Chapter 124: Unexpected Guests (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 124: Unexpected Guests (3)
Song Hak stared at the man entering the hall, lost in thought for a moment.
Who was he again?
The face was unfamiliar. It took several moments for him to realize the man's identity, primarily because he was someone Song Hak never expected to see again.
"Song Yeo-guk?"
"Heh. Is that you, Junior Brother Song Hak?"
The elders, who had been watching the newcomer closely, gradually began to feel a sense of unease.
Aside from looking considerably older, his facial features hadn't changed much. It was only when their gaze shifted to Song Yeo-guk’s right arm that they realized the source of their discomfort.
Good heavens...
The hollow, jarring sensation came from the fact that something which should have been there was missing.
The man, Song Yeo-guk, clasped his hand in a respectful salutation toward the Sect Leader, pinning back his long, trailing empty sleeve.
"It has been a long time, Sect Leader."
Song Jeong greeted him with a surprised smile.
"It has been a long time indeed. When you left the mountain, I thought you would never return. What brings you here?"
"I was wandering aimlessly, and when I finally looked up, I found myself facing Mount Qingcheng. I realized I had nowhere else to go, so I decided to stop by."
"I see. You are most welcome."
Song Jeong’s smile faltered slightly, his expression turning troubled.
"I heard about what happened to you in the past. However, we felt it was not our place to intervene, so we could not move."
"The Qingcheng Sect has its rules. I never expected the sect to act on my behalf."
"Still, it weighed on my heart. Hearing that you were wandering without a place to settle..."
"I’ve overcome it well enough. That is why I am standing here now, is it not?"
Song Jeong nodded at those words.
"Indeed. Perhaps that is why you brought honor to Qingcheng’s name once again. Everyone is talking about it—how you drove off the Unorthodox Faction alone and restored the pride of the Orthodox Faction."
Song Yeo-guk’s expression stiffened.
"Alone, you say?"
"Do not play coy. Even if Qingcheng is somewhat isolated from the affairs of the Jianghu, we are well aware of the rumors surrounding you. Did you not rescue the captives and deal with those Unorthodox scoundrels?"
"..."
"But why do the rumors mention a young swordsman? Did you wear a human-skin mask and pretend to be a youth?"
"That is..."
Song Yeo-guk looked around quietly. It seemed the atmosphere of the Grand Purity Meeting was different from what he had expected. The facts they knew were inaccurate as well.
"Where is Seok Myeong?" Song Yeo-guk asked the question he was most curious about first.
"He is in Gamu Cave."
"In the underground cave?"
"Yes."
"For what reason?"
At this, Song Hak stepped forward and spoke.
"I shall explain that."
Song Yeo-guk turned his gaze toward him.
"That boy has caused a massive incident. By associating with a daughter of the Unorthodox Faction, he became the direct cause of this entire affair. Though it is based on circumstantial evidence, he is the reason our disciples were led to their deaths in connection with the Samu Alliance."
Song Yeo-guk’s face hardened.
However, Song Hak continued, indifferent to his reaction.
"Furthermore, he went around boasting about being one of the Six Dragons, a title far beyond his station. And the boy learned a wicked martial art that our sect cannot tolerate. That provided the decisive pretext for the Unorthodox Faction to invade our sect."
Song Yeo-guk’s eyebrows twitched.
A wicked martial art?
Seeing Song Yeo-guk’s grim expression, Song Hak seemed to grow even more excited as he ranted.
"Therefore, it is only right that the boy be punished. Now, speak."
At Song Hak’s prompting, Song Yeo-guk took a moment to look around the room.
The elders all looked emotionally charged, as if the memories of that day’s incident were still fresh. He felt the need to organize his thoughts and speak carefully. Seok Myeong’s safety could depend on his next words.
"First, it would be best to correct the facts. I am not the subject of those rumors. It was Seok Myeong."
"Hmm?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I am saying that it was Seok Myeong, not I, who played the decisive role in annihilating the Black Snake Union."
A murmur broke out.
The elders' expressions shifted. Even Song Jeong tilted his head as if he had misheard.
"Do you expect us to believe that!" Song Hak barked.
Song Yeo-guk calmly replied, "Well, it is a difficult story to believe. I anticipated as much, which is why I brought someone else with me."
A middle-aged man stepped out from behind him. He wore shabby, unkempt clothes, but his eyes were exceptionally clear.
"That man is..."
One of the elders who recognized him spoke in a flustered tone.
It was Jung In-geol.
The man destined to succeed as the next Leader of the Beggar Sect had made his appearance.
*
At Jung In-geol’s appearance, the elders began to murmur, their expressions a mix of various emotions.
He was the Successor of the Beggar Sect, known alongside Song Yeo-guk as one of the Twelve Guests. Called the "Swift Guest," he was a mysterious man known to the world as a "Hidden Dragon."
