Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 310

Mount Hua achieved something amazing: three disciples in the Eight Great Seats.

Chung Myung, Yoo Iseol, and even Jo Gul won without getting seriously hurt.

“Why… why did you win?”

“What do you mean, Senior Brother?”

“No, it’s just… strange.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Of course I would win!”

Yoon Jong watched Jo Gul proudly puff out his chest and thought about how quickly things change.

Some people were giving up matches to avoid fighting Chung Myung. But Jo Gul was lucky and won easily because of who he was matched against.

Who knew that one easy win could lead to this?

Either way…

Having four disciples in the Round of 32 was good. But having three in the Round of 8 was an incredible achievement.

Even when Mount Hua was very powerful, they never achieved such a great result.

So, the Mount Hua disciples were extra careful.

“The other sects won’t like this. They’ll try to stop us. Everyone, be careful what you say and do.”

That was a good point.

None of the Mount Hua disciples wanted to be people who would slow down Mount Hua’s progress. Everyone was careful, even when drinking water.

But what happened next was a little different from what they expected.

“What… what is all this?”

Baek Cheon stared at the piles of things in the hall. Chests and boxes were stacked higher than a person, like small hills.

“They say they’re gifts,” Hyun Young chuckled.

“Gifts? Is there a party?”

“Not really. The Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families sent gifts to congratulate us.”

“What?”

Baek Cheon was surprised and looked at the mountain of gifts again.

‘All of this?’

The number of gifts was amazing. But it was even more amazing that the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families sent them.

“But… why would they…?”

“They want to be friendly with Mount Hua.”

“Huh?”

Baek Cheon looked confused and asked again.

Baek Cheon was good at understanding situations.

He had seen how the Nine Great Sects had kept their distance. So why would they suddenly change their minds?

“This is a gift from Cheongseong. Oh? This is from the Beggars’ Sect? Haha! I’ve never seen a beggar send a gift before,” Hyun Young said cheerfully as he sorted the gifts.

“And this is… Huh? Even Wudang?” Hyun Young was very surprised.

“I’ve never gotten so many gifts before. And to get them in Shaolin, not Mount Hua! The world is a strange place.”

Then, he shouted to the disciples inside, “More gifts are coming! Move all of this inside!”

“Yes, Elder!” The Mount Hua disciples hurried to move the gifts.

Yoon Jong watched them and asked, “Why are the Nine Great Sects sending us gifts?”

“Didn’t I tell you? They want to be friendly.”

“With us? They were trying to tear us apart not long ago.”

“Well…”

Just then, a casual voice came from behind.

“Those guys are always like that.”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung turned around, walking over with a mooncake in his hand.

“Always like that?”

“Yeah, always like that.”

He smirked at the mountain of gifts.

“They figured out it doesn’t hurt to be friendly.”

“So quickly?”

“They’re late, actually.”

They try to push down people who are becoming successful. But if they can’t, they have to accept them and be friendly.

And if they’re going to be in the same place, it’s better to be friendly.

In other words, the Nine Great Sects now believed that Mount Hua would become powerful again.

‘Slowpokes.’

Jongnam and Hainan probably didn’t send gifts.

Jongnam had already left Shaolin. And even if they were still here, they would never send gifts to Mount Hua.

If Mount Hua joined the Nine Great Sects again, Hainan would likely be pushed out. So, they couldn’t send gifts.

But the other Nine Great Sects wouldn’t lose anything if they stayed friendly with Mount Hua, even if they returned. Of course, their pride would be damaged, and they would feel ashamed.

Baek Cheon frowned.

“But this is too obvious.”

“Obvious? They’re being quite restrained, actually.”

“What… what does that mean?”

Chung Myung didn’t answer and smirked.

‘It was worse in the old days.’

When he was famous as the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, gifts from people who wanted to be friendly with Mount Hua arrived every day. They piled up in the training grounds.

This was nothing compared to that.

“Anyway, the Nine Great Sects haven’t changed.”

“Even so, the Nine Great Sects are doing this…”

“Do you think the Nine Great Sects are special? They’re just people.”

“Don’t they know that gifts won’t make us like them?”

“What if they don’t send them?”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung looked confused.

“If they don’t send them, will you like them?”

“…”

No, that wouldn’t happen.

Baek Cheon looked bitter, understanding a little. Chung Myung said casually, “Those guys don’t think we’ll care about the gifts. But they know it’s better to send them than not to.”

Baek Cheon shook his head.

“Still, shouldn’t we return these? I feel uneasy.”

“I don’t care.”

“Huh?”

“Are you sure?”

“About what?”

Chung Myung pointed subtly behind Baek Cheon. Baek Cheon felt something was wrong and turned around carefully.

Hyun Young was standing there with a face like a demon from hell, one he had never seen before.

“…”

“Return them?”

“…”

“You good-for-nothing…”

Baek Cheon was startled and quickly waved his hand.

“Ah, no! I didn’t mean to return them!”

“Is that so?”

Hyun Young’s face immediately became gentle.

Baek Cheon gasped, sweating.

‘That was scary.’

He would never forget that look. He was afraid he would see it in his dreams.

Chung Myung shrugged and said, “Why refuse a gift? Returning them would only refill their money. Isn’t emptying the enemy’s money a basic strategy?”

Baek Cheon stared blankly.

“Why?”

“No, it’s just… it’s strange to hear you talk about strategy.”

“…”

Just as Chung Myung was about to get angry, Hyun Young nodded and said, “Chung Myung is right. Whatever their reasons, we should accept the gifts first. I also feel uneasy, but returning them is not a good idea.”

Um… Elder?

Your mouth is very wide.

Are you really uneasy? Really?

