Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1497. How could I not follow? (2)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
Chung Myung silently gazed at the tearful Divine Beggar Hyeonpung.
It may sound strange, but the face of Divine Beggar Hyeonpung, full of passion, gave Chung Myung a strange sense of comfort.
A comfort that told him what he had done in those days hadn’t been completely in vain.
“…Thank you.”
And so, those words carried many layers of meaning and emotion. So much so that even Divine Beggar Hyeonpung, who heard these words, could not fully comprehend them.
“...Please do not say such things, Sword Sovereign-nim.”
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung shook his head with all his might.
“How can you say that. It is a loyalty I should have given to Sword Sovereign-nim long ago. This courage was something I should have mustered sooner. Only after it's become this late... that I’m able to repay even a little of that terrible debt..."
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung bit his lips tightly before he could finish his words. It was difficult to suppress his surging emotions.
After struggling to control his emotions for a while, he looked at Chung Myung and spoke. His face was full of guilt.
“However, it won’t be that easy since I... have neglected Beggar Union for too long. I'm ashamed to say, but I have to ask for the help of Sword Sovereign-nim....”
Chung Myung cut him off firmly.
“It doesn’t matter. Just tell me which direction to go. Opening the path is my job.”
A small smile appeared on Divine Beggar Hyeonpung’s lips.
“Right, Sword Sovereign-nim has always been like that.”
As if recalling a memory from a very distant time, Divine Beggar Hyeonpung's eyes slowly sank.
“...There are many things I wish to ask, and many things I wish to say, but... cough!”
A dry cough burst from his wrinkled mouth.
“Huu....”
He lightly clutched near his heart with his parched hand and smiled.
"As you can see.... I don't have much time left."
“...Divine Beggar Hyeonpung.”
When Chung Myung tried to say something, Divine Beggar Hyeonpung shook his head.
"Don't look at me with such pitying eyes. Sword Sovereign-nim did not shorten my life. Rather, you’ve given me one last chance.”
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung turned his gaze with a faint smile. At the end of his gaze was a staircase leading downward.
"And... I have one last request for Sword Sovereign-nim."
"A request?"
Chung Myung's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"Hm?"
The Pavilion Master, who had been concentrating all his attention on the upper floor, suddenly frowned. A faint noise had leaked from the upper floor that had been perfectly blocked. This meant the energy barrier blocking between the lower and upper floors had been lifted.
Sure enough, a faint but distinct sound followed.
“...Come up.”
"Yes!"
The Pavilion Master immediately answered and spoke to Baek Cheon and the group.
“We must go up again.”
"Yes."
Everyone who had also heard the voice nodded in agreement.
Led by the Heavenly Ascension Tower Pavilion Master, they went upstairs to see Divine Beggar Hyeonpung lying on the bed in the dim dark room and Chung Myung standing beside him.
Though their appearance hadn't particularly changed from before they left, somehow the atmosphere seemed quite different.
“Cough. Cough, cough!”
“Master-nim! Are you okay?”
As Divine Beggar Hyeonpung let out a series of coughs, the Pavilion Master ran to him in an instant. Only for his expression to harden instantly. The situation wasn't good.
"You must rest. You've been awake too long."
“...I'm fine."
"No. Please speak in detail later, for now the Great Turtle......"
“Gwa-ah (과아(果兒)).” (endearing nickname)
“....”
“It is enough now.”
The Pavilion Master bit his lips tightly.
"I've... truly done you wrong."
“No, Master-nim. How can you say that? A disciple following their master's will is only natural.”
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung weakly shook his head towards the Pavilion Master, who earnestly denied it.
“I already knew as well. But I turned away. I ignored the fact that everything I was trying to do would ultimately be built upon your sacrifice.”
“....”
"Grant these people's wishes. After that, you can do as you wish."
“Master-nim...”
“Can you do it?”
The Pavilion Master, who had been silent with lips bitten tightly shut, finally nodded his head.
"I will follow your command."
"It's not a command but a request. Can you grant it?"
At those words, the Pavilion Master kept his mouth shut.
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung did not rush him and just waited quietly. After staring at Divine Beggar Hyeonpung for a while, the Pavilion Master finally opened his mouth.
“...I will do so.”
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung reached out with a faintly trembling hand and grabbed the Pavilion Master’s hand. The Pavilion Master silently held the wrinkled hand in return.
That small gesture alone spoke volumes of how deeply they cared for one another.
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung looked at Chung Myung and Five Swords standing behind him while holding hands.
"It won't be easy but... if those people help, you'll surely be able to do it."
“Yes, Master-nim.”
“And… I believe. No matter how cold you've grown, the hot blood still flows within you."
At those words, the Pavilion Master flinched slightly.
"Gwa-ah....”
“...Yes, Master-nim.”
“I’ve only now come to understand. As long as one lives, there is always a chance to turn things back.”
“....”
“Perhaps it was I who could not trust you. Only now do I realize how foolish I was...”
“Please do not say such things. Master has done your best.”
It was a resolute voice. A faint smile spread across Divine Beggar Hyeonpung’s lips.
Sometimes, the warmth conveyed through a simple touch speaks louder than a hundred words.
For those who have walked the same path of fate, no lengthy explanations are needed. They understand each other too deeply.
“Chivalrous... Sword.”(*note)
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung spoke while looking at Chung Myung.
"He's a capable person... he will be of help."
Chung Myung quietly nodded his head.
