Anyone got anything else to say? (5)
Just as Hyun Jong was about to rise to his feet without even realizing it, Hyun Sang firmly pressed down on his shoulder. Then he shook his head resolutely.
“You said you would not intervene.”
“Mm…….”
Hyun Jong let out a pained groan, just like a man dying of thirst.
Yes. He had decided not to intervene. No matter what happened here, he had promised that, this time at least, he would leave Chung Myung alone.
And yet the reason Hyun Jong had nearly risen to his feet was not because he had forgotten that promise, nor because he took his pact with Chung Myung lightly.
‘Chung Myung-ah.’
Hyun Jong clenched his fist tightly.
‘If this happens, then the infamy Hwasan will gain from this matter… will you not end up bearing it all alone?’
Hyun Jong inwardly blamed himself for failing to see this coming beforehand. But now, all he could do was watch. Before he knew it, his gaze could no longer leave Chung Myung’s back as he stepped one pace forward, in front of Un Am.
⠀
Hundred-Faced Fox feigned an expression of surprise, mixed with apparent distress. But it could not all be called an act. At this moment, he truly was inwardly flustered by Chung Myung’s response.
‘To take it this far, to such an extreme?’
He had anticipated various possibilities. How would they respond?
But among the responses from Hwasan that Hundred-Faces Fox had envisioned, never once had he considered that they would instead call Illusory Phantom forward.
That was likely why. Why he had been rendered speechless, if only for a moment.
Looking at that figure, overflowing with confidence to the point of sheer arrogance, he could not help but wonder for an instant whether he had made some grave miscalculation.
But Illusory Phantom Divine Lord was different.
If Hundred-Faced Fox was a difficult and complicated man, Illusory Phantom was an easy and simple one.
Why Chung Myung had chosen to respond this way did not matter to Illusory Phantom. The only thing that mattered was that, before an Assembly attended by most of the world’s Sect Leaders, a mere greenhorn dared to look down on him.
“How dare you…..!”
Just as Illusory Phantom was about to rebuke Chung Myung’s insolence and let out a thunderous roar, Hundred-Faced Fox swiftly stepped forward.
“Hahaha. I have long heard of Hwasan Geomhyeop’s illustrious reputation.”
Even as he felt Illusory Phantom turn towards him with a face darkened by rage, Hundred-Faced Fox continued without pause.
“But I cannot help but feel somewhat concerned. Do not all those gathered here belong to a senior generation, Dojang? Would not such impetuous words and conduct tarnish the lofty reputation of Hwasan Geomhyeop…”
“You don’t have to wag your tongue so hard. Everyone already knows you’re all talk, so that’s more than enough.”
“…Huh?”
Hundred-Faces Fox looked at Chung Myung with an expression that plainly revealed his bewilderment.
“Pft.”
At that expression, several Sect Leaders could not hold back and burst into laughter. Though they knew it was not the place for it, they could not restrain the laughter that escaped them in that instant. As if to say ‘See?’, Chung Myung merely shrugged.
“See? Everyone knows.”
Then, casting an indifferent glance at Hundred-Faces Fox, he continued.
“Thank you for your concern, but that is for me to handle. If you are not going to come at me together, then just sit quietly. Honestly, everyone knows you are acting all high and mighty because you have a tiger at your back. If I took someone like that seriously, I would only make a fool of myself. Isn’t that right?”
“W-What are you saying right now……”
Chung Myung smiled as he looked at Hundred-Faced Fox.
“What, are you trying to prove right now that you are not a fox? Against me? Wow, that is some courage. The Sapa bastards who died in the war would leap out of their graves just to applaud you.”
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
Chung Myung clapped with exaggerated enthusiasm. The longer the sound continued, the wider Hundred-Faced Fox’s mouth fell open.
‘What kind of madman is this……!’
The mockery itself was not the problem. Hundred-Faced Fox spent long years surviving in Gangho. If he were to lose his temper over mockery of this degree and ruin everything, he would not deserve to be called the Hundred-Faced Fox.
But the problem was the place in which that mockery had been delivered. No matter how insane a man might be, who could have imagined that he would act this way at an Alliance Assembly where the Sect Leaders of all under heaven had gathered?
It was impossible to tell whether that was the right response or the wrong one. But one thing was certain: with only a few mocking words, the initiative that Hundred-Faced Fox had struggled so hard to seize had been handed over to that man.
“D-Dojang. Before the seniors of Gangho…”
“Enough.”
Just as Hundred-Faced Fox desperately tried to salvage the situation, Illusory Phantom Divine Lord cut him off with an angry voice.
Hundred-Faced Fox sent him an earnest look, but Illusory Phantom did not so much as glance at him.
If he hesitated any longer here, the world would remember the Illusory Phantom Divine Lord as a tiger hiding behind a fox’s back. No, would they even remember him as a tiger at all?
“You are a young brat who has never properly learned any manners.”
