The Old Man Who Moves Mountains
Who would ever guess that this mild-mannered old man was the Supreme Alliance Leader of the Martial Arts Alliance?
Jin Cheong-un approached without a word. The man seated across from Yeo Woon-baek bowed his head and rose as if to yield his seat, but Jin Cheong-un waved him off and politely filled Yeo Woon-baek's empty cup with wine instead.
Yeo Woon-baek took the cup and let out a dry chuckle.
"You shameless rascal."
"……"
"You went off to retire without so much as a word, yet the moment something concerns your interests, you send word like a ghost."
"Well, I've been busy in a great many ways."
"Heartless rascal."
Jin Cheong-un considered saying something in his defense, then decided against it — no telling if he'd earn himself a third "rascal" to go with the first two.
Instead, he changed the subject.
"I didn't think you'd actually come."
"Coming from the rascal who sent an invitation asking me to?"
"You're such a busy man, after all."
Yeo Woon-baek snatched the wine bottle from Jin Cheong-un's hands. His voice mingled with the sound of pouring wine.
"I'd already arranged a stand-in. Moving about officially causes one complication after another, so I came quietly."
"You needn't have pushed yourself."
"And yet I did."
Jin Cheong-un blinked and looked at him. Yeo Woon-baek smiled faintly and raised his cup.
The cups touched lightly, and the wine went down.
"Have you been well?"
"Yes. And you, Alliance Leader?"
"Now that the troublemaker's retired, I've been living quite peacefully myself."
"Glad to hear it."
A brief silence.
Suddenly, Jin Cheong-un tilted his head.
"Then who else retired besides me?"
"……"
So it never once occurred to him that he was the troublemaker.
Yeo Woon-baek shot him a sideways glare.
"Captain Ha. It's been a long time."
Jin Cheong-un greeted the middle-aged man seated beside them as well. The man whirled around as if springing from a chair and bowed his head deeply.
"It's, it's an honor, Sir Jin."
"No longer a Captain — just an Academy Master now."
"Ah, forgive me. The new title simply won't roll off the tongue."
The middle-aged man swallowed hard, his eyes darting this way and that.
"Still watching everyone's reactions so carefully, I see."
"I would never— no, that is… yes, I suppose I am."
For all his hulking frame, the sight of him hunched into himself, rolling his eyes about, made him look remarkably meek.
Who would ever believe this timid soul was Ha Woon-seong, Captain of the White Tiger Unit — the Alliance's deadliest strike force and one of the Hundred Greatest Masters under Heaven?
Calling someone this high-strung the Fierce Gale Tiger. Captain Ha really does have it rough.
Just then, Yeo Woon-baek clicked his tongue.
"Stop tormenting my bodyguard. Keep it up and he'll reach enlightenment through obsession."
"When have I ever tormented him? I was simply greeting an old colleague."
"For Captain Ha, making eye contact with you is torment."
"Surely not. I don't remember much, but we were as close as could be. Isn't that right?"
"……Of course it is."
At that instant, Ha Woon-seong's eyes went wide and he began to tremble. Something had apparently gotten into his eye.
"By the way, Alliance Leader."
"Mm?"
"You didn't happen to come empty-handed, did you?"
"……"
Yeo Woon-baek stared at him with a what on earth is wrong with this man look, then barked:
"Why would I have anything for you? I packed gifts well enough on my own, so pour the wine! Your cup's empty!"
"Heh heh."
Jin Cheong-un picked up the bottle with a grin. Yeo Woon-baek forced an empty laugh and shook his head.
"Good grief. How can a man be so relentlessly himself?"
"Thank you."
Thanks for… nothing.
Right. Better dead than dealing with this. Just drop dead already.
Yeo Woon-baek drained several cups in a row to cool his stomach, then spoke in a low voice.
"I heard you went through something terrible recently."
"……"
"I'm sorry. The Jianghu's been restless lately in a different sense, and the Alliance's defenses grew thin because of it."
This was talk he should not be having with a man no longer of the Alliance — least of all in the middle of an open drinking table.
"Come to think of it, wasn't it I who built thewon — the foundation — of the Alliance?"
"The Iron Blood Fortress Lord knew full well about Gwi-ong's schemes and let them be. He wanted to see how the infiltration would proceed — whether it would even succeed."
Jin Cheong-un's eyes deepened.
