I Have to Eat That Even If It Kills Me! (1)
Jin Hyeon, having moved away to avoid the other disciples, swallowed dryly as he looked at Chung Myung.
This guy... what the hell is he made of?
There was no doubt that the masked man in front of him was Chung Myung.
So this is the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, huh? Which bastard gave him such a ridiculous title? He should be called the Mount Hua Evil Dragon. Or the Mount Hua Demon. No, call him Mount Hua's Mad Dog instead!
It was a perfectly natural question for Jin Hyeon to have, since he had no way of knowing that Chung Myung was already being called Mount Hua's Mad Hound.
By now, he wasn’t even curious about why Chung Myung was so strong. What he really wanted to know was what kind of life someone had to live to end up this twisted.
Once they reached a spot where no one else could overhear them, Chung Myung spoke with obvious disinterest.
"So what the hell is this Sword Tomb thing?"
"...First, could you put that down?"
"This?"
Chung Myung gave the thing in his hand a little shake.
The unconscious body of Mu Jin swayed back and forth.
"Put him down?"
"...Do as you please."
At this point, Jin Hyeon didn’t know anymore.
I wish this were all a dream.
But there was no way it could be a dream. No matter how cruel a nightmare he imagined, it couldn’t possibly be worse than this. If nightmares were built from human imagination, then this absolutely couldn’t be one.
It had already gone beyond the limit.
"Stop wasting time and talk. What is this Sword Tomb?"
"...First, please promise me something. If I tell you, you’ll return Martial Uncle Mu Jin and stop persecuting us."
"When the hell did I ever persecute you?"
"... "
"... "
Uh...
Well, if you say so, I guess it must be true.
"Anyway."
"Fine, fine. I’ll do that. You don’t think I’d listen to everything and then still beat the hell out of you, do you?"
He sounded exactly like the sort of guy who would, which made it terrifying.
Jin Hyeon let out a sigh and began to speak. There was no solving this situation without talking.
"...It’s a tomb."
"A tomb?"
"Yes."
Chung Myung narrowed his eyes.
"So now you bastards are grave robbers too? Is Wudang short on money?"
"...That’s not it."
Jin Hyeon found himself wondering how every word this man said could stir up his insides like this, but even questioning him now felt pointless.
"It’s the tomb of Talgeom Muheun."
"Huh?"
Chung Myung’s eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh, Talgeom Muheun means... the... huh?"
"He was the strongest man in the world two hundred years ago."
"Ah, right."
He was from a generation even before Chung Myung’s.
More precisely, the strongest man in the world of that era.
Chung Myung tilted his head.
"So his tomb is the Sword Tomb?"
"Yes."
"And you’re digging it up?"
"Yes."
Chung Myung cocked his head to one side.
"Why?"
"...Pardon?"
"No, I mean, why bother?"
There was a reason Chung Myung asked that.
The strongest man in the world. That glorious name.
Anyone who walked the martial world dreamed of becoming the strongest man in the world. Even those who knew they could never reach that height still imagined themselves sweeping across the jianghu as that one person above all others.
To martial artists, the title of strongest man in the world was both dream and romance itself.
But surprisingly enough, the throne of that strongest man changed hands more often than one might think.
If one guy appears every generation, then over a hundred years that means four or five people can all be called the strongest man in the world.
In truth, it wasn’t even one per generation. There were always people who challenged for that title and seized it. If that happened often enough, more than ten people could earn the name within a single century.
If not for the war against the Demonic Sect, Chung Myung would probably have naturally acquired that title himself in time.
Thanks to all the so-called “strong” bastards running away the moment they heard Chung Myung was coming—claiming they were traveling, shutting themselves in retreat, and all sorts of other excuses—he’d never had a proper chance to square off with them. But if not for that, he might already have had the title by now.
No matter what anyone said, Chung Myung was the swordsman acknowledged by the Heavenly Demon himself.
"Talgeom Muheun? Well... he was one of the strongest men in the world two hundred years ago, sure."
Was he really that strong?
Of course he was. If he’d been the strongest man in the world, then obviously he’d been terrifyingly strong.
But the problem was that these people were Wudang.
For an ordinary martial artist, it might be an earthshaking opportunity, but for Wudang to dig up a grave like this, there couldn’t possibly be anything that great about it.
Value changed depending on how much you already had.
Whether he knew what Chung Myung was thinking or not, Jin Hyeon continued his explanation.
"Recently, one of Wudang’s secular branches was robbed. While we were pursuing the thief and investigating him, we managed to take possession of the treasure map he had. And after deciphering that map..."
