Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 563

“I’m telling you, it’s not!”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Chung Myung asked, sounding annoyed, and Baek Cheon smiled gently.

“Chung Myung-ah.”

“Yeah?”

“Everyone who knows you is bound to look at you like that.”

Even Chung Myung, *the* Chung Myung, was quiet for a moment. Baek Cheon’s words were so sure.

Baek Cheon stared at him, then asked again.

“Really, it’s not you?”

“No, but what’s with you lot?”

Chung Myung glared at Baek Cheon, pounding his chest in frustration.

“Even so, do you think I’d deliberately give out elixirs with weakened effects? Do I look like the kind of person who would do that?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

“You do.”

“Oh, really?”

Chung Myung chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. ‘Misspoke there. Hehehe.’

The other disciples, too, were all looking at Chung Myung as if he were the last person they could trust. Baek Cheon asked,

“Then why did you give him a different Violet Dawn Elixir?”

“Sasuk, think about it. What’s wrong with that man?”

“The Yin Severed Meridian, and also a Half Yin Severed Meridian?”

“No. It’s Three Yin Severed Meridians and a Half-Half Yin Severed Meridian.”

“Why is it so complicated? Anyway, it’s a fake Nine Yin Severed Meridian.”

Chung Myung nodded.

“Exactly, it’s the Nine Yin Severed Meridian. What is the Nine Yin Severed Meridian? It’s a condition where the Yin energy inside the body is so excessive that it blocks the Great Meridian.”

“That’s right.”

“And Ice Essence? Isn’t that the essence where the cold energy of the Northern Sea gathers?”

“That’s… right?”

Baek Cheon, who had suddenly grasped the thread of the argument, trailed off. Chung Myung clicked his tongue and continued.

“What do you think would happen if you shoved a Violet Dawn Elixir made with proper Ice Essence into a body like that? The cold energy would become poison and shatter his body from the inside out.”

“I gave him something that was properly suited for his body, I tell you! Honestly, you people.”

All eyes turned to Tang Soso. She was the only one who could medically verify this fact. Tang Soso, under the collective gaze, had a strange look that was hard to describe.

“Well… what he’s saying is right, and this… this is logically sound, but…”

“But?”

“Because it’s him, I can’t come to a conclusion.”

She trusted Chung Myung sometimes, but he was also known for tricks. She really didn’t know what to think.

“I understand.”

They thought about who was saying it. Could they trust Chung Myung? Even if his words sounded correct, it was *him* speaking.

“So, you didn’t give him that on purpose?”

“Ahem! I’m telling you, I took everything into account when I gave it to him. That’s the right amount for that man!”

“Alright, alright. I get it. Our Chung Myung is so kind.”

He conveniently left out the fact that one dose wouldn’t cure him, that he used cheap ingredients instead of the most expensive Ice Essence in the Violet Dawn Elixir while still charging the maximum amount, and that he drove the man so hard during the elixir-making process that he wanted to throw himself off a cliff. Yes, he was so kind.

He was so kind, but it just didn’t stand out.

He was very good at making his kindness look like the opposite.

“Then what happens to the Green Forest King now? Is he never going to be cured?”

“He just needs to take it three or four more times. That’s why I made it in advance.”

“Then just give it to him now.”

“Tsk tsk. Dongryong-ah.”

“What, you little punk?”

Baek Cheon rolled his eyes, but Chung Myung continued without paying him any mind.

“What have you been listening to? I said that if too much of the Ice Essence’s Yin energy enters at once, it’ll damage his body. He has to wait until he’s fully recovered before taking it again.”

“How long does he have to wait?”

“About half a year each time?”

“How many more pills does he have to take?”

“Um… four pills?”

Baek Cheon squeezed his eyes shut.

‘It’s going to take at least two years.’

If Chung Myung was right, it would take at least four more doses to fully heal his body. Which meant that the Green Forest King would be stuck working for Chung Myung for at least the next two years.

Baek Cheon seriously considered it.

It wasn’t the first or second time Chung Myung had tricked someone, but he couldn’t tell if it was his imagination or if Chung Myung’s methods were becoming more cunning.

