No! This Is Going Too Far! (5)
"He's still alive."
"My God, they actually made it out of there alive!"
"...Hold on. Then what happened to the divine weapons?"
The moment someone mentioned the divine weapons, the atmosphere shifted.
At first, they had only been amazed that so many people had survived such a catastrophic collapse.
But once the thought arose that those survivors might have brought the divine weapons out with them, greed began stirring again.
"What do we do?"
"What do you think? We take them! Isn't that why we all stayed behind?"
"But Wudang and Beggars' Sect are there. And the others aren't exactly pushovers either."
"Look at them! Do they even look like they can move, let alone fight?"
Greed numbed reason.
Especially when what could be gained was enormous, reason and morality tended to vanish far, far away.
That was how these people were.
From the beginning, none of them had come here with pure intentions. They had clung to hope even after learning they could no longer enter the Sword Tomb for only one reason, could they not?
Kill and steal.
That was how things were done to begin with.
No law said that the first person to lay hands on a treasure would remain its owner forever. Anything that came into the world as a treasure inevitably went through a bloody struggle for possession once again.
Greed gleamed in everyone's eyes. As if by silent agreement, those exchanging looks began to surround the huge pit without a word. The survivors from below were clearly not easy prey, so they reached a tacit understanding: for now, they would cooperate until those people were subdued.
One of the men encircling the survivors and looking down at them raised his voice.
"Congratulations on your survival. You were called Heo Sanja, was it not?"
Heo Sanja's eyes twitched.
"And you are?"
"There's no need for me to introduce myself. That isn't what's important."
Hong Dae-gwang, watching from the side, snickered and said, "It's Flash Spear Dan Sahong. I've heard he operates in Zhejiang. So he came here too."
Heo Sanja shot Hong Dae-gwang a glance, then looked back up at Dan Sahong.
"So you're Dan Dae-hyeop."
Dan Sahong's brow furrowed.
He hadn't particularly wanted to make a name for himself with Wudang. But now that it had come to this, he had no choice but to keep a straight face and push through.
"Hahaha. To think Hong Branch Leader knows my name. I'm honored. Still, may I ask you one thing?"
"Go ahead."
"What happened to the divine weapons?"
Heo Sanja calmly pointed downward.
"Can't you see for yourself?"
"Then you're saying you barely made it out without taking a single divine weapon?"
"It was not the kind of situation where one could worry about that."
Heo Sanja said firmly, "And there was nothing in there that could truly be called a divine weapon. After two hundred years, all that remained were things eaten away by rust and decay. Even if we had brought them up, they wouldn't have been what any of you imagined."
"Hmm."
Dan Sahong knit his brows as if in disappointment.
"That's truly unfortunate. But Daoist, the Jianghu is a dangerous place. Surely we can't take your word at face value?"
"Then what exactly do you propose?"
"Simple."
Dan Sahong smiled faintly.
"Let us search the bodies of the Daoists. If you're truly innocent, you should have no reason to refuse."
"That bastard!"
"You want to try me?"
The answer did not come from Heo Sanja, but from those around him.
Searching someone's body was not especially difficult. But between martial artists, it was never a simple matter. To place yourself completely in another's hands was the same as handing over your life.
To allow someone to search your body with your guard down was no different from permitting them to strike your vital points with a hidden trick at any moment.
What Dan Sahong was doing now was breaking the unspoken code among martial artists and trying to force the issue.
"And if we don't?"
"Hahaha. Daoist, you should accept that the situation is far from favorable. Do you really think you exhausted lot can handle all of us?"
Dan Sahong's eyes turned cold.
"If you don't want to die, hand over everything you obtained from inside. We'll spare your lives. But if you refuse to hand it over willingly, then all of you will come to wish you'd simply died in there instead..."
"No, this bastard's trying to get himself killed!"
"...think... Hm?"
Dan Sahong's eyes flew wide open.
The young brat sitting in a heap on the ground suddenly sprang upright and began charging up the wall toward him.
What the hell?
Dan Sahong, unable to make sense of the situation for an instant, tilted his head.
What was that kid thinking, running straight toward a place packed with martial artists all by himself?
And there was something even stranger.
The boy was doing something utterly absurd, and yet not one of the people who had come up from below seemed inclined to stop him.
Even Heo Sanja was looking this way with an expression that seemed almost regretful.
What the hell are they trying to pull?
