Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1208

Hyun Jong looked at Unam, who was sitting in front of him, with sad eyes.

Unam, unlike Hyun Jong, looked completely calm. This made Hyun Jong’s heart ache even more.

‘I am not good enough,’ Hyun Jong thought.

Looking back, Baek Cheon was right. Hyun Jong realized he felt too much responsibility for the Baek Ja and Cheong Ja disciples. He wanted to protect them at all costs.

He wanted them to finally have the good life they deserved after all their hard work.

But then he thought, weren’t the Un Ja disciples the ones he really needed to care for and protect?

The Baek Ja and Cheong Ja disciples were unlucky because they joined Mount Hua after it had fallen. But the Un Ja disciples had suffered the most from the decline. They had watched their once-great clan fall apart, unable to stop it.

Yet, Hyun Jong hadn’t cared for the Un Ja disciples as much as the others.

‘I am truly flawed,’ he thought.

He felt like a father who knew his oldest son had the hardest job in a struggling family, but couldn’t stop paying attention to the youngest. He was a flawed father who realized too late that he had nothing left to give to his oldest son.

“Really…” Hyun Jong hesitated. The words seemed stuck in his throat. Finally, he asked, “Are you really alright with this?”

Unam looked embarrassed and scratched his head at Hyun Jong’s worried voice. “It’s nothing new, Sect Leader. This has already been decided, hasn’t it?”

“It may be for you, but not for me.” Hyun Jong sighed deeply.

“Hey, you rascal,” Hyun Jong said. “How could you make such a big decision without even talking to me, the Sect Leader?”

“I’m sorry. But I didn’t think I could talk to you about it.”

“Even so, you should have.”

Unam looked troubled and scratched the back of his head. Hyun Jong sighed again.

Hyun Jong sighed again. He wasn’t angry at Unam. He felt like an old, stubborn man, just complaining.

“You rascal… Did you think being the Sect Leader was so easy?”

“Isn’t it because it isn’t?” Un Am smiled calmly.

“The Sect Leader of Mount Hua must have great responsibility and ability. Only the best person in the sect can hold that position.”

“So, it’s not for me, Sect Leader.”

“Not your place?!” Hyun Jong burst out, unable to hold back his anger. “What do you lack! Why isn’t it your place? It should be you!”

“Sect Leader,” Un Am said softly, looking a little embarrassed.

He wasn’t usually so sensitive, but Hyun Jong’s expression made him uncomfortable.

“Please don’t think so highly of me.”

“…What do you mean?”

“If this were a normal time, or at least a peaceful time, I would want the position of Sect Leader.”

“……”

“But it’s not, is it?”

His voice was calm. Hyun Jong had gone this far, so you might expect him to show some desire for the position, but Un Am didn’t.

Was he a detached Taoist? No, not really. A detached Taoist wouldn’t care about the position of Sect Leader at all.

Unam knew how valuable the position of Mount Hua Sect Leader was, but he didn’t want it.

Hyun Jong was very proud of this, but also heartbroken.

“The next leader of Mount Hua must be trustworthy and make decisions quickly.” Un Am shook his head with a smile.

“But Sect Leader, I’m not that person. I’m good at taking my time, thinking carefully, and making good decisions. But I can’t do that job.”

“Hey, you rascal… Why do you think like that? Your fellow disciples can help you! Am I so great that I’m the Sect Leader of Mount Hua?”

“Maybe. But Sect Leader, is that really necessary?” Un Am smiled gently.

“They are good kids.”

“……”

“I’m not sad that I can’t be the Sect Leader. I’m not even confused about the future because my path has changed. What really bothers me is the look in the eyes of the sect children. They don’t know what to do.”

“……”

“They don’t need to be like that. They’re too kind…”

Hyun Jong closed his eyes tightly. He knew from the start that he couldn’t persuade Unam. He was the most stubborn person in Mount Hua. If he weren’t, he wouldn’t have stayed to protect Mount Hua when he wasn’t strongly attached to it. Once he made up his mind, there was no changing it.

“Unam.”

“There’s no need to look at me like that, Sect Leader.”

“……”

“I hope you won’t just think about what you couldn’t do for me. A master might look at his disciple that way, or parents at their children, but I’m different, aren’t I?” Un Am smiled gently and said,

“I’m not unhappy that I can’t be the Sect Leader. I’m very happy to be a disciple of Mount Hua.”

