Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1503

An old man in a green robe stood with his hands behind his back, watching the sun rise beyond the window.

The sun was rising. After a sleepless night, it wasn’t a welcome sight for most. But the old man looked at the new morning. His face was full of joy.

“Today is the day,” he thought.

Finally, the day had arrived.

The day he would take back what was his. The day he would fix the Beggars’ Sect, broken and weak now. He would make it strong again.

The day he would prove he was right.

“Now the Beggars’ Sect will be new,” he whispered.

This old man was Gun-Gu Il-Ho, also called Il-Ho Shin-Gae. A small smile touched his lips, but his eyes were hard. He was ready.

He watched the people gathering at the main headquarters. “Is everything ready?” Il-Ho Shin-Gae asked.

The man standing before him grinned. “Don’t worry, Senior Brother. It’s perfect.”

One of the elders chuckled. “Should we call you Dragon Head Chief now?” he asked Il-Ho Shin-Gae.

“Easy there,” Il-Ho Shin-Gae said. His voice was scolding, but he didn’t seem unhappy.

“A little mistake can ruin everything. We must be careful until the end.”

“I will,” the elder replied.

Il-Ho Shin-Gae narrowed his eyes slightly. “Are you watching all the messenger pigeons coming here?”

“Yes. Don’t worry. We’ll stop any messages from getting in until you become Chief.”

Il-Ho Shin-Gae nodded. He thought about Poong-Young Shin-Gae. ‘Cornered,’ he thought.

Poong-Young Shin-Gae didn’t have many choices. If Il-Ho Shin-Gae were in his place, he would have sent a message with the sacred artifact to prove he was alive.

But he should have taken control of the headquarters sooner. That message would never be opened. Il-Ho Shin-Gae already controlled the headquarters. Even if it was opened, no one would believe it.

“He waited too long to do what he should have done,” Il-Ho Shin-Gae said.

“How could that be Senior Brother’s fault? Most people wouldn’t even think of that,” the elder replied.

Il-Ho Shin-Gae clicked his tongue. “But what if the Chief comes to the headquarters himself?”

“That won’t happen,” Il-Ho Shin-Gae said firmly.

“If that rascal Moo-Heun had the guts, things wouldn’t have gotten this bad.”

“That’s true, but…” the elder started.

“And if he does come… I must be ready to get my hands dirty.”

The elder’s face stiffened at the word ‘blood.’ He knew what it meant and didn’t try to stop Il-Ho Shin-Gae. It was already decided.

“Still, I hope it doesn’t happen. He is my junior brother, after all,” Il-Ho Shin-Gae muttered.

He composed himself and asked, “Have the invitations been sent?”

“Yes. They’ve been sent to arrive at the right time. They’ll get them, but no one will come.”

Il-Ho Shin-Gae smiled, pleased with how well it was handled. Usually, a new Chief is a big event for a sect. Important groups known everywhere would be invited.

But this couldn’t be done that way. Il-Ho Shin-Gae knew it was strange for him to take over from Poong-Young Shin-Gae. He didn’t want to invite other sects and cause problems.

“Who is in Gaebong right now?” he asked.

“People from different sects are there, but we won’t welcome them unless they’re the head of their sect or someone important. No one like that is in Gaebong, so don’t worry.”

Il-Ho Shin-Gae nodded. The heads of smaller sects might be in Gaebong, but they wouldn’t dare enter the headquarters.

“Good,” he said.

“Thank you, Senior Brother,” the elder replied.

Il-Ho Shin-Gae tried not to smile. He had to look like he was only taking the job because his junior brother died. Even if it was just him and his junior brother, he couldn’t show how he really felt.

‘It must be perfect,’ he thought.

Even a thousand thoughts could have one mistake. But he couldn’t make any mistakes, not until he was Chief.

“Senior Brother,” the elder said.

“Hmm?”

“They said everything is ready. It’s time to go.”

“Very well,” Il-Ho Shin-Gae said.

“Let’s go.”

