Chapter 145: Tianjin is Clear Today After the Rain (1)
Chapter 145: Tianjin is Clear Today After the Rain (1)
Peng Hyeon-cheon sipped his alcohol blankly, observing the situation as it unfolded.
In truth, there was little else for him to do but drink.
He still had many young warriors from the Dragon Slaying Alliance sticking close to him. Having been recognized as one of the key figures of this expedition, his position within the alliance was now firmly established.
While it was still debatable whether he could go toe-to-toe with his second brother, Peng Hyeon-jeong—he felt he was still slightly lacking—he had almost certainly secured the loyalty of the younger warriors who had previously been classified as a minor faction within the Peng Family.
"My lord, please try this as well."
"Ah, uh... Hwa-yeong. I have hands, you know."
"My, for a man who is injured like this... why are you so concerned with the propriety of keeping distance between genders?"
"My wrist feels like it's about to fall off... Let's talk after you release your Astral Energy. Okay?"
From not far away, he heard his youngest brother bantering with his former fiancée.
Since it was right after they had witnessed the Heavenly Demon's martial prowess firsthand, the surrounding warriors were doing their best to ignore the Little Heavenly Demon's unseemly behavior.
Peng Hyeon-cheon forced a smile, trying to pull himself together from his hollow feelings.
Fine, what does it matter? Let my brother wallow in a woman's skirts. Am I not here, forging bonds with the heroes of the Dragon Slaying Alliance?
"Come now, don't be like that! Have a drink!"
He shouted gallantly and raised his cup toward the young strategist of the Zhuge Family who had been drinking with him. However, no reply followed.
When he turned his head, he saw Zhuge Jeong-yeong sharing a cup with the daughter of the Sima Family.
As he regained his senses, he realized that most of the young warriors were taking this opportunity to wander around, looking for partners to socialize with.
No matter how much the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance boasted of its solid unity, most of these people had only met for the first time a few days ago.
Hebei was that vast, and the Unorthodox sects belonging to the Dragon Slaying Alliance were countless. Since every sect had generously sent out their young warriors for the glory of this expedition, there was no shortage of young heroines within the camp.
The only ones left by his side were those who were barely suppressing their itching backsides for the sake of networking with the Peng Family. While dedicating one's body to ambition and aspiration was fitting for a hero of the Black Path, still...
"..."
"Gwahaha! Benefactor Peng, what is wrong? Your cup is empty!"
Seeing the Little Arhat laughing and chatting alone while extorting alcohol from the Unorthodox crowd... how should he put it? Peng Hyeon-cheon clenched his fist, feeling a subtle sense of defeat.
Spring was coming.
The chaos that had lasted all winter was fading away, like the deep snow melting from the mountains and fields.
The forces of the Dragon Slaying Alliance returned to Hebei.
*
On the way from Chongqing to Henan, I sent off Zhuge Jeong-yeong and the Little Arhat.
Near Luoyang, the two departed in their respective directions.
"Then I shall look forward to the day we meet again, Benefactor Peng!"
"Are you going to be stuck facing a wall again when you get back?"
"Most likely. After all, have I not broken both the prohibition on meat and alcohol and the precept against killing? Gwahaha!"
The Little Arhat laughed with a clear expression. It seemed the concept of hiding his deeds from his sect didn't even exist in that monk's head.
He slapped me heartily on the back and left the camp with a light step.
Next was Zhuge Jeong-yeong's turn.
At a point where Luoyang was visible just ahead, Zhuge Jeong-yeong stepped away with a very hesitant attitude.
"I shall take my leave here for a while as well."
Lady Sima was by his side. Before I knew it, they were stuck together to an eyesore degree; I had caught them whispering and giggling several times already. One had to admire Lady Sima's initiative.
"Sure. Let me know when you hold the wedding."
"...That will be difficult for the time being. At least until I settle the family's affairs."
"Then why on earth are you going back to the Sima Family?"
"Should I not at least give a formal greeting to the Family Head? You might not know this, but this is what we call etiquette and propriety. You uneducated fool."
"Whatever. Says the guy who never even took the civil service exams."
After exchanging banter and farewells with Zhuge Jeong-yeong, I headed toward Hebei.
I could see the military camp gradually shrinking. The journey was perfectly smooth, and as Hebei drew closer, the sects summoned under the Black Tablet of the Dragon Slaying Alliance scattered toward their own paths.
Watching the group dwindle point by point, finally...
The number of living people capable of walking on their own had decreased significantly, leaving behind a long procession of coffins.
"Young Master Peng. We shall take our leave as well."
Finally, the warriors of the Heavenly Thunder Alliance bowed deeply to Grandfather Peng Ik-cheon as they spoke.
"What of the funeral for the Danseongbu?"
"It will be held according to the Alliance Leader's wishes. At the very least... we should consider it a blessing that we were able to recover Great Hero Hwang's remains."
