Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 572

Scritch. Scritch.

A slender brush danced across the pristine white paper.

Words appeared as if by magic, filling the page with thick, black ink.

A man sat at a wooden desk. He looked to be middle-aged and wore a rich green robe. He was surrounded by stacks of papers, working hard.

“Patriarch!”

The scratching sound stopped.

Tang Gunak, the man in green, looked at what he had just written one last time. Then, he raised his head and looked towards the door.

“What is it?”

“A guest has come to see you.”

“A guest?”

Tang Gunak’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if displeased.

“A guest while I am working? It should be reported to the Elder Council.”

His voice was sharp, making the person outside the door flinch.

“It is… a message from Mount Hua.”

At the mention of Hua, Tang Gunak’s eyes gleamed with interest.

“Hua?”

“Yes.”

Thud.

He set down the brush without hesitation and stood up abruptly.

“Let them in.”

“Yes!”

The door swung open, and Dang Pae entered, offering his respects. Behind him followed a beggar whose face he had seen a few times.

Stepping forward, the beggar clasped his hands in a respectful bow.

“I am Ju-pung, the branch leader of the Beggars’ Sect in Chengdu.”

“The Beggars’ Sect.”

Tang Gunak’s sharp gaze swept over Ju-pung.

Ju-pung swallowed hard under the truly cold and imposing stare.

‘My heart is pounding.’

He had come to the Dang family on business, but he had never imagined he would face the patriarch himself.

Even though he was a branch leader, he knew he was much lower in rank than the head of the Sichuan Dang family. The Dang family was very powerful in Sichuan.

Normally, he would have delivered a letter at the front gate and returned, or perhaps caught a glimpse of the patriarch from afar.

‘Who knew they would drag me straight to the patriarch’s residence?’

Ju-pung wiped his palm on his trousers and took out a letter from his inner pocket.

“This is a letter from the Mount Hua in Shaanxi, which they asked our sect to deliver to you, Patriarch.”

He was nervous and spoke quickly, adding details that weren’t really needed.

“T-This letter was tied to a hawk called Cheongeung, which the Beggars’ Sect uses to deliver the most important news. There might be a slight difference, but only about two days have passed since the letter left Mount Hua.”

“Hmm. Let me see it.”

“Yes!”

Ju-pung, sweating, tried to rush towards Tang Gunak. But before he could even take a proper step, Dang Pae’s hand shot out, blocking his way.

“This way.”

“Ah… H-Here it is.”

Dang Pae politely handed the letter he received from Ju-pung to Tang Gunak.

Tang Gunak silently opened the letter and checked its contents.

“Hmm.”

Tang Gunak’s face, which had been cold and stiff, twitched slightly.

During the short time he spent reading the letter, his expression changed several times. Dang Pae, who was watching quietly, wore a bitter smile.

Tang Gunak, who rarely changed his expression over trivial matters, only showed such a face when he heard news about Hua or when he faced the Divine Dragon of Hua.

“Heeeuuuum.”

Having finished reading the letter, Tang Gunak scratched his chin as if he found it strange and asked.

“They told you to deliver this letter to me?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

“I understand.”

“Yes! If you have any messages to send to Hua…”

“It’s fine. With that impatient temperament, he wouldn’t be guarding the mountain waiting for my reply.”

It was an incomprehensible remark, but Ju-pung bowed his head for now.

“Then.”

And he quickly turned around.

To be honest, he didn’t want to stay here even for a moment longer. Even within the orthodox sects, the Sichuan Dang family was a subtle object of fear. And wasn’t this the patriarch’s office, the most secluded place of all?

Unless one possessed nerves of steel, fear was inevitable.

‘That’s beside the point.’

Just before leaving, Ju-pung glanced back without realizing it and thought, swallowing hard.

‘The fact that Hua and the Dang family have some kind of relationship is known to most people, but who would have thought they would value it this much.’

He had occasionally delivered news to the Dang family. But even when delivering news from Shaolin or Wudang, he had never even seen the patriarch’s office, let alone the patriarch himself.

Yet, with just one letter, he was directly facing the head of the Dang family like this.

‘Perhaps their relationship is stronger than we think.’

Thinking that he must report this, Ju-pung quickened his pace.

Watching Ju-pung’s figure quickly disappear, Dang Pae clicked his tongue.

“If he walks like that, his feet will be sweating.”

“Hmm.”

But Ju-pung’s existence had long vanished from Tang Gunak’s mind. His attention was solely focused on the letter sent by Hua.

