Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“Hmm.”

“…”

“…”

After finishing everything, the disciples of Mount Hua gulped as they looked at Chung Myung standing in front of them with a disapproving look.

‘What is this devil up to now…?’

‘Look at those eyes! Those eyes!’

‘Please live a nice life, eh, Chung Myung.’

However, what came out of Chung Myung’s mouth were the most unexpected words for the disciples.

“I do not like it… but you all, indeed, had a hard time. I will give you a rest period of 10 days. You are free to do and act how you want. I will not touch your free time for 10 days.”

“…”

The disciples were shocked as they saw Chung Myung nodding to his own words.

The words that come out of a man’s mouth don’t always make sense. Only when something could be understood by other people’s ears did the word make sense?

But no one truly understood the words that Chung Myung was saying just now.

“What did he just say?”

“Isn’t he speaking nonsense like always?”

“Did he just tell us to take a rest now?”

“Doesn’t he mean it’s like a forever rest? Like in a coffin?”

This was a sight that made one realize just how deep the fear had grown within the disciples of Mount Hua.

As the disciples were glancing at each other to confirm they did hear the truth and not a joke, Chung Myung’s eyes twitched.

“Just rest. I won’t disturb you.”

“… won’t disturb?”

The disciples tilted their heads again, and then they nodded.

“Is he planning to take us down without even touching us, like throwing us into confusion?”

“He could just say goodbye to us now.”

“Ugh, that sounds more scary…”

“I would rather believe a ghost than this bastard.”

Slowly, Chung Myung began to lose it.

Right. It was all good. Such a reaction might come.

But where on this land had the manners changed? Did they have to say all of that right in front of him?

“… it is for real this time! I will let you rest…”

“Yah! Just hit him, hit that bastard! That is better than making noise!”

“Right! Kill, kill!”

“No, but these people are so!”

When Chung Myung got angry and tried to rush at him, Yoon Jong and Jo Gul casually grabbed both arms of Chung Myung.

“This is more than karma.”

“Honestly, it is hard to believe.”

“Ughh”

Chung Myung gritted his teeth as he shouted.

“Whatever, you get to take a break now, so you can rest or not is up to you!”

Then he turned around and trudged away. Baek Cheon, who was watching the disciples, smiled a little bitterly and stepped ahead.

“He is doing that because he feels awkward by saying something he has never said before.”

“… it sure must be awkward.”

It would have been less awkward for Asura himself, who came from hell, to say, ‘Honestly, I believe in Buddha.’

Baek Cheon looked around at everyone and said.

“If a horse continues to run, even it will get tired and slowly give up. The way to go fast isn’t to run without resting but to know when to take proper rest to focus on the future.”

“If he knew that, why didn’t he say that on the way here?”

“Uh?”

“He never said that on the way to Mount Hua!”

Baek Cheon had turned his gaze away at the sharp criticism that was coming.

‘The kids had it rough.’

Back in my time, it wasn’t like this! Never!

“Hmm. Anyway!”

He covered his mouth to clear his throat before speaking.

“You must be tired, so go and get some rest. After that, things will get busy again.”

“…”

“Then.”

When Baek Cheon turned with the Five Swords, all the other disciples of Mount Hua looked at their backs in shock.

“So….”

Whispers came around.

“We get to rest?”

“… seems like it?”

Some people naturally looked to the west.

“Did the sun rise in the west today?”

Of course, that could never happen.

Gwak Hwi looked around with a confused expression on his face. The sahyungs were all spread out here and there, with half-angry and unfocused eyes, blinking.

It wasn’t too long ago that their fighting spirit burned against the Wudang, but that couldn’t be seen now.

After a bit of hesitation, Gwak Hwi spoke hesitantly with an awkward look.

“I don’t think resting is meant to be just laying around like this?”

Everyone who looked half-dead and was on the ground looked at him.

“Then?”

“… Well, you must know. Try something you haven’t been able to do before or enjoy something you couldn’t do while training…”

“Hmm, right. Could be.”

Baek Sang nodded his head.

Chung Myung, they had no idea, but that was what Baek Cheon meant when he said ‘rest’.

“I know. I know it… but there is a problem.”

“… What is that?”

Instead of answering, Baek Cheon pointed to the sajaes with his chin. And an empty voice came out from the mouth of the Baek disciples.

“… How can we rest well?”

Uh?

“No, what does it mean to rest at all?”

Sorry?

Gwak Hwi’s eyes trembled.

Even the Chung disciples agreed with their opinion.

“Don’t you usually say that after training, wash up, go to your room, and sleep?”

“I can’t even sleep, so how do I rest now? I don’t understand.”

Gwak Hwi was in shock and covered his face with both hands.

‘This is bad.’

These people had been constantly tainted with training until it was engraved into their bones by the devil outside.

They didn’t know what to do even when given the time to rest. Was this even possible if one thought with common sense?

“… If we think about it, I don’t think I have had a day off without training for the past few years.”

“Ugh, sahyung. Actually, I have been feeling strangely anxious since a while back, and it is making me insane. Can we just not go out and do some training?”

Baek Sang frowned at the voice coming from behind.

“Didn’t you hear Baek Cheon sahyung telling you to rest and not train?”

“Ah, I did, but… There’s this anxiousness rising as we keep doing nothing…”

“Ah… if you don’t train, the muscles will also be lost.”

“Today is the day we do the lower body…”

As soon as one person spoke, the people lying around in the White Plum Blossom Boarding House stood up one after another and began to join in. Of course, some said they had to follow the words of Chung Myung and Baek Cheon.

