Return of the Mount Hua

Wow, he really has no shame at all. (2)

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Beop Jong silently gazed at the front gate of Hwasan Sect.

This wasn’t the first time he’d laid eyes on that gate. One would think he’d have grown accustomed to it by now, yet strangely, it felt even more unfamiliar than the first time.

‘It must be because my circumstances are different now.’

Even the same object could appear entirely different when one’s situation changed.

When he first visited Hwasan, he had nothing to feel regretful about. On the contrary, he’d come driven by a desire to see the main sect of Hwasan with his own eyes – a feeling closer to curiosity.

But now…

“Amitabha.”

Beop Jong recited a Buddhist chant to shake off the discomfort rising in his heart.

‘If not me, then who else would go to hell?’

This was for the sake of all people.

It was not the kind of situation where he could hesitate out of personal shame.

“Abbot.”

“Mmm.”

At Beop Gye’s voice, Beop Jong nodded. There was no time for delay.

“May we enter?”

Un Geom, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion near the gate, stood frozen as he stared at Beop Jong, then gave a small nod.

“…This way. Please come in for now.”

“Thank you, Dojang.”

Un Geom, for once, couldn’t hide the look of dismay on his face as he led Beop Jong. But no one could blame him. The Abbot of Shaolin had arrived without any notice – who in the world wouldn’t be thrown into confusion?

But at that moment, Beop Jong found himself looking at Un Geom again, for a different reason.

‘Was there someone like this before?’

A swordsman missing his right arm.

The aura radiating from him was extraordinary. Just from that impression alone, it wasn’t difficult to recognize him as a highly trained master swordsman.

The problem was that Beop Jong had no memory of such a person.

‘Then in just three years, he’s grown this much?’

He didn’t appear particularly young either. It’s common knowledge that the older one gets, the harder it is to make rapid progress in martial arts. And yet, using not his dominant right but his left hand, he had achieved this much improvement in such a short time?

With just a single glance at this man, Beop Jong could immediately grasp how much Hwasan had changed over the past three years. If someone of this age had become so formidable, how much stronger had the younger disciples become?

Beop Jong felt a heaviness settle in his heart.

“Amitabha.”

Of course, it was a good thing for a Just Sect like Hwasan to grow stronger. But Hwasan now was a sect stirring up a storm across the world. And the stronger a sect like that became, the fiercer the storm sweeping through the world would inevitably grow.

Especially…

Beop Jong shook his head. This was not the time for such thoughts.

‘My heart is filled with turmoil.’

Even after all his years of cultivation, he was shaken by something so small. All that pursuit of unwavering mind, rendered meaningless in an instant.

Just then, he noticed the figure of Hyun Jong, the Sect Leader of Hwasan, swiftly approaching.

“…”

Seeing Hyun Jong rushing barefoot ahead of everyone else, Beop Jong couldn’t help but let out a faint smile.

‘How pure.’

If this had been in the past, he wouldn’t have found it odd for Hyun Jong to run out like that. When the leader of a declining sect hears that the Abbot of Shaolin has arrived, such a reaction would be only natural.

But is Hwasan still a declining sect? It may have been once, but no longer.

The Alliance Leader of Cheonumaeng, the ruler of Shaanxi.

Hwasan was now a place beyond even the realm of comparison with its former self. It no longer needed the nominal prestige of being one of Gupailbang.

And yet the Sect Leader of such a Hwasan, Hyun Jong, had not changed from the days when Hwasan was dismissed as a third-rate sect.

‘No… it’s not that he hasn’t changed.’

When one’s circumstances change, so too should one’s attitude.

Maintaining the same humble attitude despite such drastic changes in status meant that he had grown deeper than before.

To remain unchanged, one must change.

Form is emptiness, emptiness is form [색즉시공 공즉시색(色卽示空 空卽示色)].

“Abbot… what brings you all the way here…?”

Hyun Jong, who had rushed to him in a single breath, now stood stunned, unable to finish his sentence as he stared at Beop Jong.

