Chapter 1945 - Return of The Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1945. Just Like Back Then In The Past. (5)

Hong Daegwang bit down hard on his lower lip.

“….The bishop who appeared in Hangzhou was most likely with them?”

“That’s right.”

Cheong Myeong elaborated.

“Even if it wasn’t that bastard, it doesn’t change anything. Wherever the Demonic Cult moves, there’s always a bishop. And I don’t think I need to explain what kind of monsters the Demonic Cult’s bishops are.”

Everyone nodded.

Whether they had experienced Hangzhou firsthand or had only heard of it through others, there wasn’t a single person present who didn’t know how horrifying the Demonic Calamity of Hangzhou had been.

“Then we have to assume the Great Wall will be breached. Or perhaps it already has.”

Im Sobyeong’s calm voice pierced everyone’s hearts like an awl.

“Then, realistically speaking, the place where we’ll be able to intercept them is...”

Letting the end of his sentence trail off for a moment, Im Sobyeong frowned slightly and turned toward Cheong Myeong.

“Would it be reasonable to assume Shijiazhuang?”

[석가장(石家莊). Shijiazhuang. The capital of present-day Hebei Province, located southwest of Beijing.]

“Your expectations are still too high. At best, Handan.”

[한단(邯鄲). Handan. A historic city in southern Hebei Province, considerably farther south than Shijiazhuang.]

“Hmm... I suppose so.”

Hong Daegwang’s pupils trembled violently. There had been an unpleasant sense of incongruity in their conversation all along. And it didn’t take him long to realize exactly what that feeling was.

“What are you talking about? Shijiazhuang?”

His voice had begun trembling so badly that he could no longer hide it.

“Do you not know what’s beyond Shijiazhuang?”

“......”

“It’s Beijing! Beijing! If what you’re saying is true, then Beijing....”

Hong Daegwang, who had been speaking in mounting anger, suddenly swallowed the rest of his words. Because Cheong Myeong and Im Sobyeong merely stared back at him with icy expressions, without the slightest sign of agitation.

Grinding his teeth once, Hong Daegwang forced the words out.

“You’ve already... You’ve already decided that Beijing has to be abandoned.”

“You’re wrong.”

Cheong Myeong answered calmly, his voice utterly flat.

“It’s not that we’re abandoning it. There’s simply no way to help it.”

“No way...”

“Even if we send reinforcements from this moment on, it’ll already be too late. And it’s difficult to expect Hebei to resist on its own. I don’t think I need to explain why.”

Hong Daegwang felt a chill run down his spine.

“....Because the Peng Family isn’t there.”

No matter who one asked, the sect that represented Hebei was the Hebei Peng Family. However, the Hebei Peng Family had suffered losses in the great catastrophe of Hubei that came close to complete annihilation.

The Peng Family wasn’t all that Hebei had. But in circumstances like these, there always had to be someone capable of holding everything together.

‘That should’ve been the Hebei Peng Family.’

Hebei had lost its center. And even Henan, which should’ve been the first to come to Hebei’s aid in a crisis like this, had itself been laid to waste.

“On top of that, the sect leaders of Hebei’s major sects are all here at the moment.”

Hong Daegwang bit his lip once more at Im Sobyeong’s words.

“I know. I know! I know the situation leaves us with no good options. But even so... Beijing...”

He understood it with his head as well. He knew there was realistically no way to save Beijing. But even so... Could anyone truly accept simply giving Beijing up?

There were well over several hundred thousand common people living there. Once war broke out, most would flee. But even counting only those unable to escape and swept up in the flames of war, the number would still reach into the tens of thousands.

He had never once imagined making a choice that placed tens of thousands of lives upon the scales.

“Union Leader.”

At the sound of the call, Hong Daegwang flinched and looked toward Cheong Myeong.

“Don’t cling to what can’t be done. Do what can be done. Right now, even that time is precious.”

Hong Daegwang clenched his fist tightly.

“.....We should request the sects in Hebei to withdraw, shouldn’t we?”

“That’s what I think.”

“Then I’ll have the sect leaders draft letters immediately. As for Beijing... I don’t know if it’ll work, but I’ll at least urge them to act through our local branch.”

Even as he spoke, Hong Daegwang knew perfectly well that this could hardly be called a meaningful response. The one that truly controlled Beijing was the Imperial Palace. And the Imperial Palace wasn’t a place that would heed the Beggar Union’s recommendations.

But at a time like this, didn’t they have to grasp even at a straw?

“The Imperial Palace is naturally already aware of the situation, isn’t it?”

“In terms of gathering intelligence, they surpass even the Beggar Union. And even if they didn’t, there’s no way news of what happened in the north wouldn’t have reached them by now.”

