Mount Hua Will Be in Total Chaos (4)
“You want me to spread this to the entire Central Plains?”
“Yes.”
Hong Dae-gwang stared blankly at the paper Chung Myung had handed him.
“This?”
“Yes.”
“But this is the Green Forest’s position, isn’t it? Why would Mount Hua—”
“Ah, because the Green Forest King is at Mount Hua right now.”
“Who?”
“The Green Forest King.”
“Who?”
“What, are you hard of hearing or something?”
“……”
Hong Dae-gwang gaped at him, too stunned even to close his mouth.
Just what the hell was going on in this mountain stronghold?
But Chung Myung merely clicked his tongue, looking annoyed by the whole thing.
“So, yeah. Spread this around through the beggars, will you? Everywhere in the Central Plains.”
“Mount Hua Divine Dragon. I mean, I am the branch leader of the Beggars’ Sect, yes, but I don’t have the power to mobilize every beggar in the Central Plains.”
“Ah, don’t worry about that.”
“Huh?”
Chung Myung smiled sweetly and eased Hong Dae-gwang’s worries.
“I never thought the beggar uncle could do that anyway. I’m not even asking for it.”
Hong Dae-gwang’s cheek twitched.
“No, I mean… that’s a little—”
“Reality’s reality. What’re you gonna do? Don’t worry about it. I’m not asking for the moon. Just do what you can.”
“……”
It was supposed to be reassuring.
So why did his stomach feel like it was being twisted into knots?
“Th-then what about the rumor….”
“There are other people besides the beggar uncle who can spread rumors. The more mouths, the better, right?”
“Haaah. Fine. I understand.”
Hong Dae-gwang let out a long sigh.
This brat’s starting to think I’m useless, isn’t he?
It was honestly heartbreaking.
It felt like just yesterday that this kid, with cheeks still plump with baby fat, had been running up and calling him uncle, uncle—
Huh?
That never happened?
Come on, it definitely did! Back then, he at least seemed more human than he does now!
Well, I guess that makes sense.
Thinking about it, this wasn’t happening because Chung Myung had a rotten personality.
No, that wasn’t what he meant. He absolutely did have a rotten personality, but that wasn’t the cause of this particular issue.
Compared to when he had first met the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, Mount Hua’s standing now was on a completely different level.
In the past, Mount Hua had been a place that he, as a mere branch leader, could manage without much trouble. But now, if he wanted to obtain all the information Chung Myung asked for, the position of branch leader alone had its limits.
I’ll have to talk to the Beggar King about this separately.
Building trust with Mount Hua was a crucial matter. The Beggars’ Sect might be one of the Gupailbang, but in the end, its power came from information.
If they let Mount Hua, this giant catch, slip away, the Beggars’ Sect’s standing in the martial world would inevitably be shaken.
“So I just need to spread this one, then?”
“Ah, while you’re at it, could you deliver these too?”
“Huh? To where?”
“This one’s for Ghost Sect, and this one’s for the Tang Family.”
“Ghost Sect and the Tang Family?”
“Yes.”
Hong Dae-gwang’s face flushed red, then turned blue.
Where do you think those places are, you little punk? Did going up north to the Northern Sea make you forget all sense of distance?
Was it easy to deliver letters to sects in the southern part of the Central Plains?
But Hong Dae-gwang couldn’t bring himself to say it was difficult.
Whenever I’m around this guy, I feel like I keep getting dumber.
In the end, he took the letters Chung Myung handed him and glanced sideways at him.
“But what exactly are you planning to do again?”
“Planning to do what?”
“No, the way things are moving right now, they don’t look normal.”
“Why? You planning to trot off and report it to the orthodox sects?”
“……”
For a moment, Hong Dae-gwang was speechless, and Chung Myung grinned.
“Well, that’d be up to you, uncle.”
A chill ran down Hong Dae-gwang’s chest as if someone had poured ice water over his heart.
This brat?
