Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1368

“Senior Brother,” Lee Ja-yang said, his breath a little short from running. They were keeping pace with the Huashan group, dust kicking up from the path.

“Hmm?” Gwak Hwan-so replied, glancing sideways. Lee Ja-yang leaned closer.

“Did you understand what they were talking about just now?”

Gwak Hwan-so raised an eyebrow, a small frown appearing.

Lee Ja-yang didn’t wait for him to say anything. “I’m a bit confused, to be honest. They saved those villagers from the Demonic Sect on the way to Hainan, right?”

“That’s what it sounds like,” Gwak Hwan-so agreed.

“So… the villagers didn’t even give them a single grain of rice after being saved like that?” Lee Ja-yang asked, his voice rising slightly.

“It seems that way,” Gwak Hwan-so said slowly.

Lee Ja-yang stared at the backs of the Cheonwu Alliance members ahead, shaking his head slightly. “How can they be so calm?” he muttered. “Talking about nothing important, after what happened.”

Lee Ja-yang’s fists clenched slightly. Gwak Hwan-so noticed and asked carefully, “What would you have done, Ja-yang?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Lee Ja-yang blinked, turning to him.

“I mean,” Gwak Hwan-so repeated, “if it was us, if we were the Huashan people, what would you have done?”

Lee Ja-yang frowned and soon answered.

“I would have beaten them to a pulp.”

His voice was sharp, like he was already angry just thinking about it.

“A person should know gratitude to be considered human, shouldn’t they? How can we call those who desperately say thank you and that they don’t know how to repay the favor, yet don’t offer even a single grain of what they have, humans?”

“That’s true.”

“Isn’t the difference between humans and animals that humans know gratitude? They’re thankful when they receive, but when it’s time to help, they turn a blind eye as if nothing happened. Such people don’t even deserve help!”

Gwak Hwan-so didn’t offer any particular agreement, but just nodded slowly as if to say he understood Lee Ja-yang’s opinion.

“What about you, Senior Brother?”

When Lee Ja-yang asked, Gwak Hwan-so thought for a moment, a small smile playing on his lips. Then he chuckled.

“I probably would have done the same. As you know, it would be impossible for me to see something like that and just bear it with my temper.”

“Right?”

Lee Ja-yang nodded as if it were obvious. As if he wasn’t the strange one.

“But… I don’t know. Do you think they would have felt any differently from us? We’re just imagining it, but they experienced it directly, so they must have been even angrier, not less.”

“Of course.”

“And, well… they’re not exactly known for being calm and quiet, are they?”

At those words, Lee Ja-yang’s face twisted.

Frankly, it was understandable. Now, no one would deny that they are true Taoists, but when they were first seen at the Mount Hua Tournament, they were just hooligans themselves.

Especially that Sect Leader Jang—he was just tall and handsome, but he was the craziest person Lee Ja-yang had ever seen in his life.

The memory of the brawl that broke out when they rushed in without warning was still vivid. Weren’t those the people who charged in with their eyes blazing with anger because the sect was getting some criticism? Even in Shaolin, of all places.

‘But why are they holding back now!’

He knew they couldn’t cause trouble or make things worse because of the situation. But it wouldn’t have been that difficult to leave a few stinging words.

Then, Gwak Hwan-so said quietly.

“There’s a saying in Taoism.”

“Yes?”

“If you call the Tao, Tao, it is no longer the Tao.”

Lee Ja-yang frowned. What kind of strange saying is that?

“According to that saying, the moment you call a favor a favor, it’s no longer a favor. The moment you say, ‘I did you a favor, so you have to repay me,’ it’s no longer a sincere favor.”

“Huh…”

Lee Ja-yang laughed in disbelief.

Was that even logical?

Those who practice chivalry are also human. How can a person continue to do things without any reward, and risk their lives for something without any value?

Isn’t it because young martial artists with many dreams dream of chivalrous deeds, and through those deeds, they want to make their names known throughout the Jianghu and become heroes?

“So, even if you do a favor and don’t get anything back in return, and even if you’re treated poorly, you have to accept it as natural?”

“…”

“Then who on earth would do it?”

“They are doing it.”

At that moment, Lee Ja-yang was speechless. He could only stare blankly at those who were running silently ahead.

“Of course, they are also human, so they can’t be feeling entirely good. But it seems they think they received sufficient compensation with that one bag of grain.”

“Are they crazy…”

Gwak Hwan-so chuckled at Lee Ja-yang’s very direct reaction.

His thoughts weren’t that different from Lee Ja-yang’s. But he seemed to vaguely understand why they thought that way.

“They’re not looking for getting something back right away, but hoping that someone who receives their generosity will also become someone who can give without expecting anything in return.”

“Will that happen as easily as it sounds?”

“Will it happen right away? They’re just going to keep doing it endlessly. Then, little by little, there will be people who understand what they are trying to do.”

Lee Ja-yang shook his head with a slightly weary expression.

He understood what it meant, but it was too difficult a path. Even when powerful martial artists are standing right in front of them, people are reluctant to give up what they have. How can they change?

“I think it’s an unrealistic dream.”

Lee Ja-yang spat out those words with a sneer.

“They’re making it sound very important, but if you look at the conclusion, they barely got a bag of grain for saving dozens of lives and were chased away, weren’t they?”

