Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1192. Why does it turn out that way? (2)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
"Sa- Sasuk!"
"What is it?"
"Have you heard the news?"
"News?"
Baek Sang's face remained calm as he watched Gwak Hwe, who had rushed through the door. Just looking at Gwak Hwe's expression, one would think that Magyo had invaded, but this timid rascal was always making a fuss over trivial things, so Baek Sang didn't pay much attention.
"It- it’s Baek Cheon Sasuk! Baek Cheon Sasuk!"
"What’s with Sahyung?"
"He became the sect leader!"
"Oh, sure. He was bound to be. He’d become one eventually."
Baek Sang lowered his gaze back to the documents he was reading.
"No, Sasuk! That's not what I mean! I said he became the sect leader!"
"Yes, yes. I got it."
"I- It's true! Rumors are spreading all over the sect right now! They say Sect Leader has passed down his position to Baek Cheon Sasuk!"
Only then did Baek Sang lift his head again and give him his attention.
"....Sect Leader did?"
"Yes!"
"So suddenly?"
"That's what I’m saying! He abruptly handed over the position! The whole place is in an uproar right now!"
"So… you're saying that Sect Leader handed over his position to Baek Cheon Sahyung?"
"Yes!"
Gwak Hee nodded vigorously, happy that Baek Sang finally understood. Baek Sang's eyes were half-closed as he watched that eager nodding.
"....Why?"
"Apparently, it’s for the future of Mount Hua Sect…"
"Why?"
"Whi- While talking with Bop Jeong, Bangjang of Shaolin…"
"Why?"
"...."
"Why?"
Gwak Hee shut his mouth. He could see Baek Sang’s lips trembling. Baek Sang muttered in a dazed voice.
"So, then…"
"Yes."
"Why did it turn out this way?"
" ...That's...."
"...."
Baek Sang stared blankly at Gwak Hee and Gwak Hee was at a loss, and the staring continued for a while.
--
"Sahyung, it’s Un Gum."
"Come in."
Un Gum quietly opened the door and entered the room. Un Am was seated in front of a low table, sorting through some documents. Though he must have heard someone enter, he didn't even glance up and simply continued his work, just like his usual self.
Un Gum sat down in front of him and said.
"I've heard the news."
"Is it about Baek Cheon?"
"Yes, Sahyung."
Un Am nodded calmly.
"Yes, it has come to this. I apologize for not discussing it with you beforehand. I hope you can understand."
"No need to apologize."
A small smile tugged at the corners of Un Gum’s lips.
Originally, the one who should have become the sect leader in the next generation was not Baek Cheon, but Un Am. Both Un Am and Un Gum thought so and lived in Mount Hua for decades.
Sect leader. A position that carries both great responsibility and burden.
Nevertheless, there are probably only a few disciples of Mount Hua who don’t have some desire to attain the position of sect leader. It’s not hard to imagine how difficult it must have been for him to relinquish a seat that he could have rightfully claimed if he had just wanted it.
Even though he had just made such a monumental decision, Un Am remained completely unchanged from his usual self. Perhaps this was why, despite his martial skills not being particularly exceptional, Un Gum always treated Un Am with the utmost respect, revering him as his Sahyung.
“You’ve worked hard.”
"Worked hard, you say."
Only then did Un Am, who had organized all the documents, neatly place them aside and face Un Gum.
"It was simply something that needed to be done."
"Following the natural course may sound easy, but in reality, it's often the most difficult path."
Un Am let out a faint chuckle at those words.
"To think you’ve come to speak like a proper Taoist now. You, who once knew nothing but the sword."
Un Gum scratched the bridge of his nose as if embarrassed at those words.
A Sahyung is a truly strange existence. By rank and seniority, it’s only natural for him to feel more on edge towards the elders who are old enough to be his parents, yet for Un Gum, the person he felt most on edge towards within Mount Hua was none other than Un Am.
"That's what happens when someone raises disciples."
“That’s a good thing.”
Un Am smiled warmly as if watching a younger brother who had finally matured.
"But, Sahyung."
Un Gum, feeling a little embarrassed, changed the subject.
"Is Sahyung really okay with this?"
