Return of the Mount Hua Sect Chapter 1367: Do You Know What Shame Is? (2)
Previously on Return of the Mount Hua Sect...
Sahyung.”
“Hmm?”
Lee Ja-Yang, running after the Mount Hua party ahead, quietly asked Gwak Hwan-So beside him.
“Did you understand the conversation they just had?”
Gwak Hwan-So’s eyebrow twitched slightly. Then Lee Ja-Yang went on to say something unnecessary.
“Honestly, I don’t quite get it. From what I heard, they helped those villagers who were in danger of losing their lives to the Evil Sect while on their way to the Southern Island Sect, didn’t they?”
“Seems so.”
“Then it means the villagers, after receiving such a great kindness, didn’t even give a single sack of grain back, right?”
“Probably......”
Lee Ja-Yang looked ahead as if baffled, at the Heavenly Friends Alliance members running in front.
“How can they be so calm? Just spouting meaningless phrases like that.”
Frustration was plain on Lee Ja-Yang’s face. Seeing this, Gwak Hwan-So casually asked.
“What would you have done?”
“Huh? What do you mean......”
“I mean, if you were in Mount Hua’s position, what would you have done?”
Lee Ja-Yang frowned, then answered.
“...I’d have used disciplining staff to hit them.”
The thought alone made him angry; his voice rose slightly in agitation.
“People should know gratitude, that’s what separates people from beasts, right? How can you call those people human when they say ‘thank you’ with their mouths and lament that they can’t repay the favor, yet refuse to give even a grain they have?”
“True.”
“What makes people different from beasts is knowing gratitude. Being thankful when receiving, but turning away as if they’ve never received when it’s time to help, such people don’t deserve to be helped!”
Gwak Hwan-So didn’t offer any particular agreement; he simply nodded slowly as if to say he understood Lee’s point.
“Sahyung, don’t you think?”
When Lee Ja-Yang asked, Gwak Hwan-So thought for a moment and snorted a laugh.
“I’d probably have done the same. As you know, it’s unlikely my temper would let me endure seeing that.”
“Right?”
Lee Ja-Yang nodded as if it were obvious, as if implying there was nothing odd about his reaction.
“But... I don’t know. Would they really feel differently than we do? We’ve only imagined it, but they experienced it directly, so if anything they’d be angrier, not less.”
“Of course.”
“And, well... as you know, their temperaments don’t seem especially milder than ours.”
Those words twisted Lee Ja-Yang’s face.
Honestly, it made sense. Now few would deny they are true Taoists, but when first seen at the Worldly Martial Arts Tournament they were nothing but rakes.
Especially that Acting Sect Leader, apart from his looks, he was one of the craziest men Lee Ja-Yang had ever seen.
He still vividly remembered when they suddenly attacked and a brawl broke out. Weren’t those the ones who rolled their eyes and charged just because their sect was insulted? And it happened at Shaolin of all places.
‘Then why are they tolerating it now!’
He understood the situation likely prevented escalation or delay. Still, leaving a sharp remark wouldn’t have been that difficult.
At that moment Gwak Hwan-So spoke softly.
“There’s a saying in the way of Tao.”
“Yes?”
“If you call the Tao as ‘the tao,’ then it is no longer the Tao.”
Lee Ja-Yang frowned. What sort of vague nonsense was that?
“If you take it literally, the moment you call a favor a ‘favor,’ it ceases to be one. The instant you say ‘I gave, so you must repay,’ it is no longer a sincere act of giving.”
“Huh......”
Lee Ja-Yang laughed in disbelief.
Does that make any sense?
Those who act as wandering chivalrous men are still human. How can anyone continue doing things without any return, or risk their life for something worthless?
Isn’t it the dream-filled young warriors aspiring to be knights-errant who want, through that path, to make their names known across the Central Plains and become heroes?
“So we’re supposed to accept not being repaid for kindness, even being scorned for it, as something natural?”
“......”
“Then who would ever do that?”
“They do.”
For a moment Lee Ja-Yang was speechless, forced to stare blankly at those silently running ahead.
“Of course they are human and can’t always be happy. But they seem to think that one sack of grain is sufficient repayment for their good deed.”
“Are they mad......”
Gwak Hwan-So snorted at Lee Ja-Yang’s overly blunt reaction.
His thoughts weren’t much different from his. Still, he somewhat understood why they thought that way.
“They don’t expect immediate reciprocity; they hope that those who receive their kindness will in turn become people who can give without expecting return.”
“Can that really happen?”
“Will it happen right away? No. They just keep doing it endlessly. Then, little by little, people who understand that intent will appear.”
Lee Ja-Yang shook his head with a slightly sickened expression.
He understood the meaning, but it was an arduous road. People don’t easily give what they have, even when powerful warriors stand before them; how could they possibly change?
“I think it’s a ridiculous pipe dream.”
Lee Ja-Yang sneered.
“They dress it up grandly, but in the end, isn’t it just saving dozens of lives and getting chased away with barely a single sack of grain as reward?”
“......”
“The one who gave that grain probably did it for appearances, do you think they’re truly grateful? People don’t change that easily. You know, sahyung, how cruel and selfish people can be.”
Gwak Hwan-So nodded slowly.
Having faced a harsh sea in their lives, they knew all too well how selfish a person could become when life and livelihood were at stake.
