Chapter 69: The Excommunicated Disciple
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69: The Excommunicated Disciple
"Eldest Senior Brother!!"
The young disciples of Mount Hua rushed out of the inn.
Yu So-dong, the waiter and owner of the Yulin Inn, wore an expression of utter disbelief.
"…Will you be alright? They are disciples of the Mount Hua Sect. Please, let your anger subside with this."
Mount Hua was one of the Great Nine Sects. To beat their disciples so mercilessly—the underlying question was whether they could handle the inevitable fallout.
"Don't worry. It won't be a big problem," the woman behind the veil replied.
Not a problem?
Yu So-dong found it even harder to understand.
"…My name is Yu So-dong, the waiter and owner of this Yulin Inn. I apologize for the intrusion, but if I may be so bold, might I ask which sect you hail from, My Lady?"
"We are from a remote family known as the Seol family."
"……."
He had never heard of them. To him, that meant they were a family without power. He couldn't help but think they were dangerously ignorant of how the world worked.
However, it clearly wasn't that simple.
I might have misjudged them. The fact that they are traveling with the Divine Physician suggests they might be a family with hidden power I'm unaware of. Furthermore…
He paused.
Even so, he sent Eldest Senior Brother Un-sang flying with a single blow.
That wasn't the kind of martial prowess a minor family could display. If that were the case, he needed to mediate and settle the matter before it escalated further—both for the sake of Mount Hua and for these guests.
"If you're that worried, why don't you step outside and see for yourself?"
It was strange. How can they be so unconcerned?
This wasn't just any group; it was Mount Hua. Even if the current Mount Hua wasn't as prosperous as it once was, it was still the Mount Hua of Shaanxi. Yet, they remained so composed.
In the Central Plains, there was only one reason someone could be this confident after touching members of a major power.
Martial prowess.
Just how strong was that guard?
The veiled woman, the handsome man, and the old man actually began their meal, showing no concern for the guard whatsoever. Driven by curiosity, Yu So-dong stepped outside.
"You bastard! What kind of sorcery did you use on our Eldest Senior Brother!"
He saw his former fellow disciples screaming at the Seol family's guard.
He was hit by a Shockwave Punch, yet they don't even recognize it and dismiss it as sorcery.
Since when had the integrity of Mount Hua fallen so low?
Tsk.
In truth, he had known for a long time. Mount Hua was losing its vitality; it was dying. At some point, their sources of income dried up, forcing them into situations where they had to abandon their convictions.
They began doing things they never would have done before—like demanding money from entering disciples.
Consequently, people began flocking to the sect not for its spirit or principles, but for the prestige of the Mount Hua name. And the number of thoughtless disciples grew accordingly. The will and meaning Mount Hua once held were being diluted.
The problem was that more and more people were entering the sect under these conditions.
"Sorcery, you say? Are you talking about this?"
Pa-ang!
Another Shockwave Punch struck another senior brother.
"Keheok!"
Yu So-dong watched Senior Brother Un-gang roll across the ground before turning his gaze to the remaining two.
"Y-you… If Mount Hua finds out about this, do you think you can handle the…?"
"I'll just handle it then."
Thwack!
"Guegh!"
As if they weren't even worth drawing a sword for, the family guard began to pummel the senior brothers with his bare hands.
Bam!
"Aaargh!"
It was nothing short of ruthless violence.
"You… what is your relationship… with Un-so…?"
"Never seen him before."
Crack!
Un-gang's head snapped back once more.
Clatter—
"Oof."
"…Guest. I think you can stop now, please."
Seeing teeth scatter across the ground like spilled corn, Yu So-dong stepped forward. At his words, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s gaze shifted toward another Mount Hua disciple who was pretending to be unconscious.
"I know you're awake."
At Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s short remark, Un-sang—the leader of these Mount Hua thugs—scrambled to his feet and bowed his head low.
"I-I have committed a mortal sin!"
"Innkeeper."
Yu So-dong turned as Hyeok Ryeon-yeom suddenly called out to him.
"I happened to overhear the situation. I think you did well."
"Pardon?"
"Leaving Mount Hua, I mean."
Yu So-dong felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Officially, he had been excommunicated, but Hyeok Ryeon-yeom spoke as if he had left of his own volition.
"…It was unavoidable."
"But you were lucky to get out in one piece."
"My master was a Taoist scholar. I studied under him. And… I was cast out because I didn't have the money they demanded."
