Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1647

Jo Gul was so surprised he couldn’t speak. He just stared at the man and then asked, “What did you say?”

“I asked why we have to do this silly thing.” *Is he about forty years old?* Jo Gul thought. The inspector looked angry and stared hard at Jo Gul. “Didn’t you hear me?” he asked again. Jo Gul just laughed weakly instead of answering.

Jo Gul often joked that Mount Hua had no rules about who was in charge. But that wasn’t completely true. This inspector was much older and more experienced than Jo Gul. Because of this, Jo Gul didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t even think about if the man was right or wrong.

“Is there… a problem?” Jo Gul asked, looking around.

The inspector made a loud *huff* like he couldn’t believe Jo Gul was serious. “You ask if there’s a problem? You should be asking what *isn’t* a problem! Can’t you see it?”

“See what?” Jo Gul asked.

“How can we train here, I’m asking you!” the inspector said loudly.

The middle-aged inspector, Mo Yongbanghwa, pointed behind him.

People wearing all kinds of clothes stopped what they were doing and stared. There were inspectors in uniforms, Taoists in robes, fighters in training clothes, and even beggars in rags. They were all mixed together in the big training area. It looked like a very strange and messy scene.

But Jo Gul still tilted his head as if he didn’t see what the problem was.

“So, what exactly are you saying……?”

“I’m going crazy!” Mo Yongbanghwa thumped his chest as if he was about to burst.

“Training! I’m talking about training! Not just any training, but training for war!”

“Y-Yes? That’s why we are working so hard, right?”

“Have I ever met someone so annoying!” Mo Yongbanghwa exclaimed. “How can we train here with people from other groups watching us? If we train here, we can only do simple things, not our special skills!”

“Special skills?” Jo Gul’s eyes got wider. He really didn’t understand.

Mo Yongbanghwa shouted, “We’re getting ready for war! Why are we wasting time with this useless stuff? What is the Vice Sect Leader thinking, giving orders like this?”

“Uh…….”

Normally, Jo Gul would have argued back strongly, ‘Hey, the higher-ups ordered it, why are you complaining to me? If you’re so frustrated, go complain to them!’ But he couldn’t do that now.

After all, Jo Gul was the Vice Head of this branch. He had a reputation to uphold and dignity to maintain. He couldn’t possibly admit that he was just following orders without thinking.

“W-Well, calm down first. Training is just something you do…….”

“Noooo!” Jo Gul jumped back, surprised by the strong reaction that came before he could even finish his sentence.

“Secret arts, I’m talking about secret arts! Our family’s sword techniques are precious! We can’t just show them to everyone! If we can openly train in front of disciples from other sects, why would we call them secret arts! Does Mount Hua not even have such a concept?”

Huh? Jo Gul tilted his head slightly.

‘Do we?’

Well… there were rules against telling secrets to other sects, but he didn’t think there was anything about not training in front of others?

If Chung Myung had heard such words… he would have rolled his eyes, saying that if it was martial arts that could be learned by glancing, it wasn’t even worth being called third-rate trash. Why would they even call that a secret art in the first place?

‘He might have even attacked them for slacking off and not wanting to train.’

In short, if this were Mount Hua, it would be dismissed as utter nonsense.

But unfortunately, this wasn’t Mount Hua, and even more unfortunately, even the others watching seemed to agree with Mo Yongbanghwa’s logic.

“So, what are you trying to say?”

“I can’t train here anymore!”

“Yes?” Jo Gul asked again, for what felt like the hundredth time.

“N-No, what do you mean by that?”

“Why are you asking again when you heard me? I said I can’t train!” Jo Gul stared blankly at Mo Yongbanghwa.

“The Mo Yong family rules forbid training secret arts where others can see! But the Vice Sect Leader tells us to train here, which is a contradiction.”

“That’s…….”

“And we can’t just repeat obvious training before the war, so what else can we do? It would be better to go somewhere where no one can see us and hone our swords alone.”

“So, are you saying you’re…… refusing to obey orders, or something like that?”

“Insubordination!” Jo Gul jumped back, surprised by the loud voice. Mo Yongbanghwa’s beard was trembling with rage. He looked like a man driven mad by injustice.

“Th-That’s…….” The emotion seemed too genuine and intense to be acting. Jo Gul was increasingly at a loss for words.

