Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“This is crazy.”

“There seems to be no end no matter how far we go.”

The disciples of Mount Hua were tired of seeing this never-ending ice lake. They had already traveled back and forth between Shaanxi and Sichuan twice. And didn’t they even go as far as Yunnan once?

But in those journeys, the surroundings had changed. Didn’t they feel like they had gone further with the differing scenery?

But this awful lake was the same no matter where they went. All they could see were snowy mountains and lands. And just ice. It was like walking in the same place.

The beautiful scenery that they had never seen before? A vast, shining view that could make one shudder?

It had been like that when they first saw it too. After watching the same thing for several days, they felt so sick that they wanted to turn around. Occasionally, a blizzard would blow and block the view, but the same thing would reappear when it disappeared.

“Sasuk. How much further do we have to go?”

“… considering the time we’ve spent moving, I think we are almost there.”

At Jo Gul’s question, Baek Cheon also gazed ahead with tired eyes.

Surprisingly, their bodies didn’t feel fatigued. Unlike in the Central Plains, where they crossed hills and rivers and even trudged through mud, this endless ice lake felt like just the beginning of a journey.

After getting used to running on ice, they were able to go faster and be more agile.

The problem was that no matter how far they ran, they were unable to see the end…

“Are we getting close?”

“… just looking at that white color now makes me sick.”

“It was nice at first.”

“Yeah, Sago? I liked it in the beginning too.”

About 10 days after arriving in the North Sea, they understood why people longed for the warm southern nations.

Baek Cheon sighed sadly.

Everyone had murmured that pulling the cart was becoming difficult, but they never complained that it was boring. Seeing these guys talking so much, he thought the North Sea was amazing.

“We should be almost there. Keep your spirits up, everyone.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I understand, sasuk.”

Baek Cheon also regained his strength and put more effort into pulling the cart.

At that moment, Jo Gul, with his head up, shouted as if he had found something.

“Hey! Look over there!”

“What’s there?”

“Look over there. Isn’t that a house?”

“Hmm?”

Baek Cheon furrowed his brow and looked in the direction that Jo Gul was pointing.

“Looks like it.”

Perhaps due to the blizzard stopping, the view ahead was now clear. The mountains gradually lowered, revealing clustered structures that looked like they were cut from the slopes.

“A village.”

“Take a look.”

Baek Cheon, who hadn’t seen a village in almost ten days, couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement at the sight of this oasis in the desert.

“Let’s go, sasuk!”

“Right.”

Baek Cheon nodded and turned the cart. Jo Gul squinted his eyes.

“Hmm…”

Yoon Jong also tilted his head.

“Hmm.”

The disciples all looked at the scene unfolding before them, their faces subtly changing.

Clench.

Unlike the Central Plains, the wooden houses stood in a row on both sides. If you were to compare, there were similarities to the shape seen in the fishing villages of Central Plains. The shape of the houses, of course, was different.

But there was one thing that set it apart from the fishing villages of the Central Plains…

“There are no people?”

“Right?”

The houses were lined up, but there was no feeling of presence. Did everyone leave, and only the houses remained?

No, it was not that.

Smoke was coming out of the chimneys of the houses. There was also the sound of burning fires coming from within.

“Shouldn’t they be coming out, though?”

“… Right. Because it is cold.”

“Even so, no one who has come this far…”

Jo Gul tilted his head.

The overall feeling felt diluted now. Although it was clearly a village with people living in it, there was no sense of life.

“Is something happening?”

“… I think I saw something similar before. It was like this in plague villages.”

“Then is this really the same?”

“Plague, what plague? In this cold, even the plague god will freeze to death.”

Yu Yiseol, who had been listening to the conversation of the three, spoke quietly.

“Let’s try knocking on a door.”

“Hmm, let’s try it.”

Baek Cheon nodded and walked towards a closed house. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

Thud.

“Is anyone here?”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Is anyone in here!”

But no matter how many times he knocked on the door, there was no answer from inside. Baek Cheon frowned.

“… should we try another house?”

“I guess that’s what we should do.”

But it was the same elsewhere.

They knocked on the doors of several nearby homes, but there was no answer.

“… what is this place?”

Jo Gul’s face contorted.

“Didn’t they say that people from the North Sea are kind? Instead of being kind, this is brutal.”

Yoon Jong frowned at Jo Gul’s words.

“Don’t speak so carelessly. It’s a place that outsiders rarely visit, so they need to be on guard. It’s easy to speak when we’re not in that position.”

“… Yes.”

However, Yoon Jong also had a troubled look on his face. He could definitely sense a presence in the house, but it was frustrating that no one answered.

“Sahyung, try knocking a bit more. Just a couple more places.”

“Hmm. Let’s do that.”

Since it would be a pity to head back like this, Baek Cheon also decided to knock on another house.

“Is anyone here?”

Instead, he knocked more cautiously and politely than before.

“We were passing by. We’re not bad people, but we have a couple of questions, so if you could open the door….”

Thud!

And this time, the door opened up.

“Ah. Thanks…”

But there was no time to express gratitude. Baek Cheon quickly stepped back because he saw something flash the moment the door opened.

Baek Cheon reflexively grabbed the sword, but soon relaxed as he saw the person emerging from inside.

The intimidating sight of a large kitchen knife was somewhat diminished by the wrinkled old woman holding it, her bony hand trembling.

“Again…trying to capture someone again! You’ll fall into hell!”

The tearful old woman shouted, her voice cracking, and swung the knife. Baek Cheon felt embarrassed and stuttered a little.

