Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 163

Heogong stared at the wooden box. His eyes shook.

“This… this is the Hunwon Pill…”

He was a Wudang elder, and he knew what it was right away. Getting the Hunwon Pill made his heart race with excitement.

Heosanja stepped back to Heogong.

“This way!”

“Yes!”

Heosanja took the wooden box. Heogong quickly pulled out his sword and stood in front of Heosanja, ready to fight Chung Myung if he attacked.

But Chung Myung did not attack, which was surprising. He just stared at them, looking completely shocked and upset.

Heosanja held the wooden box tightly, his hand shaking a little. He breathed out heavily.

‘After all this pain…’ He had gone through so much more than he expected. But now, he thought he had won, and strength rushed through him.

He still needed to escape, but he felt like he was already 80% done.

‘But I should check.’ Heosanja grabbed the lid of the box. He wanted to see the Hunwon Pill. Or even better, the secret to making the Hunwon Pill. Just the pill would be good. The secret recipe would be amazing. Both would be perfect.

Heosanja’s mouth was dry. He quickly pulled the lid open. His eyes went wide with shock.

“This…”

Heosanja started to shake badly.

Heogong, behind him, saw how much Heosanja was shaking and knew something was wrong. Heogong looked closer.

“…Senior Brother?”

Heosanja’s face was strange. Heogong couldn’t understand what he was feeling, even after knowing him for years.

“Why…”

Heosanja reached into the box, his hand shaking. He started to search faster and faster. Then, he roared,

“WHY! Why is it empty! Why is there nothing inside!”

He turned the box upside down and shook it hard. Nothing. He looked closely at the box, turning it over and over, thinking there might be a secret. But it was just a normal box. He felt completely tricked. What else could he think? Heosanja’s eyes became red with anger.

“Yak Seon! You… you bastard!”

He threw the box down, smashing it. Even after it broke, he looked through the pieces, just in case. But there was nothing hidden. It was just an empty box.

Heosanja laughed weakly. Nothing? He had come all this way, suffered so much, and found nothing in the box. And the amazing swords were all broken and rusty? What was the point of this Sword Tomb then? He felt lost and angry.

“Hey, you!”

Chung Myung started hitting his own chest, looking like he was going crazy.

“Ugh! You’re acting like you’re getting younger and dumber, you old fools!”

“You went through all this trouble to get here, and then you just touch it?!” Chung Myung yelled. “Are you blind? You talked about wanting things too much, and then you let your own wants make you do something stupid like this?”

Heogong frowned, confused. ‘What is he talking about?’ Desire? Wanting things? What? Chung Myung saw they didn’t understand and scratched his head hard, messing up his hair. ‘I knew something was wrong.’ He had felt it the whole time in the Sword Tomb.

Yak Seon wasn’t being nice; he was being mean to anyone who came in. A test? No way. ‘What kind of test is this?’ Trying to kill them with falling rocks, blood-sucking bats, and zombies? A test should still teach you something even if you fail and don’t die. What kind of test could be in a place where one mistake means death?

Chung Myung bit his lip. The wooden box… Maybe there weren’t any traps in the box itself? No way.

“You touched it knowing something bad would happen!” Chung Myung shouted. “You idiots! Ugh, I’m so annoyed!”

Thud! While Chung Myung was yelling curses, the disciples from Wudang and Mount Hua climbed up one by one. They had been ready to fight each other, but they stopped and stared at the strange scene in front of them.

“What are you talking about?” Heogong finally asked, unable to take it anymore.

Chung Myung shouted back, like he had been waiting for the question.

“Think! Use your brain! There’s nothing in there!”

“That’s right.”

“So what’s left now?!”

Just then… Creak! Everyone turned their heads fast. The rock. The rock where the box had been was shaking.

“…Could it be…”

Heogong’s eyes went wide. Heosanja, who had been half-crazy with anger, suddenly seemed to wake up. He stared at the shaking rock, confused. The shaking got stronger.

“Wh-what!”

“No, why is it doing that?”

Baek Cheon, who had just climbed up, saw the broken box and the shaking rock and understood right away. He sighed heavily.

“…Is this another trap?”

“Ugh…”

Chung Myung rubbed his face hard. ‘Right, no time for this!’ The Hunwon Pill didn’t matter if they died. Chung Myung quickly looked around. ‘There!’ The top, where the light was coming from. That light…

“Huh?”

But then Chung Myung saw it. The shaking from the rock was moving up the cliff and reaching the crack in the ceiling. At the same time, the whole Sword Tomb started to shake like the ground was breaking apart.

