Chapter 456. I'm the Expert at That, You Know. (2)
“Then we shall see you next time.”
With that, Beop Jeong folded his hands in a bow and lowered his head.
Even though he had come all the way to distant Shaanxi, he had only stayed a single day before preparing to leave at first light.
Hyun Jong had tried to stop him, but Beop Jeong had remained adamant. After all, the position of Shaolin’s abbot was one of the busiest in the world.
And yet the fact that he had still made the trouble of visiting this far-off place proved just how seriously Beop Jeong and Shaolin regarded the matter in the North Sea.
“It makes me uneasy that you’re leaving in such a hurry.”
“……”
At Hyun Jong’s words, Beop Jeong stole a glance at his face.
It was extremely gentle.
…Perhaps a little too gentle.
If you’re going to say something like that, at least try to look the part…
He seemed to be trying to make an expression of regret, but it wasn’t going well.
Seeing the reason for Hyun Jong’s broad, beaming smile, Beop Jeong let out a low groan.
At Hyun Jong’s waist, draped from the hem of his Daoist robes, hung a very familiar sword.
the Purple Jade Divine Sword.
The Mount Hua sacred treasure that had been brought here for negotiation had, somehow, ended up hanging from Hyun Jong’s waist.
I can’t lower the price, but you can leave the item behind. You damn bastards!
Beop Jeong forcefully pried apart his teeth, which were grinding together.
Knowing full well that Mount Hua was infuriatingly stubborn, he had had no choice but to hand over the sword. As the abbot of Shaolin, a man who had never once in his life surrendered control, he was woefully inexperienced at resisting someone else taking him by the leash and yanking.
I went through hell to get that thing.
How much money had he spent? How much effort had he poured into it?
And now it had been snatched away so absurdly easily…
Noticing Beop Jeong’s eyes fixed on the Purple Jade Divine Sword, Hyun Jong gave a quiet cough and lightly stroked the hilt.
“I will gratefully accept your gift.”
“……A gift?”
He had nearly had the thing ripped from his hands, and now it was a gift?
Disciple or sect leader, they’re all the same…
Every last one of them was a swindler!
Fuming, Beop Jeong’s face went bright red, and he chanted Amitabha over and over to calm himself.
He could not afford to lose his temper in front of so many eyes. Whatever had happened on the inside, from the outside it had to look as though he had persuaded Mount Hua.
“I am glad to hear it is to your liking.”
“I will not forget, for the rest of my life, that Mount Hua’s sacred treasure was found and returned.”
He meant he, Hyun Jong, would not forget. Not Mount Hua.
It was a deft way of expressing his gratitude personally while also subtly making it clear that Mount Hua owed no debt from this affair.
At that slippery remark, Beop Jeong’s smooth forehead bulged with veins.
Even if he is Mount Hua’s sect leader, he should still be inexperienced in the ways of the jianghu. How is he so sly?
Unfortunately, Beop Jeong had no idea what kind of man Hyun Jong really was.
A man who had spent his entire life being tormented by debt collectors was naturally well versed in never letting anyone catch hold of a weakness.
“Amitabha. Amitabha.”
After chanting his prayers, Beop Jeong forced his twitching lips apart and said,
“Just remember that this is the heart of Shaolin, thinking of Mount Hua in this matter.”
“I shall remember it, Abbot.”
Having somehow brought the conversation to a graceful close, Beop Jeong let out a relieved breath and turned his head to one side. He could no longer ignore the gaze of someone who had been staring at him from the side for so long that it felt as if it were burning a hole in his cheek.
“……”
“……”
Sure enough, among the Mount Hua disciples gathered to see him off, Hye Yeon was staring this way with a half-dazed face.
My apologies.
Beop Jeong offered his apology inwardly and shut his eyes tight.
“A- Abbot…”
Hye Yeon called out as if he had something to say, but Beop Jeong could only turn away and ignore him.
All of this is for the sake of the world.
Besides, Hye Yeon was someone who would one day lead Shaolin. He should be able to endure a sacrifice like this.
Of course, seeing Hye Yeon’s huge eyes, brimming with tears like a puppy that had lost its parents, made something ache in Beop Jeong’s chest, but what could he do?
He would simply have to endure it.
“Hoo.”
After letting out a short sigh, Beop Jeong turned his gaze back to Hyun Jong.
“Then I shall truly take my leave.”
“Take care on the road!”
But the answer came not from Hyun Jong, but from Chung Myung standing beside him.
Just seeing Chung Myung’s face, smiling from ear to ear, made Beop Jeong’s insides feel as if they were being stabbed with needles.
“Mount Hua Divine Dragon.”
“Yeah?”
