Handsome and Annoying Means He’s From Jin
“Namgung Hwang.”
“Byeok Hyeon.”
Hyun Jong offered a cupped-fist salute to the two of them.
“I am Hyun Jong of Mount Hua. It is a great pleasure to meet you both again.”
All of them had met before at the past Under the Heavens Martial Arts Tournament. Yet the way the two men treated Hyun Jong was visibly different.
First, Byeok Hyeon.
The leader of Qingcheng smiled broadly as he looked at Hyun Jong.
“Mount Hua’s fame has spread everywhere in Sichuan. At the time of the Under the Heavens Martial Arts Tournament, I fully expected Mount Hua to make a name for itself, but your achievements have surpassed even my expectations. Congratulations, Sect Leader.”
“You flatter me too much. I hardly deserve it.”
“Flatter you? I doubt anyone here would think so. In a situation where we must face the evil bandits, it is deeply reassuring that Mount Hua has come to our aid.”
Hyun Jong’s face turned red.
Even so, his shoulders unconsciously squared, because he could tell that the Qingcheng Sect Leader’s words were sincere, not mere formality.
But then—
“What exactly does Mount Hua think it can do here?”
Namgung Hwang clearly did not share the sentiment.
He stared at Hyun Jong with cold eyes.
“The forces gathered here are already more than enough to deal with a single water bandit fort. If any more people are added for no reason, it will only cause confusion. Since you arrived late, don’t come in clumsily and stir up trouble; just support us from the rear.”
“......”
“There is no place here for the Heavenly Alliance.”
Byeok Hyeon frowned.
“Are you not being a little too harsh, Namgung Family Head?”
“Harsh? What exactly is harsh about it? I’m only speaking the truth. We may say Mount Hua began this, but in the end, while we were the ones fighting the water bandits, didn’t Mount Hua just hole itself up on the island and play at being immortals?”
Hyun Jong’s eyelid twitched.
Play at being immortals...
Could one really call it that?
Well, to those who didn’t know the circumstances, perhaps it might look that way. Life, after all, was a comedy from afar and a tragedy up close.
Namgung Hwang glared at Hyun Jong with undisguised displeasure.
In fact, the place in this gathering with the worst feelings toward Mount Hua might not have been Wudang, but the Namgung Family.
Wudang had lost face by being defeated in a martial contest with Mount Hua, and while their temperaments were similar enough that they would never be close, the losses they had suffered were not especially great in practical terms.
But the Namgung Family had lost far too much because of Mount Hua.
First, the Dang Family had broken away from the Odaesega.
Though it had not yet been officially declared, the fact that they had joined the Heavenly Alliance meant they intended to break the unity of the Five Great Families. For the Namgung Family, which stood at the head of the Odaesega, Dang Family’s departure was like losing an arm.
Second, the merchants of Beijing were being seized from their grasp.
The Namgung Family and the Peng Family were the two major sources of funding among the Five Great Families. The Namgung controlled the trade center around Anhui, while the Northern Sea Peng Family dominated the commercial world of Beijing.
But thanks to that damned Eunha Merchant Guild’s special transport service, high-ranking officials had begun flocking to Eunha Sangdan, threatening to upset the balance of Beijing’s merchant circles. Naturally, that only increased the burden on the Namgung Family.
Money and power.
When both were being stabbed at once, how could Namgung Hwang possibly look kindly upon Mount Hua, even if he was a generally decent man?
And above all...
Damn it. Those bastard Mount Hua fools made Do-wi humiliate himself.
Mount Hua had humiliated other sects as well.
But there was no comparison between a disciple being humiliated and the young master, who was meant to inherit the family headship, being humiliated. The weight of those two things was on completely different levels.
With matters as they were, Namgung Hwang could not bear to see Mount Hua take the credit here, at least not in front of him.
“Elder, what are your thoughts? Do you intend to move together with Mount Hua?”
“Hmm.”
Beop Gye let out a low hum and delayed his answer. This was not something he could answer carelessly. No matter how he responded, it would cause trouble.
Ordinarily, such matters would be discussed quietly in the back, but Namgung Hwang had stabbed straight to the point, leaving them with even fewer words to work with. Too many eyes were watching.
“What does Sect Leader think?”
Heo Do-jin-in, who had been walking slowly toward them, smiled when the question came.
“If we are being honest, wasn’t this Yangtze River operation only possible because Mount Hua was here?”
“......Hmm.”
