Mount Hua Is Not Mount Hua Without You (4)
“Uh……”
Hyun Jong looked at the one sitting before him with a tangled expression that was hard to put into words.
“Th-that……”
By any common-sense standard, it was nonsense.
But when he looked into those huge, baby-deer eyes, he simply couldn’t get the words out.
“No, I……”
Every time he steeled himself to speak, those bright eyes filled with moisture and he lost the thread of his thoughts.
Unable to meet that gaze, Hyun Jong averted his eyes and muttered softly, “It’s just…… I’d like to, but……”
It felt as though his mouth had suddenly forgotten how to work.
“The thing is, seclusion has its own rules, and letting in outsiders……”
The disappointed face drooped even further. When he lowered his head, the round, shining scalp was suddenly all too visible, and Hyun Jong flinched again.
As soon as Hye Yeon looked dejected, the disciples standing behind him quickly began throwing glances at Baek Cheon.
Under that pressure, Baek Cheon cleared his throat and spoke up.
“A-About that, Sect Leader. Of course, in principle, no outsider can enter a sect under closure, but……”
He stole a glance at the downcast Hye Yeon and continued, “Monk Hye Yeon is not exactly an outsider in Mount Hua, is he?”
“That’s right!”
“Exactly! Sect Leader, none of us has ever thought of Monk Hye Yeon as an outsider!”
“Wouldn’t it help to train together? It’s nearly impossible to find someone as strong as Monk Hye Yeon.”
The disciples chimed in all at once, raising their voices in unison.
Hearing the Mount Hua disciples speak up on his behalf, Hye Yeon turned around with an emotional look on his face.
“It’s better if we all get hit together!”
“With that kind of toughness, it means one fewer punch aimed at me.”
“I can’t stand the thought of someone else living comfortably outside by himself.”
……Well, of course. These demon bastards.
Whatever their motives—kindness or malice—the fact remained that the Mount Hua disciples were helping him.
“……Sect Leader.”
Baek Cheon accepted the support and spoke again.
“As you know, Monk Hye Yeon has already declared that he won’t be returning to Shaolin. Of course, that may not be forever, but surely even Sect Leader understands how difficult it would be for him to go back to Shaolin under the current circumstances.”
“……That’s true.”
“Monk Hye Yeon has spent his whole life in Shaolin. If he can’t remain in Shaolin or Mount Hua, then he really has nowhere to go. Please consider that and make an exception for this one time.”
It was excellent reasoning, and delivered with proper bearing.
As expected of Sasuk.
He really is useful at times like this.
The disciples were convinced beyond doubt that this would work: the Sect Leader’s conflicted expression, Baek Cheon’s upright back, and Hye Yeon’s pitiful figure looking like a drenched puppy. There was no way this plea could fail.
That is, until a man who knew nothing of pity appeared.
“Honestly……”
A skewed voice rang out.
At that voice, which made listeners instinctively shrink back, the disciples all drew their necks in.
“This sect’s gone and gotten itself into a fine mess.”
“……”
What made the disciples miserable was that the speaker was not Chung Myung.
If it had been Chung Myung, they could at least have talked back. But instead it was someone they couldn’t possibly argue with, glaring at them with narrowed eyes like an angry axe.
“E-Elder……”
Hyun Young let out a dry laugh.
“A sect’s seclusion is one of the greatest and most serious decisions its Sect Leader can make.”
“Y-Yes, that’s right.”
“And yet second-generation and third-generation disciples are brazenly telling the Sect Leader to make exceptions here and there for this closure? Because he’s been indulgent, you’ve all crossed the line! You come rushing in together and start ordering the Sect Leader around?”
The Mount Hua disciples’ heads sank lower and lower.
They knew perfectly well he wasn’t wrong. In any other sect, disciples wouldn’t even dream of making demands over something as grave as a closure of the sect.
“If you treat people well, they start acting like it’s owed to them!”
As Hyun Young glared and pressed the attack, the disciples folded up so low they were nearly prostrating themselves.
Who was the idiot who told us to come en masse to the Sect Leader?
I think it was Sahyung Jo Gul.
Tell that bastard to stay behind after this. What was that again? If we all go together, he won’t be able to ignore us? I’m going to kill him.
