There’s something I’d like to ask. (3)
“Ouch!”
“Be quiet!”
“…”
Tang Soso slathered ointment over Baek Cheon’s bluish, swollen eyelids. That her touch was oddly rough and irritably impatient was clearly not just his imagination.
After gauging her mood in silence, Baek Cheon cautiously opened his mouth again.
“Uh, it kind of hurts……”
“Hurts? A man who could still use his inner energy even after his dantian was shattered is whining over this? Do you really want to find out what it means to ‘hurt so bad you could die’?”
From Tang Soso flowed a cold killing intent that would have made even Tang Gunak gasp. Confronted with that aura right under his nose, Baek Cheon could only break out in a cold sweat and didn’t even dare meet her eyes.
“Barely! After being run ragged, seriously, for almost ten days without sleep, I finally, finally got back to our quarters, and you make more work for me?”
“…”
“I’d rather die than fall ill! No! That’s wrong – if I must suffer, better you kill me outright!”
If Chung Myung had heard that, he would have applauded in heartfelt approval, saying, ‘Oh? That sounds better to me?’
“Uh….. Soso?”
“Why, again!”
“This… it’s medicine, right? Not poison?”
“…”
“I’m sorry. Lowly as I am, I misspoke…”
Baek Cheon, sweating cold, withdrew his words. Clicking his tongue as he watched, Jo Geol asked Yoon Jong,
“So who won, then?”
“……It seemed like a draw.”
“A draw? You’re telling me it turned out that conveniently?”
“Either Sasuk or Jin Geumryong – if they don’t draw their swords, they’re nothing more than second-rate martial artists, so it’s natural there was no decisive outcome.”
“Wow. At least they didn’t lose their minds. If they’d drawn their swords and gone wild, it would’ve been an incident to go down in the annals of Gangho.”
“They already look far from sane as it is, though.”
Hearing the murmured conversation as if to taunt him, Baek Cheon gritted his teeth.
“…Shut up. You little bastards.”
“Don’t move and stay still!”
“Yes.”
Tang Soso, who finished applying the ointment to Baek Cheon’s face that had quickly fallen sullen, briskly dusted off her hands.
“Done.”
“….I am, as ever, sincerely grateful, every time.”
Baek Cheon bowed his head as if in solemn penitence. Jo Geol clicked his tongue.
“See? A man really ought to think before he acts.”
“…..Of all people, you’re the last one I want to hear that from. You and Chung Myung both.”
“What are you implying, Sasuk. No matter how reckless I am, I wouldn’t take a swing at my older brother who saved my life.”
“So you are aware you’re a reckless human being, Jo Geol! This Sahyeong is proud of you.”
“But this guy, seriously?”
How about trying a fistfight between Sahyeong and Sajae this time, rather than between blood brothers?
As Jo Geol cast a sharp glance at Yoon Jong, Baek Cheon finally let out a long sigh.
“Was it… that disgraceful?”
“Tremendously.”
“Extremely.”
“Indescribably.”
“Ugly.”
Baek Cheon’s shoulders practically crumpled.
As if to comfort him, Yoon Jong spoke with a smile akin to a sage, warm and kind.
“It’s all right, Sasuk. Please don’t blame yourself too much.”
“Hm?”
“A Taosit ultimately follows the heart, does he not? Even values like righteousness and duty, gratitude and repayment – obvious as they are – are, in a way, nothing more than things people made. What matters is that you act as your heart leads, Sasuk.”
“…So that means I’ve got no righteousness, don’t know duty, and I’m an ungrateful bastard who repays kindness with enmity, doesn’t it?”
“You understand perfectly, as expected.”
“The more I look at it, you’re the worst of all, you little……”
Baek Cheon covered his face with both hands. But of course, since the ointment was smeared all over it, he had to pull his hands away at once.
“So then, why did you do it? Even if your opponent was Jin Geumryong.”
“I know. I know….”
Baek Cheon, too, was aware that he had done something he shouldn’t have. If he didn’t know that, he wouldn’t even be human. No – he had probably already done something not quite human.
“I know all that… but the moment I see that damned face, I can’t control myself, so what do you expect me to do?”
“Hmm, that face certainly did cross the line.”
“But isn’t that face yours, Sasuk?”
“That’s why it crossed the line.”
“Aha.”
“You lot, did you come here to set someone else’s insides on fire?”
“Nope. We came to criticize you.”
“….Damn it all.”
