Nice to Meet You, Really. (3)
“No way…….”
The corners of Chung Myung’s eyes twitched violently.
“I get being pissed off. I really do. But look at the situation we’re in right now, okay? And you’re just going to charge headfirst into this? Huh?”
“Yoon Jong.”
“Yes, Sahyung!”
“Did you pack everything?”
“Yes. I packed every last thing without missing a single item.”
At that moment, Jo Gul shot a hand into the air.
“Sah-sahyung! These are the gifts the Ice Palace gave us before. What should we do with them?”
“No need to leave behind anything they gave us. Take everything.”
“Yes!”
“…….”
Chung Myung could only stare blankly as the Mount Hua disciples packed their belongings.
Not one of them—Jo Gul, Yoon Jong, none of them—so much as glanced at him. They were fully absorbed in packing, as if he didn’t exist at all.
Huh?
Why was Baek Ah in there too?
A marten was packing?
His mouth hung open in disbelief before Chung Myung abruptly shook himself and blurted out, flustered, “N-no! That’s why I told you in advance! Human beings are naturally……”
“Soso.”
“Yes, Sago!”
“Medicines. Replenish the medicines we’ll need on the road.”
“Yes! I already looted a ton. Ah, I deliberately didn’t take the licorice root. That bastard should die from having a foul mouth.”
“Good.”
Why had she not taken the licorice root……?
No, that wasn’t the point right now.
“Hello? Are you listening?”
I’m right here, you bastards!
Chung Myung, who had never once in his life lost out in sheer presence anywhere in the world, was being so cleanly ignored that even during his days as a beggar, people at least cursed at him instead of dismissing him this thoroughly.
“Hey, I’m talking to you! Listen for a second!”
Only after he kept barking and waving both arms around did Baek Cheon finally straighten his back and look at him.
“Chung Myung.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re noisy. If you’re not going to help pack, go play quietly over there.”
“…….”
“And stop babbling.”
Chung Myung gaped for a moment before letting out an exasperated sigh.
“So you’re just going to go back like this?”
“Yes.”
“With the Heavenly Demon about to be resurrected?”
“Exactly. That’s why we have to go back.”
“Huh?”
Baek Cheon looked him straight in the eye.
“No matter what we do, this situation can’t be stopped now. Better to get back to Central Plains as fast as possible than stay here in the North Sea and get caught in the crossfire.”
“No, I think you’re misunderstanding me. Before the Heavenly Demon is resurrected…….”
“You’re the one who doesn’t understand.”
Baek Cheon cut him off, frowning.
“I know this isn’t just a matter for the North Sea. But that doesn’t mean we need to do in their place what the North Sea refuses to do itself.”
Chung Myung opened his mouth to argue, but at that moment, support fire came crashing down from all sides.
“There’s a limit to how much you can treat people like suckers. Those bastards have no sense of honor or decency.”
Jo Gul ground his teeth and growled.
That drew a frown from Yoon Jong, who rebuked him.
“Bastards is a bit much. They’re still seniors from another sect.”
“Then what am I supposed to call them?”
“Just ‘those men’ should do. I’m sure even the Heavenly Worthy would understand that much.”
“If the Heavenly Worthy actually manifested, I think He’d smack them in the head with that staff of His.”
“Mm. That’s certainly possible.”
Yoon Jong nodded solemnly, his hands moving briskly as he packed.
Chung Myung’s mouth, which had only just barely managed to close, fell open again.
When had these bastards gotten this rough?
Huh? Because of me?
Huh?
“N-no…….”
Then Yu I-seol, who had been staring at Chung Myung the whole time, quietly lifted a finger to her lips.
“Shh.”
“…….”
“Sahyung. He says a disaster is coming.”
“I don’t need your translation!”
Did they think he was some kind of idiot?
“No, all of you seem to be completely missing the point. If the Heavenly Demon really gets resurrected, everything is going to go to hell!”
“Then we’d better scram fast.”
“…….”
Sahyung.
Senior brother.
This really looked like things had gone to shit.
- You damn lunatic. You started this mess yourself.
No! How was I supposed to know it would get this bad?
How the hell did Sahyung put up with me? Wow…… somehow this is making me reflect on my life.
“Amitabha.”
At that moment, Hye Yeon, who had silently been packing while watching the situation unfold, recited a Buddhist invocation.
“Donor, Buddha too cast off the demons who disrupted His practice and punished the wicked. Showing compassion blindly is not always the answer.”
With even Hye Yeon speaking so seriously, Chung Myung truly had nothing left to say.
“Hye Yeon’s words are correct.”
