Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1524

“What?” Abbot Beopjeong asked again, his voice full of disbelief. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. It was so shocking, it didn’t make sense to him. Normally, Abbot Beopjeong understood things easily, even if people didn’t say everything clearly. But this… this was impossible to grasp. Even Beopgye, who brought the news, looked unsure, as if he still doubted his own ears.

“The Beggars’ Sect rebellion…” Beopgye repeated, his voice low. “…Shaolin monks… they intervened.”

“Shaolin?” Beopjeong’s voice was barely a whisper. Confusion clouded his face. “What nonsense is this? We are right here; how could Shaolin intervene in something happening in Kaifeng!”

“That’s…” Beopgye hesitated, as if reluctant to speak. Anxious, Beopjeong finally snapped.

“If you have a mouth, speak! What on earth are you talking about!”

“Abbot… it seems those from Mount Song moved.”

Beopgye hesitated, looking down. Beopjeong felt a cold feeling in his stomach.

“What is it?” he asked, his voice quieter now. “What about Mount Song?”

“…Yes,” Beopgye replied.

“Are you saying that child was involved in the Beggars’ Sect’s affairs?”

“Judging from the situation, it seems that way…”

“How?”

“…Abbot.”

Beopjeong’s face twisted. ‘A mere first-generation disciple?!’ he roared, his voice shaking the room. ‘He led others within the sect to interfere in the affairs of another sect! Without my permission! He moved Shaolin as he pleased? That rascal?!’

Beopgye’s face went white. He stood frozen, unable to meet Beopjeong’s furious gaze. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple.

“How! How could such a thing happen! Shaolin has very strict rules that have been followed for a thousand years! What on earth was he thinking, committing such an absurd act!”

In the long history of Shaolin, this was unprecedented.

Even when Hyebang first disobeyed his orders and left the Yangtze River, Beopjeong didn’t punish him. At first, he was furious, but he thought Hyebang must have had his own reasons. When other warrior monks followed Hyebang and refused to obey Beopjeong’s will, he understood. He thought that the path he was walking might not seem like the path of a Buddhist. But this was different.

There is a line in everything, and there are laws to be followed. Wasn’t this act one that completely trampled on all those lines and laws?

“…Is it true?”

“…”

“I asked if it’s certain!”

Beopjeong slammed the tea table, and Beopgye sighed and said.

“…A message came from Mount Song a little while ago.”

“What did it say?” Beopjeong asked stiffly, his face hardened, and Beopgye replied with a reluctant voice.

“Hyebang says he will enter the repentance cave to take responsibility for all of this. He says he will ask for forgiveness when the Abbot arrives…”

Grinding!

The sound of Beopjeong grinding his teeth was chilling.

Normally, Beopgye would have tried to calm him down, but this time, he couldn’t dare to open his mouth. This incident would be no different from treason in Beopjeong’s eyes. Knowing this, how could he bring himself to say anything to calm him down?

“Abbot… what about Hyebang…”

“Do you even need to ask!” Beopjeong shouted, his eyes bloodshot.

“After crippling his *dantian* (the center of his energy), sever his tendons and expel him from Shaolin!”

“A-Abbot!” Startled, Beopgye raised his voice without realizing it.

“Why? Is it too much?” But Beopjeong glared at him with fierce eyes.

“Answer me. As the head of Shaolin’s disciplinary council, do you think the punishment I have given is excessive?”

“How could it be excessive? For such a serious crime, the punishment should be very severe, like crippling him!”

“Then!”

“B-But, Abbot… In Shaolin’s history, there has never been a case of someone being dragged out after entering the repentance cave voluntarily. Moreover… the punishment of removing him from the monkhood and crippling him must be done in the presence of the current abbot.”

Beopjeong bit his lip tightly.

This meant that Beopjeong had to go to Mount Song to remove Hyebang from being a monk. But now he couldn’t leave Hubei.

Beopgye cautiously spoke again.

“And… Abbot.”

