Chapter 120: War of Extermination (1)
Chapter 120: War of Extermination (1)
Tianjin was peaceful today as well. In this land, the heart of the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance, the nights of the sturdy Black Path youths—burning with the heat of their prime even in the depths of winter—continued unabated.
Whistle, bang! Fireworks embroidered the sky, and people gathered in small groups, laughing and chatting boisterously—
"It’s sickening."
The world's greatest assassin, who believed that one should sleep at night, pressed his temples and let out a sigh.
He had lived at the Tianjin headquarters for several years now, yet he still couldn't get used to this flamboyant, noisy city.
The higher one’s level of martial prowess, the sharper one’s senses became.
There was a reason why the peerless masters of legend lived in the secluded depths of the mountains.
Purely speaking, it was likely because they found it difficult to endure noisy and foul-smelling things.
This seasoned martial artist, who was but half a step away from that realm, toyed with his tea set, thinking he should have a cup of tea before trying to sleep.
"What is it?"
"I apologize for the late hour, Pavilion Master."
"Speak."
One of the assassins under his command carefully opened the door and entered. Seong Ryang-ha, the Soul-Chasing Flying Dagger and leader of the assassination pavilion, looked at him while placing a kettle over the brazier.
"An urgent dispatch has arrived from the Hebei Peng Family. They insisted it must be delivered to the Pavilion Master immediately, no matter what..."
"Those people always say that whenever they send something. If we ever become the greatest sect of the Black Path, I’ll send an urgent dispatch to the Peng Family Head every day at the fifth watch of the hour of the Tiger. It’s like they never sleep."
Those hot-tempered bastards always wanted their letters delivered instantly, regardless of the time.
They had the temperament of children, but unfortunately, they were children with blades, so there was no way to resist...
Seong Ryang-ha grumbled as he picked up the heavy envelope. His fingertips, touching the well-sealed silk, suddenly stopped.
"Hmm."
It was heavy. The texture he felt beneath the silk was certainly not that of paper.
Feeling a weight akin to a wooden tablet, Seong Ryang-ha tried his best to erase the thought that surfaced in his mind.
"It can't be... right?"
With slightly trembling hands, he broke the seal. From the edge of the torn silk, a piece of pitch-black wood peeked out.
It felt difficult even to breathe now, but it wasn't something he could ignore.
A black, lustrous wooden tablet appeared. On the smooth piece of ebony, a single character was carved in relief with red cinnabar: Black (黑).
There was no other explanation. That was all. Seong Ryang-ha, hoping against hope, shook the envelope empty, only to finally let out a deep breath.
"How many assassins are currently on standby?"
"Unless we send out a call to summon assassins from across the Central Plains, there are thirty-two A-rank assassins in the Hebei region ready for assignment."
"Gather them all. Issue a mobilization order, including the B-ranks."
"Pavilion Master. That..."
"Speak."
The assassin's eyes were fixed on the wooden tablet in Seong Ryang-ha's hand.
From the moment that tablet appeared, the assassin's pupils had been trembling, betraying his years of disciplined training.
"Is it truly 'that' which I think it is?"
"...Yes. It is."
Seong Ryang-ha spoke with a lament.
"It is the Black Tablet."
It was the crest of the Lord of the Black Path Demonic Alliance. It held the same status as a Sect Leader’s Command Token, but it was issued for only one purpose.
The first and last time this Black Tablet had been issued in the history of the Sima Alliance was about ninety years ago.
Back then, the Righteous-Demonic War broke out.
The meaning of the Black Tablet was simple: the summoning of all ten Great Sect Leaders of the Black Path and the mobilization of every available martial force under their command.
In other words, it was a declaration of war.
"Why so suddenly...?"
Seong Ryang-ha's mind raced.
He went through everything that had happened in the Sima Alliance's territory recently.
What reason could the Hebei Peng Family have to throw such a fit lately?
