A Little Too Healthy, That’s All (3)
“Th-that Geol…….”
Hyun Sang stared wide-eyed, muttering under his breath.
That bandit Dong Ung was certainly no lesser man than the Dokhyulsu he had once fought in the past.
Of course, if they were to truly test their skills against each other, Dokhyulsu would win—but that did not mean Dong Ung should have been so completely overwhelmed.
And yet Jo Gul, of all people, had toyed with him before finishing the fight cleanly.
“My word……”
Hyun Sang’s mouth slowly fell open.
Wasn’t it said that the people least aware of their children’s growth were, in fact, their parents?
It wasn’t as though no one knew Jo Gul had grown stronger, but knowing it in one’s head was one thing; seeing it with one’s own eyes was something else entirely.
“……Geol……”
Even Un Geom seemed deeply shaken, staring blankly at Jo Gul.
“Tch. Like it’s some incredible thing.”
Hyun Young snorted.
“Do you know how much Chung Myung put those brats through? This is the least they ought to be able to do.”
“My good man, this is no ordinary matter I’m talking about!” Hyun Sang cried out, agitated.
Hyun Young did not pay much attention to martial arts, so he did not fully grasp how staggering this was.
How much time had passed since Maninbang’s invasion? In less than a year, to think a person’s martial prowess could double in that short span—was that even possible?
But Hyun Young still brushed it off and said, “Fine, fine, I know Jo Gul’s gotten stronger, but don’t stare only at him. The other kids are tearing those Dae-byeol bastards apart too, aren’t they?”
“Ah……”
At that, Hyun Sang looked over the other Mount Hua disciples one by one with fresh eyes. It felt strangely moving.
When did they become this strong……?
The decision had been made by Hyun Jong and Chung Myung.
Of course, Hyun Sang had also judged that, with Mount Hua’s current strength, taking on a couple of bandit forts in the Green Forest would not be a major problem, so he had not objected—but……
I never thought it would be this much……
His body trembled faintly.
When even those Dae-byeol bandits looked like a bunch of no-name mountain thugs from some little hill, what more was there to say?
“Mount Hua……”
A groan-like voice escaped Hyun Sang’s lips.
“Mount Hua really has grown strong.”
“What, you’re just realizing that now?”
Hyun Young snapped back with a scowl, yet even the corners of his own mouth were lifted in a smile.
“Still, Sahyung.”
“Hm?”
“Hasn’t Jo Gul become ridiculously strong?”
“Yes, yes, of course!”
Hyun Sang raised his voice with uncharacteristic boyish excitement.
“You may not realize it, but the rate at which those children are growing is absurd. Once they fully absorb all the spiritual medicines they’ve taken, they’ll become even stronger than they are now!”
“That’s what I mean.”
“Hm?”
“Who’s stronger—Jo Gul or Sahyung?”
“……”
“Why are you not answering? I asked who’s stronger.”
“……”
Hyun Sang’s gaze fixed on the children.
“Press them!”
Jo Gul’s defeat of Dong Ung had a decisive effect on the morale of the other disciples.
With the apparent leader brought down, the Mount Hua disciples—already riding a sky-high wave of momentum—grew even more courageous.
By contrast, the bandits’ morale collapsed rapidly, and they began to be subdued one after another beneath the swords of Mount Hua.
Baek Cheon’s voice rang out like a bell.
“No matter when or where, never forget Mount Hua’s teachings! Those who cannot keep a cool head will never bring out their true skill!”
“Yes!”
Even amid the chaos of battle, their thunderous reply came back clear and bright.
Baek Cheon narrowed his eyes and observed the situation before giving a slow nod.
No problem.
If things became a little difficult, he had planned to join in at any time—but fortunately, the Mount Hua disciples were fighting far better than he had expected. In a situation like this, joining them would only limit their experience.
“……I didn’t actually do anything today, Sasuk.”
“Neither did I.”
Yoon Jong and Yu I-seol complained, but Baek Cheon simply smiled quietly and let their grumbling pass.
“Isn’t this only the beginning?”
“I suppose so.”
Just then, Jo Gul was seen approaching from over there, his shoulders practically reaching for the sky.
