Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1475

Chae stammered, his voice shaky, “Is… is this where we are staying?”

The man guiding them nodded, a little impatiently. “Yes, please go inside for now. You’re blocking the way for others to get their homes.”

“Really?” Chae asked, still unsure.

“Yes!” The guide said, a bit louder this time. “If you stay out here, you’ll block everyone else. Go inside and put your things away. I’ll explain everything later.”

Chae nodded slowly. Behind them, more people were pushing forward, their faces just as confused as he had felt only moments ago.

“L-Let’s go in for now,” Chae said to his wife, his throat dry.

“Yes,” she replied, her voice quiet.

Taking a deep breath, they carefully opened the door. And when they saw inside, their mouths dropped open in surprise.

“…What is this?” Chae whispered.

From the outside, the building looked like any other simple wooden house. He had honestly expected a dusty old warehouse at best. But inside… it was much nicer than they could have imagined.

It wasn’t fancy, but everything they needed was there. Walls divided the space into rooms, and along the walls were raised platforms with folded blankets, like simple beds.

“Good heavens,” Chae breathed.

Feeling lost, he grabbed his wife’s arm, his hand trembling slightly. He turned back to the guide, who was still there.

“I-I’m sorry, but… there seems to be some mistake.”

“Yes? A mistake?”

“Yes. We came as refugees, not… not guests. Something…”

The man trailed off with a look of apology.

Having seen such a decent house, why wouldn’t he want to stay? His child was exhausted, so he wanted to sit down and rest without thinking.

But he couldn’t. People who had been poor knew this feeling. Losing something you thought you had was worse than never having it at all. The thought of being sent back to a shabby tent after seeing this place was unbearable.

But the guide’s answer was simple.

“This is for you… Chae family, right?” He glanced at a small wooden sign by the door. “This is your home, Chae family. It’s not changing. See? Everyone else is going into places just like this.”

Chae blinked, looking around. The other families arriving looked just like his, tired and worn. And they were all being shown into similar houses next door.

“S-So, we can really stay here? Everyone who came here gets this…?”

“As long as there are enough houses, yes. And there will be.”

The guide’s face changed for a moment, becoming serious. “There *will* be enough houses. Don’t worry about that.”

It was a strange thing to say, and Chae didn’t understand it. He just gave a small, nervous laugh.

“Okay. We’ll unpack and rest. Someone from the Alliance will come soon to tell you what to do next. Goodbye for now.”

“W-Wait!” Chae called out.

“Yes?” The guide turned back, looking impatient.

“Just one more thing, please? A friend came with us, but I saw him go somewhere else. Where did he go?”

“People who came alone are staying in different places. We can’t give a whole house to one person.”

“R-Right, of course. So…?”

“He’s in the shared housing.”

“Ah… So, families get houses like this…?”

“No,” the guide said quickly, glancing towards the newcomers. “These houses are for families with young children. Not every family gets one.” He nodded towards the child sleeping on Chae’s back. “It’s hard to care for a child when you’re sharing a room with many people. You’ll find out more later. Goodbye.”

The guide nodded again and hurried away. Chae stared after him, then looked around at their new home.

“It feels like a dream,” he murmured.

“H-Honey,” his wife said softly. “Instead of standing here…”

“R-Right! Instead of this, let’s go inside,” Chae agreed, still feeling a little dazed.

“That’s not what I meant!” his wife said, a little frustrated, shifting the heavy bags in her arms. “Shouldn’t we try to contact Hubei? Your brother’s family didn’t come with us.”

“Ah, you’re right! Shanxi, Hubei, it’s all the same now.”

“If they knew it was like this, they would have come, wouldn’t they? And look, it seems like many more people are coming.”

“That’s…” Chae paused, thinking.

“But if we call them and there aren’t enough houses…”

“Get out of the way!” someone shouted.

“Huh?” Chae jumped. A cart piled high with lumber was rushing towards them, taking up the whole path.

“I said, get out of the way!” the driver yelled again.

They quickly stepped aside as the cart roared past. The lumber, stacked twice as high as a man, swayed dangerously.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

Ten more carts followed, one after another, filled with lumber. Chae stood there, coughing in the dust, and slowly nodded.

“There won’t be a shortage of houses,” he said quietly.

“Let’s find a way to contact them somehow.”

“Okay. Let’s go inside first.”

Before going in, he touched the wooden nameplate beside the door. *Chae Family*. He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head.

“It still feels like a dream.”

High on Mount Hua, Chung Myung looked down at the scene below. People were arriving in long lines and being led to their new homes on the mountainside.

“Hmm, just in time,” Chung Myung said to himself.

Jo Gul, standing beside him, jumped and asked excitedly, “Hey… Did you know all this would happen?”

“What?” Chung Myung asked, turning to him.

“Did you know that so many people would come? Is that why you built so many houses?”

“Well, what else did you think we were building them for?”

“Well… You always overdo things, so I just thought you were riding the momentum and kept building… Chung Myung. I’m still your senior, so you shouldn’t look at me like that. At least have some respect for my judgment.”

“I’ll respect you when you start talking like a person.”

Jo Gul, feeling wronged, pointed to his left and right.

“Do you think I’m the only one who thought that? Do you think everyone else knew and built it? Uncle, say something.”

Baek Cheon smiled gently. “I knew.”

“Me too.”

“Me too.”

“Amitabha. How predictable.”

Jo Gul could not speak. He looked at the other disciples like they were terrible traitors.

“You traitors…”

Yoon Jong tried to comfort him, but it didn’t help. ‘I know,’ Yoon Jong said. ‘Why did you even mention it? This always happens.’ Jo Gul’s shoulders dropped.

