Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 798

“I⋯⋯.”

Creak.

The sound of teeth grinding was loud and scary, like stones rubbing together. It filled the room and made everyone feel uneasy.

Namgung Dowi glared at Chung Myung. His eyes were bloodshot, as if he wanted to eat him alive.

How much had he suffered since Chung Myung completely beat him in the martial arts competition?

It was a total loss. There were no excuses. Namgung Dowi’s pride, who thought he was the best of the young fighters, was destroyed.

But the pain he felt after the fight made the defeat seem small.

Everyone saw him get hit in his private area. The embarrassing story spread to Anhui, where the Namgung Clan lived. Because of this, the marriage offers that used to come every day stopped suddenly. The matchmakers who visited his house disappeared like magic.

People wanted to marry Namgung Dowi to put their family in line to be the next leader of the Namgung Clan.

But when the rumors started that there might be something wrong with ‘that part’ of him, everyone backed out quickly, as if they had all agreed to it.

The shame and embarrassment!

Remembering that awful time made his stomach twist in pain and anger, like he had swallowed hot coals.

‘It’s all because of that jerk!’

Namgung Dowi didn’t usually hold grudges when he lost.

But this was not a normal loss. Chung Myung had completely destroyed his pride, crushing it into tiny pieces.

“Hoo! Hoo!”

Namgung Dowi took deep breaths to calm down.

He wanted to run over and punch Chung Myung’s face, but too many people were watching. No matter how angry he was, he had to act like the respected young master of the Namgung Clan.

“Oh dear⋯⋯. He can’t even talk. There must be a problem. What should we do⋯⋯.”

“No! There’s no problem!”

Namgung Dowi shouted and looked around.

The disciples from the Nine Great Sects had been listening closely. They looked down at his lower body and then quickly looked away, feeling sorry for him.

Namgung Dowi’s face turned bright red with anger, like he might explode.

“I, I’m perfectly fine!”

“⋯⋯Really?”

“I’m telling you, I am!”

“Alright. Well⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung nodded slowly, looking sympathetic.

“Then that’s good. That’s good, but⋯⋯. Yes. That’s a relief.”

“Believe me!”

“Ah, I believe you. I believe you. And don’t worry too much. You don’t really need it, right? If you’re a direct descendant of the Namgung Clan, even Wudang or Shaolin would accept you.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Right?”

Chung Myung turned to Beopgye and Heo Do-jin.

“Huh?”

“Well, uh⋯⋯. That’s true, but⋯⋯.”

Heo Do-jin and Beopgye looked confused and answered awkwardly. Namgung Dowi’s face turned purple.

Jo Gul whispered to Yoon Jong.

“Hwasan is a Taoist group. Wouldn’t they take him? We can marry, but we don’t have to.”

“He’s annoying.”

“Ah⋯⋯.”

A blue vein popped out on Namgung Dowi’s forehead.

‘I can hear everything, you bastards!’

‘There’s not a single nice person in this group!’

“⋯⋯Hwasan Shinryong. You haven’t changed. You still look down on people.”

“Not changed? I’m being nice and worrying about you!”

Baek Cheon shook his head.

“Chung Myung, that’s not how you worry about someone.”

“Oh, really? I thought this was how you do it.”

Namgung Dowi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He had been telling himself not to fall for Chung Myung’s tricks, but it always ended the same way. At least Chung Myung wasn’t kicking him in the groin this time, so maybe he should be thankful.

“Hoo.”

Namgung Dowi calmed down and spoke coldly.

“I’m glad you haven’t changed.”

“Huh?”

“⋯⋯First, thank you. Because of you, I realized I only knew a small part of the world.”

At first, he didn’t want to believe it. If he had been ready, he wouldn’t have lost so badly.

But he had to admit it.

News about Chung Myung’s adventures kept reaching Anhui, where he lived.

“Today is not the day, but I will have a chance to show you how strong my sword has become.”

Namgung Dowi said with a cold look.

“I will beat you and get revenge for the shame. Don’t forget. I am Namgung Dowi of the Namgung Clan. I will defeat you.”

“⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung stared at Namgung Dowi, then tilted his head and looked at Baek Cheon.

Baek Cheon felt strange and asked awkwardly.

“⋯⋯Why?”

“I’m really curious.”

“⋯⋯About what?”

“Are you sure your father has nothing to do with the Namgung Clan? Or maybe your mother’s family name is Namgung?”

“No!”

“⋯⋯That’s strange. He’s as annoying as someone from the Jin family. If you’re not a Jin, you can’t be this annoying. Now I remember Jin Ryong’s face, which I had forgotten.”

‘How could I forget that, you crazy jerk! He looks just like me!’

Jin Dong-ryong was angry at Chung Myung’s words, which insulted him and Jin Geum-ryong. Chung Myung didn’t care.

“I wonder how annoying Eun Ryong will be.”

“M-My second brother is not like that!”

“So he knows that he and his older brother are annoying. Haha.”

“⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung chuckled.

His words and actions were like the Jin family’s. But Namgung Dowi was clearly stronger than before.

He must have been training hard since the competition, not even sleeping or eating. Namgung Dowi spoke seriously again.

“Remember this. I will get my revenge.”

“Ah, yes, yes. Come find me when you have time. But bring a doctor.”

Namgung Dowi glared at Chung Myung and turned away quickly. Chung Myung grinned as he watched him leave.

Jo Gul was confused.

“⋯⋯Why are you smiling like that?”

“Huh?”

“Usually, you get angry and say you have to smash the head of anyone who’s disrespectful.”

“He’s cute.”

“⋯⋯Cu-Cute?”

“Yeah. He’s like Dong-ryong. Dong-ryong used to be like that too, before his head got⋯⋯.”