“Ahhh!”

“Wh-what’s happening! Why is it doing this?”

“Could it be?!”

No one wanted to say it out loud. They knew what was going to happen, but they were scared to say it and make it real. Chung Myung slowly looked up. The Mount Hua disciples behind him also looked up at the light and the cave ceiling.

Finally, Chung Myung spoke.

“Sasuk.”

“Yeah?”

“Looks like it’s going to fall, right?”

“If I see correctly, yes, it does.”

“Then what happens to us?”

“We die.”

“Right?”

Chung Myung smiled, but it wasn’t a happy smile. Then, he suddenly yelled like crazy.

“No! This is too much! Yak Seon! You’re insane!”

Yak Seon, my foot! What kind of crazy person called this madman ‘Immortal’? Drug Demon, maybe? Or… Rumble! A huge roar shook the air, and the Sword Tomb trembled.

And… Crack. Crack crack crack. Everyone heard it clearly. And saw it. A long crack appeared in the ceiling. Cracks spread everywhere like a spiderweb.

Chung Myung yelled, angry and frustrated.

“If I get out of here, I’m going to beat those Wudang guys to pieces! You idiots! Even if you’re greedy, this is too much! Even a kid wouldn’t be this stupid!”

Heosanja lowered his head without thinking. It was embarrassing to hear such harsh words from a kid. But he couldn’t argue. It was Wudang who had been foolish and touched the trap. Because of them, everyone was going to die.

“W-Wudang! Do something! I don’t know what’s happening, but fix it!”

“It’s falling! It’s falling! We’re all going to die!”

“Help us!”

It was sad to watch. The people who had just climbed up seemed to forget everything they had done and started blaming Wudang. They forgot that they wouldn’t even be here if they hadn’t followed Wudang. Wudang didn’t yell back. They were trying to find a way out. But… Rumble! Too late. With a roar like thunder, the ceiling started to fall.

‘This is crazy!’ Baek Cheon was terrified. It was a round room, like a tube. And they had all climbed up to the top. There was nowhere to run.

“Talgeommuheun! You madman!”

He wanted to trap them all here and kill them! How could someone be so evil?

“Chung Myung-ah!”

“Don’t worry! It’s me, Chung Myung!”

Chung Myung held his sword tight and looked up at the falling ceiling. “They say there’s always a way out, even if the sky is falling. I won’t lose to a falling ceiling…” Huh? Chung Myung suddenly tilted his head.

“Sasuk.”

“Uh?”

“There’s no way out, is there?”

“…”

Baek Cheon’s face tightened.

“What do you mean, no way out, you idiot!”

“No, what can I do if there isn’t one! Look at that!”

Huge rocks, as big as houses, were falling. Swords can’t stop that. Chung Myung, the Third Disciple of Mount Hua, couldn’t see a way. Unless the amazing Plum Blossom Sword Saint Chung Myung came back to life.

“I’m not a super demon! What can I do?”

“We still have to try!”

“Sasuk, you know what?”

“What?”

“Everyone dies someday. Just relax.”

“…Hey, you crazy kid…”

Baek Cheon’s voice was full of despair, and everyone felt the same. They started to lose hope.

“Cut them down!”

Suddenly, a loud voice boomed.

“Wudang disciples, use all your power to cut them down! Now!”

“Yes!”

Heosanja shouted, and the Wudang disciples quickly formed a circle. ‘Is that the Tai Chi Sword Form?’ They were trying to use a form they knew to make them stronger. But… ‘That won’t work!’ Swords can’t cut rocks that big!

‘Think.’ Chung Myung frowned. Trying to fight the falling sky is stupid. This is the Sword Tomb. Everything is Yak Seon’s plan. Did Yak Seon really want to kill everyone here? ‘No. There has to be a way out!’ Think. Think. Think…

“Aaaargh! Damn it, why do I have to think now!” That’s not my job!

“No, why is this crazy place so strange…”

Chung Myung suddenly felt something click in his mind. A strange place. A place that was all wrong. Going down and down, through tight spaces, suffering all the way. The path went on and on, and then led to this place. Climbing and climbing, and finally… Chung Myung’s eyes opened wide. ‘Light!’ Maybe that was the point. No! Success! No… Whatever!

“It’s not there!”

That’s not it! If it’s Yak Seon, it wouldn’t be that easy. Then? Chung Myung looked down fast. The floor. He was looking at the floor.

“Jump dooooown!”

Chung Myung yelled so loud it shook the whole cave.