Monopolizing Fortunes (184)
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Monopolizing Fortunes (184)
Do Tong-dal looked at Yeon Ju-yang and asked.
"Why don't you ask the former Sect Leader about that?"
Yeon Ju-yang, who had been singled out, jumped in alarm.
"A spirit medicine! How would I know anything about that?!"
"And what about the incident where disciples of Mount Hua and Jongnam raped the wife of the Won Merchant Company's head?"
For a moment, Yeon Ju-yang was at a loss for words. Even without mastering the Mind-Reading Art, anyone could read that expression on his face.
"Ju-yang, do you know something?"
Startled back to his senses by Bang Si-bo's question, Yeon Ju-yang shook his head.
"How would I know such a preposterous story?"
Baek So-gu spoke with a long sigh.
"No matter how long you've been in seclusion, you must have heard about the dark forces shaking the martial world these days."
Since they weren't corpses, of course they had heard.
"Their name is the Revenge Society, and the Won Merchant Company is their predecessor."
"Wh-what did you say?"
"I'm saying that the seeds of evil sown by Mount Hua and Jongnam eighteen years ago are now throwing the martial world into chaos."
"We only carried out righteous punishment!"
"What if what you know, Senior Bang, is false? What if they did it to cover up the crimes committed by Mount Hua and Jongnam disciples? What if they committed those acts because they coveted the spirit medicine? What will you do then?"
"Mount Hua and Jongnam are part of the Nine Great Sects! The Nine Great Sects, who treat righteousness and chivalry as their very lives! Do you think that makes any sense?! Do not insult us any further!"
Baek So-gu looked at Yeon Ju-yang.
"Senior Yeon, why don't you say the same?"
But Yeon Ju-yang only frowned and could not say a word.
"Ju-yang, say something. Are you just going to sit there and listen to that nonsense?"
"I... I..."
"Because of what Mount Hua and Jongnam did back then, dozens, hundreds of innocent martial artists have suffered until now, and perhaps hundreds or thousands more may die in the future."
Surprise seeped into Bang Si-bo's face, which had been locked in fury.
"Is what... Sect Leader Baek is saying true? Is it really true?"
Yeon Ju-yang, who had been shaking his head, pulled a nearby chair over and slumped down into it.
"I truly didn't know about the spirit medicine. I never even heard that such a thing existed. I... I..."
"So you did know that Mount Hua and Jongnam disciples raped and murdered the wife of the Won Merchant Company's head."
Bang Si-bo's voice fell onto the back of Yeon Ju-yang's deeply bowed head.
"Is what he says true? It wasn't the eldest son of the Won Merchant Company who raped our disciple, but Mount Hua and Jongnam disciples who raped and murdered the wife of the Won Merchant Company's head? Ju-yang! Tell me! Answer me!"
"There was no other choice. If that fact became known, what would the martial world say about Mount Hua and Jongnam? The face of the Nine Great Sects would fall to the ground, and even the spirit of the orthodox sects would surely be called into question. Even when we acted chivalrously, the unorthodox sects would point fingers and call us hypocrites. There was no other choice. We had no choice but to sacrifice the small for the sake of the great."
"And you call that an excuse?! To annihilate an innocent family because you feared criticism! How could... how could Mount Hua and Jongnam do something only evil spirits would do?!"
Bang Si-bo shouted as though coughing up blood, then collapsed onto the floor.
The shoulders of the old man nearing eighty sagged endlessly, as if they would burrow into the ground.
"I thought it was simply punishment... I lived with only the self-reproach that the punishment had been excessive... How can I face the spirits of Mount Hua Sect?"
Suddenly, Bang Si-bo aimed his fist at his own temple. Startled by Bang Si-bo's action, Baek So-gu and Yeon Ju-yang flinched.
The person who moved quickly was Do Tong-dal. Because he had sensed the shadow of death over Bang Si-bo's entire body, he had been preparing just in case.
Do Tong-dal's palm slid between the temple and the fist. There was a thud, but since it struck Do Tong-dal's palm, the impact wasn't great.
"Senior! What are you doing?!"
