Senior Brother of the Sect Leader (2)
“I feel like I can breathe again.”
“I’ve got some strength back in my body, too.”
The Mount Hua disciples and Hye Yeon sat together in a loose circle, rolling their shoulders and twisting their necks as they checked over their bodies. Without question, they felt much lighter now.
“Khrrr, as expected of Liquid Sky Essence!”
“Even one drop is incredible! It really is the elixir among elixirs!”
“Amitabha. Truly, a person has to eat well to—”
But Chung Myung’s face had gone pale instead. His eyes were shut tight, and even their corners glistened with moisture.
Those greedy bastards.
Of all the things to snatch from someone, they had to steal his Liquid Sky Essence?
Even if it wasn’t as miraculous as the Honwon Dan, it was still one of the treasures always mentioned when people spoke of the greatest elixirs under heaven.
And those precious drops—
“Feel better now? Huh? You happy now?”
“What are you even saying?”
Baek Cheon frowned at Chung Myung.
“Who was it that pulled every dirty trick in the book just to avoid giving up even that one little drop?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Martial Uncle. I’ve lived a long time, and I’ve never seen a drop that small before. Dropping it out one tiny bead at a time is a skill in itself.”
“Cheapskate.”
At the barrage of complaints, Chung Myung exploded.
“Do you idiots even know what this stuff is?”
“Yes, yes. This lowly one knows nothing.”
“Ahhh, I can feel my strength coming back! I can feel it!”
Chung Myung wiped at the corners of his damp eyes.
I live long enough, and look what happens. The day comes when I get my own stuff ripped off right in front of me.
- Serves you right, you punk.
“Kraaaagh!”
Ah, damn it.
Could you not just pop out of nowhere?
Chung Myung had a fit at the empty air again, but by now everyone just took it in stride.
“Still, Chung Myung.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you all right?”
At Baek Cheon’s question, Chung Myung looked at him wordlessly for a moment. Then he slowly shook his head, his eyes cloudy.
“There’s only so much you can do after poisoning someone and then handing them the antidote. Where the hell did you sell your conscience?”
“No, I just thought you weren’t eating any of it.”
“Maybe you weaklings would be groaning on the floor from a wound like that, but I’m fine! This much doesn’t even faze me!”
“Oh? Then would you consider giving another drop to the weakling—”
“Don’t touch me! I’ll cut your hand off!”
Chung Myung hissed like a cornered wildcat, and Baek Cheon clicked his tongue and drew his hand back.
“Still, even after eating something as precious as Liquid Sky Essence, your body still isn’t fully recovered.”
“That’s because we were hurt that badly,” Yoon Jong said, shuddering. It really had been a battle dreadful enough to leave a permanent mark on memory. Gooseflesh ran down his spine.
“Anyway, we beat the Demonic Sect, didn’t we?”
“And we even caught the Bishop!”
The Mount Hua disciples’ shoulders began to rise higher and higher.
Unfortunately, in front of them stood a rascal who could not bear to watch human shoulders climb with his eyes wide open.
“Caught the Bishop?”
Chung Myung tilted his head sharply. Jo Gul jerked and shouted.
“Why, what now? What’re you going to ruin this time?”
“No, nothing.”
Chung Myung shrugged.
“You can delude yourselves if you want, but it’d be best to get the facts straight. The Bishop we caught wasn’t a proper Bishop to begin with.”
“……”
“If he had been a proper Bishop, or if that had been a proper branch of the Demonic Sect, they wouldn’t have been stranded out here in some remote corner of the world, doing all kinds of insane shit by themselves.”
“Isn’t doing insane shit kind of the Demonic Sect’s thing?”
“That’s different.”
Chung Myung shook his head firmly.
“From what I could tell from the guy who claimed he was a Bishop, they were castoffs even within the Demonic Sect. They’d split off from the central branch and had to survive on their own, so they probably couldn’t even train properly.”
“Then…”
Yoon Jong asked slowly, his face tightening. He swallowed hard.
“The real Bishop, or a real Demonic Sect warrior, is even stronger?”
“Why ask something so obvious?” Chung Myung snorted.
“Even so…”
Yoon Jong still looked like he couldn’t quite wrap his head around it.
What they had seen with their own eyes had been terrifying beyond words. Their small numbers had nearly wiped out not only the Mount Hua disciples, but the Ice Palace as well, hadn’t they?
And yet that wasn’t even a proper Demonic Sect?
“Think about the result.”
“Huh?”
“Even if it was only one branch, if a mere Disciple of the Demonic Sect had been at the level where he could be taken down by a single Ice Palace bastard, do you really think the Central Plains would have been driven back so helplessly by the Demonic Sect a hundred years ago?”
“……”
The Mount Hua disciples’ expressions turned strange.
