Is That Really All? (1)
“Ugh... my stomach... is killing me.”
Jo Geol muttered with his face twisted into a grimace. The liquor he’d drunk yesterday had clearly been too much; his insides felt awful.
“The Hainan guys really can drink like beasts.”
“...I’m sure they’re saying the same thing about us.”
“Still, I don’t think we’ve ever been the ones to get drunk and drop dead from it—well, except for Beast Palace Lord back then... ”
“Let’s just exclude him from the category of people to begin with.”
Cheong Myeong was no exception, naturally, when it came to going head-to-head with Beast Palace Lord over drinks.
“Hngh.”
With another miserable groan, Jo Geol fumbled open his bundle. From inside, he carefully drew out Mount Hua’s formal robes, wrapped and packed with almost absurd tenderness so they wouldn’t be damaged on the journey here.
“But why the hell is this meeting happening at the crack of dawn?”
“It’s not early. It’s late.”
“Huh?”
Yoon Jong answered with a bitter expression.
“The fact that the Sect Leader gave us even one night’s rest already shows remarkable patience. If you were in his place, and outsiders had come all this way into this situation, could you really just keep your mouth shut and wait?”
“...I guess not.”
“Right.”
Yoon Jong shook his head.
Even the mere fact that they had been allowed to rest for a single night was, in truth, an act of extraordinary restraint. Looking at the faces of the people who had been drinking themselves into oblivion, it seemed the burden on them had been greater than they’d imagined. And in that light, the least they could do was be grateful for the hospitality shown to travelers who had come from so far away.
There was no need to voice needless complaints.
“Still, Saje. I’m not the sort of person who complains about that kind of thing. It’s not that I’m unhappy; I just haven’t quite sobered up yet, and I don’t want to go around looking like I’m in a bad mood.”
“...That, I can agree with.”
Yoon Jong let out a wry laugh. Truthfully, he barely remembered how they’d even gotten back to the lodging. No—thinking about it, they hadn’t even really known this place was their lodging, so perhaps it wasn’t right to say they’d come here on their own feet at all.
It was disgraceful, plain and simple. It certainly was not the sort of behavior expected from guests who had visited Hainan for an important negotiation.
But neither Yoon Jong nor Jo Geol seemed particularly regretful about it.
“What the hell was that guy thinking, getting us that drunk?”
“How would we know? We just read the room and go along with it when it feels like we should.”
“Ha...”
Yoon Jong shook his head again.
They said if a dog spent three years at a writing school, it would recite poems too, and after more than three years around that bastard Cheong Myeong, questions of reason or justification stopped mattering so much. You simply assumed there must be some reason, and then hummed along with it as best you could.
“We’ll be late. Hurry up.”
“J-just a second. My pants... ”
“...Put them on faster.”
“I am putting them on, I swear!”
Yoon Jong sighed and opened the door. The moment he stepped outside, he saw people coming out of their rooms all around him.
“Did you sleep well last night, Young Patriarch Namgung?”
“S-Small Hero Yoon Jong, you too. I... ugh... slept wel—guh...”
Yoon Jong looked at Namgung Dowi with a dubious expression.
The man had always been so handsome it looked almost carved by a sculptor’s hand, but now his face had gone so hollow he looked like a patient in the final throes of illness.
“...You don’t look well...”
“What in the world was in that booze... no, what kind of person...”
“Then you should have stopped drinking at a reasonable point.”
“...Then it would’ve felt like I was losing.”
“...”
Yoon Jong shut his eyes tightly. Yes, this one seemed to be losing his wits too.
“I’m going to die.”
“Sahyeong. Walk properly.”
“I am walking properly.”
“Sahyeong! Not that way—this way! Seriously! I even gave you the hangover remedy!”
So-so. Just why had you brought a hangover remedy all the way to Hainan?
Everyone who had come out looked like they were in terrible shape. Then again, they’d each stuffed themselves with more liquor than their bodies could possibly handle, after a brutal march, and had passed out. If they’d been in good condition after all that, that would have been strange.
“W-wait. What about the King of the Green Forest?”
“...He couldn’t get up. I think he needs to be moved to the medical hall instead of the meeting room.”
“...Is he that bad? I should at least check his condition...”
“Ah.”
When Yoon Jong started to head toward Im So-byeong’s room, Namgung Dowi stopped him.
“You’d better not go in. It’ll kill your appetite.”
