Chapter 1926 - Return of The Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1926. So a Day Like This Really Does Come. (1)

And yet, it definitely had been that way...

“T-this...?”

Baek Cheon’s eyes practically erupted in an earthquake.

Swallowing dryly, he reached out with a trembling hand and picked up the sword lying before him.

“T-This is real?”

Carefully gripping the antique scabbard of the treasured sword, he drew it partway. A blade of deep violet revealed itself. Baek Cheon’s lips parted slightly, as though his breath had been stolen away.

“This is that Violet Lightning Divine Sword, really?”

[Violet Lightning Divine Sword. Jajeon Singeom. 자전신검(紫電神劍). Ja (紫) = purple/violet, jeon (電) = lightning, sin (神) = divine, geom (劍) = sword.]

“Seems so.”

“The personal weapon of the Violet Lightning Sword Immortal, the greatest martial artist under heaven three hundred years ago?”

[Violet Lightning Sword Immortal. Jajeon Geomseon. 자전검선(紫電劍仙). Geomseon (劍仙) literally means ‘Sword Immortal’, a title often used for a transcendent swordsman.]

“That’s what they’re saying.”

“The one they say unleashed purple lightning that swept across all directions whenever it was swung?”

“...That was probably the Violet Lightning Sword Immortal’s divine art. What sword in the world would have a function like that? Though... it certainly isn’t an ordinary sword. Not if it belonged to the greatest martial artist under heaven.”

“They say a master calligrapher doesn’t choose his brush.”

[tl note: 명필은 붓을 안 가린다. A Korean proverb equivalent to “a true master can perform well regardless of tools.”]

“That’s a lie. The better the calligrapher, the pickier they are about brushes.”

“...Really?”

“Isn’t that obvious? If someone’s skilled enough to make a name for themselves through calligraphy, they’d have used countless brushes. Why would they deliberately choose a bad one?”

At those words, Baek Cheon looked once more at the sword in his hand. A formidable aura emanated from the blade, stained by the passage of time.

It was certainly a famous sword. No, wouldn’t it be more accurate to call it a divine sword? But...

“T-Then why is such an incredible sword here?”

“They say it came as a gift.”

“A gift? Did you just say a gift?”

“Yes.”

Baek Cheon’s mouth fell wide open.

“That’s impossible. People give things like this as gifts? If a famous sword like this appeared in the world, wouldn’t people fight over it, bloodshed breaking out everywhere?”

“If just the sword Sasuk is holding were released into the world, it’d definitely happen exactly as you said. Maybe not a full-blown Blood Calamity, but quite a few people would probably end up bleeding.”

[Blood Calamity. Hyeolgeop. 혈겁(血劫). Literally “blood tribulation/calamity,” referring to large-scale violent conflict and bloodshed.]

“That’s exactly my point! Then how does something like this end up being given away as a gift?”

Tang Soso shot Baek Cheon a look as if he were being ridiculous.

“What strange thing are you saying? Mount Hua has become the sort of place worthy of receiving a gift like this, so naturally a sword of this caliber would be sent here.”

“Eh?”

“If, bluntly speaking, this had been gifted to Shaolin, would Sasuk have found it strange?”

“That... probably not. But that’s Shaolin.”

Because Shaolin was originally that kind of place.

Ambiguous treasures were traditionally dumped onto Shaolin. If one tried to keep a precious object like this without the strength to protect it, there was no telling what sort of flies would gather around it. People didn’t say “a treasure chooses its owner” for no reason.

But if one presented it to Shaolin?

“Your safety is guaranteed, and your relationship with Shaolin improves.”

“Exactly.”

The wealth Shaolin had accumulated in this manner was probably worth tens of millions of gold at the very least.

“But Shaolin is ruine—... Ah, Venerable Monk, my apologies.”

“I-It’s not ruined. They merely entered bongmun.”

As Hye Yeon hurriedly corrected him, the Five Swords muttered indifferently.

“That’s the same thing.”

“They literally shut the mountain gate.”

“Come on, don’t be so heartless. Let’s just say it’s only half ruined.”

