Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1514. We experience all sorts of things in life (3)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
"Hurry up!"
“Huh? Ah.... Yes!”
"Hurry more, more! To the great hall! Let’s go to the great hall!”
“Yes, Elder!”
Beggar Union elders, having swiftly gathered the disciples stationed outside, began leading them in a frantic dash.
The beggars followed along with bewildered expressions on their faces. Just seeing the elders' urgent state was enough to understand how critical the internal situation was, so no one was foolish enough to question the reasons right now.
“When we enter the great hall, you must strike down all those who are attacking the elders! Do you understand?”
“Yes!”
“I’ll say it again, no matter what! No exceptions!”
A hint of doubt flickered across the faces of the disciples. Was there really a need to emphasize something so obvious?
“Advance!”
"Yes!"
Having reached the great hall in no time, they saw the wide-open gates of the great hall. First, as commanded...
“Stop!”
But at that moment, someone leapt out and blocked their path.
“Huh!”
“What?”
The beggars flinched to a stop. The elders immediately raised their voices.
“No questions asked! Attack!”
The beggars’ bodies reflexively moved to carry out the order. They infused their internal strength into the short staff in their hands.
“Haaaaaap!”
Kwaaaaaaaang!
Before the beggars could even swing their short staffs, the one blocking their path struck the ground powerfully with his staff. The firm compact earth in front of the great hall burst and was gouged out deeply.
"Tha- That!"
The greatly startled beggars came to an abrupt halt.
It wasn't because they were surprised by the power. It was because the move they had just seen was clearly Beggar Union's exclusive martial art, the Dog Beating Staff Technique. Wasn't the jade-colored energy swirling around that staff proof of that fact?
“You cannot go any further.”
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar, who had blocked the beggars, gritted his teeth and shouted.
“Beggars of Beggar Union, follow Sect Leader’s command! All of you, stand by!”
“Se- Sect Leader? Did he just say sect leader? Him?”
“Sect Leader-nim?”
The beggars murmured among themselves. This was far too different from Beggar Union Sect Leader Wind Shadow Divine Beggar they knew, yet the martial arts he had displayed were unmistakably those of Beggar Union. What on earth was this situation? Everyone fell into confusion.
One of the elders screamed viciously.
"Keuh! It's a lie! Everyone...!"
“Gisim!” (기심(記心))
Then Wind Shadow Divine Beggar's thunderous roar struck him.
"Are you not ashamed before your own title!" (His title roughly means ‘Heart that Remember’. It’s too awkward to be translated literally so I leave it as is.)
At Wind Shadow Divine Beggar's scolding, Gisim Beggar bit his lip tightly.
In truth, his title had been personally given by his master, meaning not to forget the warmth within one's heart. So Wind Shadow Divine Beggar's words right now couldn't help but cut deep.
But there was no turning back now.
“What are you all doing! Kill that villain who impersonates Sect Leader!”
With vicious intent filling his eyes, Gisim Beggar shouted furiously.
"Come at me."
Kwang!
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar stomped his foot hard on the ground again.
“The mistakes I have made, I alone must set right. Even if I fall and die here, I will not step aside on my own.”
Gripping the Dog Beating Staff with all his might, he suppressed his burning heart.
How could he not be afraid?
If they attacked en masse, his wounded body wouldn't last. He might become the first Beggar Union sect leader beaten to death by his own disciples.
Yet he would not retreat even a single step.
'This would be a most fitting death for me.'
If Beggar Union were to punish him who had ruined Beggar Union, he could only accept it willingly.
"If you want to pass, step over my corpse!"
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar planted his feet firmly as if to root himself to the ground. The elders shouted back without yielding.
“What are you doing! Kill that bastard right now!”
But none of the beggars responded actively to that command. The bewildered Gisim Beggar cried out.
“Can you not hear me?”
“No… what if he really is Sect Leader?”