Yet Hong Daegwang’s expression only grew darker.

“But will the Imperial Palace really choose evacuation? To abandon the capital while fleeing before a heretical cult... To them, that would be an unimaginable humiliation.”

“It’s not exactly the first time. A hundred years ago, even the Emperor fled barefoot.”

“...Seriously?”

Hong Daegwang looked at him as though asking, ‘Just where in the world did you learn something even we don’t know?’

Naturally, Cheong Myeong gave no answer.

“Besides, none of that really matters. What matters isn’t the Imperial Palace. It’s the innocent common people living in Beijing.”

Cheong Myeong’s gaze locked onto Hong Daegwang.

“Can the Beggar Union mobilize its members to help the common people evacuate?”

“W-Wait a moment, Mount Hua Divine Dragon. This isn’t simply a question of whether it’s possible. Beijing is, by principle, a region where intervention by martial sects is completely forbidden. No matter if it’s for the sake of the common people... Unless you’re prepared to become enemies with the Imperial Palace...”

“So? Can it be done?”

Hong Daegwang’s and Cheong Myeong’s gazes met squarely. Without another word, Cheong Myeong simply looked at him steadily. Under that unwavering gaze, Hong Daegwang bit down on his lip until it bled. Then, in the end, he threw up both hands.

“Damn it all! Fine, it can be done! If we mobilize every beggar in Hebei and Henan, we’ll somehow make it work! Satisfied now?”

“Good.”

“Ugh... God damn it. I must’ve been insane. Insane enough to have accepted the position of Union Leader!”

If I’d known it’d come to this, I should’ve brought Pungyeong Singae with me.

“Well, isn’t that fine? Maybe we won’t even have to worry about dealing with the aftermath.”

“You lunatic. Is that really the time to be saying something like that?”

There was no way Hong Daegwang possessed any particular loyalty toward the Imperial Court.

What use did a beggar have for loyalty? Beggars were abandoned people who could barely keep themselves alive.

But if the Imperial Court fell... Those left behind would bear the consequences in full. There was a reason people cursed the nation yet never wished for its collapse.

At that moment, Baek Cheon, who had quietly listened to the three of them until now, spoke.

“Then it seems we’ve more or less decided where reinforcements should go, Cheong Myeong.”

“Mm.”

“But how are we sending them?”

Cheong Myeong slowly closed his eyes.

“What do you think?”

“Hmm?”

Since Cheong Myeong answered with a question instead, Baek Cheon frowned slightly. Cheong Myeong spoke calmly.

“If we establish the defensive line at Handan... We can request support from the nearby sects. It’d be the safer approach.”

Baek Cheon silently nodded.

“But... If we establish the defensive line at Shijiazhuang...”

“We’ll go to Shijiazhuang.”

As though there was nothing more to hear, Baek Cheon cut him off. Cheong Myeong let out something like a sigh.

“It won’t be easy. Reinforcements won’t arrive in time.”

“But we’d be able to stop those lunatics from slaughtering people a little sooner.”

“.....”

“Am I right?”

Cheong Myeong didn’t answer. Baek Cheon turned to the Five Swords and asked for their opinions.

“Well? That’s what he says. What’re you going to do?”

Receiving Baek Cheon’s gaze, every one of the Five Swords grinned.

“I hear the scenery in Shijiazhuang is beautiful.”

“I’ve always wanted to see it. We didn’t really get the chance when we went to Beijing before.”

“Then let’s head to Shijiazhuang for now.”

For the first time, genuine bewilderment appeared on Cheong Myeong’s face, which had been as cold and rigid as ice.

“This isn’t something you decide that easily. I’m against it.”

“Cheong Myeong-ah. Sometimes, I think you’ve got the wrong idea.”

“Huh?”

Looking at him with an utterly unimpressed expression, Baek Cheon said,

“Since when do you get to decide that? You’re just a lowly second-generation disciple. You’re only the General Director in the Heavenly Comrade Alliance. Do you think you’re somebody in Mount Hua too?”

[Chongsa. 총사(總司). Literally “General Director” or “Chief Commander”. I usually just shorten it to simply “General” since it is repeatedly used as a form of address throughout the novel.]

Cheong Myeong’s mouth fell open. He merely blinked.

“Seriously, you’re so damn arrogant.”

“Coming from the youngest.”

“The youngest by seniority is Soso. Cheong Myeong is the youngest by age, though.”

“Amitabha. What can one do about what a person is born with?”

“....Is that really something a monk should be saying?”

Leaving the flood of remarks behind him as though they’d all been waiting for their chance, Baek Cheon lifted his chin.

