Why So Surprised? (4)

Seeing Baek Cheon’s clean declaration of victory, the disciples of Mount Hua smiled warmly.

“If someone else saw this, they’d think it was an overwhelming victory.”

“Isn’t it a bit unsightly?”

“Stop it. Either way, he won.”

“If he had lost, something would have broken. Thank goodness.”

Hearing their words, Yu Han-bin closed his eyes tightly. Were these really the remarks of people who had just witnessed their fellow disciple’s victory?

“Um, I have one thing I’m curious about.”

“What?”

“Are… are all the people of Mount Hua like these Taoists? I mean, what exactly does that mean…?”

Yu Han-bin struggled to find the most diplomatic expression possible, but the disciples of Mount Hua had no intention of waiting for him to elaborate.

“I don’t think we’re much different.”

“Aren’t we all pretty similar?”

“Honestly, we’re better than those bastards.”

“…….”

What kind of place was Mount Hua? As intense curiosity about Mount Hua flared in Yu Han-bin’s mind, a vow etched itself into his soul: he would never, in his entire life, set foot there.

“Did we…….”

“Lose?”

The scholars stared at Jwa Go-hak, who was on his knees, their faces stupefied.

“How could this happen…….”

The Jwa Go-hak they knew was a once-in-a-generation genius, the most outstanding talent among them. Whether in scholarship or martial arts, no one in Hidden Recluse Pond could compare. Yet that very Jwa Go-hak had lost—not to a world-looking-down master of the Central Plains but to a mere young expert.

And it wasn’t even to Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon, rumored the strongest of the current generation, nor to Hae Yeon, Shaolin’s finest, but to a swordsman of Mount Hua practically unknown beside those two.

“This makes no sense……”

The shock was beyond words. But no matter how great their shock, it could not match Jwa Go-hak’s own.

Kneeling on the ground, he stared blankly at the floor, utterly despairing.

’I lost?’

It was not only his defeat. It was a defeat for the scholars, for Confucianism, and for the decades of effort Hidden Recluse Pond’s scholars had poured in.

As Jwa Go-hak sat there with shattered pride, the low sound of approaching footsteps reached him.

Thud. Thud.

He reflexively raised his head and saw Baek Cheon approaching with a confident expression.

“…….”

For a moment anger surged, but Jwa Go-hak pushed it down. He knew that if Baek Cheon hadn’t shown mercy at the last moment, he wouldn’t even be conscious now.

“I have witnessed a fine sword.”

Hearing Baek Cheon suddenly display courtesy, loathing naturally rose in him. Briefly forgetting himself, Jwa Go-hak snapped in a blunt tone.

“I lost like this, so what are you talking about? Save your insincere words.”

“They are not insincere.”

“Hm?”

Baek Cheon nodded seriously.

“The Ten Thousand Swords. It was certainly a sword with much to learn from. When I first faced it, it felt downright hopeless.”

“…….”

“It is not my place to evaluate it at my level, but I believe it is a sword fully worthy of being called an unmatched art of the Jianghu.”

“An unmatched art of the Jianghu.”

Jwa Go-hak let out a self-deprecating laugh. He who had criticized the Central Plains for repeating the past—what meaning did an unmatched art of the Central Plains now hold?

“Tell me.”

Wiping away his laugh, Jwa Go-hak asked seriously, “What is the problem with the Ten Thousand Swords?”

“As I said, I believe it has never experienced real combat.”

“Real combat……”

“And that is likely because—”

Baek Cheon looked around, taking in Hidden Recluse Pond’s mountain-ringed scenery, then spoke again. “Because you people have built your own world here.”

“…….”

“No matter how fiercely those who learn the same thing debate and research among themselves, they cannot escape similar thinking. That is why the world exchanges, dialogues, and learns from others.”

“Exchange and debate are……”

Jwa Go-hak, about to object, shut his mouth. Exchange and debate were the scholars’ specialties and the very reason Hidden Recluse Pond existed. Was not even the Ten Thousand Swords an art born from fierce debate and exchange?

But……

“It means it was an exchange of only our own, and a debate of only our own.”

“Broadly speaking, yes.”

“Haha……”

Jwa Go-hak laughed hollowly. Believing Confucianism supreme had trapped them within its framework; while criticizing others as stubborn, they failed to see their own self-righteous grip.

“If we gain a bit more experience……”

“No.”

Jwa Go-hak rose and slowly shook his head. “It is not something resolved by simply gaining experience. If the Taoist’s words are correct, is not the Ten Thousand Swords a sword flawed from its very inception?”

“…….”

“But even so, it does not matter.”

“Pardon?”

When Baek Cheon asked, Jwa Go-hak spoke resolutely. “Confucianism begins by correcting mistakes. Now that we know what we did wrong, countless others will debate how to fix it.”

“…….”

“Someone will seek a completely new path to fix the fundamentals; someone else will look to supplement the core errors. Within those branches, we will eventually find the answer. Though I do not know if this sword will still be called the Ten Thousand Swords then.”

Baek Cheon nodded.

“It will be so.”

Jwa Go-hak sighed. They had found a path; today’s defeat would one day nourish them.

But that did not mean he could ignore the matter at hand.

He quietly clasped his hands toward Baek Cheon—the maximum respect he could offer.

