Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1518. This isn’t my fault? (3)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
"Why is he laughing like that?"
“...Well. How would I know?”
The disciples of Mount Hua stared at the roaring Lone Tiger Divine Beggar with bewildered faces. It was strange that he was laughing so loudly when he had lost everything.
"Maybe he’s lost his mind a little?"
"Sounds more like it’s your mouth that’s lost it."
“....”
Listening to that laughter, a wave of exhaustion suddenly washed over them. It was because it sounded like a declaration that this whole situation was truly over.
Jo-Gol was the first to stretch.
“Phew, I thought I was gonna die.”
"Right."
"Honestly, looking back, it wasn’t even that dangerous."
One by one, Mount Hua disciples plopped down where they stood.
“It was dangerous.”
"Hey, but it wasn't comparable to the Northern Sea, or Hangzhou, or that damned Hainan trip, right? Isn't that right, Sahyung?"
“I don’t want to think about it.”
Baek Cheon smiled bitterly.
'Indeed...'
This incident was definitely not that rough. While the situation itself might have been dangerous, aside from Baek Cheon, there wasn’t really anyone who had suffered any noticeable injuries, right? It was nothing compared to the life-and-death crises they had faced in the past.
Even so, the reason his body felt heavy as hundreds of kilos and arduous was probably due to the psychological burden of fighting against fellow Righteous Sects.
While Baek Cheon was pondering deeply, Yoon Jong suddenly looked at him with a troubled expression and said:
“But, Sasuk.”
“Hm?”
“…Beggar Union isn’t going to hold us responsible for this, are they?”
…Baek Cheon’s gaze naturally turned downward. They were sitting atop the ruins of the collapsed great hall. Baek Cheon gave an awkward smile and said,
"Should we make a run for it?"
“...Get a grip, Sasuk.”
"This yangban is worse than Gol sometimes."
"That's too harsh an insult."
As they were bantering with one word each, as if to dispel the tension that had filled their entire bodies, one person quietly approached.
“Amitabha.”
Everyone shot to their feet at the sound of chanting. It was Hye Bang.
As they hurriedly cupped their fists in greeting, Hye Bang smiled gently and waved it off.
“There’s no need to be so formal. Though the situation between us is peculiar, aren't we currently on the same side anyway?"
Baek Cheon hesitated for a moment. Given the circumstances, it was natural that he couldn't get a sense of how to treat the Shaolin people.
But there’s always someone who naturally ignores what’s supposed to be natural.
"Hey, can’t you have come any earlier!”
“Hey, you little bastard!”
"Shut your mouth!"
Rebukes to shut his mouth flew in from all sides. But Chung Myung, unconcerned, shot back bluntly at Hye Bang.
"From Mount Song to here—it only took a few steps! If you guys had just come earlier, the great hall wouldn't have collapsed!"
Hye Bang broke into a nervous sweat with a somewhat flustered expression. Thanks to that, his shiny head glistened even more.
"A- Amitabha. I'm sorry for being late, Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword."
“If you know, then try to move a little faster next time. Tsk, do you save your lightness technique to make soup with?"
“...Please just shut up."
Mount Hua’s disciples couldn’t bear their embarrassment and covered their faces. How long had it been since they witnessed the epitome of ‘betray one's master and destroy the ancestors (기사멸조(欺師滅祖))’, and now they were seeing a prime example of ingratitude.
Moreover, seeing Hye Bang sweating profusely and apologizing to Chung Myung's unreasonable demands...
"We're the bad guys here."
“Anyone can see that, right?”
“At this point, we should apologize to Shaolin.”
Somehow, Mount Hua’s disciples fell into a solemn mood.
“Hye Yeon.”
At that time, Hye Bang looked around to find Hye Yeon. Hye Yeon flinched in surprise.
“Come here.”
At Hye Bang's call, Hye Yeon blinked his large eyes and then approached hesitantly. When he had first seen Hye Bang, joy and relief had taken precedence, but now that the situation was over and he had to face him, it seemed fear was rearing its head.
Mount Hua’s disciples who had been watching from behind were whispering.
“That monk is awfully shy. Doesn’t suit him.”
"Thinking about it, he's always been like this. Remember how he turned red during the murim competition?"
“...Ah. It's been so long I had forgotten. He was that kind of person."
The fact that Hye Yeon had changed so much also somehow made Mount Hua disciples solemn.
Hye Bang smiled warmly at the hesitant Hye Yeon.