They had rushed in as a group, and now they were simply getting beaten down as a group.
Just when everyone had resigned themselves and was only sighing in defeat—
Unbelievable words followed.
“That’s the kind of thing I should be saying, not you lot!”
“……”
“Sect Leader.”
To everyone’s disbelief, Hyun Young bowed deeply and said, “There are rules within a sect, yes, but there are exceptions as well. Monk Hye Yeon has fought alongside Mount Hua several times, staking his life each time. It would be no exaggeration to call him a friend of Mount Hua, even a guest of the sect.”
“Hmm.”
“So I think that, just this once, we should make an exception and let him join the closure with us.”
The Mount Hua disciples opened their eyes wide.
“Good heavens…… Elder?”
“I thought he’d say we should cut down at least one extra mouth that only eats rice.”
“Well, grass doesn’t cost much, so keeping him doesn’t really cost anything……”
“Hey. Monk Hye Yeon eats meat, you know?”
“Shut up, idiot!”
The disciples whispered in disbelief, then slowly turned their eyes toward Hyun Jong.
Hyun Jong looked at Hyun Young with a somewhat awkward expression.
“If that’s how you felt, you could have simply said so from the beginning.”
“Procedure is important. Proper decorum must be observed.”
“……Hngh.”
Hyun Jong let out a long sigh and turned to Hyun Sang.
“Martial Hall Leader.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“Has Mount Hua ever closed its gates while bringing in a guest or outsider?”
“……Mount Hua has never had a closure in its history, Sect Leader.”
“……”
Good. That was how it should be. So that was why their ancestors were proper people. Unlike those Shaolin bastards, who shut themselves away every time they felt like it!
Ah, no. That wasn’t the issue right now.
“Then what about other sects?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know that much……”
“……Is that so?”
It was a difficult matter to decide at once.
“Chung Myung.”
“Yeah?”
When his head hurt, using Chung Myung was still the best solution.
“What do you think?”
“Hmm.”
Chung Myung thought for a moment, clicked his tongue, and turned to look at Hye Yeon.
“By the rules, it shouldn’t be allowed……”
“……”
“Tch. He looks like he’d starve to death if you left him out on the street, since he can’t even beg properly. Let’s just take him along. If we leave him here, that beggar old man will probably rush over all delighted and take him in, and then what are we supposed to do—cook rice porridge just to feed a dog? No way we can hand him over to a beggar.”
“……”
“And if that spineless bastard gets hungry and shuffles back to Shaolin, I’d still be pissed off. I can’t stand seeing other people do well. Yep.”
Hyun Jong smiled faintly.
How could this child’s heart remain so consistently rotten? So consistently……
“Still, this is a closure……”
“We’re not closing the sect because we did something wrong. We’re just locking the gates and training, so who’s going to pick a fight over that?”
“……Now that you say it, I suppose that makes sense.”
“And!”
At that moment, Chung Myung’s eyes flashed.
“If someone does pick a fight, it’ll be those bastards from the Nine Great Sects. And if those bastards have even a hair’s worth of conscience left, they shouldn’t dare criticize Mount Hua. Let them try. I’ll rush over that very day, pour oil everywhere, and set the place on fire! Just thinking about it makes me angry again! They should all feel what it’s like to be equal before fire…….”
“Whoa, whoa, Chung Myung, calm down.”
“There, there. Good boy.”
“Think good thoughts. Good thoughts.”
“Huuuk! Huuuk! Huuuk!”
Chung Myung forced several deep breaths.
“Hah. I’m calmer now.”
“Good. What a relief…….”
“If anyone starts talking nonsense, just lift the closure and go crush them first, Sect Leader. Better yet, I hope someone does talk nonsense.”
Yes, Chung Myung.
This is what it means to be calm, and this Sect Leader is filled with boundless joy at the thought.
Perhaps this closure would be a great blessing to the martial world after all. It was the image of that unbridled colt—no, that asura—locking itself in a cage of its own will.
“In any case, then……”
With a sigh, Hyun Jong looked around at everyone.
“Since it seems everyone agrees, Monk Hye Yeon will accompany us back to Mount Hua.”
