Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1366. Do you know what shame is? (1)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
After the disciples of Heavenly Comrade Alliance and Hainan Sect left, the first words exchanged between those who remained were excuses.
"…Helping them was the right thing to do."
“Who doesn’t know that? Of course, that's right. We're not beasts; we should repay kindness received."
"That’s right. It’s true... But still, is it really that easy? What if those beast-like Evil Sects people find out? Not even a single ant in this village would survive."
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Those people don’t really understand what kind of monsters Evil Sects are. They could at least fight back if things went wrong, couldn't they? How could they understand the feelings of people like us who can only lie flat and beg for our lives?"
"Still... they must have been disappointed."
"Of course they did. Even I would feel hurt. They were people who helped us with good intentions."
“Let’s leave it at that. What's the use of talking? Being powerless is our sin, and scratching out a living here digging in the dirt is also our sin. If it weren’t for those Evil Sects bastards, who would have hesitated over a bit of grain?"
But it seemed that wasn’t enough to soothe their discomfort, as over time, complaints began to surface.
"If we’re being honest, none of this would have happened if those people hadn’t lost to Evil Sects in the first place."
"Hey, how can you say that?"
"Am I wrong? They were bragging and boasting about dealing with Evil Sectss, but didn't they get thrashed by those bastards and end up driving out of Gangnam?"
"Still, that’s not something you should say so carelessly."
"If those so-called Righteous Sects hadn’t messed around in the first place, we wouldn’t be suffering like this. When you think about it, this all happened because of them, so why should we feel guilty? If anyone should feel guilty, it should be them!"
"Well, that’s not entirely wrong... But still, they were people who helped us with good intentions."
“Helping us, you say! They knew our situation well, didn’t they? They’re not people who couldn’t guess what would happen to us if we helped them recklessly, right? What are these supposedly educated and knowledgeable yangban thinking?"
“….”
"And their help was just empty words All that talk about sending us to Gangbuk and whatnot, but who actually came? Didn't they just leave again this time too!"
At those words, the villagers’ faces stiffened strangely.
"From the beginning, those yangban didn’t care whether ignorant people like us lived or died. When things were going well, they could toss us a few sacks of grain like charity. But the moment things got a little rough, they turned around and demanded even that."
"They said they would buy it, didn't they? They said they'd buy it..."
"Did we even get any money? How do we know if they'll really give it! And even if we get the money, can we even use it properly? In times like these, grain you can put in your mouth is far more valuable than a lump of metal!"
The truth was a little different.
It was not wrong to say that grain was more important than money in turbulent times, but it was not as if Gangnam was so chaotic that money had lost its value. Just by going to a big city, one can still obtain grain if one has enough money.
Most of the people here knew that, but they didn’t bother to point it out. Bringing it up would only make them look worse.
"What would we have done without the Village Chief? If it weren’t for him, all the grain here would have been taken away."
"You’re going too far."
"What do we know? When someone who has lived longer and thinks more deeply says such things, we can only follow."
“That’s true.”
The choice was theirs. Elder Hyeong had only conveyed what he thought.
But averting one's eyes was easier than confronting reality. Even if it might lead to greater trouble in the future, it would bring immediate relief.
So they could simply think they had followed Elder Hyeong's pressure. After all, he was Hyeongga's village chief with the strongest voice.
“That’s enough. Didn’t we at least send them off with a decent meal? That should be enough to repay their kindness.”
"…Stop it."
"Am I wrong? That meal might’ve been nothing to those people, but for us, giving up that much grain could mean going hungry for over half a month. Showing this much sincerity should be enough..."
“I, I told you to stop.”
One man pulled at the shoulder of the one ranting. But the speaker shook off the restraint and flared up in anger.
“Ah, why? Can’t I even speak my mind?”
"It’s not that! Behind you! Huh? Behind you!"
"What?"
The man turned around.
Hyeong Wook stood there, looking at him as if he were pathetic. The man’s face flushed hot, and he awkwardly cleared his throat.
"A- Ahem. You’re back?"
“So you’re saying we’ve repaid them enough?”
