Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 40

In the Head Abbot’s residence, Hyun Jong, Unam, and Hyun Sang, the master of the Martial Hall, were still talking after Chung Myung left.

“What do you think?” Hyun Jong asked.

Unam smiled. “He has a natural gift.”

“So, you felt it too, right?” Hyun Jong smiled, pleased. He really liked Chung Myung. And why wouldn’t he? Chung Myung had saved Mount Hua from disappearing. It wasn’t a war or a fight inside the sect, but just a lack of money that almost destroyed them. They could have lost their school’s name, which was very old and important.

Hyun Jong felt Chung Myung deserved all the praise in the world.

But he liked Chung Myung for more than just that.

“Even though he’s just a child, his words are very wise,” Hyun Jong said. “Sometimes he’s a bit clumsy, but he’s still young, so it’s understandable.”

“Indeed,” Un Am agreed, thinking deeply.

When you talked to Chung Myung, you didn’t feel like you were talking to a child. It wasn’t just his words. Chung Myung didn’t act like other children.

‘Am I the only one who notices this?’ Un Am wondered.

He seemed to have a special inner strength. It was hard to explain, but Un Am felt it. A child with such strength.

‘He’s like an old soul in a young body,’ Un Am thought, raising his head slightly.

“He thinks about things more than most kids his age,” Un Am said. “You can see him thinking before he speaks. He’s a very bright child.”

“Indeed.”

“If he has talent in martial arts, he will become a strong support for Mount Hua in the future.”

Hyun Jong nodded and looked at Hyun Sang.

“What do you think?” he asked.

Hyun Sang, who had been quiet, sighed. “You know I’m not good at judging people, Head Abbot.”

“Come on,” Hyun Jong said. “You must have some thoughts.”

“A feeling…” Hyun Sang closed his eyes.

Time passed slowly. After thinking for a while, Hyun Sang spoke. “That child isn’t like a child.”

“……”

“I know that kids who have had hard lives or think a lot can seem more mature,” Hyun Sang said, looking for agreement. “But that just means they’re more mature than other kids, not that they’re the same as adults, right?”

“But that child isn’t just mature for his age; he really talks and acts like an adult. It makes me want to see what’s inside him.”

“Do you think he’s planning something secret?” Hyun Jong asked.

“Not really. But…” Hyun Sang stopped talking.

“I understand,” Hyun Jong nodded. “I know what you’re all thinking, but let’s not worry too much about it now. He’s just a child, isn’t he?”

“Yes, Head Abbot.”

“We shouldn’t use people, but help them grow. If they’re talented, we should let them show it. If they have problems, we should help them fix them.”

“You’re right.”

“Unam.”

“Yes, Head Abbot.”

“How is the construction going?”

“The mountains make it hard to get materials,” Un Am said. “We’re cutting down trees, but it takes time for them to dry. It will take a little longer.”

“I see.” Hyun Jong stroked his beard and asked seriously, “Are you unhappy that I’m focusing on appearances first, now that we have money?”

“How could I be, Head Abbot?”

“Please understand,” Hyun Jong said. “Mount Hua needs to be reborn. When people want to change, they dress nicely and stand up straight. It’s the same for a sect. I think this is the best way to show the disciples we have a new spirit.”

“The Head Abbot’s intentions are good.”

Hyun Jong nodded. “Brother.”

“Yes, Head Abbot Brother,” Hyun Sang said, lowering his head.

“Please finish understanding the new martial arts book as soon as possible,” Hyun Jong said. “But be careful. Mount Hua’s future depends on how you teach those martial arts to the disciples.”

“I won’t make any mistakes,” Hyun Sang promised.

“I trust you all.” Hyun Jong seemed lost in thought, and Hyun Sang’s face became serious.

‘Should I say something?’ he wondered.

No, I shouldn’t. It might just be worrying too much. The Head Abbot is thinking about Mount Hua’s future for hundreds or thousands of years. I shouldn’t bother him with small things.

‘But…’

Hyun Sang sighed. He hadn’t noticed anything strange when he first found the book because he was so surprised. But as he studied it, he felt uneasy.

‘The paper is too clean for a book that’s at least a hundred years old.’

And the ink was smudged in some places.

If Hyun Sang was right, this book wasn’t from a hundred years ago. Someone had made it recently.

But who? Who in Mount Hua could create martial arts that had been lost? It didn’t make sense.

If someone could do that, they would have shown the book themselves instead of hiding it. Then all the disciples would have respected them like a king.

