10 — This Really Shouldn’t Be Happening. (5)

“It’s here.”

Hearing the news, the others rushed over as well, and everyone gathered in front of the house the woman had shown them.

“Then I’ll be off.”

“Ah, wait a moment. At least let me offer a reward…”

“Oh, please. I just told you what I knew—no need for a reward. Do your work well, Taoists.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

The disciples bowed politely and turned their bodies away.

“So then…”

Their gazes turned toward the house before them.

“So they live here, right?”

“Uh… seems like it.”

“Here?”

Baek Cheon’s pupils trembled on their own.

“Can a person live in a place like this?”

It was literally a thatched hut falling to pieces. No, that description felt off. One wall was half collapsed and covered with reeds, making ‘a thatched hut already half fallen down’ a more fitting description.

“They said a child lives alone… How could anyone live in a place like this?”

Just as Baek Cheon was about to add that even a dog couldn’t live here,

“It’s livable.”

“They’ve kept it fairly tidy.”

“Looks fine.”

Chung Myung, Yoon Jong, and Yu Yiseol nodded as if pleased.

Baek Cheon stared at them blankly, and Jo Gul quietly approached and whispered.

‘You nearly made a mistake just now, sasuk?’

‘Shh.’

Baek Cheon was newly struck by how people who grew up on the streets had a completely different baseline.

“Can we go in?”

“…Wouldn’t that be rude?”

“The door is wide open like that, so wouldn’t it be okay?”

“You have to distinguish between there being no door and the door being open, sasuk.”

Rotten reeds barely rested on a mud wall leaning as if it could collapse any moment. The door itself had been discarded somewhere, leaving a wide hole in the center of the wall.

“At this point… the huts where Beggars’ Union beggars live might actually be better.”

Yoon Jong replied nonchalantly to Baek Cheon’s remark.

“Huts don’t block the wind. And when it rains heavily, it’s not just a leak—the fabric soaks through and water pours right in.”

“R-really?”

Yu Yiseol nodded as if in agreement.

“It was cold. Every time it rained.”

“Right. On clear days you could cover yourself with something and manage.”

“Mm.”

An abused child survivor and an abandoned child survivor nodded in a kind of shared, nonchalant empathy.

“Still, this is at least a livable house.”

“Mm.”

“…”

Jo Gul came back and whispered again.

‘It might be better if you just stay quiet, sasuk.’

‘Yeah…’

Baek Cheon closed his mouth gently.

“Let’s go inside for now.”

“Is it okay? The owner seems to have left the house—we’re doing as we please.”

“Rudeness is better than indifference, I think. Come on.”

Tang Soso, usually, would not have considered entering someone else’s home carelessly. But thinking of the collapsing house and the child living there alone gave her an obligation to verify things with her own eyes.

“Hmm.”

“Uh…”

Mount Hua’s disciples who entered made peculiar expressions.

The thatched house was much larger inside than it looked from outside. It seemed the Mount Hua disciples could all lie down, cramped but able to sleep here. But that fact wasn’t particularly meaningful.

Baek Cheon, Tang Soso, and Jo Gul voiced ordinary observations.

“The floor is just dirt.”

“There are no beds?”

“That hearth looks like it hasn’t been used in at least a year.”

“How on earth did they eat and sleep here?”

Chung Myung, Yu Yiseol, and Yoon Jong also voiced their impressions in unison.

“The floor is level.”

“There’s a hearth too.”

“Hmm, judging by the traces of wood burning, they seemed to have kept warm enough?”

And before the words were finished, the two groups faced each other.

“…”

“…”

How to put it… It wasn’t exactly surprising, but an awkward distance was unavoidable.

“Ahem.”

“This isn’t the important thing right now.”

Tang Soso frowned.

“Still, it’s a lived-in house—at least some upkeep…”

“Hard to do.”

“Can’t be helped. The kid is alone.”

“Judging by how the wall’s been patched, this is some kind of upkeep.”

Caught off guard by the immediate rebuttal, sweat beaded on the back of Tang Soso’s neck. She hurriedly changed her words.

“Honestly, it feels a bit cold-hearted. If a child lives alone, people nearby might help.”

“If the child didn’t starve to death, people have helped.”

“Yeah. Usually they die. I almost did too.”

“Seems like the neighbors are full of compassion. Like that woman earlier.”

This time Tang Soso’s hand trembled. Seeing that, Jo Gul subtly came over and whispered.

‘Soso. Just shut your mouth too.’

‘…Yes.’

What kind of lives had these people lived?

And so, the abused child survivor, the abandoned child survivor, and the disabled veteran looked around the house with faces that said this was all too familiar.

Baek Cheon, who had watched the three with an embarrassed look, cautiously called Chung Myung.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes?”

“I think it’s okay to ask now… What’s your relationship with the child who lives here?”

“Hmm.”

Chung Myung looked troubled and was about to speak when—

Rustle.

A small sound from outside made everyone’s heads turn toward the door in unison.

“Huh?”

The door with a hole blown through it.

A boy stood in front of it.

At the sight of him, a forgotten past flashed back in Chung Myung’s mind.

---

“Y-you brat. Stay still!”

“Ow!”

Whack!

A fiercely thrust foot struck the beard-covered jaw.

“Ugh…”

A groan escaped the Taoist man’s mouth.

“W-what strength does a kid have…”

“Noooo!”

Smack!

