"Where have you been?"
"Just taking a look around."
"…Looking around?"
Unam gazed at Cheongmyeong with a doubtful expression.
However, Cheongmyeong seemed indifferent to Unam's scrutiny, leaning back with his legs crossed and staring up at the sky. 'Was this child always like this?' He had seemed quite polite and respectful until he stepped into the mountain gate, but now the atmosphere had completely changed.
What could one say? It felt as if a delinquent energy was overflowing. 'Well.' Judging by his appearance, he seemed to have lived as a beggar for quite some time, and expecting purity from a beggar child in this harsh world was unreasonable.
"Have you eaten?"
"I'm not hungry."
This was the truth.
Watching the state of the volcano made all hunger and desires vanish.
The emptiness he could not overcome even as a Taoist was now being conquered without the help of the Daoist name.
Damn it.
"In that case, follow me for a moment."
"Excuse me?"
"The sect leader wishes to see you."
"Oh, yes."
Cheongmyeong nodded.
If he had to face it anyway, it was better to do so sooner rather than later.
The moment the door opened, an elderly man sitting quietly came into Cheongmyeong's view.
Cheongmyeong looked at him with a slightly sullen heart. 'He certainly deserves to be called the sect leader.' The pure aura of the Dao emanated from him.
Just that aura was enough to convince one that this person had devoted his life to the Dao.
However… 'There is no sense of vigor at all.' He lacked the qualities one would expect from the leader of a sect, especially one from the volcano.
He was simply serene.
"Bow your head."
"……."
Cheongmyeong secretly sighed. 'Is there anywhere in this world that is so unfair?' If one were to consider age, when Cheongmyeong was hiding from the sect leader's gaze in a corner of the volcano, this sect leader was likely just learning to walk.
By the time he could wield a sword, Cheongmyeong would have already been long gone.
Yet now, it was Cheongmyeong who had to bow. 'If you feel wronged, you shouldn't have been born again.' What could he do? Better to suffer than to die.
Cheongmyeong bowed respectfully.
Seeing this, Hyunjong, the sect leader of the volcano, smiled gently.
"My name is Cheongmyeong."
"I am Hyunjong."
It was a simple exchange of pleasantries.
Once Cheongmyeong sat down, Hyunjong opened his mouth.
"Though a guest has come, there is nothing suitable to offer. I hope you understand the current situation here."
"Oh, yes."
"……."
Hyunjong's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Normally, when such words were spoken, the expected response would be something like, 'Do not worry about it,' or 'How could an uninvited guest expect anything?' However, this child was conveying with his gestures and demeanor that he had not expected anything of the sort, so there was no need to pay mind to it.
"I heard you said something interesting at Okcheonwon."
"Excuse me?"
"You sold it?"
Cheongmyeong tilted his head.
"What do you mean?"
He genuinely appeared not to understand at all.
Hyunjong narrowed his eyes and observed Cheongmyeong's expression, but he could find no deceit in that face. 'Does he really not know?' A child could not be so skilled in lying.
While Hyunjong was deep in thought, Cheongmyeong was secretly smiling. 'It’s no use to think that way, you fool.' Who was Cheongmyeong? He was the one who had tricked even the renowned Cheongmun, who was said to have ascended to the heavens.
The sect leader had always suspected Cheongmyeong, but in the end, he could never uncover the hidden alcohol and hiding spots that Cheongmyeong had concealed.
Even when pressed, Cheongmyeong remained calm and deceived him, so while Hyunjong had his suspicions, he had no evidence, and thus he had to let it go… No, that wasn’t it! In any case! Even Cheongmun could not see through Cheongmyeong's lies, so there was no way Hyunjong could discern deceit from Cheongmyeong's expression and gestures.
"Did you not say such a thing?"
"I do not remember well. I was so tired that I lost consciousness…"
"Mm."
The logic was perfect.
Having climbed this treacherous volcano with his young body, it was understandable that he would reach his limit.
Thus, it would not be strange if he lost consciousness and collapsed.
However…
"If you were that tired, why did you not say so?"
"I thought it was more important to pay my respects to the sect leader upon entering the sect…"
Hyunjong looked at Unam with a peculiar gaze.
Unam flinched.
Hyunjong's eyes seemed to say, 'The child climbed all the way here alone, and you dragged a dying child to bow? You fool?' Of course, for Unam, it was a maddening situation. 'He was fine!' That child had seemed as lively as a fresh fish until he stepped into the mountain gate.
Yet now he was said to have collapsed from exhaustion! What kind of madness was this? Unam looked at Cheongmyeong with a bewildered expression, but Cheongmyeong feigned innocence, looking as if he knew nothing.
"Ahem."
Hyunjong nodded.
"That could happen. I apologize for not being attentive."
"It’s alright."
"Yes. Then another question arises."
"Excuse me?"
"What is the reason you climbed this treacherous mountain all the way here?"
"……."
"Do not say you just came to take a look. The volcano is not a mountain one can simply climb for experience. Moreover, climbing this mountain with such a young body is no ordinary feat."
Cheongmyeong raised his head to look at Hyunjong.
It was a sharp question.
However, he had already prepared an answer for this question.
"Sect leader."
"I am listening."
"I wish to join the volcano."
Hyunjong's eyes narrowed.
"Join?"
"Yes."
Hyunjong quietly met Cheongmyeong's gaze.
From those bright and innocent eyes, he could read no other intention.
