Return of the Mount Hua Sect

Novel Return of Mount Hua Sect Chapter 1085

“Why…”

A soulless voice came out from Jo-Gol’s mouth as he listlessly stirred the rice porridge.

“Why me…”

His eyes turned backward.

Disciples of Mount Hua. No, what should be called useless surplus humans were rushing in to watch him languish.

“Wow, you’re so good at this.”

“There are some things that Jo-Gol is good at.”

“One should not speak so carelessly, donors. All things in the world have some use, no matter how small. Amitabha.”

“… So this guy was born to make porridge?”

Damn them all.

Jo-Gol gritted his teeth and glared at Tang Soso.

“What?”

“…No.”

“What?”

“….”

“What? I grew up sheltered! When have I ever done this sort of thing?”

It’s not a wrong statement.

Nowadays, Tang Soso could easily become a chief bandit in any mountain fortress, but once, she was the precious forbidden jade of Tang Family in Sichuan. Wasn’t she of such a precious status that even Jo-Gol, who grew up in a somewhat prestigious place, could not dare to compare?

So, it’s possible she’s never made porridge before. That much is understandable, but…

“…No matter what, how can you burn the porridge? Is that even possible? Humanly?”

“Making the impossible into possible is the virtue of a Mount Hua disciple, isn’t it?”

“Don’t nod your head, Great Sasuk!”

Jo-Gol shouted at Un Gum, who was nodding approvingly. No, why are you nodding your head there!

“And! Even if that’s the case, how can there not be a single person here who has made porridge before?”

“…Sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

Baek Cheon and Tang Soso, children of a prestigious family (?) who are Mount Hua’s precious, awkwardly turned away from Jo-Gol’s eyes.

“No, fine. Let’s say that’s the case with these yangbans. But you guys, why are you like this even though you’re from the streets?”

Jong Yoon, Yoo Iseol, Chung Myung.

The infamous street trio of Mount Hua stared at Jo-Gol with sullen faces. The one who showed even the slightest hint of regret was Yoon Jong.

“I’m sorry. I have no talent for cooking.”

“What about Sago?”

“Me?”

Yoo Iseol pointed at her face and tilted her head.

“There wasn’t one.”

“What?”

“Kitchen.”

“….”

“Usually, I pick up fruit and eat it, or tear off tree roots…. Just when I was thinking about whether I should eat bugs now, Sect Leader….”

“I, I was wrong! I’m sorry, Sago!”

Please stop. My heart is breaking…

“That’s enough. Stir it quickly. But is porridge supposed to take this long?”

“No….”

Jo-Gol looked at the huge cauldron hanging in front of him and sighed.

‘Is this human food? It’s cow food.’

He had said he only needed to make one bowl, but everyone insisted they couldn’t get full with just that, asked what if they wanted more, questioned whether it was necessary to make a lot in advance, and questioned how could they skimp on grain for a patient…!

As they added scoop after scoop, the huge cauldron was filled with so much rice that it almost burst.

‘If I make a pot of this, even the largest establishment in Luoyang wouldn’t be able to eat it all in one day.’

But what could he do? If he didn’t want to feel resentful, he should have joined earlier. Jo-Gol sighed as he stirred the porridge, his eyebrows twitching slightly.

“The fire seems a bit weak…”

“Really?”

Udeudeuduek.

At that moment, Chung Myung tore off the ship’s railing with an indifferent expression. He then broke it into smaller pieces and threw them into the fire beneath the pot.

“More?”

“No. The fire is okay now, but… Chung Myung.”

“What?”

“…Is this really okay?”

“What? this?”

Chung Myung held up the remnants of wood in his hand, something that had been called a railing just a moment ago.

“…Yes.”

“Who cares? It’s not even my ship.”

“….”

“And in common sense, wouldn’t it be a good thing if the ships of those pirate bastards break up and sink?”

Hye Yeon, who heard those words, smiled with a happy face.

“It is the merit of Chung Myung Siju. Amitabha.”

