Return of the Mount Hua

ROTMHS Glossary || About page

“How strange.”

Chung Myung, sprawled atop an old-fashioned – if you wanted to put it nicely – or, bluntly speaking, downright decrepit tiled roof, clicked his tongue.

“Clearly…… it seems like things are running just fine.”

His gaze slid subtly downward.

“Come on, come on. This way, this way.”

Hwasan’s warehouse. A place that had hardly deserved the name ‘warehouse,’ since all it had held until now was the firewood the disciples had chopped, was now stuffed full with grain and gifts.

“A gift sent by Lord Gwak of Weinan [渭南]. Where should we put this?”

“Oh my. Wrapped in silk – just one look tells you it’s expensive. Why on earth would they send something like this…….”

“He said he was so deeply impressed by this time’s conference that he had to send it. So where should it go?”

“Here! Please set it down over here.”

As he received the gift, a smile bloomed across Hyun Yeong’s face. If there was a problem, it was that he was grinning so excessively it looked almost frightening.

“A gift from Lord Ahn, the Prefect of Xian, has arrived.”

“This is woolen cloth sent by Lord Jo of Yuncheng [运城].”

Had it been about eight days since the Hwasan-Jongnam Conference ended? Each day, Hwasan was overflowing with gifts sent by influential figures, and the grain Eunha Merchant Guild had sent had reached the point where there was nowhere left to stack it, so it was being pushed out beyond the warehouse.

“Euh-heuh-heuh-heuh! The God of Wealth! The God of Wealth has come to Hwasan! To think I’d live to see a sight like this. Euh-heuh-heuh-heuh, hng! Euh-heuh-heuh-heuh-euh.”

“…Elder. Could you please do just one – either cry, or laugh?”

“Quiet. Just carry the goods.”

“Yes…….”

Chung Myung, staring intently at the scene, took a sip of the liquor in his hand.

“Tsk.”

The faces of those moving the goods were blossoming with smiles, but Chung Myung’s expression was anything but satisfied.

It couldn’t be helped.

No matter how much wealth had gathered over there right now, how could it possibly compare to Hwasan’s fortunes in the past? It had been only natural that they were the wealthiest sect in Shaanxi, and Hwasan had amassed riches that ranked among the very top even under heaven.

“And yet it’s only this much.”

In the old days, trinkets like that weren’t even enough to fill Chung Myung’s belly with liquor. Even the value of the things he’d taken out of the warehouse and sold off would have amounted to that much…

– What, you punk? How much did you sell off and pocket each month?!

“Ah… I mean, that’s just a figure of speech. Just saying.”

Chung Myung quickly averted his gaze and changed the subject.

“Anyway, this matter is fine at about this level, for now…”

Chung Myung eyes turned in the other direction.

“Taaaah!”

“Eurachaaah!”

“Khaaaaaaaakkhh!”

“……Who just let out that shout?”

In the large training grounds, the disciples had gathered and were swinging their swords. To Chung Myung’s eyes, it was still difficult to tell whether what they were doing could even be called swordplay or if it was more akin to a feeble old man swatting flies – but the important thing was that those brats were training on their own without being told to.

“Taaaah!”

At that moment, Jo Geol’s sword path caught Chung Myung’s attention. With his enthusiasm overflowing and strength leading the way, the blade was flailing wildly, straying far from the road it was supposed to take.

“Oh! Sahyeong! Didn’t that look kind of impressive just now?”

“……It did look intense, at least.”

“See! I must be getting somewhere now.”

Chung Myung couldn’t keep watching and squeezed his eyes shut.

‘Tonight you’re doing a hundred extra swings before bed.’

It was better not to look. If he watched, what came out would be nagging, and what would burst would be his insides.

Chung Myung knew it too. Even a great towering tree begins as a small sprout. Of course everyone wanted the sprout to grow quickly, but if, in your impatience, you kept poking at it, even the sprout that ought to grow well would end up withering.

“……But, it feels like the sprout has already been yellow from the start.”

– Says the one who was the problem.

