Return of the Mount Hua Sect

Jo Gul stared at the ice lake, a bewildered expression on his face.

“… what is he doing?”

“How would I know?”

“We asked him to catch fish, is that it?”

“He’s fishing.”

“….”

Chung Myung sat on a chair, holding a fishing rod. At the end of the rod, which was much thicker than usual, there was a rope wrapped around it that hung into the water.

“What kind of fish would bite that?”

“In a lake this big, there must be some crazy fish. Chung Myung is just like that.”

“…. That actually makes sense.”

Baek Cheon let out a sigh.

“But you have to admit, he’s imitating it pretty convincingly.”

After all, fishing rods and ropes were a thing.

But Jo Gul had a different idea.

“Could it be that? Sasuk. Aren’t you being too lenient with him these days? If that’s the case, Sasuk and I are really alike.”

Yoon Jong, who had been listening to their conversation, looked at Jo Gul with a confused expression.

“Gul.”

“Yes?”

“You’re speaking in such a strange manner that I can’t understand you.”

“….”

“Just say what you need to say. Give me a suitable example.”

Jo Gul gave him a sad look, but Yoon Jong didn’t bother to comfort him.

“But seriously, what is he doing?”

“Huk. Let’s go and see.”

Baek Cheon sighed as he walked toward Chung Myung. Normally, it would be better to ignore what Chung Myung was doing, so he had been ignoring it until now. But this was an urgent situation.

So he approached Chung Myung from the side as he was humming.

“Chung Myung.”

“Huh?”

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t you see? I’m fishing.”

“Fishing?”

“You said you wanted me to catch fish?”

Baek Cheon’s brows twitched at his calm response.

“Hey, you bastard! We’re short on time here to get live fish! Do you really think you can catch any this way?”

“Of course, I can catch them. I am fishing here.”

“If it’s a fish, do you honestly think it will bite that thing? That thing?”

“Tsk, tsk.”

Baek Cheon beat his chest in frustration, and Chung Myung clicked his tongue. Then he shook his head, speaking like an old man.

“Dong Ryong, Dong Ryong. Are you going to live and eat in this world with such narrow thoughts?”

“….”

“Fishing isn’t something you rush. We should wait patiently for the fish to come to us. They’ll end up getting caught when the time is right.”

“Does that even make sense…!”

But at that moment, Chung Myung’s fishing rod was pulled down, and Baek Cheon was shocked to see the stick bend.

“Wow! Just by looking at it, you can tell it’s big! Didn’t I tell you, Sasuk?”

Baek Cheon’s face trembled as he watched Chung Myung grip the rod with joy and happiness.

“… caught like this? Using this method?”

No, this was going too far!

Even if it was a fish, wasn’t this excessive?

“Huh!”

Standing with his legs apart, Chung Myung exerted great force as he pulled the rod. Watching the strong, thick object continue to bend and descend into the lake, it seemed to be something enormous.

‘Could it be the Ten Thousand Years Fire Carp?’

The Ten Thousand Years Fire Carp was a carp that lived for over 10,000 years and transformed into a spiritual being, reaching the size of a house. Though he may have questioned its existence in the past, after witnessing a serpent of similar size with his own eyes, he believed that anything could exist in this world.

And if it was this guy, he might actually catch it…

At that moment…

“Huh!”

As Chung Myung grasped the fishing rod and applied strength, the water’s surface trembled, and bubbles began to form.

Baek Cheon, Yoon Jong, and Jo Gul all anxiously stared at the water, their throats tightening.

Swallow.

Bubble.

“… Huh?”

Like the sun rising from the sea, something round emerged.

“Eh?”

“Uh?”

All three of them stared wide-eyed at the sight of this slimy, glistening figure.

“Octopus?”

“This isn’t the sea, so what is it?”

“… if not, a spirit beast?”

Before its true identity could even be determined, Chung Myung reeled in the rod in his hand.

“Huh!”

And at that moment, all three of them widened their eyes.

“Puaaaah!”

A familiar form dangled at the end of the line.

A round head that they were familiar with…

“M-Monk Hae Yeon!”

“Is Monk Hae Yeon in there…?”

“No, that damn bastard!”

The bait…no, Hae Yeon was pulled up, holding onto the fishing rod in one hand and a large net in the other. The net was filled with fluttering fish.

Thud!

He grabbed the net and collapsed onto the cold ice, shivering.

