Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1171

After the Buddhist Abbot left, the room fell silent. Everyone felt uneasy and broke into small groups, wanting to think alone instead of planning together.

Only Hyun Jong, the Mount Hua Sect Leader, and the elders remained.

“Sect Leader,” Hyun Sang said cautiously.

Hyun Jong, who had been thinking quietly and looking worried, looked up.

“What do you think about what the Abbot said?”

Hyun Jong stared silently at the flickering lamp before speaking in a heavy voice.

“Hyun Sang.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Doesn’t it seem like the lamp’s wick is almost burnt out?”

Hyun Sang glanced at the lamp and nodded.

“I will replace it tomorrow.”

“A worn-out wick can be easily replaced. But what should we do if something irreplaceable is wearing away?”

Hyun Sang closed his mouth, knowing Hyun Jong wasn’t just talking about the wick.

Hyun Jong murmured with a bitter look.

“I knew this was true, but I ignored it. That’s why the Abbot’s words hurt so much.”

Hyun Sang sighed.

Even Hyun Young, who usually had a sharp comment, stayed silent with a grim expression.

“Didn’t you all know?”

“…”

“That Mount Hua is like a lamp burning with Cheong Myung as its wick. The brighter the wick burns, the greater the light, but… the brighter the light, the faster the wick wears away.”

“Who told him to burn like that?” Hyun Young suddenly retorted angrily.

“We tried to stop him! We told him he didn’t have to do that so many times! But what can we do when he keeps running wild on his own! We can’t stop him if we can’t even restrain him!”

Hyun Young usually cared for Cheong Myung more than anyone else in Mount Hua. He was speaking ill of Cheong Myung because he was worried about Hyun Jong, who was blaming himself.

“Hyun Young.”

“From the start, that brat…”

“Was there really no way to stop him?”

At Hyun Jong’s words, Hyun Young paused before tightly shutting his mouth.

“It’s something you know, and I know. There must have been some way to stop him.”

Hyun Jong knew Cheong Myung would not refuse his orders. He would resist and try to persuade him, but if they couldn’t agree, he would eventually follow Hyun Jong’s words.

That was why Hyun Jong was always grateful to Cheong Myung.

‘That must have been consideration.’

No, maybe it was a conviction.

But now, that consideration and conviction were piercing Hyun Jong’s heart.

Because he couldn’t deny that he had been endlessly pushing Cheong Myung and the Five Swords into dangerous situations.

“Sect Leader.”

Hyun Sang sighed and said.

“Don’t blame yourself. Anyone would have done the same.”

“…I see.”

“Cheong Myung is not someone we can judge. Even the great Abbot Beop Jeong acknowledges him as being above him.”

Hyun Jong gave a bitter smile.

It would be easier if he thought that way.

But Hyun Jong knew that Cheong Myung had both an absurdly strong side and an incomprehensibly weak side.

Hyun Young spoke in a nonchalant tone.

“So, what are you going to do? Are you going to accept Beop Jeong’s proposal?”

“Well. I don’t know.”

“I don’t like it very much. That man apologizes but how can we believe him? It’s obvious he’s trying to control the Heavenly Union.”

“Yes. It could be seen that way.”

Hyun Jong sighed.

“But didn’t the Abbot already answer that? If that greed helps the world, we can’t refuse.”

“Justification, justification! Who cares about ‘justification’ anymore!” Hyun Young shouted, irritated.

“I’m so tired of hearing that word! Why do *we* always have to suffer for some grand cause that no one else even notices?”

“Hyun Young…”

“How did we create the Heavenly Union!”

Hyun Young bit his lip tightly.

“Yes, I know! Cheong Myung created the Heavenly Union! So, if that brat tells us to do it, we have to do it. But shouldn’t we be the first to say we should break up the Heavenly Union?”

Hyun Jong sighed deeply.

“Hyun Young. Cheong Myung…”

“If Cheong Myung isn’t going to do it, should we throw everything away first?”

Hyun Jong gave a bitter smile.

“Think about what the Abbot said. Doesn’t Cheong Myung overdo things if he has a burden?”

“Then just stop him from overdoing it! There are many ways! Does breaking up the Heavenly Union and joining the Nine Great Sects have to be the only way to stop that brat!”

Hyun Jong tried to speak, but Hyun Young glared at him with angry eyes, as if he had more to say.

“There are ways to compromise while protecting what needs to be protected. Why does it always have to be so extreme!”

