Return of the Mount Hua

There’s something I’d like to ask. (2)

ROTMHS Glossary || About page

“Hmph!”

“Huuuuuh!”

It was truly a pitiable sight. That is, to those watching.

Who was Jin Geumryong?

Though his brilliance may have dimmed a little now, he was once the head disciple of Jongnam Sect – counted among the Three Great Sects under Heaven – and a once-in-a-generation genius who had the next Sect Leader’s seat all but assured. One could hardly speak of prodigies without bringing up Jin Geumryong.

Even in Jongnam, which sifted through Shaanxi’s finest talents before admitting them, he was acknowledged as a prodigy of the sword in a different league altogether, an overwhelming entity who, through all those years leading Jongnam’s disciples, never once permitted a challenge to his authority.

And then, who was Baek Cheon?

Is he not the Vice Sect Leader whom the young disciples – those who led the revival of the once-fallen Hwasan – trust and follow with one heart?

The reputation of the two men was, in truth, higher outside [문외(門外)] their sects than within [문내(門內)]. No one doubted that when these two became the heads of Jongnam and Hwasan, a golden age unlike any other would dawn over the martial world of Shaanxi.

And yet the spectacle those two were putting on now was absurd.

Hwasan’s disciples, who were used to treating Baek Cheon as a foolish older brother to tease, could shrug it off. But the disciples of Jongnam all averted their eyes in haste, as though they had witnessed something they ought not to see.

Jin Geumryong, however, seemed not to notice those gazes at all.

“No, forget it.”

“…Huh?”

“No need to thank me.”

Jin Geumryong leaned back deep into his chair. Reclining so far his body nearly hung over the short backrest that barely reached his waist and, wearing his signature arrogant expression, looked down at Baek Cheon.

“Come to think of it, there’s nothing in particular to be thanked for.”

“…What are you talking about? And what’s with that insufferable face?”

That face is your face too… That insufferable face.

Everyone thought the same, but no one could bring themselves to say it. Jin Geumryong snorted.

“Weren’t you the one who said it? That helping the weak is a warrior’s natural duty.”

Flinch.

Realizing what Jin Geumryong was about to say, Baek Cheon’s eyelids trembled.

“What bull…….”

“I didn’t specifically help my younger brother. I merely helped the weak. So there’s no need to thank me.”

Jin Geumryong flashed a picture-perfect, radiant smile. His neat white teeth gleamed dazzlingly.

“Isn’t it only natural for the strong to aid the weak? To expect gratitude for such a thing would be disgraceful. Nothing could be more pitiful.”

“…”

“This time I, too, have come to understand it – the heart that helps the weak. Do they generally call this righteousness? Well… It wasn’t as bad as I’d thought.”

At Jin Geumryong’s remark – enough to make anyone gasp – Yoon Jong and Jo Geol found themselves applauding before they knew it.

“Wow…”

“I’m afraid I might actually start learning. I’m really scared Sasuk will pick it up.”

An exclamation rose up from deep within.

Forget the idea that they had the same face. No matter how hard Baek Cheon tried, he could never wear an expression that arrogant. It was such a striking expression it seemed to twist even Yoon Jong and Jo Geol’s stomachs as they watched from a distance.

So it was only natural that Baek Cheon, struck with that face right before his eyes, did not emerge unscathed. No – ‘not unscathed’ didn’t even begin to cover it. Baek Cheon’s mind seemed unable to even process Jin Geumryong’s words, as his head shook from side to side, creaking. 

“…What is that supposed to mean?”

“Tsk, tsk. Pretending you didn’t understand. What I’m saying is, the reason I helped you was…”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

Baek Cheon tilted his head slightly to the side.

“To say the strong helped the weak… that doesn’t add up.”

“What?”

At that moment, a smile much like Jin Geumryong’s formed on Baek Cheon’s face.

“The weak one is you.”

“…”

“You lost to me.”

An indescribably cold chill swept through the tent.

It was so eerie that one oblivious soul even glanced around, wondering if the Ice Palace people had shown up. As everyone tensed and frantically read the mood, a jagged crack ran across Jin Geumryong’s face, which had seemed veiled with frost.

“…What?”

“Why? It’s the truth. The last time we fought, I won. Naturally, that makes me the strong one.”

In an instant, Jin Geumryong lunged forward and seized Baek Cheon by the collar.

“Come outside right now. Today I’ll fix your rotten manners.”

“Don’t wanna. I don’t fight people who are weaker than me.”

Even now, Baek Cheon remained busy with his insolence.

“Yo… you bastard…”

“If you’re salty about that, you should’ve won. Who told you to lose? Oh dear, my mistake. If I’d known it would come to this, I should’ve just let you win back then. You are the older brother, after all. Right?”

Correction. No – an addition.

It’s self-evident that Baek Cheon cannot be as arrogant as Jin Geumryong. But Baek Cheon had his own flawless strength. An infuriating strength that every disciple of Hwasan knew all too well.

“When it comes to getting under people’s skin…”

“He’s the best in all the Central Plains. That’s for sure.”

Even Chung Myung can’t beat that.

“Come on, you bastard!”

“A disciple of Hwasan does not fight someone weaker than themselves.”

“Die!”

“You little…! Did you just hit me?”

Before anyone realized it, the two brothers were trading blows, without the slightest care for the eyes upon them. The disciples of the two sects, who had been staring blankly, suddenly, as if on cue, sent each other looks of shared misery.

‘You have it rough.’

‘Right back at you.’

Amid the dull thuds, sighs leaked out here and there, mingling together.

❀ ❀ ❀

“Are you going back?”

“I must.”

Hye Bang nodded slowly.