Did the Martial Alliance do something? Did they assassinate another family matriarch? But the Sima Alliance Leader, Peng Ik-jin, had been a widower for a long time.
'If it's a recent event of the Martial Alliance... the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering...?'
Timing-wise, the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering would have ended just a few days ago. That was just their own little festival, so it shouldn't have been a concern.
But unfortunately, Peng Hyeon-hwi had participated in that gathering.
Only then did Seong Ryang-ha spring to his feet, gnashing his teeth.
"What have you done this time, you brat!!"
*
If asked what he had done, Peng Hyeon-hwi would have answered like this:
40. War of Extermination
I picked up Brother Hyeong-shin’s head, which was still rolling on the ground, and also took Uncle Se-jeong’s head, which was still warm. My collection had grown. I should put a nice signature on their foreheads too.
"Is that why you were given a title like the Beheading Blood Wolf?"
"What are you talking about, Gal-yeong? My ancestral home is Hebei, my name is Hyeon-hwi, my courtesy name is Mun-ryong, and my pen name is the Blade Earl. Call me Peng Mun-ryong or Peng the Blade Earl. Preferably the latter."
"...Are you alright? It seems you've put a strain on your Upper Dantian."
I ignored Zhuge Yeong’s suddenly kind words.
To be honest, my whole body was shivering as if I had caught a cold.
The scene was mostly being cleared up. In the distance, there was a blank space where the snow had completely vanished.
It was the trace of Grandpa Seo Wi-ryang turning a Blood Cult martial artist into blood/cult.
"Wow, you didn't even leave a piece of flesh? Your hands are fierce."
"He popped."
"Aha."
So that was the sound I heard when I was hitting Uncle Se-jeong.
Seo Wi-ryang was dusting off his clothes with a slightly fatigued expression.
"His final struggle was quite something. It took some time because he detonated his Innate True Qi. As for Eon Se-jeong... hmm."
Seo Wi-ryang nodded as he examined Se-jeong’s body, which had become a Dullahan.
"Indeed, at your level, there would have been no other way to kill a Super Peak master. They say the blade techniques of the Hebei Peng Family are the strongest in the world. To think you broke through a Super Peak master's Protection Aura on your own."
"It's embarrassing to receive such praise for something I didn't do alone."
If it had been a one-on-one duel, I would have ended up like that Blood Cult friend.
I turned my gaze toward Hwa-yeong. Hwa-yeong, who had been looking down at her palms with a pouting expression, suddenly felt my gaze and looked up.
She hesitated for a moment with an expression of deep thought, then began to stagger.
"A-Are you al—urk!"
A martial artist who hurriedly tried to support her tripped over 'something' and fell.
He was instantly dragged away somewhere by other martial artists.
Amidst that commotion, Hwa-yeong staggered toward me, covering more than ten paces, and collapsed into my arms.
"Ah, I was so scared."
"No, you weren't."
Are we still doing the Cheon Ryung-hwa act?
"But because Young Master Peng protected my life once again, I am alive. How can I ever repay this debt?"
"There's no need to..."
"How can I ever repay it?"
Her hand wrapped around my throat. For the record, my throat is where my life resides. Due to the aftermath of overclocking my Middle Dantian, I couldn't move a single drop of internal energy. My Protection Aura was completely shut down.
So, if she applied just a little bit of pressure right now, Peng Hyeon-hwi would become a snapped twig!
"If... if you truly feel that way... would you like to have a meal together in Tianjin...?"
"Yes! Yes, yes! Let's do that! That alone isn't enough to settle the score, but I will rent out an entire inn to make time for you!"
"No."
Let's go to a restaurant; an inn is a place for lodging.
We're only seventeen...
"Little Heavenly Demon. I have no intention of interfering with your youthful pleasures, but isn't this the point where we should discuss our future plans?"
I felt Hwa-yeong’s hand flinch for a moment. Right around my Adam's apple.