“……”

“And just because I don’t become the Sect Leader doesn’t mean I don’t have things to do in Mount Hua. I might even be busier than the Sect Leader. It won’t be easy for Baek Sang to run the sect alone. Baek Cheon has strong beliefs, but he’s not good at that kind of thing.”

“Unam…”

“Sect Leader.” Un Am looked straight at Hyun Jong and said,

“In the past, I wanted to be a plum blossom.”

“……”

“I wanted to carry on the Sect Leader’s years of endurance and become a plum blossom that blooms brightly. I wanted to end the Sect Leader’s winter.”

Unam shook his head quietly.

“But I realized that’s not my role. I’m not the one who can do that.”

Hyun Jong groaned softly. Unam, on the other hand, looked calm.

“So, I wanted to become the roots. I realized that for a flower to bloom beautifully, its roots must be strong. If the children who come after me can bloom into the most beautiful flowers, what does it matter if I’m buried in the soil?”

“The position of Sect Leader is like those roots, Unam.”

“Yes, that’s right. But… as time passed, I realized something else. Even those roots weren’t my role.”

Pain flashed in Hyun Jong’s eyes. He couldn’t be a flower, and he couldn’t be the roots. What was Un Am supposed to be?

Unam noticed the look in the Sect Leader’s eyes and smiled gently.

“Sect Leader.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what I want to be now?”

“…What do you want to be?”

Unam nodded calmly and said,

“I didn’t know when I was younger. When I was ambitious and trying hard, I couldn’t see it. All I could see was a big plum tree.”

“……”

“But now I know. Mount Hua is a plum blossom. But no plum blossom can bloom without a foundation.”

Hyun Jong’s heart felt heavy.

“So, I want to be the soil. I want to be the foundation where those children can take root and bloom into the most beautiful flowers. The soil may not be a plum blossom, but how can a plum blossom bloom without soil? That’s also an important role.”

Hyun Jong closed his eyes.

A vessel of the Tao.

He thought. Maybe Hyun Jong was so focused on the rise and fall of the sect that he didn’t see the one who would truly cultivate the Tao of Mount Hua.

If this were a peaceful time, Un Am would have been a Sect Leader who spread the Tao of Mount Hua throughout the world. A Sect Leader that everyone would acknowledge. Just as a flower is more beautiful when it blooms on barren land, the barren years of Mount Hua had allowed Un Am to bloom the flower of the Tao.

“So, there’s no need to be sad. If Baek Cheon becomes the Sect Leader and makes Mount Hua famous, that’s my achievement too. If Yoon Jong becomes the Sect Leader and spreads the Tao of Mount Hua, that’s also my achievement, isn’t it?”

“…What about Chung Myung?”

“Don’t even start…”

“……”

“……”

“Ahem, yes.” Hyun Jong cleared his throat and looked at Un Am again.

“Are you alright with just that?”

“It was sudden, but I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. People have their own roles. There must be a reason why Chung Myung came to Mount Hua.”

“……”

“We just need to let it happen, Sect Leader. Isn’t it greedy to see what is natural as unnatural?”

Hyun Jong closed his eyes tightly.

“You…”

“……”

“You are a Taoist. You are a Taoist master. I am ashamed.”

Unam smiled softly.

“If you think so, don’t be ashamed, be proud. The Sect Leader made me who I am today, and created the current Mount Hua. The predecessors would agree.”

“Yes… I will.”

Hyun Jong sighed with regret.

He understood Unam’s position and knew he was right. This was the natural order of things.

But he still felt sad because he was human.

‘Letting go of love and attachment is so hard. That’s why it’s so difficult to ascend.’

Hyun Jong called out to Un Am softly.

“Unam.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

Hyun Jong bowed deeply. Un Am was shocked and quickly helped him up.

“Why are you doing this, Sect Leader! You mustn’t!”

“…Thank you.”

“……”

“As the Sect Leader of Mount Hua, as a Taoist, and as a person, I say this. I am grateful.”

Unam couldn’t answer and closed his mouth. Even he felt emotional at this moment.

“Everyone in Mount Hua, and Mount Hua in the future, will remember you. You will show future generations what it means to pursue the Tao.”

“I am…” Un Am paused and lowered his head.

“Thank you, Sect Leader.”

His shoulders trembled slightly. Hyun Jong patted his shoulders in silence.

The master and disciple, who had spent most of their lives together, comforted each other. For a long time…