Hyun Jong, with a teacup in his hand, slowly walked to the window of his room.
He heard the sound of mountain birds crying from somewhere and a cool breeze passed by his fingers.
Holding the steaming teacup, Hyun Jong looked up at the distant sky with a benevolent face.
âSo quiet.â
It was clean and quiet. Todayâs Mount Hua seemed to fit the description perfectly. The clear air settled deep in the quiet mountains.
Hyun Jongâs heart was truly calming downâŠ
âUh?â
Wait.
Calm?
Hyun Jong tilted his head to the side.
âCalm?â
Mount Hua was?
His head jerked and turned. He tried to listen again, but all he could hear were birds chirping.
There was no sound of the disciplesâ loud cheers or people screaming like they were dying.
It was as quiet as if Mount Hua had completely gone vacant.
âThis isnât calmness.â
⊠right. This was something else. Wasnât the silence of Mount Hua similar to death?
âThis cannot be happening.â
Of course, Mount Hua wasnât always noisy. When Chung Myung led the disciples outside, there were moments of quietness, even if it wasnât to this extent.
But wasnât Chung Myung in Mount Hua now?
The coexistence of Chung Myung and silence was the same as the sun and moon rising together.
âI-it couldnât beâŠ..!â
Hyun Jong jumped up.
âHe didnât possibly escape from Mount Hua, right?â
He was afraid something like this might happen, so he put up guards, too. Those remaining in Mount Hua might not be able to stop him, but they can at least make sure he doesnât disappear. So, if something bad happened, someone would have come to stop him.
â⊠then he didnât leave Mount Hua?â
After thinking for a moment, Hyun Jongâs face hardened.
âNo, no! I need to see it with my own eyes.â
He threw the cup and quickly ran out. He stormed into the White Plum Blossom Hall at once and threw open the door.
At that moment, the Chung disciples gathered in the living room were all startled and began to whisper as they saw Hyun Jong.
âS-sect leader!â
They all rushed to him with tearful eyes.
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âSect leaderrr!â
âSect leaderrr! I am scared to death! Do something, please!â
âI am so scared that I cannot eat anything!â
Hyun Jong, flustered, opened his eyes wide and asked,
âWhat happened?â
âChung Myung! Chung Myung is being strange.â
âIt feels like he was given medicine!â
âLike he might die soon!â
âWhat?â
What does this mean? To take the medicine and die?
âW-where is Chung Myung now?â
âIn his roomâŠ.â
âGet out of my way.â
Surprised, Hyun Jong ran up.
âChung Myung!â
He flung the door open and flinched as he saw the inside.
âWhat⊠what is⊠what is thisâŠâ
His mouth was wide open.
The room was clean. It was hard to believe that Chung Myung existed there.
And in that clean room sat Chung Myung, neatly dressed and without a mark.
âAh, sect leader.â
âU-Uh?â
âYou came here?â
Looking at Hyun Jong, he stood up and bowed.
This made Hyun Jongâs face go even paler.
Was he greeting him in the right manner?
Was that Chung Myung?
This guy was one who always bent his head to the side to greet him, making Hyun Jong think, âCanât he bend his head ahead?â But now that Chung Myung was greeting him with perfect form?
This politely?
âThis feels bad.â
He felt goosebumps rise.
If another guy was like this, he would have felt happy and thought, âAh, this guy has finally grown up,â but Chung Myung was no ordinary guy.
âW-what are you doing?â
âI was looking at myself for a moment, sect leader.â
Looking at himself?
Him?
-No. I am too busy running now, uh? Self-inspection? Difference in sex? If you have time to do all that, then swing the sword one more time! The Southern Edge and Wudang bastards must be gritting their swords at this hour, too!
ââŠsurely, it had to be like that.â
Maybe he heard it wrong?
Hyun Jong blinked and looked at the open book next to Chung Myung.
âWhat is that?â
âAh, thisâŠ.â
Chung Myung held the book and politely said,
âThis is the Tao Te Ching.â
ââŠwhat?â
âThis is the Tao Te Ching, sect leader.â
There were one or two things that wouldnât fit well with Chung Myungâs eyes, but the most unsuitable would be Buddhist or Taoist books.
Yet, this Tao Te Ching was in the hands of Chung Myung.
âWell, what was that forâŠ?â
Was he sure that he was not trying to set the White Plum Blossom Hall on fire?
Then he spoke in a truly serious tone.
âI think I have been too lazy. Isnât Mount Hua a Taoist sect?â
âR-rightâŠ?â
âIf I am a Taoist disciple, that is, a Taoist, I shouldnât neglect the sword but also words. Now I realize my mind was narrow, sect leader.â
Once again, if some other disciple had said this, Hyun Jong would have felt happy.
But when Chung Myung said these words, instead of feeling happy, he felt goosebumps rise and his stomach twists.
It would be less odd to see Asura come from hell, pet a kitten, and call it cute. What nonsense was this?
âYou are reading that?â
âUh, sect leader.â
ââŠChung Myung.â
âYes.â
Hyun Jong slightly raised his voice with a contorted look.
âI cannot let you go because of this! You cannot be acting like this!â
This was a trick.
It was a clear ploy to follow the Five Swords by showing he wouldnât cause trouble here.
But contrary to his thoughts, Chung Myung shook his head.
