Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 389

Chung Myung crossed his arms and said, “No, I’m not sorry!” He looked away, pretending to be uninterested. Hye-yeon was silent for a moment. Then Chung Myung continued, “Seriously, is this guy *really* that childish?” He rolled his eyes. “A monk who talks about kindness all the time is now sulking over something so small. And he calls himself a monk!”

Hye-yeon’s bald head turned bright red with anger. “H-how could you just leave someone behind like that!” he stammered, his voice shaking slightly.

“I didn’t know you were there!” Chung Myung retorted. “And you know what, *you* little coward! The real problem is that a monk like you was scared of ghosts and locked himself in the furthest room! If you’re so afraid, who is going to fight evil, huh?”

Hye-yeon stuttered, “S-Shaolin monks are not trained to fight ghosts!”

Chung Myung scoffed. “Do you even read your holy book, or just use it as a pillow?”

Hye-yeon protested weakly, “M-monks don’t do that!”

Chung Myung grinned. “Just try to be brave for once!”

Hye-yeon mumbled, “I am brave…”

Baek Cheon and Jo Gul watched Hye-yeon and Chung Myung argue, shaking their heads.

“It’s normal for Chung Myung to act like that,” Baek Cheon said, “but when did Hye-yeon start arguing back so much?”

Jo Gul chuckled. “Well, everyone changes when Chung Myung is around. Like a strong wind blowing through.”

“To think those two were serious rivals in the Mount Hua Tournament,” Baek Cheon murmured, remembering their impressive fight. Yes, they were amazing then. But now… Baek Cheon sighed heavily. *Monk, what were you possibly thinking?* he wondered to himself.

Of course, people in the world sometimes do strange things. People are not always logical, and they often do things that others find impossible to understand. But… *there has to be a limit.* Why would Hye-yeon come looking for trouble with Chung Myung? It was like walking straight into danger. Now, Hye-yeon was learning a hard lesson because of his choice.

Jo Gul spoke to Baek Cheon, the senior disciple. “By the way, Senior Brother,” he said, “is that monk really coming all the way to Mount Hua with us?”

“It seems so,” Baek Cheon replied, sighing slightly.

“Isn’t he supposed to go back to Shaolin Temple?” Jo Gul asked.

“How would I know?” Baek Cheon said, sounding tired.

“He’s a strange one, the more I watch him.”

Did Hye-yeon realize that the Mount Hua disciples, whom he admired so much, were now looking at him like he was some kind of oddity? Luckily for Hye-yeon, or maybe unluckily, he was too busy arguing with Chung Myung to notice.

“Ah, and Senior Brother,” Jo Gul continued.

“Ah, what is it *now*?” Baek Cheon asked, sounding even more weary.

“Why are *we* pulling this cart?” Jo Gul finally asked.

Baek Cheon was silent for a moment, then just stared blankly at the sky in the distance. *Rattle, rattle!* The cart bounced along the road as Baek Cheon and Jo Gul pulled it, carrying Chung Myung, Hye-yeon, and Hyun Young.

“Why are you pulling the cart, you ask?” Chung Myung answered, as if he had been listening to their quiet talk. “Well, one of you is a show-off who lost his sword in a fight, and now he’s stuck with a wooden practice sword like a child.”

Baek Cheon’s eye twitched. He quietly looked down at his waist. Instead of his powerful Crimson Demon Sword, which had been completely destroyed in the battle with Yeop Pyeong, a simple wooden sword, the kind used by new students at the Hwayoung Sect, hung there.

“No, that’s…” Baek Cheon started to protest weakly.

“And the other one,” Chung Myung continued, pointing at Jo Gul, “is the guy who got stabbed by a bad guy.”

Jo Gul flinched. He trembled slightly and stared straight ahead, avoiding Chung Myung’s gaze completely. He really didn’t want to make eye contact.

“Hmph!” Chung Myung snorted, annoyed. “Judging by your faces, you thought you could just ignore what happened?” *How can someone be so mean-spirited?* Baek Cheon wondered to himself. *What kind of life makes a person so bitter?*

Chung Myung continued his rant. “Wow, you made such a mess, and now you’re acting all proud? Anyone would think you saved the world!”

Baek Cheon and Jo Gul remained silent, heads down.

“Oh, wait, no, that’s not right,” Chung Myung said sarcastically. “You *did* do something amazing. You two ‘heroes’ almost got yourselves killed! You’ll be famous for that, won’t you? Huh? Say something! Huh?”

Still silence. Baek Cheon and Jo Gul just lowered their shoulders even more.

“Seriously, you two are unbelievable. You’re still just babies, and you think you’re great heroes. If you fall behind the others even a little bit before we reach Mount Hua, you’ll regret it!”

“Run!” Chung Myung ordered.

“Yes!” Baek Cheon and Jo Gul replied quickly and started to run, pulling the cart faster.

The other Mount Hua disciples watched Baek Cheon and Jo Gul pulling the cart, their faces showing pity. *They even caught the dangerous Crimson Demon Yeop Pyeong,* one thought, *and they’re still being yelled at!* *Poor guys,* another thought. But no one dared to say anything out loud.

