Chapter 1912 - Return of The Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1912. I Wish This Could Last. (2) ❀ ❀ ❀

“Uegh-uaaaaagh!”

It was a bizarre sound none of them had ever heard in their lives.

Even though the noise came from So Hansan, who was reputed to be the most dignified of the three great disciples, nobody found it strange. [So Hansan, 소한산 (蘇閑散)]

They couldn’t help it.

What would be strange to hear from someone falling off a cliff with a sack of grain the size of a person on their back?

“Kkieeeeeeeeg!”

“Hiiiiiyaaaargh!”

Screams burst out here and there. In the end, Lee Danhui squeezed his eyes shut.

Taeaeaeaeng!

Each time someone fell, the thick hemp rope tightened, then slackened, then tightened again. Fortunately, the rope tied around the waists of the falling people kept them from becoming one with the sacks of grain.

“Tsk tsk tsk tsk.”

At that moment a tongue-click echoed from above Lee Danhui’s head.

“Those old tough guys used to climb mountains and fields and even ride beasts, so they were sturdy. Why are kids these days so weak?”

“......”

“If you can’t even climb this, how are you going to eat? Swinging a sword won’t break your bones for you, tsk tsk tsk.”

‘This crazy bastard.’

Lee Danhui’s body trembled. Ah, not from anger, of course. It was because he was exhausted.

“Uscha.”

“Kkeuaaaaag!”

Suddenly the weight on his back startled Lee Danhui and he flattened himself against the cliff like a frog. Barely surviving the near fall, he whipped his head around. The Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword guy had perched on his sack and was guzzling from a white gourd flask.

“Kuh. Nice view.”

“W-what are you…?”

“Ah, hurry up and climb! If we want to fill the granaries today, we have to make like ten more trips. The granary’s empty so much that Elder Hyun Young’s forehead still has a vein popping! If you lot don’t fill that place today, we’ll be eating half-cooked rice!”

‘What the hell are you talking about, you madman...’

Lee Danhui felt like his mind was going to snap. And he wasn’t the only one losing it.

“This is insane. This is really insane. This is insane. I’m losing it.”

“Why... why on earth did they set up the sect in a place like this, anyway?”

“Why would we crawl up a cliff instead of taking a normal path... why carry grain up like this? Why... why?”

Those were reasonable questions, and they made sense, but they missed a small point. In fact, this mad mountain had no normal path. It was only a matter of whether the cliff was sheer or just steep.

“Oho? Feeling your strength leaving your hands? Go on then, if you’re so sure of yourself, try falling. Falling is easier than holding on up there.”

“Keugh...”

“Oh, right. But, did I tell you this?”

Cheong Myeong took another swig of liquor and grinned.

“We’ll need to move at least ten sacks per person before we’re done.”

“......”

“If you fall a couple more times you’ll be climbing until dawn, you know? Huh, I wonder if the hemp rope will hold. What if it snaps in the dark and we all scream to our deaths.”

Lee Danhui shivered as Cheong Myeong muttered that last bit like it didn’t concern him.

Hearing Cheong Myeong mutter, “Well, I guess it has nothing to do with me.” Lee Danhui shuddered.

“H-hey, this—”

“Yeah?”

“Why are we doing this?”

“What?”

Hearing that, Cheong Myeong looked somehow elated rather than annoyed and asked back.

“You mean why we have to do this right now? Surely you didn’t really have to ask that, did you?”

He felt like someone had splashed water on a dying fish. It was ominous, but Lee Danhui was too exhausted to answer, and he weakly nodded.

Cheong Myeong, as if he’d been waiting, rattled on.

“What are you carrying right now? Rice that will go into your mouths. To be honest, do you pay for it? Do you cook it? You mostly sit and eat what’s given to you like freeloading parasites. At the very least, you should carry the rice you’re going to eat with your own hands. Is that so strange? Huh? Tell me, do you think that’s strange?”

“......”

“Beasts hunt for their own food, people earn their own living, but the great disciples of Diancang are going to feast on rice carried by others? Eyy, No way. Did I mishear that?”

“......”

“Wow, if you have any conscience at all...”

“Euaaaaaaaaaagh!”

“.....Hey, you’re making a fuss while someone else is talking.”

Clicking his tongue again, Cheong Myeong flopped right down on top of Lee Danhui’s sack.

“Lovely weather.”

“......”

“I’m going to take a nap, so put me up there properly. If you drop me, you die.”

“I’d rather be killed now...”

