Chapter 98: Thirty-Six Stratagems: Muddle the Water to Catch the Fish (1)
Chapter 98: Thirty-Six Stratagems: Muddle the Water to Catch the Fish (1)
The power dynamics of the Orthodox Faction are a piece of information treated with extreme sensitivity even in the Records of the Mountain and Moon, and it was something I had personally delved into quite deeply.
I mean, it’s interesting, isn't it? I ended up dropping straight from the modern world into a medieval China where the Murim actually exists—how could I not look into it?
Wow, the Mount Hua Sect. Wow, the Plum Blossom Swordsmen.
Wow, the Shaolin Temple of Mount Song! Wow, the 108 Arhats!
Wow, the Namgung Family! Wow, the Martial Alliance!
The more I looked into it with that sparkling sense of wonder, the more I couldn't help but let my expression rot. Their political maneuvering was absolutely terrifying.
The Orthodox Martial Alliance is a collective of every sect classified as "Orthodox" throughout the Central Plains. Much like the Black Path Demonic Alliance.
And here, "throughout the Central Plains" refers to a vast territory at least seven times the size of the Korean Peninsula. For instance, the distance between the Emei Sect of Sichuan and the Namgung Family of Southern Zhili is so great that they might as well view each other as foreign martial artists.
Because of this, their factions aren't simply divided into the "Nine Great Sects and One Alliance" or the "Five Great Clans." Just as we have the Dragon Slaying Alliance centered in Northern Zhili and the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance in Chongqing, they had their own regional divisions.
At least the Black Path Demonic Alliance has its hierarchy somewhat sorted out under the law of the jungle. Our friends in the Orthodox Faction, who seem to have had a strange form of democracy transplanted into them, couldn't do that.
Consequently, it naturally went like this:
—"We are an alliance in name, so shouldn't we have an Alliance Leader?"
—"Shall we decide by seniority? How about the Divine Monk?"
—"This humble monk finds even running a small temple overwhelming."
—"…Then what about the Sword Immortal?"
—"Too much trouble. How many days do I even have left to live?"
—"……."
It always ended up like this. It didn't help that the two members of the Three Venerables who belonged to the Orthodox Faction were from Buddhist and Taoist backgrounds, leading them to reject such secular positions.
Among the remaining members, one of the Four Great Orthodox Masters should have been chosen based on seniority or reputation, but…
—"It can't be helped. The Namgung Family will simply have to step up and take on that great responsibility."
—"In that case! I, Eon Do-cheon of the Heavenly Roar Fist, shall—!"
—"How can we trust such a position to those fellows from the Jiangnan White Forest Association? The true home of righteousness is Sichuan!"
—"I shall abstain. Do as you please."
Since things always devolved into this mess, they had no choice.
They needed someone regardless of seniority or martial prowess—someone who wasn't particularly close to any specific sect, yet held no clear grudges either.
A perfectly colorless and transparent Orthodox master with an appropriate level of martial skill and a personality that wasn't too abrasive.
Ideally, someone with a reputation for chivalry. After searching desperately with those criteria in mind, they found him.
"Sit down, Young Hero Peng."
A good-natured man who had never been in major conflict with anyone.
From a humble family on the brink of ruin.
A sect with one-person succession.
Someone who had earned quite a reputation for chivalry during the Righteous-Demonic War in his youth.
"Do you like sugar-coated candy? The finest flower cakes made in Wuchang are delivered to the Alliance Leader’s office."
I looked at the old man smiling warmly before me and thought:
They picked a figurehead and shoved him into the seat of the Alliance Leader.
That was the best way to describe it.
*
35. Thirty-Six Stratagems: Muddle the Water to Catch the Fish
The Martial Alliance Leader, Yeon Seok-hong, the Five Leaf Sword Lord, was an ordinary-looking grandfather who wouldn't have felt out of place if I’d dropped him into our Council of Elders.
He poured out some high-quality Biluochun tea and smiled warmly. If someone saw us, they might have mistaken him for my own grandfather.
However, I couldn't afford to indulge in such a pleasant misunderstanding. Not only was my actual grandfather the number one person in the Unorthodox Faction, but there were other, more unsettling reasons.
