ROTMHS Special Spin-off - Chapter 9

Chapter 9. This isn’t how this is supposed to go. (4)

“What is this?”

“Why are we already here?”

“Did we dream or something?”

The Mount Hua disciples couldn’t help but be bewildered at the scene before them.

“Is this really Jinan?”

[Jinan. 제남(濟南). Capital city of Shandong province.]

“It seems like it, sasuk.”

“No, since when was Jinan this close? Isn’t it practically at the eastern end?”

“That’s true, but….”

It was strange. They hadn’t particularly hurried or quickened their pace. And yet, somehow, they had already arrived in Jinan.

“What on earth….”

“No, wait. We should think about this differently. Maybe it’s not that we came fast—maybe this is actually normal?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“This time we weren’t dragging that ridiculously heavy cart across ice, or climbing snow-covered mountains, or forcing our way through those suffocating, damp jungles where you can barely breathe, right?”

“Ah……”

Everyone nodded as if it made sense.

Come to think of it, they had casually traveled through places that even merchants—who would go as far as the underworld if there was profit to be made—would shake their heads at and say, ‘I’ll go to the underworld, sure, but that place is a bit…’

For the Mount Hua disciples, traveling along a well-paved official road was, with only slight exaggeration, no different from riding comfortably in an expensive carriage.

“Now that you mention it, it was comfortable.”

“We even slept in inns.”

“We woke up without our backs hurting—for the first time.”

“And we actually bought food. Not burnt venison.”

“True.”

If someone else heard this, they might wonder, ‘Why are they stating the obvious?’. But to the Mount Hua disciples, an inn wasn’t a place to sleep or eat—it was just where that bastard Cheong Myeong stocked up on alcohol.

They slept on the roadside and found their own food. Having lived entirely by self-reliance, this journey felt unsettlingly comfortable.

“They say good things pass like an arrow, while bad things drag on.”

“…..That fits perfectly.”

The Mount Hua disciples let out a long sigh.

“Let’s think of it positively. Since we arrived earlier than expected, maybe we’ll have more time to rest here.”

“Indeed.”

“No one in Mount Hua can match sasuk’s wisdom.”

“Keuh.”

Even Yu Iseol gave Baek Cheon a thumbs-up. Why wouldn’t they? The fact that their leader said that was practically a declaration that he wouldn’t make them do anything else.

“Then first, we should accomplish the reason we came here.”

Baek Cheon turned his head toward Cheong Myeong.

“Cheong Myeong, what do we do now?”

“Nothing much.”

Cheong Myeong shrugged.

“We just need to find one person.”

“Hmm. A person.”

Baek Cheon nodded with a look that said, ‘That’s no big deal.’

“The name was… what was it again? Seok Hanbin?”

“Seok Hanbin.”

“I’m not sure. That might be an alias too.”

“Hmm. Right, that happens sometimes. And?”

“What do you mean, ‘and’?”

“Huh?”

“That’s it.”

“….Huh?”

Baek Cheon slowly turned his head. His gaze met Cheong Myeong’s bright, expectant eyes.

“That’s it?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah.”

Baek Cheon’s eyes trembled.

“There’s nothing else? Like where he lives?”

“What kind of stupid question is that? I said Jinan, didn’t I? That’s why we came all the way here.”

“Ughk….”

Baek Cheon clutched his chest.

“You crazy bastard! Do you know what kind of place Jinan is? It’s the largest city in Shandong! There are countless people living here—how are we supposed to find someone with just a name?! And you’re saying even that name might be fake!”

Cheong Myeong nodded nonchalantly.

“Right.”

“And you think that’s enough to find someone?!”

“So?”

“What do you mean ‘so’? Do you have any idea how difficult this is—”

“So I fed you well and let you sleep comfortably, didn’t I?”

“Ah….”

The color drained from the disciples’ faces.

They say livestock are fed well before slaughter… no wonder the meals had been so rich.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s easy or hard. What matters is whether it needs to be done or not.”

“......”

