Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 547

The biting wind of the Northern Sea still nipped at their faces, even within the fortress walls. Baek Cheon watched as Yoon Jong stood frozen, staring towards the back of their cart with a bewildered expression. “Have you packed everything?” Baek Cheon asked, approaching him.

Yoon Jong hesitated, not turning. “…Well, about that…”

“What is it?” Baek Cheon prompted, a flicker of impatience in his voice.

“Martial Uncle,” Yoon Jong finally said, turning to him with wide eyes. “You really need to see this.”

Baek Cheon, his curiosity piqued, tilted his head and headed towards the back of the fortress. When he arrived at the cart, his jaw dropped.

A mountain.

Baek Cheon stopped dead, his jaw dropping. It was, quite literally, a mountain of luggage. Boxes of all sizes, some wrapped in shimmering blue silk, others bound with rough twine, were piled precariously high. He could see the glint of polished wood from small chests nestled amongst bundles tied with thick, dark rope. The sturdy cart they had brought, meant to carry supplies for their journey home, was now completely swallowed, invisible beneath this overwhelming avalanche of gifts.

“W-What on earth is all this?”

“Gifts from the Northern Sea Palace,” Yoon Jong explained, a hint of disbelief in his voice. “It seems the Palace Lord is very grateful for Sect Leader’s help.”

“Why *on earth* so many gifts…?” Baek Cheon muttered, his eyes wide as he surveyed the mountain of luggage.

“Martial Uncle, that little Palace Lord is no joke. It’s like she’s trying to empty the entire Northern Sea Palace.”

Baek Cheon belatedly closed his gaping mouth.

‘This is a first.’

How many people had been swindled by Cheong Myeong’s tricks, losing even their undergarments?

But none of them had ever stepped forward to take care of Mount Hua like this, even offering a mountain of gifts from their meager possessions.

‘Is this really alright?’

Of course, from Baek Cheon’s perspective, Cheong Myeong was incredibly trustworthy… No, excellent… No. Just a nephew. Just a nephew.

In any case, no matter how much Cheong Myeong was his nephew, it was unsettling and frightening that a promising talent of a growing age was being influenced by ‘that’ Cheong Myeong.

“Um… Yoon Jong.”

“Yes, Martial Uncle.”

“Does the Ice Palace Lord seem to follow Cheong Myeong a lot?”

“Martial Uncle, you should see how *she* looks at Sect Leader. It’s nothing like how you look at him.”

“She looks at him like a puppy looking at its owner.”

“Hey! Puppy? That’s the Palace Lord you’re talking about!”

“But that’s the truth…”

“Ugh.”

Baek Cheon scratched his head, looking frustrated.

Of course, he understood. Cheong Myeong had shown so much in the Northern Sea Palace.

To Seol So-baek, who had few people to rely on, Cheong Myeong must have seemed like a divine general descended from the heavens.

So, it was only natural that she trusted and followed him so much.

‘That guy is a devil! Palace Lord!’

How could such a terrible thing have happened…

“What should we do, Martial Uncle?”

“Ugh… What else can we do? Pick out what we need and return the rest.”

“But we already received it…”

“Unless you want to see Cheong Myeong make another cart, return it quickly.”

“…I’ll return it right away.”

Baek Cheon shook his head and turned away.

‘What’s going to happen to the Ice Palace?’

Baek Cheon felt uneasy, worrying about the Ice Palace.

That evening.

“Is everything else ready?”

“What preparations are there to make? We just need to go.”

“Just go, huh…” Baek Cheon repeated, a hint of worry in his voice. ‘If only it were that simple,’ he thought, glancing at the still-recovering disciples.

Baek Cheon nodded as he looked at the gathered disciples of Mount Hua. Thanks to the healing properties of the Gongcheong Stone Oil, a special medicine from the Ice Palace, they had all recovered from their injuries and were almost completely healed.

Baek Cheon cleared his throat and turned to look at Dang So-so.

“So-so.”

“Yes, Martial Uncle.”

“Can we leave tomorrow?”

“Hmm.”

