Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 363

The deep *boom, boom, boom* of drums shook the air.

Amidst the loud drumming, Chung Myung’s voice cut through clearly.

“Shaolin Kung Fu! Last chance to learn the greatest martial art, right here in Xi’an!” Chung Myung announced. “Taught by the amazing Master Hae Yeon, winner of the Grand Martial Arts Tournament! He will teach you himself!”

“Oooooooooh!” The crowd roared back, excited.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!” Chung Myung continued. “Join Hwayeong Sect now and grab it!”

“Wow, we can learn Shaolin martial arts!” someone shouted.

“And there’s no Shaolin school in Xi’an!” another added.

“Plus, we can learn Mount Hua swordsmanship too! It’s like getting two good things at once!”

The crowd was going wild.

Mount Hua was becoming popular, but could it compare to Shaolin? Shaolin had been famous for hundreds of years. People called it the North Star of martial arts, the most famous and respected school.

Especially for people who didn’t know much about the martial world, Shaolin was a name everyone knew, even children.

“Isn’t Master Hae Yeon going to be the Abbot of Shaolin?” one person asked.

“That’s right!” another replied. “He’s a talent that’s very rare, even in hundreds of years! And he’s teaching us himself! You can’t find that anywhere else!”

The people’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

This was an opportunity you wouldn’t even get if you joined Shaolin. Even if you joined, would Hae Yeon, whom Shaolin cherished, teach you directly? Only a few people in Shaolin got that chance.

To get that chance in a normal group in Xi’an was like finding something amazing when you expected something ordinary.

“I wanted to learn martial arts anyway!” a man yelled.

“Let’s be honest! What would we do with swords? We’re not going to carry them around! But they’re teaching Shaolin Kung Fu! We can’t miss this!”

Chung Myung smiled, watching the excited crowd.

“Heh. Shaolin is really something else!”

What?

Mount Hua? Jongnam? Forget them.

Mount Hua and Jongnam couldn’t compare to Shaolin’s fame!

But unlike Chung Myung, who was thrilled, Hae Yeon’s face was turning blue.

Hae Yeon’s voice was shaky. “B-But, sir!”

Chung Myung just hummed, not really listening. “Hmm?”

Hae Yeon’s face was now pale. “This is wrong! Shaolin Kung Fu… it’s only for Shaolin people. I can’t just teach it to anyone!” He looked around nervously at the crowd.

Chung Myung clicked his tongue again, a *tsk tsk* sound. He looked at Hae Yeon like he was a silly child. “Oh, *this* kid,” Chung Myung said, shaking his head.

“Yes?” Hae Yeon asked, confused and worried.

Chung Myung sighed. “Living in the mountains has made you too innocent. That’s always the problem with people from famous groups. You don’t understand the real world.”

Chung Myung slyly walked closer to Hae Yeon, put his arm around his neck, and pulled him close.

“I said I’d teach Shaolin Kung Fu, not Lohan Kung Fu.”

“Yes? W-What does that mean?” Hae Yeon stammered.

“What’s the basic Kung Fu of Shaolin?” Chung Myung asked.

“It’s Lohan Kung Fu, of course.”

“That’s right. But I didn’t say I’d teach Lohan Kung Fu, did I?”

Hae Yeon stared at Chung Myung, his eyes wide. He didn’t understand.

“What is that…”

“Tsk tsk. Look at this monk.”

Chung Myung whispered with a slightly serious face.

“Which disciple are you?”

“I am a Shaolin disciple, of course.”

“Right. You’re a Shaolin disciple, so the Kung Fu you teach is Shaolin Kung Fu. Even if you teach a very simple, basic martial art, it can still be called Shaolin Kung Fu because it’s being taught by a Shaolin monk. Right?”

‘What nonsense are you talking about?’ Hae Yeon’s face seemed to ask.

Chung Myung just smiled at Hae Yeon’s confused expression.

“So, you just have to teach the basic stances and techniques. Understand?”

“B-But isn’t that a scam!”

“Ahem!” Chung Myung glared at him. “What’s with this monk? How dare you call my wise idea a scam! Are you trying to get beaten up!”

Hae Yeon blinked, but Chung Myung didn’t care.

Chung Myung loosened his arm around Hae Yeon’s neck and put it around his shoulder instead.

“Now, smile. Smile. People are watching. Pretend to be friendly, quickly.”

“Yes?”

“Can’t you understand? Pretend to be friendly. Smile!”

“Haha…” Hae Yeon forced a smile as Chung Myung squeezed his shoulder.

People watching thought they were close.

“Oh! Chung Myung and Master Hae Yeon seem quite close, don’t they?”

“That’s amazing. They fought in the finals of the Grand Martial Arts Tournament. It’s not easy to be friendly after that!”

“Hey! Noble people understand each other in ways we don’t! They can be friends no matter what, right?”

“Indeed! Indeed! That’s right!”

A strange expression appeared on Hae Yeon’s face.

The Baektian group, watching from behind, smiled.

“He’s suffering.”

“He looks like he’s being dragged away by a thug.”

“He must be wondering what’s going on.”

They felt sorry for Hae Yeon, who was being tricked by Chung Myung.

Why did he agree to this?

“And no one suspects a thing.”

“Who would think Shaolin’s Hae Yeon is being threatened? They think they’re friends.”

“The world is truly…”

To those who didn’t know, it looked peaceful.

“Alright, alright! This isn’t the time for this!” Chung Myung shouted.

