Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1193

Gwak Hwi burst into the room, nearly tripping. He threw the wooden door open with a bang. “S-Senior Uncle!” he gasped, out of breath.

Baek Sang barely glanced up from the papers on his low table. “What is it now, Gwak Hwi?” he asked, his voice flat.

“Have you… have you heard?” Gwak Hwi stammered, his eyes wide.

“Heard what?” Baek Sang sighed, finally looking at his junior. Gwak Hwi’s face was flushed and his chest heaved. You’d think the Demonic Sect was attacking, judging by the boy’s panic. But Gwak Hwi always made a big deal out of nothing. Baek Sang waited, unimpressed.

“S-Senior Uncle Baek Cheon! Senior Uncle Baek Cheon!”

“What about Senior Brother?”

“He’s become the Sect Leader!”

“Oh, is that so? He would, eventually. He was bound to become Sect Leader someday.”

Baek Sang looked back at the documents he was reviewing.

“No! Senior Uncle, that’s not what I mean! He *has* become the Sect Leader!”

“Yes, I heard you.”

“I-It’s true! The rumors are spreading like wildfire through the Mount Hua Sect! The Sect Leader has passed the position to Senior Uncle Baek Cheon!”

Only then did Baek Sang raise his head, finally giving Gwak Hwi his full attention.

“…The Sect Leader has?”

“Yes!”

“Suddenly?”

“That’s right! He gave up the position in a surprise move! It’s chaos, utter chaos right now!”

“Oh… so you’re saying the Sect Leader has passed the Sect Leader’s position to Senior Brother?”

“Yes!”

Gwak Hwi nodded so hard, his whole body seemed to bounce with excitement. Baek Sang looked at Gwak Hwi. His eyes seemed distant, like he wasn’t really paying attention.

“…Why?”

“It’s for the future of Mount Hua…”

“But… why?”

“B-Because, during his conversation with the Abbot of Shaolin…”

“Why now?”

“…”

“I don’t understand why?”

Gwak Hwi fell silent, noticing Baek Sang’s trembling lips. Baek Sang mumbled in a dazed voice.

“So, that’s…”

“Yes.”

“Why does it have to be that way?”

“…I don’t know either…”

“…”

Baek Sang kept staring at Gwak Hwi, who didn’t know what to do. They stayed like that for a while, silent.

Later, in another part of Mount Hua…

“Senior Brother, it’s Un-geom.”

“Come in.”

Un-geom quietly opened the door and entered the room. Un-am was sitting at the low table, organizing documents. He must have heard him enter, but he didn’t even glance up, continuing with his work as usual.

Un-geom sat down across from him and said,

“I’ve heard the news.”

“About Baek Cheon, is it?”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

Un-am nodded calmly.

“That’s how it happened. I apologize for not consulting you beforehand. I hope you can understand.”

“There’s no need for such words.”

A small smile formed on Un-geom’s lips.

Originally, it was Un-am, not Baek Cheon, who should have become the next Sect Leader. Both Un-am and Un-geom had lived in Mount Hua for decades believing this.

Sect Leader. A position with immense responsibility and immense burden.

Nevertheless, there were few disciples in Mount Hua who did not want to be Sect Leader. It was not difficult to imagine how difficult it must have been to give up a position he could have easily had, if he had only wished for it.

Despite the big news, Un-am was no different from his usual self. This was why Un-geom respected Un-am so much, calling him Senior Brother and following his lead, even though he wasn’t the strongest fighter.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Hard work, you say.”

Only then did Un-am, having finished organizing the pile of documents, neatly place them aside and face Un-geom.

“It was simply doing what needed to be done.”

“Following the natural order sounds easy, but it’s actually the most difficult thing to do.”

Hearing those words, Un-am chuckled.

“You’ve learned to speak like a true Taoist. And here I thought you only knew how to wield a sword.”

Un-geom scratched his nose and looked a little embarrassed.

Senior Brother was a strange being.

Hyeon-ja Bae was older and from an older generation, so you might think he would be harder to deal with. But the person Un-geom found most challenging in Mount Hua was Un-am.

