Chapter 208: Hainan Sect Patriarch Meeting-2
Chapter 208: Hainan Sect Patriarch Meeting-2
In the end, the council had no choice but to conclude with Jin Tae-do backing down.
Myo Cheong-ju, the head of the Myo family who had been trying to mediate somehow, could no longer do anything and demanded that Jin Tae-do concede. As a result, Jin Tae-do was forced to postpone the council for two weeks, saying he would reconsider his position on the naval forces.
The moment the council ended, Jin Tae-do could no longer contain himself and was the first to storm out of the council chamber.
Kwaang!
His behavior was the complete opposite of his usual demeanor, where he would remain until the very end, smiling as he saw off the other family heads.
An unbearable fury seemed to radiate even from his retreating figure.
At this, the flustered heads of the Chuk, Mi, Sul, and Hae families, caught off guard by his actions, hurriedly called out to him and rushed out in pursuit.
"Ja, Sect Leader!"
"Sect Leader Jin!"
"P-please wait!"
As they all disappeared outside the council chamber and silence fell within, Oh Ik-deok, who had been suppressing his laughter, finally could not hold back and burst into a roar of mirth.
"Euhahahahaha! I think this is the first time I've ever seen that snake unable to suppress his anger and reveal his true feelings like this! In all my recent councils, I have never felt as exhilarated as I did today! I feel completely refreshed, Brother! Euhahahahaha!"
At that hearty laughter, Shin Doo-wol, the head of the Shin family, who had a small but solid build, chimed in and also burst out laughing.
"Kuhahahahaha! The feeling is mutual! How refreshing! I must return immediately and strike the iron! If I forge a sword while keeping this mood, I feel it will be quite the masterpiece! Kuhahahaha!"
However, not everyone's expression was bright.
Myo Cheong-ju, the eldest among them and head of the Myo family, scolded them.
"You two, this is no time for such laughter!"
Then, as if chiding Ja Gae-chu, the head of the Ja family who was the second eldest after himself, he said,
"Head of the Ja family! I could at least understand those hot-blooded ones, but I never imagined that even the head of the Ja family would agree with this argument. What in the world are you thinking? Even if our opinions differ, can you not imagine what the future of Hainan Island will be like if we are divided?!"
At that, it was not Ja Gae-chu, who was stroking his goatee and averting his eyes, but Yu Hae-eung who answered.
"Honored Myo Family Head. The order of things seems to have been changed. We did not divide the Haenam Sect. Was it not the naval forces, or more precisely, the head of the Jin family, who divided us? I clearly stated that I would take command of the naval forces under him. Is that demand serious enough to split the Haenam Sect?"
At this, the head of the Myo family let out a deep sigh and spoke as if trying to soothe him.
"Huuu. Head of the Yu family, is he not the sect leader we elected? It is only natural for the sect leader to hold command of the armed forces. Yet, if someone like you becomes the commander of the naval forces, how could the sect leader move the armed forces as he pleases? Ultimately, is that not saying you would seize command of the armed forces from the sect leader? How is that...?"
At that moment, Yu Hae-eung cut him off and spoke.
"Strictly speaking, we never elected him. Because, for some reason, the one person we were to choose vanished, and we never had that chance."
At those words, Ja Gae-chu's expression hardened instantly.
"...What are you trying to say? Surely even you are not going to indulge in the baseless conspiracy theory that the loose-tongued gossip about, the idea that Sect Leader Jin killed the head of the In clan?"
At that, Yu Hae-eung looked at him with a strange glint in his eye and replied.
"I've felt this for some time, but you're saying strange things. After all, doesn't every unrevealed fact get labeled a conspiracy theory until it comes to light? And... what I wish to say is not that he killed the Honored In Family Head, but that he is not the sect leader we elected. Who knows. Perhaps if he had issued a command by bringing the sacred heirloom, the Baekho Sword, we might have had no choice but to follow. But now, even that is gone. Though I do not know because of whom it disappeared."
Yu Hae-eung was now stating that Jin Tae-do held neither the qualifications nor the authority of sect leader.
In other words, he was saying he would no longer acknowledge Jin Tae-do as the sect leader.
At that, the other family heads also nodded as if agreeing with his words.
Witnessing this, Myo Cheong-ju, the head of the Myo family, could only let out a deep sigh.
***
Myo A-ran, the youngest daughter of the Myo family head Myo Cheong-ju, had already been sitting in a small pavilion in the Haenam Sect garden for an hour, reading a book and waiting for her father.
