Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1521. Thinking back, I was wrong (1)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
In the deep dawn when all Mount Hua disciples had collapsed from exhaustion, unable to overcome their fatigue.
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar carefully filled an empty cup with liquor. The way he held the bottle was filled with the utmost politeness and reverence.
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar quietly put down the bottle and opened his mouth to the person sitting across from him.
“Sword Sovereign...”
Chung Myung chuckled at the word.
“Well, not anymore.”
“Then…?”
“Call me whatever you want. You can call me Sword Sovereign like before, or you can call me Chung Myung. Hmm… no, Dojang. Dojang probably suits me best.”
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar's face turned slightly pale.
“How could I dare…”
“It’s fine.”
Chung Myung lifted the cup that Wind Shadow Divine Beggar had filled and drained it in one go.
“Keuhh.”
“...”
“Being old is nothing to brag about. Besides, if we're being strictly accurate, I'm the one who's young here, yeah?"
“...That is true, but.”
"Let's not nitpick over this and that. Just call me Dojang."
"...If you insist."
The conversation between the two briefly paused.
In truth, there wasn’t much left to talk about between them. Though they had learned each other’s true identities, there wasn’t any particular connection between them.
If anything, it was Wind Shadow Divine Beggar who knew more about the other, so he had to continue the conversation.
“Thank you, Dojang.”
"What’s with the sudden gratitude?"
Chung Myung shrugged nonchalantly.
"I didn't help you for your sake, so there's nothing to thank me for. Even if it were some other guy and not you, I was planning to take care Beggar Union either way.”
“But surely not in the way you did now.”
"Hmph."
Chung Myung neither confirmed nor denied, simply pushing his empty cup forward. Fengying Shingai quickly filled the cup with alcohol.
“I’ve heard you’ll be leaving as soon as dawn breaks.”
“There’s no good in dragging it out.”
Though things appeared to have been resolved rather favorably, the fact that they had fought against Beggar Union remained unchanged. If they continued to be seen, resentment within Beggar Union might flare up.
At times like this, it was right to quickly step aside so they could sort things out amongst themselves.
A sigh escaped from Wind Shadow Divine Beggar's mouth.
He understood Chung Myung’s intention. He knew it was right. But…
“What? Is there something more I should do for you?”
“If a person has any shame, how could I wish for more than this? I'm just troubled that I couldn't repay even a little for everything Sword Sovereign has done."
"Repayment... I already received it."
"Yes?"
Chung Myung's gaze went upward. Towards the ceiling and the sleeping person beyond it.
“It was more than enough repayment.”
It was a voice that was steeped in bitterness.
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar couldn't say anything. He couldn’t even imagine what it felt like to live alone in a world where everyone you knew had already died.
“...I thank you on behalf of Master-nim.”
"Tsk, enough with the pointless formalities."
Chung Myung clicked his tongue briefly and picked up his liquor cup. This time, he didn’t rush but let the liquor flow slowly down his throat, savoring it.
The bitter and sharp aroma of the liquor lingered in his mouth. But no matter how strong the liquor, in the end, the aroma disappears without a trace.
"Let me make one thing clear."
"Yes."
"That punk definitely did wrong."
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar also readily nodded. It wasn’t right for a disciple to judge and admit his master’s fault, but this was something even his master had acknowledged.
And Wind Shadow Divine Beggar had already seen with his own eyes the results of what his master had done.
If Sword Sovereign had arrived just one day later, Beggar Union would have fallen into the hands of Lone Tiger Divine Beggar, and the Chivalrous of Beggar Union that they would have to rebuild would have been seriously damaged.
Then Chung Myung opened his mouth with a sunken voice.
"But."
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar looked at him blankly.
"Even so, I don't want to blame him."
His voice was laced with a bitterness that Wind Shadow Divine Beggar couldn’t fully comprehend.
“That man probably tried in his own way. Yeah. So much so…”
Even though he must have been lonely.
The latter words couldn't quite come out and crumbled inside Chung Myung's mouth.
“Ahem.”
Feeling the awkwardness, Chung Myung cleared his throat shortly and lifted his head to look at the ceiling.
