Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1647. Find it quickly. Quickly. (1)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
Jo-Gol, speechless, stared blankly at the man standing before him and asked.
“...What did you say?”
“I asked why we have to do this nonsense.”
Was he about forty years old or so?
A stubborn middle-aged swordsman was glaring at Jo-Gol with a very displeased look.
"Couldn't you hear?”
Instead of an answer, a hollow laugh escaped Jo-Gol's lips.
He had half-jokingly shouted that Mount Hua had no sense of hierarchy, but in truth, Mount Hua was not a sect without any hierarchy at all.
And the swordsman before him was old enough to have lived twice as long as Jo-Gol.
With the situation like this, even the great Jo-Gol was left speechless without even time to think about whether that person's claim was right or wrong.
"Is there... some problem?"
When Jo-Gol rolled his eyes and asked, the middle-aged swordsman snorted loudly as if absurd.
"You're asking if there's a problem? You should ask what isn't a problem. Can't you see with your own two eyes?"
"Huh?"
"How exactly are we supposed to train here!"
The middle-aged swordsman, Murong Banghwa, pointed behind him with his hand.
People in all kinds of clothes and representing all kinds of sects had stopped what they were doing and were staring in their direction.
Swordsmen, Taoists, martial artists, beggars…
The fact that all of them were mixed together in one spacious training ground created a scene so strange it almost felt like the end of the world.
But Jo-Gol still tilted his head as if he saw no issue.
“So what exactly are you saying…?”
“This is driving me crazy!”
Murong Banghwa pounded his chest as if his insides were about to burst.
"Training, I say, training! And not just ordinary training, but training to prepare for war!"
"That's... right? So that's why we're working hard like this now, aren't we?"
"Have I ever seen such a frustrating person! With people from other sects watching with such keen eyes, how exactly are we supposed to train here? If we train here, won't we only be able to repeat basic techniques that don't even count as secret techniques!"
"...Huh?"
Jo-Gol truly didn't understand and widened his eyes in confusion. Murong Banghwa raised his voice.
"At this critical time before war, what inefficient nonsense is this! What on earth was Sogaju-nim's intention in giving such an order?"
"Uh..."
If it were the usual Jo-Gol, a retort like, ‘No, why are you picking a fight with me when it's an order from above? If you're so frustrated, go argue with the higher-ups!’ would have exploded out like a cannonball.
But he couldn't do that now.
After all, Jo-Gol was the vice hall leader of this hall. He had dignity to maintain and prestige to defend. He absolutely could not say that he was actually someone who thoughtlessly did as those above ordered.
"Well, first calm down. Training is something you just do..."
"Nooooooo!"
Jo-Gol flinched involuntarily at the furious reaction that came before he could even finish his sentence.
“I’m talking about secret techniques, secret techniques! If it’s something you can train openly in front of disciples from other sects, why would it be called a secret technique? Does Mount Hua not even have that concept?"
Huh? Jo-Gol tilted his head slightly.
'Was there such a thing?'
There was a rule saying not to transmit techniques to other sects, but he was pretty sure there was nothing saying you cannot train in front of others?
If Chung Myung had heard such words… he would have rolled his eyes and said if a martial art can be learned by watching out of the corner of your eye, it's not even worth third-rate scraps, so why call it a secret art in the first place.
'He might have even charged in and beaten them up, saying they were slacking off because they didn't want to train.'
In short, if this were Mount Hua, it would have been dismissed as utter nonsense.
But unfortunately, this wasn't Mount Hua, and even more unfortunately, the others watching also seemed to agree with Murong Banghwa's logic.
“...So, what are you trying to say?"
"I cannot train here anymore!"
"Huh?"
Jo-Gol asked a question for the umpteenth time.
“N- No, what do you mean?”
"You heard me, so why are you asking again? I said I can't train!"
Jo-Gol stared blankly at Murong Banghwa.
"Murong Family's sect rules state that secret arts cannot be trained where other sects can see! Yet Vice Hall Leader tells us to train here. This is a contradiction."
"That's..."
“And with war at the doorstep, how can we waste time repeating basic forms. So what choice do we have? It would be better to go to a place where there are no eyes and hone our swords alone.”
"So right now... you're saying you'll disobey orders, is that it?"
"Disobey!"
Jo-Gol flinched at the sudden outburst. Murong Banghwa's beard was trembling with rage. He looked like someone truly wronged to the point of madness.
