Along the River, Along the Wind - 3
For a while, I couldn't trust my own eyes. Even though I'd read it myself, I couldn't comprehend or believe what was written on that scroll.
Does this even make sense?
Two people. Just two people were toying with a massive sect renowned not only in Sichuan but across the Central Plains.
And those two weren't even working together—they were operating separately.
One of them was going around bullying an entire sect like a thug.
Are they really the same sects I know? Just sects with the same names?
I even had thoughts like that. Could the Cheongseongpa and Amipa mentioned on this scroll be different from the ones I knew? Maybe it was just a coincidence, some other sects with overlapping names?
But no, that didn't hold up. The report clearly named Cheongseong Mountain and Ami Mountain. Sect names might overlap once in a thousand or ten thousand chances, but there's only one Cheongseong Mountain and one Ami Mountain under heaven.
'Munwon and Munkyeong.'
I double-checked the names of the culprits on the scroll.
The duo of villains who drove the compassionate Amipa sect leader to rage and flipped the eyes of the leisurely Taoist Cheongseongpa leader in fury.
These guys are totally from the Tang family.
No matter how I looked at it, these bastards seemed to be introducing themselves without the "Tang" prefix.
Honestly, it wasn't "seemed"—it was certain. In Sichuan, warriors using venomous insects who could toy with a major sect? Only the Sichuan Tang family fit the bill.
"...Quite the bizarre and unique pair of rogues, aren't they?"
I handed the scroll back to Prefect Pojeongsa first. I'd confirmed all the contents, and I had no desire to keep holding onto that monstrosity.
"Truly bizarre. It's suspicious enough that martial artists skilled enough to evade sect eyes suddenly appeared, but the fact that they're trespassing on private lands? Unthinkable."
Of course, Pojeongsa stared at the scroll like it was something repulsive but didn't touch it with his hands.
"If they were scavenging for some fortuitous encounter inside private lands, that might be one thing. But these rogues are fixated solely on venomous insects and poisonous herbs. This was confirmed when Amipa detained that Munwon fellow."
Pojeongsa rubbed his furrowed brow, as if his head ached, and let out a deep sigh.
To someone with Pojeongsa's common sense, this situation must be utterly incomprehensible.
Warriors normally devote themselves to the bureaucracy, serving the emperor and the state, or if they have no taste for officialdom, they join murim factions.
It's easier to assume independents don't go around causing chaos like this.
And independents lack the power to cause real chaos anyway.
Affiliated ronin grow far slower than sect or clan warriors. Belonging somewhere means inheriting all sorts of know-how from seniors, but independents must carve their path solely on their own talent.
Yet this rogue duo had succeeded as independents, evolving into true experts.
The bureaucracy's gritted-teeth report didn't list affiliations for Munwon or Munkyeong, so it was certain.
Are these the founders of the Tang family?
I swallowed a burst of laughter and sorted my thoughts.
In this world, there was no Tang family. The Tang clansmen existed, of course, but the staple wuxia powerhouse, the Sichuan Tang family sect, did not.
When I first learned there was no Tang family, I figured they'd been wiped out amid the wars.
Sichuan was a frontier from the Central Plains' view, but right next door from Xizang—Tibet's—perspective.
During the ancestor's great uprising, the Tibetan Buddhists were smacked first here in Sichuan.
Cheongseongpa and Amipa took heavy losses back then too.
Real deal high monks pouring in from Tibetan heartlands. Fighting them tooth and nail cost Cheongseongpa and Amipa dearly.
A single clan getting wiped out in the process? Not strange at all.
But the Tang family hadn't been wiped out. Nor had they stayed silent like other clans, enduring bureaucratic suppression.
The Tang family simply never existed to begin with. No existence, no extermination.
And now, in my era, figures who seemed to be their founders had appeared.
This is insane.
In the end, a hollow laugh escaped me.
How could a staple wuxia powerhouse debut exactly in the era I'm active? Was the Prime Celestial honoring the reincarnator with an event?
"Left Vice Inspector."
"Yes, Prefect, sir."
As my hollow laugh slipped out, Pojeongsa looked at me with warm eyes.
"Don't try to make sense of it with your head. The more you try to understand this mess, the more it'll hurt you."
"Thank you for the valuable advice."
His words brimmed with sincerity, so I bowed my head slightly.
Even I, who knew of the Tang family, found this bizarre situation bewildering—what must it be like for Pojeongsa, who knew nothing?
Bastards like demonic cultists.
Not even officially founded yet, and already shaking the bureaucracy and righteous sects. No demonic cult did it better.
After exchanging subtle glances with Pojeongsa, we discussed the minor bombshell those two Tang rogues had lobbed.
"As you saw, Cheongseongpa and Amipa's fury has peaked. If they weren't enraged at their home turf being toyed with constantly, that'd be the real oddity."
I nodded at Pojeongsa's words.
The two sects had shown the Tang rogue duo plenty of goodwill.
Amipa had conditionally permitted Munwon to wander their private lands and let it slide multiple times with mere warnings even after he violated terms by roaming alone.