“Patriarch, may I know the contents of the letter?”

“Take a look yourself.”

“Thank you.”

Dang Pae received the letter again and quickly checked its contents. Soon, his face also contorted.

“Keueung…. What is this rascal trying to do again….”

“Truly befitting the Divine Dragon of Hua.”

A faint smile appeared on Tang Gunak’s lips.

Usually, those who are about to face a major event tend to lie low. This is because they do not want to cause any harm to the events that will unfold.

But Hua, or rather, the Divine Dragon of Hua, seemed intent on making the situation even bigger.

“Will it be alright? Even so, the Green Forest is…”

“It is indeed troublesome. If things don’t go well, there will be many problems.”

“Yes. I am worried about it.”

“But it’s alright.”

“Yes?”

Dang Pae seemed to speak without thinking, then quickly added.

“This humble one finds it difficult to understand what you mean.”

“The Divine Dragon of Hua would not start something without thinking. Although he seems to be acting impulsively on the surface, he must have already finished calculating everything in his head.”

“Ah…”

Dang Pae cautiously observed Tang Gunak’s expression.

Tang Gunak, who had noticed his inner thoughts from that brief action, smiled slightly.

“Do you think I am overestimating the Divine Dragon of Hua?”

“The Clan Lord is always right, of course,” Tang Gunak said to himself. “But still… it’s strange to think of someone so young being so clever.”

“Thinking too much doesn’t help if you don’t get results.”

Tang Gunak paused, his expression thoughtful.

“If what you see is different from what you know, a fool will say his eyes are wrong. A wise man will question what he knows.”

Dang Pae closed his mouth, listening intently.

“You too must be careful not to be swayed by what you think you know,” Tang Gunak warned.

“I will keep that in mind,” Dang Pae replied.

“Spread the rumors within Sichuan as written in the letter. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bit obvious,” Tang Gunak instructed.

“Yes, Clan Lord! I will do it immediately!” Dang Pae said, quickly leaving the office without another word.

Dang Pae stood in the Clan Lord’s office. Sunlight streamed through a high window, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. Tang Gunak sat behind a large wooden desk, his face serious. Tang Gunak watched him go, then slowly walked out and looked up at the sky.

‘It’s getting more and more interesting,’ he mused.

But…

What could the meaning of ‘And I’ll tell you in advance, you’d better prepare a lot of money’ at the end of the letter be?

Tang Gunak frowned as he looked at the sky. ‘Prepare a lot of money?’ What could that mean? A cold feeling settled in his stomach.

Chung Myung thought the rumors would spread slowly, like ripples in a pond. But instead, they exploded like fireworks. Whispers turned into shouts in teahouses and markets across the land.

One reason was that the world thought more highly of Mount Hua than Mount Hua thought of itself. Another was that it was exciting news for people who were bored.

All these things helped the rumors spread. But there was another, even bigger reason why the news traveled so fast…

“Spread it more! More! More!” Hong Daekwang waved his arms like a conductor leading an orchestra, but instead of music, he was making demands.

Hong Daekwang stood on the roof of a tall, wooden pavilion. It was so high it felt like it could touch the clouds. From up there, he yelled down at the busy beggars below.

One of the beggars, who were huddled together writing letters, couldn’t stand it any longer and shouted.

“Damn it! Because of you, we can’t do anything else and we’re all writing hundreds of the same letters! How can you say that now!”

“You don’t have anything to do anyway! All you do is feed the pigeons,” Hong Daekwang retorted.

“Wh-where did that kind of seed come from!” the beggar exclaimed.

Hwang Gu-gae, an elder of the Beggars’ Sect, glared menacingly. But Hong Daekwang didn’t back down.

“Isn’t this what the Great Beggar ordered!”

“Ugh,” Hwang Gu-gae groaned.

Hwang Gu-gae sighed deeply and looked around at the beggars.

“Write faster! Faster!”

“Ugh,” the beggars responded.

“Damn it!” one of them shouted.

The air was filled with the rustling of paper, the scratching of brushes, and the cooing of pigeons. The smell of pigeon feed hung heavy in the air. The beggars writing the letters felt like their arms were about to fall off. The beggars who weren’t holding brushes were collecting the letters, tying them to the legs of the pigeons in the cages, and releasing them.

Dozens of pigeons soared into the sky at once.

Some would go to the various branch offices of the Beggars’ Sect, and others would go to other pavilions built in the middle of the Central Plains.

“Do we have to go this far?” one beggar complained.