That was when Dan Sahong hesitated.
The person climbing the cliff formed by the collapsed earth suddenly shot upward like a beam of light, and in the blink of an eye, as if by magic, landed right in front of him.
Eh?
Startled, Dan Sahong stumbled back a step without realizing it.
The face was still too young to have shed its boyishness. His whole body was coated in dirt and dust, filthy from head to toe, and yet there was an undeniable handsomeness to him. But that warm, almost inviting look was immediately smothered by a face full of annoyance and petty malice.
"Who—"
"What? If you don't want to die, what was all that nonsense about?"
"Hah... hahaha. Young hero. This is not a situation for you to interfere in..."
THUDDDD!
For a moment, Dan Sahong lost consciousness. The world went black.
When his abruptly severed awareness returned, all he could see was the blue, blue sky.
The sky?
Why was he looking at the sky?
And then, in that instant—
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"
An unimaginable agony exploded from a place a man should never, ever be hurt.
Pain beyond words forced tears from his eyes and made mucus pour from his nose.
"Aaagh! Aaaah! Aaaaah!"
Dan Sahong convulsed endlessly as he crashed to the ground. Only then did he realize it.
That that young... no, that mad bastard had kicked him in the groin and sent him flying into the air.
Thud!
The body that had shot straight upward came crashing back down in the same spot. The only difference was that Dan Sahong, who had been standing upright before, was now sprawled on the ground, trembling and twitching in spasms.
"Ah, really? You want divine weapons?"
No! Forget that now! Just take me to a doctor! A doctor! My—it's definitely burst...
Grabbing the prone Dan Sahong by the collar, Chung Myung hauled him up.
"If you want the divine weapons, then go get them! They're down there, so go look carefully."
"Huh?"
Without another word, he hurled Dan Sahong away.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"
Dan Sahong's body cut through the air, flying straight toward the hole from which Chung Myung and the others had emerged.
And then he shot cleanly into it.
A miserable scream rang out, but it faded quickly and soon could no longer be heard.
Gulp.
Everyone who saw that swallowed unconsciously.
Chung Myung bared his blue-tinged eyes and asked menacingly, "Anyone else want to check where the divine weapons are?"
And at the same moment—
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The survivors below all drew their swords in unison.
The crowd, utterly crushed by Chung Myung's murderous momentum, didn't dare resist and began to retreat step by step.
Just then, Heo Sanja spoke.
"I swear in the name of Wudang."
"..."
"We brought nothing out. And there was no divine weapon down there such as you imagined. There were a few objects that might have looked like divine weapons, but I doubt they could have withstood that collapse. They were probably badly damaged or broken. Still, if there are any among you who insist on searching for divine weapons, go ahead and dig through that place. I don't know how many years it'll take, but you may find some fragments."
At his cold voice, everyone held their breath.
For a Wudang elder to swear in the name of Wudang was no trivial matter.
"W-we can trust that?"
"Are you saying you don't trust Wudang's name?"
Everyone fell silent.
Maybe it would have been different a little earlier, but after having their momentum crushed like this, there was no way they could resist those words.
"As you can see from our condition, there isn't anywhere we could have hidden any ironware on the way out. Or what? Do you want us to strip our robes off right here before you'll believe us?"
In the end, those who had recovered their senses had no choice but to accept it.
Divine weapons.
The term referred to weapons shaped as long swords or spears, in any case a weapon of some kind. But no matter how carefully they searched with their eyes, there was nothing like that among them.
If there had been a divine weapon, Wudang would have been the first to seize it; instead, all they had was their Songmun Ancient Sword.
Besides...
"Who's next if you want to check! I'm a busy man, you know! Hurry up!"
That guy was way too vicious.
They had all seen with their own eyes how that brat dealt with Flash Spear Dan Sahong. What kind of courage would it take to step up now?
"...Let's go."
"Damn it, what a waste!"
One by one, everyone began to back away.
Once they realized the situation had gone sideways, it seemed far wiser to get the hell out of here as fast as possible and make sure Heo Sanja and the others wouldn't remember their faces.
If they could kill everyone here and silence them, that would be one thing. But if they couldn't, then they had better avoid making enemies of Wudang.
The mass of people who had surged in like a flood now flowed back out of Mount Jeokgong like the tide receding. Watching them go, Chung Myung grit his teeth.
