I’m Looking Forward to That Day (1)
Hyun Jong stared blankly at Jang Il-so.
What had that man just said?
Brothers? Maninbang and the Heavenly Alliance?
No—Maninbang and Mount Hua?
A look of indescribable complexity flickered through Hyun Jong’s eyes.
He had lived long enough to know the world well. Over the years, he had met all sorts of people. Some were sly. Some were full of lofty ideals. Some were so inscrutable that no one could read what lurked beneath the surface.
And yet none of them had been as difficult to face as Jang Il-so standing before him now.
Every casual word he spoke felt like a knife aimed straight at the vitals.
Hyun Jong bit his lip once, then spoke. His voice had lost the composure it had held at first.
“I am afraid I do not understand what the Tyrant Lord is saying.”
At Hyun Jong’s reply, Jang Il-so’s red lips curled ever so slightly.
“There’s nothing so hard to understand. It’s exactly as I said. My Maninbang wishes to join the Heavenly Alliance.”
“……”
Disbelief clouded Hyun Jong’s eyes.
“If Maninbang were to stand with the Heavenly Alliance, there would be nothing to fear under heaven. Sect Leader, do you have the courage to take this Maninbang’s hand?”
His words drained the color from the faces of everyone present.
Maninbang?
That Maninbang joining hands with the Heavenly Alliance?
It was absurd.
And yet…
If it actually came to pass, it would be an earth-shattering event.
The current Heavenly Alliance was already more than enough to shake the martial world. But if Maninbang were to join it, the entire existing balance of power would have to be torn up and rewritten from the ground on.
What was even more shocking was that the proposal had not come from the Heavenly Alliance, but from Jang Il-so of Maninbang.
Anyone who knew even a little about Jang Il-so understood that he was not the kind of man to bow his head and join anyone beneath them. And yet here he was, saying he could lower his head to the Heavenly Alliance?
What on earth is he thinking?
The crowd could not keep up with Jang Il-so’s pace. Their thoughts tangled themselves into knots, and all they could do was stare dumbly at the scene unfolding before them.
He crushed the surroundings beneath an overwhelming presence and swept the crowd along exactly as he wished, as if a giant hand had reached down to seize everyone who stood upon Mount Hua and shake them senseless.
Everyone else could only marvel at Jang Il-so. But Hyun Jong could not afford to do that. He was the leader of the Heavenly Alliance. No matter how formidable the other side might be, he could not allow himself to be swept away.
Hyun Jong spoke calmly.
“I understand what the Tyrant Lord means.”
Jang Il-so shot him a faintly interested look.
“But that is impossible.”
“Why? Because the relationship between Maninbang and Mount Hua is less than ideal?”
Hyun Jong looked Jang Il-so straight in the eye.
“I may be the Sect Leader of Mount Hua, but in this place, I stand as the leader of the Heavenly Alliance. This is not a matter for private grudges.”
“Then?”
“Because Maninbang and the Heavenly Alliance simply do not belong together.”
Jang Il-so said nothing, only watching Hyun Jong as if urging him to continue.
“The Heavenly Alliance and Maninbang walk different paths. There is no reason to force together things that do not fit.”
“So then…”
Jang Il-so’s clear voice rang through Mount Hua like a gong.
“You’re saying you don’t want to accept Maninbang because we’re part of the Evil Faction?”
“……Tyrant Lord.”
“How strange.”
Jang Il-so’s gaze shifted to Seol So-baek and Maeng So standing behind Hyun Jong.
“When you think about it, the North Sea Ice Palace and the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace aren’t exactly orthodox either. And yet you accepted them, did you not? What makes them different from Maninbang?”
Hyun Jong closed his mouth slightly.
The distinction between orthodox and unorthodox was not truly so clear-cut. If a sect openly declared what path it stood on, the matter was simple enough. But when a sect had not clearly defined its stance, there was no unambiguous standard to separate the two.
As Jang Il-so had pointed out, the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace was, from the Central Plains’ perspective, closer to an evil sect than an orthodox one.
“How odd. You won’t accept an evil faction from the Central Plains because their path differs from yours, but you can accept an evil faction from beyond the borders?”
“That is…”
Hyun Jong was about to answer, but Jang Il-so burst out laughing before he could. It was clear he had not been waiting for an answer at all.
“Or is it this?”
With that, he suddenly slammed his foot into the ground.
A powerful tremor rolled through the earth.
“Are you saying the Heavenly Alliance’s allies are decided simply by whether the Sect Leader likes them or not?”
Jang Il-so clicked his tongue, shaking his head with open disdain.
“What a child’s game.”
He reduced the very existence of the Heavenly Alliance to something trifling in a single breath, then spread his arms theatrically. His long sleeves fluttered, and once again everyone’s attention was forced back onto him.
But just as he seemed ready to raise his voice further, Jang Il-so unexpectedly clasped his hands behind his back and fell silent for a moment. It was as though he were giving the crowd time to let the tension build, to wet their dry throats and wait for what came next.
“Tyrant Lord.”
In that pause, Hyun Jong slowly spoke.
“Those who stand with the Heavenly Alliance are not chosen that way.”
“Hmm?”
Jang Il-so looked at him with renewed interest.
“What matters is trust. We want people we can entrust our backs to. But the Heavenly Alliance does not yet possess enough trust in Maninbang to do that.”
“……”
“If the day ever comes when the Heavenly Alliance can place firm trust in Maninbang, then there would be no reason for us to reject you.”
Jang Il-so’s red lips curved into a faint smile.
“Trust… Trust, is it?”
He nodded slowly, leisurely, as if savoring the word.
“True enough. Trust. Yes, trust is important. I certainly agree with the Sect Leader on that.”