"Don't stop me! How can I live with myself! I killed so many innocent people, how can I keep breathing out of shame?!"
"Shame! If you die irresponsibly because of that, the people left behind will bleed even more!"
Baek So-gu lifted the deeply bowed Bang Si-bo and seated him in a chair. The heavy silence that followed for a while calmed Bang Si-bo somewhat.
"What should be done about this? How can I repay this sin? I can think of nothing but death."
"You said it yourself: the one who tied the knot must untie it."
"I must. Since I caused it, I must clean it up. But what strength does this old man have?"
In that brief moment, Bang Si-bo seemed to have aged into a hundred-year-old man.
"Actually, the person who uncovered all of this isn't me, but this friend here."
Bang Si-bo's and Yeon Ju-yang's gazes gathered on Do Tong-dal.
"It was also Hall Master Do who prevented the great orthodox-unorthodox war that nearly broke out due to the Revenge Society's schemes."
Do Tong-dal spoke.
"Do the two of you have the will to resolve this matter with the Revenge Society?"
"We must. No matter what, we must."
Since he had even tried to take his own life out of shame, Bang Si-bo's words could be trusted. Yeon Ju-yang, who received Do Tong-dal's gaze, also nodded.
"Honestly, there hasn't been a single day when my heart was at ease. Every day felt like walking a thorny path. If it can be set right, I must do so. But as Si-bo said, we have no strength now. What power does a former Sect Leader have?"
If one steps down from the position of Sect Leader and the next Sect Leader's control is strong, the former Sect Leader is left with nothing but honor.
"The two of you only need to tell the truth about the Won Merchant Company's annihilation."
"You're asking us to disgrace our own sects with our own mouths? That... that..."
They had committed an atrocity that would enrage both heaven and man because of Jongnam Sect's reputation, and now revealing it themselves was harder than dying.
Do Tong-dal helped Yeon Ju-yang make his decision.
"The truth is going to come out anyway. How many people do you think know about this matter?"
"The secret has been kept well so far..."
"That's what you think, old man."
At Do Tong-dal's use of the address "old man," Bang Si-bo and Yeon Ju-yang made expressions of "Huh?". Regardless of their reactions, Do Tong-dal continued.
"The Revenge Society, the parties involved, our Righteous Chivalry Sect, the Beggars' Sect, and even the Northern Unorthodox Alliance. No matter how tightly you old men keep your mouths shut, the atrocities of that day have risen to the surface like a corpse. Before long, the stench will spread throughout the entire martial world."
If this matter became known to the martial world, Mount Hua Sect and Jongnam Sect would clearly be pushed out of the Nine Great Sects.
The Nine Great Sects were not fixed. Jongnam Sect alone had pushed out the Emei Sect eighty years ago to take one of the Nine Great Sects' seats.
Mount Hua Sect, on the other hand, had never once lost its seat among the Nine Great Sects. Along with Shaolin and Wudang, Mount Hua was one of the three pillars supporting the Nine Great Sects.
"That cannot happen. Absolutely not. Even if it means my death, I cannot stand by and watch Mount Hua Sect suffer such disgrace."
"The truth cannot be stopped even by death. But sometimes, truth can cover truth."
Bang Si-bo's trembling gaze turned to Do Tong-dal.
"Is there... is there a way? You may take this old life a hundred times over, but please, only Mount Hua's disgrace... that cannot happen."
Do Tong-dal placed paper, ink, and a brush on the table.
"Write down the names of those responsible for the bloodshed that day. No matter how dulled your wits have become, you wouldn't have forgotten that."
"Are you telling me to betray my disciples?"
"For the honor of your own sect, they are people who killed dozens of innocent people because they coveted the Stone Milk Essence and the Three-Leaf Nine-Branch Herb. Whether you knew the inside story or not, you, old man, are the one who gave that order. If you don't write their names down, I guarantee that Mount Hua and Jongnam will walk the same path as the Won Merchant Company."
If the atrocities of Jongnam and Mount Hua became known, who would want to become a disciple of those two sects? Current disciples would leave the sect, and no new disciples would enter, so they would have no choice but to walk the path of ruin.