âNo, sect leader. Donât misunderstand what this disciple is saying.â
Ah, what a way of speaking! Just do this and that as usual now, brat!
âYou are saying you wonât be following them along?â
âThe beginning of Tao is people.â
ââŠâ
âAnd the beginning of a sect is trust.â
âUhâŠ.â
This was scary.
It was so strange that it made his stomach hurt. Words that Yoon Jong would say in seriousness were now coming from Chung Myung.
âIf I really care for Mount Hua, I should trust the sahyungs. But I couldnât trust them and stayed by relying on my talent.â
ââŠâ
âNow the disciple here realizes the sect leaderâs reason behind this. Letting go of attachment is the start of any path. Knowing that the disciple hadnât given up any obsession yet, the sect leader helped enlighten me. How do I repay this favorâŠ?â
âS-stop! Stop!â
Finally, Hyun Jong could no longer bear it and ran to Chung Myung, holding his hand.
âC-Chung Myung! I was wrong! Donât do this, okay!â
âI donât understand what the sect leader is talking about. This is teaching me aâŠâ
âI said to not do itttt!â
Hyun Jong faced a fear he had experienced for the first time in his life.
Time passed.
ââŠâ
Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung with widened eyes.
Wait. He thought it would stop.
If he was acting on purpose, his true intentions should soon come out. In the first place, people donât change so easily.
But even though three days passed, Chung Myung was still being strange.
Sak. Sak.
The Chung disciples rushed to Chung Myung, who was sweeping with a broom near the front gate.
âC-Chung Myung, donât do that! We will do it!â
âWhat are you talking about, sahyungs? I am the youngest of Mount Hua, so I need to do it.â
âSoso is the youngest!â
âSoso isnât in Mount Hua right now. So, in terms of the next in line, I should be the one doing it.â
âC-Chung MyungâŠâ
âIf sahyungs also have something they want me to do, you can tell me.â
âWe?â
âYes, sahyung.â
âTo you?â
âYes, what is strange about it?â
The Chung disciples were in pain, unable to either laugh or cry.
âJust hit me already!â
âWhy are you doing this? There are so many ways to harass people!â
âI think I might puke. My stomach isnât getting any better.â
The expressions of the Hyun disciples were also distorted.
âWhat isâŠâ
He opened his mouth but did not respond to Hyun Sang.
âCould he have caught some disease?â
ââŠâ
âMaybe he got so shocked that his head became strange.â
âBe careful of what you say! This is getting weird. He is just normal and nice.â
â⊠have you ever considered that as a problem?â
âWhat problem? It is good if a kid gets straight.â
Even if Chung Myung plucked out all his hair and made a wig, Hyun Young would only call him cute without another word.
âStraight and normal?â
Hyun Jongâs eyes noticed this look of despair.
Turning Chung Myung into a human was his biggest goal in life, a sect leader of Mount Huaâs goal. However, it might be more difficult than the mission of making Mount Hua a prestigious sect like in the past, so he didnât even try for it.
But now he didnât know Chung Myung turning into a human was the biggest goal not just during the Tang Dynasty but any future dynasty too.
However⊠looking at what was happening now, a lot earlier than he thought, Hyun Jong wasnât happy or satisfied.
âI feel like I am watching gunpowder ready to burst.â
No, it looks like he was holding the gunpowder in hand.
âAhem, the kid looks a bit weak.â
âRight? Isnât it a strange thing to see?â
âI need to take at least one health medicine every yearâŠ.â
ââŠâ
Hyun Sang turned his head. Chung Myung is a brat, but he thought he was a fine one.
âSect leader.â
Hyun Sang sighed and turned to Hyun Jong.
âIt would be better to send him nowâŠ.â
âThat⊠that wonât happen.â
âEven though Chung Myung caused an accident, they never actually caused harm to Mount Hua, right?â
âWe are not simply doing this because Chung Myung makes things bigger than needed. Imagine that I step down, and Un Am or Baek Cheon ends up as sect leader. Would Chung Myung constantly challenge their every decision?â
Hyun Jong was thinking about the future and frowned.
Right now, when Hyun Jong decided something, he was at a loss if Chung Myung didnât share the same opinion. But what about the younger ones, then?
âWouldnât it be better if he ends up as sect leader?â
âUh?â
âWhat?â
â⊠Nothing, I donât know. I am not saying you should do it.â
âPhew, I tooâŠâ
âI thought the sect leader was prepared to destroy Mount Hua this time.â
Seeing even Hyun Young talk like that, it felt like it wasnât going to happen.
âWell, since that will not happen, someone else will have to take the place of the sect leader. In order to do that, Chung Myung needs to know how to let them make important decisions without interfering, and he needs to practice in advance. Baek Cheon especially should know how to do that more than Un Am.â
â⊠I guess that is why you didnât send Chung Myung.â
âRight. Baek Cheon should know my will.â
Hyun Jong looked at the distant sky with a stern face.
âI am sure he will.â
It wasnât that he wasnât worried about sending them without Chung Myung. Even now, he was worrying for those who left the sectâŠ
âChung Myungggg!â
âWe are going to clean up the White Plum Blossom Hall! Please! Please put that rag down!â
âAh, I said donât do itttt!â
But kids.
He must apologize⊠things were a mess here.
Please come back fast.
PleaseâŠ