This Is Mount Hua’s Land, Part 5
“Huff! Huff! Huff!”
Hong Dae-gwang’s ragged breathing burst from his chest.
He had sprinted with all his strength up Mount Hua, a mountain that was steep enough to make even seasoned climbers curse under their breath, so even a branch leader of the Beggars’ Sect like him had no choice but to gasp for air.
His lungs felt as if they might split apart, and his dantian throbbed like it was being stabbed with needles, but he couldn’t stop.
“Guhk!”
When he finally launched himself over the last cliff, the tightly shut mountain gate of Mount Hua came into view.
Hong Dae-gwang rushed toward it and immediately began pounding on the gate with both fists.
“Mount Hua Divine Dragon! Mount Hua Divine Dragon, you bastard!”
Bang! Bang!
The door shook violently, as if it might cave in at any moment. But there was no response from inside.
“Everyone from Mount Hua! Damn it, come out here for a second! Something terrible has happened!”
Hong Dae-gwang’s voice, charged with all his inner force, rang out like a bell. And yet still there was no answer from within.
“Damn it...”
Hong Dae-gwang bit down hard on his lip.
Causing a disturbance at a sect that had closed its gates was already a breach of decorum. But right now, he was in no position to care about something like that.
His eyes slid toward Mount Hua’s low outer wall.
There’s no other choice.
Breaking into a sect that had sealed its gates was an act that showed no respect whatsoever, not even the barest courtesy owed to that sect. If Mount Hua decided to treat him as a sworn enemy and publicly denounce him, no one under heaven would shield him. Not even the Beggars’ Sect would likely stand up for him.
But Hong Dae-gwang did not hesitate.
The Mount Hua Divine Dragon wouldn’t care about something as trivial as etiquette anyway.
If he failed to deliver this news, then the only thing waiting for him was a beating to death by the Mount Hua Divine Dragon the moment he came out of seclusion.
Having made up his mind, he took a deep breath and jumped over Mount Hua’s wall in a single bound.
“Everyone from Mount Hua! Right now...!”
Hong Dae-gwang shouted as he vaulted the wall, but before his feet even touched the ground, he shut his mouth.
“W-what?”
The scene inside Mount Hua was nothing like what he had expected.
His eyes trembled violently.
It was, quite literally, wrecked.
The training ground, which had once been neatly paved with clean blue stone, was now pitted and shattered in places as though meteors had fallen there, and the halls adjoining the training yard were half-collapsed.
“What in the...”
Hong Dae-gwang’s face went white.
It looked as if someone had attacked the place.
Swallowing dryly, he came to his senses with a jolt.
No, now isn’t the time for this.
Whatever shape the halls were in, he had to tell the Mount Hua disciples what was happening outside right now. If they didn’t move immediately, he had no idea what would happen to the common people of Xi'an and the Eunha Merchant Guild.
“Mount Hua Divine Dragon!”
Shouting at the top of his lungs, Hong Dae-gwang ran forward and yanked open the door to the least damaged hall.
“Right now, outside...!”
But again, he couldn’t finish.
No one was inside the hall. What unsettled him even more than the empty room was the thick layer of white dust covering everything within.
Dust that looked as if no human foot had crossed that threshold in at least months.
With trembling eyes, Hong Dae-gwang rushed back out and flung open the doors to the other halls as well.
Bang.
...Nothing.
He tore through one building after another, opening every door he could find, his face looking more and more like a man who had lost his mind.
And then... even as he opened the last hall, there wasn’t so much as a single ant to be seen anywhere on Mount Hua.
“N-no...”
Hong Dae-gwang muttered in a hoarse voice before collapsing where he stood.
As his face turned deathly pale, all sorts of thoughts began to churn inside his head.
“Why...?”
What had happened here?
Did Maninbang attack?
No. Impossible.
Even if it had been the Saperyeon, let alone Maninbang, there was no way they could have come all the way to Shaanxi without being seen, wiped out Mount Hua, and vanished without a trace.
Then what?
Then what on earth had happened here?
Hong Dae-gwang clamped a trembling hand over his mouth.
