Chapter 1960 - Return of The Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1960. If There Is Something to Be Gained, There Must Also Be Something to Be Lost. (5)

“We’ll stop them here.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Im Sobyeong pressed the end of his fan firmly against his temple. His face was deeply furrowed, practically radiating the feeling of, ‘I knew it’ would come to this.

“Here?”

But there was no way everyone else could have the same reaction as Im Sobyeong.

“Sasuk. There isn’t even a wall here, so it’s practically open ground. It’s the worst possible terrain for stopping them. You do know that, right?”

At Tang Soso’s worried question, Baek Cheon shrugged.

“I know.”

“......And you still intend to stop them? With Cheong Myeong sahyung unconscious, too?”

“Yes.”

“And the reason?”

There wasn’t any particular disbelief in Tang Soso’s tone. She simply genuinely wanted to hear why Baek Cheon had made this choice.

“Because we have to stop them.”

“Yes?”

Baek Cheon calmly replied with an expression that didn’t look particularly serious.

“I mean exactly that. Because we have to stop them.”

Tang Soso stared blankly at Baek Cheon as though she’d been rendered speechless, then turned to Yoon Jong as if asking for help.

“No….. He’s, uh, starting again, I think.”

“Haa.”

Yoon Jong sighed and asked in Tang Soso’s place.

“Then I’d appreciate it if you could explain exactly what you mean by ‘we have to stop them,’ Sasuk.”

Baek Cheon clicked his tongue lightly before answering.

“Things have gotten complicated in one way or another, but if you look at it coldly, nothing has actually changed.”

Jo Geol, who had been quietly listening, smiled brightly.

“Looks like Sasuk has finally gone completely out of his mind, sahyung.”

“......He’d been out of his mind for quite some time already, honestly.”

“These bastards…..”

Unable to hold it back any longer, Jo Geol shouted.

“No, you have to say something that actually makes sense! ‘Nothing has changed’? Are Sasuk’s eyes just decorative holes in his face?”

“I didn’t say the situation hadn’t changed. I said nothing had changed.”

“Then what the hell does that mean?”

Baek Cheon quietly looked at Jo Geol and spoke.

“We can’t abandon the common people who are relying on us like this.”

“That.....”

Just as Jo Geol was about to say something, Baek Cheon relaxed his body and slumped.

“.....It’d be nice if I could say that, but honestly, that’d be a lie.”

“Huh?”

Jo Geol blinked. By then, Baek Cheon had an unbearably annoying expression that reminded everyone of someone.

“A person’s true nature comes out at the most desperate moment, you know? So it’s precisely at the very end that you have to carry out your own will! Any bastards who can’t do that are all hypocrites whose mouths are the only thing that’s alive!”

“…..Ah, just hearing that makes my stomach hurt.”

“That bastard would’ve spouted something like this. But honestly, I can’t live like him.”

“You shouldn’t live like that if you’re a human.”

Everyone ended up nodding involuntarily. Baek Cheon let out a small sigh before continuing.

“It’s not that I’m saying we should abandon the common people. But this time, the situation is different. If we throw ourselves into it with some half-baked bravado, more people will die. I’m not going to spout the obvious this time, either. There’s only one thing we need to think about. Defeating those bastards.”

Jo Geol nodded.

“Right. That’s correct.”

“Yeah. That’s the reason.”

“…..What?”

“That’s why I’m saying we have to stop them.”

“No. Seriously, haven’t you gone a little crazy in the head? None of what you’re saying makes sense at all.”

“It makes perfect sense. Because if we don’t stop those bastards here, we’ll never be able to defeat them.”

“......”

Everyone’s expressions hardened.

“We lost Cheong Myeong, but they lost their Bishop. And we’re going to retreat because we’re afraid of those Demonic Cult bastards without a Bishop?”

Baek Cheon firmly shook his head.

“I’ll guarantee it. The moment we do that, there is absolutely no way we can win this war. Absolutely none. This isn’t a matter of logic.”

Im Sobyeong scratched his head roughly, as though he had a headache.

“Well, ha….. Damn it.”

There would never be another opportunity for the Demonic Cult to become any weaker than this.

If they couldn’t even achieve results in a situation like this, it would be no different from admitting defeat (自認) from the very first battle.