Baek Cheon’s voice was even firmer than before the conversation had begun. He tossed the tightly packed bundle into a corner and said coldly, “Our original mission was to assess the situation in the North Sea and relay that information to Shaolin. That mission is already complete. What remains is something the Central Plains sects must work together to resolve. Do you understand what I mean?”
“No, I mean…….”
“All the sects of the Central Plains! Not something you alone are supposed to fix!”
At the thunderous shout that exploded out of nowhere, Chung Myung flinched.
“Mount Hua has already lived through something like this before! If Mount Hua’s forebears had not stood and burned themselves away defending the Central Plains, what would have become of it? But then what was ultimately left behind for Mount Hua?”
“…….”
“If we die here, we’re only repeating the same mistake. As Mount Hua’s eldest disciple, I would rather die than watch that happen!”
Baek Cheon’s blazing eyes were fixed on the bandages wrapped around Chung Myung’s body.
Grinding his teeth at the sight alone, as though suppressing rage had become unbearable, he straightened his back and said, “So don’t even think about pulling any crap. Just come along quietly. I’m not joking.”
“……What do you mean, pulling crap…….”
As Chung Myung muttered under his breath with a pout, Baek Cheon shot him a murderous glare.
“Isn’t it obvious what you’re going to do? You’ll try to twist the situation however you can. But this time, I’m not falling for it. Soso!”
“Yes!”
“Did you bring it?”
“Yes!”
Huh? What…….
Chung Myung, who had been staring blankly toward Soso, suddenly went wide-eyed.
“W-why are you holding that?!”
“If I, the Tang Family’s daughter, am holding a sword made by the Tang Family, is there some problem with that?”
That’s mine!
Seeing the Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword in Dang Soso’s hand, Chung Myung was momentarily struck dumb.
“Give it to Sago, Soso.”
“Yes, Sah-sahyung.”
Dang Soso handed the Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword to Yu I-seol. She accepted it with a blank expression, belted it at her waist, then leaned back slightly as though wary of Chung Myung.
Baek Cheon spoke in a low voice. “No matter how skilled you are, you won’t be able to take on all of us without a sword.”
“Haha. It sounds like Sah-sahyung’s looking down on me!”
“After getting your chin smashed in by Hye Yeon, you may think differently.”
At that exact moment, Hye Yeon smiled gently and clenched his fist.
“Amitabha. Such a thing should not happen, but…… I will not refuse and shall do my utmost.”
“…….”
Chung Myung’s cheek twitched.
Wow…….
Why did that bastard look so damn murderous while smiling?
I should’ve roughed him up a little less casually.
“In any case, this is as far as it goes.”
Baek Cheon cut him off decisively.
“As the escort entrusted with authority by the Sect Leader, I have no intention of involving myself any further in the affairs of the North Sea. So you should stop fretting over it too. I know you pity the people of the North Sea, but in the end, they made their own choice.”
His cold face was resolute to the point that not even a needle could slip through.
“Compassion is Mount Hua’s teaching, but forcibly offering compassion to those who do not want it is not compassion at all.”
“That’s right, Sah-sahyung.”
“Yes, exactly.”
The other disciples felt the same. Chung Myung, looking at them in a daze, closed his mouth.
Truthfully, he knew it too. He knew their words weren’t wrong.
But…….
This isn’t something that simple.
Because they had never faced the Heavenly Demon themselves, they could think this way. Those who knew would never be able to pull back this easily.
Just as Chung Myung was about to say something else—
Knock, knock.
There was a knock at the door. Every Mount Hua disciple turned their heads at once.
“Who is it?”
As Jo Gul started toward the door with easy confidence, Yoon Jong quietly caught his shoulder and tugged him back. Then, gripping the sword at his waist, he spoke.
“Sah-sahyung.”
“Be ready. I’ll open it.”
Baek Cheon strode forward and threw the door wide open. A light tension settled over the Mount Hua disciples.
“Hm?”
But the moment they saw who stood outside, everyone’s faces softened a little.
“Ju-just a moment…….”
The rosy-cheeked boy standing at the door, Seol So-baek, spoke in a slightly trembling voice.
“Might I speak with you for a moment?”
As Chung Myung’s butt lifted slightly, Baek Cheon grabbed his collar and forcibly sat him back down.
“I heard this is the Snow Ice Pill. A spiritual medicine from the Ice Palace made with thousand-year snow ginseng, I’m told. They say even the Ice Palace has only a few of these left—an extraordinary medicine from ancient times…….”
“Hahaha. Now this is something…….”
“Sit down, you bastard!”
Just as Chung Myung beamed and reached out to take the elixir, Baek Cheon scolded him, and Yu I-seol slapped the back of his hand to stop him.