“If that’s the case... then Xi'an...”
Despair filled his eyes. Whatever had happened here, one thing was certain in this moment: Mount Hua no longer stood here to defend Xi'an.
“Damn it...”
He cursed under his breath, sounding like someone in pain, then bared his teeth and shouted, eyes bloodshot with fury.
“Damn it all! Then the people of Xi'an are going to die! Mount Hua Divine Dragon! You bastards of Mount Huaaaaaaa!”
Shouting as if his lungs would burst from his throat, Hong Dae-gwang slammed a fist into the ground.
Bang!
Then he bit down on his lip hard enough to draw blood.
...I have to go.
If Mount Hua wasn’t here, then he had to go. He had to go and lend whatever hand he could. Jerking to his feet, he still hesitated for a moment and looked back over his shoulder.
Only after clenching his fist and taking in Mount Hua’s desolate landscape did he grit his teeth and sprint away.
“Damn it!”
His great voice echoed roughly through the silent mountain.
A heavy stillness slowly settled over Mount Hua after Hong Dae-gwang left.
“...Thank you for coming, Sect Leader.”
Hwang Jong-ui gripped Wi Lip-san’s hands tightly in both of his own. Wi Lip-san quietly shook his head.
“There is nothing to thank me for. This is only natural.”
“Sect Leader...”
“It is only right that the sects of Xi'an protect the people of Xi'an. And it is equally natural that Mount Hua’s branch protect the Eunha Merchant Guild.”
“Easy to say, but...”
How many people could actually do something like that with their lives on the line?
Heat swelled in Hwang Jong-ui’s chest, but he did not voice those words. He believed Wi Lip-san could already guess at the deep gratitude he felt, even without hearing it spoken aloud.
“You should be thanking those people, not me.”
Hwang Jong-ui turned his gaze toward the people behind Wi Lip-san.
“Everyone...”
The sect leaders of Xi'an’s smaller and medium-sized sects had come here with their disciples. Some among them had close ties to Mount Hua or Hwayeong Gate, but there were also branches of the Southern Edge Sect that had long stood in opposition to them.
“...Thank you.”
“Well...”
Nam Ja-myeong, the sect leader of Seowol Gate and the Heart Source Sword, scratched the back of his head with a slightly awkward expression.
Seowol Gate was a representative sect among the Southern Edge branches of Xi'an. No matter how one looked at it, it could not have a good relationship with Hwayeong Gate, Mount Hua’s branch, or the Eunha Merchant Guild, which was closely tied to Mount Hua.
They were no longer openly at odds as they had once been, but a faint awkwardness still lingered between them.
Still.
“As Sect Leader Wi said, this is only natural, so there’s no need to thank us. We can’t leave the defense of Xi'an entirely to Mount Hua.”
“Sect Leader...”
“Ahem.”
Nam Ja-myeong gave a loud cough.
During the Red Snake Unit incident in the past, he too had come to understand many things.
The worth of a sect is not measured by who is stronger.
Perhaps, in the moment, that mattered more than anything else. But in the end, a sect’s future did not depend on strength alone. The sects that had run with their tails tucked during the Red Snake Unit incident had suffered unimaginable humiliation for years afterward.
The influence Southern Edge had held in Xi'an was shattered, and it was Mount Hua’s branch that had taken the position of representative in the city. He had then been forced to watch several sects leave Southern Edge altogether and come under Mount Hua’s banner.
But he held no real resentment. It was the price they had paid for their own mistakes.
An armed man who does not protect the weak is no different from a bandit with a sword.
Nam Ja-myeong and the sects of Xi'an had learned that lesson in blood and bone.
It wasn’t that they were unafraid. How could they not know the fearsome reputation of the evil sects now surging toward them? No one here believed they could stand against them with only the people present in this place. It would be no different from an ant trying to stop a charging cart.
But...
Sometimes, you have to stand your ground against the cart coming at you.
They had learned that from Mount Hua, the very sect they had once looked down upon, as it rose to renown across the world.
Those who were not from Shaanxi might think Mount Hua had become famous simply because it had grown strong, but at least the people of Shaanxi knew better. The reason Mount Hua could shine so brightly now was that it had never compromised and never backed down.
