Did You Say Mount Hua? (3)
"You little bastard! How dare you steal that? Hand it over right now!"
"I-I didn't! Someone gave it to me just a moment ago! I didn't steal it!"
"What bullshit are you spouting? Who in this land of Kunming would hand out food to other people? Let go of that hand this instant!"
The merchant, who had been beating the child, snorted through his nose.
"Fine! So you don't want to hand it over? Let's see if you still keep that grip after I chop off your wrist!"
With that, he finally drew the huge cleaver at his waist. He grabbed the child's hand and raised the blade high—
"What do you think you're doing!"
Yoon Jong, who had come running at the child's scream, shouted furiously. Then he seized the merchant's hand that was holding the cleaver.
"What the—!"
The merchant, who had been about to flare up at the unexpected interference, swallowed his anger the instant he felt the pressure squeezing his wrist. His tone changed at once.
"N-no, it isn't that I'm tormenting him for no reason. This brat stole a bun…"
"What are you talking about, stole? I just bought these here and gave them out myself!"
"…Y-you gave them to him, sir?"
Yoon Jong's eyes turned fierce.
"You hit a child without even bothering to find out what happened? Is that what a person does?"
"Oh, dear! I apologize, sir! I-I thought you were a foreigner…. In Kunming, no one hands food to anyone else anymore, so I assumed he had stolen it."
Yoon Jong's face hardened.
"Even so, you can't try to cut off a child's hand because you think he stole something. How can a person do such a thing?"
"I-I only meant to scare him! That's the truth!"
As the merchant wailed miserably, Yoon Jong glared at him for a long while before finally releasing his wrist.
Then he asked in a grave voice, "The people here really are that coldhearted?"
The merchant rubbed his wrist with a tearful face, sneaking looks at him before bowing deeply.
"H-how could anyone give food to others? We barely have enough to put in our own mouths."
"Hmm."
"Everyone is starving to death. You saw it on the way here, didn't you?"
Yoon Jong let out a sigh.
"I understand the situation, but you were wrong to lay hands on the child so carelessly!"
"I-I am sorry."
After his stern rebuke, he withdrew his glare from the merchant and helped the fallen child up.
"Are you all right?"
"…I-I'm fine, but…"
The child, with split lips and scraped skin everywhere, ignored his injuries and only stared blankly at his own hands.
Looking at the bun that had been crushed underfoot and turned to dirt, the child's hollow eyes filled with tears.
"I have to take it to my little brother…"
Yoon Jong smiled sadly and patted the child's shoulder.
"Don't worry. I'll buy you a fresh one."
"R-really?"
"Of course."
Watching that scene, Jo Gul found himself nodding unconsciously.
As expected, Great Senior Brother really is a Daoist.
Even in a situation like this, he was worrying first about the hardships of someone in need.
Jo Gul felt ashamed of himself for being so fixated on Purple Wood Grass that he had failed to pay attention to the suffering around him.
I should take after Great Senior Brother and—
"Gul."
Jo Gul straightened at once.
"Yes! Senior Brother!"
"Money."
"…Pardon?"
Yoon Jong turned his head.
Slightly tilting his head, he looked at Jo Gul with clear, innocent eyes.
"I've already spent all my pocket money."
"…."
"Check your pockets."
"…."
"Hurry up."
Senior Brother.
Why is that compassion never shown to your martial nephews?
Why…
He was stripped bare.
Not just the money in his pockets, but the cash hidden in his sleeve, even the last emergency stash tucked into his socks—it was all gone.
That damn Chung Myung! He only teaches people weird things!
How could a person be robbed so cleanly, not a speck of dust left behind?
"…Senior Brother. If you take all of that, what are we supposed to eat on the way back?"
"You say the strangest things. We still have the travel funds with Martial Uncle, don't we?"
"…That's true, but we need money for ourselves too…."
"Money for what? Is there anywhere to spend money in Yunnan?"
There wasn't.
No, there really wasn't.
He wasn't wrong. From the moment they left Sichuan and arrived in Kunming, they hadn't seen a single proper city. All they'd seen were barren fields and mountain land.
