Return of the Mount Hua Sect - Ch. 827
Tang Gunak’s icy eyes seemed to pierce through Namgung Hwang.
‘Why here…’
Why did Tang Gunak, who was supposed to be in distant Sichuan, appear on the Yangtze River? And why now, of all times?
Namgung Hwang’s fingertips began to tremble slightly.
Of course, everyone here probably didn’t want to face anyone else. They knew very well what they had done.
However, facing Tang Gunak and not someone else in this situation was, for Namgung Hwang, a terrible experience incomparable to anything else.
The Namgung family of Anhui and the Sichuan Tang family of Sichuan.
The two sects were the two keystones that led the Five Great Families for a long time. Naturally, the heads of both families had competed, cooperated, and even fought with each other for a long time.
From Namgung Hwang’s point of view, the person he didn’t want to lose to even more than the Nine Great Sects was Tang Gunak.
“Answer me, Namgung Hwang.”
Tang Gunak scolded in a cold tone.
“What on earth is the agreement you spoke so loudly about?”
“…”
“And yet you are the head of the Blue Heaven Namgung family? After you beg for your life from the Evil Faction, can you still talk about your people being the Blue Heaven with your own mouth?”
Namgung Hwang bit down on his lip until he bled.
What caused him the most pain wasn’t the rebuke of Tang Gunak. Even after hearing that reprimand, he couldn’t make a single excuse.
“Answer me.”
“…”
‘Was that life so important? To the extent of throwing the value of justice to the ground?’
“… Tang Gunak.”
Tang Gunak had changed. He wasn’t mocking Namgung Hwang. He was genuinely angry.
Although the Tang family had become a member of the Heavenly Friends Alliance and their ties had become complicated, the Sichuan Tang family was still one of the Five Great Families. The indecency shown by the Namgung family, which was the head of the five families, made his blood boil.
No, it wasn’t just the Five Great Families.
“Answer me, monk.”
“… Amitabha.”
Byeop Gye, who received the gaze of Tang Gunak, couldn’t bear to face him and just chanted with his eyes closed.
Even after witnessing this helpless reaction, the intensity of Tang Gunak’s force didn’t diminish one bit.
“Ridiculous.”
A cold cynicism flowed through everyone’s hearts.
“I never would have thought that those who repeatedly emphasized that justice is more important than life would throw away their justice and act as if they weren’t devoted partners the moment they got the chance. Are you all still qualified to call yourselves just and righteous? And be still?”
Byeop Gye’s face turned red.
Even if he had ten mouths, what could he have said?
Byeok Hyun, the sect leader of the Qingcheng sect, which was located in Sichuan and had some contact with Tang Gunak, spoke with a bitter tone.
“… Please stop, Lord Tang. All of this was done by Venerable Heo Do. Namgung Hwang and Monk Byeop Gye are no different from victims of this incident.”
“Victims?”
However, there was a sneer on the lips of Tang Gunak.
“They are innocent because they didn’t come forward and shout?”
“That…”
“Let me ask you something.”
Tang Gunak glared at everyone with eyes filled with killing intent.
“Then why are you alive?”
“…”
Those words left Byeok Hyun silent.
“Save your disciples? Fine. That is totally understandable. But then, why are you alive with your feet on the ground? And without injuries at all!”
The strong voice of Tang Gunak burst out loud.
“What on earth did you people do while the young people of Mount Hua were bleeding and fighting? Who is it that should have been shedding their blood and fighting here?”
Namgung Hwang closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose.
Saying that he was unable to focus on winning because he was watching the situation was nothing more than a poor excuse.
He had lived this long and didn’t know it.
What it meant to fight for your life and how difficult it was.
Of course, he might have to force himself to make an excuse.
However, the scars that covered Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon had made his tongue stiff and weighed heavily on his lips.
“The reason the world tolerates your violence is because it believes there is justice at the tip of your sword. The moment you negotiate for your own benefit….”
Tang Gunak chewed over the words as if spitting them out.
“It is no different from being a thief. You moronic bastards.”
“…”
There was silence. Tang Gunak bit his lip, holding back a sigh.
No matter how much he cursed, he could not undo what had happened. Knowing that made him even more frustrated.
After barely calming down, he gritted his teeth and said,
“I declare this as Lord of the Sichuan Tang family. From today onwards, the Sichuan Tang family will never be called one of the Five Great Families.”
“Tang Gunak!”
“Shut up, you damn bastard.”
When Namgung Hwang shouted in shock, Tang Gunak snarled back like a tiger.
“What you started out of envy and jealousy has ended in fear and cowardice.”
Tang Gunak glared at everyone around with cold eyes and then turned.
“Get out of here. Now, the Yangtze River is a place you cannot step on.”
Namgung Hwang’s body trembled.
A terrible sense of humiliation and unbearable shame took over his entire being.
But what was even bigger than that was the disgust with himself.
“…Get on board.”
“… Yes.”
In the end, when Namgung Hwang spoke weakly, the members of the Namgung family answered softly and headed to the ship anchored nearby.
“Amitabha.”
Byeop Gye also shook his head and sighed deeply.
“… Let’s go back.”
The Shaolin monks nodded slightly towards the ship. However, among those turning around, just one person was standing with his feet on the ground.
“…What are you doing?”
“Elder.”
Hae Yeon opened his mouth with a calm face.
