Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 694

Beggars don’t often get to eat like kings. And this wasn’t just any meal; it was a feast people would talk about for years.

For Gu-chil, this was a very special day.

Usually, Gu-chil would be cheering and running to a table like this. But today, he couldn’t even touch the food.

“This will give me indigestion. It definitely will,” he thought.

Cold sweat formed on his forehead.

The mouth-watering aroma was torture.

Gu-chil glanced at Hong Dae-gwang.

Gu-chil knew Hong Dae-gwang as the leader of this branch. But he also knew Hong Dae-gwang was much more important than that, and it made him nervous.

Hong Dae-gwang was going to be a very important leader in the Beggar Union. He was too important to be just running this small branch. Gu-chil felt like Hong Dae-gwang was from a different world.

Just sharing a table with such a person was enough to make his stomach hurt…

Chomp chomp chomp! Chomp chomp chomp!

“Eat a little slower, Mount Hua Divine Dragon.”

“Why should I? This food is nothing special!”

“What did you say?”

Gulp!

Cheong-myeong swallowed the food and frowned.

“Forget it, just get more drinks! This isn’t enough!”

“…There are three jugs.”

“Not enough!”

“…Ah, I understand.”

“And meat!”

Hong Dae-gwang weakly pulled out his money pouch, checked the money, and teared up.

‘This is this month’s operating expenses.’

When you become a branch leader, there are always expenses, so the headquarters provides operating funds. But the headquarters is poor, and he is poor, so how much could they give?

If he spends it all on that damned thing’s mouth, he’ll be in the red again this month.

“Hurry!”

“…Alright!”

Hong Dae-gwang reluctantly called a beggar and handed over the pouch.

“Go and buy more alcohol and meat.”

“All of this money?”

“…Just buy it.”

The beggar looked back and forth between Hong Dae-gwang and Cheong-myeong before quietly leaving. The sound of the door closing was like Hong Dae-gwang’s heart collapsing.

“Kyah! It’s like I’m alive again after eating real food for once!”

“Doesn’t Mount Hua have good food?”

“Tsk. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Cheong-myeong gulped down the alcohol and wiped his mouth.

“No matter how much meat I can eat, Mount Hua is a Taoist sect. They don’t use spices.”

“Well, that’s not bad either… But you can’t just eat rice all the time, right? You get sick of it.”

“…Aren’t Taoists supposed to endure such things?”

“Then why do you have money? Aren’t beggars supposed to be poor?”

“…I was wrong.”

He couldn’t win with words anyway. Not with words.

Hong Dae-gwang shook his head, and Cheong-myeong glanced at Gu-chil.

“Aren’t you eating?”

“…Huh?”

“Eat, eat! Eating is what matters! Especially if you’re a beggar, you need to eat well.”

“I’ll eat slowly, Cho-sam.”

At Gu-chil’s cautious words, Cheong-myeong’s eyes widened. And that anger was directed not at Gu-chil, but at Hong Dae-gwang.

“Seriously, I’m getting angry?!”

“…Why again…”

“How badly did you treat him for him to be so hesitant to eat! I asked you to take good care of him!”

You didn’t ask earnestly…

You just said it once, Divine Dragon of Mount Hua…

“Should I just burn down all the buildings today?!”

“I treated him well!”

“The kid isn’t eating!”

“I’ll eat! Cho-sam! I’m eating!”

Seeing Hong Dae-gwang’s eyes welling up, Gu-chil hurriedly began stuffing food into his mouth.

Only then did Cheong-myeong’s face relax, and he smiled as he poured alcohol into Gu-chil’s glass.

“Eat a lot. Drink alcohol here too.”

“Mmph! Mmph!”

Tears also welled up in Gu-chil’s eyes as he stuffed his mouth full of food.

He’s a good kid.

He’s a really good kid…

One couldn’t help but think that the way he expressed his goodwill was very wrong.

At that moment, Hong Dae-gwang scratched his head vigorously. Cheong-myeong, who had been smiling, suddenly shouted.

“Your dandruff is falling into the food!”

“I washed it this morning!”

“Ha, a beggar even washes his hair. The end is near, the end is near.”

