Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1472. The things done become the results (2)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
“White Sword Fortress (백검보(白劍堡)) has expressed their intention to join!”
“A message has also come from Blue Sea Sect. They say they have already departed for this place while leading their disciples."
Bop Kye nodded his head greatly. Communications from sects expressing their intention to join Ten Great Sects continued unabated today as well.
"It is good news, Bangjang.”
Yet despite Bop Kye's words, Bop Jeong remained deep in thought rather than responding.
Then after a moment, he glanced at the one who had reported.
“Hye Do.”
“Yes, Bangjang.”
"How many sects declared their intent to join today?"
"...Thirty-two."
Thirty-two.
It can by no means be called a small number. Yet even now, Bop Jeong frowned instead of rejoicing.
Bop Kye, sensing something, carefully asked.
"Bangjang, is there some problem...."
But Bop Jeong pressed Hye Do instead of answering:
"Aren't there also sects that joined without sending a message? How many do they number?"
"Do...you mean today?"
"Yes."
"...It is about sixteen..."
"Sixteen, you say?"
"Yes, Bangjang."
"Are you certain it is sixteen?"
"...Y- Yes, it is."
"Yesterday?"
"Pardon?"
"How many sects arrived yesterday? I mean those who did not send a message beforehand."
"I am not certain.... but I understand it was about twenty. I will immediately verify again...."
"Twenty?"
But Hye Do could not move. The look on Bop Jeong's face as he repeated ‘twenty’ seemed ominous.
"So you're saying barely fifty sects have joined today?"
Hye Do kept his mouth shut. He was merely a person reporting. Therefore, he could not give any answer to this question.
"...Bop Kye."
“Yes, Bangjang.”
"Immediately reassess the situation. This is strange beyond ordinarily strange."
"Yes?"
"If things went as we thought, nearly twice this many sects should have come knocking by now. But right now that number is clearly insufficient, is it not? Something has gone awry."
“Bangjang… fifty is not such a small number.”
"Can't you hear me telling you to check!"
Bop Kye flinched as Bop Jeong sharply revealed his anger. Then Hye Do, who had been watching Bop Jeong closely, cautiously opened his mouth.
"I... I’m not sure if what I saw is what Bangjang thinking of, but..."
Bop Jeong's head whipped toward him.
"What did you see?"
“That’s… from what I observed, it seems the sects from nearby Hubei and Henan are hesitating to join."
"What?"
Bop Jeong looked at Hye Do as if it were absurd.
“What do you mean by that? They should be the most anxious in this situation. What are they possibly hesitating over that would delay them?
"That is..."
At that moment, Bop Kye frowned slightly and opened his mouth.
"Perhaps they are still hesitating in their decision between Heavenly Comrade Alliance and Ten Great Sects....”
"Nonsense!"
But Bop Jeong firmly shook his head and denied it.
"That can't happen."
"Bangjang, however..."
"It’s not a matter of pride. The situation has already moved beyond a simple power struggle. Hubei has already become a place we protect, and Shaanxi has become land they defend, has it not?"
“That’s.... true, Bangjang.”
"But by what means are they saying they will join Shaanxi?"
"...Of course, Bangjang's words are correct. However, wouldn't there be those who feel Shaanxi is a little safer?"
But Bop Jeong still shook his head firmly.
"That too is impossible."
"..."
"Not only would Shaanxi not be safer, but even if it were safe, could they flee all the way there? They are not Shaolin. And they are not Wudang either. They are not people who can leave for distant Shaanxi because it's dangerous and then return as if nothing happened."
"Hmm."
“If they were truly in a situation where their heads were about to fly, then that’s another story. But if not, in the end, they have no choice but to choose to observe the mood of familiar people in the land where they had set foot and lived. Think about it. If those called Righteous Sects fled abandoning the common people of their regions in danger and then returned, who would welcome them?"
Large sects like Ten Great Sects can secure funds through their own businesses. But small to mid-sized sects must run their order with the money from those who join and study martial arts under them.
But there cannot be only one sect in a region, can there? In such a situation, who would want to join a sect that fled? When there are plenty of other options.
Therefore, their freedom of movement was not as free as one thought.
“B- But isn't that exactly what's happening now, Bangjang?"
"There must be another reason. We need to quickly identify..."
"Um..."
Then Hye Do, reading Bop Jeong's expressikon, opened his mouth once more.
"There is a part I can guess, but..."
“A guess? What is it?"
"It's not certain... You should probably see for yourself."
As Hye Do stood up from his position, Bop Jeong’s eyes followed him.
A short while later, the place Bop Jeong arrived at following Hye Do was an ordinary village away from Hubei's large bustling district. Bop Jeong blinked with a somewhat dazed expression.
"…This?"
Lines of luggage carts and people carrying large bundles on their backs were visible. Hye Do spoke cautiously.
"They are refugees."
"Refugees?"
Hye Do nodded.
"Yes. Since this area will soon become a battlefield, it's natural some would leave."
"What nonsense! Didn't we promise protection? We already conveyed that no place under heaven is safe!"
“Yes, that’s true, but....”
Hye Do let out a heavy sigh.
"That may be the right words for martial artists, but how could such words reach the ears of common people?"
Bop Jeong’s eyes trembled slightly.
