Show Me What a Real Mess Looks Like (4)
The fact that Mount Hua and Namhae had come to blows spread quickly through all of Shaolin.
"Namhae caused a scene?"
"Mount Hua? Where's Mount Hua?"
"You know. It used to be one of the Gupailbang."
"Ah! The Plum Blossom Sword Sect! Mount Hua fought Namhae? Well, now, isn't that a coincidence."
Those who knew the relationship between Mount Hua and Namhae could not help but sit up and pay attention.
Mount Hua, expelled from the Gupailbang, and Namhae, the sect that had taken its place.
Who wouldn't find that interesting? Even if there was no real bad blood between them, they were the sort of people who, the moment they met, would end up greeting each other with their fists.
So when those two clashed, people immediately started itching to move.
"So what happened?"
"What do you think happened?"
"Well, of course Namhae crushed Mount Hua, didn't they?"
"Listen to you. If that were the case, do you think I'd be making such a fuss? No, sir! It was Mount Hua that smashed Namhae to bits."
"What? Where did you hear such nonsense?"
"Tsk tsk. There were over a hundred people who witnessed that fight. Why would all of them agree to lie? I'm telling you, Mount Hua's disciples pushed Namhae's disciples around one-sidedly and beat them senseless!"
"Good heavens."
It was shocking news indeed.
If that was true, then Mount Hua—whose name was already fading into obscurity—had, in the most literal sense, beaten down Namhae, one of the Nine Great Sects.
"Is Mount Hua that strong?"
Namhae couldn't be weak, so the question was only natural.
"Well. That's the strange part."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"It's true Mount Hua's disciples won decisively, but apparently neither side drew their swords in this fight. Which, well, makes sense if you think about it. No matter how hot-blooded they were, would they have had the nerve to draw steel within Shaolin's grounds?"
"If sword sects fought a battle without drawing swords, then what did they use?"
"Their fists, apparently. And Mount Hua beat Namhae at that."
"Tsk tsk. For a second I thought it was something amazing. Then it's not that big a deal, is it?"
"Whether it's amazing or not, we'll know when we see it. Even if they didn't draw swords, Namhae is still Namhae. If Mount Hua didn't merely scuffle but actually pushed them around completely one-sidedly, then shouldn't we expect something from Mount Hua once they do draw swords?"
"That's true enough. We'll see at the martial arts tournament."
Everyone who heard the news immersed themselves in the matter, voicing their own opinions.
Some cursed Mount Hua and Namhae for causing trouble in Shaolin. Others were intrigued by the outcome of the clash.
Some felt hope for Mount Hua, still too weak to be called a restored great sect, while others frowned at the way it had shaken the already rigid balance of power in the jianghu.
The opinions were all over the place, but there was one point on which everyone agreed.
"Still, this year's martial arts tournament is impossible to predict."
"Hasn't it been a hundred years since the Demonic Sect's rise? It's the first time in all that time the great sects are getting a chance to show their strength. A hundred years is a long time. It wouldn't be strange if the results turned out completely unexpected."
"Exactly. That's right."
For now, though, most people judged Mount Hua's move to be nothing more than a storm in a teacup.
For now.
* * *
"This is unfair."
Of course, Chung Myung had, in fact, committed a crime.
He had managed to bulldoze his way through it with some half-assed sophistry, but there was no denying that on the first day they arrived in Shaolin, he had thoroughly thrashed the disciples of another sect. There was no excuse for that.
True, it wasn't as if he had done it just because he was pissed off, but when the real reason couldn't be spoken aloud, it wasn't a reason at all. So, if a proper punishment was coming his way, he would have to accept it.
Even Chung Myung could admit that much.
It was only right to be punished for the crime he'd committed.
But.
"This is unfair."
If the punishment was harsher than the crime, and the accomplices went unpunished, who wouldn't feel wronged?
Chung Myung sprang to his feet and flung the door open.
The gaze of the group of Baek Cheon disciples standing guard outside shot toward him like arrows.
"......"
"......"
