Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 6

Chung Myung slowly lifted his heavy head. Something glittered in front of his eyes.

Huh?

At the same moment, he heard someone clicking their tongue.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. He looks so young. How did he become a beggar?”

Coins rained down around him.

“Looks like he got beat up. I wonder if he’ll die like that.”

“Hard times, eh? Tsk, tsk. Poor kid.”

Huh?

What’s going on?

Ah. Am I a beggar? I forgot for a moment.

To others, Chung Myung looked like a beggar. No, even to himself, he was just a beggar. A young beggar who hadn’t even come of age yet. A pitiful beggar who had been beaten up, his eyes swollen and purple, scabs all over his face…

Such a beggar was sprawled out in the middle of the marketplace.

“Kuh. I can’t just ignore him.”

“If you’re human, you can’t just walk by.”

A young beggar, limbs not fully grown, wearing rags and covered in dirt, was dying. Not just appearing to be dying, but truly dying.

Where else could one find a more perfect scene for begging?

And so, coins came clinking down.

“Tsk, tsk.”

“A beggar I’ve never seen before; how did he end up here?”

Perhaps the world was still worth living in.

People heading to the market clicked their tongues and tossed him coins. Tears streamed down Chung Myung’s face as he watched the coins fall.

“He’s crying. How pitiful.”

“Buy yourself some noodles with that.”

Kindness was pouring in. But Chung Myung wasn’t crying because he was touched.

‘Me, a disciple of the Great Mount Hua Sect, receiving alms.’

How on earth did he end up here?

Just a few days ago, he was the finest swordsman in the world, risking everything to fight the Heavenly Demon. Before that, he was an elegant swordsman, traveling the world. And now he was begging. Even for him, this was too much!

‘A man has his pride!’

If he accepted this money, he would truly become a beggar. He, the noble swordsman of the Great Mount Hua Sect, a beggar? This was unacceptable.

A warrior does not abandon his pride, even with a knife to his throat!

Chung Myung abruptly raised his head, gritted his teeth, and shouted!

“Thank you! Bless you, kind sir!”

Pride wouldn’t keep him warm at night.

Chung Myung patted his full belly. His body was thin, but his stomach was swollen like a tadpole.

“Can pride fill your belly? Better to be a live beggar than a dead hero.”

Because his body was small, he didn’t need much food.

Just three dumplings from the marketplace were enough to fill him up. And he still had three coins in his sleeve.

Coins that he wouldn’t have bothered picking up in his past life now felt like treasures.

‘Who knew money could be so important.’

He remembered his senior brother, head in his hands every payday, grumbling that a monk shouldn’t care so much about money. He wanted to go back and smack him.

‘My belly was too full.’

To think that a guy who couldn’t even earn money was bragging about his swordsmanship. He was on the verge of tears thinking about his Head Disciple Senior Brother, whose back must have been breaking from feeding those freeloaders.

In any case.

“I’ve managed to survive for now, but…”

Chung Myung scratched his head.

He had set off without a plan and had no idea how to get to Shaanxi.

‘I underestimated eight hundred miles.’

Chung Myung’s thoughts were based on the past. Even though he knew his body had changed, it wasn’t easy to adapt.

In the past, he could have gone from Wudang to Shaanxi in half a day, with time for a drink at Mount Hua. Now, going to Mount Hua was life-threatening.

Even if he avoided bandits or wild beasts, hunger was a big problem.

The journey, which he thought would be easy, had turned into a grand expedition, and his head was spinning.

‘I can’t just beg my way to Shaanxi.’

Chung Myung scratched his head wildly.

“I need to find a way, but I can’t if I don’t know anything!”

It would be different if it were the past. Now, a hundred years had passed. He knew nothing about how the world worked. So how could he find a way?

“Hey!”

It takes an ordinary person more than two months to get to Shaanxi. It wouldn’t be strange if it took him half a year to get to Mount Hua with this body.

“Hey!”

Chung Myung was frustrated because he needed to see what had happened to Mount Hua. He had to find a way, but he couldn’t think of anything…

“Hey, you! Are you deaf?”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung turned his head.

‘What is it?’

He thought he heard something, but he didn’t think it was for him. There was no reason for anyone to talk to a beggar.

Three beggars with hard faces and cruel eyes glared at him.

‘What a bunch of beggars.’

It seemed he was getting involved with beggars in many ways this life.

“Me?”

“Me? Not him, me? Is this beggar crazy?”

The most menacing beggar spat on the ground.

