Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 922

The tall stone gates of Mount Hua were almost hidden by the huge crowd. People pushed and shoved, their voices loud in the morning air. Dust rose from the ground as more people arrived, carrying bags and boxes.

“Hey! I said don’t push!” someone yelled.

“Oh, really?” another voice shot back. “You cut in line, and now you’re blaming *me*?”

“Cut in line? I’ve been waiting here since dawn!”

“Dawn? Daaaawn?” a man scoffed. “I’ve been here since last night, catching the night dew! You just walk in at dawn and act like you were early? Unbelievable!”

“Th-that’s not true! Where did you learn to lie like that…!”

Just as the two men looked ready to fight, people nearby pulled them apart quickly.

“Are you two crazy?” someone shouted. “Do you know where you are, making all this trouble?”

“This is Mount Hua! Mount Hua!” another voice warned. “Are you trying to anger the mountain gods?”

“If we get kicked out because of you two, I swear I’ll throw you off a cliff!”

Yoon Jong sighed, sweeping fallen leaves from the dusty training grounds. He watched the scene with a blank face.

“Geol,” Yoon Jong mumbled to Jo Gul beside him.

“Yes, Senior Brother?” Jo Gul replied, helping sweep.

“Why are all those people gathered like that? And what’s with all the luggage?” Yoon Jong asked.

“Seriously, how can someone who’s going to be the future sect leader not know something like that?” Jo Gul asked. “They’re people who came to show their faces now that Mount Hua has reopened its gates.”

“…That many?”

“It’s not that ma… well, it is a lot, I guess,” Jo Gul said, clearing his throat and looking at the line of people stretching beyond sight past the gates.

“When you think about it, it’s not that surprising. Mount Hua always had a lot of visitors even before the closing.”

“That’s true.”

“But since people haven’t been able to visit for three years, they’re all coming at once to say hello. Plus, Mount Hua’s position has become even stronger than before.”

Before the gates closed, Mount Hua was already the top sect in Shaanxi. Now, they stopped the bad groups from invading. This made their position even stronger.

Most people thought that even if Jongnam were to reopen its gates, it wouldn’t be easy to change this. So, the important people of Shaanxi were all trying hard to get on Mount Hua’s good side.

Even people from other places trying to get in good with the Heavenly Union were coming from far away. It was clear that the line would only get longer each day.

Yoon Jong shook his head, feeling overwhelmed. “This is all so much… the world is changing so fast.”

Jo Gul chuckled as he watched Yoon Jong shake his head. “You need to get used to it, Senior Brother, even if no one else does. You’ll have to deal with these people yourself when you become the sect leader.”

“…”

Yoon Jong stared at the crowd. His shoulders slumped, and his smile faded. He ran a hand through his hair, a deep frown creasing his forehead. *This is too much,* his eyes seemed to say.

“No, no, it won’t just be this many,” Jo Gul teased. “It’s already this bad now, so by the time you become the sect leader, the line might stretch all the way to the entrance of Mount Hua.”

“S-surely it won’t be that bad…”

“You’re being awfully optimistic. That’s the bare minimum.”

“The, the bare minimum?”

“Of course. It’ll be at least twenty or thirty years before you take the sect leader’s seat, right? The current sect leader is still going strong, and the Martial Uncle is still alive and kicking.”

“…That’s a bit of an odd way to put it. Anyway.”

“What do you think that Chung Myung guy will be like in thirty years?”

“…”

Not Mount Hua, but Chung Myung?

“Wh-what do you mean, what will Chung Myung be like? In thirty years…” Yoon Jong closed his mouth.

Jo Gul chuckled. “In thirty years, Chung Myung will probably be called something like… The Unrivaled Plum Blossom Sword Emperor, the Greatest Under Heaven!” He said the long title with a laugh, knowing it sounded ridiculous, but also… maybe a little bit true.

“…I should laugh along with the joke, but the problem is that it doesn’t sound like a joke.”

“It’s not a joke, though?”

