“I’d rather die than suffer! I’d really rather die!” Chung Myung muttered, his face tight with unhappiness as he stomped back to the White Blossom Hall.
Nothing was good. Everything was wrong.
He thought about an old saying – that even a rich family could become poor in three years. But Mount Hua had been poor for generations, maybe a hundred years or more. If you ignored the famous name of Mount Hua, it was just a very bad sect.
*No, worse than bad. It’s the *perfect* example of a terrible sect.*
No money, the disciples were weak and untrained, and they all seemed to believe strange ideas that made no sense to anyone else.
That was truly terrible! What else could be worse?
“Where did you sell the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique! You damned bastards!”
Learning martial arts from books is very hard. People often get confused or even hurt themselves when they try to learn this way. Sometimes, they misunderstand the book and their skills get worse instead of better.
But for the martial arts to disappear completely? How could this be!
Even if the older generation was gone! There are manuals and history left, so unless you sold them off, how can this be possible!
“Keeeugh!”
Chung Myung scratched his head hard.
“Where do I even begin with this?”
This was a total mess.
“Sect Brother, do I really have to save Mount Hua in this state?”
Looking up at the sky, it seemed his Sect Brother was smiling faintly.
– Do as I say, you rascal.
“Argh!”
Chung Myung grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and threw it into the sky before heading back to the White Blossom Hall, fuming.
“Aigo. My back.”
His back ached from doing the horse stance for too long.
Damn it. They made him do the horse stance until the end of training just because he chatted a bit. If he were still alive in his previous life, those guys would have had to run from the bottom to the top of Mount Hua with a single flick of his foot!
Well, it’s better than being too easy, though.
‘I’m starting to feel a bit impatient.’
Chung Myung smacked his lips.
He had planned to figure out how Mount Hua was running and then think about where to start fixing things, but the more he learned, the harder it seemed.
If Chung Myung had come to this time with his old body and power, things would have been much easier. He could have just smashed the Sect Leader’s head and changed everything.
But now, Chung Myung was just the lowest of the third-generation disciples. Also, he was from a beggar background. And his martial arts were not good.
Could he change Mount Hua from this position?
“Hooo…”
Just thinking about it made him sigh.
Of course, it might be possible if he took his time and changed things slowly. But Chung Myung was not a patient person. If he kept seeing how things were going, he’d get sick with anger before Mount Hua changed.
‘Wudang and Qingcheng are probably getting better even now.’
Usually, martial arts groups try to copy the martial arts of their founder.
But Chung Myung thought differently.
The world changes. No matter how smart the founders were, if many ordinary people keep working and learning, they will pass the genius’s level.
Martial arts must change over time.
The Muscle Change Sutra, which is Shaolin’s special martial art, is not taught exactly as the Sixth Patriarch Huineng made it. Many later people have added new ideas and fixed the problems, and it is still changing.
Yes, change…
“Others are changing now, but we’re forgetting what we have, let alone changing.”
How could he not be angry?
Chung Myung sighed deeply.
First of all…
Grumble.
“…”
Chung Myung looked down at his stomach.
“Tsk.”
Maybe because he had been a beggar for so long, his body was always asking for food.
‘I don’t think I had dinner.’
The others had finished training and gone to eat, but Chung Myung hadn’t because he was being punished.
Now as in the past, there’s nothing quite like fasting as a punishment. There are few things as annoying as not being able to fill a hungry body with food after finishing training.
Chung Myung held his rumbling stomach and entered the White Blossom Hall. First, he needed to think about what happened today…
“He’s coming.”
Entering the hall, Chung Myung raised his eyebrows at the welcome he received. As soon as he entered, he saw many third-generation disciples sitting around in the large living room.
“Hey, newbie!”
Chung Myung looked at them without much interest.
“We know each other, right?”
It was the guy called A-Geol. He looked angry, so it didn’t seem like they were waiting with good intentions.
Chung Myung sighed and looked at A-Geol.
“What is it, A-Geol?”
A-Geol’s face turned red.
“Has this bastard gone crazy! Call me Senior Brother Jo Gul!”
“Senior Brother…”
Chung Myung looked up at the ceiling. Looking at the old ceiling of the wooden building, he felt like he was going to cry.
Ah. He was now in a position where he had to call these little kids Senior Brother.
But what could he do? He should have come earlier if he felt wronged.
“Yes, yes. Senior Brother Jo Gul. So, what’s the matter?”
“If you’re new, you have to do a welcoming ceremony.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t worry. We won’t be too hard on you. You look weak, so I’m afraid you’ll die if we hit you too hard.”
Laughter came from all around. They all seemed to enjoy it, as if they had done this many times before.
Well, he understood.
That’s how groups are. They become closer and get to know each other through their own welcoming ceremony. Almost all the guys laughing around him must have gone through this ceremony.