I wondered why he wanted to meet me one-on-one in the middle of the night, in a perfectly secluded space without even a single servant present.
And if he truly wanted to have a discussion of great importance, he should have summoned me to the Alliance Council rather than this meeting with an Alliance Leader who held no real power.
"It was a long journey from Northern Zhili. I heard you went through much trouble."
"It wasn't enough to be called trouble. The journey from Northern Zhili to Wuchang can hardly be considered long."
"How could a journey be peaceful in this cold winter? The roads must have been treacherous."
"Fortunately, I had a good traveling companion, so I arrived without incident."
"That is truly a relief."
I threw out a light probe, and it turned out the old man was quite capable of political back-and-forth. Despite his expression, which seemed to leak nothing but carefree laughter, he was catching my drift perfectly.
To provide a rough annotation, our conversation meant this:
—"I heard you went through much trouble."
(Meaning: I heard you clashed with the Heavenly Roar Fist?)
—"It wasn't far from Northern Zhili to Wuchang."
(Meaning: If the next Righteous-Demonic War breaks out, it won't take us long to reach Wuchang, will it?)
—"The roads must have been treacherous?"
(Meaning: There are plenty of Orthodox sects along the way; you think it'll be that easy?)
—"I had a good traveling companion."
(Meaning: It seems there are some on your side willing to join us.)
It would be a mistake to think he was openly picking a fight. This level of political talk was merely a way to gauge if we were on the same level.
I had come here as an envoy of the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance to denounce the Jinju Eon Family.
From that position, I had delivered a somewhat forceful greeting to the Martial Alliance, which was currently dragging its feet on punishing the Eon Family. If I had to put it in martial terms, it felt like taking a starting stance before a duel.
"A traveling companion, indeed. I heard you visited Wuchang as a guest of the Murong Family. The events along the way were quite exciting. You acted as a true paragon for young heroic knights."
"It is a bit embarrassing to hear the word 'righteousness' mentioned. Haha."
After that, we both took a step back and sipped our tea. Amidst the quiet laughter in the deep night, the Martial Alliance Leader suddenly spoke in a passing tone.
"This old man believes the world has become extremely murky."
It would be rude to say, 'So suddenly?' This was a speech pattern unique to medieval China. After a long chat to build rapport, the main point is thrown out in the form of a topic for discussion.
Yeon Seok-hong poured fresh hot water into the teapot and continued.
"What do you think, Young Hero Peng?"
"It would be beneath my status to dare speak of the world's affairs… but with so many righteous knights and heroes in the current Murim, surely a bit of turbid water is of no great concern?"
"Heroes tend to invite chaotic times. The Shanxi Murim has begun to distrust the Martial Alliance, and the Jiangnan Murim believes they should be the center of the world. The Sichuan Murim is extremely reluctant to leave their basin, while bloodbaths continue to occur in Yunnan."
As the person responsible for making the Shanxi Murim distrust the Martial Alliance, I decided to keep quiet here.
"In such a situation… I heard about the bloody incident in Qinghe County from the Twin Arts of Laughter and Cunning. They said your role was significant. The Peng Family, once called the great evil of the Central Plains' Orthodox Murim, exposed the misdeeds of the Jinju Eon Family, a prestigious name among the Five Great Clans alongside the Murong Family."
"You flatter me."
"No, that is not it, Young Hero Peng. Do you know what we call a murky state of affairs where the distinction between friend and foe is blurred?"
A chaotic world (Nanse).
And those who face a chaotic world are forced to make one of three choices.
The ordinary person bows. They hope the chaos passes them by, praying for the muddled world to eventually end.
Those who are sufficiently fierce will resist to protect their families and homes.
And those who are sufficiently prepared will exploit the chaos. They will thrive like fish returned to their pond, seeking to make the world even murkier. To them, a chaotic world is a gambling den where they can gain everything or lose everything.
And the gamblers who place their lives on that table and drag others into the seats beside them…
We call them heroes.
Does the chaos call for heroes, or do the ambitious men who consider themselves heroes bring about the chaos?
"This old man saw hope in this matter. I plan to take responsibility and push for the punishment of the Jinju Eon Family until the matter is settled. The Martial Alliance represents the righteous path, and we are a gathering of those who have sworn never to overlook such evil deeds. So, Young Hero Peng. Would you be willing to share a cup with this old man?"
