Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1094

“Keeuuuueuuuung⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung moved uncomfortably on the roof. A cold shiver went down his back, like tiny grains of rice.

“What made me say all that ⋯⋯.”

“- Because those kids are better than our group.”

“Kraaah! Shut up! Did I say anything wrong?”

– Conscience.

“Keeung.”

Chung Myung let out a long, heavy sigh that seemed to carry all his regrets into the cool night air.

“Maybe… maybe I went too far,” he muttered to himself.

He’d gotten carried away. The old Chung Myung would never have done that – lost control like that.

It was almost funny, when he really thought about it. Comparing those young disciples to the legendary Hwasan Sect of the past? If the old masters, the Cheongja generation – those stubborn men who thought even Shaolin was just a gathering of useless bald monks – could hear him now, they’d probably roll their eyes and complain about wanting to come back to life just to punish their foolish descendant.

“⋯⋯Thinking about it, those bastards were hopeless.”

No wonder the entire Central Plains turned their backs on them. They were madmen.

– Is that something for you to say? Of all people, you?

“You’re awfully chatty today. Ah, if you’re so upset, why don’t you come back to life and do something about it?”

Chung Myung scoffed and flopped back down on the roof.

“⋯⋯Well, it’s not wrong.”

What if the Plum Blossom Sword Saint and the current Chung Myung weren’t the same person?

Probably, the first person to grab a sword and charge to correct his manners would be none other than Chung Myung himself. He’d even knock out that Cheongjin fellow who wanted to let it go, sling him over his hip, and come running.

“⋯⋯I was too impetuous⋯⋯. I was young, so young.”

The old Chung Myung hadn’t seen Hwasan properly.

The world of martial arts was a place where the capable should be favored, and Hwasan was more capable than any other sect. So, Chung Myung thought, those who were lacking should shut their mouths and follow orders.

From that perspective, Hwasan at the time was certainly a sect that deserved it. They were stronger and more outstanding than any other sect. But⋯⋯.

‘That wasn’t the whole story.’

Chung Myung scratched his head vigorously.

When you got down to it, Chung Myung had never considered anything from the perspective of the weak. Within Hwasan, a sect that dominated the era, Chung Myung was in the position of an overwhelmingly strong person.

Even when he was young, wasn’t Chung Myung the only one who received special treatment?

So he thought it was only natural.

The chivalry that Chung Myung showed as a disciple of Hwasan didn’t come from a desire to think of the weak. It was merely that he unquestioningly did what he had been taught: that the strong should naturally do so.

But as he fell to what could only be called rock bottom and desperately climbed back up, he learned that the world wasn’t just about strength and weakness.

The strong led, but the weak also had their own will and thoughts. Just because they were weak didn’t mean their methods should be ignored or belittled.

So, to sum it up⋯⋯.

‘If I saw the old Plum Blossom Sword Saint now, I’d beat him to a pulp.’

Well, of course, considering the difference in skill and his temper, he’d probably be beaten to within an inch of his life rather than doing any beating himself. But regardless, he wouldn’t be able to look at him kindly. Looking back, it would be hard to find anyone who lived a more messed-up life than that bastard.

So how wronged must those guys who were beaten by Chung Myung have felt? A good-for-nothing was going around beating people up just because they annoyed him, and they couldn’t even protest because he happened to be from Hwasan, the most thuggish sect at the time⋯⋯.

To give an example, it was similar to Hye-yeon running wild in Shaolin like the old Chung Myung. If Hye-yeon did that, what would Chung Myung do?

‘I’d beat him until hair grew on his bald head.’

But⋯⋯ unfortunately, there was no one who could stand up to the Plum Blossom Sword Saint and Hwasan at that time. So they had to grit their teeth and bear it.

Looking back, a sense of apology surged up⋯⋯.

– Jongnam too?

“Ah, the Jongnam bastards are an exception!”

Those bastards deserved to be beaten more! Ahem, that’s right.

Chung Myung, who had clenched his fist, sighed deeply once more.

If he affirmed the logic that it was natural to lead because one was strong, and that one could do as one pleased because one was strong, it wouldn’t be different from saying that the actions of those Demonic Sect bastards should be defended to a certain extent.

If he wasn’t going to acknowledge that, then naturally, he had no choice but to think differently about Hwasan in the past as well.

“Thinking about it, it’s infuriating.”

Chung Myung turned his head to look somewhere with a dumbfounded expression.

“From the perspective of those old guys, we’re no different from the Shaolin bastards now.”

– Hey, you bastard. It’s not that bad.

“Ah, be quiet. You’re a prisoner.”

Chung Myung gestured rudely towards the distant sky.

Of course, it might be an unfair story from Cheong Mun’s perspective. Hwasan was a sect that certainly took responsibility for those in charge. Hwasan shed the most blood anytime, anywhere, and fought the most fiercely anytime, anywhere.

It wasn’t a sect that could be compared to the current Shaolin, who stood with their hands behind their backs, ordering people around.

But conversely⋯⋯.

“So, are you going to look kindly on those Shaolin bastards if they fight hard now?”

– That’s not it.

“See?”

Chung Myung scoffed. Other guys might not understand Shaolin, but frankly, Chung Myung understood to some extent why those Shaolin guys were acting like that.

From Shaolin’s perspective, they probably thought that they, with the deepest history, the most superior power, and the most masters, should lead the world of martial arts.

They were doing things with their own deep thoughts, but sects that were less than half of Shaolin were saying they had different ideas and pointing fingers at everything they did, which must have been absurd.

