Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“Um?” asked Hyun Jong, making eye contact with Wei Lishan.

“Yes?”

“… to get to Huayoung Gate, we will have to take a different path from here.”

“Huhu. Right, right.”

At that, Hyun Jong quietly nodded his head.

“But, leader Wei.”

“Yes! Sect Leader!”

“On this occasion, it isn’t too bad to show the disciples Mount Hua, right?”

“Of course. That will be something my disciple looks forward to. But, if we follow you from here, for no reason the sect will have to waste money…”

“Do not worry about that.”

Hyun Jong smiled and was about to continue when someone interrupted from behind,

“Leader Wei speaks as if what he earned in Shaolin was less? Do not worry about that.”

“…”

It was Hyun Young.

Hyun Jong’s face became twisted.

He could have said something nice. Why did he have to open his mouth and only speak about money?

No, actually, even in the past, money was the only thing he spoke of. In the past, he would complain about not having money, and these days, the only difference was he applauded people for making money.

“But…”

“Um?”

“Where did the other disciples go? It seems like I couldn’t catch them since morning.”

Hyun Jong smiled and said,

“They went to do what they had to do.”

“…”

The expression on his face looked heavy, so Wei Lishan didn’t ask more.

“More than that…”

Hyun Jong glanced behind them,

“The road from here is a little rough, so we will have to take care of the carts. If he comes back and notices that there is a problem with the cart or the money has changed, he will make a mess of everyone.”

Wei Lishan, who paused for a second, trembled as he said,

“Don’t worry, Sect Leader. I will make sure not a single coin is missing.”

“Thank you.”

After that conversation, Hyun Jong looked up at the sky.

At that time, Hyun Sang, who was listening to them, said,

“Sect Leader.”

“… what is it?”

“It is fine to send Yu Yiseol, but why did we have to send the other kids?”

To his question, Hyun Jong responded,

“Because they need to see it.”

“…”

“In order to be truly supportive of one another, we need to understand each other. One day the children will lead Mount Hua, so I hope they understand the pain she is in.”

Hyun Sang nodded quietly.

‘Yu Yiseol…’

Hyun Jong quietly closed his eyes and thought.

‘Where are we going?’

Baek Cheon frowned slightly and looked at Yu Yiseol, who was running ahead. They started early, but the sun was now setting over Mount Seo.

Still, Yu Yiseol’s feet seemed unwilling to stop.

‘Mountain.’

All she could see was the mountain in front of her and the others that were with her.

Baek Cheon once again felt that he knew nothing about Yu Yiseol.

Tang Soso was the daughter of the Tang Family, Jo Gul was the son of a merchant in Sichuan, Yoon Jong was an orphan that an elder of Mount Hua picked up, and Chung Myung…

‘A beggar. That bastard.’

However, he knew very little about Yu Yiseol.

Yu Yiseol was a person who never talked about herself. It wasn’t until Chung Myung came that her words increased, and normally in the past, she wouldn’t speak more than three words a month.

They all thought she was being too honest about the path of Tao and didn’t care, but as he followed her now, he was curious again.

And the past of Chung Myung…

“… why is it so far!”

“Calm down! Chung Myung!”

“Don’t say that.”

“Sasuk! This bastard won’t get off my back! What do I do with him?”

No.

Actually, I am not curious about his past cause I am sure to explode with anger if I know.

It was only when the sun went down that Yu Yiseol stopped running.

She stood at the beginning of another large mountain that looked steep and looked back.

“Here.”

“… do we need to go up?”

Instead of answering, she just nodded, and Baek Cheon said,

“Then we go up.”

At that moment, Chung Myung asked,

“What is this running all day and now climbing up? The day has ended.”

“You didn’t even run, you idiot!”

When Jo Gul yelled, Chung Myung lowered his gaze,

“Sahyung, sahyung.”

“Uh?”

“I am doing this to give you some training as I think your lower body is weak, but if you keep speaking like this, I will grab a huge rock.”

“… I will take you to the top of this mountain in a very cozy manner.”

“Tch.”

Yu Yiseol glanced at Chung Myung and began to climb.

All the rest followed behind her. Tang Soso, who followed, approached her and asked,

“Sago, did you climb it a lot?”

“Not so much.”

At the small answer, Tang Soso nodded and looked into the eyes of Yu Yiseol.

Others may not notice the difference, but Tang Soso could clearly see that her face was turning stiff.

‘She doesn’t exactly seem to be in a bad mood.’

It was like too many emotions at the same time.

Happiness. Longing. Pain. Sadness.

It was the first time she saw so many emotions on Yu Yiseol’s face.

‘What is up there which is shaking her so much?’

This was Yu Yiseol, who always had a calm heart, and she wouldn’t budge at the most disgusting things Chung Myung would ever do.

Her curiosity only kept growing.

