We Didn’t See Anything. (2)
Since being given a new body and living again, Chung Myung had never really been on the receiving end of a beating. Well, aside from the very first moment he’d opened his eyes and gotten smacked in the face—but that didn’t count.
And yet here he was, being hit not with fists, but with money.
"Chung Myung, are you all right?"
Baek Cheon, who had caught Chung Myung as he reeled back clutching the back of his neck, shouted in alarm. Chung Myung shot him a wild glare and sprang upright.
"I’m not selling! You could offer me a mountain of gold and I still wouldn’t sell! So get the hell out of here already!"
"Hohoho. My, my, what a fiery priest. And..."
Nam Ja-myeong stroked his chin, looking regretful.
"You clearly don’t know how to do business either. In seven days and nights, the price of the estate will fall by half. It would be wiser to take even a little profit and leave now."
"Who the hell do you think came here to do business?"
"Were you not?"
Right you are!
Ah. They’d come here to do business, hadn’t they. Right.
What even was business, anyway? If you made money, that was business.
"A gentleman must know how to read the times. You can’t possibly be blind to the fact that the tide has already turned. There’s no need to let pointless pride deepen your losses."
Wow.
That man was good with words.
So good, in fact, that Chung Myung suddenly wanted to find out whether he’d still be able to keep talking after Chung Myung punched those words back down his throat.
Just one hit. Just one...
Apparently sensing that dangerous glint in Chung Myung’s eyes, Hyun Young hurried over and seized his wrist. Still smiling, he leaned in and whispered, "No fists."
"What about swords?"
"Absolutely not."
"Ugh."
Chung Myung groaned, unable to suppress his rage.
They knew perfectly well that Mount Hua would never retreat for a handful of coins. And yet they’d come here and tossed money at them anyway, simply to mock Mount Hua’s situation.
Since when had Chung Myung ever let something like this slide?
"Grrr... Looks like your skull is really made of stone, coming all the way here and still acting so damn smug."
"Hahaha. How could I possibly have the nerve to duel the world’s Mount Hua Divine Dragon? If the noble disciples of your main mountain were to move, we’d be nothing more than a one-handed meal."
Infuriating.
He was so infuriating Chung Myung wanted to smash every single thing in sight.
"So what’s the real thing you want to say?"
"Heh. What else would it be? I’ve simply come to propose the purchase of the estate."
Nam Ja-myeong gestured toward the area behind him with his chin.
"Of course, for Mount Hua, this amount of loss is nothing special. But Hwayeongmun is in a different position, isn’t it?"
Chung Myung instinctively turned to look at Wi Lip-san’s face. There didn’t seem to be any change in expression. Still, Chung Myung knew as well as anyone that Nam Ja-myeong wasn’t wrong.
"As fellow branch sects, it’s truly heartbreaking. Haven’t you suffered losses like this countless times because you were dragged into the affairs of your main sect? That is why I’ve come to offer something that might at least reduce your losses."
Chung Myung stared at Nam Ja-myeong as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
"No, this is all because of who—"
"Elder."
But then Hyun Young, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
As soon as Mount Hua’s elder stepped forward, even Nam Ja-myeong of all people lowered his head and offered the proper respect.
"Is there no room for compromise?"
"Hoho. Elder, that is a very amusing thing to say."
Nam Ja-myeong’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Hyun Young.
"Since when have the relationship between Mount Hua and Zhongnan allowed for a half-hearted word like compromise?"
"...No, it hasn’t."
"Exactly. I thought as much. Although Zhongnan has closed its gates and I do not know every detail of its intent, if the sect leader were here to witness this situation, he would never order us to retreat or compromise."
That much was true.
Because it was Zhongnan.
Nam Ja-myeong soon met Hyun Young’s gaze with unwavering eyes.
"So we will never give Mount Hua even a single span of Xi'an’s land until the very last man remains. Therefore, why not acknowledge the insufficiency of your position and return peacefully to Hwaeum? Mount Hua seems far better suited to that little village, does it not?"
"No, this bastard is seriously—"
As Chung Myung tried to roll his eyes and charge forward, Baek Cheon and the other disciples, who had already been standing by, silently grabbed him and forced him down.