Seeing them standing there so diligently, even carrying their swords as if they were on full watch, something warm and itchy slowly began to rise in his chest.
"Traitors!"
"......"
Baek Cheon said with a sour expression, "No matter how you put it, there's nothing we can do. Sect Leader ordered us to keep you from taking even one step outside, so all we can do is follow orders."
"What did I do? It was Martial Uncle who caused that trouble!"
"Cough, cough!"
Baek Cheon covered his mouth with a fist and cleared his throat.
Truthfully, everyone under heaven knew that Baek Cheon had been the one leading this whole fiasco.
Of course Chung Myung had happily prodded him along the way, but to blame the poor bastard simply because he had been poked in the side was a little cruel, wasn't it?
Still, he couldn't afford to soften up now.
"It's no use saying that to me. I told you, it's the Sect Leader's order...."
"The Sect Leader told you not to let me out? Why?"
"Because it's obvious you'll stir up trouble."
"Trouble? You want to see what real trouble looks like?"
Chung Myung shot him a ferocious glare, and the group of Baek Cheon disciples immediately huddled shoulder to shoulder in a flustered mess.
"Anyway, no! You absolutely can't leave, you punk! Just endure it! We're stuck here all day babysitting you, too, you know! It's not like only you're being punished."
"Fine. Whatever."
"Huh?"
Chung Myung smiled brightly.
"So the Sect Leader told Martial Uncle to stop me, right?"
"......"
"Martial Uncle?"
"......"
Baek Cheon looked up at the sky once, then shut his eyes tightly.
You'd think he'd have assigned the work that actually needed doing.
But regardless, he was a man under orders!
Even if his bones had to break, he had to keep this bastard tied up in here to pay for his crimes!
"Go back inside, Chung Myung!"
"And if I don't?"
Baek Cheon glared.
"Then I guess we'll have to see blood!"
"Oh? You're going to see my blood?"
"No. Mine."
"......"
"......"
"So just go back inside."
While Chung Myung was staring at him in utter disbelief, gaping wordlessly, Baek Sang came running up from below in a panic.
"Senior Brother!"
"What is it?"
"The Sect Leader says to bring Chung Myung downstairs."
"Huh?"
Baek Cheon frowned slightly in confusion.
Hadn't they been told not to let Chung Myung out of the room no matter what happened? So now he was supposed to bring him downstairs?
"Is that true?"
"Would I dare lie by invoking the Sect Leader's name?"
"Fair enough."
Baek Cheon turned a creased face toward Chung Myung.
"Ha."
"Ha."
"Ha. Going downstairs sounds like a pain in the ass. Sigh. Why'd they call for me, anyway?"
Damn it.
He really, truly wanted to slap that mouth shut.
Baek Cheon let out a long sigh and stepped aside.
"Go on down."
"Yessir."
Chung Myung skipped lightly down the stairs, his steps almost jaunty. Baek Cheon shook his head and followed after him.
Hyun Jong was seated at the central table on the lower floor.
And across from him sat a familiar face.
"Oh!"
Chung Myung dashed over and seized the man's hand.
"Family Head!"
Dang Gun-ak, the head of the Sichuan Tang Family, smiled faintly.
"It's been a while."
"What brings you all the way here from that distant Sichuan?"
"...Naturally, I came to attend the martial arts tournament."
"Hehe. Right? I thought maybe you'd come to see me."
"That wouldn't be entirely wrong, either."
Dang Gun-ak gave a wry smile.
"You haven't changed at all."
"It's only been a few days."
Hyun Jong cleared his throat loudly.
"Chung Myung."
"Yes?"
"Don't make such a fuss and sit down over there."
"Yes, sir!"
Chung Myung pulled out a chair and plopped down without delay.
Hyun Jong then turned to Dang Gun-ak with a gentle smile.
"Thank you for coming all this way, Family Head. I should have been the one to visit you first, so I am deeply sorry that you had to make the journey ahead of me."
"Please don't say that, Sect Leader. It's only natural for the one who arrives later to seek out the one who came first. And Mount Hua and the Tang Family are not the sort to quibble over such things, are we?"
