Nice to Meet You, Really. (4)
“No way….”
Baek Cheon’s face twisted horribly.
Of course, he understood. Ah, yes, of course he understood. He understood!
How could Seol So-baek possibly see Chung Myung?
Everyone around him was making such a fuss about how he had to become the palace lord all of a sudden, and the person he had thought was his father until just yesterday was telling him that he wasn’t his father at all. No matter how mature Seol So-baek was for his age, it was not the kind of situation a child could endure with a clear head.
And then, in the middle of all that, he had been dragged into the heart of a war. It was impossible to even imagine the fear the boy must have felt through all of it.
And then, suddenly….
That crazy bastard went and handled everything himself.
Even to Baek Cheon, Chung Myung’s exploits were absurd enough to be unbelievable. So how must it have looked to a child trembling in the middle of that chaotic battlefield?
He would have seemed almost like a divine general descending from the heavens.
So yes, he understood. He understood, but…!
“Th-there… Lord Palace Seol.”
Baek Cheon, unlike himself, stammered as he barely managed to speak.
“That… I think there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding.”
“Pardon?”
“Martial skill and character do not necessarily go hand in hand.”
At those words, all the Mount Hua disciples nodded vehemently. Then, one by one, they piled on with all their hearts.
“Please, think about it again!”
“Do you think anyone would choose to ask advice from that bastard because they had nowhere else to go? Yelling at a cliff would be a hundred times better!”
“A huge mistake. A mistake you can’t take back.”
Watching the Mount Hua disciples react with such desperate intensity, Seol Cheon-sang blinked.
Affection was supposed to cover a person’s flaws by nature, so what sort of life had he led for his own sectmates—the people closest to him—to rate him like that?
“Amitabha. Sir, the demon of temptation always lurks closest to you. To walk the proper path, one must not be swayed by such delusions….”
“Hey, you bald fuck?”
The moment Chung Myung glared, Hye Yeon flinched and hurriedly shrank back, tucking in his neck. Jo Gul leaned toward Yoon Jong and whispered loudly into his ear.
“...Why is that monk afraid of a guy who doesn’t even have a sword?”
“Because if you get hit, that’s what happens.”
Ignoring his martial siblings completely, Chung Myung looked at Seol So-baek with a pleased smile.
“So….”
His grin deepened.
“You want to ask me how to become a great palace lord, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Unable to hold back any longer, Baek Cheon shot to his feet.
“No, wait just a moment! Lord Palace, that is….”
But before he could finish, Seol So-baek shook his head.
“I am not seeking advice from Dojang Chung Myung because he is strong.”
“...Pardon?”
Seol So-baek had been hesitating a little, but he suddenly straightened his back and steadied himself.
“Dojang Chung Myung seemed to have a firm sense of conviction that I do not possess. If I were like Dojang Chung Myung, I do not think I would be this confused right now.”
Conviction? What kind of conviction?
Ah, right. He did have a very firm sense of conviction.
It was so firm it was a problem. So, so firm. Way too firm!
“People call me the Ice Palace’s lord. But I do not know what I should do as a lord. No one tells me, and no one teaches me.”
His voice held a bitterness that didn’t suit a child. The Mount Hua disciples’ expressions hardened.
Well, that made sense.
If you asked who the most bewildered person in the entire Ice Palace was right now, it would undoubtedly be Seol So-baek.
“So….”
Seol So-baek lifted his head and looked at Chung Myung.
“That is why I wanted to ask you, because you are the most certain person I have ever seen.”
His clear, gentle eyes sparkled as they fixed on Chung Myung.
Baek Cheon, meeting that pair of spotless, innocent eyes, found himself closing his mouth without realizing it.
Damn it, I can’t say anything else.
How could anyone tell a child looking at him like that that no, the answer was no?
That would be far too cruel.
While Baek Cheon hesitated, Seol So-baek asked again, each word carefully enunciated.
“What should I do, Dojang?”
With the situation like this, everyone’s eyes naturally turned to Chung Myung. For now, they had no choice but to wait for his answer.
Chung Myung opened his mouth slowly.
“You want me to tell you how to act as the lord of the Ice Palace?”
“Yes!”
His lips curved into a satisfied smile.
“How the hell would I know that?”
“...Pardon?”
Seol So-baek’s eyes shook violently.
But Chung Myung only smiled brighter, answering with complete confidence.
