Return of the Mount Hua

This isn’t how this is supposed to go. (5)

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“Here it is.”

Having heard the news, the others came running as well, and everyone gathered in front of the house the woman had led them to.

“Well then, I’ll be off.”

“Ah, please wait a moment. At least let us repay you…”

“Oh, no. I only told you something everyone knows, so what repayment? I hope your business goes well, Taoists.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

The disciples gave her a deep bow and turned around.

“So…”

Their gazes turned to the house before them.

“He lives here, then?”

“Uh…. It seems that way.”

“Here?”

Baek Cheon’s eyes trembled without him knowing.

“Can a person even live in a place like this?”

It was, quite literally, a thatched hut on the verge of collapse. No, even that wording felt a little awkward. One side of the wall had half crumbled away, and the sight of it being covered over with reeds made it seem more fitting to call it ‘a thatched hut that had already half collapsed.’”

“They said a child lives here alone… How could he, in a place like this?”

Just as the words ‘even a dog couldn’t live in a place like this’ were about to flow straight from Baek Cheon’s mouth.

“It’s livable enough.”

“It’s been managed pretty carefully, in its own way.”

“Looks good.”

Chung Myung, Yoon Jong, and Yu Iseol nodded as if they rather liked it.

As Baek Cheon stared blankly at them, Jo Geol sidled up to him and whispered.

‘You nearly made a mistake just now, didn’t you, Sasuk?’

‘Shh.’

Baek Cheon found himself realizing anew that those who had come from the streets simply had different standards from the very start.

“Can we go in?”

“…Wouldn’t that still be rude?”

“Since the door is standing wide open like that, wouldn’t it be all right?”

“You have to distinguish between there being no door and the door being open, Sasuk.”

On top of the earthen wall, which leaned as if it might collapse at any moment, rotted reeds were barely resting in place. Worse still, whether the door panel had been thrown away somewhere or not, there was a gaping hole right in the middle of the wall.

“At this point… The shacks the Beggars Sect beggars live in might actually be better.“

At Baek Cheon’s words, Yoon Jong replied indifferently.

“Shacks can’t keep out the wind. And when it rains heavily, it’s not a matter of leaking – the whole cloth gets soaked, and water pours right in.”

“I-Is that so?”

Yu Iseol nodded as if she agreed.

“It was cold. Whenever it rained.”

“That’s right. On clear days, at least if you covered yourself with something, it was bearable.”

“Yes.”

A victim of child abuse and a victim of child neglect nodded together, sharing something that was not quite sympathy, yet not quite anything else.

“Still, this place is at least a livable house.”

“Yes.”

“…”

Jo Geol came over again and whispered.

‘I think it would be better if you just kept quiet, Sasuk.’

‘Yes…….’

Baek Cheon quietly closed his mouth.

“Let’s go in for now.”

“Will it be all right? It seems the owner is away from home, and we’d be entering as we please.”

“I think rudeness would be better than indifference. Come on.”

Tang Soso, too, would normally never have thought of carelessly entering someone else’s house. But thinking of the house on the verge of collapse and the young child living in it alone, she felt a sense of duty that she absolutely had to see it with her own eyes.

“Hm.”

“Uh…”

The disciples of Hwasan who went inside, all wore strange expressions.

The thatched hut was rather spacious compared to how it had looked from the outside. At this size, it seemed just about large enough for all Hwasan’s disciples to lie down and try to sleep, albeit crampedly. But that fact did not particularly matter.

Baek Cheon, Tang Soso, and Jo Geol offered their impressions in the ordinary way.

“The floor is just dirt.”

“There isn’t even a bed?”

“That hearth looks like it hasn’t been used in at least a year.”

“How on earth did he eat and sleep here?”

Chung Myung, Yu Iseol, and Yoon Jong also offered their impressions at the same time.

“The floor is flat.”

“There’s even a hearth.”

“Hm, judging by the traces of firewood being burned, it seems he managed to stay somewhat warm?”

And no sooner had they finished speaking than the two groups looked at each other.

“…”

“…”

How to put it… It was not as if this was anything new, but they could not help feeling a subtle distance between them.

“Ahem.”

“F-First of all, this isn’t what’s important.”

