Return of the Mount Hua Sect
Return of the Mount Hua Sect - Chapter 1: What The Hell Is This Situation? (1)

A dream. No, he didn鈥檛 know if it was a dream or a memory or a hallucination as he danced on the edge of death. He didn鈥檛 know if he was already dead, dying, or still alive.

All he could see was the past.

Childhood memories: his appearance from when he first entered the Mount Hua Sect; the scenes of training with Sahyung; the time he鈥檇 fled the strict sect rules and gone to see the world.

鈥淏efore a warrior, you are a practitioner. You must realize that power without ethics is just violence.鈥?/em>

Nagging.

Constant nagging.

It bored him. While he was a disciple of Mount Hua Sect, he didn鈥檛 fully follow the teaching. Despite his natural talent, which earned him the title of 鈥淧lum Blossom Sword Saint鈥? he was but a mere beginner in the Mount Hua Sect.

Why didn鈥檛 he realize earlier? Even when the teachings didn鈥檛 make sense, even when he felt out of place鈥?everything that made him him he owed solely to the Mount Hua Sect. That was why he admired the sect so much.

He realized too late. Too late for regrets.

If only he鈥檇 paid a little more attention to the teachings, if only he was a little bit stronger, he might have been able to change that bitter ending. If only he鈥?/p>

鈥淒o you regret your decisions?鈥?/em> Chung Myung heard the soft voice of Sahyung Jang Mun. His father, his older brother, his family鈥攖his man was Chung Myung鈥檚 goal. He wanted to follow him until the very end, but it was too late for that too.

Yes, I regret it. I regret it so, so much, Sahyung.

鈥淭here is no need for regret.鈥?/em> His voice exuded warmth. 鈥淚t is the Mount Hua Sect after all.鈥?/em>

鈥ahyung. It seemed to Chung Myung that Sahyung was chuckling. Forever warm and benevolent.

鈥淏ecause it is the Mount Hua Sect.鈥?/em>

Tak!

Even then鈥?/em>

Puck!

Huh? What?

鈥淎ggggggggggggghhh!鈥?It hurts! My head! I don鈥檛 get it! What kind of pain is this? Is this what it feels like when your limbs are cut off?

鈥淗-Heavenly Demon?鈥?Is that bastard not dead yet? Chung Myung instinctively raised his hand to protect his head. If he wasn鈥檛 dead yet, these attacks would finish him off for good.

鈥淗eavenly Demon?鈥?But the voice that answered him wasn鈥檛 the Heavenly Demon, but a thick, sniveling voice he didn鈥檛 recognize.

鈥淗uh?鈥?When he opened his eyes, the face was equally unfamiliar.

A beggar? Beggar. A beginner鈥攋udging by the knot tied around his waist, he鈥檇 just started. A beggar among beggars.

The beggar with the grumpy, scruffy face eyed Chung Myung.

What is it? He couldn鈥檛 understand what was happening.

鈥溾€楬eavenly Demon鈥?鈥?yeah right!鈥?The beggar鈥檚 face flushed red with irritation. 鈥淵ou lazy bum, still sleep talking! Everyone else has gone off to beg, but you鈥檙e still here sleeping like you did something great! Yah! Do I make you laugh, huh?鈥?The beggar hefted his bamboo stick.

Hold on鈥?Is this kid threatening me right now? So that鈥檚 how it is.

鈥淗uh?鈥?The beggar was startled by Chung Myung鈥檚 sudden smirk.

It was an odd situation, but he didn鈥檛 feel like he needed to bother with context. Just who was Chung Myung, after all? He handily ranked among the top three of all the numerous swordsmen in the world. People praised his sword style as the true essence of Mount Hua Sect and dubbed him the Plum Blossom Sword Saint 鈥?the two other Great Swordsmen weren鈥檛 worthy of being his opponents. Even the Heavenly Demon, in his final moments, acknowledged Chung Myung鈥檚 swordsmanship. Disciples and sect leaders alike bowed before him.

But this beggar was making a threat? A threaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

鈥淗uh? Ungh? Are you laughing now?鈥?/p>

鈥淟ook here, kid.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€楲ook here?鈥欌€?/p>

鈥淚鈥檓 struggling to understand the situation, but for starters you can put that thing down.鈥?/p>

鈥淗a. Hahahahaha. Hahahahahahahaha!鈥?The beggar could only laugh.

Chung Myung scowled. How dare he react to him like this?

And then the beggar smacked Chung Myung with his bamboo stick.

Huh. Chung Myung was dumbfounded. How dare a mere beggar do something like this, knowing who Chung Myung was? No matter what happened, he was going to fix this beggar鈥檚 attitude before the day was up.

First, he had to stop that baton! Chung Myung raised his right arm鈥?/p>

鈥hat?

Huh?

Slow? Why were his arms so slow?

The baton was fast, but why were his arms reaching for it so slowly? It made no sense鈥攚ith his speed, he should already be holding that stick.

Ah! Maybe it was because of his injuries? Then all he had to do was move on to his guts鈥?/p>

Uh? What鈥檚 that? On the edge of his vision, he saw a small hand appear, moving towards the baton at a snail鈥檚 pace.

