This Is Mount Hua’s Land, Part 6
“Hmm.”
Seeing the main gate of Xi'an standing wide open, Gal Cheon-lip curled one corner of his mouth.
“They’re not complete fools, at least.”
“Or maybe they’re terribly stupid. It’s as good as opening the door and asking us to rob them.”
“Could be.”
Though their thoughts differed, there was no need to argue over something so trivial. What mattered now was momentum.
“They don’t know we’re here?”
“You can’t possibly dodge the eyes of every beggar wandering the world. Of course they know. The fact that there isn’t a single passerby at this huge gate makes it obvious enough.”
At that, Danhae nodded. It wasn’t even sunset yet, and the lack of traffic through such a major gate was certainly unnatural. The same went for the absence of any guards on duty.
“What will you do? It might be a trap.”
“What a pointless thing to say.”
Gal Cheon-lip slowly licked his lips with the tip of his tongue.
“Trap or not, once we’ve come this far, there’s no turning back.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the ones behind him, their killing intent already boiling up. If he even suggested stopping here, that murderous aura might turn on him instead.
“Heh heh.”
With a low laugh, Gal Cheon-lip narrowed his eyes.
The Gangseo-chilsal had no reason to fear a crowd, even if all of them charged together, but there was no need to stop this little festival either.
“Let’s see what they’ve prepared.”
With Gal Cheon-lip at the head, the Sapa group began to pass through Xi'an’s gate and advance inward with a sinister air.
“Hiiik…!”
“Th-they’re coming.”
It was obvious at a glance.
Sapa people didn’t look much different from ordinary men. But the killing intent and ominous pressure they radiated were enough to make the hearts of anyone who saw them from a distance seize up.
Those who hadn’t managed to flee in time, those who couldn’t bear to abandon their homes, swallowed dryly as they stared at the group entering the broad avenue.
They came in carrying weapons that were terrifying even at a glance, and they didn’t even bother to wipe the blood off their bodies. It was fear itself given form.
Gal Cheon-lip bared his teeth as he looked at the people who had frozen in place, unable even to hide.
“Big Brother.”
“For now… we’ll check Eunha Merchant Guild first.”
He could see groups fleeing in the distance, along with loaded wagons. Then it made sense to check the prey first.
No sooner had he spoken than Danhae leapt forward like the wind, seized one man by the nape of his neck, and dragged him back in front of Gal Cheon-lip.
“Uh… uh….”
Gal Cheon-lip asked quietly, looking at the man who was too stunned even to speak.
“Do you know where Eunha Merchant Guild is?”
The man, his mind gone blank, nodded mechanically. Gal Cheon-lip smiled.
“Lead the way. Then I’ll let you live.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“...What did you say?”
Wi Lip-san asked again, looking at Hong Dae-gwang, who was drenched in sweat.
Hong Dae-gwang wanted nothing more than to look away from the confusion on his face. But he had no choice but to tell the truth.
“...There were no Mount Hua disciples on Mount Hua.”
When he said it again, Wi Lip-san, who had gone silent with a hardened expression, slowly turned his head and looked into the distant sky. After a moment, he nodded slowly.
“I see.”
“Sect Leader. Please think again. At this point, we should at least….”
“That would be impossible.”
Wi Lip-san shook his head.
“Nothing changes. We will defend this place until not a single commoner in Xi'an remains who has not fled.”
“We’re outnumbered!”
“I know. But… that’s a phrase far too familiar to the disciples of Mount Hua.”
“...…”
“You’ve suffered enough, Branch Leader. Please, you should get out of here as well.”
Hong Dae-gwang bit down hard on his lip.
“Damn it. If Xi'an falls, all the beggars here will starve to death! So where the hell are you telling us to go? Isn’t that right, you beggars?”
The beggars of Gaebang, who had already gathered around before Hong Dae-gwang could even arrive, shouted back.
“That’s right!”