Tang Soso frowned.

“No, but still, it’s a house someone lives in, so at least he could have managed it a little…”

“That’s difficult.”

“He couldn’t. A child alone.”

“If you look at how the wall has been patched up, this is his version of maintenance.”

At the rebuttals that followed immediately, beads of sweat formed on the back of Tang Soso’s head. She quickly changed her words.

“Honestly, it feels a little heartless. If a child is living alone, you’d think the people around him would help him.”

“If he didn’t starve to death, then they helped him.”

“Yes. Usually, you die. I almost died too.”

“The people around here seem full of kindness. That lady from earlier, too.”

This time, Tang Soso’s hands trembled. Seeing that, Jo Geol sidled over and whispered.

‘Soso. You should just keep your mouth shut too.’

‘….Yes.’

Just what kind of lives had these people lived?

And so, the victim of child abuse, the victim of child neglect, and the disabled veteran looked around the house with faces that seemed to say none of this was anything new.

After watching the three of them with an awkward expression for a moment, Baek Cheon cautiously called to Chung Myung.

“Chung Myung-ah.”

“Yea?”

“I think you can tell us now… What relationship do you have with the child who lives here?”

“Hm.”

Chung Myung wore a somewhat complicated expression as he pondered, and was just about to open his mouth.

Rustle.

At the small sound that came from outside, everyone’s heads turned towards the door at once.

“Hm?”

The wide-open doorway.

A boy was standing in front of it.

The moment he saw that sight, the past Chung Myung had forgotten resurfaced in his mind.

❀ ❀ ❀

“Y-You little brat. Hold still for a moment!”

“Ow!”

Thwack!

A fiercely thrust foot struck the bearded chin with full force.

“Honestly…”

A groan escaped the Taoist’s mouth of its own accord.

“H-How does such a young brat have so much strength….“

“Noooo!”

Thud!

The foot that shot out with all its strength drove itself once again into the Taoist’s solar plexus. The Taoist’s face twisted.

It hurt. It made no sense, but it really hurt. How could some little brat’s kicks be this fierce?

“Stay still for a moment! You need to put on some clothes… Wait!”

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

The child sprang upright and began striking the Taoist’s face wildly. But there was no way a Taoist trained in martial arts would be flustered by the hands of a mere child…

“Aaaaaaaagh!”

No matter how renowned a master one might be, there was no way to stop one’s hair from being grabbed and yanked out. Tears welled faintly in the Taoist’s eyes after a fistful of his beard was ripped away.

‘My beard.’

Do you know how much effort it took to grow this beard…

“Hey, you little brat! Just what kind of blasted temper do you have!”

“Oooooh!”

Though the Taoist raised his voice in anger, the child did not cower in the slightest – instead, he shouted back at him as if responding in kind. Seeing that, tears once again gathered at the corners of the Taoist’s eyes.

At this age, what kind of suffering is this? What sin had he committed in his past life?

“Stay still. Please, please just stay still for a moment… please!”

It was then.

Bang.

The closed door opened, and someone came inside.

“What is all this commotion?”

“Chung Mun!”

And the moment he saw who had entered, the child’s face lit up, and he charged towards the door at almost the speed of a wild animal breaking loose.

“Sahyeeeeeeeong!”

Still not fully grown, the child – Chung Myung – was caught by Chung Mun with practiced ease as he ran in, spun once, and then was set perched firmly against the back of his neck.

“No, how long has it been since we started living with Chung Myung? Why on earth are you still so bad at looking after him?”

“…”

Again, tears welled faintly at the corners of the Taoist Baek Oh’s eyes.

How was this his fault? Even his fellow disciples who had children of their own would first approach with hearty laughs, only to fail to last even fifteen minutes before clearing their throats and fleeing. They even used lightness arts to do it. He had seen it. And it had happened more than once or twice.

“At this rate, how am I supposed to go anywhere with peace of mind?”

“…I’m sorry.”

To others, the disciple’s words might have seemed to go too far. But all Baek Oh could do was quietly avoid his disciple’s gaze.

What could he do? It was Baek Oh himself who had thrust the care of that unruly loach-like brat onto a disciple who should be devoting himself to martial training. Having committed such a sin, was it not only natural that he could not hold his head high?

