Return of Mount Hua Sect

Nanjing. (남경(南京))

“Damn it, they’re not coming together at all!”

Go Tae threw the plank in his hand onto the board and scratched his head with an annoyed face.

“Keukeukeu, there are days like this.”

“What? A day like this? It would be faster to find a day that isn’t!”

He soon huffed away and stood up.

“I’m out for today.”

“It’s only evening, and you’re going to take your hand off already?”

“I’ll just lose more if I keep playing. Why? Do you want to wring dry a pushover?”

“Pushover you say. Didn’t you win last time?”

“What’s the point of that win!”

He glared viciously at the person sitting opposite him, then kicked his chair as if to vent his anger.

“Anyway, I’m leaving. You guys continue.”

“Where are you going? Forgot you’re on duty tonight?”

“How many guys do we have to stick to this chestnut-sized gambling house? I’ll come back after collecting money, so watch on your own.”

“Now, now, such a temper. Tsk, tsk.”

Regardless of whether he was criticized or not, Go Tae upped his dao that he had haphazardly left next to him and stomped out of the gambling house.

After a while of walking along the back alley, he saw merchants busy with their stalls.

“Fresh fruits are ripe and delicious! Try some!”

“Buy some rice crackers, rice crackers!”

“It’s fabric from the western plain! Come and take a look!”

Go Tae, who was looking through, frowned and strode to one side.

“Oi, old man!”

“Yes! Welco…. Oh… Ugh….”

The merchant’s face contorted as soon as he saw Go Tae. But in a second, he managed to put on a calm face and asked awkwardly.

“Y- You’re here?”

“How’s it? Is your business doing well?”

“Haha…ha. Business is always the same. But thanks to your concern, I was able to put grass in my mouth.” (Means barely managing to support oneself or earn a living.)

“Really?”

Go Tae smirks.

“The old man could put grass in his mouth, while I can’t even afford to put a tree bark in my mouth.”

“Why….”

“Why, what why!”

Kwang!

He kicked the things that the old man had offered and sold without mercy.

“Aigo!”

“If you’ve earned money, you should pay your rent! Old man, is it all over once you’ve filled your mouth? You’re three months behind on rent, old man!”

“Aigoo, Hero-nim…. I really don’t have any money.”

“No money? Then close your stall! If you can’t earn enough to pay rent, why are you doing business? You should go up the mountain and chop wood!”

“If, if you could wait another month….”

“But old man, who do you think you are to do business on stolen land!”

Kwang!

He shouted, as he kicked the cart full of goods away.

“I waited two extra months for you. Now what? You want me to wait another month? Have you gone mad wanting to die?! Do you find our Scorpion Ghost Sect (귀갈파(鬼蠍派)) funny?”

“Aigoo, Not at all! How could that be?”

“If you can’t pay, give me your goods!”

Go Tae strode over and picked up the cart that he had kicked. Then the merchant freaked out and held his pants down.

“If, if you take it, my family will starve to death! I, I’ll make sure to pay next month, just this once……!”

“Have you gone mad, old man!”

Pook!

Go Tae kicked the chest of the merchant who had grabbed his leg. Then the merchant screamed helplessly and collapsed. Go Tae dusted off the pants the merchant had grabbed and raised his voice.

“This is why they say not to deal with ingrates. When you first started your business, you said you could pay any amount of rent, but now you’re making me the bad guy? Two months of waiting is enough! Should my kid starve while you’re feeding yours?”
Other merchants murmured, glancing at the scene in the distance.

“What’s happening again?”

“I don’t know. Looks like the madman lost money at the gambling house again. Is it just a day or two?”

“…How long do we have to watch this…”

Complaints and sighs emanated from everyone’s mouth. But there was no one brave enough to confront Go Tae.

For ordinary people like them, dealing with Go Tae, the black blade of Scorpion Ghost Sect, was nothing short of suicide. Just seeing the dao hanging by his side made their legs weak and their skin crawl.

Seeing the old merchant cling to him again and get kicked, the merchants couldn’t bear to look at it anymore and closed their eyes tightly.

“It’s dirty, so I’ll give it up.”

“Don’t talk like that. If we quit our business, what will we eat for a living?”

“Can’t we just farm and live?”

“Farming, what nonsense! Are there not bandits in the mountains? There’s no place where people live that doesn’t have bandits.”

“…darn it.”

At that moment, Go Tae, holding the cart with one hand, looked threateningly around him.

“Where’s that little rat squealing!”

At his brutal gaze, the merchants quickly closed their mouths and lowered their eyes. It went quiet instantly.

“From this month onwards, those who can’t pay their rent on time will be completely kicked out, so know that! These shameless folks are going to eat everything they want and pay with what’s left.”

“How, how can that be”

“And from next month onwards, the rent will increase each day, remember that.”

“Aigoo, Hero-nim! If you say that all of a sudden…….”

“It’s not me, it`s my boss` decision. There’s no use whining, just prepare the money and don’t be late!”

The scary-looking Go Tae turned around and dragged the cart. No, he was going to.

“You, you can’t go!”

The merchant, who had been deprived of the cart, was drooping while holding the pants of Go Tae while bleeding from his mouth.

“Does this old man really want to die?”

“If, if I lose this, I really will die. Whether I die this way or that, it’s the same! So please… Please…”

“Oh, it’s the same, is it?”

Go Tae let go of the cart and drew the dao from his waist.

Merchants who heard the sword drawing sound stepped back, frightened for a momentarily. Their faces were filled with confusion and anxiety.

“So- Somebody stop him!”