Hye-yeon, who was new to this kind of situation, spoke hesitantly. “Um, Sir,” he said to Chung Myung.

“Huh?” Chung Myung grunted.

“It’s a little… uncomfortable to be riding in a cart pulled by people,” Hye-yeon admitted quietly.

“Do you want to pull it instead?” Chung Myung asked immediately.

“No, I’m comfortable!” Hye-yeon paused, then said quickly.

“Alright then,” Chung Myung said, shrugging.

Everyone stared at Hye-yeon, surprised. *That monk is really adaptable,* one disciple thought, amazed. *His face is bright red, but he’s saying it so calmly!* *He’s already starting to become like us,* another thought with a grin. *Is Shaolin Temple going to be okay with this?* a third one wondered jokingly.

Chung Myung, seeing that Hye-yeon was easily persuaded, raised his voice again. “Run! You slow snails! We’re reaching Mount Hua by tomorrow, no matter what!”

“But… it took us three days to get here!” Jo Gul protested weakly.

“You can do anything if you try hard enough! Run!” Chung Myung yelled.

With a groan of effort, Baek Cheon and Jo Gul ran faster, pulling the cart with them. The other disciples followed, running without complaining, their breaths coming faster. In the distance, the peaks of Mount Hua became clearer and closer with every step.

Hyun Jong murmured, looking up at the sky. He frowned slightly. *Dark clouds…* It wasn’t unusual for it to rain on Mount Hua, but the way these dark clouds were gathering felt strangely worrying today. He stared at the sky with uneasy eyes for a moment, then finally spoke his worry aloud. “I hope nothing bad is happening to the children.”

Without thinking, he looked in the direction of Xi’an, where his disciples had gone, but quickly shook his head, trying to push away the bad thoughts. *With Hyun Young and Chung Myung there, how could anything really go wrong?*

“Sect Leader,” Un Am said.

“Yes?” Hyun Jong replied.

Unam, who had come to stand close by, bowed respectfully to Hyun Jong. “You look troubled,” Un Am said. “Is something worrying you?”

“It’s nothing like that,” Hyun Jong said, shaking his head. “I was just thinking the weather is strange, and wondering if it’s a bad sign.”

“Ah…” Un Am nodded.

Hyun Jong looked back up at the dark clouds, and after a moment of thought, he said quietly, “People are so strange.”

Unam quietly watched the Head Abbot. He looked into Hyun Jong’s deep eyes, eyes that seemed to hold all the wisdom of the mountains. Looking at them, Un Am felt his own worry start to fade.

When I felt lost in the sadness of the past,” Hyun Jong began softly, “I thought I would have no regrets if Mount Hua could just rise again. But now that we have risen, more than I ever dreamed…” He smiled gently, a small, knowing smile.

“New worries arise, I see.”

“Isn’t that what people are like by nature?”

“Indeed. And that is what life is like. The higher you climb, the more you have to carry, isn’t that true?”

Hyun Jong closed his eyes slightly. The more Mount Hua gained and the higher it climbed, the more those who envied it would increase, and the more enemies would be created.

Hyun Jong was suddenly reminded of a conversation he had with the Abbot of Shaolin, Beop Jeong.

“If I carry more, the children will be able to frolic in the world a little lighter.”

But Un Am smiled brightly and shook his head.

“No, Head Abbot.”

“Hmm?”

“None of Mount Hua’s disciples will try to step on the Head Abbot’s shoulders to leap forward. Disciples and Head Abbot going together—isn’t that the path Mount Hua must take?”

“Your talking skills have gotten much better, you rascal!”

“Haha. I suppose it’s because I’ve been watching a fellow who, once he opens his mouth, spouts words like a waterfall.”

Hyun Jong burst into a hearty laugh.

“Yes, that’s how it should be.”

These bold disciples won’t even let me take all the burden myself. They say he can still run, so let’s run together.

If so…

“We shall do so.”

It was at that very moment when Hyun Jong nodded.

“Head Abbot!”

“Hm?”

Un-geom burst into the room, his breath coming in short gasps, eyes wide with fear. He ran from afar with a face as white as a sheet.

Sensing something unusual in his appearance, Hyun Jong’s face hardened.

“What is it?”

“A, a person from the Beggars’ Sect has come! They say they must see the Head Abbot right away!”

The moment he heard the words ‘Beggars’ Sect,’ Hyun Jong knew that this matter was truly unusual. The Beggars’ Sect was an information organization. For them to speak of urgency meant that something must have happened.

“Bring them here immediately… No! I will go myself! Lead the way!”

“Yes!”

Hyun Jong moved very quickly, following Un-geom who ran ahead. Reaching the main gate, a member of the Beggars’ Sect, soaked in sweat, was sitting on the ground, gasping for breath.

“What is the matter!”

“H, Head Abbot…”

“Spare the formalities! The situation first!”

“Yes!”

The Beggars’ Sect member took a deep breath and blurted out in one breath.

