If You’re Going to Do It, Do It Properly! (1)
Trickle.
With delicate care, Tang Gun-ak poured tea and offered it to Chung Myung and Maeng So.
“Tea?”
Chung Myung tilted his head and gave the liquor bottle he’d brought a little shake.
“I’ve got alcohol.”
“...You’re saying you want to drink during a meeting?”
Tang Gun-ak frowned as if he’d just heard something absurd. Maeng So clicked his tongue as well, openly condemning Chung Myung.
“Tsk tsk. There are places where you should know your manners.”
“What the hell...”
Chung Myung stared at the Beast Palace Lord with a deeply wounded expression. He’d thought that if the whole world turned against him, Maeng So at least would not. It felt like his soul had been bruised.
“You can drink anytime. Put it away for now.”
At Tang Gun-ak’s quiet admonition, Chung Myung reluctantly set the bottle down. Seeing that he had genuinely meant it when he’d said he wanted to drink, Tang Gun-ak could only shake his head.
“Ahem.”
He cleared his throat loudly to freshen the atmosphere, then looked between Maeng So and Chung Myung.
“Chung Myung Daoist.”
“Yes?”
“Go on and speak.”
“Huh? You’re the one who called me here, so why are you telling me to go first?”
At Chung Myung’s shamelessness, Tang Gun-ak let out a snort of laughter.
“I may have called you, but wasn’t it you who brought this meeting together?”
“Hah-ha-ha. Fair point.”
Maeng So, the Beast Palace Lord, nodded vigorously.
As he looked at Chung Myung, there was something almost meaningful in his eyes.
“There’s little difference between people and beasts.”
“That sounds like an insult, doesn’t it?”
“No, no. That’s not what I mean.”
He smiled and spoke with a strange sort of amusement.
“If you live your whole life with animals, you start to see their traits clearly. What’s interesting is that after a while, you begin to see animals in people too.”
Maeng So casually shifted his gaze toward Tang Gun-ak.
“For example, Lord Tang resembles a black leopard. That sharpness that appears from time to time, and the nobility hidden beneath a seemingly relaxed demeanor.”
“Oh?”
Tang Gun-ak gave a small cough.
“You’re painting me in splendid colors, Palace Lord.”
At that, Chung Myung’s eyes lit up and he raised his voice.
“Then what about me? What am I? Tiger? Dragon?”
Maeng So studied him for a long moment before answering.
“...A serpent?”
“......”
“Hmm. Yes. A snake, or maybe a viper... yes, that’s probably closer.”
“A, a viper?”
Chung Myung’s eyes flared, and Tang Gun-ak laughed as he tried to rein Maeng So in.
“Let’s say a flood dragon, then.”
“...A great serpent, then. Yes, that is similar enough.”
Finally, unable to take it anymore, Chung Myung shouted.
“No! If you’re going to make me some kind of snake, at least call me a dragon! I’m the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, for crying out loud!”
“For a dragon, you’re a bit...”
“Mm. His insides are black.”
“Quite black.”
“...”
What the hell was this?
Those two were getting along way too well.
Chung Myung glared with all his might, but with those two as his opponents, his eyes had absolutely no effect.
“I’m black inside?”
“Pitch black.”
“Black as night.”
Oh, really?
They were in perfect sync, weren’t they?
Then Maeng So frowned slightly and said, “To be honest, it’s a relief you’re aligned with the Taoist schools. If you’d drifted into the demonic factions, you’d have become a great figure under heaven.”
“I agree.”
“Hey, what the hell is wrong with you two?”
How dare they judge him, Chung Myung, the Plum Blossom Sword Saint?
He’d spent his entire life under the banner of the Orthodox Sects, for crying out loud!
Senior Brother! What do you think?
It’s a hundred times true.
Kehak!
As Chung Myung convulsed in outrage, Maeng So chuckled and thumped him on the shoulder.
“Kwahahahaha! Well, if it’s true, what can I do?”
“Ow! That hurts!”
But though Maeng So was laughing, the look in his eyes had gone a little cold compared to his expression.
A flood dragon, huh...
Could he really describe Chung Myung that way?
He’s gotten stronger.
When he had come to Yunnan before, Chung Myung had already been strong. But now, after seeing him again nearly a year later, Maeng So could feel that the boy had become even more refined, his qi clearer and sharper than before.
An absurd rate of growth.
Among the beasts he knew, none quite fit that monster. Unless some spirit-like genius appeared among humans, there simply wasn’t anything suitable.
“So, let’s talk.”
Maeng So lifted the cup before him and downed the tea in one go.
Clack!
Then he set the cup down hard and looked straight at the two of them.
“Enough with the innocent faces.”
As Maeng So’s voice sank into seriousness, Chung Myung casually shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s a little awkward for an innocent Daoist like me to join in when the two of you are talking.”
“Then I suppose you’d be a black-hearted Daoist.”
“......”
That old man... his tongue had gotten sharper in Yunnan.
Chung Myung pouted and shut his mouth, and Maeng So simply looked at the two of them for a moment before speaking again.