"That..."
His emotion looked too real to be called an act. Jo-Gol found himself increasingly at a loss for words.
"Do I look like the kind of person who would disobey? How insulting!"
"No, what you're saying right now...!"
“We are not demanding an explanation from Vice Hall Leader! Didn't you say Mount Hua was that kind of place from the start? A place that doesn't suppress with authority, but asks questions of each other and finds a balance!”
Before anyone knew it, the subject of his speech had cleverly changed from 'I' to 'we,' but no one particularly pointed this out or tried to refute it.
Jo-Gol fell into even greater confusion.
“...Me?”
Was that so? Mount Hua?
Wasn't it just a place where Chung Myung beats everyone up and that's that? What kind of discussion and balance was there?
More importantly, why does he seem to know Mount Hua better than I do...
Thump!
Murong Banghwa stomped his foot with all his might.
"So! Whether you inquire with superiors or Hall Leaders discuss among themselves, give me an answer I can accept."
“...”
“Isn’t that the role of a vice hall leaders!”
Jo-Gol, mouth agape and unable to say anything, just blankly watched the back of Murong Banghwa turning sharply and walking away.
Soon after, the others who had been observing the situation quietly dispersed. More than half the training ground emptied in moments.
“Uh…”
Jo-Gol, left behind with a face like he had just been punched, tore at his naturally curly hair.
* * *
"Argh! Really, with my temper, I would just—!"
Kwang!
Jo-Gol kicked the innocent wall.
"It'll break, you bastard!"
“If it breaks, can’t you just rebuild it?”
"Didn't you ever think about not breaking it and not rebuilding it?"
"Argh!"
Despite Yoon Jong's dissuasion, Jo-Gol started kicking the innocent floor.
"I really just want to kick that guy’s snout!"
"...Right. That's how we feel looking at you. Now do you understand a bit..."
“Oh, are you fanning the flames right now?!”
Jo-Gol snapped and shot back at Yoon Jong.
"What about you, Sahyung? Is yours running smoothly?"
"Hmm. Everyone was very proactive."
"Huh? Is... that so?"
"Yes."
Yoon Jong smiled happily.
"They were so active that Beggar Union members cheerfully left saying they needed to practice the Dog Beating Staff Formation."
“...”
“When I asked if they absolutely needed to do that now, they instead argued back, asking if I expected them to practice it during the war?”
“Be- Beggar Union?”
"Yes. Certainly, mhm... Right, they're free-spirited people. Not bound by discipline and rules, coming empty-handed and leaving empty-handed, like the wind..."
“Stop grinding your teeth and just say it, Sahyung. You’re going to crack your molars.”
"ugh..."
Yoon Jong clutched his head and trembled. Jo-Gol sent Yoon Jong a sympathetic look.
While Jo-Gol was hit by Murong Family, Yoon Jong was hit by Beggar Union. The psychological distance between them was much closer to Beggar Union than to Murong Family, so the shock must have been even greater.
“Damn humans, I swear!”
As if the more he thought about it, the angrier he got, Jo-Gol started grinding his teeth again.
They weren't openly ignoring them. But they were cleverly, and persistently, provoking them.
As if not recognizing them as vice hall leaders.
"If they were going to be like this, they should have just opposed it from the start!"
"Probably because what the higher-ups agreed on and what they themselves think are separate matters."
“No! Who would want to take on this task? They forced it on us!”
“…Do you think they would care about that?”
A heavy sigh poured out of both their mouths at the same time.
"This is killing me, really."
If they were at least similar in age, they could somehow try grappling, but since most were older than Jo-Gol or Yoon Jong, they couldn't treat them carelessly.
At this point, he even suspected that the 'experience' spoken of in Kangho might actually refer to the power of 'seniority.'
"Those damn bastards, really! If they have a problem, they should go argue with their own sect leaders! Why are they doing this to us who did nothing wrong?"
"...Since the sects are temporarily disbanded, the sect leaders can't step in and say anything. It's a good excuse, isn't it?"
“Ugh… so annoying.”
Jo-Gol was grinding his teeth furiously when he suddenly stopped as if remembering something and turned his head.
"Sasuk. Is there no particular problem on Sasuk's side... Hiiiik!"
Jo-Gol was startled and took a step back when he saw Baek Cheon turning his head creakily in the dark.
