Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1517. This isn’t fault? (2)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
“Can you see it?”
“Yes?”
"That there is the great hall of Beggar Union."
"Ah!"
The little boy's eyes lit up. A towering pavilion came into view. The building, weathered by time, exuded an indescribable presence.
"The history of Beggar Union is contained entirely within that great hall. It's a place that is no different from Beggar Union's history itself."
"That place is..."
“Right. It is the place you must make shine from now on. Can you do it?”
“Yes, Master! I will definitely do so.”
"Good, good. Hahaha."
The laughter echoed, and the young boy’s eyes, as he looked at the great hall, sparkled with a transparent clarity…
* * *
“...”
An old man in tattered robes stared blankly at the now wide-open space. The old pavilion he had seen while holding his master’s hand tightly in his younger days, before he had grown so old and his hair had turned white, was now nowhere to be found.
"T- The great hall…"
The great hall that contained his precious memories with his master... No, not just that, but his entire life as a member of Beggar Union was now proving its existence only through the clouds of fluttering dust.
"Keurk..."
“E- Elder!”
"Keurrrrrk!"
“Hieek! Elder! Are you alright? Get a physician! A physician! He’s passing out over here!”
“Ma- Master…”
"Oh my, Elder! Please come to your senses!"
Not just the elder, but all the beggars stood in stunned silence. It was a sight beyond belief.
"What in the…"
"Indeed."
What was even more absurd was the sight of the clear sky without a single cloud now visible where the great hall once stood.
Whooooosh.
A cool breeze soon swept over the collapsed ruins.
As if to prove that peace and quiet always follow the end of conflict, the destroyed hall was now wrapped in an unfathomable silence.
Thump!
But at that moment, a hand suddenly shot up from amidst the chaotic piles of rubble.
Tap! Tap!
The trembling hand groped wildly before finally seizing a chunk of rubble.
"Keuuuuu..."
Jo-Gol, who had barely managed to push his head out, crawled out of the pile of debris with a half-dead expression.
"Damn, shit! I- I really almost died..."
“Get out quickly, you bastard!”
"D- Don't stab me! Why stab me just because I'm a little slow!"
"Ah, shut up and move!"
"...Soso. I'm your sahyung."
Now you're not just inheriting Mount Hua's spirit but leading it... What a frightening child.
As if on cue, the disciples of Mount Hua groaned as they crawled out from amidst the rubble. The dust-covered Shaolin monks and the elders of Beggar Union also jumped up with pained noises.
"Uuurgh…"
"I really thought I was going to die this time…"
"Amitabha… I briefly witnessed the Pure Land.”
"Hieek, the great hall..."
Those who had barely escaped the crisis of being buried alive looked around with pale faces. Even if one tried to demolish it on purpose, it probably couldn’t have collapsed this cleanly.
“H- How could this happen…”
"H- How can we face our ancestors like this?"
Beggar Union elders sat down on the spot like bees that had gone out to gather honey only to return and find their hive gone.
Mount Hua's disciples exchanged glances with peculiar expressions.
“Doesn’t this feel kind of relatable?”
"At least they’re better off than us. Ours burned down. At least here they have some pillars left."
"No, but we at least saved a few pavilions, didn't we? Here it looks like there's really nothing left."
“...But where did Chung Myung go?”
“Huh? Come to think of it... Aaaah!”
Jo-Gol suddenly grabbed his butt and leaped sideways. A sword had shot up right where he had been sitting moments ago.
The sword swung wildly left and right in the air. Shortly after, Chung Myung, covered head to toe in dust, crawled out of the widened gap. He looked thoroughly annoyed, his face contorted as much as it could be.
"Ah, damn! Why are you blocking the way up! Nearly got crushed to death!"
“…You really stabbed him for that?”
“Leave it alone. At least he stabbed lightly. For Chung Myung, that’s him showing a lot of thought."
“That’s called being tamed, Sasuk.”
“…Let’s just say we’ve adapted.”
Chung Myung, who had climbed up with a scowl on his face, dusted himself off vigorously while looking around.
“Hmm.”
His twisted expression gradually began to soften. Then, instead of annoyance, an awkward look appeared.
“Hmmmm. But, uh… you see?"
"Huh?"
It was like the face of a puppy sneaking glances after doing something wrong.
"This isn't my fault, is it?"
Silence fell. Mount Hua disciples sighed so deeply it seemed the ground would cave in.
"Sect Leader-nim."
“...”
“...Sect Leader-nim, you need to come to your senses now...”
