Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1197

“How is he?”

“I know it’s unlikely, but… is there something wrong with him?”

“Is he alright?”

Tang Soso turned her head, looking sulky. She stared at Chung Myung, who was lying on a mat and groaning.

“Well… um…,” she hesitated, then squeezed her eyes shut and said, “He has Hwabyung.”

“Hwabyung?”

“Yes, Hwabyung.”

Yoon Jong blinked.

“That… uh… I mean…”

He glanced at the sick Chung Myung and asked carefully, “Wait, is Hwabyung a *real* thing?”

“Of course. Haven’t you heard stories of people who suffer a lot and then die?”

“…I have.”

“That’s Hwabyung. It’s like a sickness people get from too much stress and anger.”

Yoon Jong looked again at Chung Myung, who was lying down. Hye-yeon gently sat next to him, soaking a towel in water with her gentle hands and placing it on his forehead. You could see how kind she was in the way she carefully took care of Chung Myung.

However, there was a small problem…

“Mahaprajnaparamitahrdaya Sutra Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, deep practice of Prajnaparamita…”

“S-Sifu! I told you not to chant Buddhist prayers while taking care of him!”

“It sounds like you’re doing a funeral!”

“You’re not being respectful! Be more serious!”

As Oh Geom shouted, Jo Gul, who had been about to join Hye-yeon in chanting, flinched and quietly stepped back. Yoon Jong glared at Jo Gul, made a disapproving sound, and looked at Tang Soso.

“Seriously, Hwabyung? What is this…”

“It’s very strange.”

Tang Soso pouted.

“Usually, this disease affects weak people or angry old men, but that guy…”

“No way.”

“Definitely no way. He’s the last person who should get this disease.”

“The person I know who is least like ‘weak-hearted’ is Chung Myung, Sifu.”

“Right?”

Yoon Jong clicked his tongue again, looking at Chung Myung, who was groaning.

“Even if he got Hwabyung, for a martial artist to be so sick from a little illness…”

“Ah, no, Sifu. You shouldn’t say that.”

“Huh? Why?”

Jo Gul said, looking a bit pale, “If you think about it, isn’t this really serious? That guy didn’t even groan when he was badly hurt before.”

“…”

“If that kind of guy is lying down with his head wrapped up like that, he must be really hurting.”

“…That makes sense.”

After hearing that, Chung Myung, who was lying ill, seemed a bit pitiful… No, actually, not pitiful… Anyway!

“He must be so frustrated,” someone murmured.

“Yes,” another agreed.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Baek Cheon. He was leaning against the wall, his head tilted to the side, looking like he had lost everything he ever cared about. His face was pale and drawn.

Feeling everyone looking at him, Baek Cheon slowly opened his dry lips.

“It’s just…,” his voice was weak and shaky.

“It’s just… that I’m the Acting Sect Leader now…”

“…”

“…Is that something to be so sick about?”

“…”

“Huh?”

Well, Sasuk. Who knows.

“So, for that bastard… Jang Ilso bothering him, or the world ending, or having to do the most annoying chores, or everyone making fun of him, is less frustrating than me becoming the Acting Sect Leader?”

“…Is it that bad?”

“I should just die, I… What good is any of this to me…”

Baek Cheon began to deflate. Yoon Jong, looking back and forth between the spaced-out Baek Cheon and the sick Chung Myung, sighed deeply.

This situation was like a fight where no one could win.

“I’ve lived long enough to see a martial artist get Hwabyung. That bastard is really something else.”

“Well. That’s not quite right.”

“Aish! You scared me!”

“Please, tell us before you appear, Sifu!”

Hye-yeon, having left Chung Myung, came forward, showing his shiny bald head. Everyone was startled, and he said with a slightly embarrassed face, “…Amitabha. I apologize. I thought you were having an interesting conversation.”

“But what do you mean it’s not quite right?”

Hye-yeon nodded and continued, “It’s not strange for a martial artist to get Hwabyung. In fact, even though the name is different, martial artists are the most likely to get it in the world.”

“Huh? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a martial artist dying from Hwabyung?”

“If you change the words a little, it’s a story you’ve often heard. In the world of martial artists, called Gangho, isn’t there a term for when the body becomes strange because of built-up anger?”

“Oh? H- 혹시 심마?”

“That’s right.”

Hye-yeon smiled gently.

“And Juha 입마 can also be seen as the same thing in a general way. People often get Juha 입마 when they are very stressed or shocked.”

“Is that so?”

“So, when you think about it, maybe no one gets Hwabyung as often as those in Gangho. People in the normal world don’t worry about Hwabyung as much as Gangho people worry about Juha 입마 or 심마.”

“…Come to think of it, that’s true.”

“So, when you think about it, aren’t Gangho people the weakest?”

“They’re the most likely to have severe Hwabyung.”

From the start, Gangho people, whether they are good or bad, are the kind of people who draw their swords at the smallest thing that bothers them, right? Even things that normal people would solve with words or by asking the government, Gangho people deal with directly.

So, they are likely to get Hwabyung.

Especially that guy, who is one of the most quick-tempered and foul-mouthed people in Gangho. Looking back, it’s amazing he hasn’t gotten Juha 입마 until now…

“W-Wait a minute. So, are you saying Chung Myung is now in 심마?”

“He’s in 심마 because Sasuk became the Sect Leader?”

“Is he even human?”

The moment the light in Baek Cheon’s eyes faded a little more, Tang Soso stated firmly.

“No. That’s just bottled-up frustration.”

“It’s not **Qi Deviation** – when your inner energy gets messed up – or a **Simma** – a really bad energy problem. He’s just really, really frustrated. If it were an Imp or a Simma, I’d know.”

