Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 696

“Hmm. Geomjin isn’t easy.”

“But shouldn’t we be able to overcome it with effort and perseverance?”

“Yes, that’s right. If we practice hard every day, we’ll get used to it.”

“I agree.”

These words came in turn from Baek Cheon, Jo Gul, Yoon Jong, and Yoo Iseol.

If you only heard their words, you might think they were talking about important lessons for martial artists. But the people listening were definitely not happy.

“Why are you saying that, Martial Uncle!”

“Senior Brother! Do you even have a conscience?”

“Is that why that bloke is hitting the person next to him without warning?”

“Easy with the words!”

Under the fierce barrage of criticism, the Five Swordsmen simultaneously turned their heads slightly, looking away.

“I’m trying hard in my own way.”

“Don’t just try hard, do well! The most infuriating thing in the world is when someone who causes accidents tries hard.”

“…Still, I’m a Martial Uncle, so a little respect…”

“You only get away with this because you’re a Martial Uncle! Because you’re a Martial Uncle!”

Baek Cheon stared blankly at the pale-faced disciples. He looked up at the sky. His expression was mournful.

‘Life was better in the old days,’ Baek Cheon thought sadly.

Back then, they were poor and tired, but the younger students looked up to them with admiration. Now, these pale-faced brats were glaring with murderous intent, shouting at him.

Nevertheless, they couldn’t voice their complaints because the Five Swordsmen, including Baek Cheon, were well aware of what they had done.

Baek Sang glared with a fiercely contorted face.

“Didn’t you hear the Sect Leader telling you to coordinate?”

“⋯⋯.”

“We’re practicing Geomjin, and there’s this bloke suddenly unleashing ridiculous sword energy.”

Baek Cheon flinched and avoided his gaze.

“That… I’m sorry. It’s become a habit.”

“And then there’s the person who suddenly stabs their sword into someone else’s sword energy during Geomjin!”

“There was an opening.”

“Is that what’s important? Right now? The person next to you, who was swinging their sword before the enemy even died, is about to die of a heart attack from shock, you know?”

Baek Sang glared, his eyes bloodshot with anger and frustration, but Yoo Iseol confidently raised her chin. However, her conscience wasn’t entirely clear, as the angle of her raised chin was slightly off from Baek Sang.

“And the bloke who suddenly jumps forward.”

“…My blood was boiling, so I lost control…”

“The bloke who criticizes others’ swords but can’t properly wield their own!”

“…I’m sorry.”

Baek Sang’s face turned bright red.

“And!”

He quickly turned his head.

“Why are you drawing a dagger and acupuncture needles during Geomjin practice? Is she a healer? Is it part of her unique fighting style?”

“It seems that I can be more helpful with that than wielding a sword.”

“Then is that Geomjin? Huh? Is it Geomjin?”

“⋯⋯.”

Baek Sang clutched his chest, feeling like he was about to get a hole in his stomach. His eyes started to water.

‘How can there not be a single helpful person?’

These blokes are the Hwasan Five Swordsmen.

They were supposed to be famous for being relatively successful in Hwasan, but how could not a single one of them properly perform Geomjin?

“How have you survived until now? Watching you today, it looks like people would get killed just by bumping spoons while eating.”

“⋯⋯.”

“And!”

Baek Sang breathed fire from his mouth.

“If that’s the case, just gather among yourselves and practice Geomjin! Why are you interfering with innocent kids and preventing them from training!”

Baek Cheon opened his mouth as if he also felt wronged by these words.

“Sang-ah.”

“What!”

“…Let’s think about it logically.”

“Yes?”

“…What do you think would happen if we practiced Geomjin among ourselves?”

“⋯⋯.”

Baek Sang, who had been raging like fire, momentarily lost his words. And the answer came from the mouths of others surrounding them.

“It’d be a miracle if no one died.”

“And if only one person died?”

“That’s right.”

“That wouldn’t be something you could call training.”

“With that personality, good luck.”

