What Did They Just Go and Poke? (5)
“So this is Mount Hua.”
Beop Gye looked up at the mountain peaks with a distinctly displeased expression. He had felt something similar when he had come here while escorting Beop Jeong in the past, but it was clear that a mountain like Mount Hua was simply not a place suited for a temple to stand.
Didn’t those peaks, stabbing straight up toward the sky, feel less like a place that embraced people and more like a threat?
Still, Beop Gye soon gave a small shake of his head and brushed the thought away.
He was here under the abbot’s orders, on his way to congratulate the founding of the Heavenly Alliance. It was better not to think unnecessary thoughts.
His duty was to keep his presence as unobtrusive as possible, offer his congratulations quietly, and return home…….
Hmm?
Suddenly noticing something strange in his line of sight, Beop Gye tilted his head.
At the mountain gate, a crowd of people had gathered, staring nervously at those who were climbing up.
Of course, he had been harried by crowds the entire way to Mount Hua, so seeing people gathered there was not especially odd. The problem was that the people in that crowd were rather familiar to Beop Gye.
Why are they over there?
Judging by their clothing, they seemed to be people from the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families, but why were those who should have been resting comfortably at their lodgings gathered there, stomping anxiously in place?
What happened next was even more absurd.
“Oh! They’re here!”
“Over there, they’re coming!”
Huh?
When the sudden attention landed on him all at once, confusion crossed Beop Gye’s face.
In an instant, the people of the Nine Sects and Five Great Families rushed toward him and surrounded him.
“Ah, Amitabha. W-why are you all doing this?”
“It’s been a long time, Elder Beop Gye!”
Even their greetings came out in a rush. After offering perfunctory salutations and the bare minimum of courtesy, they quickly got to the point.
“We have something we need to ask Shaolin.”
“Pardon?”
“Th-that is…… did Mount Hua’s disciples really go to the North Sea and fight the Demonic Sect?”
Beop Gye’s eyes widened.
“H-how did you……?”
“The Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace said so with his own mouth. Is it true?”
“……”
For a moment, Beop Gye was struck speechless. He could only manage a soft chant of the Buddha’s name before closing his eyes tightly.
So it has come to this…….
It wasn’t as though they had been trying to hide it. Mount Hua itself had never said a word, and it would have been strange for Shaolin to go around shouting about it, so he had simply kept quiet. There had been no one asking, so was it really necessary to make a point of announcing it?
But it seemed that the news had broken at the worst possible time.
“Is it true?”
“……It is.”
Beop Gye nodded. If everyone already knew, there was no reason not to confirm it.
“We already told you that traces of the Demonic Sect had been discovered in the North Sea and asked for your cooperation, did we not?”
“……”
“It was a place even Shaolin could not go. So we asked Mount Hua for help. Thanks to Mount Hua going north, we were able to prevent the remnants of the Demonic Sect from running rampant.”
“……Hah.”
“To think…….”
Seeing resentment mixed into the looks they were giving him, Beop Gye quietly recited the Buddha’s name.
Fools.
If these sects had backed Shaolin and worked together to resolve the matter in the North Sea, this situation would never have happened. When you looked at it carefully, this had happened because they had all turned away from it in the first place, so how could they react like this now?
Abbott.
At last, he somewhat understood why Beop Jeong defended Mount Hua.
“Of course, stopping the Demonic Sect was a fine thing…… but for that news to come out now of all times……”
“The reaction is not ordinary.”
“It seems we’ll need to respond at the sect level.”
Watching them fail to hide their shock, Beop Gye let out a rather unguarded sigh.
“Amitabha.”
He had come only to offer congratulations, and yet from the very beginning, his chest felt heavy.
“……”
Chung Myung looked back and forth between Maeng So and Seol So-baek with a sulky expression.
“……Do you have to?”
“Yes.”
“That openly?”
“Hahahahaha!”
Maeng So burst into loud laughter.
“That openly? If someone heard you, they’d think this was something to be hidden! This isn’t something to be ashamed of because it got out, but something to be proud of. Why would I keep that quiet?”
“Honestly…….”
Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
Every time he saw Maeng So, he was reminded that the man was not as stupid as he looked. In fact, he was extremely sharp and quick-witted.
Maeng So was exactly the sort of man people meant when they said a fox wearing a bear’s hide.
There was no way he would have brought up the Plum Blossom Sword Saint in front of that many people without thinking it through. It had all been calculated.
“You could’ve at least told me in advance.”
“Why?”
Maeng So laughed as though he had just heard something hilarious.
“Do I need permission to speak of the savior of Yunnan? Even if you are a disciple of Mount Hua.”
“Tsk. Well, that’s true, but…….”
That’s me, you bastard! I’m the Plum Blossom Sword Saint!
Wow, I feel like it’s been forever since I said that out loud. Listen up, world! I am the Plum Blossom Sword Saint! I’m the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, and the Plum Blossom Sword Saint is me!
“And!”
Bang!
Suddenly, Maeng So slammed his hand down on the table. The table somehow remained intact despite being struck by that palm like a pot lid; it was a miracle in itself.
“I’ve been furious ever since I got here! How can those ungrateful bastards not even know who the Plum Blossom Sword Saint is?”
People who were only just learning that a human voice could shake the rafters quietly covered their ears.
“Those shameless wretches! If not for the Sword Saint defeating the Demonic Sect, they wouldn’t even be alive right now! And they dare treat Mount Hua like this?”
“Well, try to calm down first…….”
“You think I can calm down after this? This is beyond imagination in Yunnan!”
Maeng So’s face turned bright red as he raged, pounding the table again and again. Each time his hand came down near the tea set he favored, Hyun Jong’s face gradually darkened.
“Those thunder-struck idiots! May they all drop dead!”
Uh…… he wasn’t wrong. That part was true…….
But the way he was getting so worked up made it awkward for me to get angry along with him…….
Then it happened.
“That’s right!”
“Huh?”
Chung Myung snapped his head around. Seol So-baek’s face had gone red as he ground his teeth.
“I can understand forgetting old events. But after crushing that Demonic Sect—”
“Remnants! Remnants! Not the Demonic Sect, the Demonic Sect’s remnants!”
It’s remnants, you punk! Don’t call them the Demonic Sect. Say it like that and it sounds like we did something incredible. Even the old Mount Hua couldn’t pull that off!
“Wasn’t it Mount Hua that saved the North Sea, and by extension the Central Plains? If such a Mount Hua is forming a new alliance, then at the very least they should come bowing their heads immediately, not this……”
“A-are you crazy?”
“I’m saying this perfectly rationally!”
“……”
“How can they test the waters like that?”
“Exactly!”
The bear-sized Maeng So and the still-young Seol So-baek joined forces and clasped hands in agreement.
Chung Myung watched the unbelievable scene and let out a faint smile.
Will this be okay?
Was it really all right to create an alliance with people this helpless?
Tang Gun-ak, who had been listening quietly the whole time, gave a wry smile and spoke.
“If they do not know, then it is our task to let them know.”
“That’s right!”
“Indeed.”
“Though Mount Hua’s fame has not matched its achievements until now, that is only the way things have been up to this point. If we spread the word about Mount Hua’s past and the things it has accomplished in the present, and if we treat those things with the respect they deserve, then the world of Jianghu will come to see it that way as well.”
Maeng So snorted.
“Will those ungrateful bastards even understand that?”
“Exactly!”
So-baek…… don’t get infected by that old man. If you do, the North Sea people are going to have a hard time. Why are you even here…….
Then the arrow suddenly turned toward Chung Myung as well.
“Aren’t you angry, Daoist? The peace they enjoy is the price you paid with your life fighting for it!”
“No, but what am I supposed to do if they don’t know?”
“There couldn’t have been no one who knew! This happened because everyone who knew the truth kept their mouths shut! I’m so angry.”
Watching Seol So-baek’s face flush red with frustration as he huffed and puffed, Chung Myung couldn’t help snickering.
“Angry, huh…….”
Seol So-baek was talking about what happened in the North Sea, but to Chung Myung it sounded almost like someone talking about the past.
“Of course I’m angry…….”
Chung Myung shrugged.
“But I’m not about to scream for people to recognize it.”
