Return of the Mount Hua

I can’t even laugh. (2)

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Zhuge Jain*, the head of Zhuge family, stared blankly at the horrific battlefield before collapsing to the ground.

“Ah… Ah…”

A groan of despair escaped his lips, as if the sky had fallen. Everywhere he looked, there were corpses.

“How, how could this…”

His strong shoulders began to tremble violently.

“Ugh… Ugh… Ahhh!”

As he started to tear at his own hair, Moyong Wigyeong [모용위경(慕容委瓊)], the head of Moyong family, grabbed his arm and tried to calm him.

“Lord Zhuge, this is not your fault.”

“This… this disaster…”

A heart-wrenching sob followed.

Zhuge Jain felt as if all of this was his fault. If they had arrived even a little sooner, this worst-case scenario might have been avoided.

Even if they couldn’t change the outcome of the battle, at least more than half of those lying in the plains could have been saved.

The mere half an hour they delayed had twisted everything.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Zhuge Jain howled like a madman.

As the head of a great family, it was a sight he shouldn’t have shown, but even Moyong Wigyeong couldn’t stop him anymore.

How could Moyong Wigyeong not understand the depth of his self-reproach? The scene before them was just that devastating.

‘How many survived?’

Moyong Wigyeong could no longer bear to look and tightly shut his eyes.

Surely not everyone had perished. Some must have escaped. But this was no situation where such thoughts could bring any comfort.

“Sapaeryeon!”

With bloodshot eyes, Zhuge Jain saw Sapaeryeon’s troops vanishing into the distance like tiny dots.

“Jang Ilso! You will face divine retribution!”

Zhuge Jain screamed, while Moyong Wigyeong’s hand, hidden in his sleeve, trembled uncontrollably.

If any remnants of the enemy had stayed behind, he might have charged at them, ready to lay down his life to vent his rage. At least then, he could honor the fallen.

But the only thing greeting them here were the already cold corpses.

Moyong Wigyeong sighed in utter desolation.

‘What are we to do now?’

It was a catastrophic defeat.

The extent of Sapaeryeon’s losses was unknown. They might have gathered their dead and left.

Regardless, Gupailbang had suffered near-annihilation, with three sects facing ruin. Sapaeryeon’s losses couldn’t have been worse.

Moyong Wigyeong sensed it: the long era of Gupailbang’ dominance had come to an end.

Shaolin would never recover its former prestige. Kongtong Sect and the Peng family would have to fear extinction.

All that remained of Gupailbang were Wudang in their Bongmun, Jongnam, and the distant Kunlun, who lived in seclusion.

Could they still be called Gupailbang?

More than anything, the fall of Shaolin was devastating. Shaolin wasn’t just the strongest among Gupailbang – it was their symbol and a symbol of Gangho itself.

The fact that Shaolin had fallen to the hands of the Evil Sect held immense significance.

‘What should be done?’

A sense of hopelessness and despair, as if he had lost his way, enveloped Moyong Wigyeong.

It felt like wandering in darkness where he couldn’t see an inch ahead.

“Ah… Ah…”

Zhuge Jain was still trapped in his agony.

His torment had a justifiable reason.

It was Zhuge Jain who had devised the plan with Beop Jong to tie down the enemy’s feet and then strike.

He could not easily escape the guilt that all these deaths felt like his responsibility.

After a long time of sobbing, Zhuge Jain looked at Moyong Wigyeong with bloodshot eyes.

“We must pursue them.”

“Lord Zhuge…”

“It’s not too late! They must be exhausted from the battle! So even now…”

Moyong Wigyeong sighed deeply.

“Calm yourself, Lord Zhuge. You must not lose your reason.”

“There’s still! There’s still a chance!”

Moyong Wigyeong closed his eyes tightly.

If they had arrived even a moment sooner, Zhuge Jain might have had a point. But now, it was too late. Now, everything was too late.

