Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 140

Wi Lip-san quietly rubbed his chest.

‘It’s not healing easily.’

He knew this from experience.

This injury inside his body would likely bother him for a long time. He almost certainly wouldn’t fully recover.

Injuries inside the body are different. Doctors can’t just fix them with medicine. It’s about the energy inside the body not flowing right. A martial artist can only fix these injuries by using their own energy.

But the injury inside Wi Lip-san was worse than he thought, hurting him every day.

‘I thought it was getting better.’

When the Hwayoung disciples beat the Wudang disciples, he thought he had healed like magic. He felt so good that he forgot the pain.

But as he remembered the pain, his body started to hurt again.

“Father, rest in peace.”

“Yes,” Wi Lip-san replied to Wi So-haeng’s voice from outside the door, acting like nothing was wrong.

He couldn’t show weakness.

He was the leader of the Hwayoung Sect. The sect had just escaped a crisis and had a chance to start over. If people found out he was injured and couldn’t move well, it would shame the sect.

‘I absolutely can’t let that happen.’

He had barely managed to get this chance again. If the Hwayoung Sect lost it because of him, he wouldn’t be able to rest in peace.

Throb!

Wi Lip-san’s hand tightened on his side.

“Ugh…”

The pain came and went. But it felt like it got worse at night.

Wi Lip-san sighed and sat on the bed.

‘This will make the Hwayoung Sect famous. How I act will change how people see Hwasan’s branch family.’

So, he couldn’t show weakness.

If the leader was weak, the sect would be too. They had worked hard to beat the Wudang, so he couldn’t let his weakness make all their work useless.

Wi Lip-san sighed deeply and grabbed the blanket.

‘I should sleep.’

It wouldn’t be easy, but he had to try. He had a lot to do tomorrow.

‘I don’t care about my life.’

He only wanted to live long enough to see the Hwayoung Sect strong, and Wi So-haeng take over as leader.

If he could have one more wish, it would be to see the Hwasan disciples become strong and Hwasan become famous, but that was too much.

Wi Lip-san got into bed.

Just then…

Creak!

“Oh? Are you already asleep?”

“…”

It seemed strange for the person who had just walked into his room to say that, but Wi Lip-san just smiled.

‘Let’s not wish for it.’

He had only known Cheong-myeong for a few days, but he understood him pretty well. He couldn’t help but understand him.

How could he not, when the guy was jumping around like crazy?

“What brings you here, Young Head? Do you need something?” Wi Lip-san thought Cheong-myeong wanted something, as usual, and spoke carefully. But the answer was different from what he expected.

“It’s not you who’s uncomfortable, it’s the Sect Leader, right?”

“…”

Cheong-myeong closed the door and walked in.

“The fire is out for now. Let’s start cleaning up.”

“…What do you mean by cleaning up?”

“The injury inside you. We need to heal it.”

“…”

Wi Lip-san’s eyes widened a little.

“Are you saying you will heal my injury?”

“Yes.”

Wi Lip-san looked at Cheong-myeong, confused.

There were only two ways to fix injuries inside the body. One was to fix the energy flow with your own energy. But Wi Lip-san wasn’t skilled enough to heal such a bad injury himself.

The second way was harder: to force the energy flow back to normal by pushing energy from outside into the body.

This was much harder than the first way.

Think about it. Many martial artists spend their lives learning to control their own energy. How hard would it be to put energy into someone else’s body and move it around as you want?

That’s why Wi Lip-san hadn’t asked Hwasan to send a healer, even after the fight with the Wudang was over.

He didn’t think there was anyone in Hwasan who could heal him. He didn’t want to ask for help when it might not work, which would be awkward.

But now this young man was saying he would heal him?

“Young Head, it’s not as easy as you think.”

“Yes, I know.”

“…If you make a mistake, you could get hurt too.”

“Oh, no way.”

“…”

Looking at Cheong-myeong’s smile, he felt all his strength leave him.

‘Seriously, why doesn’t this guy understand me?’

Is he deaf?

“Ahem.”

Wi Lip-san cleared his throat and tried to explain nicely.

“Listen, Young Head. I understand you want to heal me. I’m grateful for that. But this isn’t something to try without thinking. If we make a mistake, we could both be seriously hurt. It’s better to wait until we finish the important things we have to do.”

“Oh, no. The longer you wait, the worse it gets. It’ll cause problems later. Let’s heal it quickly.”

Hey, you! I might die if something goes wrong! Why can’t you understand!

Wi Lip-san’s eyes kept twitching.

‘They call him the Hwasan Divine Dragon. I don’t know why they gave such a big title to someone like this.’

The title of Divine Dragon wasn’t given to just anyone. It was for young people who will become important in the fighting world. When he first heard that a Hwasan Divine Dragon had appeared, he was so excited.

