Without saying a word, Beopjeong, who was descending Mount Hua, turned around. In response to his menacing gaze, Beopgye seemed to involuntarily tense his neck.
"…Mount Hua."
When he ascended this path, he certainly didn't feel this way. There was a strange unease, for sure, but ultimately, he didn't doubt that he would obtain what he wanted.
To him, the Mount Hua Sect was like a wolf he could control. To ordinary people, a wolf is a source of fear, but to someone who can tame it, it's no more than a dog with sharp teeth.
However, the wolf he thought he had tamed is now showing its fangs to him, as if it hadn't lost the wildness of its youth.
"Buddha shows mercy to all."
"..."
"But there was only one tribe to which Buddha did not show mercy. Do you know which tribe that is?"
"I'm not sure."
"Demons."
Beopgye began to speak but then closed his mouth. Beopjeong continued.
"Ultimately, that means that even Buddha has divided beings into those who can be saved and those who cannot. He has been strict with those who cannot be saved and cause harm."
Beopgye stared at the distant main temple of the volcano with a stern face.
"At least, we thought the Mount Hua Sect wasn't a demon, but it seems my thoughts were wrong."
"Master."
Beopjeong bit his lip.
Beopgye looked at him with a slightly puzzled expression. It seemed that Beopjeong was recalling something.
"…In the end..."
"Yes?"
"Never mind."
Beopjeong shook his head.
"First, it's the Yangtze River. We'll manage that issue. The Mount Hua Sect comes next. But..."
He let out a cold laugh.
"Someday, the Mount Hua Sect, too, will have to pay the price for this. Regardless of my personal feelings, I'll make sure to pay back the debt for dragging the Shaolin name down to that level, disregarding the plight of the world. That is a must."
"Indeed, that's what you must do, Master."
Crack.
The prayer beads held by Beopjeong shattered into pieces, spilling below. The tiny prayer beads that rolled out from the broken thread seemed to be explaining the relationship between Shaolin and the Mount Hua Sect. What had been connected by a thin thread had now been severed.
"Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword... "
Beopjeong clenched his teeth and continued to walk.
"This is your choice."
***
After Beopjeong left, the key figures of the Mount Hua Sect gathered in the Sect Leader's room. Among these key figures, Hye Yeon was confidently seated. His clear, bright eyes filled everyone's hearts with pride.
"Everyone...thank you all very much."
"Don't mention it, monk."
"We are not strangers or anything like that."
"Don't worry about it."
A slight blush of embarrassment played on Hye Yeon's face as he smiled. He abandoned Shaolin, which was like his home. Nevertheless, he felt was no overwhelming sadness. The reason for that was these people. They had become his family, different from the Shaolin Sect.
'Yes, this is where I belong...'
"Are you smiling?"
"..."
However, amidst this warm atmosphere, there was one person who did not smile at all. A devilish that just emerged from hell glared at Hye Yeon with eyes as sharp as blades, exuding a terrifying madness. Hyeyeon instinctively cringed.
"Are you laughing?"
"S-Siju, I..."
"But what about this punk?"
As Chung Myung's face turned increasingly red, Hye Yeon slowly moved backward from him.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"Are you fucking with me?"
"W-What do you mean..."
"Fuck off!"
In the end, Chung Myung, in a fit of rage, delivered a roundhouse kick straight into Hye Yeon's chest.
Thud!
"Aaargh!"
Hyeyeon, who received an unexpected blow straight to the chest, rolled over to the corner. Yet, Chung Myung seemed to be far from calming down, as he lunged towards Hye Yeon. Everyone was in shock and dashed to restrain Chung Myung.
"Why? Why are you doing this, Chung Myung!"
"Calm down first!"
"Someone get some honeycakes, quick!"
When "honeycakes" was mentioned by the Five Swords, it meant the situation was quite serious. The frightened disciples of Mount Hua, with the combined effort of the Five Swords, struggled to subdue Chung Myung.
But even in the midst of this, Chung Myung was still trying to scratch the ground like a mad dog, growling at Hye Yeon.
"Let go! Won't you let go? I can't stand looking at this bald guy's hair flying around!"
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
"No!"
Chung Myung roared, spitting fire with his eyes.
"After we chased away the leader quietly, you should've just sat quietly in the corner! Why did you follow him, start something, and cause a mess, dammit? Huh?"
Hye Yeon flinched.
"Are you trying to fuck with me? Are you? Hey! Do you hold a grudge against the Shaolin? Is it because the Shaolin and the Mount Hua are locking horns, and you've decided to ruin them both? This guy, after feeding and sheltering him for so many years, he's repaying kindness with vengeance, right? Come on! Today, I'll repay some kindness too! Hey, let go!"
"C-Calm down, please!"
Baek Cheon, who sensed that the moment they released his arm, Chung Myung would beat Hye Yeon into a mushy mess, clung more desperately to him.
The notion of protecting the world-famous Hye Yeon might sound absurd, but right now, he was one of the very few who could turn that laughable idea into a reality.
"What? A monk? Monk?! You bastard!"
"Ouch!"
Since he was restrained, Cheongmyeong extended his leg with all his might, reaching out for Hye Yeon's head, and fiercely pounded him with the sole of his foot.
"Even Buddha himself would lose his patience when he sees you and smash your head with a ginkgo tree branch! There are various ways to cause accidents, you know, a lot! You follow that? That? You'd be the guy who gets caught by human traffickers and still laugh, chanting the Amida Buddha's name and saying 'heh-heh'!"
"No! Calm down!"
"Sect Leader, please, try to stop him! Sect Lead..."
Yoon Jong, who turned his head to find Hyun Jong, flinched for a moment. Hyun Jong was talking to himself with an almost half-crazy face.
