Chapter 134: The Sound of Winter Fading (1)
Chapter 134: The Sound of Winter Fading (1)
"M-My Lord!! Urgent news!"
"What is it? Why all this commotion?"
Jongri Seong frowned as he looked at the panting servant.
He had been interrupted while reading the Heavenly Secret, and his mood was far from pleasant.
The servant, kneeling hurriedly, spoke up.
"I-Information has arrived that the Demonic Cult has risen from the Heavenly Mountains! The Hao Clan in Shaanxi confirmed it and sent word immediately. They say the Heavenly Demon is currently charging toward Chongqing!"
"…The Heavenly Demon? That Heavenly Demon?"
"Yes, My Lord!"
Jongri Seong bit his lip, lost in thought. Why? For what reason?
If the Demonic Cult intended to invade the Central Plains, they should have crossed Lake Qinghai and headed toward Shaanxi. From the start, Chongqing should not have been their destination.
Furthermore, if the Heavenly Demon were to personally lead an army across the Great Desert, it was obvious that the Commander-in-Chief of Shaanxi would not sit idly by.
To begin with, the Demonic Cult was not a martial sect of the Central Plains, and the majority of their forces were not even Han Chinese.
They were clearly the troops of a foreign nation—and more specifically, the forces of one of the Three Great Demonic Cults officially denounced by the Ming Imperial Court.
It might be different before they scaled the walls of the Central Plains, but the moment they entered its borders, they were rebels and invaders.
And such people were striking directly for Chongqing.
If they had been detected when they first set out, it would have been impossible to know that their destination was Chongqing.
The fact that their destination was known to be this land meant that, at the very least, their forces had already reached this vicinity.
Considering the time lag in information delivery, it was safe to assume they had reached the outskirts of Chongqing by now…!
"Their objective? Is there any word on that?"
"T-That much is…"
If they intended to support the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance and drive out the Dragon Slaying Alliance, they would have contacted us first.
Since the opponent's intentions were unknown, the best inference possible was… that they intended to attack the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance.
"Tell the Ghost Gate Meridian Lord! Tell him that the Heavenly Demon is among the forces coming from the north! Tell him not to take the offensive in the first contact, but to prioritize discerning the demon's intentions first!"
"Yes, My Lord!"
The servant ran with all his might. And the moment he stepped over the threshold of the Family Head’s hall to depart, another servant came running and bowed his head.
"U-Urgent news from Wuchang! My Lord! A message from the Zhuge Family Head has just arrived!"
"What is it now!"
"They say the martial forces of the Martial Alliance are advancing along the Yangtze River. A signal fire has risen from the first gateway of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze…! The lead Black Ship is on fire!"
"Who is included in these martial forces? No, wait… how many troops could the Alliance possibly have available right now! Weren't most of them dispatched to Sichuan and Yunnan?"
"The, the Alliance Leader… is said to be personally leading the Azure Dragon Cloud Guard…!"
"Leading even the personal guards of the Alliance Leader’s Palace? Why them!! Why now?!"
The front line that had been blockading the southern Yangtze region of Chongqing had been breached.
Another of the four remaining Black Ships—excluding the one burned in Qinghe County—had been lost.
Now, only three Black Ships remained.
Considering the wealth and time required to construct a single ship, it was a staggering loss.
But a more pressing matter was that the Alliance Leader himself had stepped forward to subjugate Chongqing.
Did they join hands with the Dragon Slaying Alliance? No, how could that be possible?
The Martial Alliance was not a single, unified entity. It was a slow, bloated group where the interests and grudges of countless martial sects were intricately intertwined.
Considering the grudges the Peng Family held with the Orthodox sects, they could never support the Dragon Slaying Alliance.
The sects of Mount Hua and Jongnam, as well as those of Shaanxi, Jiangsu, and Jiangnan, would oppose it immediately.
The Alliance Leader must have acted alone.