"The elder is speaking."
"Stay still! Woah, woah! Be good! Wait!"
Nam Ja-myeong smiled bitterly, as though he had just witnessed something deeply absurd.
"In any case, I believe the elder understands. That is why, by whatever means necessary, we will prevent Hwayeongmun from taking root here."
"And by whatever means necessary, we will take root here."
"Elder."
At Hyun Young’s words, Nam Ja-myeong bared his teeth in a smile.
"You may think us crude, but this is only the beginning. Beyond what we are doing now, there are countless other ways to make things difficult for Hwayeongmun. Do you think there were no sects that once tried to set foot in Xi'an? Why else would they all have been driven out over the past hundred years?"
"..."
"Let us not waste each other’s energy. If you are willing to step back amicably, we will compensate you as much as possible for your losses. If you wish to establish your sect elsewhere, we may even help you. However!"
Nam Ja-myeong’s voice turned cold.
"Xi'an is impossible."
It was a voice unlike anything before, chilling to the bone.
"And Mount Hua is even more impossible. If Zhongnan were to open a branch sect in Hwaeum, would Mount Hua accept it?"
"...Mm."
Hyun Young gave a low hum. Nam Ja-myeong shrugged and drove the final nail in.
"So please, go back. This is not Mount Hua’s land. If you keep dragging this out, all you’ll do is suffer greater losses. Well then."
With those words, Nam Ja-myeong spun on his heel.
The branch sect leaders who had come with him turned away as well, sneering as they did.
At last, Chung Myung broke free from Baek Cheon’s grip and lunged forward. He snatched up the money pouch that had fallen to the ground and hurled it at Nam Ja-myeong.
"If you bring it, you take it back!"
Thwack!
Nam Ja-myeong caught the pouch with a smile.
"So there is still some pride left in you. Then by all means, do as you please."
And with an open sneer at Chung Myung, he left Hwayeongmun.
Watching the Zhongnan branch sect leaders pour out in a crowd, the Mount Hua disciples all let out sighs at once.
"Elder..."
At Wi Lip-san’s worried voice, Hyun Young gave a heavy nod.
"There’s no need to worry too much. A degree of backlash like this was entirely expected."
But...
The situation has become far too heated because of Zhongnan’s closure. I need to think about where to even begin untangling this.
Hyun Young subtly turned his head to the side.
Looking at Chung Myung, who was growling like a rabid hound, he wore a strange expression.
Should I just let him go?
No. That was something that deserved serious thought.
Really.
Late at night.
Creeeak.
The newly installed gate, not yet even old enough to weather properly, slowly opened with a faint noise. Before long, a night traveler dressed in black emerged with careful steps.
Tightening the mask strings around his face, he sprang upward without making even the faintest sound and landed atop the roof.
But—
"Hold it right there."
...
A voice stopped him.
The masked man’s head snapped back.
"I knew this would happen."
"That thing is a perennial in the martial world. It never changes."
"Hey! You can’t take the plum blossom sword with you!"
The masked man’s face twisted sharply. Then, in a raspy voice he deliberately lowered far more than necessary, he said, "You brats think you can stop me—"
"Chung Myung. Your mask’s crooked."
"Oh, really?"
...
...
The masked man.
No, Chung Myung lifted a hand and adjusted the mask.
Baek Cheon let out a long sigh at the sight.
"Didn’t the elder say you must not split anyone’s head open!"
"I’m not splitting it open!"
Chung Myung roared.
"But I can at least break a leg or two! If possible, maybe twist an arm off while I’m at it!"
"...Honestly, that does sound tempting."
Just thinking of Nam Ja-myeong’s slippery attitude from the day had made them all feel like cracking his skull themselves, without Chung Myung having to do a thing.
But if that really happened, Mount Hua would lose all public support in Xi'an.
"If all we had to do was deal with those branch sect bastards, I’d do it too. But if we break the branch sect by force and seize Xi'an, we won’t win the people’s hearts! Then Zhongnan branch sects will keep popping up over and over!"
"Then crush them whenever they appear!"
"...Zhongnan’s main sect will eventually come out of closure too."
