The One Who Broke Mount Hua Was Me? (2)
"Did that boy say that?"
"Yes, Senior Brother."
Unam’s face twisted in a bizarre expression. Un Geom tilted his head, puzzled by Unam’s unexpected reaction.
"You didn’t know?"
"How would I know?"
"...Huh. I thought the Sect Leader had deliberately brought that boy in. Otherwise..."
"We’re not in a position where we can go around hunting for talent. He came to us on his own two feet."
"Since the Sect Leader said he’d taken in a new disciple..."
Un Geom let his words trail off.
The Sect Leader had said he would take no more disciples, and yet he had accepted that child. So naturally, Un Geom had assumed there had to be some special circumstance behind it. That was why he had let the matter go even after such a commotion had broken out.
But Unam truly seemed to have no idea.
"So there’s something only the Sect Leader knows about that child...?"
"No. He really did come here of his own accord."
"...What an odd thing."
Unam gave a wry smile.
Strange. The more I think about it, the stranger it gets.
A child who had suddenly traveled all the way out here, declared out of nowhere that he wanted to become a disciple of Mount Hua, and before a single day had passed, was already doing something reckless.
I’m probably overthinking it.
For a moment, Unam had wondered whether he might be an infiltrator sent by another sect to ruin Mount Hua, but that was too much of a stretch.
First, Mount Hua was no longer a sect worth the trouble of destroying, and second, even if someone had such an intention, it was nearly impossible for that tiny child to possess the necessary ability.
And if a child did have that kind of talent, it would be far more profitable to raise him properly than to send him out as a disposable spy.
"Then perhaps we should try to stop the child now."
"Let him be."
"But, Senior Brother—"
"You didn’t stop him in the first place because you had some expectations for him, didn’t you?"
Un Geom lowered his head slightly instead of answering.
"I know how hard you’ve been working. Guiding the disciples is, of course, the duty of those who came before, but I also know you’ve been carrying far too much of that burden alone."
"That’s not so, Senior Brother. I’m only..."
"It’s fine."
Unam smiled gently.
"Everyone is struggling. I don’t know what that child is thinking, but if you judge that he can help you and Mount Hua, then there’s no need to stop him."
Un Geom lifted his head and looked at Unam.
"I still don’t know for certain. That child..."
"Un Geom."
"Yes, Senior Brother."
"That child is a disciple of Mount Hua now."
Un Geom’s eyes wavered slightly.
"How could I not understand that you’d feel more attached to the child you took in first, or that your heart would be more moved by him? But even if he came later, once he has chosen to place himself under Mount Hua, he is one of Mount Hua’s children and must be cared for with the rest."
"...I was foolish."
Un Geom lowered his head a little.
"If he goes too far, stop him. No one knows Baekmae Hall better than you do, not me or the Sect Leader."
"Yes, Senior Brother."
Un Geom rose from his seat.
"Then I’ll take my leave."
"Go on."
After Un Geom left, Unam quietly poured tea into his cup.
What a peculiar child.
He was certainly no ordinary boy.
A child who couldn’t hide his presence for even a single day would undoubtedly bring drastic change with him. Whether that change would be a blessing or a disaster for Mount Hua, Unam could not yet tell.
Only one thing was certain.
Change is needed.
Mount Hua needed a new wind. To drift upon a boundless sea with no breeze at all meant either drying up or starving to death. Even if one didn’t know where one was going, one still had to set sail.
And even if the end of that voyage was nothing more than a deserted island, it would still be better than withering away in the middle of the open sea.
Unam slowly lifted the teacup to his lips.
He hoped Chung Myung would become the wind that set Mount Hua in motion.
Of course, whether he would remain this calm after realizing that the wind coming their way was a typhoon remained to be seen.
* * *
"I feel like I’m going to die."
"...I’m already dead."
Groans rose from all around the room. Of course, the ones whining like they were on the verge of death were the third-generation disciples of Mount Hua.
What is this? Some new kind of torture?
They knew it was strength training. And it wasn’t as if Mount Hua had ever neglected strength training either. Even Shaolin, which could be called the foundation of all martial arts in the Central Plains, did not ignore physical conditioning.
But there should be limits.
Yoon Jong lowered his head and looked at the dining table.
There was stir-fried vegetables as a side dish, but his hands were shaking so badly that he couldn’t even pick them up properly, and as a result the entire table was littered with vegetables.
"Ugh... I can’t even eat properly."
"We’re supposed to do sword training this afternoon too. What if we drop our swords? If we’re swinging real blades and let go, it’ll be a disaster. Won’t somebody end up with a hole through their back?"
"...Fortunately, I don’t think we have the strength to swing them that hard."
"How is that fortunate?"
Yoon Jong sighed.
Say it to his face. To his face.
If they had complaints, why not go and say so with some backbone? What changed by grumbling behind his back?
"There’s nothing I can do."
"Great Senior Brother!"
Complaints burst out from all sides. But Yoon Jong merely picked up a piece of stir-fried vegetables in silence.
Now that even Un Geom had sided with Chung Myung, what else could he do?
"Senior Brother! Still, at times like this, if you don’t say something..."
"Isn’t that what being the Great Senior Brother is for?"
Just as Yoon Jong was about to sigh and speak, a sharp voice cut in.
"You lot sure do love to blab."
All the third-generation disciples in the dining hall turned their heads at once.
"Jo Gul?"
A brief silence fell. Jo Gul, who had been eating quietly in a corner, noticed that all eyes were on him and spoke again in a sharp voice.
