Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1207. Now the Sect is Running Properly! (2)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
Hyun Jong looked at the person sitting before him with pitiful eyes.
Unlike Hyun Jong, whose heart was heavy with concern, the expression of the person sitting in front of him was extremely calm, which only made Hyun Jong’s heart ache more.
‘I am such an inadequate person.’
Looking back, Baek Cheon’s observation was correct. Hyun Jong was clearly suffering from an excessive sense of responsibility towards the Baek generation and Chung generation, and thus wanted to protect them somehow.
Until the day they could enjoy what they should have naturally enjoyed.
But thinking about it, the ones he really should have cherished and protected were not the Baek and Chung generation, but the Un generation, weren’t they?
Of course, the Baek and Chung generation were pitiful and unfortunate because they entered the downfall of Mount Hua, but the Un generation were the ones who were hit hard by the aftermath of that downfall. They had watched as the last remnants of their once powerful sect crumbled before their eyes, all while carrying the despair of being unable to preserve Mount Hua.
Nevertheless, Hyun Jong could not cherish the Un generation like the Baek and Chung generation.
'I am truly a fool.'
He felt like the father of a household in decline—knowing that the eldest son suffers the most but still unable to take his eyes off the youngest. Even when he does realize this fact, it was when there was nothing left to do for the eldest son.
"Really..."
Hyun Jong hesitated slightly as if he couldn't speak or his throat was clogged up and asked.
“Are you truly okay with this?”
At the voice full of lingering affection, Un Am scratched his head as if embarrassed.
"This is sudden, Sect Leader. Isn't this already a finished matter?"
"It may be for you, but not for me."
Hyun Jong let out a deep sigh.
“Hey, you rascal. In what case does one make such a rash decision without even discussing a word with me, the sect leader?"
“I apologize. But it wasn’t really a situation where I could bring it up...”
"Still, you should have, regardless."
Unam scratched the back of his head as if troubled. Hyun Jong sighed again.
It wasn't because Un Am was being frustating. It was because the words he was saying to Un Am now felt no different from the grumblings of an old man who only had his stubbornness left in his old age.
“This guy... Do you think the position of sect leader is something so simple?”
"Of course not, however, that's precisely why."
Un Am smiles calmly.
“The position of Mount Hua’s sect leader is one that requires great responsibility and capability. Only the most outstanding person in the sect deserves to hold that position.”
“.....”
“That’s why it’s not my place, Sect Leader.”
“Not your place!”
Unable to hold back any longer, Hyun Jong finally burst out in frustration.
“What is it that you lack! What are you lacking that makes you say it's not your place? It was a position you should have naturally taken!"
“Sect Leader.”
Un Am let out a small sigh with a slightly embarrassed expression on his face.
He was not a weak-hearted person by nature, but because of the way Hyun Jong looked at him, he kept feeling uneasy and unsure of himself.
“Please don’t think so highly of me.”
“....What does that mean?”
"If this were an ordinary era, not a peaceful and prosperous one, but at least one that flowed smoothly to some extent, I would have certainly coveted the sect leader position as well."
“.....”
"But this isn't such an era, is it?"
His voice was simply calm. Even when Hyun Jong comes out like this, one would expect to see a trace of lingering attachment, but Un Am doesn’t show anything resembling regret.
A Taoist who has transcended the secular world? No, that’s not it. If he were a transcendent Taoist, he would consider the position of sect leader just as meaningless.
Right now, Un Am fully understood the value of the position of Mount Hua's sect leader, yet he did not cling to it.
Hyun Jong felt both deeply proud of him and unbearably pained by this fact.
"In the era to come, the one who must lead Mount Hua needs to be more reliable than anyone and quicker in judgment than anyone."
Un Am shook his head with a smile on his face.
“But Sect Leader. I am not such a person. If it's a matter of sufficiently contemplating, waiting, and making a good decision after much consideration, I am confident in that as well. However, such a role is difficult."
“Hey, this guy.... Why do you only think that way? If those children, your Sahyung, help you, wouldn't it work out? Am I doing such outstanding work as Mount Hua’s sect leader?”
“That may be so. But Sect Leader, is there really a need for that?"
Un Am smiled faintly.
"They're good kids."
“.....”
"What troubles me isn't the fact that I didn't become sect leader. It's not even the confusion about the path ahead, knowing that the road I thought I would walk and the one I will walk have changed. What truly troubles me is the eyes of the sect's kids who don't know what to do as they look at me."
“.....”
“They don’t need to feel that way, but they are just too kind…”
Hyun Jong closed his eyes tightly. He knew from the start. It was impossible to persuade him.
In some ways, Un Am is the most stubborn person in Mount Hua. If it weren't for that stubbornness, he wouldn't have stayed in Mount Hua when he had no strong attachment. Yet, he decided to continue its legacy. Once he made up his mind, there was no way to change it no matter what.
“Un Am-ah.”
"You don't need to look at me with such gazes, Sect Leader."
“.....”
“I hope Sect Leader does not dwell on what you couldn’t do for me. It may be inevitable that the way a master looks at their disciple, or a parent at their child, to be that way, but my perspective is different, isn't it?"
Un Am smiled brightly as he spoke.
"Just because I couldn't become the sect leader doesn't mean I'm unhappy. I’m more than content just being a disciple of Mount Hua.”
