Chapter 1166



Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1166. Was I Really Wrong? (1)

Editor: Hoamzz

Co-Translator: Xoxo



Chung Myung glared at Bop Jeong.

His eyes had not changed at all. But everyone could feel that the meaning behind Chung Myung's gaze had shifted.

"Do you even understand what you're saying right now?"

“I understand.”

"But…."

“Listen until the end.”

“….”

Bop Jeong silenced Chung Myung and continued speaking.

“Furthermore, I will not allow any sect that shares the same ideals as Shaolin to head to Gangnam.”

“Bangjang….”

"And not just them."

Bop Jeong's gaze captured both Chung Myung and Hyun Jong, who was sitting behind him.

"I formally request that Heavenly Comrade Alliance, regardless of the outcome of this discussion, refrain from heading to the south as well."

Chung Myung's face turned expressionless.

"And if we refuse?"

"I'll stop you."

Bop Jeong simply responded calmly.

"I will do everything in my power to stop you."

Then he added something he didn't need to say.

"Even if it means that the consequences will be painful for Shaolin."

A thick silence descended upon the room.

Not a single breath could be heard.

It was not only because the meaning contained in Bop Jeong’s words was so heavy, but also because the expression and atmosphere of Bop Jeong were extremely serious.

It didn't seem to match.

The implications of Bop Jeong’s statement were harsh, too harsh for someone who pursued the path of Buddhism to utter.

But contrary to the meaning contained in those words, the attitude with which Bop Jeong spoke was so serious that it seemed almost noble.

These two incompatible things coexisted, creating an inexplicable and strange sensation for those watching him.

"As I said before."

Chung Myung's cold voice broke through the eerie atmosphere.

"Do you even understand what you're saying right now?"

Bop Jeong simply looked at Chung Myung, who rebuked him with a frighteningly emotionless face, with a calm expression.

"Of course, I do."

“No, I don’t think so?”

Chung Myung's lips parted slightly, revealing his teeth. Despite his efforts to contain it, an uncontrollable anger slowly seeped from him.

"You said you'd do your best to save even one more person, right?"

“That’s right.”

“Aren’t the people of Hainan a person?”

Chung Myung's voice was so cold that it almost carried a hint of murderous intent.

Bop Jeong, hearing such voice, simply closed his eyes without answering.

Chung Myung's voice grew a little intense, as if he didn't like that attitude.

"I asked you if the people in Hainan, surrounded by Evil Sects in the southernmost part of Jungwon, clinging to life with their hearts in their throats day by day, are not human beings."

“….”

“They are also people. And they are the ones who decided to share the same goal as Bangjang. They are the ones who have worked hard within the confines of Ten Great Sects.”

Naturally, Chung Myung's feelings toward Hainan Sect are not very good.

In the first place, Chung Myung could not possibly have had good feelings toward the sects belonging to Ten Great Sects, and after all, wasn't Hainan the sect that took over the place where Mount Hua was supposed to be?

Although he may not have any particularly strong ill feelings toward Hainan Sect as a sect, he had absolutely no reason to look at them favorably.

But even so, Bop Jeong's attitude was enough to arouse Chung Myung's anger.

"Do you think this is a contradiction?"

“A contradiction?”

The corners of Chung Myung's mouth twisted as if to mock.

"Not a contradiction, but sophistry. If not that, then hypocrisy!"

“Amitabha.”

Bop Jeong chanted the Buddhist chant solemnly and slowly opened his eyes.

At that moment, a slight hint of surprise crossed Chung Myung's face. This was because he saw that Bop Jeong’s gaze, which had been hit with harsh criticism, had not changed in the slightest from before.

Bop Jeong looked at Chung Myung with low, sunken eyes.

"It may seem that way. No, perhaps Siju is right."

“….”

“Yes. Siju is right. Shaolin should indeed save them. But let me ask Siju: is that the only righteous path?"

Chung Myung's face was slightly distorted, as if struggling to understand what Bop Jeong was saying.

