What Did They Just Go and Poke? (2)
"Where's the water here?"
"Over there! We’ve got plenty of drinking water set out in front of that pavilion."
"Where’s the latrine?"
"If you go straight behind the pavilion over there, the one with plum blossoms carved into the pillars…"
"Huh? Every pavilion has plum blossoms carved on it."
"Behind that two-story pavilion over there."
"Oh, thanks."
"N-no, wait. How long are we supposed to keep waiting?"
"J-just a little longer, please…"
Yoon Jong’s forehead was beaded with cold sweat as he hurried from place to place answering questions.
I can’t think straight at all.
It was rare enough to see so many people all at once, let alone manage and guide them. On top of that, Mount Hua was painfully short-handed for a sect of its stature.
Of course, the second- and third-generation disciples, even the first-generation disciples, were all running themselves ragged trying to keep things under control, but there were still far too few hands to do the work.
At least…
"Don’t step out of line. Please form proper queues."
"If you need anything, just let us know. We’ll solve it as quickly as we can."
"Hey! Who said you could fight here? Do you want to get thrown out?"
Looking at the Dang Family members, Yoon Jong felt admiration and praise well up inside him.
As expected! They really are professionals!
Unlike the Mount Hua disciples, who were seeing this kind of thing for the first time and still couldn’t quite regain their composure, the Dang Family members were handling the crowd with practiced ease.
Moments like this really made the strength of an established clan clear.
Simply having great martial prowess wasn’t enough to make a prestigious sect. Only when Mount Hua, like the Sichuan Dang Family, had weathered countless storms and become adept at handling every kind of situation would it truly regain the standing of a great sect. With this new understanding, Yoon Jong quietly steadied his resolve once more.
"I didn't ask how long I have to wait!"
"Ah!"
Startled, Yoon Jong turned his head, only to find the guest who had been asking from before glaring at him, annoyance plain on his face. Caught off guard, Yoon Jong was momentarily at a loss for words.
That was when—
"I apologize. Please wait just a little longer."
Baek Cheon, who had come up right behind Yoon Jong without a sound, spoke in his place with a bright smile. The guest, who had been on the verge of blowing up, looked at Baek Cheon’s face and then nodded, dazed.
"R-right. Haa… haha. There are so many guests, of course it’ll take time."
"Thank you for understanding."
"Haha. Understanding? Of course. You must all be having a terribly hard time."
Yoon Jong’s face twisted miserably at the sight of the man who had suddenly become as meek as a lamb.
So people really do get treated differently?
This world was rotten.
What was even sadder was that he, too, understood the difference.
Even Yoon Jong probably wouldn’t have been able to resist if Baek Cheon had come up wearing that face and apologizing to him.
What could he do? If you felt wronged, you should have been born handsome.
After the protesting guests had returned to their places, Yoon Jong let out a long sigh. Baek Cheon, seeing him, softened slightly with a sympathetic expression.
"You’ve had a rough time."
"…Before you arrived, Sasuk, I wasn’t exactly comfortable, but at least I wasn’t this exhausted in my heart."
"What do you mean by that?"
"No, nothing."
What was there to say?
"It’s chaotic, but not all that difficult."
"Is that so?"
"Compared to dealing with that bastard, this is nothing."
"…I’m glad to hear it."
It was true, after all. This kind of work was usually more mentally exhausting than physically tiring. If the bodies of Mount Hua’s disciples were as hard as rock, then the minds trained by Chung Myung were no different from diamonds.
…The problem was that they hadn’t exactly been trained that way on purpose.
Baek Cheon looked over the Mount Hua disciples, all of them busily dashing about here and there.
They’re all doing well.
Dang Family support was a huge help, but the Mount Hua disciples were definitely pulling their weight too. They all looked positively excited. Just watching them made Baek Cheon want to smile.
With a faint smile, Baek Cheon quickly grew serious again.
"Even so, when this many people gather, trouble is inevitable. Don’t let your guard down for a single moment."
"…Speaking of that, though…"
"Hm?"
"Where’s Chung Myung?"
In that instant, Yoon Jong saw it.
He saw the brilliant, dazzling light on Baek Cheon’s face suddenly swallowed by dark clouds.
"…I was already looking for him."
"He looks like he crawled off into some corner and buried himself there. Wouldn’t it be better to just leave him alone at times like this?"
