Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 170

“Aaaaargh!!”

“Found it! I found it!”

“It’s the Hongwon Pill! Oh, my god! The Hongwon Pill was here!”

Baek Cheon dashed towards Chung Myung, who was falling backward. Then, instead of helping Chung Myung, he quickly snatched the box containing the Hongwon Pill.

Splash!

Cold water engulfed Chung Myung as he tumbled backward into the pool. The others barely glanced at Chung Myung. Their eyes were glued to the box with the Hongwon Pill.

“If it’s the Hongwon Secret, this must be the Hongwon Pill’s refining method, right? Right, Martial Uncle?”

“Of course! What else could it be! Hahaha! In the end, we’ve found it!”

“Aaaaargh! Sect Leader! We did it! Hahaha!”

“Shhh!” Yoo Iseol quietly signaled them to be quiet and then spoke softly.

“Senior Brother. There might still be someone around. Treasures invite trouble. No one should hear that we found it.”

“Ah, right.” Baek Cheon quickly shut his mouth and closed the box containing the Hongwon Pill.

He couldn’t sense anyone nearby, but there was always a chance.

“What do we do with this now?”

“Well, I don’t know?”

“Shouldn’t we take it back to Mount Hua?”

“Should we? I suppose we should?”

Even the great Baek Cheon couldn’t hide his bewilderment at this moment. Suddenly, Chung Myung, that rascal, had rushed up and pulled the box with the Hongwon Pill from a hidden spot.

Wouldn’t it be stranger if he wasn’t bewildered?

“Chung Myung. You rascal. You really did well… Huh? Chung Myung?” Only then did Baek Cheon notice Chung Myung, half-submerged in the water and foaming at the mouth. He rushed over in surprise.

“Hey, you rascal! What’s wrong with you?”

“Ughhh.”

Chung Myung groaned, his eyes barely open. He glared at Baek Cheon, his whole body shaking from the cold water.

“So,” he rasped, his voice weak, “your junior brother falls apart, and you just… grab the magic pill?”

Baek Cheon blinked. “Well… it’s just… hard to picture you actually collapsing, Chung Myung.”

Chung Myung just sighed. “Yeah, I shouldn’t have bothered.”

He pushed himself to his feet, water dripping from his soaked clothes. He didn’t even notice the chill.

“Give it here!” Chung Myung snatched the box containing the Hongwon Pill from Baek Cheon. Then, he took a deep breath and carefully opened the box.

Once again, an indescribable fragrance spread out.

‘This is definitely the real thing.’

Ordinary elixirs didn’t have such a fragrance. Even the Ziso Pill, the highest-grade elixir of Mount Hua in the past, didn’t have such a clear fragrance. This was something that couldn’t be faked.

Chung Myung continued to take deep breaths, took out the Hongwon Secret, and closed the box again. He roughly shoved the box into his chest and unfolded the Hongwon Secret. Then, in a slightly trembling voice, he began to read.

“To Yeonja.”

“Ooh!”

“Oooooh!”

The disciples of Mount Hua all listened to Chung Myung’s voice with deeply moved expressions.

“If you understand what my arrangement means and have reached this place, you are qualified to inherit my legacy. The Hongwon’s alchemy and medicine must be used to save the countless people of the world. If you are Yeonja, you will fully understand my intentions.”

“Oooooh!”

“It, it’s really the Hongwon Pill and the Hongwon Secret!”

Chung Myung closed the book.

There were a few other things he wanted to convey, and after that, there was information about the Hongwon Pill’s manufacturing method and the alchemy and medicine that Yakseon had achieved throughout his life.

But Yakseon couldn’t have imagined it.

That the arrangement he had put so much effort into would fall into the hands of a human with a completely different disposition than he had imagined.

“Hehehehe.”

Laughter arose.

Laughter arose on its own.

“Hee hee hee!” Chung Myung couldn’t control his laughter and took out the box to put the Hongwon Secret back in. Then, he shoved the box into his chest and fastened his clothes tightly.

His chest was bulging out awkwardly because of the night pearls and the box he had stuffed inside, but who cared! A warmth spread through Chung Myung’s chest, chasing away the usual coldness he felt. He felt a lightness he hadn’t known in years!

“Hehehe. I feel like I could even have a drink with the Jongnam Sect Leader.”

Kuh. Have a drink. That’s life!

What? Plum Blossom Sword Technique? Ah, it’s okay. It’s okay. You guys can’t even use it properly anyway, right? Hehehe.

“Chung Myung, now the Hongwon…”

“Heehee!”

“No. Hongwon…”

“Hahaha!” Baek Cheon shook his head.

‘He’s gone mad.’

But he could perfectly understand that feeling. Baek Cheon couldn’t stop himself from fidgeting with excitement.

“The Hongwon Pill, of all things.” He had come all the way here to get it, but he never thought he would actually get it in his hands like this. Baek Cheon kept checking the outline of the box visible on Chung Myung’s chest.

Then, Chung Myung said with a refreshed face.

“Ha. Still, a person has to do what’s right.”

“Huh?” He turned his body around and slowly bowed towards the water source from which he had pulled out the box.

Chung Myung, having finished the two bows to pay respects to the deceased, quietly looked at the water source.

“Why are you bowing when it’s not even a grave?”

“No.” Chung Myung shook his head.

“This is Yakseon’s grave.”

“…Huh?”

