Return of the Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1187: The Path We Will Continue To Walk (2)

The will of Mount Hua. The Righteousness of Mount Hua.

No one immediately understood exactly what those words meant.

If those present had not witnessed the earlier situation, they might have dismissed it as mere righteous rhetoric shouted by a greenhouse flower who had just taken the Acting Sect leader’s post.

But those who had watched from the beginning felt the strange resonance of those words.

Perhaps it was the gap between reality and ideal that resonated with anyone who had to bear a measure of responsibility.

Everyone learns. Everyone vows. To keep the righteousness and pursue the greater good.

When they first lifted a sword, when they first entered martial learning, doesn’t everyone harbor lofty dreams in their hearts?

But once one learns the harshness of the murim world and the cost of such righteous agreements, one stops uttering the word agreement.

That is why Baek Cheon’s words resonated.

Mount Hua is no longer a small sect in Shaanxi. With its raised standing came heavier burdens. And yet Mount Hua’s acting Sect leader speaks of consensus.

How long has it been since anyone had seen such a sight with their own eyes?

“Will and...”

Beop Jeong continued in a strange voice.

“...Righteousness.”

A composed smile spread across his mouth.

“Those words sound as if you mean Shaolin has neither will nor Righteousness. Am I mistaken, Acting Sect leader?”

Baek Cheon returned that with an even broader smile.

“Of course I did not mean that. I only wanted to say that the ways we pursue righteousness differ.”

Beop Jeong slowly shook his head.

“Acting Sect leader. I cannot deny the boldness contained in your words. One reason the old should listen to the young is that the old have already lost such daring nature.”

On the surface it seemed like praise, but it carried a barb; it could be read to mean Baek Cheon had nothing but boldness.

“But regrettably, though the daring is high, it is not enough as an answer to my question.”

Beop Jeong murmured as he shook his head.

“Mount Hua and Shaolin’s intentions differ. Therefore they cannot walk the same path.”

After a slight pause he looked at Baek Cheon with dark eyes, a pressuring gaze that made one involuntarily shrink.

“The situation of the world is too dire to simply accept that answer and step back. You understand it is not easy to consider every warrior’s and every sect’s position, do you not, Acting Sect leader?”

Baek Cheon closed his eyes as if agreeing.

He knew as well; ideals are ideals and reality is reality.

“If you cater to everyone’s position one by one, things end up in chaos. If you cannot properly rebut, I can only conclude that Mount Hua raises its own will above the world’s safety.”

Words that scraped at feelings, pointed ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) out flaws, even criticized Beop Jeong’s stance; none shook Beop Jeong, who stood firm like an ancient rock.

‘This is why they are frightening.’

Tang Gunak bit his lip without realizing it.

This is why those who claim the greater good are frightening. That is why throughout history many heroes risked their lives to claim that cause.

Until now the realm’s cause clearly lay with the Heavenly Friends Alliance. But in this moment that cause was seized by Beop Jeong.

So no matter what Baek Cheon said, couldn’t one simply retort that Mount Hua would ignore suffering commoners and push only its own will?

One could of course ignore them. If accepted, that would be it. But in doing so Mount Hua would lose much, especially since it has not yet fully gained the people’s support.

Tang Gunak looked at Baek Cheon, who had closed his eyes as if in thought.

‘It’s okay, Taoist...’

Tang Gunak did not expect Baek Cheon to perfectly refute that claim. It would be an excessively harsh demand for someone who had just become Mount Hua’s Sect leader. The responsibility for bringing the situation here lay with others; asking the successor to resolve it was absurd.

Even if they lost something, even if they were to be blamed, they could press their claim through.

They would not let Mount Hua bear it all alone.

Saying they would follow Mount Hua’s decision did not mean using Mount Hua as a shield. Just as Mount Hua would gladly share the fruits of its choices with the Heavenly Friends Alliance, the responsibilities Mount Hua must bear would also be shared.

The burden was still too heavy for the young Baek Cheon to shoulder alone. Tang Gunak was also young among the sect leaders, but among the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s leaders, only Meng So was older than him.

So just as Hyun Jong had shielded him until now, he must now become Baek Cheon’s shield.

Having decided, Tang Gunak was about to intervene, but Baek Cheon spoke first.

“Abbott, you keep making me repeat the same thing.”

Baek Cheon’s expression was utterly calm.

“If you do not understand one thing, this will only become a repetition of the same conversation.”

“...What is it that I, a monk, must understand?”

“I as an individual may be lacking, but the Sect leader of Mount Hua cannot be lacking. A Sect leader is not just a representative of disciples, but the executor of the sect’s will. I will prove that now.”

Baek Cheon narrowed his eyes slightly and watched Beop Jeong.

“The principle you argued is that ‘saving more lives is the right course.’ Is that correct?”

“It’s not that simple. More precisely, it’s that we must walk the correct path for the world’s safety.”

“A fine phrasing, but it ultimately means sacrificing those who need not be sacrificed. Isn’t that so?”

Beop Jeong frowned.