"What currents are flowing through the Jianghu these days?"
"Currents, my foot."
Yeo Woon-baek smirked and waved a hand dismissively.
"The things that went quiet after the Esoteric Cult's rebellion are finding their voices again, one by one. And the Alliance has been juggling one new affair after another lately, so our hands were rather full."
Yeo Woon-baek glanced sideways at Jin Cheong-un and asked:
"How's the body?"
"Fine, more or less."
"Give me your hand."
Yeo Woon-baek laid his own hand palm-up on the table. Jin Cheong-un hesitated, then slowly placed his hand over it.
The instant their hands touched, an overwhelming torrent of true qi surged through his meridians like a flood.
Even the twin energies of the Palhwangmu startled and shrank deep within his body, cowering.
As that vast true qi — far beyond what the word vast could hold — scoured his meridians clean from end to end, Jin Cheong-un couldn't hold back a ragged cough.
"Khh."
Dark red blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
He wiped it away with his sleeve and said,
"Thank you."
"There. It was nothing."
Nothing, he said.
True, it looked as if he'd done it as a casual diversion between drinks — but in that single instant, he had set his internal injuries entirely to rights.
"But you… are you relearning your martial arts?"
Jin Cheong-un nodded at the careful question.
"Yes. Having lost the King of Hell's Art, I'm now cultivating my master's techniques — the ones I never got to learn before."
"Hm."
Yeo Woon-baek stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes.
Calling this the martial art of some rural academy is…
The dense, tightly-woven circulation was anything but ordinary. Stranger still, a peculiar sense of deja vu stirred somewhere in him, as if he'd felt this flow somewhere long ago.
Granted, Jin Cheong-un had once stood at the summit — but even accounting for that, the attainment was bizarre.
"May I ask the name of this art?"
"As it happens, there's something I wanted to ask you and something I need to request as well. But this isn't the place to discuss it — a little later, if you don't mind. You'll be staying the night, won't you?"
"Yes. Let's do that."
When the conversation lapsed, Jin Cheong-un fiddled with his cup.
Then, cautiously, he brought out the words he'd been holding in.
"About, ah… I did try to keep my promise."
"Hm?"
Had the Jeong siblings witnessed this scene, they would have collapsed in shock.
Jin Cheong-un, the most shameless man alive, was fidgeting like a child being scolded by a parent.
Yeo Woon-baek, tilting his head at the odd remark, burst into a hearty laugh.
"Haha. Come now — do you really think I'd know you and still order you to spare those bastards?"
"……"
"Though I'll admit I never imagined you'd crack skulls the moment you got home and set the local branch on fire."
"That was because they started—"
"Oh, that reminds me."
In that moment, the corner of Yeo Woon-baek's mouth twitched.
"You got swindled buying a house?"
"……!"
"Oh dear. How dreadful. You must have been so upset. Hahahaha! Cough! The great Black Dragon Unit Captain, taken in by a con artist… hahaha!"
"……"
You shameless old man. So you've been digging into me all along.
This humiliation would not be forgotten.
"I can feel every curse word running through your head, you know."
"……I'm sure I don't know what you mean."
Yeo Woon-baek shot a look at Jin Cheong-un, who was avoiding his eyes, then smirked.
Soon the two of them fell silent together, gazing out at the boisterous festival. From where they sat — off to the side, oddly shielded from every line of sight — time itself seemed to flow more slowly.
The lively clamor felt good.
"Alliance Leader."
"Mm."
"This is how I'm living these days."
"……"
"It's nothing so grand — no great reason I called you here. I just… wanted you to see how I'm living."
Yeo Woon-baek turned to look at his former subordinate.
The man wore an exasperated expression, yet he looked so utterly at ease that a smile rose unbidden.
"Good. That's good."
In that moment, Yeo Woon-baek felt an inexplicable warmth swell in his chest.
Meanwhile—
"……!!"
Far across the courtyard, Baek Gun-ak stared toward Jin Cheong-un, his face drained white. His body had turned to stone; only the hand clutching his cup trembled as though an earthquake had struck.
The Alliance Leader of the Martial Arts Alliance… here?
He had seen him once, long ago, from a great distance.
Now his mind went blank, and it felt as though his heart had stopped altogether.
The festival was set to run for two days and nights.
