Chapter 87 – Praise Makes Even Whales Dance

Chapter 87 – Praise Makes Even Whales Dance

“Haaaaaa……”

Tang Hwa-seon let out a deep sigh drawn from his dantian.

While he had briefly stepped away to visit somewhere, news reached him that his son had gotten into a fight with an elder of the Southern Border (Jongnam) Sect.

Could it be Hae-soo?

Since the Young Clan Leader, who valued etiquette, would not have acted rashly toward an elder of the Jianghu, he was puzzled; but in that moment, he recalled that his other son, San-ho, had joined the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly for the first time.

Once his thoughts reached that point, the rest was clear.

His steps, which naturally quickened, represented his state of mind.

Near the entrance of Mount Song, children with bewildered expressions were waiting for him. When San-ho avoided his gaze for some reason, Tang Hwa-seon could not help but let his mouth hang open.

Indeed. The worry he had dreaded was reality.

Before his youngest son's first Dragon and Phoenix Assembly could even be held, he had already got into a verbal argument with an elder of a great sect! Just who on earth did he take after to have such a temper!

‘I thought it was just the exaggerated words of the passersby.’

Calming his throbbing neck as best as he could, Tang Hwa-seon listened to the whole story. While he briefly hoped it was an exaggeration, the reality was even more dizzying than he thought.

“……Is it true that you asked the elder of the Southern Border Sect if he was soliciting match-fixing, and said that the skills of his disciples would only be known once they faced each other?”

“I only summarized what they said first.”

“What?”

Pouting discontentedly, San-ho muttered.

“I am truly wronged.”

“Did you just say you are wronged? What on earth for?”

“Did you not clearly tell me, Father, to always think of the family's honor?”

“So?”

“As one who received such teachings, I could not just stand by and watch words and actions that harm the family's reputation.”

“………”

“If there is a fault… shouldn't it lie not with me, but with that elder of the Southern Border Sect who brought shame to his family despite his status as a Taoist master?”

“Can you do something about that way of speaking?”

“Then, if that elderly Taoist master confidently declares that a disciple of the Southern Border Sect can defeat the martial artists of the Tang Clan, are you saying I should have just agreed?”

To San-ho's reply, which paid absolutely no heed to the instruction to fix his way of speaking, Tang Hwa-seon let out a deep sigh.

Just how did this rascal turn out like this!

Of course, even if he had caused a lot of trouble since he was young! Even if he had torn the fan gifted by the Sect Leader of the Wudang Sect, secretly sneaked into the Forbidden Weapons Storehouse, and gotten caught stealing the elders' secret manuals……

“………”

Tang Hwa-seon, who was recalling the memories, stopped his thoughts.

This was because there was more than one or two instances that came to mind.

Only then did such a thought suddenly occur to him.

‘Could it be……’

It wasn't that San-ho had changed, but rather that his temper was only now revealing itself because he had finally stepped out into the Jianghu?

Yes, come to think of it, there was more than one or two strange points.

The eyes of Alliance Leader Zhuge Yun trembling faintly, the fact that he had thoroughly swept not only the waterway fort's storehouse but also the Martial Alliance's storehouse, and the way the water bandits flinched every time San-ho opened his mouth……

“Ugh……”

It turned out that all of this was the result of a leaking gourd at home leaking on the outside as well. Tang Hwa-seon held his head as he looked at the gourd sitting in front of him with the most wronged expression in the world.

“Haaaaaa…… It was my mistake to leave you all and step away.”

“No, the mistake was that elderly Taoist master hitting my shoulder; that was the mistake.”

“Do you not know that when a big competition is ahead, the checking between sects and families becomes intense? There is no good in holding onto and dragging out a story that you could have just let slide. At most, it does nothing except make you feel a bit better.”

“How important is that? Only when I feel good will I have confidence, and only when I have confidence will my martial arts also……”

At San-ho's eloquence, which flowed smoothly as if he were selling medicine, Tang Hwa-seon's worries deepened.

***

After that small commotion passed.

Finally, the martial artists of the Sichuan Tang Clan passed through the grand mountain gate of Shaolin.

Shaolin was filled with elegant pavilions, towering stone pillars, and pagodas carved from stone. In particular, the expensive blue tiles on every major building and the meticulously cultivated landscaping revealed Shaolin's wealth and reputation.

As they entered the temple grounds, the monk of Shaolin who came out to greet them pressed his palms together with a serene face.

“Thank you for traveling such a long way. This junior monk is called Yeo-woon .”

“Glad to meet you. We arrived earlier than originally planned, will it be alright?”

