If I Must Die, I’ll Be the First to Go (2)
“Then I’ll leave it in your hands, Leader of Hwayeong Gate.”
“Elder…. If you leave like this, what are we supposed to do? Hwayeong Gate still needs your guidance.”
“Hoho.”
Hyun Young smiled faintly and patted Wi Lip-san on the shoulder.
“It’s good to be humble, but too much humility can become discourtesy. When it comes to running a branch sect, how could my abilities possibly compare to yours, Leader of Hwayeong Gate?”
“But….”
“There’s no need to worry.”
Hyun Young soothed him with a gentle smile.
“Xi’an to Mount Hua isn’t that far, after all. If anything happens to Hwayeong Gate, we’ll come at once.”
“Elder. Thank you so much for saying that.”
“I should be thanking you, you silly man.”
Hyun Young gave Wi Lip-san’s shoulder another reassuring pat.
“With so many disciples here and no real rival to compete with, Hwayeong Gate has nothing ahead of it but prosperity, doesn’t it?”
“Yes! Of course.”
“Let’s discuss opening additional branch houses in the near future.”
“Yes. There are already some among our instructors who are getting on in years. They’d be more than capable of opening a sect of their own.”
“Hoho. A truly wonderful thing. Wonderful indeed. And….”
Clench.
Hyun Young’s hand tightened on Wi Lip-san’s shoulder.
“Make sure you send the sect dues through the Eunha Merchant Guild.”
“……Yes.”
“Hoho. I’m not trying to pressure you, mind you….”
Hyun Young’s blade-sharp gaze swept over the disciples standing behind Wi Lip-san.
“But you’ll be bringing in a pretty penny.”
“……We’ll continue increasing our number of disciples.”
“Hoho. You really are something. If you keep that up, you’ll strain yourself.”
Elder….
Could you maybe make up your mind whether you’re telling me to reduce the number of disciples because I’ll get hurt, or to take on even more disciples even if I get hurt…?
You look far too pleased about this….
Wi Lip-san quietly took a step back from Hyun Young. Then he looked at the Mount Hua disciples slinging their packs.
“You gentlemen haven’t even had a proper rest….”
“Hehe. It’s fine.”
Chung Myung shrugged.
“Honestly, we could stay a little longer, but being here seems to be making the sahyungs a little too relaxed. We’re also short on training time.”
“……You did that much and still say you don’t have enough?”
“That demon bastard….”
There were bitter groans from behind him, but Chung Myung cleanly ignored their complaints.
“Besides, the best way to help a branch sect is for the main sect to get stronger. Don’t worry. I’ll do whatever it takes! I mean whatever it takes! I’ll support you perfectly!”
Well… no… you don’t have to go that far….
Wi Lip-san couldn’t bring himself to answer. He only stared at Chung Myung with a slightly drained expression. At that moment, Wi So-haeng, who had been standing nearby, stepped forward in his place and bowed his head.
“We were truly grateful, gentlemen.”
“Ah, right. So-haeng, you….”
Chung Myung tilted his head.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to train at the main sect?”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you definitely….”
“When did I say that?”
“You said it last time….”
“Me?”
“…….”
“When?”
Wi So-haeng stared back at Chung Myung with a composed face, not a single change in expression.
“……He’s a big one.”
That bastard.
Of course, in the past, Wi So-haeng had wanted to train at the main sect.
He had to inherit Hwayeong Gate, so he couldn’t become a disciple of the main sect, but if he was going to pride himself on being a branch sect of Mount Hua, shouldn’t he at least spend some time at the main sect once?
But….
“I’d rather die!”
He was already dying as it was.
The training method Chung Myung had… no, the one Mount Hua had passed down to Hwayeong Gate was so brutal that cries of anguish were already rising from the disciples’ mouths.
Leader Wi Lip-san might have genuinely hated to see Mount Hua leave, but the disciples who had been made to grind their bodies through the training had a very different opinion.
“Please, just go.”
“Sect Leader, please don’t say that. What if they really decide not to leave and stay longer?”
“My legs are still shaking from yesterday. If I show weakness now, they’ll just make me train again.”
In barely a month, the disciples of Hwayeong Gate had become so gaunt they looked as if they’d gone a week without a bowl of gruel.
And that was despite the fact that their training volume had been only a fifth of Mount Hua’s disciples.
And now what?
Train at the main sect?
“Young master!”
“Hm?”
“I want to help my father! I’m meant to become the ghost of Hwayeong Gate!”
“Oh, really?”
Chung Myung nodded readily. Then he looked at Wi Lip-san and said,
“Sect Leader.”
“Yes?”
“Once Hwayeong Gate is in decent shape, send this one to Mount Hua.”
“…….”
“I’ll personally take charge of him and return him to you as the perfect successor of Hwayeong Gate.”
“……I will.”
“Ah, Father?”
Wi So-haeng’s eyes went wide, but Wi Lip-san cleanly ignored his son’s gaze. Instead, he actually one-upped Chung Myung.
“If he’s to carry on as a branch sect of Mount Hua, then he should train at the main sect.”
Just a second?