“...”
The pale-faced Wind Shadow Divine Beggar finally turned his head and looked at Baek Cheon. Baek Cheon coughed somewhat awkwardly.
"I understand the shock is immense, but you must regain your composure. It's just a building, isn't it?"
“The documents…”
"Yes?"
“...The archives pavilion that housed hundreds of years' worth of accumulated Beggar Union documents and information from each branch... All of Beggar Union's information......"
“Ah…”
They’re probably over there. Waaay down there. Torn to shreds or crushed.
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar's soul seemed visibly departing from his body.
“I- I must die. I must die to atone for this sin…”
“P- Please don’t say that, Sect Leader-nim! That’s absurd.”
“Acting Sect Leader…”
"One person dying won't solve anything of this big, is it?"
“...”
For a moment, Wind Shadow Divine Beggar's face showed an expression that seemed to say, 'What bastard are you?' crossed Wind Shadow Divine Beggar's face as he looked at Baek Cheon. It was meant as words of comfort, but to Wind Shadow Divine Beggar's ears, it sounded no different from, ‘Your pitiful life isn’t enough to atone for this.’
“...Thank you.”
Once this matter was somehow concluded, whether he stepped down from his position as sect leeader or not, he would revise every single piece of information and evaluation related to Mount Hua.
Resolving himself firmly, Wind Shadow Divine Beggar turned his head.
“Good grief.”
It was ridiculous.
Even if compromises had been reached, it was absolutely not easy for those who had been fiercely fighting each other just moments before to sort out the situation.
But that troublesome matter had been resolved all at once when the pavilion collapsed. It may not have been intentional, but wasn’t the timing uncannily perfect?
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar clicked his tongue.
If it had been him in the past, he might have refused all food and drink for about a month the moment the great hall collapsed. But after going through all this, he almost felt refreshed that it had collapsed so cleanly.
“Sect Leader.”
At that moment, he saw Lone Tiger Divine Beggar approaching.
"Sahyung."
“The elders have been subdued and detained for now. It was troublesome since there wasn’t a proper place to confine them.”
“There was no need to go that far…”
"No."
Lone Tiger Divine Beggar shook his head firmly.
“If we’re going to do it, it’s better to do it properly. Sect Leader said you would not ask for accountability, but they probably haven't completely bent their will either. At least until we elect a new sect leader and transfer authority, we must prevent them from acting rashly."
A hint of bitterness tinged Lone Tiger Divine Beggar’s lips as he spoke. For he himself was the one who had fueled their discontent and incited them to riot.
“And… once this is all over, I believe I must step down from my position as elder.”
“Sahyung, that’s unnecessary.”
"No."
Lone Tiger Divine Beggar again shook his head.
"Not to beg for punishment, but to prevent myself from harboring foolish thoughts again."
"...Sahyung."
"If we had shared our intentions with each other like this from the beginning, it wouldn't have come to this."
Overwhelmed by the rising bitterness, Wind Shadow Divine Beggar also lowered his head.
Though he had followed his master's will, in the end, it was none other than Wind Shadow Divine Beggar himself who had distanced himself from the beggars within the sect.
He believed he was leading the ‘Beggars’ Union,’ but in the end, he had only regarded the beggars living within the Union as beings subordinate to it. Even while he had inwardly repeated and resolved that it was all for their sake.
"I'm truly pathetic."
“Indeed. That’s why we’re beggars, aren’t we?”
Lone Tiger Divine Beggar and Wind Shadow Divine Beggar both let out a faint smile. The moment they let go of what they clung to, the tension drained away, and the world seemed brighter. If one has something in their hands, they are not a beggar, and one who holds something in their hands can never lead Beggar Union.
Only now, at this age, did he newly realize this obvious and plain truth.
“But...”
“Yes, Sahyung.”
“What are your plans?”
“What do you mean?”
"About the succession. Successor selection... No, I suppose there won’t even be time for that. Who do you intend to name as the next sect leader?
"Well..."
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar's face was slightly contorted. He opened and closed his mouth several times, then glanced to one side.
“Hey, Mount Hua Divine Dragon! What are you going to do about this great hall!”
“Has this man truly lost his mind? Why are you asking me that!”
"You’re the one who went wild and caused this mess!"
“No way! Even if it was destroyed, it was those Shaolin bastards who destroyed it. Me swinging my sword a few times wouldn’t leave a scratch, okay? No, and… why are you suddenly so spirited? Did you decide to enjoy yourself before your limbs get cut off?
