Return of the Mount Hua

I can’t do this anymore. Truly. (1)

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“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

A sound akin to a pig being slaughtered rang out.

“Oh dear. He’s going to kill someone at this rate.”

“My, my, how pitiful.”

“Still, they’re common folk. This is rather harsh.”

The disciples of Hwasan watching the scene tossed out halfhearted remarks, without a shred of emotion in them.

“A little rat? A rat?! What kind of rats go looking for a rat!”

“P-Please spare us!”

“Spare you? Hey, you bastards. I may be a Taoist, but would I kill people? Do I look like the kind of a lunatic who goes around killing people however he pleases?”

“N-No! No, Sir! Absolutely not. Thank you for sparing us! Taoist Master!”

“Who said I was going to spare you? Who told you to decide that on your own?!”

“Aaaaaaagh!”

Chung Myung’s fists vigorously sent the thugs’ jaws spinning.

“Tsk, tsk. That is a bit much.”

“Then are you going to stop him?”

“Ahem. At times, there is a need to go a bit too far.”

Baek Cheon cleared his throat loudly and looked off towards the distant mountains.

Of course, it was not right for a martial artist to lay hands on those who had not learned martial arts, but at times, the boundary could be a subtle thing.

Grown men carrying blades, chasing after, of all people, a child who looked to be only about fifteen or sixteen? There was no need to weigh the circumstances here. Wouldn’t it be right to break something first, then talk things over slowly and thoroughly?

Baek Cheon naturally thought so. No, anyone would have thought so.

And yet…

“What?”

“Pardon?”

“What did you say?”

“Huh?”

“Uhuhuhuhuhuk.”

The man whose face had swollen up like a well-steamed bun shed sorrowful tears.

“…You’re saying you’re not robbers?”

“Robbers? Of course not! I only came to collect money I was owed…….”

“Oh, come on!”

“Eek!”

Chung Myung kicked the man hard.

“You barge into someone else’s house carrying blades, and then what? You bastard, do I look like some pushover to you?!”

“N-No, I did barge in, but.”

The man continued in a voice full of resentment and grievance.

“I really was scammed for my money.”

“….What?”

“It’s true, really. That bean-sized little bastard who lives in this house took our money and ran. Uhuhuk.”

“Say something that makes sense, you bastard!”

Even after hearing the man sobbing in desperation, Chung Myung turned towards the other lumps(?) behind him and shouted furiously.

“This bastard is trying to pull something off, right? Whoever tells the truth will be sent back in one piece.”

“…It’s not like they are in one pice, Chung Myung.”

“No. Depending on how you think about it, they could be in one piece. Everything in the world is relative, you know.”

“They’re round and puffy. Cute.”

“S-Sago…..”

But despite Chung Myung’s persuasion, which seemed more like a threat, the same answer came from those kneeling behind him as well.

“I-It’s true.”

“It really is.”

“We’re telling you, it’s true.”

“…Huh?”

Chung Myung’s head tilted to the side. But in the next instant, it snapped back into place like a spring.

Crunch.

“Aaaagh!”

After grabbing the head of the man at the very front and twisting it from side to side with his palm, Chung Myung shouted furiously.

“You bastard, trying to deceive your elder? You’re just loansharks, aren’t you?”

“Th-That’s right.”

“I know perfectly well how you loansharks send people tumbling into ruin, and you’re trying to fool me? You think that just because we’re Taoists, we’re ignorant of how the world works, don’t you, huh?”

“…That one is a bit too well versed in worldly affairs, though.”

“I don’t know why. He lives up in the mountains.”

Clutching his heavily swollen cheeks, the man opened his mouth as if pleading his case.

“What happened was…”

⠀

Chung Myung stared blankly at the man.

“So… You’re loansharks, that much is true. And the kid came and borrowed a small sum at first.”

“He paid the interest faithfully, Sir.”

“And then he quickly paid that money back?”

“Yes. No question about it.”

“Then, the next time he asked to borrow money, he borrowed a larger sum.”

“…..Yes.”