“Huh? Me, killed? Why would I kill you? I’ve got too much work to give you, don’t be ridiculous.”

Clear tears quickly welled up in Lee Danhui’s eyes.

“Heeheeheehee! For some reason, the liquor tastes especially good today. Kyaa, this is the taste of life.”

Cheong Myeong’s laughter rang out, light and carefree.

❀ ❀ ❀

“Why’s he so excited?”

 “…What did he say? He said something like, ‘Just the thought of tormenting those soft newbies after so long fills my whole body with energy and makes food taste like honey.’ or so he said.”

“......Wasn’t tormenting us enough for him?”

“He says bullying the Mount Hua guys isn’t fun anymore. We’ve all become skilled(?) enough to take care of themselves.”

At Jo Geol’s answer, Yoon Jong looked dumbfounded. That should’ve been a good thing, not something to be bored about.

“He used to say just watching the Mount Hua folks train made him frustrated and ready to explode... Is that what he meant?”

“Ah, so that’s when he got possessed by a demon.”

“Huh? Cheong Myeong got possessed?”

“He always lives like someone possessed, doesn’t he?”

“......That’s true.”

Yeah. If he wasn’t possessed and still lived like that, that’d be an even bigger problem.

Aaaaargh!

Another miserable scream echoed from afar. Jo Geol shook his head.

“He’s really having the time of his life, huh. How did he even hold back until now? No wonder he was so irritable with us, he couldn’t do that all this time. Sahyung, that’s why I said we should take in some disciples for Myeong generation already. How long are we going to stay the youngest?”

“We should. We really should, but... Geol-ah.”

“Yes?”

“Doesn’t it feel kind of... wrong, seeing that?”

Jo Geol opened his mouth, then fell silent. Watching those cute young ones they’d taken in slowly get stained black by that demon’s influence... it didn’t make him laugh at all.

“It feels like we’re committing a grave sin.”

“We’ve committed plenty already though...”

Aaaaargh!

Even now, the mournful screams didn’t stop. Yoon Jong tapped his chin with his fingertip.

“Sahyung, what’s wrong?”

“Don’t you find it odd?”

“What is?”

“Cheong Myeong, that guy. Why’s he so motivated?”

“......He’s always overly motivated. Pointlessly.”

“No, that’s true, but... shouldn’t we say this feels a bit strange? It’s not like we’re about to fight an enemy right now, does he really need to push the disciples of another sect that hard?”

“If the Namgung Family heard you say that, they’d faint.”

“They asked for it themselves. But still, normally Cheong Myeong’s the kind of guy who looks for any excuse to sit down unless it’s something directly related to Mount Hua. But now... he’s weirdly proactive.”

Yoon Jong frowned, then tilted his head.

“Sasuk? What are you looking at?”

“Hm? N-no, nothing.”

“Really?”

Suspicion flickered across Yoon Jong’s face as he watched Baek Cheon’s back. Baek Cheon, unaware, or pretending not to notice, was dripping cold sweat.

‘...I didn’t think it would go this far.’

Baek Cheon’s mind replayed the conversation from the previous night.

❀ ❀ ❀

The night before, Baek Cheon had gone straight to Cheong Myeong with a serious expression.

“But listen.”

“Huh?”

“What are you going to do with the Diancang kids now?”

....Baek Cheon had just learned that Cheong Myeong was capable of making that face.

If he had to describe it, it was like the expression of someone who just woke up from a good sleep only to find a baby bear lying on his chest.

“What the hell are you talking about? You’re the one who brought them! Why are you asking me?”

“I did bring them.”

“Exactly!”

“But there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

Cheong Myeong clutched at his hair. Watching his shoulders twitch with frustration, Baek Cheon felt a strange satisfaction. Usually, he was the one who suffered, so this felt like payback after a long time... though, no, it wasn’t something to feel happy about.

“Dongryong-ah... Dongryong-ah! You bastard!”

“Hey, watch it. I’m your Sasuk.”

“Then act like one, for heaven’s sake! How am I supposed to die in peace like this?!”

“Don’t say such terrifying things.”

A Cheong Myeong that doesn’t die... now that’s a true calamity upon this world.

“Yeah, I brought them. I was planning to give them some support for a while and then send them back to Diancang.”

Baek Cheon sighed bitterly.

“I didn’t think it’d end up like this, honestly.”

Cheong Myeong clicked his tongue in disapproval, then took a long swig of liquor.

“Still, I thought at least one or two people might quietly come by for the children’s sake.”