“I know.” Beopjeong cut him off as if there was no need to listen and gnawed on his lip. His anger continued to boil, but even so, his thoroughly trained reason preceded his emotions and awakened him to reality.

“If I do that, it will end up revealing to the world that there are those within Shaolin who defy my orders.”

“…Yes, Abbot. I am sorry, but… that is so.”

Beopjeong bit his lip and tried to calm his mind. Of course, his reputation was not important. But if his reputation was damaged, Shaolin’s status would also be shaken. Moreover, now was not the time to let go of that status.

“That rascal went this far…”

“T-That might not be the case. Abbot, you know Hyebang. He’s always been… quick to act on his feelings. He sees something wrong, he wants to fix it. He doesn’t always think of the consequences.”

“No!”

“Yes?”

“As you said, Hyebang is not a calculating child. Do you think such a child would have moved on his own and gone to Kaifeng?”

Beopgye sighed softly. Only then did he understand the meaning of the words. Beopjeong spat out harshly.

“That’s right! It means there’s someone who incited that rascal!”

There was no need to waste words on who that person was.

It had become truly troublesome. From Shaolin’s point of view, even though they had suffered such an absurd thing, they had to hush it up and hide it so that it wouldn’t leak out. Perhaps when someone asked about this incident, they might even have to lie that all of it was Beopjeong’s will. It was truly dismaying. Where on earth should this be resolved!

“Send people to the main gate. From now on, anyone who leaves the temple without my permission will be punished with expulsion.”

“I will do so.”

Beopjeong, who took a rough deep breath and forcibly calmed his mind, asked in a slightly more organized voice than before.

“What happened to the Beggars’ Sect?”

“It seems the sect leader’s side has suppressed the rebellion.”

It was an obvious result. If Hyebang, not to mention Mount Hua, had led Shaolin’s warrior monks to participate in the war, the result would have been too obvious. Now, Beopjeong wasn’t asking the question to hear such an obvious answer.

“So?”

Cold sweat flowed from Beopgye’s face.

“That’s… It seems that the sect leader, Pung Yeongsin, is trying to take responsibility for this and step down from his position.”

“Step down? In this situation? The Four Evil Alliances are about to start a war, and they’re going to change the sect leader?”

“Yes, that’s what they said they were conveying…”

“…Huh.”

Beopjeong felt very helpless. *What are they all thinking about this?* His head hurt badly.

“So… who are they talking about for the next Chief?”

“Hong Daegwang is the main one right now.”

“…Hong Daegwang, you say?”

“Yes. He used to lead the Luoyang branch. They called him the Eccentric Beggar of Luoyang. People even said he could be Chief one day…”

Beopjeong’s face became stiff and serious as he listened to Beopgye.

He repeated the name in his mind. Hong Daegwang. Hong Daegwang. He had heard that name before.

“Could it be…?”

“Yes. That…”

Beopgye was sweating a lot. After hesitating, he finally answered, “He is the current leader of the Hwaeom branch. He really supports Mount Hua within the Beggars’ Sect.”

Beopjeong felt dizzy and closed his eyes tightly.

“They really will go this far…”

It was a ridiculous situation.

He was extremely angry when Hye-bang did something foolish. But now, even though the Beggars’ Sect might join the Cheonwu Alliance, he wasn’t as angry. *He had expected this.*

‘That fellow’ would never miss this chance.

No… It didn’t make sense that this happened right after Mount Hua visited Gaebong. They took the chance so quickly.

They must have planned this from the start. Otherwise, why would they suddenly appear in Gaebong when they should be busy fixing things in Hwaeom?

A weak laugh came from his lips.

“Heh heh.”

“Chief…”

“Send someone to the Beggars’ Sect. No, go yourself.”

“Yes?”

“We have to stop the Beggars’ Sect from joining the Cheonwu Alliance. We *need* them. Without them… we’re blind.”

“Chief, but really…”

“Really?”

Beopjeong glared. The anger came back. “Is it real that Mount Hua is interfering in the Beggars’ Sect and making their puppet the Chief of the Beggars’ Sect!”

