The Unexpected Kindred Spirit (2)
"Hmm."
Im So-byeong carefully plucked the tiger fur from his fur robe one strand at a time with delicate fingers.
"...I should just replace the hide."
His brow creased slightly as he looked at the tiger-skin draped over the chair.
It was unavoidable to carry around a large, fine tiger pelt, since doing so symbolized the authority of the bandits, but no matter how he looked at it, the thing was cumbersome and uncomfortable.
And now it was shedding all over the place.
"Should I catch another decent one and make a new one?"
"Leave it."
Im So-byeong waved a hand.
"Why kill another poor tiger? It’s easier to work when there are plenty of fierce beasts in the mountains. Fine if we can’t feed them, but there’s no reason to go around killing them for no reason. But this fur... Aaaachoo!"
After letting out a massive sneeze, Im So-byeong scowled and rubbed his face with a handkerchief.
"...Even this is a pain."
He lifted his head and looked at Heuk Ya-ho Kwak Min.
"So? How was it?"
"The people of the stronghold have completely accepted the Mount Hua disciples as guests. They are extremely friendly."
"Of course they are."
Im So-byeong nodded lightly.
"People always grow certain of what they’ve seen with their own eyes. The Iron Divine General did us a great service."
"...May I ask you one thing?"
"Of course."
Heuk Ya-ho asked cautiously, his expression stiff.
"Could it be...?"
"Ah. I know what you’re about to ask. No, I didn’t. That really was skill."
"..."
"And do you really think Beon Chung is the kind of man who’d listen if I told him to lose on purpose?"
Kwak Min nodded slightly, as if he understood. That much was true. Beon Chung wouldn’t deliberately lose a contest just because Im So-byeong told him to. It wasn’t that he lacked loyalty. It was simply that he had a firm sense of his own principles.
But the moment one question disappeared, another rose up in its place.
"He didn’t seem that strong."
"You should never judge people by their appearance."
Im So-byeong’s lips curled with amusement.
"They really are interesting."
Kwak Min thought of Chung Myung and let out a small sigh.
That frivolous bastard actually overpowered Beon Chung with raw strength alone.
If the Mount Hua Divine Dragon had been famous for brute strength from the start, that would have made sense. But the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, praised by the whole world, was known for his swordsmanship.
Wasn’t he the man everyone said had been reserved for the title of the next greatest swordsman in the world?
It was certainly a good thing that they had made such a connection with him... but still.
At that moment, as Kwak Min sat deep in thought, Im So-byeong spoke again.
"By the way."
"Yes?"
"Where is Beon Chung? I haven’t seen him since this morning."
"Ah. He’s probably in the Mount Hua quarters right now."
"Oh?"
Interest flashed in Im So-byeong’s eyes.
"Well, of course. There’s no way his pride would let him swallow a defeat like that and just sit still. If he can take this chance to see the Mount Hua Divine Dragon’s swordsmanship as well, that would be nice."
His smile deepened.
* * *
"Water."
"..."
Two huge eyes glittered with something unnervingly sharp.
Thap.
"The cup."
Crack, crack.
The sound of bones echoed as a hand like a pot lid clenched hard.
Thap.
"Pour."
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
"Huuuuuuuh."
Chung Myung nodded ever so slightly, looking pleased.
"Massage my shoulders too."
Unable to bear it any longer, veins bulged on Beon Chung’s forehead.
Squish, squish.
"Ah, that’s the stuff!"
"..."
Baek Cheon and the others, watching the scene, exchanged baffled looks.
What the hell kind of bullshit is this?
In the end, Baek Cheon couldn’t hold back and asked quietly,
"...What exactly are they doing?"
Yoon Jong let out a long sigh.
"Apparently, losing in a contest of strength means complete defeat as a man."
"...And?"
"He says he wants to serve him as his sworn elder brother."
Cold sweat beaded on Baek Cheon’s pale forehead.
"...Elder brother?"
"...Yes."
"That one?"
"Yes."
Baek Cheon stared blankly at Beon Chung, who was carefully kneading Chung Myung’s shoulders.
"...That looks less like sworn brothers and more like a father and son."
"I think so too, but..."
A sigh escaped him all on its own.
