Is That Really All? (2)
Standing beneath the eaves of the hall, Geum Yang-baek stepped forward with measured dignity and gave Baek Cheon, who stood at the head of the group, a deep, formal bow.
"Allow me to greet you properly once more. I am Geum Yang-baek, Sect Leader of Hainan."
Watching that, the Mount Hua disciples couldn’t help but feel something strange stir in their hearts.
Sect Leader of Hainan. At this point, the title no longer carried the same overwhelming weight it once had. They had already encountered so many formidable figures that the name of Hainan’s sect leader no longer crushed them by sheer force of prestige.
When they were in a position to argue heatedly with the Sect Leader of Shaolin himself, what was so special about the leader of Hainan?
But that was only because Mount Hua’s position had changed.
Not so many years ago, the Sect Leader of Hainan had been someone who left Mount Hua’s disciples with tangled feelings.
He was the object of their resentment—the one who had taken the place Mount Hua should have occupied—and at the same time, someone they envied, the man leading a sect that was rising higher and higher.
And now that same man had stepped out from under the eaves of his own accord, standing in the rain and welcoming Baek Cheon with his entire body.
"I am Baek Cheon, Acting Sect Leader of Mount Hua. Thanks to your generosity last night, I was able to rest my weary body in comfort. I thank you again for not turning away unexpected guests who arrived without so much as a message, and for showing such warmth and hospitality."
Baek Cheon bowed politely and returned Geum Yang-baek’s courtesy.
At that sight, Yoon Jong’s heart trembled on its own.
He understood.
The courtesy Geum Yang-baek was showing now was not for Baek Cheon himself, but for the position Baek Cheon held as Acting Sect Leader. No, perhaps it was even a gesture toward him as the envoy of the Heavenly Friends Alliance.
But what did that matter?
Not long ago, Geum Yang-baek hadn’t even spared Mount Hua a glance. The younger disciples might not have bothered hiding their arrogance, but Geum Yang-baek had neither despised Mount Hua nor looked down on it; he had simply observed it. That alone showed that Mount Hua had once been a sect that posed no threat whatsoever to Hainan.
And now that very Geum Yang-baek had braved the storm himself to greet Baek Cheon properly, showing the respect due to a person he had already met once before. It was enough to make Mount Hua’s transformation unmistakably clear—how much its standing had changed since those days.
"Please, come inside."
"It is our honor, Sect Leader."
Geum Yang-baek guided them into the main hall, whose doors stood open wide. The people waiting ahead cautiously approached and offered cloths to the members of the Heavenly Friends Alliance.
"What is this—"
"Shh."
Jo Geol, flustered, was about to say something, but Yoon Jong nudged his side and gestured with his chin. The person he pointed to was Namgung Dowi. He had naturally accepted the cloth and was already wiping the moisture from his body.
Jo Geol, catching on at last, hurriedly did the same and wiped off the rainwater.
"It’s nice having at least one young master from a prestigious clan around."
"Exactly. If it were just us, we’d be standing here blankly like, ‘So what are we supposed to do now?’"
"As expected of Young Patriarch."
Tang Pae’s face twisted in disgust.
"I’m a young patriarch from a prestigious clan too."
"Ah. Right. But... why doesn’t it feel like it? That’s strange. Maybe you’re just too familiar."
"His face, maybe."
The instant those words were spoken, the three of them turned at once to look at the one who had said them last.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
Dang So-so tilted her head, as if wondering why they were staring at her that way. Wordlessly, everyone turned back again.
"...Let’s go in."
"Yes."
Tang Pae’s shoulders slumped, and Yoon Jong merely turned his head away in silent consideration for him.
"Please, be seated."
"Then I shall accept your hospitality without shame."
At Geum Yang-baek’s gesture, Baek Cheon sat on the cushion prepared in advance. Only then did Geum Yang-baek and the Hainan elders take their seats in a row at the front.
