Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1495. There's no need for that (5)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
Chung Myung, unable to conceal his agitation, stared blankly at his trembling hands before quietly closing his eyes. He felt as if the words he had uttered himself were circling and swirling through his entire body.
"Huu."
Letting out a short breath, Chung Myung forcefully pushed back the emotions surging up, and looked at Divine Beggar Hyeonpung with eyes that had once again become calm.
"How did you know? It couldn't have been easy."
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung slowly raised his head. His eyes were brimming with tears.
“Who would have ever imagined that at first?”
A slight hint of a complaint was laced in his tone. Chung Myung didn't bother to fault him for it.
“I thought it was impossible. I believed it was nonsense. But the more I watched, the more I could only reach that conclusion. Even if the spirits of Mount Hua in the immortal realm were watching over us, it would still be impossible. For such a young swordsman to have accomplished so much…”
It was obvious. Yet also not obvious at all.
Many had doubted Chung Myung’s true identity over the years, but none had ever arrived at this conclusion.
“I tried to deny it. I tried to dismiss it as absurd imagination. But… Sword Sovereign-nim. Such beings do exist in this world. Those who defy death’s end and return against the heavens. Haven’t you already met one yourself?”
“...Is it Dalai Lama?"
“Yes, that’s right.”
The Dalai Lama of Tibet. The fact that he, the head of Budala Palace, has been leading Budala Palace for hundreds of years through repeated death and rebirth is quite widely known even in Kangho.
It was just that the story was so absurd that few believed it.
Chung Myung smiled slightly bitterly.
- Why are you trying to walk the Three Innumerable Kalpa, which is no different from hell itself? (H: Chapter 550)
Words he had heard in the past brushed through his mind. What interrupted the memory was the sound of Divine Beggar Hyeonpung's dry cough.
“And... cough, as you must also guess, Sword Sovereign-nim..."
"Yes."
Chung Myung answered calmly.
"There's probably one more."
“...I think so too.”
Neither of them deliberately spoke that name aloud. Because to them... no, to them more than anyone, it was the most ominous and frightening name.
“Perhaps, Sword Sovereign-nim could be reborn like them. Once I thought that, every question was resolved. All the time I spent trying to understand the identity of Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword Chung Myung felt foolish in comparison, because the answer was so clear…”
"Why did you think it was me? You could have just thought I was one of the swordsmen from Mount Hua's past."
"...How could I not know?"
A hazy film of water once again welled up in the eyes of Divine Beggar Hyeonpung again.
“It’s still… still vivid in my eyes… Sword Sovereign-nim wearing the martial robes of Mount Hua, cutting through the vile cultists of Magyo without hesitation with that sword, how could I possibly think of anyone else?”
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung shook his head.
“The countless things you showed us in that child’s body only confirmed my belief. Because no one but Sword Sovereign-nim could do such things. It's not because I'm the sect leader of Beggar Union that I could know. Anyone who experienced that war would have reached the same conclusion."
A short sigh escaped Chung Myung's mouth.
"I see."
After Chung Myung finished speaking, a brief silence fell between the two.
An unexpected encounter in an unexpected situation. Since neither was prepared for it, the words did not come easily.
“When exactly was it? When you became certain that I was the Sword Sovereign?”
"I could not be certain... Even though everything was so obvious, even then..."
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung's hands were trembling.
“I had a suspicion close to certainty, but I could not be completely sure. Even after hearing the reports from the Northern Sea, hearing of what happened in Hangzhou, watching the journey to Hainan unfold… I still couldn't dare to be certain."
“...”
“Perhaps I was just afraid. While desperately hoping you were the Sword Sovereign, I was also praying that you were not. As much as I longed for this moment to come, I prayed that this moment would never come."
“...”
"Forgive me, Sword Sovereign-nim... Please forgive, forgive me..."
Tears of regret and repentance that was suppressed for a long time soaked his wrinkled face.
"How could I possibly repay the sins I've committed against you, Sword Sovereign-nim? By what means can Beggar Union atone for the sin it committed during the final battle on that great mountain? How could we… how could we dare to even speak of the sin the world has committed against Mount Hua…”
Chung Myung's lips were tightly shut.
“Just... Just...”
Though he didn’t wail aloud, Divine Beggar Hyeonpung was clearly screaming. Chung Myung could tell.
The one lying here wasn’t the great hero who had revived Beggar Union after it was pushed to the brink of annihilation, nor the wicked hand who had moved in the shadows of Kangho for ages.
He was merely one weak, pitiful human being, groaning under the weight of the sins he had committed.
Watching him writhing, Chung Myung slowly opened his mouth.
“It’s in the past.”
“Sword Sovereign-nim...”
“There was nothing you could’ve done. What happened was merely the result of my own foolishness. There’s no need for you to bear that burden.”
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung's shoulders trembled finely.
The old man would know this too. This was not forgiveness. It was just Chung Myung's consideration to put Divine Beggar Hyeonpung a little more at ease.
But even that small consideration was something Divine Beggar Hyeonpung could only be deeply, endlessly grateful for.
"So that's how it was..."
A bitter regret appeared on Chung Myung's face as he reached the truth.
If it had been someone else who had done such a thing, Chung Myung would never have forgiven them. He might have even tried to execute them with his sword.
But he couldn't bring himself to do that to this withered old man.
"So you just didn't want to go through that again."
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung trembled and remained silent.
Even after all those years, it remained vivid as if it had happened yesterday. The memories hadn't faded at all, and even now if he closed his eyes, the air and smells from that time would appear clearly before him.
That moment when everyone died like insignificant insects. The fragments of hell that had descended upon the mortal world.