"Shaolin... Why did it have to be the Shaolin... I must be out of my mind, what possessed me to get involved with the Shaolin..."
"..."
Yoon Jong whispered softly to Baek Cheon.
"Sasuk. The situation seems worse over there, doesn't it?"
"Quick, close your eyes."
"...Yes."
After thrashing around and expending much effort, it seemed like some tension had left Chung Myung's muscles, which relaxed little by little.
"Anyway, since that damned guy intervened and messed things up after we handled it, what should we do with this guy?"
Tears welled up in Hye Yeon's eyes. To be honest, from his perspective, wouldn't he feel unjust? He had said he would simply take the punishment, not to interfere, but that guy was leaping around, chasing Beopjeong away, and now he wasn't taunting Hye Yeon?
It was like forcibly dragging someone who had been swimming comfortably out of the water, then scolding them for why they were in danger in the water.
That was a thug's behavior, pure and simple.
"Chung Myung, but didn't you say Shaolin wasn't a big deal?"
Chung Myung's head spun around. Seeing his fierce gaze, Baek Cheon quickly averted his eyes.
"When you're in the middle of a fight, you can't admit that! What kind of school is Shaolin? Nothing special? Of course, it's special!"
"...I just said it because you did."
"Ugh. You're really unlucky."
Chung Myung gritted his teeth.
'Wow, that guy's temper.'
'Poor monk Hye Yeon.'
'He always blames others like that. Ugh.'
In fact, even without Hye Yeon's involvement, the relationship between Mount Hua and Shaolin had become irreparable from the moment Beopjeong left.
Hye Yeon's involvement was just the final straw.
"Tsk."
Chung Myung also seemed to know that this was a fact, so he stopped there. It was remarkable that he stopped only after the situation had escalated to this point, knowing it or not.
"Shaolin... Shaolin... What do we do now? Shaolin...?"
However, it seemed that while Chung Myung's anger had subsided, Hyun Jong's spirit had not returned.
Chung Myung cleared his throat softly and began to comfort Hyun Jong.
"Hey, just calm down for now."
"Calm down?"
"..."
"Do I look calm to you, you little brat!"
At that moment, Hyun Jong rushed at Chung Myung with a he had never seen before and grabbed his earlobe tightly.
"Aaargh! Sect Leader! My ear! My ear! It hurts!"
"Is this lunatic trying to draw a sword and threaten Shaolin's leader? I disappear for a moment to take care of things, and then what? Hye Yeon? Hey, you punk! Is it because of monk Hye Yeon? It's all because of you!"
"Ouch! My ear, my ear! Oh, my ear is going to fall off!"
"Oh, ancestors...! What sin have I committed to have this...!"
- Sorry.
"Huh?"
It sounded like something...
"Aaargh!"
Chung Myung barely managed to break free and darted to the corner. Then, he vehemently defended himself.
"No, then what should I have done? They were going to cut off the bald guy's head!"
"...They weren't going to cut off his head. Just the 'Severing Tendons and Cutting Arteries' punishment ..."
"It would be better if they cut off his head. Without martial arts, he's just an idiot! What use is he without martial arts? He's not even as good as the neighborhood dogs!"
"..."
What truly saddened Hye Yeon was not Chung Myung's words. It was the disciples of Mount Hua who, reflexively, nodded their heads in fear when Chung Myung finished speaking.
Tears welled up in his tightly closed eyes.
'Horrible people....'
I'm such a fool, to be so moved. I am.
"To become enemies with Shaolin... with Shaolin... Ancestors, I've ruined everything. Now Mount Hua is doomed..."
"Hey! Don't say unlucky things! A hundred years ago, we were almost at the point of fighting Shaolin, but we didn't go down, right?"
Hyun Jong, with a blank expression, looked at Chung Myung.
"...A hundred years ago?"
"Yes!"
"A hundred years ago?"
"That's right!"
"...So it's true that we're doomed."
"What?"
Huh?
...When I listen, it makes sense?
With Chung Myung's words blocked momentarily, Hyun Jong sank into his seat.
"How should we handle this... This..."
"Ahem."
Hyun Sang commented quietly as he watched his the Sect Leader's reaction.
"If you were so worried, you should have resolved it amicably..."
"How could I have resolved it amicably in that atmosphere? You...!"
"How could resolve it with those Shaolin bastards!"
Their words were clearly different. Still, their intentions weren't much different.
Even the Sect Leader had, without realizing it, been influenced by Chung Myung, and quite badly at that.
The faces of the disciples of Mount Hua darkened in an instant.
Hyun Jong stared at Chung Myung for a moment and then let out a deep sigh.
"Mount Hua is really doomed."
"No, but this guy?"
"It's the Sect Leader, this punk!"
The moment Chung Myung rolled his eyes, Baekcheon rushed up and kicked him.
Chung Myung, who had rolled into a corner, quickly got up.
"No need to worry! Shaolin guys are nothing!"
"You said they were something earlier."
"They are nothing when I deal with them, okay?"
"...Try to limit yourself to a few words, Chung Myung."
How can one mouth produce such diverse words? Someone might think a rainbow was emerging from his mouth.
Chung Myung, who shouted loudly without knowing fatigue, Hyun Jong mumbling something in a daze, Hye Yeon sulking in the corner, and even the disciples of Mount Hua, each with something to say.
And, just like that.
Hong Dae Kwang, who had been sitting in a corner, couldn't bring himself to intervene in the atmosphere. He just sat there, absent, chewing on some dried rations.
"...What a mess."
Even so.
It was truly a scene that was in line with the spirit of Mount Hua.