Riding the Tiger's Back
Ouyang Qiangang greeted them with a quick, easy smile.
"Welcome."
Sangguan Wan'er's expression was anything but ordinary. Deep anguish lay written across the face that was usually so composed and confident, and even Yeom Pung looked stiffer than usual.
"Young Master, there is something I must tell you."
There was a heaviness in her voice as she began that was quite unlike her.
"Is something wrong?" Ouyang Qiangang asked, motioning them to sit.
Wan'er hesitated a moment before speaking.
"Young Master, I have brought you the worst of news and the finest of opportunities, both at the same time."
"That's an intriguing way to put it. And that would be?"
Drawing a deep breath, Wan'er spoke.
"Yesterday, I met with Mun Hong-seo, the Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy."
Ouyang Qiangang's eyes sharpened in an instant. The Grand Academician was one of the pivotal figures of the imperial court.
"The reason he sought us out was..."
Wan'er laid out everything in meticulous detail — her meeting with Mun Hong-seo, Princess Myeonghwa's strange illness, his interest in the Life-and-Death Divine Doctor, and finally the terms of the bargain he had proposed.
As he listened, Ouyang Qiangang's expression grew graver by the moment.
"...And so the Grand Academician wishes to meet the Life-and-Death Divine Doctor — you, Young Master — in person. In exchange for curing the Princess's illness, he has promised to guarantee our license for the salt trade."
When she finished, a heavy silence settled over the room.
"But entangling ourselves with the imperial family is like climbing onto a tiger's back. Succeed, and the rewards are immense; fall, and not even your bones will remain."
She looked straight at Ouyang Qiangang as she continued.
"What troubles me more is that you would have to reveal your true identity. The alias Hahu Gang can only carry you so far. Deceiving the Emperor is a risk far too great to bear."
Yeom Pung cut in.
"That is the greatest problem of all. To deceive His Majesty is the capital crime of deceiving the sovereign himself. If you conceal your identity behind a human-skin mask and a false name, and your true self comes to light one day, it would be more than enough for the world to believe you had slighted the Emperor. And that would mean..."
Ouyang Qiangang finished the elder's sentence for him.
"The ruin of the Ouyang Clan."
Wan'er nodded.
"The court and the Murim may observe an unspoken non-aggression, it's true — but for the imperial house to wipe a single martial clan off the map would be no great undertaking."
Yeom Pung spoke in a grave tone.
"There is little chance the Grand Academician's offer is a trap, yet by curing the Princess you may find yourself dragged into the tangled political strife within the palace. Considering the Lady's position, I wish you would accept this offer — but this old man cannot bring himself to say the words."
Wan'er nodded as well.
"Uncle Yeom speaks truly. Nor can I bring myself to urge you down this road, Young Master."
Her voice was calm as she went on.
"The decision must be yours and yours alone. But I have only one piece of advice to offer: this is a gamble far too dangerous..."
Ouyang Qiangang rose from his seat and looked out the window.
The bright spring sun still streamed down, warm and golden, but his thoughts were a tangled knot. Silence stretched for a long moment as Wan'er and Yeom Pung held their breath, waiting for his decision, and a deep furrow carved itself between his brows.
'If we are connected to the throne, we can certainly neutralize much of the pressure from Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor and Gold Mountain Tower. The salt business could break through its difficulties as well...'
But at the same time, the danger was every bit as enormous.
'If my identity is exposed, the entire Ouyang Clan could be plunged into peril. If I reveal my true identity to the Emperor alone, it seems the risk could be contained... but would the Emperor truly keep my secret?'
After a long while of thought, Ouyang Qiangang slowly turned around. Looking at Wan'er and Yeom Pung, he wore, of all things, a serene smile.
"My lady, Grand Hero Yeom — we take this gamble. The bait is far too appetizing to refuse before we have even begun. Besides, as the saying goes, even a man caught between a tiger's teeth can live to tell of it, so long as he keeps his wits about him."
