I Don’t Know. (4)
Whoosh!
The Heavenly Friends Alliance raced on like the wind. They had already been delayed, so there was no time to stop and rest, not even for a moment. They ran through lonely back roads without regard for day or night, pushing onward and onward.
Then, in the midst of it—
"Hold up!"
Im So-byeong barked the words and raised a hand. The runners all came to an abrupt stop.
He wiped the sweat beading on his forehead with his sleeve, then cleared his throat lightly.
Ahem.
And in a calm voice, he warned them, "From here on, we need to be a little careful."
"...From here on?"
"Yes."
Yoon Jong peered ahead in confusion. The road in front of them didn’t look any different from the one they had been traveling until now. But Im So-byeong answered his doubt in a single sentence.
"From here on, I don’t have any information about the road either."
"What?"
Jo Geol’s face twisted at once.
"Didn’t you brag that you had the whole world’s mountains in the palm of your hand?"
"That wasn’t exactly wrong. The problem is... can we really still call what lies ahead the world?"
"What’s that supposed to mean...?"
Baek Cheon was the one who answered that question. He slightly turned his head toward Im So-byeong, as if he already had a sense of what was coming.
"From here?"
"Yes."
"Sasuk. What does that mean?"
"It’s a great mountain range."
"What?"
"The 100,000 Great Mountains."
At that moment, gooseflesh rose along Jo Geol’s back.
Here?
Once he realized it, all at once there were things he noticed that he hadn’t before.
There was no real difference from the road they had traveled so far, and yet ahead of them, instead of gentle ridgelines, jagged peaks now stretched endlessly into the distance.
The 100,000 Great Mountains...
Knowing what it was, the sight began to look like hundreds of swords thrust skyward into the heavens.
"From here on, it’s unknown territory. The Green Forest takes over mountains in order to control those who travel through them. But... as you all know, no one comes into the 100,000 Great Mountains. And it’s also the sort of place no sect with any sense would ever set foot in."
At that, everyone nodded.
It was obvious enough without much thought. Anyone with the slightest bit of sense would avoid this place. This was the very home of the Demonic Sect, the place that had once driven the Central Plains into hell.
Even now, though the Demonic Sect had been forgotten by many, the ominousness and terror attached to that name remained as vivid as ever.
And so, even though no one had officially declared it so, the martial world of the Central Plains had come to treat the 100,000 Great Mountains as forbidden ground that must never be entered.
"Green Forest King."
"Yes."
"There’s a general belief among us righteous sects that we can’t go into the 100,000 Great Mountains... but is it the same for the unorthodox sects?"
"Just because they’re unorthodox doesn’t mean they aren’t human, does it? They know what feels ominous too."
Im So-byeong gave a little shrug and went on, "Besides, the righteous sects don’t avoid this place because of anything especially profound, do they? They just find it unpleasant and foreboding."
"Well... yes."
"It’s the same for the unorthodox sects. And, to begin with, they have no reason to come here. Why would any unorthodox sect set itself up in a place where there are no people? It’s not as if they’re going to retreat into the mountains to cultivate."
"I suppose not."
The righteous sects could survive far from settlements without much problem. Especially the Taoist and Buddhist schools; since they gathered people devoted to cultivation, they tended to prefer remote places. In any case, once a sect became famous, people would come to them on their own.
But the unorthodox sects were different. They were shunned by the people. And they existed by extorting money from those very people. That was why most unorthodox sects tended to establish themselves near large cities.
Im So-byeong smirked.
"The reason Jang Il-so was able to build the Myriad Man Sect up so far in the first place was largely because his base was in Guizhou and Guangdong. The larger sects didn’t venture much further south than this because of the 100,000 Great Mountains. So only small, scattered sects ran rampant there, and Jang Il-so swept across that land."
"...Depending on how you put it, that sounds like you’re saying Jang Il-so got bigger because of those Demonic Sect bastards."
"It’s a bit clumsy to call that the cause, but if you insist on being precise, it wouldn’t be entirely wrong."
Baek Cheon’s face twisted sharply.
"In any case, those Demonic Sect bastards don’t help with anything."
He said it with exaggerated nonchalance, but the others’ expressions remained stiff.
"...Do we really have to go through there?"
"We have no choice. We don’t have much information, but this is also the place least watched by the Evil Tyrant Alliance."
"But..."
Namgung Dowi looked at the 100,000 Great Mountains with faint unease.
What came to his mind then was the bishop he had seen in Hangzhou not long ago. If there were still remnants of the Demonic Sect in there... if there were even one bastard like that bishop?
He glanced sideways and saw the others exchanging looks with the same concern on their faces.
Noticing this, Im So-byeong gave a soft laugh and said, "I’d recommend taking this route, of course, but going around wouldn’t be so terrible either. It would take longer, though... and it’s not as if we’re already that late."
At that, the people trading uneasy glances all nodded at once.
"Then..."
"We should probably go around..."
"What a damned mess. What a damned mess."
But their timid voices were completely drowned out by the irritated voice that suddenly came from behind them.
"What, the hell... go around?"
"..."
