Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 365

“Ugh…” Hye-yeon groaned. His throat felt like sandpaper, burning with thirst. *Water. I need water.*

“Huh?” He blinked, then sat up suddenly. His eyes snapped open, wide and confused. He looked around wildly. *Where am I?*

He stared up at the ceiling. It was plain wood, not the familiar stone of his temple. *Wait, that’s not right.*

Panic tightened his chest. Hye-yeon looked around the room, his heart pounding. He was alone, lying on a simple bed. “What have I done?” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

Only then did the events of the previous night flash through Hye-yeon’s mind.

“- Kroooooh! This monk knows how to drink.”

“- That’s right! That’s right! One more drink! One more drink!”

“- Wow! He’s even playing the trumpet now? Hee hee hee!”

“Oh, Amitabha! Amitabha! Amitabha!”

Hye-yeon’s face burned red with shame as he remembered the embarrassing behavior from the night before.

‘A demon! I must have been possessed by a demon!’

Wait, that’s not right.

It wasn’t that he was possessed by a demon, but that he had been drinking with one.

He remembered Chung Myung, grinning and pouring drinks for him since he had lost half his senses.

Just recalling that wickedly evil smile made his whole body tremble.

But this wasn’t Chung Myung’s fault.

‘Not only did I break the monk’s rules, but I completely forgot myself, didn’t I?’

This was something that should never have happened as a Buddhist. Breaking the rules was one thing, but to forget himself while learning!

Hye-yeon quickly straightened his robes.

‘What time is it?’

Judging by the dim light filtering in, it seemed that the sun had only just begun to rise. If he hurried, he could wash and compose himself before the others woke up.

Thinking this, he quickly headed towards the door and flung it open.

But he was immediately taken aback, his mouth agape, and he could only stop in his tracks.

“Hey, you lot! Legs not working?”

“Swing it straight! Straight!”

“You can fall while holding a sword, but you can never drop it! Never! A swordsman only drops his sword when he dies!”

Hye-yeon was dumbstruck by the scene in the training ground.

All of the Mount Hua disciples, who had been drinking themselves to death with him yesterday, were now sweating as they trained.

‘Everyone from this hour?’

They had clearly been drinking until dawn yesterday, but from this early morning, everyone was training as if it were the most natural thing in the world?

And so intensely?

No, the word ‘intensely’ didn’t quite fit. ‘Diligently’ or ‘passionately’ would be more accurate.

‘This is Hwayoung Gate.’

He soon found the answer.

Turning his gaze to the side, he saw the disciples of Hwayoung Gate, another group training with Mount Hua, also sweating and busy with their training.

“Amitabha.”

Hye-yeon recited the Buddha’s name without realizing it.

‘I am ashamed.’

Even though it was his first time drinking, the sight of everyone except him training as if nothing had happened was a great shock to Hye-yeon.

‘Mount Hua is Mount Hua for a reason.’

Hadn’t he been impressed by the skills of the Mount Hua Sect in this martial arts competition?

There was no way that skill could have been obtained for free. They would not have been able to become so strong if they had not constantly renewed themselves and repeated their training day after day.

‘What have I been looking at?’

He had thought that people in the world were different from those who walked the Buddhist path in the mountains. That was why he thought that the way they looked yesterday was just different.

But the essence is the same.

He was a Buddhist monk, but also training in martial arts. He knew there were no easy ways to become strong in martial arts.

“Amitabha.”

Hye-yeon thought about his laziness.

And he carefully took a step so as not to disturb the training.

But Chung Myung, who was nagging at the front, noticed him like a ghost and turned his head.

“Hee hee hee! The monk is out.”

All eyes turned to Hye-yeon at once. Hye-yeon’s face flushed under the attention.

“D, donor. I did something shameful yesterday….”

“Wow, Monk. You were quite the drinker, weren’t you?”

“Wow. Look at him walking. He really is Hye-yeon. If I had drunk that much, I’d be crawling around by now.”

“Are you the same as Hye-yeon?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Hye-yeon didn’t know what to do with all the attention, and he rolled his eyes around. The thought that all these people had seen the shameful thing he did yesterday made him want to hide.

But Chung Myung just chuckled.

“That baldy was having so much fun yesterday that his head turned red, and now he’s embarrassed.”

“Hey. That’s not a nice way to talk to a monk.”

“Then… he’s embarrassed now?”

“Baldy! The problem is baldy! How can you call a monk baldy! How bad would a baldy feel listening to that!”

“……Stop emphasizing it, Sasuk.”

Sometimes Baek Cheon was the worse one.

