Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1533. What do you know? (3)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
“You brought in a large number of the family’s daughters?”
“I didn’t brought them in, I received their support.”
“…Sounds similar.”
“It. Is. Dif. Fer. Ent.”
“Is that so?”
Tang Gun-ak let out a dry chuckle.
He had considered reorganizing Tang Family's martial artists into physicians, but he never imagined that Tang Family's daughters would be brought in as well.
A flurry of thoughts rushed in all at once. His evaluation of the matter, the impact it would have going forward, and even the backlash that would erupt from here and there.
But in the end, cutting through all those thoughts, what came out of Tang Gun-ak's mouth was something else entirely.
“You seems doing well.”
Caught off guard, Tang Soso stared at Tang Gun-ak. He was wearing a faint smile. Feeling embarrassed, Tang Soso turned her head away sharply.
“I’ve always done well. Father just didn’t know.”
"So it seems."
“Don’t admit it so easily.”
"Then I won't."
"...Did you eat something strange?”
Tang Soso stared at him in disbelief.
It was understandable. He was always the most gentle father to his daughter, but when it came to matters involving the sect, he could be as unyielding as a rock.
But right now, Tang Gun-ak didn’t exude even a bit of that suffocating stubbornness.
“My brother is having a hard time.”
"You mean Tang Pae?"
"Yes. At least I have Mount Hua to lean on, but Hyung-nim, none of what he says gets through to anyone. He’s sogaju, but… the day he becomes the patriarch is so far off, so what can he do?”
“No need to worry.”
"Huh?"
"Tang Pae will be able to do well too."
The calmness in his voice made Tang Soso unable to hide her surprise. But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t read any other meaning on Tang Gun-ak’s face.
“…You’re acting really weird.”
“There’s nothing strange.”
Tang Gun-ak said quietly.
Of course, he knew. There would naturally be various problems.
The backlash from Tang Family members who want to be active as martial artists rather than physician, the interference from elders who don't want to hand over leadership to these children who are still so young, and even the complaints from other sects who have suddenly found themselves in the position of protecting Tang Family that used to fight alongside them...
If he started worrying about all of it, there would be no end.
However....
“Oh, and for the record!”
"Hm?"
“Don’t step in!”
Before Tang Gun-ak could even open his mouth, Tang Soso held out her hand and made a cutting gesture.
Tang Gun-ak gave a bitter smile.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
"Don't pretend you don't know. You're planning to watch from one step behind and then quietly step in if things don't go well, right? Like suppressing disobedient family members, or putting pressure on other sects.”
“Me?”
"No?"
Instead of denying it, Tang Gun-ak glossed over it with a smile.
Tang Soso clicked her tongue as if to say ‘see?’. Then she said proudly.
"I can handle it myself."
"It's not that I want to lighten your burden. It's just that there's no need to take the difficult path when an easy one exists."
"I know. But if Father starts doing things for me, I'll end up relying on Father's power forever."
"Mm."
Tang Soso shook her head firmly and said.
"This isn’t some childish desire to prove myself or stand alone. If people don’t trust me and only trust the shadow of Tang Gun-ak behind me, it’ll cause problems when it matters most. So I have to make them believe not Tang Soso the daughter of Tang Gun-ak, but Tang Soso the second-class disciple of Mount Hua."
“To make them believe....”
Tang Gun-ak stared at Tang Soso for a moment before asking.
"Will you be able to do it?"
“I have to.”
Tang Gun-ak’s smile deepened.
"First."
"...Yes?"
“I believe in you.”
Tang Soso’s bewildered eyes and Tang Gun-ak’s eyes, filled with gentleness, intertwined in mid-air.
Tang Soso's face flushed slightly.
"You're really acting strange today."
She turned her head sharply and sprang up from her seat.
"I'm leaving. I'm busy."
“Go on, then.”
“Ei! Really!”
Tang Gun-ak smiled brightly as he watched his daughter dash out of the room, unable to overcome her embarrassment.
* * *
“I’m dying....”
A groan escaped him. Exhausted from training, Jo-Gol collapsed face-first onto the bed as soon as he returned from training.
Chung Myung's training, which pushed people to their absolute limits, sometimes overwhelmed even him. This despite having experienced it enough times already.
But now, instead of grumbling and complaining as he usually did, he was staring intently at the back of the person who had entered the room with him.
Slow, delicate hands wiped the dirtied sword clean. Then he neatly arranged even the martial robes he had worn. The familiar movements accompanied by the soft sound of scripture chanting naturally calmed one's heart.
'Really....'
Jo-Gol ended up shaking his head.
They had gone through the same training, so it wasn’t like Yoon Jong found it any less exhausting. But unlike Jo-Gol, he showed no sign of being disheveled. No matter how hard or exhausting it was, he never skipped what he needed to do.
This was a different kind of 'strength' from having high martial prowess. It was something that Jo-Gol could never dare to reach in his entire life.
“What are you staring at like that?”
Yoon Jong noticed his gaze and asked without even turning around.
“No, it’s just…”
Jo-Gol felt embarrassed for no reason and brushed it off half-heartedly.
"How dull."
Yoon Jong didn’t ask further. Instead, his hands cleaning the sword moved a bit faster. He was likely trying to finish up quickly so Jo-Gol could sleep a little more comfortably.
Jo-Gol, who was staring blankly at the sight, let a word slip out without realizing it.
"Sahyung."
"Hm?"
"That...."
He was about to say something but soon shook his head.
“It’s nothing.”
"Why are you acting so unlike yourself?"