Father, you never trained there yourself….
“Exactly!”
Chung Myung and Wi Lip-san clasped each other’s hands tightly.
Wi So-haeng, forced to watch the old generation’s collusion play out in real time before his eyes, was on the verge of losing his mind. But what could he do?
He had no power to stop this conspiracy.
“Then we’ll see you next time.”
“Y-you’re leaving already?”
“We have to hurry if we’re to get back to Mount Hua.”
Wi Lip-san clicked his tongue, clearly reluctant to part.
Now that they had come to Xi’an, he had gone through so many storm-like events that the time they’d spent together felt absurdly short.
“Sect Leader.”
“Yes, Young Daoist.”
“Please take good care of Xi’an.”
Not “please take good care of Hwayeong Gate,” but “please take good care of Xi’an.”
That meant he did not see Wi Lip-san merely as the leader of a branch sect, but as a fellow entrusted with the management of an entire region.
Whether Chung Myung had intended it that way or not was impossible to say, but at the very least, Wi Lip-san took it that way.
“Don’t worry, Young Daoist. Hwayeong Gate is a branch sect of Mount Hua. We will make Mount Hua’s name shine as a proud sect that brings no shame anywhere.”
Chung Myung grinned.
“Hehe. We’d be grateful if you did.”
Wi Lip-san gazed at him for a moment, then smiled.
“Truly….”
He still hadn’t forgotten.
Mount Hua will remember.
The words Chung Myung had once said to him in the past.
Mount Hua does not forget favors. The devotion Leader Wi has shown Mount Hua over the past decades will absolutely be repaid.
Wi Lip-san pressed at the corners of his stinging eyes and bowed his head slightly.
What a strange person you are.
The world had changed, Mount Hua’s standing had changed, and with that, Wi Lip-san’s own position had changed too. Yet Chung Myung remained exactly the same as he had been when he first walked into Hwayeong Gate long ago.
Of course, unlike everyone else, that couldn’t exactly be called a good thing when it came to Chung Myung….
Still.
“Young Daoist.”
“Yes?”
“……Thank you.”
At Wi Lip-san’s words, Chung Myung smiled faintly.
That warm smile was almost enough to make Wi Lip-san’s chest fill with comfort….
“Then please raise the tribute a little. Mount Hua’s finances are kind of flat these days.”
…No, it didn’t.
“……No! You’re making good money!”
“No matter how much money you make, it’s never enough!”
“You should be skinning a flea for its liver!”
“I’m starting to think it’s not a flea anymore.”
“I decline.”
Wi Lip-san snorted.
“We can talk about it once Hwayeong Gate grows a little more.”
“Then I guess you’d better grow fast.”
Laughing, Chung Myung finally turned around. If they kept talking like this, there really would be no end to it. Spouting nonsense like that was probably also because even Chung Myung felt a little reluctant to leave this place.
“Sect Leader.”
“Yes, Elder.”
“If trouble arises while we’re gone, speak with the Eunha Merchant Guild first. I’ve already spoken to the guild master.”
“Yes! I will.”
“Then.”
Hyun Young glanced back. Confirming that all of Mount Hua’s disciples were ready, he nodded heavily.
“Let’s depart.”
“Yes!”
Soon after, they took their leave of Hwayeong Gate amid the disciples’ farewell cries.
“Take care, gentlemen!”
“Thank you!”
“May your road be peaceful!”
“Don’t ever come back!”
It sounded like something odd had been tacked on at the end, but no one bothered to question it.
“Then we’ll see you all next time.”
As the Mount Hua disciples waved, the disciples of Hwayeong Gate waved just as fiercely in return.
“They’re going! They’re going!”
“Khhhk. That took too long.”
“They won’t come back, will they?”
“We’re free! We’re free! Hahahahahaha!”
Even when a lost nation was reclaimed, no one would be greeted with such passionate enthusiasm.
Hearing the disciples’ voices from behind him, Wi Lip-san twisted his face in disgust.
Those rotten bastards.
And he swore that from tomorrow onward, he would put them through something even harsher than what the Mount Hua disciples had made them endure.
He kept waving for a very long time at the receding figures of Mount Hua’s disciples.
“……Thank you.”
Before he knew it, the words left him, a mixture of gratitude and regret.
“Is it really okay to leave things like this?”
“What is?”
At Baek Cheon’s question, Chung Myung tilted his head. Baek Cheon hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“……It just feels like we kind of left the job half-finished.”
“We were never going to stay here forever to begin with.”
Chung Myung gave a bitter smile.
Of course he knew what Baek Cheon meant. If they wanted to handle things properly, they should teach the disciples of Hwayeong Gate a little more, and they should also refine the training of the younger disciples under them a bit further.
But….
“Hwayeong Gate is Hwayeong Gate. They kept this sect running even when Mount Hua couldn’t pull its own weight. If you want to be fair, they’re a better sect than Mount Hua.”
“Mm. That’s true.”
“Pushing our way in any further would be presumptuous. Hwayeong Gate’s matters belong to Hwayeong Gate. A branch sect of Mount Hua isn’t a lackey that runs errands for Mount Hua from a distance. It’s a place that supports Mount Hua as a sect in its own right.”
