Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1446. What Should I Do? (1)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
“...What a mess.”
Tang Soso looked at the chaotic Tang Family with a gloomy expression.
"Why are they acting like that, Soso?"
"That... ugh."
She seemed about to say something but shook her head instead. With a sigh in her voice, she continued.
"Tang Family is far more complicated than it looks from the outside. And the family members have to live under incredibly strict rules and constraints.”
"Well, other sects also..."
"Tang Family is different. Before coming to Mount Hua, my dream was to escape Tang Family and live freely. Doesn't that say enough?"
“...Right.”
“True. You were planning to marry Chung Myung, right?”
"Do you want to die? Why are you bringing that up now?"
“...I’m sorry.”
That explanation alone was enough to understand. From the beginning, Tang Soso was someone who would fight to change anything she found unreasonable. Tang Family’s rules were so strict that someone like her had to live quietly suppressed.
"After being suppressed for so long, what's been pressed down for hundreds of years now exploded..."
Tang Soso's eyes filled with worry as she watched Tang Gun-ak. Even for someone like him, she doubted whether he could smoothly resolve this situation.
'Father....'
Meanwhile, Tang Gun-ak was looking around with a tired face.
"How is any of this our fault in the first place?"
The person currently shouting with veins bulging was Tang Yeonhong, a craftsman in charge of workshop duties who was known for his composure.
Because of that reputation, even the usually quiet Tang Gun-ak had trusted him greatly, but...
"We made everything exactly as requested, yet you return complaining you couldn't use them properly! Isn't this your fault?"
Tang Jaho's eyes turned icy blue upon hearing Tang Yeonhong's rebuke.
“Are you saying that our lack of skill is why we couldn’t properly use the poison the smithy made for us?”
“If you put it like that, I won’t deny it.”
“Huh?”
Tang Jaho glared at Tang Yeonhong in disbelief.
"I see now that the smithy people are truly amazing. Tang Family's glory was all created by the smithy, but we were too stupid and lacking in skill to properly eat from the table that was set for us. Is that so?”
"Hyung, please calm down a bit."
"Do I look like I can calm down? If that's not looking down on us, then what?"
Someone who had been listening burst out in laughter.
"The craftsman's words might be a bit excessive, but it's not entirely wrong to say you couldn't properly use what was made for you. You always ask us to prepare poisons with stronger toxicity, but then you just carelessly throw the poisons we painstakingly make. How delicate do you think poison is!"
“What?”
"We provide you with poison that could easily last a month, but you use it all up in one battle and then come back saying you had no choice but to throw whatever was at hand when things got urgent. If that’s not proof of your lack of skill, what is?"
“You done talking?”
Tang Jaho’s eyes were bloodshot with anger.
"You think we have nothing to say? At least we went out with those crude items and risked our lives to earn money, but what did you all do? Didn't you waste all those poisons more expensive than gold and rare minerals under the pretext of research! If we had just kept that money, Tang Family would have been twice as prosperous!"
"Watch your mouth! Wasted, you say! Do you even know what research is?!”
"Why should I know that! Isn't what I said right in the end! This current situation is the same! Do you think you could have made your precious poisons and hidden weapons without us? The more I look at these guys!"
“Brother! You’re being too harsh!”
The momentarily subdued argument reignited, with shouts erupting from all sides.
Looking at the people baring their teeth at each other, Tang Gun-ak pressed his throbbing forehead.
‘Is it really this bad?’
He had expected some discord. Given how different the roles they each played were, it was only natural that there would be growing resentment between them.
But even Tang Gun-ak could not have imagined that it would be this intense.
At first, they had hesitated to speak in his presence. But as one by one they began to open their mouths and the floodgates opened, now they were pouring out fierce criticism at each other as if they had completely forgotten the presence of the patriarch.
The craftsmen, who had long been suppressed by the power of the martial artists, now radiated anger.
And watching this spectacle of Tang men tearing into each other stood the Tang women, their eyes cold with disdain.
'It's been festering inside deeply.'
A bitter laugh escaped him.
Although he had never said it out loud, Tang Gun-ak had always felt pride in Tang Family he controlled. He was confident that Tang Family had escaped the rotting swamp of the Elder Council and was beginning to exert influence not only over Sichuan but over the entire Jungwon.
But now he had no choice but to admit that Tang Family he knew wasn’t everything there is. Perhaps even he, as the patriarch, had only seen its shell.
'We've somehow managed to hold on like this.'
Tang Family has maintained the same system for hundreds of years. Even as times changed and the world changed, Tang Family alone remained unchanged.
And the side effects of that stagnation didn’t show on the surface but had been festering inside. People with the same Tang surname were secretly despising each other.
Had Myriad Man Manor Hall not attacked, Tang Gun-ak might have lived his entire life unaware.
He might have completed his life with satisfaction, looking at the fortress (성(城)) called Tang Family built higher on a shaky foundation. Without ever knowing that the fortress, twisted from its very cornerstone, would someday collapse miserably.
His gaze drifted to one figure. It was Chung Myung, who was gazing at him with a strange expression from a distance.
They say some truths only reveal themselves through loss, and Tang Gun-ak felt deep in his bones what that meant.
"There's nothing more to say! As soon as we get to Shaanxi, we need to gather the remaining money and replenish the poisons first. What kind of Tang Family would we be without poison?"