“…”

“If you’re going to be the sect leader with a guy like that around, you’re going to have a lot of headaches.”

Jo Gul chuckled. For the first time, Yoon Jong seriously considered handing over the sect leader position to Jo Gul.

“…The sect leader must be going through a lot.”

It was then.

“Divine Dragon of Mount Hwaaaaaaa! No, Sword Hero of Mount Hwaaaaaaa! B-big trouble has happened, aaaaaah!”

Suddenly, a figure in rough brown clothes *launched* over the high gates of Mount Hua. He landed hard on the other side, stumbling for a moment before righting himself and *roaring* at the top of his lungs.

“…So, we’ll have to deal with people like that too,” Yoon Jong said.

“I guess so,” Jo Gul replied.

The two men, having identified Hong Daekwang, who had jumped over the gates, shook their heads in unison.

“Plum Blossom Island?”

“Y-yes, that’s right!” Hong Daekwang gasped, gulping down the water that Hyun Young had prepared. It quenched his very dry throat before he continued.

“The Namgung Clan has taken Plum Blossom Island! Our cute Thousand-Mile Swift literally flew a thousand miles to deliver the news!”

“…At that point, it feels like animal abuse,” Yoon Jong mumbled.

It’s just a pigeon, but they’re sending it flying a thousand miles whenever they feel like it just because its wings are a bit blue. Poor thing.

Chung Myung stared intently at the blue pigeon cleaning its feathers on Hong Daekwang’s shoulder.

Does it get tasty treats or something, that it doesn’t run away after flying back and forth a thousand miles? If it were our Baek Ah, it would have eaten two wild boars along the way, sprawled out with its belly full, and even had a drink.

That’s… true, now that I think about it. It’s quite useful…

“Ah, no way!” Hong Daekwang was startled and grabbed the Thousand-Mile Swift on his shoulder with both hands.

“What is it?”

“You’re eyeing our Thousand-Mile Swift right now, aren’t you? This is the Beggars’ Sect’s treasure! Absolutely not!”

“Come on, don’t be so stingy. It’s good to share good things.”

“I said no!”

“Tsk. The Beggars’ Sect has become so heartless. It wasn’t like this in the old days.”

“When exactly are you talking about when you say ‘the old days’?”

“There was a time.”

That’s right. It wasn’t like this back then.

Even if they were hiding a jar of alcohol, they would politely offer it with both hands if they ran into me, and they would insist on giving it even if I said it was okay. There was such friendship, tsk tsk. It’s not like that these days…

“No. That’s enough.” Hyun Young cut off the situation and asked again.

“The Namgung Clan drove out the pirates and took Plum Blossom Island, you say?”

“Yes. That’s right, Elder. The Beggars’ Sect disciples who confirmed the fact on the Yangtze River immediately sent the Thousand-Mile Swift. This is the newest news sent to us first from the headquarters.”

“Hmm. The Namgung Clan…” Hyun Young looked back at Hyun Jong with an unhappy look.

“Things seem to be taking an unusual turn, Sect Leader.”

“…I see. Could it be that the Namgung Clan…”

While Hyun Jong and Hyun Young were talking, Hong Daekwang glanced at Chung Myung with a strange look in his eyes.

‘Just what is this guy?’

Now that things have come to this, he was completely amazed.

Even before this happened, Chung Myung had come to him and asked about the Namgung Clan’s movements. When no one, not even the Beggars’ Sect, had considered the Namgung Clan as a factor, this guy was sitting here in distant Shaanxi, seeing right through what would happen on the Yangtze River.

‘Is this something that’s possible just by being smart?’

He was confident that he knew enough about Chung Myung now, but the more he knew about this bizarre Taoist, the harder it was to predict him.

“Hey, Branch Leader Hong.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.” Hong Daekwang snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Hyun Jong. It would be impolite to be lost in thought in front of the sect leader of a major sect, especially the sect leader of Mount Hua.

“What does the Beggars’ Sect think about this? It doesn’t seem like the Unorthodox Alliance will just stand by.”