“...”
“We can’t exactly leave a mess lying around, so once we get back from the meeting, we’ll have to wash that bedding.”
“...”
Yoon Jong rubbed his face hard, feeling utterly desolate.
At this rate...
Can we even have a proper meeting?
“What about Sahu?”
“Huh? Right, come to think of it. He’s not the sort to be late...”
Just then—
Bang.
A door on one side flew open, and Baek Cheon came out at an even, unhurried pace.
Swish.
With each step, his spotless white robe swayed gracefully like rippling water.
The perfectly pressed white garments, the hair neatly combed back, and the white headband around his forehead matched his pale skin so well he looked almost as if he’d been dusted with powder.
Regardless of whether everyone else looked half dead or not, Baek Cheon appeared just as he always did—no, even more immaculate than usual.
Tap.
He stepped into the corridor with a painter’s precision, swept his sharp eyes across everyone once, and then spoke.
“Has everyone come out?”
The Mount Hua disciples began whispering among themselves.
“...At this point, that has to be some kind of illness, right?”
“By now, we should just admit it is one...”
“That’s the kind of person who becomes Mount Hua’s Sect Leader.”
“...Can’t deny that.”
The Mount Hua disciples nodded to themselves, while the sect leaders of the other factions visibly shuddered at the sight.
“Is he even human...?”
Namgung Dowi, in particular, seemed nearly ready to weep. Baek Cheon had undoubtedly drunk more than he had last night, so how in the world was he still maintaining such a pristine appearance?
This was not something that could be explained merely by comparing the strengths of their martial arts.
“You are guests and envoys here to meet the head of another sect. So all of you had better mind your conduct...”
Baek Cheon trailed off and frowned. Under the cascade of displeased stares, the atmosphere grew solemn at once.
“...Sorry, Sahu.”
“Sorry we aren’t handsome enough.”
“My bad.”
“We did try, you know.”
“Tch.”
Baek Cheon clicked his tongue, clearly dissatisfied with his fellow disciples’ shabby faces and unkempt states. Of course, they felt wronged in their hearts, but seeing Baek Cheon like that made even their complaints retreat back down their throats.
“Where’s Cheong Myeong?”
“Beats me. He’s nowhere in sight. No way that bastard would be too drunk to get up.”
“Not in his room?”
“I didn’t see him.”
“Then where... ”
Baek Cheon nodded as if he’d already guessed.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
“What about Cheong Myeong?”
“He’ll come on his own.”
Baek Cheon’s eyes swept over the people in front of him as he spoke.
“Let me say this once more. Each and every one of you here represents everyone in the Heavenly Friends Alliance.”
“...”
“Think twice before you speak, and always remember how you will appear in the eyes of others.”
“...That’s meant for everyone, right?”
“Let’s go.”
“Sahu? No, but when you say that, why are you looking at me the whole time... Sahu?”
Ignoring Jo Geol’s protest cleanly, Baek Cheon walked down the corridor. Once no one could see his face anymore, a short sigh escaped him. There was a hint of tension in it.
This was the first duty he would carry out as the Acting Sect Leader of Mount Hua. Whatever the outcome of the discussion, he had to show the bearing of Mount Hua’s Sect Leader—and of an envoy from the Heavenly Friends Alliance.
With a hardened expression, he descended the stairs to the lower floor.
And then...
“Hehehehe. Look at the color of this bastard’s face!”
“...Will you shut up and get going?”
“Yeah, what’s a guy who can’t even drink doing trying to act tough like this...”
“Can’t even drink? My nickname is Hainan Booze Whale!”
“What, is the whale in this place the size of a minnow?”
“No, but seriously!”
“Aigoo. If I’d challenged someone to a drinking match with my own mouth and then got crushed like that, I’d have bitten my tongue off and died. And you still have the nerve to lift your head?”
“We didn’t lose! It was a draw, a draw!”
“If the guy who was waiting to fight the guy who’d traveled all this way only managed a draw, then that’s basically a loss.”
“Grrrr...”
Gwak Hwan-so’s dark face flushed red and blue with rage. Cheong Myeong, who had been happily mocking him, turned toward the stairs when he heard footsteps. Then, seeing Baek Cheon coming down, he grinned.
“And look at this. Our Acting Sect Leader is just fine, isn’t he? Unlike some people who look like they’re on death’s door.”