“Thank you for the teaching.”

“Don’t mention it.”

They bowed deeply with clasped hands. The scholars hesitated, then slowly, one by one, began to applaud. Not wanting to be outdone, the Mount Hua disciples clapped enthusiastically.

Before long, applause filled the training hall.

Amid that warm scene, the two men who had shown each other courtesy faced one another with bright smiles.

“Right. Now that you’ve been thrashed by that sniveling fellow you looked down on, has your perspective changed a bit?”

“I will admit it. I thought you were irredeemable trash, but at least you act like proper human beings.”

“Those words still come out of your mouth after being beaten like that?”

“On our side, everything from academic learning to poetry, calligraphy, and painting is possible, but if your side asks for recognition just for being somewhat good with a blade—where did your conscience wander off to?”

“No, wait, this bastard.”

“What, want to go again?”

Watching the two men immediately snarling at each other again, Chung Myung smiled faintly.

“Kids these days……”

In my days, it wasn’t like that. Sigh.

“Mmm.”

A low groan escaped the old scholars. “To think Jwa Go-hak would……”

They were likely the ones who knew Jwa Go-hak’s skills best, and therefore the most shocked by the result.

“I thought he might lose. But to think he would lose to someone other than Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.”

“Did they say his name was Baek Cheon? He is a remarkable swordsman. Are all the swordsmen of Mount Hua like that?”

When the old scholars faltered, So Jung-gyeong smiled faintly.

“It seems the result is out now, though?”

“Ahem.”

“Hmm…… That is so.”

The old scholars sighed and nodded. It was a match even the disciples accepted defeat in; to act stubborn now would only make them lose face.

“Grand Scholar, will it be all right?”

One of the elders asked, looking at So Jung-gyeong, who quietly nodded.

“They are trustworthy people.”

“It is not that I doubt the Grand Scholar…… but may I ask the reason?”

“Is there any special reason? It is simply that they are people who know what righteousness is.”

“Mmm……”

“So please trust them and leave it to them.”

The old scholars still hesitated but eventually nodded.

“If the Grand Scholar goes so far as to say that, then very well.”

In their eyes, a faint anxiety and a cautious trust bloomed simultaneously.

“It is this way.”

“Hmm.”

By now the sky was dyed with sunset.

Guided by Jwa Go-hak, the Mount Hua disciples approached the large lake at the center of Hidden Recluse Pond.

“You didn’t need to guide us personally.”

“Haha. Wouldn’t it be more comfortable for everyone if someone at least slightly familiar guided you? It is basic courtesy.”

“Indeed.”

Jwa Go-hak smiled brightly. “And well, I don’t really have many injuries, so I’m fine. Unlike a certain someone.”

Grit. Baek Cheon ground his teeth. He had won, but his wounds were worse—his body cut in places.

“If you lose, that’s the end.”

“Ah, I naturally accept defeat. I am not such a petty person. And…… isn’t there a saying? Victory belongs to the one who gained more in the end. Interpreted that way, isn’t it certain the victory belongs to the Taoist who gained more wounds? Hahahat.”

Baek Cheon trembled, shooting a fierce glare as if he wanted to bore a hole through Jwa Go-hak. The Mount Hua disciples sighed.

“Why is the sasuk so immature? What will become of Mount Hua’s future?”

“Are you worried about that right now?”

“Yes? Aren’t you worried?”

“I’m more worried about that side. Even if Sasuk ruins something, he’ll only mess up Mount Hua, but that gentleman looks like someone who will become a high official.”

“Ah……”

At Yoon Jong’s words, Jo Gul looked at Jwa Go-hak’s retreating back with an enlightened expression. To think someone on the same level as Baek Cheon would decide state affairs—what a terrible, terrifying prospect.

While Jo Gul fretted over the world’s future, they arrived at a large pavilion on the lake’s shore.

“Oh.”

Chung Myung frowned at the long bridge connecting shore to pavilion, which looked like a boat floating on the lake.

“No, why do these scholars and noblemen like pavilions so damn much?”

“Haha. Isn’t it nice to enjoy the taste of nature?”

“Then don’t insult Taoists for eating grass and living in the wild. If you guys look at a lake from a pavilion, it’s refined taste, but if we feel nature’s energy at a lake, it’s a cult? You bastards need to have a conscience.”

“…….”

Running out of retorts, Jwa Go-hak quickly pointed to the pavilion. “They are waiting.”

“Tsk.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue, displeased, and stepped onto the bridge.

Crossing the clear lake, the Mount Hua disciples were warmly welcomed by the old scholars in the pavilion.

“Welcome, come on in.”

So Jung-gyeong, standing at their center, smiled brightly. “You passed the test in the end.”

“Well, that’s obvious.”

“Haha. Is that so?”

So Jung-gyeong laughed heartily. It had been an unreasonable demand, but since they had pulled it off cleanly, that bravado deserved acknowledgment.

“Now then. It doesn’t seem you called us here just to drink tea.”

Chung Myung smirked at the old scholars. “You aren’t planning to go back on your word, right? A promise must be kept.”

At those words, the old scholars all looked at Yu Han-bin at once.

Looking at Yu Han-bin with heavy gazes, the old scholars nodded simultaneously.