“Elder, you don’t know what I’m going through there! Do you even know how much that guy insults me and says the Beggars’ Sect is useless?” Hong Daekwang whined.

“That guy? Who are you talking about?” Hwang Gu-gae asked.

“Ugh… It’s hard to say…” Hong Daekwang mumbled.

A man has his pride.

How could he admit that he was being insulted by a guy twenty years younger than him?

“Anyway, this time we have to show the Mount Hua Sect the true power of the Beggars’ Sect!” Hong Daekwang declared.

“Ugh,” Hwang Gu-gae sighed deeply.

‘If I say that, I can’t help but do it,’ Hong Daekwang thought.

He knew it well.

Hwang Gu-gae was the one who had been collecting information from all over the Central Plains and delivering orders through that information for his entire life. There was no way he wouldn’t know how important the Mount Hua Sect had become.

‘Rumors are incredibly fast, but always one step behind,’ he mused.

Hwang Gu-gae knew the Beggars’ Sect was good at spreading news, but even he was surprised by how quickly Mount Hua’s name was rising. It was like watching a small flame suddenly become a roaring fire. He had seen many sects rise and fall, but Mount Hua felt different, stronger.

The Central Plains’ evaluation of the Mount Hua Sect had soared recently, but they still didn’t properly grasp its influence.

Maybe this is too much, but Mount Hua’s influence had already surpassed that of the Nine Great Sects, and considering its growth and active activity, it would soon become one of the sects that moved the world.

“I have one question!” Hwang Gu-gae said.

“Yes?” Hong Daekwang responded.

“You’ve built a good relationship with Mount Hua, right?”

Hong Daekwang paused.

“If Mount Hua kicks out the Beggars’ Sect and fills their own pockets after we’ve done all this, I’ll grind you up myself and feed you to the pigeons,” Hwang Gu-gae threatened.

“Heh, heh heh… Hehehehe! Why are you saying something so obvious? That Divine Dragon of Mount Hua calls me uncle and follows me like a nephew!” Hong Daekwang puffed out his chest, trying to look important. Hwang Gu-gae raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced.

“The Divine Dragon of Mount Hua does?” Hwang Gu-gae asked skeptically.

“Yes!” Hong Daekwang declared.

“⋯⋯Really?”

“Have you been living a lie?” Hong Daekwang asked, thumping his chest and speaking confidently.

Well… it wasn’t a complete lie. It was true that Chung Myung called him Beggar Uncle. It’s just that the meaning of ‘uncle’ that Chung Myung used was a little different from the ‘uncle’ that Hong Daekwang was talking about.

“I have Mount Hua under control, so don’t worry and just write the letters,” Hong Daekwang said.

“Ugh. I can’t believe you at all,” Hwang Gu-gae shook his head, but obediently started writing the letter again.

“Daekwang-ah,” Hwang Gu-gae called out.

“Yes?”

“I’m only saying this because the Great Beggar isn’t here,” Hwang Gu-gae said in a low voice.

“Yes, Elder,” Hong Daekwang replied.

“If you really have Mount Hua under control, it’s not a dream for you to become the Clan Lord. Aren’t I the most knowledgeable person in the Beggars’ Sect about the current situation?”

“That’s right,” Hong Daekwang agreed.

“But… if you don’t keep Mount Hua on our side…”

Hong Daekwang gulped.

“The Great Beggar will probably roast you whole and feed you to the dogs. So think carefully,” Hwang Gu-gae warned.

Cold sweat dripped from Hong Daekwang’s body.

“D-don’t worry. I’m sure of it!”

“I believe you,” Hwang Gu-gae said, nodding vigorously and subtly taking a step back.

“Then I’ll leave the rest to you,” he added.

“Where are you going?” Hong Daekwang asked.

“I need to follow the Mount Hua Sect quickly. Someone has to go and show off so they know we worked hard,” Hwang Gu-gae replied.

Hong Daekwang stared blankly.

“Have a good one!” Hwang Gu-gae called out.

Hwang Gu-gae clicked his tongue as he watched Hong Daekwang jump off the pavilion and disappear like an arrow.

“That guy is all talk,” he muttered.

Then he turned his gaze to the pigeons flying in all directions.

“You never know what will happen in the world,” Hwang Gu-gae mused.

To think that Mount Hua would one day be ordering the entire Beggars’ Sect around with just a few words.

Hwang Gu-gae shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. It was a smile of amusement and a little bit of wonder.

And so, just as Chung Myung had planned, the rumors about Mount Hua took flight, carried on the wings of pigeons, spreading like wildfire across the world.