“C, cold…”

Not only his lips but his entire body had turned blue, and the three of them moved in fear for their companion.

“Blanket! Get me a blanket!”

“AHHHH! Monk, are you alright?”

They grabbed several blankets from the cart and ran to him, but Chung Myung screamed.

“Who uses a blanket for that? Bring it here!”

“What are you planning to do?”

“I was told not to let the fish freeze, so bring it here!”

“Yah, you insane bastard! A person is freezing to death. Is the fish a problem now?”

“It’s fine; he won’t die.”

Chung Myung took the blanket they had brought and wrapped it around the net. Then, as if he wasn’t happy with it, he put the entire net onto the fur on the cart and wrapped it tightly.

“Nice!”

Chung Myung looked at the fish on the cart with a happy expression.

“M-Monk! Get yourself together!”

“B-Baek Cheon discip…”

“Yes, Monk?”

“I…I see…”

“What?”

Hae Yeon put on the happiest smile on his pale blue face and mumbled in a dying voice.

“Avalokitesvara Buddha beckoned me…”

“Ahhh! Monk! Get yourself together!”

The three hurriedly shook Hae Yeon, who was losing consciousness, to wake him up.

“Why the hell was Monk Hae Yeon even in there?”

Hae Yeon shivered as he tried to answer Baek Cheon.

“I was told it would save people….”

“That damn bastard!”

“That devil!”

With Hae Yeon’s response, the three of them understood how the situation would have unfolded and glared at Chung Myung with anger and resentment. But Chung Myung remained calm when he looked back at them.

“What was so great about it? It wasn’t much.”

“Hey, you stupid demon! He’s still a human!”

“Huh!”

Chung Myung silenced them and spoke sternly.

“I don’t know how not to sacrifice one to save many lives! What could be more incredible than risking your life to save many dying people? It’s the true path of Buddha!”

“What are you saying! Your words!”

“That’s enough.”

Chung Myung nodded toward his cart.

“Don’t let the fish freeze to death. Take them to the village quickly.”

“Ugh.”

Their faces contorted, but they nodded and rushed towards the cart. Right now, saving the people was the priority.

As they grabbed the cart, Hae Yeon, who had fallen to the ground, tried to approach it until Chung Myung looked at him, puzzled, and asked.

“Where are you going?”

“… Yes. I also need to help…”

“Not you.”

“Uh?”

Chung Myung gestured towards the hole in the ice.

“Can’t you hold on to that? You might have to go in one more time.”

“….”

“Don’t worry. Didn’t I hold on to you tight? If the line is securely fastened, you won’t die. It all depends on you.”

“….”

“Go ahead, get in.”

“…”

Perhaps.

Hae Yeon believed that calling Chung Myung a devil was fitting because he did things that even a devil wouldn’t do.

A flicker.

Heat began to course through the damp body, and steam rose. The steam, escaping from his clothes, wafted upwards, resembling a halo behind Buddha.

“In the end….”

“Attain enlightenment, monk. Do not forget.”

“Amitabha. Amitabha….”

“…I am still alive, disciples.”

Hae Yeon stared at the Mount Hua disciples, his eyes trembling.

At times, he couldn’t determine whether they were allies or enemies.

“… It’s better not to die.”

“Why are you doing all this? You went too far even if you were trying to save people.”

Baek Cheon, who listened to this, nodded in agreement.

“Chung Myung, you can’t keep behaving like this. It’s not just once or twice that this has happened, right?”

Hae Yeon spoke with sorrowful eyes.

“…I said I didn’t want to go in….”

“You did?”

“…Disciple Chung Myung said he would use Baek Ah as bait and dip her in water to catch the big fish, so I stopped….”

Baek Cheon and the others’ eyes quivered at those words.

“…Is he even human?”

“How can a man fall so low?”

“Oh, heavens….”

“Amitabha… I’m glad it helped. How could you refuse to throw yourself into that to save people?”

Mount Hua’s disciples blinked their eyes.

The Buddha was right in front of their eyes, not somewhere else.

But the fact that the devil was right next to the Buddha made it feel like a cycle of misfortune.

Hae Yeon asked as he wiped the water from his head.

“So, is there any improvement?”

“We don’t know yet.”

Baek Cheon frowned and shook his head.

Tang Soso had fed the patients with the raw fish they had brought back.

