Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1491. There's no need for that (1)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
'What...?'
Did he mishear?
It could be. No, he can't know.
The elder's clouded eyes revealed no trace of his true intent.
"...What did you say?"
Chung Myung's eyes flashed with an urgency that felt like his chest would burst. Half-demanding, he pressed the disoriented old man.
But the old man's hazy eyes were only blankly fixed on the ceiling. He showed no reaction whatsoever to Chung Myung.
"What did you just say...!"
"Chung Myung-ah?"
Baek Cheon opened his mouth hesitantly. He was taken aback by Chung Myung’s intense reaction.
Chung Myung, who had been biting his lips tightly and glaring at the old man, let out a deep long breath. After a moment, the turmoil on his face slowly settled. The old man still looked like a mummy.
'This man has been manipulating Beggar Union from the shadows?'
The old man, who lacked even awareness, seemed closer to a piece of wood than a person. What on earth could someone like this do?
His bewilderment soon turned to rage. At that moment, the Pavilion Master's voice was heard from behind.
“Step aside.”
The Pavilion Master, who had followed them up the stairs, strode over and stood beside the bed where the old man lay.
“…Is this the person you wanted to show me?”
"Exactly."
Chung Myung's eyes contorted fiercely.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Arrogance will one day be your downfall."
"What?"
"You may be great, but you do not know everything in the world. Be it history or knowledge."
Just as confusion clouded Chung Myung’s eyes, a dark light began to swirl at the tip of the Beggar Union Sect Leader’s finger. A gloomy energy that absolutely could not be seen as righteous martial arts. An energy that the Sect Leader of the Righteous Sect Beggar Union should not be wielding.
"You?"
Paaaat!
The Heavenly Ascension Tower Pavilion Master's hand flew like a beam of light and repeatedly struck the old man's body. In the blink of an eye, he had struck dozens of pressure points. For a man barely clinging to life, it seemed a cruel act.
"What...!"
"What are you doing!"
“So- Soso! Quickly!”
The Five Swords tried to stop him in alarm, but the Pavilion Master cut them off with a chilling voice.
"Taoists strive to prolong life through cultivation.”
“…What?”
"Of course, the ultimate goal is to ascend through enlightenment, but extending the period of cultivation through health preservation and internal cultivation would also be an objective of the Taoists."
The Pavilion Master shook his head slowly.
"But elevating states through cultivation is not the only method to extend life. If one is willing to bear certain costs, there are plenty of ways to extend one’s lifespan.”
Of all those present, only Chung Myung understood the meaning of the Pavilion Master's words.
"...Turtle Breathing (귀식(龜息))?"
"So you know."
Chung Myung's gaze turned back to the old man. Vitality was returning to the old man's face, which had been deathly blue and black as if he would stop breathing at any moment.
“Hah, what an utterly insane thing to do.”
A hollow laugh burst out of Chung Myung's mouth. Unable to hold back his confusion, Jo-Gol asked.
"Chung Myung-ah. What does that mean? What's Turtle Breathing?"
"The Great Turtle Breathing Technique."
"Great Turtle Breathing Technique? Isn't that a method for holding your breath when hiding?"
"Yes."
"Why does that suddenly come up? Does it have something to do with this?"
"...The Great Turtle Breathing Technique doesn't eliminate sound, but reduces bodily activity. It slows the heart, and thus makes the blood circulate slowly. That's why it's also used to survive for a long time without eating when trapped in a cave or something."
Tang Soso quickly nodded as she understood.
“R- Right. If you reduce your vitality, the energy you consume decreases too.”
“…This guy is constantly maintaining that Great Turtle Breathing Technique. To the extent of erasing even his own consciousness.”
"What?"
Tang Soso looked at the old man with eyes of disbelief.
"N- No. How could that even...?"
"No wonder. I thought it was strange that I couldn't sense the presence of someone right above us."
Chung Myung's sharp gaze remained fixed on the old man.
"It's not even ordinary Turtle Breathing Technique. Skull Technique (고루공(骷髏功)) with... Soft Demon Technique (유마공(柔魔功))? How well a beggar of Beggar Union thought to learn martial arts from Tibet and Tianzhu. Even if he were torn to death right now, he would have nothing to say for himself."
For a moment, a look of admiration flashed in the Pavilion Master’s eyes. With just a brief glance, this man had seen through the source of the power the old man was using.
"...As I heard, you truly are an unfathomable person."
Chung Myung did not respond to the Pavilion Master's words. His gaze was fixed solely on the old man.
The old man's body, which had been like a dried-up piece of wood, began to swell. While the change wasn't startlingly dramatic, it was visible that a vitality that had clearly been absent before was now filling his body.
"Cough!"
At last, a dry cough burst from the old man’s mouth, and simultaneously, light returned to his once-unfocused eyes. His wide-open eyes now clearly looked like those of a living person.
The Pavilion Master called out,
"Master-nim!" (Sabu/사부(師父): teacher)
'Master?'
The Mount Hua disciples looked at the old man again in shock.
If he was Beggar Union Sect Leader's master, did that mean this withered old man was the Beggar Union Great Sect Leader?
"...Water..."
"Yes, Master-nim!"
The Heavenly Ascension Tower Pavilion Master held out a water bottle he had prepared in advance to the old man. The old man received the water bottle with faintly trembling hands and brought it to his lips.