Anyway, Chung Myung chuckled again and approached Hye-yeon.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Y, yes, I slept well. But I don’t quite remember how I got into that room….”

“How else? You passed out from drinking and people moved you.”

Amitabha.

Hye-yeon squeezed his eyes shut. And he thought.

If he could go back to yesterday, he would run to himself, who was drinking, and kick him. Why did he drink so recklessly?

“How is it?”

“……Yes?”

“Was it fun?”

Hye-yeon looked at Chung Myung with a slightly dazed expression.

Fun?

Fun, he says.

“……I….”

Chung Myung grinned. As if that answer wasn’t needed right now.

“If you’re going to be here, relax. You didn’t come all the way here to experience the same things as in Shaolin, did you?”

“Amitabha.”

Hye-yeon nodded silently.

“What the donor says is right.”

Chung Myung smiled as if he liked Hye-yeon’s slightly brighter face.

“First, let’s have a good meal. You have to earn your keep today, right?”

“Yes!”

Hye-yeon replied more brightly than ever.

Hye-yeon’s lips twitched as he sat in front of the table.

Everyone was eating happily, but he couldn’t even pick up his spoon.

Meat.

And meat.

More meat.

A diet consisting of beef, pork, lamb, and chicken, like something a tiger would eat, was spread out before his eyes. Monks are not supposed to eat meat. This is a big problem for me.

‘H, how can I possibly eat this?’

For him, who could not eat meat, this was impossible for me to eat.

‘No, do ordinary people eat this kind of thing?’

He wouldn’t expect them to be completely vegetarian like Shaolin, which forbade eating meat, but he had never heard of eating different kinds of meat with rice.

He didn’t know what to do when it happened.

“Ah, that’s refreshing.”

Chung Myung, who had been to the bathhouse, was walking by when he turned his head.

Soon his eyes went back and forth between Hye-yeon and the table in front of him.

“Huh?”

Chung Myung was stunned for a moment, then shouted.

“Sahyung!”

Yoon Jong ran over in surprise.

“What is it?”

“No! What crazy bastard put meat in front of a monk!”

“……Huh?”

Yoon Jong was also horrified when he saw the dishes in front of Hye-yeon.

“Ah, no… This….”

“There’s no greens! No greens! You have to feed him greens like you’re raising a goat! Who’s shoving meat in a monk’s face? Are you making fun of someone!”

“……”

“I-I’m sorry, Monk. We didn’t think it through.”

“Ah, no. It’s quite alright.”

Hye-yeon was surprised by Cheong-myeong and Yoon-jong’s strong reaction. He bowed many times, looking sorry.

“I am sorry for being too fussy about the food you are offering me. If there are any leftovers, even a lump of rice…”

“Bring him some greens! Greens!”

“Can you be quiet! It’s distracting!”

Hye-yeon shook his head repeatedly.

“Amitabha. I am sorry to have caused trouble. I really don’t want to inconvenience you if possible…”

“Really?” Cheong-myeong tilted his head, looking delighted.

“…Then, would you like to try some?”

“Are you crazy! Seriously!”

“He’ll try anything if there’s something to gain!”

“How can you offer meat to a monk! Think, you idiot!” Baek-cheon and the other disciples rushed over and scolded Cheong-myeong.

Cheong-myeong bristled and shouted, “You were happily drinking alcohol yesterday, so why not meat!”

Cheong-myeong’s words hit Hye-yeon hard.

“Is that the same thing?”

“What’s the difference? Whether it’s alcohol or meat, you’re still a corrupt monk no matter what you eat!”

This was even sharper.

“Yoon-jong.”

“Yes, Sasuk.”

“Get rid of him.”

“Yes!”

Yoon-jong and Jo-geol grabbed Cheong-myeong and dragged him away.

“Let go! Won’t you let go? Did I say anything wrong?” Cheong-myeong kept talking even while he was being dragged away.

Baek-cheon sighed deeply as he watched him.

“I am sorry, Monk. We will prepare a new meal for you right away, so please wait a moment.”

“Ah. Thank you, Benefactor.”

Hye-yeon sighed, feeling that adapting to Cheong-myeong would be a long and difficult journey.

“You said you were going around Xi’an?”

“Yeah. Why? Don’t want to?”

“It’s not that. It’s just…”

“Are you embarrassed to go out where there are a lot of people?”

Hye-yeon lowered his head, confirming silently. Cheong-myeong clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“As far as I know, Shaolin cares most about saving all living beings, right?”

“That is correct. Training to become a Buddha is good, but it’s not as important as leading others to enlightenment.”

“How are you going to save people without meeting them?”

