Blood Shura (1)
“Cross this border and we’ll be in Hubei Province.”
“At last, I can see the end of this journey.”
“I’m really looking forward to seeing what the Wulin Alliance looks like!”
“Come on, a city’s a city. Don’t get your hopes up, junior sister… Ack! Why’d you hit me?!”
“Senior brother, you have no tact at all!”
So this is Hubei. After months of travel, I’d come to understand just how absurdly vast China was, yet the news that we were nearing the end of our journey still didn’t feel real.
They say it takes a whole month just to cross this land. The sheer scale of it was staggering.
“Our destination today is Tongtian City. It sits at the southernmost tip of Hubei, so once we arrive, we can say we’ve entered the province proper.”
“The southernmost tip… I’ve heard the Wudang Sect and the Zhuge Clan are in Hubei.”
If the chance arose, I wouldn’t mind visiting. When I voiced the thought, Elder Baek-hyeon smiled and nodded.
“That’s right. But unless we go out of our way, we won’t see the Wudang Sect. The Alliance is in Wuhan, while Wudang Mountain lies at the northwestern edge of the province.”
Given China’s enormous size, even a single trip to Wudang would be a major undertaking. Hubei alone was roughly half the size of the Korean peninsula. The scale was simply overwhelming.
“The Zhuge Clan is in Jingzhou! We probably won’t have time to visit, though…”
“The Zhuge Clan, huh…”
How had they been portrayed in the original story? Truthfully, aside from having a single strategist in the Wulin Alliance, they hadn’t left much of an impression. They weren’t particularly renowned for martial prowess, and beyond Zhuge Sanwol, the Alliance’s military advisor who appeared whenever the Wulin Alliance arc came up, they had little presence.
I probably wouldn’t have any dealings with them, so there was no need to worry.
“Come to think of it, I heard you’re acquainted with the Alliance’s strategist.”
“I used to be quite the social butterfly back in my Hainan Sect days. During my time wandering the jianghu, I made all sorts of friends. I even met my wife while traveling the martial world.”
A gentle smile formed on Baek-hyeon’s lips. He must have been thinking of his wife. They had been a loving couple.
“I suppose I should work on expanding my own network…”
“As the senior disciple, building connections is important. The more friends you have, the better, and the fewer enemies, the better.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“As the sage said, ‘Even in thirst, do not drink from the stolen spring.’ As senior disciple, you must learn how to interact with people in the Alliance—and how not to be swayed by honeyed words.”
“Yes, sir!”
The next sect leader, huh. That was a heavy burden.
…Right before the final battle, the commander had said he would recommend me for the rank of knight banneret if I survived. If we had won that last fight, I might have been strutting around by now. I would have been the youngest banneret in history.
Well, that dream had long since turned to dust.
“Uncle, are you feeling unwell?”
“…Just thinking about the past.”
“The past?”
“Not particularly pleasant memories.”
“Since we’re in a new land, why not forget the past and start fresh? The Central Plains is a good place to live.”
“Except for the fact that the Demonic Cult is about to declare war.”
“Ah.”
Hye-ryeong gave an awkward smile, as if she had only just remembered.
…If it weren’t for the Demonic Cult, I might have found some quiet job or become a hanger-on and lived peacefully by now. Whether here or there, it was all one step away from hell.
“Still, if all the martial artists unite, we can surely defeat them.”
“I suppose so.”
After all, the protagonist had toppled the Demonic Cult with the Alliance’s support.
…Come to think of it, if I went to the Wulin Alliance, I might meet the protagonist. If my memory was correct, he should have joined the Alliance’s patrol unit around this time.
I had no desire to become friends, but I did want to see him from a distance at least once. It would be good to check whether the protagonist had changed in any way from the original story, and I was also curious about the face that was supposedly so handsome it drew women like flies.
…Still, the biggest reason was to ease my own anxiety. What if the protagonist didn’t exist? What if he had dropped out for some reason? …Just imagining it was terrifying. So I had to confirm his existence. Without the protagonist, whether the martial world could stop the Demonic Cult was uncertain—and that uncertainty would determine the starting point of my peaceful future.
“Uncle?”
“Ah, sorry. What were we talking about?”
“Nothing. You just suddenly went quiet with a serious look on your face…”
“I was just thinking about my next meal. Don’t worry about it.”
At my words, Hye-ryeong frowned, clearly unconvinced by the “next meal” excuse.
“Do you really need to worry about food? You could just live on Hainan Island.”
“You never know what might happen in this world, so it’s best to prepare in advance.”
