Return of the Mount Hua

That will do. (2)

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Chung Myung seemed to grasp Baek Cheon’s words immediately, but the other Five Swords tilted their heads.

“Children, Sasuk?”

When Yoon Jong asked, Baek Cheon explained what he had gone through.

“…Those kinds of things.”

“I should have told you beforehand, but given the circumstances, I couldn’t find the chance.”

“It isn’t something to apologize for. But…..”

Yoon Jong trailed off, his expression growing complicated. But before his jumbled thoughts could settle, Jo Geol spoke first.

“But what do you mean by taking those children to Hwasan? Do you intend to have them enter the sect?”

“That’s nonsense.”

It was Yoon Jong who answered.

“Why is it nonsense? Given the circumstances.”

“If you were in the same situation, would you join another sect?”

“Well…….”

Jo Geol scratched his head. Of course, he never would. But then, people’s thoughts and choices all differ, don’t they?

But Baek Cheon shook his head as if he shared Yoon Jong’s view.

“I have no such intention, but even if I were to suggest it, they would refuse. They’re upright children.”

“Hmm.”

Yoon Jong let out a faint groan.

“Then why go so far as to bring them to Hwasan?”

“No matter how upright their nature, they can’t help but be immature. And on top of that, they’ve suffered wounds that can never be erased for the rest of their lives. If such children were sent off alone to faraway Sichuan, the outcome is all too clear.”

Yoon Jong parted his lips as if to say something, then stopped.

He had tried to compare it to Hwasan, but truth be told, the case was different. Hwasan had been driven to the brink of annihilation, but there were still adults to lead those who newly entered.

Yet in Diancang and Emei, even those elders were gone. If the sect had not been whole from the start, if its elders had always been lacking, then perhaps the situation could have been managed in one way or another. But…

‘As for Diancang, Qingcheng, and Emei, they’re not like that.’

As Baek Cheon had said, if the children were sent back alone to their main sects in this situation…

“……In that case, they might really have to take down the plaque. Children alone would struggle to carry on a sect.”

Yoon Jong muttered bitterly. At that, Jo Geol added, looking uneasy.

“Thing is, if it ends like that, we should count ourselves lucky.”

“Hmm? What do you mean by that?”

“…That’s Sichuan, isn’t it?”

“Right.”

“There are three major sects in Sichuan: one is Qingcheng, one is Emei, and the remaining one is the Tang Clan.”

“Isn’t that something everyone knows?”

“Yes, of course. But the problem is that those three sects aren’t in proper condition right now.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Haaa. The thing is…”

Jo Geol scratched at his thick, disheveled hair in frustration. A Sichuan native would have caught on at once, but otherwise it would be hard to grasp immediately.

“Sichuan isn’t Henan or Hebei. Now that the three sects that represented Sichuan have all suffered upheaval, turmoil is bound to come to Sichuan as well.”

“The Evil Sects, you mean?”

“Could be, or maybe not.”

“And what is that supposed to mean…”

“Sahyeong. Are the Evil Sects the only ones who harbor ill feelings towards those three sects?”

Only then did Yoon Jong snap his mouth shut, realizing his mistake.

“For now we look on them somewhat kindly because we’ve fought side by side, but in the past there was no one we hated more than the prestigious sects.”

“….Right.”

“We were at least a fallen ‘prestigious sect.’ Do you think there weren’t sects that were treated even worse than we were?”

“Then what you’re saying…….”

“Whether out of resentment, or out of the hope that now is the chance to trample Qingcheng and Emei and become Sichuan’s number-one sect, one way or another…”

“Someone will surely appear who targets those two sects?”

“Yes. That’s one way to put it.”

“Hmm.”

The shadow darkening Yoon Jong’s face grew heavier. 

It was certainly a hard fact to deny. As it was right after sects with different stances had joined forces to stop Sapaeryeon, they didn’t want to be thinking this way, but… There were likely none who knew better than Hwasan’s disciples just how merciless Gangho could be.