It was a harmless line, but there was too much packed into those few words.
“The Beggars’ Sect is probably very interested in this whole affair, right?”
“The Beggars’ Sect? Not the orthodox sects?”
“……Uncle, are you really sure you’re a branch leader?”
“……Sorry.”
Under Chung Myung’s suspicious gaze, Hong Dae-gwang scratched his head hard.
He had grown up hearing he was fairly sharp-minded, but whenever he talked to this brat, he felt like an idiot.
“How did the Beggars’ Sect raise its value?”
“Well… through information other people don’t have….”
“Then how should you raise your own value, uncle?”
Hong Dae-gwang shut his mouth.
“The rules of the world are all the same. Do your best.”
Chung Myung smirked, turned around, and sauntered off without a shred of lingering attachment.
Watching that back recede, Hong Dae-gwang let out an involuntary, bitter laugh.
What, does he have a whole nest of vipers coiled up in his guts or something?
Then he spun on his heel and raced quickly down the mountain.
“……Eek?”
“W-why did he suddenly get like that?”
“Did the medicine stop working? He was definitely better before.”
Baek Cheon and the others, who had entered the hall for the meeting, flinched at the sight of Im So-byeong’s face and stepped back in surprise.
The shadows under his eyes hung all the way to his chin, and his complexion was so pale it looked bloodless. His lips were white, and his bluish face was made even more grotesque by the expression of a loyal retainer whose country had been lost.
Just how much has he suffered…
Ugh, I don’t even want to imagine it.
Being tormented by Chung Myung alone would be hell, but on top of that he had Elder Hyun Young attached to him too.
Thinking about what Im So-byeong must have gone through, they looked at him with sympathetic eyes.
Then Im So-byeong slowly turned his head and said in a weak voice, “Please… sit.”
“Yes.”
“Are you all right?”
At the question, he said nothing. Instead, he lifted his eyes toward the sky visible through the open door.
Life…
What was the point of struggling so hard?
If he only turned his head a little, there was paradise—
“If you’re here, sit down already.”
But in this place there existed a being who made it impossible for anyone to turn their head away.
Chung Myung was tearing at jerky with a face far too healthy compared to Im So-byeong’s, chewing it methodically. Then he held out a tiny piece of the torn meat to him.
“Want some?”
“……”
Im So-byeong reached out with a hand that had not a shred of strength left in it and took the little piece of jerky Chung Myung offered.
One moment.
Something pale and white flashed by in an instant and snatched the jerky from his hand like a blade.
“……”
Baek Ah clutched the stolen jerky tightly, chomped away in one go, and devoured it.
…Neither people nor beasts…
There was truly nothing normal in this place.
“Ahem.”
At that moment, Hyun Jong entered and coughed loudly before looking at Hyun Young.
“Was the discussion concluded satisfactorily?”
“We reached an agreement that should satisfy both sides.”
Hyun Jong glanced from Im So-byeong to Hyun Young and back again.
Looking at Hyun Young, whose face was so polished it practically shone, and Im So-byeong, who looked like he had gone a week without food or sleep, he could more or less guess what that “agreement” had been.
So now they’re really swindling bandits too.
Whatever happened to that once-stiff, dignified daoist look?
Hyun Jong silently sat down and squeezed his eyes shut. In truth, from the moment he had handed Im So-byeong over to those two, he had become an accomplice himself.
All an accomplice could say now was this:
“Yes. I’m glad to hear the discussion went well.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
Im So-byeong looked at him with hollow eyes and ground his teeth.
“Very… very well indeed. Thank you. How I am supposed to repay this grudge… no, this kindness….”
Hyun Jong smiled gently, all benevolence.
People really are all the same.
The Im So-byeong who had first impressed him with his unbandit-like composure and scholar’s grace had spent a few days at Mount Hua, and now there was nothing left but malice and venom.
“Yes. We’re all busy now, so let’s get to the point. Exactly what does Mount Hua need to help with?”