“Um… by any chance…”

“Yeah?”

“What happens if he doesn’t take the medicine he’s been taking?”

“Hey. Why are you asking something so obvious?”

“I knew it… He’ll go back to how he was.”

“Not exactly.”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung smiled brightly as Baek Cheon raised his eyes slightly.

“The Nine Yin Severed Meridian is when Yin energy fills places it shouldn’t, changing the body according to its nature.”

“That’s right.”

“If he doesn’t fully recover… it’ll be eroded even faster than before the treatment? It’s like breaking down a mountain and building a bridge over a river, so it’ll be eroded twice as fast and become worse than before. He’ll really become the Nine Yin Severed Meridian, then…”

Chung Myung, with a playful smile on his lips, mimed slitting his throat with his thumb.

“Gak.”

Baek Cheon’s eyes softened as he looked at him.

‘Our Sajil, how utterly wicked.’

“Where is the Green Forest King?”

“He’s bedridden.”

At Jo Gul’s answer, Baek Cheon sighed, feeling tired in his mind.

‘That’s understandable.’

It was understandable enough. Logically speaking, the fact that the Three Yin Severed Meridian… or whatever it was… had become a One Yin Meridian should have been a cause for celebration, but Chung Myung had a way of turning even joyful events into sorrowful ones.

‘Scary bastard.’

Even though Im Sobyung wasn’t that old, he was still the Green Forest King. How could someone manipulate such a person so thoroughly with just one spiritual medicine…?

“Anyway, it seems like the Green Forest’s things are mostly finished now.”

“Finished? There’s still the accounting left. We still have to calculate the money we’re going to receive in the future, the money we’re going to receive after that, and the money we’re going to receive after that, and then get everything stamped. We still have a long way to go.”

Baek Cheon was momentarily speechless.

Sometimes, he couldn’t believe Chung Myung was even human.

“Ugh… Alright. Just don’t go too far.”

He sighed and gestured with his chin towards the sack Chung Myung was carrying.

“Why are you carrying that around? Shouldn’t it be stored in the Medical Hall?”

“Store it? Like hell. Whether it’s spiritual medicine or food, it works best when it’s freshly made and still warm. Gather the kids.”

“Right now?”

“I went to all the trouble of making it, so we should feed it to them quickly. They’re too weak to even use their strength, right?”

“What about handling it in a practical battle?”

“Who’s going to take responsibility if the weaklings go out and fight and come back crippled? Practical battle or whatever, we need to make them strong first.”

“Alright.”

‘Alright, Chung Myung-ah.’

“Yeah, Chung Myung-ah.”

After all that trouble in the Northern Sea,” Hyun Jong said, sighing, “at least you didn’t trick a volcano this time.

“Truly,” Chung Myung replied, looking innocent.

Soon after, the Mount Hua disciples gathered in the training grounds. They stopped talking and stared. In front of them, Chung Myung was busy at a large table. On the table were many round pills, glowing softly purple.

One disciple whispered, “Is that…?”

“It is,” another replied, eyes wide. “It’s Jasodan.”

Everyone knew what Jasodan pills were. They were famous and powerful. Anyone could see these were Jasodan.

*Why are there so many?* the disciples thought. *Are these powerful pills just made all the time now?* There were so many of them!

Elixirs like Jasodan were very rare. Even the richest and most famous groups only gave them to their best students. People said you couldn’t buy Shaolin’s best elixir, Daehwandan, even for a huge amount of money.

“Should they really be just left out on the table like that?” one disciple whispered.

“I don’t know,” said another.

But here, in front of them, were Jasodan pills, as valuable as Shaolin’s Daehwandan, or even more so. They were just sitting there like sweets.

It all started with a small thing at the Tomb of the Medicine Master, and now it had become something huge for Mount Hua.

“What’s he doing now?” one disciple asked.

“And what’s in that bottle?” another wondered.

“He’s being so careful with it,” a third said. “I’ve never seen Chung Myung treat anything like that before.”

