Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 515

Baek Cheon’s face twisted horribly.

He understood. How did Chung Myung look to Seol So-baek? People were talking about Seol So-baek becoming the Palace Lord. His father, or who he thought was his father, said he wasn’t. This was too much for a child, even a mature one.

He was dragged into a war. It’s hard to imagine how scared he must have been.

Then suddenly…

‘That crazy bastard took care of everything.’

Even Baek Cheon was shocked by what Chung Myung did. How did it look to the child, who was scared in the middle of the battlefield?

It must have seemed like a god came down from the sky.

So, he understood. But!

“Um… Lord Seol Palace.”

Baek Cheon stuttered, struggling to speak.

“There… there seems to be some misunderstanding.”

“Yes?”

“Being good at fighting doesn’t mean you are a good person.”

The Mount Hua disciples nodded quickly, agreeing with all their hearts. They jumped in to help.

“Think about it again!” one shouted.

“You could ask a wall for advice and it would be better than him!” another yelled.

“Seriously, big mistake! You’ll regret it!”

Seol Cheon-sang blinked, watching the Mount Hua disciples’ reactions. They seemed very desperate.

How could his friends, who usually cover up his flaws, say such things?

“Amitabha. The devil tempts from nearby. To go the right way, you must not be swayed by such temptations….”

“What, you bald-headed monk?”

Chung Myung glared. Hye-yeon flinched and quickly hid. Jo-geol whispered to Yoon-jong.

“…Why is that monk picking on a guy who doesn’t even have a sword?”

“You’ll become like that if you get hit.”

Chung Myung ignored his friends and looked at Seol So-baek with a smile.

“So….”

His smile got bigger.

“You want to ask me what you need to do to become a great Palace Lord. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Baek Cheon couldn’t take it anymore. He jumped up.

“No, wait a minute! Lord Palace, that’s….”

But Seol So-baek shook his head.

“I’m not asking Chung Myung because he’s strong.”

“….Yes?”

Seol So-baek hesitated, then tensed up.

“Chung Myung seems sure of himself, which I’m not. If I were like Chung Myung, I wouldn’t be so confused.”

Conviction? He has a very strong conviction.

Too strong. Too much!

“People call me the Ice Palace Lord. But I don’t know what I should do as the Palace Lord. No one tells me, and no one informs me.”

His voice was bitter, not like a child. The Mount Hua disciples’ faces hardened.

He’s right. Seol So-baek is the most confused person in the Ice Palace.

“Therefore….”

Seol So-baek looked at Chung Myung.

“So, I want to ask you. Because you are the most steadfast person I have seen so far.”

His clear and innocent eyes sparkled as he looked at Chung Myung.

Baek Cheon couldn’t say anything.

He couldn’t say no to a child looking at him like that.

It would be too cruel.

While Baek Cheon hesitated, Seol So-baek asked again.

“What should I do, Dojang?”

Everyone watched Chung Myung. They had to wait for his answer.

Chung Myung slowly opened his mouth.

“You want me to tell you what to do as the Ice Palace Lord?”

“Yes!”

Chung Myung smiled.

“How would I know that?”

“….Yes?”

Seol So-baek looked shocked.

Chung Myung smiled brightly and said confidently.

“I wouldn’t know.”

“….”

“If I knew that, I would have been the Palace Lord.”

“….”

The Mount Hua disciples smiled.

‘That’s right.’

Anyone who expects something from Chung Myung will be disappointed. Just like everyone here.

But Seol So-baek didn’t give up.

“Um… Was my question a little difficult? Then, what would you have done if you were in my position….”

“If I were you?”

“….Yes.”

“What would I have done if I were you?”

The answer came from Hye-yeon and the Mount Hua disciples.

“Amitabha. There would have been many funerals.”

“Lady Jangro is old, I don’t know if her head would have been left intact.”

“Head to Jangro, you bastard! Call it a head, a head!”

“Broken. Everything is broken.”

Chung Myung looked back, then looked at Seol So-baek.

“Did you hear that?”

“….”

“If I were you, I would have turned the Ice Palace upside down. But you’re not me.”

Seol So-baek looked aghast.

“Then I am….”

But he couldn’t finish. Chung Myung clicked his tongue.

“Kid.”

“Calling the Palace Lord a kid, you bastard!”

“What’s wrong with calling a kid a kid?”

Baek Cheon tried to scold Chung Myung, but Seol So-baek waved his hand.

“I, I’m okay.”

“Still….”

“….Actually, every time I hear the word Palace Lord, I feel so awkward that I’m a little scared. I’m more comfortable with you calling me that.”

Everyone looked at Seol So-baek with pity.

“Anyway, kid.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what your biggest problem is?”

“I don’t really know.”

“It means you’re relying on others from the start.”

Seol So-baek flinched.

“Think about it. What would a Taoist from the Central Plains know about the Ice Palace? In the end, you have to figure it out yourself.”

“I see you came all this way to find your own answer. That’s good,” Cheong-myeong said. “But what if my advice doesn’t work? Will you be angry at me?”

“I, absolutely not. I⋯⋯.”

“Even if you’re not angry,” Cheong-myeong continued, “it doesn’t change anything. Listen carefully. I’ll tell you one thing for sure.”

Cheong-myeong opened his eyes wide and stared right at Seol So-baek. His gaze was like a sudden winter wind, cutting right through him. Seol So-baek shivered, feeling like Cheong-myeong could see every thought in his head.

