Chapter 51: Those Wicked Orthodox Bastards (1)
Chapter 51: Those Wicked Orthodox Bastards (1)
Contrary to what many modern people misunderstand, Confucianism is a highly rational field of study.
In fact, not just Confucianism, but most of the major religions that have dominated the paradigms of their eras are generally rational.
From universal education for all citizens and stabilizing the national spirit through the ideals of loyalty and filial piety, to the rejection of superstition and a people-centered political system—there is a reason it remained the mainstream ideology of state administration for over two thousand years.
And the most surprising part is that one man summarized and organized all of this "righteous moral philosophy."
Truly, there is nothing wrong with the words of Confucius.
"Now, friends."
Among the countless famous quotes by Confucius, one of the more familiar ones to us is: "When three people walk together, there is surely a teacher among them." (Analects of Confucius: Shu Er)
"Only one of the three gets to live. Got it?"
It is a piece of life wisdom: if you catch three people, you can get useful information from at least one of them.
"I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
"Please spare me...!! I—I failed to recognize a great man...!"
As always, Confucius had the answer.
Before entering Cheongheon County, we were able to learn what was happening in the town.
"...The Jinzhou Eon Family?"
"Yes! Yes, milord! The masters of the Jinzhou Eon Family are currently meeting with the Jongri Family!! All we were told was to block anyone from entering this town...!"
"The Orthodox Faction is really going places, isn't it?"
"There must be a misunderstanding."
Murong Cheong spoke with a rare, cold expression.
"There must be a misunderstanding."
The Jinzhou Eon Family is a major Orthodox sect near Hebei that frequently clashes with the Dragon Slaying Alliance, alongside the Huangfu and Murong families.
Those fellows have a sad history; they suffered such heavy losses during the last Righteous-Demonic War that they were demoted to the second-tier lineup of the Five Great Clans' 'Power Rangers.'
The problem is that the Righteous-Demonic War was an event caused by my family.
There were even rumors that the people of the Jinzhou Eon Family would bolt upright in their sleep and start hurling insults at the mere mention of the Hebei Peng Family.
"Do you know anyone from the Jinzhou Eon Family?"
"Aside from the Elder of the Heavenly Roar Fist... I have had exchanges with the Fist Dragon Eon Hyeong-shin and the One-Star Fist Lord Eon Se-jeong. I've seen them both a couple of times at the Martial Alliance gatherings."
"I suppose it's a relief the Murong Family is in such a remote area. Since your face isn't well-known, there's less risk of being caught."
"Aren't you in more danger than I am? Thanks to the incident at the Divine Spear Yang Family, your infamy has spread quite a bit within the Martial Alliance."
The main road of Cheongheon County under the rain was desolate.
Perhaps because even the peddlers had been blocked, not a single open inn or tavern was in sight.
The streets were so devoid of people it was eerie.
Cheongheon County wasn't a large city, but it was far too quiet for a subsidiary town of the bustling Hejian Prefecture.
Even though it was broad daylight, not even a wisp of cooking smoke could be seen.
"The Elder of the Heavenly Void Fist is a man whose name is widely renowned as a Great Hero of the Martial World. There must be a misunderstanding. The Jinzhou Eon Family is famous for their hatred of the Black Path and Unorthodox Factions."
"Well, it's only natural to hate the Black Path if your family was shattered like that, but..."
I had heard that the Jinzhou Eon Family lost most of their family's secret techniques after the Righteous-Demonic War.
Aside from the Fist King Eon Do-cheon, no significant masters remained among the Eon kin, and they had become so impoverished they even had to sell off their family's farmlands.
This was unavoidable.
As was the case with the Divine Spear Yang Family, if masters die in war without leaving behind disciples, the lineage of martial arts is severed even if there are descendants.
Most martial arts cannot be learned without a master.
Secret manuals are essentially just textbooks used when a master teaches.
It's easier to understand if you imagine trying to learn Muay Thai just by looking at text.
You might be able to awkwardly mimic the stances, but you can't learn the precise forms, and it's nearly impossible given the nature of martial arts, which requires the manipulation of internal energy.
"I hope I'm not just overthinking things."
"What do you mean by that?"
"The thought that since the Jinzhou Eon Family lost most of their secrets, they might want to grow their power even if it means obtaining the secret manuals of other sects."
At my words, Murong Cheong's expression turned grave.
