Return of Mount Hua Sect

A man hurried his steps.

He didn’t really show off his authority. He simply walked quickly, as if he had something to do. However, everyone who saw him as he passed by was busy bowing their heads in thought.

The reason was simple.

He was none other than Jang Ilso’s general, Ho Ga-Myung.

Within the Four Precepts Alliance, Ho Ga-Myung wasn’t even in the top ten.

But among those who were part of the alliance, there was no one foolish enough to think that Ho Ga-Myung’s actual power wasn’t formidable.

When Ho Ga-Myung reached Jang Ilso’s residence with a cold face, the guards who had been on duty bowed their heads. It was natural since the one who had approached was Ho Ga-Myung.

But.

Standing tall.

Ho Ga-Myung didn’t even move and stopped, making his hurried walk seem meaningless.

“….”

He narrowed his eyes and looked at the lowered heads of the guards.

“Come here.”

“Yes!”

The guards quickly approached Ho Ga-Myung.

“Anyone entering the residence of the Alliance Lord must be searched. Isn’t that the rule of the Four Precepts Alliance?”

“Yes, that is right.”

The guards, who had become thoughtful, quickly nodded.

“Then why are you not searching me?”

“H-How dare we search…”

“Dare?”

The faces of the guards gradually turned pale at the voice of Ho Ga-Myung, who asked swiftly.

“If someone kills Ho Ga-Myung and disguises as me, can you handle the aftermath of it?”

“…General.”

“Search.”

“Yes!”

Instead of further explanation, the guards searched Ho Ga-Myung’s body with tired faces. With trembling hands, they searched through his clothes one by one and even touched his face to check if he had been using a mask.

“Nothing odd.”

As the guards retreated, Ho Ga-Myung stared at them with an emotionless face.

The guards, whose faces were drenched in sweat, trembled with nervous expressions like criminals waiting for a judge’s verdict.

“This time, I will let this pass.”

“Thank you….”

“But if something like this happens again…”

Ho Ga-Myung’s sharp eyes glared at them.

“You will think that it would be better to die.”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind!”

“The only one you should be loyal to is the Alliance Lord. As the Alliance Lord’s guards, no one in the Four Precepts Alliance, not even me, needs to be bowed to by you.”

“….”

“Remember.”

“Yes!”

Finally, Ho Ga-Myung turned his gaze and walked inside the residence.

The guards, who barely made it back alive from the mouth of the tiger, gradually dragged their weakened legs.

Clack.

Opening the door and entering, Ho Ga-Myung looked around with sharp eyes.

After taking in everything in the room with his eyes and taking several breaths, he nodded lightly. He approached the bed in the center of the room.

It was at that moment that his face, which had been frozen like ice, began to loosen up.

“…. Alliance Lord.”

“….”

“Alliance Lord. Stop sleeping. The sun is high in the sky.”

“….”

“Alliance Lord!”

“Ughh,”

Jang Ilso, who was lying on the bed, stirred around.

“You need to get up now!”

“B-be quiet… isn’t your head hurting?”

Jang Ilso groaned and pulled the silk blanket over his head.

He didn’t say that it was wrong and rude, but Ho Ga-Myung let out a deep sigh.

“You need to get up.”

“… One moment.”

“Uh?”

“Come back after one hour. One hour… just one more hour.”

“Alliance Lord!”

Since Jang Ilso showed no signs of waking up, Ho Ga-Myung finally grabbed the blanket himself and pulled it down.

“Get up!”

“Ughh….”

In the end, Jang Ilso slowly raised his upper body. His disheveled hair and slumped shoulders made him doubt whether this Jang Ilso was the same lord as yesterday.

“Ga-Myung… didn’t I say that my head hurts badly?”

“Yes, you did. Why did you think of drinking so much then?”

“… a rat-like guy drinks a sip of alcohol and doesn’t even blink an eye. So, what do you want me to do? It’s not like I can just back out and say I cannot drink in front of him, right?”

“Why did you learn martial arts then? You can just release the toxins of the alcohol with your internal qi!”

“Ahhh… I told you to speak softly. My head is hurting.”

Jang Ilso groaned again and continued.

“You are usually smart, but you are stupid at times like this. If I had to use my internal qi while drinking, he would have thought I was better than him in martial arts alone.”

“… then?”

“But.”

Jang Ilso giggled.

“Now he can’t help but admit that I can drink better! After all, he passed out first! Hehehehe. You should have seen the look on his face before he fainted.”

Ho Ga-Myung pressed his fingers against his temple.

His head hurt.

This wasn’t a joke; his head really did hurt. His blood pressure was rising.

“… right, so cultivate now. You have proven that your alcohol tolerance is stronger, so there is no need for you to have this headache anymore.”

“Not yet.”

“Uh?”

Jang Ilso clicked his tongue and waved his hand. At that, the maid who was waiting behind him came running like the wind and offered him honey water.

Jang Ilso drank the honey water he received and shook his head.

“I need to see Hwang Se-Ak again today. I have to show him how to cower.”

“… because of that one insignificant person.”

“Tsk tsk tsk, Ga-Myung. Ga-Myung, why are you saying such obvious things these days, which isn’t normal for you? The world is unpredictable. Someday, that insignificant person might decide my life.”

“….”

Ho Ga-Myung tried to say something bluntly but then closed his mouth. Jang Ilso’s expression changed completely.