“I suppose.”

“That’s right. There’s no way Soso wouldn’t know.”

“It has nothing to do with martial arts. An ordinary person might have suffered Qi Deviation, but Senior Brother’s inner strength is so pure and his martial arts so advanced that he wasn’t affected. He just couldn’t control his temper and collapsed.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Good thing? Are you kidding me?”

Yoon Jong smiled as he looked at Chung Myung, who was lying down clutching his head.

“It reminds me of a saying about getting better every day.”

“Isn’t that a good saying?”

“It is a good saying. I know that rascal’s temper is awful, but it’s getting worse every day! How could that be a good thing?”

“Just curse him outright.”

“That crazy bastard.”

Just then, Yoo Iseol opened the door and looked around. She gently poked Baek Cheon, who was sprawled nearby, with her finger.

“Senior Brother.”

Baek Cheon didn’t respond. He was slumped on the floor, still and silent.

“Senior Brother,” she repeated, a little louder this time.

“Ugh, huh?” Baek Cheon mumbled, finally stirring.

Baek Cheon was barely awake. He slowly lifted his head and looked at Yoo Iseol.

“The Sect Leaders are all gathered. We have to go.”

“Sect Leader… The meeting, I have to go. Yes. I have to go…” Baek Cheon’s eyes were dull, like the light had gone out. He felt like a puppet with cut strings as he tried to stand. *’I have to go to the meeting… but I just want to sleep,’* he thought, his mind foggy. He rose slowly, like a heavy, wet blanket being pulled up.

“I have to go. I’m the Acting Sect Leader… A young one like me can’t be late. Don’t worry. I’ll go now.”

Tang Soso stared blankly at Baek Cheon, who was moving his feet with a clatter. Then, suddenly, she had a thought.

“Hey, Jo Gul,” Tang Soso said suddenly, looking thoughtful.

“Huh?” Jo Gul blinked, surprised.

“Maybe… maybe you should be the next Sect Leader,” she mumbled, almost to herself.

Jo Gul frowned, a strange feeling in his stomach. “What are you talking about? Where did that come from?”

“Senior Brother should have the good position.”

Jo Gul, feeling a strange unease, was about to say something when…

“Hey, where? Where are you going?” Chung Myung, who had been lying down and only groaning, suddenly shot up and rolled his eyes.

“Sect Leaders? Meeting?”

“Why is he like that again?”

“Soso, do you have any sleeping pills? Something that will make me sleep for about a month.”

“I have sleeping poison…”

“Give it to me. I have a use for it.”

“You’ll die if you use it wrong.”

“That might be better, you know. Think about it.”

Chung Myung kicked off the blanket covering him, got up, and staggered as if he were dizzy.

“I, I…”

“What’s wrong, you rascal!” Everyone asked, trying to stop him, but Chung Myung rolled his eyes back.

“I, I’m going too!”

“Hey, hey, you’re not well! Stop!”

“No, I can’t! Who knows what that… that human will do! How can I let him ruin the Mount Hua I revived! I won’t let anyone, *especially* him, destroy it now!”

“Chung Myung… He is your granduncle.”

“Yeah. I can’t let that granduncle ruin it.”

No matter how you look at it, you’re the one ruining Mount Hua right now, Chung Myung. And it seems like you’re going to ruin it even more spectacularly if things continue like this.

“I, I have to go…” Chung Myung grabbed the back of his head and staggered as he tried to move his feet.

“Ugh. The back of my head…”

“He’s, he’s, he’s falling!”

“Shouldn’t someone support him?”

“I know I should, but honestly, I don’t want to touch him.”

“Me neither.”

The people around him were horrified, but Chung Myung couldn’t see any of it.

“I, I will protect Mount Hua… Mount Hua…”

The Five Swords stared blankly at Baek Cheon, who was walking out like a zombie, and Chung Myung, who was following like a sick man, and sighed in unison.

The Sect is doing well… very well.

❀ ❀ ❀

Tang Gunak cleared his throat slightly and opened his mouth.

If Hyun Jong had been in this place, as he had been until now, he wouldn’t have needed to say these words, but Hyun Jong didn’t attend this meeting, perhaps to give Baek Cheon more authority.

So, he, who was effectively the Vice Leader of the Cheonwoo Alliance, needed to organize the situation and open the discussion.

“As everyone knows, Baek Cheon has been appointed as the Acting Sect Leader of Mount Hua.”

“Yes, Clan Leader.”

“Everyone should have congratulated him. This new young blood has joined the Cheonwoo Alliance as a key member, so it’s right to start by congratulating the Acting Sect Leader for the future of Mount Hua and the Cheonwoo Alliance that he will create… It’s right, but…” Tang Gunak sighed, his eyes moving between Baek Cheon and Chung Myung. Baek Cheon sat slumped, his face pale and drawn, like a flower left too long in the sun. Chung Myung, on the other hand, was a whirlwind of restless energy, his eyes darting around the room, muttering under his breath. Tang Gunak felt a familiar weariness settle over him, the kind that came with dealing with Mount Hua.

“Acting Sect Leader.”

“Yes?”

“Why do you look like that?”

Baek Cheon opened his mouth sadly with a half-faded face. “I’m… fine, so don’t worry about me.”

Baek Cheon was groaning like a sick chicken, but Chung Myung’s condition was even more serious. He was almost out of his mind, depressed, angry, and noisy. He seemed to be wavering with every breath he took.

‘Sect Leader…’ Tang Gunak closed his eyes tightly, feeling somehow dizzy.

‘How did you endure this?’ It was the moment when the terrible stomachache that those who endured Mount Hua had to experience descended upon Tang Gunak as well.