But Baek Cheon couldn’t ask. Asking Hyun Young about money was something you shouldn’t do in Mount Hua.

“However, there is one problem.”

“A problem?”

“Hmm.”

Hyun Young rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes scanning the pile of gifts. “If I just take these gifts without giving anything back,” he murmured, “I might feel a bit strange when I see them again.”

“That’s right.”

“So, we must return the favor,” Hyun Young said. “It would be good to send appropriate gifts as well.”

“Ah…” Baek Cheon nodded.

If only one person gives gifts, it looks like a bribe. But if they give gifts to each other, it’s a real gift.

“That seems like a good idea.”

“The problem is that we don’t really have anything to send as a gift right now…” Hyun Young paused, then looked at Baek Cheon. “It seems you’ll have to go to the village.”

“Are you saying I should buy something to give back?” Baek Cheon asked.

“Yes. We shouldn’t wait too long. It’s best to reply quickly.”

“Yes. Don’t worry, I will…” Baek Cheon frowned slightly. “But what should I buy as a return gift?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Hyun Young answered confidently.

“This is my first time in Mount Song, how would I know what they sell down there? Go and find something appropriate to buy.”

“Ummm.”

“Don’t worry, Jo Gul.”

“Yes! Elder!”

“Help Baek Cheon. You’re from a merchant family, so you should have an eye for goods.”

“Understood.”

Hyun Young thought deeply for a moment. “It would be difficult for just two people to buy gifts to send to all these sects. Then we should also send Yoon Jong…”

“Ahem.”

“And Lee Seol…”

“Ahem!”

“And if Baek Sang goes too…”

“Aheeeeeem!”

Hyun Young slowly turned his head. Chung Myung was covering his mouth with his fist, clearing his throat repeatedly.

“…Do you want to go?”

Chung Myung looked at Hyun Young with sparkling eyes, but didn’t answer.

“Ummm.”

Hyun Young groaned, his face showing his worry. He wanted to let Chung Myung rest and have fun for a day after all his hard work. There was still time until the next martial arts competition, so it wouldn’t be a big problem if he went to the village for a day.

However, he wondered, ‘Can I really send this rascal to the village?’ This was a separate issue from cuteness. He wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on him, but letting this guy loose required a great deal of resolve.

“Keeuung. You’re confident you won’t cause any trouble, right?”

“Hey, Elder. When have you ever seen me cause trouble?”

Of course, he had seen it plenty of times.

But Hyun Young finally sighed and nodded. “Alright. Go together.”

“Elder!”

“Please reconsider, Elder! This is reckless!”

“Terrible.”

Protests poured in from the surroundings. But Hyun Young shook his head and said, “That’s why I’m sending you all together. You’re all relatively familiar with Chung Myung, so you can stop him if any problems arise.”

“…Elder, just because a person gets burned often doesn’t mean they get used to fire. That guy is like a hotter inferno the more you experience him.”

“Reconsider! One more time…”

Thud.

Someone’s hand came up on Baek Cheon’s shoulder, who was desperately trying to persuade Hyun Young.

When he turned his head, Chung Myung was smiling brightly.

“Martial Uncle. Martial Uncle.”

“…Why?”

Chung Myung smiled very contentedly, very brightly. “Think about it carefully. Martial Uncle, you can tell, right?”

“Tell what?”

Chung Myung smiled. “Is it more likely that I’ll cause an accident if I follow Martial Uncle?”

“…Well…”

“Or…” The sound of Chung Myung grinding his teeth echoed. “Is it more likely that I, left alone and lonely, will wander around with a wounded heart and get into a fight, smashing the heads of other sect guys?”

Baek Cheon’s eyes wavered.

“What do you think? I think the answer is obvious, no matter how I think about it.”

Baek Cheon, watching Chung Myung rolling his eyes, tightly closed his eyes. This was outright blackmail.

“…Okay. Let’s go. Go.”

“Hehe. Right?” Chung Myung smiled brightly and cheerfully.

‘Someday, I will punch that face,’ Baek Cheon thought, recalling a wish that he didn’t know if it would come true, and sighed deeply.

“Then I’ll be back, Elder.”

“Okay. Take this with you.” Hyun Young took out money from his pocket and handed it to Baek Sang. “Pick something moderately good.”

“Yes! I’ll pick the best quality!”

“…You don’t understand what I’m saying.”

“Yes?”

Hyun Young frowned as if he was frustrated. Then Chung Myung quickly snatched the money bag placed in Baek Sang’s hand. “Don’t worry, Elder. I’ll pick something that looks expensive on the outside, but isn’t really that expensive and not very useful.”

Hyun Young smiled more brightly and kindly. “Yes, yes. Our Chung Myung. How can you understand my words so well?”

Baek Cheon frowned and said, “That’s just his personality…”

“You, with the ‘good’ personality, be quiet.”

Baek Cheon lowered his head.

Yoon Jong put his hand on his shoulder and patted him. “It’s okay, Martial Uncle. You can lose too.”

“I don’t want to be comforted by someone who gave up.”

Yoon Jong sadly looked at the ceiling of the main hall. ‘This rotten sect.’ There wasn’t a moment when they weren’t tearing each other apart.

“Then I’ll be back.”

“Okay. Be careful on your way.”

“Yes!”

As they went outside, the White Porcelain Disciples slowly approached Hyun Young and said, “…Is it really okay?”

“What?”

“No. That Chung Myung…”

“It’s okay.”

“Ah, no. Still…”

Hyun Young smiled. “Even if he causes an accident, it won’t break our noses, so isn’t it okay?”

The White Porcelain Disciples were thinking that perhaps Mount Hua as a Taoist sect was over.