Many servants passed by, sneaking glances and whispering.
It was because her figure, reading without the slightest movement for an hour, was like a painting.
Her graceful bearing was a beautiful sight worthy of the reputation that had made her famous across all of Hainan Island for her elegant and dignified appearance.
Voices of admiration from the servants could be heard here and there.
"Young Lady Myo A-ran is as beautiful as ever!"
"How can she look so much like a celestial maiden?"
"Who on earth will someone like her end up marrying?"
"Indeed. Since the successor of the In clan has vanished, there is no betrothed anymore, right?"
"Still though, she was supposed to be the lady of the In clan. Could anyone else easily marry the young lady?"
The whispering of the servants was inevitably far too clear to the ears of Myo A-ran, who had reached the peak realm.
But she read her book without the slightest disturbance, as if she didn't hear those praises and whispers at all.
A moment later, she suddenly raised her head and looked beyond the pavilion.
From the direction her gaze was fixed, her father Myo Cheong-ju was approaching with a dark expression.
At this, Myo A-ran smiled gently with her refined face and asked her father.
"Your expression is not good, Father. Something must have happened during the council?"
At her question, Myo Cheong-ju shook his head and replied.
"Something? No. Let us return quickly."
At that, Myo A-ran's eyes sparkled, and she asked cautiously.
"By any chance... did the head of the Yu family rise in rebellion?"
Myo Cheong-ju looked at Myo A-ran in startled surprise.
The world might only heap praise upon Myo A-ran's appearance, but Myo Cheong-ju knew well that his youngest daughter possessed wisdom that surpassed even her beauty.
But what she had just said was excessive even for him, who knew that fact.
How on earth could she deduce such a thing just by looking at his expression?
And by pinpointing Yu Hae-eung's name, no less.
Myo Cheong-ju sighed and answered.
"Your eyes are utterly impossible to deceive. How on earth did you guess that?"
At that, Myo A-ran smiled fleetingly and answered.
"I was merely lucky. I simply predicted that if things went on like this, people who would rebel against Sect Leader Jin were bound to appear. It was actually a little later than I expected. And I only thought that among the family heads, the only one with the stature to oppose Sect Leader Jin is the head of the Yu family."
At that answer, Myo Cheong-ju slowly nodded.
"I see. Yes, your prediction was correct. The head of the Yu family said so. That if the naval forces are not placed under his command or completely disbanded, the Hainan Yu family will leave the Haenam Sect. At that, not only the heads of the Oh and Shin families but also the head of the Ja family agreed with him."
"I see."
Myo A-ran smiled fleetingly and nodded.
Her expression showed she had somehow expected it.
Looking at his daughter, Myo Cheong-ju asked her with a slightly sullen expression.
"You look rather pleased. Surely you don't also think what they said was right?"
At that, Myo A-ran smiled and asked Myo Cheong-ju in return.
"Do you think their actions were wrong, Father?"
At that counter-question, Myo Cheong-ju spoke as if his anger had flared up.
"Of course they are, aren't they?! Even if Sect Leader Jin's methods are extreme, division, you say?! At a time when we are continuously clashing with a great enemy known as the demonic cult, do you truly not know how reckless that is?!"
But even in the face of his furious voice, Myo A-ran looked at her father with calm eyes and slowly answered.
"If that premise is correct, then it could be so."
At those words, Myo Cheong-ju's expression hardened.
"...What did you say? If that premise is correct?"
At that, Myo A-ran looked steadily at her father with an unreadable glint in her eyes and answered.
"But... is the premise that we are continuously clashing with a great enemy known as the demonic cult really correct? Do you truly think so, Father?"
At those words, Myo Cheong-ju could not answer for a moment.
It was because Myo A-ran was looking at him with eyes that seemed to know something.
***
Jin Tae-do, the sect leader of the Haenam Sect, known as the Haenam Demon Sword or the Southern Sea Net, had to exert superhuman patience as he stormed out of the council chamber and returned to his office.
It was because the faint sounds of the family heads' roaring laughter from behind made him want to go back and swing his sword immediately.
Eu-deudeuk!
'To dare!'
He suppressed the impulse, grinding his teeth hard enough to break them.
Then, he coldly spoke to the family heads who were following him.
"I intend to gather my thoughts alone for a moment, so all of you, return."
