What Did They Just Go and Poke? (1)
“I greet the Sect Leader.”
Peng Ak, keeping proper courtesy, bowed to Hyun Jong, who stood before him. Then he flicked his gaze sideways and met Tang Gun-ak’s eyes.
“It has been some time, Lord Tang.”
“It feels as though we are meeting after a long while.”
Tang Gun-ak gave a slight nod, his expression grave.
Since the Hebei Peng Family and the Sichuan Tang Family were both among the Five Great Families, there had naturally been some degree of exchange between them. As a result, Tang Gun-ak and Peng Ak were already acquainted.
“You feel quite different from when I saw you at the Sichuan Tang Family.”
“Do I?”
It was a subtle jab, implying that the Sichuan Tang Family—one of the Five Great Families—had taken a seat here without so much as consulting the others, but Tang Gun-ak brushed over it without the slightest sign of embarrassment.
Peng Ak’s eyes darkened a little.
I can’t tell what he’s thinking.
He had felt it before, and it was clear now: Tang Gun-ak was not an easy man to deal with.
“First of all….”
At that moment, Hyun Jong spoke before anyone else.
“I am told that you were the first to arrive, yet I thank you for yielding the order and waiting.”
“Not at all, Sect Leader.”
Peng Ak shook his head.
“It is only because we had much we wished to say. Please do not concern yourself over it.”
“Much you wished to say, you say….”
Hyun Jong smiled faintly.
He had already met several people sent on behalf of the Nine Sects and the Five Great Families, but most of them had offered little more than light congratulations before leaving, never revealing what they truly thought.
“That is a welcome thing.”
“Well. I’m not sure. I’m not sure whether it’s something to welcome.”
Peng Ak gave a wry smile and turned toward Tang Gun-ak.
“It is a good thing to create the Heavenly Alliance. It may bring a fresh wind to the jianghu, which has long been hardening into a fixed order under the Nine Sects and the Five Great Families.”
Tang Gun-ak looked at him in silence.
“But you, Lord Tang, cannot be unaware of how great a ripple this will create.”
“……”
Peng Ak’s gaze was sharp indeed.
“Even the head of the Hebei Peng Family has expressed grave concern over the Tang Family’s movements. Whatever your intentions may be, from the outside it will appear as though the Tang Family has stepped away from the Five Great Families and taken a place in the Heavenly Alliance, will it not?”
The corner of Tang Gun-ak’s mouth, silent until now, curled slightly upward.
“It would not be wrong to see it that way.”
“……Pardon?”
“It is not particularly far from the truth.”
Peng Ak could not hide his bewilderment at the unexpected answer.
“Are you speaking in earnest?”
“I am not such a great man as to need adornment, but I am not in a position where I can so easily place falsehood upon my tongue.”
At that calm, serious answer, Peng Ak’s eyes twitched.
“Then are you declaring, right now, that the Sichuan Tang Family intends to withdraw from the Five Great Families?”
“If it must be declared, then it must be declared.”
Tang Gun-ak met the question with quiet composure. His gaze was so steady it seemed to pierce straight through the body.
Peng Ak’s face hardened in an instant. Had another man said those words, he would have shouted at once; instead, he could only swallow his fury.
The dignity of Tang Gun-ak as the head of the Sichuan Tang Family, and the sheer weight of the man himself, pressed down on Peng Ak and left him unable to act rashly.
Watching his expression, Hyun Jong gently slid a cup of tea toward him.
“This is tea from Yunnan. It should help settle the mind.”
Peng Ak bit his lip and looked at the cup. Seeing the steam rising from it, he finally lowered his head slightly.
“I apologize. I became a little excited.”
Hyun Jong smiled kindly.
“Who could blame you for becoming agitated when thinking of your family’s interests? Please do not concern yourself over it.”
Tang Gun-ak pressed down with cold force, and Hyun Jong softened the tension with warmth.
Peng Ak let out a breath. Even he, an elder of the Peng Family, could not quite find his footing before this combination; it was easy enough to imagine what sort of pressure the heads of ordinary mid-sized sects would feel standing here.
This is no ordinary matter.
The Peng Family had known of the Heavenly Alliance for some time. And yet they had not paid it much heed, because they had assumed that even if the Tang Family and Mount Hua joined hands, it would still be impossible to topple the mountain-like dominance of the Nine Sects and the Five Great Families.
