There Ought to Be One, Right?
Sun Wukong stared at the face in the portrait for a long while.
It didn't look a thing like Taesangnogun. Anyone could see it was a kindly face — benevolent, and at times stern. A portrait of a thoroughly decent man.
Sun Wukong snorted.
"There's no old coot alive who looks as damnably smug as that one."
You know the type — the kind of cantankerous old man you'd run into out in the countryside who'd fly into a rage at the drop of a hat. That was Taesangnogun's impression to a tee. Even if the being speaking through the portrait wasn't actually Taesangnogun, it didn't feel off. Still, the situation wasn't what he'd expected, and it put a twist in Sun Wukong's nerves.
"What's this."
"I-I have come in place of the venerable Taesangnogun."
Eyes that darted sideways, as if reading the room. The corners of the portrait's mouth trembled. Well, whoever painted this did a damn fine job. Even as the thought crossed his mind, Sun Wukong made no effort to hide the irritation in his voice.
"So why the stand-in? Where the hell did that senile old geezer wander off to?"
"S-senile!"
Jang Sambong's expressions were richer than expected. Mouth hanging open in shock, he barely managed to squeeze out his next words.
"It is as I said. The venerable elder had business and has stepped away."
"Business, my ass. That stingy old bastard spends every damn day wandering around Heaven stuffing his face with whatever he can scrounge, but the second you ask him for a single elixir he hoards it like a miser. What's he got to be so busy about?"
Jang Sambong's gaze darted all over, as if he had no idea where to put his eyes. The urge to clap his hands over his ears was written plainly across his face.
"Tsk. So what's this business that pulled him away?"
"I was told only that it is a matter a humble immortal such as myself must not know."
"There he goes again, being a pain in the ass about the weirdest things."
Sun Wukong scratched at his chin. What could he do about it? The old man was too busy to show his face. But a temper once raised wasn't so easily soothed.
"If it was just going to be you, there was no need to put on a ritual this extravagant, was there?"
"Ahem, ahem."
Taesangnogun was among the highest deities of the Taoist pantheon. The scale of a ritual offered to him was jaw-droppingly massive. They'd used the Chuhyeon Merchant Group's money, sure — but that didn't make it any less of a waste. Sun Wukong was famously indifferent to gold, but once his mood soured even a little, he was notorious for being stubborn as a mule. Having heard that reputation more than once, Jang Sambong carefully watched Sun Wukong's face.
"But do not worry. The True Immortal instructed me on what to do should the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven open the heavens and attempt to communicate."
Sun Wukong looked at Jang Sambong, then gave it up.
"Fine. So what about that one?"
He pointed a finger at Geumgak.
"It is already done. Once the heavens close, he will awaken to the memories of his past life."
"That's settled, then. Ah — what about the ownership of the Seven Star Sword and the Golden Cord?"
At those words, Jang Sambong's face grew uncomfortable. Sun Wukong clicked his tongue.
Tsk. This is the guy who founded the Wudang Sect? Why's he so damn naive?
Every feeling, every mood, was written right there on his face. He was even worse at managing his expression than the Three Pure Ones — it was that obvious. A flicker of pity stirred in Sun Wukong, and he softened his voice.
"Spit it out. This is a demon's body, and the yeongryeok stabbing through every inch of me is about to kill me. Wait — you're not stalling on purpose, are you? Hoping I'll just get buried in this spiritual energy and drop dead?"
"T-that could never be, Teacher Sun. First — His Venerable Self has granted permission for you to find the Seven Star Sword and the Golden Cord and take them into your keeping."
"Keeping?"
The tail of Sun Wukong's voice, which had been about to settle, shot right back up. At the twisting of his expression, Jang Sambong hastily added:
"Meaning that while you remain in the mortal realm, Teacher Sun, you may use both treasures as you please!"
"So, however I want?"
"Of course, once your business is concluded and you return to Heaven, you must give them back..."
Jang Sambong couldn't finish the sentence. Sun Wukong narrowed his eyes, stroking his chin as he nodded along. A peculiar smile clung to the corner of his mouth — the look of a man hiding something thoroughly underhanded. Having heard the legendary tales of the Great Sage's eccentricities that circulated through Heaven, Jang Sambong was certain Sun Wukong was entertaining some bizarre idea.
