyes.
“If anyone is hiding even a penny, I will cut the flesh from their bones right here! Give me everything you have! Go and bring out everything!”
“Yes!”
“Give everything? Isn’t that too much? I will prepare a toll fee for you, so please…”
As an old man approached and begged, the captain’s eyes narrowed.
“Who the hell are you?”
“I am the captain of this ship. If you take all of this, we will be ruined. And if we are ruined, those people will…”
Slash!
At that moment, the blade sliced through the captain’s chest.
“ACKKKK!”
The old captain, with his chest torn open, screamed and fell to the ground.
’ACK!“
The person who saw someone being cut by a blade trembled in fear.
“You arrogant bastard, how dare you try to teach me?”
The pirate licked the blood from the blade with his tongue and smiled.
“There are plenty of people who will pay even if you don’t. If you complain one more time, I will kill you and feed you to the fish.”
“If anyone is caught hiding anything, they die on the spot!”
“Move swiftly!”
One by one, people began to open their wallets, their pale faces ready to surrender. If all the money was taken, they would starve to death, but it was better than dying here.
‘How did something like this happen…’
The pirates were more venomous than before. In the past, they managed the Yangtze River in their own way by collecting a toll, but recently, they would only shout and take everything.
Thanks to the destruction of the pirates by the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families, the injured pirates were killing people and stealing goods without any hesitation.
‘If this continues, all the merchants traveling up and down the Yangtze will go bankrupt!’
‘What will happen now…?’
‘If they hadn’t come to the Yangtze River, this wouldn’t have happened at all!’
Everyone gritted their teeth inwardly. In a way, this was no source of amusement. Wasn’t the anger towards the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families, who brought the situation to this point, greater than the anger towards the pirates for robbing and killing people right in front of their eyes?
“We took ’em all. What will you do with these people?”
“Send them away?”
The person who seemed like the captain spoke with a grin.
“The officials won’t come forward unless people die in huge numbers. Wealth is nice. We aren’t people who collect taxes but rob them.”
The faces of the civilians turned pale at those words. It was because there was no mistake in what he said.
“There is no need to scratch and make crumbs. Besides, if you let them go alive, won’t they need to have money to take the ship again? See you then. Next time, if you want to save your life, ride with a huge amount of money. Hahahaha!”
The bandits, who had entirely destroyed the ship, laughed and moved to their own ship and went away.
Those who were looking at the back of the ship began to speak in confusion and fear.
“… I am ruined. I spent all my money on this trip… if this happens, even if I return, I will have to starve to death!”
“Starve to death? I owe people money! Now I have a store that will be sold!”
“Damn it! Until recently, such a thing never happened!”
“What kind of situation are we in because of those Nine Sects!”
They boarded the ship carelessly, even though the Yangtze River was dangerous. They knew it was risky, but they needed to get on a ship to make a living.
Those who relied on the Yangtze River as their lifeline had no choice but to make a living from it. Even though they knew it was dangerous, it was difficult to find another way to survive.
“… How are we supposed to live?”
“Ahuk.”
This ship wasn’t the only one experiencing this. A similar situation was occurring across the Yangtze River.
Those who had suffered extensive damage were plundering the ships and filling their stomachs with the permission of the Black Dragon King.
Normally, when they felt that the atrocities were worsening, common people would run to the Justice faction and ask for help. Still, now they had no choice but to endure the tyranny.
“Captain, are you alright?”
“Here, get a clean cloth! Right now!”
The sailors were busy checking the condition of the captain, who had fallen to the ground. The warriors who saw the captain’s pale face were overcome with despair.
“I will rip that Heo Do bastard to death!”
“Is Wudang the only problem? Namgung and Shaolin were there too! They are all the same, be it Nine Sects or Five Families, they are all the same!”
“When have those self-indulgent bastards cared about us? What good will talking do? They look like people who will die in shit! Those people are as bad as the pirates!”
“Spit! Fucking dirt!”
The ship turned helplessly.
Since all of their belongings had been taken away, heading to the destination would only cost them more fare to return.
“… I guess we have to pray that we don’t run into any more pirates on our way back.”
“Everything has been stolen, so what difference does it make?”
“Don’t say that…. what if they get angry because we don’t have anything and try to harm us?”
“…”
One of the merchants sighed.
“Life is so hard. It is so fucking hard…”
Everyone went silent at the complaint. In a moment when everyone was immersed in their own sadness, someone pointed outside the ship and said,
“Look there… it seems like that ship will get plundered too.”
“Oh my…”
Sure enough, they saw a ship approaching from afar. The ship that discovered it turned the bow and began to head toward this new ship.
Everyone looked there with sad eyes. There was no choice but to watch this new ship’s misfortune.
“Look there, there.”
“What?”
“Another pirate ship is coming. They aren’t even alone; they are a large group.”
“What is happening on the Yangtze River?”
Everyone was speechless at this terrible sight.
At that time, someone mumbled curiously,
“…But why is it moving that way?”
“Uh?”
“In the first place, wasn’t the one who attacked first the one who plunders it? The pirate ship has already reached there, so why is this one also going there?”
“…Uh?”
The people blinked, looking at the scene again.
“It is going fast… Uh? Huh?”
The ship that appeared late rushed forward without even slowing down. Then, it rammed into the pirate ship attached to the merchant ship.
Kwaaang!
“…Oh my!”
The eyes of the people grew as big as lanterns as they witnessed this.