Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1486

“…Chung Myung.” Baek Cheon and the other Mount Hua students looked at each other quickly. *We are caught, aren’t we?* one thought. *What should we do now?* another worried. *Should we run?* *No, are you crazy? Running away looks like we are guilty!* *Then what else can we do?* Everyone looked at Baek Cheon. They were all confused, but Baek Cheon was the leader for now. Surely, he would know what to say.

“Ahem, ahem.” Baek Cheon cleared his throat loudly. “What are you talking about? We are… from Jongnam.”

*Oh no,* one student thought. *This is bad.*

*Really bad,* another agreed silently. *He always does this! Look how stiff he is.* It wasn’t just that he was trying to lie. It was *how* he was lying. Anyone watching could see he was hiding something.

“Mount Hua is the group we dislike the most, so be careful what you say. I hate even hearing the name of that Mount Hua Sword Saint, Chung Myung!” And it was true. Baek Cheon really did grind his teeth whenever he heard Chung Myung’s name. But the person they were talking to was too smart to believe such a clumsy lie.

“Teacher, instead of doing silly things, why don’t you just…”

“I see. I am sorry,” Baek Cheon said quickly, giving up on his act.

“Yes. Just hit them hard… Wait, what?” Jo Gul turned his head fast, eyes wide. He saw a woman smiling at them.

“It seems I made a mistake,” the woman said kindly. “Please forgive my rudeness.” She bowed deeply. The Mount Hua students just stared, confused. The woman stood up straight and spoke politely again. “Would you be kind enough to let me take the honored guests from Jongnam to the top floor?”

“Uh…”

“T-Thank you…?” The Mount Hua students looked at each other again, unsure. Was it really safe to go? Before, the stairs seemed like a path to a wonderful place. Now, they felt like stairs to danger.

*What do we do? Teacher!*

*How am I supposed to know!* Baek Cheon felt like he was going to jump. The students around him nudged him hard, wanting him to decide.

“Will you go up?” the woman asked, waiting for their answer. Everyone looked at Chung Myung.

“Hmm.” Chung Myung, who had been staring at the woman with a serious face, suddenly laughed a little. “I don’t know who owns this place, but they are good at making money.”

“I am very sorry again for my rudeness,” the woman said, bowing deeply again and again. Chung Myung clicked his tongue.

“Is the owner the one who told you to bring us up?”

“Yes, the Lord wants to see you all.”

“Hmm.” Chung Myung made a noise like he was annoyed. “They might be good at business, but they have no manners. If they wanted to see me so much, they should have come down here.” The woman just smiled.

“That’s silly,” Chung Myung said, shrugging. “But, they are offering to show us around, so we should go. And we don’t have to pay, right?”

“No charge at all.”

“Then let’s go.” Chung Myung smirked. “They are offering to show us a place that costs a lot of money just to look at, for free. We have to go, right?”

“Why, why are you looking at me like that?” Hae Yeon asked, feeling uncomfortable.

“Well… Ah, forget it.” Chung Myung chuckled at Hae Yeon and pointed his chin towards the woman. “Lead the way then.”

“Yes, please come this way.” The woman politely started walking towards the stairs.

Seeing this, Baek Cheon walked closer to Chung Myung and whispered. “Hey. Are you sure it’s okay to go? They know we are not from Jongnam.”

“Yes, they know. That’s why we have to go. If we run now, we will look foolish.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Ugh.” Chung Myung sighed. “This ‘Lord’ is very clever. They sent a woman who can’t fight to greet us. It makes things difficult.” Chung Myung thought it was easier to deal with places like the Dragon’s Lair. There, he could just fight anyone in his way. This kind of place, this fancy inn, was harder to handle than even the bad guys’ main base.

“Anyway, let’s go up. No matter who is waiting for us.”

“…Just keep that animal hidden.”

“Get back in there!” Chung Myung pushed down on Baek Ah’s head as it peeked out of his clothes, and then started walking.

“…It looks more normal than I thought,” Baek Cheon said, sounding a little let down.

“Yes, it does,” Yoon Jong agreed. They were a bit disappointed. The first floor was so fancy, they expected the other floors to be amazing too. But as they walked up, they just saw hallways with doors on each side.

“Normal?” Jo Gul asked, surprised.

“Just ignore him, Senior Brother,” Tang Soso whispered. “It’s better if he doesn’t know.”

“…I guess so,” Yoon Jong said.

“I thought Teacher would know about fancy places,” Jo Gul mumbled.

“Even if he is from a rich family, it’s probably a poor martial arts family’s idea of rich,” Tang Soso replied.

“…Are you talking about me?” Baek Cheon asked, overhearing them. Jo Gul and Tang Soso quickly shook their heads. Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong seemed relaxed, but Jo Gul and Tang Soso were actually nervous looking at everything.