“D-Don’t say it.”

Baek Cheon remembered something bad from the past. It made his face turn red, and he quickly stopped Qing Ming from speaking.

Qing Ming laughed.

Qing Ming could ignore Namgung Dowi’s annoying attitude. He was happy that he had become much stronger.

It meant Namgung Dowi wasn’t just talking big.

“Looks like you’ve been training hard,” Qing Ming said.

“I had to. Look who I have to face,” Namgung Dowi replied.

“That’s why you should stop strong people when they are young, right?” Qing Ming chuckled.

He enjoyed watching these young disciples grow stronger.

‘I suddenly miss Song Baek,’ Qing Ming thought.

The Jongnam disciples were probably training very hard in their quiet place too.

Just thinking about Jongnam made Qing Ming grind his teeth, but he didn’t hate Lee Song Baek and Jin Geum Ryong. It wasn’t their fault.

He thought about Jin Geum Ryong’s annoying face and Lee Song Baek’s serious face. One day, they would finish their training and appear before him again.

Qing Ming shook his head.

“No, not Geum Ryong. I don’t want to see him. He’s annoying,” Qing Ming said.

“He’s still my brother,” Baek Cheon said.

“Even more annoying,” Qing Ming replied.

“You bastard,” Baek Cheon said with a sigh.

It seemed like Qing Ming changed all the people who became strong later after meeting him.

Hwasan was changed, Hae Yeon of Shaolin was almost a Hwasan disciple, and Namgung Dowi was training hard to defeat Qing Ming.

Jin Geum Ryong and Lee Song Baek were the same.

Baek Cheon looked at Qing Ming and smiled slightly.

‘It’s all so new,’ he thought.

Baek Cheon asked, “So, what now? What are we going to do?”

Qing Ming looked up, chewing on a cracker. “About what?”

Baek Cheon sighed. “It seems like they don’t want us to join in. Were you too busy to hear them?”

“Huh?” Qing Ming stopped chewing, his eyes widening. “What do you mean?”

He turned his head quickly towards the group of sect leaders, his voice rising. “They’re leaving *us* out?”

Qing Ming shouted so loudly his voice echoed across the training ground. Namgung Hwang’s face went red with anger.

“How dare a nobody disciple like you speak like that in front of all the important leaders!” Namgung Hwang snapped.

Baek Cheon just nodded sadly. “That’s what they said.”

Namgung Hwang stopped, his mouth open. He looked around at Beopgye, his eyes wide with disbelief. *Is this really happening?* he thought.

Namgung Hwang was the head of the Namgung family, but he couldn’t ignore Beopgye, the second-in-command of Shaolin. Beopgye was talking to Qing Ming. It made Namgung Hwang look foolish.

‘What is this…?’

Beopgye had his own reasons. He had seen Qing Ming and Beopjeong talking several times. He didn’t know why, but Beopjeong respected Qing Ming.

So, Beopgye couldn’t ignore someone the Abbot of Shaolin respected.

“Ha…. They’re leaving us out?” Qing Ming glared and growled. Hyun Jong was ready to shout.

But then Qing Ming chuckled. “Well, nothing we can do about it then.”

“Huh?” Baek Cheon asked.

Qing Ming turned around and walked away. He started rummaging through his bag.

Baek Cheon watched, confused. “What’s he taking out…? Is that a mat?”

Qing Ming pulled out a mat, sweets, crackers, and jerky.

“Seriously… did you really bring that?” Baek Cheon asked.

Then Qing Ming pulled out a white gourd.

Baek Cheon closed his eyes. That madman even brought alcohol.

“We came here for war!” Baek Cheon thought.

Qing Ming spread out the mat and sat down. He started laying out the food. He looked like he was having a picnic.

“What, what are you doing?” Baek Cheon asked.

“They told us to watch,” Qing Ming said.

“Then we should watch properly.”

“Why are you looking at me like that? Everyone told us to watch. What’s wrong with me listening to them for once?”

“N-nothing’s wrong, but… is this okay? Is this really okay?”

Baek Cheon looked at Hyun Jong, pleading for help. Hyun Jong smiled gently and said to the other sect leaders, “Haha. I apologize. Our child is a bit rude.”

“Then we will provide support from the rear,” Hyun Jong said.

Hyun Jong walked over to Qing Ming and sat down. “Did you bring the tea?” he asked.

“Hehe. I told you I would prepare in advance. Hey! Bring the tea set!” Qing Ming shouted.

Tea sets appeared and were placed in front of Hyun Jong. Hyun Young and Hyun Sang came and sat down on the mat.

“Hmm. Nothing much to do anyway,” Hyun Young said.

“They’ll handle it well on their own. To be honest, it’s a bit much for us to join in,” Hyun Sang added.

Qing Ming shouted loudly, “Everyone, take out what you brought and sit down! The scenery is nice, and the breeze is good, so let’s watch the water!”

Namgung Hwang’s face twisted horribly.

‘Those damn things…!’ he thought.

They had excluded Hwasan, but now Hwasan was having a picnic while they had to fight in front of them.

‘What kind of humiliation is this?’

It was like they had fallen into their own trap. But it would be embarrassing to make a fuss. Hwasan had only stepped back as they had said.

They couldn’t interfere with Hwasan sitting back and watching, or having a picnic. Hwasan was part of the Cheonwoo Alliance, not the Nine Great Sects or the Five Great Families.

“Ahem,” Namgung Hwang cleared his throat.

“Then let us discuss how to attack.”

“Hmm.”

The leaders of each faction started discussing seriously, but the loud voices from Hwasan continued to echo from behind.

‘Damn Hwasan bastards,’ Namgung Hwang thought. Nothing ever went right when those bastards were involved.