Return of the Mount Hua

This isn’t how this is supposed to go. (4)

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“What is this?”

“Why are we here already?”

“Did I dream it or something?”

The disciples of Hwasan could not help but be bewildered by the scene spread out before their eyes.

“Is this really Jinan?”

“I think it is, Sasuk.”

“No, since when was Jinan this close? Wasn’t it practically at the eastern end?”

“It certainly was, but…”

It was a strange thing. It was not as if they had particularly hurried, nor had they quickened their pace. And yet, before they knew it, they had arrived in Jinan.

“What in the world…”

“No, wait a moment. We need to think about this differently. It is not that we arrived quickly, but in fact, isn’t this what is normal?”

“Mm? What do you mean by that?”

“This time, we were not in a situation where we had to drag that terrifyingly heavy cart and race across ice, climb a snowy mountain, or break through a damp jungle where it was hard even to breathe, were we?”

“Ah…”

Everyone nodded as though they understood.

Thinking about it, they had gone back and forth, as if it were only natural, through places that even merchants, who were said to go all the way to the underworld if there was money to be made, would shake their heads at and say, ‘I would go to the underworld, but that place is a bit…’

For the disciples of Hwasan, traveling along a well-paved official road was, with only a little exaggeration, not all that different from being carried along in a luxurious eight-horse carriage.

“Now that you mention it, it was comfortable.”

“We even slept at inns.”

“This was the first time I woke up and my back didn’t hurt.”

“We even bought our meals, too. Not burnt deer meat.”

“That’s true.”

If someone had overheard them, they might have wondered, ‘Why do they keep stating the obvious?’ But for the disciples of Hwasan, an inn was not a place to sleep or eat – it was a place to supply that bastard Chung Myung with alcohol.

They slept on the roadside, and found their own food. Since they had lived solely by self-reliance, this journey could not help but bewilder them.

“They say good things pass like arrows, and bad things drag on.”

“…That saying fits perfectly.”

The disciples of Hwasan let out a deep sigh.

“Let’s think of it positively. Since we arrived sooner than expected, we might have more time to rest here, no?”

“Indeed.”

“Sasuk’s wisdom has no equal in Hwasan.”

“Keuuh.”

The disciples of Hwasan, even Yu Iseol, stuck their thumbs up towards Baek Cheon. Of course they would. For Baek Cheon, their leader, to say that was practically a declaration that he wouldn’t be assigning them any extra work.

“To do that, we should first accomplish the purpose we came here for.”

Baek Cheon turned his head and looked at Chung Myung.

“Chung Myung-ah, what do we do now?”

“Nothing much.”

Chung Myung shrugged.

“We just have to find one person.”

“Mm. A person, then.”

Baek Cheon nodded with a look that said, ‘That much is easy enough.’

“The name is… what was it again? Seok Hanbin?”

“Seok Hanbin.”

“I’m not sure. That might be an alias, too.”

“Mm. Right, such cases do happen. And?”

“What do you mean, ‘and’?”

“Hm?”

“That’s it.”

“….Hm?”

Baek Cheon’s head slowly turned. In his line of sight came Chung Myung’s face, his two eyes shining brightly.

“That’s it?”

“Yeah.”

“Thaaat’s it?”

“Yeah.”

Baek Cheon’s pupils trembled faintly.

“Is there nothing more? Like where he lives.”

“What kind of stupid nonsense is that? I said Jinan, didn’t I? That’s why we came all the way here.”

“Ugh…….”

Baek Cheon clutched his chest.

“Hey, you insane bastard! What do you think Jinan is! It’s the largest city in Shandong. There must be an enormous number of people living here, so how are we supposed to find someone with just a name! You even said that name might be fake!”

Chung Myung nodded calmly.

“That’s right.”

“And you’re saying it makes sense to find someone with just that?!”

“So?”

“What? What do you mean, so? Do you know how difficult this is….”

“That’s why I fed you expensive food and let you sleep well.”

“Ah……”

The life drained from the disciples’ faces.

They said livestock were fed best right before slaughter… No wonder the meals had been so rich.

“Whether it’s easy or difficult isn’t important. What’s important is whether we have to do it or not.”

“…”

“Now, think carefully. Did I bring you here? I said I’d do it alone, and you forced yourselves along.”