"......"
But what could he do? In the mortal realm, Jang Sambong was the founding patriarch of Wudang, a great sage revered for advancing the martial world of Jianghu.
"Fine, I get it. I use them however I want and just give them back. Not like I'd have any use for them once I'm back in Heaven anyway. Understood, kid."
"K-kid...?"
Before Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, he was nothing but a wet-behind-the-ears immortal nobody.
"That's that problem solved, then. Ah, while you're down here — let me ask you one thing."
"What is it?"
Jang Sambong wore a puzzled look. He had no particular connection with Sun Wukong. Even if he had accomplished legendary feats in the mortal world, ascended to immortality, and earned Taesangnogun's favor, he was still a young immortal. Sun Wukong, on the other hand, was so seasoned he'd turned Heaven itself upside down — a being that even the Jade Emperor and Guanyin could not freely control. Jang Sambong had glimpsed him on the rare occasions Sun Wukong visited Taesangnogun, but as always, he'd kept his head bowed. Sun Wukong hadn't so much as glanced his way. Jang Sambong found Sun Wukong more than a little overwhelming. The fact that the Great Sage happened to be at the Wudang Sect — the very sect Jang Sambong himself had founded — didn't help. But the words that followed struck him with something far beyond mere discomfort. They hit him like a blow.
"I've been passing myself off as something like your hidden successor, see?"
"My successor?"
"Yeah. Figured maybe some of your disciples didn't stay with Wudang and drifted out into the world?"
"Yang Jeong — you mean that child?"
"Dunno. Anyway. I just roughly introduced myself as your successor."
"Surely you don't mean the children of Wudang actually believed that?"
Even if it was a gathering of the most naive Taoists in the world. They weren't children. They couldn't possibly have fallen for something like that. Jang Sambong was aghast.
"I just roughly imitated the Taiji Sword of Wisdom and showed it off, and they started shouting among themselves and bought the whole thing."
"The Taiji Sword of Wisdom?"
Jang Sambong's eyes went blank.
"Yep."
"How did you even..."
"Wasn't much to it. I just swung it around — whoosh, whoosh, swish — and picked up the imitation pretty easy."
Jang Sambong lost his words. The Taiji Sword of Wisdom — the technique into which he had poured a lifetime of enlightenment, distilled to the tip of a blade. Never mind how Sun Wukong had learned it. The way he described it was devastating.
"You just roughly copied it and it worked..."
It worked like that...?
Perhaps he felt as though his life's work had been dismissed. Jang Sambong couldn't speak for a while. Unfortunately, Sun Wukong was the sort of man who didn't give a damn about such sentiments.
"Don't go getting all sentimental. What I'm saying is, I'd like something a bit more solid as proof."
"More solid proof? The mere fact that you can use the Taiji Sword of Wisdom should be enough for people to recognize you as one of Wudang."
"Feeling like someone from Wudang and having Wudang sitting in the palm of my hand are two different things, aren't they?"
"What do you mean by..."
Jang Sambong's pupils trembled. He was by no means a fool. He caught the ominous undertone in Sun Wukong's words.
"This Teacher Sun is going to have to fight some pretty strong bastards down here in the mortal realm. And as they say — the more weapons you've got in hand, the better, right?"
"So what you're saying, Teacher Sun, is that you need the... authority to wield my Wudang like a blade?"
"Now we're speaking the same language."
Sun Wukong grinned. Gazing into the aghast face of the portrait, he spoke softly.
"So. Isn't there some treasure of Jang Sambong's — something legendary, something that still remains at Wudang?"
There should be one.
No — there ought to be one.
"There's got to be one, I figure."
Sun Wukong added one more thing.
There was a mischievous laugh in his voice, and Jang Sambong's body trembled.
How much time passed? Though he had done nothing more than let his voice flow down into the mortal realm, Jang Sambong couldn't last long. Had it not been Sun Wukong, Jang Sambong would never have dared send even a single thread of his voice to the world below. The time they could speak was not long. At Sun Wukong's exceedingly polite request, Jang Sambong swallowed tears of emotion, spilled every last detail of that treasure's existence, and withdrew to Heaven.