Chung Myung, who had been tossing the Jasodan pills around like they were nothing, was now holding a small bottle like it was the most precious thing in the world.

“Maybe it’s strong drink?” someone guessed.

But Chung Myung didn’t hear them. He was focused completely on what he was doing, like when he fought the Bishop in the Northern Sea. (He had been very serious then too.)

*Drip.*

“Ah, no!” Chung Myung suddenly shouted, looking annoyed.

“Too much!” He pointed at the pill. “I put in too much. Just a tiny bit too much.”

He carefully used a needle to take away a drop of liquid from the pill.

Hyun Jong watched Chung Myung carefully and sighed.

“Do you really need to be so exact?” he asked.

“Do *you* know what this is?” Chung Myung said, looking seriously at Hyun Jong.

“Jasodan we can make again if we have the things we need. But *this*,” Chung Myung held up the bottle, “you can’t buy with any amount of money!”

“Yes, I know,” Hyun Jong said quickly.

Gongcheong Oil.

Hyun Jong had only heard stories about it. It was said to be the most amazing elixir of all.

*I can’t believe I’m seeing it,* Hyun Jong thought.

This Gongcheong Oil, which people would fight and even kill for just a drop, was moving around in the bottle like water. It felt unreal.

“We have to share it fairly!” Chung Myung insisted. “Even a tiny bit more or less can make people angry. Like when you give Baek Cheon the best tea and give me the weak tea at the bottom! I remember things like that!”

“But you never even drink tea,” Hyun Jong pointed out.

“Still, it’s about how it feels!” Chung Myung said.

*He can be so focused on small things,* Hyun Jong thought, shaking his head slightly.

*Generosity is important too…*

“So, not even a tiny drop more or less,” Chung Myung repeated.

“Yes, I understand,” Hyun Jong said, trying to be patient.

“Finished!” Chung Myung said, wiping sweat from his face and stretching. He looked very pleased with himself.

“Good job,” Hyun Jong said. “But why are these pills separate?”

“Oh, these are for you and the elders,” Chung Myung whispered, leaning closer and covering his mouth with his hand.

“I put two drops of Gongcheong Oil in these ones,” he said quietly.

“It’s extra good for you. You should take it soon.”

Hyun Jong’s eyes became watery.

*He is so thoughtful!* Hyun Jong thought. *And I sometimes get annoyed with him.*

A warm feeling went through Hyun Jong. But he tried to refuse the Jasodan.

“We’re old,” Hyun Jong said. “We don’t need these as much as the young disciples. Give them to the children.”

“But the Gongcheong Oil also helps you live longer,” Chung Myung said. “That’s why I added extra.”

“Hmm,” Hyun Jong said, looking at the bottle. “Well, if there’s just a little bit left… maybe just one more drop…”

“…”

Hyun Jong coughed and looked away.

“…Okay, add a little more,” he said, trying to sound casual.

“Thank you!” Chung Myung said, smiling.

*My Chung Myung is so kind,* Hyun Jong thought happily.

Hyun Jong stepped forward and spoke loudly, trying to hide his slight embarrassment.

“Disciples, listen!”

“Yes, Sect Leader!” the Mount Hua disciples shouted back, kneeling on one knee.

“These are special pills,” Hyun Jong announced. “They are made from things we got after a hard journey to the Northern Sea. It’s good that we help each other, but you must still be thankful for this gift.”

“Yes, Sect Leader!”

The disciples looked at Chung Myung and the others near the table. Their eyes shone with respect.

How could they not be grateful?

Everyone knew how important elixirs were. Even though Mount Hua could now make them more easily, they were still very valuable.

*Chung Myung really is amazing,* one disciple thought.

*He’s difficult sometimes, but he really does care about us,* thought another.

*He’s kind and mean at the same time. Mean and kind,* a third one mused.

Chung Myung looked at them, a big smile on his face.

“Okay, everyone,” he said. “Eat these pills and let them work well. You’ll need them.”

“…”

“Because I’m going to train you so hard, you won’t be able to handle it without the pills!”

Behind Chung Myung, Baek Cheon and the others were also smiling. It was a strange smile.