“...He really is.”
“Wow. That man drank even more than I did yesterday.”
“Dae Sahyeong. Let’s admit it. We lost.”
“...Our Dae Sahyeong should at least look like that too.”
“Who was that last one? Which bastard said that?”
Watching Cheong Myeong team up with the Hainan disciples just to torment Gwak Hwan-so, Baek Cheon shook his head.
There’s no helping him.
Normally, the atmosphere here should have been grave beyond measure. This was the day the fate of Hainan and the Heavenly Friends Alliance would be decided, and the disciples here certainly understood that fact.
But the drinking the night before, and Cheong Myeong’s shameless nonsense appearing here ahead of them, had completely loosened the mood.
Some of the tension in Baek Cheon’s shoulders eased. He parted his lips as if to say something, then gave a faint snort instead.
“Cheong Myeong.”
“Hm?”
“...Come here. You’re embarrassing me.”
“No, what did I even say that was wrong?”
“...Please, just shut up.”
“How am I the one being wronged here!”
At Baek Cheon’s gesture, Yoon Jong and Jo Geol rushed over, seized Cheong Myeong by both arms, and hauled him toward the back.
“Hey! I didn’t even say anything wrong! That bastard started picking a fight first, didn’t he? Why am I the only one getting dragged—mph! Mmph mmph!”
Dang So-so deftly stuffed a cloth into Cheong Myeong’s mouth and bound it there, and Baek Cheon let out a long sigh before cupping his fist and bowing to Gwak Hwan-so.
“My apologies. That... as you already know... is simply the kind of person he is...”
“...You must have it rough.”
“If I tried to explain it in words, three days still wouldn’t be enough.”
After saying that, Baek Cheon looked at Gwak Hwan-so with a strange expression and asked,
“But your complexion doesn’t look good. Are you feeling unwell?”
“...I’m just dark-skinned to begin with.”
“That doesn’t seem to be all of it... perhaps you have a hangover?”
“I told you, I’m just dark-skinned to begin with. Hainan people are dark because of the sun!”
“Ah, then that’s a relief. I was startled, thinking perhaps you’d damaged your health after drinking only that little. Surely that couldn’t be the case, could it?”
“...Trip and fall on your way there.”
“Pardon?”
“No, nothing.”
When Baek Cheon smiled, Gwak Hwan-so chuckled under his breath as well, straightened himself, and returned the courtesy with a formal bow.
“I am Gwak Hwan-so, the Great Disciple of Hainan. The Sect Leader wishes to meet with you, so please follow me. I will guide you.”
“We’re in your care.”
With all trace of playfulness washed away, Gwak Hwan-so turned. In response, the Hainan disciples who had been waiting moved into position, exuding the steady aura of martial artists as they guarded the Heavenly Friends Alliance party’s approach.
“The typhoon still hasn’t fully passed, so the road may be rough. Please understand.”
“If you avoid the wind, you’re no martial artist. Don’t trouble yourself over it.”
Pleased by the answer, Gwak Hwan-so grinned.
“Open it.”
“Yes!”
The doors of the hall swung open wide.
Baek Cheon’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The typhoon was still raging. Yet the disciples of Hainan stood unmoved by the fierce rain and wind, lined up in silence to the left and right of the path the visitors would take.
“...This is a bit...”
“Say no more.”
Gwak Hwan-so spoke in a grave voice.
“This is not about asking you to look kindly on us. It’s not about showing off our strength or trying to threaten you, either.”
“...”
“Whatever the result of the conversation from here on turns out to be, that doesn’t matter. This is simply the minimum courtesy we should show to those who have risked their lives to come all the way to this Hainan, a place no one else has bothered to visit.”
Baek Cheon’s expression hardened slightly.
“So please, this way.”
Gwak Hwan-so led the way into the wind and rain. Baek Cheon nodded once, then followed behind him.
As if they had been standing there since long before dawn, Hainan disciples whose robes were soaked through all raised their swords in unison toward the Heavenly Friends Alliance party making its way to the meeting hall, silently offering their respects.
Only the sound of rain could be heard. Not a single cheer rang out—only a silence thick with ceremony.
As they walked through that silence, the members of the Heavenly Friends Alliance saw the ancient-looking hall standing ahead, and Geum Yang-baek waiting before it to receive them.
Baek Cheon quietly clenched the rainwater gathering in his palm.