Looking at Taesangnogun's portrait, which had returned to its original stern yet benevolent face, Sun Wukong wore a satisfied expression.
"Pretty naive for an immortal."
When I get back to Heaven, I should treat him decently enough.
Just as Sun Wukong drifted into that brief reverie, a hearty voice landed on the back of his head.
"You done talking, Teacher Sun?"
"...Geumgak."
His slowly turning gaze caught a thoroughly cheerful face. It was the same face as before the ritual, and yet it felt like an entirely different person. The presence, the atmosphere — everything had flipped. The Geumgak who had been Hyeonjeong the Taoist, still as a quiet lake, was gone.
"Ha. This bastard — the only thing missing is the horns on his head. He's the spitting image of back then."
"And you, Teacher Sun, haven't changed a bit. The way you talk. That slouchy attitude."
"Haven't changed, my ass. If I hadn't changed, I'd have split that smirking face of yours in half with this iron staff right now."
"Ahem..."
Geumgak cleared his throat and changed the subject.
"We can catch up later. Let's talk business first."
"Let's?"
"Let us, Teacher Sun."
"Fine. Let's hear it."
Geumgak's story was simple. He had reincarnated into the mortal realm carrying the Golden Cord, just in case. The Seven Star Sword, treated as one of Taoism's treasures, had been split in half — but the remaining portion had been kept at Wudang.
"So I had to go find the rest."
"And?"
"But when I looked into it, some strange bastards were out there collecting pieces of the Seven Star Sword."
Geumgak confessed that he'd felt a considerable threat at that moment.
"Among the humans of this age, there are plenty as terrifying as the yaoguai of old. Some of them could wrap up a decent-sized great demon and eat it for lunch."
"So you got scared."
"That's right."
Geumgak showed not the slightest hint of shame.
"So I sealed my past-life memories again and hid myself. What else was I supposed to do? It's not like I had a gourd bottle in my hand, and I was a little too chicken to trust just the Golden Cord alone."
"Tsk. If you're going to hide, hide properly. You know you almost died, right?"
"That's..."
"I saved you, you bastard. This Teacher Sun personally delivered salvation to a guy who once tried to kill him. That's what I'm saying."
What Buddha-like compassion. Geumgak's expression grew peculiar at that last part.
"Yeah, well, thanks, okay? Really, thank you."
"Whatever. Hand it over."
"...Do I really have to? I've fully recovered my memories now. And the Golden Cord isn't a treasure just anyone can handle, and even if you find the Seven Star Sword, it's not like you'd use it, Teacher Sun."
Geumgak spoke as if he still had attachments he couldn't let go. Sun Wukong stared at him for a long while, then quietly stroked his iron staff. The corners of Geumgak's eyes twitched.
"...I'll give you the Golden Cord first. The Seven Star Sword I have is only half of it. I haven't found the rest yet."
"I don't need all of it right this second, so it doesn't matter."
"It doesn't matter?"
Geumgak tilted his head.
"I'm going to melt it down anyway."
Geumgak's mouth fell open. Melt down the Seven Star Sword...? Just like that?
"D-do you have any idea what kind of treasure that is? You're going to melt it? Melt it and use it for what?"
"I'm already using it."
Sun Wukong pointed at his iron staff. Seeing the jet-black band wrapped around its tip, Geumgak's vision swam.
"The Seven Star Sword, with the power to split souls, used for something like that..."
Geumgak's head spun.
"R-right. I heard it earlier. The conversation you had with Taesangnogun's attendant!"
"What about the conversation?"
"Didn't you agree that you'd keep them and return them when you go back to Heaven?"
"Yeah. I'll give them back."
Sun Wukong nodded as if that were the most obvious thing in the world.
"I'll give them back. But nobody said I had to return them in their original form, did they? They just said I could use them however I want and then give them back."
Sun Wukong grinned. Geumgak could only stare at him, his soul having left his body.
Sun Wukong slammed his iron staff into the floor with a thud and threw out his chest.
There wasn't a shred of shame in that brazen confidence.