'Peng Ik-jin… that cunning old man…! How on earth did he persuade the Alliance Leader!'
Time was passing. Even at this very moment.
"W-What shall we do…?"
"Wait, wait a moment. Just a moment!"
The Head of the Jongri Family pressed a hand to his forehead. The Yangtze had been breached by the Alliance Leader, and the Heavenly Demon was descending from the north.
The Sichuan martial world was currently concentrating its full strength to push back the Blood Cult in Yunnan, and the Sword Immortal and the Beggar Immortal were roaming Yunnan.
He was surrounded on all sides.
There had certainly been no failed operations. Everything had been flowing according to the natural order.
The repeated failures of the Jinju Eon Family had actually shaken the Dragon Slaying Alliance; the Martial Alliance should have been forced to exert all its strength to block the Blood Cult; and the forces of the Dragon Slaying Alliance should have been scattered and destroyed during their movement.
Clearly, the entire situation and the Heavenly Will had been smiling upon them.
"Wait… a minute."
Jongri Seong’s hand stopped.
The Martial Alliance was advancing from the Yangtze.
The Demonic Cult was striking from the north.
If it were him, where would he head in this situation? Toward which direction would it be most efficient to turn his troops?
'Henan!'
The place he had paid the least attention to. The heart of the Orthodox sects, ruled by Northern Revered Shaolin and Southern Wudang.
The beggars of the Henan Beggars' Sect had certainly declared that they had confirmed the Dragon Slaying Alliance's forces…
"Pack up the family."
"Pardon…?"
"Open the secret treasury and scrape together all our assets. We must load everything onto the three remaining Black Ships. Recall all the kinsmen who left for the Three Gorges. We must prepare to set sail!"
"B-But My Lord…! If we do that, how can we stop the Martial Alliance Leader? The sects in this vicinity won't be able to hold out for even a single moment!"
"You fool! If we exert our full strength, we might be able to block the Alliance Leader! But what then? Do you think the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance can survive while facing the forces of the Dragon Slaying Alliance and the Demonic Cult at the same time?"
Jongri Seong looked up at the night sky. The last snow of the year was falling.
Through the overcast sky, he saw a single small light shining exceptionally bright.
It was vivid even through the thick clouds that obscured the moonlight.
'The Star of Heavenly Shadow…!!'
The Heavenly Secret was wavering. The Star of Heavenly Shadow originally signified disaster and turbulent times. Did this mean the current chaos would begin here in Chongqing?
"I have fallen into Zhuge Yeon-seon's trap…"
He had hidden the Martial Alliance Leader's departure and suppressed the rumors of the Dragon Slaying Alliance passing through Henan.
This skill of delivering a fatal blow when the opponent was most off-guard was surely that of the Zhuge Family Head, Zhuge Yeon-seon.
If that was the case, he would accept today's defeat.
As long as he survived, there would be another chance.
Chongqing would burn; with a board so meticulously designed, there was no way to overturn it.
With a heart that coldly mocked his past self—the one who had said that a great army required no clever schemes—Jongri Seong gathered his kinsmen and left Chongqing that night.
The departure of the Jongri Family was only reported after the situation had ended. And when they heard the news, the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance did not have the luxury to be angry at Jongri Seong's betrayal.
The void left by the strategist who had grasped all the information alone was just that vast and wide.
*
44. The Sound of Winter Fading
Chongqing Prefecture was a land that encompassed the largest area among the Provincial Administration Commissions.
It lay between the Huai River and the Yangtze River, nestled within the massive mountain ranges leading into the Bashu region of Sichuan.
There were fourteen counties under its jurisdiction, and four if one included the state-level major cities. And the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance controlled that entire territory.
In other words, from the moment the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance failed to predict the Dragon Slaying Alliance's march route, the outcome was as good as decided.
"Sect Leader!! Sect Leader!! You—you must flee! You must!"
First, flames erupted in Namcheon County on the outskirts of Chongqing.
