Better to Die Than Fail to Obtain It (3)
Fatigue was not merely a matter of the body.
Dang Gun-ak’s current state proved that beyond all doubt.
For one who had trained in martial arts, even crushing workloads did not easily bring exhaustion; one was usually left with a constant, underlying vitality. Yet a deep shadow had settled over Dang Gun-ak’s face as he sat in his study.
I’ve read it, and yet it feels like I haven’t read it at all.
At last, Dang Gun-ak set the document in his hand back down on the desk. He had already read it three times in a row, but the contents refused to settle in his head. It was not even anything particularly bad, either.
He rubbed at his eyelids in silence.
I’m tired.
It felt as though he had not properly rested in the past three years. Managing the chaos along the Yangtze River while also dealing with matters arising back at the family estate in distant Sichuan left him with too little time—far too little.
He had even cut into his sleep to make sure he did not miss training, but even that now felt as though it had reached its limit.
“Are you all right?”
At Tang Jan’s question, Dang Gun-ak slowly nodded.
“I’m only a little tired.”
“...Father.”
A sigh escaped Tang Jan’s mouth.
And really, it was only natural. If Dang Gun-ak wasn’t tired, that would have been the strange thing. Considering the overwork he had endured over the past three years, it would have been odd if he still had any energy left at all.
“You need to rest.”
“I’m still fine.”
“Of course you are. You’re always fine, Father. You always have some strength left in reserve.”
“Hmm?”
Dang Gun-ak lifted his head and looked at Tang Jan.
“And so, in the end, you’ll never rest. You’ll regret it only at the very end, when it’s too late, and say you should have rested sooner.”
Listening in silence, Dang Gun-ak’s mouth curled slightly as he let out a low chuckle.
“That’s a painful thing to say.”
“Father.”
Not “family head,” but “father.” Tang Jan let out a quiet sigh with a serious face and continued.
“Please, you really should rest. It’s fortunate my elder sister isn’t here right now, because if she saw you like this, Father, you wouldn’t come out of it unscathed.”
“...That is a terrifying thing to say.”
Though his words said otherwise, a calm smile bloomed around Dang Gun-ak’s lips. He seemed to brighten at the thought of Dang Soso.
“And I’d be the one beaten to death first, before you ever had to endure her anger.”
“...”
Dang Gun-ak did not exactly deny that. He was well aware that Soso had once chewed Tang Jan out from top to bottom.
Of course, back when Soso had still been in the Tang Family, Tang Jan had been more skilled than she was, but what did that matter in a relationship? Could such things really be settled by strength alone?
If he had ever seen Tang Jan daring to talk back to Dang Soso, Dang Gun-ak would have rushed in himself and jammed a steel needle between Tang Jan’s brows without hesitation.
“At your age, are you still afraid of your own sister?”
“I’m more afraid now that I’m this age. When you’re a child, getting hit is one thing. But if I get beaten by my older sister at my age, isn’t that a disaster?”
“...I see.”
“Back then, if I wanted, I could at least run away. That won’t be possible now.”
“Won’t be possible?”
Tang Jan let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
“Do you really think my sister spent the last three years slacking off? She must have been gritting her teeth and training the whole time. How am I supposed to beat her after she’s been doing the kind of training the Mount Hua Divine Dragon ordered?”
“My son is truly...”
“My sister is your daughter, too. It’s the same thing.”
Dang Gun-ak gave a low laugh. “I see,” he murmured softly.
It was no more than worthless chatter, but thanks to it, he did feel a little better. Tang Jan had probably brought it up on purpose for that very reason.
“I know I need to rest. Let’s just finish this one thing first, then I’ll rest.”
“I’ve already heard that line more than ten times.”
Tang Jan seemed about to say something more, only to let out a weary sigh and give up.
What else could he do?
Resting would not make the work disappear. If today’s work was postponed, tomorrow’s would only grow larger. There was no better example of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
And it wasn’t as though he could hope Dang Gun-ak would do his job carelessly, either. Such a thing was impossible for the family head of the Tang Family.