“……Let me say this again: this matter is truly important.”
“I know. That’s why you gave us so much, wasn’t it? I’ve got a conscience too, so if I’ve already accepted it, I should do the job properly.”
“……”
Chung Myung said it with a satisfied grin, puffing out his chest, and it made Beop Jeong’s heart twitch in irritation.
Meaningless.
He had devoted himself to cultivation for so long, and yet with just a few words his mind was shaken this badly.
“……I will be relying on you.”
“Yep. Don’t worry. Ah, but one thing.”
Then Chung Myung’s eyes cooled slightly as he said,
“We’ll be relying on you for the matters concerning the Alliance.”
“……You needn’t worry.”
Beop Jeong gave a quiet nod.
“Then we shall be off.”
He folded his hands toward Hyun Jong, and Hyun Jong bowed deeply in return.
“Take care, Abbot.”
“Be well, Sect Leader.”
Beop Jeong gave Hye Yeon one last glance, then turned and left. The elders followed him as he began to descend Mount Hua through the mountain gate.
Baek Cheon exhaled softly.
So that’s the abbot of Shaolin.
He hadn’t even done anything in particular, yet some invisible pressure lingered in the air. Only after that figure had vanished completely did breathing feel easy again.
He wasn’t sure whether that pressure came from Beop Jeong himself or simply from the title of Shaolin’s abbot…but in the end, the distinction hardly mattered.
Yoon Jong, standing beside him, murmured quietly, “It feels rather strange.”
“Hm? What does?”
“Doesn’t it? Shaolin’s abbot has come all the way to visit Mount Hua, and Mount Hua’s sect leader naturally saw him off.”
“……”
“It feels strangely fresh.”
Baek Cheon nodded in agreement.
In truth, these things no longer felt particularly special. But precisely because of that, they were astonishing.
It meant that Mount Hua had, by now, become a sect capable of standing openly opposite Shaolin.
And whatever the reason, the fact that Shaolin’s abbot had personally come to Mount Hua meant many things indeed.
“……We need to work even harder.”
“That’s right.”
“But…why is that fellow standing there like that?”
At Jo Gul’s question, Baek Cheon turned his head slightly.
There was Hye Yeon, staring blankly toward the mountain gate with the face of a loyal subject whose country had been destroyed.
“……He must have committed many sins in his previous life.”
Amitabha.
Amitabha.
After leaving the gate and heading down Mount Hua, Beop Jeong’s attendant, Beop Yo, cautiously spoke.
“Abbot.”
Beop Jeong merely glanced at him in response.
“What you said earlier about the Alliance…”
“Hmm.”
At Beop Yo’s question, Beop Jeong let out a faint hum and shook his head.
“It is not something you need concern yourselves with.”
“But, Abbot…”
Beop Jeong withheld his words and quickened his pace.
Then, suddenly stopping, he looked back at Mount Hua.
Mount Hua Sect…
They were a rebellious lot.
At least from Shaolin’s perspective, they were. Too thorny to embrace, too irritating to leave alone.
Forcing them down by sheer power wouldn’t be wise.
He prided himself on having a fair eye for people. As long as that Mount Hua Divine Dragon remained there, Mount Hua would never come under Shaolin’s wing.
And Beop Jeong did not want that, either.
If he tried to suppress a rebellious power by force, was it not obvious what kind of result would follow?
Would it not be enough if, without dividing their relation neatly into above and below, they could simply become a pair who scratched each other’s itches when needed?
“Abbot.”
But Beop Yo still seemed dissatisfied with the situation.
“I still cannot understand your decision. Why must this matter be entrusted to Mount Hua? And with us even going so far as to ask them… Are there not many other formidable sects?”
Beop Jeong turned to him with lowered eyes.
Beop Yo flinched and bowed his head slightly.
“You asked what Mount Hua is so formidable at?”
“……”
“If you do not know that, then I have nothing more to say.”
“……I am sorry.”
Beop Jeong shot him a rare, sharp look.
“Every matter in this world has its proper person. No matter how hard Shaolin tried, this matter would be difficult to resolve.”
Then he slowly shook his head.
“If you covet small gains, you are bound to lose the greater one. Right now it may appear unsightly, but in the end this will all serve the world and Shaolin alike.”
Yet Beop Yo still seemed unconvinced.
“But can those people truly handle the North Sea on their own? I do not doubt the depth of your intentions, Abbot. But I simply cannot place my trust in them.”
“If they cannot resolve it, that too is fine.”
“……Pardon?”
Beop Jeong resumed walking, wearing a faintly peculiar expression.
“If they resolve it, that is a good thing for the world. If they fail to resolve it, that too is a good thing for the world.”
