Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1499

“Please, take a seat for now.”

A short time passed.

The Lord of the Heavenly Inn, having calmed down a little, offered them seats.

“Would you care for some tea?”

“No, thank you. I’m fine.”

“There’s no need to refuse.”

The Lord of the Heavenly Inn signaled to someone outside. Soon, servant girls hurried in to serve tea to the disciples of Mount Hua. Baek Cheon was impressed.

‘Remarkable,’ he thought.

Such a person had just died, and yet the Lord of the Heavenly Inn seemed to have already regained his composure after such a loss.

Baek Cheon couldn’t know what the Lord was truly feeling, but on the surface, he seemed calm.

Baek Cheon subtly glanced at Chung Myung.

Normally, Chung Myung would have complained about being served tea instead of alcohol at a tavern, but now he silently accepted the tea.

‘Could it be that Chung Myung is taking this situation seriously?’ Baek Cheon wondered.

The Lord of the Heavenly Inn cleared his throat softly and spoke.

“Since my master instructed me to help, I, as the Chief of the Beggar Union, will do everything I can to aid the Sword Saint of Mount Hua.”

Baek Cheon’s eyes darkened slightly.

‘The Sword Saint of Mount Hua,’ he thought.

Not Mount Hua, or the Heavenly Union, but the Sword Saint of Mount Hua. This could be interpreted in many ways, depending on how one thought about it.

“Um, excuse me,”

“Hm?”

Baek Cheon was starting to overthink things when Jo Gul suddenly spoke up.

“Um, Chief, what should we call you?”

Everyone’s attention immediately turned to Jo Gul. He flinched under their gazes and frantically waved his hands.

“Ah, no, the words came out wrong! That’s not what I meant. I meant, what name do you prefer we use, Chief? That’s…”

“…If you’re asking about my title… there are several. The most common one was ‘Traceless Beggar.’ Sometimes, I was called ‘Unbound Wind.’”

“Ah…”

It was a common type of title, but it seemed to fit him well. Perfect for the elusive Chief of the Beggar Union.

“But if you don’t mind, call me Wind Shadow Beggar. I prefer that one. Wind Shadow Beggar, Lee Gwua. That is my name.”

“Wind Shadow Beggar. The shadow of the wind.”

Chung Myung, who had been silent, chuckled.

“That title reminds me of someone,”

Wind Shadow Beggar smiled, looking slightly embarrassed.

“People have their own preferences, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Lucky you, getting to pick your preferences. Some people are stuck with titles that don’t even suit them. Beggar Union guys are so lucky. They get to make up their own titles and spread them around.”

“I think ‘Sword Saint’ is a fitting title.”

Chung Myung frowned slightly. But before he could say anything, Jo Gul spoke again.

“And um, I have another question.”

“What is it?”

Jo Gul asked, his face showing his confusion.

“Um… this might sound a bit strange, but why are you speaking so formally to him…?”

Everyone looked at Chung Myung. Now that he thought about it, Wind Shadow Beggar was indeed using respectful language with Chung Myung.

Jo Gul added.

“Ah, well, I guess it makes sense to use respectful language with my martial uncle since he’s the acting sect leader, and um… well, now that I think about it, he’s also the Chief Strategist of the Heavenly Union, so I guess it’s possible…”

He asked the question because he felt that wasn’t the real reason, but he couldn’t explain it properly. Wind Shadow Beggar answered as if it were nothing.

“There’s no grand reason. It’s simply not right for a disciple to disrespect someone whom my master respected.”

“No, but there’s clearly a hierarchy in terms of seniority…”

“That hierarchy is the reason. Would you dare to disrespect someone whom your master respected?”

“Uh…”

Jo Gul was speechless. He certainly couldn’t. It was like a grandson speaking informally to someone whom his great-grandfather respected. Unable to argue, Jo Gul quietly shrank back.

“Any more questions?”

“…No. None.”

“Well… then we should discuss the internal affairs of the Beggar Union now.”

Wind Shadow Beggar glanced at Lee Songbaek.

“Ah…”

Quickly noticing the uncomfortable atmosphere, Lee Songbaek nodded.

“I’ll step outside.”

“Yes, please do…”

“Tell him to stay.”

Wind Shadow Beggar and Lee Songbaek both looked at Chung Myung.

“It’d be strange to pretend we don’t know each other when we’ve come all this way.”

“Hmm. If the Sword Saint says so.”

Wind Shadow Beggar still seemed reluctant, but eventually nodded. He knew Lee Songbaek was a man of few words and great prudence, so he wouldn’t cause trouble.

