Novel Return of Mount Hua Sect Chapter 1031
The river just flows.
No matter what happens in the world, the river simply flows on. It is only the people watching the river who change.
Chung Myung sat alone by the riverside, feeling the blowing wind.
To his right, as usual, a white bottle of liquor was placed, but unlike usual, it was left untouched, merely occupying space.
Forgoing liquor, he just silently stared across the river. His sunken eyes were so dark that it was difficult to guess his inner thoughts.
Slowly, he ran his hands over his face.
Only after stopping at the chin did Chung Myung lower his scarred and wounded hand and suddenly found himself gazing at it absentmindedly.
Then, without realizing it, he let out a small laugh.
When he first came back to this world, how embarrassed he was to see his own unsightly little hand. However, within a few years, it suddenly became no different from the hands of Plum Blossom Sword Sovereign of the past.
It seemed to tell him that, after all, people do not change, which left a bitter taste in his mouth.
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Chung Myung, who had been looking at his hand like that for a while, cast his gaze across the river again as if being led.
Throughout his sitting, he felt as if his stomach was being squeezed. Just the thought of those cursed beings being over there was enough to make his head spin and his heart boil with rage.
Chung Myung pressed his chest with his rough hands.
‘Has anything changed?’
Has Chung Myung really changed from before?
Perhaps the answer may be yes. If it were the past him, he would never sit here silently like this. The moment he heard the word ‘Magyo,’ he would have disregarded everything around him and crossed the river to assess the situation with his own eyes.
But now Chung Myung was just sitting here in silence.
So, he has certainly changed from the past... has he? Really?
‘What....’
Before he knew it, blood was showing from his bitten lips.
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‘What on earth?’
If things were different, he wouldn’t feel this way. He shouldn’t feel the pain of his soul being ripped apart just by hearing the two words ‘Magyo’.
The fact that this deep-rooted hatred felt towards them has not changed means that Chung Myung has not been able to escape even one step from that terrible past.
But... how can he?
How can he possibly forget?
Every time he closes his eyes, the images of those who died without even being able to close their eyes on that cold mountain resurfaces. The feelings of those who had to die without leaving anything behind are vividly portrayed.
How on earth he possibly change?
Chung Myung quietly clutched his knees.
His fingernails dug into the flesh, but Chung Myung, feeling no pain, just clenched his teeth and stared somewhere beyond the river.
And... Not far away, Five Swords was staring at Chung Myung.
Jo-Gol, who couldn’t hide his anxious gaze the whole time, glanced at Baek Cheon. But the moment he saw Baek Cheon’s expression, he swallowed back the words he had almost spit out.
Seeing his Sasuk’s complexion as frozen as ice, he couldn’t speak up.
“Why?”
However, Baek Cheon opened his mouth as if he caught a glimpse of Jo-Gol’s hesitance.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
“No, that’s....”
After hesitating for a moment, Jo-Gol cautiously opened his mouth.
“...If you’re going to stop him, wouldn’t it be better to get a bit closer, Sasuk?”
“....”
“If he decides to run into the river from there, we won’t have any way to stop him.”
Baek Cheon’s eyebrows twitch slightly.
“Do you think you can stop him if you get closer?”
“That....”
Jo-Gol closed his mouth.
What Baek Cheon said is correct. Even if they surrounded him, if Chung Myung truly made up his mind, there would be no stopping him.
With his skills, he could easily break through the combined attack of everyone present here.
And that would be the same for everyone here.
“I guess he would have done that. Of course, he would.”
“....”
“But that so obvious thing... he never asks that from us.”
Everyone fell silent at those words.
“What really makes me angry, and what I’m worried about, isn’t that the damn guy will die doing something stupid. It’s that when he does die doing something stupid...”
Baek Cheon bit his lip.
“...We won’t be by his side.”
“....”
“I am... yeah, I’m angry about that.”
Baek Cheon’s clenched fist was bulging with veins.
Tang Soso, who was watching this, slowly lowered her head.
“...I’m sorry, Sasuk.”
“No... It’s not something you should be apologizing for.”
In the end, Tang Soso’s words also came from concerns for Chung Myung. Everyone knew that and couldn’t have blamed her.
“He’s like a child.”
Yoo Iseol, who had remained silent until now, spoke in her typically blunt tone. She usually maintains the same tone, but for some reason, she felt slightly agitated today.
“Like a fool.”
“....”
Baek Cheon just sighed silently.
‘What a damn bastard.’
He knows. There is a temperature difference between the way they look at Chung Myung and the way Chung Myung looks at them.
He knows, but this is the first time the difference has been so starkly displayed.
That clear difference made Baek Cheon unbearable.
“Sasuk.”
At that moment, Yoon Jong opened his mouth. Unlike the others, who appeared anxious and hesitant, his gaze remained calm and clear.
“May I ask you something?”
“...What?”
“It is extremely dangerous to go to Gangnam now. There’s no guarantee for our life.”
“Right. Of course, that’s....”
“And it’s not just Chung Myung that Mount Hua shouldn’t lose. Perhaps, to the current Mount Hua, what’s even more important than Chung Myung might actually be Sasuk.”
Baek Cheon closed his mouth at those words.
“So, let me ask. If Chung Myung asks Sasuk to come with him to Gangnam, what will Sasuk do? Will Sasuk follow him into a deadly situation?”
Baek Cheon felt he understood why Yoon Jong’s gaze was the only one that remained clear.
While everyone else was focused on Chung Myung’s seemingly anxious back, only Yoon Jong was calmly considering the future of Mount Hua. So he asks Baek Cheon this question.
Therefore, he could not answer this question half-heartedly.
“I am...”
It was at that moment when Baek Cheon’s lips were about to move.
“Sect Leader is coming!”
Everyone turned around at Jo-Gol’s urgent words. Hyun Jong was approaching, accompanied by Hyun Sang and Hyun Young.
Five Swords postponed the conversation they were having and paid their respects to Hyun Jong.
“Greetings, Sect Leader.”
“....”
Hyun Jong only nodded lightly and accepted their courtesy. His expression was uncharacteristically hardened.
Before he knew it, his gaze went beyond them and towards the back of Chung Myung.
Hyun Jong, who had been looking in that direction in silence for a moment, took a long stride.
Five Swords, who were confused as to what to do, heard Hyun Jong’s low voice in their ears.
“You guys follow me too.”
“...Yes, Sect Leader.”
With a hardened complexion, Five Swords followed behind Hyun Jong and approached Chung Myung.