For a split second, I felt a sense of crisis as if my life were flashing before my eyes, but Hwa-yeong didn't get angry at the interruption. Instead, she gave a soft smile.
Still clinging to me, she purred like a wounded cat.
"I am Ryung-hwa of the Jiangnan Heavenly Merchant Guild. Young Hero Zhuge, please speak more casually."
"Are you going to keep this up? Except for me, there was no one who didn't know your identity, and now even I know."
"Cheon Ryung-hwa."
"...Fine, I'll play along. Then, what do you intend to do now? This fellow and I plan to go to Tianjin and begin the offensive against the Jinzhou Eon Family. Now that those who would interfere are gone, it won't take long to get there."
Zhuge Yeong glanced at the Demonic Cult's martial force, which was searching the area and delivering finishing blows to the Jinzhou Eon Family's martial artists.
"I am well aware that your cult is cooperating with the Peng Family. However, if this becomes widely known, it will not benefit the Peng Family. Your cult must not be present at the War of Extermination against the Jinzhou Eon Family."
"Does Young Hero Zhuge wish for us to return to the Heavenly Mountains just like this?"
"That would be best for both parties, but I cannot be so cold-hearted after receiving your help. If it's that Peng fellow, he should be able to arrange a place for you to stay in Tianjin. So, how about staying in Tianjin for a while and waiting?"
The War of Extermination against the Jinzhou Eon Family would surely draw immense attention from the government, the people, and both the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions.
Destroying such a massive family would have no small repercussions.
Even our family couldn't just wipe them out simply because we were angry.
We had to bribe the local authorities, and after distributing the lands and pavilions owned by the Jinzhou Eon Family according to merit, a portion had to be presented to the government.
That was the unwritten rule between the government and the martial world.
It was the reason why the authorities turned a blind eye to armed martial artists forming private organizations and waging internal wars among themselves.
They wouldn't intervene much in the dismantling of a few small sects, but for a great sect on the level of the Five Great Clans, the story was different.
The interests entangled with a family that had reigned as local gentry for a long time were deposited beyond the realms of the government and the people. To tear that away without facing government suppression, there were essential prerequisites that had to be met.
This was the background that allowed our family to wield the power of the greatest sect of the Black Path in Hebei, the foundation of the Ming Imperial House.
Could you call it an action optimized for the medieval Chinese networking system, which was tangled like a spiderweb?
Or should I call them healthy youths (with a history of fighting in the Righteous-Demonic War) who were sincere about paying their taxes?
Regardless.
In the midst of all this, it would be troublesome if the martial arts of the Demonic Cult were revealed to the world. The Heavenly Demon Cult was one of the three great heretical cults designated by the Imperial Court. Being publicly associated with them was a capital crime akin to treason.
"Well, that's how it is. Hwa-yeong."
"Cheon Ryung-hwa."
"Lady Cheon."
"Ah... I see. If that's the case, it can't be helped. How could I choose a path that would hinder my benefactor's bright future?"
Hwa-yeong touched her forehead and sobbed sorrowfully.
A Super Peak master's senses were incredibly sharp, so I could confirm that Hwa-yeong’s eyes were perfectly dry.
I soothed Hwa-yeong with the feeling of calming an angry bear and looked at Zhuge Yeong.
This guy was more helpful than I thought. He was even more intelligent than expected. To begin with, I had never met anyone my age I could actually communicate with, except for Ju Woo-rin.
This wasn't arrogance. Peng Hyeon-hwi’s talent was at an unrivaled level. Even as someone who remembered my intellectual level from the 21st century, I was certain of this. The specs were just different.
My intellectual capacity itself had risen a level in a wide range of areas, including reasoning, perception, and memory.
If the 21st-century me had been at this level, there's no way I would have lived as a jobless bum.
On top of that, I wasn't just an eighteen-year-old medieval Chinese youth. I had to add twenty-seven years to that age.