"Why do you say that?"

"Are you asking because you don't know? That’s..."

"Because it's a reasonable and rightful chivalrousness."

Bop Jeong cut off Chung Myung's words.

However, instead of getting angry, Chung Myung nodded. Bop Jeong's words were exactly what he wanted to say.

Helping those in danger is such a fundamental principle that it hardly needs to be justified with grandiose terms like "Chivalrousness."

"Then let me ask you one thing, Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword."

Bop Jeong opened his mouth softly.

"There is a way to save a hundred lives. Should a martial artist of Kangho, a Buddhist monk, take that path without hesitation?"

“Of course, they must.”

“Even if a thousand people lose their lives in return?”

“….”

Chung Myung fell silent.

"Let me ask again."

But Bop Jeong did not stop.

"You can only choose one of two paths: the path that saves a hundred lives or the path that saves a thousand. Which one should you choose?"

"What kind of sophistry..."

“Is it really sophistry?”

Bop Jeong shook his head.

“Hainan is at the southernmost edge of Evil Tyrant Alliance. In order to send support, we have no choice but to clash with Evil Tyrant Alliance, and that would be no different from Ten Great Sects declaring war on Evil Tyrant Alliance first. It would surely lead to a full-scale war."

“Is that what you’re afraid of?”

"I am afraid."

Bop Jeong nodded indifferently.

"I'm so afraid that it makes me tremble. The thought of how many lives will be lost in that war keeps me up at night."

“….”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

Chung Myung couldn’t readily answer.

Because in that feeling, they were no different from each other.

“It is an inevitable war.”

"I know. I know better than anyone."

Bop Jeong also did not deny Chung Myung's words.

“But Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword. Even if it is an unavoidable war, there’s a difference in how it's fought. If we rush into the enemy's territory with reckless plans, people who could have lived will die."

“….”

“More people, perhaps even several times as many, will have to die than the people of Hainan that we can save. But… Is it really chivalrous to carry this out?”

“If it’s not done without regard for personal gain, then it doesn’t deserve to be called righteous.”

Bop Jeong slowly shook his head after hearing those words.

“Listen, Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword.”

“….”

“I won’t die.”

A low sigh escaped Bop Jeong.

“No matter what strategy is employed, I can’t be the one standing on the front lines.”

“That’s….”

“Whatever the plan, if someone who won’t die pushes others into a deadly situation in the name of chivalrousness, is that truly the right thing to do?”

Chung Myung's eyes flickered with a hint of agitation.

“It’s always like this.”

“….”

“I heard the same excuse once. It’s a path for everyone. It was something that couldn’t be helped. We had to endure in order to save more people. Then? What was the outcome?”

“….”

“Aren’t you just afraid, Bop Jeong?”

A hollow laugh escaped from Bop Jeong’s mouth.

“Afraid, you say?”

"Yes."

“What a ridiculous question. Isn’t that such an obvious thing?”

"…What?"

“Aren’t you also afraid?”

“….”

Bop Jeong’s eyes and Chung Myung’s met in the air. But at that moment, the two felt the same thing.

In each other's eyes, the inevitable fear is hidden deep within.

A fear that only those who understand that their choices can lead to death can possess.

“I’ve thought about Plum Blossom Island many times. Many times.”

“….”

“I wondered what exactly I did wrong. What mistake I made. Whether my choice was truly wrong.”

Bop Jeong turns his gaze to Namgung Dowi.

Namgung Dowi was glaring at Bop Jeong with a gaze that showed almost no emotion, but Bop Jeong receiving his gaze was simply indifferent.

“In the end, I reached a conclusion. Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword, Namgung Sogaju. Even if I were to go back in time, my choice would not change. Even then, I would just watch Namgung die.”

“…Bangjang!”

Namgung Dowi clenched his teeth.

But Bop Jeong simply shook his head as he faced Namgung Dowi's anger.

“Listen, Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword.”

“Go ahead. Speak.”