Now that he said it, it didn’t sound entirely wrong. Of course, Mount Hua’s own efforts had played a part in driving the Demonic Sect out of the Ice Palace, but by that logic, hadn’t there been plenty of warriors in the Central Plains a hundred years ago who were beyond even them?
“What we dealt with were only the dregs within the Demonic Sect.”
“……I see.”
It was a fact no one wanted to believe, but the more they heard it, the more sense it made.
“A real Demonic Sect…”
Now their faces grew grave.
So there are still people like that alive in this world.
Thinking about how recklessly they had lived without ever truly feeling that fact made his blood run cold.
“And when you add the Heavenly Demon to that…”
At Yoon Jong’s murmur, Chung Myung shook his head.
“Right. Then you get the Demonic Sect that nearly destroyed the Central Plains.”
“……The Heavenly Demon……”
Then Jo Gul, as if something had just come to mind, asked, “By the way, Chung Myung. What happened in there? Was the Heavenly Demon really about to be resurrected?”
“Resurrected my ass.”
Chung Myung gave a cold laugh.
“They were sneaking around and making a mess, sure, but I chopped off his head and sent him flying.”
“……That really is a relief.”
The crippled Bishop had been dreadful enough. If the Heavenly Demon had truly been resurrected, what on earth would have happened?
But the fact that they had escaped catastrophe didn’t exactly comfort them. Now they knew that powers beyond the ones they had faced were still alive and well in the world.
Seeing everyone’s faces grow serious all over again, as though they had never been proud in the first place, Chung Myung let out a snort of amusement.
“Still, don’t get this gloomy over it.”
“Huh?”
“Even if he was a cripple, the Bishop was still a Bishop, and even if they were crude, the Demonic Sect was still the Demonic Sect. The fact that you fought them this much and won means you did something amazing.”
“……Aren’t you the one who keeps poisoning us and then handing out the antidote?”
“What poison did I give you, huh?” Chung Myung cried, looking wronged. Baek Cheon sighed and shook his head.
“In any case, we’ve learned one thing.”
“What?”
“That we can’t keep going like this.”
His eyes sharpened with resolve.
“The Demonic Sect is stronger than we imagined. If they were to come at the Central Plains with their full strength the way they did in the past, there’s no guarantee Mount Hua would survive.”
At that, everyone nodded in unison.
They had felt the Demonic Sect’s power enough. And they also knew that the current Mount Hua was not strong enough to stop them.
“We need to become stronger.”
“When you say ‘we’—”
“Not just us here. Mount Hua as a whole needs to grow stronger. I don’t want to see a single person from Mount Hua die under those bastards’ blades.”
“I agree.”
“So do I, Martial Uncle!”
They faced one another and nodded with firm resolve. A faint smile spread across Chung Myung’s lips.
Yes. Those with enemies are the ones who grow strong.
It was a damn annoying thing to say out loud, but what had made Mount Hua stronger now was Zhongnan, and after that the Nine Great Sects, including Shaolin.
Training on nothing but the will to become stronger on one’s own was no easy thing for anyone.
But when there was someone you didn’t want to lose to, someone you wanted to surpass, you could grit your teeth and push yourself harder—and through that, become stronger.
Now that they were beginning to set their own goals and steel their own will, he thought he could finally acknowledge the people in front of him as proper warriors in their own right.
“Then the moment we return to Mount Hua, I suppose I’ll have to work the disciples to death.”
“We’ll make it hell for them.”
“I’m going to make them feel exactly what I felt facing those Demonic Sect bastards!”
“I’ll kill them.”
“……”
Uh…
Guys?
That direction is a little… um… actually, a lot different from what I had in mind.
Huh?
“Amitabha.”
At that moment, Hye Yeon, who had remained silent, folded his hands and spoke.
“I have also felt many things. I honestly did not understand why the Abbot was willing to send the donors here, even at the cost of so many sacrifices. But now that I see how dangerous the Demonic Sect truly is, I can understand the Abbot’s foresight…”
“That’s right! That damn bald monk!”
“……W-wha, bald—”
Hye Yeon was left speechless. Chung Myung, who had been calm a moment ago, suddenly had fire blazing in both eyes.
“He acts like there were just a few Demonic Sect bastards hiding around, but no, a whole branch was in here? Damn it, they lie the second they open their mouths! May they all rot in hell!”
“Li-lies… hell…”
“When we get back to the Central Plains, I’m going to rip every last hair off that bald monk’s head— ah, right, he doesn’t have any! Then I’ll tear out his beard instead! I will!”
What Hye Yeon was supposed to say right then was, “Even so, isn’t that a little too harsh toward the Shaolin Abbot?”
But in front of Chung Myung, who was baring killing intent and breathing out dragonlike fumes, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“D-Donor. For now, please calm yourself…”
“We should ask for extra payment.”
The one who cut Hye Yeon off immediately was Baek Cheon, seated beside him. The other disciples quickly joined in.
“Exactly. This doesn’t even come close to balancing the books.”
