Return of the Mount Hua

It might have already started. (1)

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“Anyway, that’s what I’m saying!”

Chung Myung spoke in an even more confident tone.

“There’s no need to worry about Shaolin right now. Those bastards must be completely tied up dealing with the Yangtze situation. And even if they somehow manage to clean it up, it’s not like they’ll suddenly have spare energy. As long as Sapaeryeon is still alive and kicking, they won’t be able to do anything, I’m telling you!”

Yoon Jong subtly turned his head and looked at Baek Cheon.

“What’s he doing?”

“Well, to put it simply…”

Baek Cheon answered with a gentle smile.

“He got pissed and said whatever came to mind, but looking back, he kind of feels like he messed up. Still, there’s no way he can admit now that he was wrong, so he’s desperately trying to spin things to sound better.”

“As expected, you’re concise.”

At times like this, the words of an authority figure are definitely helpful.

“No, I’m not spinning anything! That really is the situation!”

“…Sure.”

“No! I’m not making things up!”

“Yeah… yeah, I got it.”

“Wow, I’m seriously going crazy! Hey, beggar uncle! Say something, will you?”

“Ahem.”

Hong Daekwang, who had been silently munching on rice crackers in the corner the whole time, quickly swallowed what was in his mouth and opened it to speak.

“Well… the intent may be a little impure, but all things considered, Hwasan Geomhyeop’s words aren’t entirely wrong.”

“Hmm?”

Hyun Jong, who seemed to have aged three years in an instant, quietly turned to look at Hong Daekwang. Judging by the way his ears perked up, he must’ve decided that Hong Daekwang’s words were worth listening to.

Seeing this, Chung Myung muttered to himself, ‘My words aren’t even as good as a beggar’s?’ But of course, such muttering didn’t make it past Hyun Jong’s ears.

“You’re not just saying that?”

“Hahaha, Sect Leader, you really are something.”

Hong Daekwang answered with a bright smile.

“Even lies need the right circumstances to work, you know. Who would have imagined that the Sect Leader and Hwasan Geomhyeop would go and confront the Abbot of Shaolin like that, right to his face? It’s a scenario I’ve never even considered in my life, so I wouldn’t dare make something like that up. Hahaha.”

“C-Cough!”

“Ahem!”

Hyun Jong and Chung Myung coughed at the exact same time.

The other disciples of Hwasan nodded along, clearly in agreement with Hong Daekwang’s words.

“It is a rare situation.”

“Oh yes. Extremely rare.”

“Isn’t this unprecedented?”

“Quiet!”

“Silence!”

The eldest and the youngest members of the sect were teaming up to silence the others, but somehow, that didn’t feel strange at all – such was the way of Hwasan.

“So, to sum it up…”

Hyun Jong asked Chung Myung in a grave tone.

“So you’re saying that, for now, because of the incident on the Yangtze River and the presence of Sapaeryeon, Shaolin is in no position to act?”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung shrugged his shoulders.

“There’s no need to drag in all sorts of reasons. If things were going so smoothly for them, would that heavy-bottomed old man have come running all the way to Shaanxi like that?”

“…So their claim that they needed our help wasn’t a lie.”

“Well, in a way, yes. In any case, whether there’s bad blood or not, there’s not much they can do at the moment. They’re probably scrambling just to stop the fighting on the Yangtze.”

Chung Myung chuckled.

“So, all we need to do is sit back, watch those bastards beat each other up, and snack on some rice crackers, right?”

“Hmmmm.”

Hyun Jong nodded with a heavy face.

It was certainly not a good thing that Shaolin had kind of turned into an enemy, but it was still a relief that there was little chance of any immediate trouble.

However, with one worry out of the way, another that had been set aside for a while began to creep back in.

“Chung Myung-ah.”

“Yes?”

“Is there no way to stop the war?”

“Hm.”

Chung Myung quietly stared at Hyun Jong with a somewhat strange look. Hyun Jong seemed to sense what he might say next and shook his head first.

“I’m not saying we should get involved. I’m just asking out of curiosity.”

“Yes, if that’s the case…”

Chung Myung fell silent for a moment, as if deep in thought, then shook his head.

“Whether it turns into an all-out war or a localized conflict depends on how Jang Ilso decides to act, but either way, there’s no way to stop the battle that’s going to break out on the Yangtze.”

“…Couldn’t Namgung Clan just back down even now? As you said, isn’t it possible that the Abbot might persuade Namgung Hwang?”

“Sect Leader.”

“Hm?”

“Do you know why a madman is called a madman?”

Just as Chung Myung grinned, about to elaborate, Hyun Jong quietly nodded as he looked at him.

“Hmm. I see.”

“…Huh?”

“You mean he can’t be reasoned with.”

“…”

“Yes, yes. I understand what you’re trying to say.”

“…How do you know? I didn’t even say anything yet.”

“Ahem. Well… I just knew somehow.”

It was nice not having to explain things, but being stared at the whole time during that moment of realization was oddly unsettling.

“Anyway… yeah. There’s no reasoning with him.”

Chung Myung nodded with a sour expression.

“If the Abbot had possessed enough virtue to control the Lord of Namgung Clan in the first place, this situation would never have occurred.”

Jo Geol asked, sounding curious.

“So is this happening because the Abbot is lacking? Or is it just that the Lord of Namgung Clan is way too reckless?”

“Hmm. That’s a tough question… Half and half, maybe? No, no. Let’s say it’s mostly that big bald bastard’s fault.”

It wasn’t as if Chung Myung had any particular grudge against Beop Jong when he said that.

He had simply imagined what might have happened if the one overseeing this situation had been Chung Mun instead of Beop Jong.

It was obvious.

