The More You Win, the More Enemies You Make (4)
A senior monk before a massive golden Buddha statue sat with his eyes closed, reciting the sutras.
It was a scene one could find anywhere in the Buddhist world, and yet anyone who had ever seen this old monk at practice would never have dismissed it as ordinary.
There was nothing remarkable about the sight, and yet it was remarkable all the same. It was the kind of scene that proved true greatness only existed when it emerged from within the ordinary.
“Hearts are free of hindrance; since there is no hindrance, there is no fear. Far removed from deluded dreams, one reaches final nirvana.”
As he recited the sutra, the old monk’s face gradually softened, growing more and more at peace.
But the depth of his meditation was shattered in an instant, far sooner than anyone could have expected.
“A-abbot!”
A frantic voice came from outside the door.
The old monk’s brow twitched slightly.
For a monk, cultivation of the Buddha’s teachings was the most important thing in the world. Therefore, no one should disturb a practitioner’s meditation for just any trivial matter.
And yet the owner of that urgent voice would not have failed to understand such a principle. This meant something more important than his meditation had come up.
“Enter.”
No sooner had that quiet command fallen than the door was flung open, and Beop Gye, a monk in Shaolin’s yellow robe, hurried in breathlessly.
“A-abbot! Something terrible has happened!”
“Calm yourself first.”
At the old monk’s composed words, Beop Gye drew a deep breath and sat down at once.
“My apologies. I thought this had to be reported as quickly as possible.”
“Now then. Speak. What happened?”
“Abbot! W-Wudang has been defeated!”
Shaolin’s abbot, Beop Jeong, slowly opened his closed eyes. Then he looked at Beop Gye with a gaze sunk deep and heavy.
“Tell me more clearly.”
“Yes! It seems Wudang and Mount Hua held a sparring match in Wuhan.”
“A sparring match…”
Beop Jeong murmured the words, then gave a low sigh.
“There was no way Mount Hua’s first-generation disciples would have taken part, so Wudang sent second-generation disciples?”
“Th-that is not the case. It seems Mount Hua sent second-generation disciples, but Wudang did not send second-generation disciples—they sent their first-generation disciples.”
Beop Jeong’s brow furrowed slightly.
For him, who rarely revealed emotion on his face, this was clearly something he had not anticipated either.
“Tell me everything, without leaving anything out.”
“Yes. It’s just that…”
After hearing the report in full, without a single interruption, Beop Jeong quietly shook his head.
“The Wudang Sect Leader made a poor move.”
“...A poor move, yes, but who could have foreseen this result? Wudang’s first-generation disciples are acknowledged as absolute masters anywhere in the jianghu. Even if it was a defeat in form only, the fact remains that Mount Hua’s young disciples repeatedly won against Wudang’s first-generation disciples, does it not?”
“It does.”
“Even among Shaolin’s second-generation disciples, there are only a few who can confidently defeat Wudang’s first-generation disciples. And if the opponent is one of the more renowned first-generation disciples, then it becomes even more difficult.”
And yet Mount Hua had accomplished that difficult feat.
Not just any sect—Mount Hua.
“...Will this be all right, Abbot?”
Beop Gye swallowed dryly and spoke in a slightly tense voice.
“This is not something that ends with Wudang’s defeat alone. Wudang, along with our temple, is a symbol of the martial arts of the Central Plains. More than that, are they not the very symbol of the Gupailbang?”
Beop Jeong nodded silently, as if acknowledging that there was nothing false in those words.
“If they have lost to Mount Hua, then it means the martial world of the Central Plains has lost to Mount Hua. People will be talking about the Gupailbang being defeated by Mount Hua.”
“Mm.”
Beop Jeong’s brow twitched once more.
“Mount Hua is also merely one sect of the Central Plains martial world. Why do you speak of them as though they were outsiders?”
“Abbot… you know exactly what they are doing right now.”
“...”
“If not for the existence of the Heavenly Alliance, we might even have celebrated Mount Hua’s rise. But how can we look kindly upon those who openly declared they would walk a different road from ours?”
“And what of it if we do not look kindly?”
“How can you be so unconcerned!”
Watching Beop Gye fidget in frustration, unable to settle himself, Beop Jeong wore a faint, curious smile.
“If you tell them over and over and they still refuse to listen, then they must bear the loss themselves. This time, it seems the Sect Leader let impatience cloud his judgment.”
“Please, don’t speak as if this is someone else’s problem! It’s Shaolin that has to deal with what Wudang has done.”
“In this world, one can never escape suffering. What difference does it make to pile one small burden atop a mountain already carried on one’s back?”
In the end, Beop Gye could only clutch his sleeves tightly, unable to quiet the frustration in his chest.
Beop Jeong’s understanding of the Buddha’s teachings had reached a height far beyond anything he could hope to grasp. So it was perhaps natural that he could not fully understand every lofty insight the abbot spoke of.
And yet, sometimes those refined words were precisely what made his blood boil. Just like now.
“Abbot… do you truly intend to let Mount Hua continue as it is?”
“And if I do not let them?”
Beop Gye looked at Beop Jeong with a baffled expression.
“I do not understand what you are thinking, Abbot. Why are you always so gentle with Mount Hua?”
“...”
“The fact that you entrusted them with work, allowed them to form the Heavenly Alliance, and even let Hye Yeon—the very future of Shaolin, if I may say so—remain with Mount Hua like that… I truly cannot understand any of it.”
“Was any of that done by me? Things merely flowed that way.”
“But you have the power to change that flow, Abbot.”
“Beop Gye.”
At the abbot’s low rebuke, Beop Gye flinched and lowered his head slightly.