“Not that sprout! I mean – I’ve been good at swinging a sword since I was little!”

Chung Myung jabbed his finger into empty air, then rubbed at the corner of his mouth as if something about it left a bad taste.

That side didn’t please him much either, but still – since even a journey of a thousand li begins with a single step. At least they’d taken that first step now, hadn’t they?

“Then that side is fine for now, too.”

“Then what is it?”

“Is it over there?”

Chung Myung’s gaze shifted to a place farther off.

⠀

“Hmm. So it can be interpreted that way as well.”

“Isn’t it, Elder?”

“Certainly……. This conference helped a great deal. I feel as though my discernment in viewing martial studies has broadened. To think it would be like this even when it’s the disciples’ sparring. This is why they say it’s important for a martial artist to see and experience much.”

“I agree. I was able to discover many aspects I had been misunderstanding all this time.”

Hyun Sang and Un Geom were deep in discussion, poring over the secret manual of the Seven Plum Blossom Sword. For them too, it seemed this conference – or rather, Chung Myung’s sword – had left a strong impression.

‘Of course it did.’

Those men, in a manner of speaking, were the sort who had learned the sword by looking only at manuals.

One might think that’s how everyone is? Not a chance. A manual is only a means to compensate for the imperfections of human memory. It can never contain the entirety of martial arts. If you learn martial arts from manuals alone, you might be able to imitate the shape of it, but the true meaning of martial arts – so difficult to convey in words – can only be guessed at.

Of course, since they didn’t know who Chung Myung really was, they wouldn’t think his sword was a perfect answer, but they would certainly consider it something worth studying.

‘For now, that’s enough.’

Water always flows downward. He could take his time and gradually correct their martial art techniques bit by bit. Then the swords of Hwasan’s disciples, who received instruction in swordsmanship from them, would also be set on the proper path. Only then would Hwasan’s martial arts truly be able to revive.

“Anyway, that means this side is fine too.”

The three most important things in reviving a sect. People, martial arts, and wealth.

Even if the road ahead was ninety thousand li long, they had at least laid the groundwork for all three elements and taken their first step. If so, there shouldn’t have been anything in particular to feel uneasy about.

“Khhh. What was it? Why does something feel so off?”

This feeling right now was – how should he put it…

Like when you’d been guzzling liquor in your room, left empty bottles scattered everywhere, and went out to play, and then, while knocking back a drink at Hwaeum, suddenly remembered that your Sahyeong was supposed to come see you today?

Meaning, you’d definitely forgotten something…

– Sacred relic.

“What on earth did I forget.”

– Sacred relic.

“Ah! Seriously, this is damn frustrating. My head is aching… feels like I’m just about to remember…”

– Sacred relic.

“Ah.”

Chung Myung’s mouth fell open as he looked up at the sky. Chung Mun, face flushed with fury, was jabbing a finger at him.

– Aren’t you supposed to go find the Dark Fragrance White Plum Blossom [암향백매화]!

“Ah, right. I lost that, didn’t I.”

Chung Myung’s gaze drifted on its own towards the Ancestral Hall. Through the wide-open doors, the top of the altar looked bare. The awkwardness of something that ought to be there not being there made a groan spill from his lips.

– The Purple Mist Divine Sword is such a precious treasure you can’t just buy it back with money, but the Dark Fragrance White Plum Blossom is something you can find if you have money, isn’t it?!

“Th-That’s…… probably true?”

– Then you have to go find it! It’s the sect’s sacred relic!

“That’s true, but…”

Only then did Chung Myung understand why he’d been feeling this nagging discomfort.

“Ughhh.”

Flopping back down on his spot, Chung Myung smacked his lips.

“What a pain.”

If it were the Purple Mist Divine Sword, it would be different. That was practically his Sahyeong’s keepsake. To Chung Myung, the Purple Mist Divine Sword was the kind of thing he had to recover even if it meant risking his life.