Hye Yeon’s shoulders drooped. He looked like a puppy that had walked over a thousand li to return to the master who abandoned it, only to find the house burned to the ground.

“Anyway, so that’s why this thing ended up here?”

“No.”

“Hngh? No?”

“If Shaolin isn’t available, things usually go to Wudang. But Wudang’s ruined too.”

“...No, I told you, it isn’t ruined either.”

“Right. Other than the entirety of Mount Wudang burning down, all the halls being smashed apart, and all those old grandpas who used to stroke their beards and act important ascending to immortality at once, there wasn’t any major problem. But most people would call that being ruined.”

[Ascending to immortality. Deungseon. 등선(登仙). A Taoist expression meaning “to become an immortal”; often used euphemistically for death lmao.]

“Ahem.”

It was admittedly difficult to argue with that.

“Given the situation, the people who had always maintained connections with Shaolin and Wudang started looking elsewhere. Among the remaining sects, where would be a suitable place to establish ties?”

“Hmm.”

“Namgung? Oh dear, Namgung got smashed apart too. The Young Lord has become the Family Head now, but he’s still too young and it’ll take time before he can provide immediate support. The Tang Family? That’s all the way out in Sichuan, and... goodness, their Family Head passed away too.”

“Uh, Soso-ya. You’re talking about this as if it were somebody else’s problem...”

“What?”

“Nothing. Never mind.”

Baek Cheon immediately shrank back and lowered his gaze.

“Anyway, four sects that had served as pillars of the Nine Great Sects and One Union and the Five Great Families lost their momentum all at once. So where do you think people’s attention turned?”

“You’re saying it turned here?”

“My mouth would hurt if I had to say it twice.”

[tl note: 두말하면 입 아프죠. Korean idiom meaning “it goes without saying” or “it’s obvious enough that repeating it is unnecessary.”]

Baek Cheon blankly turned his head.

“So...”

“Yes. So.”

Everyone’s gaze slowly rose. Higher. And higher still. Until their necks were nearly bent backward.

“So that’s why this much came in?”

Their eyes fell upon piles of gifts towering so high that they seemed capable of blocking the distant Nambong Peak from view. Even allowing for some exaggeration, it would not have been inaccurate to call it a small hill. The quantity of gifts was that overwhelming.

“Even so. How can this many things suddenly arrive all at once out of nowhere?”

“Out of nowhere? The Grand Sect Leader’s birthday is three days from now.”

“Huh?”

At once, Tang Soso’s brows furrowed sharply.

“Surely you didn’t forget?”

At the same time, even Yoo Iseol’s eyes turned fierce as a snake’s. Startled, Baek Cheon frantically waved both hands.

“I knew! Of course I knew! How could I not know? I’m Mount Hua’s Head Disciple!”

Behind the struggling Baek Cheon, Jo Geol and Yoon Jong whispered quietly.

“Doesn’t it seem like he forgot?”

“How could you say such a thing? Of course he forgot. Is that person the sort who’d keep track of things like that?”

“You wanna dhie, you bashtards?”

[tl note: “득츠르그. 개객끼드르.” The original speech is deliberately garbled through clenched teeth. The intended phrase is “죽을래, 개새끼들?”, literally “Do you want to die, you bastards?”]

Only after Tang Soso and Yoo Iseol continued staring at him with suspicion and killing intent in their eyes did Baek Cheon hurriedly clear his throat and recover himself.

“What I mean is, even if it’s the Grand Sect Leader’s birthday, isn’t this a little excessive?”

“The birthday is just an excuse. If they send gifts normally, it’s bribery. If they send them on the Grand Sect Leader’s birthday, they’re genuine gifts. Everyone’s been waiting for this opportunity.”

“Soso, did you see things like this often when you were at the Sichuan Tang Family?”

“...Honestly, this is my first time seeing something on this scale too.”

“Right?”

No matter how he looked at it, the sheer volume was overwhelming.

“Still, the Grand Elder must be thrilled.”

“Doesn’t seem that way. Look over there.”

“Huh?”