The moment everyone had settled down, the Hainan disciples brought in low tables bearing tea and simple refreshments, placing one before each of the Mount Hua disciples.
Sweat began to bead faintly on Yoon Jong’s brow.
It doesn’t seem like it’s because of the heat.
Before long, he realized why.
They had built up pride as disciples of Mount Hua, yes, but they had never once been treated this formally by another sect. The honor of being received in Mount Hua’s name had always belonged to their Sect Leader and elders, not to them. Yet the moment that treatment was extended to them instead, it became painfully real that they were here representing Mount Hua and the Heavenly Friends Alliance.
It was a little suffocating, but Yoon Jong straightened his back even more. If they were representing Mount Hua and the Heavenly Friends Alliance, then at the very least, they could not allow themselves to appear overawed by the atmosphere.
"You have traveled far through difficult roads to come as guests, and I am sorry that we are unable to offer you proper hospitality. Still, I hope you will understand that Hainan’s circumstances are so urgent that we have had no choice but to receive you this way."
"I was already overwhelmed by hospitality I did not even deserve, and now you say such things—I hardly know where to put myself. Who in the world has ever received treatment like this in Hainan? Setting aside my own position, as an individual it would be a tale to boast of for the rest of my life."
Compliments flowed back and forth for a while. If it had been any other time, Mount Hua’s disciples would have chuckled at how smoothly Baek Cheon’s tongue worked, but now even they were cowed by the atmosphere and kept silent, focusing intently on the exchange.
"So then..."
At that point, Geum Yang-baek cleared his throat lightly and changed the subject.
"Forgive the rude question, but let me confirm once more. You said that you came here as the representative of Mount Hua’s Sect Leader and as an envoy of the Heavenly Friends Alliance. Is that correct?"
"It is."
"Doubting a man’s word is not the virtue of a gentleman, but this place is far removed from the Central Plains, so news does not travel quickly."
Baek Cheon smiled faintly and removed the Purple Sunset Divine Sword from his waist. Geum Yang-baek watched his movements in silence.
With a soft ring, Baek Cheon lifted the sword horizontally and slowly drew it free. The instant the pale blade came into view, short murmurs of awe rippled through the room. At a glance, it was plainly no ordinary treasured sword.
"This is Mount Hua’s sacred treasure, the Purple Sunset Divine Sword. Mount Hua’s Sect Leader entrusted me with it so that I might carry his will here."
Baek Cheon’s tone turned slightly troubled as he continued.
"Though, proving that this sword truly is Mount Hua’s sacred treasure is..."
"That is enough, Acting Sect Leader. It is more than enough."
At that moment, Geum Yang-baek erased the final sliver of doubt that had remained in his heart like a knot.
He had never once doubted that Baek Cheon had come as Mount Hua’s Acting Sect Leader. Baek Cheon was one of the Mount Hua Five Swords, a man whose fame had spread throughout the world. To imagine him inventing or falsely speaking of matters concerning his sect’s sacred sword was unthinkable.
Even if Baek Cheon had harbored such malice, the Mount Hua disciples accompanying him, or the other young clan heirs from the various sects, would never have stood by and watched.
What he had wanted to confirm was how much authority was vested in that title of Acting Sect Leader.
A sacred treasure existed so that its bearer could exercise that authority in the Sect Leader’s absence. Sometimes it carried even greater authority than the Sect Leader himself; such was the power of a sect’s sacred treasure.
If that Purple Sunset Divine Sword truly was Mount Hua’s sacred treasure, then it would not be an exaggeration to say that Baek Cheon had come carrying all of Mount Hua’s authority in his hands.
Geum Yang-baek swallowed dryly before he realized it. Then, with a quiet start, he quickly relaxed his expression.
I was tense.
He still had not heard a single word from them. And yet simply facing Mount Hua’s Acting Sect Leader had been enough to make him so tense that he could no longer manage his own expression.