"Then just crush Zhongnan too!"
"...Sometimes I really don’t know why you entered the righteous path."
If he’d entered the evil path, he would have become a talent so extraordinary he’d only appear once in a thousand years.
What a waste. Such a waste.
"Anyway, absolutely not, so take that mask off and go back in."
"No, Sasuk. Actually, I’ve suddenly got something urgent I need to do, so I’ll just go out for one hour. Just one hour, that’s all!"
"Quit talking nonsense and get down here, you punk!"
But Baek Cheon was not about to be so easily fooled. Just as a fuming Chung Myung turned his head and was about to spit onto the ground, he jolted.
Ah. Right. The mask.
"I was trying to handle this with words, but if you’re going to stop me no matter what, then I’ve got no choice."
Chung Myung tapped the plum blossom sword at his waist in warning.
"How about we both pretend we didn’t see anything and avoid a bloody mess?"
"No, what kind of excuse is that for going around drawing blades? Did you leave your conscience back in Mount Hua or what?"
Baek Cheon shouted in disbelief, and from beside him Jo Gul muttered under his breath.
"Sasuk. We never had one to begin with."
"Ah, right. That’s true, isn’t it?"
He’d forgotten for a moment.
"Anyway, if you go like that, we’re telling the elder everything. Go ahead if you want to go a few months without even looking at alcohol."
"Grrrgh."
Chung Myung clutched his head, unable to go forward or back.
These so-called sect brothers won’t even help me, let alone anything else!
How could they stop him from cracking the skulls of those Zhongnan bastards?
If only they were my old martial brothers, they’d be pushing me from behind and cheering me on.
Senior Brother! Sect Leader Senior Brother!
The kids have changed! They weren’t like this before!
They were always like this, you crazy bastard!
Agh.
Lies!
"I don’t care. I’m going!"
"I said you’re not getting out!"
"You keep this up and I’ll really get mad. Come on, just close your eyes and let me through, and we can pretend nothing happened. Right?"
"Nothing might happen here! It’s the places outside that become the problem!"
"No. Seriously, you people make no sense... Damn it, what the hell is all that noise?"
The constant racket from somewhere outside was getting on Chung Myung’s nerves, and he snapped his head around.
"Huh?"
Wait a minute.
Noise?
"What is it?"
"There really is something noisy."
Everyone surrounding Chung Myung leaned out to look beyond Hwayeongmun.
"Eh? That?"
"Huh?"
"Something’s coming this way."
Chung Myung narrowed his eyes.
Martial artists?
A group of martial artists riding the main road came into view.
"Zhongnan branch sect? No, that’s not it."
Their bearing was different.
Even Zhongnan’s branch sects, for all they were branch sects of a distinguished righteous sect, still carried a clear and clean aura.
But the people approaching now were exuding a rough, savage energy from head to toe.
Evil faction?
Yes. If one had to classify them, they were closer to the evil faction...
"An evil faction in Xi'an?"
"What is that?"
"They’re coming this way!"
The Mount Hua disciples all reacted at once, turning sharply as they sensed the anomaly.
"To the gate!"
"Got it!"
Chung Myung leapt first, and the others followed behind him with light-footed movement.
In an instant, they reached the entrance to Hwayeongmun, threw the great gate open, and stared down the road with tense eyes.
"They’re here!"
And soon, at the far end of the road, a mass of people more than a hundred strong came into view.
Warlike men wrapped from head to toe in bright red robes marched straight toward Hwayeongmun.
Experts?
Chung Myung watched them with a faintly peculiar expression.
Every one of them seemed to possess no small amount of skill, but the aura coming from someone walking behind them in particular was enough to prick at Chung Myung’s nerves.
What the hell is this all of a sudden?
After staring at them for a moment, Chung Myung kept his gaze fixed and jerked his chin.
"Jo Gul, Senior Brother."
"Yeah?"
"When I give the signal, run inside and wake everybody up."
"...Got it."
Even if they didn’t know exactly what was going on, none of them were stupid enough not to realize that something was very wrong.
Everyone drew their inner energy up through their bodies and held themselves ready.
Meanwhile, the group that had been coming down the road reached the entrance to Hwayeongmun in no time at all.
