Did You Say Mount Hua? (2)
"Everyone, remember this. We are not disciples of Mount Hua. We’re just merchants from Hwapyeong Trading Company here to buy Purple Wood Grass."
"Well, isn’t that stating the obvious."
"Under no circumstances should you do anything that might reveal we’re disciples of Mount Hua. This mission depends on staying hidden."
"You all hear that?"
"So no matter what happens, think twice! Three times! Think again and again!"
"Yeah. Think about it!"
At Chung Myung’s constant interruptions at the end of every sentence, Baek Cheon finally barked out a shout.
"I’m talking about you, you punk! You! Not everybody else, you!"
Chung Myung’s eyes went wide.
"Me?"
"Yeah! Who else here needs to hear that? Who else but you would cause trouble?"
"Tsk tsk. Sasuk, you’ve got some weird prejudice. Have you ever seen me cause trouble?"
"...I should just stop talking."
Baek Cheon let out a long, weary sigh.
This is really not reassuring.
They had somehow made it this far, but now that he had to take that bastard Chung Myung into Kunming, his legs practically wanted to tangle themselves up and fall over on their own.
But I can’t exactly leave him behind either.
If Chung Myung were at least the sort who listened to reason, he could have done something. But even with his position as a martial uncle, it was impossible to rein in Chung Myung.
"Yu Sago."
"Yes, Sahyung."
"Stick close to Chung Myung and keep your eyes on him. Don’t let him cause any trouble!"
"Yes!"
Yu I-seol fixed Chung Myung with a gaze brimming with determination.
He looked back at her with a face full of dissatisfaction.
"What exactly do you take me for? Do I look like the sort of guy who’d cause trouble in a dangerous place like this?"
"Yeah."
"Absolutely."
"It’d be weird if you didn’t."
"......"
Chung Myung writhed in wounded indignation, but his martial brothers didn’t even blink.
Still, Yu Sago at least pays a little attention, so that’s better.
But it wasn’t a real solution. Even Baek Cheon didn’t think Yu I-seol could actually stop Chung Myung if he decided to act up.
The best possible plan was to gather information about Purple Wood Grass as quickly as possible, get out of Kunming before Chung Myung started causing trouble, and make their escape.
Baek Cheon exchanged a look with Jo Gul and Yoon Jong.
They seemed to be thinking the same thing; determination flashed clearly across their faces.
"Let’s go!"
"Yes, Sahyung!"
The disciples of Mount Hua strode confidently toward Kunming’s city gate. It was a gate in name only; there were no guards in sight, and hardly anyone seemed to be coming or going.
There was even a faintly eerie air about the place. Baek Cheon passed through the gate with a strange expression.
"...What is this?"
"Why is it like this here?"
Inside the gate, it was even worse. Everyone frowned at the unexpected sight.
"Could there be some kind of plague?"
"I don’t think so..."
If anything, it lacked vitality.
The main street stretched out before them with barely a trace of human presence. Here and there, they saw only people leaning against the walls in corners, panting for breath.
"...This is bad."
Baek Cheon narrowed his eyes and looked around.
A city built on trade should overflow with life. Where money circulated, silence couldn’t rule.
And yet the Kunming before their eyes was, quite literally, a dead city.
"Hm."
Even Chung Myung couldn’t hide how unsettled he felt.
Yoon Jong, who had been taking in the bleak scene around them, spoke up.
"The places we passed on the way here didn’t look very good either... but I thought Kunming would at least be different. It seems this place is even worse."
"...I see."
Baek Cheon nodded quietly.
Jo Gul, standing behind them, added, "I’d heard that the ban on tea trade had made Yunnan’s situation difficult, but I never imagined it was this bad."
"Would that really be the only reason? I heard there’s been a drought too. That probably has a big impact."
"Yes, I think so too."
Chung Myung scratched the back of his head.
"Anyway, that’s not what matters. Let’s get information on Purple Wood Grass first."
"Mm. Right."
Baek Cheon agreed, nodding.
"Split up, ask around about Purple Wood Grass, and meet back here after sunset."
"Yes, Sasuk."
"Be careful."
As the brothers dispersed with practiced speed, Chung Myung looked ahead with a satisfied smile.
"Alright, so now we just need to go ask around about the whereabouts of Purple Wood Grass!"
He was full of energy, burning with determination.
The problem was only one thing.
"...How exactly am I supposed to ask around?"
"......"
Yu I-seol stared at Chung Myung in stunned silence.
"Krrr."
Chung Myung set down the teacup in his hand.
"This is definitely Yunnan."
