How far are you willing to go? (2)
It was boisterous. No… rather than boisterous, it was something…
“It’s quite a commotion.”
“…..It is.”
The disciples of Hwasan, each holding a rice ball in hand, looked towards the pavilion on the lake. As they listened to the distant sounds of bickering, they began commenting with satisfied smiles.
“They just called someone Horse-Faced Taoist.”
“I think I heard someone say ‘old ink-stained fossil.’ Will that be all right? That seems like crossing the line pretty badly.”
“When has he ever lived without crossing the line?”
“That is true….”
The sun had long since set, and the moon had risen high into the sky. Yet the people remaining in that pavilion still had a single lamp lit and were continuing to go at each other.
“Haaawwwww.”
After watching the scene from afar for quite some time, Jo Geol let out a long yawn, then turned his tear-filled eyes to Baek Cheon.
“Let’s just leave them and go to sleep, Sasuk. We can’t keep waiting forever.”
“They need to give us rooms before we can sleep, don’t they? We can’t sleep out on the street.”
“It’s not as though we haven’t done it before. We’re used to sleeping in rough conditions.”
“…You’re suggesting we sleep on the streets after coming here as guests?”
“Wouldn’t that be better than staying awake all night? No matter how I look at it, it seems like they won’t be done until morning.”
“…”
That was the problem – it was a reasonable argument. Which was right? Should he preserve his dignity to the very end, or would it be better to forget dignity and all that nonsense and at least get some sleep? Just as Baek Cheon was fiercely deliberating between honor and practicality, the commotion from the pavilion abruptly ceased.
Soon after, three people emerged from the pavilion at the same time.
“Huh? Over there.”
“…..Is it over?”
The old scholars came walking across the bridge connected to the pavilion in the middle of the lake. Their faces had somehow turned ashen in the meantime, and after trudging forward with exhausted steps, they stopped and glared at the disciples of Hwasan with murderous eyes.
“Wait, why……”
“I can feel killing intent.”
The old scholars strode right up to them, grinding their teeth.
“……What a bunch of Taoist bastards unfit to ever associate with.”
Before the disciples of Hwasan could even express their bewilderment, a torrent of harsh criticism poured down on them.
“That is precisely why I said we should not conduct business with the unlearned and ignorant.”
“You need to be able to communicate before you can talk! You have to understand words first!”
“Let’s not insult all Taoists. Isn’t that one fellow just uniquely bizarre?”
“This is too much, truly. I thought the Beijing merchants were the most vicious people under Heaven, but if they went to Shaanxi, they would be stripped clean and chased out in nothing but their undergarments.”
“Good grief.”
The disciples of Hwasan, who had suddenly been showered with abuse, could only blink without managing a reply.
“Now, why are you taking it out on innocent children?”
“Ahem.”
“Tsk.”
At Chung Myung’s voice from inside the pavilion, the old scholars’ faces twisted fiercely, and they abruptly turned around.
“Then we’ll consider the deal concluded by mutual agreement.”
“Pardon?”
“Let us go, go! Ugh, khhhhaaak! Ptooey! You are the sort no dog would even take in its mouth!”
“…”
The disciples of Hwasan stared blankly at the three scholars as they walked away. How was one supposed to describe this absurd yet peculiar feeling?
“What are you doing?”
But the moment they saw Chung Myung’s face as he approached them, they understood this absurd situation perfectly.
“His face is positively gleaming.”
“Grease is practically streaming off him. After arguing for that long, too.”
“Just how much does a person have to stuff himself for his face to be that oily? He looks like the very model of a corrupt landlord [지주(地主)]. I want to preserve that face in a painting.”
The others could only voice their astonished admiration, but Baek Cheon could not leave it at that.
“Um…. Chung Myung.”
“Hm?”
“What on earth did you squeeze out of them?”
“Nothing much.”
“Nothing much?”
Chung Myung grinned.
“We just agreed to help each other out. It’s nothing particularly remarkable.”
Nothing remarkable?
“Then why did those esteemed great scholars spit as they left, like street scum who had been cheated out of their money?”
“People are all the same. They get upset whenever they lose even a little, and then they might curse a bit. Isn’t that all it is?”
It did not seem like something that could simply end with that…
“I’m asking, what exactly did you agree to do?”
Chung Myung shrugged.
“To put it simply, they agreed to give us some assistance with Hwasan’s activities in Shaanxi from now on.”
“….Those people?”