“The Beggars’ Sect is also watching the movements of the Yangtze River closely.” Hong Daekwang swallowed hard.

“But it’s difficult to guess what will happen. As you know, there are so many things that can change…”

If a normal war were to break out, guessing what would happen wouldn’t be that hard. Even if more people joined the war, the ones moving the troops would only be a few.

But the wars of the martial world are different.

Each sect has a strong personality, and since they each form independent groups, orders are not easily followed. So, things can turn out completely different from what the person who planned the war had in mind.

In this case, almost no one even thought that the Namgung Clan, who had been as quiet as a mouse for three years, would run to the Yangtze River and beat up the pirates as soon as they heard the news.

“So, the Beggars’ Sect has also asked for Mount Hua’s opinion.”

“Our opinion?”

“Yes.” Hong Daekwang’s eyes darted to the side.

Hyun Jong, who noticed the look, smiled sadly. He wondered why the Beggars’ Sect, who knew everything, would bother asking for Mount Hua’s opinion.

‘It’s Chung Myung.’

He must have said something to Hong Daekwang to find out about the situation on the Yangtze River without him knowing. And that must have gone well.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes?”

“What do you think the bad groups will do?”

“Well, that’s…” Chung Myung shrugged.

“It depends on Jang Ilso’s mood.”

“W-well, that’s true.”

It was true, but not helpful at all.

“But that’s not really important.”

“What do you mean?”

Chung Myung smirked. “The bad groups are always the same. It’s too easy to guess what those guys will do now.”

“Then?”

“The things that can change are those guys over there. Baldy and Horse Nose.”

“H-Horse Nose…”

Of course, Baldy meant Shaolin, and Horse Nose meant Wudang.

“First, we need to see what Horse Nose will do.” Chung Myung chuckled.

“Even if they’ve closed their gates, they can’t have blocked their ears completely. When they hear that the Namgung Clan is beating up the bad groups, they’ll definitely be angry.”

“…That’s definitely true.”

The ones who want to get their good name back more than anyone else right now are Wudang. No matter how much the Namgung Clan has been ashamed and angry about what happened on the Yangtze River, it can’t compare to Wudang’s shame and anger.

“If it were me, I would have broken down the gates and rushed to the Yangtze River right now… But sadly, the sect leader there is Heo Do.” Chung Myung scratched his cheek.

Heo Do Jin-in’s thoughts are so easy to guess that it’s hard to guess them.

“And more important than that is Baldy…”

“Ugh.” Hae Yeon, who was sitting in the corner, groaned.

But Chung Myung ignored Hae Yeon’s reaction and said, “What happens will depend a lot on what that guy does.”

“What do you think he’ll do?”

“…My opinion?”

“Yes. Your opinion.”

“If it’s my opinion…” Chung Myung made a strange face.

“I think I know.”

“Yes.”

“I hope he doesn’t. If a person has at least some decency, he won’t. But since he’s a shameless human being, I think he will?”

“Wh-what do you mean by that?”

“It’s hard to explain, but if I’m right, he’s probably…”

It was then.

“Sect Leader!”

Bang!

Unam hurried into the room. His face was a little pale.

“What’s wrong?” Hyun Jong asked, sensing that something unusual had happened. Un Am looked confused.

But.

“Now!”

“…Huh?”

Before Un Am could finish, someone else spoke first. All eyes turned to the speaker, Chung Myung.

“At the gates.”

“…”

“The Abbot of Shaolin has arrived.”

“…”

“Am I right?”

Unam stared blankly at him with a face as if he had seen a ghost, then nodded, amazed.

“H-how did you know? I ran over as soon as I saw him.”

“Heh.”

Chung Myung smirked and looked up at the ceiling.

“You’ve got absolutely no shame. Even a beggar has more shame than you. You rotten baldy. A monk with so much money is worse than a beggar.”

“…”

Hae Yeon’s head, sitting in the corner, turned as red as a plum blossom.