Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 88

Plop.

Chung Myung watched Baek Cheon fall like a puppet with cut strings. He stretched, feeling relaxed.

“Ah, feels like I’ve gotten rid of ten years of indigestion.”

Baek Cheon lay still, unmoving. His breath was shallow, and a faint groan escaped his lips. The air around them was thick with the smell of dust and sweat from their fight. Chung Myung smirked at the sight.

“Such drama,” Chung Myung thought. “He really makes a big deal out of everything.”

He’d beaten him to a pulp, sure, but he’d made sure not to damage his body. He’d wake up after a short faint. The pain, though, would last all day.

“Yes, beating him like this is so much easier!”

He shook his head. ‘Why am I even thinking about the Mount Hua Assembly?’ He’d been worrying too much. But then, a different thought popped into his head. ‘Actually… I really hate those Jongnam guys acting like they own the place when they come to Mount Hua.’

“Hmm. So what to do… Aargh! You scared me! Ack!”

Chung Myung, who had been squatting and pondering, was startled and tumbled to the side. He jumped. Yoo Iseol was suddenly there, silent as a shadow, squatting beside him. Her dark eyes were fixed on him, unblinking.

“Seriously! You’re like a ghost!”

He had to do something about her. At this rate, he’d die of a heart attack before he could even revive Mount Hua.

“Give me some warning! Some warning!”

“I did!”

“When!”

“When you were still beating him up.”

“⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung glanced at Baek Cheon, still sprawled out like a corpse, and then turned his gaze back to Yoo Iseol.

A soft smile touched Chung Myung’s lips, like the first hint of sunrise after a long night.

“Did you see?”

“Yes.”

“Did you see everything?”

“From a little while ago.”

“Hee-eum.”

“Are you going to kill me to keep me quiet?”

“No, that’s going too far.”

Would he really kill? Would he?

Chung Myung carefully examined the back of Yoo Iseol’s head.

She tilted her head.

“Why?”

“No, I was wondering if I should smack you on the back of the head hard enough, you might forget. Amnesia, or something.”

“…I forgot.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I forgot everything.”

She might be dim-witted, but she had a survival instinct.

Chung Myung narrowed his eyes slightly. Then Yoo Iseol said quietly.

“Teach me that sword instead.”

This woman never gives up. Is she a flame spirit…?

He’d been dodging the question so far, but now it was hard to avoid. Besides, she’d seen him gleefully beating up Baek Cheon, hadn’t she? He couldn’t play dumb anymore.

Then he’d have to change his strategy.

Chung Myung sighed deeply and opened his mouth.

“Why do you want to learn it?”

“⋯⋯.”

Yoo Iseol flinched as if she hadn’t expected that question. Then she looked at Chung Myung with a slightly embarrassed expression. Her emotions were so transparent…

‘She can’t lie in front of others.’

Yoo Iseol hesitated, her fingers tightening on the hilt of her sword. She took a small breath, as if gathering courage, before she finally spoke.

“I can’t tell you the reason, but… I must master that sword.” Her voice was low, but the intensity in her eyes was like a burning flame. Chung Myung sensed a weight behind her words, something more than just a desire to learn a new technique.

Chung Myung quietly stared at Yoo Iseol.

‘It doesn’t seem like she just wants to learn it because the plum blossoms are pretty.’

Her eyes held a desperate plea. It seemed she had some story that Chung Myung couldn’t guess.

“You want to learn it?”

Yoo Iseol nodded.

“You don’t have to ask.”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t that sword from Mount Hua? I thought I’d learn it here anyway, eventually.”

“⋯⋯It’s not in Mount Hua anymore.”

“Hoo?”

She knows it’s not in Mount Hua?

Then she recognized that the sword Chung Myung used was the Plum Blossom Sword Technique. Or, more accurately, Chung Myung’s modified version of the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

Chung Myung nodded.

“Yes. It’s not in Mount Hua right now.”

“⋯⋯.”

“But it will return soon. When I’m ready.”

“Ready?”

Chung Myung quietly looked at Yoo Iseol. Instead of answering her question, Chung Myung gently extended his hand and pointed to the sky.

Soon, Chung Myung’s hand gracefully moved through the air.