“If the noble Daoist and the great Lord Tang find it hard to start, I’ll begin. I’m not the sort to care about appearances.”
Without giving them time to answer, he continued.
“With trade in tea between Sichuan and Yunnan resumed, money has started circulating in Yunnan again. And with the grain Mount Hua rushed to send, the starvation of the people has been eased to some extent.”
“It’s only a stopgap.”
“True. It is only a stopgap. But to a man dying of thirst, even a single sip of water is precious. And that stopgap bought us time to spend the money earned through trade.”
Maeng So bowed his head slightly toward Chung Myung.
“Thank you, Mount Hua Divine Dragon. On behalf of the people of Yunnan, I offer my gratitude.”
“...Why are you making this so awkward?”
Chung Myung cleared his throat, looking embarrassed. Maeng So smiled at the sight.
“In any case, seeing the money flow and Yunnan slowly recover, I can’t help but feel greedy too.”
“Greedy for what?”
“You ask such obvious questions. I want to expand the board a little more. And if possible, I’d like to make this alliance, which is still held together a bit loosely, much more solid.”
Maeng So’s gaze at Chung Myung was full of meaning.
“Exactly as that black-hearted Daoist wants.”
“...Hey, you two have been trying to corner me from the start.”
Maeng So snorted and turned his eyes to Tang Gun-ak.
“Of course, the situation now is very good. But as you know, Yunnan isn’t exactly a land well suited to farming. In the end, for this to hold, the money earned from tea trade must keep being exchanged for grain.”
He clicked his tongue bitterly.
“The more dependent we become on grain from the Central Plains, the greater the danger. If one day the Central Plains suddenly refuses to sell us grain, Yunnan will plunge into chaos. Human beings may endure being deprived of what they never had, but when something they already possess is taken away, they’ll grab even farm tools and rise up.”
Tang Gun-ak watched him quietly.
He was indeed an intelligent man. Because of his massive frame and booming voice, one might easily mistake him for a simple brute, but Maeng So was anything but foolish.
“So Yunnan needs a friend who will never betray us, no matter what happens.”
Tang Gun-ak agreed with a nod.
“The Sichuan Tang Family is the same. Mediating trade between Yunnan and Mount Hua has brought the Tang Family tremendous profit as well. I can’t deny things are better than before.”
Then, glancing slightly at Chung Myung, he said, “If possible, I’d like this situation to continue for a long time. We’re not just thinking about trading tea anymore, but about expanding the range of goods as well.”
Chung Myung, listening silently to their exchange, scratched his cheek.
Good.
Money was the key.
During the war against the Demonic Sect, he had seen too much and suffered too much. When a truly desperate situation arrived, people inevitably chased profit in the end.
Words like harmony and loyalty were soft things that could not be fully trusted. How could one ever know the depths of a person’s heart? You could know the depth of ten fathoms of water, but not the depth of a single foot of human nature.
To build a relationship that would not change, they had to create a situation where each side benefited the others. Just as Mount Hua, the Tang Family, and the Beast Palace were now bound by tea trade as their common thread.
“But you’re already doing well, aren’t you? So what’s the issue here...?”
At Chung Myung’s words, Maeng So and Tang Gun-ak both looked at him with a strange expression.
“This is why I call you a serpent.”
“Huh?”
“Because you’re slippery.”
“......”
Chung Myung shut his mouth for the moment, and Maeng So laughed.
“Mount Hua Divine Dragon.”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t you say this was a place just for the three of us? If you still can’t trust us, I understand, but if you do, then stop hiding it and lay it out.”
“......”
Chung Myung opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, then met their eyes and slowly curled one corner of his mouth upward.
“I like that.”
He nodded, clearly pleased.
Of course, it would not have been bad if Chung Myung had taken the lead from the start. But if possible, he wanted them to start first. Once they confirmed that they were of the same mind, everything that followed would be easier to say.
“Then before I talk, let me ask one thing first...”
“Hmm?”
Looking at the two of them with a searching gaze, Chung Myung asked, “Do the two of you trust Mount Hua?”
“I do.”
“I don’t trust Mount Hua.”
This time, their answers differed. Tang Gun-ak had not given the answer Chung Myung wanted.
But before Chung Myung could ask again, Tang Gun-ak spoke once more.
“What I trust is not Mount Hua, but you.”
“......”
Tang Gun-ak’s eyes were grave, almost heavy with sincerity. Chung Myung shrugged.
“Same thing, really. I’m the sort of person who follows Mount Hua’s will.”
“Not the other way around?”
“...Let’s just gloss over that part.”
The smile vanished from Chung Myung’s face.
“As you know, the situation unfolding now isn’t exactly good. The scum of the demonic factions have started moving, and Shaolin has lost its influence. Even the Odaesega, who’d been keeping a low profile, are beginning to stretch their legs.”
“Soon there will be conflict.”
“Yes.”
Chung Myung nodded. That was the obvious course of things.
“At times like this, there may come trouble that one sect alone can’t handle. Then the sects that can trust each other have to band together.”
“An alliance of three sects?”
“Something more definite than that.”
Chung Myung said it firmly.