“Damn it, starving to death or dying in battle, it’s all the same. If there are no people left, we’ll starve anyway.”
“Heh. We should show them just how foolish it is to trespass on beggar territory.”
“Begging isn’t shameful. What’s shameful is gobbling up food and not even being grateful for it. We’ve eaten enough meals here—we ought to pay for them, shouldn’t we?”
Hearing that, Wi Lip-san gave a faint smile.
“There you see? You people aren’t planning to run, so why do you keep telling us to flee?”
“...It’s because all the beggars in Shaanxi are out of their minds.”
“It’s not that Shaanxi beggars are like that. It’s that Shaanxi people are like that.”
With a smile, Wi Lip-san went on, “If the ones representing Shaanxi are such people, what choice is there?”
“...Damn Mount Hua people.”
Hong Dae-gwang looked around at everyone with an irritated face, but there was undeniable pride there too.
Even Shaolin and Wudang had not hesitated to bow their heads to the enemy for the sake of saving their own lives, yet these people, who had neither fame nor much of anything else to their name, were not hesitating to throw their lives away against evil men.
“Fine. Since we only live once anyway, let’s die without shame, you damned beggars! Sink your teeth into as many of them as you can! That way one more commoner might survive.”
“Yes!”
Hong Dae-gwang was just about to say something more when someone spoke.
“They’re here.”
That short sentence sent a taut wave of tension through everyone present.
Through the wide-open gate and along the boulevard beyond, a group of martial artists was strolling toward them.
Hong Dae-gwang clenched his teeth.
That was the walk of the strong. The walk of men who did not even consider their opponents as enemies—only rats driven into a jar, coming to be crushed.
Damn those Sapa bastards.
His breathing quickened, his heart hammered, and blood surged into his face.
It wasn’t because he felt his pride wounded. It was because merely seeing them made him acutely aware of the vast gulf between those men and his own side.
How many…? Two hundred? No, three hundred?
Not one among those many looked weaker than him. In sheer numbers, they were clearly superior, but the quality could not even be compared.
Gangseo-chilsal.
Recognizing the identities of the men walking at the front, Hong Dae-gwang clenched his fist tightly.
“So this is the place.”
Reaching the gate, Gal Cheon-lip smiled faintly.
There was no need to check. The sight of the armed men visible through the gate was proof enough.
“Y-yes, this is it. I, I led you properly, so please keep your promise and spare m—”
“Ah, don’t worry.”
At that moment, the small knife in Danhae’s hand, which had been gripping the man by the nape, thrust into his back.
“Ghk….”
The man’s eyes flew wide open. His body stiffened, then began to convulse violently.
“W-why….”
Seeing the bitter light rise in the man’s eyes, Gal Cheon-lip shrugged.
“I kept my promise. I spared you. But my little brother seems to have a different opinion. I may be his older brother, but it wouldn’t do for me to start ordering around a grown younger brother, would it?”
“...…”
“And don’t feel too wronged. Dying peacefully here is a blessing too.”
The man’s body slammed to the ground. The convulsions quivered briefly, then went still.
Hong Dae-gwang shouted, eyes bloodshot.
“You bastards! Why are you killing innocent commoners? Why!”
“Why?”
Gal Cheon-lip looked at the outburst as if genuinely puzzled.
“Does a man need a reason to kill another man?”
“...…”
Hong Dae-gwang stared at him, still unable to close his mouth.
“If you’re weak, you die. Simple, isn’t it? If you don’t like me like this, then you can kill me. Provided you have the ability, of course.”
The utter calm of his tone was somehow more chilling. He had just killed a man who had been alive moments ago, yet he seemed to think nothing of it, as casually as cutting grain with a sickle.
“You…!”
In that moment, Wi Lip-san stepped in front of Hong Dae-gwang.
Silently glaring at Gal Cheon-lip for a moment, Wi Lip-san finally spoke.
“Our conversation will not amount to anything, but there is one thing you should know.”