Triumphant. Majestic.
No, even those words weren’t quite enough. Jo Gul, who had come striding over, lifted his chin and said, “Heh. Did you all see that? Me absolutely cooking that brute?”
The eyes of the other three narrowed in unison.
“Jo Gul.”
“Yes?”
“Watching your rotten personality burst out more and more every day fills me with such pride.”
“Haha! My, what a compliment……”
“That’s an insult, idiot.”
“……”
Baek Cheon sighed and shook his head.
He could not understand why everyone seemed to be deteriorating more and more by the day.
Well, he’s earned a little pride.
Normally, he would have lectured Jo Gul a bit, but he did not bother to cut him down because the boy really had done something worth boasting about.
Jo Gul had faced powerful foes many times before. But each time, Yoon Jong had been fighting at his side. Or else everyone had rushed in together.
In other words, this was the first time he had defeated a strong opponent recognized by the world entirely on his own.
Baek Cheon, who knew just how meaningful such a thing was to a martial artist, had no intention of draining the strength from Jo Gul’s shoulders.
Of course, that was only Baek Cheon’s opinion.
“You’re puffing your chest out?”
“……”
The one sipping alcohol behind their backs seemed to have a different view.
“You slash like that and then stick your stomach out? I’ll gut you on the spot!”
“……”
Jo Gul, who had been swaggering the whole time, shrank down with a flinch and failed to even answer.
“I-I thought I did pretty well.”
“Pretty well?”
And then he cautiously looked away from Chung Myung’s wild, glaring eyes.
“Pretty well? Well? That? That’s what you call ‘pretty well’?”
“Chung Myung.”
“Hm?”
“I don’t know what it is, but for now, I’ll admit I was wrong.”
“Tch.”
Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
“I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”
Having crushed Jo Gul’s little uprising, he turned his head to look at the other disciples.
“Hmph. It seems Sago Un Geom put in a lot of work while we were in the Northern Sea.”
Unlike Chung Myung, Un Geom emphasized fundamentals above all else. Perhaps that was why, despite maintaining such fierce momentum, everyone’s posture remained unbroken.
Good.
Chung Myung nodded in satisfaction.
There was still a long road ahead, but at least they had reached this point faster than expected. For now, that was enough.
Crack!
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
A resisting bandit screamed and fell.
The bandits no longer had the courage to charge forward and slowly backed away. More than half of them were already down. And Dong Ung, the one who had led them here, had lost consciousness and been knocked out long ago.
In a situation like this, where the hell was the will to keep fighting supposed to come from?
Baek Cheon raised his voice.
“Drop your weapons. Those who surrender will not be killed.”
At that, the bandits looked back at Baek Cheon with suspicious eyes. Baek Cheon shouted again.
“I am Baek Cheon of Great Mount Hua Sect. Mount Hua does not speak falsehoods!”
Jo Gul whispered into Yoon Jong’s ear in a voice low enough not to be heard by others.
“Isn’t that a lie too?”
“Just let it go. He does tell a few lies in situations like this, but it’s not like you can say this one’s a lie either, can you?”
“Quiet.”
“Yes, sir.”
When Yu I-seol shot them a sharp look, Jo Gul and Yoon Jong both jumped as if burned by fire and clamped their mouths shut.
And then—
Clang. Clang.
At last, the sabers in the bandits’ hands began dropping to the ground one by one.
Then the remaining bandits all dropped to their knees at once.
“Tie up the surrendering ones and treat the injured!”
“Yes!”
A booming reply reverberated loud enough to shake the city.
The citizens of Changsha who witnessed the sight all clicked their tongues in amazement.
“My goodness……”
“And not a single person seriously hurt!”
Even clearing out an ordinary bandit fort usually left injuries. Savage mountain brigands who lived by the blade were always troublesome opponents.
Yet Mount Hua had faced those Dae-byeol bandits without a single truly serious injury. Not that there were none with faint traces of blood here and there, but for a martial artist, that level of damage was negligible.
“Mount Hua Sect is really that strong!”
“I never imagined it would be this much……”
Those who knew the state of the jianghu and those who did not alike could not hide their admiration as they looked at the Mount Hua disciples.