If the Heavenly Alliance failed in miserable fashion, the Tang Family’s standing among the Five Great Families would also fall greatly. In that case, the Peng Family would benefit from the spillover, so there had been no real reason to make a fuss.
But now….
Who could have imagined the situation would change so completely in just a few months?
Even the phrase “turning the world upside down” felt inadequate.
Never mind the Sichuan Tang Family; Mount Hua’s reputation had shot up to the heavens, literally overnight. And all within only a few months.
They had pacified the chaos of the Green Forest and won a victory in a martial contest against Wudang; naturally the whole world would be buzzing with Mount Hua’s name.
And on top of that….
Not only had there been talk that Mount Hua had recently begun trading with the North Sea, but rumors had even spread that the North Sea Ice Palace would be joining the Heavenly Alliance.
Even Shaolin had been unable to do anything about the North Sea. If that rumor was true, Mount Hua’s standing would surely rise even higher than it already had.
“Lord Tang.”
With a sigh, Peng Ak continued.
“As you know, we are not people who know how to speak around a matter.”
“I am well aware.”
Tang Gun-ak gave a small, bitter smile.
Among the Five Great Families, the Peng Family was famous for being the most impatient. While other sects would exchange the usual pleasantries and wait to see how things unfolded, the Peng Family was already laying everything out the moment they sat down, which was enough to show just how sharp their tempers were.
“Until now, the jianghu has regarded the Heavenly Alliance as little more than an alliance of the western factions of the Central Plains.”
“That would not be entirely wrong.”
Tang Gun-ak replied casually. But Peng Ak did not back down so easily.
“Even if it is the same alliance, the meaning changes depending on who joins it. And even if the same people join, the standing of the alliance changes according to their own standing, does it not?”
“A fair point.”
“The Heavenly Alliance’s standing is now excessively high.”
Peng Ak gave a faint groan before continuing.
“The head of the Peng Family fears that the existence of the Heavenly Alliance may shake the calm of the jianghu.”
Tang Gun-ak’s eyes remained fixed on Peng Ak, quiet as ever.
“Just now you said the Peng Family does not know how to speak around a matter, yet it seems Elder Peng does.”
“……”
“What the Peng Family head is truly worried about is not chaos in the jianghu, but rather the jianghu splitting in two and tearing itself apart in open conflict, is that not so?”
“That is….”
Without waiting for an answer, Tang Gun-ak shook his head.
“I know very well what the Peng Family fears, but that does not mean I intend to abandon our purpose.”
“Then… are you truly saying you will make Mount Hua and the Heavenly Alliance into enemies of the Nine Sects and the Five Great Families?”
Pressing the point once more, Peng Ak was answered instead by Hyun Jong, who had been listening quietly.
“That statement strikes me as rather strange.”
“……How so?”
“How can leaving the Five Great Families mean becoming their enemy?”
“……”
“Creating another alliance that is not the Nine Sects and the Five Great Families does not mean declaring hostility toward them. By that logic, would the Nine Sects and the Five Great Families not also be hostile to one another?”
“That is not what I meant….”
“Elder.”
Hyun Jong cut him off gently, still smiling.
“I believe the existence of the Heavenly Alliance will be of help to the jianghu. That is why the Heavenly Alliance exists.”
“……”
“The things you fear will not come to pass, so please do not worry yourself too much.”
It was so soft and smooth a rebuttal that one could hardly oppose it. Yet within that gentleness lay a firmness that made it impossible to raise any further argument. In the end, Peng Ak had no choice but to sigh.
“I have understood the Sect Leader’s intentions. And I understand Lord Tang’s as well.”
“I am glad to hear it.”
“But as you know, the jianghu is not a place where will alone decides everything. Whatever your intentions may be, the jianghu will not look kindly upon the Heavenly Alliance.”
“……”
“Please understand that I mean this without malice. The existence of this alliance may even lead Mount Hua and the Tang Family to ruin.”
At that blunt statement, Tang Gun-ak’s eyes turned cold.
But Hyun Jong, even after hearing it, merely smiled gently.
“Thank you for your concern.”
“……”
“Yet there are paths in this world that one must walk even when they are difficult. If it is a road that must be taken, even if one must endure unbearable hardship, then why should one hesitate?”
Peng Ak could say no more and only looked at Hyun Jong.
