Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 123

Hyun Jong watched the departing group from the gates, looking very worried.

“Will they be alright?”

“We’ve sent Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong with him, so surely they’ll manage?”

“Should we send someone else, even now?”

“…We have no one to spare, Sect Leader.”

Hyun Jong turned to Unam, who looked away with an indifferent expression.

“You wouldn’t rather go yourself, perhaps?”

“This is not a matter for elders to interfere in. If we mishandle it, things could get much worse.”

“And sending those disciples won’t make things get much worse?”

…That, I find difficult to answer.

Frankly, with Chung Myung involved, it would be stranger if things didn’t escalate.

“I’m worried. I am worried.”

Hyun Jong sighed deeply.

Hyun Sang, who had been watching from the side, chuckled softly.

Hyun Jong glared at Hyun Sang, his face sullen.

“You find this amusing, Sasuk?”

“Forgive me, Sect Leader Sahyung. But how can I not find it amusing?”

“What is so amusing?”

Hyun Sang smiled gently.

“Were we not, just two years ago, worrying that our disciples would be embarrassed by Jongnam? And now we worry that those children will beat the Wudang disciples too severely.”

“…”

Come to think of it, that was true.

Anyone outside of Mount Hua, seeing this situation, might laugh at them for being too bold after a lucky victory against Jongnam.

But for those who knew the training that the White Plum and Azure Plum Blossoms had undergone these past two years, it was an understandable worry.

“Have faith and wait. They are not thoughtless children. They will surely return, having spread the fame of Mount Hua throughout the land.”

“Fame they will spread, certainly.”

“Yes?”

“Bad fame is a kind of fame, after all.”

“…”

Hyun Jong watched his disciples disappear into the distance, sighing deeply.

“I can only hope they return unharmed.”

Hyun Sang could not bring himself to say that such a thing was impossible.

At first, it seemed okay at first.

– Young Hyeop. Shouldn’t we reach Nanyang as quickly as possible? We have no problem, but you might get tired. So, how about we find a better way than running on foot?

Wi Soheng had no choice but to agree.

Firstly, he was not in a normal state. He had used up much of his energy running at full speed from Nanyang to Hwayeom.

And even if his energy hadn’t been used up, it would have been the same. In truth, Wi Soheng wasn’t particularly talented in martial arts, so even in normal condition, he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the speed of Mount Hua’s direct disciples. (Direct disciples are the main students of the sect.)

Besides, he couldn’t very well ask to be carried, could he?

– It’s fine. It’s fine. I’ll take care of everything. Don’t worry.

Up until this point, he had been surprisingly reliable.

As soon as they arrived in Hwayeom, he skillfully acquired two horses and a cart, making Wi Soheng feel a pang of guilt for having underestimated him based solely on his personality.

– Hehe! Hehe! I told you I’d take care of everything!

By the time the cart was piled high with supplies for the journey, Wi Soheng was beginning to think that he could trust Chung Myung.

– No. I said I’d take care of everything! Can’t you understand?

It was only when bottles of unknown origin were piled next to the food, and he realized that those bottles contained alcohol, that he knew he had been mistaken. But it was already too late to turn back.

And so, here he was.

“Gooooood!”

Chung Myung, sprawled out in the cart, guzzled down the alcohol.

“…”

Wi Soheng stared blankly at the scene before turning slightly to Baek Cheon.

“A Taoist… drinking alcohol…”

“Mount Hua does not forbid alcohol.”

Ah, well, I know that. I am a member of Mount Hua’s affiliated family, after all. (Mount Hua has “affiliated families” who support them.)

But isn’t it a bit much to be sprawled out in a cart drinking alcohol in front of your Sasuks? (Sasuks are like senior brothers)

Huh? What’s that now?

Yoo Iseol, who had been sitting near Chung Myung’s head, tossed a piece of jerky into his mouth. He chewed on the jerky with a perfectly natural expression.

“…”

It was a very strange scene.

If one only saw the act of offering jerky, it could be seen as a beautiful display of brotherhood… no, of love between a Sasuk and his disciple. But ‘tossing’ jerky into the mouth of a drinking Sajil (Sajil is like junior brother) was a bit odd, wasn’t it?

It was like feeding a treat to a dog.

Both the one tossing it and the one happily receiving it.

Wi Soheng stared at Chung Myung with an unreadable expression, and Baek Cheon spoke cautiously.

“Young Hyeop Wi.”

“Yes? Ah, yes!”

“Pay it no mind. You wouldn’t understand it even if you watched.”

Wi Soheng glanced at Yoo Iseol.

His look implied, ‘That sprawled-out fellow is one thing, but what is up with that woman?’

“The same goes for her.”

“…”

They had already departed for Nanyang, but Wi Soheng couldn’t shake the feeling that bringing these people to Nanyang was a mistake.

“We should arrive in Nanyang in about two days.”

Wi Soheng’s gaze shifted slightly forward.

He saw Yoon Jong and Jo Gul sitting on the driver’s seat, pulling the cart with two fine horses.

‘Those horses look incredibly expensive.’

They were fine horses that didn’t suit such a cart. Thanks to them, the cart was speeding along at a tremendous pace. It was certainly much faster than he could run at full speed.

There was no need to rest in between, so the choice itself was definitely wise.

But…

Glug, glug, glug.

“Keeeuh. This is the life!”

For some reason, his stomach was twisting. Strangely.

Wi Soheng had never considered himself a petty person who looked upon the joy of others with envy, but that Chung Myung had a strange way of making those around him feel uneasy.

“Young Hyeop Wi.”

“Yes, Dojang Baek Cheon.”

“What kind of place is Hwayoung?

Wi Soheng hesitated slightly to answer the sudden question, so Baek Cheon explained more.

