Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1495

Everyone held their breath, watching Hyunpung Shingae.

The heavy silence broke with a voice full of disbelief. Someone spoke who could not believe what was happening.

“What in the world…”

Lee Song-baek’s eyes twitched slightly.

It was a story hard to believe, but they couldn’t ignore it.

If the old man was telling the truth, it meant something terrible. The leaders of the Nine Sects and Five Great Families had left behind those who had given their lives.

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

Lee Song-baek, unable to hold back, started to raise his voice, but Hye-yeon quietly took his arm.

“That…”

Hye-yeon looked at Lee Song-baek and slowly shook her head, telling him to wait, that now was not the time.

As Lee Song-baek stopped talking, Hyunpung Shingae spoke again.

“Those words are close to the truth… Looking back, I understand. I was just a coward. I used sweet words to trick and sacrifice many people for my own reasons.”

“Sunbae-nim…”

“The suicide squad reached the top of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains and killed the Heavenly Demon. They did the impossible. But… yes. The remaining members of the Demonic Sect, who we risked our lives to destroy, went back to Shaanxi without losing anyone.”

Hyunpung Shingae laughed sadly.

“Isn’t it strange? They went from the far Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, through Gangnam, across the Yangtze River, and back to Shaanxi. They traveled across the entire land… The only ones who died on that hard journey were Hwasan.”

“Sunbae-nim?”

“Was that really by chance?”

“What?”

“The Sword Saint killed the Heavenly Demon. Who saw it? Before that, all the demonic leaders on that mountain had died.”

The faces of the Hwasan disciples turned deathly pale.

Could it be that…

Before, it was hard to understand. It’s hard to know the distance when only looking at a map.

But now, they understood. How strange it sounded. They had walked that long road, a very hard road, with their own feet.

“The world barely knew that the Sword Saint killed the Heavenly Demon. But the Demonic Sect knew it well. Was that really… really by chance?”

“What are you talking about!”

Lee Song-baek shouted.

Baek Cheon clenched his fist. His nails dug into his skin.

Hyunpung Shingae, who had brought it up, just shook his head calmly.

“I can’t just blame them. I also just held my breath. They were right. Even when I saw the last of the Demonic Sect attack Hwasan, I did nothing. No, I did nothing. The righteousness I believed in was a lie.”

A hand, as thin as a dry branch, trembled as it covered his face.

“If that’s true… if my righteousness was a lie, what were those who died for that righteousness? What… what have I done? For what…”

No one could speak.

To see an old man, so old that no one knew how long he had lived, sobbing like a child… No one could comfort him.

But Chung Myung stayed as cold as ever.

“Is that why you made the Beggars’ Sect like this?”

“That child called me a great leader of the sect… but that’s wrong.”

Hyunpung Shingae stared at the ceiling with empty eyes.

“It was too easy. The broken world was full of homeless people and beggars. Just accepting them as members let the Beggars’ Sect become strong again.”

“…”

“But I… could only feel guilty and worried when I looked at them. Someday, these people will die like those who were sacrificed before. Righteous Beggars’ Sect. Righteousness… That cursed word will drag them to their deaths again.”

The old man, talking to himself, looked at Chung Myung.

“…Am I wrong?”

“What should I have done? I can’t do anything alone, I can’t change anything alone. If fate is already decided, is it wrong to think I should at least not let these poor people die for nothing?”

The old man’s voice sounded desperate. Baek Cheon, watching, suddenly felt something strange. His voice kept changing. The old man seemed confused. The reason wasn’t clear.

Then, Chung Myung closed his eyes tightly. Then, he opened them and said.

“Is that why you’ve lived until now?”

“…”

“Even learning forbidden arts to make your life longer? Even though it would hurt a lot?”

Hyunpung Shingae laughed like a sigh.

“The pain of the body… is nothing. I wanted to change the Beggars’ Sect. But I knew no one would understand me. So, I slowly changed the Beggars’ Sect without them knowing. Even so… some people still can’t overcome that righteousness.”

“…”

“Because of that, I had to live. Even if it meant hiding in this damp room, the air thick with the smell of mildew, even if it meant binding the life of my disciple’s disciple, and that disciple’s life, here to suffer, I…”

Hyunpung Shingae stopped talking because of Chung Myung’s gaze. Hyunpung Shingae trembled slightly at that gaze, which seemed to see through him.

“Hwasan Sword Saint…”

“…”

“I… I am afraid of dying. I am afraid of facing those who died before me. So, I can’t die… So…”

Chung Myung bit his lip. Regret and fear showed in the old man’s eyes.

