What’s So Amazing About That? (4)
"Aigoo! Daoist siraaaam!"
"Here, here—this is fruit I picked today. Please, have some!"
"You must be busy, yet you always go out of your way like this! How can we ever thank you?"
Chung Myung smiled back at the merchants of Xi'an with a kindness that was almost saintly.
"Everything all right?"
"Of course, of course! Daoist sir! Ever since you hung all those thugs from the city gate two days ago, not a single shady bastard has shown his face. If only it could stay like this forever, I’d have no more wishes in life."
"Come on. Of course it should stay this way. Don’t worry—Hwayeong Gate will keep the place under control from here on out."
"Aigoo! You’ve saved us, Daoist sir."
"Heh heh. Think nothing of it."
"Oh! Please, have this too! I just fried it fresh—"
"Here, here, this dumpling is our best seller!"
"Hey! Give him mine first!"
As soon as they saw Chung Myung, the people came swarming out with something in both hands, each one trying to press gifts on him.
Chung Myung grinned and happily accepted everything thrust into his arms.
"Aigoo. I keep telling you not to give me stuff like this every time. Hehe... oh, that mooncake... I do like mooncakes."
"Aigoo! If the Daoist sir likes them, then of course we should send some! I’ll have a whole box delivered to Hwayeong Gate."
"Heh. You don’t have to go that far... Make sure you write my name on it. Some freeloaders might eat it."
"……."
Watching all this from behind, the faces of the Mount Hua disciples gradually twisted.
"……Every time I see him, it feels like he’s collecting debts."
"This is... I mean, it’s not bad, since the people are doing it out of goodwill, but."
"No matter how I look at it, it feels like black-path bastards managing a turf."
"It suits him."
"……Yeah, it does."
Thanks to Chung Myung beating the hell out of the thugs who ran wild in the marketplace whenever the chance arose, his popularity was soaring higher than the heavens.
"Aigoo, Daoist sir. My child just turned four this time—would you perhaps—"
"Nah. They’ve got to grow a bit before I can teach them anything. Eat too fast and you choke, you know? For now, make sure they eat well and grow strong. I’ll take disciples later too."
At Chung Myung’s answer, the people around them were the first to shout back in protest.
"Hey! If you need something like that done, just go ask Hwayeong Gate! Why should Daoist sir trouble himself over such little things? He’s the one who’ll become the greatest swordsman under heaven someday!"
"That’s right! That’s right! He’s got big things to do!"
"Exactly!"
The Mount Hua disciples could not make head or tail of these fervent reactions.
What in the world is wrong with him? Why is he so popular?
Those people just don’t know what that bastard is like. If they climbed Mount Hua and spent even one day with him, they’d run without ever looking back.
For the Mount Hua disciples, it was enough to make their insides boil, but unfortunately, the people of Xi'an did not know Chung Myung’s true nature.
Because of that, the interest showered upon Chung Myung and Mount Hua was nothing but friendly.
Why?
There were plenty of reasons, naturally... but—
"Anyway, please keep us in your good graces! We’ll work hard!"
"Aigoo, Daoist sir, really! We should be the ones begging you to take care of us."
"Good heavens, how can one be so humble?"
"……."
Baek Cheon was convinced that ninety percent of the reason lay in Chung Myung’s attitude.
Even now, while taking food and exchanging pleasantries, Chung Myung’s waist kept folding and unfolding three or four times in the blink of an eye.
That flexible back and those supple knees were things you rarely saw in most martial artists.
Especially not among those Southern Edge bastards.
Xi'an might be Southern Edge territory, so they could often lay eyes on its disciples, but when had those people ever bent their backs to show humility to ordinary citizens?
The disciples of Southern Edge?
No way.
Just thinking of Jin Geum-ryong was enough to reach the answer.
It was embarrassing to admit, but before Chung Myung came along and cracked his skull open, Baek Cheon had also been someone who carried himself with a little too much pride simply because he was a disciple of a famous sect.
So long as one practiced martial arts, he had once thought himself a cut above ordinary commoners.
And that despite being a disciple of Mount Hua, a sect that had practically fallen to ruin.
It was easy enough to imagine just how condescending the Southern Edge disciples must have been when their sect was at the height of its power.
So how could these ordinary citizens not look favorably on Chung Myung’s flexible waist and his head bowing again and again without pause?
Sure enough, praise for Chung Myung never stopped.
"As expected, the Daoists are different. The Mount Hua Divine Dragon is one of the most talked-about nicknames in the whole world these days, and yet look how low he keeps himself."
"Exactly! Isn’t that what a true Daoist is? They say Mount Hua isn’t just a sword sect that polishes swords, but a Daoist sect that reveres the Dao—I finally understand what that means now."
"What a proper Daoist! A truly proper Daoist! He really is different from Southern Edge."
Everyone.