Watching the disciples nodding and whispering in agreement, Baek Sang tightly closed his eyes.

‘I really wish they would all just disappear.’

He wouldn’t say anything if these blokes had been like this from the start.

In the past, Baek Cheon was a bit unlucky, but he was always striving to be a role model for the other disciples. Yoo Iseol had always been quiet, but she hadn’t particularly shown such eccentric behavior as she did now. Rather, she was too quiet.

Yoon Jong was like a painting of the word ‘exemplary,’ and Jo Gul had always had some problems, but he at least knew how to distinguish the time and place.

But now, those blokes had collectively lost all sense of ‘propriety’ or ‘the right way,’ so he couldn’t help but feel his insides turning upside down.

Baek Sang thought about who was to blame for all this mess. He sighed so deeply, it felt like the ground itself should sink under his feet.

“Anyway, whether you train individually or together, don’t interfere with the kids’ training. If it doesn’t seem like it’ll work, just don’t train! There are only six of you including Chung Myung, so what problem would there be if you dropped out?”

“…I’d like to learn if possible.”

“I said don’t do it!”

“I’m still the Great Disciple of Hwasan. How can I not know what the other disciples are learning?”

“⋯⋯.”

Baek Cheon smiled gently.

“When we train together, there will inevitably be frustrating and disappointing aspects. Isn’t it the duty of senior and junior brothers to fill those gaps and encourage each other?”

“…That’s a very admirable sentiment, but isn’t it usually the person who is lacking, frustrating, and disappointing who says that?”

“What can I do? You all should understand.”

Baek Sang unknowingly gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

‘If he weren’t my Senior Brother, I swear…’

No, how could the only Senior Brother in the sect be that bloke?

The fact that there was a time when he liked that made his insides even more twisted.

Seeing the other Five Swordsmen looking as if they were about to be moved by Baek Cheon’s words and start applauding, it felt like pouring salt and setting fire to his already twisted insides.

“Kkeueuk…”

What saved Baek Sang, who was on the verge of passing out, was the voice of someone running from somewhere.

“Great Senior Brother!”

“Hmm?”

“Elder Hyun Young is looking for you! He wants Junior Sister Yoo, Yoon Jong, Jo Gul, and Soso to come along too.”

“…Eung?”

Baek Cheon’s eyes narrowed.

‘The number of people he’s calling is quite unusual.’

After a moment of thought, he shook his head and said.

“Let’s continue Geomjin…”

“Ah, what are you doing! You need to go quickly since the Elder is calling you!”

But Baek Sang sharply cut off his words.

“…Sang-ah. You seem to have become quite harsh with me lately.”

“If you don’t want to see me become even harsher, go quickly!”

“But I’m still your Senior Brother…”

“If you don’t go, I’ll use my power as a leader to cut off all the money allocated to you, Senior Brother.”

Then Baek Cheon shouted with a stern face.

“What are you all doing! The Elder is calling us!”

Oh Geom looked annoyed.

Lately, he’d been thinking about how pathetic that man was.

“Pretending to be us, you say?”

Baek Cheon laughed weakly after hearing the explanation.

Seriously? Of all the sects to impersonate, why Mount Hua?

“That’s strange. If you’re going to copy someone, at least do it right. Pretending to be Mount Hua in Gangseo? They have nothing to do with us!”

Yoon Jong clicked his tongue at Jo Gul’s words.

“You’re not thinking clearly,” Yoon Jong said. “If they pretended to be us where people know us, they’d be found out fast!”

“Oh,” Jo Gul said. “I guess that makes sense.”

“The whole point of pretending to be someone is to do it where they can’t reach you. That’s how you avoid getting caught.”

Jo Gul nodded as if he understood.

Hearing the situation, Baek Cheon understood Mount Hua’s position.

‘We can’t just let someone run around pretending to be us.’

Mount Hua was becoming famous everywhere. They couldn’t let anyone ruin their good name, even a little bit.

But something bothered him.

