Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1224. Is This Okay? (4)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
"Hey, you dog-like bastards! Is this something you should do while wearing a human mask! You will be punished by heaven!"
“Wow… I never thought I'd live to hear some damned Evil Sects talk about heavenly punishment.”
Jo-Gol mercilessly dragged away Evil Sects guy who was spewing nonsense.
"Let go! Let me go! Arghhhhh!"
"Sahyung! This pig’s putting up a fight."
Yun Jong peeked into the hollow cave. Even though it was broad daylight outside, the interior was so dark that it sent chills down his spine.
“Hm. To be trapped in such a dark and dismal cave, of course, he must be scared. Can you blame them?”
"....What should we do?"
"Why are you asking that? You're asking something so obvious."
Yoon Jong answered with a grin.
"They say that compassion should be exercised without distinguishing between humans and beasts. Humans are born with goodness in their hearts, so should we really harbor hatred just because someone has strayed?”
At those words, Jo-Gol looked at Yoon Jong with a glimmer of realization.
“Then…”
Yoon Jong nodded with an extremely gentle expression as if he knew the thought was correct without hearing it.
"Yes. Throw them into the cave right away."
"...Sahyung, something doesn't seem to add up."
"No, that’s not true. Those who follow Tao are taught compassion, even for the smallest creatures. But these evildoers? But aren't those Evil Sects punk worse than small creatures, let alone beasts?"
Yoon Jong drove the wedge in with a gentle face.
"So there's no reason to hesitate."
"......"
Before Jo-Gol could even react, Hye Yeon kicked the thugs and pushed them into the cave.
Watching the sight of a monk shoving people haphazardly into a cave where not a single ray of light entered while chanting 'Amitabha' with his mouth, a fundamental question of 'what is Buddhism?' arose wildly.
"Y- You dog-like bastards!"
"Uahhhhhh!"
The Evil Sects thugs flung roughly into the darkness, and rolled back their eyes, screaming in terror.
Jo-Gol unknowingly shook his head.
Even among Evil Sects scum, Black Ghost Fortress was known for being the most vicious. ut he never thought they would flail about like that even after their Dantian was destroyed and their limbs' tendons were severed.
‘Then again, they’re probably this vicious because that’s what it takes to be part of Evil Sects.’
If it wasn't for such strong viciousness, they wouldn't be able to kill commoners like killing flies.
"Evil Tyrant Alliance won’t stay still!"
"You will soon be torn to shreds and fed to beasts! You cruel, ruthless bastards!"
"Oh, is that so?"
Jo-Gol chuckled and reached for the massive boulder they had prepared by the cave entrance.
"Huh?"
"Well then, keep cursing us in there until that happens, would you?"
Kuruereurereung!
A boulder the size of a house began to block the entrance of the cave. The faces of the Evil Sects inside the cave turned pale.
"W- Wait..."
"N- No!"
"What are you doing, you crazy bastards!"
Kuruereurereung!
The entrance was almost fully blocked. With their Dantian shattered and tendons cut, the Evil Sects thug had no way to move the boulder, and they would soon be left to starve in pitch-black darkness.
At this point, they changed their attitude.
"P- Please spare us!"
"We were wrong! We’ll never do it again!"
"P- Please!"
But...
Thud!
The boulder finally sealed the cave completely.
"Arghhhhh!"
"You bastards are worse than these Evil Sects!"
"I will curse you even if I become a ghost! Euaaaaahhh!"
The trapped men, now abandoned in pitch-black darkness, let out screams of utter despair, crying until their throats were raw and no voice would come.
"Let's go back."
"Yes."
Yoon Jong, Jo-Gol, and Hye Yeon stared blankly at the rock that swallowed the cave and turned their bodies. Barely a few steps away, Hye Yeon spoke in a slightly heavy voice.
"Dojang."
"Yes?"
"They will die, won't they?"
Yoon Jong's expression stiffened slightly. Hye Yeon shook his head.
"No, Dojang. I do not mean to blame this choice as wrong. They deserve to be punished. Those with such a temperament must have taken countless lives while living until now. So, if it's natural, then it's natural."
Hye Yeon, who put his in Banzhang stance, continued speaking.
"Amitabha... But even so, it is true that my heart is still uneasy."
"...But you seemed pretty eager to shove them in there?"
"Ahem. Wh- What do you mean by that, Jo-Gol Dojang?"
"No. That's the truth...."
"Keuhuhum! It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"
Watching Hye Yeon’s face slowly turning red, Yoon Jong chuckled.
"Honestly, like the monk, my heart is uneasy too. If they had been a bit stronger, maybe it would have bothered me less, but this almost feels like picking on the weak.”
"Amitabha. Indeed, it does.”
“But... Well. I don’t think there’s any need to second-guess ourselves. The punishment we dealt them was only to destroy their martial arts and let them go a little hungry."
“Pardon? But they…”
Hye Yeon glanced back with a puzzled look. With their limbs' tendons severed, they cannot move the rock with their strength and cannot dig through the cave walls.
So dying painfully inside would be the only remaining conclusion for them...
Yoon Jong continued.
“They won’t be able to leave on their own, but someone else could still let them out, no?”
“...Are you speaking of the villagers?”
“Yes. While that boulder is large, if they work together, they could roll it aside easily enough. If the villagers decide to, they could release them anytime they want.”
