Return of the Mount Hua Sect

Normally, alcohol relaxes people.

Everyone pretended to be calm, but there was no way working with Wudang wouldn’t have been a burden. In that sense, Song Tae-Ak’s preparation for the large banquet could be seen as foresight.

At first, everyone was too tense to relax, merely sipping from their small glasses. Still, as they drank more, the conversations grew livelier.

And in the end…

“That is why I cut the sword right there! Uh? Tatttt!”

“… Sahyung, please calm down.”

“You lost, though, sahyung?”

“Uhhh! Didn’t you hear what Sasuk said? In this world, there are times when victories are more valuable than defeat!”

“A defeat is more valuable than a win. And sahyung, if you don’t count that as valuable, just shut up and drink.”

“You brat, come out here!”

…it was chaos.

“Alcohol! There isn’t enough alcohol!”

“Here too!”

“No, when did I tell you to bring the drinks!”

Song Tae-Ak trembled as he shut his eyes tightly.

‘I would have rather gone and fed a cow.’

Starting with the expensive alcohol was a mistake. When he treated Mount Hua before, he should have realized they were people different from other Taoist sects.

‘No, but back then, they ate like humans.’

Now, they were eating and drinking like hungry animals.

Wasn’t it Taoism that avoided overcooking food, overeating, and considered alcohol drinking taboo?

There was nothing like that here.

These Taoists wearing black robes… no, to be precise, all one could see at a glance was the sight of Taoist monks with their black robes half taken down, showing off their fearsome muscles and making a mess with the alcohol and meat.

All the faces that had been drinking alcohol were turning dull.

“… Bring me more alcohol now.”

“Yes, merchant leader.”

The good news was that those delivering alcohol and food didn’t express any complaints.

‘This has to be worth it.’

Of course, the Mount Hua sect had always been an honored guest. They were heroes who defeated the bandits. However, there’s a new weight around the current Mount Hua. Now, they were the group of youngsters who triumphed over Wudang.

The former might hold more value for the common folk, but the latter resonated well with the merchants.

The only thing that bothered them was…

‘This is Mount Hua, the sect that took down Wudang. No matter how much I look at it, I can’t get used to it.’

To put it nicely, there’s simplicity; to put it bluntly, it was a bit too informal. For Song Tae-Ak, who had consistently observed Wudang from the perspective of its existence as a Taoist sect, this casual pouring of alcohol and their laid-back attire were all so strange.

‘But maybe this is what drives Mount Hua’s reputation.’

In Song Tae-Ak’s eyes, he noticed a person leading this atmosphere.

“Ohhh! Chung Myung is coming!”

“Now, take this drink!”

“Drink! Drink! You get to drink!”

“Uahahaha! Such a great person has come to us.”

As Chung Myung moved away, everyone around him gathered, all excited.

“What is this? What a great person we have among us! You took down the elder of Wudang, not just anyone!”

“Well, this man is a monster for real!”

“The best sword of Mount Hua! The greatest sword of Mount Hua!”

Chung Myung, his face red from alcohol, began to twitch at the lips. It seemed like he was desperately trying to remain calm. Still, being weak to praise, it wasn’t easy for him to handle so much adulation.

“No, wait… this much is….”

Although he spoke as if he was annoyed, the praises seemed to never end.

“If it is this much? He is an elder of Wudang! Wudang!”

“All my life, I have never heard of a third-class disciple defeating an elder of a prestigious sect! This is something that even a skilled person wouldn’t casually speak of! One would hit them on the head for making up such absurd things?”

“Ugh! Our Chung Myung is shining, shining so much! It’s so blinding that I cannot see him!”

“Kuaaak, right! Light! Our light!”

Chung Myung’s face finally fell as the praises rained down on him.

“Woah… huh….”

“R-right! That’s right! Have a good laugh now! Woah, laugh a lot now, Chung Myung!”

“You did well! So well! You really did well!”

As Chung Myung gulped down the drink and began to laugh with excitement, the sahyungs and sajaes all filled his glass with alcohol.

“Everyone is going to drink and die today!”

“You can die! Dying is fine now!”

“No, you cannot die, you brats!”

Song Tae-Ak shook his head, watching the disciples of Mount Hua playing around as if they didn’t belong to this world.

‘It is a sect that I cannot figure out.’

It was clear that the atmosphere here was truly the best. Everyone, without exception…

‘Uh?’

At that moment, Song Tae-Ak tilted his head.

This was because a person was standing in the corner of the banquet hall and carefully walking out.

If it were any ordinary banquet, there would be nothing strange. They were probably heading out for the bathroom. But this doesn’t usually happen when people are drinking and eating. This is because they had something else in mind.

‘Something else is happening!’

Thinking that it wasn’t important now, Song Tae-Ak quickly lost interest and turned his head.

Tak.

Kwak Ho carefully closed the door and came out.

Since the atmosphere was so lively inside, it didn’t seem like anyone noticed his escape. It wouldn’t be a problem if someone noticed, but he didn’t want to spoil the mood.

‘Everyone seems so happy.’

And it was right, too.

After drinking a few glasses of alcohol, Kwak Ho felt something odd, like something was leaving his body. He pretended not to care, but the fact that he had to compete against that Wudang sect felt so burdensome for him and all.

