Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 929

Beopgye’s anger wasn’t just a personal matter. As the head of Shaolin’s Vinaya Hall, he was responsible for upholding the rules. This was more than just his own feelings.

“Now.”

He spoke clearly and firmly, wanting to make sure Hye-yeon understood.

“Are you now defying the order of the Abbot?”

Hye-yeon smiled slightly.

“I am unsure how to answer that.”

“…What?”

“As a Buddhist, I am following what I believe is right. How can that be disobeying?”

Beopgye’s face twisted in anger for a moment.

“No matter how devout you are, you are still a member of Shaolin. Don’t you understand what it means to disobey the Abbot’s orders, and what the consequences are?”

“⋯⋯.”

This time, Hye-yeon didn’t answer. Beopgye spoke angrily.

“It is insubordination.”

“⋯⋯.”

“And disobeying orders without a valid reason is punished by expulsion. Do you know what that means?”

Hye-yeon nodded.

“Yes.”

“You know it?”

“Yes, I know it.”

Beopgye narrowed his eyes.

“A disciple expelled from Shaolin will have their tendons severed and meridians destroyed.”

Hearing this, Hye-yeon’s face turned slightly pale.

“Crushing your *dantian* (the center of inner energy) and severing the tendons and meridians in your limbs will destroy your ability to use martial arts forever. Knowing this, are you willing to commit the sin of abandoning your potential and accept expulsion?”

There was no kindness in his voice.

Hye-yeon looked up at the sky for a moment. Beopjeong and Beopgye had guided him in his life. It was hard to face their disappointment and anger.

But…

‘If it is not right, it is merely another form of attachment.’

Hye-yeon lowered his head, his face now showing no hesitation. His eyes were calm and clear.

“If that is Shaolin’s rule, and if it is how I can repay Shaolin’s kindness, then I will accept it.”

“You foolish…”

Beopgye’s face turned ashen. He never thought Hye-yeon would say that.

Severing tendons and destroying meridians meant a cruel punishment that would destroy his ability to use martial arts forever by crippling his body and inner energy.

It was worse than that.

Someone who lost their inner strength and couldn’t use their limbs would be worse off than an ordinary person. Who could accept not even being able to lift a spoon?

“Have you lost your mind! What are you thinking…!”

Beopgye shouted, but Beopjeong raised his hand to stop him.

“Abbot!”

Despite Beopgye’s urgency, Beopjeong quietly shook his head, stopping him. He looked silently at Hye-yeon, his eyes cold. He wasn’t stopping Beopgye out of kindness.

“I will ask you one thing, Hye-yeon.”

Hye-yeon flinched slightly at Beopjeong’s voice, but quickly regained his composure and nodded.

“Yes, Abbot.”

“What is the reason?”

“⋯⋯.”

Beopjeong continued coldly.

“You just need to follow Shaolin. You will be given many things: the position of Abbot in the future, the position of the strongest person, and great glory.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Despite that, why are you defying me and risking expulsion? Is there a reason worth abandoning everything you have achieved?”

Beopjeong’s eyes were like chips of ice, cold and sharp. It was hard to believe he was talking to a young disciple. When had Hye-yeon ever seen such a look from Beopjeong?

But then, Hye-yeon smiled serenely. Strangely, Beopjeong’s words helped clear his mind.

He replied as if in a Zen dialogue.

“What is all of that?”

“⋯⋯What?”

“Attachment, and emptiness.”

“⋯⋯.”

Beopjeong’s face hardened, as if he never expected to hear such words from Hye-yeon.

“The position of Abbot, the position of the strongest person, unparalleled glory…”

Hye-yeon shook his head.

“You asked for the reason?”

He answered calmly.

“It is because I am a Buddhist, not a martial artist.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Now that the Abbot has spoken, I understand my own heart better. Abbot, why do you speak of glory? How can there be glory for someone on the Buddhist path? A Buddhist’s path is for the sake of all living beings. How can glory fit on that path?”

Beopjeong stared at Hye-yeon, speechless.

“What is so great about the martial arts I have learned? Even if one’s martial arts reach the heavens, it is just a small skill, not as important as saving one living being.”

“You…”

Beopjeong’s hands trembled.

He could endure anything else.

But what was more humiliating than receiving a sermon from a Shaolin disciple?

“I am a Buddhist first. If there is no Buddhist path for me there, why try to drag me there? Even if the body is in paradise, if the mind is in hell, how is that different from hell?”

“…Hye-yeon.”

“If you will take it back.”

Hye-yeon slowly nodded, his face calm and clear.

“If you must take it back, then take it back. Even if I am expelled from Shaolin, even if I lose my martial arts, I will still be a Buddhist. Isn’t that what matters?”

Hye-yeon smiled gently and lowered his hands.

He was calm, as if he wouldn’t resist.

Beopgye was flustered.

What kind of person was Hye-yeon?

He was a genius, embodying Shaolin’s hopes. Everyone expected him to raise Shaolin to a new level. He was Shaolin’s future.

He was allowed to travel outside Shaolin because everyone believed it would help him grow, wasn’t he?

Now, he was saying he would leave Shaolin, giving up the martial arts he had worked so hard to learn.

‘Why on earth!’

Beopgye couldn’t understand it.

Everyone wanted to be a Shaolin disciple. But Hye-yeon was trying to give it all up.

“You foolish bastard…”

Beopgye spoke regretfully, even though he should have been stern. But Beopjeong’s eyes grew colder.

“Is that your will?”

“Yes, Abbot.”

He glared at Hye-yeon silently.

At another time, he might have laughed it off. But now was not a good time. Beopjeong felt that Hye-yeon had chosen Hwasan over him and Shaolin.