"Young Master..."
"Once it becomes known that my lady enjoys the Grand Academician's protection, at the very least the other wolves will not dare sink their teeth into us so carelessly."
Ouyang Qiangang went on, gazing at the sky beyond the window.
"Until now, we have been the ones driven onto the defensive. Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor's interference, the Spider Blood's raids, Gold Mountain Tower's obstruction... all of it because we were the weak, with no power base in the Imperial Capital."
He looked from one to the other as he continued.
"But what if we are connected to the throne? From that moment on, we are weak no longer. If anything, they will be the ones who cannot afford to touch us."
Wan'er's elegantly beautiful eyes trembled faintly.
Ouyang Qiangang spoke in a level tone.
"Of course it is dangerous. Revealing my identity, stepping into imperial politics — all of it carries risk."
His eyes turned resolute as he pressed on.
"But consider this. If things remain as they are, we will spend the rest of our days hiding and doing nothing but defend, until sooner or later we strike a wall we cannot pass."
He reached his conclusion.
"Young Master!"
Yeom Pung moved to dissuade him again, but Ouyang Qiangang raised a hand to stop him.
"Grand Hero Yeom, thank you for your concern. But my decision is made."
He turned to Wan'er.
"My lady, please convey this to the Grand Academician: the Life-and-Death Divine Doctor, Hahu Gang, will call upon him."
With a complicated expression, Wan'er nodded.
"Understood, Young Master. But..."
"Do not worry. I will prepare thoroughly."
Ouyang Qiangang said with quiet confidence.
"I will reveal my true identity as Ouyang Qiangang to His Majesty the Emperor and no one else. To every other soul, I remain Hahu Gang to the very end — and I ask you both to do your utmost to keep it so."
"Haah... very well."
"My lady, arrange the meeting with the Grand Academician, and gather every scrap of intelligence you can on the palace's inner workings and the political landscape before I set foot inside. I am walking into the very heart of the empire — I must know all there is to know."
"I shall see to it."
"Doctor, will you truly be all right?"
'It will be fine, Akasha. The board is simply growing a little larger.'
From somewhere, he could almost hear the sound of Akasha sighing.
The warehouse at Yeomga Manor, as the sun sank toward the horizon.
Sangguan Wan'er drew a thick volume from her robes and laid it on the table. Its pages were crammed with every piece of intelligence she had gathered on the imperial family during her time in the Imperial Capital.
Wan'er began.
"Young Master, there are things you must know before you enter the palace."
Her voice was more careful than usual as she continued.
"Let me begin with the most important matter. The imperial house is currently split by a ferocious power struggle between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince."
Ouyang Qiangang nodded.
"I have heard as much. But I don't know the details."
"Naturally — it is a struggle within the palace that outsiders can scarcely glimpse. First Prince Han Do and Second Prince Han Seo... The two were born twins, separated by no more than half a quarter-hour, yet that sliver of time made Han Do the elder brother."
Opening the book, Wan'er continued her explanation.
"Crown Prince Han Do enjoys the support of the aristocratic clans, with Left Chancellor Jo Mun-gyeong as his greatest patron. Second Prince Han Seo, by contrast, has allied himself with the military, and it is Minister of War Muk Cheol-gang who pushes him forward."
She turned a page and went on.
"And here lies the crucial point: Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor is supporting Crown Prince Han Do through Left Chancellor Jo Mun-gyeong, while Gold Mountain Tower has attached itself to Prince Han Seo through Minister Muk Cheol-gang's connections."
"A struggle this vicious seems an unlikely product of a few minutes' difference at birth. Is there a deeper reason?"
"There is. The Crown Prince has been frail from the moment he was born, they say. Among the rumors that circulate in whispers, some claim he suffers from the falling sickness."
Ouyang Qiangang's eyes widened slightly. The falling sickness — epilepsy, as it was known in the modern world he had left behind.
