“Yah! You helpless bastard!”

Chung Myung flinched and looked ahead.

He saw his sahyung, Chung Mun glare at him with a quivering beard.

‘Ah, come on. He keeps coming after me day after day.’

Chung Myung pouted. However, despite Chung Myung acting that way, his sahyung didn’t seem to be any less angry.

“What did I tell you?”

“Well... there are so many things you nag me about so I don’t know what the answer is.”

“You really are a brat!”

Chung Myung flinched and turned his head.

From afar, his sajaes were looking at him as if they were gloating. When they saw that he was looking at them, they immediately turned their heads away.

‘Those bastards?’

‘Do they want to die?’

Thak!

“Ack!”

Chung Myung grabbed his head and looked at his sahyung with a resentful gaze.

“Again! Again!”

“Ackkk!”

Chung Myung trembled.

Who was Chung Myung?

He was the supreme disciple of Mount Hua and could even be called the future of Mount Hua.

Of course, there were many who were jealous of him and tried to disparage him by referring to him as the disaster of Mount Hua or the reason for Mount Hua’s downfall, but weren’t those just the feelings of the incompetent ones?

It wasn’t just his sahyungs and sajaes, but even his sasuks would never touch him.

But this one man.

The only one his name didn’t bother was his sahyung.

“Didn’t I tell you to not beat your sajaes?”

“No, I didn’t mean to…”

Chung Myung went silent.

“They are the ones who started it first.”

“You! Are you saying they went crazy and picked a fight with you first? I still have some common sense, so think before you speak at least!”

“…”

Uh?

Why was he unable to speak back?

“Yah!”

Anger rose on the face of his sahyung.

“Not just the sajaes! Even the sajil are scared of you and avoid you!”

“No, those worthless bastards. The first thing they do is pick a fight with me and when they lose, they come to you telling all kinds of tales about me! Only after they lose are they scared of me!”

“So noisy!”

“… kuk.”

Chung Myung pursed his lips. There was nothing wrong with what he said.

Was it just once or twice that Chung Myung had disciplined the sajaes? But then when he had just started doing it, his sahyung would be appreciative but now his sahyung was saying that he had crossed the line.

‘There really is no one in this world that I can trust.’

At that moment, Chung Myung decided that he would take revenge one day.

His sahyung, Chung Mun, let out a deep sigh.

“Follow me.”

“Uh?”

“I said follow me!”

“…”

Chung Mun led him up to the peak of the mountain. And all the way up, not a single word was exchanged between them.

Soon after they climbed the peak, Chung Mun asked Chung Myung to come next to him. And they could see the beautiful sight of Mount Hua below.

‘Is he trying to push me down?’

Still, I won’t die.

Chung Myung looked at the scene again with weird thoughts, and then finally his sahyung said,

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes, sahyung.”

“What do you think Mount Hua is?”

“Uh... What kind of nonsense are you saying? We are not cultivators.”

"Ah, but we are. We are Taoists, aren’t we?"

“Then let’s change the word then. What do you think a sect is?”

“That…”

Chung Myung shook his head.

“Take Mount Hua as an example. Maybe a man who had seen the world decided that he couldn’t adapt to the human world and came to a place looking for a few people with his weapon. And Mount Hua was created because such misfits had gathered in one place. So, to make this and that happen they put up a name for it as well. Did Mount Hua come from that?”

“…”

Chung Mun looked at Chung Myung with trembling eyes.

“… No?”

“Y-You can surely think of it that way.”

Right.

But why does it hurt?

“But that isn't all.”

Chung Mun shook his head.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes, sahyung.”

“Man cannot live forever.”

“…”

That was something very obvious, but Chung Myung wasn’t going to mention it. This was because he knew there was a weird flow of qi in the words he had said.

“You are gifted with talent. If you look at the current Mount Hua… no, perhaps even looking back at the entire history of Mount Hua, there would’ve been no one as talented as you.”

“Hehe. Why are you suddenly praising me?”

Chung Myung twisted his body at the sudden praise.

‘Put your hands down, sahyung.’

‘I won't die even if you push.’

“But that is all.”

“… what?”

“No matter how strong you are, what difference would it make? In the end, there will be things you cannot achieve on your own and places you cannot reach alone.”

“….”

“If the first ancestor of Mount Hua didn’t build Mount Hua and lived alone would the world have remembered him? Would his will and martial arts be passed down to the world?”

Chung Myung frowned.

“I know what you are trying to say, but I am not aiming for that. I am just going to go with the flow of the world and die when I die. I don’t want to leave anything behind.”

“It is because you don’t have desire yet.”

“… desire?”

Chung Mun nodded.

“Someday you will want to do it. The day when your sajaes and sajils and your descendants will inherit your will and martial arts. That is what makes us a martial arts sect. Living together isn’t everything. What is more important than that is for our successors to carry on the will of their predecessors.”

“Sounds difficult.”

“Right. Maybe it is difficult for you. But at the same time, you cannot do whatever you want just because new things are difficult.”

Chung Myung nodded softly.

He didn’t quite understand what was being said, but somehow it felt like he had to nod.

“So, take care of your sajaes a little more. In your opinion, each of the children are lacking. And even I might be lacking in your eyes.”

“Ah, not at all.”

Chung Myung said sternly.

