Return of the Mount Hua

I have caught up to the ongoing on my Patreon! New chapters there every Monday/Wednesday/Friday, same as the official release.

________

And I like those kinds of idiots. (1)

ROTMHS Glossary || About page

“Wh-what happened, Sect Leader?”

Heo San-ja, who had been waiting anxiously, shouted as soon as he saw Heo Do Jinin. But Heo Do Jinin just glanced at him briefly and silently stepped into his quarters.

“Sect Leader Sahyeong!”

Heo San-ja, startled, called out again in alarm and quickly followed Heo Do Jinin inside.

“What did those boys say? They didn’t insist to the end, did they?”

“…”

“Sect Leader Sahyeong! Please say something. Did they really say that? Even after you spoke to them directly?”

Fear and hope swirled simultaneously in Heo San-ja’s eyes. Heo Do Jinin, who had been staring intently at Heo San-ja, let out a short sigh.

“They said they would.”

“Th-they did… What are they thinking…”

Heo San-ja stuttered, eyes wide open as if someone were choking him. Then, with a sudden burst of energy, he jumped up from where he had been sitting.

“I-I will go talk to them. No! I will beat them down if I have to…”

“It’s useless.”

Heo San-ja froze in a half-upright position, staring blankly at Heo Do Jinin. Heo Do Jinin shook his head with an expression that was beyond resignation, almost appearing desolate.

“It’s useless. No words… Yes, no words will reach them.”

“No…”

“This is not a situation where they can be persuaded with right words. No, perhaps…”

Those words of persuasion might even fall short of the truth. How could he convince those who wanted to live by what they had learned?

A faint, ironic smile appeared on Heo Do Jinin’s lips. This wasn’t directed at the young disciples who were loudly proclaiming their integrity and pride without understanding the ways of the world. It was a bitter smile aimed at himself and at Wudang up until now, which preached integrity and pride but, in the face of crisis, had always prioritized avoiding harm.

“So, you’re saying we should just let things be as they are?”

“…”

“Sect Leader Sahyeong! Are you really going to let those kids die? Are you going to let them all perish under the blades of Sapaeryeon?”

Heo San-ja was almost screaming now. Heo Do Jinin let out a long sigh and asked in return.

“Then what should we do?”

“We must persuade them!”

“Didn’t I say that won’t work?”

“Then we must drag them by the scruff of their necks and kick their behinds if we have to!”

“Treat them like ignorant children who know nothing of the world?”

“And now you speak so calmly…”

“So, you want to take away the opportunity for Wudang’s disciples to grow, to express their own will, and instead leave a stain that says they survived through the sacrifice of their seniors?”

Heo San-ja’s agitated eyes wavered. At the same time, a look of doubt flashed in his eyes. He couldn’t understand what Heo Do Jinin was getting at.

The Heo Do Jinin he knew was a person who acted on his words without hesitation. He was someone who would readily sacrifice his own life or the lives of his disciples and for Wudang.

But…

“If that would resolve the issue, I would have done it without hesitation. So let me ask again. After they survive this way, what then? What will happen afterward?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“If this were to end the war, I would say to swallow our pride and endure the shame. But what if it doesn’t end? What then?”

“That…”

Heo San-ja, who had been about to respond immediately, looked at Heo Do Jinin as if he suddenly realized something.

Even if they endured this time, the war would not end. The bitter battle with Sapaeryeon would continue for a long time.

So what would Wudang do then?

Should they fight at the forefront for revenge? Or should they, seeking survival, avoid danger by pushing the risky tasks onto others and quietly retreating?

“That…”

Heo San-ja found himself unable to respond as if his tongue had become tied.

In his heart, he wanted to choose the former. But choosing the former would only change the time of their deaths; the result would not be much different. Wudang would likely suffer near-total annihilation.

The latter? Choosing the latter might allow them to survive. But could Wudang, having acted cowardly throughout the war, still be called ‘Wudang’ afterward?

Heo San-ja’s eyes darkened. Then, with a nervous face, he asked. 

“But… isn’t there a chance it might not turn out that way?”

However, even his face showed no confidence in his words.

“There are precedents, aren’t there? In the past…”

“In a land where people have three eyes, those with only two are considered crippled.”

“…What?”

“Back then… everyone had three eyes.”

A bitter smile escaped Heo Do Jinin’s lips.

The current situation was different from the past Great Demonic War. Back then, except for Hwasan, all the sects were preoccupied with their own survival. So, Hwasan was the only sect that appeared odd.

But now things were different.

With Cheonumaeng proclaiming its intention to unite numerous sects and walk the righteous path, what kind of treatment would Wudang receive if they fled from the enemy for their own safety?

The situation was similar, yet completely different.

The exceptional figure, Hwasan Geomhyeop Chung Myung, had completely changed the stance of those involved in the war.

“Then those people…”

“No.”

Heo Do Jinin shook his head.

“I didn’t decide based on such considerations. I simply… don’t want to run away a second time. As a swordsman, as a disciple of Wudang, and as an individual who must uphold righteousness.”

“…”

“How could I possibly break their resolve with words? It was none other than I who preached and taught that Wudang’s disciples should live with such righteousness. Now, I am merely facing my own cowardice, unable to practice what I preached and taught.”

“How can you call that cowardice? Who would dare call someone who is willing to bear all the burdens and even sacrifice his own life a coward? Sect Leader Sahyeong, you are not such a person!”

Heo San-ja cried out with a distorted face, but Heo Do Jinin’s eyes were fixed on the empty space.

What is right and what is wrong?