“Regret is not something you experience because you failed to do what you could. It is something you experience because you failed to do what you should. So, of course, you should have done what you could have done a long time ago.”

A sigh escaped from Ho Ga-Myung’s mouth.

This was the true theory. But was it easy for someone to stick to that theory?

Now that he was in a position where he didn’t have to pay attention to such small matters, Jang Ilso was no different than when he was the leader of the Ten Thousand People Clan.

As a result, Jang Ilso’s work was almost like overwork. Ho Ga-Myung was naturally worried, but on the other hand, he couldn’t deny that Jang Ilso was able to completely control the Four Sects Alliance because of that kind of attitude.

“No matter what, you have to preserve the body.”

“Ga-Myung, how come you are getting more and more stuck in your ways as days pass?”

“Alliance Lord.”

“I know. I get you.”

Jang Ilso waved his hand as if he was getting sick of it.

“If someone saw me, they would think I was the most pathetic person in the world. Ugh.”

Listening to the grumbling, Ho Ga-Myung sighed.

Pathetic?

Even if he saw someone full of ill intent toward the Four Precepts Alliance, they wouldn’t dare say such a thing about Jang Ilso.

It was too unbecoming of someone who had gotten the Southern lands under him and established a new alliance in three years to be looked at like that.

The fact that Hwang Se-Ak came to him on his own feet and pledged loyalty was quite significant. That was because it was clear evidence that the Four Precepts Alliance’s influence had begun to shake not just the south, but the northern lands too.

“I have something to report.”

“What is it?”

Jang Ilso spoke with a calm expression. His face was filled with the intention of getting Ho Ga-Myung out quickly and going back to sleep.

“Mount Hua is…”

However, the moment Ho Ga-Myung spoke, Jang Ilso’s face, which had been filled with laziness and annoyance, shifted. His pale face contorted, and a heart-stopping qi was released.

“… has released their Closed Gate.”

But the momentum disappeared in an instant. It was as if Ho Ga-Myung had imagined it.

However, it was by no means a mistake.

His face turned hazy again, but the dull expression had completely disappeared. A small flash of madness flickered in his dim eyes.

“Mount Hua?”

“Yes.”

“It took a long time. So fucking long. That damned bastard.”

Jang Ilso smiled.

Of course, Ho Ga-Myung knew who the damned bastard Jang Ilso was referring to.

‘Mount Hua’s Sword Saint.’

He had no idea, but the only person in the world who could make Jang Ilso look in such a way was Mount Hua’s Sword Saint alone.

“I was starting to get annoyed and even thought about dragging him out myself…”

“It was because that moron moved as we expected.”

“Right. That… that…”

Jang Ilso scratched his head.

“What was it again? His name…?”

“… Gal Cheon-rip. It is Gal Cheon-rip, the Ghost Blade.”

“Ah, right. Gal Cheon-rip.”

“Gal Cheon-rip.”

“Let us just ignore the small fry. He is nothing.”

Jang Ilso waved his hand as if there was no reason to remember that guy’s name.

“Anyway, that Gal one seems to have gotten away with it in Shaanxi as expected. He didn’t do any real damage, right?”

“He was unilaterally destroyed.”

“Of course. Because they are idiots.”

Jang Ilso giggled.

“Well, all the roles and situations are finally set. Now all we have to do is start the game, right?”

His face seemed happy at first glance.

Did the world know that the one who had been waiting the most for the return of Mount Hua was Jang Ilso?

“Nice!”

Jang Ilso jumped up from his place.

At the same time, his body emitted pure white steam, like boiling water. He had expelled the toxins of the alcohol from his body in one breath.

“Clothes!”

“Yes, Alliance Lord!”

The servants rushed over and began to dress Jang Ilso. As they worked, Jang Ilso, waiting impatiently, frowned in annoyance.

“Now, now get out of my way.”

He pushed the servants aside and began to put the rings on his fingers himself.

Ho Ga-Myung gulped at the sight.

He had thought that the mention of Mount Hua would prompt Jang Ilso to act, but he hadn’t expected such intensity.

Yet, alongside his surprise, a strange anticipation bloomed in Ho Ga-Myung’s eyes.

Three years.

The promised three years were over. That meant the world would soon be engulfed in a storm once again by the hands of none other than Jang Ilso.

“Cancel all the plans.”

“… What are you planning to do now?”

“If the rice is cooked, we need to start eating it before it gets cold.”

Jang Ilso smiled, twisting his red lips.

“I have a place to go.”

Ho Ga-Myung’s heart sank at the sight of that sinister smile. He knew what happened every time Jang Ilso made that expression.

It wasn’t a smile of satisfaction for something accomplished.

It was a smile he made when he was about to throw his life into a pit of fire.

“It is time to play the last card. I wonder, too. Will I be able to use this card, or will I have to give up my life playing it? Hahahahahaha!”

Jang Ilso opened the door to his room and stepped out, bursting into mad laughter. Despite the pouring sunlight, he glared at the sun high in the sky, undaunted.

Jang Ilso bared his teeth as he received the blinding sunlight floating in the middle of the blue.

“It is better to die than to live without possessing it.”

His hand extended out and covered the sun. He pretended to grab it and then burst into laughter, taking long strides.

The black snake, filled with madness and venom, finally woke up from its long sleep and began to move.