"When we get back to Sichuan, you can just go home and ask for money. What problem is there for a rich family's son?"
"B-but…."
Yoon Jong's head turned back toward Jo Gul once more.
"But?"
"…Nothing."
Seeing the mad gleam in Yoon Jong's eyes—just like Chung Myung's—Jo Gul obediently shut his mouth.
What the hell happened to his eyes…?
One wrong word and a fist seemed ready to fly.
Everyone's gone weird.
Where had the gentle Yoon Jong gone?
Jo Gul, bereft, let out one long sigh after another.
Meanwhile, Yoon Jong was using the money he'd forcibly taken from Jo Gul to buy grain and buns, then handing them out to the children.
However much he gave away, the number of children never seemed to shrink.
"J-just one more, please."
"Here."
"Can I really eat this? Really?"
"Eat as much as you want. If you're still hungry, come out again tomorrow. I'll give you more then too."
"…Thank you. Thank you so much."
Yoon Jong bit his lip slightly.
Through the rags that passed for clothes, ribs stood out like dried sticks. The child stuffed the bun into his mouth the moment he got it and immediately began choking.
"What are you doing? Go get some water, then!"
"Yes!"
Jo Gul ran to the well without another word.
Whether Chung Myung failed to respect his seniors and went on a rampage, or flipped Mount Hua upside down, Yoon Jong had always sighed—but never once lost his temper.
And yet now that he was truly angry, it felt completely different from when Chung Myung flew off the handle.
Just stay quiet and do what I'm told!
Jo Gul's survival instinct whispered that much to him.
He drew water from the well and handed it out to the children.
They had bought enough buns and grain that they couldn't even carry it all with both hands, yet it vanished in no time. Yoon Jong let out a low groan as he looked at the bottom of the empty sacks.
"Ah…."
When the children realized all the grain sacks were empty, the light in their eyes vanished at once.
Yoon Jong bit his lip tightly.
Ordinarily, children were short on understanding.
To be precise, when something happened, they didn't stop to think through the reasons behind it.
If what other children received did not come to them, they would get angry and throw a fit. Not because they were considering Yoon Jong's circumstances.
But these children, as if used to this sort of thing, merely looked tearful and said nothing to him.
That made it unbearable for Yoon Jong.
He snapped his head around and said to Jo Gul, "Go buy more."
"Senior Brother. Didn't you strip my pockets bare? I don't have any money left."
"Don't you have anything hidden away?"
"You even took the emergency fund I had in my underclothes! At this point, I really don't have a single coin left, not even if I wanted to eat myself to death."
"…Really?"
Yoon Jong's face twisted as he looked over the children.
The tearful children clenched their lips and lowered their heads instead.
"Thank you."
"It's okay. We're not hungry."
A vein bulged on Yoon Jong's forehead.
He grabbed his belt and drew the sword at his waist, scabbard and all. The children, seeing that, shrank back in fear.
But Yoon Jong silently held the sword out to Jo Gul.
"Go sell this and buy grain."
Jo Gul's face stiffened.
"Senior Brother, that's the Plum Blossom Sword!"
"I have eyes."
"Senior Brother! If you sell a treasured sect relic as you please, you won't escape punishment! Why are you going this far?"
"Punishment, you say?"
"Yes."
"You mean the Sect Leader would get angry and ask why I sold my sword to feed children?"
"…Huh?"
No, no.
The Sect Leader would not be angry for that reason.
He'd be the kind of person who'd instead ask why you hadn't sold your sword sooner and yelled at Jo Gul for it.
"Enough. I am a Daoist before I am a swordsman. I cannot stand by and watch children starve just to protect a sword meant for fighting people. Go quickly and sell it to buy grain."
"S-Senior Brother. But…."
Even faced with that adamant order, Jo Gul hesitated, unable to obey this one thing. Then Yoon Jong's voice burst out thunderously.
"Hurry!"
At that moment, salvation arrived for the flustered Jo Gul.
"What is going on?"
"M-Martial Uncle!"
Upon seeing Baek Cheon, both Jo Gul and Yoon Jong bowed deeply.
Baek Cheon looked at the grain sack in Yoon Jong's hands and the children gathered around them, and his brow creased slightly.