Who could have predicted I would end up drifting all the way to the Central Plains? Just a few months ago, the commander and I had been betting on what to have for lunch.
“Hainan Island is already a wonderful place… So you prefer cities, Uncle…”
Hye-ryeong’s shoulders slumped dejectedly.
“It’s not that I prefer cities… I just can’t keep freeloading off the Hainan Sect forever.”
They wouldn’t complain if I stayed, but a man had his pride. I couldn’t just do nothing. I planned to either secure a suitable position in the Wulin Alliance or raise my cultivation until I was recognized as a master in the martial world.
“Still, if you have nowhere else to go, you’ll come to the Hainan Sect, right?”
“I’d rather keep that as a last resort for now.”
I had come all the way to the Central Plains; even if I couldn’t find a place to settle, I at least wanted to look around. At the very least, I wanted to visit famous sects like Wudang Mountain, Song Mountain, and Mount Hua.
“Junior sister, aren’t you being a bit too obvious?”
“Senior brother, could you please be quiet?”
“…”
Ha-gyeong, if you had even half a clue, you’d be halfway there. I caught a glimpse of Hye-ryeong’s fierce glare as she whipped her head away and gave a wry smile. That guy was always getting hit for his cheeky behavior, yet he never stopped. In the strangest way, he was a man of principle.
“Haha, the Hainan Sect will always welcome you. Come visit anytime. We’ll treat you with the utmost hospitality.”
“Thank you.”
While chatting like this, the sky had begun to turn crimson. It was time to find a place to camp.
“There’s a valley nearby. Let’s camp there.”
Everyone nodded in agreement at Elder Baek-hyeon’s words. I had no reason to object, so I nodded along with the Hainan Sect disciples.
“Whoa…”
“Just looking at it clears the mind. Quite the waterfall.”
“Elder! I heard Taoist priests train by standing under waterfalls naked!”
“The Shaolin monks do the same. Both Taoists and monks often sit in meditation beneath waterfalls. I’m not sure how effective it is, but it’s worth trying at least once, don’t you think?”
Training under a waterfall, huh. It sounded romantic, but actually doing it? Not particularly. Maybe in summer, but in this cool weather, I had no desire to be pummeled by falling water. Even if a martial artist’s body was incredibly sturdy, there was no reason to deliberately seek out pain. I wasn’t some monk training in the Diamond Body technique.
“Ha-gyeong and Mu-gwang, go gather branches for firewood.”
“Yes!”
“Ha-jin and Geon-sam, come with me to hunt.”
“Elder, what about me?”
Hye-ryeong looked at the elder as if to ask why she had been left out, her expression slightly hurt. The elder let out a soft, cotton-candy-like laugh.
“Well… why don’t you and Sir Wi go catch some fish in the valley?”
As he spoke, the elder gave me a meaningful look. It was what people called a wink. I hadn’t expected to see one here…
That said, receiving that “the old man’s stepping aside so the young folks can have some time” look made me feel oddly self-conscious.
“Uncle! Let’s go catch fish!”
“Sure.”
We turned and headed straight for the valley. Up close, the waterfall crashing down with enough force to shatter the valley itself was truly spectacular. At the very least, standing under it might cure a stiff shoulder—though it could just as easily break your neck.
“With the current this strong, fishing is out of the question.”
I broke a thick branch from a nearby tree and trimmed it with my dagger. Even martial artists were nothing more than living creatures before the tyranny of nature. There was no need to foolishly fight against it. The smart thing was to make a spear, as befitting the lord of all creation, and hunt fish that way.
“Have you caught a lot of fish before, Uncle?”
“Not really. Never had the chance.”
There had been no time for fishing on the battlefield. I was simply copying something I had once seen in a movie. In my mind, fish hunting equaled spearing.
“Hehe, I’ll teach you! I used to catch plenty when I was little!”
“If you want to.”
I handed the spear to Hye-ryeong. She accepted it with a confident expression and strode toward the valley, beginning to scan the water.
“Where are the fish~?”
“What’s wrong? Something happen?”
“Uncle! Look at this!”
What now? At her urgent call, I abandoned my own spear-making and hurried over. When I reached her, she pointed at the water.
“Look at this!”
“What?”
Following her finger, I saw something red floating downstream. Hye-ryeong skillfully speared it and pulled it onto the bank.
“A piece of cloth?”
A cloth soaked in blood. Naturally, our gazes turned upstream, toward where the cloth must have come from. Above the waterfall. Between the roaring falls, a single streak of crimson revealed an ominous sign.
…Why couldn’t a single day go by peacefully?
I sighed, sensing yet another troublesome incident.