“I don’t know.”
“... ”
“If I knew that, I’d be the palace lord.”
“...”
And watching all this, the Mount Hua disciples smiled too.
Well, of course.
Anyone who expected something from Chung Myung had to taste utter despair at least once. Everyone standing here knew that all too well.
But Seol So-baek did not give up.
“Th-then… was my question too difficult? Then, if you were in my place, what would you do….”
“If I were you?”
“...Yes.”
“You want to know what I’d do if I were you?”
The answer to that question did not come from Chung Myung, but from Hye Yeon and the Mount Hua disciples standing behind him.
“Amitabha. You’d probably have held a lot of funerals.”
“The elder’s not that young anymore. Not sure his skull would’ve survived.”
“What do you mean, skull, you bastard? Say head! Head!”
“Broken. Everything broken, in any case.”
Chung Myung stared blankly behind him for a moment, then looked back at Seol So-baek.
“You hear that?”
“... ”
“If I were you, I’d have turned the Ice Palace and everything else upside down. But you’re not me.”
Seol So-baek’s face contorted slightly as he asked, aghast, “Then I….”
But he couldn’t even finish the sentence. Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
“Kid.”
“Hey, don’t call the lord a kid!”
“What’s wrong with calling a kid a kid?”
As Chung Myung answered sulkily, Baek Cheon was about to rebuke him further when Seol So-baek quickly waved a hand.
“I—I’m fine.”
“Still….”
“...Honestly, every time I hear the word lord, it feels so awkward that it scares me a little. Calling me that is actually more comfortable.”
At that, everyone looking at Seol So-baek was filled with pity.
“In any case, kid.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know what your biggest problem is?”
“...I’m not sure.”
“First, you keep depending on other people.”
Seol So-baek flinched.
“Think about it. What could some Taoist bastard from the Central Plains possibly know about the Ice Palace? In the end, it’s something you have to handle yourself.”
“... ”
“It’s good that you came all this way, trying to find some answer on your own when things got rough. But what if you follow my advice and fail? What then? Would you resent me?”
“N-no, absolutely not. I….”
“Even if you don’t resent me, it’s the same thing. Let me tell you one thing for sure.”
Chung Myung opened his eyes fully and stared at Seol So-baek. The moment that gaze met his, Seol So-baek shuddered without realizing it. Chung Myung’s cool eyes felt as though they were piercing straight through his head.
“The more important something is, the less you should lean on other people. You have to do it with your own hands, no matter what. The Ice Palace ended up in this state because, in the end, it never tried to protect its own things by itself.”
All the Mount Hua disciples nearby nodded faintly. At the very least, they could understand exactly what Chung Myung was talking about.
“What you need to do now isn’t find some method that’ll instantly restore a lord’s dignity. From this point on, you need to learn more, think more, and speak up more in your own voice. If you do that, someday you’ll be able to do what you want.”
Speaking calmly and leisurely, Chung Myung then changed his tone slightly and said with a firm expression,
“There’s no such thing as some miracle solution that fixes everything at once. If you want to change the situation, then you have to change. That’s the only answer.”
Even after Chung Myung stopped speaking, Seol So-baek stared at him silently for a long while. Then, after a moment, he nodded slowly.
“So I was rushing too much.”
“Yeah.”
“...I understand, Dojang. I understand what you mean. I really… I really do understand.”
Chung Myung grinned as he looked at him.
Baek Cheon, who had been watching the whole exchange from the side, ended up snorting softly before he could stop himself.
He’s strangely kind, isn’t he?
It was the first time he had ever seen Chung Myung explain something to another person with this much patience.
Was it because he was a child…? Or maybe….
Just then.
“And one more thing.”
“Yes.”
“If it’s hard, don’t do it.”
“...Pardon?”
Seol So-baek’s eyes widened at Chung Myung’s abrupt remark.
“What do you mean by that….”
“Have you ever actually wanted to become the palace lord?”
“...No. Not once.”
“Then why are you gritting your teeth and dragging yourself through it? If you don’t want to do it, just throw it away.”
His voice was light, as if it were no big deal. Seol So-baek cautiously read Chung Myung’s expression, then answered in a subdued voice.
“I suppose I was making too much of a fuss.”
“That’s not what I mean, you idiot!”
“... ”
Chung Myung let out a long sigh.