Even someone as ignorant about tea as Chung Myung could tell. The fragrance of this tea was clearly different from the tea of the Central Plains.
Whether it was better or worse didn’t matter; the difference was unmistakable.
"The high officials would love this."
Chung Myung smiled lazily.
But there was someone who was very dissatisfied with his carefree attitude.
"Purple Wood Grass."
"......"
Yu I-seol looked at him with a pouty glare.
Her short words and her expression carried a clear meaning:
Everyone else is out there under this blazing sun, running themselves ragged trying to dig up information on Purple Wood Grass, and here you are, the youngest disciple of the sect, stuffed into a teahouse and stuffing your face with tea. Does that make any sense at all?
But who was Chung Myung? He could neatly sidestep pressure like that without breaking a sweat.
"Then go outside?"
"......"
"Wanna wander around? Should I just go poke around everywhere?"
Conflict flickered across Yu I-seol’s face.
She couldn’t stand the sight of Chung Myung slacking off.
And she absolutely could not let Chung Myung cause trouble.
Those two thoughts clashed inside her head.
After weighing which was more important, Yu I-seol seemed to make up her mind and met Chung Myung’s eyes squarely.
"Want me to order another cup of tea?"
"......"
That was somehow a little sad.
Chung Myung let out a snort of laughter and turned his head. Then he gazed out over Kunming from the teahouse.
It’s going to hell.
There was no vitality left in the city itself. As far as he knew, Kunming was the kind of place that, in Sichuan terms, would be equivalent to Chengdu. In other words, it was the central city of Yunnan.
For a place like that to be so lifeless meant Yunnan as a whole was losing its vigor.
Chung Myung’s eyes narrowed slightly.
It feels like looking at the old Mount Hua.
Once, this place must have overflowed with energy too. But when the Demonic Sect targeted Yunnan as its first invasion point, everything collapsed. And because of the bungled response afterward, it had never recovered its former glory.
At least Mount Hua had the fortune of Chung Myung’s return. If he had not been reborn for reasons he himself still couldn’t explain, how much different would this place and Mount Hua have looked?
"Tsk."
Chung Myung clicked his tongue lightly and withdrew his gaze.
Yunnan was Yunnan, and Mount Hua was Mount Hua.
He wasn’t so heartless that he couldn’t feel sympathy for a similar plight, but it wasn’t his concern.
What mattered right now was...
"Owner!"
"Yes! Yes, sir!"
The teahouse owner, who had been staring this way from the side, hurried over to Chung Myung.
"Do you need anything else, customer?"
"Bring something to chew on first."
"Yes! What would you like?"
"Just bring whatever’s decent. And another pot of cold tea too."
"Oh! Yes, yes! I’ll bring it right away!"
The teahouse owner turned happily and busily headed off to fetch the tea.
Then Chung Myung opened his mouth again.
"Before that."
"Yes!"
The owner’s body snapped back around. Very naturally, very quickly, he lowered his posture in an instant.
With business in Kunming drying up lately, even the teahouse’s operation had become miserable. And now that a fat wallet—no, a precious guest—was happily ordering expensive tea by the pot, how could he not bow low?
"I was asking about tea leaves. Have you ever heard of a herb called Purple Wood Grass?"
"Hmm, Purple Wood Grass?"
"Yes."
The teahouse owner thought it over, then tilted his head.
"Well now, I know every tea that grows here and every tea that comes through this place, but I’ve never heard of tea leaves called Purple Wood Grass."
"Then do you know anyone who knows about medicinal herbs?"
"Medicinal herbs. Herbs, you say..."
The teahouse owner nodded.
"There’s someone I know who runs a well-known herb shop here in Kunming."
"Oh? Where is it?"
"My, my. Customer, why go to all the trouble of walking there yourself? I’ll call the man here."
"...Is that okay?"
"Hahaha. Of course. Though... it’ll take him a little time to come..."
As the man drawled out the last words, Chung Myung grinned and pulled a silver coin from his pocket, placing it on the table.
"How about some simple dishes too?"
"Of course!"
The teahouse owner snatched up the silver coin in a flash. Then he bowed so low it looked like his spine might snap.
"I’ll prepare the tea right away! Please wait just a moment. And I’ll call the herb merchant here at once!"
"...Ah, sure."
At the owner’s fervent reaction, Chung Myung snickered.
When the man dashed off to the kitchen, Yu I-seol looked at Chung Myung with an odd expression.
"You planned this from the start?"
"Why should I walk around wearing out my legs in a place like this? What am I supposed to learn by wandering around?"
Chung Myung gave a small laugh.
