Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1579. Take it somewhere. (4)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
As many as several thousand were gathered.
Even with such a wide space, it was impossible that there would be no noise. No, since it was a place where people who must fight for their lives had gathered, one would expect to hear roaring shouts.
But no sound could be heard.
What dominated this land under the setting sun was only an unnaturally thick and heavy silence.
And the ones who had created that silence were the two men standing at the head of each side, two giants who dominated the age.
Bop Jeong.
Bangjang of the thousand-year-old Shaolin and the great tree of righteous path who had led the Nine Sects for the past several decades.
The standard for determining the greatest in the world may differ from person to person, but no one could dare exclude Bop Jeong when discussing the number one of the current era.
And Jang Ilso.
The master of Myriad Man Manor and the alliance leader of Evil Tyrant Alliance. An unprecedented figure who had instantly united the scattered Evil Sects and achieved the great feat of Evil Sects Unification that had seemed so distant.
Opinions about him varied, and there were still those who doubted his abilities. But no one under heaven could deny he was the greatest of Evil Sects in this age.
Literally, the heads of the greatest forces in the world, and the two axes that moved the world. These two giants stood facing each other across a desolate plain.
The tension created by their confrontation made all those gathered here naturally hold their breath.
“...Amitabha.”
Bop Jeong quietly chanted the Buddha.
'Jang Ilso.'
Despite the considerable distance, he could see him as clearly as if he could reach out and touch him. Jang Ilso's appearance was extravagantly dressed to the point of dissonance.
Even facing a battle where countless would soon die, deep languor still lingered about him.
To Bop Jeong's eyes, which sought to see the essence of a person, Jang Ilso's attire meant nothing.
He was just focusing on the man named Jang Ilso himself. On Jang Ilso himself, whom even Bop Jeong, who had seen and judged countless people, found utterly incomprehensible.
Bop Jeong realized anew.
Though Jang Ilso was so intensely familiar that it seemed they had been fighting each other for decades, they had actually never faced each other like this and held a conversation.
Bop Jeong's heavy voice ran magnificently across the land.
“Paegun. How many more sins do you intend to commit?”
At those words, Jang Ilso’s eyes curved into a smile.
"The world has been plunged into grief because of your greed. Countless people have lost their lives, and blood has soaked the earth like rain. Is even that not enough?"
Jang Ilso only smiled, staring at Bop Jeong without saying anything. Not even a hint of hostility rose in his eyes.
"I advise you. There is no way to wash away the sins you have already committed, but there is surely a way not to commit even greater sins. Realize that all your desires are but emptiness (공(空), and restrain yourself here. If so, you could at least avoid accumulating greater karma (업(嶪))."
“Ba- Bangjang!”
Jongni Hyeong blurted out in fluster.
“What are you saying? After all the sins that man….”
“Amitabha.”
But as the heavy chant of the Buddha echoed, Jongni Hyeong unconsciously closed his mouth.
Bop Jeong, who had thus suppressed the objection, rebuked Jang Ilso in a much lower voice instead of dealing with Jongni Hyeong.
"Believing one can hold something in one's hand is merely the delusion of a mortal. In the end, humans die empty-handed just as when they were born. How can you not know that what remains in those hands is not fame or wealth, but the mountain of karma amassed from all lives (만생의 업(萬生之業)) piled up like Mount Tai?"
Bop Jeong naturally brought his palms together in Banzhang stance.
"If you will know contentment now and seek to wash away your sins, Shaolin will gladly help with this. The Dharma is open to all, even to one condemned for ten thousand crimes.”
Heavy and earnest eyes turned toward Jang Ilso.
Bop Jeong's words may have taken everyone by surprise, but no one doubted the sincerity within them. Bop Jeong was a venerable monk who had devoted his life to the Dharma. He would not forget his proper duty, even at a moment like this.
But what returned in response to the old monk’s lofty words was a great sneer.
"Ha... Haha. Hahahaha! Hahahahaha!"
Jang Ilso, who had been silent throughout, burst into loud laughter.
In contrast to Bop Jeong, who was noble like a withered ancient tree, the sight of Jang Ilso holding his belly and laughing was frivolous beyond measure. It was an appearance far too light for the head of a major power.
“My, my.”
After laughing heartily for a while, Jang Ilso wiped the corners of his eyes with his long, manicured fingernails. Tears had welled up from how hard he laughed.
