Good-Bye, My Friends (2)
It did not take long for the Tang Family’s affairs to be brought under control.
As though he had been waiting for this very moment, Tang Gun-ak moved without hesitation, stripped Tang Oe of every shred of authority, and had him thrown into the underground prison.
At the same time, he temporarily dissolved the Elder Council on the grounds that it had failed to rein in Tang Oe’s tyranny, and he likewise curtailed the authority of the Great Elders who made it up.
The Great Elders fought to the end to protect their power, but the family’s leadership had already passed into Tang Gun-ak’s hands.
No matter how exalted their station as Great Elders might be, without the support of the clan they had no right to challenge the authority of the family head.
In the end, they could only surrender their powers meekly and retreat to the back rooms.
Tang Hak and the rest of the household who had sided with Tang Oe’s scheme were subdued one after another and confined as well….
"I’m going to investigate everything very slowly."
"Do you really need to?"
Tang Gun-ak glanced at Chung Myung, who had asked the question, and calmly poured tea into his cup.
"Their crimes are already clear, aren’t they?"
"That’s true. If you really wanted to, you could prove what they did without dragging it out. Besides, what they did was serious enough that they probably won’t see daylight again."
"Then why make it drag on?"
"Because there’s more to sort out besides that."
"Ah."
Chung Myung nodded.
While Tang Oe was being investigated, an atmosphere of fear would naturally settle over the Tang Family. It was their greatest elder being investigated, after all. Who would dare speak up in a situation like that?
He meant to use that atmosphere to wring out everything they could get out of this opportunity.
"You’re a scarier man than I thought, Lord of the Family."
"Could I possibly compare to you?"
"What did I do?"
"Let’s not go there."
Tang Gun-ak shook his head.
He had lived a life that was long by some standards and short by others, but among everyone he had ever met, there was no one scarier than Chung Myung.
Setting aside that ridiculous level of martial prowess, how was he supposed to explain that mind of his, a mind that did not seem fit for a young martial artist at all?
Maybe accepting Mount Hua as an ally will turn out to be the best decision of my life.
Come to think of it, as Chung Myung had said, it was not Tang Family that had chosen Mount Hua. It was Mount Hua that had chosen Tang Family.
"By the way, are you really sure about this?"
"About what?"
"Tang Pae."
"Ah. Him?"
Chung Myung snorted.
"He did commit a mistake, that’s true, but wasn’t it a bit much to cut him out of the position of Young Lord over something like that?"
"Tang Pae is timid. You can tell just from the fact that he did something like that."
"Lord of the Family. I know it’s a bit presumptuous for someone as young as me to say this, but…"
"Now you decide to be polite?"
"…."
No, seriously. What was with this old man?
He was making people awkward on purpose.
"A-anyway."
"Ahem. Yes, speak."
Chung Myung’s eyes were uncharacteristically serious now.
"People learn from mistakes. Hmm… no, that’s a bit light. Let’s call it a transgression."
"…."
"Why do you think Tang Oe turned out so worldly and greedy?"
"I don’t know. That’s exactly what I’m wondering too. When I was Young Lord, he was still young himself and didn’t seem like such an odd man."
"Because he only lived inside the Tang Family."
"…."
"If you only stay inside the Tang Family, you never get hurt and never suffer. You don’t even know how many things exist in the world. So he’s still carrying around that tiny humiliation of being cast out of the Young Lord’s seat. A person grows by seeing the world, by failing, by being frustrated, by making mistakes and suffering through them. Or put the other way…"
Chung Myung looked straight at Tang Gun-ak and said,
"No one can grow under someone who strips away everything they are for a single mistake."
It was a pointed jab aimed directly at Tang Gun-ak.
And Tang Gun-ak, who found himself thinking there was truth in Chung Myung’s words, slowly nodded.
"So you’re saying there’s no such thing as a perfectly flawless person from the start."
"Exactly. Nobody is."
Chung Myung was no different.
He possessed unmatched martial skill, but in exchange his personality was little short of a disaster.
If he had not lived a second life, he would never have realized how horrible a human being he had once been, or how much the Head Disciple had suffered trying to turn that horrible human being into something resembling a person.
In other words, if the Head Disciple had rejected Chung Myung because of his rotten personality, then neither the Plum Blossom Sword Saint Chung Myung nor the Chung Myung of now would have existed.
"What matters isn’t avoiding mistakes. It’s what you learn from them."
"Right. Basic stuff, really. I suppose I had forgotten that basic truth."
Tang Gun-ak let out a quiet sigh.
Tang Pae was his own son. There was no way he could have cut him down so cleanly and felt at ease.
