Return of the Mount Hua Sect
Chapter 863: Even If I Don't Know Where You Are, I Know Where You Belong (3)

“Kill them!”

“Those dirty, Evil bastards!”

A bustling street where pedestrians walked. In the middle of it, people with menacing weapons clashed fiercely.

Clang! Clang!

Weapons collided, and blood splattered in an instant.

“Oh my! What is this!”

“Eik!”

The civilians fled in fear from the sword fights occurring in broad daylight. However, the merchants, caught in the melee, couldn’t escape and leave their goods behind and simply stood, trembling.

They eventually retreated to a corner, curled up, and watched the warriors swing their swords fiercely.

“What is this!”

“This isn’t just a day or two!”

Just a couple of years ago, it would have been unheard of to see warriors fighting in the middle of the streets. Unfortunately, such incidents have now become common occurrences not just in the Southlands but also in the North of the river.

“ACK!”

One of the men fighting fell, bleeding from a wound on his chest.

The merchants tightly closed their eyes at the horrific sight.

It was too difficult for those who had lived their entire lives in peace to witness someone swinging a weapon at another person and see blood splatter.

Thud!

The body of the fallen man landed on a stall. The stall was destroyed in an instant, and fruits were scattered everywhere.

“Oh my!”

To a merchant selling goods, it was like a bolt from the blue, but who wouldn’t know that their own lives were more important than those fruits?

“You fucking bastards!”

“Let us finish this today!”

Those who looked rough at first glance had killing intent in their eyes. Those who faced that fierce force didn’t back down and rushed at them.

But at that very moment.

“Stop!”

Kwaang!

Along with a majestic voice, a dull explosion, like a boulder falling down a cliff, echoed.

Those who had been fighting fiercely stopped for a moment and turned their heads.

Their faces displayed a myriad of expressions when they saw the warriors approaching.

It couldn’t be anything else.

There had to be a few people in the world who could remain at peace after seeing that yellow robe. There were countless temples and monks in the world, but there was just one place where they wore such robes.

Shaolin.

The leader of the Nine Great Sects One Union and the Northern lord of Kangho had appeared.

Step. Step.

Shaolin’s Hae Bang, who had brought the disciples, frowned as he looked at the street.

Soon, a deep sigh escaped his mouth.

If things were as they were, the right thing to say at this moment would be, ‘What is happening?’ but he couldn’t even say that.

This was because he knew exactly how things would turn out if he said it.

“Disciples, listen up.”

“Yes!”

“Suppress all those who are causing trouble and send them to Shaolin!”

“Yes!”

“Great monk!”

One of them shouted out loud when he heard those words. The character for ‘Righteousness’ was engraved on the left of his chest, covered in a white robe stained with dust.

“I am Gwak So-Jong of the Righteous Blood Clan! Those damned bastards of the Evil Faction are causing trouble, so how can you treat us like that without considering the pros and cons of the situation?”

The Righteous Blood Clan was one of the small and medium sects in Hanam. Although it wasn’t a branch of Shaolin, it had deep ties with them from the past.

When Gwak So-Jong, the clan leader of the sect, asked openly, a fatigued look crossed Hae Bang’s face.

“…Clan leader, didn’t you hear the message from the abbot? Those who cause trouble in the land will not be tolerated.”

“Damn it. So you want me to suck my thumb and watch those damned Evil Faction bastards trying to rob the civilians in the place where we exist?”

As Gwak So-Jong protested with anger, Hae Bang let out a deep sigh.

“Weren’t you instructed to inform Shaolin when something like this occurs?”

“How long will it take for you to arrive if we wait for Shaolin? I’ve reported this more than once or twice!”

Hae Bang shook his head.

“The monks of the main temple will determine what is right and wrong. I am merely following the abbot’s orders, so I hope the clan leader understands.”

“Damn it!”

Gawk So-Jong’s face twisted in frustration.

Although Shaolin arrived swiftly and the conflict was brief, there was still some damage. He could see several of his disciples bleeding.

In such circumstances, it wouldn’t be easy to lay down their swords and retreat, especially when they believed they were in the right.

But here, Shaolin’s command was absolute.

“Put down your weapons and retreat. For now, we will cooperate with Shaolin.”

“… Yes.”

The disciples, hearing the order, glanced at Hae Bang with eyes full of anger and discontent before turning away.

For a moment, Hae Bang felt disoriented.

Would Shaolin have faced such looks in Hanam a few years ago?

He gave a brief sigh of disapproval. Now wasn’t the time to be caught up in such feelings. Something might be happening elsewhere at that very moment.

“You should all come to the temple.”

Hae Bang’s gaze shifted to one side.

Unlike the Righteous Blood Clan, who were cooperative despite their discontent, the other group’s gazes were filled with nothing but killing intent.

“This damned monk, you speak so well. Why should we cooperate with you?”

Hae Bang sighed once more.

‘I cannot comprehend the abbot’s intentions with my limited understanding. Why does the abbot leave them be?’

The ones showing intent to fight were from the Evil Faction.

Of course, the Evil Sects were not unfamiliar to Hae Bang. Even in Hanam, where Shaolin held strong influence, the Evil Sect existed.

They should be called back street thugs rather than Evil Sects or Evil Factions. Wherever people lived, there would be those who were evil, and such people formed in the dark corners of the cities.