But as for the White Plum Blossom – how should he put it. That… maybe like an heirloom left behind by some relative you’d seen about five times in your life. It was important, sure, but going to such lengths to find it felt a bit…

– What do you even think the sect’s sacred relic is! Aigoo, ancestors! It’s all my fault. I am lacking, and so the sect’s sacred rel…

“Ah, I got it! I’ll find it, alright! I’ll find it!”

Chung Myung, irritated beyond measure, sprang to his feet.

Looks like his plan to laze around for a few days was done for.

❀ ❀ ❀

“White Plum Blossom?”

“Yes.”

“What is that? Ah, that white flower you mentioned back then?”

“Yes. That one.”

“Well, where did I sell it off to…”

Lost in thought, Un Am’s brow furrowed more and more.

“I think I sold it to a merchant who came by Hwasan back then.”

“…What?”

Chung Myung’s face hardened like stone.

“A merchant came all the way to Hwasan and bought the Dark Fragrance White Plum Blossom?”

“Was that flower’s name the Dark Fragrance White Plum Blossom? Anyway, yes.”

“They came all the way up to Hwasan on purpose?”

To the naked eye, that flower was nothing more than a finely crafted piece of metal. In other words, it wasn’t worth climbing this harsh mountain just to buy it. Which meant someone who knew the value of the White Plum Blossom had deliberately…

“No, it wasn’t like that.”

“….What?”

“Back then, Hwasan was being hounded so badly by creditors that we thought we’d sell off some unused household goods, just to try and pay even the interest. So the Elder called over a merchant who was passing through Hwaeum and asked him to buy things from us.”

Un Am let out a small sigh as he continued.

“We even begged him – since he didn’t want it – to buy that flower too.”

“B-Begged…..”

“But we did get a decent price for it. Was it one doe of rice?”

“O-One doe? Not even one mal – one doe*…”

“One mal? Who would ever pay a whole mal for something like that. At best, it’s just a flower-shaped trinket.”

“…”

Chung Myung turned his head, gazed up at the distant sky, and smiled with deep satisfaction.

‘Should I just give up on all of this?’

These lunatics – selling a treasure of one of a kind under heaven, a gift bestowed by the Jin Emperor, for one doe of rice. If they had eyes on their faces at all, shouldn’t they have realized something was wrong?

And Chung Myung had to revive Hwasan again while dragging along a bunch of idiots like these.

– Hang in there.

“What do you mean, hang in there?! Damn it! Who do you think this is all because of!”

“Why are you suddenly getting angry?”

“…No. It’s nothing. So who was that merchant?”

“Hmm? Well. I’d never seen him before back then, so.”

“…”

“Why does your expression look so murderous? I don’t remember it clearly, but now that I think about it, that merchant seemed like someone who did business with the Eunha Merchant Guild. Back then too, I think he came to trade with the Eunha Merchant Guild.”

“His name?”

“His surname was Dan, but…”

“Ugh. Well, at least it’s not a common surname. That’s something. Then I’ll be off for a bit.”

“Off? Where to?”

“You’re asking the obvious.”

Without even looking back, Chung Myung said as he walked away.

“To the Eunha Merchant Guild.”

❀ ❀ ❀

Crunch, crunch, crunch. Crunch – one well-roasted chicken leg vanishes without a trace.

Gulp, gulp, gulp. Gulp – precious fine wine streamed down his throat like water.

“Kaaah!”

Thud! As if he might smash it to pieces, Chung Myung slammed the liquor bottle down hard onto the table and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

“Now this is food, and this is liquor. Ugh, that damned sect – why do they feed you nothing but grass all day.”

“Hmm? By now, good ingredients should be getting supplied to Hwasan, shouldn’t they? Jong-ui?”

“Yes, Father. I’m keeping an eye on it.”

Hearing that, Chung Myung waved his hand dismissively.

“It’s not the ingredients that are the problem, it’s the skill. No matter what you give them, they just toss it together, boil it, and burn it.”

“…Then we’ll have to dispatch a cook as well.”

“If you do that, we’d be grateful.”

Chung Myung grinned broadly, nodding as though his life depended on it.