He walked confidently to the main hall.

It was a strange sight.

The main hall was huge, but falling apart. It was so empty and useless. Dirty beggars in clothes ripped and stained with dirt filled the hall.

It might seem funny, but no one would laugh. Everyone knew these beggars were the elders and first disciples of the Beggars’ Sect.

“It looks like half of them are here,” one beggar said.

“More than half, so it’s enough. But usually, there are more,” another replied.

“The Chief died suddenly. We don’t have time to find all the beggars scattered around,” a third added.

“I guess so,” the second beggar said.

The elders of the Beggars’ Sect didn’t have to stay at the headquarters. Some were missing, and the sect didn’t even know where they were. They could find them if they wanted to, but they didn’t have time.

The beggars talked quietly and glanced at the empty head seat. It was just a platform, but it meant a lot to them.

“So, it’s come to this,” one said.

“The Chief has been too much lately,” another replied.

Choo-Myun-Gae (Ugly Face Beggar), one of the elders, clicked his tongue. “He has left the sect alone.”

“What could he do? He was sick,” someone said.

“Then he should have picked someone to take over. How could he not even do that? This was going to happen anyway,” Choo-Myun-Gae said.

He was defending the Chief, at least a little. The other elders were much more unhappy with the Chief. That’s why they agreed to let the Chief’s senior brother take over.

“It’s lucky that Senior Brother Ja-Oh-Gae isn’t here. If he was, it would be chaos…” one elder said.

“What can a man who left the sect do? He can’t come here,” another replied.

Choo-Myun-Gae clicked his tongue. Ja-Oh-Gae was the one who didn’t want Il-Ho Shin-Gae to be Chief. If he had stayed, things wouldn’t have happened so fast.

‘Why did you leave, Chief?’ Choo-Myun-Gae thought.

If Ja-Oh-Gae had stayed, Il-Ho Shin-Gae wouldn’t have taken all the power after the Chief’s death.

But it was too late. They could only blame the Chief.

“Shouldn’t we hope the new Chief does well? In this situation, Senior Brother Il-Ho Shin-Gae might be better than someone new,” one elder said.

“Do you think so?” another asked.

“What do you think? He is Gun-Gu Il-Ho, after all.”

Chu Myeon-gae muttered to himself, thinking about the new leader. “How could a tiger understand the thoughts of a dog?”

“Pardon?” someone asked.

“Never mind,” Chu Myeon-gae said, waving his hand dismissively.

Gun-gu Il-ho. A good name for Il-ho Divine Dog.

‘But if that’s the case, he shouldn’t have joined the Beggars’ Sect.’

The Beggars’ Sect needs a leader who understands people and is passionate, not just someone who is very talented.

‘This is a sign of decline.’

Chu Myeon-gae sighed, his shoulders slumping with worry. There was nothing he could do now.

Just then…

Thud!

One of the doors to the main hall burst open, and several beggars strode into the hall with an air of importance.

Il-ho Divine Dog and the core elders followed him.

The beggars of the Beggars’ Sect, standing along the walls of the main hall, watched them with grave expressions. Some cheered, others showed concern.

Il-ho Divine Dog, not caring about anyone’s gaze, confidently stood on the not-so-high platform.

Chu Myeon-gae’s face twisted slightly. Only the Chief of the Beggars’ Sect could stand in that place. That authority was given only to the Chief by all the members of the Beggars’ Sect.

Yet now, Il-ho Divine Dog, despite not being the Chief, had stepped onto it himself.

As Chu Myeon-gae bit his lip, Il-ho Divine Dog, standing on the platform, began to speak.

“Bad news, everyone. We just found out… the Chief is dead. Died last night.”

The beggars held their breath.

“An even bigger problem is that the symbol of the sect could not be found on the Chief’s body. We have lost both the Chief and the symbol!”

The elders looked bewildered.

“You mean the symbol is missing?”

“That is correct,” Il-ho replied.

“How could such a thing happen…?”