“You fools! How could that man be Sect Leader! Look at him! Can’t you tell at a glance!”
“Tha- That’s…”
"Beat that villain to death right now! Hurry!"
The ordinary beggars looked back and forth between Gisim Beggar and Wind Shadow Divine Beggar with troubled expressions. Gisim Beggar was burning with impatience inside.
“You idiots! There’s no time to waste…”
“Then you elders do it yourselves.”
“…What?”
At the voice that suddenly came from behind, even the murmuring stopped. The bewildered Gisim Beggar looked in the direction of the voice and saw several beggars looking at him with dissatisfied faces.
“It’s just one person. And you said yourself he’s no Sect Leader. Then why don’t Elder handle it directly?”
"Earlier, we saw you running quite vigorously, so why are you leaving this kind of thing to us?"
"And if he really turns out to be Sect Leader, you'll pin all the blame on us anyway. Bah, I'm not doing it."
"You, you bastards!"
The enraged Gisim Beggar wanted to track down those who had raised their voices and punish them as examples. But with so many beggars crowded together, it wasn’t easy to pinpoint who had spoken first. Worse yet, dissatisfaction was now spreading like wildfire among the beggars.
“Honestly, we clearly saw the Shaolin people going into the great hall earlier, and now you’re calling them attackers. Does that mean Shaolin are enemies now?”
“So are we supposed to go in there and fight the Shaolin monks?”
“If even the elders can’t handle them, what are we supposed to do?”
“Acting all high and mighty because they’re elders, but at times like this…”
"Ugh! Can't you shut those mouths? Have you all gone mad!"
Gisim Beggar, beyond furious, frantically looked around at everyone. Now, all the beggars seemed to want no part in this situation.
“Come to think of it, the rice I begged for earlier will get stale soon.”
"Then we should go eat it."
“They say the great hall is under attack. Is that okay?”
"With all those elders and Shaolin monks up there, what's there to worry about? Oh, and I think I saw Southern Edge Sect disciples heading up too."
“Then there’s no need to worry. With all those big shots gathered there, what can we possibly do? Best we don’t get in the way.”
The beggars glanced at Gisim Beggar with strange looks, then slowly began to turn and disperse.
"Y- You bastards! Won't you come back immediately!"
Of course, they weren't really leaving because they thought it was no big deal. No matter how you looked at it, this was a situation where Sect Leader and the elders were fighting over power. There was nothing good about getting involved in such affairs.
Besides, there was another reason.
“Do you think you can get away with this! This is insubordination!”
At Gisim Beggar’s furious shout, a few beggars who had turned away laughed mockingly.
“You used to strut around acting like an elder, and now you’re not even acting like a beggar? Perfect for getting your bowl smashed."
"What did you say?"
"Think about it. We're people who've lived our whole lives eating scraps while reading others' faces."
At those words, Gisim Beggar shut his mouth.
“Do you think people like us wouldn’t know which side is doing something shameful right now?”
"Y- You bastards... This is for Beggar Union! Yes, it's all for Beggar Union!"
"Clearly, Elder-nim is no longer a beggar."
"Wha- What?"
There was a sneer on the beggars' lips.
“You become a beggar because you don’t know what’s profitable, but you can live by begging even as a beggar because you at least know what’s right.”
Gisim Beggar's mouth fell open involuntarily.
"If someone isn't the type to bow and scrape apologetically even when kicked by some worthless punk, they couldn't have stuck with Beggar Union in the first place. Do you think we don't steal and beat people up because we don't know it's easier?"
"Exactly!"
"Lately, we haven't liked the way you elders carry yourselves. What beggar walks around with their shoulders puffed up like that?”
The beggars’ cold gazes poured onto Gishim Beggar and the elders who followed him.
“Anyway, we don’t know, so you figure it out yourselves.”
"Y- You bastards! An elder! Don't you understand that Beggar Union great hall is collapsing right now? If that happens, you too will..."