Then, as though he had suddenly come to his senses, he bowed deeply and offered a palm-fist salute.

“You are most welcome.”

At that warm welcome, the worry weighing on Beop Jong’s heart seemed to ease, if only slightly. Even though he knew well that Hyun Jong greeted everyone this way, regardless of his own feelings.

Beop Jong received Hyun Jong’s greeting with a broad smile

“With such a welcome, I hardly know what to do with myself. I haven’t come somewhere I shouldn’t, have I?”

“What are you saying? On behalf of Hwasan, I welcome the Abbot.”

“Thank you, Sect Leader. Truly, thank you.”

Returning the gesture with a clasped fist, Beop Jong subtly glanced behind Hyun Jong.

‘…Not here?’

He saw elders of Hwasan whose faces he recognized, but the person he was most concerned about was nowhere to be seen. Instead, disciples who had come running at the commotion stretched their necks to peek at him, whispering among themselves.

“What’s going on?”

“They say the Abbot of Shaolin is here.”

“The Abbot? What’s he doing here?”

He was well accustomed to the curious stares of the public. Ever since he became the Abbot of Shaolin, such gazes had been inevitable.

But upon seeing who exactly was sending those stares, he couldn’t help but feel an inner discomfort.

‘They’re strong.’

Their faces still bore traces of youth. Though they had shed their childishness, they had yet to reach full maturity – young swordsmen still in bloom.

And yet, the energy radiating from those young swordsmen was sharp to the extreme, yet simultaneously steady and composed.

A vigor unlike anything he had ever sensed even from Namgung or Wudang.

He no longer knew what words could properly describe Hwasan.

Even phrases like a ‘complete transformation’* or ‘worthy of newfound respect’** felt insufficient to capture the scale of their growth.

What impressed Beop Jong even more was the behavior these young disciples displayed.

The way they peeked curiously at him was no different from children in a bustling marketplace.

Naive?

No.

In Taoist terms, such a state is called purity.

It means not fussing over formality, not displaying excessive and unnecessary manners, and being honest with one’s emotions. That is the attitude a Taoist should cultivate – one that strives to resemble nature.

‘Strength and purity, was it?’

Just seeing them now, he could understand why Hwasan had come to rival Wudang.

But… Beop Jong knew better than anyone that this wasn’t all there was.

“We greet the Abbot.”

“We greet the Abbot.”

As several disciples bowed to him with clasped fists, Beop Jong quietly nodded.

‘The Five Swords of Hwasan.’

They had now become the face of Hwasan. Their names might still be mentioned with a tone of youthful promise, but someday, they would be known as the very pinnacle of swordsmanship under the heavens.

“It’s good to see you, Baek Cheon Dojang.”

“How do you know my name?”

“How could I not know of Hwasan Jeonggeom***?”

“…It’s an honor.”

Baek Cheon bowed his head with perfect composure.

A bearing that fit the word dignified more than anyone else.

Even as the Abbot of Shaolin, a sect overflowing with talent, Beop Jong couldn’t help but feel a subtle pang of envy towards Hyun Jong in that moment.

“…Continue your diligent training.”

Beop Jong, having accepted Baek Cheon’s greeting, shifted his gaze to someone standing behind him.

Someone who had once been his pride – someone who, perhaps, could have become to him what Baek Cheon had become now.

Looking at Hye Yeon, whose expression was clearly conflicted, Beop Jong gave him a gentle smile.

“Have you learned much?”

“Abbot…”

As he quietly studied Hye Yeon’s face, Beop Jong’s gaze slowly dropped to the martial arts uniform he wore.

‘Hwasan’s uniform.’

He could roughly guess what had happened. But if there had been not the slightest wavering in Hye Yeon’s heart, he would never have worn the robe of another sect – even if he had to dress in rags.

“I have much to say to you. But this is not the time. Let’s speak later.”

“…Yes, Abbot.”