“……”
“Then the problem becomes how to earn the Heavenly Alliance’s trust…”
Jang Il-so’s gaze swept over the elders of the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families standing behind Hyun Jong.
“How about this? If we crush one of those Nine Great Sects or Five Great Families, would you trust us then?”
“You!”
“Th-that lunatic!”
Disbelieving gasps escaped the mouths of the elders.
Tyrant Lord Jang Il-so.
Who in the martial world did not know his name? Who did not know the strength of Maninbang under his command?
But no matter who he was, he had no right to speak of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families in such a way. Not even if someone worse than Jang Il-so himself had said it would it have been acceptable.
“Tyrant Lord!”
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Yi-byeok of Qingcheng barked out in fury.
“Your words have gone too far. Do you think you can bear the weight of what you just said?”
Jang Il-so slowly turned his head to meet his gaze.
The instant their eyes met, Yi-byeok instinctively staggered back a step.
“Ugh…”
Was this what it felt like to face a beast before a hunter?
The moment he saw the burning eyes hidden within Jang Il-so’s narrow gaze, it felt as though his entire body were being shredded by countless sharp blades.
H-How…
Yi-byeok was thoroughly shaken. He had always known Jang Il-so was dangerous, but he had never imagined the man to be this terrifying.
“AHAHAHAHAHA!”
Suddenly, Jang Il-so broke into a loud laugh.
“Bear the weight? You want to talk about bearing the weight?”
The force of his laughter, laden with inner energy, was explosive. Those with weaker cultivation went pale and hurriedly clapped their hands over their ears. His laughter hammered at their insides, rattling their bones and threatening to burst their eardrums.
Just as some were beginning to feel blood rise in their throats, his laughter came to a sudden, impossible halt. An empty silence swept through the space like cold steel.
“How amusing.”
Jang Il-so’s voice had lost all trace of laughter as it pierced the elders of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families.
“Those who smile at an enemy baring his teeth in front of them cannot endure even the slightest insult.”
He clicked his tongue as if looking down at something truly contemptible.
“Instead of getting angry at me, why don’t you deal with the sword already pointed at your throats? Surely such important people can manage to understand that.”
“……”
None of the assembled could readily refute him. When Jang Il-so looked at them as though waiting for someone to speak, he only gave a short, amused snort.
“Boring.”
Then he turned back to Hyun Jong and brought his hands together in a formal clasp.
“Congratulations once more on the founding of the Heavenly Alliance. Let us forget our private enmity and hope that one day we may sit together and share a drink.”
Hyun Jong looked at him for a moment, then nodded.
“Travel safely.”
“Hmm.”
Jang Il-so lifted his head from the slight bow and smiled oddly.
“Alliance Leader.”
“Yes.”
“Do not take my proposal for a joke or idle words.”
“……”
“If that is too difficult to believe…”
Jang Il-so’s gaze shifted to one side.
The face of the one who met his eyes instantly stiffened like a statue.
“Then we can support the Heavenly Alliance quietly, just like that Green Forest King over there.”
“……”
Green Forest King?
At the unexpected name, everyone’s gaze followed the direction of Jang Il-so’s eyes. At the end of it stood a splendidly dressed young nobleman.
Green Forest King? That man?
Why is the Green Forest King here?
Beneath those suspicious stares, Im So-byeong bit his lip hard.
“Hahahahaha.”
Even under Im So-byeong’s sharp glare, Jang Il-so laughed merrily. Then, as though he had no further business here, he abruptly turned around.
“We’re going.”
Everyone watched his back in a daze. There were too many questions, too many things they could not understand. Why had he come all this way just to stage this bizarre performance?
But no one dared demand answers from Jang Il-so. They did not even have the courage to call him back, much less question him.
There was only one exception.
“Hey.”
“……”
Jang Il-so glanced back over his shoulder.
Chung Myung met him with a cold stare and jerked his chin toward the crates laid out on the ground.
“Take your junk and get lost. We don’t need crap like that.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Jang Il-so clicked his tongue, then flashed Chung Myung a brilliant smile.
“Even if you don’t like the guest, you shouldn’t refuse a gift.”
“That depends on the guest.”
“Oh?”
Chung Myung’s eyes narrowed little by little. At the same time, the sharpness in his gaze turned steadily rougher, more savage.
“The last time you look at me and walk away alive is today. The next time you see me, it’ll be your last day.”
“Hmmmmmm.”
Jang Il-so nodded with a smile that suggested he liked that very much.
“Good. I’m looking forward to that day.”
Chung Myung’s hands, folded over his chest, tightened around his own arm. He gripped so hard while restraining his anger that his fingertips had turned white.
“Get lost. My patience ends here.”
“Hahahaha! Much obliged! I’d better run before I lose my head!”
Laughing like a child beginning a game of tag, Jang Il-so spun around and shouted, “Let’s go!”
“Yes!”
With the swagger of a victorious commander, the Maninbang disciples in their white-red robes followed behind him in unison.
He had said he was retreating, but no one could possibly mistake that gait for the walk of a man fleeing. If anything, each step carried the force of a general returning in triumph.
Those who had stood dazedly watching his back only finally let out the breath they had been holding once he had gone far enough away. Some even lost the strength in their legs and collapsed on the spot.
Baek Cheon bit his lip so hard blood showed, engraving Jang Il-so’s departing back into his mind.
“That bastard…”
At his low curse, Chung Myung said quietly,
“Remember it well, Sasuk.”
“……”
“That guy’s a monster.”
Baek Cheon turned his gaze to Chung Myung.
It was rare for Chung Myung to speak of anyone in such terms. It was fair to say it almost never happened.
“And he’s the bastard we’re going to have to put a knife to.”
“……”
“Don’t forget.”
Baek Cheon nodded with a hardened face.
It was a needless warning. He could never forget.
Never.