“This is a rare chance. We can’t accept everyone, so line up quickly if you want to join!”

The crowd got even bigger.

“Accept me first!”

“If I join, is it free for three months?!”

Chung Myung glared.

“That was only until yesterday! From now on, people who join or rejoin have to pay!”

“It was free until yesterday!” someone complained.

“Our child left two days ago, you should accept him for free!”

“These people are shameless! They left and now want free stuff…!” Hyun Young covered Chung Myung’s mouth.

Hyun Young pushed Chung Myung behind the other disciples and explained, “We worked hard to get Master Hae Yeon, so we can’t offer free classes anymore. But the tuition will be worth it.”

“Hmm. He’s right. We’re learning from Master Hae Yeon, so it shouldn’t be free!”

“I’ll pay a thousand gold coins to learn! How much is it?!”

“Me too! Accept my child first!”

Chung Myung shook off Hyun Young’s hand and shouted.

“So-haeng! Welcome our guests! And remember, tuition is now paid in advance. Three months upfront!”

“Th-then, is it three nyang?”

“Are you kidding me? It’s nine nyang now! Tuition is tripled from today!”

“Yes, Master!”

Even though the tuition had tripled, the line of people waiting didn’t get any shorter. It was a very busy scene.

Chung Myung watched. He looked very happy, like someone who had found a treasure.

“Triple the price? Just take my money!”

“Eheeheeheeheet!”

“Move aside! I’ll pay for a year in advance! Please, let my child in!”

“Euhehehehehehet!”

“Quiet! I’m putting all five of my children in and paying for three years!”

“Giggle! Hehe!”

Money! Money was rolling in!

Hyeon-yeong and Wi Lip-san were overjoyed. The difference was huge compared to when they were just Mount Hua.

Indeed, Shaolin! Shaolin was a very famous temple known for martial arts. No other group was more famous.

“Heh. Who knew making money could be this easy!”

Just when things were going well, something even better happened! It was like a lucky charm had appeared… No, it was a monk who appeared!

This is the life! This is it!

Chung Myung, enjoying his happiness, suddenly turned to Hye-yeon.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Yes?”

“People are happy. Go show them some fist-fighting!”

Hye-yeon’s face turned red.

“D-Donor, I’m…”

“Pay for your food!”

Chung Myung glared at him.

“What kind of monk doesn’t pay for his food? You have to pay!”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Hye-yeon looked helpless. After Chung Myung kept nagging him, he sighed.

‘This is training,’ he thought. ‘Chung Myung must have a reason.’

He had felt Chung Myung’s seriousness, unlike the others.

‘No, is there really a reason?’

Hye-yeon gave up and stepped forward.

Hye-yeon took a deep breath and slowly moved into a fighting stance. His robe flowed around him as he shifted his weight. His eyes became focused, and his hand formed a strong fist, ready to strike. The crowd cheered loudly.

“Master Hye-yeon is showing us a demonstration!”

“I get to see Shaolin martial arts!”

“What’s going on? Jongnam has accepted students for many years, but this has never happened to them! How can Mount Hua have a Shaolin monk in just ten days!”

“Things are getting interesting since Hwayeong Gate came!”

The Mount Hua disciples shook their heads.

“He’s going to get it now.”

“Look at him working hard. We should learn from him.”

“Poor thing.”

Baek Cheon smiled as he listened to Yoon Jong, Jo Gul, and Yu Yiseol.

“In Buddhism, there’s a saying, ‘If I don’t go to hell, who will?’ He’s a great monk.”

“I think it’s a little different.”

Either way, it’s hell.

“Anyway, it seems like the problem is solved.”

“Even something bad can turn out to be good… somehow.”

The Mount Hua disciples looked at Chung Myung.

“He solves things in a ridiculous way. That poisonous bastard.”

“I know, right.”

The Mount Hua disciples sighed.

“Sect Leader, what should we do?”

Namja-myeong watched from a distance. His face grew cold.

‘Such tricks!’ he thought.

Hye-yeon’s red face as he did martial arts and Chung Myung laughing were like a stab in his heart.

He had never felt so angry.

“If this happens, we can’t pressure Hwayeong Gate…”

Namja-myeong’s face twisted in frustration.

He had planned to pressure them because Mount Hua’s disciples were gone, or protest as Jongnam. But with a Shaolin disciple there, that was impossible.

Even though this place was Jongnam’s territory, they didn’t dare to pressure a place with a Shaolin disciple.

“Those sly bastards! They dragged in Shaolin!”

“It’s not just any Shaolin monk, it’s Hye-yeon. The abbot of Shaolin cares about him, and he’s likely to be Shaolin’s greatest in the future.”

“Those ignorant fools.”

Namja-myeong gritted his teeth.

He was angrier at the people of Seo-an cheering for Hye-yeon and Chung Myung. Jongnam had done so much for them, but they were excited about outsiders?

“I was going to endure it!”

Namja-myeong glared and barked.

“If they don’t understand words, they’ll learn with their bodies! They need to know how nice we’ve been.”

“Are you going to attack Hwayeong Gate?”

“Don’t be stupid! We can’t touch a place with Mount Hua and Shaolin! What about the result?”

“Then…?”

“We don’t need to attack Hwayeong Gate.”

He looked at those who were cheering.

“We need to make those ungrateful bastards pay.”

Namja-myeong’s eyes grew colder, and those nearby shuddered.

‘This is getting too big,’ they thought.

‘It didn’t have to be like this.’