“Qingcheng and Emei’s surviving on their own is practically impossible.”

“Yes. That’s how I see it. If at least the Tang Clan had preserved its full strength, that might have been different, but as you know, the Tang Clan also suffered no small damage…”

Everyone nodded.

The Tang Clan, too, suffered greatly in this incident. Their very foundation – the Poison Vault and the White Furnace – had collapsed, and countless members of the clan had been lost.

“……Still, it’s the Tang Clan – wouldn’t they have some leeway?”

“Hardly.”

Chung Myung, who had kept his mouth shut until now, said in an even tone.

“The Lord of the Clan has changed.”

Everyone’s faces darkened slightly.

“That’s true, but…..”

“I’m not trying to belittle the Young Lord Tang. But honestly, the former Lord of the Tang Clan was an extraordinary man.”

“……Right.”

In Sichuan, Tang Gunak’s presence was unmistakably unparalleled. It was the same within the Tang Clan, of course. Could Tang Pae fully fill the place of the great Poison King, Tang Gunak? It would be impossible.

“Well, when the Young Lord reaches the previous Lord’s age, he might become an even greater head of the clan. He has lived through much, and he grew up with a man who was a guiding light in his life always by his side.”

The Five Swords nodded in agreement.

“…But that’s a matter of decades from now, and until then, we have to assume it will be hard for the Tang Clan to regain its former might.”

“Hmm. That makes sense.”

In such circumstances, they would be all the less able to look after other sects as well. Yoon Jong let out a heavy sigh.

“…I understand the situation. So, in the end, we can’t send the children back to Emei and Qingcheng as things stand.”

“Right.”

Baek Cheon nodded.

“But that doesn’t necessarily mean we have to take the children to Hwasan, does it?”

At those words, Baek Cheon fell silent for a moment, then opened his mouth again. 

No other solution readily came to mind.

“No…”

“Honestly, there are always ways to find a solution. We could arrange for them to live under the protection of the Alliance, and if not that, then if we thought long enough, some alternative would surely appear.”

“Exactly my point.”

“The same goes for Diancang. Though the Beast Palace Lord may not be entirely willing, if we asked him to care for them, he would hardly refuse.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t.”

“But can Diancang or Emei truly put their names back out into the world by such means? Can they regain their glorious days?”

“…”

“That….”

No one could answer. Because everyone here knew it was impossible.

“In the past, I wished to see Hwasan restored. Yet at times, faced with such a distant goal, I felt nothing but despair.”

At Baek Cheon’s words, Yoon Jong and Yu Iseol nodded. They, too, had of course felt the same.

“What I resented wasn’t our ancestors. It was the cruelty of Gangho that turned a blind eye to their sacrifices, with not a single person extending a hand.”

“…”

“Of course I know. The cases are different. We can’t regard them as the same. But…”

Looking at them all, Baek Cheon said firmly.

“At the very least, if it’s something we can do, I want us to try.”

Silence hung in the air. Not because there was no room for objection, but because they understood the feelings that drove Baek Cheon to say such things.

In the end, Yoon Jong was the first to raise his hands in surrender.

“Well, if it’s like that… we can just think of it as gaining a few extra mouths to feed.”

“We have a Shaolin monk already.”

“That’s true. We even have Monk Hye Yeon with us… So strictly speaking, it isn’t without precedent.”

Jo Geol chuckled in agreement.

“If you put it that way, given that even bandits come and go, who is there we couldn’t take in?”

“You’re not wrong, but the way you put it leaves me feeling oddly uncomfortable.”

As the mood drifted towards general agreement, Chung Myung, who had been silent, spoke up.

“Goodwill, fine. If it’s received as goodwill, that is.”

Chung Myung’s gaze, fixed on Baek Cheon, had darkened slightly.

“A moment ago you said Hwasan’s position has changed now, Sasuk.”

“…..Right.”