Before anyone could speak further, Il-ho Divine Dog continued firmly.

“Since the Chief hid the symbol and passed away, there is no way to find it. Also, the investigation shows that the Chief didn’t tell anyone where the symbol was.”

The elders’ faces turned red, their eyes narrowed with anger.

The symbol represented the sect. It should never be one person’s possession. How could the Chief handle it so carelessly?

“Then what should we do?” someone asked.

“As you know!” Il-ho Divine Dog’s voice silenced the crowd.

“The Jianghu is in chaos right now. The Chief’s position can’t be empty for even a day, especially now that the symbol is lost!”

The elders held their breath, all eyes on Il-ho Divine Dog.

“Therefore, as an elder, I will help choose the next Chief. Right here, in this very place!”

Il-ho Divine Dog clenched his fist tightly.

“The next Chief must lead the Beggars’ Sect through this chaos. Someone who is the best and can fix the Beggars’ Sect after the last Chief damaged it!”

“That’s right!” someone shouted.

“That’s obvious!” another added.

Hearing the rehearsed cheers, Chu Myeon-gae bit his lip again.

‘In the end, it’s flowing this way.’

Chu Myeon-gae closed his eyes, feeling his sigh disappear into the cheers.

“Eyes sharp,” grunted the older beggar, adjusting his bamboo hat to shield his face from the midday sun.

“Relax, old man,” scoffed the younger one, leaning on his bamboo stick. “Look around. Every beggar here is staring daggers at us. Who’d be brave enough to come near?”

“Don’t be so sure,” the older one warned, his voice low. “If we mess this up, Elder Il-ho will have our hides. Just focus for another hour.”

“Yeah, yeah. Nothing’s gonna happen. We told them – sect leaders only, right? Who important would even bother with this old beggar den… Wait a minute… Who’s that?”

The person guarding the main gate blinked, stopping his listless words. He saw a group of people rapidly approaching.

“Who is it?”

“Block them for now!”

The beggars drew their bamboo sticks and blocked the gate.

“Stop!”

The group stopped right in front of the main gate.

“Go back. The Beggars’ Sect is holding a ceremony. Unless you’re a high-ranking sect leader, you can’t enter!”

The person at the head smiled gently.

“In that case, please open the gate.”

“If you understand, then just… Huh? What did you just say?”

The person at the head took the sword at his waist and held it out, sheath and all. Then, he clasped his hands together firmly.

“Baek Cheon, acting sect leader of the Great Mount Hua Sect. I have come to congratulate the Beggars’ Sect. Please open the gate.”

“Uh…?”

The beggars’ eyes widened.

Baek Cheon? That Mount Hua…

“Ack!”

The beggars saw the plum blossom pattern on the young man’s chest and were shocked.

“Bae-Baek Cheon?”

“Mount Hua Divine Sword? Baek Cheon?”

Baek Cheon looked at the shocked beggars and said calmly.

“As acting sect leader, I am important enough to be a sect leader.”

“Th-that’s…”

The beggars looked at each other, embarrassed. What should they do?

“Is there a problem?” Baek Cheon asked.

“Well. Please wait a moment. The rule is…”

“Rule?”

Baek Cheon stared at them intently before speaking.

“There are two rules. One, to be equal to a sect leader. And two, for their sect to be considered a great sect.”

“…”

“Being an acting sect leader is the same as being a sect leader. So, are you saying Mount Hua is not important enough?”

The faces of the Beggars’ Sect members turned pale.

Great Sect.

It was hard to define, but no one could call Mount Hua a small sect anymore, especially not the Beggars’ Sect.

If they said the wrong thing, something serious could happen. The guards couldn’t handle that.

“If you don’t think so…”

Baek Cheon smiled, a confident smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, with the sunlight behind him.

“Will you open the gate?”

“…I-I’ll open it now.”

The beggars, sweating, opened the gate. Baek Cheon nodded and stepped forward.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes!”

Baek Cheon’s step echoed through the old headquarters of the Beggars’ Sect.