Show Me What a Real Mess Looks Like (3)
"Hehe. Right? I knew the Abbot and I would get along just fine!"
"Abbot!"
"Wh-what the...?"
The disciples of Shaolin stared in shock at Beop Jeong.
But Beop Jeong still wore the same gentle expression as he asked instead, "And what, exactly, is wrong with what that young Taoist has said?"
"Th-they insulted Shaolin!"
"What was insulted was not Shaolin. It was your petty little pride."
"...!"
Beop Jeong gave a faint shake of his head.
"The young Taoist is right. The reason the disciples of the righteous sects gathered here is to fight one another in martial contests. Just because the timing and method were not to our liking, how can we blame them for it?"
"But weren't the disciples of the Southern Edge Sect injured?"
At Gonghwa's words, Chung Myung snorted and said, "No, if anything, that's something the Southern Edge Sect should deal with themselves. Why are you getting angry, sir? The Southern Edge Sect isn't even under Shaolin, is it? Do they not have a mouth to speak for themselves?"
"...!"
So stunned he forgot to blink, Gonghwa stared at Chung Myung.
What kind of bastard is he?
Everyone around them had heard those words, too.
From this point on, if Shaolin sided with the Southern Edge Sect and blamed Mount Hua, then the Southern Edge Sect would become a bunch of fools who couldn't even solve one matter without borrowing Shaolin's hand.
Even if that weren't true at all, would the gossips who loved inventing stories ever pass up a delicious morsel like this?
Gritting his teeth, Gonghwa stared at Chung Myung in utter disbelief, the young man having driven the situation this far with just a few words.
But, to his misery, Chung Myung still wasn't done.
"Ah, no, hold on. Since we're on the subject, let's ask them directly. Hey, you lot!"
"...!"
Chung Myung snapped his head toward the Southern Edge Sect disciples, and they all flinched reflexively.
"If you want revenge for getting your asses kicked just now, are you going to do it yourself on the dueling platform? Or are you going to cry to Shaolin and ask them to beat those guys up for you?"
The Southern Edge Sect disciples' faces went white.
If that bastard put it that way, they could only give one answer.
It was better to be the weakling who took the beating and plotted revenge later than a petty coward who left their vengeance to someone else.
For the disciples of a distinguished sect... no, for anyone living in the martial world, that was the only natural choice.
"O-of course we'll take revenge with our own hands!"
"With swords in our hands, people like you are nothing!"
"You'd better prepare yourselves! We won't go easy on you!"
With a bored look, Chung Myung turned back to Gonghwa.
"That's what they say."
"...."
At that point, Gonghwa was reduced to a complete mute.
If the people involved said it themselves, Shaolin had nothing to say about it.
Chung Myung said indifferently, "Kids messing around can throw a few punches, and if they do, a little blood might come out of someone's nose. What's the big deal? Why are you all rushing over here demanding the sect leader come out and deal with it? Tch. Since when did Shaolin become such a place? Isn't that right, Abbot?"
"Ho ho. There's nothing wrong with that."
"Abbot!"
Gonghwa called out to Beop Jeong with a look that seemed about to rot from frustration.
But the moment he saw that gentle smile, Gonghwa could only bow his head in silence.
"I shall summarize Shaolin's position."
Beop Jeong turned to Hyun Jong and said, "The fight that broke out in Shaolin's grounds is certainly something that should be criticized. However, those gathered for the martial tournament are naturally bound to be on edge. Failing to manage that properly was Shaolin's responsibility, so I will offer an apology to Southern Edge and Mount Hua in Shaolin's name."
With his palms pressed together, Beop Jeong bowed deeply.
Hyun Jong nearly jumped out of his skin, and the Southern Edge Sect disciples froze on the spot, not knowing what to do.
"Please don't do that, Abbot! I don't know where to put myself with you speaking like this."
Raising his head, Beop Jeong smiled again, gentle as ever.
"The grudges accumulated between the sects may be settled during the martial tournament. Even if they are not, this is something the sects themselves must resolve. Shaolin will not interfere further."
"Hmm."
Hyun Jong gave a low murmur.
"However."
Beop Jeong looked from one side to the other as he continued, "If incidents like this keep happening before the tournament, everyone will only grow more agitated. So I ask that you all conduct yourselves in a manner befitting your status and dignity."