“Have you thought about how what you’re trying to do might appear to the other sects?”

For a moment, Baek Cheon fell silent. Tilting his head, Jo Geol asked Yoon Jong out of habit. 

“What does he mean, Sahyeong?”

“…If Sasuk has his way, the descendants of Diancang and Emei, and also Qingcheng, will reside at Hwasan. Perhaps even Haenam as well.”

“And what exactly is the problem with that?”

“Fallen though they may be, they were still among the sect of Gupailbang. And not just one of them – four of them. Is it that you don’t realize what it would signify if Hwasan’s colors stained them?”

Only then did Jo Geol’s expression harden.

“But… You could say they aren’t even Gupailbang anymore.”

“True. But someday they might reclaim that reputation. People always speculate on countless possibilities.”

Jo Geol clicked his tongue briefly.

In other words, if the sects that had taken refuge through this affair later returned to Gupailbang carrying Hwasan’s influence as an imprint on them, worries would arise that Hwasan might seize Gupailbang itself.

It was little more than hypothetical. Yet with Hwasan’s momentum as it now stood, the notion did not seem so far-fetched.

“Sasuk, doesn’t it seem contradictory?”

Chung Myung asked again. After a brief silence, Baek Cheon spoke.

“Perhaps.”

“If you know that…….”

“But why does it matter?”

Baek Cheon shrugged with a brazen face. His composure was so unshaken that even Chung Myung found himself staring at him blankly for a moment.

“.…Huh? ‘Why does it matter,’ did I hear that wrong?”

“You heard right.”

“Did this fellow get hit in the head while fighting? Is this really the kind of issue where ‘why does it matter’ comes out of your mouth right now?”

Chung Myung, exasperated, pressed him for an answer, but Baek Cheon only snorted in reply.

“If they want to see it that way, let them.”

“Huh?”

“What we’re trying to do is be considerate. Being considerate is something you do because you want to. If you do it because you’re worried about how it looks to others, that isn’t consideration, it’s just trying to save face.”

“No matter what anyone in the world says, we just do what must be done.”

“But still, without any plan like that…”

“Having died once, I figured it out.”

“Didn’t you say earlier you didn’t die?”

“If you live worrying about this and that and forever minding others, you never have time to do what truly needs to be done. So if you want to stop me, try. I’ll see my will through.”

The Five Swords stared at Baek Cheon, speechless and dumbfounded.

“Then why did you even ask our opinion?”

“Because it’ll be easier if you support me.”

“And if we oppose you?”

“Then I’ll crush your objections and carry it out anyway.”

Jo Geol turned his head towards Yoon Jong.

“Sahyeong. I think Hwasan is doomed?”

“…As it happens, I was thinking the same.”

“Me too.”

Despite everyone’s reactions, Baek Cheon was more brazen than ever. That usually polished face seemed, today of all days, almost annoyingly smug.

“Anyway, I’ve said my piece.”

“Wait.”

“Why? Even if it’s you, Chung Myung…”

“Don’t misunderstand, Sasuk. Get a grip. You’re the Vice Sect Leader, not the real Sect Leader.”

“…”

Chung Myung wore a triumphant smile.

“Matters like this should be decided by the Sect Leader. If the Sect Leader says no, you turn back without a word. Got it?”

“Ugh….”

A deep unease fell over Baek Cheon’s face.

❀ ❀ ❀

Un Am smiled gently.

“Do as you wish.”

“You should be stopping him!”

“That won’t do!”

“No, Sect Leader!”

The Five Swords sprang up in alarm, all speaking at once, but Un Am only chuckled.

“How could I stop a disciple who says he will do what duty requires?”

“What kind of sage-like talk is that!”

“You madman. He is a Taoist!”

“Ah, right. Still, even so.”

“Heheheh.”

“Please don’t just laugh, Sect Leader!”

“Hahahahahaha.”

Thus Hwasan’s will was finalized.

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