Chapter 126: Aftermath (1)
Chapter 126: Aftermath (1)
Jongri Seong, the Head of the Jongri Family, was spending his day like any other.
In this context, "like any other" meant engaging in one of the following: [torture, killing with a borrowed knife, poisoning, scheming, inciting internal strife, framing for treason, human experimentation, human trafficking, or kidnapping and brainwashing].
Such was the nature of the Jongri Family.
While he was enjoying these truly affectionate and pastoral days, two letters arrived at the Family Head’s hall almost simultaneously. Both were sent from the same location.
—Black Path Demonic Alliance, Tianjin Prefecture, Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance Headquarters.
Jongri Seong stroked his chin as he looked at the envelopes, then tore open the one his hand touched first.
The letter was scribbled in an incredibly bold, vigorous hand. A brief summary of the contents was as follows:
Jongri Seong froze involuntarily. He had never once considered himself slow-witted, but it took him a moment to process the situation.
"Three days have already passed...?"
Naturally, the logistics and delivery services of this era did not offer things like same-day fresh dawn delivery.
Even by modern standards, there were few companies in China that could deliver a letter from Beijing to Chongqing on the same day.
Even traveling via the waterways starting from Beijing, it would take over fifteen days; if the waterways were frozen in winter, it would take even longer due to the need for icebreaking.
The date stamped on the letter was just after the Minor Snow solar term, and it was now the Month of the Ox in late winter—December, past the Major Snow term. This meant at least fifteen days had passed.
Having received a notice that was well past its due date, Jongri Seong caught his breath and let out a smirk.
"The old man is playing a petty trick."
This was a very basic display of bravado. Of course, he had already heard news regarding the designation of the Jinzhou Eon Family as a public enemy through spies planted in Wuchang.
Reflecting on the relationship between the Martial Alliance and the Dragon Slaying Alliance, the Alliance would surely designate them as public enemies and then concede the Eon Family to the Dragon Slaying Alliance.
The Martial Alliance was too preoccupied with the urgent matters in Sichuan and Yunnan to mobilize their own forces, and the Dragon Slaying Alliance wouldn't just smile and wave if the Martial Alliance's combat units entered the Hebei region.
One could call it mutual cooperation, or one could say the Martial Alliance was killing with a borrowed knife to avoid shedding their own blood. It was a characteristically insidious scheme by Zhuge Yeon-seon.
Therefore, this letter from the Dragon Slaying Alliance had to be a bluff.
The war of extermination itself likely happened, but it wasn't an issue significant enough to warrant sending a Black Letter.
In the first place, a Black Letter was the foundation for a declaration of war. If they sent a Black Letter just to strike down something like the Jinzhou Eon Family, the prestige of the Sima Alliance would actually suffer.
He was humming to himself as he opened the next letter.
Clatter, thud.
A wooden plaque fell out of the heavy envelope.
There was no letter. On the pitch-black ebony plaque, a single character was carved in crimson cinnabar: Black (黑).
It was a Black Letter. It was his first time seeing the physical object.
"Wait."
Wait. Why would they send a warning about non-participation at the same time they send the actual Black Letter? That was his first thought.
Wait. They sent a Black Letter just to take down the Jinzhou Eon Family? That was his second, bewildered thought.
And then.
—We are coming.
It took another moment for him to understand the clear warning written in the first letter.
A Black Letter signified a declaration of war by the Black Path Demonic Alliance.
When the Black Letter was distributed for the first and last time, the Black Path's Great Martial Gate consisted of thirteen sects.
Three of those sects ignored the Black Letter's mobilization order.
Whether they actually ignored it or simply didn't have time to respond was neither certain nor important.
What mattered was that they did not arrive at the Peng Family's district by the mobilization deadline.
After that day, the number of sects in the Black Path Demonic Alliance dropped to ten, and the only thing that mattered was that they were now known as the Ten Great Sects of the Black Dao.
In other words, failing to respond to a Black Letter meant being included as a target of the Sima Alliance's war.
And since the current Black Path Demonic Alliance was cooperating with the Martial Alliance, they had no other opponents to wage war against in the Central Plains.
Then, naturally, the target the Sima Alliance forces gathered in Hebei would designate was—
"My Lord? Where are you going in such a hurry?"
"To the Ten Thousand Swords Hall! Contact the Ghost Gate Meridian and tell them to participate in the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance meeting!!"
Jongri Seong used his lightness art to the fullest as he sprinted toward the Ten Thousand Swords Hall.
As one could deduce through simple process of elimination:
The Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance had just declared war on the Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance.
"Did they know from the very beginning...?!"
They had already been tracking the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance's movements since Qinghe County.
They had endured that humiliation, waiting until a cooperative system with the Martial Alliance was established...!
