Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1000

“So, the rumors are true!” Namgung Dowi exclaimed, grabbing Baek Cheon’s hand.

Baek Cheon looked at him, clearly annoyed.

“Thank you! Thank you, Baek Cheon!”

“Ah, no, wait a moment…” Baek Cheon felt deeply uncomfortable and tried to gently calm Namgung Dowi down, but the young lord didn’t seem to be listening.

“I suspected as much! I thought the amazing growth of Mount Hua couldn’t be explained by normal methods.”

“…”

“So, it’s true that everyone in Mount Hua, including you, Baek Cheon, is learning martial arts from Cheong Myeong?”

“Well… yeah, you could say that… but it’s not exactly like that…”

“Thank you!” Namgung Dowi released Baek Cheon’s hand and clenched his fist tightly.

“I think I know how to revive the Namgung family now.”

“Um… Young Lord? Please calm down a bit…”

“Then I’ll go ask Cheong Myeong! Thank you!”

“Hey, just a moment…” But Namgung Dowi ran off without looking back. Accusations poured in on Baek Cheon, who was blankly watching him.

“Devil.”

“Demon.”

“Pushing people into a pit of fire.”

“Ah, no, you guys! What do you want me to do? He doesn’t give me a chance to explain and just runs off, hearing only what he wants to hear!” Baek Cheon huffed, feeling wronged, but the Five Swords were already staring with pity at Namgung Dowi running away.

“He’s going to regret it.”

“I agree.”

“Pitiful.”

“That’s his fate, an accident.”

Yoon Jong, ever the most composed, said with a serious face, “Let’s follow him.”

“Huh?”

Yoon Jong continued, “If we can’t stop him from jumping into the fire, we should at least pull him out when the time is right and pour some water on him.”

“…”

It sounded like a strange thing to say, but Baek Cheon nodded anyway. “Yeah, we should at least stop him from burning completely.”

The Five Swords quickly chased after Namgung Dowi.

“Ah, don’t push me!”

“Wait a moment, let me see…”

“No, I said don’t push!” The Five Swords squeezed together to peek inside the building where Cheong Myeong was.

A strange sight was unfolding inside. The room was small and dusty, with scrolls piled in corners. In the center, Cheong Myeong sat like a powerful figure, and Namgung Dowi was kneeling respectfully in front of him.

‘It looks like a scene from a bad drama, where someone is begging for a favor,’ one of the Five Swords thought.

Cheong Myeong looked even worse than a bad official. He looked at Namgung Dowi with a blank face and opened his mouth. “So…”

“Yes! Dojo!”

“You’re asking me to teach you swordsmanship?”

“That’s right!”

Cheong Myeong smiled brightly. “Not just you, but the Namgung family?”

“Yes!”

“Me?”

“Exactly!”

Cheong Myeong chuckled softly. “Haha…”

Namgung Dowi, misunderstanding, joined in with a hopeful “Hahaha!”

Then Cheong Myeong threw his head back and roared with laughter, “Ahahahaha!” It was a loud, mocking laugh. Namgung Dowi, still smiling, looked confused, thinking they were sharing a joke. He was completely wrong.

“Is this bastard crazy!”

Thwack!

“Aaaaargh!” Namgung Dowi, kicked in the face by Cheong Myeong, screamed and flew backward.

“I knew this would happen!” Baek Cheon threw open the door and quickly jumped inside, catching Namgung Dowi just before he crashed into the wall.

“No!” Cheong Myeong stomped the floor and roared.

“Did someone put drugs in the Yangtze River while I wasn’t looking?! Why isn’t there a single sane bastard around?! A Green Forest bandit wants to join the Cheonwu Alliance! A Shaolin bastard only cares about his own gains! And now the next head of the Namgung family wants what? Swordsmanship? Swordsmaaaanship?”

“Dojo, that’s not what I meant…”

“I’ve seen a lot of crazy people in my life, but this bastard is on another level! Hey, you crazy bastard! Does that even make sense?!”

Baek Cheon, who put down the sulking Namgung Dowi, cleared his throat. “Um… Cheong Myeong.”

“What!”

“I know why you’re upset, but the Young Lord is just being so urgent. You should understand…”

“Sasuk.”

“Huh?”

Cheong Myeong said seriously, “What if we go bankrupt like this?”

“Why are you talking about going bankrupt and making people uneasy…”

“Anyway, we went bankrupt. Completely bankrupt. All that’s left are the kids.”

“Well… so what?”

“So, in the midst of that, Sajung Jo Gul, who survived, says he’s going to save Mount Hua and takes the kids to Wudang to beg them to teach him some swordsmanship. How would Sasuk feel?”

