Chapter 1647
Find it quickly, quickly. (1)
Dazed, Jo Geol stared blankly at the person in front of him and asked.
“…What did you say?”
“I asked why we have to do this.”
The man looked to be around forty, a stubborn middle-aged swordsman glaring at Jo Geol with clear displeasure.
“Didn’t you hear me?”
Instead of an answer, a hollow laugh escaped from Jo Geol’s lips. He often half-jokingly shouted that there was no hierarchy in Hwasan, but in truth, Hwasan was not a sect without order.
And the swordsman before him was twice his age.
Given the circumstances, Jo Geol couldn’t help but be at a loss for words, regardless of whether the man’s argument was right or wrong.
“Is there… some kind of a problem?”
Jo Geol asked, his eyes darting nervously. The middle-aged swordsman snorted loudly, as if in disbelief.
“Did you ask if there’s a problem? You should be asking what isn’t a problem. Can’t you see it with your own eyes?”
“What?”
“How are we supposed to train here!”
The middle-aged swordsman, Moyong Banghwa, gestured behind him.
People dressed in various uniforms had paused and were all looking in this direction. Swordsmen, Taoists, martial artists, beggars…
The sight of them all mixed together in the spacious training ground was so bizarre it felt like witnessing the end of the world. The scene was that strange.
However, Jo Geol still tilted his head as if he couldn’t see what the problem was.
“So, what exactly are you trying to say…?”
“This is driving me crazy!”
Moyong Banghwa pounded his chest in frustration.
“Training! Training, I say! And not just any training, but training to prepare for war!”
“Right…? And that’s why we’re all working so hard right now, aren’t we?”
“Have you ever seen such an exasperating person! How are we supposed to train properly with people from other sects staring at us like that? We can only repeat the most basic moves that aren’t even part of our core techniques!”
“…What?”
Jo Geol’s eyes widened in genuine confusion. Moyong Banghwa raised his voice even more.
“In this crucial time, just before war, how can we afford such inefficiency? What was the vice-leader thinking when he issued such an order?”
“Uh….”
Normally, Jo Geol would have burst out with, ‘Hey, the order came from above, so why are you taking it out on me? If you’re so frustrated, go take it up with them!’ But he couldn’t do that now.
After all, Jo Geol was the vice-leader of the division. He had a reputation to uphold and dignity to maintain. Admitting that he was just following orders without thinking was not an option.
“Please, calm down. Training is just something we have to get through….”
“Nooooooo!”
Before he could finish speaking, Jo Geol flinched involuntarily at the intense reaction.
“Secret techniques! Secret techniques! If you could train in front of disciples from other sects, why would they be called secret techniques? Does Hwasan not have such a concept?”
Huh? Jo Geol tilted his head slightly.
‘Do we?’
There are rules prohibiting the transmission of techniques to other sects, but there didn’t seem to be any rule against training in front of others.
If Chung Myung heard that… he would roll his eyes and say that if the martial arts could be learned by just observing, it wouldn’t even be third-rate trash, so why call it a secret technique in the first place?
‘He might have just beaten me up for being lazy and trying to slack off.’
In short, if this were Hwasan, such a claim would be dismissed as utter nonsense.
But unfortunately, this wasn’t Hwasan, and more unfortunately, even the others seemed to agree with Moyong Banghwa’s logic.
“…So, what are you trying to say?”
“I can’t train here any longer!”
“Excuse me?”
Jo Geol asked for what felt like the one hundreds time.
“Ah, no, what do you mean by that?”
“Why are you asking again when you heard me the first time? I said I can’t train or cultivate here!”
Jo Geol stared blankly at Moyong Banghwa.
“The rules of Moyong family state that secret techniques cannot be practiced in the presence of members of other sects! But the vice-leader asks us to train here, which is contradictory.”
“That is…”
“Besides, we can’t just repeat the same obvious training before a war, can we? It’s better to go somewhere out of sight and refine our skills alone.”
“Are you saying… you’re going to disobey the orders?”
“Disobey the orders?!”
Jo Geol flinched at the sudden outburst. Moyong Banghwa’s beard quivered with anger. He seemed truly aggrieved.