“But, Chivalrous Sword. As Chivalrous Sword also know... the path you must walk is an incredibly arduous and painful one. It will be a road of thorns that seems to have no end, no matter how far you go.”
They were words mixed with concern. Chung Myung responded bluntly, as if spitting out the words.
"What else can I do? It's the only path. I can't just sit there in a daze."
“....”
"And there's no such thing as an eternal thorny path. Every path eventually has an end. I'm just going toward that end."
The corners of Divine Beggar Hyeonpung’s eyes gently curved.
Perhaps what he had lacked in the end was that courage. He was someone who had faltered and collapsed before the thorny path out of fear. Had he possessed the courage to push through it, both Beggar Union and the world might have been very different from what they were now.
"...You're right."
Chung Myung had been that kind of person in the past, and he remains so now. Even knowing the path was difficult and painful, even knowing he would be covered in wounds if he walked it, he didn’t hesitate.
'No, it’s not that he doesn’t hesitate.'
He's someone who hesitates and hesitates again, but ultimately walks that path. That's why countless people followed his back in the past, and why so many people look at this person's back even now.
“I will believe you. Chivalrous... Sword.”
Chung Myung nodded toward him.
Then Divine Beggar Hyeonpung’s gaze turned toward the ceiling. It felt like he was looking at the sky beyond it.
It's been so long, far too long…. Only now... have I finally mustered the small courage to ask their forgiveness.”
“...Divine Beggar.”
"Gwa-ah… Please open the window."
“Yes, Master-nim.”
The Pavilion Master ran without delay and opened the small window. A harsh creaking sound rang out, as if it hadn't been opened for a very long time.
Night air rushed in through the wide-open window. A breeze that might feel cold to some and refreshing to others swept through the stifling room, stirring the stagnant air.
“The air is a little cold, Master-nim....”
The Pavilion Master, who was turning his head, froze solid.
The eyes of Divine Beggar Hyeonpung, lying on the bed, were closed. And on his face was an expression of peace, one he had never once seen before.
The Pavilion Master bit down hard on the inside of his mouth.
It wouldn't be right to shed tears.
Divine Beggar Hyeonpung has finally been freed from the pain that has been binding him. So it would be more right to burst into laughter instead.
Yet he couldn't bring himself to do even that.
Forcing his unwilling feet forward, the Pavilion Master stepped slowly to the bedside and gently held the hand of Divine Beggar Hyeonpung, whose body now had nothing left but to grow cold.
No one would know. Not anyone.
Just how much this old man had shouldered and endured until now.
“...The request you made of me, Master-nim, I will surely fulfill it. So please…”
Rest peacefully.
The words caught in his throat, buried deep in his chest. The Pavilion Master tightly grabbed Divine Beggar Hyeonpung’s hand one last time and carefully let it go. Then he spoke to Chung Myung and his group.
"Could you... give me some time? To take care of..."
“Leave him there.”
"...Yes?"
Turning around, Chung Myung was quietly looking at Divine Beggar Hyeonpung who had fallen into an eternal sleep.
“Those who die in battle are buried where they fall.”
“....”
“That was the principle of that era.”
The Pavilion Master's shoulders shook briefly.
"The war may have ended, but the battlefield never ceased for him. He fought on until the very end. He wasn't some relic of the past. He was a martial artist who carried on the fight long after everyone else had laid down their arms."
“...Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword.”
“So leave him there. That’s what he would have wanted.”
The Pavilion Master bit his lips so hard it turned pale. Otherwise, it seemed tears would spill out at any moment.
No one in the world had ever said such words for Divine Beggar Hyeonpung—nor had anyone ever had the right to. Except for one person.
“...I will... I will do so."
Chung Myung nodded quietly at the answer that was spoken with great difficulty.
Through the small open window in the corner, the new wind continued to pour in. It was too narrow and insignificant to truly connect with the world outside, but what mattered was that this long-shuttered window now stood open.
None other than by the will of Divine Beggar Hyeonpung himself.
“Amitabha.”
Hye Yeon chanted a brief Buddhist chant before beginning a quiet recitation. The Mount Hua disciples also each chanted their Taoist chant and paid respects in their own ways to the departing Divine Beggar Hyeonpung.
None of them knew every detail of what he had done.
But they didn’t need to. Just the fact that he had endured in this dark chamber until this moment was reason enough to respect him.
“Let’s go down.”
"Yes."
Baek Cheon gave a fist-and-palm salute full of reverence toward Divine Beggar Hyeonpung’s body and turned around.
One person, then another.
Eventually, even Chung Myung and the Pavilion Master gave Divine Beggar Hyeonpung one last glance and stepped out of the dark room.
“…I’ll close it now.”
Creak.
As the Heavenly Ascension Tower Pavilion Master moved the mechanism, the stairs that had come down slowly rose upward and the door to the ceiling firmly closed.
Kuung.
Chung Myung silently gazed at the closed door.
Now that door would never open again.
It might be a somewhat small and shabby tomb for one who had continued his solitary fight even in the years without Chung Myung.
But Chung Myung thought that this was the most fitting tomb for Divine Beggar Hyeonpung.
'Just watch from there.'
Chung Myung would prove that everything was never entirely in vain. And everything Chung Myung would go on to do would ride the wind and reach that small, quiet darkroom.
To the resting place of one who possessed a single drop of blood that, though faded and dried, would never cool.
|Note
*In Korean, the first letter of Chivalrous Sword (Geomhyeop) and Sword Sovereign (Geomjon) is the same. He kept pausing when calling his current title (“Geom….. hyeop”) is because he’s more used to call him Geomjon
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