“Now think carefully. Did I drag you here? I said I’d go alone—you forced yourselves to follow.”

“……Yeah, that’s true.”

“Then you should pay for tagging along, shouldn’t you? Why do you think I dragged all this dead weight here without saying a word?”

Cheong Myeong jerked his chin toward the city spread out before them.

“Find him.”

“………”

“Now.”

The souls seemed to drain straight out of the Mount Hua disciples’ bodies.

✿ ✿ ✿

“Seriously, does this make any sense? Might as well try finding someone named Lee in Luoyang.”

[TL Note: ‘Lee (이씨)’ is one of the most common surnames in Korea (like “Smith”), and Luoyang is a large, historically significant city. The line is a hyperbolic way of saying the task is nearly impossible, like trying to find a random ‘Smith’ in New York, lmao.]

“I agree with that completely, but.”

Yoon Jong smiled faintly.

“So what can you actually do about it?”

“……”

“Just shut up and start looking.”

“Ughhh.”

Jo Geol scratched his head roughly.

“Ah—right! The Beggar Union! Can’t we just ask them? If it’s them, they should be able to dig up this kind of info easily, right?”

Baek Cheon smiled in deep satisfaction.

“You’ve finally started thinking, I see.”

“That’s real progress.”

“I’m impressed.”

“You people are unbelievable….”

“But Geol, think about it carefully. Why would the Beggar Union help us?”

“Huh? Aren’t we on good terms with them?”

“No. We’re not on good terms with the Beggar Union—we’re on good terms with their Huayin branch. More precisely, we’re just acquainted with Branch Leader Hong Daegwang.”

Jo Geol tilted his head in confusion.

“…Is there a difference?”

“Uh……”

Where do I even begin explaining this?

“Well, the Beggar Union is huge.”

“Yes, I’ve heard the phrase ‘a hundred thousand Beggar Union members’.”

“That’s a bit exaggerated, but it’s true they’re on a completely different scale from other sects. And their members are spread across the entire world.”

“Right. There’s nowhere without beggars.”

Baek Cheon nodded.

“Exactly. And because of that, the Beggar Union has a trait other sects don’t.”

“What is it?”

“They’re not close to each other.”

“Ah….”

“Not just not close—sometimes they even compete with each other.”

“What kind of nonsense is that? Fighting within the same sect? Between fellow disciples?”

“It’s not that strange if you think about it this way… For example, it wouldn’t be odd if the Seven-knot Beggar of Luoyang and the Seven-knot Beggar of Anhui never saw each other even once in their lives.”

“…What?”

Jo Geol’s expression twisted. It sounded ridiculous, yet somehow made sense. After all, beggars couldn’t just travel long distances just to meet each other.

“Other sects might have a lot of members, but not that many. At least they recognize each other to some degree. But when you have a hundred thousand, personal ties become meaningless.”

“So what you’re saying is, the Beggar Union here only shares the name—it’s not the same Beggar Union we know.”

“Exactly. You finally get it.”

“I get that, but… I still don’t understand. Are we on bad terms with them?”

“No. It’s not like we’re on bad terms.”

“Then we can just hire them, right? It’s not like they only help close allies. Just pay them and it’s done.”

“That would be true… if our relationship with the Nine Sects and One Union wasn’t a bit… delicate.”

“Ugh. Yeah, I get it.”

In short, even if they asked, the Beggar Union wouldn’t readily handle Mount Hua’s business.

Shandong was close to Henan. Even the beggars here wouldn’t ignore the Shaolin’s influence.

“So we really have to search all of Jinan.”

“Well… I don’t think it’ll be as hard as you think.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I heard he’s a kid living alone without parents. No matter how big Jinan is, how many kids like that could there be? Usually they form groups or end up in some beggar den.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

“It’s a rare case, so we might find him faster than expected.”

Jo Geol let out a hollow laugh.

“Then why the hell didn’t that bastard Cheong Myeong tell us something that important from the start?”