When Baek Cheon turned his head, he saw Hyeon Yeong standing before the mountain-like pile of gifts, completely blank-faced.

“What... what am I supposed to do with all of this...?”

....Cold sweat trickled down Baek Cheon’s face.

‘The Grand Elder is flustered.’

If it were a free gift, he seemed like the sort who’d accept even something handed over by the Demonic Cult…. Of course, saying that aloud would earn him a beating. Still, for Hyeon Yeong, the Lord of the Treasury Pavilion, to be overwhelmed... just what exactly was going on at Mount Hua right now?

“But that’s not the important part.”

“Hm?”

“Even that guy is stunned.”

“...What?”

This time, Baek Cheon shifted his gaze beside Hyeon Yeong.

There stood Cheong Myeong, wearing exactly the same expression, mouth hanging wide open.

“W-What is all this... Mother of heaven.”

[tl note: eommaya. 엄마야 is an exclamation of shock, surprise, or disbelief. Literally “Mother!” but often functions similarly to “Good heavens!” or “Oh my God!”]

…..The amount of cold sweat running down Baek Cheon’s face doubled.

“If he’s flustered, isn’t this actually serious?”

“My knees are starting to go weak too.”

[tl note: 오금이 저리다. Literally “the backs of one’s knees go numb.” An idiomatic expression for becoming frightened or intimidated.]

“...Right?”

Something was happening. Something....

At that moment, Jo Geol tilted his head in confusion.

“I don’t understand.”

“What?”

“If this is making everyone so uncomfortable, wouldn’t it be easier to just refuse the gifts?”

“We wanted to.”

“Huh? Sasuk.”

Baek Sang approached Jo Geol with hollow eyes and answered.

“But that’s... not as easy as it sounds.”

“Why not? If the recipient says they won’t accept them...”

“Well...”

Shuddering, Baek Sang recalled what had happened a short while ago.

✿ ✿ ✿

—  “Ah, so you’re telling us to carry all of this back down the mountain? I didn’t think you people were like this, but you’re really something! What if an accident happens on the way down?”

— “Don’t you know it’s more dangerous carrying heavy things downhill than uphill?”

— “Ah, I don’t know! We’re just the delivery people! We don’t have the authority to take anything back down! Then pay us the delivery fee or something!”

— Nyenyenye, nyenyenye, can’t hear you!

[tl note: ebebe. 에베베 is a childish taunting sound, similar to “nyah nyah” or sticking one’s tongue out mockingly.]

✿ ✿ ✿

“...Today was the first time I learned that unreasonable customers can be that terrifying. Y-You just can’t reason with them.”

[tl note: jinsang. 진상 is modern Korean slang referring to an obnoxious, unreasonable, or troublesome customer who causes difficulties for workers. It does not simply mean a difficult person in general; the term is strongly associated with customer-service situations.]

“You’ve suffered.”

Yoon Jong and Jo Geol offered Baek Sang sincere consolation.

Truthfully, they were all still somewhat dazed. It wasn’t as though gifts arriving in droves during Mount Hua’s major events was anything new. Since assuming leadership of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, Mount Hua’s standing had undeniably changed.

At the very least, no one could deny that within Shaanxi, Mount Hua now wielded influence surpassing even Zhongnan.

But seeing this made one thing abundantly clear.

“The status of a sect acknowledged by the entirety of the Central Plains is truly on a different level.”

“...That sounded incredibly smug just now.”

“But it’s true.”

Tang Soso nodded and continued.

“Our perspective doesn’t matter. What matters is that the people of the world now view Mount Hua as a sect that leads the Jianghu. The position of the Northern Dipper of the Jianghu that Shaolin maintained has shifted to Mount Hua.”

[Northern Dipper. Bukdu. 북두(北斗). The Big Dipper. In classical East Asian usage, a metaphor for a central guiding authority or leading standard.]

“Hmm.”

Yoon Jong scratched his cheek.

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing... Well, of course it’s a good thing. It’s what we’ve been striving for all this time. But... It also means the weight of responsibility has become that much greater.”

“Exactly. And speaking of that weighty responsibility...”

