So, I Just Came Out? (2)
“...You said seclusion?”
“Yes.”
Hwang Mun-yak, the head of the Eunha Merchant Guild, stared at Hwang Jong-ui with a look of utter disbelief.
“So... you’re telling me Mount Hua has gone into seclusion?”
Still seeming unable to believe it, he asked again, then let out a dry laugh.
Hwang Jong-ui, understanding his father’s reaction perfectly, nodded.
“That appears to be the case.”
“And you expect me to believe that?”
“...I couldn’t believe it either, so I checked for myself. Mount Hua’s mountain gate, which should never have closed, was sealed shut.”
Hwang Mun-yak’s wrinkled eyes flew wide open.
“So... Mount Hua really has gone into seclusion? That Mount Hua? The one I know?”
His voice was thick with disbelief. Hwang Jong-ui nodded again, his expression grave.
“It would seem so. The rumor has already spread across Shaanxi, and indeed across the entire world.”
“I see. Then it must be true. It has to be... and yet...”
“...”
“It really should be true...”
Hwang Mun-yak turned his gaze away, his feelings too tangled to put into words.
Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack.
“Then...”
Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack.
“...what in the world is going on?”
With trembling eyes, he looked at one person who was violently emptying the lavish table before him.
If Mount Hua truly had gone into seclusion... then this man shouldn’t even be here.
Is he a ghost?
Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack!
Chung Myung tore into a huge duck leg with vigorous enthusiasm, then drained the liquor beside him in one go before setting the bottle down with a thud.
“Hahhh. That’s more like it. I feel alive again.”
“...”
“I’m telling you, food tastes better when you eat it outside. Tsk. Mount Hua’s cooks need to be replaced. Everything’s so bland.”
Hwang Mun-yak stared at Chung Myung in a daze for a moment before finally speaking.
“Th-then... Daoist?”
At the hesitant call, Chung Myung turned his head as calmly as if nothing were odd.
“Yeah?”
“What I just heard... is it true?”
“Which part? The seclusion thing?”
“Yes. That Mount Hua has gone into seclusion...”
“Yep. We were sick of all the hassle, so we just shut the gate.”
There was no need to explain what kind of thoughts flashed through Hwang Mun-yak’s mind at that moment.
“Why?”
No... there were times when even that question needed to be answered.
“If Mount Hua has gone into seclusion, then how are you here, Daoist?”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes.”
“I just came out, you know?”
“...”
Hwang Mun-yak smiled faintly.
Let’s not try to understand it.
It wasn’t the first or second time he’d been through something like this; by now, he should have simply accepted it. And yet, why was it that every time, he failed to adapt and ended up repeating the same bewilderment? If you were a person, you ought to learn to adjust.
But Hwang Jong-ui still seemed unable to let go.
“If it’s true that Mount Hua is in seclusion, then shouldn’t you not be outside, Daoist?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Why are you asking me that? You should be the one answering!
Chung Myung took another swig of wine, then wiped his mouth with a contented “khh.”
“Come on. We’re not the ones who did anything wrong and had to go into seclusion. We’re closing the gate because we don’t want people wandering in and annoying us. That doesn’t mean I can’t come out.”
“...B-but even so, seclusion is seclusion...”
“Ah, it’s all the same. How many of those sects that go into seclusion actually keep it up properly? I’ll bet the idiots from Zhongnan, and even those Wudang bastards who just went into seclusion, are sneaking out at night under a sackcloth hood to drink in some corner before going back in. I swear it.”
“...”
“So just ignore the small stuff.”
“...Yes.”
Yes. Honestly, it was better not to think too hard about it.
“Anyway, that’s how it is, so please take good care of the businesses in Hua Yin, and make sure the trade routes to the Northern Sea are properly managed too. As for the Eunha courier service, the Dang Family will step in if anything urgent happens, so if there’s trouble, just ask them for help.”
“Yes.”