“No, no! You can’t do this!”

“Old man!”

Even though the people around them were screaming, the merchant clinging onto Go Tae did not seem to have any intention of stepping back. Instead, filled with rage, he began to yell.

“That’s right! Kill me, you bandit! How much do you think I make doing business here that you steal it all! I don’t want to live like this either! Just kill me!”

“Hoho, look at this guy.”

Pook!

Go Tae kicked the merchant’s chest hard and gripped his dao tightly.
“Alright. Since you want to die, I’ll kill you! Today’s your memorial day!”

Just as he was about to swing his dao with a fierce shout,

“Stop!”

“….”

Go Tae slowly turned his head to a voice heard from somewhere.

Even if the surrounding merchants had shouted, he wouldn’t have paid any attention, but the voice now was filled with internal strength.

Sure enough, people dressed in blue uniforms were approaching.

“Tch!”

Go Tae, who spat on the ground, stared at the approaching people with discontented eyes.

“Oh, esteemed members of Chuyi Sect (추의문(追義門) /Seeker of Righteousness Sect), what brings you here?”

“Back off.”

“Back off?”

A clear sneer hung on Go Tae’s lips.
“You’re the one who should back off. Have you forgotten that this is our territory? I don’t know when Chuyi Sect started stepping foot into our territory.”

A middle-aged man with a cold impression at the forefront glared at Go Tae.

“Territory?”

“That’s right, territory. This is our territory. Have you forgotten that we agreed not to interfere with each other? Or what, you want to start a war?”

At his words, the middle-aged man gave Go Tae a strange look without answering. Go Tae became even more arrogant and started to rant.

“What? Even the renowned ‘Swift Sword of Nanjing’ is scared of the word ‘war’?”
“War, huh…”

A twisted smile hung on the lips of Swift Sword of Nanjing, Cho Sanggil (초상길(焦翔吉)).

“We can’t rule it out.”

“What?”

Go Tae was taken aback at his words.

‘Has he gone mad?’

The Chuiyi Sect, which Swift Sword of Nanjing belongs to, and the Scorpion Ghost Sect, which Go Tae belonged to, signed a treaty not to invade each other’s territory. That’s why they had been coexisting peacefully on the border of Nanjing.

But today, unexpectedly, he brought his disciples and invaded Scorpion Ghost Sect’s territory.

“What’s going on?”

“These bastards! Where do they think they are!”

Perhaps they heard that Chuyi Sect appeared, the members of Scorpion Ghost Sect in the gambling house flocked out. Then, more people began to gather behind the disciples of Chuyi Sect.

The marketplace was instantly filled with tension. Dozens of disciples from both sects faced off, glaring at each other threateningly.

“It seems the gall of the Swift Sword of Nanjing has grown.”

“The ones who’ve overstepped are you.”

“What?”

Cho Sanggil twisted his mouth into a sneer.

“The reason we’ve put up with your misdeeds until now was because the Eighteen Water Fortress of the Yangtze River were behind you. Surely you didn’t think we were scared and holding back because of you?”

“You son of a beast….”

“But that’s until today.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Wudang and Shaolin are attacking Eighteen Water Fortress of the Yangtze River. Which means that the fate of the water fortresses is over.”

“….”

“Then, there is no reason why we should sit around and watch you. Filthy little rats. From today, there is no place for you to step on in Nanjing! I’ll give you one last chance. Pack up and leave Nanjing now. If not, all of you will die today.”

Go Tae’s face was distorted with bewilderment. It was an unexpected situation.

‘Are they crazy?’

Are they really suggesting a war?

This wasn’t something he could answer. At least his superiors needed to handle this…

“Three.”

“Wa- Wait! Hold on, Cho Sanggil!”

“Two.”

“T- This!”

“One. Attack! Today we will drive all of the Scorpion Ghost Sect out of Nanjing!”

“Yes!”

Swift Sword of Nanjing gave the order without giving him a chance to answer. The waiting disciples pulled out their swords and rushed to Scorpion Ghost Sect all at once.

“Defeat them all!”

“You bastards! Do you think we’ve been patient with you because we were weak?”

As the disciples of the Chuyi Sect charged, the Scorpion Ghost Sect also hurriedly drew their weapons.
“What are you doing! Kill all those scoundrels!”
“They must have taken us as pushovers, huh?”

“Kill them all!”

In the middle of the market, swords and dao flew, quickly turning the surroundings into chaos with blood spurting everywhere.

“A- Aigoo! What the hell is going on!”

The market traders were startled and hastily scattered, running away.

The two sects did not care and continued to fight fiercely.

‘Goodness, a war.’

‘There hasn’t been anything like this in the past ten years.’

‘Chuyi Sect have finally drawn their swords!’

At that moment, a beggar who had been crouching in a corner of the market stood up with a grave face.
“…A war.”

This wasn’t just a simple clash. They were fighting with their existence at stake. Regardless of who won, this was a matter that could change the terrain of Nanjing.

‘I need to inform the superiors quickly.’
He began to run towards his shack in a panic.

The land of Nanjing, which had maintained its calmness on the outside, rapidly engulfed in turmoil.

And Nanjing wasn’t the only place where this happened.

In all cities where Evil Sect and Righteous Sect coexisted, despite the differences in degree, similar incidents were occurring.

Kangho, which was as calm as a lake, began to tremble.

The huge stone thrown into the Yangtze River not only stirred the river but also shook the world.

Messenger birds from all over Jungwon continuously flew towards the headquarter of the Beggar Union to inform them about the unexpected events unfolding throughout the world.