Chung Myung glanced back toward Hwayeong Gate, now far behind them.
“Leader Wi is an excellent sect leader. He’ll do well.”
Baek Cheon looked at him with a somewhat startled expression.
It was rare for Chung Myung to speak so highly of anyone. In the end, Baek Cheon could only nod.
“If you say so, then I guess that’s how it is.”
Chung Myung shrugged.
“Then what about Ghost Sect?”
“I told them to come to Mount Hua, so they’ll come here. This is something I need to report to the Sect Leader.”
“Hmm.”
Baek Cheon wore a strange smile.
He really is thorough in the oddest places.
Chung Myung usually handled things however he pleased, but when it came to matters that belonged to the Sect Leader’s authority, he never casually crossed the line.
Of course, that was perfectly natural, but Baek Cheon still found it surprising that Chung Myung actually respected that boundary.
“So now all we have to do is head back to Mount Hua for real.”
“Right. Though….”
Chung Myung pointed with his chin at the person blocking the road ahead.
“Looks like there’s still one left.”
“Mm.”
Baek Cheon narrowed his eyes and looked at the one standing in front of Mount Hua’s procession.
Nam Ja-myeong.
The leader of Seowol Gate, and practically the representative branch leader of Southern Edge, stood in the middle of the road, waiting for Mount Hua’s disciples.
Hyun Young looked at Nam Ja-myeong quietly before speaking.
“What is it, Leader Nam?”
“……I heard you were leaving.”
“That’s right.”
Nam Ja-myeong bit his lip slightly and stared at Hyun Young and the Mount Hua disciples.
“It is true that I showed an ugly side of myself.”
“…….”
“And it is also true that I brought shame upon myself.”
“So?”
“However.”
Nam Ja-myeong said firmly,
“Do not think this is over. The branch sects of Southern Edge will not fall apart like this. I don’t know how long it will take, but we will surely reclaim what we lost.”
Hyun Young listened in silence, then smiled faintly.
“That is a fine thing to say.”
“……Are you ignoring me?”
“Why would I?”
Hyun Young shook his head and said,
“What you lost was the public sentiment of Xi’an. To win that sentiment back, should you not keep a low profile and act with sincerity? If you do, Xi’an will become a better place to live. That is naturally a good thing.”
“…….”
“And… remember this. Mount Hua never looks down on another sect. The grievances we have suffered over so long were far too great for that. I believe Leader Nam will understand what I mean.”
Without realizing it, Nam Ja-myeong nodded.
Hyun Young continued,
“The flowers bloom for only ten days, as they say. Everything eventually fades. But just because something fades does that mean it is over? When winter passes, flowers bloom again.”
Nam Ja-myeong, who had been quietly watching Hyun Young, slowly stepped aside and opened the way. Then he clasped his hands in a restrained salute toward them.
“I wish you good fortune.”
That was surely the utmost courtesy he could show from his position.
Hyun Young returned the salute lightly and smiled as he moved forward.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Nam Ja-myeong did not lower his clasped hands until they had completely left the road.
Only when his figure had grown very small did Baek Cheon speak to Chung Myung.
“That’s strange.”
“Hm?”
“I thought Leader Nam was the most vicious of all the Southern Edge branch leaders.”
“I thought sahyung was the worst bastard among the Baek generation.”
“…….”
“Turns out I was right.”
“You punk!”
Seeing Baek Cheon bristle at the joke, Chung Myung snorted and continued.
“People change depending on the situation they’re in. If you really want to know what kind of person someone is, you have to look at them at their lowest.”
“……So that man was a martial artist, at least at the bottom?”
“Maybe.”
Baek Cheon nodded.
“Then someday that man could become a threat to Hwayeong Gate, couldn’t he? If Southern Edge ever lifts its closure, its branch sects could regain their strength too.”
“Sure, that could happen. But….”
Chung Myung glanced back.
“Whatever sits still will rot eventually. No matter how much Hwayeong Gate grows, if it gets too comfortable in Xi’an, it’ll eventually change—and dull.”
“So better to grow stronger together than to become dull?”
“Exactly. Better than having nothing at all.”
Chung Myung’s gaze drifted up to the sky.
In the past, Chung Mun had told him:
It is not always wise to destroy something simply because you dislike it. If a river blocks your path and you force it to change course, floodwaters will come one day. And if a forest obstructs you and you burn it down, one day that land will become a place where no one can live. Just leave it be. Is that not what it means to live? That is the Dao, and that is life.
I still don’t really get it, sahyung.
He was only clumsily imitating those words, but he still hadn’t reached the Dao Chung Mun had attained.
Only….
Words that had once felt like drifting clouds were beginning to make a little more sense lately.
So someday….
Chung Myung’s steps stopped.
His gaze followed the faint, distant outline of a faraway peak.
“Let’s go back. To Mount Hua.”
“Yeah!”
“Yes!”
The Mount Hua disciples quickened their pace.
And at that very moment, none of them knew that others were watching the peaks of Mount Hua from somewhere else entirely.
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