To Live Like a Dog, or Die Like a Wolf (1)
“Th-this is insane!”
Hong Dae-gwang’s face twisted in horror as he read the letter brought by a Beggars’ Sect beggar.
“Why?”
“I-it’s chaos, Mount Hua Divine Dragon!”
“What is?”
Unlike Hong Dae-gwang, whose face had gone dark with alarm, Chung Myung remained as composed as ever.
The beggar who had delivered the news watched the stark contrast between the two men and quietly furrowed his brow.
Why the hell is that guy hanging around here instead of staying at the branch?
It wasn’t Hong Dae-gwang’s branch, sure, but there was a Beggars’ Sect branch here too. If he was a beggar in name and rank, shouldn’t he be handling business at the branch? Why was he loafing around in a place packed with bandits and pirates?
No, more importantly, why was the branch leader of Hwaeum here in the first place?
“Nanjing, Taizhou, Wuhu, Huanggang, Yueyang—every single one of them is at war!”
“...What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying war broke out! It looks like orthodox and unorthodox factions are fighting in the cities along the Yangtze River’s tributaries!”
“Huh?”
Now that the situation sounded truly serious, even Hong Dae-gwang’s expression turned grim.
“It’s not just some ordinary brawl. They’re going at each other like they’re trying to finish the other side off completely.”
Hyun Jong, who had been listening from the side, frowned and asked,
“Branch Leader. Are you certain about this news?”
“Y-yes, Sect Leader. It came from the Beggars’ Sect headquarters.”
“...If the information came from headquarters, it must have been verified first. And yet this happened so suddenly...”
Hong Dae-gwang swallowed dryly before speaking again.
“As you know, in cities with large populations, orthodox and unorthodox factions coexist to a certain extent.”
“That is true.”
“In Henan, where orthodox power is overwhelming, the unorthodox can’t even get a foothold. But that’s not the case everywhere. Even in Shaanxi, where Mount Hua sits, there are plenty of unorthodox factions, aren’t there?”
“Indeed.”
“If there are unorthodox factions even in Shaanxi, where Mount Hua and Southern Edge are located, then what do you think it’s like elsewhere? Most people dislike those scum, but if they go to war and slaughter each other, there’s nothing to be gained in the end, so they’re usually tolerated to some extent.”
By contrast, in the southern regions where the Nine Great Sects hardly existed at all, orthodox forces struggled to take root. In particular, Guangdong and Guangxi, where the Maninbang held sway, and Zhejiang, where pleasure districts formed the center of trade, could almost be called unchallenged territory for the unorthodox.
There was likely more than one reason the Hainan Sect, located on Hainan Island after Mount Hua’s fall, had been allowed into the Gupailbang. One of them must have been to keep these unorthodox factions in check.
But where no side could claim undeniable control, orthodox and unorthodox usually ended up mingling in some uneasy balance.
“But why all of a sudden?”
“It seems to be because of Shaolin and Wudang.”
“Hmm.”
“Shaolin and Wudang have moved into the Yangtze River to wipe out the river pirates, but the problem is that they never informed the other sects of their intentions in advance. So to the factions around the river...”
Hyun Young cut in before he could finish.
“It looks like the Gupailbang and the Odaesega joined hands to scour the Yangtze River clean of the bandit sect?”
“Exactly.”
“Hoho... yes. If I were them, I’d think the same.”
Shaolin and Wudang were among the leading sects of the Gupailbang. And now the Namgung Family, one of the Five Great Families and one of the true pillars of the orthodox world, had joined them.
Of course, even if the strength of those three sects were combined, it still wouldn’t amount to thirty percent of all the Central Plains’ orthodox power. But from the perspective of those watching from the outside, it would look as though nearly the entire orthodox world had united and come out in force.
Chung Myung, who had been listening quietly, let out a snort.
“If they really do wipe out the Yangtze River, then great. And if not, they’ll just use the fact that those big-shot sects are down there to clean out anything they find ugly while they’re at it?”
“Th-that could be it!”
Not every sect moved with one heart and one mind, so their true intentions couldn’t be known perfectly. But judging by the flow of events, the reason for the movement was obvious.
Someone muttered,
“But even so, this is still strange. Nothing happened until now, and then suddenly...”
It wasn’t just one or two sects.