The value of the same object changes depending on where it is placed. That was something Chung Myung had learned firsthand on the battlefield.

A geun* of meat lying in some brawl couldn’t possibly have the same value as a geun of meat hauled into the very heart of the battlefield at the cost of one’s life. By the same logic, a single chicken set on this table and a single chicken set atop Hwasan’s peak could never have the same value.

In other words, it was no empty claim that Eunha Merchant Guild was putting a great deal of care into this.

“But… what brings you here so suddenly? Is there something more you wished to say regarding the recent Hwasan-Jongnam Conference?”

Hwang Jong-ui asked, sounding doubtful.

There was nothing particularly strange about Chung Myung coming to see them. And yet he spoke like this because, not long ago – after the Conference ended – he had already spoken with Chung Myung for quite a long time. Hadn’t they already reached a conclusion then about how they would move forward from here?

“Ah, it’s nothing big. I just need you to help me find someone.”

“Aha, if it’s that, it won’t be difficult. Very well – what sort of person?”

“They said his surname was Dan? Someone who does business with Eunha Merchant Guild.”

“Hmm. A merchant with the surname Dan. Yes – and?”

“Probably, a few years ago, he sold a plum blossom ornament carved out of white metal.”

“A plum blossom ornament. Yes. And?”

“That’s it.”

At the far-off answer, Hwang Jong-ui’s face went blank.

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

“You’re saying… you want us to find someone with that… alone?”

“Yes.”

The muscles in Hwang Jong-ui’s face began to twitch little by little.

“Understood. Then as for the time frame – by when should we find him for you.”

“Oh, that’s not urgent at all, is it? You can take your time and look.”

“Haha. Of course. Then we’ll do so.”

“Yep, yep. To eat and drink everything here, it’ll still take about one sijin*, right.”

“…Pardon?”

“Within one sijin.”

“…”

Chung Myung tilted his head sharply to the side.

“What are you doing.”

“Yes?”

“Move.”

Hwang Jong-ui and Hwang Munyak dashed outside like the wind.

⠀

“W-We found him.”

Who knew what kind of desperate struggle they had just endured – Hwang Jong-ui returned panting, his headpiece askew on his head, and continued breathlessly.

“His name is Dan Bok [단복(段復)]. A peddler who travels back and forth between Gangnam and Shaanxi.”

“A peddler…. Ugh. This is going to be a headache. Where is he now?”

“Ah, fortunately, it seems he’s in Xian at the moment. They say he’s staying at the Yeorim Inn.”

“Oh. Got it. Then I’ll be off.”

“Huh? Dojang? Huh?”

Bang! The door flew open as if it might splinter, and Chung Myung vanished like the wind.

Hwang Jong-ui, staring blankly at the sight, muttered emptily.

“At least… he should’ve heard how hard it was to find him……”

“As if he’s the sort to care about that.”

Hwang Munyak let out a deep sigh.

“Still, a white plum blossom… What in the world is this about.”

His eyes chased after Chung Myung’s back as it shot off into the distance.

❀ ❀ ❀

Bang!

“Is there someone here named Dan Bok?”

All the gazes in the inn turned to one spot at once.

“Huh?”

Amid the uneasy stares, a man in the corner cautiously raised his hand, looking utterly bewildered.

“That would be me?”

“Oh!”

Chung Myung brightened and strode over to the man with a goatee with his hand raised. Judging by his somewhat worn clothes – weathered from hardship – and the bundle clinging tightly to his side…

‘Definitely a merchant.’

Merchants didn’t exactly let valuable goods out of their sight, even when they stayed at an inn.

“What business do you have, Young… hm? Are you a Taoist monk?”

“Something like that, but that’s not important.”

Chung Myung waved it off and went straight to the point.

“A few years back, you bought a plum blossom made of white metal from Hwasan Sect, didn’t you?”

“Hwasan? A plum blossom?”

The man called Dan Bok scratched his head as if trying to recall.

“That… yeah. Hm. Feels like I might remember.”

“It’s only been a few years. And it’s not like people often climb up to Hwasan, so you should remember.”