“T-Thank you, Sect Leader!”
“This is wonderful, Monk! Now you can roll around with us too!”
“……I’d at least like some guidance on whether this is something to be happy about…….”
“Aigoo. Of course it is!”
“……Amitabha.”
Hyun Jong gave a short laugh and reminded them, “Then everything important has been decided. Everyone, prepare yourselves. We’re departing.”
“What?”
“Right now?”
Hyun Jong nodded.
“If you’re going to pull out the ox horn, do it while the iron is still hot. There’s no reason to drag this out any longer. Let’s leave at once. Every day matters now.”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
The Mount Hua disciples rose without hesitation and rushed outside in a swarm. If they were going to pack, they had to hurry.
Watching them go, a small smile touched the corner of Hyun Jong’s mouth.
* * *
“Then we’ll be off.”
“We’ll be counting on you.”
“See you again next time!”
The Mount Hua disciples said their farewells to the Dang Family retainers and Green Forest men who had gathered around them, and even to the water bandits calling out their goodbyes from farther away.
“Lord Dang Family Head.”
Hyun Jong looked at Tang Gun-ak with an apologetic expression.
“I am sorry this happened.”
“Do not apologize, Alliance Lord. I understand that this is not a choice made merely for Mount Hua, but for everyone.”
“……”
“Leave the rest to us. Is that not what friends are for—sharing one another’s burdens?”
At those words, Hyun Jong closed his eyes slightly.
In the past, even when Mount Hua stood on the brink of ruin, no one had stretched out a hand. But now things were different. Now there were people willing to step forward and share the load without hesitation. There were friends.
Nearby, Hyun Young was speaking with Im So-byeong about matters concerning Maehwado.
“I’ll leave it in your care.”
“Do not worry, Elder. I will send the ledgers to Mount Hua once every three months.”
“That’s not necessary……”
“It’s always better to be precise. What kind of peace of mind could there be for a man who’s left his money with bandits? Don’t worry. Not a single coin will be off.”
“……Thank you for taking such care.”
Im So-byeong edged closer to Hyun Young and whispered softly, “Still, there is someone who would probably chase me down and kill me if even one coin were off, isn’t there?”
“That’s true enough. Heh heh heh.”
The people who had shared smiles took one step, then another, back away from one another.
“Then we’ll see you again.”
When Hyun Jong bowed in front, everyone in unison returned the salute to those remaining behind.
“We’ll definitely meet again!”
“Please take good care of the Yangtze River!”
“I’ll become so strong you won’t even recognize me!”
“Stay strong!”
As the Mount Hua disciples boomed out their spirited farewells, those left behind answered with hearty laughter.
“Then!”
The Mount Hua disciples lowered their heads once more and turned away.
As they began to move farther and farther from the Yangtze River, Tang Gun-ak lightly stamped his foot.
“Hm?”
When the Mount Hua disciples looked back, Tang Gun-ak extended his hand forward. In step with him, everyone remaining on the Yangtze River bowed in unison.
“May good fortune be with you!”
There was warmth in that ringing cry. The Mount Hua disciples pressed their lips together tightly.
No answer was needed. The farewell had already been given.
So they simply turned back again and quickened their pace.
“……They’re gone.”
“Looks that way.”
Im So-byeong nodded, then glanced at Tang Gun-ak and asked, “Why are you smiling?”
Tang Gun-ak, whose mouth had been twitching upward, gave a brief cough and composed his expression.
“Because I am already looking forward to it.”
“Pardon?”
His gaze remained fixed on the receding figures of the Mount Hua disciples.
“The moment they break their closure and emerge again, just how much they will have grown—I can’t help but look forward to that.”
Im So-byeong nodded as well. He could certainly agree with that.
“We had better work hard. I’d hate to be on the receiving end when the demon that broke out of seclusion comes charging at us with its eyes rolled back. It’s already more than enough to handle now, but by then…….”
“……Yes, that does frighten me as well.”
Smiling, Tang Gun-ak kept watch until Mount Hua disappeared completely into the distance.
I’ll be waiting.
The day those further-grown figures returned once more.
Then the world would finally carve the name into its memory.
Mount Hua.
And the Heavenly Alliance.