“Well, we aren’t those people. We just wanted to ask for directions.”

“Who would be fooled by that?”

Baek Cheon was taken aback by the old woman’s words and the swinging knife, so he took a step back. It wouldn’t be difficult to subdue her, but it would be a big problem if an old woman like her got hurt.

“Grandma, we’re not bad people.”

“Get lost!”

Bang!

The door slammed shut forcefully. Baek Cheon stared blankly at the closed door.

“…what is going on?”

“Didn’t she mention capturing someone?”

“Is it human trafficking?”

The faces of the Mount Hua disciples tightened.

They had visited many cities and villages, but this was the first time they encountered such hostility in a village.

“Amitabha.”

Hae Yeon murmured several times and spoke with a worried expression.

“It worries me that people are so scared. It doesn’t seem like they treat us badly just because we’re outsiders.”

Baek Cheon scratched his head, looking puzzled. Just like Hae Yeon had said, there was something strange about how the people around here were reacting.

“Chung Myung.”

Chung Myung, who was standing behind him, raised his head.

“What should we do now?”

“Hmm.”

Chung Myung looked at the village with serious eyes and shrugged.

“Looking at Dong Ryong’s face didn’t work, so it seems like the situation is serious.”

“Is this really the time to joke around?”

“I wasn’t joking, though.”

“…”

Baek Cheon’s eyes lit up.

But just as he was about to get angry, Chung Myung spoke up.

“Let’s just go.”

“… Is that all?”

“I do have a couple of things I want to ask, but…”

Chung Myung paused and shook his head.

“It’s not about scaring a frightened person. Our thoughtless actions could make things worse for these people.”

His voice sounded more serious than usual.

“I understand.”

Baek Cheon nodded silently and turned around.

“… Baek Cheon sasuk, are you really okay with this?”

Yoon Jong asked with concern.

“What can we do when they’re afraid of us?”

“When people are scared of other people, it means something is wrong. Is it right to leave them like this?”

“…”

Baek Cheon slowly scanned the village with his gaze.

“I understand how you feel, but Chung Myung’s words are not wrong. We are outsiders. If we interfere too much, the problem might become worse.”

“…. Yes.”

“Let’s focus on finding the Ice Palace for now.”

It was the moment Baek Cheon was about to move his stiff face.

“O-Outsiders?”

Baek Cheon quickly turned his head at the sudden voice. He saw a man partially hidden behind the cabin.

What was so frightening about it was that he didn’t show his entire body, and his head was sticking out and trembling.

“Yes, we are from the Central Plains.”

“C-central Plains!”

Hearing the words Central Plains, the man panicked as if he had been buried and quickly disappeared behind the house.

“We aren’t bad people. I just came to ask you some questions.”

“How did the people of the Central Plains get here?! G-get out right now!”

“We came for the North Sea Ice Palace.”

“Ice Palace?”

The man shook his head again.

“Then you got permission from the North Sea Ice Palace?”

“To be precise, we have an introduction that should lead to permission. The Ice Palace will not treat us badly.”

Suspicion appeared in the man’s eyes for a moment, but he leaned forward a bit more.

“Right… if it wasn’t for the one who asked permission from the Ice Palace, we wouldn’t have come into the depths of the North Sea this winter. If you have thoughts, you can see this.”

“….”

Baek Cheon glanced back at his sajaes, but all of them maintained their shameless faces without changing a single expression.

Baek Cheon’s heart naturally warmed.

‘How dare these schemers with shameless faces and nature come together?’

Were swindlers the only ones to enter Mount Hua, or did Mount Hua make them into swindlers?

No… either way, this was a problem.

“Yes. We ran nonstop along the lake and heard the Ice Palace would appear around here. Do you know which way to head to the Ice Palace?”

“Ice Palace… cough! cough!”

But the man who was about to speak suddenly started coughing violently.

“Is it fine?”

“…I am fin… cough! totally fine.”

It was then.

“Cough!”

The moment the man coughed, his entire body trembled; something white came out and fell to the ground.

“Huh?”

“Did you lose a tooth?”

Mount Hua’s disciples and the others backed away. Every time the man who covered his mouth coughed, blood flowed out. Blood splattered on the white snow.

He was bleeding because he lost a tooth. Looking at the man’s pale skin and his body appearance, it wasn’t easy to think why this was happening.

“…strange disease?”

“L-Look there! It is a plague!”

Jo Gul shouted as if his words were correct, and Baek Cheon turned his head and looked at Tang Soso.

“Soso.”

“Yes.”

Tang Soso hurriedly approached the man.

“D-do not come closer.”

“Stay still! I am a physician!”

When Tang Soso yelled at him, the man flinched. Usually, she was just a playful girl with a lively and bubbly personality, but Tang Soso was always strict in front of those who were injured.

Tang Soso’s face was serious as she looked at the pulse of the man and slightly opened her mouth.

“…since when have you been like this? Is there anyone else in this town with the same symptoms?”

“Yes? Yes, yes, two months ago…”

And she asked calmly.

“Could you please open the door?”

“… Yes?”

“Everyone in the village needs to be examined. Please, sir, open the door! Quickly!”

Baek Cheon, who was observing from the side, asked more seriously.

“… What kind of plague?”

“I’m not sure yet. But the situation is quite severe. Whatever the illness, the body can’t tolerate it for long. We need to examine more patients to confirm it.”

“…”

“Hurry!”

“I-I understand!”

They hurried toward the nearest house with urgency in their steps. Everyone wore grave expressions.