“That…”
The emotion seemed too genuine to be mere acting. Jo Geol grew more unsure of what to say.
“Do I seem like the kind of person who disobeys orders? How could you insult me like that?”
“No, it’s just that what you’re saying sounds like…”
“We are not demanding an explanation from the vice-leader! Didn’t you say Hwasan was a place where we discuss and coordinate instead of imposing authority?”
Somehow, the subject he was speaking on had subtly shifted from ‘I’ to ‘we,’ but no one pointed this out or objected.
Jo Geol fell into even greater confusion.
“…Did I?”
Was Hwasan like that?
Wasn’t Hwasan just a place where Chung Myung beats everyone into submission? What kind of discussion and coordination was there?
More importantly, how did he seem to know Hwasan better than me…?
Thud!
Moyong Banghwa stomped his foot forcefully.
“So! Whether you query the higher-ups or discuss it among the leaders, give me an answer that I can accept.”
“…”
“Isn’t that the vice-leader’s role?”
Jo Geol stood with his mouth open, unable to respond, and could only watch in a daze as Moyong Banghwa walked away.
Soon, the other members, who had been observing the situation, dispersed in small groups. More than half of them left, and the training ground quickly became empty.
“Uh…”
Left with a stunned expression, Jo Geol tugged at his curly hair in frustration.
❀ ❀ ❀
“Argh! I just want to…!”
Bang!
Jo Geol kicked the innocent wall.
“It’ll break, you idiot!”
“If it breaks, we can rebuild it!”
“Have you ever thought about not breaking it in the first place?”
“Ugh!”
With Yoon Jong’s intervention, Jo Geol began stomping the floor instead.
“I should just kick that mouth of his!”
“…Yeah. That’s exactly how we feel about you. Do you understand now…”
“Oh, are you trying to add fuel to the fire?”
Jo Geol snapped at Yoon Jong.
“What about you, Sahyeong? Is your division running smoothly?”
“Hmm. They’re quite enthusiastic.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Yes.”
Yoon Jong smiled contentedly.
“They’re so enthusiastic that the Beggars Sect members went off to practice the Dog-Beating Staff Formation [타구봉진(打狗棒陳)].”
“…”
“When I asked if they had to do it now, they said if not now, then when? During the war?”
“The Beggars Sect?”
“Yeah. They’re certainly, um… yeah, free spirits. They’re like the wind, not bound by rules or regulations, coming and going empty-handed…”
“Stop grinding your teeth and just speak, Sahyeong. You’re going to wear down your molars.”
“Ugh…”
Yoon Jong clutched his head, trembling. Jo Geol cast a sympathetic look at him. While Jo Geol had to deal with Moyong family, Yoon Jong was up against the Beggars Sect. Given the closer psychological distance to the Beggars Sect, the impact on Yoon Jong was likely greater.
“Those damn people!”
The more Jo Geol thought about it, the angrier he became, grinding his teeth. They didn’t openly disrespect him but persistently and subtly provoked him, almost as if they refused to acknowledge him as the vice leader.
“If they were going to resist, they should have done it from the start!”
“They probably think their own agreement with the higher-ups is a separate matter.”
“No! Did anyone take this role because they wanted it? We were forced into it!”
“…Do you think they care about that?”
Both men sighed deeply in unison.
“This is killing me, really.”
If they were closer in age, they might have at least tried to fight back, but most of them were older than Jo Geol or Yoon Jong, making it hard to deal with them openly.
At this point, it seemed like the so-called ‘wisdom’ of Gangho was actually just a euphemism for ‘age’ and its associated authority.
“Damn it! If they have issues, they should take it up with their own leaders! Why take it out on us?”
“They claim that since their sects are temporarily disbanded, their leaders can’t intervene. It’s a convenient excuse.”
“Ugh… It’s infuriating.”
Jo Geol ground his teeth again, then stopped suddenly, turning his head as if something had occurred to him.
“Sasuk. Is everything fine on your end…? Eeek!”
Jo Geol took a step back in shock as he saw Baek Cheon, looking ghostly pale, stumbling towards them from the dark.
