Please Understand, Part 5
“You said there was a problem?”
Hyun Jong forced down the unease rising in his chest and asked as calmly as he could.
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
“What sort of…?”
Beop Jeong slowly shook his head.
“Before that, I think we should first clarify the situation.”
“...Yes, Abbot.”
“As you know, the Demonic Sect has risen in Hangzhou. According to the information we obtained through the Beggars’ Union, they are slaughtering not only the Black Ghost Fort that currently rules Hangzhou, but even the common people there without discrimination.”
Hyun Jong bit down hard on his lip.
He had already suspected as much, but hearing it spoken aloud through Beop Jeong’s mouth felt different.
“Is the information reliable?”
“This was just relayed to us from the Beggars’ Union. They do not yet have a complete grasp of the situation in Hangzhou, but it does seem certain that a horrific massacre is taking place there.”
“...How are we supposed to deal with this…?”
Hyun Jong murmured the Daoist prayer again and again, his heart heavy with despair.
Cheong Myeong had been right: while people hesitated, others died.
“What is the enemy’s scale?”
“That is not clear. As you know, the Beggars’ Union is also one of the Ten Great Sects, so they largely withdrew three years ago.”
“Of course.”
Even ordinary beggars fell under the Beggars’ Union’s influence, so there would be no issue receiving reports. But that still could not compare to direct confirmation by Beggars’ Union disciples in person.
“Alliance Leader.”
“Yes, Abbot. Please continue.”
“As you know, the Demonic Sect’s resurgence is something all of the martial world must answer together. Have the sages of old not always joined forces against them, setting aside distinctions between righteous and unorthodox alike whenever the Demonic Sect appeared?”
Hyun Jong nodded gravely.
He had carried the same concern all the way here. He and Beop Jeong had clashed too often for him to easily shake off the anxiety in his heart.
But at least when it came to the Demonic Sect, his will and Beop Jeong’s seemed not so different.
Hyun Jong finally let out a breath of relief.
“That is why I must thank you, Alliance Leader.”
Then Beop Jeong bowed deeply toward Hyun Jong. A personal courtesy. It was thanks given not as the Abbot of Shaolin, but as one human being to another.
“W-why are you doing this, Abbot!”
Hyun Jong panicked, and Beop Jeong raised his head with a faint smile.
“However kindly one speaks, I cannot deny that there has been a certain tension between us, can I?”
“Well, that is….”
“The only reason you made this troublesome journey must be for the peace of the martial world and the lives of the common people. As both a Buddhist monk and a man of the martial world, I could not fail to thank you for your decision, Alliance Leader.”
“Please don’t do this, Abbot. I’m embarrassed. Isn’t this only natural?”
Beop Jeong recited the Buddha’s name and nodded repeatedly. With his eyes closed, he remained like that for a moment before opening them again and meeting Hyun Jong’s gaze with a deep, settled look.
“That being said, Alliance Leader.”
“Yes.”
“I intend to use the information we have gathered to request cooperation from the sects of the world, including the Ten Great Sects. The people here alone may not be enough, so it is important to gather our strength as quickly as possible.”
“The Heavenly Friends Alliance will also cooperate fully.”
At Hyun Jong’s forceful answer, Beop Jeong spoke in a solemn voice.
“However… because of the problem I mentioned a moment ago.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
“Let me emphasize once more that this is a matter of utmost urgency. It is no time to weigh every little thing. If we are to save the common people and suppress the Demonic Sect’s momentum, someone must head to Jiangnan at once. If we wait around leisurely, the damage will become far too great. I cannot imagine the Evil Tyrant Alliance doing anything for the sake of the common people.”
“Mm.”
He was right about that much.
“But, Alliance Leader.”
“Yes, Abbot.”
“As you know, Shaolin currently cannot cross the river.”
“...What?”
Hyun Jong’s expression changed in an instant.
“The accursed treaty concerning Jiangnan’s inviolability has not yet lost its effect. For now, the Ten Great Sects are in no position to cross that river and confront the Demonic Sect.”
“N-no, Abbot. What are you talking about…?”
Hyun Jong stared at Beop Jeong, unable to hide his confusion.
“This is not the time to be worrying about a treaty like that!”
“Naturally, I think so as well. But, Alliance Leader, that is not ours to decide, is it?”
Beop Jeong let out a deep sigh.
“If that Jang Il-so of the Evil Tyrant Alliance were the sort to set aside small things for the greater good like you, then perhaps. But he will surely try to profit from this treaty in one way or another. No, more importantly, do you honestly think conversation would even work with him?”
Hyun Jong’s gaze as he looked at Beop Jeong was now utterly dazed. He said,
“If Jang Il-so had no intention of receiving help from the Ten Great Sects, why would he bother telling us about the Demonic Sect?”
“His intent is not so easy to guess. We are talking about Jang Il-so, after all.”
“That is….”
Hyun Jong bit his lip.
This was a dead end.
He understood very well the situation Shaolin was in, the situation Beop Jeong was in. So he could not say, “Jang Il-so is also a man who knows propriety, so try negotiating with him.”
