Friends Can Be a Blessing! (1)
“Then see you safely on your way!”
“Eat well and get some rest on the road!”
The young lord of the Ghost Sect—no, the sect master of the Ghost Sect now—Do Un-chan grinned as he clasped Chung Myung’s hands tightly with both of his own.
“Young Daoist. I truly am grateful.”
“Ah, don’t mention it.”
Chung Myung casually glanced around before leaning in and whispering low enough for only Do Un-chan to hear.
“The thing I told you about—make sure you handle it.”
“You mean Maninbang?”
“Yeah.”
Do Un-chan gave a quiet nod.
“Don’t worry. If Maninbang makes any suspicious move, I’ll send word to Mount Hua right away.”
“If you do that much, I won’t ask for anything else.”
“But… is there really any need to go that far? The Beggars’ Sect too….”
“Ah, those beggars?”
Chung Myung shot a half-lidded look toward Hong Dae-gwang in the distance.
“How should I put it? They’re just… really not trustworthy.”
As though he had somehow sensed he was being talked about, Hong Dae-gwang shouted from afar.
“Huh? What’d you say to me, Mount Hua Divine Dragon?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
When Chung Myung waved him off, Hong Dae-gwang cocked his head in confusion.
Do Un-chan gave a wry smile.
“...In any case, I understand.”
In truth, Chung Myung didn’t distrust Hong Dae-gwang. He distrusted the Beggars’ Sect. More broadly, it was close to saying he didn’t trust the Gupailbang at all.
Right now, the distinction between righteous and evil was clear enough that even the Gupailbang was on Mount Hua’s side, but hadn’t he already seen enough times how easily they could change their stance when it suited their interests?
Chung Myung wasn’t stupid enough to get bitten by the same snake twice.
At the very least, until Hong Dae-gwang had secured a position within the Beggars’ Sect so firm that no one could ignore him, Chung Myung had no intention of trusting them completely.
And since the Ghost Sect is in Guizhou, it’s close to Guangxi too. They’re quick on their feet as well.
There couldn’t have been a better sect for keeping watch over Maninbang.
“If anything else comes up, contact Mount Hua whenever you need to.”
“Of course.”
While Chung Myung and Do Un-chan talked, the disciples of Mount Hua and the men of the Ghost Sect were also exchanging their final farewells.
“Take care.”
“You take care too.”
Their eyes met from across the distance—Ak So’s and Baek Cheon’s—and sparks flew again.
“Don’t go around getting beaten up.”
“Next time we meet, try moving faster. You’re slower than molasses.”
“...”
“...”
The two of them glared at each other for a moment longer, then turned away at the same time as if they’d rehearsed it.
“Then I’ll see you all next time.”
“Take care, Mount Hua Sect!”
Chung Myung waved with a broad grin. Then, as the group of Baek Cheon approached, he jerked his chin to the side.
“...”
Somehow, the iron weights Chung Myung had taken out were already piled neatly together.
“Put them on.”
“...Haaah.”
Baek Cheon and the others each let out a heavy sigh and fastened the lumps of iron to their limbs. Chung Myung’s sharp eyes then turned elsewhere.
“Old beggar. Don’t even think about trying to sneak off. Strap them on fast.”
“...You damned brat.”
Though he muttered his complaints, Hong Dae-gwang also began fastening the iron bracelets around his wrists and ankles.
“Now pull the cart.”
“...”
At that one line, everyone grabbed the cart in weary silence.
“Let’s go!”
“Ugh, hoist!”
“Hraaaah!”
The heavy cart rumbled forward with a clatter.
Ak So, watching it grow smaller in the distance, frowned faintly.
“That slick little bastard….”
The disciple standing beside him muttered in a displeased tone, “Doesn’t that Baek Cheon guy seem like he’s just plain rotten? Trying to win until the very end….”
Before he could finish, the Ghost Sect disciples began grumbling one after another.
“He was kind of annoying, yeah.”
“Arrogant!”
“For so-called Daoists…!”
Their voices rose and rose until Ak So’s brow knotted hard.
“Who exactly are you calling rotten?” he snapped coldly.
“That pale bastard named Baek Cheon, I mean. The one….”
“Who?”
“...”
Only then did the disciples sense something was wrong. They all fell silent at once and shot awkward glances at Ak So.
Ak So stared at them with icy eyes before speaking.
“I may have been acting proud, but the Ghost Sect is not yet a sect that can dare compare itself to Mount Hua. And that Baek Cheon is a rising master whose name has spread throughout the world under the title of the Righteous Sword of Mount Hua. If we had met him outside this place, we wouldn’t even have dared to speak to him.”
“...Still, that doesn’t mean….”
“And he knows that better than anyone. If that man had truly thought of himself as a disciple of a noble and upright house, he wouldn’t have bothered mixing words with us so carelessly.”
At that, the disciples began nodding one by one.
After all, wasn’t it common knowledge how contemptuously the scions of famous sects tended to act?
“But what did that fellow do? He ground his teeth at us, cursed us out, and got angry. Do you know what that means?”
“...That he has a bad personality?”
“...”
Uh…
Well, yes. That was true too, but….