“I am not being too curious. However, we left in a hurry, so I did not hear the details. I know that Hwayoung is one of Mount Hua’s affiliated families, but since we are going there to handle matters directly, I thought it would be good to know a little more.”

“Ah, it’s not that. I was just thinking about how to explain it…”

Wi Soheng trailed off awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

“It’s not a particularly special place.”

“It is special enough.”

Baek Cheon said in a slightly serious tone.

“The fact that it is an affiliated family of Mount Hua has been meaningless until recently. Yet, Hwayoung has proudly declared itself as such. I doubt there is any other place like it in all the land.”

At Baek Cheon’s words, even Chung Myung, who had been lying down, turned his gaze slightly towards Wi Soheng.

“It wasn’t done with any great sense of duty. It’s just that my father was proud to be a disciple of Mount Hua.”

Wi Soheng’s face wasn’t particularly bright as he said those words.

‘He must have suffered a lot.’

Chung Myung, who had been lying down and listening, clicked his tongue softly.

Wi Soheng had probably told his father countless times to just give up on Mount Hua. That’s just how the world was. People wouldn’t bother to learn the martial arts of a weak sect, let alone a failing one.

Those who knew Mount Hua wouldn’t try to learn because they knew it, and those who didn’t know Mount Hua wouldn’t try to learn because they didn’t know it.

It might have been easier to run the business if they had just taken down the sign that said ‘Affiliated Family of Mount Hua.’

“You have no idea how happy my father was when he heard about the last Hwajong Tournament. He said that Mount Hua was finally spreading its wings again, and he drank two jugs of alcohol, something he never used to do.”

“Hmm.”

Baek Cheon nodded quietly.

“You said your father was proud to be a disciple of Mount Hua?”

“Yes. To be precise, it’s that my great-grandfather was an affiliated disciple of Mount Hua… but anyway, that’s what he thought. He often said that his lifelong regret was not being able to enter as a direct disciple of Mount Hua.”

Baek Cheon nodded heavily.

“Anyway, my father was very proud to run Hwayoung. And fortunately, we were able to make a living without starving. If only those Jongdo Hall bastards hadn’t been so abusive…”

“You said the Head of the Hall of Religious Affairs defeated your father in a duel?”

“Yes. But… that’s honestly strange too.”

“Strange?”

Wi Soheng nodded.

“My father never didn’t train hard. It might sound strange coming from my own mouth, but he wasn’t someone who would lose to just any young person.”

That was only natural.

People usually get weaker as they age. But martial artists are different. Their bodies stay strong longer, and they build up inner power over time. This means they usually become stronger as they get older.

That was why the Murim (the world of martial artists) was full of strong old people, not weak ones.

“But the Head of the Hall of Religious Affairs was too young. I just can’t understand how my father lost to such a young man.”

“Hmm.”

Baek Cheon’s brow furrowed slightly.

‘There are more than one or two strange things about this.’

At first, he had thought it was just a small fight between affiliated families, but the more he heard, the more strange things he noticed.

And the Sect Leader had called him aside to give him a hint.

Wi Soheng glanced at Baek Cheon before quietly opening his mouth.

“Actually, I should apologize.”

“For what?”

“My father told me to ask Mount Hua for help, but honestly, I didn’t think Mount Hua would be so willing to help.”

“Ah.”

Baek Cheon nodded.

“After all, facing Wudang isn’t an easy task. That’s why we were so desperate. But I never expected you to be so willing to help…”

Wi Soheng paused, as if choked up. Baek Cheon waited silently for him to speak again. Wi Soheng cleared his throat a couple of times, covering his mouth, and then said in a slightly tearful voice.

“I think I know why my father always talked about Mount Hua. No matter how this turns out, I will live my life with gratitude to the main sect.”

It was a heartwarming feeling.

But unfortunately, there was a fellow in this cart who suffered from a condition that made him break out in goosebumps when he heard heartwarming words.

“No matter how it turns out?”

Chung Myung rolled his eyes and raised his body. Yoo Iseol pressed down on his head with her finger, and his rising body slowly lowered again.

But his mouth didn’t stop.

“’No matter how it turns out’! There’s only one outcome! We have to smash those bastards’ heads in!”

“Didn’t the Sect Leader tell you not to?”

“He’s secretly hoping for it, isn’t he? The Sect Leader doesn’t have much time left, so I have to show him that I’m smashing the heads of those Wudang bastards before he goes! That way, he can ascend to immortality with a smile on his face, right?”

How could he simultaneously show respect and disrespect for the Sect Leader in just a few words?

It was beyond comprehension.

“And honestly, isn’t the thing that Taoists want most to beat up those Wudang bastards?”

Huh?

Oh… that was true.

“We have to show them this opportunity!”

Chung Myung’s eyes blazed.

“I was trying to live quietly if possible!”

Hey, that’s probably not true. I know you.

“Those bastards provoked us first. Then they have to be punished. Sasuk! What are you doing! Speed it up!”

“We’re already going fast. If we go too fast, the horses will get tired.”

“How much did those horses cost! It’s okay, it’s okay! They can go twice as far as other horses, so don’t worry and speed it up!”

“Ugh.”

Yoon Jong shook his head and patted the horses’ rumps.

As the cart’s speed increased, Chung Myung’s body swayed.

“I don’t know why, but I’ll show you what happens when you mess with Mount Hua!”

Listening to his triumphant voice, Baek Cheon sighed deeply.

‘They probably can’t even imagine it now.’

He was referring to the fact that the biggest troublemaker ever, whom even Mount Hua couldn’t handle, was heading to Nanyang.

Baek Cheon sent his heartfelt condolences to the Wudang disciples who would arrive in Nanyang, innocently hopeful.