Only He Was Worthy (2)
“You’ve worked hard, Alliance Lord.”
“Hm.”
Watching Jang Il-so give a light nod, Ho Gamyeong smiled faintly.
“No, I suppose I should call you Alliance Leader now.”
“How embarrassing. What’s with this Alliance Leader nonsense? Forget it.”
Jang Il-so waved a hand as if he despised anything too grandiose, looking faintly awkward, but Ho Gamyeong still wore a broad smile.
“Please, get on.”
“Hm.”
Jang Il-so strolled leisurely up into the carriage drawn by four white horses. It was a carriage fit for him, lavishly decorated outside and just as extravagant within.
As soon as Jang Il-so climbed aboard, Ho Gamyeong glanced around once and followed after him. The moment both men were inside, the horses began to move.
Ho Gamyeong, uncharacteristically animated, spoke up.
“Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to have been any major problem.”
“We were lucky.”
“Lucky? That wasn’t luck.”
Ho Gamyeong knew how much time Jang Il-so had spent creating this scene.
At last, all the effort poured into those long years had borne fruit.
“This is only one step.”
But Jang Il-so casually waved aside his ring-laden hand and said, “They may bow their heads and pretend to go along with it on the outside, but there’s no way those snake-like bastards will follow me obediently. Inwardly, they’ll be thinking only of pushing me and Maninbang to the front while carving out their own profit.”
That was what it meant to become Alliance Leader.
For an alliance that already existed, the Alliance Leader’s seat was a hugely profitable position, one that brought both power and influence. But for an alliance that had only just been formed, the seat brought nothing but losses.
In the stage of coordinating and maintaining the alliance, no one would willingly bend. In the end, it was inevitable that Maninbang would have to bear the losses.
Those men had only volunteered to become Alliance Leader for the sake of appearances; if someone had actually pushed the chair toward them, they would all have backed away with frantic hand waves.
The throne of this alliance had been built from coiled vipers. Show the slightest opening for even an instant, and those fangs dripping poison would tear at your entire body.
“But isn’t that what Alliance Leader wanted as well?”
“Gamyeong.”
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
“I told you before, didn’t I? If you don’t take risks, you don’t gain anything.”
Jang Il-so’s lips curled as he smiled.
“For fat pigs, all you need to do is toss them the leftovers. But a hungry wolf won’t be satisfied with scraps. Hunting always involves danger.”
He drew one finger across his lips once. His lips, red as blood, glimmered with something wicked.
“If you want to gain something more important than your own life, then staking your life is only natural.”
“A most righteous saying.”
Ho Gamyeong looked at him with renewed admiration.
It was an astonishing thing.
Since the war against the Demonic Sect a hundred years ago, the unorthodox factions had never once united to form a single force. This was the first alliance of the unorthodox world in a hundred years, and Jang Il-so and Maninbang had seized the position of Alliance Leader.
And among the formidable leaders of the Five Hegemons of the Jianghu, it was Jang Il-so—youngest of them all and the one with the thinnest resume—who had done it. To Ho Gamyeong, it was only natural. To anyone else, it would never be so simple.
And yet Jang Il-so had pulled off something that immense without showing the slightest sign of joy. He remained calm, as though he had merely obtained what he was due.
Jang Il-so’s eyes were already fixed on what came next. He had no interest in what was already in his hand. He was the sort of man who searched for a new prey before he had even finished tearing the flesh from the one he had caught.
“Thanks to those little brats from Mount Hua, the plan has been sped up by five years... no, maybe ten.”
“Indeed.”
“I wonder if those bastards knew I went there to sincerely congratulate the founding of the Heavenly Alliance? Ahahahahahahaha!”
Jang Il-so clutched his stomach and laughed.
It was like he was being slapped across the face while wishing he could cry.
The Jianghu was like stagnant water. No one lacked anything, and so no one had any reason to take risks.
That Heavenly Alliance had shattered the perfectly still balance of power in the Jianghu all at once.
