I Am Still Your Wall (2)
"Defeat is not an option."
A chill killing intent settled in Jong Ri-gok's eyes.
The disciples of Southern Edge nodded, their faces taut with tension.
"I don't expect you to win some championship or another. If you can, that would be fine, but if you can't, it'll only be a pity. But losing to Mount Hua is different."
At the mention of Mount Hua and defeat in the same breath, Jong Seo-han, who had been standing in a corner, flinched and lowered his head.
Jong Ri-gok shot him a merciless glance.
"Losing to other sects doesn't matter. But you must never lose to Mount Hua again. The common rabble only look at the result and inflate it out of all proportion. If we lose to Mount Hua again, Southern Edge will be judged as a sect that can't even measure up to Mount Hua for quite some time. Can you bear that humiliation?"
"No, Sect Leader."
When Jin Geum-ryong answered with a cold expression, Jong Ri-gok nodded as if satisfied.
"Jin Geum-ryong."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
"Above all, you must not lose."
"I will keep it in mind."
Jong Ri-gok's gaze swept over Jin Geum-ryong and Jin Cho-baek, who sat behind him.
"...It likely won't happen, but make sure you don't let private feelings lead to a blunder."
"There will never be such a thing. I will bring them all down and restore Southern Edge's honor."
"Good."
Jong Ri-gok gave a small nod. Then he turned his head and looked at Yi Song-baek.
"Yi Song-baek. The same goes for you."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
"I don't expect much from you. But don't go and lose in a pathetically weak fashion."
The expectations were different.
There were reasons for that, of course, but Yi Song-baek understood.
Because what he practiced was the old martial arts of Southern Edge, he was tolerated, not because anyone expected anything of him. No one in Southern Edge expected anything from him anymore.
An odd outlier.
That was the kindest way anyone could describe Yi Song-baek's position.
"I won't do anything to tarnish Southern Edge's honor."
Still, he only answered calmly.
With that, Jong Ri-gok lost all further interest in Yi Song-baek.
"Those who elevate the sect's honor will receive fitting rewards, and those who disgrace it will receive fitting punishment. Prove, by your own hands, that you are not ashamed to stand before the name of Southern Edge."
"We will remember, Sect Leader."
Jong Ri-gok swept the group one last time with cold eyes, then strode out.
Only then did the Southern Edge disciples exhale all the breaths they had been holding in.
Watching from the very back, Yi Song-baek slowly closed his eyes.
How did it come to this?
So barren.
So cold.
The Southern Edge of the past had not been like this.
And yet, after the disastrous defeat at the Mount Hua Alliance, Southern Edge had become as if it were an entirely different sect.
"Yi Song-baek."
At the voice calling him, he lifted his head.
"Elder Sama."
Sama Seung, who had once led Southern Edge at the Mount Hua Alliance, was staring at him with sunken eyes. After that crushing defeat, he had aged by a decade, his face turning gaunt and worn.
They said the face held the heart.
The Sama Seung of old had been strict and cold, yes, but he had still possessed enough composure to embrace his disciples. Now, though, all that remained in him was a petty, irritable meanness.
"Come with me."
"...Yes."
Yi Song-baek nodded quietly and followed Sama Seung outside.
After leaving the Shaolin halls and venturing deep into the woods, Sama Seung only turned back once he was certain no one could hear them.
"You know who your opponent is."
"Yes. The Mount Hua Divine Dragon."
"Don't put that cursed title in my ears."
"...Yes."
Viciousness crept into Sama Seung's face.
The title of Mount Hua Divine Dragon had been earned by Chung Myung when he swept through the second-generation disciples of Southern Edge at the Mount Hua Alliance.
In other words, that title carried Southern Edge's humiliation in its every syllable.
"That's right. That Chung Myung brat is your opponent. Do you have the confidence to defeat him?"
Yi Song-baek could not answer.
Defeat Chung Myung?
...I'll just do my best.
"I don't need such halfhearted nonsense. Answer me. Do you have the confidence to defeat Chung Myung?"
Yi Song-baek let out a low sigh.
