41 — Let’s See You Prove It. (1)

Sparks flashed in the eyes of Jwa Go-Hak and Baek Cheon.

“Sasuk, please calm down for now…”

Yoon Jong, who couldn’t just stand by and watch, tried to hold Baek Cheon back.

“What are you talking about, sahyung!”

“Huh?”

A sharp voice stopped Yoon Jong in his tracks.

“That guy just insulted Mount Hua! Didn’t you hear?”

At Tang Soso’s glare, which could kill Jwa Go-Hak, Yoon Jong broke into a sweat and pleaded, “Well… wouldn’t it be more accurate to say he insulted the Central Plains and the Taoists? Saying he insulted Mount Hua seems a stretch.”

“It’s the same thing!”

“Huh?”

“Mount Hua is the representative of the Central Plains and of the Taoists!”

Since when did that become the case, Soso?

“Could that have been agreed upon with Shaolin and Wudang?”

“Is that important right now?”

“…”

Yu Yiseol, looking between the sweating Yoon Jong and Tang Soso, tilted her head as if puzzled.

“Why fight?”

“Yes, Sago. That’s what I’m saying…”

“Just kill him.”

“The sword! Put the sword in! Heh! Put the sword in, you fool!”

While Yoon Jong clung desperately to Yu Yiseol, Hae Yeon stepped forward with a solemn face and intoned a Buddhist phrase.

“Amitabha. Receiving another’s hostility with hostility is not a good response. What’s important is not how someone judges me, but how I regard myself, isn’t it so?”

“Yes, yes! That’s right, monk. As expected, the monk can reason!”

“However.”

“Hm?”

Hae Yeon smiled faintly and continued, “If someone is mistaken, you should correct that fact properly. It’s not something to shy away from because it’s rude. On the contrary, it should be encouraged.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but… monk, do you usually clasp your hand into a fist when you lecture?”

“Ahem. Such a lapse…”

“…”

Judging from the mood, it seemed unlikely this would end amicably. Both the Mount Hua men and the Shaolin men were spitting poison from their eyes.

At the forefront of that poison, Baek Cheon forced the best smirk he could.

“Ha ha. I didn’t realize the scholars’ martial arts were so remarkable. How about granting us an opportunity to witness them?”

Meaning: ‘Shall we have a bout?’

“Of course it’s not difficult. But then… wouldn’t it make the notion of a test meaningless? Appropriate difficulty is important for an exam.”

This meant: ‘Then you lot will be utterly smashed.’

“Ha ha. Any experience can be valuable. We won’t refuse.”

Meaning: ‘Go ahead and try.’

“Hmm.”

Jwa Go-Hak twitched an eyebrow and put on an arrogant smile. “Very well. There are elders’ requests, and there are also literary friends curious how formidable the Central Plains’ heroes are, so let’s witness your skills today.”

“By all means.”

“But one thing.”

“Hmm?”

Baek Cheon flinched at the strange smile on Jwa Go-Hak’s lips. It wasn’t just confident—it was as if it were the most natural thing.

“For the Central Plains people, martial arts are not so different from scholarship for us, right?”

“…That may be so, but.”

“Then martial arts may not be appropriate as a test subject.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you wish, you may be tested in martial arts. But hmm…” Jwa Go-Hak smiled in a peculiar way. “If you reverse positions and imagine us testing Taoists in scholarship… hah, isn’t that a bit laughable? We couldn’t do that even if our pride were at stake.”

A vein bulged on Baek Cheon’s forehead.

“Oh, is that so? Then choose the events as you please.”

“May we?”

“Of course.”

Baek Cheon grinned. “After all, if we pick events tailored to people holed up in mountain villages reading books, wouldn’t that be shameful for warriors?”

“…”

When the two men’s gazes met, sparks flew again.

“You rogue…”

“You ink-stained bastard…”

Jwa Go-Hak ground his teeth and growled, then nodded. “Very well! Scholarship will be this side’s specialty, martial arts that side’s specialty—let’s exclude those from contention.”

“Then what shall we compete in?”

“There are suitable things.”

Jwa Go-Hak smiled broadly. “Have you heard of the Six Arts?”

“Six Arts?”

“In Confucian scholarship, the Six Arts are the six skills an ideal scholar should master: ritual, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and arithmetic.”

Jwa Go-Hak raised the corner of his mouth and continued, “But… honestly, discussing ritual and music with Taoists seems pointless.”

Baek Cheon then turned and asked Yoon Jong, “This bastard just insulted me, right?”

“Sasuk, please…”

“But the remaining four are certainly worthwhile. How about this: archery, horsemanship, calligraphy, and military mathematics. Shall we compete in those four?”

“Sounds goo—”

“Wait a moment!”

Tang Soso, who had been listening, quickly raised a hand. “Though you call them hobbies, it sounds like the things scholars usually practice. Isn’t it too unfair to make those exam subjects?”

“You call that unfair?”

“Yes! If this is an exam, discussing fairness is pointless. But is this really an exam?”

Meaning: Isn’t this a duel? Tang Soso’s words implied as much.

It was a sharp critique, but Jwa Go-Hak neither flinched nor showed embarrassment; if anything, he seemed utterly at ease.

“Hmm. If you put it that way, there’s nothing to be done.”

“Yes?”

“If you lack confidence, what can be done? Then choose the events you want. We’ll accommodate anything.”

“…”

Tang Soso’s eyes twitched. Seeing that, Jwa Go-Hak smiled serenely. “If you wish, how about testing martial technique theory and external techniques? If you grant us a moment, it would make for a fine match.”