[Jain. 자인(自認). 自 (자) means “self” or “oneself,” while 認 (인) means “to recognize” or “acknowledge.” Together, 自認 means “to acknowledge oneself,” here meaning to admit or acknowledge defeat oneself.]

“But our forces aren’t enough to handle them.”

“Forces don’t matter.”

“What do you mean? How can our forces not matter?”

Baek Cheon looked Tang Soso straight in the eyes and answered.

“Either way, if you judge it by force alone, this is a war we can’t win. Isn’t it?”

“If we resort to localized warfare.....”

“Will the convenient method of fighting only when we can win really keep working forever? No. We’re bound to hit our limit eventually. And once we hit that limit while fighting this way, there’ll be no turning back.”

“.......”

“So there’s only one thing we need to think about.”

Baek Cheon spoke firmly.

“Is this a fight we have to win, or isn’t it?”

“......”

“Isn’t that right?”

Im Sobyeong, who had been frantically fanning himself, snapped his fan shut and clutched his head. A curse slipped through his clenched teeth.

“Damn it…..”

It wasn’t about whether they could win, but whether they had to win. What kind of nonsensical statement was that? Before even discussing military strategy, it didn’t possess even the most basic logic.

Yet the biggest problem was that there was nothing particularly wrong with what he’d said, either.

As Baek Cheon said, those people weren’t fools. They wouldn’t keep repeating battles they were destined to lose. Then, in the end, for the side at a disadvantage to fight and win, they would have to achieve an impossible victory. History had always been that way.

“I thought things would be a little easier with the crazy bastard unconscious, but what the…..”

Watching Im Sobyeong stagger around in a dazed state, the Mount Hua disciples clicked their tongues.

“If we’re talking about being out of one’s mind, this side isn’t exactly lacking either.”

“…… Actually, it’s a little worse.”

“We’re sorry. They’re both from Mount Hua.”

Hong Daegwang, who had been silently listening to the entire conversation, cautiously joined in and asked,

“No, so what exactly are we supposed to do?”

At that, Baek Cheon smiled brightly.

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“Isn’t that bastard fucking insane, that one!”

Honestly, it wasn’t something that ought to have been said aloud.

No matter that Hong Daegwang was the Leader of the Beggar Union, Baek Cheon was also the Chief Disciple of Mount Hua and soon to become the Sect Leader of Mount Hua. Considering Mount Hua’s current standing in Jianghu, saying something like that went beyond being rude. It could cause a serious problem.

But of course, not a single person here felt that Hong Daegwang had gone too far.

“What? We’re just supposed to charge in head-on? Is this fucking strategy? This? On this open ground?”

“…..Please, a little more, Union Leader.”

“No, actually, please do a lot more. Please.….”

Countless resentful gazes poured toward him, but Baek Cheon didn’t even blink.

“I told you, the common people will be in danger if we retreat.”

“You said we weren’t fighting because of the common people!”

“The reason we chose to fight in the first place isn’t because of the common people, but if we’re going to fight anyway, we should naturally choose the side where the damage will generally be smaller. Isn’t that obvious?”

Yoon Jong covered his face and rubbed it tiredly.

“Not a single thing you say makes any sense from beginning to end.”

“Sahyung. There’s something I’m curious about.”

“What now?”

“Is Sasuk, who decided we’re going to fight the Demonic Cult here, the crazy one? Or are we the crazy bastards for actually standing here obediently after hearing that?”

“Do we really need to figure that out?”

Obviously, both sides had lost their minds.

“…..Well, we do have a chance of winning, right? Surely you’re not just going to charge straight into them without any plan whatsoever.”

“Who knows…. Look at that man’s face first.”

“If it were that man....”

Jo Geol followed Yoon Jong’s pointing finger and flinched. Im Sobyeong was coughing like a man with a deathly pale face who could collapse and die at any moment.

“Cough. Cough! Keugh.......”

Watching Im Sobyeong cough up blood while covering his mouth with his sleeve, Jo Geol’s expression turned serious.

“Why is that man acting like this again?”

“They say all illnesses come from the mind. He must have been struck by heart fire [心火].”