Hye-yeon flinched, as if Cheong-myeong had hit a nerve.

“If you go back to Shaolin, you’ll be stuck on Mount Song, only meeting people who come to offer incense. But the people you need to save are in places like this. Isn’t that right?”

“The Daojang’s words are correct.”

“If you want to learn things you couldn’t learn in Shaolin, you have to do things you didn’t do in Shaolin.”

Hye-yeon nodded quickly, feeling that Cheong-myeong’s words were right.

“Then get ready. Let’s go.”

“Yes!” Hye-yeon nodded, looking determined.

‘He’s a very strange person,’ Hye-yeon thought. ‘His words seem casual, but they have a core meaning. He doesn’t try to make things sound better or say anything important, but they still touch me.’

‘How much can I learn from this person?’

While Hye-yeon was calming his excited heart, Cheong-myeong was thinking about money.

‘I think I can still get about fifty more disciples.’ Even though disciples were joining quickly, they hadn’t filled all the spots that Hwayeong Sect could handle.

If he took Hye-yeon around Xi’an, more people would become interested.

‘There’s no one more noticeable than a bald head in red robes.’ Cheong-myeong smiled and told Hye-yeon, “Alright, get ready quickly.”

“Yes, Benefactor!” Hye-yeon was happy, not knowing Cheong-myeong’s real plan.

Soon after, Hye-yeon and the disciples of Mount Hua left Hwayeong Sect.

“But why are we going out?”

“A little of this and a little of that,” Baek-cheon said to Jo-geol.

“We need to see what Xi’an is like from time to time. We’ve already learned that just because we’ve started Hwayeong Sect in Xi’an doesn’t mean we should stay inside. To make Mount Hua famous in Xi’an, we need to take action.”

Baek-cheon glanced at the back of Cheong-myeong’s head. ‘That guy seems to have other ideas.’

But Baek-cheon knew that trying to guess Cheong-myeong’s plans was useless.

As they walked along the main road in Xi’an, Hye-yeon looked around in wonder.

“What’s so fascinating?”

“Ah. I’m sorry, Daojang. I’ve never been to a place like this before.”

“Huh? Luoyang is next to Shaolin. Luoyang should be bigger than this, right?”

“I’ve never been to Luoyang.”

“Eh?”

Hye-yeon said, “I’ve hardly ever left Shaolin. This is the first time I’ve seen such a big city.”

“Oh dear.” Cheong-myeong clicked his tongue.

Famous sects are often in mountains, far from cities so disciples can focus on training. As more disciples join, the sect becomes its own small world.

‘So this is what happens,’ Cheong-myeong thought.

Maybe that is better for training and learning about Buddhist ideas. But what is the point of their Dao if they are cut off from the world?

Whether it’s Dao or power, it only matters when it’s used where it should be.

“Alright. What does it feel like to see where people live?”

“They seem busy.”

“That’s a good way to put it.”

But Hye-yeon seemed to mean something different. He continued, “I thought that being fierce only mattered when fighting yourself. But people in the marketplace are also fierce in their own way. So this is what it means when they say that Buddha is everywhere.”

“Huh?” Cheong-myeong looked at Hye-yeon, surprised by his shining eyes.

“Daojang, you wanted to show me this!”

“Oh. Yes, that’s right. Of course.”

Yeah, that’s right.

But what about Buddha?

“I am grateful, Daojang.”

“Alright.”

Anyway, it’s good that he understood.

Cheong-myeong said, “Training in the mountains is nothing special. To people who work hard every day, it’s like playing.”

“Ah…”

“Living in the world, you experience things you can’t experience in the mountains. For example…”

Just then, someone was thrown out of a house in front of them with a crash.

“Huh?”

“Yeah. Something like that.” Cheong-myeong chuckled and looked ahead with interest. ‘What’s going on this time?’

“Huh?” Cheong-myeong’s eyes narrowed.

He saw Nam-ja-myeong, the Moon Lord of the Seo-moon, coming out of the house.

Up to this point, it wasn’t too strange.

Cheong-myeong frowned because Nam-ja-myeong was someone he had seen several times.

“That old man shows up too often. It’s annoying,” Cheong-myeong muttered.

Nam-ja-myeong also frowned when he saw the disciples of Mount Hua. He muttered, “Those who don’t know their place keep appearing before my eyes.”

“Hey, what’s that bastard saying?” Cheong-myeong was about to explode, but the disciples of Mount Hua grabbed him. Before he could react, Baek-cheon stepped forward.

“What on earth is going on!” Baek-cheon and Nam-ja-myeong looked at each other.