Return of the Mount Hua

Anyone got anything else to say? (3)

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“Quite a sight.”

“Indeed.”

Letting out exclamations of admiration, the Five Swords gazed at the seats arranged around the central training ground.

In truth, it was difficult to call it an especially spectacular sight. All they had done was arrange hundreds of chairs around a large training ground. Of course, the number of seats prepared had easily surpassed their initial estimate, reaching as many as seven hundred. Even so, it would be a stretch to call that alone impressive.

But when one considered the people who would be sitting here, it became an entirely different matter.

“To think that the heads of sects from all across the world would gather together in one place like this.”

“Right? It is a shame that the truly prominent Great Sects could not take part, but this is not exactly an occasion where that is essential, is it?”

“It is not a situation where they could attend, so it can’t be helped.”

“That is true.”

Tang Soso nodded at Yoon Jong’s words.

“Shaolin is in Bongmun, and Wudang is in a situation where they have to rebuild the very foundation of their sect… Not figuratively speaking, either. They truly have to start again from the foundation stones. The other sects aren’t doing very well either. Even the Tang Clan has just suddenly lost the patriarch. Do you think they would be in any state of mind to come?”

“…Soso, I truly never know how I’m supposed to respond when you say things like that. Please spare a thought for the feelings of the person who has to respond.”

“I merely stated the facts.”

Yoon Jong squeezed his eyes shut.

In any case, for these reasons, almost none of the sects that could be called Gupailbang, or the Five Great Families, had participated. Even the Sichuan Tang Clan had conveyed their polite intention not to attend through a lengthy and carefully worded letter from Tang Pae.

But that did not diminish the purpose of this event. Rather, it was precisely because of circumstances such as these that the event shone all the more brightly.

Was that not why the second-generation disciples of Hwasan had been bustling about here from early morning, before a single guest had even appeared? A strong determination to make this event a success without a single hitch shimmered in all of their eyes.

“First of all, the first guest is what matters.”

“Have not seventy percent of them already arrived? They are all in the guest quarters, so is there really any meaning to a first guest?”

“Now, now, what are you talking about? The reason they came all the way to Hwasan was to participate in this event. I am telling you, what matters more than anything is who will be the first to sit in one of these chairs today.”

“Hm. Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

The beginning was always important. That was why the disciples of Hwasan were eagerly anticipating which sect would become the first to grace this event.

But then…

“Why?”

“…”

“What?”

“…No, nothing. Welcome.”

Yoon Jong openly let out a sigh as he looked at the beggar tilting his head in confusion before him. For some reason, those rags stood out especially distinctly today. Even the faint stench drifting from him seemed somehow stronger.

“Are you not busy?”

“Me?”

Hong Daekwang, the Beggars Sect’s Sect Leader, who had burst through Hwasan’s main gate at the crack of dawn, flopped down into a chair and began to speak in an exaggeratedly playful tone.

“Of course I am frantically busy. You know that, do you not? Ordinary beggars may have time on their hands, but the king of beggars does not have a moment to spare.”

As Hong Daekwang flashed a smile, a row of yellowed teeth was revealed.

“Still, I could not refuse an invitation from Hwasan. No matter how busy I am, a man still has to eat.”

“You are a beggar. It seems like you could stand to go hungry sometimes.”

“You are doing a truly poor job of fulfilling your duty.”

“Exactly.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

The disciples of Hwasan looked at Hong Daekwang with uneasy expressions. Their first guest was the Beggars Sect’s Sect Leader… Well, that was certainly something.

The disciples of Hwasan, having stepped back, began to whisper among themselves.

“Will it be all right for our first guest to be a beggar?”

“…He is no ordinary beggar, so would it not be fine?”

“Still, a beggar is a beggar.”

“No. Come to think of it, it might actually be better. The Beggars Sect is no laughing matter these days.”

The greatest beneficiary of Shaolin and Wudang’s downfall was Hwasan. That could not be denied. Then who had benefited the second most?

‘The Beggars Sect, obviously.’