“Is this bastard crazy!”

“Kyaaaa!” Baek Cheon kicked Jo Gul, who was standing next to him without knowing what was going on, in the side. Jo Gul, suddenly kicked, folded in half and flew away.

“Ah. I was a step late…” Yoon Jong smacked his lips and put down his raised hand. This time, Baek Cheon was a little faster.

“Noooo!” Jo Gul, rolling on the floor, raised his head with wide eyes. “Why are you hitting me! Why! I didn’t really do anything! But why!”

“Because it seems like you really would do it.”

“…” Jo Gul, lost for words, turned his head and looked at Yoon Jong. Yoon Jong just gave a faint smile and nodded.

Jo Gul, betrayed by the world, squatted down, hugging his knees. Tang Soso, feeling sorry for him, patted him on the shoulder. “You should have acted like a human being normally.”

“Kack! Get lost!”

Baek Cheon cleared his throat and glanced at Namgung Dowi. ‘Now that I think about it,’ he thought. He hadn’t thought much about it, but putting himself in their shoes, he realized that Namgung Dowi was acting crazy. Where else would you learn swordsmanship from another sect?

Even Hyun Jong, who was famous for setting aside pride for the sake of Mount Hua, didn’t ask Jong Nam to teach him swordsmanship, even when Mount Hua was in a really difficult situation.

No, if a disciple suggested that, Hyun Jong would have stuck a plum branch in his face on the spot.

Cheong Myeong was furious and shouted, his face turning red with anger. “Hey, you crazy bastard. Where are you learning swordsmanship from? If Namgung Hwang was still alive, he would spit out the Yangtze River water from his mouth and jump up!”

“My father hasn’t been buried yet.”

“Then go and check, you bastard! He might be trying to break through the coffin!” Namgung Dowi flinched at Cheong Myeong’s intensity, who was rolling his eyes back.

Cheong Myeong clicked his tongue, amazed and confused, and shook his head. “The world is going to end. The world is really going to end. No, what happened in the last hundred years that only these crazy bastards are left in the world?”

“Now these bastards are scarier than the Cheonma. They’re scarier than that Cheonma, you bastards!”

But Namgung Dowi began to argue, his face flushed with a look of injustice.

“I’m not asking you to teach me the swordsmanship of Mount Hua, Master,” he said, his voice earnest.

“Huh?” Chung Myung blinked.

“I am not crazy enough to ask you to teach me the swordsmanship of the Mount Hua Sect?”

“Is that so?”

Chung Myung, who had calmed down as quickly as a summer storm passes, nodded with a ‘that’s right’ look, his eyes now sharp and assessing.

“That’s a relief. To help the Namgung family,” Chung Myung continued, a hint of a smile playing on his lips, “I thought about throwing you in the Yangtze River and making your Uncle Namgung Myung the family head.”

“⋯⋯.” Namgung Dowi was speechless for a moment.

“Then what is it?” Chung Myung asked, his patience thinning slightly.

“I will, of course, learn the swordsmanship of the Namgung family. The Namgung family is not weak enough to want swords from other groups!”

“You’re a little weak, though.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Oh… Never mind. Anyway, go on.”

“⋯⋯So, that⋯⋯.”

Namgung Dowi’s shoulders slumped slightly, a shadow of sadness crossing his face as he wiped his eyes and continued.

“What we want to ask of you, Master, is not about teaching us swordsmanship, but about experience in real combat.”

“Huh?”

“We felt it deeply at the Plum Blossom Dock this time. We learned swordsmanship perfectly, used it well in practice, found our weaknesses in sparring… But,” Namgung Dowi paused.

Namgung Dowi’s attitude gradually became serious.

“It’s not enough for real fights.”

“⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung looked at Namgung Dowi with interest.

‘An interesting fellow.’

He lost a third of the family’s power and even the head of the family in this incident. Thanks to that, the time to take over the family has been moved up by at least twenty years.

An ordinary person would be too preoccupied just trying to endure the situation they are in now. But now, Namgung Dowi was looking to the future.

“It’s not something to say in a situation like this, but the sword of the Namgung family is never dull.”

Chung Myung nodded slightly. It wasn’t entirely wrong. If Namgung were truly weak, they would not have been able to maintain their position as the greatest family in the world for so long.

“However, the reason Namgung had such a big problem this time is because our swords were like swords kept in a well, not used to real fights.”

Namgung Dowi stared straight at Chung Myung.

“But Hwasan was different. Even though the people of the Hwasan Sect probably haven’t experienced much real combat either, they fought as if they had experienced countless battles.”

Namgung Dowi clenched his fist tightly.

“Master.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Please help us. We must become stronger. And I think you are the only one who can play that role.”