At that moment, a group approached them.

‘Cheonumaeng.’

They had arrived late as well… or rather, not quite.

‘They can’t be compared to us.’

After all, it was their plan that had prevented Cheonumaeng from arriving sooner.

Moyong Wigyeong now deeply realized how arrogant they had been. All of this was a result of their arrogance, nothing more, nothing less.

Thus, he couldn’t bear to face the approaching people . He could only lower his head.

“Lord Moyong.”

“…Lord Tang.”

The familiar face leading Cheonumaeng, Tang Gunak, looked at the two with an inscrutable expression.

Tang Gunak opened and closed his mouth several times, as if trying to say something, but then remained silent.

What could he say? Unless he was blind, the horror of this scene was plain to see.

With Zhuge Jain weeping, Moyong Wigyeong bowing his head, and Tang Gunak at a loss for words, a thick silent despair settled among the three.

Step.

At that moment, the sound of someone approaching could be heard.

Moyong Wigyeong, recognizing who it was, shut his eyes tightly once more. The face wasn’t very familiar, but it was clear enough.

Standing before him, he couldn’t utter a word.

If he were to blame them for not calling him, for their arrogance, for the responsibility of all these deaths… what could he possibly say?

Just imagining that question in his mind made him feel so heavy that he could hardly breathe. The presence of Hyun Jong approaching step by step. No, it was as if he might be crushed to death under the weight of the guilt he had nurtured himself.

Hyun Jong spoke in a somber tone.

“I am Hyun Jong of Hwasan.”

“…I am Moyong Wigyeong… of the Moyong family.”

It was the first time that such a familiar introduction had felt so burdensome.

“How… did this happen?”

Hyun Jong asked.

It was a question that naturally had to be asked. The battlefield was so gruesome, yet Moyong and Zhuge families were completely unscathed. Claiming they arrived late was nothing but a feeble excuse.

At least Cheonumaeng, who had rushed here from Hwaeum in a single bound, had the right to ask this question.

But he was at a loss for where to begin or how to explain.

“That is…”

“Masked men!”

At that moment, Zhuge Jain shouted an almost frenzied reply.

“Those bastards! If it weren’t for those damn bastards blocking us!”

“…”

“That… kuh… huu…”

Moyong Wigyeong let out a sigh and began to speak in place of the weeping Zhuge Jain.

“The Abbot planned to set a trap here. More precisely, since it was inevitable they would lay a trap, he intended to lure them into it and keep them tied here.”

“Hmm… and the two families were to…”

“Yes. But…”

Moyong Wigyeong slowly shook his head.

“They already knew. Masked men, whose identities we couldn’t determine, lay in ambush and blocked our path.”

“…Masked men, you say?”

Hyun Jong’s face hardened. Tang Gunak, who had been listening nearby, asked skeptically.

“You mean to say that Moyong and Zhuge were stopped by them? Those men?”

“…Shameful as it is, yes.”

“How…”

These two families were not to be underestimated. While they might not match Namgung, Tang, or Paeng families, they were still part of the Five Great Families. Yet they had been stopped?

Tang Gunak, lost in thought for a moment, asked.

“Are you saying that because they blocked you, you couldn’t arrive on time?”

His gaze briefly shifted to the members of the two families, who wore grave expressions. They did not appear as though they had fought their way through a fierce battle to get here.

Moyong Wigyeong, reading the suspicion in Tang Gunak’s eyes, flushed with anger.

“Are you doubting us right now?”

“That’s not my intention,”

Tang Gunak calmly denied. But Moyong Wigyeong, already on edge, glared at him coldly.

“If that truly is the case, then Cheonumaeng should be grateful.”

“What did you say?”

“Given the situation, shouldn’t Cheonumaeng be pleased?”

“Are you serious right now…!”

“Moyong family is already being suspected of siding with Sapaeryeon. How could my words be any worse?”