"…My will cannot represent the general consensus of the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance."
"Is there a need for that? What I desire is not the Black Path, but a single heroic knight who harbors righteousness and heads toward the land of death of his own accord. When one such person, and then another, gathers… and when such people raise the banner they hold against the chaos of the world—"
Only then can it be called the Orthodox Faction.
Only then can it be called the Murim.
"I will not tell you to join the Orthodox Murim. How many in the current Orthodox Martial Alliance can truly claim to be of the righteous path? And how many in the Black Path Demonic Alliance can truly judge themselves to be of the dark path?"
In the sense that people are the same everywhere.
In this medieval Chinese Serengeti, where interests, survival, safety, and desires clash sharply.
A sect that pursues only righteousness does not exist, nor can there be a sect that follows only evil.
So, if that is the case—if a chaotic era has arrived where the distinction between friend and foe is meaningless.
Wouldn't a reliable old rival be better to hold hands with than an unreliable ally?
With that intent, the Martial Alliance Leader set down his teacup.
"I understand your meaning. Then, please tell me what you desire."
"As the saying goes, Muddle the water to catch the fish. If one wishes to catch the fish that muddies the water, one must instead foul the pond. Would you be willing to be the silt that tramples the pond?"
There were those within the Martial Alliance who had joined hands with outsiders.
Those who operated in the shadows, hiding themselves with extreme caution.
As an Alliance Leader with no real power, he had no way to catch them.
And as long as they were active, there was no way to punish those who had joined hands with the Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance, including the Jinju Eon Family.
Therefore.
"That happens to be what this Peng is most skilled at."
By creating a disturbance so great that even they would be flustered.
By drawing their attention so they wouldn't notice the net tightening around them.
With the intent to set the righteous world of the Martial Alliance straight once more by eliminating them in one fell swoop, the old man known as a good-natured soul smiled faintly. A shrewd light sparkled in his small eyes. He looked like the most insidious schemer of the government, or perhaps a child who loved pranks, or…
Like the eyes of a martial artist who had been forced to simply hold his seat for a long time.
The public reason he was appointed as the Martial Alliance Leader was that he was a heroic knight who had traveled the world, famous for his righteousness.
And any person with common sense should not have treated such a hot-blooded man as a mere figurehead or an idle old man.
"Truly, I can only hope that one day you will belong to our Alliance."
"Those are quite terrifying words."
Words that would make my grandfather turn me into mincemeat.
*
It was three days after that.
At the sound of chirping sparrows, Murong Cheong stretched and rose from her bed.
She was staying in a pavilion of the guest house provided for the Murong Family. When she opened the window, the beautiful scenery of Wuchang's lake unfolded before her eyes.
Many people were passing by in small groups from early morning, the sky was clear after the snow had stopped, and the blowing wind was pleasantly cool.
Ah, what a truly beautiful day, she thought.
The birds were singing, and the flowers… well, the flowers hadn't bloomed yet.
But anyway.
"Mm…?"
Someone was approaching the pavilion so early in the morning. From their appearance, they were clearly not a member of the Murong Family.
A Mamianqun (a type of very ornate skirt) embroidered with brilliant gold thread, an Ao (a silk upper garment with five-colored embroidery) made of black silk with eye-catching red tassels, and a Yunjian (a type of clothing decoration). On her head, she even wore a Ginsagye (a type of gold-decorated hairpin).
She was the very picture of a courtesan.
"How on earth is a courtesan here…?"
Murong Cheong was by no means slow or dim-witted. Her clever mind instantly assembled the pieces of information.
The only men in this pavilion were Murong Seo-jeong and Peng Hyeon-hwi.
And since Peng Hyeon-hwi belonged to the Hao Clan… maybe, just maybe, there was some information he needed.
"That crazy lecher."
It wasn't as if every member of the Hao Clan was a courtesan.
Why was it that every time that man contacted the Hao Clan, he only met with courtesans?
He doesn't even have a fiancée anymore, yet he's so careless…! (Of course, if he did have a fiancée, he should be even more careful not to be near courtesans.)
It was so absurd that she could only scoff at that lewd Han custom.
With trembling hands, she quickly began to apply her makeup.