Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 451

A slender stream of water flowed from the teapot into the cup. A subtle fragrance of tea slowly spread.

Hyun Jong’s eyes were fixed on the tea swirling in the cup.

The waves, which had been shaking and swaying, soon calmed, gradually finding peace.

‘Like Mount Hua.’

He had recently come to a fresh realization.

Perhaps everything in the world was not so different from filling a cup with tea. To fill the tea, one must pour it, and pouring it inevitably leads to swirling and shaking for a while.

‘One cannot fill without shaking…’

He had lived his life without abandoning the tea ceremony for many years, but only now did he see the world contained within the tea.

“Everything in the world is the Dao…”

Hyun Jong believed in the Dao, the natural way of things, in finding balance and understanding in everything, even in a cup of tea.

A gentle smile graced Hyun Jong’s lips.

It would be good if he could convey this realization to the disciples of Mount Hua, but just as it took Hyun Jong many years to understand the world within the tea, they too would have to seek their own paths themselves.

Hyun Jong’s role was simply to watch over them so that they did not stray down the wrong path, and that was enough.

“The tea smells wonderful.”

At Hyun Sang’s words, Hyun Jong smiled gently.

“Does it now?”

Hyun Sang, savoring the tea, slowly nodded.

“I didn’t even know what it tasted like before, but now I think I understand a little why so many people discuss the Dao of tea.”

“You’ve gained some leisure, haven’t you?”

Hyun Jong looked at Hyun Sang with a smile.

Hyun Sang had only recently fully recovered from the damage to his body caused by the poison during the war with the Myriad Man Clan. Perhaps because his body had recovered, his expression seemed much softer.

“The children who left are later than I expected.”

“Aren’t they the types to create work? Even if it takes some time, they will return without any major incidents.”

“Yes, they must.”

Hyun Jong gazed out the window with gentle eyes. The blue and clear sky filled his eyes.

“The day is exceptionally—”

“Aaaaargh!”

“—clear.”

“Indeed.”

He meant it in two ways. The sky was clear, and the scream was definitely clear.

Even with the desperate scream from outside, the two savored their tea as if nothing had happened.

“What is Hyun Young doing?”

“Isn’t today the day of settlement with the Eunha Merchant Guild? He is meeting with the young master of the guild.”

“Huhu. Hyun Young is working…”

“Aaaargh, Clan Leader! Save me! Ack!”

“…and yet, drinking tea like this with just the two of us makes me feel a little guilty.”

“He has his own work to do.”

Hyun Sang clicked his tongue.

“And that fellow won’t think of it as work. It’s a job where money comes in, how could that be work? He doesn’t even have to go himself, but he’s going with eyes wide open. Tsk, tsk.”

At his words, Hyun Jong laughed.

“Yes. Everyone in Mount Hua is working hard…”

“Aaaaargh!”

“Clan Leader! I’m really going to die!”

Hyun Jong, unable to finish his sentence, twitched his eyebrows and closed his mouth.

“Ahem.”

Clearing his throat loudly, he stood up abruptly and headed for the door.

Bang!

Opening the door, he saw the disciples of Mount Hua crawling on the ground. Their faces were almost blank as they groaned and crawled.

Looking at the iron weights dangling from their arms and legs, he could well imagine why they were screaming so much.

“Clan Leader!”

“Please save us!”

While everyone was crawling on the ground, only one person was walking leisurely and serenely.

“Such dramatics.”

Un Geom.

He smiled gently as he looked down at the children. One sleeve of his robe was empty, fluttering in the wind.

“It hasn’t even been that long.”

The Mount Hua disciples looked up at Un Geom with dying faces.

“C-Clan Leader, we’re going to die, you know?”

“Hehe. Do you know what?”

“Yes?”

“I know from experience, people don’t die that easily.”

The faces of the Mount Hua disciples twitched.

The disciples couldn’t believe Un Geom was joking. He was the one who almost died in the fight with the Myriad Man Clan.

How could they argue when the person involved was saying that?

Whether he knew the feelings of his disciples or not, Un Geom smiled gently and continued.

“I’ve practiced martial arts all my life, but I’ve never heard of anyone dying from training. So rest assured.”

Who else would have done this kind of training…? No, more than that, would anyone in their right mind be reassured by those words?

Huh?

The disciples swallowed the words they couldn’t bring themselves to say and stared blankly at Un Geom.

“And.”

But Un Geom looked at his disciples with a very calm face and said.

“What I’m doing now is all for you.”

“Yes?”

“Chung Myung is coming back soon.”

