Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 184

Everyone looked back and forth between the grand main hall and Jo Gul.

Their eyes moved quickly between the two. Jo Gul, now the center of attention, cleared his throat softly.

“This is it?”

“Yes.”

“This is it?”

“Yes, I’m telling you!”

Chung Myung’s jaw dropped.

“…Senior Brother Jo Gul is the son of this place? Not just some servant or something?”

“It’s my house, you know?”

Chung Myung shook his head and placed a hand on Jo Gul’s shoulder.

“No, no. Senior Brother, think carefully.”

“About what?”

“No, no. Senior Brother, think about it. Looking at you, no one would guess you are from a rich family. You look like you are from a small, simple village.”

“Hey!”

Unable to bear it any longer, Jo Gul kicked Chung Myung, sending him flying.

“Why! Is it so strange that I’m from a well-to-do family?”

“Very.”

“Extremely.”

“Seriously. It’s really strange, Jo Gul.”

Even Baek Cheon looked at him with utter disbelief, causing Jo Gul to hang his head low.

‘These are the people I call my senior and junior brothers.’

He felt a stinging sensation in his eyes.

“Jo Gul, tell me honestly. Is this really your house?”

“Senior Brother…”

Even Yoon Jong asked with a disbelieving tone, and Jo Gul finally clutched his head. Yoon Jong spoke with a nervous expression.

“Ah, no. But didn’t you tell me your family owned a small trading company in a remote area?”

“…It was hard to explain.”

“Heh. I believed it so completely because it seemed to fit you perfectly.”

“No, do I look that poor? Is it that strange?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that it’s strange, but…”

“But your eyes are saying it’s strange! Right now!”

“Oh… you could see that?”

Yoon Jong visibly panicked.

And that reaction made Jo Gul even more miserable.

Just then, Chung Myung, who had been kicked in the backside and sent flying, quickly returned to his spot.

“No, no. It’s possible. Such things happen often. The neglected son of a successful family can’t stand it and leaves home…”

“Hmph…”

Baek Cheon gritted his teeth and trembled.

“Ah, I wasn’t talking about you, Martial Uncle.”

“You wretched bastard!”

The sounds of their loud talking seemed to have reached inside.

“Who dares to make such a racket in front of the Sahaeshanghoe?”

A sharp-looking old man burst out as the massive doors swung open. He glared at the Mount Hua disciples with an intense stare.

Then, after a moment…

“Oh? Oh my! Young, Young Master!”

Young Master… Young Master.

Chung Myung whispered to Yoon Jong.

“I heard that right, didn’t I?”

“I think so. I feel like I want to dig out my ears.”

The old man rushed to Jo Gul quickly.

“No! No! Not Young Master! Second Young Master! You are Second Young Master! Good heavens! You’ve become so robust!”

Chung Myung whispered again.

“It seems they use the word ‘robust’ differently in Sichuan?”

“I think so too. Maybe it’s a dialect?”

When Chung Myung and Yoon Jong talk about “robust” being a dialect, you could add a very short sentence explaining that “robust” usually means strong and healthy, but they are using it in a funny way because Jo Gul doesn’t look strong and healthy in the usual sense. This little note can help non-native speakers understand the joke better.

“I can hear everything, everything!”

Jo Gul trembled and glared at the two. But the old man seemed to see no other Mount Hua disciples. He embraced Jo Gul as if he were about to burst into tears.

“Second Young Master! You’ve truly returned! Truly!”

“S-Samchonggwan. Calm down a bit!”

Chung Myung whispered again.

“He really is from a rich family. He’s talking down to his grandfather?”

“Hmm. Really… Well, wait a minute. Isn’t that not something you should be saying?”

Even in the midst of all this, Yoon Jong glared as if he couldn’t let this pass.

“Hey, you there! Immediately announce that Second Young Master has returned! Right now!”

At the old man’s booming voice, servants hurried inside.

Chung Myung clicked his tongue, watching Jo Gul, who was busy trying to calm Samchonggwan.

No matter how much you can’t judge a person by their appearance, who would have thought that Jo Gul was the son of such a rich family?