Wan'er continued.
"They say he has swallowed every miracle elixir imaginable, and even studied mind cultivation methods under shamans and Taoist adepts of deep attainment from the Mount Hua Sect — yet his condition has never improved."
Ouyang Qiangang frowned slightly.
"And yet he became Crown Prince — so his daily life must be manageable, I take it."
"Yes. But Minister of War Muk Cheol-gang, who holds the military in his grasp, is said to be uneasy — for who can say when the Crown Prince who is to inherit the throne might die?"
"So he is the one who set fire to the Second Prince's ambition?"
"That is so."
"Strange, then. If the Crown Prince is so frail, should the Emperor not be seeking me out for his sake, rather than the Princess's?"
"My own guess is that if you bring Princess Myeonghwa to a complete cure, such an offer will surely follow."
"So they are reluctant to entrust the Crown Prince's body to a physician whose skill has yet to be proven."
"That may well be it."
Wan'er nodded and continued.
"Princess Myeonghwa is His Majesty's youngest daughter, the object of his absolute devotion. Whoever saves her will come to monopolize the Emperor's favor. Which means, Young Master, that you could become the decisive variable in the contest for the throne itself."
Ouyang Qiangang asked.
"If the princes learn that I am the Life-and-Death Divine Doctor, how do you expect them to move?"
"The Second Prince and the Gold Mountain Tower faction will move to actively court you. They know full well that we are at odds with Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor over the salt trade."
"Meaning they believe Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor will keep us from ever joining hands with the Crown Prince."
"Precisely. And it is not an unreasonable belief."
Pointing to a passage in the book, Wan'er went on.
"The Second Prince's faction will seek to draw you — a man certain to command His Majesty's attention — to their side, and use you to check the Crown Prince's faction with the military at its back."
"And the Crown Prince's faction? How will they respond?"
"They will obstruct you at every turn. Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor is leagued with the Crown Prince through the Left Chancellor, so they will regard your emergence as the most dangerous variable of all."
Ouyang Qiangang, silent in thought for a moment, asked.
"My lady, what do you know of Princess Myeonghwa's condition?"
"According to Grand Academician Mun Hong-seo, her chief symptoms are an anemia and wasting of unknown cause, together with intermittent high fevers. The court physicians have failed to identify the cause; all they can say is that there is some irregularity in her heart meridian."
Ouyang Qiangang nodded.
"That is enough. With that much, I can set a direction for treatment."
'Akasha, hearing those symptoms, what does it look like to you?'
"A definitive diagnosis is difficult from symptoms alone, Doctor. However, the highest probability lies with a blood-related disorder or an abnormality of the immune system. An accurate diagnosis will require examining the patient directly."
'I thought as much. And if it is one of those, can we treat it?'
"Of course."
Wan'er asked cautiously.
"Young Master... are you truly certain of this cure? If you were to fail..."
"I will not fail."
At his resolute answer, the room fell quiet for a moment.
"My lady, what worries me is not the possibility of failure. It is what comes after success."
"What do you mean...?"
Ouyang Qiangang looked out the window as he spoke.
"If I cure Princess Myeonghwa completely, I will win His Majesty's profound trust. From that moment, I am no longer a mere artisan of medicine — I become a benefactor of the imperial house."
Yeom Pung's eyes gleamed.
"If that comes to pass, then not only the salt business..."
"Everything changes. Neither Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor nor Gold Mountain Tower will dare lay a hand on us again."
Wan'er's eyes trembled faintly.
"But if your reading of the palace's situation is accurate, my lady, the odds that I will sail smooth waters until the Princess's treatment is complete — like a ship with the wind forever at its back — are close to none."
"I am afraid... that is likely so..."
Ouyang Qiangang looked at Wan'er.
"My lady, tell the Grand Academician this: I am ready to enter the palace as early as tomorrow."
Wan'er nodded.
"Understood."