Chung Myung’s face was full of wounded indignation.
“Why not! He’s giving it to me!”
“Shut up!”
After barking at him, Baek Cheon turned to Seol So-baek with grave courtesy.
“We’re grateful for your consideration. But given the situation, please understand that we can’t simply accept your gift with a light heart.”
“N-no, it’s not like that. I didn’t bring it to ask for anything in return. I brought it because I heard Daoist Chung Myung needed a medicinal pill.”
Seol So-baek hurriedly waved his hands, flustered.
At that, Baek Cheon found himself smiling faintly without meaning to.
He really doesn’t act like a child.
He had risen to such a lofty position as Palace Lord of the Ice Palace, so arrogance would have been natural—but Seol So-baek had not changed much from the first time they’d met him.
Han Yi-myung might or might not be a great man, but he was clearly an excellent teacher.
“You’ve even been injured because of the Ice Palace’s affairs. If you refuse this too, I’d be terribly embarrassed. Please, take it.”
“Hahaha. Well then, well then. I…….”
“Sit still for once, will you, damn it! Gul, keep this bastard pinned down.”
“Sah-sahyung always makes me do impossible things.”
“Shut it.”
“Yes.”
Yoon Jong and Jo Gul each grabbed Chung Myung firmly from both sides.
Once he’d finally gone quiet, Baek Cheon looked back at Seol So-baek and asked, “But why did you come here alone? What about the Palace Lord…….”
“I just came on my own.”
“…….”
“There were people following me, but I shook them off.”
Seol So-baek seemed about to say more, then paused and lowered his head.
“……I said from the beginning that I’d go alone, but the escorts won’t listen to me. Since Elder Yeo and Chief Han gave the order, they won’t let me out of their sight. Not a single thing Daoist Chung Myung said was wrong. They call me Palace Lord, but there isn’t a single thing I can do as I please.”
Baek Cheon looked at him with a trace of pity.
It’s a cruel thing.
A position too large for one’s ability is always poison. Especially in a place like this, with a tiger like Yeo Sa-hon around.
“So please, accept this. This isn’t the will of the Ice Palace. It’s my will. If I can’t even offer this much repayment to the one who shed blood for me, I’d feel far too small.”
“Hmm.”
By this point, even Baek Cheon had no way to stop Chung Myung from taking the elixir. But to everyone’s surprise, Chung Myung frowned as soon as he heard those words.
“What a silly little brat, getting all full of himself.”
“……Pardon?”
“We didn’t fight for you. Don’t get the wrong idea.”
It was the sort of thing that would leave most listeners deeply flustered or embarrassed. But Seol So-baek only smiled faintly.
“Then please allow me to understand it as a gift offered in place of the people of the North Sea.”
“You sly little bastard.”
Only then did Chung Myung stretch out his hand and take the pill.
“If you put it like that, I can’t exactly refuse. Tch, I was trying not to accept it, but I also can’t trample on your sincerity. You’re making this difficult, sheesh.”
“…….”
Seol So-baek once again came to realize exactly what kind of person Chung Myung was.
“But…….”
Baek Cheon looked at Seol So-baek.
“What brings you here? You didn’t come all this way just to hand over one medicinal pill.”
Seol So-baek gave a small nod.
Baek Cheon had asked the question, but his gaze remained fixed on Chung Myung.
No—his gaze hadn’t left Chung Myung since the moment he entered the room.
“……I…….”
After a long hesitation, Seol So-baek finally spoke with difficulty.
“I’m not sure what I should do.”
“…….”
“I may be Palace Lord, but I never imagined I would ever rise to such a position. Suddenly, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to proceed from here.”
Baek Cheon, listening from the side, nodded with a heavy expression. It would have been stranger if he had been handling everything with perfect ease.
“So I wanted to ask you, Daoist Chung Myung.”
“Yeah?”
“……What should I do now?”
The reaction to that question erupted instantly from all around him.
“No, why are you asking him that?!”
“Ask every person in the world if you want, but don’t ask that bastard! Calm down, Palace Lord!”
“You’ll get scolded. Don’t. Don’t do that.”
“You need to stay calm! Even if you’re thirsty, don’t drink salt water!”
At the furious reaction, Seol So-baek’s eyes went wide as he looked around in confusion.
“……Pardon?”
But Chung Myung, the one who had actually received the question, merely smiled with great satisfaction no matter how much everyone else chattered around him.
“What should you do, you say?”
“……Yes? Ah, yes.”
“Hah. I’m an expert at advice like that.”
“No! That’s not true, you crazy bastard!”
The Mount Hua disciples sensed, all too clearly, that the Ice Palace was truly starting to sink into the mire.