Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1204

A beggar held tight to his cold rice. He hurried to a small, hidden shack. He pushed aside the old, torn mat that was the door and went inside quickly.

“Buntaju!”

“News?” Hong Daekwang was leaning back in a corner of the shack. He quickly sat up and asked, “What news?”

“Bad news. It’s not working.”

“Huh?”

“People are split. Half agree, half disagree. They are arguing. I looked around, it’s the same everywhere.”

Hong Daekwang groaned. “These people are too much! After everything the Heavenly Union did for them!”

“Do people ever remember good deeds? They only think about what they want now. You’d think a beggar would know how tough life is.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Hong Daekwang’s face became angry. “I’m just angry!”

At first, it might seem okay that half the people agreed. It meant half understood the Heavenly Union. But before all this trouble, almost everyone liked the Heavenly Union, not the Nine Sects.

For years, the Nine Sects did nothing for normal people. But the Heavenly Union helped people in Jang River and bravely fought the Demonic Sect in Hangzhou.

Anyone who could hear and think would support the Heavenly Union.

So, because people were split, it meant Abbot Beopjeong’s excuse worked. The Nine Sects had been losing, but now they had hurt the Heavenly Union.

‘That bad monk…’

Hong Daekwang clenched his teeth.

Beopjeong was sly. He didn’t tell lies, but he twisted the story. He made it sound like the Heavenly Union refused to work with the Nine Sects just to help themselves.

It wasn’t a big lie, but it was enough to make people feel bad about the Heavenly Union.

“I guess it makes sense. He didn’t become Abbot of Shaolin by luck or cheating. But still…” He wanted to curse because being Abbot of Shaolin should be about doing good, not about tricky politics.

“Any news from the Heavenly Union?”

“What can they say? It’s not completely false.” The truth is, Hwasan did say no to Beopjeong’s idea to work together. The reasons are different, but people don’t care about small details.

“Can’t they say anything? Why should the Heavenly Union give in to the Nine Sects?”

“That’s what we think, but normal people see the Nine Sects as bigger and older.”

“Hmm… maybe.”

“So, people will think if they join, the Heavenly Union will vanish, and the Nine Sects will stay.”

“This feels weird.” Donggwak rubbed his head hard.

The Beggars’ Union was part of the Nine Sects. So, Donggwak should be glad people liked the Nine Sects more. But he was from the Hwaeum group, and they were friends with Hwasan. So, he wasn’t happy. That’s why he felt strange.

“So? You just listened?”

“…What else could I do?”

“You fool! You just listened to those people saying stupid things? You should have told them they were wrong! That’s not right!”

“Hey, Buntaju, calm down!” Donggwak looked at Hong Daekwang like he was crazy.

“We like Hwasan, but we can’t ignore orders from our leaders. Our job is to tell everyone what the Chief thinks, not to help the Heavenly Union, right?”

“So? You want me to say bad things about Hwasan?”

“Who said we have to do that? We have to follow orders, but we don’t have to agree with everything. If we do, the leaders will punish you, Buntaju. You know that, right?”

“Aish, damn it!” Hong Daekwang cursed and sighed loudly.

“It’s funny when people call beggars dirty. There are so many truly bad people out there. They are rotten inside! Rotten!”

“Be careful what you say. You could get kicked out.”

“If I get kicked out, where else can I go? I’ll just join Hwasan!”

“…I don’t think they will take you.”

“What? The Hwasan Sword Saint is my friend, you little kid!”

“Does the Hwasan Sword Saint think you are his friend?”

“Why are you calling me ‘kid’?” Hong Daekwang grabbed the club next to him. Donggwak jumped back, scared.

“Aish, damn it!” Hong Daekwang cursed again.

He was in Jang River, one of the best places for the Heavenly Union. If people were split here, it would be worse everywhere else.

“People change their minds so fast… People can be so cruel. How can they…?”

“They don’t hate the Heavenly Union. They are just worried. Worried.”

“Worried about what? What?”

“The truth is… the Heavenly Union was the only one to help after Hangzhou… But they didn’t save everyone in Hangzhou.”

Hong Daekwang’s face became serious.

“So? What’s wrong with that?”

