Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1115

“Ugh. Every part of me hurts,” Dang Zhan groaned, rubbing his sore jaw. Jo Gul’s punch was still hurting him badly. He touched his jaw gently, wincing. It felt swollen and hot.

“Damn bastard…” he muttered under his breath, the words laced with bitterness.

He could still see Jo Gul’s angry face clearly in his mind, the fury in his eyes like dark flames. That punch had been full of rage, a raw, uncontrolled power that had surprised Dang Zhan. He clenched his teeth, his hand still protectively on his jaw, but the pain just seemed to get worse, mocking his tough words.

“Next time, I’ll beat that guy for sure!” Dang Zhan said, but even to his own ears, his voice sounded less confident than he wanted. He clenched his fist, shaking not just with frustration, but with a flicker of something else – unease. He felt foolish, not just for losing, but for ever thinking someone from the same place, someone like Jo Gul, could be anything but an enemy.

“Brother, those Hwasan guys are going too far, aren’t th—… Brother?”

Dang Zhan, who had casually spoken to Dang Pae, tilted his head. Dang Pae was sitting on the bed, looking deeply troubled and lost in thought.

“Brother, are you alright?”

“Uhm.”

A groan escaped Dang Pae’s lips as he remained lost in thought.

“Are you in a lot of pain?”

“…”

“She’s quite venomous.”

At those words, Dang Pae unconsciously rubbed his eye socket. The eye where Yoo Iseol’s fist had landed was now turning a dark purple.

“Little Sosol kept saying ‘accident, accident’ and following her around, and I wondered why… She’s no ordinary person. So don’t make such a face. You might get hit a few times in life.”

“That’s not it.”

“…Yes?”

Dang Pae looked frustrated. His face showed he was annoyed.

Dang Zhan seemed to think he was upset about being beaten by a woman. Of course, the Sichuan Dang Family generally didn’t teach martial arts to the women of the family, so it was rare to be beaten by a woman. So, depending on how you looked at it, it could be quite a shock.

But that wasn’t why Dang Pae was so serious now.

“Zhan-ah.”

“Yes, Brother.”

“…Are you alright?”

“Me? I’m fine. My teeth feel a little loose, but it’s nothing…”

“No, that’s not what I mean.”

Dang Pae shook his head.

“Didn’t you lose again?”

“Ah, you mean that.”

Dang Zhan scratched his head.

“Well… I did lose, but if you think about it, it’s not really a loss, is it? If I had used poison and hidden weapons for real combat, I would have won for sure.”

“Do you really think so?”

Dang Zhan, who was about to answer that he certainly did, closed his mouth when he saw Dang Pae’s expression. Dang Pae’s expression was more serious than he had expected.

“Of course, if we used deadly poisons and hidden weapons, not caring if we hurt them badly, maybe we would have done better. But wouldn’t that be the same for Hwasan?”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“It’s because it was a sparring match that your jaw hurts and my eye is bruised. If it had been a real fight, your neck would have been cut and my eye would have been gone.”

Only then did Dang Zhan’s face turn serious. Dang Pae sighed deeply and said,

“Those guys are swordsmen. Especially Hwasan’s swordsmanship, which is said to be more vicious than even the unorthodox sects, isn’t it? Do you think they would ever need to strike someone twice in a real fight?”

“…”

“The way they used swords at Plum Blossom Island was simple but very strong, stronger than any other group I’ve seen. If that sword had been swung at us… they wouldn’t have needed to waste time taking us down. The moment we entered the range of their sword, our lives would have been over.”

Dang Zhan couldn’t argue with that.

If the sparring match today had been a real fight, what he would have seen was not Jo Gul’s face twisting his jaw, but only Jo Gul’s cold back as he sliced through his neck.

Thinking about it, a chill ran down his spine.

“Of course, they wouldn’t have been unharmed in a real fight either. But… no matter how I think about it, I don’t think the result would have changed.”

“…Brother.”

“It’s silly to ignore what’s true. The important thing is not denying the facts, but how to solve the problem. What do you think is the problem with the Dang Family right now?”