“Elder,” Baek Cheon said. “I understand. But I don’t understand why is that guy so angry?”

“How should I know?”

Baek Cheon glanced at Chung Myung, who was gathering his energy in the corner, and flinched.

“Do you think he’s from Jongnam, or maybe the Wudang Sect?”

“I don’t think so,” the Elder replied.

“Then why is he acting like that?”

“I told you, how should I know?”

Just then, Chung Myung glared and shouted, “Enough!”

“We don’t have time to argue! Get ready! If I had my way, I’d be gone already, but the Sect Leader begged me to bring you all, so I’m waiting.”

Chung Myung…

Didn’t he realize how strange it sounded for a disciple to say the Sect Leader ‘begged him earnestly’?

The sect turning upside down wasn’t new, but it was becoming so normal it was scary.

Hyun Young whispered to Baek Cheon, “He’s acting rather unusual this time.”

“He’s always been unusual, Elder.”

“Yes, but this time he’s *particularly* unusual.”

Hyun Young glanced at Chung Myung, who was grinding his teeth, and asked cautiously, “Have you learned the Sword Formation?”

“I haven’t mastered it yet.”

“Hmm… Should I tell you to practice it more before you leave? In an emergency, you could at least use it…”

Excuse me? Was he suggesting learning the Sword Formation to control Chung Myung?

It was probably a joke, but considering Chung Myung’s power, he couldn’t dismiss it.

“Anyway, we can’t waste time. Let’s leave now.”

“Understood.”

It was an unwelcome task, but as Hyun Young said, they couldn’t delay. He worried about what the impersonator was doing in Gangseo, but more than that…

“Grrrr…”

“What? Another dog?”

“He’s always been there, the mad dog.”

Baek Cheon sighed deeply.

‘Will I return safely?’

The enemy is within.

He truly felt the weight of those words.

“I’ll be off, then.”

“Have a safe trip!”

“Have a leisurely trip, Senior Brother!”

“Enjoy some sightseeing on your way back! It’s time you enjoyed life a little!”

Baek Cheon’s face became awkward at the overly enthusiastic send-off.

It would be nice if everyone came to see him off like this, but it felt like there was some hidden motive.

“Sangah.”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

“Have you been doing Sword Formation training again?”

Baek Sang glanced sideways instead of answering.

With Myeon Myeon’s eyes swollen and their clothes torn, they looked like they’d been in a brawl.

“The kids have too much energy.”

“If they have twice as much energy, someone might die.”

Baek Cheon sighed.

He shouldn’t worry about what happened while he was gone, but thinking about what those disciples might do made him feel uneasy.

“Be careful not to get hurt.”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

“And the Chief’s…”

“I’ll take care of it! Just go!”

“You little rascal.”

He used to be a cute disciple who followed him around, calling him ‘Senior Brother.’ How did he become such a dark wolf?

Baek Sang glanced around, moved closer, and slipped something into Baek Cheon’s arms.

“I’ve arranged some money from the Treasury to give you a travel allowance. Don’t go hungry.”

“Sangah.”

“Make sure you get something tasty to eat.”

Still, a senior and junior brother were still brothers.

Baek Sang pushed Baek Cheon’s back as he looked at him with emotion.

“Alright, alright. Now, hurry up and leave. Quickly.”

“Alright.”

Baek Cheon nodded and turned around. He saw Chung Myung, whose arms were restrained, twitching.

Gods above.

Please let me return safely… no, let me return without anything happening.

Baek Cheon shouted, “Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

Chung Myung dashed off like a racehorse with its reins cut loose.

“Aargh, you crazy bastard! I told you not to run at full speed!”

“Keep up! Quickly!”

Oh Geom, terrified, followed him, panting.

As their figures disappeared, the disciples of Mount Hua sighed.

“Are we doing the right thing?”

“Isn’t it more frightening what those two will do than what the impersonator will do?”

“The Sect Leader must have a plan.”

“Let’s at least do our best.”

Its status had risen, but nothing had improved.

That was Mount Hua.