“Senior Brother Yoon Jong. You don’t have some hidden backing or anything? Like being the son of a high-ranking official?”

“…I’m an orphan.”

“Right. That’s usually the case.”

How strange.

Samchonggwan had a long, tearful reunion with Jo Gul. Only then did he notice the others.

“And who are these people?”

“They are my martial uncle and senior brothers from the sect.”

“Ah!”

Baek Cheon clasped his hands towards Samchonggwan.

“I am Baek Cheon, a second-generation disciple of Mount Hua. I unexpectedly came to visit my junior brother’s family. I apologize for this sudden visit without prior notice.”

“Not at all! How can you say such a thing? We are truly grateful for your visit.”

Samchonggwan wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

“After Second Young Master went to Mount Hua, we had no contact for many years, and we were very worried. If it weren’t for the Lord’s orders, we would have gone to find him several times already.”

Jo Gul waved his hand awkwardly and pushed Samchonggwan’s back.

“Let’s go inside first. It’s not polite to keep Martial Uncle standing here like this.”

“Ah, I was so happy that I lost my mind for a moment. Please, come in!”

Samchonggwan led them into the Sahaeshanghoe. The Mount Hua disciples walked through the large main gate. They all thought the same thing.

‘This seems bigger than the Mount Hua sect?’

‘This is the most magnificent house I’ve ever seen in my life.’

‘Good heavens, he looks like a different person.’

The Mount Hua disciples were poor and sensitive to money. As a result, it felt like radiance was coming from Jo Gul, the son of a wealthy family.

The Sahaeshanghoe was not just a house, but a large building like a palace. It had high walls, a big gate with carvings, and looked very important and wealthy.

And.

“Geol!”

They saw two people rushing out barefoot. A middle-aged woman wearing a silk palace gown and a middle-aged man wearing red silk clothes.

At this point, there was no way they couldn’t know who these two were.

The middle-aged woman ran and hugged Jo Gul tightly.

“You heartless boy! Why have you come only now!”

“I’m sorry, Mother.”

The middle-aged man put his hands behind his back and turned his head away sharply. He was probably holding back his rising tears.

That, how should I put it…

The attire and surrounding environment were too extravagant to simply call it harmonious… In any case, it was an extremely heartwarming scene.

The three orphans and one runaway stood like a screen, veins popping on their foreheads.

‘Life is so unfair, really!’

‘I treated him well because I thought we were facing the same problems!’

‘Deceiver! Deceiver!’

Even Chung Myung trembled as he watched the scene.

‘Someone was reborn into a beggar’s den!’

If I had been born into such a family, the process of getting here would have been ten times easier!

Thus, one Mount Hua lineage reunited with their family.

The remaining four Mount Hua disciples were jealous of their senior brother’s happiness.

Chung Myung stared intently at the large, fancy meal laid out before him, then sharply raised his head to glare at Jo Gul.

The table was covered in dishes. There was roasted meat that smelled delicious, colorful vegetables, and bowls of steaming soup. Sweet cakes and fruits were piled high, making everyone’s mouths water.

Jo Gul flinched at the gaze.

“You must have had a lot of money?”

“Ugh, and I didn’t even know! Such a rich young master! That’s right, you were a young master! And I didn’t even know!”

Jo Gul cleared his throat loudly.

“Once you enter the sect, everyone is just a senior or junior brother. What does family background matter?”

“It matters! I don’t have a family!”

“Me neither.”

“I don’t have one either.”

“Oh, I…”

Chung Myung nodded with pity as Baek Cheon hesitated slightly.

“Martial Uncle is fine too. Martial Uncle was kicked out, after all.”

“I left on my own two feet! On my own two feet!”

Chung Myung neatly ignored Baek Cheon’s excuse and trembled.

“You had so much money, and you didn’t contribute a single penny when Mount Hua was collapsing, is that what you’re saying?”

“Ah, no! How old am I that I can use the family’s money! Is that my money? Is it my money?”

“You could have asked! Even a little charity would have been enough to live on!”

“Traitor.”