My mental age might not have grown that much, perhaps influenced by my physical body, but at the very least, the scope of 'knowledge' I possessed was bound to be broader than my peers.
Therefore, the fact that his thinking ability was similar to mine—despite our different starting points—was actually closer to a supreme compliment.
It meant that the way of thinking of a minor who had gone through the medieval Chinese education system and lived through a normal span of time was equal to mine, which made him a genius.
Like Ju Woo-rin, whom the entire Pure Stream Faction praised as a talent of a thousand years.
And like this guy, who was keeping up with me at the same level as Ju Woo-rin.
Ju Woo-rin was in a position where she couldn't be with me anyway, but this guy was different.
I coveted him.
As a friend? No, not that. Rather, considering this guy was of the Zhuge clan...
Should I call it the feeling Liu Bei felt when he looked at Zhuge Liang?
*
Zhending Prefecture in Hebei is the largest commercial city in the southern part of Northern Zhili. Going straight north leads to Shuntian Prefecture in Beijing, going east leads to Tianjin, and to the west lies Jinzhou.
At this point, it fell under the jurisdiction of the Dragon Slaying Alliance. In other words, once we reached here, we no longer had to worry about ambushes. The Jinzhou Eon Family was close by, but for that very reason, it was even safer.
The Jinzhou Eon Family was a clan that had been at odds with the Dragon Slaying Alliance for a long time; therefore, the Alliance's surveillance network was most densely concentrated in Jinzhou. Especially given the recent state of affairs.
Thus, we were able to find an inn and rest for the first time in a long while.
Ignoring both Hwa-yeong’s subtle suggestions and the somewhat coercive invitations from my warm-hearted Demonic Cult friends, I knocked on the door of the room where Zhuge Yeong was staying.
"What business do you have left in the middle of the night?"
"Let's talk."
When I spoke while shaking a bottle of liquor, Zhuge Yeong frowned, then let out a breath and opened the door.
In any case, we were in the same boat for now, so what choice did he have?
It seemed he had stopped by a marketplace pharmacy during the day to order various things, and unable to wait, he had already opened an alchemy lab. He was mixing processed medicinal packets, making something.
"Are you busy?"
"As you can see."
"Still, make some time today. I have something to say."
I pulled up a chair and sat down without asking for permission.
At my attitude, Zhuge Yeong sat across from me in a slanting posture.
I tossed a bottle of liquor in front of him and took out another bottle for myself, popping the top.
We sipped the liquor in silence for a moment.
"I'm going to become the Family Head."
I spoke when the bottle was about half empty.
"My eldest brother tried to kill me when I was seven. A year ago, he tried to use a master of the White Lotus Cult to kill me by a borrowed knife. My second brother joined hands with a fellow named Zhuge Un from your family and tried to tear the Peng Family apart."
"It's a complete mess."
"Yeah. As long as those two are the most likely candidates for the position, does our family have a future? Once my father's generation ends, our house will surely be split. So, I have to become the Family Head."
"Why are you telling me this?"
I downed the rest of the liquor and took out a new bottle. This time, I took out cups as well, placed one in front of him, and filled it.
"What is your goal?"
"..."
Zhuge Yeong stared down at my gesture, then drained the bottle in his hand in one go.
This guy was smart. He wasn't stupid enough to not understand what I was saying.
Therefore.
The fact that the Little Heavenly Demon and I were in an intimate relationship.
The family secret I had just revealed myself.
There was no way he could fail to understand the meaning of telling him this while offering a cup of liquor.
In medieval China, sharing a cup of liquor at the same table was an expression of being 'in the same boat.'
"I, too, must become the Family Head," Zhuge Yeong said, putting down the empty bottle.
"My father chose the wrong path, and the elders of my family also support him. But I will not. Therefore, to set right what has gone astray, I must become the Family Head."
"If so..."
"Even so."