* * *
Memories of when I first opened my Middle Dantian came flooding back.
Regardless of my stoic and heroic attitude that day—dismissing Qi Deviation as if it were nothing—the pain had been very real.
I was currently experiencing that pain once again.
"Ggggh...!!"
I woke up because it hurt so much. I clearly remember sending Do-cheon off to the River Styx, but I must have fainted afterward.
It was only natural. I had blocked a strike from a Peerless Master while loading Heaven-Shaking Thunder into both hands.
"Ugh...! I exchanged moves with a Peerless Master...!!"
"This brat wakes up and immediately starts talking nonsense."
The current Peerless Master sitting by my bed grumbled.
Grandfather Peng Ik-cheon was looking at me with a very complicated expression.
"Now that you're conscious, why aren't you getting up?"
"I parried the Fist King's strike and took his head with a brilliant blade technique. Can't I lie down just a little longer?"
"The men who rushed in to protect you are all gathered outside just to see your face. Can't you get up?"
"Being popular is... a burden."
I don't need popularity among a bunch of dark, brooding men.
Actually, popularity among women is a bit troublesome too. This body possesses a demonic charm that seduces women if I speak more than five sentences to them. I can't go around breaking more hearts, can I?
As I was thinking that and getting up, Grandfather Peng Ik-cheon tapped my back. For a brief moment, True Qi circulated through my body.
"It's nothing short of a miracle that your acupoints and bones aren't damaged, you rascal."
He said that as he grabbed me by the collar and pulled me up.
"Don't ever... do that again."
He pulled me into a tight embrace.
My hands felt a bit awkward, so I had no choice but to pat the old man's back. It was incredibly hard.
"Your grandson was in a rush and caused you worry, Grandfather."
"As long as you know."
"You should have blocked him for me. Gosh, I was so surprised when you let Do-cheon get away. Urgh—!!?"
Crack!
The warm hug turned into a bear hug. This suited the men of our family better, anyway. Better this than soft worries and comfort.
Grandfather cleared his throat with a "Hmph" and opened the door.
I wondered where we were, and it seemed they had rented out an entire inn.
As the door opened, Grandfather's energy barrier dissipated, and the clamor from the floor below came rushing in like a flood.
"Go and let them know you're alive and well."
"Yes, Grandfather."
It seemed that from the moment I lost consciousness after the life-and-death duel with the Harmony Realm master until now, he had maintained an energy barrier to block out the noise, fearing I might wake up too early.
A ticklish, warm feeling rose in my chest, so I scratched my head awkwardly and left the room.
Jinzhou Castle was in the midst of an untimely commotion.
It was deep winter, a season with little entertainment. The sight of a family that had lasted for centuries burning down—especially the sight of Harmony Realm immortals, whom one might never see in a lifetime, tearing through the sky and earth in combat—left a deep impression even on the commoners of Jinzhou.
From the perspective of the commoners living in Jinzhou, the Jinzhou Eon Family were by no means benevolent rulers.
From the moment they suffered a near-extermination in the past to the process of rebuilding the family with the Martial Alliance's support.
The interests and farmlands that Eon Do-cheon and his direct lineage had extorted from the commoners in Jinzhou were significant.
If not for the massive amounts of wealth they offered to the local government, the family would have vanished long ago.
Under the sole justification of being a breakwater against the Dragon Slaying Alliance, the Orthodox sects had turned a blind eye to the Eon Family's tyranny despite knowing about it.
Therefore, there were almost no commoners who protested the fall of the Jinzhou Eon Family.
The Jinzhou government had also received a generous amount of gold from the Dragon Slaying Alliance, so no one stepped forward to criticize this great disturbance.
Thus, the tavern streets of Jinzhou were filled with excited commoners, martial artists who had come after hearing the news, the Dragon Slaying Alliance's combat units, and even martial artists from the Orthodox sects, all mingling together.
"I thought it was getting dangerous. I'm glad you woke up in time."
"How many days have I been out?"
"It's been barely two days. You did well."
Seong Ryang-ha smiled crookedly as he poured me a drink.
Hwang Jung-man, who was sitting beside him, spoke as he gulped down wine straight from the bottle.
"He's a kid with quite a bit of spirit. I heard the stories from Mount Baekhwa. They said a small tiger had appeared in Hebei."
"I owe my life to the elder of Danseongbu. Thank you."
"Owe your life, my foot."
Hwang Jung-man, the younger brother of the Heavenly Thunder Alliance Leader, Hwang Jung-un. Since Hwang Jung-un was famous for not leaving the Heavenly Thunder Alliance's headquarters, this man was effectively the leader of all the mountain bandits stationed in the eastern Central Plains.