Since the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance had never planned to strike Henan directly, the Unorthodox sects in this vicinity were naturally composed of those who fell short of being called "Great Martial Sects."
"The Dragon Slaying Alliance is coming—!!"
Seeing the military banners unfurled along the mountain roads, they had no choice but to abandon any thought of resistance.
A few sharp-eyed individuals among them could grasp the situation just by seeing the banners of the Hebei Peng Family, the Heavenly Thunder Alliance, and the Thousand Autumns Assassination Pavilion.
The fact that the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance was preparing for war with the Dragon Slaying Alliance was hardly a secret.
Therefore, it was a situation that proved all the military strategies built by the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance's strategists were wrong.
"Flee? Flee where?"
The Dark Ghost Gate of Namcheon County: the Sect Leader’s realm was the Peak Realm. Below him, all first-generation disciples were First-Rate, totaling seven. Including the second and third generations, the total number of martial artists was twenty-three.
The Western King Faction of Namcheon County: the Sect Leader’s realm was the upper Peak Realm. Below him were ten first-generation disciples. Including the second and third generations, the total number of martial artists was forty-one.
And then there were the Sun Moon Sect, the Northern Spirit Sect, and the Cooperative Mountain Sword Gate—a total of seven sects belonging to the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance.
Though each might be classified as a small sect, the number of martial artists stationed in Namcheon County itself could not be called small.
Flutter—!!
The banner of the Dragon Slaying Alliance whipped in the winter wind.
Beneath it, the flagpoles of the countless sects belonging to the Dragon Slaying Alliance swayed as if they might snap.
A sea of heroes approached. When several Great Martial Sects gathered to form a single alliance, this was a procession made of the finest martial artists selected from among them.
The sheer momentum they radiated caused the martial artists of Namcheon County to lower their swords and retreat in terror.
"Dragon Slaying Alliance."
The young man at the front laughed. He smiled fiercely and raised a flagpole.
It was one of the most famous sights in the world. The Peng Family banner of the Hebei Peng Family rose high into the sky.
It cast a shadow beneath the early morning sun.
Looking at the heads hanging from the flagpole, the faces of renowned experts from Byeok-san County—who had been positioned ahead of them—swayed in the cold wind, their skin chapped and tongues lolling out.
The man who had drawn his blade laughed from his saddle and shouted.
"Take their heads. From this moment on, take the necks of all who hold a blade, and let no one remain alive within the gates of those who resist."
The wind direction shifted. The flag atop the pole billowed greatly, changing direction as it fluttered.
The Blade Earl (刀伯).
Perhaps the most famous name among the rising stars of the Dragon Slaying Alliance today.
The Great Demon of Northern Zhili, who had decapitated the Head of the Yang Family in Shanxi during his first appearance and had caused bloodbaths wherever his feet touched thereafter.
The one who had personally taken the head of Fist King Eon Do-cheon during the war to exterminate the Jinju Eon Family and insulted him by throwing it into a burning pavilion—
His fearsome reputation had already reached the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance as they prepared for war.
"Blood Wolf Blade Ghost… Peng Hyeon-hwi…"
The Sect Leader of the Dark Ghost Gate muttered as much amidst the charging Dragon Slaying Alliance warriors and dropped his sword.
*
"Hey, Blood Wolf Blade Ghost. I can't help but be envious as your name grows more and more renowned, Benefactor."
"I will not respond to baseless slander."
I won't respond to negative comments. This interview is over.
The Little Arhat chuckled at my words and sipped his wine. I find this guy truly fascinating.
We've passed through two counties now. In that time, the number of dead martial artists has exceeded several hundred. And that's just the ones we killed.
Those who surrendered had their dantians destroyed and the tendons in their limbs severed, but those who resisted had their heads cut off one by one and hung on flagpoles.
Despite being part of such a group, the sight of a Shaolin monk—who could be considered the most orthodox of the orthodox in Central Plains Buddhism—brazenly sipping wine was nothing short of bizarre.