“…..That’s true, but.”

“Then you should at least pay the price for coming along. Why do you think I brought these bundles of baggage all the way here without a word?”

Chung Myung gestured with his chin towards the city spread out before them.

“Find him.”

“…”

“Right now.”

The souls seemed to be slowly escaping from Hwasan’s disciples’ mouths.

❀ ❀ ❀

“No, does this make any sense? We might as well look for someone with a surname Lee in Luoyang.”

“Of course, I agree with that opinion entirely, but.”

Yoon Jong smiled gently.

“So what can you do about it?”

“…”

“Let’s just shut up and look.”

“Uuuuuhg.”

Jo Geol scratched his head roughly.

“Ah. Th-That’s right. The Beggars Sect! Can’t we request help from the Beggars Sect? If it’s the Beggars Sect members, I feel like they could easily find that much information?”

Hearing that, Baek Cheon wore an exceedingly pleased expression.

“At last, you’ve become capable of something called thought.”

“That’s a remarkable improvement.”

“I’m surprised.”

“These people…”

“But Geol, you have to think carefully. Why would the Beggars Sect help us?”

“Huh? Well, isn’t the Beggars Sect on good terms with us?”

“No. It’s not that we’re on good terms with the Beggars Sect, but that we’re on good terms with the Beggars Sect’s Hwaeum branch. To be precise, it means we merely have a friendship with Branch Leader Hong Daekwang.”

Jo Geol tilted his head as though he did not understand.

“Is that different?”

“Uh…….”

Where should he start explaining this?

“So, the Beggars Sect is enormous, isn’t it.”

“Yes. I’ve heard the phrase ‘one hundred thousand beggars,’ too.”

“In truth, that is a somewhat exaggerated saying, but it is certainly true that the Beggars Sect is incomparably larger than other sects. And besides, its members are spread throughout the whole world, aren’t they?”

“That’s right. There’s no place without beggars.”

Baek Cheon nodded.

“That’s right. Because of that, the Beggars Sect has a characteristic other sects don’t.”

“What is that?”

“The members aren’t close with one another.”

“Ah……”

“In fact, not only are they not close, I hear there are frequent cases where they fight each other over influence.”

“No, what kind of nonsense is that within a sect? Between fellow disciples, at that.”

“It is not necessarily something to think of that way alone… To put it simply, it would not be strange if a one-knot Beggar of Luoyang and a seven-knot Beggar of Anhui never saw each other’s faces even once in their lives.”

“Uh…..?”

Jo Geol’s expression grew complicated. It sounded like something that made no sense, and yet it did make sense. To put it bluntly, it was not as if beggars could travel such a long distance back and forth just to see one another’s faces.

“Other sects, no matter how many people they have, don’t have that many, so their disciples would have some degree of acquaintance with one another. But if the number of disciples reaches the tens of thousands, wouldn’t something like friendship become meaningless?”

“So what Sasuk is saying is that the beggars here are only members of the same Beggars Sect in name, and are not the Beggars Sect members we know.”

“That’s right. Now you finally understand.”

“I understand what you mean, but… I still don’t know. Are we on bad terms with the Beggars Sect?”

“No. There is no particular reason we would be on bad terms.”

“Then we can just make a request, can’t we? It’s not as if the Beggars Sect only takes requests from people they are close to. It should be enough to give them some money.”

“That’s right. That is correct. If only we were not in a somewhat delicate relationship with Gupaillbang, that is.”

“Ugh. Yes, I understand.”

In short, it meant that even if they asked, the Beggars Sect would not readily take care of Hwasan’s business for them.

Shandong was a place close to Henan. Even the beggars here could hardly have any way not to mind Shaolin’s gaze.

“Then that means we really have to go searching through all of Jinan.”

“But, well….. it did not seem as difficult as I thought.”

“Hm? Why?”

“From what I hear, he’s a child living alone without parents. No matter how large Jinan may be, how many children like that could there be? Usually, they would form groups among themselves, or at least end up in some beggars den, wouldn’t they?”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

“It is an unusual case, so we may be able to find him sooner than expected.”

Jo Geol let out a hollow laugh.

“No, why the hell didn’t that bastard Chung Myung tell us such important information from the start?”

“Well, that…….”