At Dang Pae’s question, Dang Zhan thought hard. When he actually tried to find the problems, there were many.

“There are too many things that come to mind… but I think there’s one big thing.”

“What is it?”

“Real combat experience.”

Dang Pae nodded.

“I think so too.”

There was a reason why the two men thought of the same problem. It was only after this sparring match that the two realized that the Sichuan Dang Family had never really fought another group properly.

“…There wasn’t this problem in Plum Blossom Island…”

“We were wrong.”

Dang Pae said, sounding sad at Dang Zhan’s grumbling.

“At that time, we were happy that we had spread the fame of the Dang Family throughout the world… but looking back, it wasn’t that the Dang Family did well, but that Hwasan was amazing. Didn’t they block all the attacks that would have been aimed at the Dang Family and even cleared the way?”

“They even dealt with the pirates who were targeting us in the water.”

“That’s right. But we thought that was the Dang Family’s skill. It was like an archer who easily shot arrows while his friends risked their lives to hold up their shields and protect him, bragging about what he did.”

Dang Zhan bit his lip slightly at the harsh words.

It was a rather cold statement, but he couldn’t argue with it. He knew that the person who would feel more bitter hearing these words was Dang Pae.

“You can’t find problems if you don’t really fight. It was only after this sparring match that I could see the problems the Dang Family has.”

Dang Zhan nodded. There were many things he felt after hearing that.

The Dang Family is very good at fighting from far away. Some say they are the best in the world. But when enemies get close, they are not even half as good.

The problem is that the battles they will have to face from now on are likely to be chaotic battles with enemies rushing in from all directions. If they are open to the enemy without protection in such a situation, it’s easy to guess what will happen.

Dang Zhan, who had been lost in thought with a stiff face, suddenly raised his head and looked at Dang Pae.

“But, Brother.”

“Hmm?”

“So… the Sword Saint of Mount Hua (the greatest swordsman of Mount Hua sect) foresaw all of this and created this situation?”

“Maybe,” Dang Pae replied.

Dang Pae forced a bitter smile. He felt a sting of shame admitting their family’s weakness.

“He wanted us to feel this lesson firsthand. The Sword Saint of Mount Hua is the best at real fighting. He must have seen the Dang Family’s problems clearly.”

“Did the Sword Saint see problems even the Family Head missed? Or maybe the Family Head knew, but the Sword Saint spoke about them first?” Dang Zhan asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.

Dang Pae’s voice lowered slightly. “Don’t be mistaken.”

“The Family Head may be a stronger master than the Sword Saint of Mount Hua, but that is different from real-world fighting experience.”

Dang Zhan remained silent, listening intently.

“While other sects faced life-and-death situations, the Dang Family always avoided them. Even during the Jang River Catastrophe, which threatened the Nine Great Sects, and the Hangzhou Demon Hordes incident, the Dang Family didn’t participate, right?”

“That’s true, but…” Dang Zhan started to reply.

“The only real fighting we’ve done in the last ten years was against Plum Blossom Island. But the Sword Saint of Mount Hua has been constantly fighting enemies who threatened his life for years. The Maninbang even attacked Mount Hua’s main base, and he fought the Demonic Cult in the Northern Sea. He fought Jang Il-So on the Black Dragon Corps battlefield. And now, this time?”

Dang Zhan felt dizzy and couldn’t say anything. He realized the gravity of Dang Pae’s words.

“We’ve always liked Mount Hua, but maybe we’ve taken them and the Sword Saint of Mount Hua too lightly because of that. They are more impressive than we thought.”

Dang Zhan sighed deeply, finally understanding.

“Then he could have just told us,” Dang Zhan said, a bit frustrated.

“Do you think you would have really understood if I just told you?” Dang Pae asked, his voice softer now.

Dang Zhan stayed silent, looking down.

Dang Pae sighed. “You would have said you understood. But you wouldn’t have truly learned it. People don’t really understand things until they feel them themselves.” He rubbed his forehead, a headache building behind his eyes. The lesson was painful, but he knew it was important.