“It was the previous generation that ruined the North Sea, and it should’ve been the previous generation that restored it too. Just because blood is connected doesn’t mean you need to take responsibility for things you didn’t even do.”
“... ”
“This isn’t your role. That responsibility should’ve been borne by the adults in the first place. What have you done that means you should be worrying about the Ice Palace and the North Sea?”
“... ”
“Take responsibility for the things you want to do. But you don’t need to burden yourself with things you never chose to do.”
Seol So-baek’s head slowly sank.
No one blamed him or urged him on as he bowed his head in silence. They only watched him with eyes full of pity.
After a while, with his shoulders trembling faintly, Seol So-baek slowly stood up. Then, bringing both hands together, he bowed deeply toward Chung Myung.
“...Thank you, Dojang. I came shamelessly asking for an answer, and I received a much greater one instead. I’m truly… truly grateful.”
“What kind of brat tries to act like an adult again?”
Chung Myung frowned.
“If you want me to call you a kid, then act like one.”
“...Is it really all right if I do that?”
“If you can’t even decide that for yourself, then what the hell kind of palace lord are you supposed to be? That’s why I’m saying you’ve gotta smash the heads of those elders and whatever else! Argh, the more I think about it, the madder I get, those bastards! They shouldn’t have come back like that—I should’ve kicked their damn chins in! I’m getting pissed just thinking about it, I am!”
As Chung Myung suddenly rolled his eyes and seemed about to explode, the Mount Hua disciples waiting in the back rushed in at once.
“No, why are you suddenly going off the rails again when things were going so well!”
“Calm down, Chung Myung! You’ll break the old men’s bones!”
“Who turned a kid into blanched spinach in just a few days?! I swear I’m about to throw you into boiling water!”
Watching Chung Myung shout and thrash while his arms and legs were being held down, Seol So-baek broke out in a cold sweat.
That was when Baek Cheon called out to him in a low voice.
“Lord Palace.”
“Yes?”
“That bastard speaks rough and expresses himself like an idiot, but he’s only saying this because he’s worried about you. Please understand that much.”
“...I know, Dojang.”
Seol So-baek hesitated slightly, then muttered, almost to himself,
“I know it very well… I know it far too well.”
Seol So-baek’s eyes never left Chung Myung.
“Everyone keeps telling me that I have to do it because I’m the one who inherited the Seol bloodline…. Because I’m the lord of the palace.”
“... ”
“But that Dojang says it isn’t my responsibility.”
Seol So-baek, speaking slowly under his breath, smiled faintly.
“How strange. People from the Central Plains are the ones worrying about me more.”
“What’s strange is dividing the Central Plains and the North Sea in the first place.”
“...Pardon?”
“As fellow human beings, how could we just stand by and watch a young palace lord carrying a burden that’s far too heavy for his age? The mouth saying it has a bit of a problem, though.”
“... ”
Seol So-baek looked off into the distance in silence, as though his throat had tightened. Baek Cheon smiled faintly.
“Anyway, if it helps, then that’s all I could ask—”
And then it happened.
Startled, Baek Cheon abruptly shut his mouth and turned his head.
Chung Myung, who had been thrashing just moments before, had suddenly gone still and was staring at one place with a cold face.
The Mount Hua disciples clinging to him also froze like statues at that shift in atmosphere.
Chung Myung lightly shoved Jo Gul and Yoon Jong off his arms and walked slowly to the window.
“W-what is it?”
“Chung Myung. What’s wrong?”
Ignoring the questions raining down on him, Chung Myung flung the window open.
A blizzard rushed inside. But he leaned out into it as if it didn’t matter at all.
The place his gaze had locked onto was the snow-covered fortress wall. No, a little farther beyond that. Beyond the wall.
Chung Myung’s eyes, fixed on the darkness, sank lower.
“...No need to go looking after all.”
Baek Cheon spoke with a rigid face.
“Don’t tell me…?”
“Sasuk.”
Chung Myung’s voice sounded as if he were forcibly suppressing something boiling inside him.
“Prepare yourselves. They’re coming.”
The corner of his mouth twisted hideously.
“The Demonic Sect.”
In that instant, everyone’s faces went white.
Feeling the thing churning and writhing in his gut, Chung Myung muttered under his breath.
“Delighted to see you, you son of a bitch.”
At that chilling voice, as though it had leaked up from hell itself, everyone held their breath.