Everyone Is Here (4)
"Thank you all for enduring the climb to the top of this rugged Mount Hua. If I’d known it would be like this, we could have held the founding ceremony at the foot of the mountain. It seems I misjudged things."
Laughter suddenly burst from somewhere.
Normally, anyone who laughed at a moment like this would have drawn sharp looks, but here, no one blamed the people who laughed.
It was because no one was trying to intimidate them.
The one shaping the atmosphere in the hall was Hyun Jong. If he had been trying to suppress everyone with his presence, then the people gathered here would have had to watch even their breathing.
But Hyun Jong only looked upon everyone as if he were gently embracing them all.
Inclusiveness.
Dang Gun-ak watched him from the side and let a faint smile appear on his lips.
Such an atmosphere would never be created within the Sichuan Tang Family. No matter how softly he tried to present himself, the people standing before him would instinctively shrink back in tension.
Was it because the position of Mount Hua’s sect leader was still inferior to that of the Tang Family lord?
Impossible.
Even if that were so, the symbolic weight of the Heavenly Alliance leader’s position easily surpassed that of the Tang Family lord. And yet, the reason Hyun Jong could create such an atmosphere must have been something beyond the mere intimidation of rank.
The Heavenly Alliance had begun with Chung Myung and Dang Gun-ak. But without Hyun Jong, the alliance might never have been completed.
Dang Gun-ak sometimes looked at Hyun Jong and was reminded that strength was not everything.
"Seeing all of you gathered here makes me feel deeply moved. Not long ago, I could never have imagined that so many people would one day come to this Mount Hua."
At those words, the people in attendance quietly furrowed their brows in discomfort.
It’s not wrong, but…
Does he even understand what kind of occasion this is?
Of course, most of those who had come here had done so to see Mount Hua Sect with their own eyes. Not the sect’s halls, but its disciples.
Yet however the circumstances might stand, this was not merely a gathering to receive guests at Mount Hua—it was the declaration of the Heavenly Alliance’s founding. If so, those words were hardly suitable to begin that declaration.
Doubts about Hyun Jong’s capacity began to stir in people’s minds. But Hyun Jong calmly continued.
"As you all know, Mount Hua was never a great sect. To speak frankly, it was a sect that had little to boast of, and one that may not have been able to keep its signboard hanging for much longer."
The expressions of the gathered guests hardened little by little.
They could not understand at all why Hyun Jong was saying such things.
A founding ceremony was a joyous occasion, and at the same time a chance to display one’s strength. So why was he using such a moment to recite regrets from the past like an old man with only a little time left to live?
Is Mount Hua’s sect leader just an amiable man?
He doesn’t seem suited to being the Heavenly Alliance leader at all.
A leader needed more than warmth. He needed backbone and dignity. Yet that was not the face of someone meant to lead a vast alliance.
"Perhaps this is not the sort of thing a sect leader should be thinking," Hyun Jong said, "but I endured those harsh years with one thought in my heart."
But it was also true that his story was drawing everyone in. All of them, as if pulled forward, listened intently.
"…If only one person, just one sect, would lend a hand to Mount Hua and support us from behind, it would be enough."
Hyun Jong paused there and gave a quiet smile.
It was not a smile meant only for show. At that smile, born from the heart, everyone unconsciously nodded along.
It could not be helped. Even those who lived in the wilds, facing knife-like winds, sometimes looked for somewhere to shelter from rain, and sometimes simply wanted a place to lean against and block the wind.
If someone had lived through the Jianghu without ever once thinking such a thought, then they still did not know its cruelty.
Hyun Jong did not rush. He slowly met the eyes of the people before him.
"The Heavenly Alliance is not some magnificent coalition. It was not created because we wanted to shake the Jianghu by founding a grand alliance, nor because we wanted to seize great power for ourselves."
At those words, the brows of the figures seated in the honored section twitched.
They looked at Hyun Jong on the platform with complicated expressions, as if he had read the worries they had been carrying all along.
"This is simply… something the old me, the Mount Hua of the past, had longed for and could never attain until now."
Hyun Jong looked one by one at the other leaders standing beside him, then turned back to the front and said,
"There is a peculiar disciple at Mount Hua, and that child once said this to me: even talk of friends and brotherhood is nothing but pretty-sounding nonsense. When things are good, everyone laughs as though they’re all close, but when trouble comes, they drop the pretense and trample the one who has fallen into the water, pushing him under. That is the nature of the Jianghu, and of relations between sects."