Im So-byeong exhaled deeply.
They had already handed over everything they were going to hand over; now it was time to collect what they were owed.
“After speaking with my subordinates, it appears that the number of mountain strongholds that attacked Daeho Fort is at least three.”
“Three….”
“It’s not certain. I suspect it may be more than five.”
“Five?”
At that moment, Baek Cheon raised a hand slightly.
“Yes?”
“I’m asking because I don’t quite understand… isn’t the Green Forest made up of seventy-two forts?”
“That is correct. Officially, the Green Forest consists of seventy-two mountain strongholds, but there are also smaller forts that are not counted among them and remain under the Green Forest’s control.”
As Im So-byeong explained calmly, Baek Cheon nodded.
“If the Green Forest has seventy-two forts, then five isn’t such a large number relatively speaking, is it? So why would five forts rebelling cause such a huge problem?”
As if expecting the question, Im So-byeong smiled.
“The reason is simple. Even if there are seventy-two forts, their strength is not equal. Most of the Green Forest’s power is concentrated in the top ten forts. And if five of those turn, then, with only a bit of exaggeration, it would not be wrong to say that half the Green Forest’s power has gone with them.”
“Ah….”
A sigh slipped out of Im So-byeong.
“To oppose them, we need the full strength of the remaining five forts, but among those, only about two are firmly supporting me.”
Chung Myung, listening, gave a crooked smile.
“So you’re the Green Forest King in name only. This is basically….”
“Hng. That’s because of my illness.”
“What does your illness have to do with it?”
“It’s common knowledge that people with the Nine Yin Severed Meridians die young, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m afflicted with something similar, so naturally they think I won’t live long. Why would anyone support me? Once I die, I’d be worth less than a handful of corn to a dog.”
“……”
“That’s why I should have taken the spirit pill, cured my illness, and announced it immediately….”
As he spoke, fresh anger seemed to surge through him again, and Im So-byeong glared at Chung Myung with resentful eyes.
Chung Myung whistled and turned his head away.
“Could happen.”
“Grrr….”
Clutching his chest, Im So-byeong drew a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
“Anyway, so all we need to deal with are those three forts?”
“Yes, to put it simply.”
“Hmm.”
Chung Myung nodded, then looked at Hyun Jong.
“Sect Leader.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve had the beggar uncle spread the rumor. By the time we get to those strongholds, the rumor should already be all over the place.”
“Then is there nothing else we need to do?”
“No.”
Hyun Jong gave a slow nod, then spoke with the deepest seriousness.
“Hyun Sang. Hyun Young.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“Have the expedition preparations completed by tomorrow morning. Inform the disciples of the situation and make sure everyone is ready without any delay when we depart!”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
Then Hyun Young, after answering, asked carefully, “Sect Leader, how many disciples should we bring?”
“Prepare them all.”
“Pardon?”
“Leave only the minimum number necessary to guard the main sect, and have as many as possible set out with us.”
Hyun Young’s eyes trembled.
He knew exactly what that meant.
Until now, Mount Hua had attended the martial tournaments and even traveled beyond the borders, but those had always been partial efforts. This time, however, the nature of the matter was changing.
Hyun Jong swept his unwavering gaze across them all and said, “Disciples, listen well.”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
“For a hundred years, Mount Hua’s vitality has withered under the shadow of great calamity. During that time, Mount Hua restrained its outside activities as much as possible and focused on strengthening its internal foundations. But there is no longer any need for that now.”
It wasn’t just Hyun Young. No one there failed to understand what those words meant. A strange excitement began to glimmer in the eyes of Mount Hua’s disciples.
Seeing those resolute gazes, Hyun Jong smiled faintly.
“Now, let us show the world. Let us prove that Mount Hua has grown stronger than anyone has imagined.”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
The heat swept through the hall.
For the first time in decades, Mount Hua was opening its gates and taking a great step toward the world.