I Learned Very Well Thanks to You (3)
“...We won.”
“That crazy bastard actually pulled it off...”
Baek Cheon, Jo Gul, and Yoon Jong stared at the duel stage in stunned disbelief.
The sight of Chung Myung standing tall and Heo Gong collapsed before him was burned vividly into their eyes.
“My word...”
They had thought it was possible.
Given everything that Chung Myung had shown them so far, there was no reason he couldn’t take on a Wudang elder.
But there was a world of difference between imagining something in one’s head and seeing the result with one’s own eyes.
We thought he might be able to win, but to do it like this...
This wasn’t just a victory. It was a complete rout.
“...Sasuk.”
“Hm?”
“He got even stronger in that time, didn’t he?”
“...Seems that way.”
“Does that even make sense...”
At Jo Gul’s muttering, Baek Cheon gave a wry smile.
That guy really is...
Every time it felt like he had finally started to catch up, Chung Myung would leap far ahead again. All Baek Cheon could ever see was the shadow of Chung Myung, always just beyond reach, as though it might vanish at any moment.
But Baek Cheon no longer let himself be discouraged by that.
To see the shadow was to know Chung Myung was there beyond it. Even if the distance refused to close the way he wanted, Baek Cheon was steadily, faithfully following after him.
“More importantly...”
“Yes?”
“We should probably deal with them first.”
“...”
At Baek Cheon’s words, Yoon Jong and Jo Gul slowly turned around. There stood Hyun Sang and Hyun Young at the front of the disciples.
His jaw’s going to fall off.
Isn’t that a little dangerous?
Seeing Hyun Sang’s mouth opened so wide it looked like it might tear itself apart made both amusement and concern rise at once. At this rate, his jaw really might pop out of place.
“We w—”
“Hahaha...”
Hyun Sang was one thing, but Hyun Young’s expression was just as magnificent, as if he had been struck speechless by sheer disbelief.
“Uh...”
“Hmmm. This is a bit complicated. Complicated.”
At Hyun Young’s murmur, Hyun Sang finally came to his senses and glanced sideways at him.
“Complicated how?”
“Think about it, Sasuk. That fancy Wudang elder got knocked flat after mouthing off. What guarantee do we have that the same won’t happen to us? From now on, we ought to be careful what we say in front of that brat...”
“You little bastard!”
Before he could finish, Hyun Sang kicked Hyun Young squarely in the rear.
“Is that any way to talk about a disciple who won with everything he had?”
“What part of that was wrong?”
“Tch.”
Hyun Sang shot a glare at his sije, who refused to back down even a single word, then turned his gaze back toward Chung Myung.
I can’t believe it.
He had achieved a crushing victory against a Wudang elder of all people. This was different in nature from all the victories Chung Myung had won until now.
What was Wudang? It was one of the foremost sects among all sword sects under heaven, and no one would dispute that.
And yet Chung Myung, nothing more than a younger-generation disciple, had defeated one of Wudang’s top fighters.
Has anything like this ever happened before?
He was from Mount Hua, so this wasn’t ignorance speaking.
Hyun Sang had never heard of anything like this in his lifetime. No, he had never even dared imagine it.
“That... little mudskipper of a brat.”
Hyun Sang kept letting out little snorts of laughter. At the same time, his slightly wrinkled eyes kept growing damp.
It was not simply because Chung Myung had boldly fought Wudang, a sect they had never even thought they could surpass.
He knew what state of mind Chung Myung must have been in when he stepped onto that stage and fought there, and because of that, joy kept making his eyes sting.
“Bite down and bear it, Sasuk.”
“...”
“You’re making a fool of yourself.”
“I know that, you brat!”
Hyun Sang straightened his shoulders.
This was an achievement paid for in the blood of his disciples. He could not let a moment’s emotion ruin it.
Just then, Chung Myung turned his head and looked over at him.
Fine, brat.
How could he not understand the meaning behind that look?
Almost by reflex, Hyun Sang lowered his hands and smoothed out his robes. Then he drew his shoulders back. In this moment, he was not merely an elder of Mount Hua. He had to stand as the substitute for the sect leader, representing all of Mount Hua.
So he could not afford to show even the slightest deficiency.
“I’ll be back.”
“Yes!”
Even Hyun Young’s voice burst out bright and excited.
Hyun Sang forcefully steadied his trembling chest and walked up onto the duel stage.
“...”
It felt as though his brain had been washed clean.
When a person encountered something beyond what they could bear, their mind went blank and left them unable to do anything.
That was exactly Heo Sanja’s state right now.
Defeat.
Only those two characters seemed burned into his mind. This was a defeat without excuse, without escape.
The loss to the Mount Hua Five Swords had been shocking enough. He had never imagined that Wudang’s first-generation disciples would be defeated by Mount Hua’s second- and third-generation disciples.
But that was still something that could be managed somehow.
This situation was... entirely different.
A Wudang elder had been defeated by a third-generation disciple of Mount Hua. And not even after inflicting any real injury.
How on earth was this supposed to be fixed?
If some obscure third-rate sect elder lost to a famous sect’s third-generation disciple, it would already be a laughingstock. But for a Wudang elder to lose to another sect’s third-generation disciple? No excuse in the world could cover that up.
How... how could this happen...
This was not Heo Sanja’s fault.
No one in the world could have foreseen such a situation. Heo Do-jin-in and his scheme had been built on the assumption that Heo Gong would capture Chung Myung in the first place.
In other words, even that Heo Do-jin-in, who sat high above the world and looked down upon it, had never thought Chung Myung would beat Heo Gong.