"Turn off the light and let's sleep quickly. Why’re you doing all that? It’s just gonna get dirty again tomorrow anyway.”
“As I’ve always said, polishing oneself is about wiping away the dirtied…”
“Ugh! Nagging! I can’t hear you! Not listening!”
“....”
Yoon Jong looked back at Jo-Gol with narrow eyes. But Jo-Gol had already rolled over, facing the opposite wall as if the mere thought of it made his skin crawl.
“I’m going to sleep, so you should go to bed soon too, Sahyung.”
"...Alright."
A soft sigh escaped Yoon Jong's lips as he glanced at Jo-Gol, who had turned to face the wall.
He actually knew. What Jo-Gol was trying to ask.
'He must be anxious.'
How could he not know? Day by day, the war was drawing closer. Everyone would go through countless hardships in that war.
But perhaps what Jo-Gol feared wasn’t the pain he’ll have to endure during that war.
Shring.
Yoon Jong, having slid the maintained sword into its sheath, tied the sword to his waist and stood up.
Tak.
As the door closed quietly behind him, Jo-Gol sneaked a glance at the door Yoon Jong had exited through.
"...Huuu."
An uncharacteristically deep, heavy sigh escaped his lips.
The night was steeped in silence.
Yoon Jong's steps, having left the lodgings prepared at Huayin, headed toward Mount Hua. Even though the sect leader and the others had temporarily settled at Hwaeum, there was no real reason for him to climb the mountain alone.
In the quiet all around, only the sound of his footsteps echoed. Yoon Jong's eyes were deeply sunken as he climbed the rugged mountain paths of Mount Hua which was now all too familiar.
How long had he climbed the mountain?
He left the familiar path that he could climb with his eyes closed and entered into a deeper, rougher area. A place so remote that even mountain beasts avoided it. The deep, deep valleys of Mount Hua.
As he made his way through the forest dyed in thick darkness, a sharp sound slicing through the air gradually reached his ears.
Paat!
Yoon Jong’s gaze followed the plum blossoms blooming above the dense treetops.
Vivid plum blossoms bloom in the dark mountains. The sight was admirable enough to amaze even Yoon Jong, a disciple of Mount Hua.
Yoon Jong approached where the plum blossoms were blooming.
After a moment, he could see the figure of a man creating splendid plum blossoms with his sword tip.
Paaaaat!
Pure white martial robes without a speck of dirt.
A headband tied to his forehead, like a symbol of resolve.
Long black hair fluttered each time he stepped on the ground, leaped, and swung his sword.
Baek Cheon, who had come into the deep mountains where even those familiar with Mount Hua did not easily set foot, was swinging his sword.
Beads of sweat flew from his sharp jawline, and his lower lip was firmly clenched. Just from this, it was clear how fiercely Baek Cheon was pushing himself.
And then.
Paaaaaaaaaaat!
From the tip of the powerfully swung sword, a brilliant and abundant plum blossom bloomed. A scene spread crimson as if the dark blue forest had suddenly burst into flower all at once.
How could words ever capture such a sight? Even in a dream, it would steal one’s breath away.
And all this spectacle soon faded away as if it were an illusion.
Just as the plum blossom that had bloomed red for a season finally withers.
Yoon Jong watched the scene in silence.
Baek Cheon was like that. He was someone who had advanced ahead alone with his innate talent, someone who made others unable to even dare to follow.
But Yoon Jong knew. Baek Cheon hadn’t reached this point on innate talent alone. Had he not secretly poured in this much effort, he could never have become the Baek Cheon of today.
"Huuu. Haah."
Baek Cheon, who had calmly sheathed his sword, slightly bent his upper body and gasped for breath. He looked thoroughly exhausted. A sight he had never shown, even in front of Five Swords.
After catching his breath for a long moment, Baek Cheon wiped the sweat off his face and turned around.
“You there?”
Yoon Jong made excuses with a slightly awkward expression.
“…I wasn’t particularly trying to peek.”
Baek Cheon let out a smirk.
Between brother disciples learning the same sword art, what’s there to hide or spy on? Yoon Jong’s words were likely an attempt to explain that he hadn’t deliberately sought out Baek Cheon’s secret training.
“How was it?”
"Splendid."
Baek Cheon straightened his body and gazed directly at Yoon Jong.
The tip of his sword sparkled unusually, as if a drop of sweat had splattered on it.
“Is that all?”
Yoon Jong answered calmly.
“Fast, intense… and also delicate.”
The righteous path itself.
When discussing Baek Cheon's sword, one could not speak of it without mentioning the righteous path.
But at the same time, it was bold and strong. So even if one understood it, Baek Cheon’s sword was difficult to imitate.
The same swordplay could differ drastically depending on who wielded it.
"Is that really all?"
Baek Cheon uncharacteristically urged Yoon Jong, as if urging him to offer more praise.
Yoon Jong stared back intently.
Yoon Jong's eyes, which were always narrowly half-closed making it difficult to guess his inner thoughts, were now gazing directly at Baek Cheon with a seriousness that was somewhat chilling.
In the uncomfortably heavy atmosphere, Baek Cheon spoke first.
“I know. I still have a long way to go. That’s why I’ve been training in secret like this…”
“Sasuk.”
Yoon Jong's voice cut Baek Cheon off.
Another stretch of silence followed before Yoon Jong opened his heavy lips.
Those words, so difficult to utter, seemed as if they were cutting his own tongue as they came out.
"You're going to die."
From somewhere came the sound of insects chirping.
Heavily silent, and perhaps sorrowfully quiet, air as cool as dawn settled between the two men.
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