“This humble monk spoke out of turn…”
“It is fine.”
Beop Jeong intoned a quiet chant and fixed Beop Gye with his gaze.
“You asked why I leave Mount Hua alone, did you not?”
“Yes.”
“Let us say fish live in a pond.”
“...Yes?”
“If there are no natural predators in that water to eat the fish, what do you think happens?”
At the strange question, Beop Gye thought for a moment before answering.
“Well… they’d live well. Since nothing would eat them.”
“Wrong.”
Beop Jeong shook his head.
“In the end, that pond will rot. The fish, with nothing to fear, will multiply endlessly, and eventually they will tear up even the roots of the weeds. Then, when there is no weed left in the water, they will starve for lack of food and die in droves.”
“...”
“But it does not happen that way where there is a predator.”
He did not mean Mount Hua was the predator of the Gupailbang. Rather, it meant that Mount Hua, as a sect, had become the catalyst that could awaken the complacent orthodox sects from their slumber.
“But, Abbot…”
Beop Gye let out a quiet sigh.
“The orthodox sects are not fish.”
“...”
“Fish can do nothing but flee when a predator appears, but the Gupailbang would never simply stand by and let a sect that may one day devour them remain unchecked. They are not the sort to retreat just because Wudang got a bloody nose.”
“...True enough.”
“If they take this as a lesson and keep their heads down, then that would be fortunate—but that will not happen. When the fire is under their feet, won’t they do whatever they can to trample Mount Hua flat?”
“...”
“And this is the second time already. Jongnam has already gone into seclusion, and now Wudang has suffered a humiliating defeat. Until now, the orthodox sects had at least pretended to be considerate of Mount Hua during their clashes, but now they will not care about face or decorum anymore.”
Now it was certain.
Mount Hua’s younger disciples were no longer merely “younger disciples.” The term referred to those who still had the possibility of a bright future ahead of them. But Mount Hua’s younger generation had already stepped beyond the realm of possibility and entered the realm of real threat.
If things continued like this, before long all the sects of the world would be forced beneath Mount Hua’s feet. This sparring with Wudang had all but proclaimed that truth to the world.
“Beop Gye.”
“Yes, Abbot.”
“Do you think Mount Hua is unaware of that?”
“...”
Beop Jeong slowly shook his head.
“That child has dozens of serpents coiled in his belly. No— not serpents. He’s hiding dozens of dragons. Even I often cannot understand what he is aiming at.”
“...You mean the Mount Hua Divine Dragon?”
“Yes.”
“If he is so clever, then he should know how to avoid drawing the wary attention that will inevitably fall on them.”
“If he had enough time, he would have.”
“...What do you mean?”
“When there is enough time, one may use medicine to treat a boil. But when time runs short, there are times when one must draw the knife at once.”
“...”
Beop Gye looked at him in confusion, but Beop Jeong said no more. It was because Beop Gye was certain not to understand even if he did.
It was not that he lacked intelligence; rather, the logic by which Beop Jeong viewed the world was different from Beop Gye’s.
“You want to make Mount Hua a target and a threat?”
That would simply mean creating a public enemy from the perspective of the Gupailbang.
When enemies appear outside, the inside becomes more orderly. It was a truth that had never changed from ancient times.
Since things had come to this, it was only natural that the cohesion of the Gupailbang, so often at odds over the Central Plains, would grow stronger. If Mount Hua rose further as the leader of the Heavenly Alliance and its fame continued to spread, that current would only accelerate.
Things would be different if they came to blows and shed blood, but so long as it did not come to that, the existence of the Heavenly Alliance would only help the orthodox sects climb a little higher.
And because of this, Wudang would inevitably lose some of its leadership within the Gupailbang.
On the other hand, because Wudang had stepped forward only to be struck hard in the face, Shaolin’s own mistake at the sparring tournament could now be buried.
The Gupailbang would become somewhat more united, and within it Shaolin’s standing would rise. From Shaolin’s point of view, there was no reason to refuse such a development.
“We’ll be short on gifts.”
“...Yes?”
Beop Jeong smiled faintly.
He knew very well that Mount Hua did not hold especially warm feelings toward Shaolin, and he could understand that to a degree. But in any case, the Chung Myung he knew was not someone who would ruin the grand scheme over a moment’s personal feelings.
Mutual hostility.
There could be no better way to describe the relationship between Mount Hua and Wudang.
For a moment, Beop Jeong could almost hear Chung Myung’s irritated voice in his ear.
“If you’ve already set the table, you should at least be able to pick up the chopsticks and eat, right? If you can’t even do that, then you might as well put down your wooden fish too!”
“Hoho.”
With a small smile, Beop Jeong opened his mouth again.
“The stronger an invading enemy is, the better.”
“...What do you mean by that, Abbot?”
“When is the inauguration of the Heavenly Alliance?”
“...It isn’t certain yet, but once Mount Hua returns, it should begin immediately. I’ve heard the Tang Family Head is moving quickly to prepare everything.”
“I cannot go myself, so we will need to send someone suitable. Since it has come to this, you should attend personally and offer your congratulations.”
“A-abbot?”
“And also.”
“...Yes?”
Beop Jeong’s eyes darkened slightly.
“It is also a sin not to make use of the opportunity one has been given. Send word to each of the orthodox sects. Tell them there is a matter involving the Heavenly Alliance that I wish to discuss.”
Beop Gye swallowed dryly, looking a little stunned.
This is becoming bigger than I expected.
He did not fully understand what Beop Jeong was plotting. But he could easily predict that if this meeting were to take place, its repercussions would be anything but small.
Feeling the immense tide of change rolling toward the Central Plains, Beop Gye nodded with a rather heavy expression.