"The Dragon Slaying Alliance will surely repay this kindness. Great Hero Hwang was a great star of our alliance."
"Thank you. The deceased would have been pleased to hear that."
Numerous coffins moved in a line along with the remains of Hwang Jung-man of the Danseongbu.
In fact, about half of our procession consisted of the remains of recovered warriors, so naturally...
It wouldn't be wrong to call it a funeral procession. So many had died. In this winter, in a land so far from their homes.
Just because the Head of the Hebei Peng Family had sent out a Black Tablet, so many had thrown themselves into the flames.
That was the authority of the Peng Family, and now it was time to prove that authority.
The sects of the deceased would be protected under the name of the Dragon Slaying Alliance. Gold would be showered upon them according to the martial prowess and reputation of those who fell.
And the vacancies left by the dead would be filled once again by other Unorthodox warriors. As naturally as the waves of the Yangtze River push and pull.
"What do you plan to do?"
In the meantime, I was in a bit of a floating position.
Grandfather Peng Ik-cheon continued speaking as he watched the funeral procession of the Heavenly Thunder Alliance depart.
"If you wish to return like this and perform your duties at the Sanwol Hall, I won't stop you. Or if you say you'll take charge of the Hao Clan's affairs, do as you please. You've always done well enough doing what you wanted."
"What will happen to the Heavenly Thunder Alliance?"
"The Alliance Leader will either break his secluded meditation, or they'll suffer internal strife for a while."
"The Assassination Pavilion will be the same. It will take quite some time for the Pavilion Master's injuries to heal and for them to replenish the assassins lost in Chongqing."
"And?"
"I will head to the Hao Clan."
At my words, Grandfather Peng Ik-cheon stared at me intently.
"I intend to gather information at the Tianjin branch for the time being. The Dragon Slaying Alliance has many enemies, and they will never sit idly by and watch the alliance as it is now. There hasn't been a moment in the last sixty years when our sect was as weakened as it is today."
The prestige of the Peng Family was maintained solely by the martial prowess of the Family Head, the Blade Emperor Peng Ik-jin.
However, even so, the warriors of the Peng Family were by no means idle. They were currently scattered throughout Hebei, performing missions to manage the discipline of the Unorthodox sects within the Dragon Slaying Alliance and to solidify the alliance's dominance.
From that perspective, now that all three major sects of the Dragon Slaying Alliance were weakened, enemies eyeing Hebei would surely not miss this moment.
I needed the power of the Hao Clan. The Sanwol Hall was an organization responsible for internal inspections within the Peng Family, and right now, the urgent need was not internal, but external to the family's gates.
"Do as you wish."
"Then I wish you luck, Grandfather."
"Worry about yourself, you brat."
Grandfather Peng Ik-cheon grumbled once and departed in a carriage.
While the warriors of the War of Extermination were finally disbanding at the Dragon Slaying Alliance headquarters in Tianjin...
War originally belongs to the warrior, but what follows is the task of diplomats and politicians. I realized I was going to be twice as busy, since I had to perform both roles well.
Spring, when the ice of the Grand Canal melts, is the season when logistics that were blocked all winter are released all at once.
I didn't necessarily want to use the expression "life is throbbing," but this medieval China brought new impressions to me every time I saw it.
Massive passenger and cargo ships, looking like floating pavilions, drifted on the canal, vomiting out or sweeping up all sorts of products from across the Central Plains every time they docked.
It was a spring day when the clothes of passersby became much lighter.
The weather was warm, birds were chirping, flowers were blooming...
"By the way, why aren't you going home?"
I asked Murong Cheong, who was staring at me with a grumpy face while tapping her foot.
Ever since arriving in Tianjin, she hadn't even thought about taking a passenger ship to Liaoning for days; she was just idling around.
Sometimes it seemed she forgot that this place was a paradise for the Unorthodox Path. Why does someone from the Five Great Clans appear here so often?
"What would I do if I went home?"
"What?"
"What do you plan to do once I leave?"
Murong Cheong set her teacup down with a clack and glared at me.
"I can keep my mouth shut about the fact that the Heavenly Merchant Guild is a front for the Demonic Cult... those cultists. I am someone who knows gratitude and debt. But what about you?"
"What about me?"
"Cheon Hwa-ryeong! Im, Im Hwa-yeong! The Little Heavenly Demon! I'm asking if you still have that girl in your heart! That is unacceptable. Do you know that our family's marriage proposal is already being discussed? You said it yourself, didn't you? That marriage is something decided by the family!"
"That's true."
As I had once reflected, among the marriage customs of this era, there was no such lewd and impious practice as 'free love.' That was something that would only be possible about five hundred years later.
In other words, only two things were needed for my marriage. First, it must follow the family's plan. Second, it must be beneficial to me.
From that perspective...
