Liars (2)
Jegal Ji was staring at me. Cho Yak was quietly staring at me as well. Strictly speaking, I was not a senior of the Asura Demon Sect, but there was no helping it. When I nodded, Jegal Ji pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Thank you for permitting me to join your table.”
“Not at all. I am Yuyu, and this is Cho Yak. So…”
From what I could guess, this young lady was likely an executive of the group that had been monitoring us the entire time. She had ordered a great number of people around, and the fact that her family referred to itself as a great clan suggested she came from considerable wealth. Besides, the surname Jegal belonged to the same line as Zhuge Wuhou. If even a hundredth of the talent that had once deployed the Eight Trigrams Formation at Eobokpo to bind six hundred men had been passed down, they would surely walk with their chins high even among the most prestigious murim clans.
“Miss Jegal, what brings you to our table? I was under the impression the Orthodox faction had raised high the banner of demon extermination.”
“Of course, the Orthodox and Demonic paths pursue vastly different ideals and cannot walk together. However, it is said that a gentleman may harmonize without being the same, and that among three travelers there must surely be one who can serve as my teacher. Since I heard that Senior displayed supreme skill in Chang’an yesterday, how could I, Jegal Ji—who has, however inadequately, studied the ways of a scholar—hesitate to seek instruction?”
She had artfully twisted an illogical situation to fit logic. It was the kind of sophistry often exchanged as witticisms among learned people. A joke only revealed its true worth when someone was there to appreciate it, so I laughed and gently prodded back.
“Haha. Though we sit together at the same table, neither our waists nor our hearts have set aside our blades. Is this not, rather, ‘being together without harmonizing’? I exaggerated my meager skills and was truly neither at ease nor free of arrogance. If you say you wish to learn from me, it seems you intend to observe my faults and correct your own.”
The entire table fell instantly silent. What was this icy atmosphere? I had been trying to make them laugh. It was a joke…
“Well, I was simply making a light joke. So you came to watch me write?”
Unfortunately, it appeared my sense of humor was objectively terrible. The retort I had thought rather witty left only a long silence, the sound of dry swallowing, and a frozen atmosphere. Few things were as pathetic as having to explain that one’s joke had been a joke, but what could I do? I stopped Jegal Ji, who was hurriedly trying to salvage the conversation, and continued.
“Ah, yes. That is correct. The tale of that marvelous skill has spread throughout Chang’an. I simply wished to witness it once and learn.”
“I see. However, I have no paper left…”
“We brought both paper and brushes.”
At Jegal Ji’s gesture, a man approached carrying the four treasures of the study. I accepted the brush and ran my fingertips over it. The tip was perfectly smooth, without a single stray hair, soft to the touch yet with a firm core—far superior to the one I usually used. The paper was white, tough, and smooth, clearly far more expensive than the manuscript sheets I normally wrote on. There was no need to even inspect the inkstick or inkstone. As expected of a name like “great clan,” the Jegal family appeared to be quite rich.
The man who had brought the inkstone set it on the table and poured water into it, preparing to grind the ink. It looked as though it would take a while, so I held out my hand.
“Hand it over. I will grind it myself.”
The man passed me the inkstick without protest. Instead of standing it upright, I laid it on its side along the edge of the inkstone and used the nail of my pinky to scrape the underside in a quick stroke. Any proper calligrapher would have fainted at the sight, but ever since I discovered this method I could no longer bear to grind ink the conventional way. Properly grinding ink until it produced a rich liquid would easily consume an entire gak. What was the point of honing my blade skills if not to use them at times like this? In that it possessed an edge, a fingernail was truly a blade one was born with.
I flicked the scraped particles into the water, then pressed down with the flat of the nail and rubbed several times until it dissolved into ink.
“Could I have some water?”
“…Yes.”
The same man who had first brought the inkstone respectfully offered a cup with both hands. I dipped my pinky, swirled it a few times to rinse, then picked up the brush.
Now that I actually held the brush, I was unsure what to write. For some reason the entire room—from the martial artists in plain clothes to the ordinary guests who had simply come to watch—had fallen completely silent, their eyes fixed on my fingertips. For someone who had spent the previous day carelessly scribbling cheap tales, it was far too much expectation.
A safe choice would have been a couplet from Li Taibai or Du Gongbu, but those lines were so commonly used in calligraphy that my shallow foundation would be exposed at once. As I searched for a suitable phrase, an amusing idea occurred to me. Since these people seemed to have mistaken me for someone from the Demonic Cult, perhaps I should write something fitting.
The surrounding atmosphere immediately turned unpleasant. Not only Jegal Ji and the warriors she had brought, but even Cho Yak had gone rigid, her face stiff as stone. In the end, unable to endure the oppressive weight of the mood, I once again uttered something pathetic.
“That was also my kind of joke. It seems it wasn’t very funny.”
Only then did Jegal Ji and the others hurriedly force their lips into smiles. I felt like the boss at an obligatory company dinner. Eager to dispel the awkwardness, I held out the paper and asked.
“So, what do you think?”
“Ah, um… The strokes flow without obstruction, and the handwriting possesses a refined elegance uncommon in people of this age. It has real depth. Your calligraphy is truly profound.”
“Thank you.”