"We are sorry...!"
Beop Jeong gave a brief bow with joined hands.
"Then."
With that, he turned and began walking away slowly, and the Shaolin disciples who had been glaring at Mount Hua quickly followed after him.
"As expected of Shaolin."
"Remarkable!"
The bystanders nodded approvingly at such a clean resolution.
In any case, everyone felt relieved that things had been settled without turning ugly. If this had escalated, who knew how far it might have gone?
"So Shaolin is still Shaolin, huh?" Chung Myung muttered with a thin smile.
Well, at least it was resolved nicely...
Tap.
At that very moment, someone laid a hand on Chung Myung's shoulder.
Chung Myung slowly turned his head.
Flinch.
And then he saw it.
Hyun Jong wearing an expression Chung Myung had never once imagined he would make.
"...Come with me."
"...."
...That's strange.
This is Shaolin... so why is there an asura here?
Ho ho...
Walking slowly, Beop Jeong continued forward, while Gonghwa fell in step at his right side and spoke in a voice thick with dissatisfaction.
"Abbot. Why did you handle this matter that way?"
It seemed the other Shaolin disciples felt the same way, because they couldn't hide the displeasure on their faces either.
"They insulted Shaolin. How could those children fight in Shaolin's own grounds? Isn't that a complete humiliation of Shaolin?"
"They should have been punished!"
Beop Jeong's expression slowly changed.
It was no longer that endlessly gentle face. With the dignity and discipline worthy of the Abbot of Thousand-Year Shaolin, he cut down the complaint with a cold rebuke.
"Then are you saying I should have told everyone that it was fine for us to draw swords with Shaolin's permission in front of all those people, but that throwing fists without permission was a crime?"
"Th-that is..."
"Hmm."
"How foolish. How utterly foolish. You cannot even keep up with the mind of a child."
Beop Jeong let out a low Buddhist chant.
Like a blade.
Within that seemingly casual, almost teasing manner of speech, a sharpened blade was hidden.
What if I hadn't been there?
Gonghwa would probably have seized them and taken them away. If he had done that, they could have been detained easily enough... but...
Then word would surely spread that Shaolin was using its authority to oppress another sect.
He had already warned the Mount Hua sect leader of this before.
Any sect riding high would inevitably attract jealous eyes.
By that logic, the most envied sect in all the world could only be Shaolin.
For those who were always ready to take a bite out of Shaolin at the first opportunity, this would have been a mouthwatering gift. And in the end, Shaolin would have earned the name of hypocrite for seizing people it couldn't properly punish anyway.
"Ho ho."
Beop Jeong gave a low chuckle.
Did he truly see this far ahead and shape the situation around it? That child?
After a brief pause, he spoke.
"Gonghwa."
"Yes, Abbot."
"Do you know anything about that child called Chung Myung?"
"Hmm."
The answer came not from Gonghwa, but from another Shaolin disciple.
"If it's Chung Myung of Mount Hua, he would be the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, hailed as the greatest late-generation talent of the current martial world."
"Mount Hua Divine Dragon?"
"Yes. I heard he easily defeated Jin Geum-ryong of the Southern Edge Sect and even won against Wudang. If you include unverified rumors, there are even stories that he beat Mu Jin of Wudang in a martial contest, and even defeated the Tang Family Patriarch of Sichuan Tang Family..."
"How dare you pass such nonsense to the Abbot!"
"...My apologies."
At Gonghwa's sharp rebuke, the speaker flinched and shut his mouth.
"Setting aside Mu Jin of Wudang, the Tang Family Patriarch?!"
"It's just a rumor, that's all..."
"Enough."
Beop Jeong cut off the two of them.
Mount Hua Divine Dragon.
That name settled firmly into Beop Jeong's mind.
"So Mount Hua has been riding high lately, and it produced a child like that. He is certainly exceptional. A child like that would naturally draw others in around him as well."
"...Though it was a fight without weapons, the fact that he single-handedly subdued the Southern Edge disciples is by no means something to ignore. Perhaps..."
Gonghwa trailed off.
Even without hearing the rest, Beop Jeong knew what he had meant.
Perhaps trouble could arise for Shaolin as well.
Most likely, Gonghwa had been thinking of the matter where Shaolin and the Nine Great Sects had driven Mount Hua out.