“Still, shouldn’t we take a break?”

“What is that!”

“Rest!”

“How do you do that!”

Gwak Hwi smiled as he looked at the place, which was turning noisy.

The disciples of Mount Hua had now reached a point where the head rested, but the body could not, and when the body rested, the head could not.

“Ah, fuck! I will do some physical training!”

“I will climb the cliff twice only for today!”

“I need to train with the sword…”

Baek Sang was startled and shouted in dissuasion.

“No! They said to rest, you bastards!”

“Don’t you need to practice to rest!”

“Uh?”

Baek Sang was momentarily speechless and closed his eyes.

“Rest doesn’t mean to lay down! Isn’t it important to rest when your mind is at ease!?”

“R-right.”

“I feel uncomfortable staying here like this! I would rather sweat and then come back here to rest comfortably!”

“…”

“Let’s go!”

“Me too! I am coming too!”

“Sahyung! I can finally live now!”

“You rest as much as you want once you die!”

The Baek disciples and Chung disciples rushed out of the boarding house as if they had been waiting for this moment. There seemed to be no regret or sadness about it. Baek Sang and Gwak Hwi, who were left behind, closed their eyes in silence.

Soon, a loud shout was heard from outside. An uncontrollable laugh burst out of Baek Sang’s mouth.

“… Seriously, I have nothing to say now.”

“Right.”

“What will you do?”

“Me? Why, I…”

Gwak Hwi glanced around and smiled awkwardly.

“There are some things that get stuck, so I think I will have to swing it around a bit…”

Baek Sang looked up at the ceiling of the Boarding House with sad eyes.

‘Everyone has lost it.’

Now, it’s faster to look for an insane person.

Chung Myung’s eyes, as he looked at the training ground, were blank.

“Ughhhh!”

“Ugh! I feel like I’m going to buy some weights since putting on weight helps the body! A human has to sweat!”

“Ah, if you’re done using it, get out of my way! Didn’t you get your share?”

“I need to do it another 10 times, man! Count for me!”

Those eyes were scary. As the doubts piled up, his head tilted more and more.

“Dieee!”

“This bastard needs to die!”

“Waist! The waist is bent! Can’t you do it right?”

“Ohh! Let’s try and die today! Keep your head straight!”

The sword qi continued to flash in the training hall.

“… just how…”

Those who trained their strength with the equipment they had made or practiced sword technique were better.

But, there was no way for even Chung Myung to know what was going on in the minds of these kids who were running around the training ground.

“Lower body!”

“Powerful sword techniques come from a solid lower body!”

“10 more laps!”

Chung Myung took a quick look at his surroundings. The Five Swords and Hae Yeon, who were sitting next to him, were all wide-mouthed, unable to understand this situation.

“… didn’t you tell them to rest?”

“… I am sure I did, right?”

“Did the meaning of rest change without my knowledge?”

“I don’t think so…”

Chung Myung, watching the disciples train, mumbled.

“I don’t get it. Did those bastards eat frogs or something? When I tell them to train, they always curse at me and ask for breaks, and when I tell them to rest, they come out swinging swords! They can never dance to the right music!”

The same thought crossed the Five Swords’ mind as he grumbled.

Chung Myung. Perhaps this was what happened because your ‘practice’ and ‘rest’ were both taken to extremes?

But no one dared say that out loud!

“No, just thinking about it makes me angry! Are they rebelling against my words now?”

“Sasuk and all the sahyungs!”

“There is no one in Mount Hua who can stand up to you, you brat!”

“There is Soso!”

“Soso is an exception!”

No one asked for an explanation as to why Soso was an exception. The sky was always blue, and the sea was wide. It was similar to how Soso was an exception.

Baek Cheon, observing the disciples, chuckled.

“I think I understand.”

“What?”

Chung Myung turned around with an expression that asked what he was talking about. However, the answer to that came from Yoon Jong’s mouth instead.

“When you see how vast the world is and realize how much of a frog, trapped inside a well, we have been, one feels guilty even lying on their back in bed.”

Jo Gul frowned,

“Ahuu. That feels really terrible.”

“They must have felt a lot during this journey. Everyone probably felt it even more clearly that they had to train and grow. So, they cannot just sit still.”

Baek Cheon nodded at Yoon Jong’s words.

But Tang Soso was dissatisfied.

“But rest is important. If one doesn’t rest, then the body will break.”

“Let’s leave it for now.”

“Sasuk.”

Baek Cheon smiled and told Tang Soso.

“As you know, since one is a warrior, people grow greatly when motivated. Those guys will also want to embody what they have witnessed during the spars.”

“Hmm….”

Tang Soso nodded as if she couldn’t deny it.

“Just for a duration.”

“Right.”

Baek Cheon, smiling happily, looked at the disciples, all impressed.

“If everyone trains with motivation, then Mount Hua will always be stronger.”

“We cannot lose to them either.”

“Yes. Now, we need to get started, too.”

“Ah. While we’re at it, let’s have a spar, sahyung. I felt something this time, and it feels like I can hold onto it.”

“I think I can catch a dog now.”

“Oh? Maybe we both should rise!”

“Okay!”

The Five Swords began to burn with motivation.

A situation unfolded that any master would dream of, in which all disciples devoted themselves to training.

But Chung Myung, who was watching all this from a step away, was flinching as if he had done something wrong.

‘Has everyone lost it?’

It was only then that he painfully realized the monsters he had created.