The disciples’ faces turned blue as soon as the name Chung Myung came out.

“Judging by the fact that it’s taking longer than expected, he must have had a lot of troublesome things to deal with… What do you think will happen if that guy comes back and thinks your training hasn’t been done properly?”

That’s…

‘He’ll go crazy. Foaming at the mouth.’

‘I don’t even want to imagine it.’

‘Damn it!’

The sight of that Chung Myung flipping his eyes and running wild was already vivid in their minds.

“……When a person gains fame, they’re bound to change a little.”

“How can he be so consistent, how can he?”

Un Geom, watching the whispering disciples, smiled gently.

“So I’m not tormenting you. Rather, it’s right to say that I’m helping you. Isn’t it better to be trained by me than to be trained by Chung Myung?”

That was certainly not wrong.

At least Un Geom was still someone who knew what moderation was. Although it seemed like he was starting to cross the line a bit recently.

“But… Considering you’re so worried, you seem to be enjoying it a bit too much?”

“That’s not wrong either.”

Un Geom laughed as if he found it amusing.

“They say there’s a Dao in everything, and indeed there’s a Dao in teaching. As I teach you from the perspective of learning anew from the beginning, I also learn a lot. How can I not be happy when every day is new?”

It was a grand statement, but if you interpreted it, it meant that he was getting stronger faster because he was learning various tricks by rolling the disciples around.

‘Clan Leader wasn’t like this.’

‘He’s been tainted, tainted. Why is everyone like this?’

The Mount Hua disciples swallowed tears they couldn’t shed.

If the Head of the Sect, Hyun Jong, was the one who could most clearly and accurately know the changes in Mount Hua, it was none other than the disciples who experienced the changes in Mount Hua with their skin.

However, even though the sect was getting richer and gaining fame, their lives were only getting harder day by day.

It was at that moment.

“That……”

At the voice heard from somewhere, everyone’s heads turned in unison.

“Greetings, Head of the Sect.”

Un Geom belatedly discovered Hyun Jong standing at the door and bowed deeply.

“Yes, yes. You’ve worked hard.”

Hyun Jong glanced down at the Mount Hua disciples who were still crawling on the ground. Then, the disciples’ earnest eyes poured out towards Hyun Jong.

‘Head of the Sect!’

‘Please say something! Clan Leader has become strange!’

‘We’re going to get sick if we keep doing this!’

Hyun Jong could also accurately understand what their eyes meant. He hesitated for a moment and cleared his throat.

“Are you training?”

“Yes. As I was engrossed in training, I ended up coming all the way to the Head of the Sect’s residence. I didn’t think it through and I’m sorry. I’ll move to another place.”

“No. No. Where else would there be a place for training? There’s no place in Mount Hua where you can’t train.”

Gently shaking his head, he looked at Un Geom for a moment and cautiously brought up the topic.

“But the training seems a little… In my opinion, it seems a little too difficult.”

“Yes, Head of the Sect.”

Hope filled the disciples’ eyes.

Un Geom smiled gently and replied to Hyun Jong.

“Training has to be hard to be useful. Think about it – the training you do every day will help you save children when danger comes. Remember how strong we felt during that big fight?”

“…”

“We must never neglect training, even for the sake of the children.”

“Ahem, yes. That’s right.”

Hyun Jong glanced at his disciples, his eyes filled with pity.

‘Sect Leader!’ ‘Why are you silent, Sect Leader!’

He quickly averted his gaze. ‘I’m sorry.’

He wanted to help, but he couldn’t justify it. Besides, Un-geom had changed since he almost died. He seemed quieter now, more distant. Hyun Jong felt unsure about telling him what to do, as if Un-geom had seen something he hadn’t.

“Ahem. Then, have a good training.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

The door closed. The disciples of Mount Hua stared at the closed door, their eyes wide and empty, like puppies who’d just been told there were no more treats.

“Well, Sect Lea…”

Un-geom smiled after the door closed. It wasn’t a kind smile, more like the sharp glint of a sword.

“Now, then,” Un-geom said, his voice deceptively gentle, “let’s continue.”

“…”

“Seeing the looks you gave the Sect Leader,” Un-geom continued, his eyes scanning them like a hawk, “it seems you still have plenty of energy left. Perhaps… we should add a little more training?”

“Abbot!”

“We were wrong, Abbot!”

A chorus of groans and desperate pleas filled the training hall.

Now, there was no more dream or hope in Mount Hua.