"If there’s a problem in this town, let the people in this town handle it. A decent, good-hearted fellow might answer if you ask him, sure—but can that compare to the answer you get from someone who’s been paid?"
Yu I-seol quietly nodded.
"Smart."
"......"
"Doesn’t suit you."
"Just drink your tea."
Chung Myung began sipping away at it.
Yu I-seol watched him with fresh eyes.
This was a very small matter.
There was one of the biggest misunderstandings people had about Chung Myung: that he was all fists and no thought.
He just looks that way.
From everything Yu I-seol had seen of him so far, she was certain that was absolutely not true.
If she looked at it coldly, Chung Myung had the deepest schemes of any disciple in Mount Hua. Even the things he seemed to do on a whim were, in truth, decisions he had already reached after weighing them over and over in his head.
That’s how we made it this far.
"Aren’t you drinking?"
At Chung Myung’s words, Yu I-seol picked up her cup.
In truth, she did feel a little sorry for the brothers who were sweating themselves to death out in this heat searching for clues, so she took a slow sip of tea.
Jo Gul let out a sigh.
He had gone from place to place asking around about Purple Wood Grass, but strangely enough, no one in Kunming seemed to know anything about it.
It had once been a commodity handled in trade through Sichuan, so someone should have known. Yet the lack of information was bizarre.
Should I have asked around more in Sichuan?
They had been told that Purple Wood Grass grew in Yunnan, so he had thought that once they reached Yunnan, things would naturally work out. Maybe he had been too careless.
But what could be done regretting it now? Inadequate information had to be filled in by pounding the pavement.
"Still, even if I can fill in the gaps by asking around..."
Jo Gul frowned.
The Kunming they had actually seen was even worse than it had first appeared. Most of the shops were shuttered, and the people they passed had no life in their eyes, as if they were starving.
Now and then, some even grabbed at his sleeves, begging him for something.
In a place like this, proper information couldn’t possibly come out.
I guess I’ll have to think of another way...
That was when it happened.
"Huh?"
Jo Gul tilted his head.
"Sahyung?"
Up ahead, he could see Yoon Jong standing there.
Of course, there was nothing strange about that. Kunming was large, and if they were all roaming around haphazardly, it was only natural they’d run into each other a few times.
What was strange wasn’t the encounter itself, but Yoon Jong’s condition.
Little children were swarming all around him.
Jo Gul walked over, his head tilted in confusion.
"Sahyung. What are you doing?"
"...Huh? Jo, Jo Gul?"
Yoon Jong turned to look at him with an awkward expression.
"Why are you with the kids... hm?"
Jo Gul narrowed his eyes.
Yoon Jong’s hands were full of grain pouches and fist-sized buns.
"...Sahyung?"
"I know. I know I should be out there getting information instead of doing this. But... ha..."
Yoon Jong spoke with an embarrassed look, then glanced down at the children. As he handed out buns to the kids, who were drooling while staring at his hands, they all lunged in eagerly and jostled one another to get them first.
"Please give me one too!"
"Me too!"
"My little brother’s starving! Please, just one more!"
Yoon Jong bit his lower lip slightly.
"I’ll buy more once this is gone, so calm down. You’ll get hurt if you keep this up!"
With one hand he distributed the buns, and with the other he gently pushed away the children crowding and bumping into each other so they wouldn’t get hurt.
The filthy, ragged children—covered in grime and dirt—swarmed him with red-rimmed eyes.
When everything in his hands was gone, the children stared at Yoon Jong in dazed silence.
"Eat that first and take care of your families. I’ll buy more food soon, so come back here later!"
The children nodded and drifted away without even saying thank you.
Watching the scene, Jo Gul frowned.
"...If you’re helped like that, you should at least say thanks."
Yoon Jong turned back with a face that had gone slightly stiff.
"They don’t have the luxury."
"...What?"
"Morality only comes after you’ve filled your stomach. How could children on the verge of collapsing from hunger worry about such things? They may have weaker younger siblings at home, or parents lying unconscious. Don’t be so quick to blame children like that!"
"...Yes, Sahyung. I’m sorry."
At the sight of Yoon Jong, who looked as if he might actually be angry, Jo Gul flinched inwardly. They had spent so many years together, but this was the first time he remembered seeing Yoon Jong this furious.
"Could it be..."
That was when it happened.
"Aaahhh! No! I’m telling you, I really didn’t do it!"
"You little punk, you dare steal things?! Get over here! I’ll teach you a lesson today!"
"I didn’t steal it! Aah! Aaaah! It hurts!"
The faces of Yoon Jong and Jo Gul hardened in an instant.
The two of them quickly launched themselves toward the source of the screams.