There was a peculiar anticipation in those gazes.
Then Chung Myung jabbed Baek Cheon in the back.
“Sasuk.”
“……Hm?”
“What are you doing?”
“……”
Baek Cheon turned to look at Chung Myung with a complicated expression. But perhaps it would have been better not to look at all, because Chung Myung was grinning with utterly wicked amusement.
“You’ve got to do what comes next.”
“……Do I really have to?”
“What are you talking about? If the table’s already set, you sit down and eat!”
“……”
He understood. Of course he understood.
But Baek Cheon’s complaint was that why, exactly, did it always have to be him?
What’s the point of saying it?
The boy wouldn’t listen even if he did.
In the end, Baek Cheon let out a long sigh and stepped slowly forward. Naturally, the townspeople’s attention gathered on him.
He took a slow breath and spread his broad shoulders wide.
There were people in this world who always charged ahead when the situation called for it but shrank back the moment the stage was set for them. Baek Cheon, however, was the sort who might resist charging forward—but once the stage was set, he would perform somersaults in the air.
“The bandits who attacked Changsha have all been dealt with by us of Mount Hua Sect, so please rest easy and go back to sleep!”
“Wooooooooooooo!”
The instant he finished speaking, a huge cheer exploded from the crowd. There was no reason not to shout when they had been practically invited to do so.
“Long live Mount Hua Sect!”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“Those bandit riffraff! They were nothing after all! Hahaha!”
Baek Cheon waited until the noisy uproar died down a little before speaking again.
“There may be another attack, so we will keep watch around Changsha. And soon we will ascend Mount Heng and wipe out all the bandits troubling you, so please be patient a little longer and wait for us.”
The cheers grew twice as loud.
Finally, Baek Cheon gave a gentle smile to the residents who were cheering for him. Just then, the wind picked up and his fine hair fluttered lightly. A fresh wave of admiration burst forth.
“How could he be so handsome……”
“Mount Hua really is a splendid sect!”
The cheers poured toward Baek Cheon without end. Encouraged by the sight, Jo Gul also stepped forward and seemed ready to say something.
But—
Grab.
“……Hm?”
Feeling a hand restrain him, Jo Gul turned around.
Yu I-seol, Yoon Jong, and Chung Myung were all, as if by prior agreement, reaching out to hold his sleeves.
“Not you.”
“Stay still.”
“A person needs to know his place, Sasuk.”
“……”
Jo Gul’s face twisted bitterly, like he had just bitten into an unripe persimmon.
“……I was the one who knocked out the bandit chief.”
“We know.”
“Yeah, you did good.”
“Since you know, step back.”
“……”
Jo Gul still could not quite let go of his regret, and in the end Chung Myung scowled and said, “There are times when one plus one doesn’t equal two. Don’t ruin the picture for nothing and just stay here.”
That bastard.
Tears welled up in Jo Gul’s eyes.
Yoon Jong patted his shoulder.
“What can you do? That’s just how the world is.”
“Don’t comfort me. It just makes me want to cry more.”
“……Hang in there.”
Jo Gul, his shoulders slumped, returned forlornly to his place.
“Hmph.”
Watching the people who were cheering and shouting with excitement, Chung Myung’s lips curled.
At this point, the rumor will spread like wildfire.
A famous sect spread its reputation even if it stayed still, but an obscure sect like Mount Hua would only become a worthless mat if it did nothing.
There was no surer way than to strike people’s eyes with something unforgettable.
Those who witnessed this scene would now begin speaking about Mount Hua’s exploits, and the sparks they set would leap to the firewood that had already been prepared, spreading like a prairie blaze.
Good.
Having achieved everything he wanted, Chung Myung glanced up toward the inn. The elders of the Hyun generation, watching from the window, met his eyes and waved at him like children. Their faces were all bright and clear.
Tch. Tch. Tch.
Were they really that happy? As if they had done something so amazing.
They’d only just begun.
“Wrap it up quickly. The real fight starts now.”
Whipping around, Chung Myung said that, and thus the Dae-byeol bandit attack on Changsha came to an end beneath the citizens’ cheers.
With a much larger battle still waiting ahead.