There’s something I’d like to ask. (5)
“Has everyone gathered?”
“Yes!”
As Hyun Jong looked at Hwasan’s disciples lined up before him, a complex expression crossed his face.
Perhaps this was Hyun Jong’s stubbornness. The Tao is something one realizes themselves. It can never be imposed.
Of course, Hyun Jong did not doubt that this was the path for Hwasan. But forcing those who did not agree with that intent would be nothing but another form of violence, would it not?
Therefore, Hyun Jong made a decision. If even one among them stood against his intent, he would cleanly set his own will aside.
However….
“Everyone has assembled, Retired Sect Leader.”
Before his eyes, every disciple of Hwasan stood in ranks. Even those who might never be able to take up a sword again.
In their eyes there was not a speck of distrust. The moment he grasped that fact, Hyun Jong had to exert all his strength to suppress the surge of emotion welling up from his chest.
“Everyone……”
Yes. Everyone, every…
Huh?
“It feels like the numbers are short?”
“…”
“Are you sure everyone is here….?”
And soon enough, Hyun Jong realized who it was that was not present. His presence was so immense that it was harder not to notice the absence.
“What about Chung Myung? Where has that rascal gone?”
“Ah, well……”
Baek Cheon scratched his head with an awkward look.
“It doesn’t seem… particularly important, so how about we set off for now, Retired Sect Leader?”
“What are you talking about? Not important? Where has Chung Myung gone?”
A shadow of anxiety surfaced on Hyun Jong’s face.
Who is Chung Myung? In truth, he was the very person whose disappearance before one’s eyes caused the greatest anxiety. How could one easily accept the absence of such a man?
Hyun Jong asked back as if he found it hard to understand, and Baek Cheon let out a deep sigh, glanced back, and made a gesture with his chin. At that, the disciples standing rather tightly packed behind him quietly stepped aside.
“Mmph! Mmph-Mmph! Mmph!”
And there – bound tightly with a thick rope, flopping like a freshly caught fish – was none other than Chung Myung.
“…”
Chung Myung, his face flushed as red as a plum blossom in full season and a gag jammed in his mouth, began flailing twice as violently the instant he saw Hyun Jong.
“No. What is this……”
“Heh.”
Before Hyun Jong, frozen in place by the sight, Tang Soso puffed her chest proudly.
“It’s a Heavenly Silk Rope provided by the Tang Clan! Even for Sahyeong, it’ll be hard to get out of it.”
“…”
Soso? That isn’t what’s important right now, is it?
“You must be careful, Retired Sect Leader.”
Then Baek Cheon quietly stepped closer to Hyun Jong’s side and whispered in an exceedingly serious tone.
“You may remove the gag, but not the binding rope. We really struggled to capture him alive. If he gets loose again, we’re done for.”
“…”
A complicated expression hard to describe crossed Hyun Jong’s face. If one were forced to interpret it, it would be a face where ‘Even so, is this really right?’ and ‘But. I understand.’ were strangely mixed together.
“Shall I take it off?”
“…Very well, let’s see.”
Nodding, Baek Cheon cautiously extended his hand and slowly approached Chung Myung.
“Easy there. Be good.”
Like a seasoned beast trainer, Baek Cheon took position behind Chung Myung, careful not to get bitten, and loosened the gag in his mouth.
“Nooooooooooooo!”
And before the gag was even completely off, a beastlike roar burst out.
“There’s a limit even to cooking porridge only to hand it to the dogs! Hell, giving it to the dogs would feel less unjust! What? To whom are you giving the Alliance Leader’s seat? Jongnam? Jongnaaaaaaaaaam?!”
Chung Myung, eyes rolled back, thrashed as though about to flip backwards in midair.
“Do you have any idea what I went through to build this Alliance?! Do you know how much there is left to squeeze out of it?! And you’re just throwing it all away?! No, you lot! Over my dead body will I watch that happen! Aaaagh! Kill me first and then go… mmph! Mmph-Mmph! Mmmph!”
Baek Cheon swiftly shoved the gag back into Chung Myung’s mouth.
The disciples who had been covering him earlier quietly stepped back into place, neatly blocking the view of Chung Myung once more, then pretended as though absolutely nothing had happened.
“…”
Having watched that spectacle, awkward as could be, Hyun Jong covered his mouth and let out a low, stifled cough.
“Ahem. Hm.”
Then, as if nothing were amiss, he smiled gently and spoke.
“That not a single person failed to agree with the words of this foolish old man gladdens me beyond measure.”
“Yes! Retired Sect Leader!”
“Mmmmmmph! Mmmmmmph! Mmph-Mmph!”
Somewhere, convulsive groans were heard, but not a single disciple of Hwasan voiced dissent to Hyun Jong’s declaration.
‘He did say ‘person.’
‘That thing isn’t a person.’
‘Even beasts wouldn’t live like that.’
Therefore, everyone agreed. Yes, indeed.
Hwasan’s matters were thus tidied up ‘neatly’, but that did not mean they could depart at once. The reason was simple: those who had resolved to leave this place today were not Hwasan alone.
“Will you be all right? It will be a long way.”
“Since it is a long way, should we not leave early?”
Perhaps a wise answer to a foolish question. Maeng So showed a small smile that contrasted with his massive frame. A long sword-scar running down his face made his already fearsome features all the more intimidating.
But of course Baek Cheon had no reason to be frightened by that rough exterior. By now the two knew each other far too well for that.
“You’ve already pushed yourselves enough. As you know, this is no place for beasts to live.”
“That much is true.”
