Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1648

“Let’s go quickly, please!”

“Ah, I got it!”

At Jo Gul’s repeated urging, Yoon Jong replied irritably, kicking the ground hard.

It wasn’t just anyone; Hae Yeon hitting someone was a serious matter. Actually, even before considering how serious it was…

‘Is this even possible?’

If Namgung Dowi hadn’t been the one to deliver the news, Yoon Jong would have scoffed and ignored it. It was that unbelievable.

Not long after running, they saw a large training ground.

People were standing in a large circle around the training ground. In the center, several people were collapsed on the ground. Hae Yeon stood among them, looking blank with his hands down.

“Huh?”

“…Re, really?”

Wasn’t this… wasn’t this a situation where Hae Yeon had attacked and knocked down those lying there? It looked that way to anyone who saw it.

The astonished Yoon Jong and Jo Gul, along with Baek Cheon, moved quickly past the crowd and jumped down into the training ground.

“Venerable Monk!”

“Wh, what is going on?”

Hae Yeon, who had been chanting the Buddha’s name with his eyes closed, opened his eyes when he heard them. His large, usually gentle eyes were now filled with a dark aura.

“You’ve come.”

Baek Cheon quickly looked at the people on the ground.

‘This is….’

These weren’t just signs of collapsing during practice. They had been hurt by a real attack and had lost consciousness.

The moment Baek Cheon saw the blood flowing from their mouths, he felt a chill run down his spine.

“Venerable Monk, what happened?”

Instead of answering Baek Cheon’s question, Hae Yeon shook his head and changed the subject.

“I have committed a sin.”

“No, Venerable Monk!”

“It seems the anger in my heart has not completely gone away. I lost control. I will accept punishment. Tie me up.”

“Bi, bind you!”

Baek Cheon was shocked.

He couldn’t just ignore Hae Yeon’s statement that he had ‘committed a sin.’ Hae Yeon was the Vice Chief, but that didn’t give him the right to beat up members of the group.

‘Th, this….’

Baek Cheon’s face grew even more serious.

He had a feeling this situation might become more serious than he thought.

The people on the ground were wearing clothes from different fighting groups. This meant Hae Yeon had attacked disciples from several groups at the same time.

In the martial world, hurting someone from another group was like starting a war with that entire group.

Even though they were in the same alliance, would they understand this situation?

“Venerable Monk, please don’t do this….”

“I beg you, Benefactor Baek Cheon.”

Hae Yeon’s eyelids trembled. Baek Cheon said firmly.

“…If you have committed a sin, you must be punished. That is normal in the Heavenly Union. However, the Heavenly Union also doesn’t accuse someone without knowing what happened. First, you must tell us the circumstances.”

Hae Yeon sighed softly.

But then he closed his mouth, as if he didn’t want to explain what had happened.

Growing frustrated, Baek Cheon was about to ask again when someone in the crowd shouted.

“What circumstances are there to talk about?”

Baek Cheon looked at him.

“That guy! No… The Vice Chief suddenly got angry and attacked people while they were talking! Everyone here saw it!”

Baek Cheon’s face hardened.

Accusations exploded from the crowd.

“That’s right! The others were just trying to stop the Vice Chief and got hurt! He attacked first!”

“He must be punished!”

Even in the middle of this, Hae Yeon only chanted the Buddha’s name with a pale face, not arguing against the accusations.

‘This is….’

Baek Cheon looked troubled.

If this continued, they would have to take Hae Yeon away. What would happen to Hae Yeon’s position if that happened? Could he still lead as Vice Chief after this shame?

But the situation was too serious to ignore.

At that moment, Yoon Jong asked with a cold look.

“What were you discussing?”

“Yes?”

“You said there was a discussion before this happened. What kind of discussion was it?”

“Is that important now?”

“If it’s not important, you can tell us. Is it hard to say?”

“That’s….”

Baek Cheon nodded, agreeing with Yoon Jong’s question. He needed to know this.

The person frowned slightly, thinking. Then, as if forced, he opened his mouth.

“We were talking about Shaolin.”

“…Shaolin?”

Yoon Jong’s face turned pale.

“Just that… Tsk.”

The person raised his voice, as if going all in.

“Isn’t Shaolin the reason for all this trouble? We were just saying we can’t trust someone wearing a monk’s robe.”

“…What did you just say…?”

“Are we wrong?”

Baek Cheon looked at him in disbelief. The person glared back, angry.

“How many people have died because of Shaolin! That Shaolin disciple! How can someone favored by the abbot lead us? How can we trust him? Who knows what we’ll suffer!”

“…….”

“Frankly, who knows if he’s secretly working with that abbot right now….”

“This bastard thinks he can say anything he wants!”

“Geol!”