“…”

“The person who gave them the grain was just trying to look good in front of others, not genuinely thankful, right? People don’t change that easily. You know it too, Senior Brother, how cruel and self-centered people can be.”

Gwak Hwan-so slowly nodded.

Because they had lived facing the rough sea, they knew it even better. How selfish people can be when their lives and livelihoods are at stake.

“I’m not looking down on them, but if they think anything changed with that one bag of grain, it’s just a way to find comfort and turn a blind eye. Nothing will have changed.”

“…Yeah. You might be right.”

“Don’t you think so, Senior Brother?”

“Actually, I also think you’re right.”

Gwak Hwan-so gave a bitter smile.

It’s not that I deny the path they’re trying to take is wrong, but the world isn’t such an easy place. Moreover, the common people aren’t so innocent. Rather, because they have nothing, they might be even more selfish.

Gwak Hwan-so gazed at Chung Myung’s back as he ran ahead. Chung Myung’s clothes were rags, stained dark with dried blood.

‘What you’re trying to do might be even more difficult than moving a mountain.’

And perhaps it will be in vain. Merely a penance that won’t even be rewarded. But…

“Even so, I want to believe they aren’t wrong.”

“Yes?”

“I just want to.”

Gwak Hwan-so muttered softly and kicked off the ground.

“Disgusting…”

Baek Bi’s face twisted.

Baek Bi, Hoga Myung’s guard and right-hand man, had tortured countless people and extracted information from them.

The fact that even the Maninbang members feared the strategist Hoga Myung more than their leader, Jang Il-so, was largely due to the work he had been doing behind the scenes.

When Baek Bi captured someone, even strong people talked quickly. If he was allowed to manipulate a person for just a moment, he could make them remember not only the moment they took their first steps but even their infancy.

For Baek Bi, making a powerless commoner open his mouth was nothing. No, a few breaths would be enough, not even a moment.

It should have been, clearly.

But the look in Baek Bi’s eyes as he stared at the man collapsed before him was filled with horror. His eyes, which had always remained cold even when faced with blood, pus, and filth pouring out before him, were faintly shaking.

“How…”

A voice like a sigh leaked out.

In fact, the thing collapsed before him was hard to even call a person anymore. Ruined to the point of being a mass of blood, it couldn’t even writhe or twitch, its energy almost completely depleted.

It was still clearly alive. The chest, dyed bright red, was faintly rising and falling. But it seemed clear that it didn’t have much time left.

Baek Bi gritted his teeth. He wanted to grind that wretch’s body alive for not confessing. But it was impossible to torture him any further. Just touching him with a finger would be enough to end his life now.

He had failed to extract information from that wretch. Without a doubt.

“Heu…”

At that moment, a sound, whether a sigh or a laugh, leaked out of the wretch’s mouth. Baek Bi bit his lip and went to Hoga Myung, bowing his head.

“I’m sorry.”

Hoga Myung looked at him silently for a moment, then said with a puzzled expression.

“Strange.”

“……”

“Did you go easy on him?”

“That’s not the case. I believe there was no mistake.”

“Then that means he’s remarkable. Even you, who made strong martial artists wail like children, couldn’t open that simple man’s mouth.”

A look of resentment flashed across Baek Bi’s face for a moment.

Neither the overlord who ruled a region, nor the cruel demonic masters, nor the murderers who had killed countless people could remain silent before his torture.

And yet, an ordinary man from this remote mountain village had withstood his torture to the very end. How could this situation be explained?

Thud.

As Hoga Myung took a step, Baek Bi stepped aside and lowered his head. Hoga Myung, walking at a not-so-fast pace, coldly looked down at Hyung Wook, who was still breathing.

“What’s the reason you’re holding out like this?”

As expected, there was no answer. Hoga Myung lowered his body and whispered into the gaping hole where his ear should have been.

“Don’t you want to be comfortable? Even if you’ve been favored by them, they’ve already left. You won’t even have the chance to face them again.”

“……”

“You just need to turn a blind eye for a moment. Then I’ll heal all your wounds and give you a great fortune. This is the first time I’ve promised something like this in exchange for information.”

“……”

“That means I respect you that much. You’ve done enough. Even if you open your mouth now, no one in the world will dare to criticize you.”

Surprisingly, Hoga Myung’s words were sincere. He was truly admiring the person before him.

“Even if you die here like this, no one will recognize you. No one will think you’re great. Everything can only be obtained if you’re alive.”

“……”

“Now, this is the last time. Answer me. If you just tell me where they went, I’ll heal you immediately and promise you a position and wealth that no one will dare to ignore. And I’ll save all the villagers too. Doksim Nachal himself guarantees this. You have my word.”

Hoga Myung’s voice became soft, almost gentle, as he whispered into Hyung Wook’s ruined ear.

“But if you refuse, not only you but no one here will survive. And even those you risked your life to protect won’t know that you died so miserably here. Surely you don’t want to die for nothing, do you?”

“……”

“So…”

Hoga Myung’s eyes shone coldly.

“Answer me. Where did they go?”

At that moment, a faint sound leaked from Hyung Wook’s mouth. A sound so small that even the martial artist Hoga Myung could barely hear it.

“Speak more clearly.”

Hoga Myung pressed his ear close to his mouth.

Hyung Wook’s lips parted, and thick blood flowed out. A sound that seemed about to break at any moment leaked weakly from his opened mouth.

“Eo.”

“Which way? Again.”

“……”

“Speak clearly. Quickly.”