Tang Soso pointed ahead.

“There’s someone over there currently suffering from it.”

“Huh?”

The remaining members of the Five Swords turned their heads toward where she was pointing.

At first glance, it looked like a wall. But upon closer inspection, it was moving. What stretched across Mount Hua’s training ground was... a line of people.

“...What’s that line for?”

“What else? It’s the queue waiting for an audience with the Grand Sect Leader.”

“Hiiiiik...”

Everyone shuddered as they looked at the line stretching endlessly into the distance.

“A-All those people?”

“And they’re probably all people we’ve never seen before.”

“I-I’d suffocate to death if it were me.”

Tang Soso calmly elaborated.

“At that rate, even if he spends only half a sikgyeong meeting each person, he probably won’t even be able to visit the privy until three days from now.”

[Sikgyeong. 식경(食頃). A traditional unit of time meaning approximately the time it takes to eat a meal, often estimated at around 30 minutes. Half a sikgyeong would therefore be roughly 15 minutes.]

“Aaaah...”

How horrifying. How utterly cruel and merciless. Baek Cheon shook his head repeatedly.

“The Grand Sect Leader is truly suffering.”

“Why are you talking as though it’s someone else’s problem?”

“Hm?”

Tang Soso grinned at Baek Cheon.

“It’s something you’re going to experience soon enough, Sahyung.”

The color drained from Baek Cheon’s face.

“W-What are you talking about?”

“Haven’t you heard? They say the Sect Leader is preparing to hand the position over to you, Sasuk.”

“T-That’s been put on hold for now.”

“True. That’s true, but...”

Looking at the seemingly endless line of visitors, Tang Soso continued.

“Do you think we’re the only ones looking at this?”

“Ah...”

Baek Cheon let out a vacant sigh. The rest of the Five Swords all nodded in agreement.

“Now that you mention it, the Sect Leader must be seeing this too.”

“Wow. If I were next in line for that? I’d throw everything away and run without even looking back.”

“Since he already has a successor lined up, maybe he’ll hand over the position and spend the rest of his days in peace. He was never particularly attached to the Sect Leader’s seat in the first place.”

“D-Don’t talk so lightly when it’s someone else’s problem.”

“What are we supposed to do? It really is someone else’s problem.”

“Aigo, what a shame. I’d love to take your place, but there’s just no way.”

“...You bastards.”

Baek Cheon’s eyes glistened with tears.

What he had wanted was the position of Sect Leader of his own small and precious sect. Not whatever absurd position this had become. How was he supposed to bear something like this?

“But we’re not really in a position to be saying these things.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Isn’t there someone else suffering even more?”

“Ah...”

Everyone turned to look toward the residence of the Grand Sect Leader in the distance. It almost felt as though they could hear someone’s sorrowful sobbing carried on the wind.

“My condolences.”

“Stay strong. That’s life.”

At that moment, Jo Geol cleared his throat.

“Umm. Anyway, getting back to what we were discussing earlier. What are we doing with that Violet Lightning Divine Sword? Can I have it?”

“What? You little bastard, have you lost your mind?”

“N-No, I just thought nobody was using it...”

“Even cold water has an up and down.”

[tl note: 찬물도 위아래가 있다. A Korean idiom meaning that hierarchy and seniority should be respected in all things.]

“But Sasuk already has the Violet Mist Divine Sword!”

“Ahem. That’s why I should test this one first!”

“Thanks.”

“Samae. Put that down while I’m still asking nicely.”

“Divine swords belong to the strong.”

“Then why don’t you fight me for it!”

“Draw it!”

Over a single sword, complete chaos erupted in the middle of Mount Hua.

Watching the scene from afar, Cheong Myeong unconsciously squeezed his eyes shut.

‘What was I even thinking? A great tree, my ass.’

Those idiots aren’t even fit to be firewood.

❀ ❀ ❀

If anyone wants to donate to motivate me (I'll use the money to buy the RAWs from Naver Series too). Thank you so much!

- Buy Me a Coffee

- Patreon

- Trakteer (this one for Indonesian)