Anyway, If You’re Late, You Die. (2)
“Elder! What on earth is going on here?”
“There’s no need to make a fuss.”
As soon as morning broke, the Ghost Sect disciples who had gathered there looked at Oh Jang-song with bewildered eyes.
“A race?”
“...What? You don’t think you can do it?”
“No, it’s just absurd. Who do you think we are? We’re disciples of the Ghost Sect, aren’t we?”
Oh Jang-song nodded in satisfaction, as though he liked that fighting spirit.
“Exactly. We’re the disciples of the Ghost Sect, and no sect in the world can outmatch us in footwork.”
“Yes, but a race? What kind of nonsense is that...?”
At the disciples’ complaints, Oh Jang-song lightly waved a hand.
“No more talk. You only need to beat them.”
Then he turned his head slightly and looked toward the Mount Hua disciples standing in formation off to one side.
How insolent...
He bit his lip a little.
And the reason this was happening in the first place was...
“You mean prove it?”
Oh Jang-song frowned at Chung Myung.
“Yes. Prove it.”
“Prove that training and work can coexist?”
“Yes. Exactly what I said.”
Oh Jang-song’s face darkened as he raised his voice.
“Listen here! Don’t tell me you’re trying to say that carrying things around will naturally make you use footwork a lot, and that’s somehow training?!”
“You caught on fast.”
“What?”
Oh Jang-song stared at Chung Myung with a blank look.
“Listen, Taoist. Training only has meaning when proper methods and instruction come together. How could simply using footwork on your own ever count as training?”
“No, that’s wrong.”
“Hm?”
Chung Myung grinned.
“That’s just the convenient way for the teacher. What matters is the right target and the passion to drive them past their limits.”
“Hah?”
Oh Jang-song looked at him in disbelief.
“You... what could a junior like you possibly know about this...?”
“Elder Oh. Watch your words. This junior is Chung Myung, the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, known as the greatest rising star in the entire martial world.”
And that title, Mount Hua Divine Dragon, wasn’t even enough to properly describe this completely deranged bastard!
“Mount Hua Divine Dragon?”
At Do Un-chan’s words, Oh Jang-song looked again at Chung Myung in front of him.
This young Taoist, who didn’t feel the slightest bit like a person of Daoist bearing, was the Mount Hua Divine Dragon...?
“Ahem, I see.”
But once he knew the other side’s reputation, he couldn’t keep treating him so casually. In a slightly softened voice, he said,
“Still, no matter how much you may be the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, I cannot agree on this point. Especially when it comes to footwork—our Ghost Sect has no need to seek instruction from any sect in the world.”
“That’s the problem. That’s exactly the problem.”
“Hm?”
“The world keeps developing and changing, doesn’t it? Just because you made a name for yourself a few hundred years ago doesn’t mean you stay great forever.”
“What did you just say...?”
“So!”
Bang!
Chung Myung slapped the table lightly with his palm.
“This is part of the martial world too, so isn’t arguing about who’s right and who’s wrong with your mouth pointless? There’s only one way to prove who’s right in the martial world.”
At his words, Oh Jang-song narrowed his eyes.
“You’re saying we should settle this with footwork?”
“That’s right.”
Chung Myung smiled confidently.
“It’s the fastest way.”
“Hah. Why should we even bother...?”
Chung Myung looked at Oh Jang-song and said firmly,
“If we lose, we’ll return the Sect Leader’s Token and leave the Ghost Sect without another word.”
“...”
“But if we win, Elder, you’ll cooperate with whatever our sect leader wants to do, without any conditions.”
“Hmm.”
Oh Jang-song groaned, mulling it over for a moment. But that hesitation didn’t last long.
“You seem afraid?”
“...What?”
He glared at Chung Myung, eyes wide.
“What did you say?”
Chung Myung nonchalantly clasped his hands behind his head and whistled.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You...!”
“No, I just figured the man who keeps saying the Ghost Sect disciples are the fastest in the world actually doesn’t have any confidence.”
“Hahahaha.”
Oh Jang-song let out a hollow laugh, then twisted his lips in annoyance.
“I was looking for a good way to avoid embarrassing Mount Hua, since that would put the sect leader in a difficult position, but you’re making it impossible for me to back down, Taoist!”
“Oh? You’ll do it?”
“The Ghost Sect does not avoid challenges. Fine, then. How exactly do you wish to settle this?”
At last, he heard the answer he wanted, and Chung Myung grinned, taking his hands from behind his head.
“The method’s obvious. I could beat you myself, Elder, and that would be the surest way—but that would only prove skill, not training. So... I think it’d be better if our senior brothers and the Ghost Sect disciples competed in footwork.”
“And you?”
“Do I really need to join?”
Oh Jang-song spoke with cold, lowered eyes.
“You mean the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, known as Mount Hua’s finest, doesn’t need to step in?”
“Yes. Isn’t that an even better condition?”
“...It seems our Ghost Sect is being looked down on rather seriously. Very well. I accept this challenge. However!”
