I Am the One Who Will Become Mount Hua’s Sect Leader (5)
"Ha, surre..."
"Surre?"
As the word surrender rose to Jin Song's throat, he sneaked a glance behind him.
On the raised platform where the sect leaders sat together, Heo Do, the Sect Leader of Wudang, was staring this way with cold eyes.
Grrrr.
He knew perfectly well that he was outmatched.
But having entered the match as a disciple of Wudang, surrendering here, before so many eyes, was unthinkable.
Of course, he thought that would be the wise choice, but the spectators and the elders of his sect would never see it that way.
In the end, Jin Song shut his eyes tight, lifted his sword, and pointed it at Chung Myung.
"I-I'll learn a few things from you."
"Learn?"
"...Yes."
"That's funny as hell."
"...What?"
Chung Myung glared at him.
"If you want to learn, go find your own master. Why the hell are some other sect's bastard running up to me and saying he wants me to teach him?"
"N-no! That's not what I—"
"Fine. I'll teach you."
Chung Myung stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.
"But!"
"...Yes?"
"There is always a price for learning. If you survive today's duel, it'll be good experience! If you survive, that is!"
"..."
Meeting Chung Myung's gaze, slick with killing intent, Jin Song gave a thin smile.
How did a person like that end up in an orthodox sect?
And heaven really was blind, wasn't it?
How could it bestow such monstrous power on someone like that?
Jin Song looked as if he might cry as he tightened his grip on his sword.
"Hoo."
Then, after taking a deep breath, he pointed his sword at Chung Myung with a determined look.
"Oh? You'll go all the way, then?"
"I know... I know I'm no match for you."
"Hm?"
"But..."
Even while trembling all over, Jin Song pressed on.
"You can't spend your whole life fighting only opponents you know you can beat. Since I'm not going to die, I'll do my best and, and throw myself at you."
"Ho?"
Chung Myung grinned.
"Now that's an interesting bastard."
Sometimes there were people like that.
It had been the same during the war against the Demonic Sect in the past.
Those who had spoken endlessly about justice and insisted they would never retreat, once thrown into war, failed to keep even half of what they had so proudly spouted.
But those kinds of bastards, even while shaking with fear, never stepped back and somehow forced themselves to do what they had to do.
Wudang really is Wudang, huh.
There were people like that among them too.
Chung Myung smirked.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"What was your name again?"
"Jin Song."
"Jin Song. Yeah, Jin Song. I'll remember it."
Chung Myung casually raised his sword.
"Then let's begin."
"Yes!"
Without hesitation, Chung Myung shot forward at Jin Song. Jin Song's eyes widened to the size of saucers in an instant.
"Hiiik!"
He screamed at the top of his lungs, but the sword in his hand remained steady, following the path of Taicheong Sword Art without the slightest tremor.
A sharp, precise sword pattern unfurled in the air.
"Your leg's gone!"
Tap!
"Ungh!"
But Chung Myung's sword slipped like a ghost through the cleanly drawn path of Taicheong Sword Art and struck Jin Song's knee with perfect accuracy.
Jin Song reflexively twisted his sword path and aimed for Chung Myung's neck.
"Your waist!"
Tap!
Struck in the side, Jin Song clenched his teeth.
If this had been real combat, his leg would have been severed and his flank ripped open wide.
But this was a duel. Until the very moment he fell, he had to give it everything he had.
"Haaah!"
With a loud shout, Jin Song shook his sword free.
The move from Taicheong Sword Art he had considered his trump card, Blue River Surging and Rolling, spread out elegantly.
"Shoulder! Wrist! Index finger!"
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Chung Myung's sword struck Jin Song's shoulder, wrist, and second finger in rapid succession.
"Aaaagh!"
The sword he had been trying to swing was sent flying into the air.
"..."
Jin Song stared at Chung Myung in utter disbelief.
How could this happen...?
"Head!"
Wham!
"..."
Thunk.
Chung Myung brought the scabbard down on Jin Song's head and then casually retracted his sword, brushing his hands off.
"If you're a swordsman, start with the lower body and the shoulders. And Wudang or whatever, the head is fair game for everyone. Learn that."
Whether Jin Song, already collapsed on the ground, heard that or not was questionable, but Chung Myung didn't care. He spun around sharply.
Explosive cheers erupted behind him.
Smiling, Chung Myung waved to the crowd.
"Amazing! Mount Hua's Divine Dragon!"
"Another one-shot!"
"Hahaha! He crushed a Wudang disciple that easily! He hasn't even drawn his sword once yet!"
"The winner's basically decided already!"
Bathed in the flood of cheers, Chung Myung's face twitched.
Hah. This actually has its own flavor.
So this was why people wanted fame!
Realizing that for the first time, Chung Myung waved his hand even more vigorously.