The Heavenly Thunder Alliance was the successor to the old Green Forest Alliance. It was said that during the transition from the Yuan to the Ming dynasty, they split into two and fought a civil war, and the current power was achieved as a reward for helping Emperor Gaozu stop Zhang Shicheng.
That was over 200 years ago, so it's impossible to know how much of it is true.
They say history is a dialogue between the past and the present, don't they?
The Chinese tend to have dialogues with the past quite frequently, so the authenticity of historical records is often a bit murky.
Regardless, the important thing was that the man before me was the second-in-command of a Great Martial Gate that commanded a number of martial artists rivaling the Beggars' Sect and the Hao Clan as a single force.
"While you were bedridden, your brother was moving quite busily. You did all the work, but your brother is taking all the credit. Are you okay with that?"
"What did I really do? Besides, isn't the deepening of brotherly affection a great blessing for our family?"
"Brotherly affection, my foot. Do you think I don't know what you brothers are like?"
Hwang Jung-man smirked and wiped the wine from his beard.
"It's a miracle if you don't stab each other in the back. You're a sly one. You're quite different from the rumors. Ryang-ha, you were right. It wasn't that Peng Hyeon-cheon stole his younger brother's credit, but that this kid used Peng Hyeon-cheon as a front to hide himself."
"Right? Didn't I say this one is the most insidious among the Peng family brats?"
"And being deep-thinking means he's easy to talk to. Beheading Blood Wolf. No one since your grandfather's time has made their name known to so many people at your age."
Hwang Jung-man gestured. It meant to empty my glass.
As I quickly drained the cup, Hwang Jung-man refilled it and spoke.
"Let's hear it. What is the Peng Family's goal that made them go as far as distributing Black Letters?"
These weren't people who wouldn't know that we were currently planning to perform surgery on the Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance. In fact, asking me that was almost inappropriate.
The representative of the Peng Family's combat units was Peng Ik-cheon, and hadn't Peng Hyeon-cheon made the declaration of war as the direct descendant?
Strictly speaking, I should be treated as a guest general of the Peng Family.
Nevertheless, Hwang Jung-man was asking me. It meant that, like Seong Ryang-ha who had observed me all this time, Hwang Jung-man also considered me the de facto representative of the Peng Family's forces.
"We intend to completely drive out the Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance faction and reorganize the Black Path Demonic Alliance."
It wasn't about where the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance's forces were heading. The target was Chongqing anyway.
It was about how we were heading there.
The path from Hebei to Chongqing is largely divided into two routes.
First, heading south through the northern Central Plains, passing through Shanxi and Shaanxi.
This route passes the Mount Hua Sect and the Zhongnan Sect and must be traveled by land.
Second, heading to Chongqing from Hubei by cutting through the southern Central Plains and Southern Zhili.
This is the fastest route as the Grand Canal can be used, but it requires passing through the Jiangnan White Forest Society and the Wuchang Martial Alliance.
Whichever direction we chose, it was practically a suicide mission.
Just leading a force of this scale would be enough to trigger a Righteous-Demonic War.
Who could stand by and watch a large-scale combat unit of the Sima Alliance pass through their front yard?
It's easier to understand if you think about what Toyotomi Hideyoshi demanded of the Joseon court during the Imjin War.
At that time, the Japanese Shogunate didn't say they would 'conquer Joseon,' but rather 'give us a path to the Ming Dynasty.'
And naturally, a foreign army passing through one's territory is no different from a band of brigands of that same size.
No government in its right mind would allow it.
Likewise, if the Dragon Slaying Alliance's forces tried to move in one direction all at once, the Orthodox sects would foam at the mouth and try to stop them.
This was something that couldn't be helped, no matter how much rapport I had built with the Orthodox faction.
Therefore.
"The Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance will likely expect our movements to reach them. Since we sent a warning in the name of the Peng Family, they will know in about fifteen days."
"Not a surprise attack, but a frontal assault? To do that, shouldn't the Blade Emperor himself have led the way? The Six-Armed Rakshasa is certainly a powerful master, but you must know there are at least three known Harmony Realm masters in Chongqing."
There were three sects from the Ten Great Sects of the Black Dao included in the Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance, and all three were led by Harmony Realm masters.
The Hall Master of Ten Thousand Swords, Sword Demon Sa Mun-hyeok.
The Ghost Gate Meridian Lord, Heavenly Killer Jin Hoe-seong.
The Head of the Jongri Family, Moonlit Immortal Jongri Seong.
Among those three, the Sword Demon and the Heavenly Killer were masters who even held spots among the Fifteen Lords of the Central Plains.
Even among the Five Tyrants of the Unorthodox Path, the Sword Demon's martial prowess was so high that he was known to be at a level where he could challenge the Three Venerables of the World in the future.