“Sahyeeeeeeeong.”

“Yes, yes. Did our Chung Myung miss his Sahyeong?”

Chung Mun took his young junior in both hands and lightly tossed him upward, then caught him again. Chung Myung’s face, which had been full of spite when he was with Baek Oh, quickly brightened like sunlight.

“Yes, yes. Now let’s play with your Sahyeong.”

“Sahyeeeeeeeeeong!”

A bright smile formed at the corners of Chung Mun’s mouth.

❀ ❀ ❀

‘Sahyeong?’

Chung Myung’s mouth slowly fell open.

Within his memories. No – memories so distant now that even he had nearly forgotten them. In those revived memories, Chung Mun’s face overlapped with the face of the child standing at the door.

“Uh…”

And in that moment, he knew by instinct.

There was no need for confirmation or anything else. That was unmistakably Chung Mun’s bloodline.

Otherwise, it made no sense for a person to look that much like him. No, even taking that into account, it still made no sense.

To be this identical. It was enough to make one suspect that Chung Mun had slipped out of the sect at some point without anyone knowing and gotten himself into some kind of trouble(?). In fact, rather than being a nephew, he almost seemed more like his own child…

– Hey, you lunatic! Say something that makes sense!

‘Ah, be quiet. Who knows what kind of trouble you got into out there.’

How could anyone know what happens in life? Even Confucius had times when he made children.

‘Because they look too much alike, all kinds of nonsense comes out on its own.’

Chung Myung rubbed his eyes as if he could not believe it at all.

At this point, rather than a descendant, the resemblance was so strong that one could almost call him a reincarnation. He did not have Chung Mun’s unique air, but at least his appearance was identical. It felt like looking at two puppies from the same litter placed side by side.

That was why Chung Myung could only stare at the child who had suddenly appeared as if he were truly bewitched. Perhaps because of that, every small and trivial detail about the boy came into his view without missing a single thing.

Rough cotton clothes that did not seem to be of especially good quality. A body that felt small because he had not yet fully grown. A kind face filled with childish bewilderment. And clear, large eyes that rolled, rolled…

‘Hm? Rolled?’

Rolled that way.

‘Huh?‘

From left to right, then from right to left. The eyes that had been rolling back and forth soon fixed on Chung Myung. At the same time, the child’s small mouth opened softly.

“…Damn it.”

“Hm?”

At that moment, the child threw himself sideways like the wind.

Papapapapat!

“Huh?”

“Hm?”

“Where is he going…….”

The movement was so swift that even the disciples of Hwasan could only stare blankly.

“Should we chase him?”

“….Wait. Before that, why is he running away?”

“That, I don’t really…”

Just as everyone was standing there blankly, unable to understand what was going on.

“Anyway, for now, let’s follow…”

“This way!”

“Eh?”

The disciples’ gazes turned back towards the door. Noisy voices could be heard from outside. Only this time, they were not the child’s voice, but the voices of burly grown men, no matter who heard them.

“Find him quickly. He couldn’t have gone far!”

“Maybe he’s hiding inside this house? Search it quickly!”

And soon, large, burly men came barging into the house where they were.

“Huh?”

The disciples of Hwasan tilted their heads.

“What the hell? Who are these bastards?!”

They were clearly not ordinary men, no matter who looked at them. They might not be members of the Black Path, but they at least looked like thugs who threw their weight around in the back alleys.

“Hey, you lot.”

The thugs waved the blades in their hands menacingly.

“Did you see a little rat bastard come this way?”

“…..Huh?”

“Did you see him or not! If you hid him, know that your necks will be cut off too!”

“Uh….”

Before they could even grasp the situation, the disciples of Hwasan instinctively felt a chilling aura and turned their heads back.

“Ah, a little rat?”

Chung Myung was smiling brightly.

So brightly it was chilling.

“I saw him. A little rat bastard.”

Crunch.

The sound of bones cracking rang out from Chung Myung’s fist.

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OHH NOOO… Chung Mun flashback ㅠㅠ that was his baby…. Also, I guess, Biga doesn’t change? Cause where is Hye Yeon again?

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