At his words, the heads of the Chuk, Sul, Mi, and Hae families, who had been hurriedly chasing after him, wore flustered expressions and then hastily bowed their heads as they answered.
"Ah, ah, yes, Sect Leader. Understood."
"Please do not lend your ears to the words of such people... ."
"Then we shall take our leave."
Jin Tae-do watched their retreating figures, scattering in a rush at just a single word from him, with cold eyes.
If the ones who had rebelled against him were people like them, he would have dealt with them immediately without hesitation, and it was deeply regrettable that he could not.
Unlike those useless types, the family heads who remained in the council chamber were individuals who each held critical roles within the Haenam Sect.
The Yu family, who trained archers; the Oh family, who built ships and trained sailors; the Shin family, who manufactured all kinds of weaponry; and the Ja family, who managed the finances.
There was not a single clan among them that could be dealt with lightly.
In the end, suppressing his fury, Jin Tae-do sat in his office, seething for a long time with a murderous glare.
But at some point, he smirked and muttered as if chewing and spitting the words out.
"Yes, this is why the Haenam Sect won't work. With this flimsy structure that cannot concentrate power in a strong leader, it can never grow any further. So... ."
Having spoken that far, Jin Tae-do suddenly grinned fiercely and said,
"Disband the naval forces? Fine, I'll disband them. I'll disband them and more. Just wait a little longer, Yu Hae-eung. Because on the day my own power is complete, I will grant your wish."
Jin Tae-do had actually harbored such thoughts from the very beginning.
That there was a limit to being the sect leader of the Haenam Sect, having to consider the opinions of the other family heads.
For himself to become the ruler of the Southern Sea, he needed a force that moved solely according to his will, a force that was entirely his own.
Therefore, he had been secretly building his own power on the mainland for some time.
His method was to covertly seize small sects and slowly nurture them to grow.
In truth, the story that the ships of the naval forces had clashed with the demonic cult's fleet and sunk was a lie.
Jin Tae-do had been informing people that the ships had sunk, while gradually extracting the troops of the naval forces and transferring them to his own faction.
All while using that as an excuse to continuously apply pressure to expand the scale of the naval forces.
All of it was a plan by Jin Tae-do to cultivate his own direct forces.
And now, those forces had grown considerably, establishing themselves as factions representing Guangxi Province and Guangdong Province, respectively.
These were the Hapsan Sect of Guangxi Province and the White Religion Sect of Guangdong Province.
Jin Tae-do stroked his chin and muttered.
"In any case, I wished to transfer all the troops of the naval forces to the White Religion Sect if possible. Must I send them to the Hapsan Sect first?"
Unlike the Hapsan Sect, which had now clearly become the strongest sect in Guangxi Province, the White Religion Sect in Guangdong Province had yet to surpass the power of the Guangdong Jin family.
Therefore, Jin Tae-do had been gradually moving the naval forces' power to the White Religion Sect so that others would not notice.
"Hmm... ."
But Jin Tae-do, who had been muttering to himself, frowned as if he found the idea disagreeable.
This was because he wanted to properly grow the White Religion Sect's power rather than the Hapsan Sect's.
Unlike the Hapsan Sect, which he had created in partnership with the Hengshan Sect, the White Religion Sect was solely his own faction.
Furthermore, Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, where the White Religion Sect was located, was a strategic hub that could advance to the sea via waterways.
And it was convenient to transfer the naval forces' power along those waterways.
So he had been in the middle of slowly moving the naval forces' power to strengthen the White Religion Sect, but Yu Hae-eung had revolted before that operation was complete.
Jin Tae-do suddenly clicked his tongue and muttered.
"Tsk, if only I had a little more time... ."
To him, it could not be anything other than a regretful matter.
If he only had about a year more, he could have managed things much more easily.
He was deep in thought about how to transfer the naval forces' troops to the White Religion Sect when,
suddenly, his subordinate urgently knocked on the office door.
Tok! Tok! Tok!
"My lord! It is your subordinate!"
It was a very urgent voice.
At his subordinate's fuss, so unlike his usual self, Jin Tae-do frowned and said,
"Enter."
Then, the subordinate, who rushed in with a deathly pale face, spoke urgently.
"My lord, a great calamity has struck!"
"...A great calamity?"
"Yes, the Hapsan Sect, the Hapsan Sect is...!"
As he listened to his subordinate's report, Jin Tae-do's eyes began to steadily widen.