Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1655

Thundering footsteps, hurried and angry, echoed through the halls.

“Head!”

“Get out of my way!”

Pushing past startled disciples, Head Hermit Dojin stormed through the opened path.

Beyond the inner gate, the Ancestral Hall stood – a palace unlike any other, sacred to the Taoist sect.

He reached the Ancestral Hall. Incense smoke filled the air in this most sacred place, where tablets of past leaders were kept. A dozen Taoists were bowing deeply before them.

“Th-this…….”

Dojin almost screamed. He bit his lip hard, fighting to control his fury.

This was the Ancestral Hall. Here, the tablets honored those who had lived and died for the sect, those believed to have become immortal. No anger, no fighting, was allowed here. Not even for him. He had to control himself, even now.

“You scoundrel…….”

“First bow,” Heogong’s calm voice cut through Dojin’s anger.

Dojin spoke through gritted teeth, “First bow,” Heogong’s voice was calm and steady, like stone, drowning out Dojin’s fury.

The disciples in the hall bowed deeply towards the tablets.

Dojin clenched his fist tightly.

They knew he was here. They couldn’t pretend otherwise.

Yet, they ignored him completely, as if he were invisible.

He knew what this meant. It was a deliberate insult.

“Nine bows.”

This was a special ritual, nine bows given only to masters and ancestors. They performed it perfectly, every movement precise. Only when it was finished did they stand up straight.

Dojin, who had been holding back his anger, finally exploded. “What in the world do you think you’re doing?” he demanded, his voice cold.

The disciples in the Ancestral Hall all turned to Dojin.

“I asked you a question! Answer me!”

Heogong turned to face him, his voice calm. “As you can see, Head, we were paying respects to our ancestors.”

“You know that’s not what I’m asking!”

“Lower your voice, Head.”

“…What?”

“The ancestors are watching.”

Dojin’s gaze turned to the tablets in the Ancestral Hall.

Incense smoke flickered before the well-tended, luxurious tablets.

Dojin pointed at Heogong. “Is this your doing?” Heogong slowly turned, met Dojin’s gaze, and then bowed respectfully.

“I greet the Head…….”

“Answer me!”

Dojin cut him off, his voice shaking with rage. “Answer me!”

“I asked if this was your doing! Did you order this ridiculous behavior, truly?”

“I find it difficult to understand what you are saying, Head.”

“Difficult to understand?”

“Yes.”

“What is difficult to understand? Can’t you answer properly right now?”

“It is as I said. I don’t understand why you think that way.”

“…What?”

“Do I have the authority to force the disciples of the shaman sect?”

Dojin stared at him, speechless for a moment.

“Have you ever known the disciples of this sect to blindly follow orders?”

“So, you’re saying…….”

“Yes, Head.”

Heogong nodded, his gaze steady.

“No one gave orders. No one could. This is what we all decided together.”

Heogong’s calm voice was like a weight on Dojin’s chest, making it hard to breathe. Dojin glared at Heogong, his eyes burning with anger. Then he turned to the other disciples.

He turned to the others and asked, his voice tight.

“Is it true?”

Mujin hesitated, his silence heavy in the hall.

“Answer me, Mujin. Is it true?”

Mujin sighed deeply. “Yes, Head. No one forced us. We all feel the same way.”

“Jin Hyun. Is it the same for you?”

“Yes.”

Jin Hyun nodded firmly, without hesitation.

“It was my thought, and my will.”

Dojin’s teeth ground together, a harsh sound in the silent hall.

“What are you thinking?”

“Head.”

“What on earth are you trying to do! You fools!”

“Head. The ancestors are watching.”

“Heogong! You scoundrel!”

Dojin roared, his voice exploding like a bomb in the hall. The ancient Ancestral Hall seemed to shake from the force of his shout.

“I say this because the ancestors are watching!” Dojin yelled. “What is this madness? Do you want to destroy our sect? What would the ancestors think?”

“They would say we are excellent.”

“…What?”

“I think they would be proud,” Heogong said. “That’s why we are here, to honor them with our actions.”

“Th-this…….”

Dojin’s hands trembled. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, whether from anger or something else, he wasn’t sure.

“The ancestors would be proud if you destroy the sect?”

“Yes.”

“Does that even make sense?”

“Of course, it makes sense.”

