Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 7

“Finally!”

Chung Myung gripped his staff. At last, he saw Mount Hua.

“Fiiiiinaaaallllyyyyy!”

Tears filled his eyes.

How much he had suffered to get here! He was in the body of a child, weaker than most people. He had faced death many times.

Most people don’t face such dangers when they travel. He was often starving and exhausted. But weren’t those dangers too?

After struggling through that terrible journey, Chung Myung had finally reached Mount Hua.

“…It was long.”

If he wrote down all the hardships he had faced, it would be a long, sad story. Like a beggar’s tale.

So, Chung Myung looked terrible.

He had learned martial arts and gained some energy. But he used all that energy to walk and run. He should have used it to get stronger, but instead, he became weaker.

He was very thin, and people frowned when they saw him.

His clothes were like rags. They were covered in dust.

But that didn’t matter.

What mattered was that Chung Myung had finally arrived at Mount Hua.

Chung Myung wiped his eyes without thinking.

‘Those bastards who said I could live a great life if I was reborn… I’m going to smash their heads in.’

Who you are reborn as matters.

Being reborn as a poor beggar with no family was worse than not being reborn at all.

But all the hardship ends here! He had arrived at Mount Hua! Now he would see what had happened to it.

“I’m going up!”

Chung Myung pushed his staff into the ground and started to climb Mount Hua.

A moment later…

“Haaah! Haaah! Haaaah!”

Chung Myung held onto the cliff, gasping for air. His lungs felt like they would explode.

“What kind of temple…”

…is on a mountain like this! Only a crazy person would build a temple here! This is why Shaolin and Wudang have many visitors, but Mount Hua can’t find even one.

Chung Myung looked down carefully. The cliff seemed endless.

Was he exaggerating?

No, it was true. There were clouds below him! This mountain was so high it went into the clouds. The only way up was a small path on the side of the cliff.

It wasn’t really a path.

If this was a path, then sparrows were phoenixes. Could you call it a path when you had to walk sideways with your back against the cliff?

“Damn it! What were they thinking, building a temple on top of a mountain like this!”

He wanted to run to the temple and complain. But Chung Myung couldn’t do that right now.

– Senior Brother, doesn’t Mount Hua look like a sword sect? Isn’t that peak like a sword? Our founder chose a great place.

“…What a load of rubbish.”

What? The peak looks like a sword?

It did look like a sword. Climbing it felt like climbing a sword blade.

People said Mount Hua had the steepest land of all the Five Great Mountains. Now that Chung Myung couldn’t use martial arts, he understood what that meant.

“I’m really going to die.”

He wasn’t joking. He really might die. His arms and legs were shaking, and he still had a long way to go.

People complained that not many people were joining the sect. This showed how badly Mount Hua was being run.

“Ugh…”

Chung Myung groaned and leaned against the wall.

But he couldn’t give up! He had come all this way! If the mountain was there, he had to climb it! He would be brave and climb!

…Actually, going down was now more dangerous.

…Really.

Thunk!

A hand reached over the edge of the cliff.

The shaking hand grabbed the top of the cliff.

“Krrrgh!”

The pale hand looked weak. It pulled the body up with great effort.

“I’m going to die!”

Chung Myung pulled himself up and fell to the ground.

“Haaah! Haaah! Haaah! I almost died!”

He turned his head and saw the clouds far below.

He had climbed all the way up here with the body of a child. He praised himself.

Well done for not falling. Well done for not falling.

Chung Myung looked at the sky and panted. Then he stood up. The good thing was that he didn’t have to go down this mountain again with this body.

Now he would stay at Mount Hua forever.

‘Let’s see.’

Chung Myung got up and looked around. It should be around here.

He saw a hill leading to the top. If he followed that path, he would reach Mount Hua. Chung Myung started to walk.

He felt happy that he had come this far. After a hundred years, he had finally arrived at Mount Hua.

“…Of course, it’s only been about a month.”