“No? What help could a bunch of retired old men possibly give? The authorities agreed to it. Those old men just happen to have disciples who’ve wormed their way into positions all over the realm.”
“Ah, I see…. Wait, assistance? From the authorities?”
“Yep.”
“You’re saying the authorities are going to cooperate with Hwasan? With a martial arts sect?”
“Yes, I am. Why do you keep asking?”
Baek Cheon looked around at the disciples of Hwasan with an expression that said, ‘Damn it, have I lost my mind and started hearing nonsense?’ But their reactions were not particularly different from his own.
“Is this what they call collusion between government and commerce [관상결탁(官商結託) – where gwan 관 – is the government]?”
“Wouldn’t collusion between government and Taoists [관도결탁(官道結託)] be more accurate? Since it’s the authorities and a Taoist temple [도관 – do-gwan] colluding. Or not? Should we call it collusion between two kinds of ‘gwans’ [쌍관결탁 – ‘gwan’ for government and for temple – double gwan]…”
“I do not even know whether that is a phrase that can exist. I do not know anything anymore, just…”
Yoon Jong muttered, clutching his head.
“Is colluding with the authorities a bad thing, or a good thing? It is good if the authorities are backing us, but that is the symbol of corruption, is it not? Then does that mean Hwasan is an evil entity colluding with corrupt officials…”
“Do not think about it, Sahyeong. You will not find an answer even if you do.”
“Ugh…”
Yoon Jong agonized over Hwasan’s future, but as always, the rest had little interest in such matters.
“So?”
“Hm?”
“What are we supposed to do?”
At Yu Iseol’s question, Chung Myung shrugged.
“First, we need to go to Beijing.”
“Beijing?”
“Because we need to do what we heard about earlier. From what I hear, that fellow called Do Hyeon or whatever has something shady about him. It seems like all we have to do is dig into his background. It is not particularly difficult, is it? Right?”
“Mm.”
The disciples of Hwasan, who seemed to consider it for a moment, all nodded at once.
“If it is only digging into someone’s background.”
“It is not as though we are going to capture him ourselves. That much should be fine.”
“Infiltration. I have wanted to try it.”
“Should we leave right away?”
Tang Soso, who had been standing a step behind, tilted her head as though she could not understand what was going on. Then she jabbed Jo Geol, standing beside her, hard in the side.
“Sahyeong. Am I imagining things, or is everyone’s reaction strangely positive? Normally, shouldn’t you all be throwing a fit because that damned human caused trouble again without discussing it with anyone?”
“They probably would have.”
“Then why is everyone’s reaction so positive now?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s Beijing, Beijing.”
“Huh?”
“Beijing. Don’t you want to go?”
“…”
Tang Soso stared at Jo Geol with an expression that plainly asked what kind of nonsense that was.
“Surely you aren’t saying everyone’s reaction is positive for such a ridiculous reason? You’re joking, right?”
But without the slightest change in expression, Jo Geol asked Tang Soso in a solemn voice.
“Soso, have you ever been to Beijing?”
“…No, I haven’t.”
“Don’t you want to go? It’s the center of this vast Central Plains. Does it make any sense to be born and die without ever seeing Beijing even once? This might be our last chance, for all we know?”
“…”
“Do you really not want to go?”
Tang Soso quietly closed her mouth.
It was a reason difficult to accept by any normal standard, but somehow, it also seemed somewhat convincing. Naturally, however, not everyone was thinking that way.
“W-Wait a moment.”
It was Yu Hanbin, who had only just unintentionally joined this group and been forcibly pushed into the role of the sole ‘reasonable person,’ a position he had never occupied even once in his life.
“Y-You are going to Beijing for a reason like that? I know you are doing this for my sake, but isn’t this taking things too far? If something goes wrong, you could end up making an enemy of a high-ranking official in Beijing. No matter what, putting yourselves in such danger because of me….”
But at that moment, Yoon Jong and Jo Geol each draped an arm around Yu Hanbin’s shoulders from either side.
“Hanbin-ah.”
“Yes?”
“You’re not the important part anymore.”
“And in any case, you can’t stop him now.”
“…”
At a loss for words, Yu Hanbin stared blankly up at the sky and muttered.
“Is it really all right for people to live like this? Can people really just live however they please…”
Watching the scene, Tang Soso let out a faint sigh.
“It does feel like the kid is being unintentionally set straight somehow.”
“….Though the process is rather miserable.”