Setting aside Hwa-yeong's plan, the Jiangnan Heavenly Merchant Guild is a merchant group with long-standing ties to the Jiangnan guilds. It will definitely be helpful later when the Dragon Slaying Alliance wants to solidify relations with the Jiangnan White Forest Association.
I didn't know if Hwa-yeong had come here after giving up her position as the Western Envoy of the Sixth Heaven Esoteric Buddhism. I hadn't heard an answer, and I'd never discussed such topics with my Demonic Cultist friends.
In fact, she was currently away for a moment, saying she would wrap up the affairs of the Heavenly Merchant Guild.
On the other hand, what about Murong Cheong?
The Murong Family are the overlords of Liaoning. In terms of influence alone, they are not inferior to the Peng Family.
The Murong Family was an old local power deeply connected to the government. They operated a fleet of sea-going vessels officially authorized by the Grand Coordinator of Liaoning, and they themselves managed the northern forces in the Liaoning and Manchuria areas.
They were a great sect no different from a Prince beyond Shanhai Pass.
If you added the legitimacy of having maintained the prestige of the old Prince of Yan, the authority the Murong Family held in Liaoning was overwhelmingly superior to the authority the Peng Family held in the Dragon Slaying Alliance.
In other words, what would it be like for the Peng Family if we could build a relative relationship with the Murong Family?
Since the Leader of the Heavenly Thunder Alliance stopped his public activities, the alliance has been led by Great Hero Hwang of the Danseongbu. With the Danseongbu dead, no one knows how the internal structure of the Heavenly Thunder Alliance will change.
In this expedition, the three major sects of the Dragon Slaying Alliance suffered fatal blows.
The Assassination Pavilion lost most of its subordinate assassins, and the Heavenly Thunder Alliance lost several stronghold leaders, including the acting leader.
Naturally, the influence of the Dragon Slaying Alliance within Hebei was bound to decrease. Until the benefits of swallowing Jinzhou materialized, the alliance's policy would be limited to internal consolidation for the time being.
In the midst of that, how would it look to the other sects of the Dragon Slaying Alliance if we joined hands with the Murong Family, who had been at odds with the Heavenly Thunder Alliance?
Or...
If I formed a partnership with a powerful sect that could threaten the Heavenly Thunder Alliance, how solid would my position within the Peng Family become?
Or, how dangerous would it become?
There were six months left until the day Peng Hyeon-ryang's confinement was lifted. Assuming he did nothing but eat and practice martial arts, could I, who was half a step behind even before his confinement, protect her?
If it were Peng Hyeon-ryang, he would attempt an assassination the moment I brought her into the house. If Murong Cheong died in the inner court of the Peng Family, the Murong Family would surely cause trouble over it.
If such a situation occurred, the responsibility would fall almost entirely on me. They would attack me, saying I brought a great threat to the family by failing to protect my wife.
Because that's what I would do.
It was a tactic I would definitely take if I were in Peng Hyeon-ryang's position. I wouldn't call it heartless or cowardly. We were of the Unorthodox Path, and the affairs of the Unorthodox Path usually went this way.
As I tapped the table, weighing the gains and losses...
"..."
Only then did Murong Cheong, right before my eyes, enter my vision.
Even as she bit her lips anxiously and kept fidgeting with her fingers...
Seeing her clutching her teacup tightly as if trying not to disturb my thoughts...
I felt a bit pathetic for calculating gains and losses and considering possibilities.
"Sigh."
"...Yes?"
"I'm going to become the Family Head."
"You said that back then as well. I heard you."
"And you said your dream was to travel the Central Plains."
"If one has attained achievement through martial arts, is it not the virtue of a chivalrous hero to perform heroic deeds throughout the Central Plains?"
"Then follow me."
"Pardon...?"
I stood up and looked down at Murong Cheong.
"There's no reason we can't travel together as long as our paths overlap."
"Does that mean...!?"
"If you lose interest in me in the meantime, you can leave on your own."
Calculating moves against a girl who liked me made me feel too much like a mercenary snob. More than that, in the first place, I owed her quite a bit. She was someone who had traveled a long way without hesitation and risked her life to fight when I asked for help.
"That will never happen!"
I quietly watched Murong Cheong as she stood up abruptly with such a radiant smile.
Inside the inn where the morning spring sun shone brightly.
Yes, I had nothing but ambition. But even if I ran like crazy solely for that...
Let's not be consumed by it and become a monster. That's what I thought.
Or...
Perhaps the desire to place the Hebei Peng Family on the foundation of an Orthodox sect was actually something I had thought of on that rainy night in Qinghe County, the day I saved this girl.
And then.
"By the way, where are we going? I've never had the chance to sightsee in Tianjin properly, so you must guide me!"
"If we're talking about Tianjin's famous spots, it's Chunhyangru."
"You crazy lecher!"