“If that’s the price for learning this lesson… then this injury is a small price to pay,” Dang Pae said, trying to sound optimistic.

Dang Zhan stared blankly at Dang Pae for a moment. Dang Pae looked puzzled. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, it’s nothing,” Dang Zhan said, shaking his head.

At times like this, it was clear why Dang Pae was the Young Family Head and he was just Tang Gunak’s son. It wasn’t just about age. They had different skills and different ways of seeing things.

The dream he once had, that Dang Pae might be replaced and he might become the Young Family Head, now seemed silly.

“Brother, what should we do now?” Dang Zhan asked, looking for guidance.

“We have to endure,” Dang Pae said, determination in his voice.

“The Sword Saint of Mount Hua has carefully planned this for us, right? He’s letting the Mount Hua disciples, who he cares about most, help us make up for our lack of experience. Shouldn’t we be grateful and use this chance? Isn’t that what we should do?”

“I understand,” Dang Zhan replied.

“But…” Dang Pae paused.

“Yes?” Dang Zhan asked, waiting for him to continue.

Dang Pae smiled slightly. “That doesn’t mean we can keep getting defeated without learning anything. Gather the others.”

“What are you going to do…?” Dang Zhan asked, curious.

“The Family Head and the Sword Saint of Mount Hua don’t want us to just fight and lose. They want us to think hard and find a way to stand against Mount Hua as equals.”

Dang Zhan listened carefully.

“That’s not something you and I can solve alone. We need to hear from more people, and more people need to think about it.”

“But, Brother… if we do that, what about your authority…?” Dang Zhan asked, concerned.

“That’s nonsense. In Mount Hua, the Sword Saint of Mount Hua has more authority than anyone else. But does he stop listening to others and demand everyone follow his orders?”

“Well, it seems like it, though?” Dang Zhan said, a bit unsure.

Dang Pae was speechless for a moment.

“That… uh… no. Well… yes, that’s true. But that’s… ahem!” Dang Pae cleared his throat to change the subject.

“Anyway, I don’t think we should just focus on authority. Maybe Mount Hua is strong because they share responsibilities and talk to each other without being too formal. We have a great example right in front of us. It would be silly to ignore it and stick to the old ways.”

Dang Pae smiled slightly. “Let’s be more open. The Sword Saint of Mount Hua is doing this to get closer to us and open his heart a little more. Even someone as great as he is is opening himself up, so why are we keeping ourselves closed off and just protecting what we have?”

Dang Zhan shook his head. “To be honest, I don’t really understand what you’re saying, Brother. Mount Hua is just starting to become strong, and our Dang Family has been the ruler of Sichuan for hundreds of years. Of course, some people will disagree.”

“That may be so,” Dang Pae admitted.

“But…” Dang Zhan looked Dang Pae in the eyes. “I will follow your orders. But I want you to know that it’s not because Mount Hua seems great to me, but because you are the one giving the order, Brother.”

Dang Pae was speechless for a moment. He lowered his head and said softly, “Thank you.”

“Then I’ll be going,” Dang Zhan said, turning to leave.

“Alright,” Dang Pae replied.

After Dang Zhan left the room, Dang Pae sighed deeply. He had thought things would be easier.

‘I thought too easily.’ He had assumed that if everyone worked together, everything would be easily solved. But as soon as different people came together, all that was obvious were their differences and weaknesses.

“Even so, I can’t ignore this,” Dang Pae said, clenching his fist.

Even if Mount Hua led the Cheonwu Alliance, he didn’t want to just be a supporting character. The Dang Family would never just assist Mount Hua. They had to become a sect that could sometimes lead Mount Hua, and that Mount Hua could always rely on.

That was the pride of the Dang Family, and the pride of Dang Pae, the Young Family Head.

“Before that, I need to let those Mount Hua devils know what it feels like to lose, at least once. So they can feel exactly what we felt,” Dang Pae said, gritting his teeth.

He didn’t realize that his expression was starting to look like those Mount Hua devils.