Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“Keuuuu!”

Chung Myung crumpled his face and downed the alcohol heartily, then casually wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

“It sticks to your mouth. Well, I heard that drinking while looking at the river has a certain charm.”

Then, he glanced at Namgung Dowi sitting next to him and said, “Why aren’t you drinking? Don’t like alcohol?”

“N- No. I don’t particularly hate it.”

“Then what?”

“It’s a bit awkward…”

Namgung Dowi looked at the liquor bottle in his hand. Having grown up under the strict laws of the prestigious Namgung Family, he was unaccustomed to drinking directly from the bottle.

Besides, the place where they are sitting now is grass, so what’s the awkwardness to say?

“Is it hard to drink without formalities?”

“It’s not like that, but….”

Chung Myung laughed briefly and continued to drink heavily.

“Keuuuu.”

He wiped the corners of his mouth again and spoke nonchalantly.

“Kids like you end up as heavy drinkers.”

“…Yes?”

“We have one among us too. Shaolin fake monk. That guy started off ranting about how monks shouldn’t drink, and now, he’s gone mad, even stealing my alcohol.”

“…Shaolin fake monk? A- Are you by any chance referring to Monk Hye Yeon?”

“Yes, that punk!”

“Monk Hye Yeon drinks… and even steals your alcohol?”

“Yes! That’s what I’m saying!”

Chung Myung gritted his teeth.

“I raised a damned tiger cub.”

“……”

Namgung Dowi, who was staring blankly at Chung Myung, burst into laughter.

“…Is it funny?”

As Chung Myung glared at him, Namgung Dowi quickly suppressed his laughter and waved his hand.

“It’s not because Dojang is funny, it’s because the situation is funny.”

“What do you know?”

Chung Myung just sighed. Namgung Dowi looked at the bottle of liquor he was holding, then slowly lifted it and brought it to his mouth. And he downed it like Chung Myung.

“Keuhuk! Keuhuhuk!”

“What now?”

“What kind of alcohol is this! Cough! Cough!”

His face turned red as he coughed continuously as if the strong liquor was burning his throat.

Chung Myung chuckled.

“This is how alcohol should be.”

“Wha- What kind of alcohol is this? It’s poison!”

“Tsk, tsk. This is why the children of the prestigious sect are.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue as if he were pathetic.

“So, can’t handle it?”

“I am….”

Namgung Dowi was lost in thought for a moment, his words trailing off, and then he looked at Chung Myung and the bottle alternately.

After a moment, he bit his lip lightly and started chugging the alcohol. Chung Myung applauded him.

“Oh. You drink well.”

“Kyaa. You know how to drink.”

“…uh?”

“S- Stop drinking! You madman!”

Frightened, Chung Myung forcibly pulled out the bottle of alcohol from Namgung Dowi’s mouth.

“Kuhaaak!”

As if he had swallowed poison, Namgung Dowi grabbed his reddened neck with both hands.

“…Do all Namgung kids lack moderation?”

Even while Chung Myung muttered, ‘Still, I thought they used to be more sensible back in the day…’, Namgung Dowi couldn’t come to his senses and coughed.

After a while, when his coughing finally subsided, he said.

“Keu… this is good.”

“It doesn’t look good at all?”

In response to Chung Myung’s question, Namgung Dowi shook his head and looked down at the bottle of alcohol in his hand.

“In the past, I might have said this isn’t alcohol…. But now, I think I understand why people drink this.”

“You seem to understand nothing?”

“Huhu. I feel… good, Dojang.”

“You twisted your tongue.”

“……”

Namgung Dowi shook his head several times as if trying to come to his senses.

It hadn’t been long since he’d drunk the alcohol, but he already felt a warmth spreading through his body. Normally, he would have used his internal strength to suppress and get rid of the warmth, but he didn’t feel inclined to do so right now.

“Dojang.”

“What?”

“Do you have another bottle?”

“……”

Instead of answering, Chung Myung looked up at the distant sky.

“…Why do I only gather these things?”

Is the world wrong? Or is he wrong?

– Are you asking because you don’t know?

“Kaaaaack!”