He moved with a leisure that suggested he had done this many times before. The old man took his time and poured water into his mouth in several gulps, letting out a long breath.
A strong medicinal scent spread in all directions.
Tang Soso muttered with a pale, frightened face.
"Insane... a Turtle Breathing Technique from which he cannot awaken on his own. That's literally hibernation..."
If something were to happen to the Heavenly Ascension Tower Pavilion Master, the old man would wither and die in this dark secret room, never awakening again.
Who in the world would willingly take such a risk? It was truly a bizarre thing.
Tang Soso's question was answered by the old man. With an answer she had never expected.
“I…”
"Yes."
Before the words ‘help me up’ could even fully leave his mouth, the Pavilion Master was already supporting the old man and lifting him up. The old man, now leaning against the wall, coughed a couple of times and muttered weakly.
"…Am I… awake again…?"
“I apologize, Master-nim. There was no other choice.”
“…it’s okay.”
The old man slowly shook his head. His gaze, now much clearer, was fixed on Chung Myung.
"Just seeing the people of Mount Hua standing before me, I can surmise the situation. Yes. In the end, it has come to this..."
The corners of Chung Myung's mouth twisted.
"For a man who was supposedly unconscious, you recognize us quite well. Even though we're wearing the uniforms of Southern Edge Sect."
At those words, the old man’s lips faintly twitched. It wasn’t clear, but perhaps it was a smile.
"Because I've heard... countless times."
"..."
"Stories of Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword, you and Mount Hua, I've heard them so vividly and countless times it's as if I could grasp them in my hand."
Chung Myung let out a smirk.
“Not sure if I should feel flattered or disgusted. I guess it just means the surveillance was that thorough.”
"Perhaps... Cough! Hack!"
Even this much conversation seemed taxing as the old man dry-coughed several times between words.
"Master-nim!"
"Move aside."
The Pavilion Master tried to support him and lay him back, but the old man firmly pushed him away. The way he adjusted his posture was so proper it was hard to believe this was the same old man who had been lying down moments ago.
This scene alone made it easy to see that this old man was absolutely not ordinary.
The old man spoke calmly as if nothing had happened.
"The fact that you have come this far... I see. You have come to kill me."
Chung Myung frowned. The man’s tone, as if he knew all along this would happen, kept grating on his nerves.
"I was about to if it was necessary."
"..."
“But it doesn’t look like I have to. You're already at your limit even without me doing anything. Don't you think so?"
The old man didn’t bother replying. There was no need to waste the effort denying it.
"What lingering attachment does an old man who should have died ages ago have to be doing this kind of thing? Just breathing doesn't mean you're living, does it? Do you not find yourself disgusting?"
"Chung Myung-ah!"
"You crazy bastard! That's the Beggar Union's Great Sect Leader!"
"Watch your mouth!"
The startled Five Swords tried to stop him, but the old man laboriously raised one hand to quiet them. Baek Cheon spoke with difficulty, his face showing embarrassment.
"Gre- Great Sect Leader, I’m sorry. That guy is..."
“Don’t.”
"Yes?"
"Do not… interfere so carelessly."
Baek Cheon shut his mouth. The old man’s eyes, his energy, and even his entire body were filled with a weight that was clearly different from when he had met Chung Myung.
Appearance-wise, he still looked like a frail old man who couldn’t swat a fly. But the dignity he radiated was something even Baek Cheon, who had met many powerful martial artists, found deeply unfamiliar and formidable.
It was likely a gravitas conveyed not by martial prowess, but by the life he had lived. The weight that came from the depth of the years this old man had passed through.
"Disgusting, you say…"
The old man calmly nodded his head.
"That is so. It is the way of the world to return to the heavens when one's natural lifespan is over. To defy that is certainly an unforgivable sin. I apologize for showing such a sight to a man of Tao."
“Don’t dodge the question. I didn’t come all this way to hear some obvious nonsense. Answer me. What the hell were you doing? What schemes were you plotting, holed up in this pitch-dark sealed room?"
"...Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword."
Suddenly, a voice thick with futility leaked from the old man's mouth.
"What is it you're curious about...? Why I made Beggar Union like this? Or if not that... are you curious why I'm still clinging to life?"
"It'll be the same answer either way. Won't it?"
Chung Myung bared his teeth in a snarl.
"Answer me. What exactly does Beggar Union gain from this?"
The old man slowly turned his head without answering and looked at the Pavilion Master. Just as impatience and frustration began to rise, the old man spoke without turning his head back.
"That child called me master... but to be precise, I am not that child's master."
"...You’re not?"
What kind of nonsense was that all of a sudden? No, was that even important right now? The important thing was…
"Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword."
With great effort, the trembling elder turned his head to face Chung Myung. Regret spread across the old man's rheumy eyes.
"I'm well over a hundred years old now. Do you know what that means?"
"...What?"
"I am..."
For a brief moment, a flood of emotions surged through the old man’s eyes.
Despair, regret, sorrow, and pain.
“I am… a survivor of the terrible Magyo War of the past.”
Chung Myung's face froze.
"A dreg of the past who couldn't bring himself to die, a sinner of the ages who should not be breathing and living."
The old man's head drooped downwards. A tremor spread throughout his entire body, which resembled a withered old tree.
The weight of decades of remorse and fear settled over the room. The weight of it, almost suffocating, began to choke the breath of everyone present.
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