Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 236

Yoon Jong swallowed hard. His throat felt dry and tight with fear.

Many people were watching him. Students from the Beast Palace, guards in dark uniforms, and even the Beast Palace Lord himself – all eyes were on him.

His legs trembled slightly, but he tried to stand tall.

The hall was completely silent. You could hear your own heart beat. Then, the Beast Palace Lord’s loud voice broke the silence like thunder.

“I hear,” the Lord said, his voice echoing, “that in Kunming, you used your own money to help poor people.”

Yoon Jong nodded slightly.

He was worried his voice would shake if he spoke.

“Why?”

“…Yes?”

The Beast Palace Lord pressed him, his tone sharp.

“You are a man from the Central Plains. You came here with a mission. So why did you do that? Surely, you didn’t want to attract attention, did you?”

Yoon Jong kept his lips tightly sealed.

He had already talked about this with Jo Gul, but now… maybe he needed to try something different.

He closed his eyes for a moment, remembering his teachings and the faces of the people he helped. Then, Yoon Jong raised his head and looked at the Beast Palace Lord.

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”

“I asked why you did that.”

“I still don’t understand.”

“Hmm?”

Yoon Jong’s trembling stopped. He took a slow, deep breath, lifted his chin, and looked straight at the Beast Palace Lord.

“Do you need a reason to help another person?”

The Beast Palace Lord’s eyes widened slightly. He looked surprised by Yoon Jong’s strong answer.

“It doesn’t matter if they are from Yunnan or the Central Plains. If someone needs help, I will help them. That’s what I learned in my sect.”

Watching Yoon Jong speak so confidently, Chung Myung and Jo Gul whispered to each other.

“He’s got guts, I’ll give him that. Maybe a bit too much guts for this situation!”

“Yeah, way too much.”

Those blighters…

Yoon Jong cleared his throat loudly, then looked at the Palace Lord with a gaze that showed no hesitation.

“So, if you saw someone in need again, you’d do the same thing?”

“No, that’s not right.”

Yoon Jong shook his head firmly.

“The Dao is not just one thing. Things change, and people’s feelings are different each time. So, you can’t always do the same thing in every situation. I just do what feels right.”

“Do what feels right, eh?”

The Beast Palace Lord’s lips curled slightly upward.

“So, you mean that you just felt like helping at that time.”

“Yes.”

“Even if it meant selling your sect’s sword.”

He keeps bringing up the sword.

“I am thinking about what I did.”

“Do you mean you regret it?”

“I am thinking about it. But I don’t regret it.”

Yoon Jong spoke with conviction. The Palace Lord tilted his head slightly, looking curious.

“Strange words indeed. What do you mean?”

Yoon Jong paused, as if carefully choosing his words, pressing his lips together. After a moment, he spoke.

“I need to think about the fact that I acted without thinking and put my fellow disciples in danger. I blame myself for that. But I can’t be ashamed of helping people.”

Yoon Jong closed his eyes briefly.

Then, he opened them again and looked at the Beast Palace Lord.

“Hwasan is everything to me. That’s why I’m not ashamed of what I did. If it were the Hwasan I know, it would care more about people starving than about some sword. At least, that’s what I’ve learned and how I’ve acted.”

“Even if it goes against what your sect wants?”

“Would Hwasan ever teach me that a sword is more important than people dying in front of us!”

Yoon Jong’s voice got louder, as if he was being tested.

“Some Taoists only talk about big ideas and ignore the real world. They just think about themselves and their own comfort. Yoon Jong thinks this is selfish. That’s why a Taoist must know and see the world. The Dao is not something to keep in your heart, but something to do with your hands and feet!”

Yoon Jong’s voice rang clearly in everyone’s ears.

“If it were the Head of my sect, he would have sold even his beard to help them, not just a sword. Of course, Hwasan’s glory is important. But if it doesn’t help people, what’s the point of that glory? Is it just for some self-important Taoists to feel good about themselves?”

His shoulders straightened with each word.

All the confusion inside him broke apart and came together again as something new.

“I’ve been searching until now. Why does it have to be Hwasan? Why does Hwasan have to try to get back its past glory? Do you know the answer?”