Illusory Phantom slowly rose from his seat.
“I am Illusory Phantom Divine Lord, Yeo Mugwang.”
Several Sect Leaders drew in sharp breaths and began to murmur among themselves.
“Illusory Phantom Divine Lord?”
“You mean Illusory Phantom Divine Lord, who was once one of the Three Supremes [삼절(三絶)]?”
The Three Absolute Supremes Under Heaven [천하삼절(天下三絶)].
Once, it had been the title that represented the pinnacle of Gangho, though time had long since buried the name. Yet to those gathered here, that title still carried extraordinary weight.
After all, they were the living witnesses who had experienced the era when the names of the Three Supremes had resounded throughout the world.
“I had intended to overlook it, if possible. Even if I was unaware of the circumstances because I was in Pyegwan, the truth remains that, despite such a calamity befalling the world, I was unable to lend my strength.”
A subtle aura began to seep from Illusory Phantom.
At that, the faces of the Sect Leaders around him began to turn pale. It was a seething force founded upon overwhelming internal energy. Though none of them were men whose skill could be looked down upon, enduring inner strength of that magnitude was impossible.
“That is why I believed I owed a debt to Hwasan, to you. For you took my place and did what I should rightly have done.”
Chung Myung stared directly at Illusory Phantom, as though telling him to continue.
“But… that debt is nowhere near enough to excuse such outrageous arrogance. Tell me, would it not be fitting to repay what I owe by teaching a child who knows nothing of how high the heavens are just how high they truly stand!”
Illusory Phantom’s booming voice rang out thunderously.
On the surface, it appeared to be nothing more than a senior of Gangho reprimanding an ill-mannered junior. But the seasoned Sect Leaders gathered here recognized that all of this was something Illusory Phantom had set in motion over the position of the Greatest Under Heaven.
Then how would the current Greatest Sword Under Heaven respond to this blatant challenge?
“Ah. I see.”
Some felt their spirits drained by Chung Myung’s response.
For despite Illusory Phantom radiating such fierce anger, Chung Myung merely poked at his ear, acting as though he were listening and yet not listening at all – a response entirely unlike what those hoping for a serious contest had expected.
But most people recoiled in horror, knowing just how vicious an insult that underwhelming response was. It would have been better if he had simply cursed him to his face and flown into a rage. Rather than disregard a senior who had been renowned throughout Gangho since before he was even born.
And that junior was not finished speaking yet.
“Well now, the more I hear, the stranger it sounds.”
“Stranger?”
“Exactly. Very strange.”
Chung Myung grinned.
“Isn’t it an awfully convenient coincidence? Pyegwan that never ended even while all the people under Heaven were dropping dead just happened to end, astonishingly enough, the very moment the war was over. Wow.”
Chung Myung clicked his tongue in admiration and shrugged again.
“If someone didn’t know any better, they might get the wrong idea. They might think some old fellow hid himself away like a rat because he was afraid he’d crawl out only to get himself killed, and then, the moment he heard the war was over, he jumped out thinking, ‘Perfect timing!’, and started going ‘Ahem, ahem,’ and putting on airs.”
“Y-You insolent whelp…! What nonsense do you think you are spouting right now?”
Illusory Phantom’s face flushed a deep red. At the same time, he instinctively glanced around at those surrounding him. Human as he was, he could not help but worry how the other Sect Leaders had taken those words.
“Oh, I’m just saying, that’s all. I don’t know whether you’re one of the Three Supremes or the Three Whatevers [he says -jeol (for supremes) and -bal – literally ‘a foot’], but judging by everyone’s reaction, you must’ve been quite the famous figure back in your day. Surely someone like that wouldn’t shamelessly do something so disgraceful, right? No decent human being could.”
“…”
“But there is one thing I am genuinely curious about.”
Chung Myung grinned.
“If the war hadn’t ended, would you really have come out of seclusion? Somehow… I don’t think you would have.”
The Sect Leaders’ faces turned as white as paper.
Was this not far too rude, even by any standard? This was far, far beyond mere rudeness. Even those who secretly thought Chung Myung had a point could only click their tongues at how mercilessly he was driving the knife in before the assembled leaders.
So, under normal circumstances, at least one of them might have shown a trace of displeasure.
“Pft. Heh… heh.”
But at the sudden sound, everyone’s gaze turned towards the source of the laughter before they had the chance.
“Ah, my apologies. It is this cursed chronic ailment of mine – Cough…”
“Those damned Sapa bastards have no sense of time and place. Tsk.”
“And who was it that had their head down, grinning from ear to ear just a moment ago?”
Watching Im Sobyeong and Hong Daekwang bicker as though they could not care less about the eyes upon them, the Sect Leaders were left speechless. Then, in that instant, they realized.
Among those gathered here were a select few whose faces were filled with unmistakable scorn. And that most of them were people who had truly risked their lives in the last war.