“I am Yang Pyo, the Deputy Chief of the Hwaeom Branch of the Beggars’ Sect, So Chwi-geol! This morning, a message arrived from another branch of the Beggars’ Sect. The Myriad Man Manor! The Myriad Man Manor has entered Seohae!”

“The Myriad Man Manor!”

Hyun Jong clenched his fist tightly, as if what was coming had finally arrived.

“Seohae, you say?”

“Considering their direction of movement, their destination appears to be Mount Hua.”

“Ugh…”

“T, the Myriad Man Manor!”

Groans escaped from the mouths of the Mount Hua disciples surrounding the Beggars’ Sect member. A wave of fear went through the disciples. Some gasped, others went pale, and a few young ones started to tremble.

How could it not? The opponent was the Myriad Man Manor, one of the five great evil sects that dominated the world. It was a place that could not be compared to Mount Hua, which had only just begun to stretch its wings, in terms of reputation and power.

Amidst the confusion, only Hyun Jong maintained his composure and opened his mouth.

“What is the number of the enemy?”

“Yes?”

“The entire Myriad Man Manor would not be coming, would they? Is there any information on the number of enemies who have entered Seohae?”

“Ah, yes! There is! According to our information, the number of enemies is three squads! We have not yet identified any additional personnel.”

“Three squads, you say.”

Hyun Jong narrowed his brow. Perhaps because he did not know the exact system of the Myriad Man Manor, he had no idea how much power three squads represented.

“I heard that the Myriad Man Manor has more than ten martial squads alone. Am I correct?”

“That is correct. The Myriad Man Manor consists of twelve squads, and there are several additional martial units.”

“Three of them, huh.”

It was fortunate that they did not all come, but they would not be foolish enough to send people recklessly. ‘It must mean that they have judged that three squads are enough to deal with Mount Hua. That means they are confident.’

On the other hand, Mount Hua was not even at full strength right now.

“Have you sent a message to Seoan?”

“Yes! We have informed them by the fastest means possible!”

“Lastly.”

Hyun Jong took a slight breath. It was something he had to know, but it was also something he was afraid to hear.

“Considering the time they entered Seoan, where would their current location be?”

“T, that is…”

Yang Pyo answered, beads of cold sweat dripping down his face.

“They have probably almost reached Hwaeom by now. Perhaps they are at the foot of Mount Hua…”

Hyun Jong slowly closed his eyes. His heart felt heavy, thinking of all the young faces he was responsible for.

The disciples waited anxiously, looking at each other nervously. The silence felt heavy.

Hyun Jong’s eyes opened.

“Unam.”

“Yes, Head Abbot!”

“Gather the disciples.”

“Yes!”

Not a single trace of wavering could be found in his eyes.

“Head Abbot.”

At that moment, Hyun Sang spoke in a slightly trembling voice.

“With only the disciples here… Wouldn’t it be better to abandon the main sect and join the disciples in Seoan?”

“If the enemies have already surrounded Mount Hua, many disciples will be harmed while fleeing.”

“…”

“Your words may be right. That may be the wiser path. But! I cannot abandon a single disciple. They will not be able to harm any of Mount Hua’s disciples until they step over my corpse!”

“…I was foolish.”

Hyun Sang lowered his head. Hyun Jong’s eyes emitted a fierce blue light.

“I will show them. The fact that Mount Hua will never yield to anyone again!”

Hearing those words, an unwavering light permeated the faces of everyone present.

At that moment.

“Is this Mount Hua?”

Talmyeongdanchang Son-wol smirked, looking up at the towering Mount Hua. The wind seemed to hold its breath as they looked up at Mount Hua, usually so peaceful, now feeling like a silent giant waiting for a storm.

“Too high.”

“And steep. Not a good place for monks to live.”

“Heh heh heh. Does it matter? After today, there won’t be a single Taoist to be found in Mount Hua.”

Talmyeongdanchang’s gaze turned to Hwaeom-hyeon, a little away from the path leading up to Mount Hua.

“…That place doesn’t look bad for a bit of fun either. If we behead those guys and bring their heads up to Mount Hua, wouldn’t those Mount Hua fools be terrified?” Talmyeongdanchang grinned, imagining the blood dripping from the heads.

Hearing those words, Yado shook his head.

“We are deep in the area controlled by the good groups right now. Mount Hua Sect is nothing, but if other guys come to support them, it will become troublesome.”

“Tch. You’re such a coward.”

But thinking that there was some truth in those words, Talmyeongdanchang did not argue any further.

“Has Black City not arrived yet?”

“Who knows with those guys.”

“…Those unlucky bastards, anyway.”

Talmyeongdanchang, who was looking at the peak of Mount Hua half-covered by clouds, grinned and muttered.

“Indeed… It would be spectacular if it were dyed red.”

“Let’s not delay.”

“Alright.”

And he smiled, baring his teeth.

“Let’s kill them all!”

The Myriad Man Manor’s martial squad began to ascend the steep Mount Hua at a terrifying speed.