It was a blade-sharp assessment.
But none of those gathered here could deny it. Deep down, they all knew that it was true.
"The Heavenly Alliance…"
Hyun Jong slowly nodded.
"Exists to prove those words wrong."
Chung Myung watched him silently.
It was, in truth, an obvious line. Something anyone could say at an occasion like this.
And yet, for some reason, listening to it made something ache deep in his chest.
When he looked at Dang Gun-ak and Maeng So, and then at Seol Cheon-sang with his cheeks flushed slightly red, the corners of his mouth curled up of their own accord.
Would things have been different if it had been like this before?
If he hadn’t run alone, stiff-backed and isolated, would Mount Hua’s present have been a little different?
He didn’t know.
Because what-if scenarios were nothing more than pointless regret in the end.
All one could do was try a little harder. To avoid repeating the same mistakes, and to make sure the same error was never committed twice.
"The four sects of the Heavenly Alliance will reach out to one another, and they will support one another’s backs. If one is in danger, the others will rush to them without regard for risk; if one has cause for joy, they will laugh and celebrate together."
Hyun Jong’s face, which had been gentle all this time, was now set in firm resolve.
"Perhaps it sounds like a dream. But if the will to achieve it exists, then it is not impossible. Mount Hua will become the wall that shields the sects gathered under the name of the Heavenly Alliance from the wind, and it will become the brother who takes their hand."
Thud!
Dang Gun-ak stomped forward hard and came to stand beside Hyun Jong. Then he clasped his hands in front of him and declared toward the front,
"The Sichuan Tang Family will also become the wall of the Heavenly Alliance."
Maeng So was next, stepping forward without hesitation.
"The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace will become the brother of the Heavenly Alliance’s sects. The enemies of our brothers will be the Beast Palace’s enemies, and the friends of our brothers will be the Beast Palace’s friends!"
Seol So-baek also stepped forward with light but certain steps and took his place beside the other leaders.
"The Ice Palace will become the sword that protects the Heavenly Alliance. Those who seek to oppose the sects of the Heavenly Alliance will first have to cross the Ice Palace!"
Having seen Dang Gun-ak’s authority, Maeng So’s imposing presence, and even the youthful but unshakable confidence of Seol So-baek, the onlookers felt it anew.
There were countless sects in the world, but who would dare make enemies of those four sects all at once?
If what Hyun Jong and the other leaders had said truly came to pass, then the Heavenly Alliance would surely become a place no force in the world could ever dare to approach.
"Hyun Sang."
"Yes!"
Hyun Young and Hyun Sang, who had been waiting below, carefully stepped up onto the platform. In Hyun Sang’s hands was a luxurious silver tray holding a bottle of liquor and cups, while in Hyun Young’s hands rested a small knife lightly wrapped in pure white cloth.
The two stood before the leaders and respectfully held out the items in their hands.
The leaders stared silently at those objects for a moment.
Those watching from below might not fully understand, but these items carried meaning in themselves.
The Beast Palace’s liquor, the jade cups brought by the Tang Family, the blade from the Ice Palace, and the person of Mount Hua.
First, Dang Gun-ak reached out and carefully picked up the bottle of liquor. Next, Seol So-baek took the small knife and drew it out.
"Alliance Leader."
"Yes."
Hyun Jong used the small knife offered by Seol So-baek to cut his palm. Then he let the flowing blood fall into the bottle.
Drip.
As Hyun Jong withdrew his hand, Dang Gun-ak cut his own palm and let his blood fall into the bottle as well. Maeng So and Seol So-baek followed, mixing their blood into the liquor.
Once the entire process was complete, Dang Gun-ak, in a posture almost reverent, filled each cup with the now faintly reddened liquor for everyone present.
Clink.
With the bottle set back upon the silver tray, the elders stepped down from the platform, as though their work were finished.
The remaining four men looked quietly at the cups in their hands. The people below also stared, dumbstruck, at the sight.
A brief silence settled over the mountain.
And just as the quiet reached its peak, Hyun Jong suddenly raised his cup high.