“Why not?”
“Because even if they know, they won’t come help when it actually matters.”
“……”
It was a strangely cynical thing to say.
Seol So-baek stared at Chung Myung with dazed eyes.
“Reputation is nice. Praise is nice too. But when the time comes, that stuff doesn’t help. If it had, Mount Hua wouldn’t have fallen.”
“Mm…….”
“What you need isn’t people who’ll praise you. It’s people you can trust to have your back. So…….”
Chung Myung, who had been speaking quietly, soon grinned.
“People like the ones gathered here.”
“Kwahahahahaha!”
Maeng So slapped his thigh with satisfaction and roared with laughter.
“That’s right. The Mount Hua Divine Dragon sees straight to the heart every now and then. The problem is he usually just stabs at the wrong places.”
Hey? I don’t think that last part was necessary, buddy.
When the laughter finally faded, Maeng So smiled.
“He’s not wrong. The important thing is the essence. That’s why we’ve gathered here.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Seol So-baek nodded as well.
Tang Gun-ak calmly added his own words to the discussion.
“That is why this is the Heavenly Alliance. Have we not already grown sick and tired of relationships where people speak only pleasant words to each other while calculating profits behind one another’s backs?”
At that, everyone nodded in agreement.
“We gathered here to become a relationship where we can help one another without setting gain and loss above everything else.”
“Indeed.”
“That is so.”
The three men’s gazes turned to Hyun Jong.
“Sect Leader. I know this is not an easy position to take, but the three sects here have gathered only because of their ties with Mount Hua. So please, Sect Leader, stand as Mount Hua’s representative, take the seat of the Heavenly Alliance’s leader, and guide us all.”
This had already been decided.
But this was the first time it was being declared formally in front of the heads of the four sects gathered together.
Hyun Jong, who had been quietly stroking his teacup, smiled gently.
“It is a little different, Lord Tang.”
“Pardon?”
“If we have gathered to trust and aid one another, then ‘lead’ is not quite the right word. I shall simply think of it as putting on one more hat.”
“Ah…….”
“Everyone, please help Mount Hua. Our Mount Hua will also do its utmost to help everyone else.”
At those words, the three men nodded. They too understood it clearly.
“Chung Myung.”
“Yes?”
At Hyun Jong’s call, Chung Myung snapped his head up.
“Is this sufficient?”
“Hmm…….”
Chung Myung scratched his cheek.
“I’m not sure I’m the one who should be talking here.”
“When have you ever cared about that?”
“Haha! You’ve even learned some manners, Mount Hua Divine Dragon.”
“As expected of you, Daoist! Such courtesy!”
“……”
Thinking that Seol So-baek was the most irritating of them all, Chung Myung twisted his face and said,
“I think the Nine Sects and the Five Great Families probably started out like this too.”
“Huh?”
“At first, they probably gathered with good intentions. And maybe at first they really were places where people helped one another.”
“……”
“But as time goes by, relationships rot, and other things get mixed in.”
“That makes sense.”
“Maybe that’s true even if it doesn’t seem like it now.”
Everyone nodded with grave expressions, as if his words were reasonable.
“So.”
Thwack!
Chung Myung slapped the floor and grinned.
“Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen!”
“Ah.”
“So that we can all be strength for one another.”
Everyone smiled silently.
Even if they laughed on the surface, in the end the relationship between sects was something that required a great deal of thought beneath the surface. But when they heard words like that, they wanted to put all of those things down for just this one moment. That was Chung Myung’s power—the power that had brought them all together here.
Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung with an expression full of pride, then spoke in a gentle voice.
“Chung Myung.”
“Yes!”
Chung Myung stuck his neck out just a little, like a dog waiting for praise.
“I noticed you were speaking informally to Palace Lord Seol earlier.”
“……”
“Use honorifics.”
“……”
Slowly, Chung Myung turned his head toward Seol So-baek.
Looking at the youthful face staring back at him awkwardly, Chung Myung fought hard to hold back the tears welling at the corners of his eyes.
My age…… how old am I, again?
What more was there to say…… what more was there to say.
Senior Brother.
This is how I’m living…….