From Shaolin’s perspective, the Namgung brats were ignoring the order to stay put and recklessly rushing into the Plum Blossom Island, facing annihilation, making them the most idiotic sect in the world⋯⋯.

“Huh? Isn’t that right?”

Chung Myung lowered his gaze slightly to look at Namgung Dowi, who was far away.

No⋯⋯ Just looking at it more coldly, it was the same as Namgung Hwang taking everything he had and throwing himself into the Jang River. But to criticize Shaolin for this was a bit too much⋯⋯.

“Ahem, ahem. Anyway.”

And from Shaolin’s perspective, Hwasan and Tang Clan were plotting to disrupt the well-united Central Plains and bringing in outside forces into the sane Central Plains, making them insane sects.

Even though the Demonic Sect bastards were openly running rampant, instead of joining forces, they were acting like the worst kind of bastards, saying, ‘If you’re frustrated, why don’t you crawl under us?’⋯⋯ Even though the Abbot himself came to bow his head.

“Wow⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung looked up at the night sky with trembling eyes.

“When I apply it in reverse, everything makes sense, Sect Leader?”

– I didn’t do that, you bastard!

“Who said you did? Why are you getting defensive?”

Chung Myung smirked.

Chung Myung knew. All of Shaolin’s actions could be interpreted with the three letters ‘superiority complex.’ Probably, Shaolin would certainly fight bravely at the forefront, just like Hwasan in the past, the moment they stood again in a position representing the world of martial arts.

What they wanted wasn’t simple gain, but the position of ‘Shaolin,’ a sect that protected the world of martial arts. Abbot wouldn’t be ignorant of the fact that it was a title that couldn’t be obtained without shedding blood.

But⋯⋯.

“That’s meaningless. You moron.”

Now Chung Myung knew too. He had already experienced it. That it was meaningless. That such actions left nothing behind. That they would go down the same path as countless sects that once dominated the world but were now forgotten.

“Sect Leader, I⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung looked at the night sky.

Countless stars were looking down at him. It was as if his past senior brothers were watching him.

“I liked Hwasan.”

To be precise, he missed the old Hwasan. That’s why he wanted to make the current Hwasan like the Hwasan of that time. A sect that was more superior and more excellent than any other sect.

“But⋯⋯ that was just my greed.”

He knew now that it was the wrong path.

They had already failed once. They had tasted a failure so miserable that they couldn’t even imagine what a bigger failure would be like.

If they repeated the same mistake despite that, it was no different from walking towards a predetermined failure. If they wanted to change the result, the process had to be different as well.

Hwasan, which had been outstanding alone, had failed. And Chung Myung was clearly seeing what a sect that tried to be outstanding alone was becoming.

So⋯⋯ now he and Hwasan had to change.

Now Chung Myung understood.

What thoughts a sect that wasn’t strong lived with. What kind of heart a martial artist who wasn’t strong held. How much effort those who supported the strong from behind put in.

Just because they were lacking didn’t mean they could be ignored. Even if they were lacking, their efforts and thoughts should be respected in themselves.

Wasn’t it right there? Those who were like that proof.

Chung Myung turned his head to look at Baek Cheon and his group. Their faces were quite serious, as if they were having some kind of serious conversation among themselves. A chuckle escaped from Chung Myung’s lips.

‘What are those little brats so serious about?’

What if they had entered Hwasan in the past? What if they had entered as Chung Myung’s generation, or the next generation, the Myeong generation?

Perhaps those children wouldn’t have stood out and would have been forgotten as mediocre disciples, or they wouldn’t have been able to endure in Hwasan and would have left in the end.

But now, those children had grown into proud members of Hwasan and the future of Hwasan.

It was the same. Just because they were lacking didn’t mean they had no potential. And just because they weren’t strong didn’t mean they had no value.

“I should have known that a little sooner.”

A sect that was strong but couldn’t embrace others was meaningless, as the Hwasan of the past and the Shaolin of the present were showing.

So the current Hwasan had to be different.

It was okay if they weren’t as strong as in the past, or if they couldn’t lead as firmly as they did then. There were so many who could fill Hwasan’s shortcomings.

That’s why they had to walk together, not lead alone.

‘Can I do it?’

Chung Myung closed his eyes quietly.

It was easy to say, but it was too difficult. Perhaps it was twice as difficult as making the current Hwasan as strong as the Hwasan of the past.

Chung Myung opened his eyes and looked at the people gathered below.

Hwasan and Shaolin, Namgung Family and Green Forest.

People who seemed like they could never get along were raising their voices at each other and bickering.

Someone might call that scene a mess, and someone might belittle that scene as a hodgepodge.

But Chung Myung’s thoughts were a little different. If he had to put a name to that sight⋯⋯.

– Hope.

“⋯⋯.”

– Isn’t that right, Taoist Brother?

A smile bloomed on Chung Myung’s lips.

“Yeah. You’re right.”

He got up and stretched.

“I’m going to be busy.”

It was still a difficult task. The Demonic Sect was too strong, and the Orthodox Sect was creaking. On top of that, a monster who prioritized his own desires over the safety of the world would be watching the other side of the river, waiting for a chance. But⋯⋯.

“No need to worry. I’ll make it.”

Because now I’m not ‘me,’ but ‘us.’

Chung Myung grinned, gripped the bottle in his hand tightly, and jumped down from under the eaves.

“Stop fighting, you bastards!” He knew this new path wouldn’t be easy, but for the first time in a long time, Chung Myung felt a spark of real hope.

“?What?”

“?We’re not fighting, though?”

Chung Myung blended into the crowd of noisy people.

Their boisterous conversation continued for a long time, well past the passing of the moon.