Too slow and鈥?/p>

鈥oo short?

Huh? Hands that small couldn鈥檛 stop it! This wasn鈥檛 going to work!

The stick landed squarely on Chung Myung鈥檚 head.

Chung Myung collapsed to the ground, convulsing. All of his thoughts were driven away by the skull-splitting pain.

鈥淜uaaaaaa!鈥?Chung Myung clutched his head and rolled over. Even his arm being ripped off hadn鈥檛 hurt like this!

鈥淵ou bastard!鈥?The beggar laid into him in earnest. 鈥淪ituation? Understand the situation? I鈥檒l do that! But I鈥檒l make sure you understand the situation first! If you go crazy, you go crazy! Stupid bastard! Did the heat rot your brain? The medicine for heat is getting hit, you bastard!鈥?/p>

鈥淎ck! Ack! Ack! You crazy beggar! Stop right now, if not鈥?ack!鈥?/p>

鈥淒ie! Die!鈥?/p>

鈥淎h鈥攊t hurts! Ack!鈥?Chung Myung鈥檚 cries changed little by little as he was beaten.

鈥溾€擸ou bastard! I won鈥檛 let this go! I鈥檒l make sure to rip you鈥斺€?/p>

Smack!

鈥溾€擲top! Stop it now, please, you jerk!鈥?/p>

Smack!

鈥溾€擜ck! Accckk! Why are you hitting me! Ack!鈥?/p>

Smack!

鈥淵ou鈥?beggar鈥?ah, ack! Sorry!鈥?/p>

The whipping continued with no remorse.

鈥溾€ave鈥︹€?/p>

Smack!

鈥淪pare meeeee!鈥?/p>

As if to tell him there were no free second chances, Chung Myung was immediately beaten to a pulp.

鈥溾€ck. He hurt my pride.鈥?Chung Myung pulled out the piece of cloth he鈥檇 jammed into his nose.

鈥淎h, ahhh.鈥?The moment he saw the red stains, Chung Myung鈥檚 face fell.

A nosebleed! Not even a nosebleed from internal injuries, but a nosebleed from being beaten! How did that even make sense? It wasn鈥檛 just the nosebleed鈥攏othing had made sense since he鈥檇 opened his eyes.

To say nothing of his bruised eyelids, it felt like nowhere on his body was left untouched; beating someone that thoroughly had to be something of an art form. If someone hadn鈥檛 stopped him, he would have just kept goin!

Had he ever been hit like this in his entire life? Despite all the pranks he鈥檇 pulled off in the famously strict Mount Hua Sect, he had never been beaten this badly.

To suffer such humiliation for the first time at the hands of a beggar鈥?

鈥淚 am going to mess him up鈥?That bastard! I鈥檒l tear him down.鈥?The anger and irritation roiled inside him.

Chung Myung laid on the ground. If he acted on a whim, he would only hurt his battered body.

鈥淣o, rather than that鈥︹€?Chung Myung heaved himself up and stared into the river.

An unfamiliar young face greeted him. When Chung Myung contorted his face, the young man did too; when Chung Myung sighed, the young man did too.

鈥溾€ow did this happen?鈥?Why was there a different kid鈥檚 face in the water?

No, it was a nice face. The change in his face didn鈥檛 bother him鈥攁fter all, the younger the better no? But it was too young. Although, better younger than older.

Besides, no matter how much he compared them, this face was a lot more charming and handsome than the old Chung Myung. He had no complaints about this new face.

But he was dissatisfied with the fact that his body was younger too.

Short. The limbs were short 鈥?not because he was naturally short or something, but because he was a child. Even worse, he was all skin and bones. Even now, he was too tired and hungry to lift a hand.

Ah, whatever!

鈥淪o鈥︹€?/p>

In summary鈥?/p>

鈥淭his means I鈥檓 alive.鈥?/p>

Maybe 鈥淚鈥?wasn鈥檛 appropriate. No matter how hard he looked, this kid looked nothing like the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, Chung Myung. The Sword Saint was gone: his soul, and all of his memories, now resided in the body of a child beggar.

鈥淭his must be a devil鈥檚 work.鈥?/p>

Or maybe it was Buddhist reincarnation? Had he known this beforehand, he would have joined the Shaolin instead of the Mount Hua Sect.

He wondered if the Heavenly Demon had used some kind of disgusting magic on him. But if he could perform such feats, he would already be ruling the entire world.

Chung Myung didn鈥檛 really care what had happened, but he had to admit that everything around him was real. This was neither dream nor fantasy. His entire body throbbed with pain 鈥?the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

鈥淣othing will change if I keep sitting around and thinking about it. First, I need to figure out what鈥檚 happening, and what exactly happened. Chung Myung hopped up and ran to the beggars tent.

Or he tried to run, at least.

鈥淜uk!鈥?Within a couple of steps, he fell.

鈥淵ou beat me hard, you bastard!鈥?Chung Myung鈥檚 eyes rolled angrily. 鈥淣o matter what happens, I鈥檒l make sure to pay you back for this.鈥?/p>

Death wasn鈥檛 about to fix his dirty personality.