You are currently looking with your own eyes at the most hellish Daoist bastard to ever exist since the birth of Daoist sects.
I am certain that if Taishang Laojun himself descended to the mortal realm, the very first thing he would do is sprint here and slam a spinning kick into that bastard’s mouth.
So please, open your eyes and face reality—
"You’re all being fooled—!"
"Please be quiet, Sasuk."
"Shh."
"……."
But before he could spill the truth, Jo Gul and Yu I-seol shot him a look. Baek Cheon let out a helpless sigh, his face full of frustration.
Still, one way or another... thanks to that lie that wasn’t exactly a lie, the popularity of Chung Myung, Mount Hua, and Hwayeong Gate kept rising day by day.
These days, even people seeing someone in Hwayeong Gate robes would hurry to greet them first.
What a terrifying bastard, honestly.
Baek Cheon could only marvel once again at Chung Myung’s momentum.
And then, at that moment—
Murmur, murmur.
"Huh?"
A commotion began to rise from behind the crowd.
What now?
Baek Cheon narrowed his thin eyes slightly. It didn’t seem like the usual noise that came from a dense crowd.
He watched in curiosity.
"Ah?"
Before long, familiar-looking—if familiar, or unfamiliar-looking—figures came into view.
Was his name Yu Haesang?
The man leading them was clearly Yu Haesang, the leader of Bokhyeon Gate, a Southern Edge branch family sect. Behind him, Bokhyeon Gate disciples followed with embarrassed faces.
"Hoh!"
"Tch. Look at that thick face."
"He ran away in the middle of the night, and now he’s coming back in broad daylight. The world’s gone to hell, I tell you. Gone to hell."
And naturally, the reaction from the people of Xi'an was very different from before.
"Look at that bastard, carrying a sword and all. Why bother dragging a blade around when he’s not even gonna draw it?"
"Not draw it? What do you mean, not draw it? Didn’t they draw it at us?"
"Oh, right! Hah. These so-called righteous sects and chivalrous heroes spent all their time waving swords at helpless civilians, but when actual bandits came charging in, they tucked their tails and ran? Tch! Filthy bastards!"
The voices of condemnation grew louder and louder.
Yu Haesang’s face, as he walked toward the gathered crowd, twisted in a flash.
Of course, this was not the first time he had been met with such looks while coming here.
But until now, only a courageous few had clicked their tongues and turned away, and no one had ever dared to hurl abuse directly at his face.
And now they weren’t even trying to give him a hint—they were cursing him openly.
"...Those uncultured wretches?"
"P-please endure it, Gate Leader."
"Grrrgh."
At the voices trying to restrain him, Yu Haesang swallowed his rage with a face red and blue with fury.
He knew he had done wrong. But being openly cursed at by people who had meant nothing to him before, people he had once ignored without a second thought, made it hard to suppress the boiling humiliation.
"Get lost already! You frauds!"
"You bastards who can’t do a damn thing without your main sect—look at you strutting around! This is exactly what it means to ride on another’s coattails!"
"What kind of face do you have to show up in broad daylight like this? If it were me, I wouldn’t have come anywhere near Xi'an!"
But the abuse did not stop, and eventually he couldn’t take it anymore. His eyes rolled back in fury.
"You insolent swine...!"
The face of the man now shouting was red enough to burst.
He was already ashamed, deep down. He knew he had made a mistake.
And yet he had come back to Xi'an anyway, only to sell off the hall they had failed to deal with during their panicked retreat.
They had thought the hall would have been burned and destroyed by the Red Snake Unit, but if it had somehow survived intact, how could he just leave Xi'an without doing anything about it?
For that, he was willing to endure a few cold stares. He never imagined, however, that those powerless commoners would hurl abuse at him like this.
"Just look at this! Do they even know who I am?"
He drew partway on the sword at his waist. The Xi'an citizens who had been jeering at him all at once flinched and backed away.
"G-Gate Leader!"
"Gate Leader! You mustn’t do this."
At his violent reaction, the Bokhyeon Gate disciples themselves were the ones who panicked and rushed to stop him.
"Let go!"
But instead of calming down, Yu Haesang only raised his voice higher.
"I may have made a mistake, but how dare those people insult me! Do they have any idea how much I’ve done for Xi'an? Ungrateful bastards! Fine! If you’re going to paint me as a fraud and a shameless dog like this, then I might as well become a bandit while I’m at it!"
His words, little different from a direct threat, left the merchants’ faces painfully twisted.
"Don’t forget who I am! I am—"
"Who are you, then?"
"……What?"
At that moment, a flat voice drifted out from among the people.
And in an instant, the crowd parted left and right. From the gap in the mass of people, Chung Myung strolled out with a lazy gait.
"……Ah……."
Yu Haesang shut his mouth.
So that was why everyone had been gathered here—it seemed Mount Hua had been here all along.
Ah, right...