“Seriously. The more I think about it, the more absurd it is. That is far more important than a name that might even be fake, isn’t it? It’s not as if orphans living alone are common.”

“Uh… Jo Geol.”

“Didn’t that bastard deliberately refuse to tell us until we asked, just to mess with us?”

At that moment, Yoon Jong, who had kept his mouth shut until then, quietly opened it.

“An orphan living alone is something that looks unusual to others, but….”

“Yes?”

“To the people involved, it is not particularly strange. Rather than not telling us… he probably just assumed we would naturally guess.”

“…”

Jo Geol flinched, then looked at Yoon Jong, Yu Iseol, and Hye Yeon. It was not as if they were particularly pressuring him with their eyes, but…

“Haha. R-Right. I see. I, um… no, you know. What I meant was… What I mean is…”

Thud.

At that moment, Tang Soso and Baek Cheon placed their hands on Jo Geol’s shoulders.

“You talk too much.”

“Now is the time to prostrate yourself, Sahyeong.”

“I have committed a sin worthy of death.”

Jo Geol immediately lay flat on the ground without delay. Watching him, Hye Yeon shook his head.

“There is no need for that. Even if one is an orphan, what is there to be ashamed of, and what is there to pity so deeply? In any case, all who live in this world are bound to undergo their own hardships. Though I was born an orphan, fortunately, I was able to be taken in by Shaolin.”

“How pitiful…….”

“That is such a sad story.”

“Better to be an orphan.”

“A… Amitabha?”

Receiving those looks of pity directed at him, Hye Yeon tilted his head in confusion. How had things come to the point where a Shaolin monk was treated like this?

“In any case, if it is as you say, it will not be that difficult to ask around.”

“It is certainly much better than before.”

“Right. Then for now, let us split up in pairs and search. Soso, go together with Samae, and I will move with Monk Hye Yeon.”

“Yes, Sasuk.”

Having heard Baek Cheon’s order, the disciples of Hwasan scattered in all directions to begin their search. 

❀ ❀ ❀

“No matter how you look at it, still. In this huge city…”

“…You seem to have gotten a bit more full of complaints lately?”

“But it’s true, Sahyeong.”

Jo Geol grumbled in exasperation.

“No matter how unusual he is, do people really have that much interest in others? I bet most people wouldn’t even know if an orphan lived next door. The world is that harsh.”

“You’re someone who’s lived only at Hwasan – how do you know so well how the world works?”

“Come on. Do you have to experience it yourself to know that?”

“Then what? Are you someone who can see a thousand li while sitting still? Are you Zhuge Liang or something?”

“Ugh. Sahyeong!”

Jo Geol beat his chest.

“In any case, you’re just so narrow-minded!”

“What, you brat?”

“This was impossible from the start. If you could just grab anyone and ask randomly and the person you’re looking for pops right up, then what in the world would ever be difficult?”

“Still, for now…..”

“Come on, I’m telling you, words won’t do. Do you have to experience this yourself to understand? Watch, then!”

Jo Geol suddenly turned his body around, grabbed someone passing by on the street, and asked.

“Excuse me, may I ask you something for a moment?”

“……What is it?”

“Ah, please don’t worry. We are Taoists. We are not bad people.”

The woman, who had been stopped while hurrying on her way, flinched for a moment, then soon relaxed when she saw Jo Geol’s clothes. Taoist robes certainly helped at times like this.

“What is it?”

“By any chance, do you know a kid named Seok Hanbin?”

“Excuse me?”

“He’s said to be an orphan living alone – haven’t you heard of him?”

Jo Geol turned sharply to Yoon Jong and spoke as if to say, ‘See?’

“See? She doesn’t know.”

“No, asking just once like that……”

“I know.”

“Yes. Of course you don’t… Huh?”

Jo Geol turned his head blankly.

“You are talking about Hanbin, the child who lives alone without parents, aren’t you?”

“…Yes.”

“Shall I guide you there? His house isn’t particularly far from ours.”

“…”

Yoon Jong and Jo Geol faced each other with blank looks.

“Uh…… why did that work?”

“…”

“It wasn’t supposed to work. This isn’t how this is supposed to go. Uh….“

For the first time, Jo Geol realized – that sometimes things working out too well could also be a problem.

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