Ak So cleared his throat a few times and went on.
“It means he never looked down on the Ghost Sect disciples as being beneath him. Fighting head-on is for people of equal standing, isn’t it?”
“...Ah.”
“Of course, the way he did it was rough and irritating, yes… but still. He didn’t look down on us. If you’re going to call someone like that annoying, then what does that make us!”
At Ak So’s words, the Ghost Sect disciples lowered their heads a little.
“Don’t insult those who reveal their true feelings without hiding them. They’re a hundred times better than those who hide what they really think and pretend to be polite!”
“...Understood, senior brother.”
“I’m sorry.”
Behind them, Do Un-chan, who had been listening quietly to Ak So’s rebuke, smiled faintly.
Ak So saw through them properly.
He was certainly rough, even strange.
But beneath that, there was an honesty that drew people in.
The Ghost Sect will change a great deal from now on.
Do Un-chan believed with all his heart that it would not be to the Ghost Sect’s detriment.
He stood there quietly smiling, watching the Mount Hua disciples—who were already only specks in the distance—for a very long while.
Travel safely, Young Daoist.
“Ughhh.”
“Hooo.”
“Uuuuuuuuugh.”
The cart creaked and groaned as it headed west.
Chung Myung poked his head out from above it and grumbled.
“Aren’t we moving a little slower?”
“What’d you say, you little bastard?”
“What are you gonna do about it?”
“Then you drag it yourself!”
As sharp words flew like freshly honed blades, Chung Myung quickly ducked his head back in, then cautiously poked it out again.
The senior brothers are getting aggressive.
Huh?
Hye Yeon?
Come to think of it, hadn’t you been cursing too since a while ago…?
Realizing their patience had finally reached its limit, Chung Myung thought for a moment before breaking into a sly grin.
“Fine, then. Since all of you look like you’re suffering, I’ll make one condition.”
“What condition!”
“What now, you demon bastard? What are you gonna make us do this time!”
“I’m not listening! Get lost!”
Chung Myung shrugged.
“It’ll be a pretty good offer, you know.”
“I said we’re not listening!”
“We’ve fallen behind schedule a little more than expected.”
“...So?”
“If we go from here to the Tang Family without stopping, I won’t bother you on the way back to Mount Hua. Ah, and not at the Tang Family either.”
“What?”
Baek Cheon, who had been staring only ahead the whole time, finally whipped around.
“Seriously?”
“When have I ever lied? I mean—no, forget it. This time I’m serious.”
Deciding their answer was obvious anyway, Chung Myung smoothly corrected himself.
“What kind of rotten thing did you eat? So the way back’s going to be peaceful?”
“We get to eat regular food instead of bigu pills?”
“And sleep in an inn at night instead of under a blanket of grass?”
“Amitabha! Are you telling us you won’t even order us to rip up the grass from the ground and eat it since it’s all the same anyway?”
“...S-Senior monk. You had to suffer even that?”
Hye Yeon’s eyes went glassy with tears at the sheer horror in the Mount Hua disciples’ reactions.
So there really is a Mara after all.
That—that was Mara.
Everyone was horrified, but Chung Myung remained utterly calm.
“Yeah. I’m saying you can go back normally. We’re even selling this cart on the way.”
The offer was so shocking that the Mount Hua disciples stared at him in utter disbelief.
Come to think of it, wasn’t that actually how wandering the jianghu was supposed to be? Traveling the road at a reasonable pace, taking in the scenery, and doing a bit of righteous work along the way!
But the disciples of Mount Hua had never, not even once, enjoyed such an ordinary journey.
“If you go back on your word later, I’ll really peel your skin off!”
“Seriously? You’re really serious this time?!”
“I said I am, damn it. You people really are suspicious.”
Chung Myung grinned.
“Instead, from here to the Tang Family, we move at full speed. Got it? We’re not stopping even at night.”
At once, everyone’s eyes—especially Dang Soso’s—flared with murderous intent.
“Let’s depart immediately, Uncle-Senior!”
“Fine! Let’s go! Come on, let’s see how far we can go before we die!”
Baek Cheon tightened his grip on the pole connected to the cart.
“We go all the way to the Sichuan Tang Family without stopping!”
“Ooooh!”
“We run!”
“Amitabha!”
Golden light began pouring from Hye Yeon’s body.
“I’ll increase the speed, so please hold on tight, benefactors!”
“Let’s go, monk!”
“Go! Bald donkey!”
“Who are you calling a bald donkey? Which bastard said that!”
In the midst of all the noise, Hye Yeon pulled his power to the limit and started racing with all his might.
“Aaaaaah!”
“If we just get to the Tang Family, we can rest!”
“Go, go, gooooo!”
Hong Dae-gwang laughed under his breath as he ran along with them.
These idiots. Absolute idiots.
In any case, the cart shot forward like the wind.
Toward Sichuan.
* * *
The Sichuan Tang Family.
As the ruler of Chengdu and all of Sichuan, the Tang Family had always been a sect wrapped in stillness. It was only natural; a clan that dealt in poison and hidden weapons demanded composure at all times.
But today, for once, the Sichuan Tang Family was a little noisy.
“Not enough yet?”