“I have already disobeyed the sect’s orders. We had the pretext of helping the commoners, but even so, we dragged it out too long. This is a sin difficult to forgive, even with a thousand days of silent meditation facing a wall.”

As he listened to Hye Bang’s calm words, a flicker of pain passed through Hye Yeon’s eyes.

“Was it not an unjust command?”

Instead of answering immediately, Hye Bang smiled faintly. Then he asked.

“So then, you… will you not go with me?”

“…..Sahyeong.”

Hye Yeon’s fingertips twitched faintly.

To return to Shaolin. Even the thought alone sent great ripples through Hye Yeon’s heart.

“I…….”

As he hesitated, unable to answer easily, Hye Bang nodded as if he understood without hearing his answer. 

“Hye Yeon.”

“Yes. Yes… Sahyeong.”

“Do you resent the Abbot?”

Hye Yeon did not answer. The Abbot, Beop Jong. Each time he recalled that name, a pain that seemed to pierce through his chest surged up.

“I do not know.”

“…”

“Only… I believe the abbot has strayed onto the wrong path. I am certain the Shaolin he envisions is not the true one.”

“Amitabha.”

“However…….”

Hye Yeon closed his eyes and muttered.

“I also know that that the Abbot cherished me and cared for me more dearly than anyone else in the world.”

That is why it was hard.

To Hye Yeon, Beop Jong was like a father gone astray. He knew full well it was wrong, yet he was someone he could neither easily call out nor change. And yet, even so, to turn away from him was something he could do even less.

“If what the Abbot was ruining were only himself, I could perhaps have turned away. But the Abbot is disrupting Shaolin’s path of the Buddha.”

Once, Hye Yeon too had believed the same.

If revering the exalted Dharma was the greatest dignity, then surely spreading it was the most important of duties. Therefore, to elevate Shaolin’s standing would in itself benefit the world.

Then, when had that belief begun to change?

“I no longer see the Abbot’s path as the Buddha’s Way. It looks only… like the path of tyranny.”

“Hye Yeon.”

“Shaolin..!”

Hye Yeon’s big eyes brimmed with tears. He spat out the words.

“……it cannot be the Buddha, can it?”

“…”

“We are merely beings who strive to walk the Buddha’s Path, not people who have mastered the Dharma. Thus we can be wrong at any time, and we may also commit sins. Knowing the Buddha’s Way a little more than others does not make one necessarily right. Isn’t this – isn’t this obvious? I…”

The words, which had rushed out of him so quickly, faltered and died down.

He had never confessed this to anyone.

To deny the Abbot is like insulting Shaolin, and to affirm the Abbot is to deny the Dharma. As a disciple of Shaolin and also as a monk, neither was possible for Hye Yeon.

So he had hidden his true feelings until now. Something had always remained inside like a stifling knot. Yet now, at last, he was confessing this to Hye Bang.

Watching Hye Yeon’s deep dejection in silence, Hye Bang only smiled gently.

“There is a saying.”

“…What saying is that?”

“That the moment one acknowledges a parent’s failings is the moment a child truly becomes an adult.”

“Sahyeong…..”

“You’ve grown up, Hye Yeon. That brings me joy.”

Hye Bang lightly patted Hye Yeon’s shoulder.

“Do not fret too much.”

“…”

“We are those who convey the Buddha’s words and, at the same time, inquire into the Buddha’s intent. As you said, Shaolin cannot be the Buddha, and the Abbot even less so. The Dharma is lofty and great, yet a single Buddhist is small and frail.”

Hye Yeon’s eyes trembled faintly.

“So act upon what you believe is right. Your will shall be Shaolin’s will.”

“Then why are you returning to Shaolin, Sahyeong? Why do you still obey the Abbot’s orders?”

Hye Yeon fixed his gaze on Hye Bang as if he could not understand.

“Haha. What a strange thing to say. If I had followed the Abbot’s orders to the letter, could I be here now?”

“Ah…….”

Hearing that, Hye Yeon scratched his head in embarrassment, as if realizing his own stupidity.

“The Abbot cannot be Shaolin itself. But that also means we cannot excuse Shaolin’s sins by blaming only the Abbot. We are sinners by our silence. That is a truth we must never forget.”

“…”

“My returning to seclusion is to atone for Shaolin’s sins. And if someday I cast off the delusion in my heart and return to the world… then we shall repay our debts to the world.”

“Will the Abbot allow that?”

Hye Bang looked to the distant sky without answering.

“And… even if he did, can Shaolin truly become Shaolin again?”

Seeking an answer, Hye Yeon watched Hye Bang. Feeling that gaze and remaining silent for a long time, Hye Bang at last opened his mouth slowly.

“By nature, is not the Buddha’s Path like chasing a faint light seen far off, wandering a road thick with fog?”

“…”

“We yearn for enlightenment, and thus we know better than anyone how hard it is. If we cannot finish it in this life, are we not those who seek the answer in the next life, and the life after that?”

Smiling softly, Hye Bang looked steadily at Hye Yeon.

“Compared to that, speaking of Shaolin’s tomorrow is actually easier.”

“……Sahyeong.”

“You go and seek your answer in the world outside. I will seek mine within. Though our methods may differ, the path we wish to walk is the same, and at its end will come the day we meet again with easy hearts.”

Hye Bang quietly brought his palms together towards Hye Yeon. Hye Yeon, too, returned the salute with utmost reverence.

Watching Hye Yeon close his eyes and make the stance, Hye Bang wore an inscrutable smile.

‘The day you return to Shaolin – whenever it may be – will be the day when Shaolin once again proclaims its name to the world.’

Hye Bang truly believed so.

Next chapter >>>

________

Please, subscribe/donate on Patreon or Buymeacoffee – support my work and help me buy official cookies to purchase the chapters. My schedule is on the About page.