He pushed the cup away.
"I may be able to join hands with the Black Path, but I cannot walk the same path."
If his goal was to restore the family's banner as a martial house of the Orthodox Faction, then never.
At Zhuge Yeong’s words, I couldn't help but nod. Right, so it's a 'Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage' situation.
"I don't believe the distinction between Orthodox and Unorthodox lies in chivalry and righteousness. The Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance is merely a group gathered for the interests of the Yellow River, the Yangtze River, and Hebei, and the Jiangnan White Forest Association is no different. Did the Black Path sects establish their banners solely for evil deeds? Does the Orthodox Faction act only for the sake of chivalry?"
Look at the behavior of the Jinzhou Eon Family and the Zhuge Family. And look at the attitude of the Martial Alliance, which abandoned even the punishment of such a family because it calculated that no 'profit' would follow, thereby inducing the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance to kill with a borrowed knife.
If the Alliance truly acted for chivalry, they should have dispatched a martial force the moment the Jinzhou Eon Family was designated a public enemy.
But they didn't. They say it's to prepare for the bloody incidents in Sichuan and Yunnan, but in the end, it's a matter of entangled interests.
Instead of sending a martial force, they settled the price by sending a single letter to the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance.
Permission to turn a blind eye even if the Jinzhou Eon Family was exterminated. The cost of that paper and ink is the weight of the chivalry held by the Alliance.
Therefore, I can state with certainty.
The conflict between good and evil is a stale and cliché rumor from heroic tales.
Defining the opponent as evil is, of course, comfortable for the mind and easy to understand, but it is nothing more than a war of public opinion for the sake of deceiving the people and establishing a justification.
In the eras of Spring and Autumn and the Warring States, where was the standard for distinguishing the Overlord and the defeated based on good and evil? Only interests and survival divided that difference.
In that era, the only person who spoke of 'rightness' was Confucius, and his gesture defined the 'perverse.'
Drawing a line. Setting a limit. In a world where chivalry has collapsed.
"If I become the Family Head."
At the very least, between Orthodox and Unorthodox.
If I take one step further than that.
"I intend to create a world where there is no difference between black and white."
Escaping from the justification that divides the Central Plains into the Black Path and the White Path.
Not regarding regions and interests as shameful, but proudly speaking of them myself.
Where black and white do not antagonize each other simply because they are black and white.
The shape in which those two colors are intertwined is called Taiji in Taoism, the Dharma Wheel in Buddhism, and Hunyuan in Confucianism.
"Well, now."
Zhuge Yeong picked up the cup.
"It will be a chaotic age."
A strategist is meant to shine in a chaotic age.
Zhuge Yeong laughed as he shared the drink.
If there is no 'Right' in the Orthodox Faction and no 'Evil' in the Unorthodox Faction, then the act of dividing into factions and fighting is useless.
With the meaning of drawing that line together with me.
And with the intent that when drawing that line, chivalry must at least be established as the banner.
The eldest son, expelled from the Orthodox Faction, shared a drink with the youngest son, who intended to overturn the distinctions of the Black Path.
By the standards of medieval China, it could be said they had joined hands.
Yes, it was nearly impossible for the Hebei Peng Family to break through the countless grudges of today and become an Orthodox sect.
However.
If the standards for dividing Orthodox and Unorthodox were overturned, and the world was thrust into a situation where both were plunged into chaos.
The one who holds hegemony is the one who sets the line that divides Orthodox and Unorthodox.
When that time comes, the names of those I call will become the list of the Orthodox Faction, and if the names of those who oppose me are classified as the Black Path and Unorthodox...
At that time, would anyone dare to object if my family claimed to be an Orthodox sect?
In the future world where the Peng Family Head commands and the Zhuge Family Head takes up the brush, only that brushstroke will once again divide the gray area into black and white.
I watched Zhuge Yeong as he tilted his cup and drained it, and I downed my drink along with him.