Let’s Play Until We’re Dead (4)
“Bow your heads!”
“I’ll cut down anyone who tries anything foolish!”
The water bandits, bound together by stout iron chains, knelt with their heads lowered. Around them, the sword disciples of Wudang stood in a ring, watching with cold eyes.
“Hmph.”
Heo Do-jin-in let out a low grunt as he looked around.
Disgusting.
The stench of blood was so thick it stung his nose.
Of course, he had lived his life as a disciple of Wudang, had joined righteous campaigns more times than he could count, and had fought many battles. But even for him, experiences like this—fighting so many men and taking so many lives—were rare.
My disciples are falling short of their strength, more than I expected.
A petty water bandit nest like this should have been wiped out in no time at all. It wasn’t that he overestimated Wudang. Objectively speaking, the gap in strength between Waryu Clan and Wudang was so obvious that he had naturally expected as much.
And yet, instead of taking mere moments, it had taken more than half a shichen.
They’ve gone too long without real combat.
He did not think Wudang had grown weaker than it had been in the past. But being able to fully display one’s skill in actual battle was another matter entirely.
“It was wise to strike the smaller water bandits first.”
If they had not identified this problem and fought a larger bandit den first, there would certainly have been casualties.
Once blood was going to be spilled, sacrifice was unavoidable. But it was only natural for a sect leader to want to keep that number as low as possible.
“The suppression has been completed, Sect Leader.”
At Heo Sanja’s words, Heo Do-jin-in nodded.
“Turn over all the prisoners to the magistrate’s office, and distribute the valuables in the warehouses to the common people. If the owners of any goods can be found, return them to their rightful owners.”
Even as he gave the order, Heo Do-jin-in could not help a dry laugh.
This makes it look as if we’re copying Mount Hua.
Even if that was not the case, what the world thought would probably be much the same as what he himself had just thought.
But there was no helping it.
Better to be accused of imitation than to do nothing at all.
“Sect Leader… there is, well, a slight problem.”
“A problem?”
Heo Do-jin-in frowned at Heo Sanja’s words.
“What do you mean, a problem?”
“We checked the water bandits’ warehouse, but… there isn’t as much wealth inside as we expected.”
“...Not much?”
“Yes.”
Heo Sanja swallowed dryly and continued.
“According to the people of Wuhan, the bandits have been running rampant lately, and those who traveled out onto the Yangtze by boat were robbed of huge amounts of goods and money… but there’s nowhere near that much wealth in these bandits’ coffers.”
“……”
“So we questioned the bandits, but they say they never did such a thing.”
“So this wasn’t the place?”
“It seems that way. And they also say they don’t know who the bandits were that attacked the boats recently.”
“……”
Heo Do-jin-in fell silent. After thinking for a long time, he said,
“If we keep it simple, then this must just be another water bandit den that caused trouble.”
“Yes.”
“If not… then—”
Heo Do-jin-in did not voice the rest.
Someone orchestrated this situation.
That was not a thought he could easily speak aloud. Depending on how it was interpreted, it could mean that the mighty Wudang had been played by someone else’s hand.
“What should we do, Sect Leader?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Pardon?”
At Heo Sanja’s questioning tone, Heo Do-jin-in gave a brief shake of his head.
“Whether there was some misunderstanding, whether we picked the wrong enemy, or whether someone plotted behind the scenes—it makes no difference. What matters is that we did not turn a blind eye to the suffering of the common people, came to the Yangtze, and suppressed the water bandits.”
“……”
“Gather all the wealth and distribute it to the common people.”
“There’s a great deal of property that was stolen. If we hand out too little, I worry it will create unnecessary misunderstandings.”
“Then tell them we’ll be suppressing other bandit dens soon as well.”
“Understood.”
Heo Sanja bowed deeply and withdrew. Left alone, Heo Do-jin-in’s heart sank heavily.
A conspiracy against the Yangtze Waterway?
However wide the Yangtze might be, how many places in the world had the skill to move under the bandits’ noses while disguised as water thieves?
Names flickered through his mind, but one by one he erased them.
It doesn’t matter.
Whatever they were aiming for, he only needed to secure what he wanted. At this moment, they had no choice but to walk into the fire even if it stood right in front of them.
Still…
“If anyone has toyed with us, they will pay the price.”
Grinding his teeth, he whirled around, his body snapping with such force that it seemed to carry a cold gust. He strode away irritably.
“Amitabha!”
A sonorous Buddhist chant rang out.
Wooooong!
The hum of internal energy vibrating through the air sounded almost like the buzzing of thousands of bees.
“R-run!”
Fear flooded the water bandits’ eyes.
Monks in yellow robes were an absolute symbol of power in the jianghu. For those on the same side, they were a reassuring sight—but for those who had to face them, there was nothing more terrifying.
It was only natural. In the jianghu, the only people who wore yellow robes were Shaolin monks.
Shaolin.
Who in the world could ignore that name?
Even if all the forces of the Five Hegemons of the Jianghu known as the Yangtze Waterway Eighteen Bandit Strongholds gathered together, there was no guarantee they could withstand Shaolin. And a mere single stronghold among them daring to fight Shaolin was, quite simply, absurd.
The bandits knew that better than anyone, so they had never intended to fight from the start.
The moment they saw the monks in yellow, they lost all will to resist and began screaming and running.
Some spun around and fled at full speed without looking back, while the cleverer ones hurled themselves into the blue waters of the Yangtze without hesitation.
“Hmm.”
Watching the scene unfold before him, Beop Gye narrowed his eyes.
I understand the Abbot’s intention in setting this up, but…
In truth, for Shaolin to personally take on the suppression of a small den like this was little different from wasteful overkill. Of course, keeping the alliance’s moral code was a good thing. But it always came at the cost of time.