“…No, what I mean is….”
“There's something you Hyung-nim once told me."
“Hm?”
Hyeong Wook spat out the words.
“Just because someone is uneducated and poor doesn’t mean they lack shame. Shame isn't something learned through education, but something a human just knows."
The man clamped his mouth shut like a clam.
“Then what do you call someone who doesn’t even know shame?"
There was no answer. Hyeong Wook didn’t wait any longer and left.
Those watching his rough footsteps each heaved deep sighs. Now that the atmosphere had turned so grim, the villagers began glancing at one another uncomfortably before quietly dispersing.
The village was soon enveloped in deep silence.
Those who felt deep guilt in their hearts, those who thought Mount Hua Sect group's sudden visit and unreasonable demands were excessive, and even those who believed the choice had been predetermined regardless of feelings, were unable to speak up.
The sun set, night fell, and an unusually quiet dawn passed as the light of morning crept over the mountains.
“Tsk.”
Elder Hyeong clicked his tongue as he stepped outside.
Hyeong Wook hadn't returned home last night. Someone who had lived his whole life in the mountains wouldn’t have met with some sudden accident—it was clear he had stayed out to avoid facing his father.
"Such immaturity from someone no longer young."
The world was not so kind. By now, he should have learned that much...
Elder Hyeong shook his head in frustration.
‘He’ll be fine in a few days.’
He knows. Even wounds that feel fatally bitter at first heal with time and form scabs. After experiencing the same wound a few times, the pain becomes less intense.
The human heart was no different. No matter how bitter and painful, after experiencing the same thing a few times, one becomes numb. Why would guilt be any different?
Elder Hyeong simply hoped that this incident would help his son face reality a little more.
Step. Step.
Just then, the sound of footsteps reached his ears. Turning his gaze toward the village entrance, the old man’s face turned deathly pale and his eyes widened in horror.
"Ah..."
A group whose mere gaze radiated viciousness was pushing into the village. A chill coursed down his spine.
Ttaak.
At the front of the group, a man who looked relatively refined compared to the rough-looking figures behind him snapped his fingers. Then he spoke.
"Bring everyone. Leave no one out."
"Yes!"
Elder Hyeong's face was enveloped in dark despair.
"P- Please spare us!"
“I haven’t done anything, my lord!"
The villagers were dragged into the village center and forced to kneel. Elder Hyeong, with legs so withered they looked ready to snap, was no different.
Though they had been abruptly dragged out and forced to kneel since morning, no one dared to protest or question what was happening.
This was natural. After all, to ordinary commoners, martial artists were no different from envoys of the underworld.
Even one of them showing up could turn a village upside down, so what could anyone possibly say when hundreds of them surrounded the village?
Beyond fear, they felt on the verge of losing consciousness.
"Aaak!"
“Hyeo- Hyeong Wook!”
At the sound from beside him, Elder Hyeong, who had been bowing his head, flinched and sharply turned his gaze.
His son who had not come home last night was now being dragged by his hair. The elder had hoped his son had gone far away and might somehow survive, but it seemed the soft-hearted fool had been lingering around the village even in his anger.
'N- No.'
The elder tightly clenched his bony fist. He widened his eyes and steadied his mind. If he could have moved without drawing attention, he might have even slapped himself hard.
'They say even when caught by a tiger, keeping one's wits means survival.'
Wasn't this exactly the situation they had feared when turning away their benefactor? The villagers had done nothing wrong. So…
“These are all!”
At someone's shout, the cold-faced scholar standing in front nodded.
“If you answer truthfully without hiding anything, no harm will come to you.”
Everyone swallowed dry saliva at those straightforward words. The question came.
“Did any of Righteous Sects pass through this village?”
The villagers instantly glanced at each other. It wasn’t out of conscience. They feared that simply admitting Righteous Sects had set foot here would bring disaster upon them.
But the scholar, Ho Gamyeong, was not one to consider such circumstances.
“It seems you don’t understand. Kill a couple as an example.”
"Th- They came! They did come, my lord!"