The vigorous foot jabbed again into the Taoist’s solar plexus. The Taoist’s face contorted on its own.

It hurt. It’s ridiculous, but it really hurt. How could a child’s kick be this fierce?

“Stay still! Put some clothes on… stay!”

“Aaaaaaah!”

The child jumped up and pounded at the master’s face. But the master, trained in martial arts, shouldn’t be flustered by a child’s hands…

“Aaaaaah!”

No matter how famed a Taoist, one cannot prevent hair from being pulled out. Tears welled in the Taoist’s eyes as a fistful of beard was ripped away.

‘My beard.’

How had he grown that beard…?

“Hey, you brat! What’s with that temper of yours?!”

“Oooo!”

The Taoist tried to scold him, but rather than shrinking back, the child fought back as if on equal terms. Seeing that, tears welled in the master’s eyes again.

What hardship is this at his age? What sins did he commit in a past life?

“Please, just stay still. Please, please be still… please!”

It was then.

Bang.

The closed door swung open and someone entered.

“What on earth is going on here?”

“Chung Mun!”

And the moment the newcomer entered, the child lit up and bolted at the door with almost animal-like speed.

“Sahyung!”

A child not yet fully grown. Chung Mun deftly caught the charging Chung Myung, spun him around, and rested his chin on the boy’s nape.

“Seriously, since when did you start living with Chung Myung, and why are you so bad at watching him?”

“…”

Tears again brimmed in the eyes of the master, Baek Oh.

How could this be his fault? Even elder brothers with children would laugh and approach at first, only to be unable to endure a moment and flee with a cough. They even used lightness skill. He’d seen it happen more than once.

“How could I go somewhere with peace of mind with this going on?”

“…I’m sorry.”

To others, the disciple’s words might seem excessive. But all Baek Oh could do was quietly avoid his disciple’s gaze.

What could he do? It was Baek Oh himself who had dumped the task of raising that rascal onto a disciple who should have been fully focused on martial training. He had sinned, so of course he couldn’t meet the words with dignity.

“Sahyung!”

“There, there. Did Chung Myung miss his sahyung?”

Chung Mun caught his young disciple with both hands and tossed him up slightly before setting him down. With Baek Oh, Chung Myung’s face had been sour, but it brightened like sunshine.

“There, there. Now come play with your sahyung.”

“Sahyung!”

A bright smile formed at Chung Mun’s lips.

---

‘Sahyung?’

Chung Myung’s mouth slowly opened.

Memories. No, memories so old he’d nearly forgotten them. In that revived memory, Chung Mun’s face and the face of the boy standing at the door overlapped.

“Uh…”

And in that moment, he sensed it.

No need for verification. That is definitely Chung Mun’s bloodline.

Otherwise, it’s impossible for two people to look that identical. Even considering coincidence, it’s absurd.

They’re this identical. One might suspect Chung Mun had slipped out of the sect and gotten into trouble(?) without realizing it. Actually, it’s not a nephew’s bloodline but his direct child’s…

• Hey, you crazy bastard! Say something that makes sense!

‘Ah, quiet down. Where did you cause trouble this time.’

Who can know human affairs. Even Confucius sometimes had a child.

‘They’re so identical that all sorts of nonsense spills out naturally.’

Chung Myung rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it.

To this extent, it’s more like a reincarnation than a descendant. He lacked Chung Mun’s unique aura, but at least in appearance they were identical—like seeing two puppies from the same litter side by side.

Thus Chung Myung couldn’t help but stare at the suddenly appearing child as if mesmerized. Perhaps because of that, even the child’s tiny, trivial details registered without fail.

Rough cotton clothes that didn’t look very good. A body that still seemed small from not having fully grown. A face of utter innocence and childish bewilderment. And clear, large eyes that rolled about…

‘Huh? Rolled?’

Rolling like that.

‘Oh?’

From left to right, then right to left. The eyes that had been rolling settled on Chung Myung. At the same time, the child’s small mouth opened gently.

“…Damn.”

“Huh?”

In that instant, the child darted sideways like the wind.

Pababababat!

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

“Where are you going…”

The movement was so quick that even Mount Hua’s disciples could only stare in dumbfounded amazement.

“Shall we chase him?”

“…Wait a moment. Before that, why is he running away?”

“I don’t really…”

While everyone stood there baffled with no explanation,

“Anyway, let’s at least follow…”

“This way!”

“Huh?”

The Mount Hua disciples’ gazes turned back to the door. Boisterous voices were heard outside. But this time they weren’t the child’s voice—they were the voices of burly men.

“Find him quickly. He can’t have gone far!”

“Isn’t he hiding in this house? Search it quickly!”

And soon, large burly men burst into the house where they were.

“Huh?”

The Mount Hua disciples tilted their heads in puzzlement.

“What are these guys!”

They were by no means ordinary laborers. Not quite swordsmen, but they looked like thugs who exerted influence in the back alleys.

“Hey, you lot.”

The thugs brandished knives threateningly in their hands.

“Seen any little rat come this way?”

“…Yes?”

“Did you see him or not! If you’re hiding him, expect your necks to be slit!”

“Uh…”

Before they could even grasp the situation, Mount Hua’s disciples instinctively felt a cold aura and turned their heads back.

“Ah, a little rat?”

Chung Myung was smiling brightly.

So brightly it was chilling.

“Yeah, I saw him. Little rat.”

Crunch.

The sound of bone echoed from Chung Myung’s fist.