Realizing once again that he would be scolded no matter what he did, Hong Dae-gwang quickly changed the subject.

“So, what’s going on? Why did you come here? You never showed your face when I was singing for you to come.”

“I was busy.”

“Hey. I’m not blaming you.”

Cheong-myeong, after gulping down the alcohol and putting down the bottle, stared intently at Hong Dae-gwang and asked.

“How are things going?”

Hong Dae-gwang’s gaze shifted slightly towards Gu-chil. Cheong-myeong shrugged.

“It’s okay.”

“Hmm.”

Hong Dae-gwang nodded.

“Well, alright. It probably doesn’t matter much. Nothing significant has happened yet. First of all, the Abbot of Shaolin summoning the leaders of the Nine Great Sects to Shaolin is the biggest news.”

“That bald monk is moving quickly.”

Cheong-myeong grinned.

He had expected that he would take care of it moderately since he had set up the board, but seeing him move even faster than he had thought, it seemed that Beop-jeong was indeed anxious.

“They care too much about what people think to start a fight openly… So, for now, they’ll just punish people inside their own group, right?”

“That’s probably it.”

Hong Daeguang nodded quietly.

“They call it training, but the Nine Great Sect Leaders haven’t met like this in almost thirty years. This is a very big change.”

“They must be very worried.” He chuckled, “Hee hee hee!”

“…Hwasan Shinryong,” Hong Daeguang said, more seriously. “This is not funny. They are meeting because of the Cheonwu Alliance. This could be bad for them.”

“What can they do even if they meet? They will just argue about who is right and wrong. They might even fight each other! Well, the Shaolin Abbot is safe from hair-pulling because he has no hair!”

“⋯⋯”

Chung Myung sounded like he was joking, but Hong Daeguang thought it could really happen.

Hong Daeguang thought, “Even if they had a common enemy, the Nine Great Sects have been watching each other for so long. It would be hard for them to work together. Maybe it’s enough if they just become a little friendlier.”

“Enough about the Nine Great Sects,” Chung Myung said. “What about the other groups?”

“The Five Great Families are very worried,” Hong Daeguang said. “The Nine Great Sects are doing okay because no one has left them. But it’s different for the Five Great Families. The Tang Family, who were as important as the Namgung Family, has left them.”

“Hmm.”

“Of course, joining the Cheonwu Alliance doesn’t have to mean they are enemies of the Five Great Families,” Hong Daeguang explained. “But that’s not how things usually go. And the Tang Family Head becoming sworn brothers with the Cheonwu Alliance leaders is very important. It’s almost like saying they will support the Cheonwu Alliance if they fight the Five Great Families.”

“The Tang Family Head made a big decision.”

This one action made everyone think differently about the Cheonwu Alliance. Chung Myung nodded and said,

“Okay, enough about that.”

“⋯⋯Don’t call the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families “that”! You idiot!” Hong Daeguang said, looking shocked. His eyes widened and he straightened his back, as if Chung Myung had insulted royalty.

Chung Myung, however, just waved his hand dismissively, like he was waving away a fly. He didn’t even look at Hong Daeguang, his gaze already drifting towards the window.

“What else is happening around us?”

“Hmm.”

Hong Daeguang paused, thinking carefully about what to say. He scratched his chin.

“This is… the situation is a bit strange.”

“Why?”

“Well… the situation is a bit strange,” Hong Daeguang said. “If Jongnam hadn’t closed themselves off, they would probably be in the middle of everything. Normally, other groups would try to bother Jongnam and secretly help them.”

“And other sects around them would have quietly caused them trouble?” Chung Myung asked.

“That’s right. That’s how they usually are.”

“Yes, that’s how they usually are.”

Gu Chil, who had been eating, slowly lowered his utensils and stared blankly at the two.

Gu Chil watched them. One was Hong Daeguang, who might become the next leader of the Beggars’ Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects. The other was Chung Myung, the best swordsman of the Hwasan Sect, which used to be in the Nine Great Sects.

But as he listened to them talk, they kept criticizing the Nine Great Sects. If you just heard them, you would think they were evil spirits.

Then, Hong Daeguang frowned and said,

“Anyway, it’s possible that the Nine Sects, led by Wudang, will put pressure on Hwasan. Besides Jongnam, the sects near Hwasan are Wudang, Shaolin, and Mount Hua Sect.”

