Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1165. What Should We Do? (5)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
A white hand emerged from beneath a white silk robe, gently grasping a red wine cup.
Jang Ilso tilted his head back, blinking slowly as he gazed at the moon hanging in the sky. After staring at the moon in silence for a while, he shifted his gaze to the cup of wine in his hand.
The cup was filled to the brim, almost overflowing. The reflection of the moon within it wavered and shimmered.
"When I sing, the moon wanders..."
A whisper-like voice slowly flowed out from his lips.
"When I dance, the shadow sways..."
Jang Ilso brought the cup to his lips and slowly tilted it.
"Awake, we enjoy together; once drunk, there is no trace..."
The cup, now empty, held neither wine nor the moon. Yet, Jang Ilso continued to stare silently at the empty cup.
"Li Bai, is it?"
Ho Gamyeong spoke softly as he approached.
“I didn’t know that Ryeonju-nom liked Poet Immortal.”
“…Li Bai.”
Jang Ilso laughed as if humming a song.
"I don't like him. No... I dislike him."
"Li Bai, you say?"
Jang Ilso's gaze shifted to the river. He saw the moon’s reflection trembling on the water.
"Li Bai... they say he drowned trying to grasp the moon reflected in the river."
“….”
“That's stupid.”
Jang Ilso threw the cup he was holding into the river at once. The moon reflected in the river was distorted by the ripples caused by the cup.
But after wavering for a while, the moon gradually returned to its original, serene form.
"That’s just an illusion. No matter how much you try to grasp it, you can never catch it. But still..."
A faint smile appeared on Jang Ilso’s lips.
"It never disappears. So, you can't help but keep looking at it. As if possessed."
"The real moon is in the sky, isn’t it?"
“But unreachable.”
Jang Ilso tilted his head back.
“The moon in the sky is something someone can’t reach no matter how hard they try. But one might think they can grab the moon over the river. If I just stretch out my hand….”
“….”
"And so, Li Bai must have drowned. He must have desperately wanted to hold onto that moon."
Jang Ilso's gaze, which had been staring at the moon floating on the water with half-closed eyes for a long time, turns to Ho Ga-myeong.
“What do you think? Gamyeong. Do I look like I’m trying to grasp the moon reflected in the water?"
At those words, Ho Gamyeong gave a small smile.
"Well, I’m not sure about that. But I do know how to hold onto the unreachable moon."
"…How?"
Ho Gamyeong walked silently over, placed a new cup before Jang Ilso, and filled it with wine. As the cup brimmed, the moon once again appeared in its reflection.
"Here it is."
“….”
"When you drink, it disappears, but if you refill it, you have it again, don't you? Instead of lamenting the lost moon, just pour another drink, and you'll have it once more."
Jang Ilso chuckled.
"Truly, the clever ones are always out there."
Jang Ilso reached out and slowly drank the alcohol Ho Gamyeong had poured for him.
Ho Gamyeong, who had been silently watching the scene, opened his mouth with a slightly heavy voice.
"I failed to persuade Life-Reaping Lone Tiger (탈명독호(奪命獨虎))."
Jang Ilso did not answer and just looked at the river.
“He said that he would not follow Ryeonju-nim even if it meant dying.”
Looking at Jang Ilso, who was still not answering, Ho Gamyeong spoke softly.
“…I had no other choice, so I executed him.”
"I see."
Jang Ilso opened his mouth slowly.
"Did he have any family?"
"I believe he had a wife and son in Fujian. It seems he left home over ten years ago, though......"
“What a cold-hearted person.”
"Aren't such people usually like that?"
"Send enough money to his remaining family for them to live comfortably."
Ho Gamyeong looked at Jang Ilso in silence.
“Why is it?”
“This may be a bit of a presumptuous question, but… wasn't he someone who rebelled against you, Ryeonju-nim? He was foolish enough to serve the wrong master and ultimately made the wrong choice. Why should we bother with his family...?"
"Wrong, you say..."
Jang Ilso turned his head back to the river.
“Right…. He’s stupid enough to join the command of Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold, and stupid enough to remain loyal to the end. He’s not a dog, but he lives like one. He’s the most stupid person in the world.”
“Indeed.”
"But... I wonder. Was that truly wrong?"
“…Ryeonju-nim?”
Jang Ilso chuckled.
"In this world, if things could be neatly divided into right and wrong, then what would be difficult? All we'd need to do is discern who's right."
“….”
“But, Gamyeong-ah…. Don’t each person have their own ‘rightness’?”
Ho Gamyeong slowly nodded.
"That's why it's difficult. No one is truly wrong, yet the path that can be chosen is only one."
“Then what should we do?”
"Some will persuade, some will crush others with logic. Some will wait, some will plead, and others will be moved. But as for me..."
Chaeng!
The cup in Jang Ilso's hand cracked and shattered into pieces.
“Just trample and plunder what I want. That’s the fastest way.”
Jang Ilso slowly tilted the half-full bottle of alcohol. The spilled alcohol slowly flowed into the river.
"I don't feel sorry for those I've trampled, but offering a drink or two isn't too much, is it? Don't you think so?"
Ho Gamyeong nodded his head quietly.