“Do you see me as the kind of man who would be insubordinate? How dare you insult me so!”

“No, what you’re saying is……!”

“We are not demanding an explanation from the Vice Sect Leader! Didn’t Mount Hua say it was a place where we don’t suppress with authority, but ask questions and coordinate with each other!” He had subtly changed the subject from ‘I’ to ‘we,’ but no one bothered to point it out or argue against it.

Jo Gul fell into even greater confusion.

“……Did I?”

Was that so? Mount Hua?

Wasn’t it just a place where Chung Myung beat everyone up and things went his way? What discussion or coordination was there?

More than anything, why did he seem to know Mount Hua better than he did…….

Thud!

Mo Yongbanghwa stomped his foot forcefully.

“So! Whether you ask the higher-ups or the Sect Leaders discuss it, give me an answer that I can accept.”

“…….”

“Isn’t that the Vice Sect Leader’s role!” Jo Gul could only gape, unable to say anything, and blankly watched Mo Yongbanghwa’s retreating figure as he turned away.

Soon, the branch members who had been watching the situation dispersed in twos and threes, sensing the mood. With more than half of them gone, the training ground quickly emptied.

“Um…….” Left behind with a beaten expression, Jo Gul tore at his curly hair. He knew he had to find a solution quickly, or this training would fall apart before it even started.

“Aish! I really want to just—!” Wham!

Jo Gul kicked the innocent wall.

“It’ll break, you idiot!”

“If it breaks, we can just rebuild it!”

“Have you never thought about not breaking it and not rebuilding it?”

“Aish!” At Yoon Jong’s trying to stop him, Jo Gul began kicking the innocent floor instead.

“I really want to just kick his mouth!”

“……Yeah. That’s how we feel about you. Do you understand a little now…….”

“Ah, are you adding fuel to the fire now!” Jo Gul snapped and asked Yoon Jong sharply.

“What about you, Senior Brother? Is your branch doing well?”

“Hmm. Everyone is very enthusiastic.”

“Oh? I-Is that so?”

“Yes.” Yoon Jong smiled contentedly.

“He’s so eager!” one man muttered, shaking his head. “He rushed off just now, saying the Beggars’ Sect *must* practice their staff fighting.” He sighed, the sound heavy in the dim light of the tent.

Silence.

Then, another voice, laced with annoyance, “When I asked if it had to be right now, he snapped back, ‘Should we practice during the war then?’”

“The, the Beggars’ Sect?” a third voice asked, sounding confused.

“Yes,” the first man said again. “Yes, they are… very free.” He paused, searching for the right words. “They don’t follow rules, they come with nothing and leave with nothing, like the wind.” He trailed off, a hint of bitterness in his tone.

“Stop clenching your teeth, Senior Brother,” the second voice said. “You’ll hurt them.”

“Ugh…”

Yoon Jong rubbed his forehead, his face tight with frustration. Jo Gul gave Yoon Jong a look of sympathy.

Jo Gul had been upset by the Murong family, but Yoon Jong was upset by the Beggars’ Sect. Jo Gul felt closer to the Beggars’ Sect than to the Murong family, so being upset by them hurt more.

“Those damned people!”

The more Jo Gul thought, the angrier he got. He clenched his jaw again.

They don’t openly ignore them. But they subtly, and consistently, provoke them.

It was like they didn’t see them as real vice-leaders.

“If that’s the case, they should have objected from the start!”

“What the leaders agreed to is different from what they really think.”

“No! It’s not like we wanted the position! We were forced into it!”

“……Do you think they’d consider that?”

Both men sighed deeply at the same time.

“This is killing me, really.”

If they were of similar age, they could at least have a brawl, but since they were generally older than Jo Gul and Yoon Jong, they couldn’t treat them carelessly.

Now, he even wondered if ‘experience’ in this world just meant being older and more senior.

“Those damned people, really! If they have a problem, they should take it up with their own sect leaders! Why are they doing this to us?”

“……Because the sect is closed for now, the sect leader can’t do anything. It’s a perfect excuse for them, right?”

“Ugh… How annoying.”

Jo Gul was clenching his teeth when he paused, as if something had occurred to him, and turned his head.

“Senior Brother. Are you okay, Senior Brother…? Eeek!”

Jo Gul recoiled in horror, seeing Baek Cheon turning his head stiffly in the darkness.