“Right away! Right here! Twenty casks of Jiannan Chun! Twenty casks of Baihua wine! And Jinzunqing and Wuliang wine as well!”
People swarmed around the wooden carts entering the Tang estate, carefully unloading the brightly gleaming wine jars one by one.
“What is this? I specifically told you to bring at least thirty casks of each!”
“My lord! We couldn’t possibly find so much of these precious goods all at once! We’re bringing them in the moment we get hold of them, so please wait a little longer!”
“Hurry as much as you can! Do you understand?”
“Yes! When have we ever been careless with your orders?”
It wasn’t just the liquor.
Carts rolled in and out through the wide-open main gate without end. The Tang Family kitchens were also working themselves to the bone preparing food.
“Are the preparations going smoothly?”
“Of course, Chief Steward! Please don’t worry!”
Even after hearing the reassuring reply, the man called the chief steward frowned deeply and looked around.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, but the family head is putting a great deal of emphasis on this banquet. If anything goes wrong, getting scolded won’t be the end of it. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“O-of course.”
The cook was sweating bullets as he nodded over and over.
“A guest of honor is coming. See that everything is handled perfectly.”
“Yes!”
After one last sweep of the kitchen, the chief steward strode out with quick steps. Where he was headed so briskly was the family head’s quarters.
“Family Head. It’s me, Sang Su.”
“Come in.”
He opened the door carefully and stepped inside, where he saw Dang Gun-ak seated at the head position, with Dang Pae and Dang Jan standing guard on either side.
“The preparations are nearly complete.”
“There’s no need to make such a fuss.”
“...”
But wasn’t all this something you ordered, Family Head?
When Sang Su stood there unable to answer, utterly dumbfounded, Dang Pae gave a low cough.
Taking the cue, Sang Su bowed deeply.
“Still, when guests are coming, we can’t allow the Tang Family to lose face. Please understand my feelings as chief steward.”
“If you put it that way, then so be it.”
Sang Su let out a quiet chuckle.
Dang Gun-ak was always stern and heavy, but whenever Mount Hua came up, that weight seemed to lighten a little.
He couldn’t say he didn’t understand. Especially now that even his daughter, whom he had sent away from home, was returning—how could his feelings be anything but complicated?
“In any case!”
“Yes, Family Head!”
At Dang Gun-ak’s heavy voice, Dang Jan and Dang Pae both bowed at once.
“Though they may be friends, the jianghu is a place where one proves oneself through skill. You must never act in a way that would shame you in front of the disciples of Mount Hua!”
“We will keep that in mind!”
“And though Mount Hua is riding a great wave at the moment, the Tang Family is not a place beneath them. Hold your heads high.”
“Yes!”
“And….”
“Family Head! The Mount Hua party is arriving now!”
Bang!
“...”
The seat Dang Gun-ak had occupied just a moment earlier was already empty.
Dang Jan and Dang Pae stared blankly at the half-shattered door, then both let out a long sigh.
“He’ll have to keep his own words.”
At Dang Jan’s mutter, Dang Pae clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. You still don’t understand Father’s words.”
“Pardon?”
“He told us to keep them.”
“...”
“He’s the exception.”
“Ah….”
Dang Jan felt as if he understood and yet somehow did not.
“The Tang Family!”
“Damn it, the Tang Family! It’s the Tang Family!”
“J-just a moment, senior brother! That’s our house! Our…!”
“Shut up! We’ll come to your house later!”
The Mount Hua disciples, completely ignoring Jo Gul’s anguished cry as he tried to point out his own home, charged straight at the Tang estate with bloodshot eyes.
“Move aside!”
“Out of the way! I said move!”
“Someone wipe the monk’s head! It doesn’t look shiny enough! It needs to sparkle so people can spot him and dodge!”
“Why do you keep asking who someone is from the start? What happened to your humanity?”
RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE!
The cart hurtled straight toward the Tang Family. Even a team of horses with fire on their tails couldn’t have gone faster.
The disciples’ eyes glittered with a mix of murderous energy and madness.
“Aaaaaaah! We’re here!”
“Arrived! We—!”
But the moment they shoved their way in as if smashing through the gate…
The wheels, which had been squealing in protest the whole time, suddenly popped free, and the cart overturned completely.
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
“Wha—?”
The Mount Hua disciples, still bundled with the cart as it flew through the air, began tumbling down to the ground one after another.
Thud! Thud! Boom!
“...”
The Tang Family retainers, lined up inside the gate to greet their guests, could only stare, their arms awkwardly half-raised.
“...”
Seeing the Mount Hua disciples sprawled out in utter chaos, Dang Gun-ak’s eyebrow twitched faintly.
And then.
Pop.
One person who had been lying face-down suddenly sprang upright as if launched.
“Krrgh!”
The one who blew blood from his nose after a hard snort marched forward with great dignity, striding along as though he were Zhang Fei charging across Changban Bridge.
Dang Gun-ak’s eyebrow twitched even harder.
Thud.
At last, the one who came to stand before everyone spread both arms slightly and bowed deeply at the waist.
“Father! Soso is home!”
“...”
It was a spectacular and dramatic return indeed.