“And after that repeated a few times…”

“Naturally, we thought he would pay it back again. It was a large sum, but he had been paying on time, so we thought, well, he’ll pay it back soon enough…”

“But then he……”

“…”

“Took it and ran?”

The man slowly nodded, his expression full of bitter resentment.

“So you chased and chased him, and ended up all the way here?”

“Khuhuk, Taoist Master.”

As if overcome with emotion, the man finally began to sob uncontrollably.

“We may be back-alley thugs, but we’re not empty-headed fools. The law of the land is stern. Would we really think of recklessly running around with unsheathed blades in broad daylight? It’s not as if we’re vagrants, either. We have to keep putting down roots and making a living in this neighborhood.”

“…That’s true.”

“But how desperate must we have been to do that, how desperate. Ahh. If we can’t get this money back, our superiors will beat us to death. Even if we aren’t beaten to death, once word gets out that we were tricked by some brat and lost a sum this large, we won’t be able to show our faces anywhere again.”

Baek Cheon, who had been quietly listening to the story, glanced back at his fellow disciples.

“That… From the sound of it, something seems to have gone wrong.”

“If what these people are saying is true, they haven’t exactly committed any crime, have they? I think we beat them a bit too much…”

“It was wrong of them to run around with their blades.”

“We’re wearing swords too. That’s not very persuasive.”

“…That’s true as well.”

Feeling an awkwardness that was hard to put into words, Baek Cheon spoke to Chung Myung.

“Chung Myung, no matter how I look at it, I think there’s a problem on that child’s side too.”

“Hm?”

Chung Myung tilted his head to the side.

“Why? Didn’t he do well?”

“Hm?”

“Hm?”

Baek Cheon and Chung Myung stared blankly at each other. After looking at Chung Myung for a long while, Baek Cheon, flustered, opened his mouth.

“If we assume these people are telling the truth, then he committed fraud.”

“Right.”

“So he did something wrong.”

“Why?”

“Hm? What do you mean, why? I said he committed fraud?”

“If he swindled money from some thugs who lend at high interest, isn’t that a good thing?”

“Huh?”

For a moment, Baek Cheon lost his words and closed his mouth.

Somehow, while listening to the story, he had felt a strange sense of deja vu. Thinking about it now, what that child had done was exactly….

Just then, Tang Soso came to the rescue in Baek Cheon’s place, who had been left speechless.

“N-No. Chung Myung Sahyeong. This really is the child’s fault.”

“Why?”

“You shouldn’t do things like that.”

“Why? They’re loan sharks.”

“You still shouldn’t. No matter how awful the person is, you mustn’t swindle them!“

“So why?”

“Because… Uh. I mean. Uh… why? Hm? Why is that?”

“Soso, get a hold of yourself!”

“No, wait? You’re not supposed to embezzle someone else’s money, right? But if that money was extorted from other people, can you really call it embezzling? It would be wrong for me to extort it, but if the money has been dirty to begin with…”

“Soso!”

“Drink a glass of cold water. You’re completely losing it.”

The disciples of Hwasan hurriedly surrounded Tang Soso, who had fallen into confusion.

“I told you not to talk to that bastard for too long.”

“His position is that the Evil Sect bastards are wrong just for breathing, so there’s no getting through to him.”

“Ah…”

Chung Myung, who had been listening, let out a dry cough.

“Hmm, actually, I do think I went a bit too far.”

“R-Right?”

“Well, hitting these bastards was one thing, but it was too dangerous. I should’ve just taught them a lesson.”

“…Something feels a little off, but the result is the same, so let’s say it’s fine.”

“Sasuk, it feels like you just let something go there.”

“Leave him be. He’s just too exhausted.”

Baek Cheon’s shoulders slumped.

Just then, Chung Myung abruptly lifted his head.

“Anyway, then I suppose we should find that kid first.”

“Right. That would be best. We can’t just believe what these people say, and in any case, we should meet the person involved and confirm it.”

“But how are we going to find him? He’s probably run quite far already. If things are like this, he won’t come back this way either.”

“Ugh. That’s the problem.”

“Wouldn’t he come if we just laid out some meat and liquor?”