"Can you really live comfortably and sleep soundly if a time bomb is buried somewhere in your house?"
"No, I can’t."
Baek Cheon looked up at the sky with a mournful expression, then nodded with a dark face.
"If anything happens, come find me right away or tell Unam Sasuk. If you can’t find him, then even Baek Sang will do."
"I’ll remember that."
"…And keep Jo Gul under strict control."
"…I’ll remember that too."
After giving his instructions, Baek Cheon slowly looked around and muttered under his breath.
"But where the hell did that bastard go and hide?"
Chung Myung really was something else.
When he was right in front of you, he made your insides turn over. But when he wasn’t visible, he made people intensely uneasy. If the Mount Hua disciples were forced to choose between Chung Myung being right in front of them or not being visible at all, they would all, with tears in their eyes, choose the former.
A landslide right before your eyes was better than a tidal wave surging toward you from somewhere you couldn’t see.
"Haa. The Beast Palace and the Ice Palace need to get here soon. If they do, we’ll have more manpower, and I can chase after that bastard Chung Myung with a little more ease."
Woof! Woof woof!
"…I know that was nonsense too, so there’s no need to actually do that."
"Pardon?"
"Didn’t you just make a dog sound?"
"…What are you talking about? I didn’t do that."
"Hm?"
Baek Cheon was tilting his head at Yoon Jong when—
Woof! Woof woof!
Bark bark bark bark!
Baek Cheon’s eyes slowly widened.
What the hell is that barking?
Not the kind of nonsense Chung Myung spouted when he was talking, but actual barking. Real dogs were barking.
"Huh?"
"Did you hear that too?"
"I definitely just heard dogs barking…"
Shock spread across the faces of the Mount Hua disciples who had heard it.
To be fair, if there were houses around, barking dogs were hardly unusual.
The problem was that this was Mount Hua.
Did they seriously expect dogs to be barking on the summit of Mount Hua, a place so steep and harsh even birds grew tired and stopped to rest? Worse, the barking was growing louder, drawing nearer by the second.
"…No way."
Everyone snapped their heads toward the mountain gate where the sound was coming from. The Dang Family retainers handling the visitors also turned in that direction with startled expressions.
"W-what is that!"
"No, what in the…"
"M-move!"
The people filling the mountain gate leapt back to either side in alarm. And then, far off in the distance, a crowd came into view.
"…It’s the Beast Palace."
"Yes. It’s the Beast Palace."
"Anyone can tell that’s the Beast Palace."
A man of such enormous size that he was impossible to miss even from afar was striding forward with imposing dignity. His rough, unkempt hair wasn’t so much messy as it was majestic, like a lion’s mane, making his already massive frame seem even larger. Add to that the tiger pelt draped over his shoulders and the luxurious leather shoes on his feet, and he cut an eye-catching figure indeed.
But even more attention-grabbing than the man’s appearance was the huge dog baring its teeth in front of him.
Woof! Woof woof! Woof! Grrrrr!
Two black dogs, each wearing a chain collar, were glaring left and right and growling as if they might lunge at anyone nearby at any moment. But only for a moment; when the burly man gave the leashes a light tug, they immediately grew docile and began walking forward obediently.
"…That’s the Palace Lord."
"Yes. That’s definitely the Palace Lord."
Baek Cheon stared at the sight with his mouth slightly open, then turned to Tang Pae, who had appeared at his side at some point.
"…Didn't you say they weren’t supposed to bring beasts?"
"We certainly did. But…"
"But?"
"…We didn’t say they couldn’t bring dogs. We never imagined they would…"
"…"
In any case, this was clearly not the Dang Family’s fault.
"Let’s go!"
With a booming voice, Maeng So led the dogs and strode into Mount Hua. The problem was that Maeng So wasn’t the only one from the Beast Palace.
Grrrrowl!
Bark! Bark bark! Bark bark bark!
The people following behind him were each leading at least one dog of their own.
Big dogs, medium dogs, cute—wait. Huh? That one’s actually kind of adorable—ah, no, that’s not it!
Baek Cheon mentally cursed his own stray thoughts and covered his face with one hand.
"…What kind of Beast Palace is that? They’re dog dealers."
They’d been told not to bring beasts, and they brought dogs. Dogs!