“Well? Maybe I climbed it, maybe I didn’t, heh-heh. I really don’t remember.”

Chung Myung’s brow furrowed slightly. He spoke as if unsure, but the sly grin on his face made it painfully obvious what he wanted.

“Here.”

Ting! From Chung Myung’s hand, a single copper coin flicked up into the air. Dan Bok snatched the falling coin in a flash and nodded.

“Ah, now I remember. Yes, that did happen. Was it about five years ago?”

“Do you still have it?”

“Come on. If a merchant holds onto an item for five years, he’d deserve to go bankrupt. I sold it ages ago.”

“Where?”

“Hm?”

“Where did you sell it.”

“…Well. Where did I sell that, again?”

“Ugh.”

Ting. Another copper coin sprang up from Chung Myung’s hand. Once again, lightning-fast fingers snatched the spinning coin out of the air.

“Ah! Now that I think hard, I remember. I remember. That… I’m pretty sure I sold it in Luoyang on my way back.”

“Luoyang? That far away?”

“Well, wherever my feet take me, you know.”

Chung Myung let out a deep sigh, then asked again.

“So, where in Luoyang did you sell it?”

“Well. That’s……”

Ting – the coin spun, whirling as it shot up into the air. But this time, instead of catching it, Dan Bok only stared intently at the falling coin.

Ting. Tiding. As the coin hit the floor and rolled, Chung Myung narrowed his eyes.

“You don’t remember?”

“Hm. Well, it’s not so much that I don’t remember as…….”

“Then what?”

“Isn’t this different from just recalling a city? Whether I sold it to a guild, or to a person… It was a long time ago, so my memory is a bit….”

“…”

“If you’re a Taoist monk, it doesn’t look like you’re going around starving. Aren’t you being a bit stingy.”

“It’s four coins.”

“Well then, nothing to be done. If I can’t remember, I can’t remember.”

Chung Myung smiled. Though, of course, the corners of his eyes were twitching faintly.

“Then…….. yes. Can’t be helped.”

Ting! From Chung Myung’s fingertips, a small sliver coin flicked up into the air.

At that, Dan Bok snatched the silver coin like a thunderbolt, turned it this way and that to check it, and then broke into a beaming smile.

“A person. Now that I think about it, I believe I sold it to a person! It wasn’t the kind of item merchant guilds usually handle, so I was pondering what to do with it. Then I put it out at a street stall, and someone bought it.”

“A person? Who?”

“Well. Honestly… It’s hard to say exactly who. You know how it is – if you set up a stall at a street market, all kinds of people come and go. How could I remember the one I sold it to years ago?”

“…Ugh, I understa…”

“Ah. Now that I think about it, there was one distinctive thing.”

“…”

“It’s on the tip of my tongue, but – goodness, have I gone senile? My memory is so hazy.”

Ting! Another silver coin drops into Dan Bok’s hand.

“Oh dear. When you’re old, you ought to just die.”

Dan Bok stroked the end of his long goatee, putting on a playful expression.

“I can’t quite remember. I can’t. Why can’t I remember…….”

Ting!

“Ah, it’s almost coming back to me……..”

Ting!

“Almost! I’ve almost got it. Really, just almost…….”

Baaaang! Thud.

With a sound of a thick earthenware jar shattering, Dan Bok toppled backwards in his chair, and pale steam seemed to be rising from his forehead.

“I… can’t remember?”

And towards the fallen Dan Bok, Chung Myung – his eyes half-rolled back – strode in, cracking his neck from side to side.

“Ah, yeah? Don’t worry. I know a way to bring memories back.”

“D-Dojang. W-Why are you…?”

“But it takes a while. Even if something comes to you in the middle, sometimes it isn’t the right memory. So just wait until I’m done. There’s no point talking now.”

“W-Wait, I was wrong-”

“Wrong? If you did wrong, then you need to get hit, you bastard!”

Chung Myung, completely out of his mind, lunged at Dan Bok.