Yoon Jong grabbed Jo Gul’s shoulder tightly, stopping him from drawing his sword and attacking.

“Let me go, Senior Brother! That bastard is just talking nonsense…!”

“Shut up! Close your mouth!”

“This….”

Jo Gul reluctantly stopped, but glared at the person, grinding his teeth. The person, scared by the murderous look, stepped back.

Baek Cheon wasn’t as angry as Jo Gul, but his eyes were very cold.

“Do you call that a ‘discussion’?”

“…….”

“Isn’t that just finding excuses to hurt people?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“……What did you say?”

Having been cornered, the person started shouting as if possessed.

“So, I asked, are we wrong?”

“Of course, you’re wrong, you bastard! What kind of person do you think Hae Yeon is, talking about him colluding with others! I’m going to rip your mouth apart….”

“I told you to stop!”

Yoon Jong stopped Jo Gul again. Baek Cheon sighed deeply and said.

“Venerable Hae Yeon is trusted by the Alliance.”

“……Ha, but…!”

“Doubting him is like doubting the Alliance. It’s like saying the leaders who chose him are fools.”

The person’s face turned pale when he heard the words ‘head disciples.’

“Th, that wasn’t my intention!”

“Then you know you were wrong.”

Now that he was cornered, there was silence. The person hesitated, then tried to change the subject. The others who had been quiet began to speak.

“Is that important now?”

Someone who seemed to be from the Zhuge Family spoke with a cold and arrogant tone.

“The Vice Chief is hiding the real issue. Even if they were wrong to say it, the monk attacked people after an argument, right?”

Baek Cheon was speechless.

“If we don’t follow the rules here, then it’s okay to kill someone if you win an argument? The Alliance is strong because everything is handled by the rules. If people can use violence based on their feelings, how are we different from evil groups?”

Baek Cheon looked troubled.

He was right. And the others agreed with the Zhuge Family member.

“…So, what do you want?”

“You’re asking a strange question. What would we want? Just….”

The person, Zhuge Yeon, continued calmly.

“We just want this to be handled fairly, according to the Alliance’s rules. The guilty should be punished, right?”

“That bastard is still going on…!”

“Geol!”

Even Jo Gul was feeling anxious. He knew Zhuge Yeon was right.

Hae Yeon had lost control and used force. It would be hard to defend him.

“…Do you really have to go this far?”

Zhuge Yeon scoffed at Baek Cheon’s words.

“You said you would break down the walls between groups, but it seems your friendships are very important to the Hwasan sect?”

“…….”

“If those in power act like this, what can I say? I’ll just watch and see if the Alliance’s rules matter, or if friendship matters more.”

Everyone in the training ground looked at Baek Cheon.

Everyone knew who would decide this. Who would take responsibility.

“What are you going to do?”

Even people passing by were watching. In the middle of all the attention, Hae Yeon spoke slowly.

“…Officer, take me into custody. It’s the right thing to do. It’s all my fault.”

“…….”

“Please, you must do it.”

Baek Cheon sighed softly. Then, reluctantly, he nodded.

Zhuge Yeon said calmly, as if this was expected.

“Yes. Of course. That’s the only way the Alliance can be fair….”

“What a load of crap.”

“……What?”

“I said, what a load of crap.”

Zhuge Yeon gritted his teeth and turned his head to see who had said that.

But when he saw who it was, he turned pale, unable to even get angry.

“Ch, Chief….”

Chung Myung was looking up at him with his usual blank expression.

“I’ve been listening, and I’m hearing nonsense.”

“……Yes?”

“Hey.”

“……Wh, why are you doing this….”

“Do you know all the Alliance rules? Have you ever even seen them?”

“……Th, that’s….”

“I’ve never given them out, so how do you know about them and talk about fairness? Did you break into the Alliance Leader’s office and peek at them?”

Zhuge Yeon shook his head, looking wronged.

“Th, there’s no way I would do that.”

“Then why are you talking nonsense, you bastard!”

Wham!

“Aaaagh!”

Chung Myung kicked Zhuge Yeon’s shin while sitting down. Zhuge Yeon fell to the ground, rolling around.

Chung Myung slowly stood up.

“You’re all acting crazy. Huh? What, get punished?”

He looked around, and everyone lowered their heads.

Jo Gul whispered to Yoon Jong.

“S, Senior Brother, is he crazy?”

“I think so.”

“Sh, shouldn’t we stop him?”

“……Why?”

“Uh….”

Jo Gul looked back and forth between Yoon Jong, Baek Cheon, Hae Yeon, and Chung Myung, and then nodded silently.

Well, yeah. No need to stop him….

“Yeah, punishment. I like that too.”

Chung Myung grinned.

“Let’s get some punishment, you bastards.”

His eyes were wild.