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom’s expression turned grim at Yu So-dong’s words.
So, Mount Hua was demanding money and excommunicating disciples who couldn't pay.
Has Mount Hua truly fallen that far?
Their reputation was renowned even among the Orthodox Factions, often mentioned alongside Northern Shaolin and Southern Wudang as part of the Five Great Mountains Sword Sects. Since when had the noble red plum blossoms turned into something that reeked like rotting ginkgo seeds in autumn?
And yet, Mount Hua is in this state.
Naturally, money is required to run a sect. It was true that they received donations or support from lay disciples. But to take money from official disciples whose talent and martial potential should be the priority, and to excommunicate them for being poor? The current Mount Hua seemed to have gone terribly wrong.
Perhaps it's not just Mount Hua.
Come to think of it, the Martial Alliance might be far more corrupt than the League of Four Tyrants.
"So, the reason for your excommunication… was truly just that?"
"Yes."
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom was speechless. Looking at the man running the inn alone, he asked, "Is that also why you opened this inn…?"
"Ah, no. I was able to run this place thanks to the help of a certain individual."
"To be kicked out of the prestigious Mount Hua and become the owner of a shabby inn… it must be a hard life."
"Still, I consider myself lucky that someone like me, who was driven out for having no money, can make a living like this."
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom nodded. "Then why did they come looking for you?"
"That was also… because of money."
Yu So-dong was excommunicated and should have had nothing more to do with Mount Hua. Yet, these men, who were his seniors by rank, came to harass him and extort money. They were little more than trash.
Apparently, whenever they were short on cash, they would travel from Mount Hua to Yulin City to extort money under the guise of "protection fees."
"Truly absurd."
He had wondered why martial artists from the Mount Hua Sect were wandering around a place like this.
"Don't you feel resentful?"
"If you ask if I'm resentful, I suppose I am. But what can I do? I am simply weaker. Even if I'm just a powerless excommunicated disciple, I was once a leaf of Mount Hua. I just have to endure it."
Yu So-dong sighed as if venting his frustrations. Hyeok Ryeon-yeom found himself quite liking the man's attitude.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom then asked, "Do you want to become strong?"
"Yes. I do."
"Then you'll have to work hard to earn money."
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom looked at the Mount Hua thugs, who were keeping their heads down as still as death. He needed to think about how to deal with these bastards.
"Aren't you finished yet? Hurry inside and eat."
Cheon Deung-jin stepped outside, perhaps because it was taking longer than expected.
"I'll be right in."
"P-please, if you could forgive us just this once……."
One of the Mount Hua thugs took the opportunity to beg for mercy.
"Aren't you just planning to go back to Mount Hua and report this anyway?"
"N-never! Absolutely not!"
The thug pleaded desperately, rubbing his hands together as if they might wear away. It was a predictable reaction. The cleanest way to handle this would be to burn them all.
But if I did that, they would definitely swarm us.
Things were already precarious; he couldn't afford to let the situation escalate further. Turning Mount Hua into an enemy right now carried too much risk. If he were branded a public enemy of the martial world and pursued while trying to travel through the Central Plains, it would be extremely troublesome.
"What should we do with these guys?"
At that moment, Tae Un-seo raised his hand.
"I have a good idea."
…….
….
.
Slurp!
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom began to eat his noodles with gusto.
"Water over here!"
"Yes! Coming!"
"The 'waiters' have started moving."
"It looks like we're out of dishes!"
"Bring out more food!"
"Another order!"
"Another one!"
Whoosh!
As orders poured in, the stove roared to life. The innkeeper, Yu So-dong, began churning out food at a frantic pace.
The Little Snow Unit sat at their tables, waiting for the food to be served. Baek Mu-yong and Tae Un-seo had started ordering with the intention of clearing out the inn's entire pantry.
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom set down his chopsticks.
"Are you finished?"
"Yes. More importantly, what do you three think we should do with them?"
"If we leave like this, the bullying will just start again. They were already extorting money; they'll be even worse this time."
Yu So-dong was certainly someone who had nothing to do with them. Yet, for some reason, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom felt a pang of sympathy.
Is it because he's an excommunicated disciple?
—This fellow cannot use magic, so shouldn't he be expelled from our academy?!
Memories of his past life flashed through his mind. As the servant of a Great Mage, the past Hyeok Ryeon-yeom had faced the threat of expulsion from the academy and had struggled desperately to stay.