“What is it?”

“There’s no such reason!”

It was a strange answer.

But Yoon Jong’s voice was full of conviction.

“It’s not that there’s a reason, but that we have to create that reason. If Hwasan’s glory makes life a little easier for people in this world, then all the disciples of Hwasan can be proud of that glory. But if Hwasan’s glory is only for Hwasan itself, then it’s not special. Any other group could do the same!”

A firm resolve settled in Yoon Jong’s voice.

He had been looking for the answer to this question for a long time.

That answer was now being spoken to the world.

“I will make Hwasan irreplaceable. I will make it a place where everyone in the world can be happy together because of Hwasan’s glory! That’s what I have to do as a disciple of Hwasan!”

The Beast Palace Lord trembled.

‘How can someone be like this…’

He was determined.

It wasn’t about whether he was right or wrong.

That child understood everything: what he had to do, his role as a martial artist, and what he had to aim for as someone who wanted both martial arts and the Dao.

The Beast Palace Lord listened carefully, his usual stern face softening a little. Among the disciples of the Beast Palace at that time, was there even one who understood things as deeply as that child?

‘Hwasan, eh?’

The sect that produced the Plum Blossom Sword Saint.

He had only heard about how great that swordsmanship was…

‘Yes. Hwasan was a Daoist sect.’

Hwasan was a sect created by Taoists who followed the Dao. And that Dao had clearly been passed on to that child.

So much so that the Beast Palace Lord, who was listening, lowered his head without meaning to.

The Beast Palace Lord closed his eyes.

He, too, had been avoiding danger by pretending it was just reality.

‘Without shame.’

The Beast Palace Lord’s eyes snapped open.

“Disciples, listen!”

“Yes!”

“From now on, all merchant groups from the Central Plains are not allowed to enter Yunnan!”

“Yes!”

“In the future, trade between Yunnan and the Central Plains will only be done with merchant groups from Hwasan!”

“L, Lord Palace Lord!”

“Please think again…”

“Shut up!”

The Beast Palace Lord roared, his voice like thunder. His face turned a deep, angry red, like hot coals. Veins stood out on his neck as he shouted.

“How much more do you want to shame me?” he yelled. “A stranger, not even from Yunnan, is selling swords to feed our poor people! And you want me, the Lord of this Palace, to ignore them because of some stupid family rule? Is that the pride you truly want?”

His hands clenched into fists. He glared at the protectors, his eyes blazing with anger.

“Are they wrong to help? Would our ancestors want the people of Yunnan to starve? If they would, then we don’t need to respect those ancestors! If I meet them after death, I will stand tall and say to them: I cared more about the people of Yunnan than those old rules!”

The protectors lowered their heads. How could they not care for the people of Yunnan?

Then, the leading protector stepped forward and bowed his head to the Beast Palace Lord.

“Do as you see fit, Palace Lord.”

“…”

“I will likely be the first to meet the ancestors in the afterlife, so I will be the first to beg for forgiveness. What does it matter if I am the one to be scorned, if the people of Yunnan can be happy?”

“…First Protector.”

“It’s been too long. A very long time. We have followed these old rules for too long. We were old and ignorant and did not realize it. Thanks to the Taoist from Mount Hua, we have come to our senses. We were chasing after empty traditions, forgetting what is truly important. It is fortunate that we realized it, even now.”

The Beast Palace Lord nodded.

“Listen!”

“Yes, Palace Lord!”

“I will not allow any further objections! If you acknowledge me as the Lord of the Beast Palace and respect my power, do not argue with this matter any further! I will give the trade rights to Mount Hua and resume trade with the Central Plains!”

“We obey!”

The Beast Palace disciples knelt down and bowed their heads together.

Then, the Beast Palace Lord, Maeng So, looked around at everyone and slowly walked down the stairs.

He walked towards Chung Myung and Yoon Jong, a gentle smile on his face.

“I have nothing to say but thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad it worked out well.”

At Chung Myung’s words, he smiled pleasantly and nodded.

“I accepted the descendants of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint as guests of the Beast Palace. But that was also for my own selfish reasons.”