“I don’t mean to belittle them, but if you think one sack of grain changed anything, that’s just willful blindness to seek comfort. Nothing’s changed.”
“...Yes. That might be true.”
“Sahyung, do you not agree?”
“To be honest, I think you’re right too.”
Gwak Hwan-So smiled bitterly.
He didn’t deny that their chosen path was wrong, but the world isn’t so simple. Commoners aren’t that naive; because they have nothing, they can be even more selfish.
Gwak Hwan-So looked at Chung Myung’s back running ahead. Chung Myung’s clothes were in tatters, ‘rag’ wouldn’t suffice, and the blood he’d shed had dried on them.
‘What you aim to do might be harder than placing the whole world under Mount Hua’s heel.’
And it will probably be in vain, merely suffering without even repayment. But.......
“Still, I want to believe they are not wrong.”
“...Yes?”
“That’s just how I want to think.”
Gwak Hwan-So muttered softly and stomped the ground.
“Brutal......”
Baek Bi’s face twisted.
Baek Bi, Ho Ga-Myung’s guard and right hand, had tortured countless people to extract information from their mouths.
The Ten Thousand People Clan members often feared Ho Ga-Myung, the militarist, more than their leader Jang Ilso, because of what Baek Bi had done behind the scenes.
If someone fell into his hands, even the toughest man would speak within a moment. Given just a moment’s free rein to toy with a person, he could make them recall even their earliest baby memories.
For someone like Baek Bi, making a powerless peasant speak was nothing. Not a moment, but just a few breaths would be enough.
It had to be so, surely.
But now, looking at the fallen figure before him, Baek Bi’s gaze was full of aversion. Even seeing the blood, pus, and filth pouring out, his usually cold eyes flickered faintly.
“How......”
A voice like a sigh escaped.
In truth, the figure before them could hardly be called human anymore. Mangled into a lump of blood, it couldn’t even struggle or twitch; it seemed nearly spent.
It was clearly still alive, the blood-red chest rose and fell faintly. But it was evident there wasn’t much left.
Baek Bi clenched his teeth. He wanted to grind that unrepentant body alive. But more torture was impossible; even touching that thing now might end its breath.
He had failed to extract information from him. Utterly.
“Ugh......”
Then, a sound, whether a sigh or a laugh, crept from the man’s mouth. Baek Bi gritted his teeth, bowed his head, and went to Ho Ga-Myung.
“...I’m sorry.”
Ho Ga-Myung looked at him silently for a moment, then said, puzzled:
“So odd.”
“......”
“Did you go easy on him?”
“No. I don’t think there was any lack from my side.”
“Then it means that fellow is impressive. Even you, who’ve made formidable warriors cry like children, couldn’t make him speak.”
A flash of indignation crossed Baek Bi’s face.
Bandit lords who ruled regions, brutal horse leaders, murderers who killed countless people, none withstood his torture in silence.
Yet this simpleton from a mountain backwater had finally endured his torture. How was he to explain this situation?
Thud.
As Ho Ga-Myung stepped forward, Baek Bi stepped aside and bowed his head. Ho Ga-Myung walked at an unhurried pace and coldly looked down at Hyung Euk, who still clung to life.
“Why are you holding on like this?”
There was no answer. Ho Ga-Myung lowered himself and whispered into the hole where ears should have been.
“Don’t you want peace? Even if you were shown favor by them, they’re already gone. You’ll never meet them again.”
“......”
“Just look away for a moment. I’ll heal all your wounds and grant you vast wealth. This is the first time I’ve promised such things in exchange for information.”
“......”
“It means I acknowledge you. You’ve done enough. Even if you speak now, no one in the world would dare blame you.”
Surprisingly, Ho Ga-Myung’s words were sincere. He truly admired the man before him.
“Even if you die here like this, no one will remember you. No one will regard you as great. Everything is only attainable by being alive.”
“......”
“Now, this is my final offer. Answer me. Tell me only where they went, and I’ll heal you immediately and promise you status and wealth that no one would dare ignore. I’ll also save all the villagers. I promise all this in the name of the Four Sects Alliance’s military Mind-Probing Inquisitor.”
Ho Ga-Myung’s voice slid sweetly into Hyung Euk’s ear.
“But if you refuse, neither you nor anyone here will survive. And those you risked your life to protect won’t even know you died so miserably here. You wouldn’t want to die without even that worth, would you?”
“......”
“So......”
Ho Ga-Myung’s eyes glinted coldly.
“Answer. Where did they go?”
At that moment, a faint sound came from Hyung Euk’s mouth, so small even the warrior Ho Ga-Myung struggled to hear it clearly.
“Speak more clearly.”
Ho Ga-Myung pressed his ear close to his mouth.
Hyung Euk’s lips parted and thick blood ran down. A frail sound that seemed about to break crept from the opened mouth.
“...Uh.”
“Which way? Again.”
“......”
“Say it clearly. Come on.”
A fleeting gleam of triumph crossed Ho Ga-Myung’s face.
Considering how rare any emotion was on his face, one could guess the kind of elation that flickered within.
As everyone held their breath, Hyung Euk’s voice finally reached Ho Ga-Myung’s closely pressed ear.
“...Go f— yourself......”
Silence fell.
Ho Ga-Myung’s face slowly contorted like a demon’s.
“You...!”
Ho Ga-Myung’s fist, filled with qi, struck Hyung Euk’s head hard.
KRAAAASH!