“Amitabha. Of course. We only wish for the distinguished guests who visit Shaolin to rest comfortably at any time. We have prepared the guest pavilion in advance, so let us go together.”

Showing a gentle smile, Yeo-woon led the way.

Passing through the pavilions and Buddhist halls with the martial artists of the Tang Clan, Yeo-woon began to explain the major facilities of Shaolin. His voice, which sounded like a calm lake, was so gentle that it was enough to capture their ears.

By the time he finished explaining the locations of the dining hall and the training grounds, the martial artists of the Tang Clan were able to arrive at the two-story guest pavilion.

***

Resting and unpacking their bags in the guest pavilion was only brief.

Family Head Tang Hwa-seon headed to the Guest Reception Hall of Shaolin along with Tang Hae-soo. This was because of Yeo-woon's message that Abbot Beob-yul requested to meet them there.

Tang Hwa-seon did not forget to instruct San-ho until the very moment he opened the door of the guest pavilion and stepped out.

“Never leave the guest pavilion. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“You must keep in mind, and keep in mind again, that this is not Sichuan. Moreover, since you have already had a verbal argument with an elder of the Southern Border Sect, do not even go near the guest pavilion where they are staying.”

"Yes."

“Until the start of the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, please do not cause trouble and stay quiet……”

At San-ho's listless reply, Tang Hwa-seon shut his mouth. If he were a fellow who would listen to advice, wouldn't he have minded his behavior in the first place? Based on this reasonable doubt, he decided to change the direction of his instruction.

“Jae-shin.”

“Yes, Family Head.”

“Watch San-ho closely so that he cannot cause trouble.”

“……Yes.”

Tang Jae-shin, who could not dare to disobey the Family Head's command, nodded. Since there was no way he had forgotten that he had been miserably defeated by San-ho in the previous duel, it was more reasonable to view this as adding responsibility to San-ho.

“Since I will return in one double-hour at the latest, all of you rest.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

His replies were indeed very prompt.

As soon as the Family Head and the Young Family Head left the guest pavilion, San-ho, who had been leaning against the wall, sprang up. Then, leaving the puzzled martial artists' gazes behind, he naturally began to change his clothes.

“……Young Master, what are you doing right now?”

“I'm trying to change my clothes.”

The guest pavilion was two stories high. Therefore, it was decided that the elders would use the upper floor and the rising stars would use the lower floor. The interior was not divided into separate rooms, but walls dividing the space served as rooms.

“Please change into your sleeping garments inside the wall.”

Although changing clothes was nothing new, Tang Jae-shin pointed inside the wall, thinking it would be better to be careful since they had entered the temple grounds.

“Yes.”

Without any particular counterargument, San-ho took his bag and headed inside.

Just how much time had passed like that?

Tang Jae-shin, who had been lost in various thoughts, did not even notice the flow of time.

What if the Young Master disobeys the Family Head's command and tries to leave the guest pavilion? Can I really stop him? No, since the Family Head commanded it, I must stop him by any means.

‘…But isn't changing clothes taking a bit too long?’

At this final question, he suddenly turned his head.

“Are you done changing?”

“……”

“Young Master?”

“……”

When there was no answer from behind the wall, Tang Jae-shin tilted his head. Thinking if something had happened, Tang Jae-shin looked over the wall where San-ho had been.

“……Huh?”

But what on earth was this.

When the spot where San-ho should have been was empty, confusion filled Tang Jae-shin's eyes. He hurriedly asked Tang Do-won, the rising star of the Ten Thousand Poisons Hall who was sitting opposite him, about San-ho's whereabouts.

“Have you not seen the Young Master?”

“I saw him.”

“Wh-where?”

“There.”

“………”

Tang Do-won replied with the most indifferent expression in the world. Although conversing with Tang Do-won, who shut himself only inside the Ten Thousand Poisons Hall, was quite a difficult task, there was no other choice, so he continued the questions.

“But why is he not here now…?”

“Window.”

Behind the wall that Tang Do-won pointed to with the tip of his chin, there was a window large enough for a person to pass through. It was clear that San-ho had gone out of the guest pavilion through the window. Realizing the truth of the incident, Tang Jae-shin spoke with a bewildered expression.

“No, why didn't you stop him, brother?”

“Me?”

“Yes, the Family Head clearly gave instructions earlier……”

“How?”

It was a look that said he really, truly did not know.

Yes, while he himself was agonizing over whether he could stop the Young Master… If the Young Master was like a tiger, wasn't Tang Do-won like a mushroom? What this meant was that far from a fight being possible, they were of entirely different species.