“The sajaes are stupid, but I never thought that sahyung was lacking.”

“…”

‘-ah’

‘I said a good thing, right?’

Chung Mun looked at Chung Myung and sighed deeply.

“Don’t laugh! It’s not a joke. You brat!”

“It is fine.”

To Chung Myung who smiled softly, Chung Mun shook his head and said.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what the scariest thing in the world is?”

“Being hit on the calves?”

“…regret.”

“…”

Chung Mun said in a low voice.

“I am not afraid of being looked down on by children like you. But I am afraid that one day you will regret it. Your regrets will be many times deeper and heavier than that of others. So even if you don’t understand my words now. Engrave them into your mind. It will ease some of your burdens someday.”

“… so you are saying don’t beat those brats.”

“Yes, you brat!”

“I get it. I get it. You have been nagging for so long!”

“Uh!”

Chung Mun turned his body and walked away.

‘I’d rather read the sutras than nag at you!’

“Uh? Sahyung! Let’s go together!”

He glanced back at Chung Myung who was running after him.

‘This child was born with too many things.’

It was a good thing, but it wasn’t always a good thing. The other sajaes were bound to look like idiots to him who was able to bring out the plum blossoms from the tip of his sword right after he grabbed the sword.

How painful would it be to live alone in a world full of fools?

It was the sahyungs’ job to lead him correctly.

“But sahyung. I think I understand what sahyung means a little bit.”

“Uh?”

“So what you mean is, I should follow sahyung and make the sect follow me in the same way right?”

“Hu…”

Chung Mun smiled.

“It is different, you brat. How did you get to that conclusion?”

“Ah. This is so difficult.”

It wasn’t easy. But one day Chung Myung will know what it means. Despite it taking a long time.

And when the time comes.

‘The world will witness the true swordsman of Mount Hua.’

If this carefree child could understand the meaning of responsibility then everything would fall into place.

The world would closely watch as Mount Hua sweeps everything away.

“But…”

“Yes, Sahyung.”

“It seems like Baek Gong sasuk has been avoiding you recently. Did something happen?”

“Uh… Ah, NO. Well, Ah… nothing happened.”

“… a fight?”

“Ah, no, not a fight… well… may… be…”

‘Dear Ancestors’.

‘What do I do with this child!’

“You are fasting for four days from today.”

“Ah! Isn’t that too much?!”

“Shut up, you brat!”

Chung Mun grabbed Chung Myung by the hair and pulled him along with him.

“How can such a bastard exist!”

“Ack! Sahyung it hurts! Sahyung!”

Chung Mun and Chung Myung kept bickering the whole time they descended from the peak. And it was like the plum blossoms that were blooming behind them were smiling at their backs.

Chung Myung got up.

“…”

He quickly looked around and fell silent at the unfamiliar place.

‘Ah.’

It was a dream.

Chung Myung closed his eyes again.

‘I never had dreams in the past.’

Chung Myung shook his head. A strange feeling rose when he thought of the vivid face of his sahyung.

But Chung Myung knew.

The past was just the past.

He was now in a new present. It was unknown why this happened to just Chung Myung, but Chung Myung wasn’t going to be stupid to let the present go just because of the memories of his past.

“What are you trying to say? Sahyung?”

‘Why now?’

Chung Myung shook his head and stood up.

He was overthinking it. The dream was just a dream. Perhaps the fact that he didn’t get anything in the Sword Tomb might be mentally tormenting him. So, Chung Myung must have dreamt of that memory.

“Damn it! I should have gotten my hands on that pill!”

Chung Myung gnashed his teeth.

It had been a few days but the feelings still hadn’t died. The best pill known to the world.

The Soul Vitality Pill was necessary for Mount Hua which had lost its ability to rise. So, this was unfortunate.

“No. We cannot create something that doesn’t exist.”

After suffering for a long time, Chung Myung finally resigned himself to his fate and shook his head filled with regrets.

He couldn’t get his hands on it. But now was the time to let go of the past and think about the future.

And above all, today…

Chung Myung opened the door and went out. In the main hall leading to the yard, his sahyungs were packing up their bags and sitting down.

“Are you up?”

“Uh.”

“You slept a bit today. Is your body hurting?”

“Nothing like that.”

Chung Myung shook his head.

“Then I am glad.”

Baek Cheon got up from his seat,

Today was the day they all leave for Mount Hua. However, Chung Myung was still unable to let go of his regrets and sighed as he looked up at the sky.

If it is meant to happen it will. If it isn’t meant to happen, it will not.

‘No. At least say things in simple words!’

‘Why make it sound classy! Are you saying that that bastard didn’t have a reason to give the bloody pill to me!’

‘I am trying to save Mount Hua down here, how can you say that! Huh?’

This is all your luck.

“Ugh.”

Chung Myung scratched his head.

“What sins did I commit in my previous life… no, this is probably because I committed too many sins.”

This was why his sahyung had told him to not hit the sajaes.

Those sins were tormenting him now.

“Phew.”

Seeing Chung Myung sighing, Baek Cheon smiled.

“What huge regrets do you have? Let go of all you can let go of. Now we return...To Mount Hua.”

“… right.”

Chung Myung nodded and looked up at the sky again.

‘I had a hell of a time.’

The weather was perfect for a long trip.