"What, have these bastards lost their minds? Hey, you idiots! A hundred years ago, even if Demonic Sect bastards had been swarming all over that place, we would’ve charged straight in without saying a word. But now you’re saying the descendants of those people are too scared to step into land that’s already been cleared out? Why? Are you scared of the Demonic Sect?"
"B-because back then, we’d have gone in like a swarm of dogs too! There are only ten of us now!"
"So you’re scared?"
"Who said we’re scared of the Demonic Sect?"
"Then what?"
Jo Geol shuddered all over and yelled, "M-maybe there are ghosts! Demonic ghosts, even— aaagh!"
Kicked cleanly by Cheong Myeong, Jo Geol flew off with a scream and slammed into the ground.
"Look at this crazy bastard talking! Hey, you lunatic! You’re a Taoist, aren’t you? A Taoist who catches ghosts!"
"That part’s true."
"That’s what we’re supposed to do, technically."
"We’ve never actually caught one, though..."
Even those who belonged to Buddhism rather than Taoism usually ended up asking a temple or monastery about anything involving wandering spirits or ghosts. Mount Hua mostly didn’t touch that sort of thing, but in Wudang, those matters accounted for a fairly large portion of the sect’s income.
"And you idiots—if they’re ghosts, you think only those Demonic Sect bastards became them? The righteous bastards who died there all became ghosts too! The winning ghosts are on our side, so what the hell is the problem?"
"Ch-Cheong Myeong! They’re our ancestors!"
"You can’t talk about them like that!"
Tsk.
Cheong Myeong clicked his tongue.
What do you mean, can’t? He was the one who had dragged those useless idiots by the seat of their pants all the way into the 100,000 Great Mountains.
What’s the difference between then and now, anyway?
With a long sigh, Cheong Myeong shook his head and took the lead.
"Quit your whining and follow me."
"...Ah, no..."
"Just follow me."
Watching Cheong Myeong stride off ahead, everyone bit their lips with uneasy faces.
"Sh-shall we go?"
"...We have to. We do."
One by one, they reluctantly followed after him. But they still couldn’t shake off their unease.
Whoosh.
Not long after entering the foothills of the 100,000 Great Mountains, they quickly picked up speed again. That was only natural, since aside from the occasional encounter with a mountain beast, there was no sign at all of anything living.
Even those who had been tense the whole time began to settle down.
"It’s almost unnervingly quiet."
"Yeah."
They weren’t even traveling this rugged route because they wanted to avoid being seen by others. And yet they still hadn’t met a single soul.
Well, that makes sense.
Baek Cheon looked around and quickly understood why.
Even if this place hadn’t been the Demonic Sect’s base, it still wouldn’t have been easy to find signs of human habitation.
Put simply, this was not a good place for people to live.
The jagged peaks stood packed together so tightly that it was no good for farming, and hunting mountain beasts to survive wasn’t any easier, since each individual peak was too steep to traverse comfortably.
It was land with no reason for either martial artists or commoners to settle there.
Only one thing was certain.
"...It’s terrifying."
"Yes, it really is terrifying."
At Baek Cheon’s words, Yoon Jong nodded in agreement.
Long ago, he had seen the 100,000 Great Mountains from afar. That was when they had gathered the remains of their ancestors and returned to Mount Hua.
But seeing the 100,000 Great Mountains with his own eyes, directly entering them, was very different from looking at them from a distance.
The suffocating terrain made it painfully clear why this had been the Demonic Sect’s home and why such a horrific war had erupted here.
Because of the endless, jagged peaks, there was no place from which one could tell what was happening even a few li behind them.
A distance that would be plainly visible anywhere else in the Central Plains was impossible to take in here. It was close to complete darkness.
Even if you circled around to gain a better line of sight, another peak would block the way in front of you. To find out what was happening behind it, you would have to go in there yourself.
And we don’t even know where the Demonic Sect might be...
Cold sweat ran down his back.
When he thought of this as a commander leading troops, it seemed endless and hopeless. He wouldn’t be able to advance carelessly, since he had no idea where an ambush might be hidden.
If he had been the one holding this place and fighting a defensive war, that too would have been maddening. He would have broken his head trying to figure out which of the many ambush points would be the most effective to choose.
They pushed in here with their elite forces? Into a place like this?
In the past, he had only thought it was impressive in some vague, distant way. It had been enough to think of the righteous warriors who had cast aside their lives like withered grass to kill the Heavenly Demon.
But seeing the 100,000 Great Mountains with his own eyes showed him that the situation had not been nearly so romantic as it had seemed.
If someone had told Baek Cheon to gather every elite fighter and charge into this place, what would he have answered? He didn’t have to think long to know the first words that would have come out of his mouth: Have you lost your mind?
Because this was the sort of terrain where one mistake—just one misjudgment—could easily mean losing all your forces.
And yet, what had it felt like for the people who had been forced to bring their elites here?
A desperate gamble, taken with the resolve that failure would cost everything. A battle of destiny. Nothing else could explain it.
And Mount Hua was there.
More than anyone else, at the very front...
Baek Cheon found himself turning around. The faces of the others following behind were all hardened as well. It seemed they had reached much the same feeling he had.
Especially the disciples of Mount Hua; their expressions were even darker.
And then—
"S-Sasuk! There!"
At Jo Geol’s sudden cry, Baek Cheon snapped his head around.