"You've worked hard."
“Sa- Sahyung....”
"You did well."
Hye Bang gently patted Hye Yeon’s shoulder. Soon, Hye Yeon’s shoulders began to tremble finely. Mount Hua disciples also secretly wore faint smiles on their lips.
“Are you crying?”
"Cr- Crying? Sahyung, I'm not a child anymore."
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
“Don’t tease me....”
Hye Yeon's face turned red as if it would burst in an instant. The scene was a vivid reminder that even the divine monk of Shaolin, who was nothing short of terrifying to Evil Sects and demonic cultists, was still just a young man before his Sahyung.
“But… is it really alright for you to have come?”
“Did you not call for me?”
“That’s true, but....”
The disciples of Mount Hua all tilted their heads at the unexpected conversation.
Hye Yeon called?
Hye Bang continued speaking and answered their unspoken questions.
"Even if the request came from Beggar Union's Sect Leader and Huayin Branch Leader, even if it came from Mount Hua and Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword...."
Hong Dae-gwang and Chung Myung clicked their tongues and looked at Hye Bang.
“And even if there’s nothing that technically violates the law, it’s still not easy to interfere in the affairs of another sect without Bangjang’s permission. You understand that, right?”
“…Yes.”
It was so obvious. To make a decision was the same as taking responsibility. Who would dare to take responsibility for such a huge matter?
“What decisively moved our hesitant hearts was the letter from you that the Huayin Branch Leader presented.”
"Sahyung...."
Mount Hua disciples whipped their heads toward Chung Myung, demanding an explanation. Chung Myung stuck out his chest proudly as if he had nothing to be ashamed of.
"What? Using family and kinship ties to turn hearts is a natural strategy, isn't it? The strange one is the guy who doesn't use that bald head when making a request to Shaolin.”
“…That… viper bastard…”
“No matter how you look at it, he should have joined Evil Sects.”
So Chung Myung had personally made Hye Yeon write letters requesting Shaolin's aid. And as for what Chung Myung might have done to Hye Yeon in the process...
"As long as the results are good, everything's fine! Look! A moving reunion between Sahyungje has taken place, hasn't it? All thanks to me! Ahem."
“....”
Left with nothing more to say, the disciples of Mount Hua shook their heads.
“...But I didn’t think you would really come.”
“Of course I would.”
Hye Bang smiled warmly. The other Shaolin monks were gradually gathering around Hye Yeon and Hye Bang. They all seemed pleased to see Hye Yeon after a long time.
"When such a dear saje calls, how could a sahyung not come?"
“Sa- Sahyung!”
“I'm joking.”
Hye Bang chuckled softly. Since he was young, Hye Yeon had always been a fun child to tease. It was just that his talent was so exceptional that it was difficult to associate with him casually.
“The reason we came here wasn’t just because you are our cherished saje.”
“....”
"It's because when everyone was walking the wrong path, you alone were the one walking the right path. At least those here think so."
Hye Yeon seemed choked up as he clenched his fists tightly. Hye Bang sighed with a slightly pitying face.
“It must have been difficult.”
"...Sahyung."
“Only after confronting Bangjang did I finally understand how difficult it must have been for you. How difficult it is to go against the will of one you trusted and followed like a parent.”
Hye Yeon bowed his head deeply. Mount Hua disciples were witnessing Hye Yeon’s sahyung understanding and comforting the struggles that would have been difficult for them to comprehend.
“It was because you trusted us and called for us that we could come without hesitation.”
“But Bangjang...”
Hye Bang smiled gently, as though he needed to hear no more.
“Of course, Bangjang will not approve of this. He will say it was overstepping authority and will seek to hold me accountable.”
Hye Yeon's shoulders slumped as he trembled once more. At that moment, a playful smile spread across Hye Bang’s face.
"Still, well... would he kill me?"
"Huh?"
When Hye Yeon asked back as if dumbfounded, Hye Bang shrugged his shoulders.
“At best, I’ll be locked up in the Repentance Cave for a few years. Who knows. I might even have the honor of facing a wall in the Bodhidharma Cave in my lifetime. And in that process, perhaps a miracle might occur where I achieve great enlightenment like the founding sect leader."
"Amitabha. That's too ambitious a hope, Sahyung."
“You must first become a vessel worthy of that…”
"These bald monks!"
Hye Bang got irritated at the gentle interjection from behind. The once solemn-looking Shaolin monks chuckled quietly.
“…Sahyung.”