Baek Cheon couldn’t understand. How could everyone have disappeared so completely, as if they’d vanished like ghosts? Then Cheong Myeong shook his head.

“It’s the other way around.”

“Hm?”

“Because they were thinking of the children, not a single one of them could stay. When you think of a blank sheet of paper, you don’t let ink get too close to it.”

“....I see.”

Baek Cheon let out a short sigh to clear his thoughts. Regret and sorrow welled up in waves, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on them. The people themselves were no longer what mattered. What mattered was what they’d left behind and Baek Cheon had to protect that completely.

“Anyway, given the situation, there’s nothing I can do.”

“What do you mean nothing you can do? Just do it!”

“I’ve got nothing to teach them. What, do you want me to teach them the Plum Blossom Sword Technique?”

“Then why’d you bring them here!”

“The situation was different back then.”

Cheong Myeong clutched his chest in frustration. Watching that sight again, Baek Cheon felt a strange mix of satisfaction and relief, but he quickly schooled his expression and spoke seriously.

“We have to raise them so they can stand on their own in Yunnan. But we can’t touch their martial arts.”

“Why not? Since we’re already here, might as well tell them to become the richest merchants in the world without a single coin to start with.”

“Oh? You think that’s possible?”

“Hey, you bastard!”

Cheong Myeong’s foot swung through the air, but Baek Cheon, having anticipated it, narrowly dodged the kick.

“Huh, the man Jin Dongryong. He doesn’t get hit that easily anymore.” [tl note: HAHAHAHAHA DONGRYONG???? PLS??? LMAOOOO]

“......Now he’s even calling himself Dongryong with his own mouth.”

Cheong Myeong shuddered. He’d grown up well, too well, in fact. Now it was just creepy.

“Please, Cheong Myeong. I’m asking you. Isn’t there some way?”

“Way, he says. Oh my, Sahyung. Why’d you leave me behind? You should’ve taken me with you.” [tl note: okay, i know this is too much now... possessed by a demon? Talk about jangmun sahyung? There were too many signs from last chapters asgsbdkfbskbdfsk.]

“Stop talking nonsense. I’m serious right now.”

“Tsk.”

Cheong Myeong suddenly looked off into the distance, where the Diancang disciples were poking at a whole roasted pig.

“See? Doesn’t it feel like the old Mount Hua, Cheong Myeong-ah?”

“I get it, so just shut up for a minute.”

“Yep.”

After a long while staring at the Diancang disciples, Cheong Myeong leaned back and gazed up at the night sky. A deep sigh rose all the way from his core.

“I’d rather die than have to deal with this…”

“Cheong Myeong-ah.”

“Tsk. Guess there’s no choice.”

“Huh?”

“You’re not thinking of doing something stupid like repaying debts, making them think we’re good people, living together for a long time and turning this grudge into brotherhood between sects, right?”

“...Of course not.”

“I’m asking because the Dongryong I know would totally try that. Be honest.”

“Not this time.”

Baek Cheon shook his head firmly. In the past, maybe the old Baek Cheon might’ve entertained that kind of thought. But not now.

Was it because he’d grown tired of the ways of the martial world? No. It was because that path wasn’t what the children needed.

He wanted to think only of them, purely, completely. That was Baek Cheon’s mindset now. After all, Mount Mount Hua had already received much from Diancang.

“Then... if the grudge is already deep, letting it get a bit deeper won’t be a problem.”

“...What?”

Baek Cheon realized something was wrong the instant those words left Cheong Myeong’s mouth.

“W-wait, Cheong Myeong?”

“Tsk. It’s a hassle, but can’t be helped. We can’t just throw kids who can’t even feed themselves out into the wild, so I’ll at least make sure they can handle a spoon. Sigh.”

“Wait a second, are you even listening to me?”

“Ah, don’t worry.”

Cheong Myeong smirked. It was a face Baek Cheon knew all too well, one he’d seen countless times before.

“I’ll take care of it properly.”

“...What?”

❀ ❀ ❀

“Aaaaaaaaagh!”

Another scream, maybe the tenth or the hundredth, faded away below the cliff. Baek Cheon squeezed his eyes shut.

‘I’m sorry.’

It had started from goodwill... yet somehow, it had turned into something cruel, and he couldn’t understand how it had come to this.

‘No. Honestly, I kind of expected it.’

Just not this... thoroughly.

A fleeting tear of pity shimmered at the corner of Baek Cheon’s eye.

Next Chapter

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