Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 219

“You little thief! Stealing things! Put that down right now!”

“No! Someone gave it to me! I didn’t steal it!”

“Don’t you lie to me like that! In Kunming? No one shares food here! Open your hand now!”

The merchant, face red and sweaty, smacked the child.

“Oh, you won’t give it back? We’ll see if you still refuse when your wrist is cut off!”

He pulled a big butcher knife from his belt. Just as he grabbed the child’s hand and lifted the knife high…

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

Yoon Jong’s voice boomed, his eyes flashing with anger as he grabbed the merchant’s wrist, stopping the knife from coming down.

“What is this…!”

The merchant, who was about to get angry because someone stopped him, quickly shut his mouth when he felt the crushing grip on his wrist. His tone softened instantly.

“Ah, no, it’s not that I’m hurting him for no reason, but this boy stole a dumpling…”

“Stole? What are you talking about! I bought them here and was sharing them!”

“That’s right, I gave it to him! What’s it to you?”

“…Y-you, sir, gave it to him?”

Yoon Jong’s eyes narrowed.

“You hit a child without even knowing what happened! Is that how a human being acts?!”

“Oh! I’m so sorry, sir! You must be a… a foreigner. In Kunming, no one shares food anymore, so I just thought he stole it.”

Yoon Jong’s face hardened.

“Even so, to try and cut off a child’s hand just for stealing food… How could anyone do something like that!”

“I-I was just trying to scare him! Really!”

The merchant whined, and Yoon Jong, after glaring at him for a long moment, finally let go of his wrist.

Then, in a serious voice, he asked,

“Is it really this bad here? How people are feeling, I mean?”

The merchant, holding his wrist and looking like it hurt, glanced around carefully before bowing deeply.

“H-how can we give food to others? We don’t even have enough to eat ourselves.”

“Hmm.”

“Everyone is almost starving. You saw it on your way here, didn’t you?”

Yoon Jong sighed.

“I understand, but it was wrong to hit the child so carelessly!”

“I-I’m sorry.”

After scolding him firmly, he turned away from the merchant and helped the child to his feet.

“Are you alright?”

“…I-I’m alright…”

The child, with a split lip and scrapes all over, didn’t think about taking care of his hurts, but just stared at his hand.

Tears filled the child’s empty eyes as he looked at the dumpling, crushed and covered in dirt from being stepped on.

“I need to take this to my little brother…”

Yoon Jong smiled sadly and patted the child’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. I’ll buy you a new dumpling.”

“R-really?”

“Of course.”

Watching the scene, Jo Gul nodded without thinking.

‘Senior Brother really is something.’

Even in this situation, he takes care of the needy first.

He felt ashamed for being so focused on the Crimson Heart Grass that he had ignored the suffering around him.

‘I should be like Senior Brother and…’

“Geol.”

Jo Gul answered quickly.

“Yes! Senior Brother!”

“Money.”

“…Yes?”

Yoon Jong turned his head.

Tilting his head slightly, he looked at Jo Gul with innocent, clear eyes.

“I’ve spent all the money in my pouch.”

“……”

“Check your pockets.”

“……”

“Quickly.”

Senior Brother.

Why isn’t that kindness for your fellow disciples?

Why…

He was completely cleaned out.

Not only the money in his pockets, but also the money hidden in his sleeves, and even the last of his emergency money tucked into his socks were all gone.

‘He’s only learning strange things from that Chung Myung!’

How can someone be so completely emptied, leaving not even a speck of dust behind?

“…Senior Brother, if you take all of that, what will we eat on the way back?”

“What nonsense. Our martial uncle has the travel money, doesn’t he?”

“…That’s true, but we also have places where we want to spend money…”

“Places to spend money? Are there places to spend money in Yunnan?”

No.

No, there weren’t.

He had a point. Since leaving Sichuan and arriving in Kunming, they hadn’t seen a proper city. All they had seen were empty fields and mountains.

“When we return to Sichuan, you can go home and get money from your family. What’s the problem for a son of a wealthy family?”

“B-but still…”

Yoon Jong’s head turned slightly towards Jo Gul again.