We couldn't go into such a dangerous place relying solely on Grandfather Peng Ik-cheon. That was only natural.
"Those people will think we'll choose either the path through Shanxi to Shaanxi or the path through Southern Zhili to Hubei. The Black Forest July Society plans to release different pieces of misinformation regarding this."
For the record, I am the direct disciple of the Hao Clan Leader.
I took a wooden plaque from my robe and placed it on the table. It was the Black Letter that should have been sent to the Hao Clan Leader. To be precise, it was a Black Letter targeting the Black Forest July Society.
I had received it. I wasn't sitting here as a direct descendant of the Hebei Peng Family.
As the direct disciple of the Hao Clan Leader, I was representing the Black Forest July Society at this moment.
"The July Society, including the Hao Clan, will join hands with the Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance. Until we arrive in Chongqing, that is."
The Black Forest July Society is classified as being between the Orthodox and Demonic paths, and their respective forces are scattered throughout the Central Plains.
They are people who have no specific strongholds like Hebei or Chongqing.
Their bond is weak, and they have no representative. Excluding the Hao Clan Leader, they don't even have a master comparable to the Fifteen Lords.
However, their numbers cannot be ignored.
"From now on, the Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance will simultaneously receive information that we are moving through Shanxi and information that we are moving through Southern Zhili. Meanwhile, we—"
Survival in Medieval China, Chapter 1.
Always move unpredictably.
"—will pass through Henan and enter Chongqing directly."
We will advance through the route the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance would never choose.
A direction that even the Heaven-Destroying Blade Hegemon Peng Gun-ak, who vied for the title of the world's strongest ninety years ago, could not attempt.
Right through the geopolitical center of the Central Plains, the very region where Luoyang is located.
Into the hell of the Black Path sects, where the Songshan Shaolin Temple and the Wudang Sect reside. Henan.
"Fortunately, I have a good friend in Shaolin. They won't be able to turn away a guest who has traveled a long way."
The only martial family in the Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance that actively communicates with the outside world is the Jongri Family.
And the Jongri Family has established an information network based on the Yangtze River, where their Black Ships can move.
Henan has no river systems that the Jongri Family can access. If they floated a Black Ship on the Huai River that cuts through Henan, the Shaolin monks would immediately jump out and 'exterminate the evil and purge the demons.'
In other words, they have no way to detect the Dragon Slaying Alliance martial artists moving through Henan in advance. Unless they use the Hao Clan's information network.
And that 'Hao Clan information network,' at least for this operation, is practically in the palm of my hand.
"While they are scattered based on different information, we will cut off their limbs one by one."
Are you asking if we still lack enough masters?
Of course we do. The Harmony Realm masters stationed in the Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance are still a threat.
Even if we only faced one of them, we would have to risk our lives with our current composition. Even if Grandfather Peng Ik-cheon is included.
But fortunately, I have recently acquired a wide variety of connections.
This happened on my last day before leaving the Martial Alliance. It was when I visited the Alliance Leader to bid him farewell, as was my duty as a subordinate.
"You're going to send a Black Letter? You're using quite a dangerous method. Eon Do-cheon may be a rare master of the Peerless level, but he's not someone the Peng Family couldn't face alone."
"With that one move, I intend to eliminate the worries of both the Alliance Leader and ourselves."
"Everyone's worries?"
"Isn't it quite troublesome that Chongqing is located right on the path from Hubei to Sichuan?"
Chongqing is located right in the middle of the Wuchang Martial Alliance and the Sichuan martial world.
Because of that, the Sichuan martial world became isolated from the outside and developed a very independent culture.
Since they were surrounded by enemies on all sides, their characteristic exclusive atmosphere was formed.
In fact, the young experts from the Sichuan martial world did not mingle with the other martial artists at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering and only stuck together.
Therefore, from the Martial Alliance's perspective, Chongqing was a real thorn in their side.
"I will divert the attention of the Zhuge Family Head. So, Alliance Leader, please grace Chongqing with your presence when the time is right."
This was the deal made between me and the Martial Alliance.
On the condition of cutting off the Jinzhou Eon Family and no longer keeping the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance in check.
Cutting off the Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance and handing over the center of the Central Plains to the Orthodox Martial Alliance.
Dividing each other's interests fairly.
With the intention of splitting the entire Central Plains exactly in half and creating a landscape where neither side encroaches on the other.
"I shall wait with a joyful heart."
From the Alliance Leader's perspective, this would be the greatest achievement he could ever have.
As I reflect once more, the Zhuge Family Head should never have placed a powerful man as a figurehead and insulted him.
Sufficient power and sufficient motivation are what turn a good-natured man into an ambitious one.