"This is the place?"
Their formation split left and right, and a man slowly walked out from the center.
Red Snake Blade Yeop Pyeong.
He stroked his chin and looked at Chung Myung, who stood blocking the gate to Hwayeongmun.
"Hm?"
Sensing something unusual from him, Yeop Pyeong couldn’t help but smile.
"I thought branch sects would be easy to bully, but you’ve got yourself quite the catch here. Boy, what’s your name?"
But when Chung Myung heard that, he snorted instead.
"Hah. The world’s gotten nice and easy, hasn’t it? Some evil-faction bastard trying to talk to me like we’re equals."
"Oh? Hahahahahaha!"
Yeop Pyeong burst into boisterous laughter.
"You’re an outrageously arrogant one. Still, I have one thing to ask."
"Ask away."
"Why are you wearing a mask? At this hour of night?"
...
...
Everyone standing beside Chung Myung quietly looked away.
Ah, I want to run away.
I can’t live with this embarrassment.
But Chung Myung himself remained as shameless as ever.
"Just because. Why?"
"Hoho. As expected of a branch sect of Zhongnan, which rules over the world with such confidence, you’ve got some nerve. Your attitude toward this old man is something else. Very well! Today I will trample Hwajeok Gate and make my name known throughout the world... "
As he listened, Chung Myung raised one hand to cut him off.
"Hold on."
"Hm?"
"...Can you not read?"
...
The heads of everyone standing there slowly lifted. After checking the characters written on the signboard, they all lowered their gazes again.
Yeop Pyeong shut his mouth and turned to look behind him. Then someone from the back shouted, "Boss! Boss! This is the wrong place! This is Hwayeongmun, and the place we’re supposed to go is Hwajeok Gate! Why did you stop so smoothly and then just stand there?"
"Ah, really? This isn’t it?"
"Keep going! Keep going! We need to go in there!"
"Ah..."
Yeop Pyeong clicked his tongue awkwardly and looked back at Chung Myung.
"...My apologies."
"Ah... well. No problem."
"Then we’ll be on our way."
Yeop Pyeong cleared his throat and turned away in small, hurried steps.
"Where is Hwajeok Gate?"
"I told you, you need to go farther in that direction."
"Then you should’ve said so sooner! Tch!"
The Mount Hua disciples all stared blankly after the retreating group.
"What the hell was that? Those idiots?"
Chung Myung’s words perfectly captured what they were all thinking.
But Baek Cheon’s face remained firmly serious.
"Chung Myung."
"What?"
"Didn’t they look strong to you?"
"Yeah. Pretty strong, actually."
"...This is bad. We need to report this to the elder right now."
"Why?"
"Hwajeok Gate is a Zhongnan branch sect, isn’t it? For a bunch of obvious evil-faction types to come looking for Hwajeok Gate in the dead of night means they clearly have bad intentions! So we need to take action at once—"
Thud!
As Baek Cheon spoke in a rush and turned to run back inside, Chung Myung grabbed his shoulder.
"Hey, why are you grabbing—"
When Baek Cheon looked back, he flinched.
Chung Myung.
He was smiling with a gentleness unmatched by anything in the world.
"Sasuk."
"...Yeah?"
"We didn’t see anything."
"..."
"And we’re not going to see anything in the future either. Got it?"
"You, you... don’t tell me..."
"Why? They said it themselves. Xi'an belongs to Zhongnan."
"Th-that’s true, but...!"
"Then that settles it."
Chung Myung’s face was so benevolent it was almost as if a Buddha had descended into him.
"If it happened on their land, they’ll handle it themselves."
And if they can’t?
Then even better.
"Aigoo. Of all times, this had to happen when Zhongnan is closed and awayyyyy. How tragic, how unfortunate. Kihihihihihi."
No, this one was a demon.
Watching the demon laugh while clutching his stomach, the Mount Hua disciples all squeezed their eyes shut.
This side seems even more like the evil faction.
He really entered the wrong school. If he’d joined those guys over there just now, he’d fit right in.
But what could they do?
He was already a disciple of Mount Hua.
Tragic as that was, it was the truth.