Heogong answered calmly compared to the bewildered Head Hermit Dojin.

“Because it’s right.”

“……”

“The sect isn’t just about surviving,” Heogong explained. “It’s about doing what is right. Better to die doing right than live doing wrong.”

“Y-you scoundrel…….”

Head Hermit Dojin’s hand trembled.

“Do you know what you’re saying right now?”

“Yes, I know for sure. Head, no… Senior Brother.”

“……”

“We must not repeat mistakes we can’t undo. I know this for sure.”

“Heogong!”

“You know. We shouldn’t have run away before.”

“……”

“We shouldn’t have run away before, yet we did. Just as spilled water cannot be picked up again, what had to be lost due to the wrong choice can never be found again no matter what. So, how can we make the same choice again?”

“That’s my burden, not yours!” Dojin cried out. “I made that choice, I have to pay for it. Why are you taking this on?”

“Why is that your fault?”

Jin Hyun, who had been silent until now, spoke, his voice firm.

“That is the karma of the shaman sect.”

“It’s a choice I made.”

“Yes,” Jin Hyun said. “You made the choice, but we followed it. You can’t carry all the blame yourself. Thinking you can is arrogant.”

“…What did you say?”

“I said it’s arrogance.”

Jin Hyun stared directly at Head Hermit Dojin with steady gaze.

“No matter what you say, we agreed to your choice. We are all responsible. Are you saying we should make the same mistake again, just because you order us to? That’s not a real reason, it’s just an excuse.”

“……”

“I am a disciple of this sect. We were never taught to be cowards.”

“You, you scoundrel…….”

“If you are truly our master, don’t tell us to be cowards and call it loyalty. That won’t save us, it will destroy us.”

Dojin’s face twisted with emotions – anger, fear, and something else. His voice trembled as he spoke.

“So, you’re saying you’re going to die?”

“……”

“You know a powerful enemy is coming! And you’re still going to throw your lives away? For this…stubborn idea? You don’t even know if it’s right! Do you want us all dead? Is that what you want?”

“No one forced us, Head.”

“……”

“We chose this ourselves, Head. We are willing to die for what we believe is right.”

Jin Hyun’s gaze went past Head Hermit Dojin and stared behind him. Head Dojin turned around, following that gaze without realizing it.

A crowd of disciples lined up outside the inner gate came into view.

Their eyes were fixed on him, filled with a chilling resolve. They were ready to die.

Dojin looked from Jin Hyun’s determined face to Mujin’s silent one, then back to Heogong.

“Gong-ah…….”

“Please don’t say anything, Senior Brother.”

“……”

“I know what you’re going to say, Senior Brother. You want to take all the blame, to save us. That’s what you always do.”

“Heogong…….”

“But Senior Brother, that might make you feel better, and maybe fool the world. But it won’t fool me.”

Head Hermit Dojin bit his lip.

Dojin understood.

Maybe Dojin could die a hero and save them from blame.

But he knew Heogong was right.

Even if the world forgave the sect, even if they were praised again one day, the shame of running away would never go away.

Because no one can lie to themselves.

They hadn’t realized it before, but now they did. And now, they had no other choice.

“…Is that your answer?”

“Yes, Head. This is my decision, and theirs, and the sect’s decision. And yours too.”

“My…… answer?”

Dojin looked confused. Heogong smiled faintly for the first time.

“If the Head were in our position, you would have done this, of course.”

Dojin closed his eyes. He felt a cold emptiness inside him.

“This is what we learned from the shaman sect, and what we learned from the Head.”

Before he knew it, a heavy sigh of regret escaped his lips.

‘Why…….’

He thought their time in hiding would have weakened them.

But he hadn’t seen how their suffering had made them stronger, their thoughts clearer.

They were no longer the boys who blindly followed him. They were men now, strong and resolute, men he couldn’t control.

‘……But why is that time now!’

Their strength, their sense of right and wrong, would destroy them all.

The very thing he had always wanted for them.

He saw the terrible end coming, like a dark shadow falling over them. Despair crashed over him, cold and heavy.

‘Primal Celestial Lord……. This…… isn’t this too harsh…….’

Head Hermit Dojin tightly closed his eyes. His eyelids trembled.

It was a feeling of utter loss, a deep and terrible sadness.