The abbot looked at the gate of the sect in silence.
This was not the first time he had seen this gate with his own eyes, so it was familiar, yet it felt more unfamiliar than the first time.
'Perhaps it was because my situation was different.'
Even if it was the same thing, it could not help but look different when the situation changed.
When he first visited this mountain, he didn't have any particular regrets. Rather, he was more interested in seeing what the mountain's sect looked like.
But now…
"Amitabha."
The abbot chanted the Buddhist prayer to shake off the awkwardness in his heart.
'If not me, who will go to hell now?'
This was for the sake of all people.
This wasn't a situation where he could hesitate due to personal shame.
"Abbot."
"Hmm."
The abbot nodded at the voice of Beop Gye. He had no time to waste.
"Can we enter?"
Un Geom, who had been near the gate and came running after hearing the commotion, froze and looked at the abbot for a moment before nodding.
"… this way. Please enter through here."
"Thank you, Taoist."
Un Geom guided the abbot with a rare expression of fluster. However, this wasn't something to blame Un Geom for. Who in the world would not be flustered when the abbot of Shaolin suddenly came without notice?
But, at that time, the abbot looked at Un Geom again for another reason.
'Was there someone like this?'
A one-armed swordsman without any superiority complex.
The aura from him was shocking. It wasn't hard to tell that this was a highly trained and skilled swordsman just from that feeling.
The problem was that this wasn't in the abbot's memory.
'So, in just three years, did this man grow this much?'
He looked quite old. It was common knowledge that advancing one's level rapidly became more challenging with age. Furthermore, was it true that he had made such great progress in such a short period of time with a sword, learned not as a right-handed swordsman but as a left-handed one?
Even though he had only seen one person, he could immediately understand how much Mount Hua had changed over the past three years. If this old man was like this, how much stronger must the disciples of Mount Hua be?
The abbot's heart grew heavy.
'Amitabha.'
Of course, it could be said that it was a good thing that Mount Hua, which belonged to the same Justice faction, was getting stronger. However, Mount Hua was a sect currently bringing a storm to the entire world. The stronger this sect became, the stronger the storm blowing across the nation would become.
Especially…
The abbot shook his head. Now wasn't the time to think of such things.
'My heart is full of confusion.'
Even after cultivating for so long, he was shaken by such a small thing. The unwavering determination he had pursued so much seemed all for naught.
At that moment, he saw the figure of Mount Hua's Sect Leader, Hyun Jong, quickly approaching him.
"…."
Seeing Mount Hua running barefoot ahead of everyone else, he almost burst out laughing.
'It is clear.'
In the past, he wouldn't have thought it strange that Mount Hua was running out like that. If the sect leader of a declining sect heard that Shaolin's abbot had visited, they would naturally react as such.
But was Mount Hua a declining sect? It might have been so in the past, but it wasn't so now.
The leader of the Heavenly Friends Alliance and the lord of Shaanxi.
Mount Hua was a place where it was meaningless to even compare it to the past. The current Mount Hua didn't even need the pretense of being in the Nine Great Sects.
But, Mount Hua's leader, Hyun Jong, was no different from when Mount Hua was a third-rate sect that had collapsed.
'No, it isn't that he hasn't changed.'
When the situation changed, one's attitude naturally changed. Maintaining the same attitude as before, despite the change in circumstances, meant they had become a deeper person than before.
In order to not change, they must change.
Wasn't it so in the scriptures? Color is Nothingness, and Nothingness is Color?
"Abbot, why did you come all the way here…"
Hyun Jong, who had run to him in one breath, stared blankly at the abbot as if he couldn't continue speaking. Then, as if he had suddenly come to his senses, he bowed his head deeply and greeted him.
"Welcome."
The abbot, who had been filled with worry, seemed a little at ease with the hospitality. Even though he knew that Hyun Jong was someone who reacted this way to everyone, regardless of his feelings.
The abbot accepted Hyun Jong's greeting with a big smile on his face.
"I don't know what to do with myself for being this welcomed. I shouldn't have come to a place I wasn't invited into."
"What are you talking about? I welcome the abbot on behalf of Mount Hua!"
"Thank you, sect leader. I really appreciate this."
The abbot, who had been holding a lot of hope, glanced behind Hyun Jong.
'… Are they not here?'
The elders of Mount Hua whom he knew were there, but the person he was most concerned about was nowhere to be found. Instead, the disciples of Mount Hua, who had come running after hearing the commotion, turned their heads and whispered to each other, looking at the abbot.
"What is happening?"
"The abbot of Shaolin came here?"
"The abbot? Why is the abbot here?"
He was already used to the gazes of people looking at him strangely. From the moment he became the abbot of Shaolin, he couldn't avoid such gazes.
But after checking the faces of those who were sending him these gazes, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
'They are strong.'
Their faces still had their youthfulness. They were young swordsmen who had shed their youth but hadn't yet reached maturity. However, the qi he felt from those young swordsmen was extremely sharp and, at the same time, infinitely serious.
The momentum was something he had never felt before, even in the Namgung family or the Wudang.
