Even If I’m Wrong, Don’t Blame Me (1)
"W-what is this supposed to mean?"
Un Geom stared at Hyun Jong in alarm. Hyun Jong, for his part, looked off toward the distant mountains as if even he had no idea what to do.
"Six Harmony..."
His thoughts seemed tangled, and he couldn’t quite make sense of the situation.
Six Harmony was the Mount Hua basic form that had supported the sect for countless years. Just as a person learning swordsmanship for the first time first had to master the proper grip, just as a child learning to read began with the Thousand-Character Classic, every Mount Hua martial art began with properly learning Six Harmony.
But time passed, and times changed. Mount Hua was no longer in a position to cling to that slow, cumbersome Six Harmony. They needed to learn faster, move faster, and advance faster.
That was precisely why everyone had joined heads to create the True Six Harmony Sword, wasn’t it?
Unlike the original Six Harmony Sword, the True Six Harmony Sword could be learned more quickly and was far more practical in actual combat.
"Sect Leader. Wasn’t the whole point of creating the True Six Harmony Sword that Mount Hua needed it?"
"Yes."
"Then this is..."
Hyun Jong let out a low sigh.
"And that is why I came to hear your opinion. As you said, it was Mount Hua’s own will that reestablished the True Six Harmony Sword as the sect’s foundational martial art. But are the words of our ancestors not equally important?"
"..."
Un Geom found himself nodding before he knew it.
Not equally important—far more so. The words of the ancients were a beacon for the later generations. Every sect strove, again and again, to follow the path laid down by those who came before.
So how could they possibly deny such a clear expression of ancestral intent?
"Hmm."
"What do you think?"
"How could I possibly..."
"You are the one teaching the children of Mount Hua. When it comes to the foundational form, I cannot help but consider your opinion as well. Forget everything else and speak honestly."
Un Geom let out a deep sigh.
This is difficult.
Tradition or change—there had always been no easy answer to that question. Because it wasn’t a question with a right answer.
"Sect Leader. The reason we created the True Six Harmony Sword in the first place was because Mount Hua didn’t have much time left."
"That is true."
Eventually, righteousness took time. Who didn’t understand the greatness of Six Harmony? But the Mount Hua of that time had not had the luxury of patiently nurturing its disciples. When the sect might have to take down its signboard tomorrow, how could they choose a path that took even longer?
"That is why I ask. Can Mount Hua look toward the future now?"
Hyun Jong furrowed his brow.
That, too, was a difficult question.
The future...
Mount Hua had only just resolved one of its many piled-up problems. It had certainly been the most urgent and most important one, but there were still countless others left unresolved.
"It is not easy to answer. Please understand that I cannot give you a definite reply."
"Sect Leader."
Un Geom spoke at last, as if he had made up his mind.
"Then I oppose it."
"Why?"
"Because it is not simple."
Un Geom exhaled slowly.
The True Six Harmony Sword and the original Six Harmony Sword came from the same root, but they were entirely different martial arts. Even the very fundamentals that composed them were different. If Six Harmony was a martial art that was slow and deliberate yet crushed down with steady force, then True Six Harmony was swift, nimble, and light on its feet.
"Children learn quickly. Those children have already accepted the logic of the True Six Harmony Sword. Teaching them Six Harmony again would be difficult. If we’re not careful, it could end up as neither one nor the other. To truly master Six Harmony, the most important things are a stable lower body and a serious, grounded mindset. It’s too late now."
Un Geom shook his head.
"The ancestor would not have left those words for no reason. I would like to follow those words if possible. But realistically, it’s impossible."
"You truly think so?"
"Yes, Sect Leader."
"Then what did you say was most necessary for understanding Six Harmony?"
"A stable lower body and a serious..."
Un Geom blinked.
Hyun Jong quietly turned his head and looked at the children practicing.
"A stable lower body?"
"..."
"A serious mind?"
"..."
"They’ve been trained very well, haven’t they?"
That wasn’t me, though?
That... was him, wasn’t it?
Un Geom’s gaze drifted to Chung Myung, who was at the very back waving a wooden sword around carelessly.
No way.
No, surely not. The situation might be oddly convenient, but that would be too much of a stretch. Chung Myung wasn’t some all-seeing prophet. How could he have predicted this in advance?
"From where I’m standing, it doesn’t look like it would be all that hard for these children to relearn Six Harmony."
"...Th-that may be true, but... I’m concerned the children may become confused."
"Un Geom. Is it not our job to calm that confusion and lead them onto the right path?"
Un Geom nodded blankly.
"Are the children the ones confused? Or is it you?"
"S-Sect Leader. Could you spare me just a moment?"
"Hmm?"
"I’d like to ask one of the children."
"A child?"
"I’m not the one learning it. If we truly want to know the right path, I think it would be better to ask the one who will actually be learning the martial art."
"That is a good idea."
Instruction flowed from above to below, but in the end, it was the children who received it. What the children themselves thought mattered as well.
"Then Yoon Jong..."
"Chung Myung!"
Before Hyun Jong could say another word, Un Geom called out loudly to Chung Myung. Chung Myung, who had been swinging his sword lazily, jerked and looked over here.
"Come here."
At Un Geom’s command, Chung Myung lowered his sword and shuffled over with a swaggering gait.
"You called?"
"There’s something I want to ask you."
"Yes. Go ahead."
Un Geom paused briefly before speaking.