Cheongseongpa even had an elder personally parley with Munkyeong. Sure, there was the bee-sting incident with the elder, but they responded with a mountain blockade rather than personal revenge.
But despite their long-suffering patience and goodwill, the two rogues treated Cheongseong Mountain and Ami Mountain like their own backyard.
Now, the two sect leaders couldn't overlook it—neither as humans nor as heads of their organizations.
"That's why, not long ago, warriors from Cheongseongpa and Amipa descended in large numbers. They're not waiting for the rogues to show—they're scouring all of Sichuan to hunt them down."
That explained the tense atmosphere in Sichuan.
Even six or seven parakho with swords made commoners shrink back. Now massive forces from two giant sects were swarming everywhere.
And not casually traveling, but prowling with clear intent to capture and thrash the rogues.
No matter how harmless Cheongseongpa and Amipa were to the people, warriors exuded presence. Half-maddened warriors popping up everywhere? Of course the commoners would whisper.
"I'd love to tell them to stand down, but... no justification. Warriors live down the mountain too—it's natural. They've never directly harmed civilians. They're just searching Sichuan high and low."
Pojeongsa was right.
Cheongseongpa and Amipa warriors were loyal Dasong subjects following the emperor. Unless they'd committed crimes, we couldn't restrict their movements.
They weren't prisoners in exile—we couldn't stop them from descending their mountains and wandering.
Pojeongsa sighed for the umpteenth time, glaring at the scroll with irritation.
"Who could've guessed lunatics would pick fights with Cheongseongpa and Amipa?"
I had no reply to his lament. My head spun when I first heard; I couldn't fathom Pojeongsa's feelings receiving these bizarre reports in real time.
"...At least His Highness Nang-jung Wang has taken an interest. That's a relief."
"Truly glad to hear it."
Nang-jung Wang, Sichuan's top heavyweight, getting involved. It meant the situation had gone mad, but it also massively eased the burden on Pojeongsa and the officials.
A mere prefect couldn't mobilize what Nang-jung Wang could, after all.
"The rogues are fixated on venomous insects, poisonous herbs, or at least venomous snakes and such. They've probably turned all of Sichuan upside down long ago and now have their eyes on the last untapped spots: Cheongseongpa and Amipa's private lands."
Solid reasoning, so I nodded in agreement.
Even lunatics had their own logic and common sense. Having farmed all the poisons spread across Sichuan, they'd have no choice but to turn to Cheongseongpa and Amipa.
Those sects' private lands were absolute no-go zones for normals—gold mines untouched by anyone, from the two Tangs' perspective.
"So His Highness Nang-jung Wang provided bait to lure them out."
Pojeongsa rose and fetched a small jar from the shelf.
"Sir... what is this...?"
"A three-headed snake."
What?
'Pardon?'
At the sudden mention of a three-headed snake, I shifted my gaze from Pojeongsa to the jar.
Snakes and scorpions symbolize poison, and a ferocious viper's venom could easily kill a man.
Among vipers, the two-headed snake—double-headed serpent—was treated as both spirit beast and monstrosity.
But what? Three-headed?
'Such a thing exists?'
Mind-blowing. I'd never heard of a three-headed snake, let alone imagined one sharing space with me.
"Even the Left Vice Inspector is surprised. Those rogues will go berserk for it."
Satisfied with my reaction, Pojeongsa uncorked the jar.
"S-Sir!"
"No worries. Surprisingly docile fellow."
Uttering the absurd, Pojeongsa upended the jar, dumping its contents onto the desk.
A snake plopped onto the desk.
'...What the hell.'
I was speechless at the snake's appearance.
It was indeed three-headed. Three heads, each with horns sprouting. Eyes blood-red, scales chillingly pure white.
Even an ignorant layman would spot it as a spirit beast.
But it inspired no intimidation or fear.
- Shiiik, shiiiik!
The three-headed snake, about two finger-widths long, twisted its heads every which way, circling the desk in confusion.
'It's tiny.'
Tiny. Way too tiny.
By its looks, clearly a venom-packed spirit beast, yet so small it felt harmless.
"A baby three-headed snake His Highness Nang-jung Wang recently found. Still young, so its venom isn't that potent."
"Not potent how, exactly?"
"A bit itchy?"
He tapped one head with his pinky.
- Shaaaak!
The snake, which had flinched from my finger earlier, mustered resolve and bit down with a determined look.
"...It itches."
Like a real mosquito bite.
"But the rogues won't know that. They'll fixate on the fact that a three-headed snake is in the prefect's hands."
Definitely a killer plan, so I nodded calmly.
Poison fanatics wouldn't ignore a three-headed snake.
- Shiiiik!
Shaaaak!
- Sieeek!
- Shuuuuk!
"Whoa, must've gotten spooked coming out. Poor thing."
"Wasn't it angry?"
"Didn't I say? Docile critters."
Pojeongsa returned the snake to the jar, and it went instantly quiet inside.
Somehow, every spirit beast I encounter is anything but normal.