“…”

“But that is not the case from this moment on. I will acknowledge you, the disciples of Mount Hua, not just as descendants of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, but as guests and friends of the Beast Palace. From now on, the disciples of Mount Hua will be treated the same as the disciples of the Beast Palace anywhere in Yunnan, and will never be treated unfairly because you are from the Central Plains!”

Baek Cheon stepped forward.

Chung Myung and Yoon Jong stepped aside, and Baek Cheon, who had stepped forward to the center, clasped his hands towards the Beast Palace Lord.

“On behalf of Mount Hua, I thank you for your kindness, Palace Lord.”

“You came at the right time. Really…”

The Beast Palace Lord looked up at the sky.

The sun of Yunnan was shining brightly. The Beast Palace Lord lowered his head and gripped Baek Cheon’s hand tightly.

“You really came at the right time.”

“We also think it was a good decision to come to Yunnan.”

Baek Cheon smiled quietly and nodded. The Beast Palace Lord now looked at Yoon Jong.

“And… Taoist Yoon Jong.”

“Yes, Palace Lord.”

“I have learned much thanks to Taoist Yoon Jong. Although I am ignorant and do not know what the Tao is, or what is right, at least I know that Mount Hua has the Tao.”

“I am ashamed.”

“Visit Yunnan from time to time and teach me your Tao.”

“I am merely a young Taoist still learning. Compared to the great Tao of the Sect Leader and the elders, the Tao I possess is just simple words.”

“Haha! Then we must visit the Sect Leader. We cannot ask him to come all this way.”

The Beast Palace Lord, who had laughed heartily, patted Chung Myung on the shoulder with a proud face.

“Mount Hua has the Tao, and it has fighting skills, so the task of regaining its past glory is not far off. Can the Beast Palace help with that?”

“Hey. Can we stop you if you’re determined to suffer?”

“What? Hahahahahahaha!”

The Beast Palace Lord happily pounded Chung Myung on the shoulder.

“…I’m going to die.”

“Ah, right!”

Chung Myung, who had sunk almost to his knees, groaned and pulled his feet out of the ground and grumbled.

“Anyway, it’s good that it worked out well, and a deal is a deal. Please keep the contents secret.”

“That’s a given. A man’s word is his bond!”

“Yes, I’ll trust you because we’re friends.”

“Haha! Yes, friends!”

The two men, who smiled at each other, shook hands.

“Well. Will you stay a few more days? The newly brewed Dowonhyang should be ready soon.”

“Hmm. That sounds very tempting, but… I think we should go back now.”

“Already?”

“Yes. There are people waiting for us to return.”

Chung Myung turned his head and looked into the distance.

‘It’s been a long time.’

He already missed it.

The steep mountains.

The scent of incense wafting from the altar.

And the laughter of the Sect Leader and the elders, smiling brightly at them.

“A disciple of Mount Hua cannot live apart from Mount Hua. It’s time for us to go.”

“That’s a pity.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll see you again. If there’s a problem in Yunnan, we’ll come running right away.”

“Haha. That’s very comforting!”

The disciples of Mount Hua, who said goodbye to the regretful Beast Palace Lord, shouldered their packs and left the main gate of the Beast Palace.

And at that moment.

“The guests are leaving.”

Thud!

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Beast Palace disciples, who had been lined up, began to stomp their feet together. With the stomping of so many martial artists, the ground shook as if there was an earthquake.

“The Beast Palace does not forget its friends!”

“The Beast Palace does not forget its friends!”

The Beast Palace disciples shouted together at the Beast Palace Lord’s lead.

The disciples of Mount Hua turned around.

The sight of the Beast Palace disciples stomping their feet as they looked at them was etched in their eyes. The disciples of Mount Hua were slightly moved by the sight, filled with all sorts of emotions.

They had been dragged in, but they were leaving as friends.

“We’ll see you again!”

Baek Cheon shouted loudly and clasped his hands towards them.

And he turned his body, shaking off even the slightest lingering feelings.

The cleaner the farewell, the better.

We’ll meet again, so there’s no reason to be sad.

So…

Let’s go back now.

To Mount Hua, where everyone is waiting!