“I will do as you command.”
"Yes. Let’s do that."
“Understood, then.”
As Ho Gamyeong bowed and quietly withdrew, Jang Ilso's gaze turned back to the moon floating on the river.
'Who is right...'
It all felt so absurdly meaningless.
* * *
Bop Jeong's mouth closed silently.
Chung Myung's piercing gaze bore down on him coldly, like a sharp blade of ice stabbing deep into his lung.
Unknowingly, darkness had fallen and in the room lit by a lamp, and only those eyes seemed to gleam with a fierce light.
It wasn't the first time Bop Jeong had seen that gaze. He had encountered it several times before.
And each time, Bop Jeong had to make an effort to conceal his true intentions, to avoid the inexplicable discomfort radiated in the eyes of a child who had not even lived half his life.
Yes, discomfort...
Now, looking back, that discomfort may have been another form of fear. It was a fear he felt from someone who should never have evoked fear, so he could not understand himself.
Bop Jeong closed his eyes in silence.
After honestly admitting his feelings, his mind calmed down. When he came to this place, Bop Jeong had already anticipated such a moment.
'Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword.'
A person he could never fully comprehend no matter what. Someone who always moved in the opposite direction of where Bop Jeong wanted to go, yet somehow achieved unimaginable feats.
His very existence is a threat to Bop Jeong and a threat to Shaolin.
That is why Bop Jeong has tried to control Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword in any way possible. But after much deep reflection, he realized why he had feared Chung Myung.
‘Because he was not mine, because I couldn't contain him within my sphere, that was why I feared him.’
If someone like Chung Myung had appeared in Shaolin, would Bop Jeong have been afraid of him? Would he have seen him as a threat and tried to suppress him?
No, absolutely not. Rather, he might have been more pleased with Chung Myung's presence than anyone else. He was someone who would fill in what was missing in Shaolin at the time.
What does this mean?
‘If you cannot understand someone, keep them close.’
Once the other person is no longer an enemy, the fear will also disappear.
So Bop Jeong came to one conclusion. He had to somehow embrace Shaolin and Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword together. He had to prepare an offer they absolutely could not refuse.
Bop Jeong slowly opened his eyes.
"Siju."
Chung Myung faced Bop Jeong without responding, his gaze unchanged.
"To be honest... even before I came here, I anticipated this moment."
“…What does that mean?”
Bop Jeong smiled gently.
"I didn't know what questions you would ask. I didn't know how you would react. But I was certain Siju would bring up something I hadn't anticipated."
Bop Jeong smiled broadly.
"Because that's what Siju have always done."
Chung Myung's lips twitched slightly. He also had a gut feeling. That Bop Jeong was different than usual.
"That's why, before coming here, I made one rule for myself."
"And what is that?"
“No matter what questions I get asked.”
Bop Jeong looked at Chung Myung with unwavering eyes. He did not avoid Chung Myung's gaze even for an inch.
"I will never, ever tell a lie."
Chung Myung frowned.
"For a Buddhist monk, that should be a given, but it sounds absurd coming from your mouth. In the end, it means that up until now, you’ve been lying like it’s nothing.”
“Perhaps so.”
"...Seems like Shaolin is done for, their bangjang casually admitting such things."
When Chung Myung made a slight remark, Bop Jeong shook his head.
“I never intended to lie myself. But sometimes, even the truth can become a lie."
Chung Myung clicked his tongue briefly because he knew what Bop Jeong meant.
"It sounds like you're saying you won't give any of those vague promises like 'I'll try my best' or 'I'll do everything I can,' where no one has to take responsibility."
“Amitabha.”
Bop Jeong chanted a low prayer.
"Exactly. Being in this position, sometimes you have to utter words that are not quite lies, yet not fully truthful either. I didn't think of them as lies myself because I genuinely intended to keep those words. But... withholding certain truths is just another form of lying."
Bop Jeong looked at Chung Myung and thought.
'It’s funny.'
How did it come to this?
Even in his eyes, Chung Myung was a hero of the world. By now, no one could deny that fact.
If he had truly set his life's goal as bangjang of Shaolin to protect Kangho and uphold its virtue, then he should have been delighted and happy about the appearance of someone like Chung Myung.
But… until recently, the existence of Chung Myung was nothing more or less than a delusion that filled his heart.
"So, I'll speak honestly."
He knew.
What he has to say here is a well-packaged lie. It would certainly make his position more favorable.
It wouldn't be hard to say that he would do everything possible to save Hainan. It wouldn't be difficult to express his hope for Heavenly Comrade Alliance's support.
But Bop Jeong knew. That would be just another form of the lie he mentioned earlier. He had already made up his mind, hadn't he? That here, he would speak no falsehoods.
"You asked me, didn't you? Whether it's true that I'll do everything I can to save even one more life."
“… I did.”
Bop Jeong nodded.
“I understand, then I’ll be honest.”
The dark, sunken gaze of Bop Jeong and Chung Myung’s gaze met in the air.
“Shaolin… we have no intention of saving Hainan.”
His voice was calm, but that very calmness made his words all the more piercing, sinking deep into the hearts of everyone present.
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