Raw fish was ground up and given to the unconscious patients, while finely minced fish was fed to those who were conscious. It was cut very thin so that they could digest it as quickly as possible.

Although they were feeding them raw fish at every meal, it was taking a good amount of time to see any effects since they had only just started.

“Ugh. It would put my mind at ease if I could help with the feeding, too.”

The desire to help was like a blocked-up chimney, but they couldn’t push past the line because they were wary of the outsiders.

It was a situation where they had no choice but to listen to Tang Soso’s words and help with making things.

“Soso is working so hard in there….”

“Right.”

Everyone sighed.

But just then, the door opened, and Tang Soso came in with huge dark circles under her eyes.

“Soso!”

“Are you okay?”

To which she slowly nodded.

“Yes, I am fine, sasuk.”

“The patients?”

“At first, we shared everything. If they really have this lung disease, then they should be up from the bed and back to normal. Lung diseases are the ones that get cured rather quickly.”

“Is that so?”

Baek Cheon was now confused.

This meant that if the diagnosis was wrong, it would quickly become evident.

‘It’s too much….’

No matter how talented Tang Soso was, expecting her to treat a disease with an unknown cause was unreasonable, especially when she had to treat so many people alone.

But Baek Cheon kept his feelings hidden and said,

“Right. Take rest for now.”

“I came here because I have something to say. Just a little bit more.”

At that moment, Chung Myung, who had been by the hearth as if he was dead, approached her.

“Sahyung?”

Then he grabbed Tang Soso’s hand and pulled her closer. She stared at him blankly, with a puzzled expression.

“Tch.”

After checking her fingertips, he clicked his tongue and frowned.

As expected, her fingertips were red. Upon closer inspection, there was a dark blue change in the skin.

It was early frostbite.

“Did you eat?”

“…”

“You didn’t wear gloves and went to bed like this…”

“…”

Chung Myung then began to hold her wrist and infused Qi into it.

“Ahh…”

Tang Soso flinched at the warm yet cold sensation that ran through her wrist. The bright aura covered her hand, and after moving around, it returned to its owner.

“Rest.”

“…”

“If there is no change in the patients, you’ll have to do it all over again. You’re not planning to escape that role just because you’re tired, are you?”

“As if I would.”

With determined eyes, Tang Soso looked at him and Chung Myung nodded.

“Right, then rest.”

“….”

At this point, Tang Soso also stopped being stubborn and went to the hearth.

“Then, just a little…”

And as soon as she put her head on the floor under the blanket which Chung Myung had brought, she fell asleep, almost like she had fainted.

“… move her to the bed….”

“Leave her there.”

Chung Myung dissuaded Baek Cheon.

“You better get some sleep.”

After making way for the warm hearth to touch her, Chung Myung sat down and leaned back. Then, he took out Baek Ah, who was in his arms and set her on the ground.

“Go over there and cover her.”

Baek Ah’s black eyes shone, and she nodded her head a couple of times.

“… So what can I do now?”

“Do what?”

Chung Myung shrugged.

“We wait. We should be able to see some form of improvement by tomorrow morning.”

“Hmm.”

“So everyone, go and sleep. If there is no improvement, then tomorrow is going to be a new hell.”

Everyone nodded at those words and sat down. After a while, he saw regular breathing indicating they were all extremely tired and had fallen asleep.

Chung Myung looked at them and smiled.

This was such trouble.

If he thought about the comfort of Mount Hua, they wouldn’t be wasting time here. However, if they thought about the duty that came as a part of Mount Hua, they could not leave the villagers here.

“It isn’t easy, Sahyung.”

His Sahyung might have heard such things so many times.

How could he have obsessed over the tiniest, seemingly insignificant things while Chung Myung remained unaffected? Any decision he made had the potential to shape Mount Hua’s future.

Chung Myung, too, closed his eyes and contemplated his sect leader.

“Hmm…”

The disciples, nearly sleeping like the lifeless, gradually opened their eyes and lifted their heads.

“… Is it morning?”

“What about Soso?”

“Still sleeping.”

As soon as their eyes opened, the disciples of Mount Hua, having confirmed the well-being of the youngest, shifted their attention to the window. It seemed as though the blizzard had ceased, allowing the radiant sunlight to filter through the cracks.

“How are the patie….”

And then…

Jump!

The door swung open, revealing people with pale faces rushing in.

“Y-You must come and see!”

Their voice was filled with urgency, causing all the disciples to become anxious.