Maeng So turned his head to look at the people standing behind him, and the Beast Palace’s beasts mingled among them. Seeing that their numbers had clearly diminished from when they first set out, a bitter look shadowed his face.
“I’ve been away from the Palace for too long. As you know, the Beast Palace always needs strong men.”
“I can’t deny that.”
“It is time we went back. In truth, there is nothing more for us to do here.”
“But you’ve achieved such great merit – if you leave without receiving any reward…”
At Baek Cheon’s words, Maeng So let out a low chuckle.
“What has the apportioning of merit in the Central Plains to do with us? Wealth and authority are meaningless in the jungle. What truly matters is the food and drink that sustain us day by day – and our families. And if I were to name one more thing…”
Maeng So’s gaze went past Hwasan’s disciples to Chung Myung, restrained with the rope.
“Perhaps… a friend.”
At that, a smile bloomed at the corners of Baek Cheon’s mouth.
“Surely Hwasan won’t turn its back on us just because we leave like this. We were away from the Palace so long our supplies must’ve run low – no doubt you’ll lend us a hand with that.”
“You’ll have to build more storehouses.”
“Hm?”
“The granaries I saw before won’t be enough.”
Maeng So chuckled quietly at the easy, natural reply. There was no need to say more. By now, the bond between Hwasan and the Beast Palace was so firm it needed no proof.
His gaze turned towards the long rows of tents spread out nearby.
“In the end… many things have turned out differently from how I first imagined the Alliance would be.”
And then his gaze returned to Baek Cheon, and to Chung Myung.
“It shouldn’t matter, should it? What’s important isn’t the form.”
“Yes.”
Baek Cheon felt the same.
“Let us meet next year.”
“Next year, you say?”
“On the memorial day.”
Baek Cheon nodded silently. Tang Gunak’s memorial day. That would be the day they met again.
Meanwhile, the Northern Sea Ice Palace also chose to return.
“If we delay any longer, it will already be winter.”
Whether Seol Sobaek’s words meant that the road home would grow treacherous once winter came, or that it was right for the Palace Lord to return before the Ice Palace met a harsh winter, did not matter.
What mattered was that either reason was more than enough to justify their departure.
“I can only apologize for not having been of greater help.”
A shadow fell across Seol Sobaek’s face.
No one would say that the Ice Palace had not done its utmost in this war. But even as empty courtesy, one could not claim that the Ice Palace’s contribution in this war was great.
It could not be helped. To begin with, the number of people the Ice Palace sent to support the Central Plains was not large and…
‘Because the Ice Palace Lord is still young.’
Compared to the Beast Palace Lord, the Sun Palace Lord, or the Blood Palace Lord, Seol Sobaek, the Ice Palace Lord, had yet to acquire the martial prowess or authority befitting a palace lord.
And because the Ice Palace, too, is one of the Five Outer Palaces, in which the weight borne by the Palace Lord is abnormally great compared to the Sect Leaders of the Central Plains, it ultimately could not overcome this limitation.
Had Seol Sobaek possessed martial prowess and commanding force on the level of Maeng So, the course of the war might well have tilted sharply towards the Alliance from the very start. The Ice Palace certainly has the potential for that.
‘But that is still a matter for the future.’
That future might come sooner than expected, but at least not this time.
“Think nothing of it. You were an immense help, Ice Palace Lord.”
For that very reason, Baek Cheon treated Seol Sobaek with even greater courtesy.
“Without the Ice Palace, we could never have won. Without the Ice Palace, how could we have faced the might of the Sun Palace?”
Seol Sobaek let out a small sigh.
“Even so, to be honest, we ourselves know best that we were not of great help.”
“Palace Lord.”
“But next time.”
Determination glimmered in Seol Sobaek’s eyes.
“Next time will be different.”
At that look, a small smile touched the corner of Baek Cheon’s mouth.
It was difficult to put into words exactly what he was feeling at that moment. But one thing was certain – this must have been the same feeling others once had when they looked upon the young Baek Cheon.
“I’d like to say I truly hope so.”
Baek Cheon suddenly shivered.
“Frankly, I’d prefer there not be a next time. I don’t want to go through this madness again.”
“…I agree with that as well, Vice Sect Leader.”
The two looked at each other and shared a smile.
“Hwasan will always regard the Ice Palace as a friend. If you need us, contact us anytime. Even if that place is the Northern Sea, we’ll come running.”
“Then…”
Seol Sobaek seemed to hesitate a little, then cautiously spoke.
“May I ask for one small favor – not later, but now?”
In that moment, Baek Cheon found in the face of the young man before him the face of the small child he had seen long ago. The young boy he’d met in the Northern Sea, that pure white land. Who could have imagined he would come to have this kind of relationship with this person?
A bond that had continued unexpectedly had now become a strength by which they aided each other. All the more precious for that.
“Of course. If it is within my power – within Hwasan’s power – we will help with anything.”
“Hmm. Then…….”
With a slightly awkward look, Seol Sobaek pointed behind Baek Cheon.
“Could you perhaps loosen those ropes?”
Baek Cheon turned his head. Where Seol Sobaek was pointing, Chung Myung was flopping like a fish hauled up from Dongting Lake [동정호(洞庭湖) – a large lake in Hunan].
“Mmph! Mmmmmph! Mmph!”
“…I’d like to speak with Chung Myung Dojang before I return to the Northern Sea, but, well, like that…”
“…”
“Would that… be possible?”
“…”
For a long while, Baek Cheon stood there, deeply contemplating what it truly meant to feel shame.
________
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Return of the Mount Hua 
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