Dang So-so examined her senior and junior brothers with hawk-like eyes. A moment of tension passed, and then she spoke.

Everyone was eager to leave, but Dang So-so, with her sharp eyes and acupuncture needles, had insisted they were not fully healed. Only now, after days of her careful treatment, had she finally given her reluctant approval.

As soon as she finished speaking, sighs of relief erupted from everyone’s lips.

“Finally!”

“I thought I was going to die of boredom.”

Everyone wanted to leave the Ice Palace and rush back to Mount Hua immediately. It wasn’t that they disliked the Ice Palace. It was just that they had been away from Mount Hua for too long.

They had already arrived in Mount Hua in their hearts several days ago, but they were suppressed by Dang So-so’s fierce demeanor, who held acupuncture needles and rolled her eyes.

Yoon Jong, go and inform the Ice Palace that we will be leaving tomorrow.

“Yes, Martial Uncle.”

“And…”

Baek Cheon, who was about to say something, suddenly realized something strange and tilted his head.

“Where did that bastard Cheong Myeong go again?”

Then, Jo Gul sighed deeply and looked up at the ceiling. Baek Cheon said, looking at him.

“I commend your acting skills, expressing ‘I know, but I can’t say even if I die’ with your whole body. So just tell me.”

“…That, that bastard said that Seolcheon had definitely hidden more assets… and he went to find them…”

“…At this hour?”

“Yes.”

“Wearing his night-walking clothes?” Baek Cheon repeated, picturing Cheong Myeong in his ridiculous all-black outfit, more comical than stealthy.

“…Yes.”

“Again?”

“…”

As if his soul was leaving his body, the vitality rapidly disappeared from Baek Cheon’s face.

‘Please, just do it moderately, Cheong Myeong. Please. Please!’

“No, now even if that guy openly goes around looking for Seolcheon’s assets, no one in the Ice Palace can say anything! But why is he wearing night-walking clothes again!”

“…He says it makes him feel comfortable.”

“Who will take responsibility for my burning heart! Who!”

“Why are you asking us that…”

Baek Cheon turned his head sharply.

No matter how angry he was, he couldn’t show his junior brothers the tears welling up in his eyes.

“…I wish he would get caught. Then the people of the Northern Sea would know about his true nature.”

“Well, putting aside getting caught, it seems like they would just accept it even if he did get caught.”

“Why?”

“Right now, Cheong Myeong is practically a Buddha in the Northern Sea.”

“A, Amitabha! What nonsense are you talking about?”

“No, but it’s not just talk, it’s really like that. Maybe it’s because they don’t really follow Buddha in the Northern Sea.”

“A, Amitabha! Amitabha! That devil! Amitabha!”

Hye-yeon, looking as if he had heard something that should never have happened, repeatedly chanted the Buddha’s name.

“So-so.”

“Yes, Martial Uncle.”

“Some stomach medicine, please…”

“Yes, I made it for you already, Master Chung Myung. I will bring it.”

“…Thank you.”

Baek Cheon sighed deeply, then looked at everyone with a serious expression.

“Chung Myung isn’t here, and we’re leaving for Mount Hua soon, so let’s talk about a few things.”

“Yes, Uncle-Master.”

“I think Chung Myung is hiding something from us about this.”

The disciples of Mount Hua didn’t react much to Baek Cheon’s words. Slightly embarrassed, Baek Cheon asked,

“…Do you all know?”

“…Uncle-Master.”

“Yes?”

“Uncle-Master, you think you are very clever sometimes.”

“…”

“But really, you don’t notice things very well. If you know it, Uncle-Master, everyone else probably does too.”

“…”

Oh, really?

Even Yuisul nodded, and Baek Cheon’s face turned red.

“Ahem, ahem. Anyway,” Baek Cheon cleared his throat loudly and continued, “You all know what Chung Myung is like. He says what needs to be said. If he is hiding something, it means he doesn’t trust us yet.”

Everyone knows what kind of person Chung Myung is.

He’s the type to tell you what you need to know even if you don’t ask, and he won’t tell you what you don’t need to know no matter how much you ask.