Just the cities Hong Dae-gwang had mentioned numbered several. That meant fighting had already erupted in five places. And if they included the smaller sects that weren’t worth mentioning or hadn’t been included in the urgent report, there could be dozens of clashes underway.
In other words, war was spreading like wildfire.
“I-it’s different. To them, right now, it looks completely different.”
“Because Shaolin and Wudang made their move?”
“Those two sects, and Namgung too, haven’t left their own territory for an expedition in decades.”
“...Come to think of it.”
“When a major sect goes on the move, that’s no ordinary matter. Mount Hua has been the type to rush anywhere the moment something happens, so you don’t find it odd, but...”
Chung Myung’s eyes sharpened.
“What? You saying we’re easy on the ass?”
“That’s not what I meant...”
“Sounds like it to me.”
Watching Hong Dae-gwang begin to sweat bullets, Hyun Sang let out a sigh.
“Branch Leader. Ignore that brat Chung Myung and continue.”
“...I’d like to, but I’m afraid of the consequences...”
“The Sect Leader will protect you.”
Even then, Hyun Sang did not say that he would be the one protecting him.
“In any case... since the Demonic Sect War, the great sects have hardly ever left their own territories. For them to launch an expedition might mean that the peaceful Jianghu we’ve known until now can no longer continue.”
“Hmm.”
“And the target of that expedition isn’t another orthodox sect, but an unorthodox one, isn’t that right? Once their power has reached full capacity, the first thing that happens is always the suppression of the unorthodox. History in the martial world has proven that again and again. So usually...”
“Haha. They start by smashing the bandits, don’t they.”
“...”
Everyone’s gaze turned at once to Im So-byeong. Clear tears were streaming down his face.
“As expected! Ta-da! We’ve already received word that about three bandit strongholds have been attacked! Oh dear, with the righteous heroes of the orthodox world this fired up, they’re going to get absolutely wrecked...”
“Don’t cry while you talk.”
“No, really. Either cry or laugh, pick one.”
“I’m laughing and crying at the same time...”
Im So-byeong let out a sigh so deep it seemed to sink into the earth.
“For now, I told them not to fight back and to run to the neighboring stronghold if someone invades. The ones who had at least switched to legitimate business already warned the nearby orthodox factions and even did some business in the cities, so they’ll manage... somewhat.”
“You said they did business?”
“Promotion is half the job! Half! If you want to survive, you have to do it.”
“...”
A bandit went down the mountain and did business in the city?
“...What the hell is going on in this man’s head...”
“Sect Leader. You said that out loud.”
“C-cough. I’ll try not to make that mistake again...”
Im So-byeong shook his head.
“Of course, they didn’t do the marketing themselves. They hired merchants in the city to handle it. Anyway, those places might somehow survive, but this tide will inevitably sweep up the strongholds too, so who knows how many more will be smashed...”
He trailed off and sighed. Chung Myung, looking thoroughly put out, said,
“Why are you sighing? It’s a good thing if the bandit scum get wrecked.”
“...I’m a bandit, remember. I’m a bandit.”
“That’s just karma. Tear the whole thing down while you’re at it.”
Hong Dae-gwang, who had been listening to all this nonsense, cleared his throat and went on.
“That shift alone should have been enough to tell them something was off, but now even other sects are involved.”
“What sects?”
“...The ones best at swallowing up unorthodox factions, and now there’s even a place bold enough to stand up to the Gupailbang and the Odaesega.”
“Heavenly Alliance?”
“Mount Hua?”
“...Exactly.”
Hyun Young let out a long breath.
“Then to outsiders, doesn’t this look like the Heavenly Alliance, the Gupailbang, and the Odaesega have joined forces to drink the Yangtze River’s eighteen water bandit factions dry?”
“Wouldn’t it?”
It certainly looked that way.
They knew because they were from Mount Hua and the Heavenly Alliance, but the rift between the Heavenly Alliance and the Gupailbang was not necessarily any better than the relationship between orthodox and unorthodox factions. The smaller and middling sects would not think that far.
So naturally, it would appear that they had combined their strength to deal with the Yangtze River bandits.
“Big sects influence everyone around them. The reason unorthodox factions can’t get a foothold where major orthodox sects are located isn’t because those great sects personally manage every inch of territory. It’s because the sects standing behind them wipe out the unorthodox at the root. Whether they’re affiliated families or entirely separate sects, it’s all the same.”