Looking back now, he shouldn't have been so afraid of going out into the world.
Therefore, I should consider Yu So-dong better off now.
The one saving grace was that it took quite a while to travel from Yulin City to Mount Hua. By the time those thugs reached Mount Hua, they would have already left Shaanxi.
He had forced them to experience working at the inn to give them even a small taste of how difficult it was to earn the money they had been plundering.
Yu So-dong, who had initially been intimidated by his seniors, began to boss them around relentlessly after some time had passed.
Maybe I don't need to worry as much as I thought.
Yu So-dong’s knack and skill for managing his seniors were no joke. He showed enough resourcefulness that, had he stayed at Mount Hua, he might have been put in charge of a small unit. With that kind of capability, it seemed he would survive just fine here.
"You look more satisfied now."
"Pardon?"
"Did you know you had a very serious expression until just a moment ago?" Seol Yerin asked. "In this day and age, it's rare to see someone who not only shows kindness to a stranger but even worries about their future."
"He reminded me of myself."
"What? You, Captain?"
"Yes. I once struggled alone like that. It was very difficult. So much so that I wished someone would be by my side."
"Hmm, so you had times like that. But you have me now."
Hyeok Ryeon-yeom smiled at Seol Yerin’s words. She was right. He had her now. It was good to be together, to have so many things they could do as one.
And perhaps, through this excommunicated disciple, I might even influence Mount Hua.
Since he had learned that the Mount Hua Sect had become stagnant water, he felt this was the least he could do—even if Yu So-dong never ended up being of any help to them.
Thanks to this, we've gained enough time to rest thoroughly before moving on.
That was enough.
They spent two days at the Yulin Inn. Feeling that their travel fatigue had fully dissipated, Hyeok Ryeon-yeom ordered the Little Snow Unit to begin preparing for departure.
At that same time.
Near the Yulin Inn.
Byeok Ra-jung, an elder of the Zhongnan Sect, arrived at the Yulin Inn with a group of disciples.
"It's definitely… that place, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"I didn't know those Mount Hua bastards were doing business here."
"Has Mount Hua finally hit rock bottom? An inn in such a remote place that barely gets any business."
A young disciple of the Zhongnan Sect spoke up, looking around the inn as Byeok Ra-jung spoke.
Currently, the relationship between the Mount Hua Sect and the Zhongnan Sect was poor. During the emergence of the Demonic Cult or the Great War of Good and Evil, Mount Hua and Zhongnan had been the sword and shield protecting Shaanxi.
However, too much time had passed since the martial world had become stable and peaceful. The seniors of the old martial world had long since vanished, and those who occupied the top positions of the current powers were preoccupied with fattening themselves in the midst of peace.
Boredom and excessive peace tend to invite enemies from within. This was precisely why the forces of Mount Hua and Zhongnan, once absolute allies, had begun to drift apart.
Consequently, the Zhongnan Sect sought to strictly guard their own influence and territory, and Mount Hua did the same. However, Zhongnan had taken it to an extreme, and they had discovered that an excommunicated disciple of Mount Hua had opened an inn not far from their territory.
Even if it wasn't directly within their zone, the Zhongnan Sect couldn't leave it be.
"We must never let this place fall to Mount Hua. It must belong to the Zhongnan Sect."
The eyes of the Zhongnan disciples sparkled. "What is the reason, Elder?"
"Why is Kunlun considered so important?"
"Because it's the first gateway for dealing with the Demonic Cult."
"It's the same story. This part of Shaanxi is also the first region to be hit when the bandits of the Great Plains or the Ice Palace further north invade."
"The Ice Palace… I heard rumors that the Young Lady of the Ice Palace and the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult are engaged."
The Ice Palace and the Demonic Cult had joined forces. What would be their next move?
"They will come down."
The era of peace was ending, and a Great War of Good and Evil—or perhaps a Righteous-Ice War—might break out once again. This atmosphere was spreading throughout the martial world.
"Shaanxi must belong to Zhongnan. That means the sword that protects Shaanxi must be Zhongnan, and to block the Ice Palace's invasion, we must be the ones to step forward and raise our honor among our fellow martial artists."
Byeok Ra-jung looked around the inn.
"Coincidentally, this place seems perfectly suited to be a strategic point. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Yes!"
"In that sense……."
Sss.
"I will erase that shabby inn and erect the shield of Zhongnan in its place."
The martial artists of the Zhongnan Sect began to approach the Yulin Inn.