At those words, a beggar shrugged his shoulders.
“What if it collapses?”
“…Wha- What did you say?”
"Even if it collapses, we're still beggars, aren't we? What more do we have to lose?"
Momentarily at a loss for words, Gisim Beggar froze on the spot. The beggars laughed among themselves as they moved their feet.
"Let's go. Let's eat some rice."
"Yeah. Let's go together."
The elders staggered as they watched the beggars retreat like the ebbing tide.
And watching all this, Wind Shadow Divine Beggar tightly closed his eyes.
‘Even if it collapses, we’re still beggars…’
Yes. That was Beggar Union.
Because they had nothing to possess, they could be chivalrous. Because they had nothing to protect, they could even throw away their own lives.
It was none other than Wind Shadow Divine Beggar who had given such a Beggar Union things to possess, burdens to protect, and taught them that they must endure injustice if it meant personal gain.
And yet.
'There are places that haven't changed.'
Those who had gained something in their hands had changed, but those who still had nothing were keeping Beggar Union’s old spirit alive.
If so, there might still be hope.
"Th- This... if this happens..."
Gisim Beggar looked back at Wind Shadow Divine Beggar with a face that couldn't hide his bewilderment and bit his lip.
"Do you know what you're doing right now, Sect Leader?"
"I don't know. I didn't know. It's something I should have known long ago."
“...What are you talking about?”
“Neither you nor I has the right to decide the fate of Beggar Union anymore. We may be disciples of Beggar Union, but we are those who have lost its spirit.”
Gisim Beggar looked at Wind Shadow Divine Beggar with confused eyes.
“From now on, there are only two who can decide its fate. Those who still follow the spirit of Beggar Union and…”
Trailing off for a moment, Wind Shadow Divine Beggar gazed distantly toward the great hall where battle would be taking place.
"The one who still cherishes what Beggar Union sought to pursue."
He closed his eyes and called out inwardly.
'Sword Sovereign.'
They had lost things, just the same. No, Mount Hua had lost far more than Beggar Union and had been betrayed by many.
And yet, Mount Hua rose again. Just as it had in the past.
Kwaaaaang!
At that moment, a thunderous roar echoed. One wall of the great hall burst open, and red plum blossom petals scattered across the sky of Kaifeng.
"It blooms again."
Though it falls, again and again, it still rises.
So it shall be. Because flowers are merely results. What makes those flowers bloom is ultimately Mount Hua's roots and Mount Hua's spirit. As long as that spirit does not completely disappear, the flower will always bloom again.
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar’s gaze followed the plum blossom petals.
“We too must open a new era.”
Kwaaaaang!
Chung Myung, carrying the blue palm force that burst from the great hall's wall, soared into the air.
"Ah!"
"Tha- That!"
In the midst of the plum petals he had brought forth, Chung Myung flipped his body like an illusion and shot once more toward the great hall in one breath. He was like a hawk diving down.
The sword energy resembling sunset that bloomed from his sword tip mercilessly severed the fiercely approaching blue palm force.
“Following up on righteousness...”
He can tell without even seeing.
The Eighteen Palms of Pursuing Righteousness that no longer followed righteousness (義) could not block the Plum Blossom Sword imbued with Mount Hua's spirit.
The red sword energy that Chung Myung unleashed effortlessly cut through the resisting blue light with an almost futile simplicity and struck the dilapidated great hall of Beggar Union.
That was not a sword aimed at Lone Tiger Divine Beggar.
It was a sword aimed at Beggar Union.
What they should never have forgotten.
“Haaaaaah!”
Chung Myung's roar stretched to the heavens. Soon, the red sword plunged into the great hall of Beggar Union.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaang!
"Tha- That!"
"Hiiiiiiiik! It's collapsing! Run away!"
The great hall that had been like a symbol of Beggar Union, continuing for hundreds of years.
One corner of it began to collapse with a thunderous roar.
|Note
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