When the time spent traveling to and from the Yangtze was factored in, it was a journey that exacted a considerable price. And defeating a handful of these little thugs would hardly improve their skills.
“Amitabha. The leader of the water bandits must have a splitting headache.”
Wudang, Shaolin, and even Qingcheng. Three of the Nine Great Sects were surging into the Yangtze. And with the Namgung Family of Anhui having drawn their swords as well, no matter how they styled themselves one of the Five Hegemons, the Yangtze Waterway bandits had no hope of stopping this assault.
Maybe the Yangtze Waterway Eighteen Bandit Strongholds will disappear from history because of this.
If only one sect had come, they might have ended the suppression at an appropriate level and returned home. But now, four sects that could be said to eclipse the world had come here.
If it had only been the Nine Sects, they might have managed to save some face, but the Namgung Family, one of the Five Great Families, had joined in as well. Even for the sake of reputation, they could not return with fewer accomplishments than the other sects.
And above all…
The fact that Mount Hua had been the first to begin the suppression of the water bandits was already spreading rapidly throughout the realm. It was only natural that the name of the one who started first would echo louder than those who came after.
If Shaolin, Wudang, and the Namgung Family did not want people saying they had merely chased after Mount Hua’s tail, they would have to secure greater results than Mount Hua had.
“Amitabha.”
The Buddhist chant that slipped from Beop Gye’s lips carried a heavy, stifled feeling.
But…
If this matter led to the destruction of the Yangtze Waterway Eighteen Bandit Strongholds, or if it caused catastrophic damage, then the balance of the martial world would certainly collapse.
If the balance broke starting from the Yangtze, the very center of the Central Plains, then what did that mean except that no one could predict how far this matter would spread?
Abbot.
There was no way Beop Jeong had not understood this… then why had he ordered such a hasty suppression?
Ignoring those suffering before one’s eyes was injustice. But was it not also injustice to save a few people in front of them while pushing far more others into suffering?
I don’t know.
Beop Gye knew this much.
Though they spoke of all the people under heaven, not everyone could influence the order of the world. Those who moved the world and guided its currents were only a very few.
As someone who did not belong among them, all Beop Gye could do was devote himself fully to the duty placed before him.
“Make sure not a single fleeing bandit escapes! Don’t let them harm the common people!”
“Yes!”
The Shaolin monks roared their answer and charged forward with a ferocity utterly unlike that of monks.
“...Amitabha. This had better not become a bigger problem.”
The little snowball Mount Hua had rolled had begun to gather mass as it traveled down the slope of the Yangtze.
Now even Shaolin and Wudang could no longer stop it. All they could do was pray again and again that the snowball would not crash into the villages at the foot of the mountain.
The fact that Shaolin and Wudang were suppressing the bandit dens spread across the entire Yangtze in an instant.
For those who made their living on the Yangtze, the news brought joy and cheers unlike anything else.
They had endured all this time, telling themselves there was nothing to be done, but who in their right mind would be happy about having hard-earned money stolen by water bandits? Especially since the bandits’ atrocities had recently grown so severe that everyone had been suffering under them.
So how could they not rejoice when Shaolin, Wudang, and the Namgung Family stepped in?
Even Qingcheng, one of the Nine Sects, looked small and shabby beside them. Naturally, the people of the Yangtze could only hope that things would finally improve.
“As expected of the Nine Sects. As expected of the Five Great Families. Once things got serious, they finally stepped up!”
“Exactly! They should have stepped in sooner.”
“They were probably waiting to see how serious it would get. Aren’t they all righteous sects?”
The people spoke warmly. In the past, such praise might have gone on for a while without interruption.
But now the situation had changed a little, and there were those who said different things.
“Don’t talk like you don’t know any better. Do you really think those lofty people came out because they wanted to help us?”
“What else would it be? They came to suppress the water bandits, so of course they’re here to help us.”
“Then what about before? Before now, were there no water bandits? Weren’t people dying at their hands, weren’t they being sold off as slaves?”
“That’s…”
The man who had snapped back with irritation clicked his tongue.
“You should know who to thank properly. All of this is because of Mount Hua, so be grateful to Mount Hua.”
“What are you talking about? All of this is because of Mount Hua? Of course Mount Hua started the suppression, but you can’t say everything is thanks to them.”
“You really don’t know how the world works! If Mount Hua hadn’t stepped up, the Nine Sects and the Five Great Families wouldn’t have come anywhere near the Yangtze. Once they saw Mount Hua of the Heavenly Alliance suppressing water bandits and winning the people’s hearts, their guts twisted up, and they all rushed here in a scramble.”
“...That seems a bit too twisted.”
“Then are you saying they’ve known the Yangtze was full of water bandits for decades and just left it alone?”
“……”
“Don’t clap your hands so naively! That’s exactly what those people are aiming for. We should be thanking Mount Hua! It was Mount Hua that came to the Yangtze without any conditions and suppressed the water bandits for us!”
“That’s true enough. We really do owe Mount Hua our thanks.”
“Just watch. I think the day isn’t far off when the Heavenly Alliance led by Mount Hua will be the one to push down the Nine Sects themselves.”
“There he goes again, spouting his delusions.”
“I’m telling you it’s true!”
Some people favored Mount Hua, while others still defended the Nine Sects, leaning on their deep-rooted history.
What was certain was that, whichever side they favored, the scale of the fighting taking place on the Yangtze was growing larger and larger.
And then…
The results of these scattered battles began to ride a current no one in the world had foreseen.
A fierce new torrent that would completely change the flow and structure of the martial world was now sweeping down the Yangtze and spreading across the realm.