From Baek Cheon’s perspective, it was enough to make steam shoot out of his ears and blow him apart on the spot. But strictly speaking, it was also true that there was no grander way for the Beast Palace to announce its arrival.
"Who are those people…?"
"They’re not dressed like Central Plains martial artists."
"T-the Beast Palace! The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace!"
"What? Them?"
Everyone’s astonished gaze turned toward the Beast Palace warriors.
The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
They had heard the name countless times, but this was the first time any of them had actually seen them with their own eyes. That was only natural. Yunnan was currently closed off to Central Plains martial artists, and the Beast Palace warriors did not enter the Central Plains.
"The Beast Palace… but why are they dragging dogs around instead of beasts?"
"Dogs are beasts too, aren’t they?"
"Are you insane?"
"…My apologies."
It was, without question, an absurdly bizarre scene.
The Beast Palace warriors radiated immense presence. And really, there was no need to even mention the well-honed muscles of the palace warriors. Just looking at Maeng So at the front was enough to make the backs of their knees go weak.
But somehow…
They look like incredibly strong dog dealers.
I’ve never seen anything this strange in my life.
This is a lot different from what I heard.
Everyone was still unable to process what they were seeing. But that went for Baek Cheon as well.
"Why are they bringing dogs…"
And then—
"Heh heh."
At the sudden sound of laughter, Baek Cheon whipped his head around.
Chung Myung had appeared out of nowhere and was looking at the scene with a dry snort.
"It's a dog show."
"…"
Baek Cheon nodded quickly.
Chung Myung. I wholeheartedly agree with you for once in a very long time.
So can you do something about that?
As if he had somehow heard those thoughts, Chung Myung started strolling toward the mountain gate.
The moment Maeng So, who had been walking at the front, spotted Chung Myung, he broke into a wide grin.
"Hahaha…"
But before he could even finish laughing heartily, the dogs in front of him rolled their eyes and started barking wildly.
Woof! Woof woof! Woof!
The dogs thrashed as if they might pounce any second, and the chains around their necks went taut.
"Oh, you little damn mutts…"
Chung Myung frowned fiercely and glared at them. But just as he was about to say something—
Peek.
Baek Ah poked its head out from beneath his neck, fixed the dogs with its black eyes, and let out a fierce threatening sound.
Kaak!
Whimper. Whiiine.
The ferocious barking dogs instantly tucked their tails and began peeing themselves in little spurts. The pitiful way they trembled made everyone’s eyes go wide.
"W-what?"
"Why are they suddenly acting like that?"
It was impossible for the others to understand, but Maeng So seemed to find it highly amusing, looking thoroughly delighted.
"That fellow hasn’t changed at all. So, have you kept the same old ways too?"
"Why did you bring so many dogs? The Beast Palace didn’t change its name to the Dog Hall, did it?"
"Hm? No… well, these weren’t brought from Yunnan. As you know, the Beast Palace is no place for dogs to survive."
That was certainly true. This was a place where a weasel might slap a tiger across the face—how could an ordinary dog possibly survive there?
"The Dang Family requested it as well, so we set out separately…"
"And?"
Maeng So clicked his tongue.
"On the way here, there were far too many stray dogs wandering around, abandoned by the roadside. There were also quite a few starving to death."
"…"
"So, one by one, we took them in…"
The dogs, having been thoroughly terrified by Baek Ah, wrapped themselves tightly around Maeng So’s legs and buried their heads, hiding there.
"And before I knew it, I’d grown attached to them."
"…"
Hearing Maeng So’s earnest, guileless explanation, Chung Myung’s cheek twitched.
"So… you brought this many dogs?"
"…We couldn’t just throw them away. We tried leaving them at the foot of the mountain, but these fellows absolutely refused to part with us."
"…"
Maeng So, who had been standing there a little awkwardly, soon burst into another hearty laugh. It was a rather clumsy transition.
"Hahahaha! What does it matter? Let’s go in! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, and I feel like my mood could pierce the heavens!"
"Don’t just brush past it!"
"Hahahahaha! Come along, come along!"
"Haa…"
Maeng So gave Chung Myung a vigorous slap on the shoulder, then led all the dogs into Mount Hua.
It was the moment the name Southern Barbarian Beast Palace was firmly etched into the minds of everyone present at Mount Hua.
…In one hell of a way, at any rate.