A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss (2)
'What the hell is going on?'
Jo Gul couldn’t make sense of it.
There was no Mount Hua disciple who didn’t know Yu I-seol existed, but this was the first time he’d ever seen her up close like this.
It wasn’t because Jo Gul was only a third-generation disciple. Even the second-generation disciples had never been seen chatting casually with Yu I-seol. Though she was a disciple of Mount Hua, she always felt somehow separate from everyone else.
And now, that very Yu I-seol was standing right in front of Jo Gul, talking to Chung Myung. A moment later, the second-generation disciples’ blade-sharp glares came raining down on him.
'Wow. People could die just from those looks.'
No, to be precise, they were directed at Chung Myung, and Jo Gul was only sitting next to him—but if you stood beside some jagged bastard, you got cut too, and right now he was being sliced to ribbons by sheer association.
'Chung Myung, please!'
Use some honorifics, you swamp fish-looking bastard!
There are second-generation disciples right here. What the hell is that way of speaking?
Even with his senior martial uncles glaring daggers at him, Chung Myung remained utterly unmoved. In the atmosphere where something could fly at his head any second, only Yu I-seol seemed unconcerned as she murmured softly.
"It'll only take a moment."
"I said I’m not going."
"I’m telling you, it’ll really only take a moment."
"I said I’m not going! Do you not understand what I’m saying?"
His tone. His tone, you idiot!
Without meaning to, Jo Gul pressed a hand hard against Chung Myung’s thigh. Chung Myung snapped his head around.
"What?"
"……Uh……."
You can’t ask that.
Uh……. You can’t ask me that in front of all my senior martial uncles. You’re supposed to notice on your own.
With a tsk, Chung Myung turned back to Yu I-seol.
"I’ve got nothing to say to Sago."
"I do."
"I’m not exactly interested."
"It’ll only take a moment. Let’s step outside for a bit."
"That sounds like a pain. Can’t we just eat?"
"Then I’ll wait until you finish eating."
The second-generation disciples were on the verge of losing their minds.
First of all, none of them had ever seen Yu I-seol say this much at once. No—more accurately, they couldn’t remember her ever speaking this much to anyone who wasn’t an elder.
And yet here she was, clinging to a junior disciple and pleading with him?
Yes. And the second thing driving them even more insane was Chung Myung’s attitude.
'That crazy bastard…….'
'Sago is speaking to him, and he can’t even stand up right away?'
'Does he have no eyes?'
'He really is a true Daoist. Amitabha.'
Burning anger and a strange, grudging admiration both swept toward Chung Myung at the same time.
The first rule for one who cultivated the Dao was to stay far away from worldly attachments. But Yu I-seol was precisely the kind of existence that made such cultivation impossible to maintain. No matter how deep one’s discipline, if Yu I-seol asked so earnestly, one would have no choice but to pretend to lose.
At least, if that face and that expression were right in front of you.
But Chung Myung was making it blatantly obvious that he found her annoying. For the second-generation disciples, that was something beyond imagination.
"I said I’m not going! I’ve got things to do. Find someone else."
"I came to find you."
"No, why would you come to find me……."
That was when it happened.
"Ahem."
It was a low voice, but full of inner force, spreading clearly through the hall.
Everyone turned their heads at once. Baek Cheon, dressed in white robes, rose from his seat and looked at Chung Myung with a faint smile.
"You’re Chung Myung, I take it?"
"Yes."
What a curt reply.
But Baek Cheon didn’t get angry. Getting angry in a situation like this would only expose his own weakness.
"I know you’ve just returned from seeing the sect leader and have been given many tasks, so you must be tired. You’re probably handling many things I’m not even aware of. Still, if Sago is asking so earnestly, shouldn’t you at least consider her request once, as a junior?"
When he finished, Baek Cheon offered a gentle smile. In his own mind, that ought to have sounded perfectly reasonable…….
"Why?"
Baek Cheon flinched.
Did I hear that wrong?
No, wait. Did he seriously just say why?
Startled, Baek Cheon studied Chung Myung’s face. Seeing that surly expression, he knew he hadn’t imagined it.
For a moment, irritation flared in him, but he barely managed to suppress it by force.
'Calm down.'