“It’s not wrong… But what did people think when they saw that? They must have thought, ‘If the Demonic Sect attacks hard, we will all die like in Hangzhou.’” Hong Daekwang couldn’t argue with that. He clicked his tongue, feeling bitter.

Everyone tried to forget, but Hangzhou was a terrible shock. People thought the Demonic Sect was gone forever. It was shocking they were still alive. But the worst thing was how cruel they were.

Everyone knew what would happen if they couldn’t stop the Demonic Sect.

“They are worried and scared. So, they want the good groups to be stronger, right? So they can fight the Evil Groups and the Demonic Sect if they attack.”

“You think we can’t beat those bad guys if we are split?”

“Buntaju, you are usually not like this! Why do you get so crazy about Hwasan? It’s not just about fighting! It’s about what happens later! If I die, but the Demonic Sect is stopped, what good is that?”

“……”

“Because of the Evil Groups and what happened in Hangzhou, people know they might die if the good groups are weak. They finally understand it now.”

Hong Daekwang got even angrier. “You little kid! Then we should help the Heavenly Union even more! When did the Nine Sects ever risk their lives for normal people? They just watched and stayed proud! Who is to blame for the people in Gangnam suffering from the Evil Sects now?”

“Well, that’s true, but…” Donggwak said, feeling unsure. “Actually… they have a point, right? It’s better to work together than fight. It sounds right to people.”

“What, you fool?” Hong Daekwang’s eyes became very angry.

“You little kid! That’s what destroys everything! ‘In theory’! ‘The big picture’! That kind of talk is bad! In theory, everyone dies anyway, so why try to live and eat this cold rice!”

“……”

“You should think about what’s really important. Does everything get fixed if you just look at the big picture? Those smarty-pants ruin everything!”

“…Don’t be mad at me. Tell that to other people. Why are you telling me?”

“Aish, damn it!” Hong Daekwang cursed again and fell back heavily. His face was red with anger he couldn’t control.

“The Chief is too old. Is now really the time for the Beggars’ Union to listen to Shaolin and spread lies? We should have left the Nine Sects a long time ago and joined the Heavenly Union.”

“Is it that simple? Some families left the big groups, but no one has ever left the Nine Sects.”

“……”

“If a group leaves the Nine Sects to join the Heavenly Union, Shaolin will try to destroy them. How can we fight Shaolin? Especially because the Beggars’ Union is weak. Other groups have their own lands, but our beggars live everywhere, begging. If we are kicked out of Henan, many people will die of hunger.”

“Of course I know that!” Hong Daekwang yelled. “You little kid, if you just shut up and are scared of hunger, is that the Beggars’ Union? That’s just being a beggar! How is that different from the Evil Sects who steal to live!”

“No…”

“Some people are rich and famous and still go to dangerous Gangnam to save people from the Evil Sects. Others are so scared of missing food that they become puppets of old, sly people and spread lies.” Hong Daekwang’s voice became quieter.

“I didn’t join the Beggars’ Union for this…”

“You talk like you joined for some big reason. You just joined because you were a beggar.”

“Here!” Hong Daekwang suddenly threw his club.

“Aack!” Donggwak yelled and fell back. The club hit his head.

“You little kid, I was being nice, but are you trying to make me angry? Do you want to die today?”

“Eek!” Donggwak quickly ran to the door and shouted, “Anyway, don’t do anything stupid! Things are already bad because the Elder left. If you do something wrong, they will punish you badly! If you don’t like the Beggars’ Union now, then stay and become the Chief and change it!”

“Not leave?”

“No! No, don’t leave! I’m serious!” Donggwak said this and ran out of the shack like he was escaping.

Hong Daekwang stared at the door Donggwak ran through. He sighed and sat down heavily. “…Become Chief and change things? Yeah, right.” If the leaders wanted to change things, they would have done it already.

Hwasan taught him that you can’t wait to change things. If you wait for ‘someday,’ you just become like everyone else, following the old ways.

“What would you do, Sword Saint of Hwasan?” Chung Myung’s face flashed in his mind. The man who showed everyone he was right, even when they called him crazy.

“This feels wrong.” Hong Daekwang opened an old, damaged chest and took out a bottle of cheap wine. He knew he wouldn’t sleep tonight unless he drank himself to sleep.