That’s why the disciples of Mount Hua didn’t ask about what happened inside the cave.

“The Demonic Sect was terrible.”

“…”

“And we might have to face them again. Someday, we might have to face the real Demonic Sect.”

Baek Cheon’s eyes shone brightly.

“So, we must become stronger!”

His eyes were even more determined than when he fought the Demonic Sect.

“This time, Chung Myung solved most of the problems. All we did was chase after him. We shouldn’t be happy with just taking a few steps forward. I don’t want to just barely keep up with him!”

“I feel the same way.”

“It’s embarrassing.”

Everyone agreed and nodded. Baek Cheon looked back at his disciples and said firmly,

“I won’t say much. The enemy is very powerful, and the road ahead is long. Let’s all work harder so we don’t fall behind.”

“Yes, Uncle-Master!”

“Understood, Senior Brother.”

Baek Cheon smiled at their firm responses.

‘But…’

Why is the monk nodding there?

I thought he was one of our fellow disciples…

“Amitabha.”

Along with Hae Yeon’s quiet chant, snowflakes began to fall outside the window.

“Ah, it’s cold! Why is it snowing all of a sudden?” Chung Myung grumbled as he sat on the roof, holding Baek Ah, who was trying to get under his clothes.

“Seriously, do you think this is your spot now?”

You did a little something, huh? You’ll get in trouble if you keep that up.

“Tsk.”

He clicked his tongue and opened the bottle of liquor he had brought. Watching the snowflakes fall, he took a sip.

The strong liquor warmed him from the inside. The smell of the alcohol filled his nose and mouth.

“Spectacular.”

The view of the Northern Sea from the fortress was truly magnificent. The snow made it look like a dream.

“The Northern Sea…” Chung Myung stared at the scenery, then chuckled. “Senior brother, they say you should live a long life to see it all.”

He never had the chance to come here in his previous life. He never saw this world.

If there were no Demonic Sect and no war… perhaps he and his fellow disciples would have traveled the world, finding beautiful places and living their lives.

“To see something like this again, now that I’m alive again…” Chung Myung looked up at the sky, his eyes clouded with sadness.

Sometimes, he felt guilty for being reborn alone and enjoying this world. His second life wasn’t easy, but the headaches and the scolding of the young Mount Hua disciples were things that could only be done while alive.

He had been given a chance, but the other Mount Hua disciples hadn’t.

Just…

He raised the bottle and took another sip, steadying his mind.

‘Now is not the time to be sentimental.’

He had always wondered why this had happened. Why had he been given a second life, unlike his fellow disciples?

He still didn’t know the reason, but he seemed to know one thing.

“The Heavenly Demon…” Chung Myung’s hand tightened around the bottle.

– He already…

“Knew.”

Chung Myung had tried not to think about it. But now, he couldn’t ignore it anymore. The bishop’s plan failed. This made Chung Myung’s worry into a real danger.

The Heavenly Demon is alive somewhere in this world.

Definitely.

Just thinking about it made his body tense and his teeth grind together.

But he suppressed his anger. He had no choice.

‘What I have to do is…’

This time, he would protect Mount Hua from that bastard’s hands.

“Nothing is certain yet.”

No matter how strong the Heavenly Demon was, he couldn’t regain his power right away. Maybe he was regaining his power now, or maybe he was asleep, living as someone else, like Chung Myung had lived as a beggar before awakening.

It was also uncertain whether he would return the same way as Chung Myung, or in a different way.

However, one thing…

‘That bastard will try to destroy the world again.’

Anyone who had seen that pure evil would think the same thing.

The world would be covered in flames again, and blood and death would be everywhere.

“Not this time, you son of a bitch!”

He would never lose Mount Hua again.

And he would protect it so that the future would not be destroyed.

Chung Myung, grinding his teeth, looked at the room where the disciples of Mount Hua were staying.

‘Not too slow, but never too hasty.’

He had to protect Mount Hua by betting everything, not by just fighting with what they had.

To do that, he would do anything.