"Hm?"
Un Gum's gaze turned more serious.
"Sahyung is a person too. No matter how much you’re following the natural course, you must still feel some regrets."
Un Am gave a faint chuckle at those words.
"What? Are you worried I might take it out on your cute little disciples?"
"Sahyung, really..."
"Haha."
After letting out a light laugh, Un Am shook his head.
"Regret... If I said there were no regrets, wouldn't that be a lie?"
“Yes, I suppose so.”
Un Gum let out a small sigh. It couldn’t have been easy. Of course, it wouldn’t be.
"Both you and I, didn’t we always dream of leading Mount Hua to become the greatest sect in the world? I once wished that, as sect leader, I’d be able to turn Mount Hua into something different from what we experienced."
"....Yes, Sahyung.”
Un Gum could sense the bitterness in Un Am's voice.
He, too, had wished for that.
For Un Am to become sect leader, and for Un Gum himself to become Mount Hua's greatest sword, restoring the glory of the past. That was the dream they both had since joining Mount Hua. A dream that had gradually faded away at some point, buried under the weight of reality.
"But I have no regrets. Do you know why?"
"No, I don't."
Un Gum answered honestly. In fact, he had come here specifically to hear this answer.
Un Am smiled gently and said,
“It’s because you’re always so on edge in front of me.”
"....Yes?"
It was an unexpected statement. Un Gum blinked in confusion. Un Am smiled slightly as he looked at his bewildered face.
"You don't have to make that kind of expression. I’m not saying it’s your fault.”
Un Am continued, chuckling quietly.
“The reason you’re always so on edge in front of me is simple. It’s because I owe you nothing.”
It was a vague statement that seemed understandable but didn't make sense.
"A child from a poor family will still respect their parents, but a parent who raised their child in poverty can never rid themselves of the lingering guilt."
"Ah...."
"The interesting part is that children also know this deep down. That’s why they tend to think that even if they make a mistake once or twice, their parents will reluctantly understand and forgive them."
Un Gum nodded as if he understood what Un Am meant.
"It certainly seems that way."
"Yes. You understand it now, don't you? Because you’re now looking at your disciples through the eyes of a parent."
Un Gum sighed.
"Yes, that’s true, Sahyung."
Hyun Jong wasn't the only one who felt guilty for the children. Un Gum felt the same way. As their teacher, he hadn’t been able to give them much.
Despite being called the head of White Plum Dormitory, during the time he was teaching, the disciples of Mount Hua never truly stood out. Their growth only began after Chung Myung appeared.
Was it because of the lost martial arts techniques? Un Gum himself knows best that that's not true. If he had been a truly capable teacher, he could have raised exceptional disciples even with third-rate martial arts techniques found on the streets.
Could someone like Un Gum really reprimand his disciples harshly when they made mistakes? Like a parent who couldn’t properly feed or clothe their child, wouldn't he end up blaming himself instead?
"Do you understand?"
"Yes."
Un Am nodded and continued.
"Right now, anyone can see that the core of Mount Hua Sect lies with Baek generation and Cheong generation. But I don’t have the confidence to guide those kids properly. In their eyes, I’m just Sect Leader who is a little less intimidating, a little less strict."
“.... “
"It's a good thing to be like a parent to them. But eventually, children will start to act spoiled around their parents. And parents who haven’t done much for their children will end up indulging in that behavior. I’ve long worried that, someday, my sense of inadequacy might end up ruining those children."
“Sahyung…”
Un Gum looked at Un Am with a newfound sense of respect.
Just how long had this person been harboring such thoughts?
He had always thought it was a decision made purely for the future of Mount Hua. He believed that transferring the center of power to Mount Hua’s most promising disciples was the most rational course of action.
However, Un Am had been looking much deeper. He hadn’t been focusing on finding a way to make Mount Hua stronger. All he’d been concerned about was finding the best path for the disciples to grow up correctly.
“In the meantime, Baek Cheon came to me and said this. That he doesn’t have any debts from the past."
"....."
"He told me to take on the role of sect leader. And that if I did, he would support me and help lead Mount Hua to greatness. Such a cheeky rascal. He didn’t even realize the meaning behind his words."