Naturally, the Beggars Sect had also suffered immense losses because of the war. But what the Beggars Sect had suffered was merely ‘damage.’ The other sects of Gupailbang, as well as the Five Great Families, had been struck hard enough to have their spines literally ripped out.

And so, simply because it had been beaten a little less severely by Sapaeryeon, the Beggars Sect had been able to proudly claim a place among the upper ranks of Gupailbang.

That was the reality. No matter that he was a beggar, in terms of status alone, this man was one of the five most influential figures in Gangho. It was only because they were so accustomed to that utterly pathetic face of his that it did not feel that way at all…

“But why is someone like you sitting here?”

“Huh?”

“Considering your standing, should you not be seated up front, Sect Leader? Is there really any need for you to sit aaall the way back here?”

Tang Soso pointed towards the foremost row of sits in the distance. At that, Hong Daekwang slowly closed his eyes. The corners of his eyes began to gradually grow moist.

“Before I came here… I met someone for a moment, you see?”

“Ah, did you? And?”

“He told me this. That a beggar loitering around at the front would lower the dignity of the place, so I should not even think about sitting up front and should have the common sense to go sit in the back.”

“…”

Yoon Jong and Tang Soso did not bother asking who had said it. In all of Hwasan – no – in the entire world, there was only one person who could say such a thing to the Beggars Sect’s Sect Leader.

“…I will apologize on his behalf.”

“No. You lot have it even harder.”

For a moment, the beggar and the Taoists gazed silently at one another, bound by a shared sense of mutual suffering.

“But you know.”

“Yes?”

Hong Daekwang spoke with a meaningful smile.

“It seems Hwasan Shinryong has made a rather grand move. Was there really any need to be in such a hurry?”

“Well, how would we know what is going on inside that bastard’s head?”

“Hmm, hmm, hmm. Is that so?”

It seemed Hong Daekwang had already guessed what Chung Myung was trying to do merely from the situation as it unfolded. No matter how much he was mistreated by Chung Myung and pitied by the disciples of Hwasan, he was still the Beggars Sect’s Sect Leader. He was hardly someone to be underestimated.

“Tell him to take it easy, easy. Ahh, it is frightening just to think about.”

“Haha…”

Just as Hong Daekwang continued his joking complaints, the second guest arrived through the main gate. The faces of the second-generation disciples of Hwasan soured in real time when they saw who it was.

“Hohohohohoho! It has been a long time since I last came to Hwasan.”

Dressed in green silk robes and, unlike usual, even wearing a neatly arranged headdress, Im Sobyeong came strolling in while fluttering a fan embroidered with a green dragon.

“…The second one is a bandit.”

“Should we not consider this a complete disaster?”

“No, I do not think that man was even invited. Why is he here?”

The disciples of Hwasan swallowed back their tears of frustration.

Earlier, it had been said that the Beggars Sect was the second greatest beneficiary of the war, but that was a matter of how opinions could differ depending on one’s perspective.

Because Nokrim, despite being an Evil Sect, had suffered relatively little damage even after the great war unleashed by the Evil Sects. That single sentence was enough to explain every benefit Nokrim had gained from this war.

“Hohoho. Why am I here, you ask? Naturally, because I have to be. Hwasan is Nokrim, and Nokrim is Hwasan, so how could I possibly be absent from an event held by Hwasan?”

“….I am really going to lose my mind.”

Im Sobyeong came sauntering over and plopped himself down right in front of the second-generation disciples.

“No, why is Nokrim King sitting here too? Someone of your stature should really be sitting in the very front row.”

“Because I am a bandit?”

“Ah…”

At those words, everyone nodded in understanding, while Hong Daekwang and Im Sobyeong turned to face one another. For an instant, it seemed as though sparks crackled through the air between them.

“It has been a long time, has it not?”

“Mm, I suppose it has. Well… it is not as though we are the sort to keep in touch?”

The Beggars Sect’s Sect Leader, who defended righteousness, and Nokrim King, who was in the process of escaping from the unorthodox path, glared at one another.