“And when you send supplies up to Mount Hua, make sure to pack the meat full and proper... and, um... that is, uh...”
Chung Myung dragged the end of his sentence out, hesitating, then sent him a look that clearly said, Do I really have to spell this out? Hwang Jong-ui spoke up with a mournful expression.
“...I’ll keep stocking the liquor in the place where we’ve always hidden it.”
“Ha. Ha. Ha. Well, you don’t have to go that far. Even if it’s in seclusion, it’s not like there’s any way for us to come outside, so ahhh. The liquor’s going to spoil, it’s going to spoil!”
“...Then should we cut back a little?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, no, I mean if it’s going to spoil...”
“Huh?”
“...I’ll have more brought in.”
“Khh. Well, if you insist, I won’t stop you.”
Chung Myung shrugged, smacking his lips.
“Oh, and there’ll be goods coming from the Dang Family. There’ll be things sent to Mount Hua from the Northern Sea too. When those arrive, please bring them to Mount Hua regardless of whether the gate is closed. We’ll keep the Eunha Merchant Guild allowed in.”
“I will do so.”
After finishing his instructions one by one, he let out a light sigh.
“I’d like to say I’ll come by often, but honestly, this is probably the last time for a while. Until the seclusion ends, it’ll be hard to come back.”
“Hmm.”
“There’s a lot I’ve set in motion, so I’m a little worried, but I trust everyone will handle things well.”
Hwang Mun-yak smiled faintly.
“Please don’t worry, Daoist.”
“Though...”
Chung Myung looked at Hwang Mun-yak with curiosity.
“You’re not asking why we went into seclusion? Usually people would want to know that.”
Hwang Mun-yak quietly shook his head.
“People like us wouldn’t understand even if we were told. How could those who chase profit understand the hearts of those who follow the Dao?”
“...”
“I simply assume Daoist has your own great intention.”
“Not really.”
Chung Myung scratched the back of his head, and Hwang Mun-yak gave a low laugh.
“I’ll handle everything so there are no problems. I’ll also work closely with Hwayeong Gate in Xi'an so that establishing branch sects goes smoothly.”
“Ah, right. I should ask you to take care of that too.”
“Such trivial matters are not things Daoist need concern yourself with. You should simply carry out your intent. The rest is handled by people like us.”
“And make a profit while you’re at it?”
“Of course, of course. You know it very well. Hahaha.”
Hwang Mun-yak laughed warmly, clearly pleased.
“Daoist.”
“Yes?”
“Since you appeared, not only Xi'an and Hua Yin but all of Shaanxi has come alive again. Especially the pride of the people of Hua Yin is beyond words.”
“Ah, come on. I didn’t even do that much.”
“And thanks to Daoist, the Eunha Merchant Guild has also grown wings.”
Hwang Mun-yak bowed politely toward Chung Myung.
“Thank you.”
“What’s with you all of a sudden!”
Startled, Chung Myung hurriedly helped Hwang Mun-yak up. The old man only smiled and nodded.
“I wanted to thank you properly at least once. I didn’t think I had ever truly expressed my gratitude.”
“Gratitude? For what? We’re on the same side.”
Hwang Mun-yak smiled as he looked at Chung Myung.
Come to think of it, their bond wasn’t all that old. It had only been a few years. And yet those few years had saved him, changed his life, and even altered the future of the Eunha Merchant Guild.
All because that man had appeared.
Receiving Hwang Mun-yak’s warm gaze, Chung Myung awkwardly got to his feet.
“Anyway, please take good care of things. Especially around Xi'an. Make sure you keep a close watch there while I’m gone, in case those Zhongnan bastards come out of seclusion and start causing trouble.”
“Of course. The power of the Eunha Merchant Guild is no longer weak. At the very least, I will see to it that the branch families of Mount Hua in Xi'an, and the sects tied to Mount Hua, suffer no disadvantage.”
“Yeah. That’s enough. Then...”