[Simhwa. 심화(心火). 心 (심) means “heart” or “mind,” while 火 (화) means “fire.” In traditional East Asian medical and philosophical usage, 心火 refers to an internal “fire” arising from emotional disturbance or agitation. Here, it is used humorously to describe Im Sobyeong’s mental distress becoming physical.]

“Ugh.”

It’s unlikely anything else has happened in the meantime, so it must mean that this situation is the cause of his heart fire.

“If you’re that worried, why don’t you just run away?”

“Ugh..... A Confucian scholar doesn’t break his fidelity.”

 “Spare me the Confucian scholar act. You’re a bandit chief.”

Wasn’t one supposed to choose the side that was advantageous according to the circumstances? Then why was that man deliberately choosing the disadvantageous side? Was he really as smart as everyone said he was….?

Im Sobyeong furiously shook the blood from his sleeve and shouted,

“It’s not time to give up hope yet!”

“Nobody gave up.….”

“Of course, the situation is utterly desperate!”

“......I told you, we weren’t thinking it was that desperate.”

No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like Im Sobyeong was the one who thought the situation was the most desperate.

Im Sobyeong opened his fan wide.

“Of course, there may be no way to delay the enemy’s advance, but there is a possibility that their numbers are smaller than we expect.”

“.....Huh? Why?”

“The Imperial Army guarding Beijing wasn’t completely annihilated, was it? If the commander of the Beijing garrison reorganized the troops and kept harrying them from behind, they may have suffered more casualties than we expect. After all, the Bishop is absent!”

“Nokrim King…..”

“So we shouldn’t give up hope yet.....”

“Nokrim King.”

“Eeiish! Stop interrupting me! People have to hold on to hope somehow!”

“No, that’s not it. The Demonic Cult is coming over there.”

“Huh?”

Im Sobyeong whipped his head around. Sure enough, a procession of people approaching this place came into view.

He narrowed his eyes as much as possible and pushed his eyesight to its limit.

“They do seem a little fewer than I expected.......”

“More are coming, though?”

“.....”

“Oh. They’re coming from over there too.”

“.....”

Im Sobyeong grabbed the shabby cap on his head and hurled it down.

“Those Imperial Army bastards, what the hell are they doing! I actually trusted them for once!”

“…..I never thought I’d hear a bandit say he’d trusted the Imperial Army. Maybe I really have lived too long.”

With a deep sigh, Im Sobyeong shrank in on himself and slumped down. But no one could laugh at him anymore. The oppressive presence of the approaching Demonic Cult forces had robbed even their faces of expression.

Someone unconsciously swallowed dryly.

Judging by troop numbers alone, they didn’t compare to the Evil Tyrant Alliance. They truly looked like a swarm of ants. But in terms of sheer intimidation, the Evil Tyrant Alliance didn’t even come close to their level.

“…..Damn it.”

Yoon Jong bit his lip.

Should he change his mind even now? This was far too reckless.

If no one was going to stop him, then at least he had to be the one to say something.

Just as Yoon Jong steeled himself and turned his head,

“It’s fine.”

A calm voice, utterly out of place with the situation, came from somewhere. No, rather than calm, it was closer to emotionless.

Naturally, everyone’s gaze turned in that direction. Amid the countless eyes upon her, Yoo Iseol spoke expressionlessly.

“Because we are strong too.”

It was somewhat strange, but that’s how people were. They demanded logic from some people, yet didn’t particularly demand it from others. Yoo Iseol was the latter. Even without any particular reason, she was strangely reassuring.

“B-but, Sago, Cheong Myeong sahyung isn’t here…..”

“That’s why.”

“.....What?”

Yoo Iseol spoke calmly.

“Are we really that weak? We who don’t have our sajil?”

Sreureung.

Yoo Iseol slowly drew her sword.

“We’re Mount Hua. Even without our sajil, we have to be Mount Hua.”

Seureung.

Seureureuk.

Moved by those words, everyone drew their swords one after another. That was enough.

“.....Damn, you really don’t even leave room for us to whine.”

“Well, she’s not wrong.”

“Mount Hua is strong because it’s Mount Hua. Not because Cheong Myeong is here.”

“But people throughout the world don’t really know that.”

Baek Cheon smiled faintly.

“Right. So.... let’s show them. Let the world know, and let the Demonic Cult know.”

The disciples of Mount Hua, swords drawn, firmly marched toward the approaching cultists.

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