“Feeling my body burn like fire for a long time will hurt less than meeting those who died before me. So… so I tried to avoid death. Somehow…”

Thick tears fell down.

“Even breathing was a sin, but I can’t die. A ghost who can’t live or die. That… that is who I am.”

Baek Cheon sighed deeply.

He just wanted to know who was controlling the Beggars’ Sect from behind.

But he never thought he would hear such a story. Wasn’t this a terrible story?

“Why have you come…”

The old man continued in a weak voice.

“Have you come to make them die again…? Are you telling me to sin again? This is a sin I can’t repay even after forever, what more do you want me to add? Why have you come? Why…”

Baek Cheon couldn’t watch and closed his eyes.

He didn’t think he could change that heart. Who could change a will that had been building for almost a hundred years, a heart as hard as stone?

Just as Hyunpung Shingae was about to shake his head sadly, Chung Myung spoke.

“Everyone makes mistakes.”

“…”

“Does wrong.”

“…”

“Commits sins that nothing can fix.”

Hyunpung Shingae’s eyes trembled slightly.

“Sometimes, we say we don’t believe what we said before, and throw away what we thought was our whole life. And we try to make it right and say it’s not true.”

Chung Myung looked straight at the old man.

“That’s what people are. Ugly and terrible. But even then, people live on.”

“…”

“I won’t say you were wrong. But I can’t say you were right either.”

“What was not right?”

“Thinking you wouldn’t be understood.”

“…”

“Believing that no one would understand you and trying to do everything alone.”

Hyunpung Shingae’s eyebrows moved.

“That’s running away, pretending to be alone. It’s like a sandcastle that will fall apart when I die. No matter how good it looks, a sandcastle is just a sandcastle.”

Chung Myung looked back. Cheonsang Luju stood there looking very confused.

“And that just makes another sacrifice.”

The old man listened, looking at Chung Myung and Cheonsang Luju. After thinking for a long time, the old man slowly spoke. His voice was weak and rough, like metal scraping against metal.

“Leave… leave the room for a moment. Everyone.”

“Sabu-nim. That’s…”

“Do what I say.”

Cheonsang Luju nodded. Looking at Hyunpung Shingae’s eyes, it seemed like he shouldn’t argue now.

“Let’s go down.”

The others followed Cheonsang Luju without a word. Only Chung Myung stayed there, as if it was planned.

Baek Cheon looked back one last time, then went downstairs, and Chung Myung quickly used his energy to block the sound.

Now, only Chung Myung and Hyunpung Shingae could be heard.

“Hwasan Sword Saint.”

“…Speak.”

As soon as they were alone, Chung Myung’s voice was a little awkward.

But Hyunpung Shingae, not caring, looked at Chung Myung.

“I… I have been hearing your story for a long time.”

“…”

“At first, it was hard. Because someone was bringing back Hwasan, the Hwasan I had left, the Hwasan I couldn’t even look at.”

Chung Myung quietly looked at Hyunpung Shingae.

“But the more I watched you, the more I wondered. Is all of this really… possible with just one person who was born with a talent that only comes once in a thousand years?”

“…”

“As I watched you, I had to believe it. That’s why… that’s why I was so afraid. I was afraid to face you.”

A voice full of regret came out.

“I was afraid, and also hopeful. It was a terrible pain, but also a great joy.”

A dry hand reached out to Chung Myung. That shaking hand was full of fear. But Hyunpung Shingae stubbornly reached out.

“Are…”

A childlike voice came from his wrinkled lips.

“Are you… Are you him?”

Clear tears flowed down. So many tears that they wet his dry face and dripped down.

“Am I… am I right? Please tell me. Is it true that I am seeing you?”

Hyunpung Shingae’s body shook sadly. Even a sinner facing judgment wouldn’t tremble this much.

He tried to steady himself and stared at Chung Myung.

“Please…”

Chung Myung, who had been watching Hyunpung Shingae, closed his eyes.

A quick memory.

Hyunpunggae when he was young, who Chung Myung had met one day, came to mind. Hyunpunggae in his middle age, who had looked at the Plum Blossom Sword Saint with admiration.

“Yes.”

Chung Myung said calmly.

It was a word he had kept inside for too long.

A word he never thought he would say.

“I am…”

That slightly awkward word came out as if it was falling off his tongue.

“I am the Sword Saint.”

Hyunpung Shingae’s body shook like a leaf. He couldn’t speak and only groaned.

Then, he put both hands together in front of his chest. He bowed deeply to Chung Myung.

“Hyunpunggae of the Beggars’ Sect…”

He bowed his head with great respect.

“Humbly… humbly greets the Sword Saint.”