“Where’d you crawl out of? Who said you could beg *here*?”

Did you need permission to beg?

“You look young, so I’ll spare you. Put down what you have and get lost.”

What he had must be the remaining coins. What was in his hand…

Chung Myung looked at his hand. He was holding a half-eaten, cold dumpling.

“…You really have no shame, do you? You beggar bastards.”

You’re going to take this? You’d squeeze blood from a flea!

“You beggar bastard!”

The only insult a beggar could hurl at another beggar was “beggar bastard.” It felt like he was spitting on his own face while insulting someone else… Oh, stop with the beggar stuff!

“Just a moment.”

Chung Myung carefully placed the dumpling next to him.

Then, he stood up and stretched, took a step forward, and then a step back.

The beggars narrowed their eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah. Just a moment. I’ll be done soon.”

Chung Myung stretched a few more times, nodded, and turned around.

“It’s not perfect yet, but this should be good enough.”

He stretched and moved, getting a feel for his smaller body. *Okay,* he thought, *I’m starting to understand how far away things are with these short arms and legs.*

Therefore!

“You might feel wronged, but I have a bad feeling about beggars.”

“…What?”

“What can I do? That’s just how things are. Don’t feel wronged, just accept it.”

“What is this bastard saying?”

Chung Myung cracked his neck.

“Ah. Just so you know, I’m not strong enough to hit hard because my body is weak? So you’ll have to get hit a lot.”

“This is real…”

At that moment, Chung Myung leapt forward and smacked the beggar in the face.

Wham!

Proper footing. The power from his waist was perfectly delivered to his fist. The child’s fist struck the man’s face, but it sounded like hitting it with bamboo.

Plop.

The beggar collapsed without a sound.

Chung Myung trembled as he watched.

“I am!”

Whack!

A swift kick lashed out sideways, catching another beggar in the ribs.

“The Plum Blossom Sword Saint of the Great Mount Hua Sect! You beggar bastards, Raaah!!”

It was the moment when the resentment that had built up since his reincarnation exploded.

“…Sir.”

“Who calls a beggar ‘sir’?”

“Great beggar…?”

“Want to die?”

The beggars, heads bowed, groaned. ‘Where did this monster come from?’ ‘I’m dying of pain.’

Chung Myung subdued the beggars quickly. It would be amazing if a child knocked down three adults, but by Chung Myung’s standards, it was a miserable result.

‘I’m going to get sick of this.’

He didn’t even need internal energy. If it were his past body, he could have crushed them easily. But now, he had to run, kick, and roll. They kept getting up, so he hit them in the eyes about thirty-eight times, and they were now groaning.

‘I should have beaten that Jongpal guy like this.’

He shuddered at the thought of that guy.

If only he had known his arms and legs were short! If only he had the stamina, he could have beaten him like a dog!

He was in a hurry to get to Mount Hua, so he left without revenge, but the day would come when he would catch that beggar.

“Get up.”

“Yes!”

The three beggars jumped up. Sweat dripped down their faces. They watched Chung Myung carefully.

‘He’s just a beggar who hasn’t even had gruel.’ ‘This doesn’t make sense.’

They couldn’t understand it. He looked so small and weak, like a puff of wind could blow him over. But when they fought him, he was like a ghost. Their fists couldn’t even touch his clothes.

He wasn’t fast or strong, but they couldn’t understand why they lost.

“Hey.”

“Yes!”

“Give me your orders! Sir! No, Great Beggar! Ah, no…”

What did it matter if they understood? Thoughts were far away, and fists were near. The important thing was that the young beggar’s punches hurt.

Chung Myung glanced at the beggars and opened his mouth.

“Do you know a quick way to get to Shaanxi?”

The beggars looked at each other and smiled. Chung Myung had a glimmer of hope.

“Haha. You’re asking the obvious.”

“Oh? You know?”

“If we knew that, would we be beggars? Ask someone who knows.”

Chung Myung, staring at the beggars, sighed.

It wasn’t their fault. It was his own situation that was wrong, now that he was asking beggars for help.

“Okay. Go away.”

“Thank you!”

“God bless you!”

The beggars bowed and turned to run.

“Wait.”

Chung Myung’s voice stopped them.

“Yes?”

“It’s fine to go, but put down what you have before you go.”

The beggars realized he was serious and reluctantly gave him the coins from their pockets.

“Hey. You.”

“Yes?”

“Take out what’s in your underwear. Before I strip you naked.”

It was a terrible scene, a beggar being robbed.