Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1358. That guy is coming (3)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
"…When practicing profound Prajna-paramita, seeing that all the five skhandas are empty, he transcends all suffering." (行深般若波羅蜜多時 照見五蘊皆空 度一切苦厄/a verse in Heart Sutra)
The quiet recitation of sutras echoed within the still room.
Bop Jeong’s voice reciting the Heart Sutra with his eyes half-open gradually subsided.
“Sarvaduḥkhapraśamanaḥ....” (도일체고액(度一切苦厄))
His eyes slowly closed.
“Endure all suffering....”
The Heart Sutra. A mantra (진언(眞言)) of two hundred and sixty some characters in which Tang Dynasty's Xuanzang distilled the essence of the six hundred volumes of the Prajna Sutra.
Recited countless times because it was said to contain the core principle of emptiness (공(空)), yet ironically considered common precisely because of its profound importance.
However, lately, Bop Jeong has been once again awakening to the true meaning contained within this Heart Sutra.
"One sees only as much as one knows… and only as much as one has sought may be revealed."
Kararak.
The prayer beads held in Bop Jeong's hands made a crisp sound.
The world was full of suffering, and a Buddhist was one who endured all suffering. Therefore, anyone who was not prepared to tread a path of thorns should not call themselves a Buddhist.
Nirvana (피안(彼岸)) was not found beyond the turn of one’s head—it only comes to those who endure and persevere.
The river of suffering he now wades through is nothing more than the trial he must bear as a Buddhist. So he must endure and endure again. Then eventually...
But regrettably, his contemplation couldn't last long.
“Bangjang.”
At the voice, Bop Jeong opened his closed eyes and looked at the person before him.
His saje Bop Kye was looking at him with a hardened face.
"Are you truly going to leave things as they are?"
A small sigh escaped Bop Jeong. He felt exasperation toward this saje who kept clinging to a matter already concluded.
“Did I not tell you already?”
“But, Bangjang.”
Bop Kye let out a deep sigh before speaking again.
"Of course, I too do not agree with the ways of Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword. He is extremely arbitrary and tyrannical."
The image of Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword surfaced in Bop Kye’s mind. Certainly, in their view, Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword was someone they could never work with.
"However, we cannot deny the many deeds he has done for the people of the world. Given his capabilities, wouldn't losing him now be a great loss?"
Bop Jeong merely stared silently. Bop Kye carefully gauged his reaction before speaking again.
"Even for Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword, the opponent is that Jang Ilso. Heavenly Comrade Alliance alone cannot save him. But if we lend our strength..."
“It is a finished matter.”
“Bangjang.”
Bop Kye bit his lips slightly.
"Why do Bangjang so strongly resist him?"
Bop Jeong’s eyebrows twitched for a moment.
"Did you say I resist him?"
"Yes, Bangjang. I understand that Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword is not someone who can be blindly defended. However… I cannot shake the feeling that you treat him differently from how you treat others."
“....”
“Were Bangjang not the one who said that even if the other party is an evildoer, we must never discard even a shred of compassion and the will to reform them?"
“....”
“But Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword is not even an evildoer. His methods may differ, but is it not a fact that he walks the righteous path? If we are to stand against Evil Tyrant Alliance and Magyo, we cannot afford to lose him, the focal point of Heavenly Comrade Alliance....”
“Bop Kye.”
Bop Kye flinched, unable to continue. Bop Jeong's voice was chillingly cold.
"If there were a man who carried firewood on his back and leaped into a fire, what would you do?"
“That’s....”
“I would try to save them.”
“....”
"But I cannot save a man who douses others in oil and sets them aflame, because saving that one would only drive many more into suffering.”
“Bangjang....”
"The Buddha showed compassion to all things in the world, but showed no mercy to Mara who deluded people."
"Are you saying he is Māra?"
Bop Jeong shook his head.
"Not quite. Mara is a being filled with the intent to harm, while he at least believes himself to be Good (선(善)). That is why he can so recklessly throw himself into the flames without hesitation."