“A g-ghost! Ah, no! Senior Brother! Are you sick with something?”

“Forget about illness… Seriously, what’s wrong? Senior Brother, your face looks like that scary Jang Il-so guy.”

It wasn’t much of an exaggeration. Baek Cheon’s face was pale as if it had been dusted with flour. With dark shadows around his eyes, he almost looked like he was wearing makeup.

Baek Cheon stared at them, his eyes empty. His lips were dry and shaking. Then, he muttered weakly.

“Yoon Jong…”

“Yes?”

“……This might sound rude. Actually, it *is* rude.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I envy you. That you’re an orphan.”

“Has this Senior Brother gone mad!”

The moment Jo Gul rushed forward, screaming as if to kick him, a weak voice escaped Baek Cheon’s lips.

“……My father keeps telling me to give proper instructions.”

“……”

“That annoying Jin Geum-ryong is right beside me, arms crossed and smirking.”

Oh…

“Every time I say something, he asks, ‘Does the Vice-Leader *really* think that’s right?’ It’s really driving me crazy!”

“W-wait a minute, Senior Brother. Let’s not grab the sword just yet. Even so, there’s a last line we have to uphold as human beings, isn’t there?”

“Can’t I just… become an orphan now?”

“No! There’s no such thing! Get a grip, you crazy man!”

Jo Gul grabbed Baek Cheon and shook him, while Yoon Jong watched the scene and shook his head.

How severe must the suffering be for him to be like that…

“Really, every single one of them…”

It wasn’t that he didn’t know why they were doing it, but this was too much.

Is the sight of a young pup giving orders more unappealing than the sense of crisis from the impending war?

Now he was genuinely wondering how this world was operating.

“A war is right around the corner, is this the time to be doing this? Time is of the essence! We’re busy enough trying to coordinate. What’s in their heads, really!”

“……It’ll get better once the fighting starts.”

“From what I hear, that’s not the case either. During the war with the Demonic Sect in the past, they fought to the death in the front lines, but behind the scenes, they did the same things as now, didn’t they? They wanted to kill them all because of that, but would people change after a hundred years?”

“That’s true… Hmm? But where did you hear that story?”

“Yes?”

“It’s a story from a hundred years ago. I’m hearing it for the first time?”

“Oh…? Where did I hear this?”

Yoon Jong sighed as he watched Jo Gul tilting his head.

‘This will continue throughout the war?’

Even with enemies right in front of them?

Just thinking about it was depressing.

“What are the others saying?”

“The Young Lord Namgung seems to be doing a bit better, though.”

“……Well, he’s going to be the head of the Namgung family, so it would be difficult to openly confront him.”

“Then why is our Senior Brother…?”

“It’s a bit of a different… situation there.”

Yoon Jong sighed once more.

He realized something new from this incident.

When everyone around him praised him as one of the Five Swords and a talented individual of Mount Hua, he seemed to have been inwardly conceited.

But now that things had come to this, he realized it clearly. People’s praise was directed not at the ‘talent’ of Mount Hua, but at the talent ‘of Mount Hua’.

Without the halo of Mount Hua, Jo Gul and Yoon Jong were just insignificant youngsters who weren’t properly recognized in this world.

“……Then Hae Yeon-sunim will be better off, right?”

“Probably? After all, he’s from Shaolin and famous as a peerless talent. He’ll be treated differently from us.”

“That’s right…”

“D-dojang! Dojaaang! Dojangs!”

“Huh?”

At that moment, someone was seen rushing over in a hurry. Looking closely, it was an unexpected person.

“Young Lord Namgung?”

“What happened?”

Namgung Dowi, who had run to their faces with lightning speed, shouted.

“I-it’s a disaster!”

“Yes? What’s wrong?”

“H-Hae Yeon-sunim! Hae Yeon-sunim beat someone up!”

“……Yes? Who?”

“Hae Yeon-sunim beat up my member! Right now!”

Baek Cheon, Yoon Jong, and Jo Gul looked at each other.

“……He’s a genius?”

“No, he’s a troublemaker!”

“I want to try it too…”

“Put down the sword, Senior Brother!”

Yoon Jong was very worried. He ran a hand through his hair and stood up quickly.

“L-let’s go see! What’s going on.”

He quickly followed Namgung Dowi.