“I will not come back.”
“…”
Anger surged onto the face of Byeop Gye.
He was now the acting abbot of the clan. Disobeying his orders was disobedience to the abbot and to all of Shaolin. There was no way Hae Yeon didn’t realize it.
But Hae Yeon gazed at Byeop Gye with unwavering eyes. His anger was short-lived, and Byeop Gye instantly lost strength at the sight of his calm face.
Everyone quickly climbed up the cliff to survive.
At that time, Hae Yeon was the only one who stayed below to watch over those climbing up.
In this terrible hell, Hae Yeon was the only one who put into practice the Shaolin teachings of compassion and altruism. By what right did Byeop Gye have to criticize him?
“… Do whatever you want.”
“Amitabha.”
Hae Yeon calmly chanted. Byeop Gye headed to the ship without looking back any further.
Byeok Hyun, who was left alone, opened his mouth towards Tang Gunak.
“Lord Tang…”
“Now.”
But Tang Gunak didn’t even glance at him and scolded him coldly.
“I do not want to talk now, so please head back, sect leader.”
“…”
A deep exhale escaped from Byeok Hyun’s mouth.
‘It must hurt.’
Tang Gunak was a person who understood the heavy pressure of having to take responsibility for the lives of countless disciples. Even such a person as Tang Gunak reacted with such contempt. How cold and abandoned will the reaction of the people around the world be?
Just thinking about it made his fingers go cold.
“… till the next time. Do take care.”
Byeok Hyun, who left only those words in a miserable mood, led the disciples to the ship.
Those walking to the ship, their legs held no strength. It looked quite different from when they came. It was natural. They had lost so much here.
Shaolin’s ship was the first to enter the narrow valley, followed by Namgung’s ship leaving the canyon. Eventually, even the ship of Qingcheng turned its bow, but the ship of Wudang, which was the first to be anchored, didn’t move and stayed anchored.
A person who was not on board was standing in front of Wudang’s ship, looking their way.
“That man…”
When Tang Gunak tried to move ahead, Chung Myung grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“Wait.”
Then he approached the person standing in front of Wudang’s ship. Venerable Heo Do, who stood alone on the land, glanced at Chung Myung approaching and smiled.
“Don’t be so upset, Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.”
“…”
“Nothing bad has happened to the Heavenly Friends Alliance. You wouldn’t want to miss a time when the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families are criticized. How about being honest and happy instead?”
Chung Myung stared at Heo Do without answering.
“… why? Do you still have anything left to say?”
When Heo Do asked, Chung Myung looked at him with dark eyes and then spoke after a pause.
“Idiot.”
It was a cold day.
“If you have made a choice, grit your teeth and stick with it. There is nothing more foolish than doubting your own choices. And if you use an evil move, no one will criticize you more than needed, and hurling insults at the face won’t make you feel any ease.”
“…”
“Right, you did the dumbest thing in the world. You will live the rest of your life regretting the choices you made. And not only you but the entire Wudang and Nine Great Sects will be held responsible for that.”
Venerable Heo Do listened to Chung Myung’s words without changing his expression. A face whose thoughts couldn’t be understood.
“But at least…”
It was Chung Myung who twisted his face again and bit his lip. He paused for a moment and then spoke with a pained face.
“I might call you stupid, but I will not laugh at you for being a coward.”
“…”
Venerable Heo Do’s eyes wavered for the first time.
Chung Myung sighed.
‘Shit.’
He felt so complicated now. He knew it was wrong. He definitely knew it was wrong. But… he could not help but understand the feeling of having to make such a mistake.
Because it was something he had regretted countless times.
If only he was a bit more selfish if only his sahyung was a bit more sly…
“If you’re comfortable, get out now.”
“Ha…”
Venerable Heo Do let out a low laugh.
His face was expressionless. But that expressionless face somehow looked different from before.
“See you again.”
“Will that happen?”
“We will see each other again. One day…”
Venerable Heo Do turned and jumped onto the ship. Once he got on the ship, it turned the bow and sailed out of the canyon. Chung Myung, who watched the Wudang’s ship move away, leaving long ripples, looked up at the sky as if he had a bitter taste in his mouth.
He couldn’t criticize that man.
If it had been Chung Mun of the past, Venerable Do would have been scolded without hesitation. But it wasn’t Chung Mun there, and Chung Mun could no longer shout now.
‘I still have a long way to go.’
It was the moment when Chung Myung, who shrugged his shoulders, smiled and was about to say something to the sky.
Stumble.
“…Uh?”
‘What?’
Why was the world spinning…
No, why was the floor rising?
“Chung Myung!”
“Bastard!”
Loud shouts from all around. But for a moment, all the noise turned dull as if listening underwater. And soon, all sound vanished from the world.
‘Dark.’
He couldn’t see anything.
His body was sinking endlessly.
‘Sect leader sahyung….’
The disciples of Mount Hua, who held Chung Myung, who was unconscious, screamed and called for his name, but Chung Myung couldn’t hear a thing.
The desires of countless people and the true intentions of countless people.
Those who tried to achieve everything even if it was risky, and those who didn’t want to let go even if they lost it all.
It was the moment when the great war, in which so many things mixed together, had come to an end.
But no one thought this was the real end.
This was just the start.
It was just a small spark that would one day grow into a fire that would engulf and burn the world.