Oh Jang-song slapped the table once and shouted,
“If you lose this match, leave the Sect Leader’s Token behind and withdraw quietly. If Mount Hua trusts in righteousness, you won’t go back on your word.”
“Righteousness or whatever, I’m a man who keeps his word once he’s given it.”
Chung Myung, who could lie so smoothly the Mount Hua disciples would foam at the mouth if they heard him, nodded with a straight face.
“...I’m starting to feel like I’ve been lured into something.”
“Pardon?”
“No. Nothing.”
Oh Jang-song shook his head.
He did feel as if he’d been led around a bit by that young Taoist’s sharp tongue, but it didn’t matter.
After all, this match was overwhelmingly in their favor.
“Ak So.”
“Yes, Elder!”
Oh Jang-song looked at Ak So before him with serious eyes.
“This match is tied to the Ghost Sect’s honor. You must win.”
“Don’t worry, Elder!”
Ak So answered confidently, then casually turned his gaze away. In a corner of the training ground, the Mount Hua disciples were sprawled half-lazily in place.
Just seeing how they lacked even a shred of tension made irritation rise in his chest.
So this is a famous sect, huh?
Of course, the Ghost Sect was a tiny sect compared to Mount Hua. And Mount Hua was, without exaggeration, one of the most famous sects in the world right now.
Still, that doesn’t mean they can look down on people...
It was then.
“Why the hell should we, you bastard!”
“Why don’t you do the running yourself? Why are we the ones cleaning up your mess?!”
“No.”
“Amitabha. Please go die outside, benefactor.”
At the lightning-bolt barrage of curses and complaints from the Mount Hua side, Ak So jerked.
What the hell?
They were snarling like a pack of wolves as they mobbed one person.
“Chung Myung.”
Baek Cheon spoke with a face boiling in frustration.
“Didn’t we come here in the first place to do business in a friendly manner?”
“Right.”
“Then why are you causing trouble again? Why, again!”
“Ugh, they’re impossible to talk to!”
Baek Cheon clutched at his chest.
“You’re the one who can’t communicate! You!”
“Agreed.”
The atmosphere clearly wasn’t on Chung Myung’s side. But that was not something he cared about in the least.
“I was trying to handle it nicely, you know?”
“And then!”
“And then that old man said their footwork was way better, so there was no need to listen to Mount Hua.”
“...What?”
Baek Cheon’s face darkened and his eyes widened. Chung Myung seized the moment and kept lightly scraping at everyone’s pride.
“Could you really put up with hearing that?”
But—
“You’re the one who must’ve provoked them first.”
“...Huh?”
Baek Cheon looked at Chung Myung with a sour expression.
“There’s no way they’d start it first. You definitely kept poking at them.”
“...”
And the others didn’t believe Chung Myung either.
“He looks like a nice guy, so no way he’d do that.”
“The moment he opens his mouth, lies come pouring out.”
“How many people has he tricked like that by now? I’d trust them before I trust you!”
Chung Myung puffed up with a deeply wronged face, then shouted in fierce protest,
“I’m serious, damn it! Why won’t you believe me...?”
“Enough.”
“Forget it!”
“...”
It was maddening, but there was no real way to prove it.
“Anyway, it’s true.”
At that moment, Baek Cheon scratched his head hard, as though he were about to lose his mind, and looked at the Ghost Sect disciples. From the looks of it, those guys were absolutely brimming with confidence.
He let out a long sigh and said weakly,
“No matter how you slice it, this bastard probably caused the trouble, but once a thing has already happened, Mount Hua’s honor is on the line too.”
“Then you should do it yourself! Why are you ducking out?”
“Exactly!”
Apparently reminded of his anger, Baek Cheon glared at Chung Myung. Chung Myung only shrugged and replied,
“If I step in, the whole thing falls apart. And this isn’t even a contest to see who’s faster.”
“What a load of crap.”
“That mouth of yours—”
“...”
Meeting the blade-like glares that came raining down on him, Chung Myung seriously wondered whether adolescence had struck his senior brothers and sisters all at once.
“Anyway.”
Baek Cheon seemed to settle his mind and said firmly,
“No matter how this started, once we fight, we have to win.”
“That’s right!”
Dang Soso clenched both fists.
“My father said the same thing. Even if we’re the ones at fault, beat them first! Then the mistake gets buried too.”
“...No. That’s going a bit too far...”
Good grief, I didn’t think Sect Leader Dang would be like that. He’s way more violent than I expected.
Baek Cheon wiped away a bit of sweat that had broken out on his skin and cleared his throat.
“An apology is an apology, and a match is a match. In any case, we can’t let anyone say Mount Hua is inferior to the Ghost Sect!”
“Of course!”
“Absolutely.”
“Let’s go!”
Baek Cheon led the Mount Hua disciples toward the center of the training ground.
In step with him, Ak So led his own disciples toward the middle as well. The two groups took their places and faced each other from opposite sides of the center.