And then...
Behind him, Jin Song suddenly sprang back to his feet.
Huh?
Almost instinctively, he reached up and touched the crown of his head.
It doesn't hurt?
He had clearly heard something crack, but he didn't feel any pain in his skull.
Jin Song stared after Chung Myung with a dazed expression.
Daoist Chung Myung.
The Mount Hua Divine Dragon.
And Mount Hua's complete and utter scoundrel.
Aside from his martial prowess, there were almost no kind words spoken about him. Yet strangely, Mu Jin and Heo Sanja, who had both crossed blades with him, did not speak of Chung Myung all that badly.
Somehow...
Jin Song felt like he understood why.
"This duel goes to Chung Myung of Mount Hua!"
Amid the roaring cheers, Chung Myung stepped down from the platform.
"Waaahhh! Daoist Chung Myung!"
Wi So-haeng shouted until his throat was ready to split. Of course, his voice was swallowed by the cheers around him, but he didn't care and screamed with all his might.
"Daoist Chung Myung! Hahahahaha! Daoist Chung Myung!"
Then it happened.
As Chung Myung descended the platform, his head snapped around toward the spectators.
"Huh?"
Chung Myung and Wi So-haeng's eyes met.
No. There's no way he could hear my voice from there.
More than that, finding one person in a crowd this large would be impossible...
But in that instant, Chung Myung's face broke into a delighted grin, and he waved.
Did he really see me?
Then he leaped from the duel platform and landed right in the middle of the onlookers.
The startled crowd cheered and reached out toward him. Chung Myung casually clasped the hands thrust toward him one by one, then strode through the throng and reached the spot where the Hwayeong Gate group stood in no time at all.
"Oh my, Gate Master! You came all the way here!"
At Chung Myung's cheerful shout, Wi Lip-san's face lit up brilliantly.
To be welcomed like this...
Seeing Chung Myung smiling from ear to ear, he could tell the boy truly was glad to see them.
Wi Lip-san was not an idiot.
Just looking at the cheers pouring in now made it impossible not to realize that Chung Myung's standing was nothing like it had been when he last came to Hwayeong Gate.
And yet Chung Myung was greeting him with the very same face he always had?
He really isn't a Daoist at all...
And yet in some ways, Chung Myung was more Daoist than anyone.
"We heard that Mount Hua was participating in the tournament, so we hurried over with our disciples."
"Good! Good that you came!"
Chung Myung grabbed Wi Lip-san's hand firmly.
"It can't have been easy getting here!"
"Haha. Seeing Daoist Chung Myung win makes all the hardship of the journey disappear."
"Heh heh heh. Right?"
With a pleased grin, Chung Myung sneaked a look at him.
"But maybe..."
He clicked his tongue lightly and glanced toward the bundle in his arms. Wi Lip-san quickly checked the people around them and whispered in a low voice.
"Ten jars."
"Krrrreeeeng."
Moved to the core, Chung Myung gripped Wi Lip-san's hand tightly.
"Let's go over there. Mount Hua's seats are over there."
"Haha. We are a secular branch sect, so..."
"It's fine, it's fine. There's room."
"N-no. There are basic regulations..."
"Screw the regulations. We want to use our own seats, so what's the problem? If those bald monks come to complain, I'll grease their heads till they shine like polished brass, so don't worry about it."
Wi Lip-san shook his head helplessly.
He really hasn't changed at all.
When people gained fame and their status changed, they usually became more careful with their words and started acting solemnly, unlike before.
But Chung Myung, even after gaining a reputation incomparable to his past, had not changed at all.
No... if anything, he seemed a little worse than before.
It isn't exactly a good thing, but...
He couldn't deny how glad it made him.
At that moment, Wi So-haeng, standing behind Wi Lip-san, hurriedly spoke up.
"Daoist Chung Myung!"
Chung Myung looked at him and grinned.
"Did you see that?"
"Yes! You're really amazing."
Wi So-haeng's eyes sparkled with admiration as he marveled. Chung Myung shrugged.
"I'm not strong. They're just weak."
"Really?"
"...No. Maybe I am strong."
Chung Myung snickered and pulled Wi So-haeng and Wi Lip-san along.
"Anyway, come this way. This way."
"W-wait!"
Still holding the two of them, Chung Myung pushed through the crowd and headed to one side. The disciples of Hwayeong Gate followed behind them as well.
"Elder! Elder!"
Clearing a path through the crowd and crossing the rows to where the sects were waiting, Chung Myung shouted,
"The Gate Master of Hwayeong Gate is here!"
"Hwayeong Gate?"
"Oh!"
The Mount Hua group that had connections with Hwayeong Gate sprang to their feet the moment they heard him.
"Gate Master! It's been a while!"