"Which do you think is more correct: going slowly but reaching higher, or going quickly and surely?"
Hyun Jong, listening from the side, looked mildly troubled. The question itself was far too philosophical. It might be a bit much for a child to take in...
Ah, right. It’s Chung Myung.
That child was certainly unusual enough that he might understand and even give a proper answer.
And indeed, Chung Myung frowned as if he were thinking deeply, lowering his head in contemplation. Then, as though he had sorted it out, he lifted his head and looked at Un Geom.
"Going higher is the right answer."
"Why?"
"Because it’s Mount Hua."
"..."
Un Geom stared at Chung Myung with a stiff expression. The fine twitch around his eyes revealed just how shocked he was by that answer.
Because it was Mount Hua.
Hohohoho.
Un Geom quietly turned his head to look at Hyun Jong. Hyun Jong had his eyes closed. From his expression alone, one couldn’t read everything in his heart, but it wasn’t hard to guess what he was thinking.
Whether the answer was right or wrong didn’t matter.
What mattered was that the answer had come out of the child’s mouth.
That’s right. We were Mount Hua.
What they had lost.
Pride in Mount Hua.
A sliver of that distant past was now flowing out of the mouth of Mount Hua’s youngest disciple.
"For an ordinary sect, choosing the latter would be the right choice. But Mount Hua is different. If we want to restore our former glory and spread Mount Hua’s name across the world once more, we can’t compromise with reality."
It had been an unspoken question. Yet this child had found the hidden intent behind Un Geom’s words and answered it, and not even with the convenience of a child’s innocence—with a righteous answer that would have shamed the adults.
"Do you mean that because it’s Mount Hua, we cannot compromise?"
"That’s what this disciple believes."
"I see."
Un Geom nodded.
"Return to your place."
"Yes."
As Chung Myung walked away, Un Geom let out a sigh. But before he could speak, Hyun Jong spoke first.
"I am ashamed."
"As am I, Sect Leader."
"To think I would hear such words from a child’s mouth. Heh. Because it’s Mount Hua. Because it’s Mount Hua... Who in Mount Hua could possibly say such a thing in the present situation?"
Hyun Jong closed his eyes.
Even he, as Mount Hua’s Sect Leader, could not bring himself to say those words. Not even in his heart had he dared to think such a thing. Perhaps it was an answer only a child who knew nothing could give.
But what mattered was that the answer was making the one leading Mount Hua feel ashamed.
"Mount Hua. Mount Hua, indeed."
"Sect Leader."
Un Geom spoke in a solemn voice.
"It may be the words of a young and reckless child. But because he is a child, perhaps he is not so easily swayed by all manner of realities."
"Indeed."
"It may be difficult. But I do not want to feel ashamed in front of that child."
Hyun Jong gave a faint groan.
This was no small matter. Deciding the foundational form was an extremely important issue.
But what was even more important was deciding the direction of Mount Hua. This small conversation had swollen in an instant, forcing a choice upon Hyun Jong.
A choice about the path Mount Hua should walk from here on.
"Un Geom, listen well."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
"In the name of the Mount Hua Sect Leader, as of this moment, Mount Hua’s foundational form shall be reverted from the True Six Harmony Sword to the original Six Harmony Sword."
"I will obey."
"I will confer with the elders and issue the formal order, but before that order is officially delivered, Un Geom, you are to understand this change and pass on Six Harmony to the children."
"Yes!"
Un Geom’s eyes hardened.
Mount Hua was Mount Hua.
It could not remain some half-hearted sect. So long as they bore the name Mount Hua, they had to always be the best and always aim for the best. Even if their bodies were sunk in a muddy stream, they had to wait for the day they would rise as dragons.
That was the duty and calling of those who bore Mount Hua’s name.
"And not only Six Harmony. We must think again about all of Mount Hua’s martial arts. As the hall leader of Baekmae Hall, your role will be more important than ever."
"I am prepared for that, Sect Leader. If there is any way I can repay the kindness Mount Hua showed me, what more could I ask for?"
Hyun Jong smiled softly and looked at the children.
These children are Mount Hua’s future.
They had not yet achieved it. Perhaps they never would in their own generation. But by the time these children led the sect, Mount Hua’s name had to once again resound throughout the world.
For that, there was nothing Hyun Jong would not do. And perhaps the ancestors of Mount Hua, looking down on him from the heavens right now, would find him worthy of praise.
Without a doubt.
That hopeless idiot.
Back in his place, Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
Watching them hesitate and dither over something this small made his chest feel ready to burst.
Do you need to be told everything? Everything? I stuck food in your mouth and now you’re asking how to chew it.
You’d die from an illness before it killed you. Die from it, for real.
"Hah."
"Why are you sighing all of a sudden?"
"You think you idiots could understand what’s on my mind?"
"...What the hell are you even talking about?"
Answering Jo Gul absently, Chung Myung frowned.
Let’s be cold about this. These idiots never do anything right. The thing they’re doing right now is probably already a total mess.
Looks like he’d need to go to Hwaeum once.
He was worried whether the businesses in Hwaeum had been properly sorted out. If he left it to the Sect Leader, nothing would ever run the way it should, so Chung Myung would have to take care of it himself.
"Ha. This damn sect can’t function without me."
"...What is that bastard even saying, sahyung?"
"Leave him be. Since when has he ever made sense?"
And just as everyone let out a sigh—