More Than Enough (3)
“So then, the question is how we’re supposed to get to Hainan in the first place....”
Dang Pae, who was generally considered the most sensible member of the group, slowly turned his head and looked at Namgung Dowi.
It was, if one thought about it, a rather strange sight.
Judging by names alone, the people gathered for the trip to Hainan were the kind who could turn an entire city upside down without breaking a sweat.
The Young Patriarch of the Namgung Clan, the Young Patriarch of the Tang Clan, the Palace Lord of the Ice Palace, and the King of the Green Forest. Add to that the Five Swords of Mount Hua—the sect currently regarded as the most vigorous force in the world—and even Hye Yeon, who was once thought likely to become Shaolin’s abbot someday unless he tore off his own robes and renounced the faith with his own hands.
By reputation alone, by strength alone, there was no way to deny how extraordinary they were. And yet....
Why is there no one who can actually talk like a normal person?
The moment he realized they would have to discuss the matter with someone, his chest tightened and cold sweat broke out all over him.
In the end, the one Dang Pae grabbed onto was the only one who seemed even remotely human: Namgung Dowi.
“What are you planning to do?”
“No, why are you asking me about that....”
Of course, Namgung Dowi had no idea what was going through Dang Pae’s mind and only looked baffled.
“Come to think of it, isn’t it odd? Going to Hainan is an extremely important matter. And yet, until the day we departed, we didn’t discuss even once how exactly we were supposed to get there. Does that make any sense at all?”
“No, I’m saying, why are you asking me....”
Dang Pae let out a heavy sigh. In the end, his gaze turned toward the one responsible for this whole affair.
“...Baek Cheon Daojang.”
“I was actually planning to explain that part a little.”
That answer brought a flicker of life into Dang Pae’s eyes as he looked at Baek Cheon. It meant Baek Cheon had a plan of his own and some reason behind it.
“There was someone who kept us from speaking openly about that part, so I think we should hear that person out. Though....”
“Though?”
“Uh... well, that is....”
Baek Cheon made a reluctant face and glanced to the side.
“Say that again, you bastard! What? You think the Mount Hua succession ceremony means nothing?”
Smack!Smack!
“You filthy mouth—that mouth of yours—what do you call this mouth, huh? This mouth? Huh?”
Smack!Smack!
Seeing Im So-byeong’s lips, now swollen like a steamed bun, Baek Cheon let out a mournful sigh.
“Let’s wait until the swelling goes down a little.”
“....”
Why don’t you stop the part where he keeps getting hit before that, you idiot....
“Th....”
Im So-byeong rubbed the corner of his mouth and started to speak, only to abruptly swipe at his eyes as though overcome with feeling.
At that sight, everyone else quietly turned their heads away. Of course, as the saying went, all trouble came from the mouth, and one couldn’t say he hadn’t brought this on himself by running it recklessly.... Still, if they stared straight at the King of the Green Forest being handled like a rat caught in a trap and blinking back tears, wouldn’t everyone feel awkward? No, setting everything else aside, wasn’t that simply the decent thing to do?
“What are you crying for when you should know better?”
Of course, not everyone here could be called a person....
Im So-byeong sniffed hard, then seemed about to say something before his face twisted. His split lip must have hurt.
“Th... in any case, the reason I said we shouldn’t discuss the plan inside the estate before departure is because there’s a risk the information could leak.”
“...Aren’t you being a little too suspicious of people?”
At Dang Pae’s words, Im So-byeong shot him a venomous glare.
“What are you saying so lightly? Do you think this is Sichuan or something? Do you have any idea how many people come and go through the estate, starting with the cooks and all the laborers? Are you saying all those people are so loyal to the Heavenly Friends Alliance that they’d rather have a knife at their throat than reveal our plan?”
“Th-that’s not what I meant....”
“And this is exactly why everything turns to shit! Do you have any idea how vicious the martial world is? This is what happens when people are raised in greenhouses!”
Dang Pae visibly wilted, and Baek Cheon stepped in with a bitter smile to defend him.
“Trusting people isn’t a bad thing.”
“No! Baek Cheon....”
“Go on. Let’s see if that mouth of yours is still working after this.”
At Cheong Myeong’s low growl, Im So-byeong obediently closed his mouth. He didn’t know how vicious the martial world was, but it certainly wasn’t more vicious than that man’s fists.
Baek Cheon said,
“Still, caution is necessary. It’s unlikely information will leak to the Sapa side, but we can’t help being a little less guarded around the Nine Great Sects.”
“You really had to go that far....”
“Ah, this guy! He really doesn’t get it, does he!”
This time, Cheong Myeong glared at Dang Pae.
“He’s saying the bald old man might hand our information over to the Evil Tyrant Alliance! Our Acting Sect Leader!”
“S-surely he wouldn’t go that far.”
“Surely my ass! Back when he kept saying we were all part of the same orthodox faction, the man couldn’t tell right from wrong if his life depended on it! Now that even people are saying you lot aren’t orthodox anymore, what exactly is there he can’t do?”
“Still, isn’t he a Buddhist?”
“A Buddhist? A Buuuddhist? If that bald bastard’s a Buddhist, then I’m the Buddha, you idiot! First of all, where in Shaolin are there any real Buddhists? The moment a bunch of sword-wielding freaks start talking about being monks, you know the seed was rotten from the start!”
“Cheong Myeong... enough. Monk Hye Yeon is crying.”
Yoon Jong patted Hye Yeon’s slumped shoulder.
“It’s all right, it’s all right. He already renounced, didn’t he?”
“I did not!”
“Didn’t he?”
“....”
Amid the now-chaotic atmosphere, Im So-byeong coughed awkwardly and went on.