Hye Yeon's eyes quickly filled with tears.
He had written the letter as instructed. He had written everything he wanted to say. But even as he sent it, he hadn’t truly believed they would come.
But his sahyungs had received his letter and rushed from Mount Song all the way here.
Then Hye Bang put away his smile and spoke seriously.
“Don’t make that face, Monk.”
"...Yes?"
His voice had turned solemn.
"What we must follow is not the authority of the secular world. What's important for a Buddhist is to constantly reflect on whether one is properly walking the Buddhist path. It is to have the courage to walk the thorny path of Buddhism in this world full of suffering.”
“....”
“If you see our choice merely as the loyalty between senior and junior, then you underestimate us too much, Monk. We didn't come for the saje named Hye Yeon, but to help one monk who walks the right path."
Hye Yeon silently gazed at Hye Bang. Then, as if realizing what he needed to do, he solemnly pressed his palms together in a half-bow.
“Amitabha.”
Hye Bang smiled faintly after hearing the chant. Then he hardened his face again and returned the gesture with a serious half-bow.
“Amitabha.”
Hye Yeon and the monks of Shaolin exchanged courtesies.
The formal greeting honoring the Second Ancestor Hye Ga, who was said to have cut off his own arm to attain enlightenment. That greeting was now being conveyed between them in a manner truly befitting its intent.
Mount Hua disciples unconsciously nodded their heads.
“...That’s impressive.”
"Indeed, Sahyug."
Even Yoon Jong, who had been watching solemnly, and Jo-Gol, who usually seized every chance to mock Shaolin, couldn't help but acknowledge this sight.
Perhaps that appearance was the true face of Shaolin that the world had held in such reverence. They even felt a sense of reverence welling up inside.
“Then now....”
“Yes, we must return.”
Hye Bang shrugged his shoulders.
“Word of this will soon reach the Yangtze, and naturally, Bangjang will not be pleased. It’s time to face the consequences.”
When Hye Yeon's face crumpled again as if about to cry, Hye Bang suddenly smacked his head.
"Ow!"
The stunned Hye Yeon’s eyes flew wide open.
“There you go making that face again, you cheeky brat.”
“....”
"You're not the only one fighting. You found a way to pursue the Buddhist path outside of Shaolin, but we will fight against Shaolin from within Shaolin."
Hye Bang looked at Hye Yeon and then at Chung Myung standing behind him. It was a gaze filled with firm determination.
“It will not be easy, but someday, we will return Shaolin to how it should have been. That will be our mission."
Chung Myung and Hye Bang's eyes intertwined in the air.
Finally, a rare smile spread across Chung Myung's lips. A smile that looked utterly satisfied.
“Well then, we will be taking our leave.”
“…Huh? A- Already?”
Not only Hye Yeon, but even Baek Cheon was surprised.
The dust cloud from the collapsed ruins hadn’t even fully settled, yet they were already leaving? But Hye Bang spoke with a serene face.
"Since we've finished what we needed to do here, it would be natural to return. We'll leave the rest to Acting Sect Leader."
"N- No, but... at least you should give Sect Leader time to express his gratitude...."
“We did not do this to receive thanks, so there is no need for that.”
“Huh? Th- That’s…”
“Then we will see you again next time. Amitabha.”
"Yu- Yuanshi Tianzun. May you be well."
Hye Bang and the Shaolin monks, after bowing their heads in a half-bow, turned without a single trace of lingering attachment. Then they truly departed without even looking back once.
Staring blankly at the yellow robes fluttering and receding into the distance, the disciples of Mount Hua let out sounds of admiration.
“...Really clean and neat."
"If it had been that Chung Myung bastard, he would've thrown a fit demanding a feast in his honor and sing for three days and nights about how generous he was to help."
"Cool."
“I should’ve joined Shaolin too.”
"Really?"
“...Actually, being bald is a bit..."
While everyone was stirring with half admiration and half longing, Baek Cheon quietly placed his hand on Hye Yeon's shoulder.
“Monk.”
“...I'm fine, Dojang. I have no regrets.”
A gentle smile formed on Hye Yeon’s lips as he watched his senior brothers fade into the distance.
“We will see each other again someday.”
Somehow, Hye Yeon seemed to have grown even more through this incident. Baek Cheon smiled quietly and spoke with conviction.
“You surely will.”
And when that time comes... Hye Yeon too will have become an even more excellent monk than he was now. Baek Cheon believed it would certainly be so.
|Note
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