“Aaaaaaagh! Dojang! Dojang! I’m sorry! Dojaaaang!”

“Will you shut up? You bastard – three silver coins is enough to live on for a year! You took it and still ‘can’t remember’? If you had a conscience, you ought to invent a memory even if you don’t have one!”

“Aaagh! Aaaagh! Please spare me! Agh! Aaagh!”

“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you, I won’t. I’ve barely hit you. You’ve still got plenty more to take. You can’t die until you’ve taken it all, so don’t worry. Do I look like some easy target to you, you bastard? Back in the day, the moment I so much as showed my face in Xian, merchants wouldn’t even meet my eyes, but now some miserable beggar like you….”

“Aaaaaagh! Dojaaaang!”

“Die! Die, you bastard! Die! No – don’t die! Absolutely don’t die!”

In an instant, the inn turned into complete chaos.

“Good heavens! What the hell is going on!”

Just as the people seated in the inn recoiled in horror…

“Th-This way!”

Through the wide-open door, the innkeeper came running in, face drained of color, and behind him a few people strolled in at a measured pace.

“Oh!”

The pale-faced guests brightened and welcomed the newcomers.

Snow-white martial robes, a cloud emblem stitched on their chests, and a long sword held proudly in one hand.

“Jongnam! It’s Jongnam Sect!”

“Quick! Please, stop him – someone is going to die!”

The swordsmen of Jongnam surveyed the scene inside the inn, and their expressions hardened. Xian was a city under Jongnam’s influence. To cause a disturbance here was tantamount to insulting Jongnam itself.

“Stop at once! We are from Jongnam! Who dares to run wild in Xian!”

The moment those words rang out, the heavy thuds that had been echoing through the room cut off sharply.

“First, step back and explain what’s go-”

“Yo-You’re dead now! You crazy bastard!”

Dan Bok, his face swollen like a puffed dumpling and twin streams of blood running from his nose, shrieked as he pointed at Chung Myung.

“Here! Warriors of Jongnam! This lunatic just started beating someone for no reason! Hurry and seize him! Hurry!”

“……He really took a beating.”

The disciples of Jongnam frowned at the sight and then called out to the one standing with his back to them.

“Release that man at once and come here. We’ll question you about your wrongdoings.”

“…”

“Can’t you hear what we’re saying?”

“Who are you, and where are you from……?”

Chung Myung, gripping Dan Bok by the collar with one hand, only tilted his head and looked over at Jongnam’s swordsmen who had appeared in the inn.

“Huh?”

“Huhh?”

“Huh……?”

The eyes of Jongnam’s swordsmen – who had been standing there with an air of utter confidence – widened slightly.

The shoulders that had been brimming with confidence gradually drooped on their own. Realizing the situation, the disciples of Jongnam quickly exchanged glances.

‘Is that him?’

‘Looks like him, doesn’t it?’

‘No, you can tell just from the robe. It’s that madman from Hwasan.’

Their faces slowly turned pale. The places where they’d taken a hit during the Conference still ached – how could they possibly forget that face.

“So… what, then? I didn’t quite catch that. Could you say it one more time?”

“Ahem.”

“Euh-heuh-heuh-heuh!”

At Chung Myung’s smile, the disciples of Jongnam rapidly exchanged glances again. But there was no need to debate anything. In this situation, there was only one thing they could do.

“Hmm. It seems it’s nothing at all.”

“……Pardon?”

“Don’t call us over for things like this. Over something so trivial.”

“N-No. What do you mean-”

“Hm! We have many places to patrol today, so let us be on our way.”

“Yes, Sahyeong!”

Jongnam’s swordsmen swiftly turned on their heels and hurried out of the inn. Or rather, they tried to.

“Hey.”

Their bodies froze mid-flight.

“Close the door on your way out. It’s noisy.”

“Ahem.”

Tap. The inn’s door was carefully closed.

“…”

And the inn fell into a deathly silence.

“So then… what was it you said?”

Chung Myung smiled softly and looked down at Dan Bok, who was still in his grip.

“Crazy bastard, was it?”