“Sorry, sorry. I just never imagined I’d be hearing a sermon at a time like this. So this doesn't seem to be entirely my fault..."
Jang Ilso's beautifully curved eyes turned toward Bop Jeong.
The ridicule was palpable. He mocked Bop Jeong, mocked those who followed him, mocked even the Dharma itself that Bop Jeong believed in and followed.
“Isn’t that right?”
Jang Ilso's gaze swept over everyone beyond Bop Jeong.
Those who, though it had become awkward to call them Ten Great Sects, still protected Jungwon under that name.
"When Gangnam fell beneath my feet."
The faces of those who felt Jang Ilso’s gaze flushed slightly.
“Even when Sichuan was burned by the hands of my children.”
Udeudeuk.
The sound of someone grinding their teeth reached the air.
“And even when countless died in your very own home of Gangbuk, you did nothing but watch… now you discuss compassion and the path of Dharma…”
Though his voice was calm, it was truly caustic sarcasm.
“Perhaps I truly am ignorant, hm? Seeing how the Buddhist Dharma I know differs from the Buddhist Dharma you discuss."
“Paegun.”
“Well, I wonder, what would the Buddha think? Wouldn't he be more pleased with the fools running around saving people in Gangbuk right now than with you who only discuss Buddhist Dharma and compassion with your mouths? Hm?"
He was referring to Heavenly Comrade Alliance.
Jang Ilso knew. He knew what words Bop Jeong and his followers least wanted to hear right now. He knew what they were being chased by right now.
Bop Kye’s gaze traveled down Bop Jeong’s back and fell on his hand.
Bop Jeong’s back was calm as usual, but the hand gripping the long prayer beads was filled with tension and trembling minutely.
That minute tremor, which only Bop Kye who stood right behind him could see, allowed him to glimpse at Bop Jeong’s inner state right now.
“Amitabha.”
But whatever his inner feelings, the chant that left Bop Jeong’s lips was nothing but reverent.
"We are indeed inadequate. But the cause of all that lies not with us, but with you. I will say it one last time. If you intend to stop, it is now.”
“Now, you say.”
A gentle and kind voice pierced everyone’s ears. Small, yet bizarrely clear.
"Know contentment and stop now... What happens if I say I will? Are you going to let me go just like this?”
Jang Ilso's bright red lips twisted.
“No. Of course not. You couldn’t. Then what? Will you kindly escort me away, sever my limbs and tendons, and throw me in some dank dungeon? Until the day I die, listen to the tedious Buddhist sutras recited by shiny bald monks and rot away in a moldy dungeon?"
“Paegun.”
“Kukukukukuk.”
Jang Ilso shook his head as if disgusted.
“They say the Shaolin bastards are compassionate, but my goodness. Even the demons of hell wouldn't be this cruel. Rather, Evil Sects is more merciful. At least we kill cleanly, don't we?"
"That is the only way to repay the sins you have committed."
“Hahaha.”
Jang Ilso laughed briefly.
Soon, a blue-black demonic energy ((귀기(鬼氣))) began to settle over his pale face.
"I'm not one with such weak guts, but it’s so nauseating I can no longer listen."
At his sudden change of momentum, even Bop Jeong momentarily held his breath.
"Repentance... Aren't you curious?"
His chilling eyes pierced straight through the old monk.
“Who here most wants me not to repent. Who most desperately wishes for this war not to end so futilely. Who, hiding behind a petty mask of Buddhist Dharma, is more fiercely chasing their own desires than anyone else.”
“Jang Ilso!”
Bop Jeong’s roar burst forth.
"You've endured... That's a fine excuse. It sounds plausible and great. But there is one thing you must know. Do you know what patience that does not endure suffering is called?”
Jang Ilso's eyes sharply pierced through Bop Jeong and those standing behind him.
"Avoidance."
That single word made Bop Jeong’s face flush red.
“Isn’t it strange? You were not the ones who paid the price, so why does it become you enduring? You are merely a bystander. And yet now you stand before me as if you’ve made some noble decision and prattle on with your nonsense. As if begging to be acknowledged.”
“Demonic Whisper (요설(妖說))!”
“Disgusting....”
The look in Jang Ilso's eyes as they met Bop Jeong’s was filled with disgust, as if looking at an insect. Bop Jeong bit his lips firmly while meeting that stare.
"Hideous."