“Anyway, that’s why I told everyone not to discuss it inside the estate. Since we have to depart now, let’s share the plan.”
Shhhhk!
Im So-byeong pulled a small map from his sleeve and spread it out on the ground.
“...Just how many kinds of maps do you even have?”
“I’ve prepared them in every size! I’ve even got a tiny one—want me to hand one out?”
“...No, thank you.”
At this point, it no longer seemed like preparation so much as a hobby.
“There’s one thing we need to agree on first.”
“Hmm?”
“The first priority in choosing a route to Hainan is whether we have somewhere in the region to rely on.”
At that, everyone tilted their heads in confusion.
Im So-byeong began patiently laying out the situation.
“As you all know, in matters like this, it’s best to move with the smallest possible number of people. But with only the minimum necessary, it’d be impossible to properly persuade Hainan. So we can’t avoid sending more than ten people to Hainan.... The problem is that the more people you bring, the higher the chance of being noticed.”
“Hmm.”
Everyone nodded at that.
“So until the very last possible moment, it’d be best to move through a region where we can conceal our movements with the help of an ally. Considering that, we have three routes. The first is by sea.”
“By sea?”
“Yes.”
Im So-byeong pointed to one side of the map.
“We’d travel down the Yangtze River toward Zhejiang Province, then take a ship to Hainan. There are still plenty of Namgung Clan hands in Anhui and Zhejiang, so they’d be a huge help in hiding our movements. We could even conceal the fact that we went to Hainan by ship in the first place.”
“That does make sense....”
Namgung Dowi nodded, agreeing it was possible.
“The best thing about this route is that it lets us hide our trail most effectively, and above all, it uses the sea route. The Evil Tyrant Alliance may have its fingers in nearly all of Jiangnan, but the sea is another matter. They’re not fishing merchants or fishmongers; they won’t be coming out onto the ocean.”
Everyone nodded again. No matter how powerful the Evil Tyrant Alliance was, it was hard to believe they controlled the sea as well.
“So if we can secure a proper ship, prepare well, and set out, it’s the safest way to reach Hainan. The downside is....”
“It’ll take a long time.”
“Tch. Exactly.”
Im So-byeong nodded immediately at Baek Cheon’s words.
The journey was already long enough; this route would only make it longer. And unlike horse or foot travel, there was no easy way to speed up a ship by manpower.
“No good.”
“We can’t afford to waste time.”
“And if something goes wrong with the ship, we could end up stranded somewhere along the Jiangnan coast.”
What had sounded like a good option at first turned out to have plenty of problems once examined.
“All right, sea route noted. What about the second?”
“This way.”
Im So-byeong’s finger traced another line across the map.
“The second is a detour by land. We’d first enter Sichuan, then head for Yunnan, and finally arrive at Linyi, where we’d take a ship to Hainan. I mentioned this route before.”
“Yes.”
“This one isn’t bad either. The problem is that there are a great many eyes on the road to Sichuan and Yunnan.”
“Mm.”
Dang Pae nodded emphatically at that.
The Tang Clan might be called the king of Sichuan, but that was only a matter of form. Their influence was strongest in northern Sichuan, including Chengdu; in the south, where Mount Emei and Qingcheng were located, the Nine Great Sects held more sway.
And Yunnan was home not only to the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, but also to the Pointed Blade Sect. It would be difficult to hide their movements completely.
“Even if we get through all of that safely, it won’t be easy to find a ship from Linyi to Hainan. Linyi is under the shadow of the Southern Sea Sun Palace, and we have no idea how they’ll react. We could end up causing needless trouble.”
That much had been discussed before.
But even after reconsidering it, each route had its own advantages and drawbacks, making it impossible to say with certainty which was the right choice. Getting there was not the only thing that mattered.
“King of the Green Forest.”
Baek Cheon looked directly at Im So-byeong.
“You said there were three routes?”
“Yes.”
“Then what do you think the third is?”
Baek Cheon watched him with a meaningful gaze. Based on everything they had seen of Im So-byeong so far, there was a good chance the third route—the one he had yet to mention—was the one he considered most realistic.
Receiving that look, Im So-byeong grinned as expected.
“Yes, I’ll tell you. The third route I’m thinking of is....”
Im So-byeong pressed a fingertip onto one corner of the map. It was Gujiang, where they were currently located.
“This way.”
His finger, which had been tapping Gujiang, drew a hard line downward across the map as though it might tear right through it.
When everyone saw the line his finger had made, their eyes went wide.
“...Have you lost your mind?”
“Are you crazy?”
“I knew it! I knew one day you’d show your true colors! How much did Jang Il-so pay you, you Sapa bastard!”
“...Let’s not cross the line.”
Amid the eruption of reactions, Im So-byeong smiled smugly.
“Why such a fuss? Surely you brilliant people aren’t scared, are you?”
At that slippery question, Baek Cheon’s face twisted.
They had no choice but to react this way. No, it would have been stranger if they didn’t react this way. The final line Im So-byeong had drawn connected Gujiang and Hainan in a straight shot.
The shortest possible route, driving straight through the Jiangnan territory ruled by the Evil Tyrant Alliance. That was the third path Im So-byeong had proposed.
“The sea route sounds better.”
“No, I think Yunnan is more realistic.”
“Let’s just go anywhere. Anywhere but the third one!”
As everyone, sensing danger by instinct, hurried to reach an agreement,
“Ohhhhh?”
that chilling voice reached their ears.
“That sounds rather....”
“....”
“....”
“Tempting, doesn’t it?”
With a stiff, creaking motion, they turned their heads.
And then, darkness unlike any other fell across their faces.
Cheong Myeong was... smiling.