At first, Yoo Iseol didn’t understand Chung Myung’s gesture and tilted her head, but soon she realized that his hand was drawing the sword forms and watched the tip of his hand with serious eyes.

“The Yue Maiden Sword?”

“Yes.”

Yoo Iseol slowly became absorbed in Chung Myung’s gestures.

It was definitely the Yue Maiden Sword.

The one Yoo Iseol had spent the most time learning and honing.

But Chung Myung’s Yue Maiden Sword was different from Yoo Iseol’s. It wasn’t just that the movements were different, but there seemed to be a fundamental difference.

When the gestures, which lasted a long if not short time, ended, Yoo Iseol quietly sighed.

“Did you understand?”

Yoo Iseol shook her head.

“No. I don’t understand at all.”

The moment Chung Myung was about to say something, Yoo Iseol spoke first.

“But figuring that out is my job, isn’t it? I think I know what you’re saying. You mean I can’t learn it unless I reach a certain level, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I have to hone what I have now and build a foundation first.”

“You know it well.”

Yoo Iseol slowly nodded.

“I understand.”

Chung Myung looked at Yoo Iseol with new eyes.

‘I thought she was just dim-witted, but she’s smart too.’

Well, personality and intelligence are separate issues. He supposed it was possible.

“Okay. But if you tell anyone about what happened today, I’ll never teach you.”

“I won’t tell.”

“Good girl.”

Chung Myung nodded, and Yoo Iseol narrowed her eyes.

“I am your sahyung. You are my saje.”

“I know, I know. Yes, yes. Good girl.”

“⋯⋯.”

Yoo Iseol’s hand holding the sword seemed to tighten slightly. Chung Myung quickly turned around.

“Then I’ll see you next time, Sahyung. Don’t come looking for me until you’re good enough. It’s annoying.”

“Wait…”

Yoo Iseol reached out to grab Chung Myung, but he didn’t wait and trudged down the mountain.

“Ah, and throw that idiot into his room. If you leave him here, his mouth will freeze crooked.”

Yoo Iseol sighed deeply at Chung Myung’s voice, already far away.

‘Plum blossoms.’

Chung Myung bloomed plum blossoms from the tip of his sword.

It was a sight she had never seen even once since coming to Mount Hua.

Just…

Yoo Iseol closed her eyes.

The sword began to move in her mind. The tip of the sword, which had been moving gracefully, wavered and soon began to bloom with vivid plum blossoms.

Plum blossoms.

And the tip of the sword.

A man held a sword.

“Father,” a young girl whispered.

The man said, “I will fix this sword. One day, I want to go back to Mount Hua and say sorry for my mistakes. Seol-ah, come with me. Mount Hua is beautiful.”

But the sword never became like a perfect plum blossom flower.

Now, Seol-ah saw someone who *could* make a sword like a plum blossom.

“I must learn from him,” she thought. “No matter what.”

Bang! The heavy wooden doors of the Hundred Plum Blossom Hall crashed open as Chung Myung kicked them. Dust motes danced in the faint light filtering through the paper windows. The air inside was cool and still, carrying the faint scent of old wood and incense.

“Hiiiik!” Someone gasped.

“He’s here!” another voice whispered excitedly.

Chung Myung blinked, surprised by the sudden reaction. “What’s all the noise?” he asked, stepping into the hall.

It was still early dawn, the sky outside barely hinting at sunrise. Jo Gul and Yoon Jong were already waiting for him on the first floor, their faces a mix of worry and excitement.

Yoon Jong frowned slightly. “You must have slept well. Up this early?”

“It’s not that,” Jo Gul said quickly, waving his hand. “There’s been a big commotion!”

“Huh?” Chung Myung tilted his head.

“Senior Brother Baek Cheon is gone!” Yoon Jong explained, his voice hushed. “And the martial uncles… they came here to look for him in the Hundred Plum Blossom Hall.”

They are strange people.

Baek Cheon disappeared, so why come to the Hundred Plum Blossom Hall? Surely Chung Myung didn’t kidnap him…

Ah.

I hadn’t thought of that. I could have just quietly taken him and beaten him up.

It seems there’s a reasonably clever one among the second-generation disciples.

“Hey, don’t just guess things! It’s rude to think that way.”

At Chung Myung’s words, Yoon Jong’s face lit up.