‘I’m really going to die. It’s just as awful even without that Cheong-myeong.’ ‘I miss the old days. I really miss them so much…’

The past. Thinking of the peaceful and simple Mount Hua before Cheong-myeong came, their eyes naturally reddened.

But unfortunately, their suffering did not end there.

“Now, then, let’s start again with our breathing exercises…”

Rumble.

Un-geom turned his head. “Hmm?”

Rumble.

A strange sound was coming from the direction of the main gate.

“Hmm. It seems they’ve arrived.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s all go to the main gate. It seems the children are returning.”

“Huh?”

The disciples of Mount Hua jumped up. “Senior Brother is coming back! Open the main gate!”

Everyone rushed towards the main gate. The joy of escaping training seemed greater than welcoming Cheong-myeong, but Un-geom didn’t blame them.

“Master Uncle! Senior Brother!”

The disciples of Mount Hua opened the main gate with enthusiasm, waiting for their senior and junior brothers.

Their faces lit up, smiles wide and genuine, like sunshine breaking through clouds. For a moment, they looked like children again, not weary martial artists.

Except for one thing.

Rumble.

“…But what is this sound?”

“I wonder?”

Everyone tilted their heads.

Flash.

“Ugh! My eyes!”

“What’s so shiny… Ah, it’s his head.”

As if a brilliant sun were rising, a round head appeared. “Venerable Hye-yeon! Welcome ba…”

Those who were about to greet him trailed off and closed their mouths.

“Haaa…”

Thud! Thud!

Each time Hye-yeon took a step, the disciples of Mount Hua flinched. ‘Venerable Hye-yeon… right?’ ‘He looks like Hye-yeon, but?’ ‘…Did he fall into hell or something?’

He was definitely Hye-yeon, but something felt different. The shy boy was gone, replaced by a Yaksha. His skin was tanned dark by the sun, his eyes burned with an intensity they’d never seen before. It was as if the gentle monk they knew had been replaced by someone forged in fire.

“…But is that a cart sound? It sounds like more than just a cart…”

“It sounds like it’s made of metal?”

Rumble. Rumble.

As Hye-yeon ascended the hill, a large cart appeared behind him, pulled by Baek-cheon and his group.

“…”

Baek-cheon’s clothes were ripped at the seams, caked in mud that had dried and cracked. Dust clung to Hye-yeon’s usually bright robes, turning them a dull grey. An indescribable sense of pressure emanated from them as they climbed the hill.

“S, Senior Uncle.” “…Did you have a good trip?”

Everyone greeted them cautiously. Then, Baek-cheon raised his head, his eyes scanning the disciples of Mount Hua.

“…Very…”

The corners of his lips twisted, and the sound of gnashing teeth echoed. “You seem to have been… comfortable while we were gone,” Baek-cheon said slowly, each word like a drop of ice.

“…”

No? No? We really worked hard?

But they couldn’t say that. Just looking at the dirt on their faces, they could tell how arduous their journey had been.

“…Look at these clean clothes,” Yoon-jong muttered.

“…Living the high life, huh,” Jo-geol grunted.

“Training needed,” Yoo Iseol emitted a blue venom from her eyes.

“…The Senior Brothers should suffer a little too!” Tang Soso declared, clenching her fists.

And Baek Sang, as if he didn’t even have the strength to speak, dropped the cart and collapsed to the side, gasping for breath.

“…”

Baek-cheon approached the welcoming disciples. “You must have trained hard while we were gone, right?”

“…O, of course, Senior Brother!”

“Really?” His eyes emitted a blue light. “Then let’s check it out first. If I don’t like it, then let’s all die together.”

Um… Senior Brother? Why is Senior Brother acting like Cheong-myeong…

“Are we all here?” Cheong-myeong rubbed his eyes and got up from the cart. “Ah, I’m hungry. I need to eat first.”

He jumped off the cart and strode leisurely into the main gate, even with a white weasel around his neck.

“…”

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, there were no particular nagging words.

But…

‘Why is that appearance even more annoying?’ ‘I know, right.’

“Your heads are turning, aren’t they?” Baek-cheon snapped.

“Where…”

Soon, Baek-cheon’s face, wearing a bright smile, was nothing short of radiant and wicked. Baek-cheon’s smile was bright, almost too bright. It stretched his lips wide, showing his teeth, but there was no warmth in it, only a sharp, unsettling gleam.

The disciples of Mount Hua thought that the smile somehow resembled that of Cheong-myeong.

“Let’s see your skills. How hard you’ve worked.”

“…”

Deep despair settled in the eyes of the Mount Hua disciples.