Chapter 114

The Taoist of Mount Hua, Hyeon Jang, used light footwork skill and hurriedly ran until he arrived at Hwa-um county beneath the mountain.

Nearly a month had passed since he left Mount Hua to earn money by venturing into the martial world.

Money wasn’t circulating in the whole Shaanxi province, so finding decent work was like plucking stars from the sky.

The saved silver wasn’t plentiful, but with the Sect Leader’s summons issued urgently, he hastened his steps and returned to Mount Hua.

“Phew.”

Seeing the familiar sight of Hwa-um county, Hyeon Jang finally relaxed and slowly looked around.

He had expended a fair amount of energy using lightness skill to get here, so he thought he’d grab a quick bite before climbing the mountain.

Hyeon Jang’s steps headed toward the inn he knew best.

“Welcome!”

The innkeeper, who’d been seeing hardly any customers, brightened and welcomed Hyeon Jang.

“Oh my, isn’t that Taoist Hyeon Jang!”

“Long time no see, innkeeper. Still quiet as ever.”

“That’s how business is in Hwa-um county these days.”

Inside the inn there was nothing but a single little child.

Hyeon Jang glanced at the child, and the child glanced back at Hyeon Jang.

“?”

Maybe it was his imagination, but the child’s gaze seemed sharp as he looked at Hyeon Jang.

“Innkeeper, did you take in a new lodger?”

“Huh? Ah, no. A long-term boarder.”

“The child alone?”

“No no. He came with a martial artist. With that damned thin noodle brat.”

“‘Thin noodle brat’? What do you mean by that?”

“It’s nothing. More importantly, what will you serve for food?”

“Then a bowl of thin noodles…”

Hyeon Jang saw the innkeeper’s face harden ominously.

“…Not that, but give me a vegetable rice and one dumpling.”

“Yes, yes, vegetable rice and one dumpling!”

For some reason, Hyeon Jang, feeling unnerved, changed his order.

Strange. Up until a month ago he wasn’t such a prickly fellow…

After a short wait, the food he ordered arrived.

The innkeeper brought the rice and dumpling and asked Hyeon Jang:

“Are you returning now?”

The innkeeper, being a fixture of Hwa-um county, was well informed about Mount Hua’s news.

“Yes. I was in He‘Anyang so I arrived early, but others will arrive one after another.”

“Huh? Are the other first-line disciples all returning too?”

Hyeon Jang looked around. He couldn’t spread news about Mount Hua just anywhere.

But aside from the little kid he had seen earlier, there was no one. What would a child know?

“That’s right. The sect elder summoned all the first-line disciples who had gone out to the Jianghu to return. It seems something big is happening at Mount Hua… Innkeeper, have you heard anything?”

The innkeeper tilted his head.

“There’s been no news from Mount Hua Sect lately. I don’t really know.”

“Well, it’s not something you’d likely be informed about.”

Hyeon Jang paid the innkeeper generously and said:

“If any other disciples stop by, don’t take money—just serve food. Tell them not to order anything too expensive.”

“I’ll serve something similar to what you had.”

“Good. This rice here is tasty.”

Hyeon Jang ate the rice and dumpling heartily.

As the proverb says, the pine caterpillar must eat pine needles—it’s hometown food after a month away, so it went down quickly.

Then.

Tap tap.

Hyeon Jang, who had been jiggling his leg while eating, felt a poke on his back and turned around.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“Are you a Taoist from Mount Hua?”

The child who had been staring at him grimly from the corner came over and asked.

Hyeon Jang nodded. Children of that age always reminded him of Mount Hua’s young disciples.

“I’m Hyeon Jang of Mount Hua.”

“I see.”

The child nodded as if he’d expected that.

“If you’re Taoist Hyeon Jang, are you Hyeon line’s junior?”

“Hmm? Yes, that’s right.”

“If you’re Disciple Hyeon, you’d be of the same cohort as the person called great sasuk of Mount Hua, right?”

“Great sasuk?”

If someone at Mount Hua is called great sasuk, there’s only one person it could be.

It’s his disciple, Hyeon Geom.