"Hahah!"
Hong Dae-gwang heard those words and confidently placed his hand on his hip.
“You’re slow on the uptake, Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword. Didn't Sect Leader say he would let bygones be bygones for everything that happened today!"
“Huh?”
“Of course, that means what I said didn’t happen either! That’s what immunity is, don’t you know? Immunity! Never heard of it?”
“…Has this man really lost his mind? Did your head get crushed on the way out?”
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar, who was staring blankly at the noisy group, let out a deep sigh without realizing it.
"Sahyung..."
“...Tell me.”
"Honestly, I think I understand why Sahyung did that."
“...Right?”
Rather than hand over the sect leader position to that kind of person, it would be better if Lone Tiger Divine Beggar did it...
‘Unreliable.’
Looking at Hong Dae-gwang, who seemed molded entirely from the concept of ‘unreliable,’ the sighs of the two old beggars deepened.
But it was fleeting, as Wind Shadow Divine Beggar let out a wry chuckle.
"But... even so, they said that believing is what we must do."
“Right.”
Both men's gazes converged on one spot. Hong Dae-gwang was continuously getting kicked by Chung Myung.
“Perhaps we just didn’t know that man either. We couldn’t trust him because we had no intention of trusting him.”
Lone Tiger Divine Beggar nodded in agreement.
Hong Dae-gwang's bold shout remained vivid in his mind. A vision of Beggar Union unique to Hong Dae-gwang, different from both Lone Tiger Divine Beggar’s and Wind Shadow Divine Beggar’s, was melted into that shout.
“…I suppose we must prepare the inauguration ceremony. Even though the great hall has collapsed. Keurk.”
Lone Tiger Divine Beggar, who had been shaking his head, turned to look at Wind Shadow Divine Beggar as if something had occurred to him.
"Ah, but Sect Leader."
“Yes. Sahyung.”
“Where on earth did you put the sacred relic? No matter how long I searched, I could not find it. If only I had that… no, no. Anyway.”
"The sacred relic?"
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar smiled knowingly and quickly scanned the surroundings.
"Let me see... That..."
After a moment, he seemed to locate something and trudged off in a particular direction.
“This way.”
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar, leading Lone Tiger Divine Beggar, walked for a while over the debris before suddenly stopping.
"...Sect Leader?"
“Hup!”
He reached out and pulled something buried in the rubble out in one swift motion.
Kuung!
Lone Tiger Divine Beggar opened his eyes wide as he saw the revealed object.
“This is...?”
It was an object all too familiar to him. This was none other than the desk that had been in the sect leader’s office. He could tell just from the worn, polished marks left by countless touches.
“Why are you suddenly taking this out?”
“Hmm… It’s broken.”
Instead of answering, Wind Shadow Divine Beggar clicked his tongue as if slightly regretful. Then he gathered internal strength in one hand and struck down on the desk.
Posok!
The old wooden desk shattered in one blow. Then, amazingly, a jade-colored radiance suddenly spread out. Lone Tiger Divine Beggar instinctively shut his eyes tightly, then hurriedly opened them again.
Inside one of the split legs of the desk, there was a long object emitting a jade-colored light.
“Huh... Huhuhu.”
Lone Tiger Divine Beggar, momentarily stunned, let out a hollow laugh.
Udeudeuk.
The crumbled wooden debris fell away, soon revealing its complete form. A staff as long as an adult's forearm, roughly carved in an uneven and haphazard manner. A seemingly worthless thing that looked exactly like what a neighborhood thug would use to beat a thieving dog to death.
“Dog… Beating Staff (타구봉(打狗棒)).”
A staff for beating dogs.
The formal name is Green Jade Staff (녹옥장(綠玉杖)), but everyone in the world calls it Dog Beating Staff. With the intent of the predecessors that a mere beggar has no business with seals and such, it serves as Beggar Union’s sacred relic that substitutes for the sect leader's seal with the patterns naturally formed at its end.
“Hu, huhu...”
That very Dog Beating Staff had been hidden in the desk where Lone Tiger Divine Beggar always sat.
“Darkness beneath the candlestick. Right... the darkest place is under the candlestick. Neither objects nor people were visible to my eyes. Because I tried to look only at bright places. Hahaha, yes. That's how it was! Hahahahahahat!"
Lone Tiger Divine Beggar’s hearty laughter rang clearly over the ruins of the collapsed great hall.
“Amitabha.”
And above it all, a flawless Buddhist chant harmoniously intertwined.
|Note
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