Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1170. Was I Really Wrong? (5)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
After Bop Jeong left, those who remained in the room remained in an awkward silence before scattering into twos and threes. There was an unspoken agreement that, rather than discussing countermeasures, each person needed time to organize their thoughts.
So the only ones left in the room were Hyun Jong, Sect Leader of Mount Hua, and the elders.
“Sect Leader.”
As soon as Hyun Sang opened his mouth, Hyun Jong, who had been silently gazing with a deeply troubled expression, lifted his head to look at him.
“…What do you think of what Bangjang said?”
Hyun Jong stared at the burning lamp in silence before speaking in a heavy voice.
"Hyun Sang."
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“…Doesn’t it seem like the wick of this lamp is almost burnt out?”
Hyun Sang glanced at the lamp and nodded.
“I’ll replace it tomorrow.”
“A wick that’s fully burnt can simply be replaced. But what should be done if something that cannot be replaced is wearing out?”
Hyun Sang kept his mouth shut. This was because he knew that what Hyun Jong wanted to discuss was not simply about the lamp’s wick.
Hyun Jong muttered with a bitter expression.
“It’s a fact that I knew but chose to ignore. That’s why Bangjang’s words sting even more.”
A sigh escaped Hyun Sang's mouth.
Even Hyun Young, who would normally have added a sharp word at this point, just kept his mouth shut with a stiff expression.
“Everyone knew, right?”
“….”
“That the current Mount Hua is like a lamp burning a wick called Chung Myung. The brighter the wick burns, the greater the light it will emit… but the brighter the light, the faster that wick burns out.”
“Who told him to burn like that?”
Hyun Young suddenly lost his temper.
“We tried to stop him! We told him over and over again that he didn’t need to do that! But what could we do when he kept pushing himself like that! How could we stop him when it was impossible to hold him back?”
Hyun Young was usually the one who cherished Chung Myung more than anyone else in Mount Hua. It was obvious why such a person would speak ill of Chung Myung like this. It was because he was worried and concerned about Hyun Jong, who was blaming himself.
“Hyun Young-ah.”
“That brat from the beginning….”
“Was there really no way to stop him?”
At Hyun Jong's words, Hyun Young was silent for a moment and then shut his mouth tightly.
“You and I both know the truth. There were ways to stop him if we truly wanted to.”
Hyun Jong knows. Chung Myung wouldn’t outright refuse his orders. Of course, he might resist and try to persuade him, but in the end, if a situation arose where their differences couldn’t be reconciled, Chung Myung would ultimately follow Hyun Jong’s word.
Isn’t that also why Hyun Jong always lives his life with gratitude towards Chung Myung?
‘It must have been a consideration.’
No, perhaps it was a matter of belief.
But at this moment, the consideration and belief that he had been grateful for until now were now piercing Hyun Jong's heart.
Because there is no denying it. The one who has been endlessly pushing Chung Myung and Five Swords to their perils is none other than Hyun Jong himself.
“Sect Leader.”
Hyun Sang sighed and opened his mouth.
"Please don't blame yourself. Anyone in your position would have done the same."
"…Right."
“Chung Myung isn't someone we can measure by our standards. Isn't he a child that even the world-renowned Great Sama Bop Jeong acknowledges as being above himself?"
Hyun Jong smiled bitterly.
Thinking that way would certainly bring some comfort.
But Hyun Jong knows that Chung Myung has both an incredibly strong side and an incomprehensibly weak side.
Hyun Young, with a somewhat indifferent tone, spoke up.
"So, what will you do? Are you going to accept Bop Jeong's proposal?"
“Well, I don’t know.”
"I'm not too keen on it. That yangban may apologize and admit his mistake, but how can I believe his word? It’s probably just a trick to bring Heavenly Comrade Alliance under his feet.”
"Yes. That's one way to see it."
Hyun Jong sighed.
“But didn’t Bangjang already answer that question? If that ambition aligns with the grand cause of saving the world, we don't have a valid reason to refuse."
"Cause this, cause that! What’s so great about this damned cause!"
Hyun Young shouted, his voice tinged with frustration.
“I am sick and tired of this so-called cause. I’m sick of it! Why do we have to suffer so much for a damned cause and principles that others don't even care about?"
“Hyun Young….”
“How difficult was it for us to create Heavenly Comrade Alliance!”
Hyun Young bit his lips tightly.
"Yes, I know! It wasn't us who made Heavenly Comrade Alliance; it was Chung Myung! So if he says to do it, we probably should. But isn’t it wrong for us to be the first to come forward and say that we should disband Heavenly Comrade Alliance?”
Hyun Jong lets out a deep sigh.
“Hyun Young-ah. Chung Myung is….”
“If Chung Myung isn’t the kind of person who would do that, should we be the first to step forward and throw everything away?”
Hyun Jong smiled bitterly.
“Think carefully about what Bangjang said. Isn’t Chung Myung the type of person who pushes himself even harder if a burden were placed on his shoulders?”
“Then wouldn’t it be enough to stop him! There are so many paths in the world, but the only way to stop him is to disband Heavenly Comrade Alliance and crawl into Ten Great Sects?!”
Hyun Jong was about to say something, but Hyun Young, still fuming, glared at him as if he had more to say.
“There must be a way to compromise while protecting what needs to be protected. Why does it always have to be so extreme?"
“It’s not something that ends with simply protecting Chung Myung. Don’t you understand? Bangjang's words about uniting Heavenly Comrade Alliance and Ten Great Sects to save the world—isn't there truth in that?"