Chung Myung lifted the wine bottle by the neck and walked toward the door. But even with his hand on the handle, he didn’t open it right away. He paused, as if gathering his thoughts.
“That...”
“Yes, Daoist.”
“Don’t worry. Mount Hua and the Eunha Merchant Guild are good friends.”
At the sudden remark, Hwang Jong-ui tilted his head. But Hwang Mun-yak seemed to have grasped his meaning, smiling faintly.
“If you say so, I couldn’t wish for more.”
“Yeah, then.”
With a quick grin at Hwang Mun-yak, Chung Myung opened the door and stepped outside.
Click.
As the door shut, Hwang Jong-ui frowned, utterly baffled.
“...Why did he come?”
“Why, you ask...”
“He said a few things on his way out, but there was nothing of substance in them. They were things worth reminding us of, perhaps, but not things he wouldn’t have done anyway even without saying them. If he was going to break seclusion just to come out and say something, then...”
“Jong-ui. The words a person speaks...”
“Yes, Father.”
Hwang Mun-yak’s voice grew serious and firm, and Hwang Jong-ui straightened instantly.
“What matters is not the shell, but the true meaning inside. Especially for a merchant, you must learn to read the hidden intent beneath the words.”
“...”
“Daoist Chung Myung simply came to say farewell.”
“Farewell? A farewell that says he’s going into seclusion, you mean?”
“No.”
Hwang Mun-yak shook his head. His calm voice rang through the room.
“He came to bid farewell to someone he will not see again.”
“...F-Father?”
Hwang Mun-yak smiled.
“Wasn’t he such a warmhearted man? Now that he’s gone into seclusion, it seems it weighed on him. By now, an old man like me is probably no great matter to Mount Hua anymore...”
Hwang Mun-yak knew.
He probably would not live to see the end of Mount Hua’s seclusion. He had already lived his full span of years.
And Chung Myung seemed to have guessed as much.
“I have no regrets left. Strictly speaking, I should have been dead long ago, and yet thanks to the Daoist, haven’t I seen more than my fair share of things I never deserved?”
“Father...”
“If I have any concern left, it’s only for you and the guild. The Daoist must have understood that too. If Mount Hua had suddenly gone into seclusion and I had died without knowing, I would never have been able to rest easily, worrying about the guild and about you. So he came all this way to tell me not to worry.”
Speaking slowly, Hwang Mun-yak closed his eyes.
There is no such thing as a separate Dao vessel.
He knew.
Within Chung Myung, whose actions were rough to the extreme, there was in fact a heart that was kinder than anyone’s.
“You’re worried about the Daoist.”
“...That man?”
“A turbulent age is coming. The world is already changing.”
“...”
“In that harsh world, I wonder how much more that tender-hearted man will be hurt.”
Hwang Mun-yak let out a low sigh.
“A person who does not know gratitude is no better than a beast. Jong-ui.”
“Yes.”
“Not only as the head of the Eunha Merchant Guild, but as a human being, help that man and help Mount Hua.”
“...I will keep it in mind.”
“Good. That will do.”
Hwang Mun-yak smiled faintly.
It was a shame not to be able to see Mount Hua and the Eunha Merchant Guild commanding the world with his own eyes. But even so, he did not feel much regret, because even if he did not see it, he could already imagine it.
“A great roc waits a thousand years just to rise once. I look forward to seeing how high Mount Hua will soar when it comes out of seclusion.”
“So do I, Father.”
“Hahaha! But before that, we should properly do the work the Daoist entrusted to us. We’ll be busy. Let’s hurry.”
“Yes, Father.”
After leaving the room, Hwang Mun-yak looked toward the main gate Chung Myung had departed through, and then up at the towering form of Mount Hua beyond it.
“No matter when it is... flowers still fall.”
And yet, because one knows they will bloom again, one can look upon falling petals without sorrow.
“Take care, Daoist.”
A warm smile bloomed at the corner of Hwang Mun-yak’s weathered mouth.