Yakseon’s body might be buried somewhere else. Maybe there wasn’t even a grave. Perhaps for Yakseon, leaving behind the Hongwon Pill and the Hongwon Secret was the most important thing he could do.

Perhaps he had died alone and lonely in the deep mountains, untouched by anyone.

But even if there was no body here, there was his will. If so, it wouldn’t be strange to call this place Yakseon’s grave.

Because what was truly important to him was not his body, but his will.

“This is enough.” Chung Myung turned around without any regrets.

He would inherit Yakseon’s skills. But Chung Myung didn’t need to inherit his will.

“But…” Yoon Jong spoke as if something was still bothering him.

“Can we really take this back to Mount Hua? I mean… I’m not sure if that’s what Yakseon really wanted, you know?”

Mount Hua was a martial sect.

But Yakseon didn’t want the Hongwon Pill to fall into the hands of a martial sect. He simply wanted someone who would inherit his will and spread his benevolent arts.

But Chung Myung simply answered indifferently.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Huh?”

“Yakseon was just gambling as well. It’s irresponsible to think that he could just make some arrangements and a proper human would come along.”

“Still…”

“If Yakseon really wanted to convey his will and intentions, he shouldn’t have left the Hongwon Pill like this, but should have taken in a disciple who could inherit his will. Even if they didn’t meet his standards, someone who could inherit his will…” Chung Myung closed his mouth.

– Someday, you will also wish for it. For your fellow disciples, your junior disciples, and your descendants to inherit your will and your things.

A sect is like that. It’s not just about living well together. What’s more important is to carry on my will.

Chung Myung quietly closed his eyes.

‘That’s what you wanted to say, Senior Brother.’

Last night’s dream.

The words Chung Mun had said to him in that dream.

‘Were you so worried about this incompetent junior brother?’

Chung Myung bit his lip.

“Chung Myung?”

“Ah, no. Nothing.” Chung Myung, who had secretly wiped his eyes so that his senior and junior brothers wouldn’t see, continued in a slightly lowered voice.

“Even if they are unreliable, I will pass it on. Even if their abilities are lacking, if those who will properly inherit my will live on for generations, someday a perfect person will emerge who will fully inherit both my will and my abilities. Yes… That’s how a sect is passed on. Yes, that’s a sect. That’s…” Chung Myung turned his head and looked at the rock.

“Yakseon didn’t trust those who would inherit his will. He wanted a perfect genius who could fully contain his abilities and will. That’s why he did this. But… that wasn’t the right way.”

One who is solely outstanding will inevitably look down on others.

In the eyes of a genius like Yakseon, everyone in the world would have seemed lacking. He wouldn’t have thought that those lacking could inherit his legacy. He would have believed that only a genius like himself could inherit his abilities.

Just as Chung Myung once did.

But.

‘You were wrong.’

And the Chung Myung of the past was also wrong. No, rather than wrong, he simply didn’t know.

– Someday, those lacking will become the most precious beings to you.

Chung Myung clenched his fist.

“I know now. Senior Brother.”

“Huh? Me?” Yoon Jong pointed at himself, and Chung Myung looked at him with a blank expression.

No, it seems he still doesn’t quite know…

Anyway!

This was something Chung Myung couldn’t have done alone. If his senior and junior brothers hadn’t worried and worked together, Chung Myung wouldn’t have realized anything and would have returned to Mount Hua.

Those insignificant beings pushed Chung Myung’s back and supported him.

Yes, this is…

Chung Myung opened his mouth in a slightly awkward tone.

“Everyone, you’ve worked hard.”

“Huh?”

“Is he crazy?”

“Has he gone mad? Why is he doing something he never does?”

“We need a doctor.”

“⋯⋯.”

No, these bastards?

Chung Myung glared at them and then sighed deeply.

What’s the use of blaming them? It’s all Chung Myung’s fault.

Chung Myung quietly looked at the rock. And he thought about Yakseon’s will, which might still be here.

‘Perhaps you also made the best choice. Whether you were right or I was right, I may never know. I don’t know everything either.’

But.

“Still, I walk together.”

He no longer walks alone.

He no longer tries to solve everything alone.

Now he has those who will inherit his will, and those who will achieve his will together. Yes, that’s a sect. That’s Mount Hua.

Yakseon’s will will end here.

What he tried to leave in the world will no longer have meaning. His will was only passed on to Chung Myung, and Chung Myung will not inherit that will.

But Chung Myung is different.

His will is passed on.

As long as Mount Hua exists, as long as Mount Hua’s will lives on in the world. Even if he dies, even if hundreds of years pass, Chung Myung’s will will not disappear.

And…

‘As long as Mount Hua exists, the will of my senior and junior brothers will also be with me. Right, Senior Brother?’

No answer came.

But Chung Myung had already heard the answer.

There is no need to long for the past. The will of Mount Hua, which they had protected with their lives, is now with Chung Myung.

Just by being with the name of Mount Hua, he is no different from being with his senior and junior brothers who went ahead.

And now…

Chung Myung looks at his senior and junior brothers standing in front of him.

Yes. He will just walk with them.

“Martial Uncle.”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung smiled more refreshingly than ever.

Now is the time to go.

A place that is missed just by its name. A place that warms you up just by thinking about it.

“Let’s go back. To Mount Hua.”

Everyone nodded with smiling faces.

It was the moment when the long journey to Nanyang came to an end.