“Still?”

“…Nothing.”

Jo Gul, seeing the madness in Yoon Jong’s eyes, quietly closed his mouth.

‘No, what’s with those eyes…’

If he said the wrong thing, he felt like he would get punched in the face.

‘Everyone has become strange.’

Where did the kind Yoon Jong go?

Jo Gul, filled with sadness, sighed deeply.

Even in the middle of all this, Yoon Jong was using the money he had taken from Jo Gul to buy grain and dumplings for the children.

No matter how much he gave, the number of children didn’t seem to get smaller.

“P-please, just one more.”

“Here you go.”

“Can I really eat this? Is it really okay?”

“Eat as much as you want. If you’re hungry, come back tomorrow too. I’ll give you more then.”

“…Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Yoon Jong bit his lip slightly.

The child’s ribs could be seen through his torn clothes. As soon as he grabbed the dumpling, he stuffed it into his mouth and began to cough.

“What are you doing! Go and get some water!”

“Yes!”

Jo Gul ran towards the well without saying a word.

Even when Chung Myung was causing trouble or turning Hwasan upside down, Yoon Jong would sigh, but he never got angry.

But seeing him so angry now felt completely different from when Chung Myung lost his temper.

‘Just stay quiet and do as I’m told!’

Jo Gul’s survival instincts whispered.

Jo Gul drew water from the well and gave it to the children.

He had bought so many dumplings and so much grain that he couldn’t even carry it all in both arms, but it was all gone in an instant. Yoon Jong looked at the bottom of the empty sacks and groaned.

“Ah…”

The children’s eyes instantly lost their light when they realized that the grain sacks were empty.

Yoon Jong bit his lip tightly.

Normal children only think about now. They don’t think about why things happen.

If they don’t get what the other children are getting, they should get angry and throw a fit, not think about Yoon Jong’s situation.

But these children, as if they were used to it, simply teared up and didn’t get angry at Yoon Jong.

That made it too much to handle for Yoon Jong.

He turned his head quickly to face Jo Gul.

“Buy more.”

“Senior Brother, haven’t you emptied all your pockets? There’s no money left.”

“Don’t you have anything hidden away?”

“You’ve taken even my secret money! I have nothing left!”

“…Is that so?”

Yoon Jong frowned and looked around at the children.

The children’s eyes were red with tears, and they bit their lips so hard they turned white. Dusty clothes hung loosely on their thin bodies. They lowered their heads.

“Thank you.”

“It’s alright. We’re not hungry.”

A vein popped out on Yoon Jong’s forehead, his face red with frustration. He yanked at his belt, drawing his sword with a harsh scrape of metal against leather. The children jumped back, eyes wide and scared, remembering the sting of harsh words and harsher punishments.

But instead of raising the sword in anger, Yoon Jong quietly held it out, hilt first, to Jo Gul.

“Go and sell this, and buy grain.”

Jo Gul’s face hardened.

“Senior Brother, this is the Plum Blossom Sword!”

“I have eyes, you know.”

“Senior Brother! If we sell the sect’s important sword without permission, we won’t escape punishment! Why are you going this far?”

“Punishment, you say?”

“Yes.”

“You mean to say, the Sect Leader will be angry because I sold a sword to feed children?”

“…Huh?”

No.

He wouldn’t be like that.

He’d be more likely to scold Jo Gul for not selling the sword sooner.

“Enough talk. I am a Taoist before I am a swordsman. I cannot stand by and watch children starve to protect a sword used for fighting. Go quickly and sell this to buy grain.”

“S-Senior Brother. But…”

Yoon Jong spoke firmly, but Jo Gul still hesitated. He didn’t want to obey. Yoon Jong’s voice became loud and strong.

“Hurry!”

Just then, a savior appeared for the helpless Jo Gul.

“What’s going on?”

“S-Senior Uncle!”

Jo Gul and Yoon Jong bowed deeply upon seeing Baek Cheon.

Baek Cheon frowned slightly, looking at the sack of grain in Yoon Jong’s hand and the gathered children.