Baek Cheon tore at his hair in anguish.
⠀⠀
Jin Geumryong brought the steaming teacup up before his face, savoring the deep tea aroma [다향(茶香)], and nodded slowly.
“Hmm, this is good.”
It would have been a picture-perfect scene. If not for the fact that one of his eyes was bruised and swollen shut.
“You can still smile right now? After getting beaten by your younger brother?”
“Beaten?”
Jin Geumryong corrected him firmly.
“It was a draw.”
Jong Seohan’s mouth fell open. Since when had this man gone so far off his senses?
“Why on earth did you do that? You looked like you were dying because you couldn’t get it out of your system.”
If that were the case, then why risk your life to save him in the first place?
“Hmm.”
“Do you realize this?”
“Realize what?”
“It’s only because the Sect Leader let it slide, but to speak bluntly, Sahyeong’s actions this time could be seen as insubordination.”
“…”
“If someone chose to make an issue of it, even the head disciple’s seat could have been taken away from you.”
In the past, such a thing would never have happened. Within Jongnam, Jin Geumryong’s standing was absolute.
Above all, considering the loss Jongnam would have to bear if Jin Geumryong failed to become the Sect Leader and someone else took that seat, it was a path they could never choose.
But now?
A certain person rose in Jong Seohan’s mind – infuriating, yet impossible not to acknowledge.
“If it came to that…”
“Lee Songbaek could have become the Sect Leader. That’s what you mean?”
“…..Yes.”
Jong Seohan pressed him with a gaze that carried a hint of challenge.
“How could you not think of that? Naturally…”
“I did think of it.”
“…”
“No, it’s more accurate to say I braced myself, rather than thought about it. I judged it might come to that if things went so far.”
Jong Seohan’s eyes shook greatly. He was prepared to throw away the seat of Jongnam’s Sect Leader? That Jin Geumryong?
“But why? For what reason?”
“Who knows.”
Jin Geumryong let out a faint chuckle.
“Maybe it’s because I’ve come to think that kid Lee Songbaek is, in his own way, a decent guy.”
“Sahyeong!”
“Why? As a swordsman, isn’t he honestly worthy of acknowledgment?”
“Are you really being serious right now?”
“All right. All right.”
Jin Geumryong let a smile slip – one uncharacteristic of him, one that seemed gentle.
“There are plenty of reasons. I could give a dozen more. But they’re all just excuses…”
With a faint smile still lingering, Jin Geumryong quietly looked down at his teacup.
“I just wanted to, that’s all.”
From the start, nothing had changed. From the moment Baek Cheon ran away from Jongnam – perhaps even before that – Jin Geumryong had only tried to protect his younger brother.
“If only your eye didn’t look like a chestnut [slang-ish term for swollen eye], I could’ve at least said you looked cool. But of all things, you got hit by the very younger brother you were trying to protect…”
“…..Ahem.”
“Truly splendid work, wouldn’t you say?”
At that, even Jin Geumryong, as if at a loss for words, only slurped down the hot tea.
“You should have just said it plainly. Isn’t it an older brother’s duty to embrace a younger one, even if he insists on holding onto his pride?”
“That’s not easy, not yet. How many years have we spent growling at each other like beasts?”
Jin Geumryong let out a sigh.
“But… before long, won’t it come to that? The relationship between Jongnam and Hwasan isn’t as strained as it used to be, and we’ll be seeing each other often going forward.”
“…”
“As for the awkwardness, we can unwind it step by step. There’s plenty of time.”
“Oh, really?”
Jong Seohan gave him a look of sheer exasperation and blurted out.
“But what good is that? That little brother of yours is going back today.”
Jin Geumryong’s head snapped sharply to the side at the unexpected words.
“Huh? Doing what, exactly?”
“Going back. To Shaanxi, to Hwasan.”
“…..Huh?”
Jin Geumryong’s brows furrowed deeply, as though he couldn’t believe his ears. What on earth was this nonsense?
“Going back?”
“Yes.”
“To Hwasan?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Says he has done what he came to do and he’s going home?”
“…Huh?”
After creaking a few times like a broken wooden puppet, Jin Geumryong suddenly sprang to his feet, raising his voice.
“What kind of bullshit is this?!”
❀ ❀ ❀
Jongli Gok forgot all sense of decorum and shouted.
“What kind of absurd nonsense is this? Going back? And today, of all times?”
Isn’t this madness going a bit too far!