“……”
At Beop Jeong’s utterly baffling words, Beop Yo tilted his head slightly. But that was the end of the explanation.
“That alone is enough.”
He merely chanted his prayers in a low voice.
But then Beop Yo jabbed at a point Beop Jeong had not considered at all.
“However, Abbot. If they fail, what happens to the money we invested?”
“……”
“Did you perhaps arrange to have it returned in the event of failure? Or are we just throwing money away for nothing?”
“……”
Beop Jeong stopped dead and looked back at Mount Hua with trembling eyes. His face had gone strangely pale.
“……They’ll succeed, won’t they?”
“Pardon?”
“Hye Yeon is there…and that Mount Hua Divine Dragon, so they ought to manage somehow, shouldn’t they?”
“……”
For the first time since joining Shaolin, Beop Yo lost faith in Beop Jeong.
* * *
Swish. Swish.
A light of utter gentleness flowed across Hyun Jong’s face.
“I- Is that the Purple Jade Divine Sword?”
“Oh… It really is Mount Hua’s sacred treasure!”
Hyun Sang and Hyun Young gazed at the Purple Jade Divine Sword resting on Hyun Jong’s lap with faces full of fervor.
The Purple Jade Divine Sword had meaning for anyone of Mount Hua, but for the elders, that meaning was even more special.
Did it not feel as if the soul of Mount Hua, severed at the Great Mountain Blood Affair, had finally returned?
Hyun Sang, his eyes brimming with emotion, urged Hyun Jong on.
“Pl- please draw it, Sect Leader.”
“Hmm.”
Hyun Jong smiled faintly and slowly drew the Purple Jade Divine Sword.
A brilliant radiance poured from the blade.
“Oh! Oh… hmm….”
Hyun Sang’s face, which had been overflowing with admiration, gradually, little by little, regained its composure.
Hyun Young, too, looked at the sword with a slightly sour expression.
At their unexpected reaction, Hyun Jong asked, “Why do you two look like that?”
“……I thought I’d feel far more moved.”
“Exactly.”
Hyun Sang stared at the Purple Jade Divine Sword with a flat look, then glanced sideways at Chung Myung’s Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword.
“Maybe because I’ve seen the other one, but this just…”
“It doesn’t exactly look expensive, either.”
Hyun Jong’s face turned bright red.
“Y- You little brats! This sword is the sword of Mount Hua’s spirit and history! It is Mount Hua’s sacred treasure! Mount Hua’s—!”
“Ah, yes.”
“Yes, yes. Understood, Sect Leader. Please calm down.”
“……”
Hyun Jong swallowed his anger, his face red with frustration.
These damned brats!
“Anyway, the North Sea…”
“……So that’s the end of the Purple Jade Divine Sword talk? We’re moving on already?”
“Why are you all making such a fuss over finding one sword? It doesn’t even look that great.”
“……Hrrrgh…”
Ignoring Hyun Jong’s agonized groan, Hyun Young stroked his beard.
“Ever since the North Sea came up before, I did think we’d have to go there someday…”
At that, every Mount Hua disciple there nodded in unison.
They had all thought that one day they would have to go to the North Sea. In any case, that was the way events had been flowing.
But…
“Why at this time, of all times?”
“What’s wrong with the timing?”
“It’s already starting to get chilly, isn’t it? If we leave now, by the time we arrive it’ll be deep winter. And this is the North Sea we’re talking about—where even in summer your body freezes solid. Why now, of all times…”
At Hyun Sang’s words, Hyun Young clicked his tongue.
“This means there’s a mountain of things to prepare.”
At Hyun Young’s remark, Hyun Jong pondered for a moment before speaking.
“Chung Myung.”
“Yeah.”
“What do you think? It is true that Shaolin’s abbot requested that we resolve this matter, but he did not set a definite time limit. Would it not be better to wait out the winter and depart later?”
“I’d like to, but…”
Chung Myung shrugged.
“The situation’s the situation. If we dawdle around saying we want to go when it’s warmer and the North Sea gets worse, that’ll just make it more dangerous.”
“Hmm, yes. That is not wrong.”
“If you’re going to pull out an ox horn, you do it while the iron’s hot. I think we should head out right away.”
Baek Cheon, listening to Chung Myung, muttered with a sigh, “The cattle around Mount Hua don’t have any horns left anymore.”
Yoon Jong nodded gravely.
“Chung Myung’s already pulled them all out. What’s left to pull?”
Then Hyun Jong gave a small nod.
“If that is your intention, then there is no helping it.”
And he said to Hyun Young,
“Make thorough preparations so there will be no issue with the disciples’ journey to the North Sea.”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
And so Mount Hua’s journey to the North Sea was fully decided.