“Hwasan has blinded your eyes.”

“Hwasan merely showed him his path.”

“Perhaps I shouldn’t have sent you to Hwasan back then.”

“I am truly grateful that you sent me to Hwasan at that time.”

“…To the very end.”

Abbot Beopjeong’s eyes suddenly became hard, like sharp stones.

The leader of a group like Shaolin should always be kind, but sometimes they must be very strict. He thought, ‘If I don’t punish this person for killing his father right here, Shaolin’s rules will break down.’

No.

‘Am I angry because that child broke the law? Or am I just upset because my pride is hurt?’

Beopjeong quickly pushed away the confusion he felt.

“Beopgye.”

“…Yes.”

“I am kicking Hye-yeon out.”

“A-Abbot!”

“I am holding the disciple Hye-yeon responsible for the crime of killing his own father. I will take back everything Shaolin gave him. As the head of the Disciplinary Hall of Shaolin, carry out the punishment.”

“A-Abbot!”

Beopgye couldn’t bring himself to hurt Hye-yeon’s martial arts. He was desperate to calm the situation down.

“This isn’t Shaolin, it’s Hwasan! Abbot! If you have to punish Jeong Hye-yeon… no, if you have to punish the sinner, you should take him back to Shaolin first before…”

“When we follow the rules, why does it matter where we are?”

“…But.”

“Or what?”

Beopjeong glared at Beopgye, trying to see through him.

“Are you saying Shaolin has to worry about what Hwasan thinks when we follow our rules?”

“N-No, that’s not it. How could I think such a bad thing?”

“Then do it.”

“……”

“Hurry!”

Beopgye squeezed his eyes shut. If Beopjeong was this determined, he couldn’t change things.

‘How did things get like this?’

Everything was wrong. The timing was all off.

‘That fool… He should have run away!’

Why did he have to show up in front of the Abbot at this moment? If Beopjeong had calmed down, there might have been another way.

Beopgye opened his eyes. He saw the Hwasan disciples gathering, noticing the commotion. Maybe the Abbot wanted to show off Shaolin’s power to them. But…

‘If Hye-yeon is the cost, aren’t we losing too much, Abbot?’

But no matter the reason, he couldn’t disobey the Abbot. Beopgye gritted his teeth and spoke to Hye-yeon.

“The sinner must kneel.”

As soon as he said it, Hye-yeon knelt down. Beopgye reluctantly stepped forward and forced himself to walk behind him.

“What’s he doing?”

“Why is Hye-yeon doing that?”

The Hwasan disciples frowned and whispered questions, but Hye-yeon was a Shaolin disciple. They couldn’t interfere in Shaolin’s business.

Meanwhile, some quick-thinking people realized something was wrong and ran as fast as they could toward the Sect Leader’s house.

“Do it.”

Beopgye raised his hand like a knife. A blue light flickered on his hand. This hand, sharper than any blade, would cut Hye-yeon’s muscles and ruin his dantian.

“Hye-yeon.”

Unable to strike, Beopgye made one last try to persuade Hye-yeon. His voice cracking, “Hye-yeon, please! Just say you’re sorry! Beg for mercy! The Abbot might forgive you!”

But he only saw Hye-yeon’s determined back, shaking his head.

“Elder, don’t hesitate.”

“……”

Beopgye bit his lip.

“What did you see in Hwasan that made you act so foolishly! What could Hwasan teach you that’s better than Shaolin’s teachings? It’s just a bad dream.”

Hye-yeon calmly answered,

“I didn’t really learn anything special in Hwasan. They didn’t try to teach me. What could I learn from people who don’t try to teach?”

“Then! Then why are you doing this!”

“Because I realized something.”

“…Realized?”

“Yes.”

Hye-yeon, kneeling quietly, smiled gently. He remembered the kind faces of the Hwasan people, so different from the stern faces of Shaolin.

“I realized what ‘kindness to others’ was, something I couldn’t find in Shaolin.”

“……”

“Now that I know the path I want is here, why would I hesitate? If you really care about me, Elder, don’t hesitate. That’s how you can help me.”

Beopgye closed his eyes.

As an elder of Shaolin, he couldn’t agree with those words. But as someone following the path of Buddhism, he felt like he understood them.

‘I can’t know.’

It was sad that Hye-yeon was going against his words. But as a Buddhist, it was joyful to see him finding his own way. Beopgye’s heart burned with these mixed feelings.

But…

‘…I am an elder of Shaolin.’

There must be no hesitation.

“The sinner…”

Beopgye bit his lip.

He looked up for a moment and saw Beopjeong nodding silently.

“I will take back everything I received from Shaolin in the name of Shaolin.”

“Amitabha.”

As Hye-yeon finished his Buddhist prayer, Beopgye’s hand, full of sharp energy, struck down toward Hye-yeon’s ankle.

“Aack!”

“Suniim!”

The Hwasan disciples screamed. They couldn’t believe this was happening and rushed forward, but it was too late to reach him.

“Noooo!”

Just as Beopgye’s hand was about to cut Hye-yeon’s ankle tendons…

Clang!

With a loud noise, Beopgye grabbed his hand and quickly stepped back. As his hand touched Hye-yeon’s ankle, a sword energy flew from somewhere and knocked his hand away.

“How dare you!”

This was Shaolin’s business. Who dared to interfere with Shaolin’s affairs by force?

Beopgye, confused and angry, turned his head and saw a man walking toward them.

The Hwasan Sword Saint.

He was putting the sword he had drawn back into its scabbard, walking toward them in a straight line.

Chung Myung growled, his voice shaking with rage,

“Who allowed you to do this in Hwasan? Speak! Or you’ll regret it!”

“……”

The fury he unleashed swept through the area.