Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1176

The Noble Who Can't Even Answer (5)

Chung Myung didn’t expect that. He tilted his head, looking puzzled at Baek Cheon.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Of course, I’m a person.”

“There are times when you don’t seem like one.”

“Are you insulting me?” Chung Myung asked. Baek Cheon chuckled softly.

Baek Cheon thought, “This might sound strange.” Because they both knew something.

Chung Myung was not perfect. Like everyone, he had many flaws.

He had a rough personality and was very stubborn. He was too sure of himself, so he often made mistakes. He was very knowledgeable about some things, but knew nothing about others. He pushed people hard and didn’t easily accept ideas different from his own.

So, Chung Myung might not understand what Baek Cheon meant. But Baek Cheon saw things differently.

Did these issues make Chung Myung an imperfect human?

Baek Cheon didn’t think so.

His personality was bad, but he didn’t make enemies because of it. He didn’t know everything, so he trusted others to do what he couldn’t and trusted them completely. He pushed people hard, but in the end, no one quit or left him because of it.

He didn’t accept ideas different from his own, but he always showed that his ideas were right.

He wasn’t perfect, but the result was perfect. So, wasn’t Chung Myung, who made this happen, also perfect in his own way? Even if it was different from what people usually think of as perfect.

That’s why it was sometimes too much to handle – trying to reach that kind of perfection. And yet…

“I just thought of that. That you’re also just a person.”

“That’s silly.”

Chung Myung didn’t ask more questions. Baek Cheon picked up the bottle Chung Myung had put down and drank again. Chung Myung watched him, surprised, and asked,

“What’s going on? Are you celebrating something? You never drink.”

“Just one of those days.”

“People say you die if you do things you don’t usually do…” Chung Myung was joking, but then he stopped and looked like he was worried about something.

Baek Cheon’s eyes moved a little, but he acted like it was nothing. “Don’t worry. I’ll live longer than you.”

“…Maybe.”

Baek Cheon looked closely at Chung Myung’s face.

Maybe Chung Myung didn’t even understand what his answer meant. Maybe he just said something to avoid the topic because he didn’t know what else to say.

But that was when a person’s true feelings came out. If it had been Chung Myung from a few years ago, he would never have casually agreed with such a short remark.

He had forgotten. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say he had been ignoring it.

Chung Myung was definitely not perfect. No, even if he was perfect, he wasn’t all-powerful. Like everyone, he had limits, and there were things he couldn’t do by himself.

“I had to forget.”

Every time Baek Cheon thought Chung Myung couldn’t handle something alone, Chung Myung proved him wrong.

But Baek Cheon had to remember.

Just because someone could handle a lot didn’t mean it wasn’t overwhelming. Training didn’t make the struggle disappear, and being cut by a sword many times didn’t make one immune to the pain of being cut.

Scars remained even when healed, and the memory of pain stayed. Baek Cheon, more than anyone, needed to remember this.

Chung Myung asked, seeing that Baek Cheon was silent.

“Aren’t you going to ask?”

“About what?”

“Isn’t that why you came?”

“So, about what?”

Chung Myung looked at Baek Cheon with eyes that showed he really didn’t know.

“Weren’t you going to ask about my answer to that old man?”

“I’m not curious.”

“…Huh?”

“I said I’m not curious.”

Baek Cheon said it like it was nothing and drank again. Chung Myung frowned.

“You’re not curious?”

Baek Cheon looked annoyed. “The answer will come out later anyway. Why does it matter if I hear it now?”

“No, you might try to persuade him.”

“If I persuade you, will you listen?”

“I won’t.”

“Then why persuade?”

“I guess so?”

Chung Myung nodded with a look of realization. Then he tilted his head, looking even more puzzled.

“Then why did you come?”

“…Isn’t it funny?”

“What is?”

“I’m your granduncle, and you’re my grandnephew. We’re from the same sect and have been seeing each other every day for years.”

“…So what?”

“But we’re sitting here drinking together, and it feels like there should be a reason for it.”

Chung Myung stared hard at Baek Cheon, looking suspicious, like he was trying to understand what Baek Cheon meant. Inside, he seemed confused because he had never heard Baek Cheon say things like this.

But Baek Cheon acted like it was no big deal.

“You can just drink, why do you need a reason?” He pointed to the moon with his finger. It was partly hidden by clouds.

“Look there. The moon is beautiful too.”

“It’s incredibly gloomy, though?”

“That’s what’s beautiful.”

“…Granduncle, did you eat something wrong for dinner?”

Baek Cheon chuckled softly.

He felt a strange loneliness he hadn’t felt before, or maybe never needed to feel. It bothered him. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had a normal talk with Chung Myung. He wasn’t even sure if they had ever had one.

“No, really, why did you come?”

“Haa…”

Baek Cheon looked a little annoyed. “I felt bad for you sitting here alone looking at the moon, so I came to keep you company. I’m older than you, after all.”

“…Did you really eat something bad? Will you get hurt if I hit you now?”