Besides, not only had Tang Pae accepted the punishment without protest—something the younger Tang Gun-ak would likely have raged against and resisted—but he had also used his narrowed position to secretly help apprehend Tang Oe’s men, making merit for himself, hadn’t he?
After hearing Chung Myung’s words, it felt as if a stone sitting heavily in his stomach had cracked and fallen away.
"Still, are you really sure? Tang Pae stabbed you in the belly with a knife. If he becomes family head in the future, you’ll have to face him often. Can you really handle how awkward that would be?"
"Why would I be awkward?"
"…Hm?"
"If anyone’s going to be awkward, it should be him. I’d be happy if Young Lord Tang Pae became the family head. After stabbing me in the gut, do you think he’d have the nerve to stab me in the back and act all shameless about it?"
"…."
"Heh heh heh. That’d be my gain."
At this rate, Tang Gun-ak was beginning to think Tang Pae should not be made family head after all.
"…I understand what you mean. But Tang Pae did commit a wrong, so I’ll fairly let him compete for the position of Young Lord once more. That should help him grow, too."
"Do whatever you want."
Tang Gun-ak let out a deep sigh.
"Then there’s the next matter…."
He scratched his head roughly. It was a side of him that was clearly different from the usual solemn Tang Gun-ak.
"Soso… it seems Soso is planning to enter Mount Hua."
"Why on earth is she doing that?"
"Grrrr… How am I supposed to know!"
Tang Gun-ak barked the words out.
One careless move, and he might lose the daughter he had cherished so dearly to Mount Hua in one gulp.
"Should I refuse for you?"
"And would you even have the authority to do that?"
"Not a chance. But Baek Cheon Sahyung… well, he’d probably say this is something you need to ask the Sect Leader about."
"What kind of man is the Sect Leader?"
"Hahaha. A daughter of the Tang Family, is it? She’s come too far to be folded into Mount Hua’s embrace now, but still, she’s made the journey, so give her a place and take good care of her."
"…."
"That sort of man."
Tang Gun-ak let out a long, weary breath.
"I absolutely do not want to send Soso to Mount Hua."
"Then don’t."
"…So please take good care of her."
"Huh?"
What kind of conversation was this, exactly?
Tang Gun-ak sighed again.
"However much control I’ve taken of the family, I can’t tear up a tradition that’s been passed down for hundreds of years overnight. There’ll be enormous backlash. In the end, if things continue this way, I’ll have no choice but to marry her off to some powerful clan within a year or two."
"…Hmm."
"I just want that child to be happy. But if there’s no way for her to be happy in the Tang Family, then I have to send her somewhere where she can at least have that chance."
"Why Mount Hua, though? I’d recommend Wudang or Zhongnan. Ah—Amitabha would be fine too."
"Are you telling me to send my daughter off to become a nun?"
Tang Gun-ak’s eyes burned.
Looking at that terrifying glare, Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
He really is the kind of old man who thinks his daughter is the end of the world.
"Anyway, that’s why I’m asking you to take good care of her. If you’re the one looking after her, I can send her off with peace of mind."
"No, who said we were taking her? I don’t need her. I’m not old enough to be babysitting kids."
"My daughter is older than you, though?"
"Age doesn’t matter."
"…."
Tang Gun-ak stared at Chung Myung with a hollow expression before speaking again.
"You said you’d teach us medicine, didn’t you?"
"That was already settled, wasn’t it? Don’t tell me you’re threatening me with that now!"
"Soso is something of an expert in that area."
"…Pardon?"
Tang Gun-ak’s face twisted faintly.
"What the family taught Soso was a few inner-cultivation methods to cleanse the body from within, along with a few hidden arts and techniques of movement that aren’t considered secret teachings."
"No wonder she was so damn fast."
"And she learned medicine as well, since there wasn’t much else for her to study. Most of the family’s medical arts were passed down to her. You could say she’s the top disciple of the Medicine Hall Lord. In fact, she reached the point where the Medicine Hall Lord himself suggested that instead of marrying her off, they should have her inherit the Medicine Hall."
"Heh heh. That’s exactly my dream, to take in a little junior martial sister!"
"…."
"…."
Tang Gun-ak was seriously thinking.
Can I really trust this bastard with her?
The more he looked at Chung Myung, the stranger he seemed.
At times he was the most reliable person in the world, and at other times he made Tang Gun-ak feel like this was a man he should never trust, even if it cost him his life.
"Of course, that alone won’t be enough."
