Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1538

It was very early in the morning, and the Hwasan Sect had taken over the inn’s dining hall. (Hwasan Sect is a school of warriors.)

The dining hall should have been noisy with the sounds of morning chatter. Instead, a heavy silence hung in the air.

Clink. Clink.

Dozens of people were in the dining hall for breakfast. Usually, it would be noisy with so many people eating. But today, it was completely silent. The only sound was the *clink, clink* of spoons hitting bowls. Each small sound seemed very loud in the quiet room, making people jump.

The faces of the younger students were as white as the rice porridge in their bowls, their eyes wide with worry. (The younger students are known as Second-Class disciples.)

‘This silence is terrible.’

They were bound to get indigestion.

Even though they were strong, there was no way the food they forced down in this atmosphere would be properly digested.

‘Senior Brother.’

‘What?’

‘That story?’

‘Are you crazy? Why are you talking about that now?’

The younger students exchanged worried glances, barely moving their mouths as they spoke.

They had planned to suggest that the training was too hard.

This wasn’t just complaining. With the war coming, the training was so difficult that some people were worried they would collapse before it even started.

Jo Gul, who usually listened to these concerns, was now famous and harder to approach. He was Ilgeom Bungwang, after all.

So, they planned to skip Jo Gul and talk to Yoon Jong, who was known for being kind… but…

Clink. Clink.

The atmosphere at Yoon Jong’s table was not normal.

At the table where Yoon Jong and the other members of the Five Swords were sitting, no one spoke. They only scraped their spoons against their bowls of rice porridge.

To be fair, this wasn’t completely unusual.

The students often argued. It would be strange if there were no disagreements when energetic people were pushed to their limits.

Even Jin Tae, who was watching carefully, had fought with many other students.

Sometimes, these fights became physical. A few times, they almost drew their swords.

So, the fighting wasn’t new. But it was the first time the Five Swords and Chung Myung were at the center of such a tense situation.

‘Has this ever happened before?’

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember anything like this.

The Five Swords had fought many times. They fought so much that others were afraid to even say their names.

The younger students joked that Hwasan’s history was just the story of the Five Swords’ long fights. Enough said?

But they never held grudges. If they had a problem, they would immediately yell and punch each other, not stay silent like this.

‘I can’t breathe. Seriously.’

Still, Jin Tae and the others around him were better off.

The poor students who were sitting at the same table as the Five Swords were scraping their bowls, looking like they were about to faint.

Jin Tae was glad he wasn’t one of them. If he had been at that table, he would have passed out.

Clack.

Just then, Chung Myung put down his spoon.

“I’m done eating.”

Yoon Jong looked at him and said calmly, “Why don’t you eat more? You have training to do.”

“It’s okay. Not this morning.”

“Alright.”

With that, Chung Myung got up and left the dining hall.

It was a normal conversation. Someone who didn’t know them might have thought it was a kind exchange between a younger brother who wasn’t hungry and an older brother who cared about him.

But no one there saw it that way.

Clack.

At that moment, Yoon Jong also put down his spoon.

“I’ll go first.”

A moment later, the sound of the door closing echoed through the hall. Immediately, everyone sighed in relief.

It was clear that Chung Myung and Yoon Jong were the source of the tension.

“…Hey, you look pale.”

“Senior Brother’s face is dark.”

“Really?”

“Of course, since you weren’t breathing.”

Everyone sighed deeply, looking exhausted.

In that atmosphere, Tang Soso nudged Jo Gul and gestured with her eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“…What?”

“Go and see what’s going on.”

Jo Gul looked confused.

“No, they’ll figure it out. Why me…?”

“Just go.”

“Ugh…”

Jo Gul made a face as if he were going to his death and reluctantly stood up.

It wasn’t just because Tang Soso told him to. He also felt that he should try to talk to them.

“Senior Brother. What’s going on?”

Jo Gul quickly caught up with Yoon Jong and asked, but Yoon Jong avoided the question. Jo Gul frowned.

“Why are you acting like children?”

“What do you mean, why?”

“Don’t avoid the question. If you fought, just make up. It’s not like Chung Myung has never done anything ridiculous before.”

Yoon Jong stopped walking.

He didn’t look at Jo Gul, but stared ahead as he spoke.

“Fought, you say…”

“No, I mean, you didn’t actually fight, but it’s clear he’s being unreasonable…”

“I wish it were that simple.”