What in the world is this?
"No matter how upside down the world gets, does it make any sense for a bandit to call a Daoist his elder brother? Unless they at least looked a little similar, I could maybe understand it."
"I told him as much, too."
"And?"
"He said men understand each other."
"..."
Baek Cheon’s mind, like his feelings, grew thoroughly tangled.
Watching Beon Chung massage Chung Myung’s shoulder with one hand while lazily fanning him with the other made his stomach turn.
No, first of all, that’s not something a younger brother does!
Just how distorted was this man’s understanding of siblinghood?
"...Why does he only end up close with people like that?"
"Isn’t it because he fits right in with them? Honestly, if you put robes on Chung Myung and a Daoist cap on him, he’d be treated like a Daoist. If you dressed him in ordinary clothes, nobody would find it strange even if he wandered in and out of a bandit stronghold."
"..."
That the remark wasn’t entirely wrong was the worst part.
Even as Baek Cheon’s insides rotted away, Chung Myung looked perfectly comfortable.
"You’re built like a mountain, so why the hell are you so weak? Press harder! Harder!"
"Yes, Elder Brother!"
Beon Chung set aside the fan altogether and began kneading Chung Myung’s shoulders with both hands.
"Ah, that’s nice and comfortable."
Chung Myung stretched lazily like a cat with a full belly and a warm back.
"You’re not bad at this massage thing."
"..."
Beon Chung’s eyes gleamed as he looked down at Chung Myung. Baek Cheon flinched.
Is this about to turn ugly...?
"Thank you, Elder Brother!"
Baek Cheon buried his embarrassment over his own concern and looked up at the sky.
What exactly had I been hoping for?
Then Chung Myung chuckled and said,
"By the way, is it really all right for you to be here like this? Won’t the Green Forest King get upset?"
"My loyalty to the Green Forest as a Green Forest bandit and serving Elder Brother are separate matters!"
Beon Chung declared firmly.
"I, Beon Chung, have met countless Green Forest bandits and countless masters, but this is the first time I’ve ever been defeated by strength alone. I was truly moved by that manliness—how could I not serve you as my elder brother?"
His sincerity poured out of the words, plain as day.
If the situation were different, and the one hearing those words were someone other than a layabout like Chung Myung, he might have been moved to tears. But reality was far too miserable, far too absurd.
Baek Cheon turned to Baek Sang with a face that said he simply could not understand.
"What? He loses a duel, and somehow it all ends up like this? Does that even make sense?"
"...Well, men who truly understand each other do exist."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Isn’t it just that their way of thinking is a little different from ours?"
Baek Sang was basically saying, in the most roundabout way possible, that there was no way to understand the thoughts of fools.
"True loyalty transcends status and age. I, Beon Chung, will now truly devote myself as Elder Brother’s younger brother."
As he listened to Beon Chung’s booming voice, Jo Gul smiled in satisfaction.
"They say black gangs usually start that way."
"B-black gangs?"
"Yeah. A few brave men fight each other, click with one another, and by that same day they’re sworn brothers. Once that grows big enough, they slap a sign on it and make a proper black gang."
Baek Cheon pressed a hand to his already cold-sweating forehead and shook his head.
Don’t say things like that.
I’m scared it might actually happen.
In the midst of that, Chung Myung glanced at Beon Chung and asked casually,
"But I’m curious about one thing."
"Ask me anything, Elder Brother!"
"The Green Forest King seems kind of young. He looks even younger than you."
"That’s right."
Beon Chung nodded hard.
"The current Green Forest King only inherited the seat from the previous king not long ago."
"Huh? The Green Forest King is hereditary?"
"Normally, the strongest fort’s chief takes the position. But for hundreds of years, no stronghold larger or stronger than Green Fort has appeared. So naturally, the title of Green Forest King has been inherited by Green Fort."
"Oh, really?"
Hereditary, huh.
It didn’t suit the name Green Forest, but it suited the word king perfectly.
Chung Myung gave a light nod and asked,
"Still, I bet there are some people who aren’t happy about that?"
Beon Chung looked mildly uncomfortable with the question. He answered only with an awkward smile, dodging it.