Hyun Jong's face softened with warmth.
Every time Dang Gun-ak spoke to him like this, he felt nothing but gratitude. After being treated like nothing but a burden for decades, how could he not be thankful that the Sichuan Tang Family would lower themselves and call him a friend?
"You must have had a tiring journey. The Family Head aside, the children must have found it especially hard."
"Anyone who complains about a trip like this has no right to bear the surname Tang."
Hyun Jong inwardly admired the firmness in that voice.
As expected.
He might only show a gentle and courteous face here, but within the Tang Family he was surely a strict man to the bone. He was the Family Head of the Sichuan Tang Family for a reason.
"Still...."
"Yes?"
Dang Gun-ak tilted his head and asked.
"What on earth happened to make you look so much younger?"
"Ah."
Hyun Jong gave a faint smile. Since Dang Gun-ak was seeing him for the first time after he'd taken the Jaso-dan, it was only natural that he would be puzzled.
"Something good happened."
"In any case, congratulations."
"Thank you."
Dang Gun-ak offered a polite blessing without prying too deeply.
"But what brings you by? If you arrived today, you must have a great deal to do."
"Hmm. Nothing in particular. I just thought I might as well...."
Dang Gun-ak trailed off awkwardly and glanced around.
Chung Myung grinned.
"Ah."
Then he spoke to the other disciples beside him.
"Someone go get Soso."
"Dang Soso?"
"Yeah."
One of the disciples nodded and hurried upstairs.
"Cough."
Dang Gun-ak gave a low, embarrassed cough.
Hyun Jong smiled brightly and said, "You wish to see your daughter. That is only natural for a father, is it not?"
"I apologize, Sect Leader. I know that once she was sent away, I ought not come seeking her like this, but...."
"Mount Hua is a Daoist sect, yes, but we do not advise cutting off family ties. To sever bonds that already exist would be unnatural. If the heart remains connected to family, then cherishing that bond is also part of the Dao, would you not say? So please do not worry yourself and come visit whenever you wish."
"Thank you."
Dang Gun-ak bowed his head slightly in gratitude.
"Father!"
Then a loud voice rang out from upstairs.
Dang Gun-ak lifted his head, his expression faintly brightening.
Soso.
It had been almost a year since he had last seen his daughter.
How many nights had he lain awake in silence, worrying over the child he had raised so carefully in his arms and then sent off to Mount Hua?
He looked toward the stairs with eyes full of that pain he had never been able to show as the head of the Sichuan Tang Family.
"Father!"
"Yes, Soso.... Soso? Soso?"
Dang Gun-ak's eyes shook violently.
His daughter.
The daughter he had raised as delicately as if she were a flower that might blow away in the wind, or wither in the rain.
Hadn't there been plenty who had praised her as someone destined to become Sichuan's greatest beauty, like a single blooming narcissus?
And yet....
Thud-thud-thud!
As Dang Soso came racing down the stairs, he flinched hard.
Black martial garb.
Hair tied carelessly and haphazardly.
The once ivory-white skin that had looked as if it had never seen the sun was now tanned dark, as though she'd spent her days hoeing a field somewhere, and in those eyes that had always held the air of a sorrowful beauty there now lurked something indescribably fierce.
Has she been to a battlefield or something?
How had his daughter become a mountain bandit?
"S-Soso?"
"Yes! Father!"
At Hyun Jong's gesture, Dang Soso stepped right up to Dang Gun-ak and bent at the waist in a crisp ninety-degree bow.
"Soso greets Father!"
"......"
His daughter, once as lovely as pear blossoms, had appeared as a thistle clinging to the edge of a pond.
Stunned by the sight, Dang Gun-ak stammered without meaning to.
"Y-you.... No, I mean.... Soso.... Huh?"
"Have you been well all this time!"
"......"
It was a greeting brimming with vigor.
Dang Gun-ak turned a little and looked at Chung Myung.
Chung Myung grinned back.
"She grew up well, didn't she?"
"......"
Y-yes.
She had grown so well that the child practically radiated energy....