Still, he would say he arrived after a hundred years. It sounded better.

Climbing the hill was easy. His body was tired, but the thought of reaching Mount Hua gave him strength.

“Ah…”

Chung Myung saw the roof tiles of Mount Hua’s main gate. His eyes filled with tears.

Time had passed, and things had changed, but the roof tiles were the same. That gentle curve still held the spirit of Mount Hua.

Yes, on that old eave with missing tiles…

Huh?

Old? Missing tiles?

Chung Myung rubbed his eyes.

Was he seeing things?

But no matter how much he rubbed his eyes, the scene didn’t change. He got closer and saw the half-collapsed main gate.

“…”

Chung Myung stopped walking, unable to speak.

The main gate was like the face of a sect, the first thing anyone saw. Sects always made their gates look grand and well-kept.

Mount Hua’s gate used to be like that too.

Because they were a Taoist sect, they kept things simple, not too fancy. But it was strong and impressive, showing the spirit of Mount Hua. And it was always clean.

But now…

‘What am I looking at?’

He saw some tiles were missing from the roof, and the edges of the gate were chipped. Okay, tiles break, things get damaged.

But the wooden columns holding up the gate were cracked deeply, like dry earth in a desert. The paint was peeling off in strips, like old, dead skin. And the wood itself… it was black and rotten in places! And!

‘Cobwebs…’

He could understand a few broken tiles, maybe even some peeling paint. But the cobwebs… They meant no one had cared for this place in a very, very long time. He couldn’t understand it.

And the final thing was…

“Where’s the signboard! The signboard!”

Wasn’t the signboard the most important thing? It showed the name of the sect. Where did it go!

The signboard that said ‘Great Mount Hua Sect’ was gone.

Our Head disciple used to clean it every morning! Where did it go!

Chung Myung’s legs felt weak. He walked to the front of the main gate and stared, unable to speak.

– I heard it went bankrupt?

– Mount Hua Sect? I’ve heard of it. It was a famous sword sect. But it was attacked and went bankrupt. Is it still around?

“…Bankrupt?”

Mount Hua?

Chung Myung’s eyes shook.

“No, what kind of dogshit is this!”

Others would be sad, but Chung Myung was angry.

Mount Hua went bankrupt!

Other things could go bankrupt, but why Mount Hua!

“Mount Hua is going bankrupt. Huh…”

He didn’t want to believe it, but it was true. Chung Myung was upset and shouted.

“Head Disciple! Why did you do that! I told you not to do that! You frustrating man!”

He had been thinking about it.

Mount Hua might have gone bankrupt.

He hadn’t heard anyone talk about Mount Hua. He heard about Wudang and Shaolin, but no one mentioned Mount Hua. It was like everyone had agreed to ignore it.

If Mount Hua was doing well, this wouldn’t have happened.

“That’s why I told you to do it moderately, Head Disciple.”

– Hey, you. Mount Hua is a Taoist sect. Why are you ignoring the difficulties of others? You are not qualified to discuss Taoism.

“…Still, you should have done it moderately.”

The elders and disciples were all killed. Many sects had lost people, but Mount Hua had lost everyone.

The leaders of the sect were dead. The older disciples were gone. All that was left were the young disciples who hadn’t learned much.

How could they continue the name of Great Mount Hua?

“…Still, even so.”

It felt like all hope was gone. The main gate was falling apart.

Mount Hua had gone bankrupt.

“Head Disciple! That’s why I told you. I told you that if you give everything away, there’s nothing left! Did you want to see this? Mount Hua went bankrupt in your time! How can you face the ancestors! You frustrating man!”

Chung Myung lay down and screamed. His anger echoed back to him.

“I’m going crazy.”

He had come back to life after a hundred years. And the sect had gone bankrupt.

He had fought to protect this sect… If this was the result, what was the point of fighting?

He felt hopeless.

Then…

“Who’s there?”

An unfamiliar voice spoke.