“Anyway… when the time is right, bury him in a sunny place.”
“Before, you said to leave him there...”
“Yeah, I did.”
Chung Myung chuckled.
“It was just me being unable to overcome my own feelings. The dead shouldn’t leave regrets behind. Whether good or bad, it’s all for the living to carry."
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar simply nodded silently. Even if he couldn't understand everything, he at least knew that those words contained goodwill.
Chung Myung glanced at him briefly and added.
“Don’t you blame yourself either.”
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar smiled warmly.
“I am content just to have the chance to atone for my sins.”
“How brave.”
For a moment, Wind Shadow Divine Beggar chuckled without realizing it.
The words ‘how brave’ sounded like praise given to a child. Of course, from Chung Myung’s perspective, Wind Shadow Divine Beggar was indeed a child.
"It's true that Uncle Hong has some clumsy side. But...."
"Yes. Beggar Union wasn't a perfect place to begin with."
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar smiled as if he already knew what Chung Myung wanted to say.
“I don’t know if he’ll become a great sect leader, but I believe under his reign, Beggar Union will slowly become a better place.”
“Hmph.”
"That would be the more righteous path. I only wish I had realized it sooner.”
Chung Myung nodded as if that was enough and drank the liquor that Wind Shadow Divine Beggar had poured. No more words followed. It meant he had said all he wanted to say.
But Wind Shadow Divine Beggar still had something he wished to ask him.
“Sword Sovereign.”
Instead of answering, Chung Myung slightly narrowed his eyes.
It was Sword Sovereign, not dojang. Wind Shadow Divine Beggar wouldn't be stupid enough to have forgotten the words they had exchanged just moments ago.
"Will you continue to fight?"
So this was a question asked to Chung Myung as one martial artist to another, leaving aside their affiliations as Beggar Union and Mount Hua.
Tak.
Chung Myung set down his cup and answered calmly.
“I will.”
“…Sword Sovereign already knows, don’t you?”
The greatest reason why Beggar Union had gone astray.
It was because they had reached the conclusion that no matter how much they struggled, they could never stop the black torrent that would one day surge forward.
"He will return."
Chung Myung turns his head and looks out the window.
“Stronger… than before.”
The torches lit by those still cleaning up flickered and spread throughout Kaifeng.
Light was proof that people lived.
And 'he' was one who devoured light.
Everywhere he passes, the light disappears, and the world eventually returns to its primordial state.
The sight of the lights that had opened up going out one by one as if they were being eaten by something was vividly depicted before Chung Myung's eyes.
A natural disaster that could not be stopped by any desperate effort, by anything at all. That black torrent...
"Hmm."
Chung Myung let out a short breath as if trying to push away something that was surging within.
“So what?”
"Yes?"
“He’s returning, so what do you want me to do about it?”
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar opened his mouth with a momentarily flustered expression.
“Well...”
“Well, of course, if that bastard is resurrected, it’ll feel like facing a landslide while I just went out to take a piss.”
“...”
“But…”
Chung Myung grinned.
“Do you think I’d be the only one caught up in it?”
"...Huh?"
“That bastard will be hit by a landslide too, you know? He died and barely came back to life, only to find that the guy who cut off his head is there again?"
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar felt as if he had been struck in the head.
He had never once thought of it that way.
"The one whining about things being unfair won't be me. That bastard's the one who'll be pissing himself. Won't his neck sting just thinking about it?"
"Ha... Haha..."
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar burst out laughing. He thought he understood. Why, unlike his master, this person had not collapsed.
Chung Myung laughed.
"And originally, worldly affairs aren't about doing what's possible. You make the impossible possible. Humanity as an existence has come this far that way."
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar nodded in agreement.
“Those are wise words.”
"Besides, whether it's Heavenly Demon or whatever, just thinking about that pretty boy down there gives me a headache."
"You mean Paegun."
“Yeah. If you people had acted even halfway like decent folks, none of this would have happened. What? Buhuhuuuu. Jang Ilso is in Sichuaaaan?"
