Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1032

The river roared past, a churning gray snake under the heavy sky. Rain threatened, and the wind whipped cold off the water, biting at any exposed skin. But the river didn’t care. It surged onward, indifferent to the weather, indifferent to everything. Only the people who watched it ever changed.

Chung Myung sat hunched on the muddy bank, the wind tearing at his robes. Beside him, a clean white bottle stood untouched, still full of liquor he wouldn’t drink. He stared across the river, his eyes dark pools reflecting the gloomy sky. His brow was furrowed, and his jaw clenched tight. It was impossible to guess what storm raged inside him.

Slowly, he raised a hand to his face, the movement stiff. His fingers, scarred and rough, traced the line of his jaw before dropping to his lap. He stared at his hand, turning it over, and a bitter chuckle escaped his lips.

He remembered the shock of seeing his small, smooth hands when he first came back to this world. But years had passed quickly, and now his hands were like the hands of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint once more – marked by battles, etched with time. It was as if his own body was telling him that some things, deep down, never truly changed. And that thought left a sour taste in his mouth.

After staring at his hand for a long time, Chung Myung once again cast his gaze across the river as if drawn to it.

He felt a painful knot in his stomach the entire time he sat there. Just thinking that those cursed things were over there made his mind go blank and his chest boil.

Chung Myung pressed down hard on his chest with his rough hand.

“Has it changed?”

Has Chung Myung really changed from before?

Perhaps he could answer yes. Because the him of the past would never have sat here so quietly. As soon as he heard the word ‘Demonic Sect,’ he would have set aside all surrounding circumstances and crossed the river to grasp the current situation with his own eyes.

But the current Chung Myung is sitting here blankly.

So, can it be said that he has changed from the past… really?

“What is…”

Blood was already showing on his tightly clenched lips.

“What the hell is it?”

If he had changed, he shouldn’t feel like this. Just hearing the two words ‘Demonic Sect’ shouldn’t cause him to feel as if his soul was being torn apart.

The fact that this deep-rooted hatred towards them hasn’t changed means that Chung Myung ultimately hasn’t escaped even a single step from that terrible past.

But… how can he escape?

How can he possibly forget that?

Every time he closes his eyes, he remembers the faces of those who died on that cold, empty mountain, unable to even close their eyes. He can almost grasp the feelings of those who had to die without leaving anything behind.

How can he possibly change?

Chung Myung quietly gripped his knees.

His fingernails dug into his skin, but Chung Myung didn’t even feel the pain, he just gritted his teeth and stared at somewhere across the river.

And… not far away, the Five Swords were staring intently at such a Chung Myung.

Jo Gul, who couldn’t hide his constant anxiety, glanced at Baek Cheon. But the moment he saw Baek Cheon’s expression, he swallowed the words he had almost spat out.

Seeing his Senior Brother frozen like an ice sculpture, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

“Why?”

But Baek Cheon seemed to have noticed Jo Gul’s hesitation and opened his mouth.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“No, it’s just…”

After hesitating for a moment, Jo Gul carefully opened his mouth.

“…If we’re going to stop him, shouldn’t we get a little closer, Senior Brother?”

“…”

“If that guy decides to run into the river from there, there’s no way to stop him.”

Baek Cheon’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“And you’re confident you can stop him if we get closer?”

“That’s…”

Jo Gul closed his mouth.

Baek Cheon was right. Even if they surrounded him, if Chung Myung really made up his mind, there was no way to stop him.

With his skills, he could easily break through the combined attack of everyone here and get out.

“No… still…”

Jo Gul kept glancing towards where Chung Myung was, as if he still had lingering feelings.

“Seriously!”

At that moment, Tang Soso couldn’t hold back and raised her voice.

“Why is Senior Brother being like that?”

“…”

“Demonic Sect. I know too. It’s hateful. The Dang family was almost destroyed because of the Demonic Sect. Is there any martial artist who doesn’t hate the Demonic Sect?”

“Soso-ya.”

“No. Of course, I know that Mount Hua is the sect that suffered the most damage because of the Demonic Sect. But… Mount Hua has overcome that past wound to some extent, right?”

“…”

Jo Gul closed his mouth without answering.

“But why is Senior Brother being like that? What kind of grudge does he have with the Demonic Sect that makes him half out of his mind just hearing the words ‘Demonic Sect’!”

“Stop it.”

Baek Cheon stopped Tang Soso’s words in a firm tone.

Then, Tang Soso looked at Baek Cheon with a face that she couldn’t understand at all.

“Senior Brother was the one who got the angriest because of Senior Brother’s incomprehensible actions.”

“…It’s not because of incomprehensible actions.”

Baek Cheon paused for a moment and then bit his lip slightly.

“Everyone has a story. And there are also untouchable sore spots that cannot be revealed.”

“Then he should just tell us.”

When Tang Soso grumbled, Baek Cheon quietly looked at her.

“Are you telling us all the stories you have, everything you’re thinking?”

“That’s…”

Tang Soso trailed off.

Of course, that couldn’t be. Everyone has something they can’t reveal to others. Even if they are like family. No, even if they are really family, there are definitely things they can’t show.