If they had not selected five more from each hall, Tang Do-won would have never had a reason to come to Mount Song. Knowing that fact, Tang Jae-shin let out a sigh.

‘I looked down on the Young Master too much……!’

***

Meanwhile, San-ho, who had no way of knowing Tang Jae-shin's agony, came outside and was leisurely walking around the vicinity.

“Let's see, they said the duels for the small and medium sects are scheduled to be held until today, right?”

As this Dragon and Phoenix Assembly boasted an unprecedented scale, a new preliminary stage had been introduced. Excluding the rising stars of the Nine Sects and Five Great Families, all martial artists who wished to participate had to pass the preliminaries to take part in the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.

The duels to select those participants were until today.

Therefore, San-ho had made the judgment that it would be best to check them out as much as possible before they left Shaolin.

‘You never know. I should check at least one more.’

The time limit was one double-hour, before Tang Hwa-seon returned.

Not forgetting the repeated warnings and for conscience's sake, San-ho, who had come out wearing clothes without the family's emblem, looked around. Fortunately, there were quite a few people wearing martial robes without emblems, so it was not a particularly conspicuous sight.

Retracing the path Yeo-woon had told him to find the duel grounds. The sight of those who had already been eliminated in the preliminaries packed their bags and left lonely entered his eyes.

It was then.

“You useless bastard! Isn't it because of you that our participation in the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly went down the drain!”

“How is that because of me……”

“Where do you think you are looking with your eyes wide open!”

Thump!

A rough-looking martial artist kicked a martial artist who was two spans smaller than him. Judging by the fact that they wore the same light-brown martial robes, it could be assumed that they were senior and junior brothers belonging to the same sect.

“Senior brother, please endure it. This is within the grounds of Shaolin.”

“I should have just let you die! Nothing has gone right since I picked this bastard up! What kind of opportunity was this……”

The furious martial artist huffed and puffed, kicking the one who had tumbled onto the ground, thump, thump. Should I stop him or not… While he was contemplating for a moment, a painful groan escaped from between the teeth of the small martial artist who had huddled his body as much as possible.

Eventually, San-ho, frowning, spoke in a low voice.

“Stop it.”

Stopping his actions in an instant, the martial artist swept San-ho up and down.

“Who are you again?”

“If you cause any more unnecessary commotion, Shaolin will surely step in, so it would be best to stop there.”

“………”

If the commotion grew and the Abbot came out, Tang Hwa-seon, who was with him, would also return to the guest pavilion. San-ho, who had no intention of getting caught yet, stopped them in a calm voice.

“Hah, looking at you, it seems you came from some countryside, so do not meddle in another sect's business and go on your way.”

“I am not trying to interfere with your sect's affairs, but I say this out of concern. This won't be the last Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, so wouldn't it be troublesome if the commotion grew and you were banned from participating?”

“……Ahem.”

Great. He's almost completely swayed.

As the martial artist, who had been spitting out fierce curses, became much tamer, a relieved smile appeared on San-ho's face. San-ho tried to settle this situation amicably by exercising his social skills from his days as a waiter to the maximum.

“Looking at the aura you exude, young hero, even if you unfortunately dropped out this time, there will surely be an opportunity next time… I just felt it would be a waste if we couldn't see that martial prowess due to an unfortunate incident.”

So please shut up and go home. Don't interfere when I'm busy!

“……Well, what you say also makes sense, young hero.”

As the saying goes, praise can make even a whale dance.

Just as expected, the martial artist, who let out a small dry cough, was about to reach out his hand to request a handshake.

“You evil rascal!”

Out of nowhere, a thunderous voice rushed toward them.

“……?”

“To oppress the weak! And even try to attack the person stopping you!”

Uh, no, that's not it…!

The martial artist, who had been completely won over, retracted the hand he was offering for a handshake and clenched his fist tightly. The moment San-ho turned his head toward the owner of the voice.

Thump!

A leather shoe that flew like lightning struck the rough-looking face of the martial artist. It was thrown so hard that the body of the martial artist, who was larger than San-ho, collapsed onto the dirt ground like a straw doll.

“………”

San-ho, who closed his eyes tightly, held his head.

It was ruined. Going over this amicably was out of the question.

“Young hero! Are you alright?”

A female martial artist, who came hopping over on one foot, asked with a worried face. The female martial artist, who had her long hair tied up, wore a martial robe embroidered with a plum blossom, the symbol of the Mount Hua (Hwasan) Sect.