“Hmm.”

Chung Myung scratched his cheek with a strange look on his face. Then, he spoke to Namgung Dowi in a slightly indifferent tone.

“Well, everything’s fine, but… let me ask you one thing.”

“Yes.”

“I understand the reason, but in my opinion, it seems like something you could do without Namgung volunteering to learn from Hwasan, you know?”

“⋯⋯.”

“I’m saying this because you don’t seem like someone who doesn’t know how dangerous this is. People in the world won’t consider such circumstances one by one. They’ll just say that the Namgung family is crazy and learning swordsmanship from Hwasan.”

“⋯⋯I know.”

“Yeah, you know. I think you know. That’s why I’m asking.”

The air in the room seemed to cool suddenly as Chung Myung spoke, his voice dropping to a chilling tone.

“Knowing all that, what’s the reason for going this far?”

“⋯⋯.”

Namgung Dowi bit his lip tightly.

“⋯⋯I don’t want to⋯⋯.”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

Chung Myung’s expression hardened at those words.

“The existence of the Four Evil Sects will make the world increasingly dangerous. Unless we choose to close the gates… No, even if we close the gates, Namgung can no longer avoid them.”

Oggeom, who was listening, nodded. There was nothing wrong with those words.

“My father told me.”

“⋯⋯Namgung Hwang? The head of the family?”

“Yes. My father showed me at the last moment what the head of Namgung must do.”

Namgung Dowi said with firm eyes.

“The head of Namgung is the one who protects the family of Namgung.”

“⋯⋯.”

“I… I don’t want to lose even a single member of my family anymore. I will do anything for that.”

Namgung Dowi looked straight at Chung Myung, holding his head high.

“If I have to kneel, I will kneel, and if I have to bow my head, I will bow my head.”

And he bowed deeply and shouted.

“Please help me, Master. The sword of Namgung will repay that debt!”

Baek Cheon, who was watching, nodded quietly.

‘Amazing,’ Baek Cheon thought. ‘He is truly putting his family first. Could I be this selfless for Hwasan?’

Namgung Dowi was someone who had lived in a much higher position than Baek Cheon could ever compare to. Wasn’t the position of the heir of the great Namgung family a position that everyone in the Jianghu envied?

But now, there was no hesitation in Namgung Dowi’s actions. Regardless of right or wrong, that attitude alone was definitely worth emulating.

“I won’t lose a single person⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung, who had briefly repeated Namgung Dowi’s words, chuckled.

“Even after seeing that terrible situation, you can still say such hopeful things?”

“⋯⋯I think I should say it even more because I saw it.”

“Your mouth is alive, you little brat.”

A smile formed on Chung Myung’s lips.

But Baek Cheon knew that the smile was not malicious at all. He used to smile like that when they sometimes did more than Chung Myung had expected.

“Well, fine. Real combat is just about beating them up, so it’s not that difficult.”

“Th, then?”

“Since we’re all one family anyway, I’ll help you.”

“M, Master!”

Namgung Dowi looked at Chung Myung with shining eyes, his face filled with emotion.

“Thank you⋯⋯.”

He flinched and stopped for a moment as he was about to bow his head deeply. Chung Myung’s palm was out to greet him where he was about to bow.

“M, Master.”

Namgung Dowi raised his head with a puzzled look.

And he saw it.

Chung Myung, with a truly pleased expression on his face.

Was this the face of Jiang Taigong, who had finally caught a big fish after much waiting and tug-of-war…?

“So,” Chung Myung said, his smile widening in a way that didn’t reach his eyes, “let’s talk price. Real combat training isn’t free, you know.”

“⋯⋯Pardon?” Namgung Dowi’s eyes shook greatly.

“You said you didn’t want to lose a single person.”

“⋯⋯.”

“That, conversely, means that the price of each and every one of those lives is that high, right?”

“⋯⋯Master?”

“Then let’s find out.”

Chung Myung let out a laugh that started low in his chest and grew into a cackling sound, like dry leaves crunching underfoot.

“Let’s see how much the young lord of the Namgung family can pay in exchange for saving those people.”

“⋯⋯.”

“I hope you don’t disappoint me. The Namgung family is rich, after all. Huh?”

“⋯⋯.”

“Ehehehehehehehehet! Ehehehehehet!”

As Chung Myung stuck out his belly and laughed, a pure white ferret suddenly popped out of his arms, climbed onto Chung Myung’s head, struck the same pose, and squeaked with laughter, its tiny body shaking with amusement, mimicking Chung Myung perfectly.

It was only after seeing this bizarre spectacle that Namgung Dowi realized that something had gone terribly wrong.