Mount Hua would naturally bear a grudge against the Nine Great Sects.
And if Mount Hua's standing rose while threatening the Nine Great Sects, talk of its reinstatement would inevitably begin to circulate.
That was something nobody wanted, and something that would sit well with no one.
But...
Beop Jeong unconsciously glanced back. Far away, Mount Hua's disciples could be seen.
Mount Hua.
A sharp pain pricked his side.
Gonghwa was worried about that matter, but to Beop Jeong, it was little more than a trivial concern.
What weighed on him was something much deeper.
The original sin from before that burdened him instead.
"How long must I keep my hand over the sky before I can finally open it?"
"Abbot?"
"No. Nothing."
Beop Jeong shook his head.
It is a thing of the past.
In fact, it had happened not in his own generation, but several generations before.
"Gonghwa."
"Yes, Abbot."
"Do not take your eyes off Mount Hua and that child called Chung Myung."
"I shall do so."
"Let us go."
Beop Jeong quickened his pace slightly.
Yet his footsteps now left behind a heavier tread than before.
* * *
"..."
"..."
There were countless words in this world that could crush a person.
But right now, Chung Myung was realizing a new truth all over again.
Honestly, words might've been better.
Hyun Jong sat three steps in front of him while Chung Myung remained on his knees.
The moment they arrived at the quarters, Hyun Jong had said a single word, and nothing else. He had simply stared them down in silence. And that silence had continued until now.
Thanks to that, not just Chung Myung but the other disciples were on the verge of collapsing from fright.
Baek Cheon's back was soaked through with sweat.
Just hit me, Sect Leader!
I'd rather be beaten by Chung Myung.
S-so scary...
They stayed like that for a long while.
At last, Hyun Jong, who had been glaring at them without a word, twisted his mouth and finally spoke.
"I..."
"...."
"I asked for nothing from you. I only told you not to go making trouble..."
"...."
"I left only for a short while after giving you that one instruction."
A blue glint flashed in Hyun Jong's eyes.
Seeing that, Chung Myung broke into a grin.
He's got some backbone now. Look at him.
The first time Chung Myung had seen him, he had seemed like nothing more than a kind, gentle Taoist from the heavens. Now he had even learned how to hide killing intent in his eyes like that.
"And in that little time, you went and caused trouble! You little mudskippers! Aaaaargh!"
In the end, Hyun Jong foamed at the mouth and lunged forward.
But his will was thwarted by the Hyun-generation elders, who grabbed both his arms.
"Please calm down, Sect Leader!"
"Oh, come now. Why are you so angry? Take a deep breath. Deep breath. Hup-hah, hup-hah!"
"What kind of deep breathing is that supposed to be?"
"Ah, was that not it?"
"Aaaaargh! You bastards! You damned little brats!"
Hyun Jong kept kicking at Chung Myung. But because the elders were holding him tight, his feet could only flail pitifully in the air.
"And not just anywhere! In Shaolin! In Sshaaaolin, you little monsters! How am I supposed to show my face after this? I'm too ashamed to hold my head up!"
"Huh?"
Chung Myung tilted his head as if he truly didn't understand.
"That seems a little weird. We beat the crap out of the Southern Edge brats, so shouldn't you be proud of us? You should be straightening your shoulders by now!"
"Aaaaargh!"
Hyun Jong actually ripped off one of his shoes and hurled it at Chung Myung. Chung Myung slipped lightly aside from the flying shoe and grinned.
"Hehe. You don't have to praise me that hard. I was just doing what a disciple ought to do."
"Get ouuuuut!"
"Really?"
"No, wait! Don't go out! No, absolutely don't go anywhere! Don't leave at all!"
Hyun Jong clutched at his hair with a face gone pale blue.
"Ughhhhh. I shouldn't have come here. Coming here at all was a mistake! It's only the first day, and how am I supposed to handle whatever comes next? Ancestors. Ancestors, grant me strength."
Watching him pray to the sky, Chung Myung lifted his head slightly.
He didn't know if the ancestor he was calling to was the same ancestor or not, but...
That should count as a good job, right? Sect Leader Senior Brother?
- Just shut that trap of yours.
Hey now.
That's a bit harsh, don't you think?
Hehehehehe.