“It’s just something that happens when you’re raising disciples.”

“A good thing, indeed.”

Un-am smiled gently, as if looking at a younger brother who had finally come of age.

“But Senior Brother.”

Un-geom, feeling slightly awkward, subtly changed the subject.

“Are you alright, Senior Brother?”

“Hmm?”

Un-geom’s gaze became earnest.

“You are still a person, Senior Brother. Even if you follow the natural order, you must feel some regret.”

Hearing those words, Un-am chuckled.

“Why? Are you worried I might harm your cute little disciples?”

“Senior Brother, really…”

“Haha.”

Un-am laughed lightly, then shook his head.

“Regret… To be honest, it would be a lie to say there isn’t any, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes. I suppose so.”

Un-geom sighed softly. It couldn’t have been easy. Of course, it wouldn’t be.

“Both you and I, we’ve always wanted Mount Hua to become the greatest sect in the world, haven’t we? I always wanted to create a Mount Hua different from the one we experienced, if I ever became the Sect Leader.”

“…Yes, Senior Brother.”

Un-geom could sense the bitterness in Un-am’s voice.

He, too, had wished for it.

For Un-am to become the Sect Leader, and for him, Un-geom, to become the greatest swordsman of Mount Hua, to reclaim the Mount Hua of the past. That was the dream the two of them had shared ever since they entered Mount Hua. A dream that was crushed by reality, and now seemed impossible to reach.

“But I have no regrets. Do you know why?”

“I don’t know.”

Un-geom spoke honestly. He had, in truth, come to this place to hear these words.

Un-am smiled quietly and said,

“Because you find me difficult to deal with.”

“…Yes?”

It was an unexpected answer. Un-geom blinked, bewildered. Un-am chuckled softly at his bewildered expression.

“Don’t look so worried, Un-Geom,” Un Am said, a small smile playing on his lips. “I’m not blaming you.”

He chuckled softly, leaning back against the wooden wall. Dust motes danced in the sunlight streaming through the window behind him.

“The reason you find me… *challenging*, Un-Geom,” Un Am continued, choosing his words carefully, “is simple. It’s because I don’t owe you anything.”

Un-Geom frowned slightly. This was a strange thing to say, and he wasn’t sure what to think. It was confusing, but also made a little sense at the same time.

“Even if they are poor, children still respect their parents. But parents who are poor often feel guilty,” Un Am explained.

“Ah…”

“The funny thing is, the child knows this too. That’s why, deep down, they think their parents will forgive a mistake or two, pretending they can’t win against them.”

Un-Geom nodded, as if he understood what Un Am was saying.

“There seems to be some truth in that.”

“Exactly. Now you get it. You’ll start to see the disciples like their parents do.”

Un-Geom sighed.

“That’s right, Senior Brother.”

Hyun Jong wasn’t the only one feeling guilty towards the children. Un-Geom felt the same way. As a master, he hadn’t done much for those children.

He was the head of the White Plum Blossom Hall, but while he was teaching, the disciples of Mount Hua hadn’t particularly stood out. Their growth came only after Chung Myung appeared.

Was it because of the lost martial arts? Un-Geom knew it wasn’t about the martial arts being weak. A truly great master could train students well even with simple skills.

Could Un-Geom sternly scold his disciples when they made mistakes? Like parents who couldn’t properly feed and clothe their children, wouldn’t he blame himself?

“Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Unam nodded and said.

“Right now, the core of Mount Hua is undoubtedly the White Plum and Blue Cloud factions. But I don’t have the confidence to lead those children properly. In their eyes, I’m just a slightly less difficult, slightly less strict Sect Leader.”

“……”

“Being like parents and children is a good thing. But children will eventually act spoiled towards their parents. Parents who haven’t done much can’t help but accept that spoiling. I’ve long worried that my own sense of inferiority might ruin those children someday.”

“Senior Brother…”

Un-Geom looked at Un Am with new eyes.

Since when had this man been thinking such things?

He had thought it was a decision based on seeing the future of Mount Hua. He thought it was a rational move to quickly hand over the center of power to the core of Mount Hua.