…It seems like the monk has completely turned around now.

“No, if that’s the case, shouldn’t we at least spare the deck? What if the ship catches fire?”

Chung Myung looked at Jo-Gol with puzzled eyes.

“There’s water everywhere, who cares if there’s a fire or not?”

“The ship will burn!”

“If the ship burns, that’s good, isn’t it? Sahyung, don’t you understand?”

At this point, Jo-Gol gave up further conversation. Rather than arguing logic with this guy, it would be better to play Go with Baek-ah.

Jo-Gol, who was pushing everyone out of his sight and stirring the rice furiously, put down the ladle he was holding and took the cauldron out of the fire.

“…It’s done.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

The street trio, who had strong and clear ill feelings toward the wealthy, looked at Jo-Gol with distrustful eyes.

“Seems fishy that a wealthy kid made the porridge.”

“Might be inedible.”

“Could we get sick if we eat it?”

Jo-Gol shouted loudly.

“No! Since merchants often travel for business, it is essential to learn how to cook food so that they can eat outdoors! I learned too, I did!”

Baek Cheon then smiled and placed his hand on Jo-Gol’s shoulder.

“Gol-ah.”

“Yes?”

“Get rid of the misunderstanding. We are not doubting your knowledge.”

“…Then?”

“We are doubting you. The person. You as a person. So don’t take it to heart.”

Ah, I wish they would all just drop dead. Really.

At that time, Tang Soso, who took a peek at the porridge and tasted it, nodded.

“This is enough.”

“Really?”

“Ooohh.”

“Finally, we’ve found Jo-Gol’s usefulness. It took a long time.”

Namgung Dowi, who could not bear to approach the mess and was watching the scene from a distance, looked back at Im Sobyeong next to him with trembling eyes.

“Excuse me… That….”

“Yes?”

“That… Between us, I think it might be rude to ask this question….”

“Please speak comfortably.”

“…Is it always like this here?”

Im Sobyeong smiled and patted Namgung Dowi on the shoulder.

“Sogaju.”

“Yes?”

“You should get used to it.”

“….”

“At first, Sogaju will think they’re all crazy, but if you try, you’ll find a way to understand them. No. Even if you don’t understand it, you will learn to ignore it. It’s not easy, but with Sogaju’s level of perseverance, it will be possible.”

“….”

In the meantime, Tang Soso, who was busy, moved the porridge into the prepared bowl. Then quickly headed to the cabin. Yoo Iseol followed her with a quick step.

Tang Soso peeked out and said before closing the cabin door.

“Have some of the remaining porridge. We haven’t eaten anything either.”

“Alright.”

As the cabin door closed, everyone’s gaze simultaneously turned to the cauldron on the floor.

“That’s right. We haven’t eaten anything.”

“…It’s been three days without food, hasn’t it?”

“I didn’t even think about it.”

There was silence for a moment.

Kureureurek.

Breaking the silence, everyone looked at each other at the sound that came from someone’s stomach and then slowly approached the cauldron.

Ttalgak.

Baek Cheon dipped his spoon into the cauldron of porridge wine in his hand and chuckled as if something was funny.

“…It’s a real pot, a bowl, there’s nothing it doesn’t have. It really feels like we just took over a ship the pirates were using until recently.”

“He’s kind in a strange place, Jang Ilso.”

“He even left rice for us. I never thought he’d go so far as to provide food.”

“…I wouldn’t have eaten it without Soso.”

“Me neither. How could we trust that bastard?”

If there is someone who can confirm the presence of poison, there is no need to worry about dying from food.

From the looks of it, it doesn’t seem like the rice was packed intentionally, and it looks like the pirates were carrying it around as emergency food, but anyway, isn’t the important thing that there was rice to fill their stomachs?

Baek Cheon slowly turned his head and looked outside the ship. Now, their ship was heading upstream, sticking as close to the right side of the Yangtze River as possible. So that if pirates attack at any time, they can immediately land in Gangbuk.