"...No."
"Of course not."
As if he'd gotten the answer he wanted, Sama Seung pressed forward without even giving him room to breathe.
"As you know, there is no one in Southern Edge who can stop that brat now."
"...."
"Neither you nor Jin Geum-ryong can take him on. You know that, don't you?"
"...Yes."
Yi Song-baek answered in a small voice.
"But Southern Edge must defeat that brat. No, winning is important, but he must be killed."
"E-Elder."
"Listen first!"
"...Yes."
A cold wind seemed to swirl in Sama Seung's eyes.
"Mount Hua and Southern Edge were born under the fate that when one rises, the other falls. When Mount Hua was at the height of its power, Southern Edge declined, and when Southern Edge enjoyed its golden age, Mount Hua nearly vanished entirely. Do you understand?"
"...Surely it isn't always as simple as that..."
"There's no need to deny reality. If you can't acknowledge facts as facts, you can do nothing."
Sama Seung ground his teeth as he spoke.
"You know this. Southern Edge is losing its strength now. Since that damned Mount Hua Alliance, Southern Edge has lost its vigor, lost its light. Meanwhile Mount Hua is rising from what was practically total ruin. That is reality."
Yi Song-baek lowered his head.
Even if that was true, he could not understand why Sama Seung had called him away to say all this.
Then Sama Seung looked at him with a meaningful gaze and opened his mouth.
"How far are you willing to go for Southern Edge?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Exactly that. If Southern Edge asked for your life, would you give it?"
Yi Song-baek looked at Sama Seung quietly, then nodded.
"I would."
"And if it asked for your honor?"
"I would do that as well."
"Then can you give everything for Southern Edge? Even if the rest of your years must be lived in shame?"
"I wouldn't hesitate."
A vile smile formed at the corners of Sama Seung's mouth.
"Yes. That's how a disciple of Southern Edge should be."
Sama Seung shoved a hand into his robes and took out a small medicine bottle.
"Take it."
Yi Song-baek couldn't bring himself to reach out at once and only stared at the bottle in Sama Seung's hand.
"What is this?"
"No need for long explanations. Just take it first."
After a slight hesitation, Yi Song-baek finally took the little bottle. Sama Seung stared at him with sunken eyes and said,
"Before you go out for tomorrow's martial duel, apply that to your sword."
"...Elder?"
"Don't ask."
Sama Seung cut him off firmly. His eyes seemed to gleam with a strange light.
"The fewer people know a secret, the better. Even you don't need to know what it is. If there's a problem, you must say you know nothing."
"Elder, this is..."
"Didn't I just ask you whether you were prepared to throw everything away?"
Yi Song-baek bit his lip hard.
Of course he was prepared to sacrifice his life for Southern Edge.
But wasn't this something entirely different?
"Elder. Poison won't work on the Mount Hua Divine Dragon. And using poison in a martial duel would tarnish Southern Edge's honor..."
"It's not poison."
"...What?"
A self-satisfied smile appeared on Sama Seung's face.
"Do I look like such a sloppy fool to you? No one will know, and no one will find out. But it is something that can kill that brat for certain. All you have to do is smear the liquid on your sword without getting it on yourself, and give his body just one scratch."
Yi Song-baek stared at Sama Seung with a hardened face.
Has it really come to this?
This was corruption.
How could a sect that claimed to stand for righteousness and honor resort to something so petty?
"Elder, I..."
"Yi Song-baek."
Sama Seung cut him off with a chilling voice and barked,
"Are you saying you intend to defy your sect's order?"
"...."
"You can never be Jin Geum-ryong. You're not someone the sect places its hopes on, and in fact you've only regressed from where you were before. If you truly want to repay the sect's kindness, you should be willing to toss yourself into a dung heap if that's what it takes."
His voice was utterly sinister.
"You're not planning to betray the sect that raised and taught you, are you?"
Yi Song-baek's eyes wavered violently.
"Do as you're told. Then everything will be resolved."
At Sama Seung's decisive words, Yi Song-baek was just about to speak when—
"How could that possibly be a resolution?"