Namgung Hwang narrowed his eyes slightly. Heo Do-jin-in went on.
“There is no one who would deny that Mount Hua played the central role.”
“Sect Leader...”
“So.”
With those brief words, Heo Do-jin-in cut off whatever Namgung Hwang had been about to say.
“Please yield the credit to us this time, Sect Leader. We came to the Yangtze River intending to cooperate in our own way, so if Mount Hua takes all the glory, it leaves us without face.”
“......”
Hyun Jong looked taken aback by the sight of Heo Do-jin-in. He had already guessed the meaning, of course, but he had not expected the man to say it so directly.
“I ask this favor of you.”
When Heo Do-jin-in dipped his head slightly, Hyun Jong hurriedly waved his hands.
“N-no, please don’t do that. What is there to make such a great issue out of that you would bow this way, Sect Leader? I will do as you ask.”
“Thank you.”
Heo Do-jin-in smiled faintly and continued.
“It is not only about credit, either. As you can see, the terrain over there is rather...”
“......Hmm.”
What Heo Do-jin-in pointed to was the far side of the river. Hyun Jong’s expression stiffened.
This kind of terrain...
The river itself was not especially wide. Compared to the widths he had seen elsewhere on the Yangtze, it was actually rather narrow. If they set their minds to it, crossing should not be overly difficult.
But the problem lay beyond that.
“Inside there...”
On the other side of the river stood sheer, towering cliffs. And in the middle of them was a narrow gorge, as though a god had split it open with an axe.
“You mean the Black Dragon Clan is in there?”
“Yes. It’s barely wide enough for a single large ship to pass through.”
“......”
Beop Gye explained further.
“We tried to approach from behind, but even that is not easy. First of all, the cliffs are too high to jump down. That means you’d need ropes, and even finding ropes long enough would be a problem... and given the strength of those inside, anyone descending the cliffs would have to suffer heavy losses just to get down.”
“......Hmm. Yes, that is true.”
When Mount Hua struck Daegyeong Fort earlier, the Green Forest had descended the cliffs.
But that had been possible because Mount Hua below had held off the archers and drawn the enemy’s attention so that they could not swarm the fighters coming down.
If the height were manageable, occupying the upper ground would indeed offer an advantage, but at this scale, the height only endangered the attacker.
“But attacking from above doesn’t have to mean going down the cliffs, does it? You could drop rocks, or...”
“You want us to pour boiling oil on them?”
Before Hyun Jong could even finish, Namgung Hwang cut in with a cold, derisive tone.
“So the reputation of Mount Hua as a sect of righteousness must all be exaggerated, then.”
He snorted openly and mocked them.
“Do you think it makes sense to launch a blind attack like that, when you don’t know who’s below? If it’s the Black Dragon Clan, there could be captured commoners or forced laborers inside. You expect us to hurl boulders onto their heads?”
“......”
“Nonsense.”
Hyun Jong let out a quiet sigh. A murmur slipped through his lips.
Brutal, but not wrong. Those who had come to the Yangtze to uphold righteousness could not simply attack recklessly without considering the harm to common people.
“I think Family Head Namgung should perhaps take a breath.”
“Ahem.”
At Beop Gye’s roundabout warning, Namgung Hwang gave a loud, awkward cough. Beop Gye, trying to organize the situation, said,
“As matters stand, it seems we’ll have to enter through the narrow road up ahead. Not only because of the commoners’ safety, but also because if the water bandits’ elite are there, such an attack would not even wound them.”
“Then...”
“Too many people will be an obstacle in such a narrow path. It is difficult to distinguish which sect should attack and which should not, so it seems we’ll have to ask Mount Hua, who arrived last, to yield.”
“......Understood.”
With even Beop Gye saying as much, Hyun Jong had no choice.
More than anything, these four sects were bound together by the alliance of the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Families. They could not help but be wary of Hyun Jong, a member of the Heavenly Alliance.
“Thank you for your understanding.”
“No, it is nothing...”
Though the exchange took place a short distance away, Baek Cheon could hear every word clearly. His face twitched faintly with anger.
Damn it.
One group was openly hostile, another was polite, and another still was soft-spoken and almost conciliatory.
Different methods, but all of them were naturally excluding Mount Hua—the very Mount Hua that had fought the water bandits first, and had risked war for the common people of the Yangtze.
Is this how they do things?
Baek Cheon suppressed his anger and bit down hard on his lip, and just then—
Step.