“Did you hear that?”

“.....”

Cheong Myeong’s mouth hung open.

“If the rest of you put your heads together and decide to establish the defensive line at Handan, I won’t complain. That’s your choice. But if reinforcements are all heading there, doesn’t that mean there’s no reason for us to go too?”

“So you’re saying we’ll go to Shijiazhuang? With the Demonic Cult bastards swarming in?”

“Don’t be an idiot. We’re going because the Demonic Cult bastards are swarming in.”

The Five Swords nodded at the same time.

“Cheong Myeong really has gotten a little slow lately.”

“He used to be so sharp. Back in the day.”

“He’s regained a bit of his humanity in exchange for losing some of his brilliance. Looking only at the result, I’d say it was a worthwhile trade.”

“Ah, if that’s the case, wouldn’t it be fine if he got even dumber? He’s still far too lacking in common human decency, after all.”

A hollow laugh escaped Cheong Myeong. He knew this wasn’t a situation where anyone should be laughing. Yet he couldn’t stop the laugh from slipping out.

“The idiots are you lot! Don’t you understand the situation we’re in right now?”

“Now he’s even forgotten what he himself said.”

“...Huh?”

Baek Cheon casually rolled his neck from side to side before saying,

“If I were going to use my brain, why would've I joined a martial sect in the first place? I would have just taken the imperial examinations instead.” [become a scholar, lol]

“.....”

“It’s not our job to rack our brains trying to figure out where is safer. What we need to do is figure out who needs us the most.”

Baek Cheon spoke with a firmness that left no room whatsoever for compromise.

“We’re going to Shijiazhuang.”

“.....”

“You take care of the rest.”

After staring at Baek Cheon for a long moment, the corners of Cheong Myeong’s lips twisted into a strange smile.

“Even if I tried to stop you, you’d ignore me again anyway, wouldn’t you?”

“So, do we leave now?”

“Learn the difference between courage and recklessness.”

Cheong Myeong looked at Baek Cheon and the Five Swords seated on either side of him.

“I don’t want to admit it, but sahyungs are an important fighting force. You’re not people we can afford to lose like that.”

“Keuhem.”

“Uh... well, that’s actually true, but...”

“It feels a bit awkward being suddenly praised like this? Hehe.”

Receiving praise from Cheong Myeong, something they almost never heard, each of the Five Swords failed to hide their embarrassment and bewilderment.

Cheong Myeong let out a quiet sigh before turning toward Im Sobyeong.

“You know what needs to be done, right?”

“Yes, yes. Of course.”

Even so, Cheong Myeong didn’t take his eyes off him. Im Sobyeong opened his mouth again.

“We’ll request every sect to dispatch their finest elites. They’ll head straight to Shijiazhuang and join up with us. Everyone else, except for those elites, will first gather at Handan.”

“Good.”

“But are you sure about this? Going to Shijiazhuang is practically a suicide mission. At least, that’s how the people receiving the request are bound to see it. Depending on the circumstances...it’s entirely possible that fewer than a hundred people will join us there.”

“A hundred, huh....”

Cheong Myeong pulled one corner of his mouth into a broad grin.

“That’s more than enough.”

“You lunatic...”

Hong Daegwang slowly shook his head, as though he had given up trying to understand any of it. Cheong Myeong spoke quietly.

“The Demonic Cult bastards are strong. We can’t take them lightly.”

No one knew that better than Cheong Myeong.

“But that doesn’t mean we’re weak either, does it?”

The Five Swords’ eyes gleamed sharply.

“But those stupid Demonic Cult bastards have been holed up in some corner for so long, it seems they still haven’t realized that. So what should we do?”

“What do you mean, what should we do?”

Jo Geol answered with a grin on Baek Cheon’s behalf.

“If they don’t know, we’ll teach them. We’re kind people, after all.”

Cheong Myeong nodded as though the answer required no further thought.

“Right.”

Similar smiles spread across the faces of the Five Swords.

“We leave at dawn. The people joining us will need time for the message to reach them.”

“Understood.”

Cheong Myeong’s gaze darkened.

‘Heavenly Executioner.’

It had been a long and bitter enmity. It was about time to finally bring it to an end.

And after that... He would face him. The one with whom he truly had to settle accounts. The most horrifying foe born of that ill-fated bond.

[tl note: akyeon. [악연 (惡緣)] literally means “evil/ill-fated karmic connection.” It refers to a relationship bound by resentment, hostility, or tragic fate, often implying that the two parties are destined to meet and clash again. “Ill-fated bond” preserves both the karmic nuance and the sense of enduring enmity.]

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