"Gh- Ghost! N- No! Sasuk! What illness did you catch?"
"The illness is already... No, my goodness. Why is your condition really like this? Sasuk, your face looks like that bastard Jang Ilso right now."
It wasn't entirely an exaggeration. Baek Cheon’s face was pale white as if flour had been dumped on it. On top of that, dark shadows were cast around his eyes making him look as if he were wearing makeup.
Staring at them with hollow eyes, Baek Cheon’s cracked lips trembled. Then he muttered weakly.
“Yoon Jong-ah...”
“Yes?”
“…This may be rude to say. No, it is definitely rude.”
“What are you trying to say?”
"I'm envious. That you're an orphan."
"No, has this Sasuk gone crazy!"
The moment Jo-Gol ran towards Baek Cheon and shouted as if he was going to kick, a weak voice leaked out from Baek Cheon's mouth.
"...Father keeps telling me to give proper orders."
“...”
“That damn Jin Geumryong bastard crosses his arms and sneers from the side."
Uh...
“Every time I speak, he goes, ‘Is that truly what the Vice Hall Leader believes is correct?’ Really…”
“W- Wait, Sasuk. Put the sword down. No matter what, there are lines humans should not cross.”
"Isn't there a way to become an orphan later in life?"
"There isn't! There's no such thing! Get a grip, you madman!"
Jo-Gol grabbed Baek Cheon and shook him vigorously, and Yoon Jong just shook his head while watching the scene.
Just how much suffering must he have gone through to end up like this…
"Really, every single one of them..."
It wasn't that he didn't understand why they were like this, but this was too much.
Does the sight of a greenhorn giving orders take precedence over the sense of crisis about the war right before their eyes?
At this point, they were beginning to have pure doubts about how Kangho had been operating in the first place.
“War is right in front of us, is this really the time for this kind of nonsense? Every second matters. We should be focusing on coordinating our movements. What on earth do they have in their heads!"
"...It'll probably get better once the fighting starts."
"But I heard that's not the case either. During the last war with Magyo, they fought to the death in front, but behind the lines they acted exactly like this. For the entire war. People said they wanted to slaughter every last one of them because of it. You think a hundred years changes people?”
"Right... Hm? But where did you hear that story?"
"What?"
"It's from a hundred years ago. I'm hearing it for the first time?"
"Uh...? Where did I hear this?"
Yoon Jong sighed deeply as he saw Jo-Gol tilt his head.
'And this continues for the entire war?'
Even with the enemy right before their eyes?
Just thinking about it was utterly depressing.
"How are the others doing?"
"From what I heard, Namgung Sogaju's side is at least a bit better."
"...Well, he is destined to become the patriarch of Namgung Family, so it would be burdensome to confront him openly."
"Then why is our Sasuk...?"
"That case is... a bit different."
Yoon Jong sighed once again.
He had come to realize something anew through this incident.
When people everywhere praised them as Five Swords or Mount Hua's talents, he too seemed to have had a secretly proud heart.
But seeing things like this made it clear. People's praise wasn't directed at the 'talent' of Mount Hua, but at the talent of 'Mount Hua'.
That without the halo of Mount Hua, whether it was Jo-Gol or Yoon Jong, they were ultimately nothing more than inexperienced youths who wouldn't be properly recognized in Kangho.
“...Then Monk Hye Yeon must be a bit better off.”
“Right? After all, he’s from Shaolin and is famous as a genius unmatched in the world. He'd be treated differently from us."
“I guess so...”
"D- Dojang! Dojaaaaang! Dojang!"
“Huh?”
Just then, they saw someone running towards them in a hurry. Surprisingly, it was an unexpected figure.
“Namgung Sogaju?”
“What happened?”
Namgung Dowi, who had rushed up at lightning speed, shouted.
"B- Big trouble!"
“Hm? What’s going on?”
"Mo- Monk Hyeyeon! Monk Hyeyeon hit someone!"
"...What? Who?"
"Monk Hyeyeon beat up a member of his group hall! Just now!"
Baek Cheon, Yoon Jong, and Jo-Gol looked at each other.
"...Is he a genius?"
"No, it's an incident, damn it!"
"I should try once too..."
“Put down your sword, Sasuk!”
Greatly flustered, Yoon Jong tore at his hair and jumped up.
“L- Let's just go! See what happened.”
He hurried after Namgung Dowi.
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