“What’s wrong, what’s with you all of a sudden?”

“No, nothing.”

After glaring at the sky, Chung Myung lay down on the spot.

“Uh, I’m drunk.”

Namgung Dowi glanced at the scene and hinted at Chung Myung.

“Dojang.”

“What.”

“…Why did you call me out here?”

“Huh?”

Namgung Dowi sighed softly.

“Isn’t there something you want to say?”

“I just called you.”

“For what?”

“To drink.”

“……”

“Drink, drink. What else is there in life? It’s all about drinking.”

Anyone who expects something from Chung Myung will inevitably be disappointed beyond their expectations. This was all too common in Mount Hua, but unfortunately, Namgung Dowi was not aware of this fact.

“Ha….”

A mix of laughter and sighs escaped him. Namgung Dowi, who turned her head to look at the dark silhouette of the Yangtze River, muttered.

“The truth is… the truth is, Dojang.”

“Hm?”

“I didn’t want to leave this place yet.”

“……”

Chung Myung didn’t offer any response, but Namgung Dowi continued speaking slowly as if he no longer cared about such things.

“No, to be more precise, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to leave here… I didn’t want to go back to Anhui. Honestly, I was a bit… afraid. If I left here and went back to Anhui…”

He would really have to become the Gaju and lead Namgung Family.

It was a burden far too heavy for Namgung Dowi. What he thought would happen at least twenty years later came upon him overnight.

Not to mention, he was not to lead a normal Namgung Family but one that had lost over half, perhaps even eighty percent, of its power.

Namgung Dowi said self-deprecatingly.

“I got angry a little while ago.”

“……”

“I was angry that they didn’t feel the way I felt. I acted disappointed and asked why they didn’t trust me and follow me.”

Namgung Dowi slowly shook his head.

“But… perhaps that wasn’t anger towards them. No, it wasn’t. What I was truly angry about was…. seeing myself reflected in them, perhaps even more frightened than they were.”

“Hmm.”

He covered his face with his hands, speaking as if on the verge of tears.

“It’s difficult, Dojang. It’s too difficult. The burden is still too heavy for me. I don’t know what to do…”

“…..”

“At least, if I had twenty years…. No, if only I had been given ten years…. I might have been a little more solid, and I might become unshakable.”

“Hmm!”

Chung Myung, who had been silent, suddenly raised his upper body. And then he turned his gaze fiercely towards Namgung Dowi.

“…Dojang!”

As their eyes met, a strange feeling of anticipation bloomed in Namgung Dowi’s heart.

Perhaps he would chastise him for being inadequate.

Or maybe he would comfort him, saying he was doing well enough.

Either way was fine. What Namgung Dowi needs now is someone who can evaluate and guide him. To tell him whether his choice is right or wrong.

Perhaps… Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword might be able to guide him.

But then…

“There.”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung gestured with his chin towards a liquor bottle beside Namgung Dowi.

“Pass me that bottle next to you. There should be some left.”

“……”

“What are you doing?”

“Al…cohol?”

“Yeah, that one.”

“……”

“Hurry up.”

“Yes….”

Namgung Dowi, feeling relieved, laughed heartily and handed the liquor bottle to Chung Myung.

‘What am I even talking about.’

He knew.

No one could help, and no one could offer advice. In this situation, what others can say is just obvious things. In the end, everything was up to him to endure and solve.

He knew that… he did.

As Chung Myung guzzled from the bottle, his throat moved vigorously up and down.

Gulp ! Gulp ! Gulp !

“Kuuuuh!”

After removing the bottle from his lips, Chung Myung let out a satisfied exclamation and put the bottle down.

“Well, I hear you say something funny.”

He clicked his tongue as he looked at Namgung Dowi.

“Ten years later, what difference would it have made?”

“…Yes?”

“What would have been easier if you experienced it 20 years later?”

“That….”

“Oh, come on, kid.”

Chung Myung waved his hand dismissively and sighed.

“Thinking the world gets easier as you age is a misconception. Having aged myself, I’ve found it’s not true. My mind has only become more cluttered than when I was younger.”

“Dojang?”

Having aged himself?