“The answer is in what Lord Tang just said. You trust me, Lord Tang, but you don’t trust Mount Hua. If even we’re like this, then expecting the disciples of Mount Hua and the Tang Family’s retainers to trust each other is arrogance.”
“...Indeed.”
“The Beast Palace is the same. The Beast Palace may have goodwill toward Mount Hua, but that’s only goodwill toward Mount Hua of the past. And as for its relationship with the Tang Family, it’s honestly not very good.”
“Quite so.”
That was true enough.
“No matter how much we say they’re friends or that we have a good relationship, it won’t really sink in for them. The best way is to create a relationship they can actually see with their own eyes.”
“So they can feel like they’re part of the same family?”
“Exactly.”
Chung Myung had already experienced this once before. Even the obnoxious bastards from Zhongnan had become comrades when they joined forces to face the Demonic Sect. They had fought with each other’s backs entrusted in battle.
To make people feel like family, the first step was belonging to the same place.
“An alliance, then.”
“If we’re doing it, we should do it properly!”
Tang Gun-ak looked at Chung Myung with a slightly doubtful expression.
“Chung Myung Daoist.”
“Yes?”
“It’s a fine idea. But I can’t shake the feeling that your intent isn’t limited to that.”
“......”
“Is that really all there is to it?”
At the question, Chung Myung did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked toward the map of the Central Plains hanging on the wall. Then he smiled faintly.
“The Nine Sects and One Gang, and the Odaesega...”
“Hmm?”
“I’m going to crush them all and redraw the board from scratch. I’m sick of a world where Shaolin acts so high and mighty, Wudang puts on airs, and Namgung walks around with its nose in the clouds.”
“......”
“Starting from the western part of the Central Plains, we’ll build up strength. In the end, the goal is to bring the command of the Central Plains here.”
“Ho ho.”
Tang Gun-ak burst out laughing.
Suppress Shaolin? Wudang and Namgung too?
It was such a bizarre idea that it bordered on absurd.
For years, countless sects of the Central Plains had tried to surpass them. That had only ever been a struggle for rank within an existing system; none had ever dared to try to crush them outright and create a new order.
And yet here was Mount Hua, a sect that had once fallen, speaking such words...
“Do you truly believe that’s possible?”
“Yes.”
Chung Myung answered with utter certainty.
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Kwahahahahaha! Indeed. No reason not to!”
Maeng So seemed to like Chung Myung’s words very much, nodding over and over again.
“A man should have that kind of audacity.”
“Audacity alone won’t get it done.”
“Then are you saying Lord Tang plans to sit this out?”
At Maeng So’s provocation, Tang Gun-ak let out a sigh.
“I can’t do that, but...”
Then he looked straight at Chung Myung.
After a brief silence, he finally nodded.
“I’m paying dearly for the sin of befriending the wrong person.”
“Hey, no. You’re getting a huge benefit from making the right friend.”
“I truly hope that turns out to be the case.”
No more words were needed.
Tang Gun-ak and Maeng So had likely already been picturing something similar from the moment they came here. This was simply the place where Chung Myung confirmed it.
Chung Myung picked up the liquor bottle from the floor. Then he poured alcohol into Maeng So’s now-empty teacup.
Trickle.
Tang Gun-ak drained the tea in his own cup in one swallow and held it out to Chung Myung. Chung Myung filled that cup with liquor as well, then handed the bottle over and extended his own cup.
Trickle.
At last, all three raised their cups at once.
“A new world is coming.”
“No.”
Chung Myung shrugged.
“A new world doesn’t come to you. You make it. We’ll make it.”
The two men gazed at him quietly.
Strangely, they both felt a little like seeing it already.
The world this black serpent would draw anew.
“Well then, our...”
“Ah, wait a moment!”
At that, Tang Gun-ak cut off Maeng So’s words.
“But if we’re forming an alliance, who’s going to be the leader? There ought to be a head, after all.”
Maeng So burst into hearty laughter.
“Why worry about something so obvious?” he declared proudly. “It’s obviously the Beast Palace!”
“The Tang Family!”
“Mount Hua!”
“......”
“......”
“......”
The three men’s gazes tangled in midair. It almost seemed sparks were flying where their eyes collided.
As individuals, they could compromise. But as the heads of their sects, this was something none of them could yield.
“The Beast Palace is the biggest.”
“The Tang Family is the strongest.”
“Still, history matters, and Mount Hua...”
All three faces twisted at the same time.
“You Central Plains bastards! Of course the Beast Palace should be the leader!”
“...After taking in a bunch of half-baked sects and helping them, this is how you repay us? That’s not right.”
“In the first place, this sort of thing is supposed to be handled by a Taoist sect! Not some place obsessed only with money!”
Before Chung Myung had even finished speaking, the other two snapped their heads around and shouted back.
“You’re the one who cares most about money!”
“Yeah, you’re the most money-obsessed one here!”
“...No, wait, what the hell is wrong with you two?”
In the future, the first gathering that would give rise to a new current in Jianghu history—the Western Alliance—was already starting off with a rather ominous creak.