Standing across from Baek Cheon, Ak So tilted his head several times as if something about him displeased him, then said sulkily,
“You look like a complete goody-two-shoes.”
“Still better than looking like you just got slapped in the face.”
“...”
Ak So ground his teeth, having gained nothing from the exchange but irritation.
“It’d be nice if your legs were as flexible as your mouth.”
“I’m stiff, but not as stiff as you.”
“...No, but this is...”
“Quiet!”
The moment sparks seemed to fly from Ak So’s eyes, Elder Oh Jang-song strode out and shouted loudly.
“You all know the situation, so I won’t waste time explaining it. The rules are very simple. Do you see that tree on the mountain over there?”
“A mountain?”
“What mountain?”
The Mount Hua disciples tilted their heads and looked around for a mountain. This was a mountain, so what on earth was he talking about...?
Soon their eyes went wide as if they might pop out.
Beyond the mist still hanging thick from last night’s rain, something hazy could be seen in the distance.
“...Over there?”
“Don’t tell me that thing?”
It was so far away they could barely see it through the fog... no, it was so far away that even without the fog, it would still have been difficult to make out.
“You mean that mountain, Elder?”
“That’s right.”
Oh Jang-song nodded calmly.
And the Mount Hua disciples stared at him with faces that clearly said, What kind of person is this?
“Why? Is it too hard? If it is, you may give up now.”
Unfortunately, Oh Jang-song had no idea how to handle Mount Hua disciples.
“Too hard? In Mount Hua, that’s the sort of distance we take after a meal, just as a walk.”
“Good grief. I thought a race meant we’d be going somewhere far.”
“We could get there crawling.”
The Mount Hua disciples looked toward the distant mountain, their faces boiling with annoyance.
“The side that marks the tree on that mountain and returns here first will be the winner.”
“Then how is it checked who tagged it?”
“Branch Leader Hong of the Beggars’ Sect has kindly agreed to handle that.”
Ah.
Hong Dae-gwang?
“...So that’s why he’d been heading off since morning, cursing nonstop.”
Baek Cheon sincerely pitied Hong Dae-gwang, who had been dragged into this for no fault of his own.
“Questions?”
“None.”
There was nothing more to ask. The rules were simple enough.
The problem was...
Strangely, I’m not feeling very motivated.
Baek Cheon let out another long sigh. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out what kind of ridiculous thing this was.
“So there are five of you?”
“Yes.”
As he answered, he glanced back. Jo Gul, Yoon Jong, Yu I-seol, and Dang Soso were standing in a line behind him.
“No need to drag this out. We’ll begin!”
“Yes.”
All of them took position at once. To the side, the Ghost Sect disciples also settled into their stances with completely relaxed expressions.
Chung Myung cheered brightly with a beaming smile.
“Go Mount Hua!”
“You shut the hell up!”
“I’m really gonna kill you! Really!”
“I’ll cut you.”
“That bastard, seriously—ugh!”
It was a moment of warm senior-junior affection.
Baek Cheon sighed and pushed his internal energy into his legs. Whatever the case, they had to win first...
“Start!”
At Oh Jang-song’s signal, ten martial artists shot forward like arrows loosed from a bow.
As Baek Cheon broke free of the Ghost Sect grounds and raced quickly along the mountain path, Ak So quietly slid in beside him.
“Hey, pretty boy.”
His breathing?
Even while running that fast, he could still call out so casually. They were definitely not opponents to underestimate.
“What?”
“You heard the rules properly, right?”
“Isn’t it just about tagging the tree and coming back?”
“Tsk tsk. This is why goody-goody fools are such a pain.”
Ak So shrugged and slipped a hand into his waistband.
Hm?
Then—
Whoosh!
The moment he drew his hand out, something flew toward Baek Cheon’s feet.
A long thread-like thing with a small weight at each end twisted around both of Baek Cheon’s ankles in an instant.
“Ah!”
His legs bound all at once, Baek Cheon couldn’t resist the momentum of his sprint and pitched forward headfirst. And, cruelly, straight onto the muddy road left slick by the rain from the night before.
Thud!
“...”
The mud and dirty water that splashed up rained down miserably onto his back.
Face buried in the mud, he didn’t move at all, as if he were dead. Seeing that, Ak So let out a sneer.
“I never said you couldn’t use tricks. Take your time coming. Hahahahah!”
He was already moving so far away that the last part of his laughter was almost impossible to hear.
And at that very moment—
Crk, crk, crk.
Baek Cheon’s hand, which had been clenched hard around the mud, jerked upward as though it were being ripped free. Clumps of mud in his palm slid off in chunks.
Slowly. Very slowly. He lifted his head and brushed the mud from his face with one hand. Then he looked toward Ak So, who was already fading into the distance.
“...”
And then a voice colder than the thousand-year snow of the northern seas leaked from his mouth.
“...I’m killing them all, those bastards.”
Baek Cheon, his flagging motivation now surging all the way to the top of his head, bared bloodshot eyes and began racing like a beast.