“Ha. Being young. That feels like a lifetime ago.”

“……”

Is this person mocking me now?

Namgung Dowi looked at him blankly with a trembling face. At that time, Chung Myung asked calmly.

“Was everything easy for Namgung Hwang?”

At those words, Namgung Dowi’s body stiffened.

“…My father….”

He reflexively tried to say something, but Chung Myung’s next words made Namgung Dowi close his mouth.

“Was the father you know really the kind of person who lived such an easy life?”

“….”

“No. Probably not. To say that man lived easily would be an insult to him.”

Right. That can’t be possible.

Because Namgung Hwang did his best at all times and in any situation. Even though he sometimes made mistakes and failed, he was always a man who tried everything he could.

“Then what would have been so different even if Namgung Hwang were here now?”

“……”

“Probably not.”

Chung Myung shook his head.

“The situation may have improved a little, but the worries your father had to go through would not have been any smaller than yours. He would have had to shoulder more expectations and more responsibility than you.”

“……”

“People are just people. There is no one who does not feel pain when stabbed by a sword, and there is no person whose heart is made of iron. Even those who seem invincible feel pain and get hurt just the same.”

Namgung Dowi bit his lips tightly.

“By the way, little kid. Being an adult means.”

“Yes.”

“You learn how to pretend it doesn’t hurt even when you are.”

Namgung Dowi closed his eyes.

He remembered the image of Namgung Hwang always paved the way forward.

Right. It must have hurt. It must have been painful. Both body and mind.

But he couldn’t be in pain, he couldn’t be suffering. Because Namgung Dowi is behind him. Because there were people in Plum Blossom Island that he needed to protect. Because there were those who looked only to him.

“Bearing something… that’s what it means.”

“……”

“Pain is natural, and hardship is natural. No, it has to hurt and be difficult. For those who carry more and try to lead even one step further, comfortable times will never come.”

Chung Myung took a sip of his liquor.

While resting on the Yangtze River, his eyes suddenly turned somewhere in the distant past. But soon, his gaze turned towards the manor behind him.

Towards the place where all of Mount Hua’s members reside.

“I don’t know much about it…”

Chung Myung looked straight at Namgung Dowi.

“But there must be something for you. Something given to me by Namgung Hwang. Something he desperately wanted to pass on to the next generation.”

Namgung Dowi clenched his fists without realizing it.

There is. Yes, there definitely is.

Namgung Hwang clearly conveyed that to him. What the sword of Namgung means.

Emperor’s sword is not about reigning and ruling, but about protecting from the forefront.

How could one who faces enemies and breaks through headwinds not struggle and be free of concerns?

“Just that is enough.”

“……”

“What you need has already been delivered. That means it will continue.”

“Dojang.”

“If you’re still unsure, think about it.”

“What do you mean…?”

Chung Myung grinned.

“What do you want to pass on to future generations?”

“….”

“That might be the path you should follow.”

Namgung Dowi looked at Chung Myung in silence for a long time. Then he cast his gaze towards the Yangtze River.

The spirits of Namgung flow in that river.

What would they have wished for the life Namgung Dowi would lead?

“Dojang.”

“Hm?”

Namgung Dowi, who had been silent, slowly opened his mouth.

“Can I… really do well?”

“Well. I can’t say much about that, but you seem like you’ll make a good Gaju.”

“…Yes?”

Chung Myung looked behind him and grinned.

“Speaking of complaints means that you trust that person. There’s no way someone who is trusted by everyone can’t be a good Gaju.”

Namgung Dowi turned his head following Chung Myung’s gaze.

“Sogaju-nim!”

“Sogaju-nim, where are you!”

The sword warriors of Namgung who had been left behind were all coming out to look for him.

“I….”

Namgung Dowi, who was about to say something, bit his lip tightly. His head slowly drooped. Eventually, his shoulders began to tremble slightly.

Chung Myung smiled at the scene. It was a smile as faint and warm as moonlight.

“So let’s drink today, kid.”

“…Yes, Dojang.”

The night on the Yangtze River deepened.

Together with the faint scent of liquor, the strong smell of grass, and the blowing river wind.