“So it wasn’t something you were involved in! That’s a relief…”

“It was, though?”

“……”

Why are you upset, you rascal! This isn’t something to be upset about!

No, that’s not what’s important right now!

“You were with Senior Brother Baek Cheon?”

“Yeah.”

“D-Don’t tell me… It’s not what I’m thinking, is it?”

“What are you thinking?”

Yoon Jong gave an awkward smile.

“It’s unlikely, but since you’re a reasonable person, it’s absolutely impossible, but just in case, you didn’t hit the martial uncle or smack him in the face like you said last time…”

“……Is there a difference?”

Jo Gul nodded, agreeing. “Hitting the face is even better,” he added.

Chung Myung waved his hand in the air.

“Hey, I’m not a child.”

“A-Ah, no. Right, Chung Myung! This senior brother believed in you. No matter how crazy you are, you wouldn’t hit a martial uncle, right.”

“It wasn’t *just* hitting.”

“Right!”

“I beat him like a dog.”

“Right. Like a dog. Martial Uncle Baek Cheon always had a dog-like side to him… What?”

Yoon Jong’s face shook as if an earthquake had struck. Watching him was a spectacle in itself.

“You beat him?”

“Yeah.”

“Who? The martial uncle?”

“N-No way, you’re joking, right?”

“Surely. Am I someone who jokes…”

At that moment, Yoon Jong rushed at Chung Myung like a thunderbolt, grabbed him by the collar, and shook him violently.

“You crazy bastard! There’s a limit to how crazy you can be! How can you beat a martial uncle! Don’t you know how big a crime it is to deceive your teacher and despise your ancestors…”

“Here!”

Chung Myung kicked Yoon Jong away.

Having lightly removed his grand senior brother with a swift kick to the side, Chung Myung rubbed his neck and frowned.

“Who do you think I am? I handled it well so there won’t be any problems, so don’t worry. Don’t you know me?”

“……That’s why I’m like this. That’s why.”

Yoon Jong sighed deeply.

“Good heavens, even if you’re out of your mind, there’s a limit. How can you beat a martial uncle, a martial uncle. There are basic rules that people should follow.”

“……Has he ever followed those rules?”

“Kkeueung.”

Jo Gul’s sudden outburst of truth made Yoon Jong lament with the face of a man who had lost his country. Just thinking about what would happen from morning made him want to cry.

“Why is the atmosphere like this? Do you think I can’t handle something like that properly?”

“……So, what did the martial uncle say?”

“He asked me to make him stronger?”

“Huh?”

At the unexpected answer, Yoon Jong and Jo Gul simultaneously widened their eyes and looked at Chung Myung.

Chung Myung, on the other hand, nonchalantly picked at his ear and spoke casually.

“What’s new.”

“……”

The two looked at each other and exchanged glances.

‘Does that make sense?’

‘No, when you think about it, it might not be impossible. Didn’t we do the same thing?’

‘But he’s a martial uncle?’

‘We’re senior brothers, aren’t we?’

It was like when you have done something similar yourself, you understand why someone else did it too. Yoon Jong and Jo Gul had also been trained by Chung Myung in a hard way, so they could understand why Baek Cheon might ask Chung Myung to make him stronger.

“S-So, what did you say? Did you say you would?”

“No. I just beat him up?”

“……Beat him?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

Chung Myung shrugged.

“Is there a reason? I just wasn’t feeling better. So I beat him until I felt better.”

“……”

At this moment, Yoon Jong regretted not training harder before Chung Myung came. If he had the chance to go back to the past, he would have trained without sleeping a wink until the moment Chung Myung arrived.

That way, he could have smacked that crazy bastard in the face.

Yoon Jong was once again keenly aware that there was no way to stop a strong guy who was also out of his mind.

“Don’t worry about useless things and go to sleep. You’ll know when you wake up.”

“……”

“I’m going to sleep.”

As Chung Myung trudged upstairs, Jo Gul and Yoon Jong, who were left alone, sighed deeply.

“……Did he really beat him?”

“I’ve realized one thing about Chung Myung.”

“What is it?”

“Even if that guy talks nonsense, he doesn’t lie.”

“……That’s good to know.”

Very good to know. You son of a bitch.