I need to come up with some kind of solution...
Just as resentment quietly began to raise its head in Tang Jan’s heart,
“Father! No, Family Head!”
Bang!
Tang Pae burst through the door.
At the sight of his colorless face, Dang Gun-ak instantly realized something had happened and shot to his feet. The fatigue that had briefly settled in his eyes vanished, replaced at once by cold sharpness.
“What is it?”
Seeing Dang Gun-ak’s reaction, Tang Pae waved his hands frantically, as if to say it was not that. But the words would not come easily; his mouth opened and closed several times before anything emerged.
“...Speak slowly. What happened?”
Even then, Dang Gun-ak maintained his composure. As expected of a man leading a great family, he was the very image of restraint.
At least, he was until the next words came out.
“A message came from Mount Hua!”
“What?”
In the blink of an eye, Dang Gun-ak vaulted over the desk and lunged at Tang Pae, grabbing him by the collar.
“From where?”
Tang Jan’s mouth fell open.
Of course, Dang Gun-ak grabbing Tang Pae by the collar was shocking enough, but what shocked him even more was what had happened before that.
He... he jumped over the desk?
Dang Gun-ak?
The same man who always insisted one must behave like the son of a noble household?
“Kek! Keek! F-Family Head! P-Please let go of this...!”
“Ah! My apologies.”
Dang Gun-ak gave a start and quickly released Tang Pae’s collar.
“What did you say?”
“M-Mount Hua. The message came from Mount Hua through Beggars’ Sect. The letter is right here, ri-right here...”
The moment Tang Pae pulled a letter from his chest, Dang Gun-ak snatched it away like a hawk diving on a rabbit.
Crack, crack!
Without the slightest hesitation, he tore open the envelope and pulled out the paper inside.
“...”
After reading the letter in silence, an expression impossible to describe appeared on Dang Gun-ak’s face.
It looked almost absurd... or perhaps surprised. But that strange look soon melted into a gentle smile.
“Wh-what does it say?”
“Read it yourself.”
Tang Jan took the letter Dang Gun-ak offered him. Written on the large sheet was barely even a single line.
Why are you suffering over useless things? Throw it all away and come to Mount Hua first.
“...Huh.”
A breathy sound slipped from Tang Jan’s mouth.
“Hahah...”
For a moment, he thought he had read it wrong and questioned his own eyes, but the more he thought about it, the less likely that seemed.
Who in the world could possibly send such a letter to the family head of the Sichuan Tang Family? Even the Abbot of Shaolin would not dare send a mere line of text and order the Tang Family head around like that.
Only one person under heaven could do such a thing.
Chung Myung.
“...What will you do?”
“Hmm.”
As the smile on Dang Gun-ak’s lips deepened, Tang Jan found himself smiling back without even meaning to. It felt as though this was the first time in years he had seen that expression on Dang Gun-ak’s face.
This was not a smile that said Mount Hua had returned and he could finally escape this suffocating situation. Dang Gun-ak was not the kind of man who would grin so brightly because he could throw his duties aside.
This smile belonged to someone who had confirmed that an old friend, with whom contact had long been lost, was still alive and well.
“You really are impossible.”
Dang Gun-ak shook his head.
Then it happened.
“Is the family head here?”
Another loud voice rang out from outside. Dang Gun-ak, able to guess who its owner must be, turned his head.
“Come in.”
The door opened at once, and one man hurried inside.
“Did you receive the letter?”
Im So-byeong, the Green Forest King, ignored greetings entirely and asked straightaway. Dang Gun-ak wordlessly held out the letter he had received.
“As you can see.”
“...Ugh.”
After checking the contents, Im So-byeong let out a groan.
“Did you receive it?”
“See for yourself.”
Im So-byeong also handed over the letter in his own hand to Dang Gun-ak.
Bring all the ledgers and come to Mount Hua.
“...Hoho.”