A cold voice came from behind them.
Startled, the two of them turned, and they saw a familiar face.
"J-Jin Geum-ryong."
"Senior Brother?"
Jin Geum-ryong approached with a face so cold it looked as though he wore armor of iron. Then he held out his hand toward Yi Song-baek.
"Hand it over."
"Senior Brother?"
"Are you deaf?"
Without a word, Yi Song-baek handed over the bottle in his hand. The moment Jin Geum-ryong received it, he flung it to the ground and crushed it under his heel.
Crack!
The bottle shattered, and the liquid inside splashed across the ground.
"W-What do you think you're doing!"
Sama Seung cried out in shock. But Jin Geum-ryong only replied coldly.
"I wondered why the Sect Leader had recently been keeping his distance from Elder Sama. It seems you really have gone senile. If you were caught playing such tricks in full view of everyone, Southern Edge wouldn't have a single pillar left standing."
"Didn't I tell you no one would find out?"
"Elder."
Jin Geum-ryong fixed Sama Seung with a fierce glare.
"You said that one who eats the sect's rice must repay that kindness, didn't you?"
"I did! Why don't you understand?! At this rate, if we..."
"Then go and use that sword to die together with Chung Myung, if that's what it takes."
"...W-What did you say?"
Contempt flickered in Jin Geum-ryong's eyes.
"If it must be done, then do it yourself. If you want to smear poison on your sword and ambush Chung Myung, I won't stop you. But!"
His face hardening, he spat the words out with force.
"Do not lay a hand on my junior brother."
"...."
Rage surged in Sama Seung's eyes. But Jin Geum-ryong did not retreat even an inch. He simply glared at the elder before him with a cold stare.
"...What an idiotic fool."
In the end, Sama Seung ground his teeth, spun on his heel, and turned away.
Without once looking back, he walked off into the distance.
Jin Geum-ryong watched his retreating back until it disappeared, then muttered,
"Idiotic..."
Then his gaze shifted to Yi Song-baek.
"Senior Brother..."
"Don't you dare think of blaming Elder Sama."
"...."
"A man's composure comes from his granary, and a martial artist's composure comes from his martial training. When the sect you've believed in all your life starts shaking, how many people could possibly stay sane?"
"I wasn't blaming him."
"Good."
Jin Geum-ryong turned and walked away, but Yi Song-baek hurriedly called after him.
"S-Senior Brother."
"...."
Jin Geum-ryong stopped.
"For helping me..."
"Don't misunderstand."
He turned back sharply and growled the words.
"I simply can't allow Southern Edge to use such despicable methods. Chung Myung will be defeated by my own hand. I don't need help from you."
"...Yes."
"And also."
For the first time, Jin Geum-ryong hesitated a little. Then he spoke in a low voice.
"Yi Song-baek."
"Yes, Senior Brother."
"I hate you."
"...."
"But whether I hate you or not, you're my junior brother and I'm your great senior brother. It is my natural duty to keep my junior brother from straying onto the wrong path. Like it or not, if you're in danger, I will protect you. That's the mindset someone who will become the Sect Leader of Southern Edge should have."
"Senior Brother."
Jin Geum-ryong met Yi Song-baek's eyes for an instant and stated in a quiet voice,
"Chung Myung is a wall you cannot overcome."
"...I know."
"Then crash into it and break yourself. I'll take your revenge for you."
"...."
With that, he descended the mountain without looking back.
Yi Song-baek quietly watched the back of his great senior brother grow smaller and smaller before letting out a low sigh.
Senior Brother.
In truth, the person who had changed the most since the Mount Hua Alliance was probably Jin Geum-ryong.
His fixation on Chung Myung was so intense it was unnerving even to those who watched from the sidelines.
By now, there were even those within Southern Edge who treated him with caution.
Still—
Even so, Senior Brother is still Senior Brother.
Yi Song-baek closed his eyes.
Can I turn this back?
Could he restore this changing sect to what it had once been?
He didn't know yet.
He would probably find the answer tomorrow.
Tomorrow.