“But do Sapa scum get to frequent places such as this? Seems like the perfect way to ruin the atmosphere of a respectable gathering.”

“Haha. Still, surely not as much as beggars do? If you’re looking for leftover rice, I think the kitchen would be a better place to do so.”

“You certainly got a nerve. I will give you that. With so many heads of Just Sects here, what will you do if they find some fault with you, beat you senseless, and throw you out?”

“I’ll treasure that advice. After all, it comes from the Sect Leader with the most experience of being thrown out. By the way, have people stopped smashing bowls over your head these days?”

Sparks flew between the two again.

“For a Sapa scoundrel, the things that come out of that mouth..”

“Where’s that barking coming from? Oh, it’s a beggar…”

The disciples of Hwasan sighed as they watched the two growl at each other.

“He ought to know his place! To dare bare his teeth at the Beggars Sect’s Sect Leader, Hwasan’s closest friend.”

“What is the point of being close friends with you? You’re utterly useless.”

“What did you say? Are you dismissing the Beggars Sect’s achievements in the last war? Do you have any idea how much we helped?!”

“All you probably did was stand in the back and send messenger pigeons around.”

“Huh?”

With a smug smile on his face Im Sobyeong unfolded his fan.

“Think about it, Sect Leader. We mobilized manpower comparable to the Beggars Sect’s, and I personally served as a strategist.”

Yoon Jong nodded as though that was true enough.

“Though, to be fair, he wasn’t actually much help.”

“Looking back on it, wasn’t every one of your plans going south? Feels like you were just getting played by Ho Gamyeong the whole ti…”

“Khaak! Please be quiet. And in the end, I even went to the front lines myself and captured the enemy commander. While I was performing so brilliantly, where was our esteemed Sect Leader again?”

“R-Rear support is important too!”

“Of course, of course. But think about it. If you were in Hwasan’s position, between a beggar who merely flaps his mouth from the rear and me, who can contribute in all kinds of ways, which of us would you consider your true right-hand man?”

“Y-You…!”

“Hahahaha. The weather is delightfully refreshing today.”

The argument between the two ended in Nokrim King’s perfect victory, no matter who looked at it.

But the disciples of Hwasan watching them had entirely different thoughts.

“I do not think either of them would be considered a right-hand man.”

“Even the Tang Clan is staying quiet, so why are those two…?”

“Just leave them be. They are free to think whatever they want.”

Everyone shook their heads in disbelief.

Meanwhile, people began entering one by one and filling the seats. Familiar faces appeared in quick succession, while those they did not know at all awkwardly offered greetings first.

As more people arrived, the more the faces of Hwasan’s disciples grew tense.

Those who shared deep ties with Hwasan, those who sought to forge new ties with Hwasan, and those who harbored old grudges against Hwasan – all took their seats, each carrying their own thoughts.

At first, it was noisy. Naturally so, with this many people gathered together.

Yet strangely, the more the expected guests arrived, and the fewer empty seats remained, the more an unusual silence settled over the training grounds.

At last, when everyone had taken their seats, what held Hwasan in its grasp was absolute silence.

And that silence did not carry a single meaning alone. It was respect for Hwasan that had gathered all these people in one place. It was the pressure exerted by the very people assembled here. And perhaps even fear of Hwasan that would soon stand before them.

Just as these complex emotions steadily heightened everyone’s tension to its peak, Un Am, the Sect Leader of Hwasan, slowly stepped onto the platform prepared at the center.

With a gentle expression, he quietly looked over everyone present. Then, without haste, he calmly opened his mouth.

“From this moment onward, I hereby convene the Hwasan Alliance Assembly [화산회맹(華山會盟)*].”

It was a declaration delivered so calmly, and all the heavier because of it.

Main Story Chapter 1934 >>>

Special Spinoff Chapter 52 >>>

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*회맹(會盟) – Chinese – (literary) to meet and form an alliance (of feudal states). It’s a meeting with the purpose to form an alliance, not a meeting of an existing alliance.

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