It was even shorter than the one Dang Gun-ak had received.
“So Mount Hua has finally lifted its closure.”
At Dang Gun-ak’s murmur, everyone exchanged looks, each appearing deeply moved.
“Ugh.”
But only Im So-byeong still wore an ugly scowl.
“It seems the Green Forest King is not pleased.”
“It’s not that I’m not pleased...”
At Dang Gun-ak’s gentle probe, Im So-byeong ran both hands through his hair.
“Do you have any idea how many ledgers have piled up over three years? I have no idea what possessed him to make me bring all of them! That’s why I kept sending copies to the Eunha Merchant Guild in the first place!”
“...”
“We’re talking at least five carts’ worth! Five carts!”
“Please calm down.”
“Aigoo. What the...”
Im So-byeong groaned again.
“If he’s already making people suffer this much the moment he comes back, I’m worried about what’ll happen next. He’ll probably start yelling the second he sees my face.”
Im So-byeong shuddered dramatically.
But Dang Gun-ak, watching him, only smiled faintly.
“For a man who says he’s worried, you seem rather pleased.”
At that, Im So-byeong touched his own face. The corners of his mouth were clearly lifted.
Feeling a little embarrassed, he tried to bite back at Dang Gun-ak for no real reason.
“...Still, you’d have to beat the family head for that.”
Dang Gun-ak covered his mouth with his fist and gave a light cough. He had only just realized that he was unusually stirred.
Up until now, they had done everything they could. Yet even though things had gone well, there had still been a persistent sense of oppression, impossible to shake for three full years.
The moment they received Chung Myung’s letter, they finally understood what that suffocating feeling had really been.
“What will you do?”
“Was there ever any other choice?”
Dang Gun-ak smiled.
“If he tells me to come, I go. How could I possibly refuse the words of the Mount Hua Sword Hero when I have no power to speak of?”
“...Since the family head says it like that, I suppose I have no choice but to be dragged along, then. Ugh.”
Dang Gun-ak turned to look at Tang Pae.
“I’ll have to go to Mount Hua.”
“Yes, Family Head. But... while the Family Head is away, what happens to the Tang Family?”
“Hmm.”
Dang Gun-ak recalled the phrase throw it all away written in the letter.
“Have the clansmen step back, and tell them not to move unless it’s truly urgent.”
“There could be trouble.”
“I know.”
Dang Gun-ak nodded.
“But the Mount Hua Sword Hero isn’t the kind of man who’d go to the trouble of writing words he doesn’t need into a letter.”
“...That is true.”
Im So-byeong nodded in wholehearted agreement.
“He must have something in mind, so do as he says.”
“Yes, Family Head. I’ll do that.”
“I should go.”
“Al-already? Isn’t that a little too sudden?”
With an expressionless face, Dang Gun-ak muttered almost to himself.
“I need to see it with my own eyes.”
“...See what, exactly?”
Dang Gun-ak turned his head. Through the door Tang Pae had left wide open when he came rushing in, the bright blue sky was visible beyond. In a low voice, he murmured,
“How much they’ve changed over the past three years.”
Expectation, impossible to hide, rose in his eyes.
“Whether that nasty little dragon really came back as a dragon.”
No one could answer that.
Only Im So-byeong tapped himself on the head with his fan and let out a sigh.
“Even if he became a dragon, it’d still be an evil dragon...”
“That can’t be helped.”
Dang Gun-ak said, looking at Tang Pae.
“Then I’m off.”
“What? Father? Father?”
Tang Pae still looked bewildered, but Dang Gun-ak did not even wait for another reply. He strode out of the room at speed, and once he was gone in an instant, Tang Pae lowered his head in defeat.
Im So-byeong shook his head and patted Tang Pae’s shoulder.
“...You have my sympathies.”
“He’s not normally like this...”
In a place where the Tang Family’s young lord was being comforted by the Green Forest King, such a bizarre scene unfolded.
This was the Yangtze River.
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