Initially, they had considered using the ship just to cross the river and then traveling on safer ground, but that wasn’t something they wanted to do with a child and a patient in tow.

As a result, thry ended up finding a compromise between a more comfortable way to travel and safety.

Fortunately or unfortunately, they hadn’t encountered any other pirate ships on their journey. At most, they had passed by some docked ships.

It may not be possible, but it was suspicious that Baek Cheon wondered if Jang Ilso had tied up all the pirates to give them a smooth passage.

“Anyway… Even if nothing much happens now, the Yangtze River is a den of water pirates, so anything might happen at any time….”

“One more bowl.”

“Wow, Jo-Gol makes good porridge.”

“I heard this is not porridge but gruel?”

“Is there a difference?”

Even as Baek Cheon spoke, the porridge in the cauldron was rapidly disappearing. His expression grew a bit anxious. He was as hungry as the rest of them, having gone without food for three days too.

Baek Cheon speaks a little faster.

“So we need to be more vigilant. If it were just us, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but with…”

“No soy sauce? Some salt?”

“I don’t think it was seasoned at all because it was for a patient?”

“I think there’s a food storage somewhere. Should I look for some salt?”

“It’s fine. We can just eat it as is. It’s worth eating.”

“No, guys, I said….”

Even Un Gum, Im Sobyeong, and Namgung Dowi emptied their bowls quickly. In the end, Baek Cheon threw away everything, sermon or whatever that is, and ran towards the cauldron.

“Save some for me, you damn bastards!”

In an instant, the deck was filled with only the sounds of eating and spoons being moved. It was truly a battle-like meal.

“…Is there no news yet?”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Hm.”

Hyun Jong let out a deep sigh. His gaze remained fixed on the river and the land of Gangnam beyond.

“Should we cross the river even now….”

“No, Sect Leader. Didn’t Chung Myung told us? That if anything happens, he will definitely contact us. Aren’t these kids capable of doing that?”

“…That must be true.”

Hyun Jong sighed deeply.

If things go wrong after crossing the river sloppily, the children may get angry because they can’t contact them in time. As the situation was like this, Hyun Jong and the rest of Mount Hua disciples were just waiting here vaguely, unable to do anything.

“Let’s move a little further down.”

“We’ve already come a long way, Sect Leader.”

“I know. I know. But shouldn’t we also consider situations in which those children may not be able to contact us? When a problem arises, shouldn’t we go to the quickest possible place?”

“…That’s also true….”

Un Am sighed deeply.

They had already moved a long way from Kugang to the west. This happened because they had both the desire to keep their position and the desire to get to the children as quickly as possible if something happened.

Kkadeudeuk.

Hyun Jong eventually started biting his nails in anxiety. Seeing the evident worry and anxiety on his face, Un Am couldn’t bring himself to say no.

“Then just a little….”

It was right then.

“Sect Leader! A moment ago, a pirate ship passed in front of us!”

“…What’s with that?”

Hyun Jong reacted indifferently as if he had no interest in anything other than news about the children.

“T- That, the ship was broken in various places. The ship was damaged as if it had been torn apart in a fight, and smoke was rising, making it look like a fierce battle had taken place.”

“What?”

Hyun Jong looked up in surprise.

“Who was on board!”

“It was hard to see from a distance…”

Hyun Jong anxiously scanned the surroundings.

“If it’s someone fighting against the enemy in the Yangtze River, our children are the only ones!”

“Not necessarily… I mean, it’s not necessarily them… No, but…”

At that moment, Un Am’s face, which had maintained its composure, also collapsed.

“Let’s head downstream!”

“Yes! That’s the right call! Tell the kids! We’re moving! Now!”

“Yes!”

As the disciples of Mount Hua steeled themselves for a desperate battle and began running downstream with all their might,

“But why did the fire keep burning?”

“It’s warm.”

“That’s true.”

Mount Hua’s disciples were sitting huddled around the campfire lit on the deck.

“Ah, it’s so warm.”

With a face similar to that of a cat sitting by the fire.