“Well, that’s……”

“Unbelievable. The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it gets. That’s way more important than some name that might not even be real. It’s not like orphan kids living alone are common.”

“Uh… Jo Geol-ah.”

“You think he kept it to himself on purpose just to screw with us?”

At that moment, Yoon Jong, who had been silent until now, spoke quietly.

“An orphan living alone… might seem unusual to others.”

“Huh?”

“But to the person themselves, it’s not strange at all. So it’s not that he didn’t tell you… he just assumed you’d naturally figure it out.”

“……”

Jo Geol flinched and glanced at Yoon Jong, Yoo Iseol, and Hye Yeon. They hadn’t said anything outright, but….

“Ha… ha. I—right, I see. I mean… that’s not what I—well, what I meant was… that is to say…”

Tap.

At that moment, Tang Soso and Baek Cheon placed their hands on Jo Geol’s shoulders.

“You’re talking too much.”

“Now’s the time to lie flat, sahyung.”

“I have committed a sin worthy of death.”

Jo Geol immediately dropped flat onto the ground without hesitation. Watching that, Hye Yeon shook his head.

“There’s no need for that. Even if one is an orphan, what is there to be ashamed of, and what is so pitiful? In the end, everyone who lives in this world goes through their own hardships. I may have been born an orphan, but fortunately, I was taken in by the Shaolin.”

“Oh dear….”

“That’s such a sad story.”

“Better to be an orphan.”

“A-Amitabha?”

Receiving those sympathetic looks, Hye Yeon tilted his head in confusion. How had the treatment of a Shaolin monk ended up like this?

“Anyway, if that’s the case, it shouldn’t be too hard to ask around.”

“It’s definitely easier than before.”

“Right. So let’s split into pairs and search. Soso, you go with samae. I’ll move with the monk.”

“Yes, sasuk.”

At Baek Cheon’s command, the Mount Hua disciples scattered in all directions to gather information.

✿ ✿ ✿

“No matter what, this is still such a huge city……”

“…You’ve been complaining a lot lately, haven’t you?”

“I mean, come on, sahyung.”

Jo Geol grumbled, sounding dumbfounded.

“Even if it’s unusual, do people really care that much about others? Half the time people don’t even know if there’s an orphan living next door. That’s just how harsh the world is.”

“And how does someone who’s only ever lived in Mount Hua know so much about how the world works?”

“Come on. Do you have to experience it firsthand to know?”

“Oh? What, can you see a thousand li while sitting down? Are you Zhuge Liang or something?”

“Ugh, sahyung!”

Jo Geol thumped his chest in frustration.

“Anyway, you’re so stubborn!”

“What did you say?”

“This was never going to work in the first place. If you could just grab anyone and ask randomly and the person you’re looking for pops right up, then what in this world would even be difficult anymore?”

“Still, we should at least—”

“No, I’m telling you it won’t work! Do you really need to experience it yourself to understand? Look, watch this!”

Jo Geol spun around and grabbed a passerby.

“Excuse me, may I ask you something for a moment?”

“…What is it?”

“Oh, don’t worry. We’re Taoists. We’re not bad people.”

The woman, who had been hurrying along before being stopped, flinched slightly, then relaxed when she saw his robes. Taoist attire really helped in moments like this.

“What is it?”

“Do you happen to know a child named Seok Hanbin?”

“…What?”

“He’s a kid living alone without parents. You haven’t heard of him, right?”

Jo Geol immediately turned back to Yoon Jong as if to say see?

“See? She doesn’t know—”

“I know him.”

“Yes, of course you don’t kn—…huh?”

Jo Geol blankly turned his head.

“You mean Hanbin, the child who lives alone without parents, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Do you want me to show you? His house isn’t far from mine.”

“……”

Yoon Jong and Jo Geol stared at each other, equally stunned.

“Uh… why did that work?”

“……”

“It shouldn’t work. This isn’t how this is supposed to go. Uh……”

For Jo Geol, it was a painfully vivid realization… Sometimes, things going too well could be a problem too.

✿ ✿ ✿

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