"I think I need to hear what happened first."
Yoon Jong swallowed dryly and spoke in a composed voice.
A little later.
After hearing the full explanation, Baek Cheon frowned and let out a low sigh.
"Yoon Jong."
"Yes, Martial Uncle."
Yoon Jong lowered his head.
"I understand your heart well enough, but even if you drop a few pebbles of water onto a field dried out by drought, nothing will change. Do you understand?"
"…Yes. I understand, Martial Uncle."
Seeing the calm answer in Yoon Jong's eyes, Baek Cheon sighed.
"You understand, but you have no intention of changing your mind."
"I'm sorry."
Yoon Jong knew full well what he was doing.
Even good deeds needed the right time and place.
Their purpose in Kunming was to search for information about Purple Wood Grass without drawing attention.
But if they started handing out grain and causing a scene like this, people's attention would naturally gather. Even if Baek Cheon scolded Yoon Jong, there would be no excuse for it.
Baek Cheon nodded.
"Fine. Then hurry."
"Pardon?"
Baek Cheon took a purse from inside his robes and tossed it to Jo Gul.
Jo Gul caught the purse reflexively and blinked.
"Martial Uncle?"
"There probably isn't much grain in Kunming's markets either. Buy everything you can for now."
"I-is that all right?"
"Of course the mission is important."
Baek Cheon said firmly.
"But if we say we abandoned the half-starved and ragged just to succeed in our mission, do you think the Sect Leader or the elders would say we did well?"
He paused briefly, then shook his head.
"No. That would be wrong. I want Mount Hua's glory, yes. But that glory is meaningless without righteousness. If we set righteousness aside, what meaning is there in Mount Hua standing above the other sects?"
Jo Gul nodded.
"Of course, I don't mean we should pursue righteousness no matter the situation. But for now, I don't think there's any problem. So hurry."
"Pardon?"
His words didn't make sense.
There wasn't a problem, so hurry?
As Jo Gul looked at him in confusion, Baek Cheon swept his gaze around with a slightly awkward expression. Then he lowered his voice.
"Before that bastard Chung Myung finds out, hurry!"
"…I'll be right back!"
Jo Gul sprinted off to buy grain.
The remaining Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong anxiously watched for any sign of Chung Myung coming from afar.
"Here!"
"I have more here."
"There are still plenty left, so don't rush!"
With a large sack of grain at the center, Yoon Jong, Jo Gul, and Baek Cheon all handed it out together. They had only meant to distribute it to the children who had been gathered there, but somehow word spread, and more children swarmed over like clouds.
"Were there this many children?"
"Kunming is a large city. They're only unable to roam outside because they're starving."
"It looks like we're going to run out of grain no matter what…."
Baek Cheon let out a low sigh.
"We do what we can."
Watching the children crowd in, Baek Cheon bit his lip slightly.
He wasn't usually one to boast about his compassion, but seeing their filthy, gaunt little bodies made it impossible to bear.
From the standpoint of the one leading the group, he should probably have blamed Yoon Jong for drawing attention to them unexpectedly. But in all honesty, he was almost grateful to Yoon Jong for doing what he himself had not managed to do first.
"Let's get this over with quickly!"
"Yes, Martial Uncle!"
Yoon Jong handed out buns and gently patted a child's head.
"Eat a lot."
"T-thank you."
The child's large eyes were still faintly frightened. Even with food and grain being handed out like this, they did not let down their guard toward strangers.
That only meant they had suffered this much more often than not.
"There seem to be more and more coming."
"Now even the adults are starting to come. Hmm…."
Baek Cheon furrowed his brow slightly. At this rate, they would truly draw attention.
If we just left the grain here….
No.
Then accidents would happen, and more than once. It could turn into utter chaos. People would kill each other for even one more grain.
Then…
That was when it happened.
"Who the hell are you?"
The three people handing out grain all snapped their heads up.
"…."
Baek Cheon's face hardened.
White martial robes with the upper body only half-covered. Over them, the hide of a beast was draped.
Beast Palace….
The disciples of Beast Palace, who had appeared at some point, were walking toward the Mount Hua disciples.