“Alliance Leader! Please give us an explanation!”
“Hmm. That’s how it turned out.”
“No. Is this really a matter that ends with ‘that’s how it turned out’?”
“Heh-heh.”
“This is no laughing matter!”
“Heh-heh-heh.”
Jongli Gok clutched his chest in frustration, as though suffocating. Yet Hyun Jong merely smiled kindly.
‘Damn Hwasan!’
He had long thought himself adept at keeping calm through years of training and cultivation. But whenever it came to dealing with these people, calmness was not even in question – simply keeping his sanity intact was a struggle.
“Do you know how much Cheonumaeng has to do from here on out? And in this situation the Alliance Leader intends to abandon his seat?”
“Well.”
Hyun Jong scratched his head with a somewhat abashed expression. There were times when even Jongli Gok had been awed by the dignity Hyun Jong exuded, but now he looked no different from some country bumpkin elder of a third-rate sect.
“The kids say it’s time to go, and I’ve no proper grounds to refuse them, and no reason I ought to…”
“……Pardon?”
“So we’re going.”
When a man suddenly has too many words, his mouth often fails him altogether. Even as Jongnam’s Sect Leader, Jongli Gok could only gape like a fish, unable to say anything.
“W-What on earth is that….”
…What kind of bullshit is that?
Fortunately, Jongli Gok still had enough reason left not to say those words out loud.
Instead, he sprang to his feet.
“Alliance Leader, get a hold of yourself! You are the Alliance Leader of Cheonumaeng, the only guiding star of the Alliance – and now of the entire Gangho. How can a man of such stature make such a weighty decision based on nothing more than the wishes of a few disciples? That makes no sense at all!”
“Mm. True enough. That, too, doesn’t make sense.”
Hyun Jong nodded, as if agreeing with Jongli Gok’s words.
“So please reconsider. As you know, Cheonumaeng isn’t bound together all that tightly right now. With the shared goal of defeating Sapaeryeon gone, even the smallest misstep could scatter us to pieces.”
“Mm, hmm.”
“The Alliance Leader’s absence in a situation like this? Naturally, it’s fatal. Especially at times like this, we need to solidify the Alliance, leveraging the authority of Hwasan and the Alliance Leader.”
“I was actually hoping to bring that up myself…”
“……Pardon?”
Hyun Jong let out an awkward smile and said.
“Now that Sapaeryeon is half-collapsed, if there are sects that don’t wish to remain in the Alliance, perhaps there’s no need to hold on to them……”
“Alliance Leadeeeeer!”
Startled, Hyun Jong hunched his shoulders.
“What on earth are you saying? The Central Plains have only just gathered under a single banner [기치(旗幟)]!”
“Heh-heh, as a rule, the more diverse the banners are, the better…”
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
Unable to hold back, Jongli Gok let out a horrid scream and furiously tore at his own hair. Looking at his crazed appearance, Hyun Jong actually edged away in fear.
“Sect Leader! No, Retired Sect Leader!”
“…”
“Please, come to your senses! I may not know every thought you harbor, but this is not the way. The one who stands at the peak of the Alliance must lead everyone with the bearing of a man with an iron will. Only then…”
Jongli Gok trailed off, unable to finish.
Only then can we avoid becoming like Gupailbang, tearing at one another. The fact that he was about to let those words out felt too strange to him.
‘I…..’
Watching him fall silent, startled by what he’d been about to say, Hyun Jong quietly opened his mouth.
“The Sect Leader’s words are correct.“
“…What?”
“I, too, feel the need for that. But as you know, I am hardly suited for such a role, am I?”
Jongli Gok’s gaze wavered.
“No, but even so, if you simply leave like this…”
“Which is why, Sect Leader.”
“Yes?”
Wearing a very gentle smile that, to Jongli Gok, looked all too meaningful, Hyun Jong looked at him with an unwavering gaze.
“Would you perhaps consider becoming Alliance Leader yourself?”
“……Pardon?”
“In my view, Sect Leader, you seem the right person for it. What do you think?”
Hyun Jong’s eyes shone with absolute sincerity, without even a trace of falsehood. Jongli Gok’s mouth opened and closed several times before he muttered with something like a bitter laugh.
“Truly… This… is enough to drive me mad.”
Of all the vast lands in the Central Plains, Jongli Gok could only curse the ancestors of Jongnam for settling down right beside Hwasan.
________
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Return of the Mount Hua 
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