By age and time of entry, Hyeon Jang was like the eldest among the first-line disciples, but because Hyeon Geom was the sole disciple of the Sect Leader, the others treated him as the great sasuk.

When that name came up, Hyeon Jang furrowed his brow.

All who shared that cohort with him felt uneasy about Hyeon Geom.

“That’s right.”

Then the child pointed at Hyeon Jang’s bundle and asked.

“What’s this?”

“You’re a curious child. These are snacks for the disciples.”

“May I try one?”

“This?”

The child’s bold gaze prompted Hyeon Jang to unconsciously take a mooncake from the bundle and hand it over.

The child tasted the mooncake with a deliberation as if he were a connoisseur.

He tore off small pieces to eat, sniffed it, took big bites, split it in half and inspected the filling.

Then.

“Here’s the money for the mooncake.”

Having taken only a few bites, he returned the mooncake to Hyeon Jang and even placed silver coins on the table.

Watching the child quietly return to his seat, Hyeon Jang let out a single sigh.

“Ah.”

Yeon Mujin came down to the first floor only when evening was almost upon them.

Yeok Yong-ma sat alone perched by the inn’s window, staring absentmindedly outside.

Rumble—.

Yeon Mujin sat across from Yeok Yong-ma with his stomach growling.

When she gave him no attention, Yeon Mujin joked and said:

“You can’t even pretend to be an idler properly. Eat, sleep, crap, eat, sleep, crap every day. You’ve seen every bit of Hwa-um county’s frolics, so there’s nothing left to do.”

“….”

“Tonight the moon is full and the breeze is fine—one cup of wine would be perfect. In Shaanxi, a liquor called Xifeng alcohol is famous; it has a rich grain aroma and a clean finish that everyone praises. It’s outrageously expensive, though—wonder if this inn has a bottle.”

“….”

Yeok Yong-ma gave no response even at mention of her favorite liquor.

Only the innkeeper, whose ears pricked at the name Xifeng alcohol, kept glancing over to gauge their reaction.

Yeon Mujin moved closer and, looking out the window where she was staring, said:

“What’s the pitying act alone for? Is there a fight out there?”

“Mujin.”

“Yes? What is it?”

It was the first time Yeok Yong-ma called his name.

“Are you thinking of returning to Mount Hua?”

Yeok Yong-ma asked in a low, unadorned voice.

It was the voice of an aged, soft-spoken grandmother—one who’d lived a life full of regrets and complex twists.

“I have to.”

“Take me with you.”

It was the first time since following Yeon Mujin that she voiced an opinion.

“What wind suddenly blew you to this?”

“Something keeps haunting my sight.”

“What is it?”

Yeok Yong-ma glanced at Yeon Mujin, then looked back at the bright moon and answered.

“You don’t need to know.”

The bright moon hung precariously as if about to pass over the high peaks of the mountain.

Because of that, it was unclear whether she was looking at the moon or at the mountain.

What she was searching for in that moonlit scene was also uncertain.

Yeon Mujin pretended to gaze at the moon while quietly watching the disguised Yeok Yong-ma’s profile.

His drinking companion was reflecting on her life.

She always disguised herself as others to live other people’s lives, and when she was herself, she lived drunk.

Yes—this was the sight he had wanted to see.

How could a mask cover an entire life?

Pleased to see it, he readily replied.

“Very well.”

And he asked:

“But is there a way?”

Yeok Yong-ma told him what had happened during the day.

“The Sect Leader summoned all the disciples who had left home. While you’ve been holed up, only four martial artists from Mount Hua passed through this inn today. They all said in unison that something is about to happen at Mount Hua.”

“Ah.”

So things are unfolding that way.

“From the look of things, the first-line disciples of Mount Hua will pass through Hwa-um county within a few days. That’s what I mean.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s kidnap one and impersonate them.”

“What?”

Yeok Yong-ma looked at Yeon Mujin with shining eyes.

“You can overpower a Mount Hua first-line disciple, right? You’re, after all, a martial artist of the Bukgung Family—surely you can handle that. No, one won’t be enough; let’s kidnap two of the fellows who pass through here and impersonate them as Mount Hua martial artists.”

“….”

Yeon Mujin was dumbfounded as he stared at Yeok Yong-ma and said:

“Are you serious?”