“Pass this on to the Peng Family head as well: the gates of the Heavenly Alliance are always open, and its composition is not necessarily limited to the sects of the western Central Plains. Tell him that if he changes his mind, he is welcome to come at any time.”
“I shall convey your words exactly as spoken.”
Peng Ak rose and gave a formal salute from where he sat.
“Once again, my congratulations on the birth of this new alliance. The Peng Family plans to remain here until the founding ceremony is over, and then leave after offering our greetings once more.”
“If you would do that, we could ask for nothing more. Please convey my thanks to the Peng Family head for gracing us with his presence.”
“Yes. Then.”
Peng Ak stood and headed for the door. Even then, as though reluctant to part, he glanced back at the closed door one more time.
Hyun Jong….
Tang Gun-ak was strong. A man who needed no further embellishment.
Strength was, of course, a good thing. The jianghu was a place ruled by the strong. But the problem was that Tang Gun-ak’s strength extended beyond martial ability; his temperament was equally formidable.
A man who is strong without restraint will inevitably stir up trouble. If Tang Gun-ak had been the one leading the Heavenly Alliance, Peng Ak would not have been nearly so concerned about its existence.
He was the sort of man who could perfectly dominate a bloodline family and restore its fortunes, but not the sort who could bind together people gathered under different aims.
But….
Mount Hua. It’s Mount Hua.
Hyun Jong was different.
Despite Peng Ak’s rather sharp remarks from the moment they met, Hyun Jong never once lost his warmth.
When a great alliance is born and someone rises to the seat of alliance leader, it is only natural for his shoulders to tense with pride. Even a man who was not normally like that would quickly grow used to the praise of those around him, to their flattery, and would begin to hear even minor criticism as an offense.
But Hyun Jong had treated him with humility from start to finish.
If Tang Gun-ak used force to suppress other sects, and Hyun Jong succeeded in soothing and leading them?
Maybe I still haven’t seen the true strength of the Heavenly Alliance.
Peng Ak let out a heavy sigh and walked away at a slow pace.
I’ll have a great deal to report to the head.
Back in the room, Hyun Jong and Tang Gun-ak faced one another. Hyun Jong spoke quietly.
“The Peng Family will not be the only ones thinking such things.”
Tang Gun-ak nodded.
“I think so too, Sect Leader. Though no one says it aloud, among all who have come here, there are likely not even three in ten who welcome the founding of the Heavenly Alliance. If we limit it to those called prestigious families and sects, there may not even be one in ten.”
“Ho ho. One in ten, is it? It truly drives home how thorny a road this is.”
It was no easy matter. This was a challenge to the order that had ruled the world for so long.
“And yet so many have gathered here.”
“……”
“That means that even if they do not like it, they cannot ignore it.”
Tang Gun-ak gave a slanted smile.
“Now we simply need to show them that the Heavenly Alliance is far less easy to dismiss than they expected. This founding ceremony is for that.”
“I know your intentions well, Lord Tang. But… I still do not quite understand. Whether I can truly shoulder such a grave responsibility.”
“If you do not take it upon yourself, then no one can become the Heavenly Alliance’s leader.”
“……”
“Putting everything else aside….”
Tang Gun-ak looked toward the door with a faintly displeased expression.
“If you were to step down from the seat of alliance leader, would there not be someone who came charging in with a sword in his mouth and started causing a scene?”
“……If he only came with a sword in his mouth, that would be a blessing.”
The two men gave a brief snort of laughter and looked at each other.
“Sect Leader.”
“Yes, Lord Tang.”
“As you said, this is something that must be done.”
“……”
“I trust you, Sect Leader, and I trust Mount Hua. So please, trust our Tang Family as well.”
At Tang Gun-ak’s solemn words, Hyun Jong smiled softly.
“If not the Tang Family, then who else could I trust? Please continue to look after us.”
The two lightly clasped hands.
And then, just then—
Crash! Bang!
Suddenly, a loud racket burst out overhead, and both of their gazes shot up to the ceiling at once.
“Hey, you little brat! I told you not to climb onto the roof of the Sect Leader’s quarters!”
“Ah, come on, not the nagging again!”
“Get down here! Are you getting down or not?! Ugh, damn it!”
The hands they were clasping tightened involuntarily.
“……”
“……”
The two men thought the same thing.
Perhaps the greatest enemy of the Heavenly Alliance was neither the Nine Sects nor the Five Great Families.