“I think I should hear what happened first.”

Yoon Jong swallowed dryly and calmly began to explain.

A short while later.

Baek Cheon, having heard the explanation, frowned and groaned softly.

“Yoon Jong.”

“Yes, Senior Uncle.”

Yoon Jong lowered his head.

“I understand your heart, but pouring a few drops of water on a drought-stricken field won’t change anything. Do you understand?”

“…Yes. I understand, Senior Uncle.”

Seeing the look in Yoon Jong’s eyes as he calmly answered, Baek Cheon sighed.

“So, you understand, but you have no intention of changing your mind.”

“I’m sorry.”

Yoon Jong knew what he was doing.

There is a time and place for doing what is right.

Their goal was to gather information about the Crimson Silk Flower without drawing attention in Kunming.

But if they gave out grain like this and made a scene, they would draw people’s attention. Even if Baek Cheon were to get angry at Yoon Jong, there would be no excuse.

Baek Cheon nodded.

“Alright. Then hurry.”

“Yes?”

Baek Cheon took out a money pouch from his robes and threw it to Jo Gul.

Jo Gul blinked, catching the pouch in a daze.

“Senior Uncle?”

“There probably isn’t much grain in the Kunming marketplace either. Buy everything you can.”

“W-Will it be alright?”

“The mission is important, of course.”

Baek Cheon said firmly.

“But if we ignore the needy to successfully complete the mission, do you think the Sect Leader or the elders would praise us?”

He paused for a moment and shook his head.

“That would be wrong. I want Mount Hua to be respected. But that respect is meaningless without doing what is right. If we abandon doing what is right, what meaning is there for Mount Hua to stand above other sects?”

Jo Gul nodded.

“Of course, I don’t mean we should always do what is right no matter what. But it seems there won’t be any problems right now. So hurry.”

“Yes?”

Jo Gul was confused. ‘He says there are no problems, but why is he telling me to hurry?’ he thought.

Jo Gul looked at him questioningly. Baek Cheon glanced around with slightly awkward eyes and whispered.

“Before that troublemaker Chung Myung finds out, hurry!”

“…I’ll be right back!”

Jo Gul hurried off to buy grain.

Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong, left behind, anxiously watched to see if Chung Myung was coming from afar.

“It’s here!”

“Here too.”

“There’s still a lot left, so don’t rush!”

With a large sack of grain in the middle, Yoon Jong, Jo Gul, and Baek Cheon gave out the grain together. They had only planned to give it to the children who were there, but somehow the word spread, and more and more children came, like a wave.

“Were there this many children?”

“Kunming is a big city. It’s just that everyone is too hungry to wander outside.”

“It seems like there won’t be nearly enough grain…”

Baek Cheon let out a soft sigh.

“We have to do what we can.”

Baek Cheon bit his lip slightly as he looked at the swarming children.

He wasn’t usually one to pride himself on being kind, but he couldn’t bear to see the children’s grimy appearance.

From his position as the leader of the group, he should be blaming Yoon Jong for drawing attention without meaning to. But in all honesty, he was grateful to Yoon Jong for doing something he hadn’t done himself.

“Let’s finish this quickly!”

“Yes! Senior Uncle!”

Yoon Jong handed out dumplings, stroking the child’s head.

“Eat a lot.”

“T-Thank you.”

The large eyes were slightly frightened. Even though they were handing out food and grain, they didn’t let their guard down against strangers.

This meant they had suffered a lot.

“It seems like more and more are coming?”

The crowd of children grew larger. Then, Baek Cheon noticed adults also approaching. He frowned slightly.

‘Should I just leave the grain here and go…’

No.

Then there would be several accidents. It could turn into chaos. They would kill each other to get even a single grain more.

Then…

That’s when it happened.

“Who are you guys!”

The three people giving out grain turned their heads quickly.

…

Baek Cheon’s face hardened.

White martial robes that partially covered their upper bodies. Animal skins draped over them.

‘Beast Palace…’

The disciples of the Beast Palace, who had appeared from nowhere, were walking towards the disciples of Mount Hua.