"You found that it’s near Namyang?"
"That’s right."
"You know roughly where it is, but not the exact spot. So you were going to investigate, but if a bunch of Wudang bastards came swarming in, people would get suspicious and start running in like a pack of dogs, so you figured you’d shove Hwayeong Gate out of Namyang first to clear away the eyes watching you?"
"...Exactly."
"Hmm."
Chung Myung nodded slowly.
That makes sense.
It had seemed odd.
Namyang was not a large city. No, it was actually too small for a Wudang secular branch to settle there. The reason Hwayeong Gate had been able to survive by presenting itself as a Mount Hua branch all this time was because Namyang was small enough that other sects’ secular branches paid it no attention.
For Wudang to suddenly move in there, it made no sense.
"So this wasn’t really you picking a fight with Mount Hua because you were irritated by us, huh?"
"... "
"Am I right?"
"W-well, certainly not."
Jin Hyeon absolutely could not admit that there had been a little bit of “killing two birds with one stone” in the plan.
"Hm. So that’s how it is."
"Yes."
"What’s in this Sword Tomb?"
"That is..."
Jin Hyeon hesitated slightly before speaking.
"Do you know who Talgeom Muheun was?"
"The strongest man in the world, from long ago."
"No. I’m asking whether you know what he actually did."
"Nope."
Chung Myung puffed out his chest proudly.
He didn’t even have enough time to cultivate and drink. Why the hell would he care about some man from a hundred or two hundred years ago?
"Talgeom means exactly what it sounds like—he stole swords. He wasn’t affiliated with any sect. One day he suddenly appeared out of nowhere and challenged the world’s best swordsmen to duels. And he defeated every single one of them."
"That’s just a boring story."
"It becomes less boring from here. After winning, he always took his opponent’s treasured weapon as loot."
"Huh?"
"He stole their swords."
"Why?"
"...How would I know?"
Jin Hyeon shrugged.
"How could I know the intentions of someone from two hundred years ago? Anyway, he gathered up the treasured weapons of all the top experts of the age and then vanished without a trace."
"The treasured weapons of the top experts of the time..."
"Yes. Naturally, those were divine weapons."
Chung Myung made a strange face.
Well, of course they were.
Those who reached a high level of martial attainment could display their skills even without the aid of divine weapons.
But that was only half right.
You don’t need one. But if you have one, that’s obviously better.
And the top experts of the age were also the highest-ranking figures in their respective sects. Wasn’t it only natural that those at the top got to take the best things?
People willing to hand down their shining divine weapons and say, I don’t need this anymore, so you lot share it among yourselves, weren’t exactly common.
Human beings, by nature, clung to what they held until the moment they died.
"Then the divine weapons from all those sects were stolen?"
"That’s right."
"And they just handed them over?"
"I’m not sure, but it seems he made some kind of wager. If he lost, he’d hand over his treasured weapon, and if he won, he’d get all the weapons he’d taken so far returned."
That was a bet worth making.
It was a wager impossible to refuse.
"But he ended up taking them all, huh."
"Yes."
Chung Myung nodded.
"So this Sword Tomb is..."
"...After Talgeom Muheun vanished from the martial world, rumors spread. People said he had gathered all the weapons he’d collected in one place, that he’d made that place his tomb, and that he’d left behind his martial arts as well. Whoever found the tomb of the sword, the Sword Tomb, would hold the world in their hands..."
"Ah, stop there. Everything after that’s obvious."
Chung Myung already looked bored, as if he’d lost interest instantly.
"Just a plain old legend. A predictable story. And then that predictable story turned out to be real?"
"Yes. We didn’t believe it either until we got the treasure map... but the map was extremely detailed..."
"Ah, enough."
That, too, was obvious.
Chung Myung shrugged.
"So, what? You’re planning to dig up this tomb and get your hands on the divine weapons and Talgeom Muheun’s martial arts?"
"...In a sense, yes."
Jin Hyeon looked almost relieved. Seeing that, Chung Myung nodded.
"Oh, really?"
"Yes."
"I see."
Chung Myung, who had been looking at Jin Hyeon with bored eyes, grabbed Mu Jin by the collar and hauled him up.
"Huh?"
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he slapped Mu Jin hard across the ear.
Smack!
"Wh-what are you doing!"
"If the underling screws up, the boss gets hit! What kind of training did you give him to make this little brat lie with such a calm face? Hey! Get up, you bastard!"
Smack! Smack!
Mu Jin’s head snapped left and right.