When Un Gum heard those words, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Anyone else might have taken those words at face value. And even Baek Cheon himself probably didn’t intend to hide any deeper meaning in them. But how would those words have sounded to someone like Un Am, who had been burdened with such worries?
"So, wasn’t there really nothing to hesitate about? When there’s a better path available, stubbornly clinging to another is just my own selfishness."
"...But isn't there such a thing as tradition?"
"Haha. Does Mount Hua even have any such traditions?"
"Sahyung!"
"I'm joking. Why are you getting so worked up?"
Un Am chuckled softly and shook his head.
"It would be a lie to say I have no regrets. If I felt no regret, I’d already be an enlightened sage. But there isn’t the slightest doubt in my mind that my choice was the right one.”
"....."
"And Un Gum-ah."
"Yes, Sahyung."
“Feeling attached and regretful is perfectly natural.”
Un Gum looked at Un Am as if to ask what he meant by that.
“To do Good, to pursue what is right, is always that way. If choosing to be Good was easy and enjoyable, who in the world wouldn’t follow Good? It’s precisely because it’s painful and filled with regret that it is the path of Good.”
Those words resonated deeply with Un Gum.
"True Goodness lies in hardship…”
"Yes, that's right. Good that is done without difficulty is nothing more than a consolation to one's heart. Can a wealthy man living atop piles of gold tossing a single coin to a starving beggar truly be considered an act of Good?"
"…I can't say it's not."
"Right."
Un Am nodded slowly.
“But for a man who earns just two coins for a full day’s labor, the single coin he offers to a beggar is true virtue in itself. Wouldn’t it cause him pain as he extends that coin, and wouldn’t he hesitate many times over? And yet, overcoming that reluctance and offering that coin, that’s what Good truly is.”
"....I understand what you mean, Sahyung."
Un Gum snickered.
"So, in the end, Sahyung wanted to say that you’re a truly amazing Taoist, didn’t you?"
"This rascal...”
"Hahahaha!"
Un Geom burst into hearty laughter.
He felt good. He felt incredibly good.
This person was his Sahyung. This person who threw away the position of Mount Hua sect leader that everyone wanted like an old shoe while grumbling about how upsetting and regrettable it is was his Sahyung.
"I can give it because it is someone I trust."
Un Am, who laughed loudly together, soon smiled quietly.
“To Baek Cheon, that boy. He’s the disciple I’ve watched and nurtured, so I could pass it on to him. In times like these, there’s no one else who could lead Mount Hua as well as that rascal could. Just as he said, he carries no debt from the past, and his heart is full of Chivalrousness. And…”
"He's hopeless."
"Yes, he’s a reckless troublemak-… Ahem. But that’s something we can manage together and support him with."
When Un Am let out a bitter smile, Un Gum joined him, sharing that smile. Un Am said.
"Un Gum-ah."
“Yes, Sahyung.”
“You think I did the right thing, don’t you?”
Un Gum curled the corners of his mouth.
“I think this is the second-best decision Sahyung has ever made since I’ve known Sahyung.”
“…And what was the first?”
“That time Sahyung tried to run away at dawn because things got too hard, but Sahyung changed your mind and came back over the wall…”
“Shut your mouth before I become a murderer.”
"Oho! How can a Taoist talk about killing and erasing someone?"
The two martial brothers burst into laughter as they looked at each other.
Both of their eyes were filled with trust and faith. These were the expressions of men who could aspire to great heights yet were never fixated on those heights themselves.
“He’ll do well.”
"Yes. He'll."
"Yes. He’ll do great. After all, he’s our disciple."
Un Gum, who was looking at Un Am with a warm smile, said.
"But, Sahyung."
"Hm?"
“There’s something that’s been bothering me for a while now.”
"Huh? What...."
"Baek Cheon is my disciple.”
Un Am looked at Un Gum with wide eyes, trembling slightly. With a voice as sharp as a blade, Un Gum declared clearly,
"Don’t you dare try to sneak a spoon in on this. I can't compromise on this."
“…You shameless punk.”
In the end, they, too, were just people living within Mount Hua.
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