“We’ll fight with our lives on the line until the very last disciple, so don’t worry.”
“Thank you, Sect Leader.”
At that moment, Dongbang Hoe, the sect leader of Uigeom Gate, asked with a sour expression,
“But Sect Leader Nam. Why are we setting up here at the Eunha Merchant Guild, of all places?”
“Hm?”
“I mean, I understand that if those bastards are after wealth, this is the first place they’ll attack. But wouldn’t it be better to shut the gates and hold them off from the city walls?”
Wi Lip-san, the sect leader of Hwayeong Gate, answered in his place.
“That would be the inferior choice.”
“Inferior?”
Wi Lip-san nodded.
“Not many people can stand atop a wall, and to masters of that level, the height of a wall is no obstacle at all. If they leap onto the wall, would we really be able to stop them with only those already stationed there?”
“...Hmm. When you put it that way, I suppose not.”
“And it would be impossible for just us to cover the entire length of that wall. It’s better to fight here, where we can make use of our numbers.”
The Eunha Merchant Guild estate was one of the largest in Xi'an. If they could gather here and hold firm, it might actually be easier to face the enemy.
“I was worried that if the enemy didn’t come here directly, they might attack the common people first...”
“Then we would go and meet them in battle. But... that’s unlikely. They’ll probably first check whether the Eunha Merchant Guild has fled.”
“I see. Understood.”
With Wi Lip-san’s explanation, the sect leaders nodded as if they had been convinced.
At the same time, tension began to creep over everyone’s faces. Now that they had heard Wi Lip-san’s reasoning, the reality of having to face those evil sect bastards with only themselves truly sank in.
“...Damn evil sect dogs. Why Xi'an again, of all places?”
“Because there’s no shade left for them to hide under, isn’t that it? Damn it! If Southern Edge hadn’t closed its gates, those bastards wouldn’t have dared come near.”
“If Southern Edge had closed its gates and Mount Hua had still been here...”
That last remark came not from Hwayeong Gate, but from Dongbang Hoe of Uigeom Gate, a branch of Southern Edge, and it only proved how Mount Hua’s standing had changed in Xi'an.
Everyone was beginning to feel that subtle unease when—
“Sect Leader!”
A Beggars’ Sect informant burst in from outside, his face drained of color.
“The evil sect bastards have reached the city walls!”
Wi Lip-san’s expression hardened.
Already?
They had arrived much sooner than expected. Which meant their capabilities were greater than had been reported.
It seems today will bring far more misfortune than blessing.
Steeling himself, he spoke to the unsettled sect leaders.
“What they are targeting is none other than Xi'an.”
“...”
“So of course, it is our duty to protect it, is it not? No matter how strong the enemy may be, that is not the issue. What matters is that the common people of Xi'an are trusting us.”
Nam Ja-myeong narrowed his eyes.
“You’re speaking the obvious. We know that better than anyone. We were born and raised here in Xi'an!”
It was his way of saying: don’t come here from outside and act superior.
At those words, Wi Lip-san smiled faintly.
“That’s reassuring.”
“Hmph.”
Nam Ja-myeong declared with a hard expression,
“Let’s show those evil bastards that Xi'an is a dragon’s pool and a tiger’s den!”
“Yes!”
“Crush the evil sect!”
The shouts were meant to shake off their fear, but they were effective all the same. As the morale of the gathered men rose and their formations took shape, Hwang Jong-ui quietly approached Wi Lip-san and asked,
“Will you be all right, Sect Leader?”
Wi Lip-san answered with a calm smile.
“Guild Master. I am not a man who knows much, but there is one thing I do understand.”
“And that is...?”
“That if you receive a debt of kindness, you must know how to repay it.”
“...”
“The chance to repay the kindness I received from Mount Hua has been granted to me at last. I feel nothing but joy. Why would I be afraid?”
Seeing him smile like that, Hwang Jong-ui could only nod quietly.
“I feel the same.”
And at that very moment—
At last, a band of men radiating savage killing intent reached the front of Xi'an’s city gate.