Return of Mount Hua Sect - Chapter 343
“Who exactly are they?”
“I heard it was an Elder.”
“So it’s the Sahyung of Sect Leader?”
“Sahyung, my a$$! How can those who fled be the Sahyung? They’re just an elderly gentleman!”
“Yes. That’s correct!”
Mount Hua’s disciples were also visibly distressed.
‘There should be a significant generation gap.’
It is also burdensome that they were once an Elder. It is also burdensome if the fact is completely absent.
What were they supposed to do with an elderly man who was older than Sect Leader?
It felt awkward to treat them as guests, and it was impossible to accept them as Elders.
Baek Chun said with a sigh.
“For now, try not to run into each other as much as you can until Sect Leader decides the direction.”
“What if we meet?”
“……First of all, you’ll have to treat them like an Elder.”
“Ugh.”
The disciples of Mount Hua wrinkle their brows. Baek Chun consoled them as best he could.
“Don’t worry. There won’t be a particular problem.”
However, it was rare for things in the world to happen as expected.
“What the hell is this?”
“Yes?”
Hyun Dang’s cheeks trembled.
His eyes were fixed on the table.
“Meat in a Taoist sect (도관(道觀))! Roasted meat! Since when did meat has been on Mount Hua’s table?”
Baek Chun flinched for a moment, but then looked at Hyun Dang and soon replied calmly.
“As far as I know, there is no prohibition on food or meat in Mount Hua…..”
“Are you saying you don’t know the difference between not forbid and recommend? Mount Hua is a Taoist Sect andnot irrelevant of it. In order to avoid complications, the law is also set to avoid eating meat when practicing martial art. Since when is it recommended to eat meat!”
At that thunderous shout, Baek Chun sighed in secret.
Hyun Dang asked in an angry voice.
“Who allowed this?”
“…… Elder Hyun Young allowed it.”
“He don’t even know it even though he was an Elder! It’s my fault. It’s my fault. I didn’t teach the children the Tao of Mount Hua properly.”
Baek Chun’s eyes twitched.
‘That kid?’
‘Mount Hua’s Tao?’
‘No, these yangbans?’
When Baek Chun tried to say something, Yoon Jong pulled his arm.
“Sasuk.”
“Hngg.”
Baek Chun’s face, struggling to swallow the word at the tip of his neck, was hardened all the way.
At that time, Unam heard the noise and ran into the Dining Hall.
“What’s the matter?”
“Mount Hua’s table is full of meat! What kind of law does this mean?”
Unam looked at the table with a troubled face.
“The current Mount Hua does not prohibit meat eating.”
“Ha. I can’t communicate with you either. Where is Hyun Jong? I need to meet Sect Leader.”
Unam’s face began to be slightly distorted.
“If …….”
“Hahahahahat!”
Then Jo-Gol ran to the table like a bolt from the blue and picked up the meat plates.
“You don’t have to eat it. How can you die from not eating meat for a few meals? Let’s clean this up!”
“…….”
“Come on!”
Mount Hua’s disciples rose from their seats and started carrying food back to the kitchen.
Even though they were unhappy, they moved without a murmur because they knew why Jo-Gol was taking a step forward. Of course, the person who would be most uncomfortable with the presence of these guests would be the Sect Leader, so they should not give them an excuse to meet Hyun Jong.
‘Why are you crawling in?’
‘Such a temper.’
‘Hnngg, let’s just hang in there for a few days. Just a few days…’
Unam bit his lips slightly as he saw the table empty.
He doesn’t know whether they’re wrong or not. Aren’t they in a situation where they can’t be sure who knows better since the other party has followed the laws of Mount Hua in the past?
“Sasuk. You have to be patient.”
Baek Chun whispered to Unam. Unam also nodded his head slightly.
If there is a conflict here, Hyun Jong will be forced to come. Unam also wanted to avoid that situation.
“You guys are having a hard time.”
“That’s all right.”
Baek Chun sighed low as he looked at the table with only grass left.
But the problem has just begun.
“What are you doing?”
“…Yes?”
It’s still early in the morning.
Mount Hua’s disciples, gathered at the Training Field, looked blankly at Hyun Dang with a lump of lead carried to train their muscles.
‘No, why did you come to the morning training… … .’
‘What’s wrong with him, really?’
But Hyun Dang screamed whether or not he knew the minds of those disciples.
“I asked what you were doing.”
“… training.”
“That’s what you call training?”
“Yes, to train muscle strength…….”
“What a fool!”
Hyun Dang raises his voice.
“Mount Hua’s sword is Tao Sword. What is Tao? It is a sword that pursues naturalness in harmony with nature. But you don’t know that artificially increasing muscle strength only hinders the pursuit of Mount Hua’s sword?
Veins rose on Baek Chun’s forehead.
“… We’ve become stronger this way. And we proved our strength in the Murim Competition. About training…….”