“G-Ghost! No, Sasuk! Are you ill?”
“I’m already… No, really. Why do you look like this? You look like that Jang Ilso bastard.”
It wasn’t much of an exaggeration. Baek Cheon’s face was as pale as if it had been dusted with flour, with dark circles around his eyes that made him look like he had makeup on.
Baek Cheon, with his sunken eyes, stared at them, his cracked lips trembling. Then he spoke weakly.
“Yoon Jong-ah…”
“Yes?”
“…This might sound rude. No, it’s definitely rude.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I envy you for being an orphan.”
“What? Have you lost your mind, Sasuk!”
Just as Jo Geol rushed forward, ready to kick, Baek Cheon muttered in a feeble voice.
“…My father keeps asking me to give proper instructions.”
“…”
“And that damn Jin Geumryong stands there with his arms crossed, mocking me.”
Oh…
“Every time I say something, he goes, ‘Do you really think that’s the right decision, vice-leader?’ It’s driving me…”
“Hold on, Sasuk. Let’s put down the sword for now. No matter what, there are lines we shouldn’t cross as human beings.”
“Isn’t there a way to become an orphan later in life?”
“No! There’s no such thing! Get a grip, you crazy human!”
Jo Geol grabbed Baek Cheon and shook him vigorously, while Yoon Jong could only shake his head at the sight.
How much suffering must he be enduring to act like this…?
“Seriously, every single one of them…”
While they understood why, it was still too much. Was their disdain for being ordered around by a younger person stronger than their fear of the impending war?
It made Jo Geol question just how Gangho had come to this point.
“With the war right around the corner, is this really the time for such nonsense? We’re in a rush! We need to coordinate immediately. What on earth are they thinking?”
“…Maybe once the fighting starts, it’ll get better.”
“From what I hear, it won’t. During the last war with Demonic Cult, Hwasan fought fiercely on the front lines but the same nonsense was happening behind the scenes. All throughout the war. They said they wanted to kill everyone because of it. Do you think people change in a hundred years?”
“Is that so…? Hmm? But where did you hear that story?”
“What?”
“It’s a story from a hundred years ago. It’s the first I’m hearing of it.”
“Oh…? Where did I hear it?”
Jo Geol tilted his head in confusion, and Yoon Jong let out a deep sigh.
“This will continue throughout the entire war?”
Even with the enemy right in front of them?
Just thinking about it was utterly depressing.
“What about the others?”
“Young Lord Namgung seems to be having a better time.”
“Well, he’s going to be the head of Namgung clan, so they’d be reluctant to openly defy him.”
“Then why is it different for Sasuk…?”
“That’s a bit… different.”
Yoon Jong sighed once more. This situation had made him realize something anew.
While they were hailed as the Five Swords and praised as talents of Hwasan, he had secretly felt pride. But now, it was clear. The acclaim wasn’t for them as individuals, but for being the talents of Hwasan. Without the prestige of Hwasan, Jo Geol and Yoon Jong were just novices in Gangho without any proper acknowledgement.
“…Then Monk Hye Yeon must have it easier.”
“Probably. He’s from Shaolin and renowned as a supreme talent. He’s treated differently from us.”
“That’s…”
“Do-! Dojang! Dojaaaang! Dojangs!”
“Huh?”
At that moment, they saw someone hurriedly running toward them. Upon closer inspection, it was an unexpected figure.
“Young Lord Namgung?”
“What’s going on?”
Namgung Dowi rushed up to them at breakneck speed and shouted.
“Something terrible has happened!”
“What? What is it?”
“Monk Hye Yeon! Monk Hye Yeon has beaten someone up!”
“…What? Who?”
“I’m telling you, Monk Hye Yeon just beat up one of the people from my division! Right now!”
Baek Cheon, Yoon Jong, and Jo Geol looked at each other.
“…He’s a genius.”
“No, it’s a disaster, you idiot!”
“I want to try…”
“Put the sword down, Sasuk!”
A very flustered Yoon Jong clutched his head and stood up abruptly.
“Let’s go see what’s going on!”
He hurriedly followed Namgung Dowi, his steps urgent.
Comments