When people encounter someone far worse than themselves, they inevitably begin to reflect. Even a lazy person, upon seeing a beggar, resolves not to end up living like that.
It was somewhat unfortunate that Hwasan was serving as that ‘example,’ but in any case, all was well if the result was good.
“Amitabha.”
As though to change the mood, Hye Yeon recited a Buddhist invocation.
“Siju, then are we to go to Beijing by ourselves?”
“No, we decided to take one more person with us. Tsk… I don’t like it, but we have no choice but to admit that we do not know much about how officials operate.”
“One more person? Then who is….”
“Me.”
Hwasan’s disciples’ eyes widened as they looked at the person who stepped forward before them.
“I heard the story. There is no other choice. I will cooperate.”
“…”
“…You look like you’ve just eaten a rotten fish.”
Baek Cheon suddenly spun around, grabbed Chung Myung by the collar, and shook him while pointing behind himself with his other hand as he shouted.
“Why him, why!”
“It wasn’t like I was in a position to choose.”
“Tell them to change him! Why did it have to be that bastard!”
“I told you, it wasn’t something I could change. And under these circumstances, it makes sense for them to attach someone they can trust on their side as well.”
“Then why is that man the one they trust!”
Baek Cheon’s emotionally charged finger was practically on the verge of poking Jwa Gohak in the face. Grinding his teeth, Jwa Gohak snapped back.
“Put that finger down, Horse-Face. Do you think I am following along because I want to?”
“Then don’t come, you ink-stained bastard!”
“I would like that too. But who knows what kind of disaster might occur if something this important were left solely to Taoists who know nothing of the world.”
“If you trust us that little, then just do it yourselves. Why are you clinging to us and making such a fuss?”
“Because we can’t do it ourselves, you… Ah, never mind. It was my mistake to try to make you understand that. Just accept it and move on.”
“You bastard!”
The two began arguing with the veins standing out on their faces, but remarkably, no one paid either of them any attention.
“So, when are we supposed to leave?”
“From what I could tell, the schedule is rather tight. There is some cargo that needs to arrive, and apparently we have to get there before it does? I do not know what that means, but that is what they said.”
“So when are we leaving?”
“Uh, well….”
Chung Myung smiled brightly.
“Now?”
“…”
“Come on, come on. Let us get moving. Before the sun sets.”
The sun set ages ago. You lunatic.
As though by prior agreement, the disciples of Hwasan let out deep sighs and lowered their heads weakly. Jo Geol muttered sadly.
“We should have just slept in the streets earlier.”
It was a sentiment that spoke for them all.
⠀
One fortunate thing for the disciples of Hwasan was that they could travel from Mount Tai to Beijing along a well-maintained official road. As befitted a city where everything under heaven converged, there was no need to go through the trouble of crossing treacherous mountains or swimming across rivers.
There was, however, one drawback…
“It’s a little far?”
“Yeah, how far?”
“About as far as it is from here to Hwasan?”
“…”
“Well, that’s a minor problem.”
“….Right.”
And if they had to name one more drawback…
“Ah, right. We have to arrive within five days.”
“Huh?”
“That’s the schedule.”
“Huh?”
“So we need to hurry. Come on, run!”
“…I seriously wish everyone would just drop dead.”
No matter how healthy an ordinary person might be, it was difficult to travel more than a hundred li in a single day. Even traveling along an official road, a hundred li was by no means a short distance.
But that was true only for ordinary people.
The disciples of Hwasan proved that a trained martial artist could easily cover two hundred li in a day simply by running along an official road.
Even while hauling all manner of luggage along with them.
And so, after traversing the nearly thousand-li road from Mount Tai to Beijing.
A dust-covered group finally appeared before Beijing’s enormous city gates.
“T-This is….”
“Beijing.”
The disciples of Hwasan, whose voices held more sorrow than any sense of accomplishment, looked up at the towering city walls, which seemed to press down upon them.
“Let’s go.”
“Ugh. Yes.”
Completely unaware of the great calamity that was about to unfold here.
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Hiatus Announcement from Biga
Hello, readers. This is the author Biga.
I will be wrapping up the first part of the ROTMHS Special Spinoff story here and will be taking a hiatus to rest and to organize my work.
I kindly ask for your understanding and hope you’ll be patient with me.
The series will resume on August 11.
Thank you!
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Dw, guys. I have 3 more untranslated side stories and now I will have time to publish them.
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