“You are also having a short thought. If you become stronger in that way, you can become stronger when you follow the traditional training methods of Mount Hua too! How can you know only one and not know the other?”
Then Hyun Dang twisted his eyes and clicked his tongue as if he had seen something he could not bear to see.
“Who made you do this training? Was it Hyun Jong?”
“N- No.”
“Then who?”
It’s Chung Myung.
But this wasn’t something to say to them. When the answer was delayed, Hyun Dang complained.
“There’s no need to say. Stop this ridiculous training right now.”
Baek Chun frowned and said sternly.
“This is Mount Hua’s training. It’s not something outsiders can get involved in.”
“Outsiders? Did you say outsiders just now?”
“Yes.”
When he didn’t back down, Hyun Dang showed his temper.
“Outsiders. Yes, that’s good. As outsiders, I ask, do any of you know more about Mount Hua’s training than I do?”
“…… that’s…….”
“I’m telling you the training method that Mount Hua has lost, so you’re saying that you won’t listen to it just because I’m an outsider? Is that the law of Mount Hua?”
After all this, Baek Chun ended up closing his mouth like a honeyed mute.
‘No, what a ridiculous situation this is.’
Being an Elder is a very powerful position. Even that old man was above the original Elder, and older than the Sect Leader.
‘Then it means that he knows Mount Hua of the past better than Sect Leader.’
It is not easy to ignore what such a person says.
“No need to talk. Stop this nonsensical practice right now and start meditating.”
“…Meditation?”
“Yes. A disciple of the Tao should start by purifying the mind. Don’t cling to the sword. Once you realize the Tao, the sword will follow naturally.”
“…….”
“Get started.”
“No…….”
“Go!”
Baek Chun, who was going to say more, eventually closed his eyes tightly.
All the other disciples were looking at him in disbelief. Baek Chun said in a shaky voice.
“…Put down the equipment and prepare to meditate.”
“Sahyung!”
“For now…, yes, for now.”
Everyone was silent, but they were desperately communicating with their eyes.
‘No, why are you listening to those yangbans?’
‘I told you not to make any trouble because we only have to wait a few days! It’ll be a few days. In a few days!’
In the end, everyone sat cross-legged on the spot with dissatisfied faces.
A smile of triumph bloomed around Hyun Dang’s mouth.
‘I just have to dye it with my color little by little.’
Then they will soon follow.
* * *
“Aaaaakkhhh!”
Jo-Gol screamed and kicked and blew away the tea table placed in the White Plum Dormitory. Yoon Jong received the table that flew in with an unconcerned face and set it down in place.
“What a bunch of oldies! Ugh! I’m so frustrated!”
“Calm down.”
Jo-Gol turned his head and looked at Yoon Jong.
“Don’t you get mad, too, Sahyung?”
“…mad?”
“…….”
Yoon Jong drew his sword, put it down on the table, and cleaned it with hemp. Then he smiled quietly.
“What’s the point of being angry? You can just stab…….”
“Ca- Calm down! Sahyung!”
Jo-Gol, who barely restrained Yoon Jong from uttering eerie words, slightly turned his eyes. Baek Chun was stuck in a corner.
Only a few days had passed since the uninvited guest entered, but Baek Chun’s face was halved.
“Sasuk… are you okay?”
“……Huh?”
“Are you okay?”
“…what?”
“……No. Nothing.”
“Ho.”
Wrong.
It was the wrong person now.
It was a look that could not be imagined if it was the normal Baek Chun.
But Jo-Gol fully understood Baek Chun. Baek Chun was receiving all of those old men’s bullshit for being the Daesahyung of the second-class disciples.
Wouldn’t it feel like being nagged on a heated grill? So in just a few days, the man became skinny with only the bone left…….
Jo-Gol blurt out in anger again.
“When the hell will this stop?”
“I don’t know. But it’s time for them to leave.”
“No, what are these things…”
Yoon Jong quickly cut off their words and scolded them.
“Be careful what you say, but they used to have enemies in Mount Hua.”
“What does that mean?”
“Oho.”
Jo-Gol shrieked and closed his mouth when the rant came back.
“Ha… Sago, please say something. Sago. Say something.”
Yoo Iseol nods at Jo-Gol’s words.
“… apologize.”
“Yes?”
“Making fun of him for being Kkondae. A real Kkondae is different no matter what.”
“…….”
They can relate to that.
“Ugh.”
Jo-Gol shook his head.
He thought it would be fine to avoid them, but the situation changed completely. Whenever they did something, Hyun Dang’s group, who appeared like ghosts, nagged at everything.
“What’s with ‘the old Mount Hua’ at the end of every word!”
“To hell with tradition! I almost fell on the street while keeping the tradition!”
“How can they be so old-fashioned from start to finish!”
What’s sad is that the second and third-class disciples can’t resist their words.
Can’t disobey their authority?
