CLS-Chapter 228

Chapter 228

It was a clear, ringing voice.

And yet it was strangely captivating, drawing people’s attention. The crowd turned their heads in unison to look toward where the sound had come from.

“S-Supreme Elder?”

“Huh? Master Daoist?”

Cheong Yeong-ja couldn’t help but be flustered at the unexpected appearance of Plum Blossom Sword Sage.

‘Why is he here?’

This was someone you could barely see once or twice a year, who had suddenly come to extort money, and now here he was again. What was going on?

“What’s the matter?”

Contrary to his thoughts, Cheong Yeong-ja politely clasped his hands.

No matter that he was the sect leader, Plum Blossom Sword Sage’s influence at Mount Hua was absolute. Frankly speaking, if he fell out of Plum Blossom Sword Sage’s favor, replacing the sect leader would be no trouble at all.

“It’s nothing major. There was someone causing a disturbance, so I was escorting them…”

“A disturbance?”

Plum Blossom Sword Sage’s eyes flashed sharply.

“Who dares to cause a disturbance at Mount Hua?”

Plum Blossom Sword Sage’s gaze went to Wei Jeong-han and fixed on him.

Wei Jeong-han flinched and bowed his head.

‘I’m doomed.’

Given Cheong Yeong-ja’s words about Supreme Elder and the old man’s extraordinary aura, that person was undoubtedly Plum Blossom Sword Sage.

Who was Plum Blossom Sword Sage?

Wasn’t he a master who ranked among the top five when counting the world’s greatest swords?

Though people’s evaluations might differ, Mount Hua’s Sword Sage, Wudang’s Sword Immortal, and the Namgung Sword King were figures who never failed to appear in discussions of the world’s greatest sword.

With Plum Blossom Sword Sage here, any further power struggle was impossible.

Unless Authority Sima Cheon-se came personally, that is.

“I don’t care what happens elsewhere. But if there’s someone who causes a disturbance within Mount Hua’s territory and still doesn’t follow Mount Hua’s commands, I’ll personally show them that Mount Hua’s sword deserves respect.”

It wasn’t even words spoken with particular force.

It was a quiet and gentle tone, like a grandfather speaking to his grandson, but the same words and tone could feel different depending on who spoke them.

Wei Jeong-han clearly understood this fact now.

“Then that settles it, Sect Leader?”

At Plum Blossom Sword Sage’s words, Cheong Yeong-ja smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yes, Supreme Elder. Thank you.”

Plum Blossom Sword Sage showed a light smile as if telling him to handle it well, then turned around.

“Well, that’s settled, and now I should do my business.”

‘My business?’

What business could Plum Blossom Sword Sage have here?

Just as Cheong Yeong-ja was about to ask why he had come here, Plum Blossom Sword Sage rummaged in his robes and pulled something out, throwing it somewhere.

Clink!

With the sound of metal pieces hitting each other, the thrown pouch landed in Wei Yan-ho’s hands.

“Here, you brat! I brought the money as you said, so now you can’t avoid it anymore! Kkeul kkeul kkeul!“

Plum Blossom Sword Sage laughed with an extremely pleased tone.

But Wei Yan-ho just smiled back at him.

“What should I do? I did make a promise, but I can’t accommodate you right now.”

“What? Are you going to say one thing with your mouth and another now?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then?”

“I’m being escorted right now. I have to be locked up in Thunder Prison, so how can I accommodate you?”

“…Thunder Prison?”

Only now understanding the situation, Plum Blossom Sword Sage looked back and forth between Wei Yan-ho, the destroyed pavilion, and Cheong Yeong-ja with a flustered face. His mind began spinning rapidly.

“Explain this.”

The situation was starting to get strangely twisted.

“Well, it’s nothing much to make a fuss about.”

“Pardon?”

“Kids naturally grow up fighting.”

Supreme Elder!

Aren’t you saying something different now!

Where did the person who just spoke about Mount Hua’s sword go, and who is this person saying such things!

Cheong Yeong-ja wanted to cry out in anguish, but there were too many eyes watching. Desperately filtering his words again and again, Cheong Yeong-ja managed to squeeze out something to say after taking a deep breath.