Coincidentally, the reason we came here was to pursue the person who stole the Murong Family's secret manuals and fled.
If the Jinzhou Eon Family happened to pop up in such a place, and if the Jongri Family—the world's greatest brats who are experts at this kind of mischief—were also involved...
I hoped my guess wasn't too accurate.
"My uncle... with the Jinzhou Eon Family...? But, but why on earth...?"
"We'll have to find that out now. Let's move at night."
I tried to scout during the day, but it was impossible because the streets were too quiet.
Hiding in a crowd is as easy as flipping one's hand, but a stranger carrying a sword wandering through empty streets would stand out too much.
Fortunately, our appearance was so disheveled that we didn't even need to find separate night-infiltration gear.
I led Murong Cheong toward a nearby inn.
At least there was one place where a waiter stood blankly in front of the sign.
"Two bowls of warm noodles and one order of dumplings. Do you have alcohol?"
"Yes, we have some Baijiu left."
"Bring that too. What about rooms?"
"I'll prepare two."
The waiter took the order with a vacant face and trudged into the kitchen.
I watched his back and furrowed my brows.
He didn't seem to be a member of the Hao Clan.
Members of the Hao Clan who work in service usually maintain a very professional attitude, but this waiter clearly looked like he had no desire to work at all.
Soon, the sound of a knife hitting a cutting board echoed from the kitchen.
Sipping tea that had gone lukewarm from sitting too long, Murong Cheong continued to stare at the street with a serious expression.
"Is there no way to contact the Hao Clan?"
"There's a tavern in this city with Hao Clan members, but I saw it was closed on our way in. I told you, the Hao Clan isn't a typical martial sect. Most of them are just commoners, so there's no way to find them when they aren't working."
"Hmm... something is strange."
"What?"
"There are too few people."
As Murong Cheong said, we had hardly seen a shadow of a person since arriving.
The rain was heavy enough to block our vision significantly, but it wasn't enough to deceive the eyes of a martial artist.
At most, there were a few shadows moving at the end of the streets.
Even then, their steps were steady like those of warriors, so I didn't even think about approaching them.
Any martial artist wandering this town would undoubtedly be from the Black Path factions brought along by the Jongri Family.
Unless we intended to advertise our arrival, we had to avoid encountering them.
"The Black Path bastards have locked down the town entrance; there's no way the people would step outside. You might not know this, but most Black Path fellows who don't belong to the Dragon Slaying Alliance are the type to swing their swords the moment they see someone on the street."
"Is the Dragon Slaying Alliance different?"
"Of course it's different. We're on good terms with the officials. The Hebei Peng Family personally oversees the laws, so no one would dare draw a sword against a commoner first."
Aside from the business of legal tax collection, we basically live while avoiding anything that would get us on the bad side of the government.
The Hebei region is far too strictly monitored to openly bruise the pride of the provincial offices.
In a place so close to the Imperial Court in Beijing, most Black Path and Unorthodox factions have no choice but to become servants of the government.
There are only a few great clans, including mine, that can position themselves as 'cooperative partners' outside that boundary.
Therefore, the Dragon Slaying Alliance maintained a very close relationship with the government.
On the other hand, the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance of Chongqing, which includes the Jongri Family—these 'Black Team' fellows—don't care about such things at all.
In a town where such bastards are conducting an operation, there's no way commoners could go about their daily lives normally.
"Don't worry too much. We'll head straight for the harbor at night, find the Black Ship, confirm your uncle's presence, and then get out. Anything more is too dangerous."
"I must also confirm the situation regarding the Jinzhou Eon Family. The entire Orthodox Martial World will gather for the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering this winter. If the Jinzhou Eon Family stole my family's secrets and tried to join hands with the Jongri Family, I must find out."
"I thought you said you wouldn't do anything dangerous."
"...You should stay out of this."
Murong Cheong spoke in a slightly sullen voice.
"I know it's dangerous... but after hearing what you said, I can no longer stand by and watch. For members of an Orthodox sect to occupy a town and exploit commoners... if that is true, the Jinzhou Eon Family will be uprooted, even if the Elder of the Heavenly Roar Fist is there."
"How are you going to uproot a family that has one of the Fifteen Lords of the World?"
"The Elder of the Heavenly Void Fist isn't the only Orthodox martial artist among the Fifteen Lords. And among the Four Peerless Masters of the Righteous Way, he isn't even the most profound."