“…Yes?”

“There’s no need to worry. We’re not emotionally hurt.”

Jo Gul’s face hardened. Had they grown so distant without even fighting?

“What on earth…”

As Jo Gul hesitated, Yoon Jong said calmly, “We just have different views. That’s all.”

“Senior Brother.”

“I’ll go first.”

With that, Jo Gul was left behind, speechless. He watched Yoon Jong disappear into the distance. Yoon Jong’s tight mouth told him everything. This wasn’t just a small fight. It was serious.

“What is this…”

Yoon Jong and Chung Myung were fighting just before the war. This was a big problem.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Jo Gul scratched his head.

“What should I do…”

Jo Gul wasn’t the one who usually solved problems. That was Yoon Jong’s job. But now that Yoon Jong was so upset, it seemed impossible to find a solution.

Jo Gul knew them well. Even though Yoon Jong was known as a good person, he was very stubborn.

If you asked who the two most stubborn people in Hwasan were, Jo Gul would say Chung Myung and Yoon Jong without hesitation.

And now, they were fighting. The situation was terrible. He didn’t know how long it would last.

“Haa…”

Jo Gul sighed and turned around.

He would go and see Baek Cheon. In this situation, Baek Cheon was the only one who could help.

“So?”

“Yes?”

However, Baek Cheon’s reaction was different from what Jo Gul expected.

“So, you want me to go play babysitter to those two and sort out their fight?”

Baek Cheon stared at Jo Gul with cold eyes. Jo Gul was speechless.

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

It was absurd.

It was just two younger students fighting. That’s all.

And now he was asking Baek Cheon to help.

Jo Gul scratched his head.

“I know. I know this is absurd. Especially now.”

Baek Cheon looked at Jo Gul, waiting for him to continue.

“But, Martial Uncle. It’s just that…”

Jo Gul sighed, ruffling his hair.

“It doesn’t seem like a simple fight. Yoon Jong isn’t like that, is he?”

Yoon Jong was known as a good person by everyone in Hwasan. He wouldn’t fight with Chung Myung just because he was in a bad mood.

“So… if this continues… it could cause problems later, so I was hoping you could somehow…”

“Let’s fix that.”

“Yes?”

“First.”

Baek Cheon looked at Jo Gul and asked, “Why do you think Chung Myung is at fault?”

“Yes? I didn’t say that…”

“You said it yourself. Yoon Jong doesn’t start fights over small things. So, is Chung Myung that kind of guy?”

Jo Gul closed his mouth.

No. He wasn’t someone who got upset over small things.

He could be more forgiving than anyone else in Hwasan.

“…I was wrong.”

“Neither of them would act like that. If they are, it means there’s something they can’t agree on. That can’t be solved easily.”

Jo Gul lowered his head.

That’s why he had come to Baek Cheon. But Baek Cheon’s answer wasn’t helpful.

“And second.”

“Yes, Martial Uncle.”

“Is this something I should be doing?”

“Yes?”

Jo Gul looked up, surprised. Baek Cheon’s cold face was even more surprising.

“Answer me. Should I be doing this?”

“…Martial Uncle?”

“It’s a problem between two younger students. Should I help them with every fight?”

“Ah, no. It’s not like that. It’s just that this isn’t just a problem between younger students. It also involves Chung Myung.”

It was a fight between the Five Swords, which was very important to Hwasan.

But as Jo Gul was about to say that, he stopped.

He realized that if he said that, it would be like saying that only the Five Swords were important, no matter who they were.

A student of Hwasan should never say that.

Even if it was true.

Jo Gul didn’t know what to do. Baek Cheon, who had been watching him, spoke.

“What if I can’t do it?”

“Yes? What do you mean…?”

“Are you going to go to the Sect Leader?”

Jo Gul flinched, confused.

“And if that doesn’t work? Are you going to ask the Grand Elder to scold them both?”

He knew he shouldn’t complain.

But why was Baek Cheon being so cold?

“I don’t understand why you’re saying that… Martial Uncle, is this really that…”

“Jo Gul.”

“Yes?”

Baek Cheon looked at Jo Gul with a heavy expression.

“If I’m not here.”

“…Yes?”

A heavy atmosphere pressed down between them.

“If I’m not here, what are you going to do?”

Those words hurt Jo Gul.

It was as if something that had been hidden was now coming out.