No doubt, he would’ve gone, ‘Heh heh heh. Lord, please step over here for a moment,’ then dragged him over, and moved his heart with beautiful admonitions and lofty solidarity.

Of course, behind that facade would be nothing but hellish nagging and blatant threats to smash anyone who stepped out of line, but in any case, he would have gotten what he wanted.

Even in the past, whenever problems arose, Chung Mun often resolved them through one-on-one, gentle conversations with the people involved.

Granted, for some odd reason, he always had Chung Myung seated next to him during those times.

Poking at someone already fed up to death, provoking them just enough to make them snap…

Wait a second. This sounds like…

“Anyway.”

Namgung Hwang, or Namgung Wang, or whatever his name was – he might act like a mad dog in front of Beop Jong, but in front of Chung Mun, he would’ve been a well-behaved puppy. Everything in the world is relative, after all.

So from Chung Myung’s point of view, he couldn’t help but blame Beop Jong for how things turned out. Being incompetent isn’t a crime – but being incompetent while holding a position of responsibility is.

“So in the end, war is inevitable.”

“Yes. The chances are high.”

“Then for the time being…”

Hyun Jong wore a subtle expression.

“No matter how strained things have become between us and Shaolin, wouldn’t it be best if the Just Sects seized the advantage? If Sapaeryon gains the upper hand, the suffering of those who live along the Yangtze will be far too great.”

“Hmm. But the thing is…”

“Hm? Do you think differently?”

“No, it’s not that I disagree…”

Chung Myung scratched his cheek with a finger.

“What you said isn’t wrong, Sect Leader. It’s just… I don’t think things will go that way.”

“…Why do you think that? Isn’t it Namgung Clan that’s leading the charge right now? After honing their swords for three years, they swept through Surochae in one go and seized the advantage. Doesn’t it seem like that momentum will carry on for a while?”

“That might’ve been the case if Namgung Clan had stopped in Gangbuk. But those lunatics got on boats and went out to the island, didn’t they?”

“…”

“That means they’ve decided to fight in enemy territory. And I’ve been through land warfare, naval warfare and aerial warfare… so I know…”

“…When did you ever?”

As Jo Geol tried to trip him up, Baek Cheon gently rubbed his chin with his fingertips, looking thoughtful, and responded.

“Actually, now that I think about it, he’s not entirely wrong. That bastard has fought mountain bandits in the mountains, pirates on the water, and fought Jang Ilso while plummeting off a cliff.”

“…That’s true.”

Hah, these guys don’t know a damn thing.

Back in my day, a hundred years ago, huh?

I mastered land warfare, naval warfare, aerial warfare, underground and underwater combat… You get me?

“Fighting people who are trained to fight on water is harder than you’d think.”

“But didn’t that part not really matter when they fought on the Yangtze last time?”

“That’s because those guys didn’t intend to fight on water back then.”

“Hmmmmm.”

Hyun Jong wore an expression that said he kind of understood, but not quite.

But even for Chung Myung, explaining this subtle difference in full wasn’t easy. It wasn’t all that important anyway.

“You’ll see if you just watch. I don’t really have any bad feelings towards Namgung Clan myself, so if anything, I’d rather they win…”

Yoon Jong whispered quietly to Baek Cheon,

“If someone who ‘has no bad feelings’ tried to kick the Young Lord in the groin to make him a eunuch, just how rotten must his personality be?”

“…Just let it go. It’s Chung Myung, after all.”

But these bastards…?

Chung Myung shot a sharp glare at the Five Swords.

“Ahem. Anyway… the real problem isn’t whether or not war breaks out.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“…The problem is how the war is fought. If it just ends with Namgung being defeated, then there’s not much to worry about…”

Chung Myung’s expression grew strange.

“If not, then the problem will become serious.”

“…”

“No, maybe…”

Chung Myung’s lips twisted slightly.

“It might have already started. The Black Dragon King doesn’t strike me as the patient type.”

❀ ❀ ❀

Deep darkness had fallen over the Yangtze River.

“Hmm.”

A lone figure stood on the riverbank, gazing towards the center of the river. Though it was clearly the middle of a vast waterway, it glowed brightly as if a row of grand flower boats [화방(花舫)] were floating there.

The place people called Maehwado.

Namgung Clan, which had seized Maehwado, had lit the night as though it were day to guard against any possible night raid.

“Foolish bastard.”

A man of a large frame stood on the opposite riverbank.

The Black Dragon King laughed heartily as he looked towards Maehwado.

“Namgung Hwang, the Emperor’s Sword. He might have skill, but he’s far too simple-minded and foolish to lead a household. To think he dares to confront me on the waters of the Yangtze.”

During the previous Yangtze River Disaster, even he had been unable to intervene. After all, the forces he would’ve had to face weren’t just Namgung Clan.

Namgung, Shaolin, Wudang, Qingcheng, and even Hwasan and Nokrim – all of them had surged forward at once. In a situation like that, not even the Black Dragon King himself could have completely held them back.

But now, the only force trespassing upon the Yangtze was Namgung Clan alone.

“Seems that experience back then has only instilled arrogance in them.”

It was a delightful thing – but on the other hand, it also meant they were underestimating him, which was irritating in its own right.

Still, this foul mood would become pure joy once their blood dyed the Yangtze red.

“They need to learn just how terrifying the river can be. Let’s begin.”

“Yes, Black Dragon King!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a group of people, hidden in the shadows behind him, revealed themselves.

“Teach them well the fear of having no ground beneath their feet.”

The pirates, hearing his command, slipped silently into the water without a word.

“Foolish bastard.”

The Black Dragon King stroked his long beard.

“A catch like Namgung Clan? That’s a big haul. Now then… Ryeonju. You’d better be ready to pay a steep price.”

His eerie laughter spread softly across the silent, still waters of the Yangtze.

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