Baek Cheon said in a calm tone.

“I’m not even a little curious about what you did before you came to Mount Hua.”

“…”

“If you have to know all the thoughts and past to understand that person, then that’s just a pretense in the name of understanding.”

“…Then why were you so angry?”

It’s not like Baek Cheon getting angry at Chung Myung is a new thing. But everyone here knows. That was the first time Baek Cheon had been so genuinely angry at Chung Myung.

Baek Cheon said, looking at Chung Myung’s back.

“…It’s not that I don’t understand.”

A hint of anger flashed across his face again.

“It’s that I can’t make him understand, I can’t make him understand, so I hate that attitude of not explaining and taking it all on myself.”

“…”

“If he had just said, ‘I don’t have any intention of explaining the reason or anything, so shut up and follow me to Gangnam’… I might have cursed, but I would have followed him without hesitation.”

At those words, Yoon Jong and Jo Gul nodded without hesitation.

Baek Cheon sighed softly and said.

“My family is in Jongnam.”

Everyone was slightly embarrassed by the rather sudden words and looked at him.

“My father is an elder of Jongnam, and my brother is the chief disciple of Jongnam. But that guy might have made fun of me for it, but he never brought up that fact. He grinds his teeth and gets agitated whenever the story of Jongnam comes out, but he didn’t care about my past because I’m from Mount Hua.”

Yoon Jong took a long breath and said.

“…Isn’t that too obvious, Senior Brother?”

“Then I’ll ask.”

Then Baek Cheon looked at Yoon Jong with a serious face.

“What would happen if my family was in danger and I had to run to Jongnam Mountain to protect Jongnam? Or, what would that guy have done if my family was murdered by someone and I ran to Jongnam to take revenge?”

“That’s…”

There’s no need to think about it.

If it was Chung Myung they knew, he would have drawn his sword and sprinted to Jongnam Mountain before Baek Cheon even asked for help. Because they are Baek Cheon’s family before they are people of Jongnam. Because they are blood relatives.

And that goes for everyone here as well.

“That guy would have. Of course, he would have.”

“…”

“But he doesn’t ask us for that obvious thing… that too obvious thing.”

Everyone closed their mouths at those words.

“What really makes me angry, and what I’m worried about, isn’t that that damn guy might do something unnecessary and die. When that guy does something unnecessary and dies…”

Baek Cheon bit his lip tightly.

“…I, we, are not there beside him.”

“…”

“I’m… yes, that’s what makes me angry.”

The veins on Baek Cheon’s tightly clenched fist were bulging.

Tang Soso, who was watching the scene, slowly lowered her head.

“…I’m sorry, Senior Brother.”

“No… it’s not something you need to apologize for.”

In the end, Tang Soso’s words also came from concern for Chung Myung. Everyone knew that, so there was no way they could blame her.

“He’s like a child.”

Yoo Iseol, who had been silent until now, opened her mouth in a blunt tone. She generally maintains the same tone, but today she felt slightly agitated.

“Like an idiot.”

“…”

Baek Cheon just sighed deeply without saying a word.

‘Like a damn bastard.’

He knows. That there is a difference in temperature between the way they look at Chung Myung and the way Chung Myung looks at them.

He knows, but this is the first time that difference has been so clearly revealed.

That clear difference made Baek Cheon unable to bear it.

“Senior Brother.”

At that moment, Yoon Jong opened his mouth. Unlike the others who looked anxious and awkward, his gaze was still calm and clear.

“May I ask you one thing?”

“…What is it?”

“Going to Gangnam now is an extremely dangerous thing. We can’t guarantee our lives.”

“Yes. Of course, that’s…”

“And it’s not just Chung Myung that Mount Hua shouldn’t lose. Perhaps Senior Brother is more important to the current Mount Hua than that Chung Myung.”

Baek Cheon closed his mouth at those words.

“So I’ll ask. If that Chung Myung asks you to go to Gangnam with him, what will you do, Senior Brother? Will you follow that guy and walk into death?”

Baek Cheon seemed to know why Yoon Jong’s gaze was the only one that was clear.

While everyone was looking at Chung Myung’s anxious-looking back, Yoon Jong alone was calmly looking at the future of Mount Hua. That’s why he’s asking Baek Cheon this question.

Therefore, this question could not be answered carelessly.

“I…”

It was at that moment when Baek Cheon’s lips were about to move.

“The Sect Leader is coming!”

At Jo Gul’s urgent words, everyone turned around. Hyun Jong was approaching, accompanied by Hyun Sang and Hyun Young.

The Five Swords put aside their conversation and paid their respects to Hyun Jong.

“We greet the Sect Leader.”

“…”

Hyun Jong lightly nodded his head to accept their greetings. His expression was frozen coldly, unlike usual.

His gaze had already passed them and was heading towards Chung Myung’s back.

Hyun Jong, who had been looking in that direction in silence for a while, strode forward.

Hyun Jong’s low voice was heard in the ears of the Five Swords, who were standing blankly, not knowing what to do.