“Hmm?”
Wi Lip-san briefly swept his gaze over the front gate of Eunha Merchant Guild, as if an invisible wall stood there. Then he looked back at Gal Cheon-lip.
“This is Mount Hua’s land.”
“...…”
“Mount Hua disciples were never taught to show mercy to villains who trespass on Mount Hua’s land. You will pay the price for that.”
“Ha… hah.”
Gal Cheon-lip laughed as if the very idea was absurd.
“You little worm….”
At the same moment, a horrifying killing intent erupted from his body, as though all the ease he had shown until now had been a lie.
“You dare run your mouth in front of me? I’ll kill you in the most miserable way possible.”
There was no longer any way to hold the men behind him back. The ones who had seen the enemy before them were as agitated as beasts that had spotted fresh meat.
Gal Cheon-lip lowered his voice, his eyes cold with killing intent.
“Do whatever you want. Just don’t kill the guild leader.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the Sapa men behind Gangseo-chilsal burst forward, exploding with suffocating pressure.
There was no great battle cry. That only made it more terrifying. Without even giving their opponents time to raise their own momentum, the Sapa fighters charged and drove blades into the men at the front in an instant.
“Aaaagh!”
“Aaagh!”
Horrific screams rang out in agony.
Seeing their disciples dying without even the chance to do anything, Nam Ja-myeong widened his eyes and roared.
“You worthless brats!”
Even then, the spear of Hweseon Spear Ghost pierced through the swords of those who stood in its way and buried itself in a man’s body. The blade of Hyeolsalsa likewise cut through incoming swords like reeds and severed throats in a single motion.
Blood sprayed in all directions, and heads severed before their owners could even close their eyes shot into the sky.
It was a truly one-sided spectacle. In an instant, the battlefield was swallowed by terror.
“Damn it! Fight back, you beggars!”
“Yes!”
“Hwayeong Gate disciples, do not fall back!”
“Yes, sir!”
Gaebang and Hwayeong Gate forcibly raised their momentum to support those who had frozen in place, but once momentum had been overwhelmed, reclaiming it was no easy task.
“Aaagh!”
“Aaaaaagh!”
No, even before that, they were simply outmatched in skill.
Their spirit was in no way lacking. These were men who had staked their lives and stood here. If their enemy had been merely Sapa rather than the Saperyeon itself, they still would not have retreated.
But spirit alone could never overcome this gap in strength.
“H-hup!”
Seeing a sword flying toward his face like a streak of light, a Hwayeong Gate disciple widened his eyes.
I’m go—
Just as he instinctively realized death could not be avoided, a sword suddenly shot out from behind him and deflected the incoming blade.
“Are you all right?”
“S-Sect Leader?”
Wi Lip-san bit down hard on his lip.
The hand that had knocked away the blade throbbed as if the wrist might break. He had only exchanged one move, but that was enough to gauge the difference in their levels. Even an unnamed Sapa fighter was stronger than he was.
Still, Wi Lip-san stepped forward without hesitation.
“Don’t try to knock them down!”
Another loud shout burst from his throat as he blocked yet another strike.
“Hold on with everything you’ve got! Survive by any means necessary! We need to buy even a little more time.”
Looking at those ominous eyes, there was no mistaking it. Their blades would never be satisfied with blood alone.
Save one more person.
Hwang Jong-ui was behind them.
He was not standing his ground here for no reason. He must have guessed it too: if Eunha Merchant Guild fled, whose throats would the enraged men turn their blades toward?
If even a merchant was staking his life on protecting the common people, how could he, as the sect leader of Mount Hua’s foremost allied family branch, afford to treasure his own life?
Of course his life was precious. And the lives of the disciples who had followed and trusted him were even more precious.
But there was something martial artists could never exchange for anything else.
“We die here today! Prove that the martial artists of Shaanxi do not spare their lives for righteousness!”
With that howling cry, the battlefield began to seethe with an even more vicious heat.