"Does that mean you are admitting that you climbed the volcano on purpose?"
"That is correct."
"Hmm."
Hyunjong nodded.
If Cheongmyeong had insisted that he had just happened to stop by, Hyunjong would not have believed him.
The volcano was not a place one could simply visit.
"To join the volcano. Then that means you know what kind of place the volcano is?"
"Yes."
Hyunjong's eyes narrowed again.
"To join."
Cheongmyeong slightly pursed his lips. 'The logic is perfect.' He could use Cheongjin.
His master, Cheongjin, had gone missing while being chased by the demonic sect before their last battle.
Though it was called missing, dying in war was not missing but death. 'Cheongjin fell from a cliff, but a woodcutter found him and treated him… However, the injury was too severe, so he could not get up.
Out of gratitude to the woodcutter, he passed on the martial arts of the volcano and took him as a disciple.' And Cheongmyeong was the descendant of that woodcutter!
Ah. 'What a brilliant script.' The best part of this script was that Cheongmyeong could adjust his own status.
If the woodcutter who saved Cheongjin was his father, Cheongmyeong would become a direct descendant.
Since it would be embarrassing to say that someone who was a youth a hundred years ago was his father, even if he wrote the script to make him a grandfather, he would still be a wise ancestor.
In other words, he would be on par with the sect leader.
If that happened, no matter how much he pushed his status down, he would still receive a higher status than entering as a complete novice. 'Even so, I cannot receive the same status as these greenhorns.' It was impossible to find the original status, but at least he should receive some preferential treatment.
Just the thought of having to bow his head and treat these greenhorns with respect was infuriating.
'Now, ask me the reason.' Then I will unravel the script I wrote.
In the meantime, if I reveal a bit of Cheongjin's martial arts, it will go smoothly…
"I will allow it."
"Yes. Of course, I will allow… Huh?"
Cheongmyeong's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Hyunjong.
Contrary to his expectations, Hyunjong nodded calmly with a composed expression.
"If you wish to join, then it must be done."
"…What?"
Wait a moment.
This isn’t some neighborhood kids’ martial arts school, and joining shouldn’t be this easy! Isn’t it normal to be suspicious when a child you’ve never seen before comes and says he wants to join?
"Now, sect leader!"
Unam seemed to share the same thoughts and exclaimed in surprise.
"But you said you do not accept new disciples!"
Exactly! It shouldn’t be this easy!
"My mind has changed."
Hyunjong replied lightly with a smile.
"Thinking about it, we are not in a position to be picky about who joins. Moreover, we cannot simply turn away a child who knows the name of the volcano and has come seeking it."
"But…"
"Unam."
"Yes, sect leader."
"Fate connects and intertwines. Regardless of this child's intentions, he has come seeking the volcano by knowing its name. A bird that seeks shelter from the rain should not be chased away, and a beast that comes looking for a den in winter should be given food. What do we have to lose by taking in someone who has come to us?"
It was a statement that felt like a clear manifestation of benevolence.
If someone else had heard it, they might have been moved.
However, Cheongmyeong was a human being who was about thirty thousand miles away from such benevolence or Daoist energy.
Hearing those words made goosebumps rise all over his body. 'What kind of fate is this! If a stranger comes, at least be suspicious first!' How did such a person become the sect leader? No, perhaps it was because of such a person that he became the sect leader.
That was what being a sect leader was about.
"Ah, no, I…"
Cheongmyeong tried to clarify.
"Before that, the life I have lived…"
"It’s alright."
Hyunjong shook his head.
"What kind of life you lived before entering the sect is not important. Whether you lived as a sinner or as a saint, that is merely a matter of the mundane world. The moment you ascend the volcano and take refuge in it, your past self disappears."
Of course, that would be the case.
But this shouldn’t be happening…
"Ah, no…"
"You seem to be insisting even though I said it’s alright."
Hey! I said it’s not alright! Listen to me!
Hyunjong smiled brightly.
"Unam."
"Yes, sect leader."
"Prepare a place for this child and get ready for the initiation ceremony."
"Yes. I will prepare."
"Did you say your name is Cheongmyeong?"
Cheongmyeong nodded without realizing it.
"That’s a good name. A very good name. The name of a child who will become a direct descendant. Hehe. This must also be fate. You need not choose a separate Dao name. You may not know, but your name holds great significance in the volcano."
Hyunjong's eyes grew distant.
"May you become one worthy of that name."
As the situation unfolded to this point, Cheongmyeong had no more words to say.
"…Yes."
"Go on out."
Cheongmyeong stood up with a dazed expression.
Unam also led him outside with a somewhat bewildered face.
"This way."
"……."
As Cheongmyeong stepped outside, the vast sight of the volcano entered his eyes. 'I have joined.' Joined.
At that moment, Unam spoke solemnly, his voice slightly lower than before.
"Though the initiation ceremony has not yet been held, from this moment on, you are a disciple of the volcano. You will become a direct descendant and the youngest among the three great disciples of the volcano."
"……Youngest."
Cheongmyeong's face trembled.
Youngest? Me? The famed Cheongmyeong of the Plum Blossom Sword is the youngest of the volcano?
"Hahaha."
Seeing Cheongmyeong laugh, Unam smiled with satisfaction.
"Seems you are pleased."
"Yes. I am very happy. Hahaha."
But why do I keep tearing up?…
Damn it.