"Naturally. A promise is a promise. Whether we bring Mount Hua’s disciples to the Tang Family or send the Tang Family’s physicians to Mount Hua, we’ll properly pass on our medical arts. Soso will just help with that."
"Yes."
Chung Myung nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Once you leave, I’ll take my household and Soso to Mount Hua. Then I’ll meet the Sect Leader, explain the situation in full, and ask him personally to take care of her."
"You’re going to Mount Hua yourself, Lord of the Family?"
"A man who wants to be friends can’t just send a subordinate in his place."
"Hmm."
Chung Myung smiled faintly.
"So you really do intend to become friends, huh?"
"Is that a problem?"
"Not at all."
Chung Myung shrugged.
In fact, it was exactly what he had wanted all along. The Tang Family alone was more than enough to serve as an alliance. No—strictly speaking, it was almost too much for the current Mount Hua to deserve.
And on a personal level, wasn’t there also the matter of reconnecting with precious old ties?
"I delayed the merchant caravan’s departure by a day. We’ll join them tomorrow and head to Yunnan."
"Ah, that’s taken a while. You were supposed to go much sooner."
"May I ask why you’re going to Yunnan?"
"That’s classified."
"Even from a friend?"
"I’ll tell you once the Sect Leader permits it."
Tang Gun-ak let out a snort of laughter.
How on earth was the Mount Hua Sect Leader in Shaanxi supposed to permit anything?
"Then I suppose I’ll have to go to Mount Hua myself and hear it there."
"Yes. The Sect Leader will make the decision."
"I see."
Tang Gun-ak nodded. With that, everything that needed settling between him and Chung Myung was finished.
So now….
Tang Gun-ak rose from his seat.
"Hm? What are you doing?"
At Chung Myung’s puzzled look, he bowed deeply.
"I am indebted beyond measure."
"Ah, come on! Why are you doing this? We already talked about that last time."
"That was thanks from the Tang Family head. This is thanks from Tang Gun-ak, the martial artist of the Tang Family."
"…."
"Thank you. Truly, thank you."
Chung Myung looked at Tang Gun-ak with eyes that seemed faintly moved.
Seeing that, Tang Gun-ak smiled.
Outwardly, he always pretended to be full of greed, but in the end Chung Myung had given the Tang Family so much.
When you thought about it, he really was warm-hearted on the inside….
"Just talk, is that it?"
…As if.
Tang Gun-ak’s face turned red and then pale with outrage.
"You’ve already taken so much from us, and now you want to take even more!"
"A friend has to be meticulous about the accounting!"
"What kind of friend does that!"
"Heh heh. Don’t get angry, just hear me out. This really isn’t a big deal."
"…If it isn’t a big deal, you should’ve said so earlier."
"It only works right now."
"Hm?"
Tang Gun-ak frowned.
It hadn’t been possible before, but it was possible now?
That meant it could only be done once the Elder Council’s authority had been stripped and the family head held all power.
Then it could not be a small thing.
"What I want is…."
Chung Myung whispered softly.
Tang Gun-ak’s face was washed with shock.
"W-what do you want?"
"Exactly what you heard."
"…What do you even plan to use that for? No, wait, I can guess what you’d use it for."
"Not a big deal, right?"
Tang Gun-ak’s face twisted.
"As you know, the Tang Family’s poison can’t be taken outside."
"I know. That’s why I said it only works now."
"Grrrr."
Tang Gun-ak knitted his brows.
Then he let out a long sigh. With the Elder Council’s functions suspended, this might actually be possible somehow.
"You’re really stripping me bare, down to the last emergency savings hidden in my underclothes."
"You can spare that much for a friend who’s going a long way."
"Ugh…."
Tang Gun-ak stared at Chung Myung for a long moment, then laughed despite himself.
"Fine. But if this happens, I’m the one taking the loss, so I get one condition too."
"Honestly, Lord of the Family, you sure have a lot of conditions. What is it?"
Tang Gun-ak hesitated slightly before speaking.
"Show me once more."
"Pardon?"
"That sword you displayed on the dueling stage back then."
"…."
"Show it to me one more time."
Chung Myung smiled quietly.
So this is how it continued.
Though people vanish, their will goes on.
What the previous generation built over the course of an entire lifetime is handed down to the next. And so long as that will continues, a person’s resolve does not disappear.
Yes.
That was what a sect was.
Chung Myung answered with a bright smile.
"That’s going to be pretty hard."
"Difficult?"
"I’ll show you if you stuff me full of Sichuan food!"
Tang Gun-ak smiled broadly.
"I’ll feed you as much as you want. Enough to make that stomach of yours burst."
The two men smiled at each other and clasped hands.