Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1342

The night was as dark as ink. Pale moonlight painted the window of a building where a light still shone.

Scritch. Scritch.

The sound of a brush, thick with ink, moving smoothly across paper, drifted from the window. It had been going on for a while, this quiet scratching, when a voice from the door interrupted it.

“Patriarch,” the voice said softly.

“Come in,” a deeper voice replied.

Tang Gunak put down the brush and looked up. The door opened, and Dang Ik, a guardian of the Dang family, carefully slipped inside.

“Still up?”

“It’s not that late.”

Tang Gunak shook his head, his face serious.

“So, what is it?”

“The poison and hidden weapons from the main family have arrived.”

“Good. What about the report that came with them?”

“Yes, Patriarch. Everyone sent to Sichuan is settling in well. I was going to report it tomorrow, but…”

Tang Gunak nodded slowly.

“It must have been hard, since the family doesn’t have many people to help.”

The people left in the Dang family weren’t strong fighters. But making poison and hidden weapons was just as important as fighting skills, so they weren’t doing nothing.

“What else would those in comfortable Sichuan do?”

Tang Gunak chuckled quietly at Dang Ik’s words.

He wouldn’t have smiled at such a joke before, but he had become much gentler.

But Dang Ik noticed the sad, bitter look in that smile.

“…Any news from those who went to Hainan?”

“It’s hard to send news from there, especially now.”

“That’s true, but…”

Dang Ik sighed, stopping in mid-sentence.

Dang Pae, the young master of the Dang family, had gone to Hainan with them.

As a guardian, he had agreed to Dang Pae’s trip. Key people from the sects in the Heavenly Union were going, and the Dang family had to be there.

“Don’t worry too much, Patriarch. The young master will be fine.”

“Worry?”

“…Yes?”

Tang Gunak chuckled.

“That’s too strong a word for me now.”

He stood up, leaving Dang Ik puzzled by his words.

“Patriarch?”

“You should rest too. Training starts again at dawn.”

Then, he left the room. Dang Ik sighed as he watched him go.

The sound of insects chirping came from all around.

Tang Gunak felt a strange unease, as he always did.

Normally, insects are careful around people. They usually stop chirping when someone is near.

But here, the insects kept chirping. It wasn’t that he was hiding himself.

It wasn’t something he could understand through fighting skills, or maybe ever.

Hyun Jong stood by the river, looking out at Jiangnan in the distance.

Tang Gunak, who had been quietly watching him, shook his head.

He had sent his son and daughter into enemy territory. But his worries weren’t as great as Hyun Jong’s.

Hyun Jong had sent everything he had, or so it seemed.

“Hmm?”

Hyun Jong noticed the insects had stopped and turned around. When they looked at each other, Tang Gunak bowed slightly. Hyun Jong nodded back.

“It’s late, Union Lord.”

Hyun Jong smiled gently.

“I can’t sleep easily, Patriarch.”

Tang Gunak sighed softly. He didn’t know what to say.

The two men stood by the river, looking across it. The river, which they could cross easily, now seemed far away and wide.

Only the insects chirping and the waves crashing against the river could be heard.

Just as Tang Gunak was about to say something, Hyun Jong spoke first.

“Patriarch… Have you ever regretted becoming the head of the family?”

Tang Gunak’s face became serious. It was a rude question, depending on how you looked at it.

But he didn’t mind because it was Hyun Jong. Not because of his position, but because he knew Hyun Jong wasn’t being mean.

“Regret…”

Tang Gunak looked at Hyun Jong, wondering how to answer. It didn’t matter what he said. Because it wasn’t really a question. So, he asked instead.

“Do you regret becoming the leader of Mount Hua?”

Hyun Jong smiled gently.

“I used to.”

“…”

“But not now. I’m not perfect, but being the leader of Mount Hua has been the best thing in my life.”

“Then…”

Hyun Jong looked at the river reflecting the moon.

“But sometimes I wonder, what kind of person was I?”

Tang Gunak frowned slightly.

“What do you mean…?”

“Don’t you feel the same way, Patriarch? Everyone feels it as they live, but when you’re a sect leader, you often have to hide your true feelings.”

Tang Gunak nodded.

“It’s a position with heavy responsibilities.”

It was the same for him. Before meeting Chung Myung, Tang Gunak was controlled by the Council of Elders and had to become colder than he really was. He couldn’t show any weakness.