Baek Cheon might be Mount Hua’s Acting Sect Leader, but he was still a young man who would not have even reached half Geum Yang-baek’s age. There was no reason for the Sect Leader of Hainan to feel nervous in front of someone like Baek Cheon.
And yet he could not fully relax, and the reason for that was the white robe and the plum blossom pattern embroidered over Baek Cheon’s chest.
The fact that those two symbols—symbols of a sect—could make him uneasy meant only one thing: to their eyes as well, Mount Hua Sect had become an enormous power.
Geum Yang-baek slowly drew in a breath and smiled faintly as he began.
"Acting Sect Leader. How did you come all the way here, exactly?"
When trying to ease a tense atmosphere, one must begin with a small story. Geum Yang-baek was already prepared to laugh it off, whatever answer Baek Cheon gave.
"You must have set out long ago to arrive in this season, and yet you never even sent word ahead. We would have come out to meet you by sea, and now we’re a bit embarrassed, as if we were the ones lacking in manners. Hah-hah."
But Baek Cheon’s reply immediately smashed Geum Yang-baek’s intentions to pieces.
"We broke through Jiangnan."
"...Pardon?"
"We cut straight through Jiangnan by land."
For a moment, Geum Yang-baek was struck speechless, staring blankly at Baek Cheon.
Jiangnan? Did he just say Jiangnan?
"...Acting Sect Leader. The Jiangnan you’re speaking of is..."
"We set out from Hubei and came through Guangdong."
Geum Yang-baek’s eyes widened further and further.
"G-Guangdong?"
"Yes."
Baek Cheon answered with a calm little smile. Geum Yang-baek, for a moment, forgot all about his dignity as a sect leader and asked blankly in return,
"You mean you crossed the Yangtze River? And through... t-the main headquarters of the Myriad Man Sect, through Guangdong?"
"Yes."
"N-no, why would you do something so dangerous...? What on earth were you thinking?"
Not only Geum Yang-baek, but even the elders momentarily forgot their place and began whispering among themselves. Some were stunned, others openly disbelieving.
But Baek Cheon simply answered with calm honesty.
"Because it was the fastest route."
Geum Yang-baek was at a loss for words.
This young man—was he bold, or was he shameless? Even in the face of such reactions, he did nothing but maintain that mild smile.
No...
Truthfully, Geum Yang-baek had something else he really wanted to say.
Has he lost his mind?
But this was not a place where one could speak whatever came to mind. So he refined and softened his words as much as he could.
"W-well, what if something happened to you along the way..."
"Of course that was possible. But as you can see, we arrived just fine, didn’t we?"
But Baek Cheon had no intention of dancing around the subject.
"And..."
Baek Cheon met Geum Yang-baek’s eyes squarely, along with the elders seated behind him, and spoke.
"We were not the only ones in danger. Hainan was the one truly in a dangerous position."
Everyone looked back at him. It felt as though they might be drawn in at any moment.
"If, while going to help someone in danger, you spend all your time worrying about your own safety, how can that truly be called help?"
Baek Cheon’s voice was steady, but utterly firm.
"That is not Mount Hua’s way, nor is it the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s way."
Everyone’s bodies stiffened on their own.
In that moment, Geum Yang-baek sensed it. The initiative he had tried to seize in the conversation had been completely taken over by Baek Cheon.
That young man had overpowered the whole room merely by speaking his convictions, without leaning on Mount Hua’s strength or authority at all.
"So, Sect Leader. Please listen to what I have to say from here on without prejudice."
Normally, words like that would be followed by a brief pause, so Geum Yang-baek assumed as much and was just about to nod in response.
But then—
"For the future of Hainan, and for the safety of the world, the Heavenly Friends Alliance respectfully recommends that your esteemed Hainan Sect leave the Ten Great Sects and join the Heavenly Friends Alliance."
"Cough!"
Geum Yang-baek choked on his own breath and hurriedly clapped a hand over his mouth.
Truly, it was a direct strike driven straight into the pit of the stomach without even the slightest attempt to circle around it.