But these people were different from the Evil Sects that Hae Bang had encountered. Those who fled to the North of the river to escape the Four Precepts Alliance were as rough as demons and didn’t show even the slightest respect for Shaolin and the Nine Great Sects.

“What will you do?”

It was polite but rough. It wasn’t just due to the fatigue from the situation but also because of the irritation and hostility Hae Bang felt towards them.

“Hehe. You seem to know anger despite being a monk. They say thick-skinned people don’t get angry easily.”

“Thick-skinned?”

“Right, I am thick-skinned! You little moron! The reason we are making a mess here is because of you Shaolin! If you hadn’t let go of the reins of the Four Precepts Alliance, we wouldn’t have had to come here escaping those bastards!”

“….”

“If we have come to an unknown land, isn’t it normal to find a way to make a living? Are you telling me to do nothing but starve ourselves to death? Don’t speak nonsense to me! If that were the case, I wouldn’t have risked my life to run here. I would have rather fought and died there than suck my thumb and die!”

It made sense, but it wasn’t worth considering.

It wasn’t like stealing to avoid starvation wasn’t a crime. No, a decent person wouldn’t think of taking other people’s things to live.

Hae Bang, who had been strictly disciplined by Shaolin, couldn’t understand that excuse.

“So, you won’t follow me?”

“Heheh. Didn’t the Shaolin guys have swords stuck in their bodies?”

Hae Bang’s expression turned cold.

“Gong Mu.”

“Yes, sasuk!”

“Subdue them and send them off!”

“Yes!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Shaolin disciples rushed towards the Evil Sect members, who were wielding weapons. Their faces were fierce, which seemed odd for monks who were supposed to preach mercy.

“These damned monks!”

“I will peel their skins off!”

“Subdue them at once!”

Hae Bang watched the fight break out and cried out in frustration.

“Amitabha…”

He and the Shaolin disciples were running around, sweating, but the chaos around them was only getting worse.

At first, it seemed like the northern sects were running wild, but now not only the Evil Sects in Hanam but even the justice faction sects were becoming extremely sensitive and going against the wishes of Shaolin to cause trouble.

It felt like pouring water into a bottomless pit. He was doing his best to stabilize the land, but the situation was only getting worse.

Hae Bang, who had been feeling concerned, shook his head.

‘Do not think of all that.’

He forced himself to shake off the thoughts that perhaps all of this was happening because the reputation of Shaolin wasn’t what it used to be. Then he sighed and walked away.

No matter how difficult it was, it would eventually end. So until then, there was no other choice but to try and try again.

Clack!

The door opened loudly.

“Big bro!”

The person who opened the door came in frowning. The stench of alcohol made him lose consciousness for a moment.

“Bro! Get up now, big bro!”

The top floor of the most luxurious building in the land, Flower House.

The man who had taken the most expensive room was lying on the large luxurious bed.

“Ah, big bro! I said to get up!”

The man who had been sleeping as if he were dead slowly opened his eyes.

“… ugh, fuck.”

He grabbed his head as if it hurt and asked in a hoarse voice.

“What is it? Right from the morning?”

“Big bro, the Red Horse Clan, who had gone to clean up the Righteous Blood Clan, have been taken away by the Shaolin!”

“…”

“What do we do?”

“Sigh…”

The man reached out and grabbed the bottle of alcohol on the bed. But no matter how much he shook it, nothing came out.

Feeling annoyed, he threw the bottle down and looked at the person who came to report.

“Yaso.”

“Uh?”

“Do you have any money?”

“Why would I have any money? Didn’t big bro take all the remaining emergency funds to come here?”

“… right.”

“If the Red Horse Clan had done their work right, they would have been given a good amount of money by now, but they didn’t. There is no place to make money now, no matter how hard we search! This is why I told you not to enter Hanam!”

“Tsk.”

The man clicked his tongue.

“Stop speaking nonsense, moron. Where is there a good place left in the Northern lands? Should we head to Hubei, where all those people gathered? Or enter the Southern Lands? Or maybe to Sichuan?”

“….”

“It’s the same everywhere.”

The one who came to report sighed at those words and asked.

“… then what do we do? This is why we cannot settle here.”

“Again, with the nonsense.”

The man chuckled.

“This is better. If it seems like we won’t settle down, we can just give up.”

“Uh?”

“Now that we’ve figured it out, let us hit it big.”

“Hit it big?”

The eyes of the man shone.

“It is time to step back now. My back hurts from being hit by Jang Ilso every time…”

“So you plan to steal now?”

“Yes. Steal. Gather everyone you can.”

“How many?”

“Everyone!”

The one who heard it frowned.

“… No. If you say big, those people will gather like clouds. Where can you even lead them? They won’t just follow and end up raiding every place.”

“A big place. We are going to a big place too.”

The man’s eyes turned to the west.

“Wouldn’t we be able to earn enough money to live off it if we raid one of the top ten merchant unions?”

“Top ten merchant unions?”

“Yes. I have a plan. Gather everyone interested in working for me.”

“I-I understand. Big bro!”

Gathering people without a plan wouldn’t be easy. Yet, the person who heard this nodded without hesitation and dashed out.

It was expected.

The one who spoke was none other than the infamous Ghost Blade, Gal Cheon-rip, known for slaying the Seven Killers of the West.

If Gal Cheon-rip, renowned for sparring with Jang Ilso, gave the word, packs of hungry wolves would come clutching their stomachs.

The capital, Luoyang.

Dark clouds were gathering over the sky of Luoyang.