Even the disciples of Hwasan standing in formation behind Chung Myung wore mocking smiles – or, at best, smiles tinged with cold contempt. Seeing this, the Sect Leaders had no choice but to remain silent in the end.
“You……”
Illusory Phantom’s face twisted into a vicious grimace, as he had likewise sensed the atmosphere.
“You bastard not even a dog would drag away…”
“No, why are you suddenly cursing at me? Could it be that something struck a nerve?”
Chung Myung chuckled as he watched Illusory Phantom’s face turn red and blue as though he were about to burst.
“Ah, but there is something else I am curious about. Would you have cursed like that if this were not Hwasan, but the main headquarters of Sapaeryeon, where Paegun, the victor of the war, was sitting?”
“You bastard!”
Illusory Phantom shouted as though in a fit.
“What a foolish question! You think I would stop at mere insults? If that villainous Paegun were still alive, I would have struck him down with my own hands and restored justice to Gangho.”
“Who? You? You’d kill Paegun? Hahahahahahaha.”
Chung Myung burst out laughing as though the very idea were absurd. After laughing for a long while until tears even streamed from his eyes, Chung Myung sneered.
“Haa… Sure, that bastard really was a piece of work. If he were still alive, I’d want to kill him one more time myself. But… at least he fought with his life on the line. Unlike some rat who hid in a dark hole, waiting for the right opportunity to crawl out.”
The expression vanished from Illusory Phantom’s face. His fury seemed to have reached such an extreme that, instead, he had become eerily calm.
“Oh, looks like you are really angry now?”
Chung Myung pointed at Illusory Phantom with his finger. Then he lazily curled it once, beckoning him forward.
“Then come out here. Stop yapping and do something.”
“…”
“What, no? Ahh! Or was your plan to prove it by waiting until I die of old age? Going back into Pyegwan again, are you?”
No matter how composed a person might be, after receiving such humiliation, he could not help but draw his sword. And Illusory Phantom was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a man known for his composure.
“Fine.”
Bang.
It was a bizarre sight.
Everyone gathered there clearly heard it. The sound of Illusory Phantom kicking off the ground. But at the same time, no one saw him flying towards the training ground.
By the moment they registered the sound, Illusory Phantom was already standing atop the training ground.
“Good heavens….”
The astonished murmur that slipped from someone’s lips spoke for everyone’s feelings. Speed so great that not even his trace could be followed. Just how strong did a man have to be to display movement like that?
Standing a mere jang away from Chung Myung on the training ground, Illusory Phantom stared at him in silence before speaking as though spitting out the words.
“Say that again.”
“…”
When Chung Myung did not answer, he growled again.
“Let us see whether you can spout the same nonsense to my face. Go on, say it again…”
“Yeah. A rat, a cowardly bastard, a hypocrite, a spineless weakling, an idiot pretending to be strong, an old bastard who does not even know what dignity is anymore.”
“…”
“Want me to keep going?”
Illusory Phantom’s eyes flickered. No one had any difficulty recognizing that the emotion filling them was killing intent [살의(殺意)].
But Chung Myung, who must have been experiencing that killing intent from right in front of him, merely grinned instead. Then, in an even more mocking tone, he said.
“Oh my, how scary. You are pouring out killing intent and all that. If you had this much strength left in you, would it not have been nice if you had come out earlier and cut down even one more Sapa bastard?”
“Hoooo.”
After a brief silence, Illusory Phantom let out a deep sigh and ground his teeth.
“Do not regret this, you green Taoist wretch. I gave you more than enough chances. Even if I tear you to pieces now, not a single person under Heaven will be able to condemn me for it.”
“Mm-hm. Even if people condemn me, I’m still going to beat you up first. Oh, and don’t worry.”
Chung Myung lightly stretched his neck from side to side, then smiled.
“I won’t tear you apart. Judging by the looks of it, you don’t have that many days left anyway.”
Only then did Illusory Phantom Divine Lord realize it. That he should never have exchanged words with this damned bastard in the first place.
“Draw your sword. I have no desire to kill a man who is not even armed.”
“Huh, why bother?”
“What?”
Watching the bewildered Illusory Phantom ask in disbelief, Chung Myung let out a faint scoff. He lifted the sword at his waist – still in its scabbard – and rested it across his shoulder.
“Why would I make a big show of drawing my sword just to catch one rat? The scabbard’s more than enough.”
“Y-You bastard, even now, to the very end!”
“Oh, do hurry up. Time is precious. Ah, and keep your age in mind, by the way. I have been old myself before, so I know – bones are something you really have to be careful with. Even if I do not mean to kill you, your joints are so weak that you might get hit and die anyway.”
Illusory Phantom clenched his teeth so hard that his gums bled.
“Do not expect any more mercy from my hand. You dog of a Taoist!”
Listening to that shout, thick with fury held in check by sheer force of will, Chung Myung smiled. It was, truly, a smile of complete satisfaction.
________
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