Hye Yeon nodded as if he understood. Certainly, if the villagers combined their strength, it seemed like they could easily remove a rock of that level.
“But will they truly choose to free them?”
"That's none of our concern."
"...Yes?"
Yoon Jong gave a small smile.
"To begin with, considering that guy Chung Myung's personality, they should not be alive in the first place."
Hye Yeon nodded at those words. Certainly, Chung Myung's order to imprison them was quite unexpected even in his opinion.
Hye Yeon thought of Chung Myung as someone with an unexpected bit of compassion, but at least in matters involving Sapha or evildoers, he had never seen him show any mercy.
“There could only be one reason Chung Myung took such a roundabout approach. We have no right to condemn them. The ones who have the right to condemn them are the villagers who almost lost their lives at their hands."
"Oh..."
“So, Chung Myung has left their fate to the villagers. Even if the villagers release them someday, he made sure that the Evil Sects won’t retaliate."
"Going out of his way to do that..."
Yoon Jong shook his head at Hye Yeon's words.
"These are people who said they had to lick the boots of their enemies because they had no strength. Even if we tell them that we have power and have avenged their grudges for them, will they be truly satisfied deep in their hearts?"
Hye Yeon nodded, understanding what he meant.
"Chung Myung Siju...."
"Sometimes he shows surprising depth of thought."
Yoon Jong smiled. Then Jo-Gol bluntly interjected.
"Sahyung. Snap out of it. You really think Chung Myung would go through all that thinking?”
“Huh?”
"If you ask me, that punk just got mad and decided not to let them die quickly."
"....."
"Frankly speaking, if you behead them, it just ends with a sting, doesn't it!"
"....."
"If you're going to kill them anyway, you should let them die after reflecting properly. How dare they try to die easily when they have committed sins?"
For a moment, Yoon Jong thought that Jo-Gol's point was quite plausible and closed his eyes tightly.
They say a dog's eyes only see dogs, and a Buddha's eyes only see Buddhas.
As they walked a few more steps, Jo-Gol spoke cautiously.
"Sahyung."
"Hm?"
"Did you see it earlier?"
It was a sudden remark, but Yoon Jong immediately knew what Jo-Gol was trying to say.
"You mean the reaction of the villagers a little while ago."
"Yes."
Uncharacteristically, Jo-Gol hesitated, choosing his words carefully.
"I don't know what to say... Honestly, it's a bit..."
"I understand what you mean."
Yoon Jong let out a short sigh. Jo-Gol must have been quite shocked.
Their swords exist solely to help the weak and to punish the wicked. To better the world through chivalry.
But the weak fear even the swords in their hands. To those who cannot wield a sword, a sword in the hands of Evil Sects or a sword in the hands of Righteous Sects looks just the same, like a mere blade.
"It’s something we must understand."
"But..."
“People cannot reveal their hearts. Goodwill is just guessed and believed."
"..... "
"When those who cannot resist fear the slightest hint of ill intent hidden in goodwill, how can that be wrong? Isn’t it natural?"
Jo-Gol l let out a long sigh. Indeed, as Yoon Jong said, he could not blame them.
"I don't mean to say that they are wrong. It's just... I feel a little sorry. If even while practicing chivalry we still give fear… then what are we…"
At that moment, a firm voice cut into Jo-Gol's ears.
"Don't be mistaken, Gol."
"Yes?"
“Chivalry by itself has no value.”
"......"
“We aren’t striving to create a world filled with chivalry.”
For a moment, questions filled Jo-Gol’s eyes. However, Yoon Jong’s subsequent words naturally resolved his question.
“Chivalry only holds meaning when there are those in need of help. A truly good world is not a place full of people with the heart to help. A good world is one where everyone can live without needing that help."
"Oh...."
Chivalry without strength is just goodwill. To put it another way, chivalry can only be enforced through strength. But, Gol. A world where strength alone enforces chivalry isn’t a good world. Someday, the world that our descendants live in should be one where ‘chivalry’ is remembered only as a romance of the past.”
Yoon Jong looked quietly at the sword at his waist.
"The day Mount Hua truly becomes what it’s meant to be is the day this sword falls from the waists of Mount Hua’s disciples. A world where you don't have to wield a sword anymore. A world where you no longer need to protect someone with a sword."
Jo-Gol stared at him, his expression blank as if he had been struck in the back of the head.
Yoon Jong smiled softly.
"If I had been born in such a world, I could have lived chanting scriptures in a quiet temple, couldn't I? If it had been such a world, the villagers would have shared even cold rice with me and given me a smile."
"...."
"It’s not for us to blame them. Let’s consider it a sign that we still have more to learn."
"...Sahyung."
With a slight groan, Jo-Gol scratched the back of his head and spoke.
"When I talk with you, Sahyung, sometimes I feel like I've become an idiot."
"If it’s only sometimes, that’s a problem..."
"What?"
"Nothing."
As Yoon Jong chuckled and quickly moved his steps, Jo-Gol hurriedly followed behind him.
"Sahyung! Wait for me, Sahyung!"
Hye Yeon smiled brightly as he watched the two running ahead and behind each other.
'A world without chivalry...'
Well, who knows? He couldn’t be certain if such a day would ever come.
But if it does, the world would surely be a much better place to live than now.
"Amitabha."
The quiet chant of Buddha’s name echoed softly in the stillness of the mountain.
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