“Acting Sect leader. No one delights in sacrifice. No one will refuse to save those who can be saved. If driven by heat of the moment to irreversible acts, the cost will be borne by all under heaven. How long will Mount Hua cling to ideals that do not fit reality?”

Baek Cheon shook his head at that.

“You are correct. But you are also incorrect.”

“Why is that?”

“Sacrificing a few to save many is nothing more than weighing human lives on a scale.”

“Sigh...”

For the first time, a sneer escaped Beop Jeong’s mouth, despite his prior restraint toward Baek Cheon.

“Is that Mount Hua’s logic?”

He asked, unable to hide his incredulous cynicism.

“There is no higher or lower life; each is precious. Who does not know that? But it’s merely an ideal. One death versus a thousand deaths; if you have to choose between them, what will you choose, Acting Sect leader?”

“...”

“Because lives are equal in value, the lives of many may indeed outweigh the lives of a few.”

“Is that so?”

A faint twist came to Baek Cheon’s mouth.

“I understand the meaning of what you intend to say, Abbott. But that statement only means we can rank human lives by whatever standard.”

“It’s not that...”

“What about a hundred and one?”

“No, ten and one? Two and one?”

Beop Jeong’s face contorted; he felt this was nothing more than head-splitting.

‘Was he only this kind of person?’

Despite their opposing positions, Beop Jeong had once thought well of Baek Cheon; this petty logic shattered that image. He saw no value in continuing this pointless argument.

“There seems no point in further words...”

“Abbott.”

It was at that moment Baek Cheon’s expression changed completely.

“Then let me ask you in return, Abbott.”

“...What do you mean?”

“Since you claim you can decide, I’ll ask in reverse. If all are the same, which is more important: one life or a thousand lives?”

Beop Jeong hesitated slightly, sensing instinctively that something was hidden despite it being the same question.

But what could be drawn from a question that included the condition of equality?

“As a Buddhist I cannot choose, but as Shaolin’s Abbott I would choose the thousand. Since values cannot be compared, you choose to save one more. Difficult choices cannot be turned away from! That is responsibility, acting Sect leader!”

“I respect the Abbott’s thinking. Ultimately you say it is right to sacrifice one to save a thousand. Is that correct?”

“...Yes.”

Tired of circumspection, Beop Jeong nodded in affirmation. At this point any quibbling by Baek Cheon would be mere sophistry.

But the next question from Baek Cheon was something Beop Jeong had not imagined. Baek Cheon’s gaze sharpened as if to pierce him.

“Then if you must choose between one person’s life and enough money to feed a thousand, which would you choose?”

Beop Jeong’s eyes went momentarily blank; not out of shock, but because he struggled to grasp what Baek Cheon was asking.

“What is...”

“I’ll ask again. If by sacrificing one life you could gain ten thousand gold to save a thousand starving lives, would you do it? Would you give up one life and save a thousand?”

Beop Jeong’s tightly closed lips slowly parted of their own accord.

‘This is...’

Only the question had shifted slightly. Nothing had changed. But if he answered yes, would he not become someone who chose money over a life?

When the Abbott could not answer immediately and hesitated, Baek Cheon asked again.

“Is money the issue? Then what about grain? If by one person’s sacrifice you could obtain the grain to save ten thousand, would you choose grain over the person?”

“H-Hold on, Acting Sect leader... what is this...”

“Grain too difficult? Then how about the fertilizer to grow that grain. If a pile of manure could yield ten thousand sacks of rice, perhaps to the Abbott it might be more important than one life.”

“Acting Sect leader!”

Beop Jeong could not contain himself and leapt to his feet, murderous intent rising in his eyes; the killing aura of Shaolin’s Abbott Beop Jeong, not easily borne by anyone in the realm.

But Baek Cheon did not flinch an inch.

“Please sit. My words are not finished.”

“What sophistry is this...!”

“Why is it sophistry? By your logic, a means that saves a thousand is more important than saving one. Then what problem is there if a single life is deemed worth less than a pile of fertilizer?”

“Listen, Acting Sect leader!”

“From the start!”

Baek Cheon suddenly raised his voice.

“If you compare the incomparable and force choices where there can be none, you end up dividing the value of everything! Then things that should not be judged are judged, and what must not be diminished is diminished!”

Beop Jeong bit his lip as if at a loss for words.

“First it was Southern Island’s life!”

Flames rose in Baek Cheon’s eyes.

“Then the life of allies surrounded by the enemy! Then the lives of the wounded fallen on the front! Then lives of other sects! Then the lives of young disciples who are not yet battle-worthy! Saying you can weigh and abandon the less valuable; how is that any different from saying you can discard the whole world?”

“Discard! Discard! Discard and discard again! What will you protect after throwing away all that should not be lost? Where are the ‘more people’ you speak of, Abbott? Where are the realm’s people you claim to protect?!”

“This...”

“How can someone who casts aside those who trust and follow him like refuse possibly protect strangers? You speak of all people, yet are you not the one who treats them as least valuable? If that is Shaolin’s principle, if that is the Abbott’s principle!”

Baek Cheon gritted his teeth and drove in his stake.

“Mount Hua will never join that cause.”