“Hmm.”

“But surprisingly, the problem isn’t here.”

“Then where?”

“Sichuan.”

Hong Daeguang said firmly,

“Wudang was embarrassed recently and needs time to recover. Shaolin’s relationship with Hwasan isn’t obviously bad. And Mount Hua Sect hasn’t been doing much lately. These groups won’t easily work together to pressure Hwasan. But Sichuan is different. Qingcheng and Emei are there.”

“Hmm⋯⋯”

“We can ignore Mount Qingcheng because they are a hidden group, like Kunlun. But the Tang Family in Sichuan has never liked Emei or Qingcheng. Now that the Tang Family has joined the Cheonwu Alliance, their relationship will get even worse. If there’s trouble, it will start in Sichuan soon.”

Chung Myung scratched his chin with a thoughtful expression.

“Hmm… I should warn them,” Chung Myung thought. “But the Tang Family Head must know this already. Why hasn’t he said anything?”

“The Poison King doesn’t like to complain,” Hong Daeguang said. “He probably thinks he can deal with these problems himself.”

“That man, really…”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue and nodded.

“If anything else might cause trouble, tell Hwasan right away. Even small things can become big problems, so tell me everything.”

“I understand. Don’t worry about that. Hwasan’s revival is my revival, isn’t it!”

Hong Daeguang clenched his fist with enthusiasm, but then frowned slightly.

“Ah, that reminds me of something.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t think it’s likely, but…”

“What are you talking about?”

“Perhaps…”

His eyes were filled with suspicion.

“Is Hwasan doing something in the southern region?”

“What are you talking about now?”

“No, I was wondering if you sent any Hwasan disciples to the south.”

“No, we haven’t.”

Chung Myung tilted his head. It was a strange and unexpected question. Hong Daeguang usually only gave important information quickly. This didn’t even sound like him asking a question.

Reading Chung Myung’s expression, Hong Daeguang groaned.

“Ugh… It’s not that big of a deal, but yes. Like you said, small things can become big things, so I’ll tell you in advance.”

“Yes.”

“⋯⋯A rising master has appeared in the Jiangxi Province and is building a reputation.”

“So what?”

“Ugh. Listen more. It seems that this rising master is defeating quite a few famous masters. As you said, it’s quite common for such a master to suddenly appear in the Jianghu, but…”

“Yes. It’s a very common occurrence.”

Hong Daeguang said, sounding unsure. “The problem is, this master uses sword moves that look like falling flower petals.”

“Huh?”

“He even said himself that he is a descendant of the Hwasan Sect…”

“What the—?”

Chung Myung jumped up like lightning and grabbed Hong Daeguang by his shirt collar.

“Is that guy crazy? How dare he talk about Hwasan so easily?”

“Gack! Gack gack! Ah, no, I didn’t do it! P-Please let go of this!”

“Jongnam? Is it Jongnam! Are those Jongnam bastards secretly breaking out of their closed doors to try and screw us over?”

“Keeeek! Hwasan Shinryong! Please let go…”

Chung Myung pushed Hong Daeguang away and gritted his teeth. His eyes looked like they were burning with blue fire.

“What? Hwasan? Is he stupid? How dare he even say Hwasan’s name? Where is that guy now?”

“I-In Jiangxi…”

“Just because it’s Jiangxi doesn’t mean I can’t go! Just because he’s become a little famous, all sorts of flies are swarming around. Uncle, unleash the beggars and track that bastard down!”

“⋯⋯W-What are you going to do?”

“What else!”

Chung Myung shouted, his voice like fire.

“I’ll kill him!”

“⋯⋯Killing him is a bit harsh. How about just severing his limbs and meridians?”

“That’s not enough. Ah, no. Should I sever his limbs and meridians and lock him up in the Repentance Cave for ten years?”

“That should be enough!”

Gu Chil, who had been listening to their conversation, stared blankly out the window.

The sky was very blue, almost too blue. Gu Chil felt like he might cry.

‘Those people are demons, demons.’

This is a demon’s den.

He missed his mother, whose face he didn’t even know, terribly today.