Now, he didn't know what to say to describe Mount Hua. The words 'The Wall of the Upper World' and 'Look Once Again Clearly' seemed inadequate to describe their growth.
What impressed the abbot even more was their behavior. The way they hung around him was no different from kids in a market.
Innocent?
No.
In Taoism, this kind of behavior was described as 'pure.' Not being formal, not being overly polite, and being honest about one's feelings. That was the attitude that Taoists who wanted to resemble nature should have.
'Strength and purity.'
It seemed that he could understand why Mount Hua threatened Wudang's position just by looking at them there.
But… the abbot knew better than anyone that it wasn't all.
"I greet the abbot."
"I greet the abbot."
The abbot nodded quietly as he watched the people who were showing him respect.
'The Five Swords of Mount Hua.'
They were now the warriors representing Mount Hua. Of course, their names still were called among the upcoming great warriors. But one day, they would become the names representing the true warriors of the world.
"Nice to meet you, Taoist Baek Cheon."
"You know my name?"
"How could I not know Mount Hua's Righteous Sword?"
"… It is an honor."
Baek Cheon bowed his head with impeccable form.
A figure that embodied the phrase 'Good Looking and Dignified' better than anyone else. Even though he was the abbot of Shaolin, brimming with talent, at this moment, he felt a certain jealousy towards Hyun Jong.
"… you are working hard."
After receiving Baek Cheon's greeting, the abbot turned to the person standing behind him. To the person who had once been his pride, who could have been like Baek Cheon to the abbot.
The abbot smiled brightly at Hae Yeon, who seemed to have mixed feelings within him.
"Did you learn a lot?"
"Abbot…"
The abbot, who had been quietly looking at Hae Yeon's face, suddenly lowered his gaze and stared at the murim uniform he was wearing.
'Murim robes of Mount Hua.'
He could guess the situation they were in. However, if Hae Yeon's heart had not wavered even a little, he wouldn't have worn the clothes of another sect, even if it meant being in rags.
"I have a lot to talk to you about. But now isn't the time, so let us continue the talk later."
"… yes, abbot."
As Hae Yeon silently lowered his head, Hyun Jong stepped ahead to protect Hae Yeon with a flustered look.
"Abbot, there were a few circumstances here… it was all my fault for not paying the right attention."
"Do not be like that, sect leader. I don't mean to scold the child. I just have a lot to talk about with my disciple, who has been away from the main sect for a long time."
"If that is the case, then…"
Hyun Jong nodded, and the abbot smiled broadly and changed the topic.
"I came running all the way here because there was a matter that needed to be discussed in detail."
"M-My mind has also been in a mad state. I am sorry, abbot. Do come this way."
"Yes, sect leader."
Hyun Jong quickly guided the abbot.
Walking through the slightly noisy Mount Hua, the abbot observed the atmosphere closely. Compared to the quiet Shaolin, this was a place of noise and life.
"This must be the atmosphere of a sect that is advancing."
Before he could organize his thoughts, Hyun Jong stood in front of the Mount Hua Sect leader's residence with the abbot.
"This is the place. I apologize for not being prepared to receive guests."
"How can an uninvited guest even think such a thing? I would be grateful even for a glass of lukewarm water."
"Please, drink."
Before entering the room, the first thing that caught the abbot's attention was the pair of shoes placed at the front door.
They were a little small for Hyun Jong to use.
This meant that there was someone in the room who didn't show themselves in the presence of the abbot. The abbot knew who the person was without even seeing them.
"… Amitabha."
The abbot quietly prayed scriptures that no one could hear. The person he had rushed to Mount Hua for, and truly wanted to meet, was there.
The abbot, who had been staring blankly at the door, finally entered the room. As soon as he crossed the threshold, the first thing that came into view was the person sitting with his back to the corner.
Chung Myung had not changed much. He could be recognized at a glance.
No, rather, there was enough change to notice something different. If he had to pinpoint it, Chung Myung seemed a little taller and a little more solid, but he was no different from what he had seen before.
Even the atmosphere and the look in his eyes.
Chung Myung did not show any particular reaction even though he saw the abbot enter. He just stared at the abbot with round eyes.
The two looked at each other for a moment.
Breaking the awkward silence, the abbot smiled first and said,
"How have you been, young Taoist? No, the word 'young' doesn't really fit you anymore."
His tone was very gentle as if he were speaking to someone he was close with.
Chung Myung smiled brightly and answered.
"Yes. Thanks to you, I have been doing well."
"Is that so? I didn't think I did anything for you."
"Ehh. Why didn't you do anything? Do you know how much you did for me?"
"I did?"
"Yes."
Chung Myung smiled brightly. But while his mouth formed a smile, his eyes were not smiling at all.
"Since you are holding a service to make me fail so badly, shouldn't I live well just to make you feel wronged? Thanks to you, I have been very, very well."
The disciples of Mount Hua, who had just entered the room, opened their mouths.
'Th… that…!'
'Insane bastard.'
Seeing Chung Myung attack the abbot with words right from the start, they were already worried about how much this place would end up like a sheet of thin ice to walk on.
Cold sweat began to run down their backs.