“What Bangjang said is completely right. Leaving is difficult, and returning is even more difficult. However... that is the story of those who have something to protect here. Those who have nothing to protect but their own bodies..."
A hollow laugh escaped Bop Jeong's lips.
There were two reasons.
One was that he understood Hye Do's words. And the other was that he had been completely unaware of such a situation.
It wasn't that Bop Jeong had paid no attention to those who weren't martial artists.
He too considered it important to manage the public sentiment of Hubei, and in reality, he sometimes left his pavilion to observe the people of the world.
'I thought it was sufficiently stable.'
But he never thought of coming to a place like this. So he learned it all over again. The pavilions where he resided was in the wealthiest area of Hubei. The thoughts of those wealthy locals and these fleeing refugees could never be the same.
This oversight was clearly Bop Jeong's mistake. But...
"But what relation does their evacuation have with your guess?"
"...Don't you see over there?"
Hye Do pointed somewhere. At the end of it were martial artists wearing swords. They were helping those leaving for refuge to load luggage onto carts.
"What are they doing?"\
"I only glimpsed this while passing by... Until now, I thought they were just helping prepare for evacuation. But thinking about it now, it seems they are even escorting those leaving for refuge."
"Escort?"
Bop Jeong spoke as if it were absurd.
"Escort! Why would those going from a dangerous place to a safe place need an escort..."
But he soon could not finish his words and closed his mouth.
'Escort?'
A thought crossed his mind. As he looked at Hye Do as if seeking agreement, Hye Do lowered his head as if troubled.
"...Where is it?"
"..."
"Where are they evacuating to now?"
Hye Do couldn't bring herself to answer. Bop Jeong bit his lips and then walked over to the group of people carrying their luggage and asked in a firm voice.
"Amitabha, may I ask something?"
Those who had been walking with weary and tired faces bowed their backs in surprise when they discovered Bop Jeongroom.
"Aigo, Monk-nim, what is the matter? We would like to help, but given the situation, what we have..."
"It is not such a thing."
These are the people who, even after seeing Bop Jeong, think of ordinary Buddhists and not of Shaolin. Even the words that Shaolin has come to Hubei are merely heard as passing sounds, people who have no capacity to think about it with their heads.
“Where are you going now?”
The person who heard the question smiled vainly and answered.
"Why, we're seeking refuge of course. Won't Evil Sects scum soon invade here, turning it into a battlefield?"
“....By refuge, where to?”
"Why, that's obvious. Naturally we go to Shaanxi."
Bop Jeong's hand hidden within his sleeve twitched for a moment.
"Why Shaanxi? This humble monk has heard that Shaanxi is also dangerous just the same."
"Yes, so they say... still, wouldn't Shaanxi be better? Heavenly Comrade Alliance is there."
"...Don't Ten Great Sects exist here?"
"Huh?"
However, the one who heard those words looked at Bop Jeong with a face that said he absolutely couldn't understand. Eyes that seemed not to comprehend why the words ‘Ten Great Sects’ would come up here, as if they didn't know what he was talking about, made Bop Jeong flustered.
Bop Jeong tried to speak calmly.
"Didn't Ten Great Sects also say they would protect this place?"
"Ah...."
Only then did the man seem to understand, letting out a small sigh and nodding weakly. But Bop Jeong saw it. The emotion in his eyes clearly changed from consideration for the monk to wariness.
"Right. That's right, but... we just..."
He couldn’t help but notice it. No matter how subtle, Bop Jeong, as Bangjang of Shaolin, could not possibly miss the reactions of an ordinary person with no martial training.
Just then, Bop Kye and Hye Do approached from behind, and the man shrank back even more.
“…We just… we only heard what someone else said, that’s all. Yes… what would someone ignorant like me know?”
"Just that... because they said going to Shaanxi is good... I don't know anything."
Bop Jeong closed his eyes tightly and opened them. And looking at the frightened common person in front of him, he opened his mouth.
"Hye Do."
"Yes, Bangjang."
Understanding his intent, Hye Do took out a small money pouch and carefully handed it to Bop Jeong.
"Amitabha. Use this for your journey."
"N- No, monk. We can't receive such things..."
"Please accept it."
As Bop Jeong insistently pressed the money into his hand, the man bowed servilely several times and then turned away. Despite receiving money for his travel expenses, his fear of Bop Jeong was clearly evident in his actions.
Bop Jeong stared blankly at their retreating figures and let out a hollow laugh.
"...Shaanxi. It's Mount Hua, I see."
"..."
"They're heading to Mount Hua, and numerous sects are withdrawing from here under the pretext of protecting such people. Is that what you mean?"
“Bangjang….”
"Why?"
Bop Jeong muttered in bewilderment.
"It is already well-known across the land that Heavenly Comrade Alliance has no power to protect them. The moment Sichuan fell into Evil Tyrant Alliance hands, all the people under heaven should have understood that only we have strength."
"..."
“But why are they still clinging to Heavenly Comrade Alliance? Why?”
It was neither anger nor bewilderment, nor was it disappointment or contempt. What was carried in Bop Jeong's voice was simply bewilderment.
Something completely unexpected. Something that couldn't be understood even after seeing it.
What overturned Bop Jeong's perfect calculations were those he had never once considered capable of moving the world.
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