“Do you really believe I should have led others to Plum Blossom Island?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“Then let me ask you. If I had led Shaolin and Kongtong to advance to Plum Blossom Island before you, what do you think the outcome would have been?”

“That’s….”

Chung Myung closes his mouth.

They would have saved them. Shaolin is far from weak.

But…. Had they rushed in without considering the consequences, the amount of blood spilled would have been far from insignificant.

First of all, the existence of Shaolin camped across the river would have disappeared from Jang Ilso's mind. He would have likely launched an all-out attack from all sides.

"More would have died than those who remained in Namgung. Am I wrong?”

“….”

"And that’s only when considering sheer numbers. In terms of strength, it wouldn’t even be worth comparing. In order to save the surviving children of Namgung, I must have lost countless people who would have become swords against Evil Tyrant Alliance one day. Do you really believe I should have chosen that path?"

Namgung Dowi's face distorts when he hears those words.

“Bangjang.”

“…Go ahead. Sogaju.”

Bop Jeong nodded with a slightly subdued voice. No matter what, it wasn’t easy to say such things in front of Namgung Dowi.

"Perhaps, what you’re saying isn’t entirely wrong, Bangjang."

Namgung Dowi bit his lip and continued.

“But even then, Mount Hua came. Tang Family risked their lives.”

“….”

"Don’t you think that’s the difference between the two sects?"

Bop Jeong burst into laughter.

“Listen, Namgung Sogaju.”

"Yes. Speak your mind."

Namgung Dowi glares at Bop Jeong as if daring him to say whatever he wants.

"That's why I agonized. Why was Heavenly Comrade Alliance able to do what I couldn’t? Do you know what the answer was that I found?”

"…I don’t."

Namgung Dowi was ready to not accept any answer from Bop Jeong. Whatever he said would be nothing more than an excuse.

But Bop Jeong's response that followed left even Namgung Dowi speechless.

"Because I was foolish."

"…Huh?"

Bop Jeong simply responded calmly.

"Because I, unlike Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword here, was too foolish to find a way to confront them without casualties."

“….”

Namgung Dowi's eyes widened even further.

“Ba- Bangjang….”

"And because Shaolin was too foolish compared to Mount Hua, we couldn't find a way to win without shedding blood. We were simply lacking."

Namgung Dowi's body trembles.

He never imagined that he would hear such words from none other than Bop Jeong.

Isn't it Bop Jeong someone who has the lofty pride that no one in the world can compare to?

“Since I didn’t acknowledge my shortcomings, everything went wrong. Mount Hua and Tang Family became places where they did things they weren't supposed to do, and we became places where we were unjustly criticized for doing the right things. It’s no wonder I was plagued by inner demons. After all, everything was wrong from the start."

“….”

"But now, I’ve simply accepted it. We didn’t have the capability. Then I’ll ask again. Sogaju, do you really think that we should have gone to Plum Blossom Island, dyeing the Yangtze River with blood, with our lack of ability, to save Namgung?”

Namgung Dowi was unable to answer at all.

Bop Jeong, seeing that reaction, closed his eyes and chanted.

“Sogaju, there are people in the world who are beyond the reach of ordinary people. No matter how hard you try, you can’t keep up with them, and they do things that ordinary people can’t do with ease.”

At those words, everyone glanced at one person. Everyone present knew exactly who Bop Jeong was referring to.

"But let me tell you something."

Bop Jeong’s gaze pierced through Chung Myung.

"Demanding that everything be done your way, without distinguishing between what only you can accomplish and what others cannot, is merely another form of violence."

“….”

“I’ll ask, Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword.”

Bop Jeong's voice flowed out slowly.

"Am I truly wrong?"

Chung Myung's lips clamped shut.

The corners of his lips, trembling slightly, seemed to be telling them what he was feeling at the moment.

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Comments Box

  1. Stupid baldie
  2. """ Bald head seems finally reformed
    Thank you for the Chapter """