"Well, we did try our best to save as many as possible, didn't we?"
"Hmph, you're not wrong, but..."
If it weren't for this guy, the Dragon Slaying Alliance forces would surely have killed even those who surrendered.
That was the basic protocol for an army raised through a black-ops mobilization.
It wasn't for nothing that the martial sects of Shanxi and Shaanxi wet themselves and gnashed their teeth at the mere mention of our name.
This was a war of extermination occurring on the scale of an Alliance.
It should be seen as a process of uprooting a sect to its very foundations and leveling it until there was no will left to resist.
Once we've cleared it out like this, in sixty years, this place will become the land of the Orthodox Martial Alliance.
You could say we're also providing a bit of a demolition service on the side.
Anyway. The Little Arhat stared at the burning pavilions of the Namcheon County sects with sunken eyes for a moment before speaking abruptly.
"How do you think those people made their living?"
"They probably picked the pockets of the commoners. This is Chongqing, after all."
"Exactly. In that case, I would judge that dying like that is actually merciful for them. What this poor monk has done is closer to... hypocrisy than the Great Mercy and Compassion of Sakyamuni."
The martial artists who had survived with their dantians and tendons destroyed were blankly looking up at the burning pavilions of their sects.
Most of them would become wandering beggars from here on out.
And the commoners of Namcheon County would never forgive those martial artists who had reigned over them as predators, oppressing and slaughtering them until now.
While we are here, the commoners will all be in hiding. But what about after we leave?
The forces of the Dragon Slaying Alliance do not touch the commoners.
This isn't so much out of righteousness, but because our deployment itself was coordinated at the level of the local government.
The moment we touch the commoners, the local authorities will turn hostile.
Most of the businesses the Alliance runs are focused on the transport industry based on the canals.
We can be seen as the sect that maintains the closest relationship with the government in all the land.
Even the Orthodox sects are not this intimate with the authorities.
Therefore, the Dragon Slaying Alliance forces never easily touch the commoners.
They might demand services at a somewhat discounted price, but they never commit acts such as killing or looting.
To maintain a martial sect in Northern Zhili, where Beijing is located, one must act this way. That is our survival method. Therefore...
Whether it's us, who have no good intentions at our core but commit no evil...
Or the Little Arhat, who saved the martial artists who surrendered out of good intentions but abandoned the neutralized warriors to their deaths...
It means we are all truly hypocritical people.
"We'll reach Pa County in Chongqing Prefecture within two days. Just bear with it a little longer."
"What is there to bear? It's not like it's hard work. And it seems you are confused, Benefactor; one who does not wish to be defiled by the red dust of the secular world cannot join Shaolin. To practice martial arts is to study the method of harming an opponent."
"Is it okay to talk like that? Isn't that betraying your masters?"
"Bodhidharma and Monk Hyereung would not deny it either. Why else would Master Yixuan of the late Tang Dynasty have spoken of 'Killing the Buddha and Killing the Patriarch'? Enlightenment and transcendence are merely words, and cultivation is merely the act of carving away at oneself. 'Betraying one's masters' is also nothing more than a joke among worldlings."
Until we left Namcheon County, the Little Arhat just drank his wine and didn't say much else.
If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha; if you meet the Patriarch, kill the Patriarch.
Yixuan's "Kill the Buddha, Kill the Patriarch" means not to be obsessed with forms and learning, but to reach enlightenment by emptying the mind.
Therefore, in the Zen sect, there is no such thing as "betraying one's masters." That is a Confucian standard for honoring teachers and ancestors. However, the human heart cannot be so simple.
The monk, who had learned mercy and universal love his whole life, drank his wine while staring for a long time at the martial artists of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance who were writhing with blank faces as we departed.
"The more fiercely a fire burns, the faster it goes out. If the turmoil of the secular world must happen, it is better for everyone that it rises violently and fades quickly."
Saying so, he spurred his horse with a half-intoxicated face.