“That rug in front of the door… it looks like it’s from far away lands,” Jo Gul whispered. “The door is made of very expensive wood.”

“And that painting on the wall… it looks very old and famous. Putting something so valuable in a hallway…” Tang Soso’s voice was hushed.

“…If the outside of the rooms is like this, what will the inside be like?”

“Let’s stop thinking about it,” Jo Gul said, shaking his head.

“Yes. It’s better for our minds.” Jo Gul knew that even the richest traders, who traveled to faraway places, couldn’t afford things like this. Even the Emperor’s palace might not be this luxurious.

Chung Myung saw Jo Gul and Tang Soso’s worried faces and asked the woman walking ahead, “Do many fighters come here?”

“The Cheonsang Inn welcomes anyone who is good enough.”

“So, the answer is?”

“…But really, almost no fighters come here.” Chung Myung’s eyes became serious. This meant most people here were important officials or very rich people. Maybe they were the leaders of powerful groups.

“You said you need to be a member to come in, but you still have to pay for food and drinks every time, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“I thought I was making a lot of money, but the people who really make money are different,” Chung Myung muttered.

“It’s just a small inn,” the woman said.

“…I don’t think you know what ‘small’ means,” Chung Myung said, amazed. The woman smiled a little and walked faster.

*Hmm,* Chung Myung thought. *The higher floors don’t seem that different.* The only thing changing was the space between the doors in the hallway. This meant the rooms were getting bigger on the higher floors.

“If you want to keep this place secret, wouldn’t it be better to put doors on the stairs? If each floor is not that different, I don’t think people would pay so much to go to the higher floors.”

“…I don’t know,” the woman said, her voice fading a little, like she wasn’t sure how to answer. Just as Chung Myung was about to say something else, the woman spoke again, her voice quieter than before.

“Isn’t that why it’s so attractive?”

“…Huh?” Chung Myung was confused.

“It’s not that different, it doesn’t look that special… but it’s something you can’t easily have. People often want things like that.”

“…” The woman glanced at Chung Myung and shook her head slightly. “You are a strange person. I have never told anyone my thoughts about the inn before.”

“Oh? Really? Do you want a new job then? We are looking for someone to work at our place.”

“…You are a very difficult person,” the woman said, walking a little faster. And soon, they reached the top floor of the inn.

“…” Sometimes, simple things are more impressive than flashy things. When they reached the seventh floor, it didn’t look very different at first. Another long hallway with walls on both sides. But then they noticed. There were only three doors on this floor. One on the left, one on the right, and… *The center.* At the end of the hallway, there was a door that was a different color from the others. It wasn’t fancy, but it looked strong and important. It was clearly special compared to the other doors.

“That is where the Lord is,” the woman said quietly.

“Hmm.” The Mount Hua students all felt their throats tighten. They looked at the door. The relaxed feeling from climbing the stairs was gone, and tension was back.

*Strange,* Baek Cheon thought, glancing at his students. He didn’t sense any fighters here. Nothing that should be a threat. But his students were clearly nervous, like they were facing a fight.

“I will take you in,” the woman said.

“Please,” Chung Myung replied. The woman walked down the red carpet hallway and bowed politely in front of the door. “Lord, I have brought the guests.” Silence filled the hallway for a moment. Just as Chung Myung was about to say something about the silence, a voice came from inside. “Let them in.”

“Yes, Lord,” the woman replied. She carefully opened the door. Jo Gul and Tang Soso’s faces became even more tense. But when the door opened, they saw a normal office. It didn’t look very special.

“Huh?” Jo Gul said, surprised.

“…What is this?” Tang Soso whispered, confused. It wasn’t a bad office. It was nicely decorated with good furniture and nice things. But compared to Tang Soso’s family’s main house, it was much less grand.

“Come in,” a quiet voice said. Before they could think more, they turned to see who was speaking. A bookshelf stood against one wall. A man was taking a book from it. He slowly turned around and looked at them. He was middle-aged, wearing simple silk clothes that looked very expensive. He was a normal-looking man, with no strong expression on his face. He walked towards them calmly. “Welcome,” he said. “I am the Lord of this Cheonsang Inn.”

*…This person?* Chung Myung and his group looked at each other, a little confused. “So,” the man said, his voice calm. “What brings the famous Mount Hua Sword Saint and the leader of Mount Hua here to see me?”

*Flap.* The office window was wide open. A small bird with golden feathers flew in and landed gently on the man’s shoulder.

“Kiyi!” Baek Ah suddenly jumped out of Chung Myung’s clothes and showed its teeth at the golden bird. Chung Myung, who had been watching the bird, looked back at the man.

“I see,” Chung Myung said slowly. A strange smile appeared on Chung Myung’s face. “It looks like we came to the right place.” The man and Chung Myung looked directly into each other’s eyes.