“.....”
“And just because I’m not the sect leader doesn’t mean I have nothing left to do in Mount Hua. I may become an even busier person than the sect leader. It won’t be easy for Baek Sang to manage the sect all on his own. As Sect Leader knows, Baek Cheon has determination, but he has no talent for such things."
“Un Am-ah...”
“Sect Leader.”
Un Am looked straight at Hyun Jong and said,.
“There was a time when I wanted to become the plum blossom.”
“.....”
“I wanted to become a radiant plum blossom that blooms beautifully, inheriting the years of perseverance that Sect Leader has endured. I wanted to be the one who ends Sect Leader’s winter.”
Un Am quietly shakes his head.
"But in the end, I came to realize. That role wasn't mine, and I am not the one capable of it."
Hyun Jong let out a soft groan. On the other hand, Un Am's face remained calm.
“That’s why I wanted to become the root. Because I realized that for a flower to bloom brilliantly, its roots must be strong. If the kids who follow me can bloom into even more beautiful flowers, then what does it matter if I am buried in the dirt?"
"The position of sect leader is like being those very roots, Un Am.”
“Yes, that’s correct. But... as time passed, I came to understand something else. Even being the roots wasn't my role."
A flash of pain passed through Hyun Jong’s eyes. If he couldn't be the flower or the roots, what, then, was Un Am supposed to become?
Un Am smiled brightly as he noticed the emotions in Hyun Jong's eyes.
“Sect Leader.”
"Yes."
"Do you know what I now intend to become?"
"...What is it?"
Un Am nodded calmly as he spoke.
"I couldn’t understand in my younger days. When I filled my heart with pride and tried not to lose my spirit, I couldn't see it. At that time, all I could see was just a large plum tree."
“.....”
"But now I know. Mount Hua is a plum blossom. But no matter how great the plum tree is, it cannot bloom without a place to take root."
Those words made Hyun Jong's heart ache.
“That’s why I want to become the soil. I want to become the foundation where these kids can plant their roots and bloom into beautiful plum blossoms. The soil may not be the plum blossom, but how can a plum blossom bloom without soil? That too is an important role."
Hyun Jong closed his eyes.
Tao Vessel (도기(道器)).
That thought crossed his mind. Perhaps Hyun Jong was too obsessed with the rise and fall of the sect and couldn’t see the person who would truly cultivate the Tao of Mount Hua.
If this were a peaceful era... Un Am would have surely become the sect leader who would spread the Tao of Mount Hua throughout the world. He would have become the sect leader that both the previous and future generations could not help but acknowledge. Just as a flower that blooms on the barren ground was more beautiful, the harsh years Mount Hua had endured had unknowingly led Un Am to blossom into a flower of Tao (도(道)).
“Therefore there’s nothing to regret. Because when Baek Cheon becomes the sect leader and raises the name of Mount Hua, that will be an achievement of mine, and when Yoon Jong becomes the sect leader and widely spreads Mount Hua's Tao, that too will be an achievement of mine, won't it?"
“........What if Chung Myung did?”
"What bullshit are you spitti-..."
“.....”
“.....”
"Keuhum, alright."
Hyun Jong cleared his throat softly, adjusted his expression, and looked directly at Un Am once more.
"Are you satisfied with that?"
"Although the matter came up suddenly, as Sect Leader know, I have thought about it for a long time. Each person has their own role. Even Chung Myung joining Mount Hua was likely part of a flow of reason beyond our understanding."
“.....”
"Let things flow naturally, Sect Leader. To view what’s natural as unnatural is merely a reflection of human greed."
Hyun Jong squeezed his eyes shut.
"You..."
“.....”
"You are a person of Tao. You are a Taoist. I am just ashamed."
Un Am smiled faintly.
"If Sect Leader thinks so, don't be ashamed and be proud. Sect Leader made me who I am today, and built Mount Hua as it is today. The ancestors would surely feel the same."
"Yes... I will."
A lamenting sigh came out of Hyun Jong's mouth.
He understood Un Am's perspective, that his thoughts were not wrong, and that this too was the natural course of things.
Yet, even knowing all that, the lingering attachment in his heart remained, because he was only human.
'Letting go of affection and attachment is such a difficult thing to do. That's why the path to enlightenment is so long and arduous.'
Hyun Jong called Un Am softly.
“Un Am-ah.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
Then, he bowed deeply to him. Un Am, startled, grabbed Hyun Jong by the shoulder and held him up.
"W- What are you doing, Sect Leader? You mustn’t do this!"
"...Thank you."
“.....”
"As the sect leader of Mount Hua, as a person of Tao, and as just a human being, I say this: I am simply grateful."
Un Am couldn't answer and kept his mouth shut. Even he, who had been calm and composed until now, felt something welling up within his chest.
"Everyone in Mount Hua, and the future generations of Mount Hua, will remember you as you are now. You will teach the future generations what it truly means to follow the way."
Un Am paused for a moment and bowed his head.
“Thank you, Sect Leader.”
His shoulder began to tremble slightly. Hyun Jong silently patted those shoulders.
The master and disciple, who had spent most of their lives together, comforted each other in silence. For a rather long time...
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|Note
And Im crying 🥲 and Im glad they have reached consensus on not agreeing chung myung became sect leader
thank you for the chapter!