“It’s not just about protecting Cheong Myung. Don’t you understand? Is there nothing wrong with the Abbot’s words that the Heavenly Union and the Nine Great Sects must become one to save everyone?”

“So, because that’s right, we should just throw everything we’ve done away and bow our heads?”

“…Hyun Young, we are Taoists.”

“Yes, we are Taoists. Who is more of a Taoist than us? Wudang is making money and gaining power, and Shaolin is leading the world, but we’re kicking away the rice bowl, yes! Why wouldn’t we be?”

“…”

“What has changed by protecting that pride as a Taoist? Do you know that the new disciples couldn’t even eat properly until a few years ago?”

“Stop it.”

“Sect Leader! Tell me honestly. Haven’t you ever resented it? Haven’t you ever resented the predecessors who ruined the great sect and accepted disciples without thinking?”

Hyun Jong tightly closed his eyes.

He had spent countless nights filled with resentment.

“Mount Hua isn’t that bad now, is it?”

“Yes. The old Mount Hua was prosperous too. It was even greater than it is now.”

“…”

Hyun Young bit his lip and said.

“I don’t know, Sect Leader. I really don’t know.”

“Hyun Young…”

“I’ve lived my whole life as a Taoist of Mount Hua. But now I don’t even know what Taoism is. When I first entered Mount Hua, I had a clear goal, but now I don’t even remember why I became a Taoist.”

Hyun Jong sighed. He wasn’t disappointed in Hyun Young’s words, but he sympathized with them.

“Do we have to give it away to the children again because of that Tao that we don’t even understand? Do we have to tell them to give up?”

Hyun Jong shook his head.

“Hyun Young. Wasn’t the Mount Hua we were trying to create such a place? The predecessors also…”

“Yes, Sect Leader. The predecessors did too. So, we have to do that too. We have to tell the children that. That we have to give it away. That it is the path and order for everyone.”

“…”

“But Sect Leader. Mount Hua was ruined because of the cause and duty it tried to protect. And we have miraculously come this far again.”

Hyun Young bit his lip.

“And… the choice you’re making now will also guide the children who remain in Mount Hua. They will learn that it is right.”

“I…”

“Someday, this choice may ruin Mount Hua again. If that happens, our descendants will experience the same pain we went through.”

Hyun Jong closed his eyes. These words were more painful than any he had ever heard.

“No, it will be even worse. At least we met Cheong Myung and didn’t see Mount Hua destroyed. But will there be another Cheong Myung for our descendants? If they aren’t as lucky as we were, they will see terrible things.”

“Stop it!”

“What! What should I stop!”

Hyun Sang shouted angrily, and Hyun Young retorted without backing down.

“Don’t be mistaken, Sect Leader! You can discuss Tao so nobly because of what Cheong Myung earned, not because you have been protecting Tao. That brat made you, who should have been a beggar, into a noble Taoist.”

“You son of a bitch!”

“Hyun Sang!”

“No, you’re going too far!”

Hyun Sang raged, and Hyun Young glared at him.

“Did I say anything wrong?”

“Hey, you. There are things you can’t say…”

“So, you don’t want to hear bitter words when you pursue such great causes?”

Hyun Sang closed his mouth. Hyun Young glared at Hyun Jong with bloodshot eyes.

“If you want to discuss cause, then achieve something with it first. Don’t sit on that luxurious bed that the children earned and act nobly!”

Hyun Jong’s head drooped.

Hyun Young’s low voice dug into his ear.

“It may be right for you now. But would the Sect Leader from a few years ago, who worried about Mount Hua being destroyed, have made the same decision?”

“…”

“If not, it’s because the children’s hard work has made you comfortable. What else could it be?”

“Can’t you shut up!”

Hyun Sang stood up, unable to bear it any longer. Fierce energy radiated from his eyes.

“I’ve been listening, but you can’t say that! Since when have you been so disrespectful! How dare you say that to the Sect Leader?”

“Yes. It is ‘daring’.”

Hyun Young glared at Hyun Sang and Hyun Jong with cold eyes.

“How dare I say such things to Hyun Jong Jin-in, who is praised for that agreement?”

“This guy is going too far!”

Hyun Young got up and shouted, glaring at Hyun Jong.

“Whatever you choose, we will follow. But, Sect Leader, think about it first. Is throwing away what those children have built for some cause just your own desire to feel upright?”

Hyun Young roughly opened the door and left, stirring up a cold wind.

Hyun Jong, staring at Hyun Young’s back, closed his eyes tightly and sighed heavily.