“The more important something is, the less you should rely on others. You have to do it yourself, no matter what. The reason the Ice Palace is in this state is because it ultimately failed to protect itself.”

The disciples of Mount Hua all nodded slightly. Now they understood what Cheong-myeong was saying.

“What you need to do now isn’t to find a way to instantly regain your dignity as the Palace Lord. From now on, you need to learn more, think more, and speak up more. If you do that, someday you’ll be able to do what you want.”

Cheong-myeong, who had been speaking calmly, changed his tone. His face became serious.

“There’s no easy trick to solve everything,” he said. “If you want to change things, you have to change yourself. That’s the only real solution.”

Even after Cheong-myeong stopped talking, Seol So-baek stared at him silently. Then, he slowly nodded.

“I was too impatient, I see.”

“Yes.”

“I understand, Taoist. I fully⋯⋯ I fully understand what you mean.”

Cheong-myeong grinned and looked at him.

Baek Cheon, who had been watching, chuckled to himself.

‘He’s being strangely kind,’ he thought.

It was the first time he had seen Cheong-myeong explaining things so kindly.

Was it because he was a child? Or…?

That’s when it happened.

“And one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“If it’s too hard, don’t do it.”

“Pardon?”

Seol So-baek’s eyes widened at Cheong-myeong’s sudden words.

“What do you *mean*?”

“Have you ever wanted to become the Palace Lord?”

“No. I’ve never once thought about it.”

“Then why are you struggling so much? If you don’t want to do it, just quit.”

His voice was nonchalant. Seol So-baek glanced at Cheong-myeong and said with a sullen face.

“I think I was being too dramatic.”

“That’s not it, you imbecile!”

Cheong-myeong sighed deeply.

“The destruction of the Northern Sea was the work of your predecessors, and they should have been the ones to fix it. Just because you share their blood doesn’t mean you have to feel responsible for something you didn’t even do.”

“This isn’t your job. The adults should be taking responsibility. Why should you worry about the Ice Palace and the Northern Sea when you haven’t done anything wrong?”

“You should take responsibility for the things you choose to do. But you don’t need to feel burdened by things you don’t want to do.”

Seol So-baek’s head slowly lowered.

No one blamed or pushed him as he bowed his head. They simply watched him with pity.

After a while, Seol So-baek, whose shoulders had been trembling, slowly rose. He put his hands together and bowed deeply to Cheong-myeong.

“Thank you, Taoist. I came here shamelessly seeking answers and received even greater ones. Thank you so much… Thank you so much.”

“A little brat trying to act like an adult again.”

Cheong-myeong frowned.

“If you want to be called a kid, then act like one.”

“Is it really okay for me to do that?”

“You can’t even do that on your own, and you want to be the Palace Lord? That’s why you need to smash the heads of those elders! Ugh, the more I think about it, the more pissed off I get! I shouldn’t have just come back like that; I should have twisted their jaws off! I’m so furious!”

Cheong-myeong rolled his eyes back and started to convulse. The disciples of Mount Hua rushed forward.

“No, why is he doing this again after doing so well!”

“Calm down, Cheong-myeong! You’ll break the old men!”

“Someone turned this kid into wilted spinach in just a few days! I’m going to throw him into boiling water!”

Seol So-baek watched Cheong-myeong shouting and struggling as the others held him. Seol So-baek felt cold sweat on his skin.

Baek Cheon called out to him quietly.

“Palace Lord.”

“Yes?”

“That guy’s words are harsh and his expressions are strange, but he’s saying it because he cares about you.” Baek Cheon smiled gently.

“I know, Taoist.”

Seol So-baek hesitated. “I know it too well.”

Seol So-baek’s eyes stayed on Cheong-myeong.

“Everyone tells me that I have to do it because I inherited the blood of the Seol family and because I am the Palace Lord.”

“But that Taoist tells me that it’s not my responsibility.”

Seol So-baek smiled faintly.

“It’s strange. People from the Central Plains care more about me.”

“It’s weird to think of the Central Plains and the Northern Sea as separate.”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t it just that as fellow human beings, they couldn’t stand by and watch a Palace Lord burdened with such a heavy load at such a young age? It’s just that the person saying those words is a bit of a problem.”

Seol So-baek looked silently into the distance, his voice slightly choked up. Baek Cheon smiled.

“Anyway, I hope it helps…”

Suddenly, the air in the room seemed to change. A heavy silence fell. Baek Cheon, who had been speaking, suddenly stopped and turned his head sharply.

Cheong-myeong, who had stopped struggling, was staring at one place with a cold face.

The disciples of Mount Hua also froze.

Cheong-myeong pushed away Jo Gul and Yoon Jong and slowly approached the window.

“W-What is it?”

“Cheong-myeong, what’s wrong?”

Cheong-myeong threw open the window. A blast of icy wind and snowflakes whipped into the room, making the candle flames dance. He leaned out the window, staring at the snow-covered fortress walls, focusing on something beyond them.

Cheong-myeong’s eyes darkened.

“There was no need to go looking for them.”

Baek Cheon spoke, his face stiff. “Could it be…?”

“Sasuk.” Cheong-myeong’s voice was strained, as if he was holding back something.

“Get ready. They’re coming.” The corners of his lips twisted cruelly.

“It’s the Demonic Sect.”

Everyone’s face turned white.

Cheong-myeong felt something twisting inside him. “It’s so good to see you, you sons of bitches,” he muttered softly.

Everyone held their breath at the eerie voice.