Chung Myung mocked while mimicking. His eyes were flashing frighteningly. Wind Shadow Divine Beggar lowered his head deeply.
“Even with ten mouths…”
“Damn punk, really.”
Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
“I’m not asking you to sacrifice.”
“...”
"If sacrifice is unavoidable, I'll be the first in line. So don't feel wronged."
"I'll keep that in mind, Sword Sovereign. No... Dojang."
That was enough.
If in the past… the world’s reins had been held not by the orthodox sects but by Plum Blossom Sword Sovereign, Beggar Union of that time would not have had to weep blood over sacrifice.
It wasn't death that was scary, but a worthless death.
Chung Myung lifted the liquor bottle and filled Wind Shadow Divine Beggar’s cup. Wind Shadow Divine Beggar flinched and quickly accepted the cup.
“You drink too.”
“How could I dare…”
"You too ..."
"Yes?"
Chung Myung cleared his throat with an ahem and continued in a somewhat smaller voice.
"You've suffered a lot too."
For a moment, Wind Shadow Divine Beggar was speechless and stared blankly at Chung Myung. Soon, a gentle smile graced his lips.
Chung Myung shot back bluntly.
“What are you doing? Drink!”
"Yes, Sword Sovereign."
Words like ‘we will be different from the past,’ or ‘from now on, we will show you a changed Beggar Union,’ were meaningless.
'Master-nim.'
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar closed his eyes quietly as he drank.
'This person seems to be different from what Master-nim said.'
This person is not someone who leads.
Right, this person is… someone who makes others want to follow him.
* * *
Early dawn.
“Keuuuh…”
“…What’s wrong with this rascal?”
“No idea. I heard he drank himself half to death.”
"A bastard who's supposedly Mount Hua's greatest master! Hey! Hurry up and shake off that alcohol!"
"Just leave him. He says even if he dies, he won't do that because it would be a waste of the liquor he drank."
Looking at the half-withered Chung Myung, Mount Hua disciples all sighed.
“So what do we do with him now?”
“Can’t be helped. We have to carry him...”
“Him?”
“If you don’t want to, step aside. I’ll…”
“U- Uweeeeeeck!”
“...”
Baek Cheon turned pale in an instant as he saw Chung Myung spewing something out from his stomach. He whirled around as if he had never stepped forward.
“…Let’s just leave him and go.”
“Carry him, Sasuk.”
“As the eldest, you should set an example!”
"Sh- Shut up!"
Then Chung Myung shook his head vigorously and clutched his forehead.
“Keurgh… Ugh, I’m dying.”
That beggar bastard can really hold his liquor. Looking all gentle and mild.
Then Tang Soso tilted her head.
"But are we really going like this?"
"Then what?"
“Like a farewell party or something…”
“Forget it. What kind of farewell are we expecting in a place where the great hall has collapsed and everyone’s wailing?”
"Not getting beaten to death is lucky enough."
“It’s not our fault, is it!”
Tang Soso slightly frowned and protested. Baek Cheon smiled bitterly.
“We will have reason to meet with Beggar Union again soon, so let’s just go quietly.”
“Hmm. Something doesn’t seem normal. Are you being sincere, Sasuk?"
When Tang Soso narrowed her eyes and stared intently, an unpleasant expression crossed Baek Cheon's face.
“Can I be honest?”
"Of course. What is there between us that can't be honest?"
“No, that... even Shaolin monks and Isong Sohyeop left coolly without asking for thanks, and if we hang around here trying to get a send-off, wouldn’t that be…”
"Let's leave right now."
“Let’s go quickly.”
“Just imagining it is so pathetic.”
“I’m sorry. I was being thoughtless.”
Everyone's hearts instantly united. They had to flee from this place at once.
“Right. Let’s go.”
"No, going is fine, but what do we do about this bastard?"
“Please, Gol-ah!”
“Cheer up, Sahyung!”
“Huh?”
Holding onto the thoroughly wasted and drooping Chung Myung, Jo-Gol could only gape in disbelief. His saje had already disappeared cleanly into the distance.
"Those bastards..."
"Bleeeaargh!"
“...”
Ah. Disgusting.
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