Everyone nodded.
The reason there had been no unorthodox presence in Xi’an, where Hwayeong Gate had now established itself, was precisely because Southern Edge was there. The sects backed by Southern Edge’s influence cut down the roots of the unorthodox before they could even take hold.
Wasn’t the Maninbang’s martial force attacking Xi’an in the first place because Southern Edge had closed its gates?
“And the same applies to the unorthodox side. In other words, until now, the smaller unorthodox factions around the Yangtze River have been bullying people under the protection of the Water Bandit Sect’s prestige. So the orthodox factions that have been enduring it up to now...”
“Saw that the Water Bandit Sect was about to get cut down and started striking back?”
“Yes. That’s what I think.”
“I see...”
Hyun Jong let out a long sigh.
This is bad.
The fighting happening here right now might be nothing special. The problem was that the conflict was spreading.
“The north of the Yangtze River, where orthodox factions mainly stand, and the south, where unorthodox factions mainly gather, were divided by the river, weren’t they.”
“Yes. This is like the boundary between righteous and evil. But that boundary... is now being blurred. In fact, it’s even being connected...”
All eyes turned to one person.
“Why are you all looking at me?”
“...”
“Look, I don’t care whether there are unorthodox factions in the south or orthodox factions in the north. I’m just trying to make a living! Who cares about orthodox or unorthodox when money’s on the table?”
He was right, but it was not the sort of thing a Taoist should be saying.
“Branch Leader.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“In your opinion, how do you think this will end? From what it sounds like, this doesn’t seem like a simple affair that will just fizzle out. Could this perhaps...”
Hyun Jong could not bring himself to say the rest aloud.
He had been about to ask whether this spark could grow into a massive war between the orthodox and unorthodox factions, but the mere thought was so ominous that he hesitated to voice it.
But Hong Dae-gwang, perceptive as ever, immediately understood what he had meant to ask.
“I don’t think it’ll go that far.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because they’re unorthodox factions.”
“Hmm?”
“Orthodox factions will help each other if Wudang gets attacked by Shaolin, or if Southern Edge gets attacked by Mount Hua...”
“They’d attack together.”
“...All right, that example wasn’t great. In any case, that’s only natural for orthodox sects. But unorthodox factions don’t help one another. If the Water Bandit Sect is attacked, there’s a high chance the others won’t help at all—instead, they’ll rush in from behind, eager to carve off a piece for themselves.”
“Hoho. Like a pack of gluttons.”
“That’s precisely what makes them unorthodox, isn’t it?”
Hong Dae-gwang nodded.
“Yes. So I think the smaller unorthodox factions in the north will be cleaned out, and the Water Bandit Sect will also suffer heavy losses before this is over. Maybe not if it were another sect, but is there really any unorthodox force that would dare stand against Shaolin, Wudang, and the Namgung Family?”
“...That is certainly a burdensome set of names.”
“Hey! Why are you leaving Mount Hua out?”
At Hyun Young’s teasing jab, Hong Dae-gwang gave a wry smile.
“The problem is that this will spread the idea that orthodox and unorthodox factions are at war. Once that belief starts to spread, who knows when and where things will erupt?”
“True. Very true. Things people would have tolerated before may no longer be tolerated. On either side.”
“Yes. That’s the problem... But in any case, right now I don’t think this will spread any further than it already has.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
But then Chung Myung, who had been standing there with his arms crossed, let out a snort.
“Will it really?”
“Huh?”
Hong Dae-gwang looked at him as if asking what that was supposed to mean, but Chung Myung didn’t bother explaining. Instead, he fell into thought.
So in the end, it all depends on how those unorthodox bastards choose to move...
From a realistic standpoint, Hong Dae-gwang was probably right.
But what if there was someone who had predicted this whole situation from the beginning and was already running it from the palm of his hand?
Then that bastard would definitely try to profit from it.
“People never move according to common sense. Especially not someone like that.”
“Someone like that?”
Chung Myung’s mouth curled.
That’s why people are scarier than ghosts or monsters.
His gaze drifted toward the far south.
To the place where a man who embodied greed itself would be watching this entire situation with a smile.