Baek Cheon chuckled softly and looked at Chung Myung. *‘He really is strange,*’ Baek Cheon thought, a small smile on his face.

The other disciples were busy getting ready for war. They were trying hard to find as many fighters as they could to fight the Sahe Alliance. But Chung Myung had been thinking about something else all along.

If you looked closely, everything Chung Myung had done since coming back to Shaanxi was to get ready for the refugees.

“How many more do you think will come?”

“Huh?”

“The refugees, I mean. At least twice as many, right?”

When Baek Cheon asked, Chung Myung glared at him, looking annoyed. “I thought you were smarter than that,” Chung Myung said, sounding grumpy.

At that moment, Baek Cheon’s face twisted.

“Just answer the question! And don’t add any unnecessary comments before answering.”

“Twice as many? No way. This is only the start.” Chung Myung chuckled, a sly smile spreading on his face.

Rumors will spread to people who still think Shaanxi is dangerous. Actually, the rumors are already spreading. The news they hear will just prove those rumors are true.

“…”

“If people are not from places that are safe, they will come here first. Even if only a third of those people come… Hmmm.” Chung Myung’s eyes shone with a strange light as he said that.

“That’s right. Then it’s a bit lacking even now, we need to cut down more of that mountain over there…”

Before he could finish, Jo Gul grabbed Baek Cheon by the collar. “Why! Why did you have to say something unnecessary…!”

“…Sorry,” Baek Cheon mumbled. *I didn’t know it would turn out like this. And he didn’t need to call me a little brat, I’m still his martial uncle…*

Baek Cheon pushed Jo Gul’s hand away and asked, “You want to attract other groups who come with the refugees, don’t you? Some groups might think the Cheonwoo Alliance is better, but they can’t easily leave the Nine Great Sects openly.”

“Half right.”

“But it’s not that simple. Feeding so many people is hard, you know? Mount Hua has used up a lot of its food and supplies already…”

“Huh? Feed them? Me? Those people?”

Chung Myung turned around, looking completely confused. Baek Cheon stepped back slightly. Chung Myung really seemed bewildered.

“W-Well, what else are you going to do? Let them starve to death? Anyway, if they’ve come this far, we have to take responsibility for them until they return, don’t we?”

“Return? To where?”

Suddenly, Baek Cheon saw it. That look. The expression he knew so well, starting to form on Chung Myung’s face.

“This is their home now, what are you talking about? Coming here is their choice, but leaving isn’t.”

“…”

“Let’s see, we need to collect rent for the houses over there. And there’s so much work to do if we’re going to make this place work.”

“R-Rent? Hey, you! Those people are refugees!”

“…Martial Uncle. You seem to be mistaken about something. Those people came here as refugees, not as injured people. Do you know what that means?”

“Well… I’m not sure?”

“It means that just two weeks ago, they were working hard to feed themselves and their families.”

Chung Myung’s eyes turned sly.

“They’ve just moved from Hubei to Shaanxi. If there’s work to be done here, why would they bother going back to Hubei?”

“No, Chung Myung-ah. Maybe you don’t know because you don’t have a hometown…”

“Wow, really?”

“Good heavens, listen to the way that man speaks.”

“Are you implying that Chung Myung is lacking because he’s an orphan? Did you leave your humanity in Gangnam?”

“N-No, that’s not what I meant!” Baek Cheon, his face flushed red, shouted.

“Everyone has a desire to return to their hometown! That’s what I’m saying, you pack of wolves!”

“Look at the excuses.”

“Look at his character, Amitabha.”

Chung Myung, who had been quietly watching their bickering, chuckled.

“Ah, right. That’s right, the love for one’s hometown.”

“So…”

“But Martial Uncle, once you start farming, it takes at least a year. Isn’t that right?”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung’s lips twisted into a wicked smile.

“Once they’ve plowed the land, will they still be able to return to their hometown?”

“…You…”

“Good intentions, good intentions.”

Chung Myung saw Baek Cheon’s horrified face and just shrugged. “Those people are happy because they have work. And we are happy because we get… well, because we can rent out land and get rent in return. And while we do that, we make Mount Hua stronger.”

“You, you clearly said before that Mount Hua’s terrain isn’t good, so it can’t grow that much.”

“Oh, I did. What’s that terrain like now?”

“That terrain? Uh…” Baek Cheon blinked. Now, there was a vast plain stretching out before him, so far that he couldn’t see the end.

“…It’s still amazing, no matter how many times I see it.”

“A person did this.”

“Even the greatest builders of the past would think this is crazy. Digging a canal would be easier.”

“Oh, good point. We’re going to do that anyway.”

“Huh? Do what?”

“A canal.”

Right away, all the Mount Hua disciples turned their heads together to look in one direction. Towards the river flowing in the distance.

“Don’t tell me…”

“You see, digging wells isn’t enough. But if we have a river flowing right here, that would fix everything, wouldn’t it?”

“…”

“Then it will be easier to farm. And we can get more land to give to the people.”

“…The river you’re talking about, you’re not talking about the Wei River over there, are you?”

“Is there another river here?”

Silence fell. Baek Cheon barely managed to open his mouth. He knew he didn’t need to ask, but he couldn’t help but ask anyway.

“Then who… who’s going to dig it?”

“…”

“Chung Myung-ah?”

There was no answer. Baek Cheon’s eyes welled up as he looked at Chung Myung’s back. ‘Just kill him. Just kill him already.’ He seriously considered whether it would be better to flee to Hubei to survive.