So how could Heo Sanja possibly have predicted and prepared for this?
“Elder...”
Mu Jin spoke in a trembling voice.
“I will help take care of Elder Heo Gong.”
“...”
“Elder!”
There was no reply.
Heo Sanja merely stared at the duel stage with a hollow expression, as though he could not hear Mu Jin at all.
Mu Jin let out a deep sigh.
It’s only natural.
Even he had been struck as though his heart had been ripped out; how much greater must the shock have been for Heo Sanja? But this was not the time to stand there dazed.
“Mu Gak and Mu Gong, go assist Elder Heo Sanja.”
“...Yes, Sasuk.”
Watching his shidi head up to the duel stage, Mu Jin squeezed his eyes shut.
Where did we go wrong?
There was only one reason for their defeat.
They were simply weaker than Mount Hua.
He did not even want to search for another excuse.
We weren’t as desperate as they were.
He had thought they had never been lazy about pushing themselves in training. But the moment he faced the desperation the disciples of Mount Hua had shown, Mu Jin had to admit that they themselves had been sunk in complacency they had not even known was there.
Watching the disciples carry Heo Gong back down, Mu Jin asked in a low voice, “How is he?”
“It doesn’t look like he suffered any severe internal injuries. Still, we’ll have him examined by a physician just in case.”
“Good.”
Having handled the situation in place of Heo Sanja, Mu Jin continued to stare at Chung Myung, who still stood alone in the center of the duel stage.
“Elder.”
“...”
“It was said that a man’s worth comes not from the beginning, but from the end. The same must be true for a sect. Defeat is truly regrettable, but how we accept that defeat will determine the worth of Wudang.”
“...”
“Elder...”
Yet Heo Sanja still wore the face of a man who had lost his way, at a total loss for what to do.
The same was true of those behind him. All of Wudang’s disciples stood slack-jawed, unable to understand how they were supposed to accept this.
And who could blame them?
When in their lives had they ever suffered a defeat this catastrophic?
The reason Mu Jin could still keep his wits about him was not because his mind was stronger than theirs. It was simply because he had already experienced Chung Myung once before and suffered a similar defeat, so the shock had been less severe this time.
Perhaps we were arrogant beyond measure.
Then Hyun Sang could be seen walking up onto the duel stage.
At the sight of that firm, unhurried stride, a bitter smile touched Mu Jin’s lips. He realized that his own view of Hyun Sang had changed.
To be honest, until now he had not thought much of Mount Hua’s elders.
Mu Jin had experienced Chung Myung for himself and had been able to guess that all of Mount Hua’s recent changes had ultimately been brought about by him.
For that reason, the elders of Mount Hua had seemed to him to be nothing more than useless men who had gotten lucky by taking in a once-in-a-lifetime genius as a disciple.
But now Hyun Sang looked very different.
He’s the one who raised that swordsman called Un Geom, and those Baek generation disciples.
Just by looking at Un Geom, one could guess the kind of attitude with which Mount Hua’s swordsmen had learned the sword. Anyone who had raised such a man deserved respect.
As Taoists from Mount Hua and Wudang, yes—but also as swordsmen.
Hyun Sang, standing beside Chung Myung, looked quietly over at Wudang.
Ignoring the Wudang disciples who could not meet his gaze, he fixed his eyes on Heo Sanja, who still seemed to have lost his soul, and spoke calmly.
“It was a fine duel.”
“...”
“The result of the duel is not what matters. What matters is what we learned and what we carried away from crossing swords with one another.”
His voice was calm, but filled with steady strength.
Mu Jin realized something anew.
He’s a old pine tree.
Strength alone did not define a person’s greatness.
A man who had lived through countless years of rise and fall within Mount Hua possessed a hardness and restraint like an ancient pine tree standing silent through the surging storms of time.
That was...
what our Wudang should have been pursuing.
The men who had defended Mount Hua were, beneath that dazzling swordplay, fully embodying the ideal of Wudang in their lives.
Feeling unaccountably solemn, Mu Jin found himself lowering his head slightly in respect toward Hyun Sang. Hyun Sang continued.
“This time, Mount Hua takes away much. But the outcome now visible before us is only a fleeting victory. The true victor will be the one who grows more through this duel.”
Then he calmly brought his hands together in a formal salute and extended them forward.
“I have learned much. May fortune shine upon your sect.”
Heo Sanja’s face twisted horribly.
And yet he, too, had come here representing Wudang. There was no way he could refuse the other’s courtesy.
“I have... learned much. I... I pray for your sect’s prosperity.”
His shoulders were trembling uncontrollably.
Hyun Sang did not bother to watch any longer and turned away.
It was true that victory brought joy, but he did not want to humiliate the loser. No one understood the heart of defeat better than Hyun Sang himself.
But then a voice rang out, turning his head back again.
“However!”
Heo Sanja was glaring at him, bloodshot eyes burning with resentment.
“Do not think for a moment that this means Mount Hua has defeated Wudang. This was only one duel! Mount Hua still...”
“A sect still far from catching up to Wudang.”
“...”
“I know.”
Hyun Sang smiled gently.
“Because Wudang exists, Mount Hua can strive. We hope that for your sect as well, Mount Hua can become such an existence.”
“...”
“Well then.”
Turning lightly on his heel, he suddenly looked up at the sky.
What a good day.
The sunlight pouring down onto the duel stage felt brighter, warmer, and somehow more welcome than usual.
The road ahead was still long. Even so, for this one moment, he wanted to savor this gentle sun.
Wuhan in Hubei Province.
In the very heart of Wudang’s sphere of influence, Mount Hua had achieved a complete victory over Wudang.