Wind Shadow Beggar looked at Chung Myung and was about to speak, but Chung Myung subtly leaned back.

Seeing this, Wind Shadow Beggar, sensing Chung Myung’s intention, turned to Baek Cheon and began to speak.

“As the acting sect leader knows…”

“Please, speak freely. The content is more important than formalities right now.”

“…May I?”

“Yes.”

Wind Shadow Beggar looked at Baek Cheon as if testing him, then nodded. He seemed more practical than he had heard, he thought.

“As you know, the current Beggar Union is without a leader.”

“…I’ve heard as much. It’s inevitable since the Chief is absent. However, I don’t understand why it was necessary to go that far. Couldn’t you have simply avoided showing your face…?”

“It wasn’t just that.”

Wind Shadow Beggar shook his head.

“The reason for pretending to be ill wasn’t just to avoid meeting outsiders. The bigger reason is internal.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“The Beggar Union members are so independent that they would question even the Chief if they were unhappy. If I had stayed in that position, the Beggar Union would have fallen apart.”

“…You mean they couldn’t start a fight with a Chief who wasn’t there.”

“Exactly.”

Baek Cheon nodded. Wind Shadow Beggar continued.

“Since my master created this place, the Chiefs have always done something similar. When the dissatisfaction gets too high, they would find a successor who shares their ideals and pass on the position, suppressing the discontent.”

Everyone nodded. It wasn’t necessarily a good method, but it had an effect.

“Were you planning to do that this time as well?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, who did you originally have in mind as your successor?”

Wind Shadow Beggar chuckled.

“Don’t worry. It’s not Hong Daeguang.”

“Wow.”

“Right?”

“The Chief is sensible.”

“…Poor Branch Leader.”

A sigh escaped from the Mount Hua disciples. They had become fond of him, but it seemed Hong Daeguang was never a candidate for Chief.

“Well, there’s no way he could have done this kind of work.”

“That’s right. It’s not about ability. His personality just doesn’t suit it.”

Everyone agreed. It was impossible for the hot-tempered Hong Daeguang to live as the Lord of the Heavenly Inn.

“I see. I understand roughly.”

“Huh?”

Yoon Jong flinched and looked at Baek Cheon.

“You understand, Martial Uncle?”

“I can guess what the Chief intends to do. There must already be a lot of dissatisfaction with the Chief within the Beggar Union, so even if he reappears now, it will be hard to control things.”

“…That’s true.”

“Perhaps the Chief intends to regain his authority by using this opportunity to pass on the position of Chief to a successor.”

“Ah.”

Yoon Jong nodded. Wind Shadow Beggar stared at Baek Cheon, surprised.

“…You’re more clever than I’d heard.”

“You flatter me.”

Baek Cheon lowered his head slightly, and the disciples of Mount Hua looked at each other.

“Then it’s simple. You just need to choose a new Chief and ask that Chief to help us.”

“If we’re wishing, I’d prefer it to be an order rather than a request. Right, Sahyung?”

“…It is only right to follow the orders of our older members.”

Tang Soso smiled, thinking things were going better than she had hoped. Pungyeong Singae took a deep breath and said,

“Yes. Senior Disciple Jangmun is right. That is what I plan to do. That should fix most of the problems.”

“Simple enough.”

“Yes, simple. But, there is a small… minor problem.”

“A problem, you say?”

The Hwasan disciples looked uneasy. This felt familiar…

“Don’t worry so much. It’s not a big problem. It can be easily fixed.”

“Ah… that’s a relief.”

“May I ask what this problem is?” Baek Cheon asked.

Pungyeong Singae frowned slightly and began to explain. “Well, lately, things in Jianghu haven’t been going as expected. This has caused many changes in the Beggars’ Sect.”

“What kind of changes?”

“The Elders said they couldn’t let the Sect Leader be away during this emergency. But really, they joined together to make their own group to take power. That’s the reason they show to others. The real reason is to take control of the Beggars’ Sect.”

“Couldn’t you stop them?”

Pungyeong Singae shook his head. “There was no need to stop them at first. It has happened many times over the last hundred years. When a group gets too strong, the position is given to someone else, and the group breaks up. It has been done many times, so I didn’t worry about it.”

“Ah, I see.”

“I had faith in you. So I thought this time would be the same…”

“But…” Baek Cheon’s face turned pale as Pungyeong Singae spoke hesitantly, as if there was more to the story.

“Things have changed a little this time. No one thought the Evil Sect would cause so much trouble so suddenly.”