Tang Gunak’s and Moyong Wigyeong’s faces stiffened. They knew it wasn’t anyone’s fault here. But this was not a situation where they could calmly consider each other.

The horror was overwhelming, and their relationships had become irreparably strained. All of this was driving them to the edge.

“Enough.”

At that moment, Hyun Jong’s heavy voice cut through the tension between them. Both Tang Gunak and Moyong Wigyeong, who had no reason to obey Hyun Jong, hesitated at his words.

With a somber face, Hyun Jong looked out over the battlefield. Once-living beings lay scattered in a gruesome state. Closing his eyes tightly for a moment, Hyun Jong spoke with a sigh.

“There’s much to discuss, but let’s first deal with the dead. That is…”

“Deal with the dead!”

The enraged Zhuge Jain laughed maniacally, his laughter not exaggerated but truly that of a madman.

“Fine. Deal with the dead!”

He then suddenly glared venomously at Hyun Jong.

“We don’t know when Sapaeryeon will return or what they’ll do, but we must simply deal with those corpses! Isn’t that the punishment we, the defeated, must bear?”

His voice was filled with venom.

“Who will give the orders now if not the leader of Cheonumaeng? Command us! Tell us to go bury them. Let us see and feel the guilt of our sins with our own eyes! Command us!”

“Lord Zhuge!”

Moyong Wigyeong shouted in surprise. Zhuge Jain, ignoring him, continued to yell.

“Is gathering all these people just to deal with the corpses the way of Hwasan and Cheonumaeng?”

Moyong Wigyeong flinched, instinctively glancing at Hyun Jong. It was a remark that could be taken as a severe insult. After all, Cheonumaeng had rushed here in one go without even being asked for help.

“No.”

At that moment, Hyun Jong’s previously closed eyes slowly opened. They held a deeper conviction and sorrow than before.

“This is neither Cheonumaemg’s way nor Hwasan’s.”

“Then what is it?”

Hyun Jong remained silent for a moment, gazing at the battlefield. Finally, a voice filled with compassion and sadness flowed like the wind.

“It is simply the way of a human being.”

For a moment, the weight of those words silenced everyone.

“Please, I ask of you.”

Hyun Jong bowed respectfully toward Zhuge Jain and Moyong Wigyeong. The two, who had been silent, eventually nodded as well.

The despairing, the compassionate, and those worried about the future – all realized that the first thing they must not forget was basic human decency. This simple principle moved those who had been paralyzed by despair.

“…We will help.”

Moyong Wigyeong gave orders to the members of the Moyong family. Zhuge Jain also staggered to his feet.

“Forgive my rudeness…”

“No,”

Hyun Jong interrupted, shaking his head.

“There is work to be done.”

“…Yes.”

Comforting Zhuge Jain, Hyun Jong began to walk towards the battlefield that had become a massive grave. Tang Gunak followed him.

Step. Step.

Hyun Jong’s steps veered slightly away from where the bodies lay. After walking silently for a long time, he finally stopped.

He sighed softly as he looked at the person in front of him. Just standing there and looking made his fingers tingle from the weight of it all.

It is a sorrowful truth that the living bear the heaviest burden of so many deaths. This pained Hyun Jong, perhaps even more than the horrors that had occurred here.

“Chung Myung-ah…”

Hyun Jong spoke softly to Chung Myung, who couldn’t turn his gaze away from the devastation before him.

“It’s not your fault.”

Chung Myung, who had been as still as a statue, finally turned to look at Hyun Jong. His hollow eyes pierced a corner of Hyun Jong’s heart.

“Then…”

Chung Myung asked in an emotionless voice.

“Whose fault is it?”

“…”

“Sect Leader.”

Something old and deeply buried seemed to be stirring. Faced with such profound despair, Hyun Jong wished he could close his eyes.

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*The first time we encountered Zhuge Jain his name was written in the raws as Jaan. But here and in all the following chapters his name is being written as Jain.

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