“Deceiver.”

Jo Gul’s insides churned at the sharp gazes of his senior and junior brothers.

They were all saying that because they didn’t know.

Back then, if Jo Gul had sent word that Mount Hua was about to collapse and asked for support from his family’s money, his father would have immediately rushed to Mount Hua, dragged him back, and returned to Sichuan.

His father was also a merchant.

He wasn’t the kind of person who would spend a penny in a place with no investment value.

“Anyway.”

Baek Cheon intervened as Jo Gul became too distressed.

“Let’s not push him too hard. We just misunderstood, it doesn’t seem like he was trying to hide it.”

But the others were still not happy.

“Look at those rich family kids helping each other!”

“Orphans, gather over here.”

“Then I’ll be here.”

Baek Cheon cleared his throat with a flushed face.

“That’s not it! This isn’t the important thing right now. The important thing is finding a way to get into Yunnan! Isn’t that right?”

“Ugh!”

Chung Myung, who was thinking about teasing them one more time with the words, ‘You guys have a place to return to even if Mount Hua collapses,’ eventually stopped himself and groaned.

“So, what did your father say?”

“I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet.”

“…Why?”

“It’s a little…”

Jo Gul sighed deeply.

“The deadline I originally promised to stay at Mount Hua has already passed. According to the plan, I should have already returned to the family last year to help with the family business.”

“Then why didn’t you go?”

“Well…”

Because you appeared.

But he didn’t want to say these words to Chung Myung.

“Anyway, that’s how it is. So my father currently believes that I have completely returned to the family. I need to correct their misunderstanding first, right?”

“No, it’s okay. We can just go on our own.”

“What are you talking about! I am a disciple of Mount Hua! I will follow you to Yunnan even if I die!”

“Why would someone of such high status bother?”

Chung Myung shrugged.

Then Yoon Jong cautiously asked.

“Is Jo Gul’s status really that high?”

“Tsk tsk. Senior Brother. Can’t you tell just by looking? I don’t know where this is, but judging by the scale, it doesn’t seem to be inferior to the Eunha Trading Company. Then Senior Brother Jo Gul is at least the young master of the Eunha Trading Company! Right! About the level of Hwang Jong’s young master!”

Chung Myung said firmly and pointed at Jo Gul.

“So Senior Brother Jo Gul is at least at the level of Young Master Hwang… Wait a minute. Thinking about it like this, it doesn’t seem like much?”

“Right?”

“I kind of feel that way too.”

Thinking of Hwang Jongi, who bowed so low that his head almost touched the ground whenever he came to Mount Hua, their evaluation began to plummet.

“Eh. It’s nothing much.”

“I thought it was something great.”

“Ha. Jo Gul looks friendly again.”

The Mount Hua disciples were casually saying words that would have made Hwang Jongi become extremely angry and shocked.

And at that reaction, this time, Jo Gul began to tremble.

He felt burdened when they were praising him so much, but now that he was being ignored again, he felt strangely heated.

“Ugh… Anyway.”

Jo Gul sighed and said.

“I’m supposed to have dinner with my family later, so I’ll ask them about a way to get to Yunnan then, Martial Uncle.”

“Hmm.”

Baek Cheon nodded.

“It won’t be easy, but I’m counting on you. Whether we negotiate with the Naman Beast Palace or sneak into the habitat of the Jamokcho, it’s all the same since we’ll be under surveillance from the entrance of Yunnan.”

“I know.”

“If there’s anything we need to do, tell us anytime.”

“Yes, Martial Uncle!”

Jo Gul looked around at his senior and junior brothers and sighed softly.

“Then…”

“Ah, Senior Brother.”

“Yeah?”

“Have your servants bring some alcohol here.”

“Tsk. It’s like they’re looking down on a Taoist priest, not giving me any alcohol. And they’ve laid out this much food. Please get some alcohol. The expensive stuff.”

“Senior Brother. I’m telling you again!”

Chung Myung said with an utterly serious face.

“Make sure it’s the expensive stuff!”

Why doesn’t a ghost do something…

And take that guy away.