“That’s probably true.”

“So the problem has grown a little, just a little. Those who felt worried gathered faster than I and my teacher expected. So, we missed the chance to step in.”

“…”

“Also, in an emergency like this, we can’t give the Sect Leader position to just anyone. So, they are demanding to take the position themselves…”

“A rebellion, then.”

“Insubordination.”

“In Hwasan, we’d hang them upside down from Yeonhwa Peak.”

The Hwasan disciples scoffed.

“Hmm.”

Baek Cheon nodded, letting out a groan. “I understand. So, there’s a group in the Beggars’ Sect that is fighting against you. They are strong, so we should be ready for some trouble. Is that right?”

“That is correct.”

Baek Cheon nodded slowly.

It wasn’t that big of a problem. These things often happen in sects when they choose a new leader. Compared to what he had feared, it was a small issue.

“We will do our best to help you, Sect Leader.”

“Really?”

“Yes. First, we need to know something. How big is this group in the Beggars’ Sect?”

“Hmm. About this much.”

“This much, you say.”

It wasn’t a small group, but it wasn’t too scary either. If they could make the other people happy, it would be easy to beat this small group.

“I understand. So, to check this group…”

“No, that’s not it…”

“Yes?”

Pungyeong Singae looked a little embarrassed. “…We are that much.”

“Yes?”

“Or maybe a little less…”

“…Yes?”

“But it’s a minor problem. What does the size of a group matter? We can always get it back.”

“Wait a moment? Are you saying that the Sect Leader’s side is that much? And we have to fight the other eight parts with that much?”

“Ah, not quite eight. There are some neutral people too.”

“Then how many parts are there?”

“About six parts?”

Baek Cheon’s eyes, which had been calm, shook as if an earthquake had hit.

“Ah, no, Sect Leader. How can we help in this situation? What were you so sure about, Singae?”

Pungyeong Singae shrugged and looked at one person. “Well, isn’t it because you believe in someone’s ability?”

“……”

“The same task is easy or hard depending on who is doing it.”

Beating six parts with two is never easy. But if the one leading those two parts is the famous ‘Plum Blossom Sword Saint,’ it wouldn’t be a big deal.

That was why Hyeon Pung Singae could rest easy.

“I am just following what my teacher believed.”

At Pungyeong Singae’s soft but firm words, everyone looked at Chung Myung.

Even after hearing all of this, Chung Myung was smiling.

“Hmm. Is that so?” Chung Myung muttered and jumped up from his seat, walking towards Pungyeong Singae. Pungyeong Singae looked at him with hope.

Chung Myung said, “So, we just need to use the two parts of the Beggars’ Sect that follow the Sect Leader, beat the Elders who have almost taken over the Beggars’ Sect, and make our side the Sect Leader, right?”

“Exactly.”

“And I’ll figure out how to do it?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Haha. Just a moment.”

“Yes?”

Click.

Chung Myung reached under the desk where Pungyeong Singae was sitting. He activated the mechanism that Pungyeong Singae had used earlier.

“Huh?”

Creak!

With a loud noise, the door on the upper floor, which they thought would never open, opened. The stairs slowly came down.

“Why the mechanism?”

“Chung Myung-ah?”

“What are you trying to do…?”

Then, Chung Myung rolled his eyes back until only white showed. He shot towards the stairs like an arrow.

“You senile old man! You talk a good game!”

“Grab him!”

“Stop him!”

The Hwasan disciples, who had felt something bad was going to happen when the stairs came down, quickly jumped forward, tackling Chung Myung as he ran towards the upper floor.

“Let go! Let go!”

“What are you doing, you crazy man!”

“Tell that old geezer to come down! What, faith? Don’t talk to me about faith! Crazy!”

Chung Myung’s feet kicked wildly in the air. The force of his kicks shook the ceiling.

“Aren’t you getting up? Huh?”

“Chung Myung-ah! He’s dead, I tell you!”

“He might still be alive! Are you sure? Did you check?”

“Be reasonable!”

Chung Myung’s eyes rolled wildly, looking scary.

“If he’s dead? So what? Does it end when he dies?”

“Then it ends!”

“It doesn’t end! It doesn’t end! I thought so too! Let go of me!”

“What are you saying, you crazy bastard!”

Chung Myung was now foaming at the mouth.

“I knew things were going too well! Hey, you crazy old man! Come out here! Aaaargh!”

Chung Myung’s desperate shout echoed far and wide, shaking Cheonsangnu.

In those days, no one was completely sane.

Chung Myung was paying the price for forgetting that fact.