It’s nothing.
The problem was that whenever they spoke, they mentioned their ancestors.
‘My former teacher, the former Sect Leader,… … .’
As soon as the words are spoken, rebuttal itself becomes impossible.
They cannot deny the words unless they have seen and heard the ancestor in person. If they deny it, it would be meant disobeying the words of the previous Sect Leader, so it is no different from the sins of Gisamyoljo (기사멸조(欺師滅祖)). (Going against the superior, as in rank. Just take it as going against the norm/common sense.)
The second-class disciples caught up in this ridiculous logic eventually had to give in according to their words, and the first-class disciples watching it couldn’t do anything about it.
“Why is Sect Leader so quiet?”
“Gol-ah.”
As Jo-Gol complained about the Sect Leader, Baek Chun, who was hanging like a corpse, flashed his eyes, and Yoo Iseol breathed a cold chill.
Jo-Gol flinched and shrugged his neck.
“The person who is in the most trouble right now is the Sect Leader. You are welcome to say any other complaints, but please don’t talk harshly about Sect Leader. Do you understand?”
“……Yes. Sasuk.”
Baek Chun, who said the word, leaned back against the wall.
Then he covered his face with one hand and bit his lips.
‘It’s awful.’
He wouldn’t do that unless he’s determined to do so.
‘I’m sure Sect Leader is in trouble, too.’
This would not happen if there was only one elder Taesang in the sect. The moment they stepped in, a lightning bolt would fall. (A retired Elder who has stepped back on the front stage.)
The problem was that Mount Hua’s biggest Elder now is Hyun Jong, and unlike other prestigious sects, there are no Taesang Elders left in Mount Hua.
There was nothing they could do about it.
‘But if Sect Leader really made up his mind, he wouldn’t be holding back.’
Baek Chun shakes his head.
This is an idea that should not be done. Hyun Jong, whom he knows, is never a foolish man or a man without determination. So now they have to trust Sect Leader and endure it.
“We have to help Sect Leader. So don’t ever protest and don’t cause any trouble. I mean, don’t let them catch you in the act. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
They don’t have the strength to answer energetically.
But Baek Chun didn’t bother to criticize that fact. He understands how they feel more than anyone else.
At that time, Yoon Jong, who had been quiet, asked.
“By the way… When is Chung Myung coming back?”
“……Huh?”
When Baek Chun asked again, he put his sharpened sword into the sheath and opened his mouth.
“It’s only when we’re together that we’re going to put up with it, but if Chung Myung comes, there’s going to be an uproar. Won’t all of that old man have their beards pulled out and be thrown down the cliff?”
“…….”
Baek Chun trembled with goosebumps all over his body.
‘Do you really think it will stay like that?’
‘It is good if they came back alive.’
‘You will get a hit in your mouth while talking about tradition.’
Baek Chun said with annoyance.
“Then somehow, before he comes back…….”
“But.”
Yoo Iseol cuts off Baek Chun’s words.
“Isn’t that a solution?”
“…….”
‘Huh?’
“They’ll all be kicked out.”
“…….”
‘Uh…’
‘Problem solved. Right, it’s a solution.’
‘If you could call it a solution.’
Baek Chun sighed deeply.
“In any case, by tomorrow, Sect Leader will come up with measures. Then they won’t be able to force themselves here anymore.”
“What if they said ‘I’d stay’? Even Sect Leader can’t do a thing about it, right?”
“……then there’s no choice.”
Baek Chun said firmly.
“You can only repel poison with poison! We’ll throw Chung Myung at them!”
It was Baek Chun who wished it wouldn’t get to that situation.
* * *
“Oh, it tickles.”
Chung Myung scratched his ear.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“No, my ears are itchy all of a sudden. Who’s blaming me?”
“Hoho. Who’s going to blame Sodojang?”
“… It’s a problem because there are too many. First of all, I suspect Dongryong.”
“Dongryong?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Chung Myung smiled and picked up the bottle.
“By the way, Sangdanju-nim, you’re a better drinker than I thought.”
“Hohoho. Merchants can’t make money if they can’t drink. Feel free to carry it. I will pour for you.”
“Hehehehe. Thank you.”
Hwang Dae-in laughed.
“Wouldn’t it be an honor to be able to pour a drink to the famous Mount Hua Divine Dragon at Murim Competition!”
“Hehehehe.”
“Keuh! That reputation is now shaking the world! Your name is being talked about every day in the city.”
“Hehehehehe!”
“Ah! It’s the best sword in the world! The world’s most powerful sword of future generations! And isn’t you the strongest sword of the current Mount Hua!”
“Kakaka! Kakakaka!”
As Mount Hua’s disciples were dying of the Kkondae’s manipulation, Chung Myung lived happily every day, melting into the hospitality of a merchant who had lived for 50 years.
……and don’t even know what’s going on with Mount Hua.