“Hey! You keep saying ‘let’s see’ and then that! What? The Six Arts? I don’t know what that is, but let’s fight with that!”

“Soso. Calm down, please.”

“No, sahyung! That bastard turns people inside out! If he’s from a distinguished family, he’s from a distinguished family; if he’s a scholar, he’s a scholar! Who does he think he is!”

“…You’re from a distinguished family too.”

“Exactly, that makes me even angrier!”

“Everyone, quiet.”

Baek Cheon raised his hand to calm the Mount Hua disciples, then looked Jwa Go-Hak squarely and said, “Those events will do.”

“Hm… You won’t regret it, will you?”

“No long words—let’s begin. We’re both busy people.” Baek Cheon’s gaze never wavered.

Jwa Go-Hak grinned. “Good. Then let’s observe the skills of the renowned Mount Hua gentlemen. Song Hyun.”

“Yes.”

Jwa Go-Hak lightly clapped his hands, and one of those lined up stepped forward slowly. “The first event is archery.”

“Hmm.”

Some of the scholars in formation fetched two long composite bows and a quiver. At the same time, a large target board was set up near the main gate.

“I’ll say this in advance: internal qi will not be used.”

“Why, are you not confident in handling internal qi?”

As Baek Cheon smirked, Jwa Go-Hak let out a faint sneer and said, “Song Hyun. Explain why internal energy shouldn’t be used.”

“Yes.”

Song Hyun took the long bow, tied the quiver to his waist, drew an arrow, and aimed at a target at least a hundred bows away, a twisted smile on his lips.

“Because—”

Swaaaang! Thud!

An arrow flew over a hundred bows’ distance and lodged dead center in the target board.

“Well, it’s nothing special.”

“Compared to his attitude, his skill doesn’t seem that outstanding…” the Mount Hua disciples muttered dismissively.

At that moment Song Hyun fired another arrow.

Crack!

Their jaws dropped as the second arrow struck the target—splitting the already lodged arrow in two and embedding itself in the same spot.

Crack!

Before anyone could react, another arrow split the second arrow.

Crack! Crack!

Song Hyun shrugged after consecutively embedding five arrows perfectly in the same spot.

“Because if internal energy were used, the contest would lose its meaning.”

“…”

The Mount Hua disciples stared at Song Hyun, blankfaced.

“This isn’t just a hobby level.”

“How can a scholar’s archery be this precise…?”

Jwa Go-Hak smiled meaningfully as he watched the shocked Mount Hua disciples. “I don’t understand why you’re so surprised.”

“…What did you say?”

“Isn’t it perfectly natural?”

The Mount Hua disciples glared, baffled. Jwa Go-Hak laughed, annoyed that he had to explain. “Just to ask: do you think of yourselves as prodigies?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“You might indeed think so. In your world, you’ve never been outmatched by anyone. But… in truth that’s a grave misconception.”

Jwa Go-Hak fixed them with a strange gleam in his eyes. “Talents born in the Central Plains all, without exception, choose Confucian learning and walk the path to glory. The rejects who can’t follow that path end up worshipping the words of pyres or choosing the way of rogues.”

“You bastard…”

“In other words, the Central Plains where you discuss talent and skill is merely the backyard of the chaff left behind when Central Plains scholars are absent. So there’s no reason to be surprised. In any field, it’s impossible for us to lag behind you.”

Baek Cheon’s face contorted.

He would have sold his soul to lash that blasphemous mouth a hundred times with a cane.

He began to understand why Chung Myung always flew into fits whenever he saw those Southern Edge Sect fellows; his feelings toward Jwa Go-Hak matched that fury.

But the problem was there was no clear way to counter that archery. If they fought with swords there would be nothing to fear, but for Mount Hua’s disciples, archery was an unknown realm—few had even seen a proper bow. How could they match that level of skill?

Whoooooooooosh!

Crack!

An arrow split an already lodged arrow and drove itself into the exact center.

“Huh?”

Baek Cheon turned sharply.

There stood Tang Soso, bow in hand, wearing a casual expression.

“It’s not exactly a remarkable feat, but being that cocky about it is quite a talent in itself.”

“Good heavens, Soso!”

The Mount Hua disciples cried out and rushed Tang Soso.

“W-were you versed in archery? Does the Tang Family teach archery too?”

“Huh? No. It’s my first time.”

“What? Your first time shooting a bow?”

“Yes.”

Tang Soso nodded as if it were no big deal.

“Ah, no, then how on earth did you do that?”

“How, you ask?”

Tang Soso laughed hollowly. “I was raised in a household that would starve you if you couldn’t pierce pine needles with a feather-sized dart from ten bows’ distance—what’s so surprising about this?”

“Ah…”

Those Sichuan Tang Family bastards are crazy.

No—perhaps right now they should be called the thankful Sichuan Tang Family.

“My goodness, did the Family Head raise you that strictly?”

“No. That’s a story for the men; I ate well. They wouldn’t starve me. After all, they didn’t teach the secret techniques anyway.”

“…”

“This is just talent. Innate from birth.”

“…”

Hm. What can I say—I honestly didn’t expect to think this.

‘Isn’t this kid a bit insufferable?’

‘And now you’re saying that all of a sudden?’

While Yoon Jong and Jo Gul exchanged looks, Tang Soso continued nonchalantly. “I had no intention of stepping in, but his behavior was so obnoxious I couldn’t just watch.”

Tang Soso slung the bow over her shoulder as if to show it off and stepped forward. “Now then, prove it. I mean the skills of the scholars who claim to be such remarkable talents.”

Jwa Go-Hak and Song Hyun’s faces stiffened simultaneously.