But that Divine Dragon was this guy…

For some reason, Wi Lip-san’s eyes were turning red.

He sighed deeply and looked at Cheong-myeong quietly.

“Young Head, I know you care about me. But some things can’t be done with just good intentions.”

He was grateful.

He really meant it.

Even if he couldn’t heal him, Wi Lip-san was thankful that he was trying.

‘He seems nice, even if he acts strange.’

Well, Hwasan was a great sect, after all.

Cheong-myeong was a Hwasan disciple, so he must have a good heart…

“Ah, you’re so stubborn.”

“…Huh?”

“Lie down, lie down. I’m busy. I’ll do it quickly and leave. I have a lot to do.”

“No, no. I’m fine!”

“I’m not fine.”

Why you? Why aren’t you fine when I’m the one who knows how I feel!

“That’s enough, please leave…”

Cheong-myeong reached out and pushed Wi Lip-san. Wi Lip-san wasn’t ready and fell onto the bed.

“Ah, no!”

Thump.

Cheong-myeong grabbed Wi Lip-san’s hand and started to put his energy into him.

“…!”

Wi Lip-san’s eyes widened.

‘Hey, you crazy person!’

He wanted to shout, but he couldn’t.

You can’t talk when energy is being shared. Both people have to be quiet, or the energy can go wrong inside your body.

Now that the energy had entered his wrist, Wi Lip-san could only hope it would be okay.

But it seemed like even the heavens had left him.

No, the heavens couldn’t do anything about Cheong-myeong.

“Look at this, it’s a mess.”

‘Heeeee!’

Words?

He was talking?

It couldn’t be his thoughts, could it? There’s no way I can read minds!

Wi Lip-san, still as a stone, just looked at Cheong-myeong. He was holding his wrist with a calm face, frowning a little.

‘I must have heard wrong…’

“Hmm, it’s not completely damaged, luckily.”

Wi Lip-san’s eyes widened.

‘He’s really talking?’

Talking while putting energy into someone else was something only someone with a very high level of skill could do. Most elders wouldn’t try it.

But Cheong-myeong, a young disciple, was doing it?

‘Am I dreaming?’

But if it was a dream, the energy felt too real. The strong energy…

‘Ah…’

Clear and bright.

It was clearer than any energy he had felt before. It was like clear water flowing in a mountain valley. So clear you could see the bottom.

Energy that felt cool and warm at the same time went into his body and started to heal his hurt energy paths.

Wi Lip-san closed his eyes without thinking.

“Just wait a little longer. It’ll be over soon.”

It was a strange feeling.

Wi Lip-san felt more comfort from the energy than from Cheong-myeong’s words.

The feeling of true power.

That feeling was clearly there in Cheong-myeong’s energy.

‘Young Head is truly a disciple of Hwasan.’

He finally understood.

He acted joking and not serious, which made him annoyed, but the clear energy proved that Cheong-myeong was a disciple of Hwasan.

Cheong-myeong’s energy moved around his body and started to heal the damaged energy paths.

A warm energy spread through his body.

Oooooong.

The pain went away.

The pain that had bothered Wi Lip-san for so long was gone, and the energy started to flow strongly.

‘Ah…’

Cheong-myeong put strength into his hand. Wi Lip-san floated into the air and sat cross-legged.

“I’m going to move energy around your body. Move your energy as I tell you.”

He couldn’t answer.

But Wi Lip-san carefully followed Cheong-myeong’s instructions. He moved his energy as Cheong-myeong’s energy told him to.

One time. Two times.

Wi Lip-san did it twelve times very quickly, then calmly felt his body and checked.

‘It’s gone!’

There were no signs of the injury inside that had been hurting him. The injury he thought he would have forever had healed completely with just one try.

Before he could even understand how he felt, Cheong-myeong’s energy left his body. As the clear energy disappeared, he felt sad, even more than he felt happy about being healed.

Cheong-myeong, who had gathered his energy, let go of Wi Lip-san’s wrist.

Wi Lip-san slowly opened his eyes. Cheong-myeong’s face was more serious than he had ever seen it.

“Young Head…”

“Hwasan will remember.”

“…”

Cheong-myeong, the young disciple of Hwasan.

The one known as the Hwasan Divine Dragon.

He spoke to Wi Lip-san like he was making a promise.

“Hwasan doesn’t forget kindness. We will repay you for helping Hwasan all these years. Please keep protecting Hwasan like you do now. If you do, the Hwayoung Sect will become famous along with Hwasan.”

He wasn’t lighthearted anymore.

Wi Lip-san felt the power of Cheong-myeong’s words and stared at him, then clenched his fist.

“I…”

He felt a lot of emotion.

Wi Lip-san bit his lip, tried hard not to cry, and spoke in a trembling voice.

“I will definitely do so.”

It was when the Hwayoung Sect announced it was back, after trying for a long time.