“Is he you? You think he’ll come scurrying over just because there’s meat and liquor?”

“It might work, surprisingly, don’t you think?”

“Geol-ah. Please, get a hold of yourself. Does that make any sense?”

“Excuse me.”

“In any case, I think it would be better to split up and search. We’ve seen his face, after all.”

“Excuse me.”

“I don’t really remember his face.”

“Ahem. Excuse me.”

“What is it?”

Only then did the disciples of Hwasan all turn their heads towards Hye Yeon at once. Receiving their gazes, Hye Yeon let out a deep sigh.

“Well… I do not think there is any particular need to search for him.”

“Isn’t that the child over there?”

“Huh?”

Everyone’s heads snapped around towards the place Hye Yeon was pointing.

But what entered their eyes was only the sight of people dressed in identical clothes hurrying along the road in a line.

“They look like constables [포쾌(捕快)]?”

Since the house had no real wall to speak of, the sight of the constables passing along the road was plainly visible.

“Are you seeing things, Monk?”

“N-No, that is not it. Look closely. I mean the one being taken away by those constables over there.”

“Huh? Being taken away? What are you…”

The moment Baek Cheon narrowed his eyes and checked again, his eyes grew as wide as saucers. Between two constables striding along in the middle, there was someone somehow familiar…

Wrapped tightly in thick rope…

“Aaaaagh! I’m telling you, I’m innocent! Why are you taking me away!”

“Uh…”

“Uhhh?”

Dangling from the pole carried by the constables was the boy, tied up with rope. The disciples of Hwasan stared blankly at the sight.

“I think that’s him?”

“I’m glad to see him again, even like this.”

“….You’re right. There was no need to go looking for him.”

“What kind of city is this, damn it?”

“Save me! Corrupt officials are arresting an innocent maaaaaaan!”

“Will you not be quiet, you brat! Do you wish to be flogged!”

Baek Cheon, who had been watching the boy being dragged away as he shrieked and screamed at the top of his lungs, belatedly rushed forward.

“W-Wait! Just a moment! Please stop for a moment!”

“What is it?”

The constables were extremely wary of Baek Cheon, who had suddenly approached them. A man whose sturdy build was beyond comparison to ordinary common folk was coming towards them with a sword at his side. It would have been stranger if they had not been nervous.

“Step back. How dare you!”

Baek Cheon first cupped his fist towards the constables in a polite manner.

“You must be working hard. I am Baek Cheon, a disciple of Hwasan Sect of Shaanxi.”

“Hmm. Hwasan Sect… I feel as though I may have heard of it.”

At the tone that sounded as if he had never heard of it at all, a vein instantly bulged on Baek Cheon’s forehead. But before the authority figure(?) that was a constable, his anger quickly subsided. Calming himself, Baek Cheon spoke politely.

“I do not mean to obstruct the execution of official duties. However, no matter what wrong he may have committed, I feel that taking away a child so young like this over a matter with back-alley thugs is somewhat excessive. I humbly ask you to take that into consideration.”

Baek Cheon unconsciously bit his lip. It was not that he had committed any particular discourtesy, but facing constables as someone of Gangho, he could not help but feel nervous.

‘Did it work? No, probably not. If it really won’t do, even if I have to quietly slip them some money…’

Just as he was thinking he should get the boy out first and worry afterward, a voice full of bewilderment reached his ears.

“Thugs? What are you talking about?”

“…..Pardon?”

One of the constables let out a chuckle and said.

“This fellow caused trouble with the thugs too?”

Baek Cheon blinked. Huh? This wasn’t the issue? Then…

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but that is not the reason we arrested him. This bold little bastard swindled Lord Song’s money, I tell you.”

“Huh……?”

“Honestly, there are limits to one’s audacity. To think he’d dare try to cheat Lord Song, a respected figure of Jinan. Hah.”

Baek Cheon stared blankly at the constable, then turned his head. Chung Myung, whose eyes met his, muttered with a dazed face.

“Ah… even I think this is a bit much.”

“…”

This bastard.

He was no ordinary fellow.

________

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