"Greetings. This Successor greets the Sect Leader of Qingcheng."
"Are you not Jung In-geol! What brings you here?"
"A friend of mine kept pestering me to come."
Every eye in the hall turned toward him.
He looked easygoing and even a bit clumsy. However, if someone with such an unremarkable appearance was being discussed as the next Sect Leader of the Beggar Sect, it meant he possessed extraordinary talent. They could not afford to treat him lightly.
"I shall explain the incident you have misunderstood."
Jung In-geol began to slowly recount the truth behind the rumors. He detailed every part of Seok Myeong’s exploits.
The more the Successor spoke of Seok Myeong, the heavier the atmosphere in the hall became. The reason for this weight, despite Seok Myeong’s incredible achievements, was that he had performed deeds of such valor that they were almost hard to believe.
No one doubted the Successor’s words. The reputation of the Beggar Sect was not so low that its heir would tell lies before the Sect Leader of Qingcheng.
The Beggar Sect used the beggars scattered across the four seas as its members. Ordinary members gathered rumors, while Two-Knot Disciples analyzed them. There was no place in the world without beggars. As the sect with the largest membership under heaven, the Beggar Sect was responsible for information among the Orthodox sects. They were experts who could quickly gather intel, filter out misinformation, verify reports, and even employ scholars to predict how events would unfold.
Thus, by the time the Successor finished his story, the eyes of the elders in the Grand Purity Hall were filled with a whirlwind of emotions. They finally realized that the hero who had destroyed the Black Snake Union was Seok Myeong, not Song Yeo-guk.
After he finished speaking and a moment of silence passed, Song Hak broke the quiet.
"You’re saying he picked a fight even while knowing the Samu Alliance was behind them?"
"Is there a problem with that?"
"Of course there is! If he knew the Samu Alliance was behind the Black Snake Union, he should have reported it to the Sect Leader. If he didn't know, then he was foolish. In the end, was this not all born of simple bravado?"
In that moment, Song Yeo-guk glared at him. A cold sneer played on his lips.
"Let me ask you one thing. If you were in Seok Myeong’s position, Taoist Song Hak, would you have fled or would you have fought?"
Song Hak replied without hesitation, "Is that even a question? I would have fled, of course."
"And why is that?"
"Because that is the path for the sake of Qingcheng..."
Song Hak faltered mid-sentence. Song Yeo-guk nodded slowly as he watched him.
"It is for the very reason you just stated, Elder, that Seok Myeong could not report to the sect. He feared he would cause trouble for us."
"He’s already caused all the trouble he could! He started this mess knowing he wouldn't get permission, so what are you talking about!"
"Then should he have just looked the other way? Should the Qingcheng Sect have done that?"
Song Yeo-guk looked around at the assembly again.
"Do the rest of you feel the same way?"
"..."
"..."
Everyone remained silent. They could guess the words Song Yeo-guk hadn't yet spoken.
"My, my. It seems everyone has forgotten, but I am also someone who lived off the Qingcheng Sect for a long time. Taoist Song Hak—though I was a secular disciple, my name was on the Qingcheng registers, and I once contributed my meager strength to this sect. My manor was burned, and my family members were killed or kidnapped."
"Urgh..."
Song Hak bit his lip. He realized he had made a slip of the tongue in his momentary anger. No, it wasn't just a slip of the tongue. Song Yeo-guk was right. His mistake was trying to force a fault where there was none.
"Is that what you intend to teach Seok Jun and the other children, Taoist Song Hak? That if an elder of the same sect, a martial uncle, is in trouble, they should flee if it seems like it might be a burden to the sect?"
"Ahem."
"Mmm..."
Uncomfortable coughing and silence filled the hall.
Sect Leader Song Jeong shook his head slowly.
We have grown weak.
It seemed the fear of the Samu Alliance following the recent surprise attack was significant. If one ignores a fellow member of the sect in distress, they are not fit to be called a member of that sect. Especially not in a place like Qingcheng.
"I used to hear a certain phrase often in the Jianghu. 'The Insolent Qingcheng.'"
"Hmph!"
"Ahem!"
Uncomfortable glares flew from the elders. It was unpleasant to hear a disciple of Qingcheng use a derogatory term for the sect to their faces.
But Song Yeo-guk did not stop.
"I was proud of that name. 'The Insolent Qingcheng'? What does that signify? It means we have the spirit to face anyone—be it Shaolin or Wudang—if we believe we are in the right. It means we are stubborn fools who would rather break than bend. That was the teaching I received at Qingcheng. But now..."
Song Yeo-guk paused and looked around the Grand Purity Hall with a somber face. One by one, he took in the sight of the elders before speaking with a firm expression.
"What is this sight before me now, Elders?"
"..."
"Is this Qingcheng? Is this truly the Qingcheng I once knew?"