“We should use this chance to uproot the entire Shaolin foundation!”
“We should melt down their statues and sell them off, too.”
“……”
Abbot.
This place is full of demons.
Watching their wholehearted display of hostility toward Shaolin, Hye Yeon had no words left.
The angry ones were not the real problem. The biggest problem was… that he himself found the idea of demanding extra compensation from Shaolin oddly persuasive.
“Amitabha! Amitabha!”
When had his head been filled with so many demons?
No… but thinking about it again, the donors really might not be wrong.
“Ughhh. Amitabha.”
Hye Yeon suffered a serious identity crisis and groaned in torment. Fortunately, salvation arrived for him at just the right moment.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
At Baek Cheon’s words, the door opened. Before long, Seol So-baek and Han Yi-myung hurried inside, both in pristine white martial robes.
“Daoist! We heard you had awakened and rushed here at once! Are you feeling better now?”
Seol So-baek ran straight up to Chung Myung and looked at him with sparkling eyes.
“Mm-hm.”
“How can you say mm-hm to the Palace Lord!”
“That rude brat!”
“He needs a beating!”
Everyone shouted in protest, but Chung Myung didn’t so much as listen through his nose. Keeping his gaze fixed on Seol So-baek, he asked, “You must be busy, so what are you doing here?”
“There are priorities in this world, Daoist! No matter how many important matters there are, what could be more important than coming to see the Daoist who saved the North Sea and offering my thanks?”
“Hohoho. Look at this little sharp one.”
He’d raised him well. Raised him very well indeed.
Chung Myung broke into a broad grin, immensely pleased.
Now the Mount Hua lot were trying their best to outdo him and even steal his belongings, so Seol So-baek, obedient little puppy that he was, looked all the more adorable by comparison.
Seol So-baek’s eyes shone even brighter.
“I don’t even know how to express this gratitude, Daoist! Because of you, the Ice Palace escaped destruction, and the North Sea was spared a great calamity. Truly, truly, I offer my deepest thanks.”
“Oh?”
Chung Myung’s smile widened into something even more delighted.
“Of course, Daoist!”
“So you do know, after all. Right?”
“Naturally. Isn’t it said that those who don’t know gratitude are no better than beasts? I, Seol So-baek, may not be well educated, but I am not a beast! I will never forget this kindness for the rest of my life.”
Seol So-baek’s expression was solemn to the point of reverence. Chung Myung answered with a brilliant smile.
Han Yi-myung, watching from behind, felt his eyes grow damp.
What a fine sight this is.
A hero who had rushed in from the Central Plains to save the North Sea, and the young Palace Lord who would inherit that hero’s will and lead the North Sea into the future.
How could anyone say this was anything but a magnificent sight?
Then Chung Myung, smiling broadly enough to split his face, spoke again.
“Just words?”
“……Pardon?”
Seol So-baek lifted his head slightly, looking as though he had misheard. But Chung Myung kindly confirmed it once more.
“You’re thanking me with just words? Just words.”
“……”
Then he reached out and lightly patted Seol So-baek on the shoulder.
“There’s no such thing as gratitude in words alone, and no kindness that can be repaid with just your mouth. Kindness and gratitude are supposed to be repaid in material goods. Material goods! You know what I mean, right?”
“……”
“Why? Were you planning to wipe your mouth clean with just a few words of thanks? No, that can’t be it, can it?”
“N-no, that’s not—”
“Those who don’t know gratitude are beasts, you said?”
“……Yes.”
“Even beasts hand over their hides. They don’t know gratitude, but they repay it with those hides. Surely you’re not planning to be worse than a beast, are you? Hm? No way. The Ice Palace has some pride, doesn’t it? Surely not.”
Sweat began to bead on Seol So-baek’s round forehead.
Once the matter of the Ice Palace’s pride had been mentioned, this had become something he could no longer back away from.
“Of course not, Daoist. The North Sea Ice Palace will repay this kindness, absolutely.”
“……Oh?”
Chung Myung smiled as though he had just inherited the whole world.
“Hahahaha! That’s more like it. I never thought the Ice Palace was such a shameless place!”
“R-right. Of course.”
“Good, good. So then…”
Chung Myung’s hand closed around Seol So-baek’s shoulder. In his eyes, which were fixed on the flustered boy, light seemed to burst.
“Bring it out first.”
“B-bring out what?”
“What do you mean, what?”
Chung Myung’s smile was so wide it was almost absurd.
“The North Sea Ice Palace’s asset ledger.”
“……”
“Now.”
“……”
Seeing Seol So-baek standing there like a sheep in a wolf’s jaws, the Mount Hua disciples quietly turned their heads away.
He got caught.
Poor kid.
We’re sorry, Palace Lord.
There are people in this world you should never owe a favor to.
Seol So-baek—and the Ice Palace—had simply not known that. And that was their misfortune.