"Here and now, on this very day! We declare that Mount Hua Sect, the Sichuan Tang Family, the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, and the North Sea Ice Palace have become brothers under the name of the Heavenly Alliance! May the Heavenly Lord look down upon us in blessing!"
Dang Gun-ak, Maeng So, and Seol So-baek all raised their cups after Hyun Jong. Then, in unison, the four men drank them dry.
"Waaah…"
"WOOOOOOOAAAHHH!"
After a brief, hesitant murmur came an enormous roar of cheers. It was as though every feeling that had been on the verge of bursting had exploded at once; a deafening tide of joy filled Mount Hua to the brim.
"Heavenly Alliance!"
"Mount Hua!"
"Sichuan Tang Family!"
As the four leaders who had emptied their cups clasped hands and lifted them together, the cheering grew even louder.
Even the venerable figures seated in the honored places rose to their feet and applauded. No matter what they might be thinking inside, there was no way they could fail to celebrate this sight.
In truth, from one angle, it was a rather simple founding ceremony.
It was not oppressive, it was not grand, and it had no dazzling spectacle meant to seize everyone’s gaze.
And yet, precisely for that reason, it felt more sincere. An alliance formed to display power would prove its strength, but those who became brothers needed only to share a cup of liquor.
Not only the people who had gathered for the spectacle, but even the disciples of the four sects lined up across the training ground shouted themselves hoarse.
And amid that whirlpool of cheers and joy, only Chung Myung wore a faint smile.
So it wasn’t all in vain.
After he returned to Mount Hua, countless things had happened.
Confidence in himself?
As if he’d ever had any.
He was already someone who had failed once. Someone who had been unable to protect anything. He had only gritted his teeth and forced himself forward, convincing himself that this was the only way, with no certainty at all that the road he walked was the right one.
But…
Seeing this scene, he felt, however faintly, that the path he had walked so far had not been wrong.
Everyone is here.
There was the road he had walked, and there were the people who had walked it with him.
Yes. Right here.
"Hehe."
From within Chung Myung’s clothes, Baek Ah poked its head out and rubbed at his nose lightly.
"Yeah, you’re here too."
Chung Myung tapped Baek Ah’s forehead lightly with a finger and slowly looked around. The air was full of cheers and happiness.
Chung Myung’s smile deepened a little. He looked up at the sky and spoke inwardly.
What do you think, Sect Leader Senior Brother? We made it this far.
Well, it’s not like I’m asking for praise or anything. I know this much is only natural, but still, I mean…
You’ve worked hard, Chung Myung.
At that nostalgic voice spreading through him, Chung Myung stared up at the sky for a long moment before slowly closing his eyes.
"This is only the beginning."
It would spread. The plum blossoms that had bloomed on Mount Hua, and the fragrance that would drift from them, all across the world, far and wide.
Just as it had in the past.
"Why do you look like that?"
"Huh?"
At the voice that suddenly reached him, Chung Myung opened his eyes and looked ahead.
Baek Cheon, Yu I-seol, Yoon Jong, Jo Gul, and even Dang Soso were all turned toward him, studying his face.
"Does something hurt?"
"…"
After staring at them blankly for a moment, Chung Myung’s mouth twitched before he finally broke into a grin.
"Nope. I’m at my best right now."
"You’re impossible."
"Honestly, what a pain."
The Five Swords and Soso shook their heads and turned back toward the front again. Chung Myung glanced up at the sky once more. His expression was different from before.
A Mount Hua like the old days?
No, not a chance.
Just wait and see, Sect Leader Senior Brother.
I’ll make the greatest Mount Hua that ever surpasses our era.
Together with these bastards.
Chung Myung gently patted Baek Ah’s head two or three more times, then drew in a deep breath. With both hands cupped around his mouth, he shouted toward the front,
"WOOOOOO! THE SECT LEADER IS SO HANDSOME!"
"Don’t do that, you bastard!"
"Will you shut up already!"
"For the love of—read the damn room, you idiot!"
Startled, the Five Swords shouted in unison, and Chung Myung burst out laughing at the sight of them.
His laughter mixed with the cheers and rang clearly up toward the high sky.
A warm breeze blew over the summit of Mount Hua, now overflowing with joy. And over that Mount Hua, the sky blazed so blue it seemed utterly clear, quietly looking down upon the day below.