If it were as simple as dividing numbers, what would be difficult? The complexity and confusion of the world arise because everyone’s sense of righteousness is different, and the ways to uphold that righteous path vary.

No one is wrong.

It’s just that their ‘righteousness’ has grown to the point where it no longer falls short of Heo Do Jinin’s ‘righteousness.’ He felt an indescribable mixture of pride and profound sadness.

“So, are you really…?”

“Heo San.”

“Yes, Sahyeong.”

“Persuade the disciples.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Some of them may be risking their lives because they are swept up in the atmosphere, even though they don’t want to. Make sure that doesn’t happen. Persuade as many as you can to leave the mountain.”

“Sahyeong!”

“The lineage must continue.”

Heo Do Jinin smiled faintly.

Heo San-ja could not accept it. Even if they gathered all those who wanted to leave, how many would there be? Could they still call what remained ‘Wudang’?

“Is there really no other way? How can you give up so easily?”

“…”

“If you use the authority of the Sect Leader to forcibly break their resolve, wouldn’t they have no choice but to comply?”

“Yes. That way, they could survive.”

“Then let’s do it right now…”

“But in that moment, Wudang would end. Even if everyone survives without a scratch, Wudang from that moment on would no longer be Wudang.”

Heo San-ja’s hands trembled violently.

He wanted to refute it a hundred times over, but he already knew those words were true. How could Wudang, branded as cowards, continue to be Wudang?

How could those who begged for their lives in cowardice offer rites to the ancestral tablets?

“Go.”

“Sahyeong…”

“If you still see them as children, I could do as you suggest. But…”

Heo Do Jinin shook his head.

“My duty as their master is to observe and acknowledge their growth properly. I cannot crush the will of those who have become Taoists as good as, if not better than me, with the oppression of authority.”

“…”

“I intend to stay by their side.”

“Sahyeong!”

Heo San-ja let out a scream as if his insides were being ripped out. Yet, Heo Do Jinin’s eyes remained calm and heavy.

“Now, there is only one way for Wudang to continue.”

Instead of the seething anger, a refined sense of duty filled his eyes.

“We must show them. Show the world what kind of sect Wudang is. To those who dare target this place, to the world watching, and to the other sects questioning our choices.”

“…”

“With our swords, with our lives, with our resolve. We must show them clearly. Then our deaths will become the foundation for Wudang to rise again.”

His voice was more composed than ever.

However, the faint trembling of the hands resting on his knees betrayed his inner turmoil.

He had shouldered all insults to save his disciples. But now, he was witnessing those very disciples die for the honor of the sect.

How could he possibly express what he felt inside?

“Go.”

“Sahyeong…”

“Hurry!”

A brief silence ensued. Heo San-ja, staring intently at Heo Do Jinin, then bowed deeply with utmost sincerity.

“Take care.”

Without looking back, he left the room.

Heo Do Jinin stared blankly at the spot where Heo San-ja had disappeared, a hollow laugh escaping his lips.

“…Two days?”

No, perhaps it was just one day. He was counting the remaining time left for Wudang. Then, suddenly, he reflected on a late realization.

“So… that’s why, Hwasan Geomhyeop.”

He wondered why someone who cherished people so much and despised sacrifice had been so enraged at him for trying to save his disciples.

Hwasan Geomhyeop had known. Those who fear sacrifice and retreat eventually pay a much higher price. If he truly wanted to protect his disciples, he could not ignore the duty entrusted to him.

Now… Yes, now he understood.

“Something I should have realized sooner.”

Heo Do Jinin murmured softly and closed his eyes deeply.

Now, it wasn’t just sadness.

He had come to understand that the disciples of Wudang were walking a better path than he had. He had confirmed that they were Taoists who had not failed as he had.

Even if the end of that path was despair and death…

In the end, they would bloom again. At the end of that path, they would flourish magnificently for all the world to see.

“Sect Leader.”

Heo Do Jinin’s voice echoed emptily.

He was following someone he had never even seen. A person who had died and disappeared a hundred years ago, and was not even a Sect Leader of Wudang but of another sect.

“Will Wudang bloom again?”

Like Hwasan, which bloomed once more, will it?

No matter how long Heo Do Jinin kept his eyes closed and maintained silence, no answer came.

❀ ❀ ❀

“You’re saying they won’t retreat?”

“That’s right.”

“Why? Why do something so foolish?”

“Because they are human.”

Im Sobyeong looked at Chung Myung as if he couldn’t understand. Chung Myung shrugged.

“Being foolish is what makes us human. Because we can’t always make the right choices.”

“…But this is Wudang we’re talking about. How could they…”

“And I like those kinds of idiots…”

As if he had said all he needed to, Chung Myung stood up. His once shadowed eyes now shone resolutely.

“Let’s go.”

“What? No! Didn’t we say it could be a trap?”

“So what?”

Chung Myung’s retort left everyone speechless. He spoke firmly to Im Sobyeong and all who were looking at him.

“If it’s a trap, we’ll just crush the trap. I can’t let those idiots just die like that.”

Gripping his sword tightly, Chung Myung smiled.

‘Right, Sahyeong?’

– Of course.

The response seemed to ring clearly in his ears.

Next chapter >>>

________

The fact that Heo Do thought about Chung Mun in the end made me shed a tear… Wudang is showing potential. They can change for the better like Haenam. I want to believe in them. 

________

The latest chapters of the novel – Patreon or Buymeacoffee – caught up to the ongoing there. Currently aligning my blog and my Patreon schedule-wise so the new schedule here soon too.