He was better now, but it had been hard back then.

“At first, I just thought I’d do my best.”

His voice was calm, but his eyes were deep and dark.

“But it didn’t work out that way. I’m not great, but people wanted me to be. They said the leader of Mount Hua should be that way.”

Tang Gunak nodded slowly. Anyone who had been responsible for others would agree.

“So, I pretended. I pretended to be generous, kind, and wise, even when I wasn’t…”

“…”

“I acted like the perfect sect leader for years. It was hard at first, but it got easier. Then, I got used to it.”

Tang Gunak closed his eyes.

He understood. Thoughts control actions, but actions can also control thoughts. Changing thoughts changes actions, and changing actions can change thoughts.

“Now, it’s natural. I think like the sect leader I wanted to be, I act like it, and I think I’m closer to being worthy of the title.”

Hyun Jong smiled gently and looked at Tang Gunak softly.

“But sometimes I wonder, what was I like before? I don’t really know anymore.”

“Union Lord…”

“I think I’m a better person now. I’m less ashamed of being the leader of Mount Hua. But… I wonder, was it really a good thing?”

Hyun Jong’s voice was full of hard-to-describe emotion.

“Was it really only a good thing…?”

Tang Gunak didn’t say anything.

It was hard to add anything, but he understood deeply. He could feel it, and that’s why his heart ached.

A short silence fell. Hyun Jong spoke again.

“The children have grown up well. They’re great people now, better than I could ever be.”

“They still have a long way to go. They can’t compare to you, Union Lord.”

Hyun Jong chuckled at Tang Gunak’s words.

“But I also wonder, did that growth really make them happy?”

“…”

“Aren’t they losing more and more as they take on more responsibilities? Like I did, aren’t they trying to become someone others want them to be?”

Tang Gunak sighed softly.

“Isn’t that how everyone lives?”

“That’s right. That’s right…”

The regret didn’t disappear because he knew he was forcing his life on them. Hyun Jong said.

“I think I know one thing.”

“…What do you mean?”

“What I should have done.”

Tang Gunak stared at Hyun Jong, curious. But Hyun Jong’s face was calm, like still water, and he couldn’t guess his thoughts.

Tang Gunak was about to say something when he suddenly looked away.

‘Something…’

Something was coming from the river, moving fast. He narrowed his eyes, and he could see it was white…

“A ferret?”

Tang Gunak’s eyes widened.

It was Chung Myung’s ferret. How else would a white ferret be swimming across the Yangtze River in the middle of the night?

Keeeee!

Baek Ah saw Tang Gunak and Hyun Jong, cried out, and swam even faster.

Tap tap tap!

Baek Ah reached the land, pushed off with its short legs, and jumped onto Hyun Jong, holding out a bundle tied to its neck.

Kiek! Kick!

It was breathing hard and coughing. It was clear how urgently it had run all the way here.

But Baek Ah didn’t care and held out the bundle again, urging them to check it.

Hyun Jong untied the bundle and took out a letter. The ends were wet, but the contents were readable.

Hyun Jong read it without changing his expression and handed it to Tang Gunak.

“Is it a letter from the Mount Hua Sword Saint?”

Tang Gunak snatched the letter and read it. Unlike Hyun Jong, his eyes widened as he read.

The letter said they would break through Jiangnan with Hainan.

Jiangnan, the headquarters of the Four Seas Alliance.

“W-What is this…?”

Tang Gunak looked at Hyun Jong, flustered. But Hyun Jong’s expression hadn’t changed. He was still looking across the river.

‘Shouldn’t we make a plan?’

Even though it was Jiangnan, they couldn’t just stand by. What if they all died?

Tang Gunak bit his lip.

But… he couldn’t.

Invading Jiangnan meant starting a war. He couldn’t risk the Heavenly Union for a few lives…

“Patriarch.”

“…Yes?”

Hyun Jong asked blankly.

“Aren’t you curious about what I should have done?”

Tang Gunak frowned at the sudden question. Hyun Jong looked at him and said quietly.

“This is an order from the Union Lord. Summon the heads of all the sects in the Heavenly Union to the Union Lord’s Hall now.”

Tang Gunak’s eyes widened in shock.

“Wh-What are you going to do…?”

Hyun Jong, the leader of Mount Hua, looked back across the river, his eyes cold.

His voice was firm.

“I will go to save them.”

Tang Gunak realized the insects had stopped chirping a long time ago.