"Because it's right, we should throw everything we've built so far into the trash and bow our heads?"
“…Hyun Young, we are Taoists.”
“Yes, Taoists. Where in the world can you find Taoists like us? Wudang the same Taoist are raking in money and power, and Shaolin the Buddhist stands at the top of the world, but the Taoists we are are kicking away the very bowls handed to us, yes! Isn’t that right?"
“….”
“What on earth has changed because you kept your pride as a good Taoist? Do you know that it was only a few years ago that we couldn’t even feed the people who came to us as disciples?”
"Enough."
“Sect Leader! Be honest. Have you never resented the predecessors who left this once-great sect in ruins and then irresponsibly accepted disciples? Have you never blamed them even once?"
Hyun Jong tightly closed his eyes.
How could he not have? There have been countless nights filled with resentment, too many to count on both hands.
"The current Mount Hua isn't in such a dire state anymore."
"Yes. The Mount Hua of the past also used to be prosperous. It was even more magnificent than it is now."
“….”
Hyun Young bites his lips and continues.
“I don’t know, Sect Leader. I really don’t know.”
“Hyun Young….”
"I've lived my entire life as a Taoist of Mount Hua. But now, I don't even know what Tao truly is. When I first joined Mount Hua, I had a clear purpose, but now I can't even remember why I became a Taoist in the first place."
A sigh escaped Hyun Jong’s mouth. It was not because he was disappointed in Hyun Young’s words. Rather, it was because Hyun Jong sympathized with his words.
“Do we have to ask the children to let go again for the Tao that we don’t even truly know? Do we have to tell them to give up?”
Hyun Jong shook his head.
“Hyun Young-ah. Isn’t that how Mount Hua… how the Mount Hua we tried to build is? The place our predecessors also…"
“Yes, Sect Leader. The predecessors did the same. So we must do the same, right? We have to tell the children that they must give it up. That they must let go. Because that is the path for everyone and the natural order."
“….”
“But Sect Leader, for the sake of cause and chivalrousness that Mount Hua Sect was trying to protect, Mount Hua Sect was completely destroyed. And now, miraculously, we’ve managed to rebuild it to this point."
Hyun Young bit his lip.
"And… the choices you make now will also become the guide for the children who remain behind in Mount Hua. They will learn that this is the right path."
"I’m…."
"And one day, this choice might lead to Mount Hua's downfall again. When that happens, our descendants will suffer the same pain we endured."
Hyun Jong closed his eyes. These words were the most painful and heartbreaking of all the words he had ever heard.
“No, it would be worse than us. At least we were lucky enough to meet that brat Chung Myung and avoid seeing Mount Hua’s signboard taken down with our own eyes. But will future generations have someone like Chung Myung? If they aren't as lucky as we were, they'll witness all sorts of terrible things."
“That’s enough, you punk!”
“What! What’s enough?!”
When Hyun Sang shouted, Hyun Young didn't back down an inch and retorted with equal force.
“Don’t be mistaken, Sect Leader! Sect Leader can discuss the Tao and the cause so loftily right now, not because Sect Leader has protected the Tao and continued the cause for so long. It's because you've been able to claim the achievements that someone who fell from the heavens brought, pretending they were your own, that you can act like a lofty Taoist instead of a beggar kicked out onto the streets."
"You insolent punk!"
“Hyun Sang-ah!”
“No, isn’t his word too much!”
As Hyun Sang raged, Hyun Young gritted his teeth and glared at him.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“Hey, this punk. No matter what, there are things you should and shouldn't..."
"So, it seems that those who pursue such grand causes and chivalrousness don't like hearing harsh truths?"
Hyun Sang shut his mouth. Hyun Young glared at Hyun Jong with slightly bloodshot eyes.
"If you want to talk about causes, principles, and chivalrousness, then at least achieve something with those so-called grand ideals and principles before you speak. Before you sit there on the fine bed that the children earned with their blood and talk about lofty ideals!"
Hyun Jong's head naturally bowed.
And then, Hyun Young's soft voice pierced into his ears.
"Perhaps what Sect Leader saying now is right. But I wonder. Would Sect Leader from a few years ago, who spent sleepless nights worrying about having to take down Mount Hua's signboard, have made the same decision as Sect Leader now?"
“….”
“If it’s not the same, there can only be one reason. The children’s hard-earned money has fueled Sect Leader’s stomach. What else could there be?”
“Can’t you shut your mouth, you bastard!”
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Hyun Sang shouted and got up. An ominous aura emanated from his eyes.
“As I listen, it is as if there’s nothing you can’t say! Since when did you think you could speak like this! How dare you say such things to Sect Leader?"
“Yes. How ‘dare’ I, indeed.”
However, Hyun Young just glared at Hyun Sang and Hyun Jong with cold eyes.
"How 'dare' I say such things to the great Hyun Jong Jinin, who is so highly praised throughout the world for his adherence to his Chivalrousness?"
"Thi- this bastard, to the very end!"
Hyun Young stood up from his seat and, glaring at Hyun Jong, delivered his final words.
"No matter what decision Sect Leader makes, in the end, we will have to follow. But, Sect Leader, at least think about it before Sect Leader makes a decision. Throwing away what the children have fought for with their blood in the name of some cause or Chivalrousness—ask yourself if that's not just self-satisfaction, masking itself as righteousness."
With those words, Hyun Young stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Hyun Jong, who was looking at Hyun Young's back as he let the cold wind enter on his way out, closed his eyes tightly. A long, heavy sigh escaped from his lips.
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