Then Chung Myung smoothly added,
"Come on. Now that we’re on the same boat, I’m asking whether there’s anything we can do to help with that. I’m a Daoist, after all. If I’m going to do anything useful, I should at least know what’s going on in the Green Forest."
"Ah, that’s what you meant...!"
The Mount Hua disciples twisted their faces.
That bastard only acts like a Daoist when it’s convenient for him.
Pick one—bandit or Daoist! Just one!
To them, Chung Myung’s little scheme was obvious. But to Beon Chung, it apparently was not.
"Of course, the current Green Forest King is so modest and restrained that discontent has been brewing. But the influence of the previous king is still strong, so no major problem has arisen yet."
"Hmm. Was the previous king that great?"
"The previous king was the manliest of men and the boldest of heroes. When he was alive, even that mangy bastard Jang Il-so didn’t dare covet the Green Forest! But after he passed away, that snake started poking at the Green Forest every chance he got."
Beon Chung ground his teeth in frustration.
"If the previous king were still alive, he’d have taken that bastard’s head with a single slash."
Chung Myung quietly sorted the situation out in his head.
Jang Il-so is making trouble?
Of course the leader of Maninbang would never pass up an opportunity like this.
Still...
"Hm, I see."
After nodding, Chung Myung stood up at once.
"Where are you going?"
"Time to wrap up the negotiations."
Then he grinned.
"I’m not a bandit, after all. I can’t stay in a stronghold forever."
No.
You really do look like a bandit.
* * *
"Your complexion... cough! You look very wel... cough! Aigoo! My coughing today... cough, cough!"
Im So-byeong covered his mouth with a handkerchief and kept coughing nonstop. Chung Myung frowned and asked,
"...Do you have tuberculosis or something?"
At that, the Mount Hua disciples quietly took two steps back.
"N-no, I don’t."
Im So-byeong waved a hand again and again.
"As I’ve said before, this isn’t a contagious illness. I was just born with a somewhat weak body."
"...Sure looks that way."
"Haha. What can you do about what you’re born with...? Still, why do you keep backing away?"
"It’s better to be safe than sorry."
"..."
Blue around the forehead and the brow, Im So-byeong looked as though he could be laid in a coffin right this very moment and nobody would find it strange.
He wiped lightly at the corner of his mouth and asked,
"So, are you planning to leave now?"
"Yes. But before I go, I want to settle the money issue first."
"The money issue, you say."
Im So-byeong tilted his head.
"But isn’t that something we should decide after both sides have looked over more materials and thought it through carefully? From what I hear, even how the work will be managed hasn’t been finalized yet."
"Yes, that’s true. But..."
Chung Myung grinned.
"I think there’s an easier way to solve this than all that complicated nonsense."
"An easier way?"
Im So-byeong looked at him with interest.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about, Daoist."
"Come on, you know perfectly well."
Im So-byeong’s brow twitched slightly.
By “easier way,” he means giving the Green Forest something more essential than money and solving everything in one stroke.
But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t imagine what Mount Hua could possibly give them.
"Daoist, you seem to have prepared something."
"I have. I think you’ll be very pleased when you hear it."
"Cough! Cough! May I ask what it is?"
"The people handling the escort business can use the stronghold and receive protection in return for...
Chung Myung’s grin widened.
"...healing the Green Forest King’s illness."
For a brief moment, Im So-byeong froze before letting out a dry chuckle.
"So that’s what you meant. Daoist, as I told you, this illness is innate. It can’t be cured."
"Yes, that’s true."
"I am the Green Forest King. I’ve already searched for countless solutions. But this illness isn’t something even Shaolin’s Great Return Pill can fix."
"Yes, that’s true."
Chung Myung nodded without a trace of surprise or disappointment. Then, inwardly, he thought:
Good thing I didn’t bring Hye Yeon. If that bald monk heard this, he’d be losing his mind.
"But how exactly do you intend to heal me?"
"The Great Return Pill won’t do it."
"Right."
"But..."
Chung Myung’s lips curled crookedly upward. His face was utterly self-satisfied.
"If it’s Yakseon’s Honwon Dan, that’s a different story, don’t you think?"
For the first time, something in Im So-byeong’s eyes changed.