As Hye Yeon bowed silently, Hyun Jong stepped forward with an awkward look, subtly shielding Hye Yeon.

“Abbot, there are… circumstances. The fault lies with me, for not being attentive to everyone.”

“There’s no need for that, Sect Leader. I don’t mean to blame the boy. It’s simply that there’s much to say between a disciple who’s been away from the main temple for so long and myself.”

“If that is so…”

When Hyun Jong nodded, Beop Jong smiled gently and changed the subject.

“There is an issue that requires deep discussion. That is why I came here in such haste.”

“Oh… of course! My mind must be slipping. Forgive me, Abbot. Please, come this way.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

Hyun Jong quickly guided Beop Jong.

As they walked through the somewhat noisy Hwasan, Beop Jong carefully took in the atmosphere. Compared to the quiet solemnity of Shaolin, Hwasan was lively and brimming with energy.

So this is what a rising sect feels like.

Before his thoughts could fully settle, Hyun Jong stopped with him in front of the Sect Leader’s quarters.

“This is the place. I ask your forgiveness that we were not prepared to receive a guest.”

“How could an uninvited guest expect such a thing? Even a lukewarm cup of water would be more than enough, and I would be grateful.”

“Please, come in.”

Just before entering the room, something immediately caught Beop Jong’s eye – a pair of shoes placed in front of the door.

A bit too small to be Hyun Jong’s.

That meant there was someone inside who hadn’t even poked their head out, despite the arrival of the Great Abbot of Shaolin. And Beop Jong was certain he knew exactly who that was, even without seeing them.

“…Amitabha.”

He quietly recited the Buddhist chant to calm his heart.

The very person he had come racing to Hwasan to meet was inside that room.

Beop Jong stared at the door for a moment before finally stepping inside.

The moment he crossed the threshold, his eyes were immediately drawn – just as expected – to the figure sitting in the corner, back leaned against the wall.

Chung Myung hadn’t changed much.

Just enough to still be recognized at a glance.

No, rather, it was hard to find anything that had changed.

If one had to point something out, perhaps he’d gotten a bit taller, a bit sturdier, but aside from that, he looked just the same as the last time Beop Jong had seen him.

Even the air he gave off, and the look in his eyes, were unchanged.

Though he clearly saw Beop Jong enter, Chung Myung showed no particular reaction. He simply stared at him with wide open eyes.

The two of them faced each other for a moment.

Breaking the awkward silence, Beop Jong smiled gently and spoke first.

“Have you been well, Sodojang? No, I suppose that title no longer suits you now.”

His tone was exceedingly gentle, like one speaking to a dear acquaintance.

Chung Myung smiled brightly as he replied,

“Yes. Thanks to you, I’ve been doing very well.”

“Is that so? Though I don’t recall having done much for you.”

“Oh, come on. How can you say that? You’ve done so much.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung grinned broadly. But only his mouth smiled – his eyes didn’t hold a trace of warmth.

“You went so far as to pray for our downfall – wouldn’t I be too ashamed not to thrive? Thanks to you, I’ve been doing very, very well.”

Just then, several Hwasan’s disciples stepped into the room and their jaws dropped open.

‘Th-That brat…!’

‘That lunatic.’

Watching Chung Myung confront the Abbot of Shaolin head-on right from the start, they could already feel how precarious this meeting was going to be.

Cold sweat began to trickle down their backs.

Next chapter >>>

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*Classic four character idiom: 상전벽해(桑田碧海). Literally meaning: mulberry fields becoming blue oceans. It comes from a Chinese legend where someone returns to their hometown after many years and sees that what was once a mulberry field has now become the sea.

**괄목상대(刮目相對) – to be astonished by someone’s progress/to treat someone with renewed respect. Literally: scrub your eyes and look at each other.

***Hwasan Jeonggeom [화산정검(華山正劍)] – The Just Sword of Hwasan, Baek Cheon’s title (Just as in Just [正] Sects which is close to the western word ‘justice’).

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