"Does poison fly on its own and knock people down once it's made? Hidden weapons can be effective even without poison, but what can you do with poison alone! Of course, we must rebuild the smithies first!"
"Don't you understand that without us, the poison and the workshop are nothing? You foolish..."
“What? Say that again!”
Just as the shouting match was about to reignite, Tang Gun-ak's powerful voice cut through the noise.
"Enough!"
Those who heard the shout immediately closed their mouths. Despite the situation, no matter how excited they were, the authority of the patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Family was still alive.
“We’ve gathered to have conversations. This is not a time for accusations.”
“...Yes, Gaju-nim.”
"I apologize. We got carried away..."
Watching them forcibly suppress their rising emotions and back down, Tang Gun-ak sighed quietly.
“I know you all have a lot of feelings built up.”
“Gaju-nim....”
The general chief broke out in a cold sweat as he spoke.
"I- I'm sorry. At a time like this... When everyone should be exercising restraint."
"No."
Tang Gun-ak shook his head.
“At times like this, conversation is even more necessary. Perhaps… if we don’t do it now, we may never get the chance again.”
Of course, the timing might seem inappropriate, but Tang Gun-ak deemed this crucial. If they gained even a little respite and started to hide and mask their emotions, there would never be a chance for such honest conversations again.
"So speak without hiding, be honest. About what the problems are. And..."
Tang Gun-ak looked at everyone evenly.
"What we must change for Tang Family to remain the Sichuan Tang Family."
The eyes of Tang Family members wavered slightly.
In truth, Tang Gun-ak wasn’t lowering his posture or pleading in any way, nor was he asking for anything different from his usual self. But despite that, they could clearly feel it. That Tang Gun-ak, the patriarch, was now speaking with complete sincerity.
At that moment, Tang Gun-ak's gaze turned toward the women of Tang Family seated to one side.
"And the same goes for you all."
Instead of speaking, the women of Tang Family looked at each other.
"I know it won't be easy. But I can only provide the opportunity, and it is up to you to accept that opportunity.”
Anxiety flashed in the eyes of the Tang women.
They had spoken countless times. Sometimes with minor complaints, other times with fierce resistance. Yet their voices were always dismissed, no matter when or where.
Knowing that, should they repeat it? To change what hadn't changed for hundreds of years?
No, there was no reason. Perhaps they would pretend to listen now, but eventually, Tang Family would go back to being Tang Family. And they would have to pass on that fate to the children they conceived once more.
Tang Gun-ak, who noticed that the gazes of the Tang women were strangely cold, opened his mouth with a long sigh.
"To be honest, restoring Tang Family's glory won't be easy."
These were truly disheartening words. But Tang Family members waited for Tang Gun-ak’s next words, without any sign of disappointment.
"No, perhaps it might be possible. If I sacrifice my life, if you sacrifice your lives, if we sacrifice everything... perhaps by our next generation, the name of Tang Family might resound throughout the world again."
Tang Gun-ak suddenly looked up at the sky. A bright sky where the stars that used to look down on him were no longer visible.
“But... what is it for?”
“....”
"Tang Family exists to protect its members and their descendants. Then what meaning is there in glory and prosperity bought with your suffering?"
“...Gaju-nim.”
"What I discuss now isn't how to make Tang Family rise again as before."
Tang Gun-ak looked at everyone with a determined gaze.
“I am asking how Tang Family can avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. How we can become Tang Family the ancestors envisioned, where everyone can be happy.”
Tang Gun-ak, speaking a bit slowly but with emphasis, slowly shook his head.
“I cannot do it alone. No one can do it alone.”
Though his voice was quieter than usual, its sincerity rang clear.
"So speak to me. I beg you."
Tang Gun-ak's sincere gaze turned once more toward the women.
After a brief silence, Tang Sobo stood up from her seat. Perplexed looks poured in on her.
“Sobo?”
Tang Sobo took a few steps forward and sat back down.
It was merely two or three steps. At most, she had only moved a few paces closer before sitting again.
But the meaning of those steps was absolutely not small. The women of Tang Family looked at Tang Sobo once and then all rose from their seats at once and approached forward.
Tang Sobo hesitated and opened her mouth.
“Then....”
“Tell me.”
Tang Gun-ak nodded.
"Ca- Can we perhaps learn martial arts too? Instead of marrying into a powerful family, can we go to Mount Hua and become disciples of Mount Hua?"
At those words, the young daughters of Tang Family opened their eyes wide. Especially since they had half-sensed their own destinies, they couldn't help but be on edge about the answer to this question.
"...Is that what you all want?"
“No… No, Gaju-nim. We know what we must do for the family. We are taught from childhood. While those born in common houses starve and till fields, we know the duty given to us who live in comfort."
“....”
"Still... I just wanted to ask. Is it really okay to do this?"
Tang Gun-ak nodded.
"If that is what you want, if it is the way you can be a little happier, I will allow it. But my thinking is a little different."
Disappointment settled on Tang Sobo's face, which had been shining with cautious expectation.
The next words would be Tang Gun-ak's true intention. In the end, nothing changes. That's how it will be...
"Rather than specifically learning Mount Hua's martial arts, how about learning Tang Family's martial arts?"
“...Yes?”
"If you wish, I will permit you to remain in Tang Family without marrying. Starting from this very moment."
This was a declaration to directly overturn the family law that the Sichuan Tang Family had upheld for hundreds of years.
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