Knowing this, Bang Si-bo and Yeon Ju-yang picked up their brushes. Some names had already been uncovered by the Beggars' Sect and the Northern Unorthodox Alliance, and new names filled the white paper as well.
One thing was certain: the two men were writing the truth. The fact that not a single name they knew was omitted proved it.
Do Tong-dal waited for the ink to dry, then folded the paper and put it in his chest.
"There is one last thing the two of you must do."
* * *
"Huh? What is Tong-dal up to this time?"
The letter he received on his way to see Ju Hyeong-seon was from Do Tong-dal. But the contents of the letter were strange.
"His Highness the Crown Prince enters!"
Twelve people dressed in white mourning clothes appeared from around the corner of the building. Yang Su-pan hastily stepped aside and bowed.
He had risen to become a true power among powers, but Yang Su-pan was wise enough to know that such times were exactly when he needed to be careful in all things.
"Oh? Isn't that Censor Yang?"
"I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"Let's dispense with the formalities between us. But what are you doing here?"
"I was on my way to see Your Highness. But on the way, I received a strange letter from Tong-dal."
"From that friend Tong-dal?"
The word "friend" slipped out casually from the mouth of Ju Hyeong-seon, who would soon become emperor.
"May I know what it says?"
"Well... he asks me to come to a certain location in fifteen days with only ten Embroidered Uniform Guard members, and I have no idea what it's about."
"Hmm. I don't know what it is, but if it's Censor Yang and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it seems like it's to show off the power of the imperial palace."
"When Tong-dal was an underworld thug, there was something similar. It was like a witness to a fight."
"A fight spectacle, then. That sounds fun."
If he were still just the Third Prince, he would have gone along right away.
"Go and come back. Since it's a request from Tong-dal, I can't refuse. And don't take ten Embroidered Uniform Guard members; take fifty... no, about a hundred."
"Is that all right?"
"This is a chance to help Tong-dal save face. Think of how much we've received from him."
"Then I will go."
* * *
Baek So-gu, Bang Si-bo, and Yeon Ju-yang went to Mount Hua and Jongnam, while Do Tong-dal headed to the Revenge Society.
He had been worried about the Society Leader, but instead Won Jung-bang appeared, which made the plan simpler.
Do Tong-dal first held out the paper with the names of those responsible for the Won Merchant Company's annihilation.
"These are your enemies, Society Leader."
Won Jung-bang looked over the names.
"There are names I've never seen before."
"It was written by the former Sect Leaders of Mount Hua and Jongnam, so it's certain."
Won Jung-bang was surprised.
"Those men handed over their own disciples?"
"They had to choose between guilty disciples and the survival of their sects."
"You seem to have a talent for threats as well."
"I'm a thug, so of course."
"But what can be done with these names? These people are the current Mount Hua and Jongnam."
From the Sect Leaders down to the Elders, there were twenty-five people across the two sects. Five of them had left their sects, so the number remaining in the two sects was twenty in total.
"I will summon these people to one place. The Revenge Society should also select a corresponding number of people."
"What do you mean?"
"A life-or-death duel. One-on-one is fine, or they can fight as a group. I'm providing an opportunity for those with grudges to fight each other."
"This is absurd... This isn't something that can be resolved so simply! Think of how much resentment has built up and how many people have died!"
"That's right. The threads have become so tangled that it's impossible to untie them. Since it's come to this, wouldn't it be better to cut them all with a single stroke?"
"That won't do. We have to return the pain we've felt to these people in full. It can't be this simple."
"I will let you have your revenge. But in the way I want. Let me remind you again that you lost your bet with me. If you don't keep your promise to me, that's your freedom, Society Leader. But you'll also have to bear the consequences."
Won Jung-bang chewed over each and every name written on the paper. He must have spent a thousand nights imagining the most painful deaths for these people.
And now it would end this simply? And he might even die at the hands of his enemies if he wasn't careful.
He wanted to refuse. He wanted to shout that he could never accept this method.
But if Do Tong-dal became his enemy, taking revenge in any way would become impossible.
"If the Revenge Society wins this fight, Mount Hua and Jongnam will suffer irreversible damage."
* * *