So, someone wanted to help Mount Hua but couldn’t show who they were.

Hyun Sang shook his head. “Too much. I’m thinking too much.”

He suspected a secret plan, so he had checked the martial arts again and again. But it seemed real. There were no mistakes, nothing wrong. He couldn’t find anything evil, even when he looked closely.

‘I’ll check it one more time,’ he thought.

If something was strange, he would speak up then.

❀ ❀ ❀

“Ugh!” Chung Myung kicked a stone. “Even beggars wouldn’t want this sect!”

“What did you do to use up all the special healing medicine?” he wondered.

He could tell from the Head Abbot’s face that they didn’t even have the weaker elixirs left, let alone the stronger ones.

It was hopeless.

If they couldn’t make the stronger elixirs because they didn’t have money, then now that they had money, they should say…

‘We’ll make them soon.’

But instead, the Head Abbot changed the subject.

That meant Mount Hua didn’t have any healing medicine now, and they didn’t know how to make it anymore.

“Nothing is right!” He was frustrated.

Even if someone had tried to destroy Mount Hua on purpose, they couldn’t have ruined it in so many ways.

The sect had no martial arts, no healing medicine, no people, and no money?

“It’s a miracle it didn’t fall apart!”

His stomach felt upset, but getting angry wouldn’t help. This was all his bad luck. Chung Myung clicked his tongue and touched his stomach.

‘This is a headache.’

His body wasn’t healing as fast as he thought. He had used the natural energy inside his body, but he was in the body of a child whose bones and muscles weren’t fully grown, and he had almost no inner energy. He knew there would be side effects, but…

‘The problem is, there are a lot of them.’

His body wasn’t recovering as much as he expected.

He was still comparing himself to his past self.

If the old Chung Myung had heard that a child was using natural energy, he would have punished the child and everyone who didn’t stop him.

It was that dangerous.

But people think it’s okay for them to do things that aren’t okay for others. And then they ruin themselves.

The problem was that Chung Myung was ruining himself. His body wasn’t healing, so he couldn’t train easily, and because he couldn’t train easily, his martial arts weren’t improving.

The price for saving Mount Hua was too high. If things continued like this, he would need to rest and recover for at least half a year.

“Half a year? No way!”

Maybe if he were an old man. But half a year was too long at this young age. Half a year now was like ten years in the future.

It wasn’t just about feeling better. Chung Myung was building a perfect base. But a person’s body wasn’t like land. Children grow and change. There was a right time for everything. Some things can’t be done again if you miss that time. You need to build the base when your body is naturally learning martial arts.

“I have to find a way.”

Chung Myung thought hard.

“First, I need healing medicine…”

Weak energy can only be healed with energy. If he couldn’t heal slowly, he needed to take in a lot of energy at once to fill up his natural energy.

There were two ways to do that.

Eat a special healing medicine, or get help from someone who can pass energy from one person to another.

But Chung Myung couldn’t find anyone to pass energy to him, and he couldn’t get any healing medicine.

You can’t just buy healing medicine with money. And Chung Myung was a child now. He couldn’t leave Mount Hua to get any healing medicine.

There was no way.

“Ah, really! It’s like when you need something, you can’t find it! Why doesn’t this sect have any healing medicine? Those useless people in the Medicine Hall!”

In the old Mount Hua, healing medicine was everywhere. Disciples ate the stronger elixirs at least once in their lives, and they gave the weaker elixirs as rewards for good work or training hard.

And the common elixirs?

“That wasn’t even medicine.”

The common elixirs were too common to be considered medicine. Chung Myung wouldn’t even ask for one if he wasn’t in this state.

It would help the current Chung Myung, but the old Chung Myung thought they were useless pills that didn’t even increase inner energy.

The old Chung Myung used them as hangover cures.

‘They worked great.’

When he drank too much without the Head Abbot knowing, he would eat a common elixir to refresh his stomach! It wasn’t good as medicine, but it was the best hangover cure.

Of course, if the Head Abbot knew, he would have been very angry and chased Chung Myung to kill him.

So, he would hide the common elixirs and secretly…

“Huh?”

Chung Myung stopped walking.

“Hangover cure?”

He turned his head.

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

There is one! Healing medicine!

No, maybe! Healing medicine!

Chung Myung, the troublemaker of Mount Hua… no, the ‘former’ troublemaker, had hidden some healing medicine!

“Sometimes being stupid helps!”

Chung Myung laughed and ran towards the main gate as fast as he could.