"Is the Great Senior Brother your errand boy? The person you want to talk to isn’t hiding somewhere. If you’ve got something to say, go and say it to his face."
"...No, we’re just..."
"If you’re too scared to confront him directly, then shut up and eat. If you don’t eat now, you won’t survive the afternoon."
With Jo Gul saying it that way, no one could open their mouths.
Yoon Jong’s gaze sharpened as he looked at Jo Gul.
Strange.
The Jo Gul he knew should have been the loudest one here, condemning Chung Myung more fiercely than anyone else. Wasn’t he the one with the highest standing among the third-generation disciples, the one who spoke up the most and was the strongest of them all?
And yet Jo Gul was subtly taking Chung Myung’s side, making it harder for the others to speak.
Tap.
Setting down his chopsticks, Jo Gul rose from his seat and walked over to Yoon Jong.
"Great Senior Brother."
"Hmm?"
"Could I speak with you for a moment?"
"...Very well."
Yoon Jong also put down his chopsticks and stood.
The remaining disciples watched the two of them leave the dining hall, tilting their heads in confusion.
"I don’t know if I’m seeing things wrong, but..."
Once they reached a place with no people around, Yoon Jong spoke first.
"You look surprisingly refreshed."
Jo Gul raised a hand and rubbed at his own face.
"Can you really tell that?"
"You’re not very good at hiding your expression."
"That’s the first I’ve heard of it."
Jo Gul gave an awkward laugh.
"You’re still smiling after being put through all that?"
"...Senior Brother."
"Hm?"
"What do you think of Mount Hua?"
Yoon Jong fell silent. It was too serious a question to answer carelessly.
"That’s a difficult question."
"I’m the one who can just go back to my family home if this goes on. But Senior Brother, aren’t you planning to bury your bones in Mount Hua?"
"That’s right."
Yoon Jong nodded quietly.
He had already chosen to receive a Taoist name. The other third-generation disciples had not yet made their choice, but he alone would receive Mount Hua’s Taoist name, become a true Mount Hua disciple, and share the sect’s fate.
"Do you think Mount Hua still has a future?"
"That’s reckless. Not something you should say lightly."
"I used to think it didn’t."
"...…"
It was a statement that deserved scolding. But Yoon Jong couldn’t bring himself to do it, because his own thoughts weren’t all that different from Jo Gul’s.
"You say you used to think that. Does that mean you think differently now?"
"...A little."
"You’ve changed?"
"It was training forced on us, but through this training I realized something. I’ve never pushed myself this far to the limit before."
That was probably true.
Yoon Jong nodded before he realized it. He had never done training like this either. He had always thought he was making an effort, but he had never pushed himself until his hands and feet trembled like this.
"But that bastard endured more than twice the training we’re doing without even getting tired."
More than twice, indeed.
By count alone, it was already more than double. If one included the weight, the intensity of the training would rise much higher still. Yoon Jong had been shocked himself when he saw Chung Myung training with sandbags heavier than his own bodyweight.
"He can do that because he’s strong. But that guy isn’t even older than me. Isn’t he strong because he’s always been like that, not the other way around?"
"You’re right."
"Senior Brother, I thought there was no way I could become strong in Mount Hua. Maybe I could get to some level where I could show off a little, but I didn’t think I could become a master who could command the world."
"Jo Gul."
"Please listen to me until the end, Senior Brother."
"...…"
Jo Gul swallowed dryly and continued.
"But when I look at that guy, I realize I was the one thinking wrong. To be blunt, is there even one person our age who can stand up to him?"
There probably wasn’t.
Absolutely not.
Even if Yoon Jong wasn’t the strongest of the third-generation disciples in terms of martial arts, he had some confidence in his own skill. He was sure he wouldn’t be pushed around too badly even if he fought disciples from the Gupailbang.
And yet that monster had flipped Yoon Jong over with a single finger and sent the stronger Jo Gul flying with one blow, pinning him to the ceiling.
Could there really be another monster like that?
"It doesn’t matter which martial art you learn. What matters is how you learn it. I thought that obvious truth was just one of those pretty sayings people like to hear. But looking at that guy, I know it’s true. Senior Brother, I want to do my best."
"...I feel the same."
Jo Gul nodded hard.
"So please, Senior Brother, help settle the others down. Maybe this is a chance for our generation to change greatly. Even if we don’t like it, even if it feels irritating, right now we have to follow that guy."
Yoon Jong looked at Jo Gul with steady eyes.
Jo Gul was skilled, and perhaps because he came from a merchant family, he had an excellent sense for the flow of things. If he became a merchant, he would surely become a great one. If even such a person said this much...
"Let’s do it."
"Senior Brother!"
"You’re right. As things stand, we’re getting nowhere. I’m a man who has decided to bury his bones in Mount Hua. If it can help Mount Hua, I’ll do whatever I can."
Jo Gul nodded at Yoon Jong’s firm words.
"Still, when you think about it, it’s ridiculous, isn’t it? All because of the youngest who showed up just yesterday..."
"He’s not a normal youngest."
"That’s true."
The two of them exchanged a faint smile and turned back around. Their conversation was over. From here on out, the issue was how well they could calm the others down.
"Gul."
"Yes, Senior Brother."
"Do you really think we can become strong?"
"One thing’s certain."
"Hm?"
"If we can’t become strong, then at least we can train hard enough to regret it."
"...Now that’s a reassuring thing to hear."
The two of them spoke as they made their way back to the dining hall. And even then, neither of them realized that someone had been watching them the entire time.
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