Beopgye closed his mouth.

No one expected this to happen. Especially now, when the Four Evil Alliances are a big threat to Gangbuk.

“Do whatever it takes to stop them! Beg, threaten, anything! If you can’t, at least get a promise from the new Chief that they will keep supporting the Nine Sects!”

Beopgye bowed deeply, looking worried.

“…Amitabha.”

Beopjeong said the Buddha’s name to calm himself, then continued, “The Beggars’ Sect can’t cut ties with us easily. The new Chief is young and doesn’t have much experience. Even if he wants to, the elders won’t let him.”

“That’s true…”

“Even if it happens someday, it won’t be now. Even if we can’t stop the Cheonwu Alliance from gaining something, we have to lose as little as possible. Do you understand?”

“…I will try my best.”

The more he thought, the more useless it felt. Beopjeong laughed, feeling like he was losing his mind.

He never thought they would target the Beggars’ Sect at this time. He wondered what was in that fellow’s head.

To think of this as a declaration of war from the Cheonwu Alliance… no.

There was no point in talking about the relationship getting worse. The Cheonwu Alliance and the Nine Sects were already too far apart for anything to change because of this.

Was Beopjeong too relaxed about their bad relationship? No, that wasn’t it.

If Shaolin hadn’t joined in, the Cheonwu Alliance couldn’t have done this much. Who thought those in Songshan would move without the Abbot’s permission?

In the end, it was Shaolin. Yes, it was Shaolin.

Beopjeong had caused trouble within Shaolin and didn’t handle it well, which led to this. He wasn’t relaxed, but he was incompetent.

“…I’ve become a joke.”

“Chief…”

“He must be getting a hero’s welcome in Hwaeom now.”

Beopjeong closed his eyes. He imagined Chung Myung laughing loudly.

‘The Sword Demon of Mount Hua…’

The blue veins on Beopjeong’s hand, holding the prayer beads, stood out.

However, Chung Myung didn’t get a welcome or praise, unlike what Beopjeong thought.

“Hold your hands up straight!”

Instead, he was being punished and had a black eye.

The three, now the Three Divine Generals of Hell, were angry in front of him.

“A Mount Hua bastard wearing Jongnam clothes?”

Hyun Sang’s eyes were full of anger.

“Pretending to be Jongnam? Jongnam? Of all places, Jongnam?”

In the Jianghu, you ask why someone was killed and look for the reason a building was destroyed.

But wearing another sect’s clothes is a crime you can’t complain about even if you’re beaten to death.

What could he do? That was the way of the Jianghu.

“Well, you can wear Jongnam clothes.”

But Hyun Jong was different.

He didn’t care about small things. He was proud of Mount Hua, but he cared about his disciples’ safety most.

“But you wore that and went into Gaebong? What? You fought with the elders?”

Hyun Jong was very angry.

With Hyun Sang’s scolding and Hyun Jong’s words, the Mount Hua disciples were seen as bastards who made a situation worse on purpose, even wearing Jongnam clothes to cause trouble.

And… the last gate was still there.

“…You spent all the vouchers?”

The last one was the angriest.

Hyeon Young cried from the depths of hell, like someone taken over by an evil spirit.

“If you’re bringing in a place like the Beggars’ Sect, get the membership fee first, not the information! What? The main base fell apart, and all the cash and vouchers are gone, so you’ve become real beggars?”

“…”

“We’re already dying from not having enough money, and now you’re bringing in 100,000 new beggars? The money? Are you going to get the money, huh?”

“Hyeon Young, that’s a bit…”

“Sect Leader, please be quiet! Is there anything more important than this!”

“Uh… Y-yes. Anyway, you bastards!”

“You bastards!”

“Damn bastards!”

As the scolding came from everywhere, Chung Myung’s soul slowly left his body.

The voices he heard in Gaebong echoed warmly in his ears.

– Sword Saint.

– Sword Saint!

Ah, I should have stayed a beggar instead of coming to Mount Hua…

Waaah.