“I’m serious.”

“And what if we get caught?”

Yeok Yong-ma smiled—an uncommon expression—and replied:

“Would the world’s greatest impostor get caught while impersonating?”

“….”

Yeon Mujin recalled a fact he’d briefly forgotten.

Right—this woman was crazy.

“You’re proposing we catch a Mount Hua first-line disciple, knock them out, strip them, impersonate them as a Hua martial artist, and infiltrate the Hua sect? Who in this world suggests such madness?”

Yeok Yong-ma nodded with a look that said, ‘What’s impossible about that?’

And Yeon Mujin likewise.

“This sounds fun. Let’s do it right away.”

Yeok Yong-ma grinned.

Yeon Mujin looked at her and returned the smile.

Thus, beneath the moonlight, the two madmen smiled at each other for a long while.

“Hyeon Jang sahyung.”

“Has Hyeon Beom arrived?”

The first-line disciples were arriving at Mount Hua one after another.

It had been a while since the Taoists of Disciple Hyeon’s cohort gathered in one place like this.

As the Mount Hua sect’s prestige began to wane, those of Disciple Hyeon’s cohort scattered across the central plains to earn money for feeding the sect.

“You arrived early.”

“Yes. I happened to be in He’anyang, so it was close.”

“Have you been in Shaanxi the whole time?”

Hyeon Jang shook his head at the disciple’s question.

“I went to Henan, crossed Hubei, and then went to He’anyang. Shaanxi just doesn’t have much to offer.”

Even invoking the name of the famous Mount Hua couldn’t get you work in today’s Shaanxi.

Even in other provinces, finding work wasn’t easy.

They’d spent their lives inside the sect and didn’t know the ways of the world properly.

They were often cheated out of pay, and even if they took a job they’d make mistake after mistake.

Thus, even after long absences from the gate, few returned with seed money.

Among Disciple Hyeon’s cohort, only Hyeon Geom could be said to act like a proper person.

After exchanging greetings and complaints, the Taoists of Disciple Hyeon’s cohort—Hyeon Beom among them—asked:

“Where is Hyeon Geom?”

“I heard he was at the Assembly Hall? I haven’t seen Hyeon Geom much since coming up to Mount Hua either.”

“Honestly, with senior brothers here and all, he doesn’t even come to greet them…”

Hyeon Beom clicked his tongue in displeasure.

As the elders’ trust in Hyeon Geom deepened, Hyeon Geom became a thorn in the side among those of the same cohort.

“By the way, why did the sect elder come down?”

Hyeon Beom asked Hyeon Jang.

Aside from Hyeon Geom, the Sect Leader’s disciple, Hyeon Jang held the highest rank among Disciple Hyeon’s cohort.

While the other disciples considered Hyeon Geom the eldest, the true eldest among Disciple Hyeon’s cohort was Hyeon Jang.

“I don’t know. Even when I asked they wouldn’t tell me. They’ll speak when all of Disciple Hyeon’s cohort gather.”

“Aren’t I one of the last to arrive?”

“Most have come… but it seems Hyeon Mun and Hyeon Ryeong haven’t arrived yet?”

“What? I met Hyeon Mun and Hyeon Ryeong at the Hwaum inn below—haven’t they come yet?”

“Really? Then why haven’t they come yet?”

The two, puzzled, soon spotted the disciples they’d been looking for.

They saw Hyeon Mun and Hyeon Ryeong entering from afar through the mountain gate.

“Oh, they’re coming.”

“Hyeon Mun! Hyeon Ryeong! Why are you so late? Couldn’t you run over here!”

Hyeon Beom shouted at the disciples.

Judging by how late they were, it seemed they’d dawdled at the Hwaum inn and got delayed.

Seeing Hyeon Beom and Hyeon Jang scolding, Hyeon Mun waved his hands and ran over.

Hyeon Ryeong followed behind him.

Hyeon Beom was stepping forward to reprimand the tardy disciples.

But the running Hyeon Mun suddenly struck Hyeon Beom on the head and said:

Whack!

“You brat! If you saw sahyung, why didn’t you greet him properly!”

“???”