In such a situation, it was only natural that he would be overflowing with joy because he had achieved a good result.

Kwak Ho glanced at the alcohol bottle in his hand and walked ahead. Then, he quickly jumped up and climbed to the roof of the pavilion.

“Tsk!”

After landing, he lay down on the tiles and looked up at the moon in the sky.

“So bright.”

At that moment, the full moon was rising in the night sky, illuminating the entire place brightly.

As he was gazing at the unusually bright moon, the words he never wanted to say came out naturally.

“… can I do it?”

“What?”

“Ahhhh!”

Startled by the response he received from behind, Kwak Ho stumbled and fell but barely managed to hold onto the edge, climbing up again, groaning.

“Y-You scared me!”

“Why are you so scared?”

“If you were there, you should have at least informed me!”

“You seem to be mistaken here, but it wasn’t me who came, but you who came to where I was resting. I was here first.”

“…”

Kwak Ho looked at Baek Sang with a shocked face.

‘Well…’

No matter how good their relationship was, a sasuk was always a sasuk. So, for most Chung disciples, the Baek disciples weren’t people they were comfortable with.

And Baek Sang was one of the most difficult people for him.

Among the Baek disciples, he was second only to Baek Cheon, and he had an ambiguous nature so it was difficult to say anything about him was good. Even recently, wasn’t he someone who emerged to be the core of the new Mount Hua’s strength?

It would be no exaggeration to say he was the most influential among the Baek disciples, excluding the Five Swords of Mount Hua, who represented the sect.

No matter how one thought about it, being able to meet him alone after running away from a banquet wasn’t a welcoming thing.

“I asked. What?”

“Ah, that….”

When Kwak Ho couldn’t respond swiftly and hesitated, Baek Sang got up from his place and moved closer to him, then sat down next to Kwak Ho.

“Ahhh. My back.”

“… Are you alright?”

“It’s nothing. I got hit there, so it hurts.”

There’s no way the wounds from a spar would heal in just half a day. But Baek Sang was calm, as if it didn’t matter.

“Did you bring alcohol?”

“Yes.”

“Well, let’s drink then.”

When Baek Sang gently held out the bottle of alcohol, Kwak Ho had no choice but to gently place his bottle there.

Shhh.

The sound of the bottles clinking was clear.

And the two drank from their bottles without another word.

“Nice!”

“Hmm.”

Kwak Ho, wiping his lips, looked at the alcohol bottle and decided to speak first.

“It’s nice. Drinking such expensive alcohol from this bottle.”

“Expensive alcohol, for sure.”

At those words, Baek Sang just looked down at the bottle.

“It’s good because it’s expensive.”

“Uh?”

“But I prefer the cheap alcohol I used to drink on Mount Hua over this.”

“…”

Baek Sang smiled at Kwak Ho, who couldn’t understand this.

“Isn’t it odd?”

“No.”

Kwak Ho shook his head and spoke with a flushed face.

“Honestly, so do I.”

“Haha.”

Baek Sang took a sip from his bottle and then looked up at the moon with a smile.

“There are people like you.”

“…”

“When everyone else is resting and leaving it behind, the one who cannot let go of things on their own.”

Kwak Ho felt like he couldn’t speak.

“What is it?”

Instead of answering, Kwak Ho just looked into the eyes of Baek Sang. Unlike his cool voice, the eyes were serious, and for some reason, Kwak Ho didn’t want to talk.

“It’s just a little…”

“A little?”

“A little scared.”

“…”

Baek Sang didn’t push further and just waited for Kwak Ho to continue speaking. Kwak Ho spoke again after a while.

“At first, I just liked it. I felt like my skills were improving, and I was able to hope for things I would never even dream of.”

“Right.”

“If I just do the best of myself like I am being told… right, I felt like I could be something.”

“And not now?”

“… rather than saying not now….”

Kwak Ho took a pause and then thought back.

“It is as I said, I feel a bit scared.”

“Why?”

“… because it isn’t there.”

Anyone would have wondered what he meant. But Baek Sang nodded as if he could understand it.

“Right. That is the most terrifying thing.”

“… yes.”

Kwak Ho wanted to be like Jo Gul and Yoon Jong.

He didn’t hope to be Chung Myung or Baek Cheon. But he believed that if he did his best to strive for the goal in front of him, one which he could aim for and achieve, he would be strong like them.

But…

“You are afraid of never being able to catch up?”

“No… that is fine too. But….”

Kwak Ho bit his lip.

“I am scared that the distance is getting further and further apart.”

“…”

“Despite my best efforts, my sahyungs keep getting further from me. When I get to spar with sahyungs or a first-class disciple, I can understand how strong they are. That is why I realized how strong the sahyungs were to fight against them and win.”

Kwak Ho looked down. The sound of talks resonated brightly from the banquet hall.

“So, I don’t know what to say, it is like…”

“It is fine.”

Baek Sang had a light smile as he looked at him.

“There is no need to explain it all. Because I completely understand that feeling.”

“I am…”

And before he could finish listening to what Kwak Ho said, he gestured towards the banquet hall.

“Look.”

“Uh?”

“Do you think those people laughing and talking in there do not feel any pressure and are simply having the moment of their life?”

“…”

Those words were enough to make Kwak Ho go silent.