“....”
"But no matter his intent, if his actions lead to the same ruin as Mara, then even compassion toward him becomes folly."
A deep sigh escaped Bop Kye.
'How did it come to this...'
He could not say he was entirely free of resentment toward Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword. He had thought countless times that the world could have been far more peaceful if Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword had just yielded once.
Yet if they expected him to yield, couldn’t Shaolin have made the same choice?
Couldn't Shaolin, rather than Mount Hua, have been the first to respect and understand their intentions?
'He is one who believes only he is right.'
But isn't Shaolin the same?
Bop Jeong’s expression remained unchanged. At times stern and at times gentle, the same face that had once held deep wisdom.
And yet, Bop Kye could not rid himself of the feeling that something about him had changed. It was hard to pinpoint exactly how, but he was sure this was not the same Bop Jeong he once knew.
"Let us end this conversation here."
“Bangjang....”
Bop Kye eventually bowed his head.
No matter what he said now,, Bop Jeong won't change his mind. Though knowing this fact, lingering attachments remained. The lingering hope that perhaps all of this could be reversed and the right path found.
"Bangjang, then..."
Just as Bop Kye, unable to cast aside his last lingering hope, opened his mouth once more.
“Bangjang! Bangjang, are you inside?"
An urgent voice came from outside the door. Bop Kye reflexively turned his head and quickly called out.
"What is it!"
“Jang Il-so’s whereabouts have been discovered again!"
"Come in at once!"
Bop Kye’s eyes widened, and without wasting a second, he sprang to his feet and flung the door open.
Hye Jong (혜종(慧從)) rushed in through the door.
"Greetings, Bangjang."
"Formalities are done. You said his whereabouts have been found?"
“Yes! We received word from Beggar Union!”
“Tell me.”
"Beggar Union reports that the beggars we sent ahead to Gangnam in haste have spotted a large group of martial artists on the move. It was too dangerous to approach closely, but they spotted a splendid carriage drawn by four white horses, accompanied by people wearing white-rainbow robes (백홍포(白虹袍)) as if guarding it, along with martial artists clad in deep crimson attire....”
“Paegun.”
Bop Jeong declared.
Of course, Jang Ilso was not the only person in the world who rode in such an extravagant four-horse carriage. But there was only one person in all of Kangho who could ride in a carriage escorted by the elite of Myriad Man Manor and the martial artists of Red Hounds.
"Yes! Beggar Union is certain of it as well. Ah, and they reported that countless martial artists of Evil Tyrant Alliance are following behind them."
Bop Jeong’s gaze sank heavily.
"Their numbers?"
“That, as many as two thousand....”
“Hoho....”
Bop Jeong shook his head with an incredulous chuckle.
Two thousand...
“Paegun has made up his mind.”
With such forces, they could erase not just Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword but several ordinary sects without a trace. hose currently in Jiangnan would struggle to handle Jang Ilso alone, but with two thousand elites guarding him, the outcome was too obvious.
Bop Jeong asked Bop Kye.
"What do you think?"
“....”
"Does Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword you admire so much have enough worth to be saved even at the cost of war with those two thousand elites? Is one life truly more valuable than the thousand that would be sacrificed in the war to save him?"
“Bangjang, I....”
"If he could be saved without bloodshed, I would have contemplated it. But this is not a matter for consideration."
Bop Kye could only lower his head in silence. Even he had never imagined that Jang Ilso would mobilize such an army just to deal with a single man.
If two thousand were what they could see, then who could say how many were actually moving in the shadows?
"Why go to such lengths..."
“He cannot be allowed to leave alive.”
Bop Jeong shook his head.
“Crossing Gangnam was not necessarily the wrong decision. Even I didn't expect it, so Paegun too might have been caught off guard."
“....”
"But that is precisely why Paegun had no choice but to act."
“Why...?”
"Because defeat is not permitted for Paegun."
Bop Jeong’s voice was colder than ever.