“…”

“Haha.”

“H… ha.”

As Chung Myung beamed with a blindingly white smile, Dan Bok forced the corners of his unwilling mouth upward and awkwardly laughed along.

“Hahahahahaha!”

With that cheerful laughter, Chung Myung’s fist cut through the air like a streak of light.

“Kkh.”

Taaak! A cup slammed down onto the table as if it might shatter.

“Huh? I’m a Taoist, aren’t I – a Taoist! And how kind would a Taoist be? You know it. Bad people can’t get their names written into the Taoist registries.”

“…”

“So why are you tormenting a good person.”

“…”

“No answer?”

“……I’mthorry.”

“What?”

“I’m s… orry.”

“Tsk.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue again and again, twisting his face. Dan Bok clasped his neck with one hand – one that didn’t seem to turn properly anymore – and bowed his head.

“Sure, you’re a merchant, so it’s only natural you love money. But there are limits. You try to stab a Taoist in the back when he’s doing his best to live virtuously?”

“I-I’m… thorry….”

“Hoo. Forget it. I’m ending it here because I’m busy right now. If I’d had time, you’d have been getting hit for three nights and four days. Live properly from now on, got it?”

“So? Who did you sell it to?”

“A… mmmiddle-aged man…… with a big… mole… on his neck.”

“A middle-aged man with a big mole on his neck. Ugh. Looks like I’m in for another round of needless suffering.”

Chung Myung sprang to his feet and snatched up the liquor bottle that had been sitting on the table.

“Pay for everything you broke before you leave.”

“…Yes.”

“Anyway, even when you try to handle things nicely, someone just has to turn it into a mess. A mess. Tsk.”

Chung Myung vanished out the door in a flash. Only then did Dan Bok’s companions – who had been hunched up, watching the room with bated breaths – finally straighten and let out their sighs.

“What in the world was that……..”

“No, seriously – what just happened……..”

“Hey. Are you alright?”

Tears like chicken droppings began streaming from Dan Bok’s eyes.

“That’s what you get for being too greedy.”

“Still… he did do something worth getting hit for.”

“Don’t be too hard on him. When some young Taoist brat is snapping out silver coins like that, who wouldn’t be tempted?”

“That’s true, but… he couldn’t even keep it anyway. Didn’t he just get everything he took snatched right back?”

“…No.”

“Huh? No? Looked like he took it back earlier.”

“My money too…. he cleaned me out… left me with only enough to pay damages…….”

“…”

“Ughhh.”

At the sight of a pathetic man’s tears, the others squeezed their eyes shut.

Smacking his lips, Chung Myung looked towards the far west.

“Ugh. Sure, it’s ‘Luoyang,’ but from here, how many li is Luoyang, anyway.”

Should he just not go? Was that flower really that important? A sacred relic is really about what it represents, isn’t it – what it ‘is’ doesn’t necessarily matter that much…….

– Ancestors, I will go to hell and atone for this sin…….

“Ah, I got it! I got it, damn it! Agh, hell!”

Grinding his teeth hard, Chung Myung shot towards the west like a beam of light.

Second part of the side story >>>

________

*Korean units of measurement. Specifically: volume – 1 doe(1.8 liters), 1 mal(18 liters); weight – 1 geun(~600 grams); time – 1 sijin(2 hours). 

The name of the side story. I can’t find this specific combination of hanja in korean dictionaries, so it’s rather uncommon. 상화(想花). 상(想) directly translates as ‘concept’ according to naver dictionary, according to chinese dictionary 想 means variety of things in the line of ‘to think of smth/ to think about/to wish/to miss’. So combining this we are getting ‘to think of/to wish for/ the blossoms.’ Smth like this! Spoiler: this is also a name so I suppose it’s kinda free for interpretation. 

This SS will be posted in 4 or 5 parts. This is a new SS, from new Hwagwi ebook. Hello, everyone!

________

Please, subscribe/donate on Patreon or Buymeacoffee – support my work and help me buy official cookies to purchase the chapters. My schedule is on the About page.