Tents went up all across the academy grounds, and the feasting continued without pause. Those with pressing business returned to their posts before the days ran out, but everyone else stayed, toasting Jin Cheong-un's name and enjoying the celebration.
Watching it all, Jeong So-so felt quietly satisfied.
She wanted nothing more than to keep feeling satisfied.
Because she could never, ever have imagined this.
"Th-the, th-this room he-here is a-at your service."
"Thank you, my dear."
Yeo Woon-baek stepped into the room with a benevolent smile.
"Th-the, the bedding will be along sh-shortly. Is, is there anything else you might—"
"Haha, why so nervous, child? I'm just an ordinary old man you'd find anywhere."
"Th-that could n-never be true! You're the Preposterous—"
She bit her tongue and pulled a face like she was about to cry.
"N-not preposterous at all… I mean, it's not preposterous, you are not an ordinary old man…"
"Hahahahaha."
Yeo Woon-baek laughed heartily, as if watching a darling granddaughter's antics.
Jeong So-so's chin quivered.
Master, you never said a word about this! You just said he was an old acquaintance!
She replayed the way Jin Cheong-un had introduced Yeo Woon-baek.
— Well, that's that.
Master, I resent you.
The Supreme Alliance Leader. The Alliance Leader.
Why is the Supreme Alliance Leader in our house?
Ah — the world was spinning and her head swam.
Yeo Woon-baek.
One Sword, One Mountain. The Demon-Slaying Sword. The Finest of the Orthodox Sects. The Righteous Sword of Heaven. Sword King, Sword Emperor, Sword Sovereign, Sword Immortal…
Even she, who knew next to nothing about the Jianghu, had heard his dazzling string of heroic titles and epithets. The rumors said that with a stomp of his foot he'd soar to the heavens, and with a sweep of his sword he'd split a mountain in two.
To her, it felt as though the Emperor himself had come to visit. No — it was worse than that.
"Your, your bodyguard may use the room next door."
"Thank you, miss."
"Not at all. It shames me that you must stay in such a humble place, honored guest."
"Hm…"
The fierce-looking bodyguard, for some reason, let out a single sigh and then gazed at her with eyes full of pity.
"You have a hard road ahead of you."
"I-I'm sorry?"
Just then, Jeong So-ryong came shuffling in, an armful of bedding clutched to his chest.
"Big sis. Got it all."
"So-So-ryong. Thanks."
She bustled about laying out the bedding, brought in a brazier against the night chill, and set out water, wine, and refreshments — and only then did she venture the question.
"Is… is there anything else you might need…?"
Yeo Woon-baek gave a small smile.
There was something rather endearing — and rather funny — about the way she fussed over him, flustered yet determined to extend every courtesy.
How to put it.
It was like a grandfather — childless, never married — coming home after ages away, and grandchildren who simply didn't know what to do with him.
"You pamper me so much I almost feel guilty. What's the matter with Cheong-un — making his own disciples wait on his guest. Tsk tsk tsk."
Exactly!
That is precisely what I think!
"I need nothing, so sit a while and catch your breath."
"I'm sorry?"
"Mm. Yes, perhaps I'll have some tea. Come to think of it, Captain Ha had some sweets on him…"
Slide—
"Right here, Alliance Leader."
"Ah, thank you. Now then, won't you try some? This is a confection they say came all the way from Beijing. Quite delicious, you know. Haha."
"Yes! Alliance Leader!"
"There we are."
While she stood there dazed, a cup of tea had somehow appeared before her.
Wait — the Supreme Alliance Leader was pouring tea for her personally?
She truly had no idea what was what anymore.
He's unexpectedly frightening— no, wait, is he not?
She'd heard he was a tiger of a man who cut down villains by the dozen with a single stroke.
Jeong So-so stole glances at Yeo Woon-baek, whose easy manner was nothing like what she'd imagined, and nervously weighed her chances.
This… might actually be possible?
Hearing stories about Master's old days, I mean.
And as if he'd seen straight through her thoughts, Yeo Woon-baek spoke first.
"Shall we have a little chat, you and I?"
"I'm sorry?"
"The truth is, I've been terribly curious what sort of children that rascal took on as disciples."
Yeo Woon-baek wore the gentlest of smiles.
But to Jeong So-so, wound tight with nerves, his words sounded exactly like: 'Let's see whether you're worthy of being his disciple!'