As we were talking, the food we ordered arrived.
It was unbelievably, transcendently awful.
"If I hadn't studied under the Hao Clan Leader, I would have just..."
"Just eat what you're given. Are you showing off that you're a child of a wealthy family?"
"Unlike Liaoning, Hebei has a lot of good food."
"Ugh."
Without any further sign of distaste, Murong Cheong gulped down the noodles, which looked like they had just been loosely unraveled in plain water, and stood up.
I left all the food after the first bite and headed to the guest room holding only the liquor bottle.
Fortunately, the alcohol was normal.
It seemed the cook's skills were just horrifyingly bad; no wonder business was failing even though all the surrounding shops were closed.
"See you after sunset. Just do some light meditation."
"You too."
I entered the room next to Murong Cheong's and raised the bottle.
When I opened the narrow window, I could look down at the rainy street.
It was certainly a quiet town, horribly devoid of people.
It was unavoidable, given it was the rainy season and Black Path thugs were wandering around with swords.
I spent a long time watching the rain and sipping liquor before closing my eyes for a moment.
"What's with this fog?"
With the rain getting heavier and sea fog rolling in, it looked like something straight out of a horror movie.
Even if a zombie popped out of that alley, I'd have to admit it was a fitting entrance for the setting.
Murong Cheong stepped out of the inn looking a bit tired.
As if the inn didn't intend to do business at night, even the waiter was nowhere to be seen, making our departure easy.
It was such a lax situation that someone could have stolen the cash box without anyone knowing; I wondered if it was okay to be like this with guests still present.
Like a true member of the Hao Clan, I placed a few copper coins on the counter and left the inn.
"Are we going straight to the harbor?"
"There's nowhere else to stop. We should get there as quickly as possible."
Murong Cheong nodded with a somewhat listless attitude and followed behind me.
She had been full of energy when we were hiking, but it seemed the tension had finally broken after several days of sleeping rough and a short nap, leaving her drained.
Moving in the rain takes a huge toll on one's physical strength, after all. It was understandable.
Her family didn't specialize in deep external arts, so she probably didn't have much experience traveling such long distances on foot.
She definitely would have died if I'd sent her alone.
"There are too few people."
"Well, there were none during the day, and now it's night."
"That's not what I mean."
Murong Cheong whispered in a low voice, looking around.
"There isn't a single house with a light on."
"......?"
"Even if it's natural for commoners to sleep early at night, this is impossible unless every single household went to sleep at the exact same time."
I stopped in my tracks at her words.
We stood in silence for a moment, surveying our surroundings.
The streets were quiet and dark.
With the rain and thick fog, there was no moonlight, creating a deep darkness that made it impossible for anyone but a martial artist to navigate.
And light, by nature, is more easily identified in the darkness.
In a night this deep, even a small lantern should have been clearly visible.
I had heard that in the modern world, North Korean soldiers could identify our guard posts just by someone lighting a cigarette at night.
No matter how far the distance, a light in the darkness is that visible.
Which meant...
"Wait a moment."
Leaving the tired-looking Murong Cheong behind, I leaped straight onto a nearby wall.
I stepped onto the roof tiles of a nearby pavilion and ran higher.
From the high vantage point, a portion of the town came into view.
A darkness so thick it was difficult even for a martial artist's vision to pierce through covered most of the sight.
And within that...
There was not a single house with a light on.
"Dammit..."
A sigh escaped through my teeth.
There were places where lights flickered.
On the outskirts of this small county, a few warriors blocking the main road were likely spending the night around campfires.
And far off. The harbor.
In the small bay where fishing boats were crowded at anchor.
Lights floating upon the water were flickering like will-o'-the-wisps in a graveyard.
The Jongri Family's Black Ship.
Because the hull was painted black, it was nearly invisible at night, and it was said that the sorcerers of the Left-Path Faction had laid down all sorts of formations so that not even the sound of its floating could be felt. The Jongri Family's smuggling vessel.
That massive ship stood like a lighthouse, the only light upon the dark sea, looking down over the city.
"How is it? What's happened?"
"I need to check one more thing."
Returning to the street, I began walking again with Murong Cheong.
Even after passing through several alleys, not a single house with a light was visible.
"Where are we going? The harbor is in that direction."
"I know. Just a moment."
I was reluctant to tell her anything until I was certain.