She was calling me an outdated old fossil in a roundabout way… but there was no need to read that far into it. For some reason Jegal Ji had seemed rather deflated since earlier. No matter the enmity between the Orthodox and Demonic paths, she did not look like someone who would provoke while wearing the complexion of a person suffering indigestion. It seemed she had simply found a distinctive feature and praised it.
Even so, after I had written as she wished, there were hardly any further words. Could she really have come just to see my calligraphy? I had naturally assumed she had something to say under the pretext of watching me write, yet after receiving the paper the entire table had fallen silent. It was strange.
In the end, unable to bear the quiet any longer, I spoke first.
“It’s quiet. It seems you have more to say, do you not?”
“Pardon?”
“You have something to say besides the calligraphy, yes? Surely you did not truly come only to watch me write?”
At those words Jegal Ji bowed deeply and answered.
“I am ashamed that you have seen through my shallow heart. In truth, I wished to ask the reason why the seniors have set foot in the Central Plains.”
“Reason, you say…”
If I told the truth, it would of course be that we had come chasing Yu Baek. However, was it right to reveal our purpose so plainly to people who were, at least where Cho Yak was concerned, in an unavoidably hostile relationship? Yet if I lied here… I glanced at Cho Yak, but Jegal Ji suddenly continued.
“Are the seniors not pursuing the Boy Sword Saint, Hero Yu Baek?”
“…Why do you think so?”
“Was the first deed Hero Yu Baek performed upon entering the murim world not the attack on a branch of the Asura Demon Sect? And at just the right time the Yama Hall Messenger crossed into Lanzhou, so I naturally concluded it must be the case.”
Hmm. As expected. There was no way it would have gone unnoticed.
“And if that is true, what do you intend to do about it?”
“I have no intention of obstructing you, but I would ask that you make a few promises.”
“Promises?”
“Yes.”
The expression on Jegal Ji’s face as she spoke was like that of a general marching onto the battlefield with the fate of the nation on her shoulders. I did not understand why this had become such a grave matter, but I gave a small nod.
“…Let me hear them. Speak.”
“Since there were no fatalities among the Asura Demon Sect, if Hero Yu Baek offers an apology, I hope the matter can be concluded with monetary compensation alone.”
That had been our plan from the beginning. Well, the quarrel I had with Cho Yak over this had taken place in Lanzhou, so there was no way the Orthodox faction could have known. Just as I was about to nod, Jegal Ji added,
“The monetary damages will be repaid a hundredfold at the Murim Competition.”
A hundred times one hundred and fifty silver taels came to fifteen thousand silver taels. Even one hundred and fifty silver taels was by no means a small sum, yet they were offering a hundred times that amount. One silver tael was worth roughly eight to twelve copper coins depending on the market, and one copper coin equaled ten iron coins, so fifteen thousand silver taels would amount to roughly one and a half million iron coins. I could not say whether that was more or less valuable than ten pounds of gold, but either way it was an enormous sum with no obvious place to spend it. Since more money was not a bad thing for either Cho Yak or the Asura Demon Sect, I obediently nodded.
“We shall do so.”
“There is one more condition…”
“What is it?”
“If Hero Yu Baek so desires, please allow him to remain in the Central Plains murim.”
Hmm. It was a strange condition in many ways.
“I do not understand. What relationship do you believe we have with Yu Baek that you would ask for such a promise?”
“I presume that Senior is something like Hero Yu Baek’s master or godfather.”
“…Why?”
“That the party pursuing Hero Yu Baek includes not only the messenger but another person, and that this person is addressed with respect, must naturally have a reason. Seeing that Hero Yu Baek has reached the Top 100 Masters before even coming of age, his master could not possibly be ordinary. And at just the right time I learned that Senior is close enough to have written a book under Hero Yu Baek’s name, so I naturally drew that conclusion.”
I had tried to hide my strength, yet somehow even the more intimate details had been exposed. Whether I should praise the Jegal name or simply admit I had been too complacent, I could not decide. Since there was no particular reason I had to keep it secret, I chose not to dwell on it.
“My, you no longer even bother hiding that you were eavesdropping.”
“I apologize.”
“No need. It is not as though I was unaware. However, if I truly am Baek’s master, does it make sense to release him so easily?”
“If you were to turn your back on him completely, that would be so. Yet with the affection built over the years, Hero Yu Baek would not sever ties with Senior, would he? For the Central Plains murim, however, if a guest who came of his own will is forcibly taken away, it would be a severe loss of face regardless of the circumstances. I ask that you consider this.”
Since I had never intended to drag him away by force in the first place, this too was something I could simply agree to. Yet somehow it did not sit well with me. I had a bad feeling, one might say. Still, I had no desire to create conflict over such a reason, so I paused a moment before finally adding,
“Very well. However, if by any chance Baek suffers great harm while in the Central Plains, there will be consequences regarding today’s promises as well.”
Jegal Ji flinched for an instant, but soon bowed her head in greeting and answered.
“Yes. Of course.”
“Then is our business concluded?”
“No. There remains one more fact I must inform you of, and a recommendation.”
“What is it?”
“I intended to keep it hidden had you not accepted the promises, but… Hero Yu Baek is currently not in Sichuan.”