Damn Jianghu bastards, all of them.
He had long since learned the hard way that expecting anything from them was a fool's errand. If people of the Jianghu had possessed even a shred of conscience, Mount Hua would never have ended up the way it did.
He spat on the ground and jumped back down.
Thump.
Standing among Mount Hua's brothers and disciples, Chung Myung lifted his head and looked at Heo Sanja.
They had both been through a great deal inside, but there was no trace of hatred in the way they looked at each other.
Chung Myung had no reason to bear a grudge against Wudang, and Heo Sanja had, after all, had his life saved thanks to Chung Myung. Even if there had been resentment, it was not something one could reasonably press.
"Young Daoist."
"Yes."
"Thank you."
Heo Sanja bowed deeply.
"You saved our lives."
"Forget it. It's not like I did something amazing."
Chung Myung glanced toward the lower ground and let out a long sigh.
We worked ourselves to death and, in the end, didn't get a damn thing.
Heo Sanja seemed to be thinking something similar, because he spoke with a bitter expression.
"We will return to Wudang now. In the end, all of this was greed, wasn't it? We coveted a priceless treasure when we had not even fully digested what we already possessed. Perhaps this was simply the inevitable result."
It was the kind of thing a Daoist would say.
"Have you thought about my proposal?"
"That won't happen. I am a disciple of Mount Hua."
That alone would never change.
Heo Sanja silently regarded Chung Myung for a long moment before nodding with a solemn expression.
"Indeed. That is how it should be. Perhaps Young Daoist is a greater man than I thought."
"I'm just a malko."
"Hoho. A malko. A malko, is it? How interesting."
Heo Sanja shook his head as if he couldn't quite handle him, then spoke in a slightly colder tone.
"Wudang will remember Mount Hua."
"..."
"I sincerely hope we never become enemies."
The words themselves were mild enough, but it was clearly a warning. Chung Myung didn't bother answering. He was too tired to keep arguing.
"Fine."
And so Wudang departed.
After that, those who had entered the Sword Tomb alone, along with the various other sects, also left behind their lingering regrets and abandoned the place.
In truth, they were probably the lucky ones. They had seen with their own eyes that there was nothing in the Sword Tomb.
And at the very end...
"Mount Hua Divine Dragon, we're too exhausted to make it to Luoyang today. Let us sleep at Hwayeong Gate for the night."
"...Aren't you a beggar? Isn't that a bit too shameless?"
"Come on, do us this favor. We're seriously about to die here."
Chung Myung let out a sigh.
Even in that desperate situation, the ones who had still worried about others were the Beggars' Sect. Considering they had dug their way up from the ground to get here, and had contributed almost as much as Wudang and Chung Myung, they must have been utterly exhausted.
"The gate leader's over there, so ask him."
At Chung Myung's tilt of the chin, Wi Lip-san, who had been nearby, approached with a warm smile.
"Who would refuse the heroes of the Beggars' Sect? Come, come. I shall provide good food and wine. As a celebration of your survival."
"Oh! Thank you, Gate Leader!"
Hong Dae-gwang and the Beggars' Sect disciples all beamed with joy.
Chung Myung exhaled a low sigh and turned to his fellow disciples.
Baek Cheon approached his side with a hollow expression.
"So in the end, there really was nothing."
"That damned old fossil played us all."
Mount Hua, Wudang, the Beggars' Sect, and the others.
They had all been made fools of by a genius from two hundred years ago known as Yakseon.
"Grrrrr."
Chung Myung scratched his head violently.
I'm so pissed I could go insane.
If that old bastard were standing in front of him now, he felt like beating him senseless for three days and nights. But Yakseon was already dead, and there was nowhere for him to vent his rage.
After grumbling for a while and forcing his anger down, Chung Myung soon spoke with a deflated air.
"...Let's go."
"Mm."
"What's the point of clinging to it? I'm pissed, so I might as well have a drink and pass out."
"What kind of Daoist talks about drinking!"
"You not drinking?"
"...I am."
"Then let's go."
Trailing after Chung Myung's trudging steps, Mount Hua's disciples followed with deep, weary sighs.
It was enough to be satisfied that they had gained a valuable experience.
And so,
Mount Hua, which had entered the Sword Tomb, could only finish its business there without obtaining a single thing.
Everyone had thought so.
Even Chung Myung.
That they had gained absolutely nothing.