‘They seem a bit mean, though.’
It wasn’t the welcoming ceremony that bothered him, but the way these guys were acting. They’re supposed to be disciples of a Taoist temple, yet they’re laughing like common thugs.
Of course, Chung Myung wasn’t always serious when he first entered Mount Hua, but he didn’t act like these guys.
Huh? Was that what an old man would say?
So what! I’m eighty years old!
“A welcoming ceremony.”
Chung Myung nodded. For now, it was important to do what these guys wanted and fit in.
It was annoying, but what could he do? This was all part of saving Mount Hua.
“Alright. What do I have to do?”
Jo Gul smirked.
“Eldest Senior Brother.”
“Yes.”
“Will you do the honors?”
Eldest Senior Brother?
Chung Myung turned to look at the guy called Eldest Senior Brother. He was taller than the other guys, and he looked older.
So that guy was the leader of the third-generation disciples.
“Do what you think is right.”
“Yes, sir.”
Chung Myung quickly figured out the order in his head.
‘That guy is the leader, but Jo Gul is the one with the real power.’
It was the same in his time. The Senior Brother in charge was the leader, but Chung Myung was the one who actually solved problems when they happened. The leader and the one with the real power are not always the same.
If that’s the case, then he could use this situation to…
“Take it off.”
“Excuse me?”
Chung Myung tilted his head.
Did he hear wrong?
“I said take it off.”
“…”
Chung Myung looked around. The faces of the kids in the White Blossom Hall came into view. They were all smiling as if they were enjoying the show.
Chung Myung looked at Jo Gul.
“I think I might have misunderstood… No, I definitely did.”
Chung Myung forced a smile.
Don’t get excited.
Don’t get angry.
If he got angry at these young guys, he’d be the same as them.
“Ta, take it off?”
“Yeah.”
Jo Gul smiled wickedly.
“That’s how men become friends. Now, take off your clothes. If you dance naked and get beat up a bit, you’ll like your senior brothers more.”
His smile was so big it almost touched his ears.
“I wan’ to say sumthin’ firsh.”
“Huh?”
“I wan’ to ash about Uncle Un Geum.”
Chung Myung cleared his throat and loosened his mouth muscles before opening his mouth with difficulty.
“What about… Uncle Un Geum?”
“The Hall Lord is training in the evenings. So, don’t think that the Hall Lord will help you. We’re the only ones here now.”
“I see.”
Chung Myung slowly nodded.
“And even if the Hall Lord was here, you’d only be safe for today. You’re going to live here from now on, do you think you can escape?”
That’s right. He had to live here from now on.
Thank you.
He was thinking wrong.
“So, you’re saying there are no Senior Uncles here?”
“This bastard keeps talking back. That won’t do. Let’s start by beating you up a bit. I didn’t like you anyway.”
Jo Gul jumped up from his seat and grabbed Chung Myung by the collar.
“If I beat you up a bit, you’ll respect your senior brothers. I’m not doing this because I hate you. I’m using the whip of love to guide a bad disciple onto the right path. Understand?”
“Senior Brother.”
“What? Got something to say?”
“Tighten your neck.”
“Huh?”
At that moment, Chung Myung’s fist hit Jo Gul’s lower jaw.
Wham!
With the sound of something breaking, Jo Gul’s body flew up to the ceiling.
Crack!
Then, he crashed through the old ceiling.
Dangling.
Jo Gul’s body, with his neck stuck in the ceiling, swayed gently.
Quietly. Very quietly.
The third-generation disciples stared with wide eyes.
“…”
“…”
Chung Myung glanced at Jo Gul, who was stuck in the ceiling, then turned and headed for the door.
“Wh, where are you going…”
Clunk!
Chung Myung lifted the latch, locked the door, and turned around with a bright smile.
“Sometimes, when you’re living your life.”
“…”
“There are times when you have a lot of worries. And the biggest worry is what to do first. But…”
Crack. Crack.
Chung Myung tilted his head from side to side.
“Thanks to you guys, I know what to do. Yes, cleaning up the area is the first thing to do.”
Chung Myung lifted his leg and stomped on a chair next to him. The wooden chair broke into pieces. Chung Myung grabbed the best chair leg.
“Hooo…”
And he said, grinding his teeth.
“I grew up eating and sleeping in a Taoist temple, so I know how to treat superiors, you know?”
Hope appeared in the children’s eyes at those words.
Superiors…
“The Senior Uncles would be upset if they heard you screaming. So, don’t scream. I’ll beat anyone who screams twice as hard.”
Ah…
They weren’t superiors after all.
That’s right.
“Let’s start by getting beat up. You senior brother bastards!”
Chung Myung became fierce and charged at the third-generation disciples.