As if to solve her question, Yu Yiseol gradually slowed down.

She slowed down and began to move briskly but then slowed to a walk. And those who followed her mimicked her pace.

Step step.

The trees were decreasing, and soon the forest disappeared.

Eventually, the sight which greeted the disciples was a wide space with nothing special.

“… samae?”

Despite Baek Cheon calling for her, she didn’t answer. Instead, her eyes were fixed on a spot as she walked over.

Baek Cheon was calling for her, wondering, but she didn’t listen.

“Samae, this place…”

“Sasuk, wait.”

But a low voice came from behind him.

“That…”

“Um?”

Yoon Jong’s voice made Baek Cheon narrow his eyes.

And…

‘Ah…’

He went silent.

Where Yu Yiseol was heading was something that was raised like a mound. It was of low height, so one wouldn’t immediately notice

“…”

That… was a grave.

A small tomb was built in the middle.

The moment they saw it, they knew why she was there.

Sr.

This time the steps of Yu Yiseol touching the grass were clearly heard by all. The sound of the grasshopper shouting.

The wind moved past them.

No one opened their mouths.

After arriving near the tomb, Yu Yiseol looked down at it and said,

“I am back.”

Her eyes closed,

“…father.”

A bonfire was burning in front of a falling hut.

Those who maintained the hut quite far from the tombs unpacked their things.

“Ugh, so cold.”

Chung Myung said as he sat close to the fire and glanced at the hut, which looked like it would fall.

How long had this place been neglected?

Five years? No, not that young

‘I think it’s been at least ten years.’

There were traces of some small repairs, but it was clear no person had lived here sooner than ten years ago.

‘In other words, people lived here ten years back.’

Quite strange.

Living in the middle of this mountain wasn’t as easy as one thinks. In particular, this place was not suitable for human habitation. It was a place to hide for sinners who pushed themselves for something or those who did not want to run into people.

Chung Myung looked at Yu Yiseol. She must have lived here.

Perhaps the owner of that tomb.

The sound of the fire was the only thing that continued as no one dared speak.

When the atmosphere turned like this, all the disciples except Yu Yiseol looked at Baek Cheon.

‘… what?’

‘Ask her fast!’

‘…’

As their eyes talked, Baek Cheon took a deep breath and asked,

“Samae.”

“Yes.”

“That grave there?”

“… my father.”

“Ah, right…. Um.”

Baek Cheon…

‘Enough!’

When he glanced back at the disciples, they only shook their heads.

‘You damned things!’

What good would asking such things do, you!?

Baek Cheon once again hesitated and asked,

“Then samae and your father lived here before?”

“Yes.”

Short answers as always, and he closed his eyes tightly. He couldn’t stand this anymore as he was curious too.

“This place doesn’t seem like only one group lived here. How did you happen to come here?”

Yu Yiseol shook her head and stared at Baek Cheon, who felt a bit perplexed.

“Ah, no. If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have it. It doesn’t matter now anyway.”

As soon as his words were finished, Yu Yiseol got up, making him flinch.

“No, samae, I didn’t mean…”

But when she entered the hut, she began to dig in one corner.

‘Uh?’

She quickly dug something with her hands and pulled it out.

A half-rotten chest of wood.

She took it out very carefully and put it in front of the disciples of Mount Hua,

“This…”

When everyone looked at it, she opened it.

A chest filled with books.

‘Books?’

‘Martial arts?’

But none of the books seemed to have a title.

Soon, Yu Yiseol started to take out all the books.

And her hands put down a dozen of them and stopped. And she reached into the chest again…

Two papers came up.

One of them was almost shredded.

Chung Myung narrowed his eyes.

There was a black smudge in the middle of it, and he knew that was the trace of dried blood.

And another…

“Samae that…?”

A half-burnt book.

No, it was more of a piece of paper than a book; It didn’t look like a proper book at all.

Only the front side was a few letters, and the title of it was blurred.

Twenty-Four and Plum and Technique.

Maybe not in the past, but now they could guess what this was…

“… Twenty-Four Movement Plum Blossom Sword technique.”

Everyone was shocked

The technique which their sect was searching for so desperately was here. Of course, it was more burnt than usable and could no longer be called a martial arts book.

She looked at the book and put it on the ground.

Then she sat down and looked at the fire and opened her mouth.

“My father…”

Her voice, which flowed slowly, was quieter than usual.

“My father was a disciple of Mount Hua.”

Yoon Jong gulped

It felt like Yu Yiseol’s voice felt sad.

“The disciple of Mount Hua who ran away. A person who didn’t want to live as the disciple of Mount Hua, so he left the sect behind.”

“…”

“And still…”

She closed her eyes.

“was a person who couldn’t live without Mount Hua. A person who couldn’t abandon Mount Hua until the end, even after leaving it behind. So…”

He was a stupid person.