I walked silently in the lead, trying my best to recall the streets I had seen during the day.
Fortunately, I was able to reach my destination even in the thick darkness.
Seonhaeru. The only tavern in this city operated by an official member of the Hao Clan.
"Didn't you say it was closed...?"
"I need to check if it's closed or if it was shut."
I gave a short answer and grabbed the tavern door.
The latch must have been set inside, as the handle wouldn't budge.
When I applied brute force, the hinges shattered and the door swung open.
Amidst the sound of the pouring rain...
"Th-this is..."
Murong Cheong's voice was faint.
CRACK-BOOM! Thunder roared violently somewhere.
In a scene perfectly fitting this weather, a classic horror movie sight lay before my eyes.
"Are they all... dead...?"
"Probably."
The horrific stench of blood, which had been trapped by the rain, pooled within the tavern.
The blood of an unknown number of people had turned black and rotten.
"But why...? If they did something like this..."
"Unless the County Magistrate is an idiot, there's no way to hide this. The Imperial Army will move."
This was on a completely different level from killing a few commoners.
If you commit a massacre of an entire county's population, a pursuit order will inevitably be issued.
Furthermore, this area wasn't even that far from Tianjin.
In other words, this was still within the direct sphere of influence of the Beijing Imperial Court.
No matter how much the administrative power of medieval China might be for show, they would never overlook such a major incident occurring right under the capital's nose.
To do such a thing, there must be something significant enough to justify the risk.
Something that would make the Murong Family's secret manuals look like 'nothing.'
Something they absolutely had to achieve, even at the risk of their clan's extermination.
"Let's go back."
"What?"
"If they've done something of this magnitude, it has already surpassed the 'danger' level you mentioned. You report this to the Hao Clan. I plan to inform the Martial Alliance. If I follow the main road, it won't take more than a few days to reach Jiangnan. I will go to the Namgung Family."
"What about your uncle?"
"...The situation is already too grave to mention my family's private affairs."
Murong Cheong looked at the corpses with eyes overflowing with sorrow and rage.
She soon turned her head to look at the dark night streets.
If this had happened in all those darkened houses out there...
Just how many people had died in this county?
This is a world where monsters with swords roam free.
That is what the Martial World is.
To the armed warriors who have gained the power of internal energy, the lives of the common folk are no different from pebbles.
To her, who had lived as a kind and well-regarded young lady of the countryside even in such a world, this sight was too great a shock.
She gripped her sword hilt so hard the veins popped, her shoulders trembling with rage.
Even as she resented her uncle who might have participated in this, even as she lamented her inability to solve the mystery...
Even at this moment, when she probably wanted to charge onto the Jongri Family's Black Ship right now...
She was telling me to go back.
"Confucius does not need to risk his life. This is my business. I have no intention of dying here either."
She spoke as if spitting out the words, then closed her eyes.
And so. Because I didn't want to see her like that. Without realizing it.
"These people were members of the Hao Clan."
"Pardon?"
"It's not like I've learned anything grand from the Hao Clan Leader yet... but I owe her my life. So, yeah."
I squeezed my now fully healed right palm once and smiled.
Wearing an expression befitting a warrior of the Peng Family, with the hot-bloodedness of the Peng lineage.
The people of my family are originally the type to charge in when they get pissed off.
"Let's collect the blood debt."
Having inherited that bloodline too strongly, I said those words before I knew it.
"It's too dangerous...!! How do we know who might be over there?!"
"If we thought about things like that..."
We wouldn't have started the Righteous-Demonic War in the first place.
When I gave that answer, Murong Cheong's mouth clamped shut.
The founding ancestor of the Hebei Peng Family went to the Shaolin Temple alone during the transition between the Yuan and Ming dynasties and burned down the Sutra Library.
The fourth-generation head gathered the Black Path factions right under the nose of the Beijing Imperial Court and still maintained the family.
The third-generation head started the Righteous-Demonic War simply because he was pissed off, charged at the vanguard, and died gloriously in battle.
That blood doesn't go anywhere. Even with the bright intellect of a 21st-century modern man, there's nothing I can do about the innate personality of this body.
To be honest, I didn't exactly go to the Divine Spear Yang Family with a meticulously calculated chance of winning either.
"I have to go and at least find out what on earth they were thinking when they committed this."
At my words, Murong Cheong nodded with a firm face.
The two of us walked side by side, piercing through the rain toward the harbor.