Why hadn’t he thought of that?
If a pack of people who normally wouldn’t even meet his eyes were suddenly cursing him together, he should have considered why. But in that instant, blood had rushed to his head, and he’d missed it.
"...Ah. You asked who I am."
"Ah..."
Chung Myung looked at Yu Haesang with bored eyes, then clicked his tongue as though he were looking at something pathetic.
"Old man. No matter how high you stack a tower, once it collapses, it’s over."
"……."
Yu Haesang clamped his mouth shut like a clam.
"Of course, you’ll say it was only one mistake. But to the people, that one mistake is all it takes to turn armed thugs wandering the roads in broad daylight into something they can still understand and tolerate. The second you betrayed that trust, old man, you became no different from a bandit."
"I, I—"
"And."
Yu Haesang lost his words entirely. Chung Myung smirked and jerked his chin.
"I don’t know why you came back, but this isn’t the Xi'an you knew anymore. You’d better leave before you see anything uglier."
The second Chung Myung finished speaking, cheers and cries burst out from both sides of the street.
"That’s right!"
"How dare you set foot in Xi'an again!"
"What, planning to run away even faster next time?"
Yu Haesang squeezed his eyes shut.
He had expected this even on the way here, but the reality was far more miserable.
The hearts of Xi'an’s people had completely abandoned Southern Edge. Seeing that with his own eyes brought a sense of defeat and humiliation so deep it was hard to describe.
"Ah, and one more thing."
Chung Myung’s eyes turned slightly cold.
"If you ever draw a sword in Xi'an and threaten someone again, I’ll cut off that hand."
"……."
"There are a lot of our money... no, I mean, the parents of our precious disciples here. Threatening them is the same as threatening Hwayeong Gate."
They’re the ones paying tuition.
Of course.
"You understand?"
At Chung Myung’s icy shout, Yu Haesang lowered his head deeply.
Once the justification was gone, all that remained was skill. And how could he possibly contend with the Mount Hua Divine Dragon through skill alone?
After a moment’s hesitation, Yu Haesang finally nodded.
"...I understand."
The disciples of Bokhyeon Gate could not even lift their faces, their shoulders drooping in utter disgrace.
Only then did the crowd make way for them. Led by Yu Haesang, the Bokhyeon Gate disciples passed through the opening with their heads bowed, like a defeated army.
Watching that pitiful sight, Baek Cheon shook his head.
Public sentiment is truly terrifying.
Who could have guessed, just a few days ago, that those men would end up looking so utterly wretched?
Then Chung Myung suddenly came over and spoke in a low voice to Baek Cheon.
"Sasuk."
"Hm?"
"Keep a close eye on those guys."
"...Why? Think they’ll cause trouble?"
"No. If they show even the slightest opening, I want to use it as an excuse to go over there and turn them upside down."
"……."
Baek Cheon looked at Chung Myung with a slightly dazed expression.
Chung Myung genuinely... looked disappointed.
"If I’d just pushed a little harder, they looked like they were about to foam at the mouth and convulse... Should’ve cursed at them a bit more, maybe?"
"...Chung Myung."
"Yeah?"
"Let’s try living like a human being."
"Come on. Who’s more human than me?"
"……."
Baek Cheon shook his head over and over.
Anyway, this bastard was truly rotten, rotten all the way through.
Late into the night, after making a circuit through Xi'an, the Mount Hua disciples returned to Hwayeong Gate in high spirits.
"Looks like Xi'an’s mostly sorted out now."
"Sorted out? More like sorted out too thoroughly."
"So now we should be getting ready to head back."
"Are we really going to leave no one behind at Hwayeong Gate?"
"We can drop by from time to time if we’re assigned here, but we’re not staying permanently. From here on out, it’s Hwayeong Gate’s business."
Wi Lip-san and Wi So-haeng would do well enough.
And this place wasn’t far from Mount Hua anyway, so if anything happened, support could arrive quickly.
"There shouldn’t be any problems until Southern Edge lifts its closure."
"Really?"
"Hahaha. After all this, what problem could there possibly be?"
Chung Myung’s nose rose higher and higher.
But the moment he opened the door to Hwayeong Gate, he had to realize anew that trouble always came from the most unexpected place.
"Ch-Chung Myung! Chung Myungaaaa!"
"Aigoo! Chung Myung!"
"Hiiik! Baek Cheon Sasuk! Why are you only getting here now?!"
"……Huh?"
Several Mount Hua and Hwayeong Gate disciples came running toward them, their faces ashen with terror.
"What is it? Did Maninbang attack or something?"
"N-no, it’s not that...!"
"Then what?"
"A-ghost!"
"……Huh?"
One of the Hwayeong Gate disciples screamed in a shrill voice, eyes wide with terror.
"A ghost has appeared!"
"……."
What the hell was that nonsense now?
Chung Myung’s face twisted hard.