Hm?
One person was approaching from the direction of Mount Hua.
Even from the sound of his steps, Baek Cheon could tell he was not coming with goodwill.
As he looked carefully at the man’s face, he gave a small jolt.
Namgung Do-wi?
It was the Namgung Family’s Sojae, Namgung Do-wi, the man who had once been utterly crushed by Chung Myung at the Under the Heavens Martial Arts Tournament. The face that approached the Mount Hua disciples was cold and expressionless, as though it had been wrapped in iron.
Step.
Namgung Do-wi stopped right in front of Baek Cheon, looked at him quietly for a moment, then spoke.
“Where is the Mount Hua Divine Dragon?”
“...Pardon?”
“The Mount Hua Divine Dragon.”
Instead of answering, Baek Cheon slowly turned his head.
At the same time, everyone’s gaze followed his and landed on one spot.
“Mmph! Mmph-mmph! Mmph!”
“......”
“......”
The corners of Namgung Do-wi’s eyes twitched.
I’m sorry.
Baek Cheon apologized to Namgung Do-wi with the deepest sincerity in his heart. When he thought about what state the man must have been in to walk all the way over here, he should not have been shown something like that. That was the bare minimum of courtesy one owed another person... and yet—
“T-take it off.”
“Can we really do that?”
“Hurry up and untie him!”
“Yes!”
Jo Gul and Yoon Jong removed the cloth tied over Chung Myung’s mouth and loosened the iron cords wrapped around his body. As if he had been waiting for the moment, Chung Myung’s flushed face erupted in a shout.
“Phaaa! Hey! If you’re going to tie me up, at least make it so I can breathe! I thought I was gonna die!”
“That’s not the important thing right now. We have a guest, Chung Myung.”
“Huh? A guest?”
Only then did Chung Myung turn his head and look at Namgung Do-wi.
“Ah...”
Namgung Do-wi tightened his expression and spoke in a heavy voice.
“It’s been a long time...”
“...Who was this again?”
For a moment, Namgung Do-wi was struck speechless. He turned his head and stared only at the distant sky.
And Baek Cheon, unable to bear watching, turned his own head away.
I’m truly sorry.
He should have just left Chung Myung tied up.
Then the dense fool Jo Gul hurriedly whispered to Chung Myung.
“It’s Namgung Do-wi! Namgung Do-wi! The Namgung Do-wi with the Single-Sword style!”
“Oh? Namgung Do-wi?”
“Yeah!”
Chung Myung went, “Ah,” and looked at him a little longer before saying,
“...Who’s that?”
“You fought him at the martial arts tournament!”
“I’ve beaten so many people at a martial arts tournament, how am I supposed to remember all of them?”
“One of the more noticeable ones!”
“Hye Yeon?”
“No, no! The one after that!”
“Yi Song-baek?”
“......”
Baek Cheon saw it with his own eyes.
Jo Gul, glancing sideways at Namgung Do-wi, wore a face full of genuine apology.
...That is a remarkably rare sight.
“Th-then after that?”
“After that, they’re all just small fry. How am I supposed to remember every little fry I’ve beaten?”
Chung Myung waved dismissively and stood up, brushing off his clothes. At that, Namgung Do-wi bit down hard on his lip and glared at him.
“You don’t remember me...”
“Ah!”
Then Chung Myung suddenly shoved his face forward and cried out, clapping his hands together. Namgung Do-wi gave a twisted smile, as if he’d expected this.
“So you finally recognize...”
“That handsome, annoying bastard from back then! Was your name Jin Eun-ryong or something? Right?”
“It’s Namgung Do-wi!”
“Huh... weird. If he’s handsome and annoying, he must be a Jin bastard.”
Namgung Do-wi and Jin Dong-ryong... no, Baek Cheon, both trembled violently.
Then, after a moment more of thought, Chung Myung shouted again, “Ah!”
“Right! Hey, it’s you! Long time no see! Now that I look at you, I remember your face! Back then, that... uh...”
As Chung Myung smiled brightly, his gaze flicked downward.
At the same time, everyone who had been at the martial arts tournament that day also let their eyes drift downward with him, then hurriedly snapped them back to where they belonged.
“...Sorry. Back then I had a lot of anger bottled up inside me. I shouldn’t have gone that far. Uh... are you okay? Do you maybe have some kind of problem or something...”
“Ghk...”
Namgung Do-wi’s handsome face twisted like an oni’s.