"I hope you've been well!"
Wi Lip-san, who had been about to answer with a gentle smile, suddenly flinched. Then, before he could stop himself, he took a small step back.
W-what is this?
Wasn't this supposed to be Mount Hua's seating area?
It is, isn't it?
The black robes and the plum blossom embroidery sewn on their chests proved that they were Mount Hua disciples.
But...
Mount Hua?
No, that couldn't be right.
Yoon Jong, Jo Gul, and Baek Cheon were the closest to what he remembered. They did look a little more mature than before, but they hadn't changed all that much from the faces he knew.
But the people around them were clearly something else entirely.
"...So-haeng."
"...Yes?"
"When you came to Mount Hua before, were they like this?"
"N-no. They weren't like this before, were they?"
It hadn't even been a full year since Wi So-haeng had visited Mount Hua.
Then what in the world had happened in less than a year to make them so intimidating that just looking at their faces made his body shrink back?
"Elder, Elder!"
"Huh?"
"We have guests here."
"Guests? What guests would Mount Hua have!"
A person stepped out in front of the huge bandit... no, in front of Mount Hua's disciples.
That's exactly the sort of goat-bearded bookworm you'd find stuck in every mountain bandit camp.
It was highly improper to describe a sect elder that way, but the fit was so exact that he couldn't think of any other comparison.
But an elder?
Had Mount Hua ever had such a young elder?
"Who might you be?"
"He's the Gate Master of Hwayeong Gate."
"Hwayeong... Hwayeong Gate?"
At that instant, the man's face brightened, and he wore a benevolent expression that looked as though a halo might burst from behind him.
What... what is this?
The elder, Hyun Young, hurried forward and seized Wi Lip-san's hand in both of his.
"The Gate Master of Hwayeong Gate, you say!"
"Pardon? Ah, yes... I am Wi Lip-san, Gate Master of Hwayeong Gate."
"Yes, yes. So the boy has grown this much already! I am Hyun Young of Mount Hua."
"E-Elder Hyun Young?"
"Yes, yes!"
Hyun Young, who had almost reached out to pat Wi Lip-san on the head, glanced around and then patted his shoulder instead.
"You have come well. You've come well! I should have stopped by Hwayeong Gate on the way, but I was so busy I forgot!"
Hyun Young kneaded Wi Lip-san's shoulder with great satisfaction, his every gesture and expression overflowing with delight. It was almost embarrassing, the sheer warmth in it.
"But... are you really Elder Hyun Young?"
"Of course. Of course. Didn't you see me when you came to Mount Hua as a child?"
"...You were too young."
"Hahaha. Good things happened. Ah, after such a long journey..."
Hyun Young had been about to say something else when he suddenly turned around and scowled.
"What are you doing! You worthless trash! If guests have arrived, you should at least bring out chairs! What kind of freeloaders are you, sitting there stuffing your faces without paying a single coin? Our sec... ah, no. Since our secular friends are here, how dare you hog the seats and sit there? Get up right now!"
"..."
Wi Lip-san's eyes widened.
No, isn't that a bit too harsh...
But the reaction of Mount Hua's disciples was nothing like he expected.
"Chairs! Bring chairs! Hurry!"
"Move, you idiots!"
They snatched up the chairs they had been sitting on and rushed over as if using lightness skill, quickly making space for the secular guests.
"Please, sit comfortably!"
"We'll just stand and watch. Don't mind us."
"..."
Wi Lip-san was so flustered he had nothing to say, but Hyun Young nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Ah. There, there. Chung Myung, you don't need to move. Just take that chair up there and lie down."
"I was going to."
"Good, good. My boy."
That was a little strange too...
Hyun Young smiled broadly and gestured for Wi Lip-san to sit.
"The Sect Leader is elsewhere right now, so you can meet him and offer your greetings at dinner."
"Ah. I understand, Elder. You've treated me so warmly that I don't even know what I should—"
Then Hyun Young seized his hand again.
"Gate Master of Hwayeong Gate."
"Yes?"
"Mount Hua knows very well how much Hwayeong Gate, and you, have done for the main sect. So don't feel uncomfortable and just relax here."
"Elder..."
Emotion surged in Wi Lip-san's eyes. Looking at the firm hand holding his own, he felt a flood of feelings rush over him.
Then Hyun Young spoke again, looking slightly troubled.
"But, um..."
"Yes?"
And said somewhat awkwardly,
"I wasn't able to check before coming here, but this month's tribute... no, donation. Was it sent to Mount Hua?"
"...It was sent before we departed."
"Good, good. Yes indeed. Then please, make yourself comfortable! By all means, be comfortable! Hahahahaha!"
"..."
Wi Lip-san had a sinking feeling that something was very, very wrong with Mount Hua.