“Just a moment ago…”

“I thought someone had picked a fight with our kids. But that’s not it—they fought among themselves, so why are you making a fuss about it?”

“…”

You should look at my eyes when you speak, Supreme Elder! Supreme Elder?

Plum Blossom Sword Sage also seemed somewhat embarrassed and was subtly avoiding Cheong Yeong-ja’s gaze.

“Then there’s no damage, and as for the pavilion, just fix it.”

“It’s not just a penny or two.”

Plum Blossom Sword Sage quietly looked at the money pouch Wei Yan-ho was holding and gestured with his hand.

“Give me that.”

“Yes.”

Wei Yan-ho obediently returned the money pouch. Then Plum Blossom Sword Sage handed that pouch to Cheong Yeong-ja.

“This should be enough, right?”

“…”

“Look how well this worked out.”

Yes, Supreme Elder.

This money pouch just left my treasury this morning, and now it’s just the same money coming back, but somehow it feels like something was resolved.

Only then did Cheong Yeong-ja remember that the previous sect leader had rolled around saying ‘I’m dying, I’m dying’ because of his senior brother and had ascended halfway to heaven from apoplexy.

‘That wasn’t a joke.’

Now he was about to walk the same path.

“Mount Hua’s dignity…”

“Making a fuss about responsibility and guilt like a petty person just because a building got destroyed is ten times less dignified. If you’re the leader of a faction, you should know how to be magnanimous.”

“…”

“That’s why you always get compared to Wudang.”

Suddenly, Cheong Yeong-ja understood what it meant for smoke to come out of one’s ears.

‘That’s because Supreme Elder can’t decisively beat the Taiji Sword Immortal!’

But what good were thoughts?

He had no mouth to speak them.

Cheong Yeong-ja, burning with rage, staggered.

“So end it here. You all came rushing here in a mob over something trivial, making a scene. Tsk, it’s not just us here—I’m so embarrassed I can’t lift my face.”

“…Ha ha ha.”

Cheong Yeong-ja looked at Wei Jeong-han with a soul-drained expression.

Wei Jeong-han nodded with an expression that said he understood everything.

‘You have my sympathy too.’

“Huh…“

Cheong Yeong-ja, receiving comfort from someone he’d been fighting to the death with just moments ago, felt like crying.

‘Let’s go, let’s go.’

If he stayed here any longer, there was no telling what other spectacle he’d witness. It was better to turn his head and pretend nothing had happened. Wasn’t that self-preservation?

“Then… I’ll take my leave knowing this.”

But there was someone very dissatisfied with this situation.

“Huh? You’re not taking me away?”

“…”

“That won’t do… I committed a crime, so why aren’t you taking me? You should lock me up in Thunder Prison.”

Is he mocking me now?

After seeing all this, he’s telling me to take him away?

“Your crime… is…”

Suppressing his bubbling insides, Cheong Yeong-ja barely managed to squeeze out words.

“It doesn’t seem… serious enough to warrant Thunder Prison. So just… reflect on it.”

“What?! This won’t do?”

Wei Yan-ho turned his head to look at the building next to him.

“…What are you looking at right now?”

“Huh?”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Cheong Yeong-ja, then smiled awkwardly as if caught in his scheme.

“Well, since you said this much won’t do, I was thinking of destroying one more…”

“…”

Cheong Yeong-ja closed his eyes.

‘Enlightenment isn’t separate from this.’

If he watched Wei Yan-ho’s antics and Plum Blossom Sword Sage’s behavior a little longer, he felt he could ascend to immortality without needing to reach any special realm.

Was ascension something separate? If you died on the spot, that would be ascension.

“Would that work?”

“Kaaaah!“

Just as Cheong Yeong-ja was about to have a fit, Blue Sword Master and Gong Mu-jin grabbed him from both sides.

“Please calm yourself, Sect Leader.”

“This isn’t a good place.”

“If you exchange words with that fellow, you’ll see something unseemly. Think of him as someone who exists but doesn’t exist, and put your mind at ease.”

Hearing Gong Mu-jin’s heartfelt advice, Cheong Yeong-ja swallowed his tears.