"If you’re going to lie, at least wipe the spit from your mouth first! No, wait. It wasn’t a lie, was it? You didn’t technically lie! But you also didn’t tell everything. That’s it, right? Fine. You just stand there and watch. I’m going to wake this bastard up."
"W-what are you talking about! I really told you everything!"
That was when it happened.
"Hah!"
Chung Myung suddenly spun around and shoved his face right up against Jin Hyeon’s.
Jin Hyeon jerked back in shock, and Chung Myung ground his teeth a little.
"Do I look like a sucker to you?"
"...Pardon?"
"Wudang needs the martial arts of that Talhom Muheun or whatever his name is? Wudang?"
"... "
"Good grief, if Patriarch Sanfeng down in the afterworld heard that, he’d crawl out of his grave and smash Taijiquan straight into your skull. What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"
Jin Hyeon pressed his lips shut.
"And what, divine weapons? Hey, you little bastard. If you gathered up the divine weapons of other sects and said Wudang was going to use them, you think they’d just say, ‘Oh, thank you very much,’ and hand them over? You’d be lucky if they didn’t all lose their minds and charge Wudang with their teeth bared!"
"... "
"You little punk. Every time you open your mouth, it’s all lies and bullshit. Forget it. What’s the point of beating you? The one who should get hit gets hit. Hey! You still not getting up?"
Smack!
When Chung Myung slapped Mu Jin again, Jin Hyeon jumped in alarm and grabbed at Chung Myung’s robe.
"At this rate, he’ll really die!"
"That’s exactly what I’m trying to make happen, so he should die!"
"I’m telling you, he’ll really die!"
"I know, I know. I’m doing it knowing full well. Don’t worry about it."
Don’t worry about it, you lunatic!
Even with Jin Hyeon literally hanging on him, Chung Myung was as stubborn as an ox as he hauled Mu Jin up by the collar.
"You think I can’t figure it out just because you won’t tell me? The fact that you came here together means that treasure map is in your hands. All I have to do is take it and have it decoded. But in return!"
Chung Myung’s eyes turned cold.
"You should pay the price for toying with people. I won’t kill him. But I will make sure he can never hold a sword again!"
Chung Myung drew his right arm back. Seeing power gather around the tightly coiled limb, Jin Hyeon’s pupils shook like an earthquake had struck them.
This bastard really might do it.
If Mu Jin was crippled here, Jin Hyeon would spend the rest of his life drowning in regret.
"Die, you bastard!"
Chung Myung’s fist shot toward Mu Jin’s face.
Panicking, Jin Hyeon cried out without thinking.
"Yaakseoooon!"
Chung Myung’s fist stopped right before Mu Jin’s face.
Whoooosh!
The wind from the punch whipped Mu Jin’s hair wildly in every direction. Still gripping Mu Jin by the collar, Chung Myung snapped his head toward Jin Hyeon.
"What?"
"Hey, Yakseon."
"Yakseon?"
Jin Hyeon spoke in resignation.
"...The true identity of Talgeom Muheun was Yakseon."
"...Yakseon?"
"Yes."
"That Yakseon? The one who could make a miracle pill like nobody else?"
"Yes."
"The Yakseon who was said to have surpassed everyone in the art of alchemy two hundred years ago?"
"...Yes."
"The Yakseon whose pills were so absurdly potent they could wake the dead, the bastard who ate elixirs stronger than Great Return Pills like they were meals?"
Chung Myung’s eyes began to glint with a strange light.
It was desire, hope, and greed all at once.
"... "
Jin Hyeon couldn’t bring himself to answer and involuntarily took a step back.
But by then, Chung Myung’s eyes were already blazing with a terrifying brilliance.
"The Sword Tomb is Yakseon’s tomb? That Yakseon’s?"
"W-well..."
"Heh..."
"...?"
"Hehehehehe."
Chung Myung kept rubbing the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, apparently forgetting he was still wearing a mask.
"Yakseon. Right. Yakseon. That’s more like it. Wudang would only do something this ridiculous if it were Yakseon. Yes. So it’s Yakseon, huh?"
"It’s definitely not some other..."
"...Is it?"
"...Pardon?"
"So where is it?"
"... "
At that moment, Jin Hyeon saw it.
A Taoist who had abandoned reason to desire was staring with bloodshot eyes. The terrifying greed spilling out of him so blatantly, so visibly, made anyone who saw it recoil in shock.
"Where the hell is the place with my elixirs and alchemy manuals, you bastard!"
Why the hell would it be yours...?
Seriously, there’s no reasoning with this guy...