But Un Am seemed to be looking at something deeper. In his mind, there was no path to making Mount Hua stronger. He was only looking at the path that would allow his disciples to grow properly.

“In the midst of all this, Baek Cheon came to me and said he had no debts from the past.”

“……”

“So he told me to take the position of Sect Leader. Then he could assist me and lead Mount Hua excellently. A cheeky fellow. He doesn’t even know what those words mean.”

Hearing those words, Un-Geom burst into hearty laughter.

Anyone else would have taken those words at face value. And even Baek Cheon wouldn’t have bothered to hide his true intentions in those words. But how would those words have sounded to Unam, who had been contemplating such things?

“So, there’s no need to worry, is there? Insisting on a different path when there’s a better one is just my greed.”

“But… aren’t there rules and regulations?”

“Haha. Does Mount Hua have rules and regulations?”

“Senior Brother!”

“Just kidding. Why are you getting so angry?”

Unam chuckled and shook his head.

“It would be a lie to say I have no regrets. If I didn’t feel any disappointment, I’d already be someone who never has regrets. But I have no doubt that my choice was the right one.”

“……”

“And Un-Geom.”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

“It’s only natural to have regrets and feel disappointed.”

Un-Geom looked at Un Am as if asking what he meant.

“Doing good, pursuing righteousness, it’s always like that. If choosing good were easy and enjoyable, who in the world wouldn’t follow it? Shouldn’t it sting and feel disappointing to be good?”

Those words resonated deeply with Un-Geom.

“Good must be difficult…”

“Yes, that’s right. Good done without difficulty is just a comfort to one’s own heart. Can a coin thrown to a starving beggar by a wealthy man living with ten thousand gold pieces truly be good?”

“I… I can’t say it is not.”

“Indeed.”

Unam slowly nodded.

“But a coin given to a beggar by someone who received two coins for their day’s wages is good in itself. Wouldn’t it sting to give it away, wouldn’t you hesitate many times? Yet, overcoming that regret and extending that hand, that is good.”

“I understand what you mean, Senior Brother.”

Un-Geom chuckled.

“In the end, you just wanted to say that you’re a very accomplished Taoist, aren’t you?”

“This rascal…”

“Haha!”

Un-Geom burst into hearty laughter.

He felt good. He felt so good.

This man was his Senior Brother. This man, who cast aside the position of Mount Hua Sect Leader, which everyone desired, like an old shoe, and grumbled about feeling stung and disappointed, was his Senior Brother.

“I can give it because I trust him.”

Unam, who had been laughing loudly with him, quietly smiled.

“Because it’s Baek Cheon. Because he’s my disciple whom I’ve watched over. There’s no one else who can lead Mount Hua as well as that fellow in this era. As he said, he has no debts and his heart is full of chivalry. And…”

“He’s hopeless.”

“Yes. A hopeless mudskipper… Ahem. That’s something we can take care of by assisting him well.”

Unam gave a faint wry smile, and Un-Geom smiled back at him. Un Am said.

“Un-Geom.”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

“Was it the right thing to do?”

Un-Geom curled up the corners of his lips.

“I think this is the second-best thing I’ve ever seen Senior Brother do.”

“What was the first?”

“The time you were so exhausted that you couldn’t do it anymore, so you climbed over the wall in the early morning to run away, but then changed your mind and came back…”

“Shut that mouth of yours before I commit murder and wipe out your entire clan.”

“Oh, my! How can a Taoist utter such murderous words!”

The two senior brothers looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Both had eyes full of trust and faith. It was the kind of gaze that could only be seen in those who aimed for higher places but were never attached to their positions.

“He’ll do well.”

“Yes. He will do well.”

“Indeed. He will do well. Whose disciple do you think he is?”

Un-Geom, who was looking at Un Am with a warm smile, said.

“By the way, Senior Brother.”

“Hmm?”

“Something’s been a little off since earlier.”

“Hmm? What…”

“Baek Cheon is my disciple.”

Unam looked at Un-Geom with trembling eyes. Un-Geom firmly and decisively stated.

“Don’t try to subtly get in on this. I won’t yield on this one.”

“…You petty fellow.”