"For Paegun to conquer Gangbuk, he needs the absolute loyalty of the entire Evil Tyrant Alliance. He must be able to command them like his own limbs. But Evil Sects are not ones to pledge loyalty to anyone in the first place. What made this impossible feat possible was none other than Paegun’s absolute prestige—the legend that he has never been defeated.”
Bop Kye nodded.
He understood now.
Jang Ilso was the one who brought victory to Evil Sects who had always lived under Righteous Sects' oppression. Isn't he even gradually suppressing Righteous Sects by toying with them?
That was why the desire-filled Evil Sects pledged their loyalty without question because it would bring them greater and more magnificent victories and profits.
“However, an absolute prestige is ultimately like fragile glass. It can shatter with just one defeat or misstep. At a time when he must keep Evil Tyrant Alliance in check and rally the entire Evil Sects for his Gangbuk campaign, what do you think will happen if Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword leads Hainan Sect straight through Gangnam?"
“Ah....”
The myth of Jang Ilso's certain victory would collapse instantly. If that happens, the number of people who were skeptical about the ensuing war against Righteous Sects will inevitably increase rapidly.
When heated fervor cools, the resulting chill is colder than usual.
“Do you understand? If he had simply fled, Paegun might not have pursued him so fiercely. They might even have let him go and used it to sow discord among us. But....”
"He cannot allow him to trample across his own domain with muddy feet....”
"Yes. That's how it is."
Bop Jeong spoke calmly.
"I do not know why Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword has chosen such a foolish course of action, but he will never set foot on Gangbuk alive. Even if we were to intervene."
Bop Kye closed his eyes tightly.
'It was meaningless thought from the start.'
Now that Paegun has firmly set his mind on this, the outcome was all but decided.
Bop Jeong clicked his tongue briefly at Bop Kye’s darkening expression. A strange sense of regret settled in his chest.
'Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword....'
Why did he make such a foolish choice? He had foreseen that the man’s arrogance would one day tighten around his own neck, but he had never expected it to end this way.
'This is rather excessive.'
Certainly, he is someone who must be removed, but still, two thousand... Paegun was never one to be so faint-hearted.
“So where are they now?”
“They were last spotted east of Jin-hyeon (진현(进贤)).”
“Jin-hyeon?”
"A small village at the southernmost part of Lake Poyang."
“I see.”
Bop Jeong was about to nod indifferently when he suddenly froze.
“...What did you just say?”
"Yes?"
“Did you say east?”
"Y- Yes..."
Bop Jeong’s eyes suddenly shook violently.
Southern Lake Poyang. That much wasn't strange. If they plan to surround Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword, they would naturally move south.
But why was the sighting east of Jin-hyeon rather than south? They should have no reason to move east.
“What did Beggar Union say about where they were going?”
"Tha- That’s, I didn't hear that far, but... their direction of movement was certainly..."
Hye Jong was silent for a moment as if straining his memory, then lifted his head with a short exclamation.
“Southeast! They were heading east!"
Bop Jeong widened his eyes and bit his lip tightly. Then he spoke.
"...Confirm it again."
"Yes?"
“Go to Beggar Union immediately and have them determine their direction of movement! Hurry!"
"B- But, Bangjang. Even Beggar Union might not...”
"Tell them they must find out even at the cost of sacrifice! No, I'll go myself!"
Bop Jeong sprang up from his seat and rushed outside.
“Bangjang!”
“Bangjang, what’s the matter! Bangjang!”
Voices cried out behind him, but Bop Jeong ran on as though he could not hear a word.
'Paegun!'
He bit down on his lip so hard it drew blood.
'What are you plotting! You cunning bastard!'
The image of Jang Ilso surfaced clearly in his mind.
Dressed in his splendid silk robe, he was splitting his crimson lips wide open, bursting into a maniacal laugh. It was a heinous laughter.
That auditory hallucination mercilessly pierced Bop Jeong's ears throughout his run.
|Note
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Did ge just describe himself? Lol