“You hit me anyway, you little punk.”

“That’s true.”

Chung Myung looked at Baek Cheon, confused, then slowly looked at the moon.

“Here.”

Baek Cheon held out the bottle of liquor.

Chung Myung stared at the bottle being offered to him, then slowly took it. He slowly raised it to his lips and drank.

Baek Cheon, who had been looking at the moon for a moment, opened his mouth.

“By the way…”

“You said you weren’t going to ask.”

“I’m not asking. I’m just curious.”

“Seriously, did you lose your mind today? We call that ‘asking’!”

Baek Cheon waved his hand like it was nothing and asked,

“Why do you push yourself so hard?”

“Huh?”

“I know why. I think I know what you’re afraid of. But… everyone in the world has to deal with things like that, you don’t have to face it all by yourself.”

“…”

“Even if the thing you’re worried about actually happens, no one in the world will blame you. So why are you acting like you have to bear all of it on your own?”

At that question, Chung Myung chuckled. But the smile that had been there gradually faded from his face.

“…I wonder.”

He had always thought that these were things he had to do.

But was that really the case?

In the past, Chung Myung had done his best. The method might not have been entirely correct, but no one could deny that what he had done had ultimately saved the world.

So why was he trying to carry all this alone, like he had done something wrong, as Baek Cheon said? He had done enough. Even if he stopped and asked others to finish it, no one would blame him.

Even Chung Mun, if he was watching, couldn’t criticize him…

“I wonder…”

Chung Myung said again, then hesitated and said, “I don’t really know either. Why I’m doing this.”

“…Is that so?”

“Just, um… It just feels like it.”

Baek Cheon looked silently at Chung Myung’s face from the side and thought. It was that look again. That faraway look in his eyes.

“There’s no one else who can do it. If I don’t.”

“…”

“Well… um.”

Chung Myung scratched his head hard.

“Actually, I’m not a very responsible guy, and I don’t like leading people. I’m the kind of guy who just sits around, criticizes others, you know? And drinks when I have free time.”

“You’re useless.”

“…”

Chung Myung was quiet for a moment, then shook his head. Actually, he wasn’t just saying that. The old Chung Myung was really like that. In the peaceful days before the evil group became powerful, Chung Myung was the laziest person in Mount Hua.

That time was also the most comfortable and enjoyable period of his life.

So how did it end up like this?

“Anyway, it’s not like I want to be doing this.”

“Then don’t do it.”

“But it’s not easy.”

“Why?”

“There’s no one else.”

Chung Myung sighed, looking like he didn’t care. “If I don’t do it, no one else will. It’s not like someone else will do it if I stop, and no one can do it as well as me anyway.”

“…”

“I can clearly see that it will fail if I give up, and it’s not easy to just watch that happen.”

“…”

“That’s why the number of things I do has just increased, one by one.”

If he had more time, maybe he would still be having fun in Mount Hua right now. He would be laughing and joking with his friends, teasing each other, and doing lots of things.

But time was too short. Who was to blame for that?

“It’s not that I want someone else to do it for me. It’s just that I have to carry this burden.”

Because the people who should have shared it with him were gone.

Chung Myung thought about this.

Maybe because he hadn’t shared things in the past, he now had to carry all of this alone.

If that’s the case, then he had to accept and put up with it all.

“So don’t worry about things you don’t need to worry about. If I do my best and it still fails, I’ll just give up. I just don’t think I’ve done enough yet.”

As he talked on and on, he realized he had said too much. Chung Myung coughed, feeling awkward.

“Tsk. I’m really losing it. Telling you all this, Dong-ryong.”

“You’re really going to die.”

Chung Myung chuckled and took another swig of his drink. He gulped it down as usual and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. His expression was a little brighter, and his voice was a little louder than before.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine soon.”

“Huh?”

“People have times like that in their lives. It’s just that I have a lot of things to think about.”

“…”

“Something will become clear in a day or so. Then I’ll just go back to normal. It’s a hundred years too early to worry about me, Dong-ryong.”

“You’re full of it.”

Baek Cheon chuckled.

A brief silence fell between them. A silence that wasn’t too heavy, just lonely.

Baek Cheon, who had been staring blankly at something beyond the moon, the night sky, and the clouds, slowly opened his mouth.

“If I… No, if we had been a little stronger. Would the worries you have be a little less?”

That quiet voice lingered for a long time between the two men who were not looking at each other.

Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]

Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]

Status: Ongoing Author: Released: 2019 Native Language: Korean
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[English Translation] Chung Myung, the legendary Plum Blossom Swordmaster of Mount Hua, awakens after a hundred years of slumber only to find his once-mighty sect reduced to ruins. With unwavering determination, he disguises himself as a young disciple and embarks on a mission to restore Mount Hua to its former glory. From training new disciples to facing lifelong enemies, Chung Myung must revive the sect while uncovering dark conspiracies that threaten the martial world. "Return of Mount Hua Sect" is an epic tale of resurgence, sacrifice, and fierce battles that will shake the world!

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