Dang Gun-ak stared blankly at Dang Soso.
How was he supposed to accept this change?
After hesitating for a long while, he finally spoke in a quiet voice.
"Soso."
"Yes, Father."
"Are you happy?"
Dang Soso closed her mouth.
She looked at her father for a moment, then nodded and broke into a radiant smile.
"Yes. I'm happy, Father."
"I see."
Only then did a smile appear on Dang Gun-ak's face.
"Then that's enough."
What did it matter if she wasn't the same as before? What did a changed appearance amount to?
Nothing changed the fact that Dang Soso was his daughter, the one child in the world he would never bear to see hurt.
The beloved daughter he cherished looked far more at ease now than she had in the past, when she had been beautiful like a flower.
Then that was enough.
"Good. You've learned much in Mount Hua, I take it?"
"Yes, Father! In this tournament, I'll smash the heads of those other sect bastards and bring honor to Mount Hua and the Tang Family!"
"......Wait. You'll smash what?"
"Their hea...."
Plunk.
Yu I-seol, who had come up without anyone noticing, clamped a hand over Dang Soso's mouth and dragged her away.
"......"
"......"
Dang Gun-ak gave Hyun Jong a dubious look. Hyun Jong, in turn, gestured subtly toward Chung Myung as if to say it wasn't his fault. Naturally, Dang Gun-ak then turned his gaze to Chung Myung.
"Why are you looking at me?"
"......Nothing."
It was only his own insides that were about to burst, only his own insides!
To calm himself, he downed several cups of cold tea in a row.
Only then did his expression settle and grow cool again.
At last, the air around him took on the bearing of the head of the Sichuan Tang Family.
"Sect Leader."
"Yes, Family Head."
"The reason I came here wasn't only to see Soso. From what I can tell, things are taking a rather strange turn."
"What do you mean?"
Dang Gun-ak spoke in a low voice.
"I recently heard that Zhongnan and Wudang held a secret meeting in Wuhan."
Hyun Jong's face stiffened.
"If they met ahead of the martial arts tournament, there can only be one reason."
"You think they meant to keep an eye on us?"
"That's the only reason I can think of."
"Hmm."
Hyun Jong frowned slightly and let out a low hum.
Dang Gun-ak continued in a colder voice.
"Even if that wasn't the reason they met, it changes nothing. The Nine Great Sects likely already regard Mount Hua as a thorn in their side."
"Yes, that's true."
The sect that had been cast out had returned and was now threatening the Nine Sects. That alone was proof that the Nine Sects' judgment had been wrong.
Of course the Gupailbang would not welcome Mount Hua's rise.
"If the Sect Leader wishes, I can arrange something."
"Arrange something?"
"Mount Hua isn't part of the Nine Sects, so there'd be nothing strange about cultivating ties with the Five Great Families, would there? That would make things a little easier for Mount Hua's movements."
"Hmm...."
Hyun Jong fell into deep thought. It wasn't a wrong suggestion, and it was certainly a good one, but it was not something to accept lightly.
But there was one person in the room who wasn't giving it a second thought at all.
"Eh. What's the point? It's fine."
"Hm?"
Chung Myung shrugged.
"Even if they're keeping an eye on us, it's not like they can send two people onto the ring at once. In the end, it'll come down to skill. So what is there to be afraid of?"
"Haha. Well, that's true enough."
"And as for the Five Great Families, I'm grateful for the thought, but it's fine. There's no need to pretend to be close with people we're not even close to. We've got the Tang Family, and that's enough. Right?"
Unexpected as the answer was, Dang Gun-ak simply looked at him quietly.
Still a strange fellow, but....
It certainly isn't an unpleasant thing to hear.
He smiled faintly and asked Chung Myung, "So you're saying the championship is naturally yours?"
"No."
Chung Myung cut him off cleanly.
"Then?"
"The championship won't be mine. It'll be Mount Hua's."
"......"
"Everyone's going to know it. That Mount Hua has returned."
Yes. Indeed.
Dang Gun-ak's face broke into a broad smile.
"Yes. That is how it will be."