If he lost his temper here, he’d become the kind of person who picked a fight with the youngest among the third-generation disciples.
"You asked, 'why'?"
"Yes."
"There are many reasons. First of all, a person must have manners. There are courtesies one must observe even between master and disciple."
"Oh, manners?"
Chung Myung nodded quickly, as though he understood perfectly, then called out to Yu I-seol.
"Sago."
"Mm?"
"Hurry up and apologize. They’re saying you’re being rude."
"……."
Yu I-seol pointed a finger at herself.
"Yes. Hurry up and apologize."
"Me?"
"Good grief, you really don’t get it."
Chung Myung patiently explained.
"This is a banquet to celebrate the return of the second-generation disciples, right? In a place like this, making a private request and dragging someone off for personal business is rude."
"Ah……."
As if she had not considered that at all, Yu I-seol nodded. Then she rose and bowed toward Baek Cheon.
"I’m sorry, Sajae. I didn’t think that far ahead."
"Ah, no, Samae. That’s not what I meant……."
Baek Cheon clenched his jaw hard.
How had the conversation turned into this?
The moment he opened his mouth again in an attempt to salvage the situation, Chung Myung murmured from behind Yu I-seol.
"You should be apologizing to Sasukjo, not him. You made the mistake in front of Sasukjo."
"That makes sense."
Yu I-seol bowed again, this time toward Un Geom.
"This disciple was thoughtless."
Un Geom smiled faintly.
"You say the oddest things. I’m fine, so sit down."
"Yes, Sasuk."
Once Yu I-seol sat back down, the one left in an awkward position was Baek Cheon. He had lost all sense of how he was supposed to proceed.
He had stood up in such a show of confidence…… and now that it had been resolved like this, sitting back down felt humiliating. The second-generation disciples and third-generation disciples alike were now looking at him, waiting to see what he would say next.
If he simply sat down under those gazes?
Then he’d only make a fool of himself.
Baek Cheon coughed dryly twice, then fixed his gaze on Chung Myung.
'This won’t do.'
'I have to stop him.'
Jo Gul and Yoon Jong exchanged a look.
It was one thing to beat Chung Myung with a sword, but beating him in words was even harder. This bastard had no logic. To win an argument, he’d throw out every kind of sophistry imaginable and use illogic as though it were reason itself.
If this conversation dragged on any longer, Baek Cheon might truly lose his mind. That had to be prevented.
"Ahem! Sasuk! Welcome back!"
"Isn’t this a wonderful day? With all the senior martial uncles returning safely after training, I’d say the Hwajong Jihoe should go smoothly."
Jo Gul and Yoon Jong desperately changed the subject.
It wasn’t that they were defending Chung Myung. They simply didn’t want to see Mount Hua turn into a total disaster because Chung Myung and Baek Cheon started brawling on the very first day.
Baek Cheon glanced at Jo Gul and Yoon Jong. At the sight of their earnest expressions, he narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke.
"You said your name was Chung Myung?"
'That infuriatingly stubborn man!'
'He knows nothing about defusing tension. Nothing at all.'
Realizing it was impossible to stop Baek Cheon, the two of them reached out and grabbed the hem of Chung Myung’s robe.
Please, just let it go. Just this once, be polite…….
Perhaps reading their desperate plea, Chung Myung finally opened his mouth.
"You must’ve had a hard time traveling such a long way."
Oh?
Yoon Jong and Jo Gul widened their eyes. How long had it been since such polite words came from Chung Myung’s mouth…….
"The fact that you’re asking me the same thing twice. Do you want to rest?"
……Like hell he would.
Of course not. Of course he wouldn’t.
That damned bastard never changed his tune.
Baek Cheon’s brow twitched.
"Let me ask one thing. You really didn’t meet me this afternoon, did you?"
"This is the first time we’ve met."
"It would be best to speak honestly."
"No, really. It’s our first time. You’ve been getting fooled a lot, huh."
Looking at Chung Myung’s bright, innocent eyes, no one would ever think he was lying.
Except the third-generation disciples.
And Un Geom.
Well…… the second-generation disciples might think that too. Well…… maybe.
"Is that so? Then I’ll ask and find out."