But if he didn’t say that…
That was when it happened.
“So then.”
Beop Jeong finally brought out his true point in a silky voice.
“I am sorry, but I must ask something difficult of you, Alliance Leader.”
Hyun Jong unconsciously clenched his fist.
He had a good idea what Beop Jeong was about to say. He wanted nothing more than to storm out of this room at once.
But Beop Jeong’s voice cut into his ears with indifferent precision, leaving him no time even to rise.
“To my knowledge, the Heavenly Friends Alliance is not bound by the Jiangnan inviolability treaty.”
“...Abbot.”
“I beg you, Alliance Leader.”
Beop Jeong bowed once more toward Hyun Jong.
“For the suffering common people of Jiangnan, for their precious lives. It is a difficult request, but could the Heavenly Friends Alliance cross the river and confront the Demonic Sect first?”
“...!”
Hyun Jong’s fist tightened so hard that his nails dug into his palm, and he glared at Beop Jeong with boiling eyes.
“...May I ask one thing?”
“By all means.”
“...Is the request the Abbot has made… really for the common people of Jiangnan? Or is it to drive the Heavenly Friends Alliance into a dead end?”
“Naturally, the former.”
Beop Jeong replied without hesitation, as though it required no thought at all. At that unwavering attitude, Hyun Jong bit his lip until it nearly bled.
“Is that the Abbot’s… no, Shaolin’s will?”
“It is.”
“You mean that in earnest?”
Hyun Jong raised his voice.
“You’re telling me that is truly Shaolin’s will?”
Beop Jeong gave no answer. Hyun Jong spoke through gritted teeth.
“I thought we merely walked different roads. Of course there were times I felt disappointed, times I was angry, but I believed those were only the inevitable result of seeing the world differently! Of trying to serve it in different ways!”
“...”
“I believed our hearts, at least, were the same when it came to caring for all the people under heaven. That’s what Shaolin is! It has to be such a place! And yet you mean to tell me this is really Shaolin’s will? Really?”
Beop Jeong looked at Hyun Jong with a strange expression. Then he said something that was more than enough to send Hyun Jong’s mind reeling far away.
“This humble monk truly cannot fathom why the Alliance Leader is so enraged.”
“...What did you say?”
“That day!”
Beop Jeong’s firm voice cut off Hyun Jong’s words.
“That day on the Yangtze, when we faced one another—didn’t you say it plainly to me? That the Heavenly Friends Alliance would do what it believed was right.”
“...”
“Those were painful words, and yet I was impressed. I know how difficult it is to carry them out. And yet….”
Beop Jeong continued with a faint smile.
“Now it seems that the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s definition of right changes depending on the situation.”
“Beop Jeong!”
In the end, Hyun Jong could not suppress his rage and sprang to his feet. Only then did Beop Jeong speak coldly.
“Two weeks.”
“...”
“That is the time remaining until the Jiangnan inviolability treaty expires. Two weeks from now.”
“...”
“When those two weeks pass, the Ten Great Sects and the Five Great Families will cross that river at once to punish the Demonic Sect. So, Alliance Leader, you need only make a choice. Will you cross the river first, or will you…?”
Beop Jeong’s chilly gaze swept over Hyun Jong.
“Wait here for two weeks until the Ten Great Sects march?”
Unlike the furious Hyun Jong, Beop Jeong calmly lifted the teacup, from which a faint wisp of steam still rose. His expression as he wet his throat was astonishingly composed.
“Alliance Leader, I am curious as well.”
“...”
“Whether this talk of justice and righteousness from the Heavenly Friends Alliance will still stand when you are the ones who must bear everything, or whether it is merely a cheap trick that appears only when circumstances are favorable.”
“This is…!”
Beop Jeong reached out and lightly pressed down on Hyun Jong’s cup. The cooling tea inside it instantly bubbled up and boiled furiously.
“Of course, I… sincerely, dearly hope that the Heavenly Friends Alliance is truly a place that upholds righteousness. That is my honest feeling.”
Hyun Jong stared at him in silence. There was no trace left in his eyes of any trust in Beop Jeong.
Beop Jeong went on.
“I will share all the information that comes through the Beggars’ Union. If necessary, we will support you with all the supplies and resources you need.”
Their gazes collided in midair.
“So I beg you to make a wise decision.”
Hyun Jong’s eyes swirled with an anger and hatred unbefitting a Daoist priest.
“...I will go.”
“Yes. Take care on your way.”
Hyun Jong immediately turned, the air around him cold enough to freeze. Then he strode to the shut door and threw it open.
Just as he stepped outside, Beop Jeong’s low voice came from behind him.
“Please send my regards to the Mount Hua Divine Dragon as well.”
“...”
Hyun Jong said nothing. He slammed the door shut and left.
Alone in the room, an unreadable smile slowly surfaced on Beop Jeong’s lips.
“What a man.”
The Buddha’s name he recited drifted hollowly through the silent room.