‘How did I end up…’

How did the sect leader of the Great Mount Hua Sect end up being pushed around here and there like this?

Not content with being pushed around by the Supreme Elder, now he was being toyed with by that young brat.

At that moment, Wei Yan-ho slyly approached Cheong Yeong-ja.

Gong Mu-jin looked at Wei Yan-ho with an anxious expression, but he couldn’t act rashly in a place where both the sect leader and Plum Blossom Sword Sage were present.

“Um…”

Wei Yan-ho glanced at Wei Jeong-han, who was making an ‘oh, you’re in trouble now’ expression behind him, then spoke urgently.

“I really think I must enter Thunder Prison. What more crimes do I need to commit to get to Thunder Prison?”

“…”

“Should I grab some random guy and stab him once? This is a very serious matter for me… If possible, I’d like to go into Thunder Prison and not come out until the tournament is over. How much crime do I need to commit for that?”

Cheong Yeong-ja looked at Wei Yan-ho with a face full of smiles.

“Hey! You damned bastard!”

“Grab him!”

“Hold him down!”

As he started having a fit, Gong Mu-jin and Blue Sword Master pressed Cheong Yeong-ja down from both sides. At the same time, the Plum Blossom Swordsmen rushed over and grabbed Cheong Yeong-ja.

“This rotten bastard! Why! Don’t you try stabbing me? Then you could live in Thunder Prison for a thousand, ten thousand years! This damn… mmph! mmph!“

After even his mouth was covered, those who had lifted Cheong Yeong-ja hurriedly left the scene. The struggling Cheong Yeong-ja’s legs looked somehow pitiful.

‘Poor fellow.’

Wei Jeong-han closed his eyes with a mourning heart.

When someone without immunity carelessly gets entangled with Wei Yan-ho, they end up like that. Still, it was fortunate that the surroundings had been controlled early so people from other sects didn’t witness that spectacle.

Watching his son who had instantly dumped the Mount Hua sect leader’s dignity into the trash, Wei Jeong-han smiled contentedly.

“Yan-ho.”

Flinch.

“Yan-hooo?”

“…”

Wei Yan-ho turned around with a bright smile and began his mischief.

“Everything seems to be resolved well, Father.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Shing!

A sword was drawn from Wei Jeong-han’s hand.

“Why are you drawing your sword…”

“But I think there’s still one thing that hasn’t been resolved.”

“Huh? Heh heh, I think everything was resolved nicely?”

“No, no. There’s still one thing left.”

“…I shouldn’t ask, should I?”

“No need to ask. I’ll tell you.”

Wei Jeong-han ground his teeth, then began shooting toward Wei Yan-ho.

“That rotten mental state of yours is the problem! I’ll solve that today!”

“L-let’s talk this out! With words!”

“Shut up! You brat!”

Wei Yan-ho turned and began running up onto the pavilion. It was very excellent lightness skill, but unfortunately, Wei Jeong-han was also an owner of excellent lightness skill.

“I said let’s talk it out!”

“I’d talk if you’d listen! I told you not to cause so much trouble!”

“I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“Quiet! You brat!”

That day, a chase between the two father and son unfolded over Mount Hua’s pavilions for quite some time. Only after Wei San-ho joined in was the captured Wei Yan-ho dragged away with his ear grabbed.

“Ow ow ow! My ear’s falling off! I said my ear’s falling off!”

“I’m pulling it so it will fall off!”

Wei Jeong-han dragged Wei Yan-ho away while fuming.

And then…

“Hm?”

“Huh?”

The place they happened to pass was the Medical Hall, and they ran into Cheong Yeong-ja, who had just taken Tranquility Pills to calm his mind.

“Sect Leader!”

Wei Jeong-han called Cheong Yeong-ja in a serious tone.

‘Still, father was a great hero.’

Cheong Yeong-ja calmed his mind. The young one might be at fault, but Wei Jeong-han wasn’t to blame, was he?

“I have something to ask. Where are we supposed to sleep from today?”

“…Pardon?”

“Well, since the pavilion was destroyed, we need somewhere to sleep, but you didn’t tell us before leaving…”

Cheong Yeong-ja smiled warmly.

Father and son were exactly the same.