At that moment, Elder Hyeong shouted at the top of his lungs.
Kuung! Kuung!
And he prostrated himself and pounded his head against the ground.
“They definitely came!”
"Oh?"
"Yes! They s- said they needed grain. They said they’d pay for it and demanded we hand it over…”
“Grain?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
Ho Gamyeong nodded as if understanding.
“So? Did you give them any?”
"H- How could we! We may be ignorant, but we’re not so foolish as to forget who truly watches over us! We refused them outright!"
Elder Hyeong steeled himself, ready to answer whatever came next. Whether it was scolding or praise, he was ready for anything.
But the words that followed were nothing like what he expected. Ho Gamyeong had never cared about whether they had given up their grain in the first place.
"I see. Good. Then where did they go?"
"…Yes?"
The villagers looked at one another in confusion.
Where they go? How could the villagers possibly know that?
“Don’t you know?”
"Th- That much..."
Elder Hyeong reflexively lifted his gaze slightly to gauge the situation. He saw Ho Gamyeong’s face—or rather, his eyes.
The light in those eyes was calm. But that made it all the more chilling. It was an indifferent gaze, as if he were looking at stones or trees, not people. Just from that alone, Elder Hyeong understood how this man viewed the villagers.
"How can I believe those words?"
"…Yes?"
"I don't trust people. I trust only the simple truth that life is more important than conscience."
At Ho Gamyeong's light chin gesture, the subordinates at his sides began to approach the villagers.
“Spare anyone who talks. Kill the rest.”
"Yes!"
The elder's face turned deathly pale.
It was that very moment.
"Th- That person!"
Someone among the villagers shouted desperately.
“That person followed them at the end! That person must know!”
“So- Sogil! What are you saying!”
The elder glared and shouted as if having a fit. The man had pointed at none other than Hyeong Wook.
“W- Why! Isn’t that true!”
“What kind of nonsense is this between fellow villagers…!”
“You’re the one who said we have to survive no matter what, even if it means throwing away our conscience! Didn't you say just yesterday that people like us must survive first no matter what we have to do!"
The elder's eyes trembled violently.
That wasn't how he meant those words. They were just to send away those Righteous Sects people...
“It’s that person! It’s Hyeong Wook!”
"That person followed them!"
“We don’t know anything! He’s the one who knows!”
The villagers, having realized where their chance of survival lay, began shouting in a desperate clamor.
"Enough."
At Ho Gamyeong’s command, the martial artists who had been threateningly approaching stepped back.
Ho Gamyeong glanced at Hyeong Wook, whom all the villagers were desperately pointing to. Though Hyeong Wook’s face was pale, his expression was surprisingly calm.
“Do you know?”
“…Yes.”
Hyeong Wook readily admitted.
“There’s no use pressuring these yangban. I’m the only one who knows.”
"Then answer. Where did they go?"
“Before that, I have a question. Are you a high-up of Evil Tyrant Alliance?”
Ho Gamyeong frowned slightly.
"Let's say I am."
"Then you must be well-educated, so let me ask you something. Perhaps..."
Hyeong Wook paused for a moment and then chuckled.
“Do you know what shame is?”
Everyone's eyes instantly trembled. Both the villagers and Myriad Man Manor martial artists who were guarding Ho Gamyeong. They couldn’t help but tremble at the audacity of someone throwing such words at Hogamyeong.
But Ho Gamyeong and Hyeong Wook, who had uttered those words, faced each other without the slightest hint of agitation.
Ho Gamyeong's mouth parted.
“Baek-bi.”
“Yes, Advisor-nim.”
“Interrogate.”
"Yes!"
The one called Baek-bi approached Hyeong Wook while pulling something from his sleeve. It was a dagger with a cold blue blade.
Hyeong Wook chuckled as he looked at the dagger. Then he muttered.
“Now I’ll find out too. Whether I’m a person with shame or not.”
Closing his eyes, he let out a deep breath.
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People incapable of hospitality towards strangers, wouldn't have any shame or loyalty toward insiders.
I feel bad for the dude... I can't even feel bad for whatever choice he will makes.