“...I... I believed, Sword Sovereign-nim.”
The eyes of Divine Beggar Hyeonpung, swirling with countless emotions, followed Chung Myung.
"That all this sacrifice would not be meaningless. That the lives of all the sacrificed beggars would surely open up the future."
“...”
“But… in the end, it was all meaningless. The deaths of the beggars, the will of those who died at the great mountain, and even…”
"My sword."
Chung Myung blurted out the words he couldn't bear to finish. Divine Beggar Hyeonpung clenched his fist.
"Even my sword was meaningless. Yes, looking back on it."
A brief flicker of regret appeared in Chung Myung's eyes. Divine Beggar Hyeonpung spoke in a sorrowful voice.
“After Sword Sovereign-nim passed away… No, after you left, those vile men took control of Kangho. They deliberately left Magyo's remnants alone, and also thoroughly erased what they had done."
"Such actions would naturally have required Beggar Union's cooperation."
“...You’re right. I...”
"You couldn't have done anything. You couldn't let Beggar Union disappear into the backpages of history like Mount Hua."
Instead of answering, Divine Beggar Hyeonpung bit his lip until it bled.
The sect leader who restored Beggar Union. That was how people saw him on the surface.
Until Divine Beggar Hyeonpung was able to step down from his position as the sect leader, he had no choice but to live as their complete puppet.
"Still, one question has been answered."
Chung Myung muttered bitterly.
"I never understood. If those Ten Great Sects bastards really wanted to erase Mount Hua, they wouldn't have been satisfied with just having Magyo cultists attack it. They would have had plenty of ways to take Mount Hua’s breath away without revealing their dirty hands.”
“...”
“And yet Mount Hua wasn’t completely destroyed. It was bleeding and in a wretched state, but it was still breathing. As if... someone had struggled to somehow keep that lifeline alive."
Chung Myung's gaze, as if piercing through, reached Divine Beggar Hyeonpung.
“Was it you?”
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung chewed his lips.
“I dare… I dare not call it atonement. It wasn't by my power alone either."
“...I see. So that's how it was."
A short sigh escaped Chung Myung's lips. A faint emptiness coated his eyes.
It was funny. Even if he wanted to blame someone, there's no one left to blame.
Because those spearheaded everything have already died without paying the price.
All that was left in this world now were those who didn't even know what they were standing on. What good was it to hold them accountable?
Of course, it was something he had already thought through and come to terms with. So it wasn’t new.
It just stung, hearing from another’s mouth what he had been swallowing down alone all this time.
"So that's why you made Beggar Union unable to cooperate with them?"
“...”
"At least to avoid becoming Ten Great Sects lackeys again?"
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung's pupils shook faintly. He forcefully shook his trembling head.
“No, Sword Sovereign-nim. That’s … that’s not it.”
“...No?”
“Don’t… don’t look at me with those eyes, Sword Sovereign-nim. I am not someone who deserves such a comforting gaze from Sword Sovereign-nim."
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung clutched his face
"If... if I were such a man of spirit, how could I have held on to this filthy life until now? I am not that kind of person. I am just a worthless… just an utterly worthless person.”
“...”
“I’m… I’m not Sword Sovereign-nim. I wasn’t able to be like Sword Sovereign-nim.”
“What are you saying?”
"Didn't you see? Didn't you experience it? And don't you know?"
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung's face grew deathly pale. The guilt that had been eating at him receded, and into that void poured an emotion Chung Myung knew all too well.
"Him!"
Suddenly a scream-like voice burst out.
The old man's expression was unfamiliar yet familiar. It was... the face of a human being consumed by unbearable terror. His entire body convulsed as if stricken with malaria.
“I, I couldn’t help but know. They downplayed and denied it, but I couldn't help but know. I am one who deals in information. Because everything was pointing to one thing, I knew..."
“...Heavenly Demon?”
“Heuhhh...”
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung rolled his eyes back. Just hearing that name seemed to tear his soul apart. He stammered and poured out his words quickly.
“He… he will return again… That cursed wraith will return to this land, leading Magyo once more!”
“...”
“And we can never… never face him again. It is the end. The end of Kangho and the end of the world. An inevitable, predetermined conclusion is coming."
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung gasped for breath. It was hard to believe that he had been able to have a calm conversation, but he had become a pitiful old man like a half-corpse again.
“It was just… just a sandcastle. No matter how much Kangho regains its former appearance, it's nothing more than a sandcastle built loosely on a beach. The moment the great wave crashes upon the shore, it’ll crumble and be swept away without a trace…”
“...”
“Knowing this, how could I… how could I tell everyone? How could I tell them to sacrifice themselves for that sandcastle? When it's ultimately meaningless... If that’s the case… isn't it better to peacefully enjoy even a trivial life without knowing anything…?”
Chung Myung let out a sigh before he even realized it.
In the end, it was the same for Divine Beggar Hyeonpung. He had lived until now without being able to escape the terrible war and the existence of Heavenly Demon.
A survivor, a remnant, and...
Sinner.
Yes, just like Chung Myung.
“That’s why I...”
However,
"Enough. There's no need for that."
Chung Myung resolutely cut off Divine Beggar Hyeonpung's words.
“Sword Sovereign-nim...?”
"I've heard enough of your rambling."
Chung Myung looked at Divine Beggar Hyeonpung.
“You may think the ending is set in stone, but I don’t. No, even if I can't change the ending, I won't just sit here and wait for it."
“...”
"So tell me. What must be done first to return Beggar Union to how it once was?"
The two wide-open eyes of Divine Beggar Hyeonpung trembled.
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