Jang Ilso smiled, contempt still brimming in his eyes.
“But even so… I cannot say I hate you. Or your kind. Aren't humans originally disgusting and hideous creatures?"
Jang Ilso smiled brightly. A childlike smile, seemingly without a trace of shadow, spread across his entire face.
“Shall I show you an easier way?”
At Jang Ilso's question, a look of doubt flashed across Bop Jeong's face. Jang Ilso spoke kindly.
“Surrender.”
“Jang Ilso!”
"Then there will be no more bloodshed. I have no interest in meaningless bloodshed. I promise. If you all bow before me and lick my feet, I will not kill anyone and be satisfied with merely ‘ruling’. How about it? Then a peace without sacrifice will be complete.”
Bop Jeong's beard trembled.
"It's not a difficult choice, is it? If you truly wish for no blood to be spilled. But... is that really what you want?"
Looking at those wicked eyes, Bop Jeong felt a chilling realization.
There it was.
The complete evil that could not be swayed by words or persuasion. One who seemed molded from compressed malice stood right there.
How can such a being be called human?
"No, that's not what you want. I know what you want. What you want is right..."
Jang Ilso slowly drew a line across his own neck with his fingernail.
“…here.”
Simultaneously, his blood-red lips twisted.
"What you desire. What will fulfill your purpose. The trophy that will eternally carve your name into the history of this Kangho. That will raise the name of Shaolin once again to the heavens, and leave that pitiful dharma name of yours as an unprecedented name in Shaolin's history."
The not-so-loud voice echoed in Bop Jeong’s ears like thunder.
Now Jang Ilso's gaze was gentle, again without a trace of hostility.
“Go on and take it.”
“....”
"Stain your hands with blood, drive countless people to death, fight and fight again until this entire land is dyed dark red, and try to obtain it. What you so desperately desire."
“Amitabha.”
It was a predetermined outcome from the start.
Both giants knew it too. That conversation was meaningless between them.
They were not those who accepted, but those who made others accept. There was no way one without conviction in oneself could have risen to their current position.
And so, the only path forward was to destroy the other: their beliefs, goals, forces, and even life.
"In the end, conversation does not work."
"What a long way around for such an obvious conclusion."
Jang Ilso's gaze turned to the sky.
The sunset had grown even thicker in the meantime, as if trying to obscure the blood that was about to spill upon the world.
“Everyone, listen!”
Bop Jeong opened the gates to the great war that would shake the world.
"We can no longer condone the atrocities of that wicked villain! We did not wish to shed blood, but we will not fear shedding blood! Today, here, I! And we shall punish that evil and reclaim the peace of Kangho!"
His lion’s roar erupted like the cry of a heavenly god.
Then, the entire bodies of those standing behind him were pulled into a taut state. Extremely drawn-out internal energy surged around them.
“If not I, then who shall go to hell! Ami-ta-bha!”
Riding that momentum, Bop Jeong let out a thunder-like chant and kicked off the ground.
“Follow Bangjang!”
"Uooooooo!"
The army of Ten Great Sects, unleashing all they had suppressed until now, charged toward Evil Tyrant Alliance with terrifying might.
It was as if a towering tsunami the size of Mount Tai was rushing in. It was a momentum that momentarily froze even the martial artists of Evil Tyrant Alliance, who had fought without knowing fear until now.
“Hmm.”
Then, Jang Ilso's utterly nonchalant, nasal voice reached their ears. In that instant, the martial artists of Evil Tyrant Alliance were once again reminded of who they were.
Jang Ilso tapped his chin with his fingertips and spoke.
"How unnecessarily noisy. Deal with them moderately. So they can clearly realize that this is no longer a world where they can run wild."
The first to react were naturally the Red Hounds (홍견(紅犬)), Jang Ilso's fearless loyal hounds.
“Protect Ryeonju-niiiiim!”
As they charged with fierce momentum, Myriad Man Manor martial artists and Black Ghost Fortress also gritted their teeth and followed behind.
The vast plain, with nothing to block the way, became dyed and twisted with hostility and heaved like a shipwreck.
The sun, hung by the neck beyond the western mountains, was also scattered red across the entire sky as if cut by the encroaching darkness.
Righteous and Evil.
Ten Great Sects and Evil Tyrant Alliance.
Bop Jeong and Jang Ilso.
The single great war that would decide the direction of the world. The curtain had finally risen.
|Note
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