Baek Cheon turned and clasped his hands respectfully toward Un Geom. He hadn’t wanted to take it this far, but if he couldn’t cut Chung Myung down a notch here, he’d be the only one made to look foolish.
"Sasuk. This afternoon, I saw that child in Hwayeom."
Un Geom’s eyes twitched slightly.
"Did you?"
"Yes. As far as I know, third-generation disciples are forbidden from leaving Mount Hua. Yet he went down to Hwayeom alone, and not even in his robe but in plain clothes. That is clearly suspicious. So we should investigate whether anyone saw that child on Mount Hua this afternoon……."
"It’s fine."
"Yes, I’ll begin the investigation—what?"
Baek Cheon, still bowed in a clasped-hands salute, jerked his head up.
Did I hear that wrong?
No, is my hearing acting up all of a sudden? I keep hearing bizarre things…….
"I said it’s fine."
Baek Cheon stared at Un Geom in a daze.
Un Geom was the stern leader of Baekmae Hall. He wasn’t stern because he happened to lead Baekmae Hall. He led Baekmae Hall because he was by nature a man strict about rules and discipline.
And such a man was now saying it was fine for a third-generation disciple to have clearly violated Mount Hua’s regulations. What in the world was this?
"S-Sasuk?"
"That child is one who is permitted to leave the mountain gates without permission from the generation above him."
"P-permitted? Who could possibly grant a child such authority?"
"The sect leader gave his approval. Is there some problem?"
"The sect lea—really?"
So shocked that he blurted it out, Baek Cheon hurriedly clapped a hand over his own mouth. Even his way of speaking aside, questioning the truth of a senior martial uncle’s words was rude. Today, he seemed determined to make one mistake after another.
"So it’s irrelevant."
Baek Cheon’s stunned gaze shifted to Chung Myung.
Chop chop chop chop.
…….
If Chung Myung had at least been looking over with a mocking expression, he might not have been quite so angry. But Chung Myung, apparently not caring about any of this at all, was simply shoveling food into his mouth with furious speed.
Baek Cheon bit down hard on his lip.
'I’m taking this to the end.'
Now that it had come to this, he no longer intended to show any mercy.
Baek Cheon was just about to draw his sword in his mind and speak again when the door opened and someone entered.
A man whose face looked as though it had been coated in a sheet of cold ice: Finance Elder Hyun Young. He strode in and looked around the room.
"Greetings, Elder."
"Greetings, Elder."
As everyone rose to greet him, he waved them down with obvious irritation.
"Enough. You were all enjoying yourselves, and I’ve barged in for nothing. I only came to check on things. Eat as much as you like today and rest properly. I’m leaving. Un Geom, make sure the children don’t get too carried away."
"Yes, Sasuk."
At that moment, Baek Cheon, who had been standing, spoke up.
"I have something to report to the Elder."
Hyun Young, already on the verge of leaving, turned and looked at Baek Cheon.
"What is it?"
"I beg your pardon, but this afternoon I saw a third-generation disciple here drinking at a tavern in Hwayeom."
"Drinking?"
"Yes!"
Hyun Young’s face twisted.
"A third-generation disciple drinking? You saw that with your own eyes, didn’t you?"
"Absolutely. He says he didn’t do it, but I saw it clearly."
Baek Cheon hid half his face behind his clasped hands and let the corners of his mouth curl upward in a slight smirk.
It might be a little petty, but the one who started it was the other side. So this much was only fair.
"Which third-generation disciple did you see?"
Baek Cheon subtly shifted his gaze to confirm Chung Myung’s face. Though he was pretending to be calm, inside he was probably burning up.
'Don’t blame me.'
This is for Mount Hua’s discipline.
"Third-generation disciple Chung Myung."
"……Who?"
"Chung Myung. That Chung Myung over there."
At the Elder level, one could not possibly know every third-generation disciple by name. Baek Cheon even pointed directly at Chung Myung.
Hyun Young, looking in the direction of Baek Cheon’s finger toward Chung Myung, furrowed his brows sharply. Then, with a face beginning to simmer with annoyance and anger, he spoke.
"So what?"
"Yes. That Chung Myung was drinking…… what?"
"So what?"
"……."
What?
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