According to his original plan, it would have taken another ten years. But thanks to the Heavenly Alliance... no, thanks to Mount Hua’s existence, so much could be achieved at a stroke.
“It’s truly a joyful and delightful thing... but from another angle, it’s terribly dangerous. I moved because I couldn’t afford to miss the chance, but I’m still not fully prepared.”
“The greater the danger, the greater the reward.”
“Exactly, exactly. As expected, you understand my heart, Gamyeong.”
He had placed four vipers in his own belly.
If he could not provide them comfort, they would sink their teeth into his stomach and try to burst out through his belly. If that happened, Jang Il-so would have no choice but to hand over his life.
But...
Soon enough, they’ll learn.
That his own stomach acid was melting them as well.
“We’ll have to see who ends up wielding this thing.”
Jang Il-so’s blood-red lips parted slightly, revealing a row of stark white teeth. They were frighteningly sharp.
“Let’s go.”
“You intend to go personally?”
“Gamyeong.”
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
“A person must never forget a grudge. But neither should they forget a favor.”
Ho Gamyeong looked at Jang Il-so with a hint of curiosity.
“If someone has shown you kindness, isn’t it only natural to repay that kindness from the position of the one who received it?”
“...That is true enough. But if so—”
“Then I repay it. It may not be enough, but it must be repaid.”
Jang Il-so let out a low chuckle.
“Of course, whether they’ll like my gift is another matter entirely. Still, the point is to show the proper sincerity.”
Seeing Jang Il-so smile, Ho Gamyeong nodded.
At times, his position as strategist felt absurd.
He was second to none anywhere when it came to using his head, and he was confident he could shake anyone to their core. But there was only one person—Jang Il-so—whose thoughts he could never quite grasp.
And yet Ho Gamyeong didn’t feel uneasy about that.
Jang Il-so was Jang Il-so. He was not a being that ordinary human standards could measure.
Glancing sideways, Ho Gamyeong saw that Jang Il-so had already closed his eyes and sunk into deep thought. To avoid disturbing him, Ho Gamyeong held his breath.
With his eyes closed, Jang Il-so pressed a finger against his temple again and again.
This is only the beginning.
He had only taken a single step. There was still a long road ahead. And the road that stretched before him would remain a field of thorns for a very long time. Merely walking it would tear his flesh, and the thorns would sink into his bones.
But if he thought of what he would gain by walking that path, Jang Il-so could smile even while crossing a sea of fire, let alone a field of thorns.
The hungry never stopped moving.
And the day Jang Il-so’s relentless hunger disappeared would never come.
* * *
“They’re not fighting?”
“That appears to be the case.”
Chung Myung grabbed Im So-byeong by the collar and shook him hard.
“What the hell are you saying? If dirty unorthodox bastards and hypocritical righteous bastards are all shoved together, they should be rolling their eyes back and killing each other! Why aren’t they fighting? Why! I set the whole damn thing up for them!”
“Gak! J-just let go of me!”
“No! They should be beating the hell out of each other and dying off in the process! That’s how I get to feast!”
Hearing that evil remark, Baek Cheon sighed.
“Chung Myung...”
“What?”
“You should say things like that where other people can’t hear you.”
“Ah.”
He couldn’t quite bring himself to say that a Daoist shouldn’t be thinking such things anymore.
He’s like a poisonous snake.
Dirty unorthodox bastards and hypocritical righteous bastards, indeed. Did that bastard’s head even contain the concept of allies?
“Cough! Cough! It’s... the Surachae guys run the moment they see righteous sects! I, I mean, they turn around and run!”
“Then chase after them! Are Shaolin’s monks so useless at lightness kung fu that they can’t keep up? Where the hell is that bald monk bastard? It’s always the ones I’m looking for that vanish!”
“Lightness kung fu’s useless. They’re taking boats out onto the water—how are we supposed to follow?”
“Then take boats and chase after them!”
“...And then the water bandits will attack and smash the boats. What happens then?”
“What do you mean what happens? That’s great! The monk bastards will all fall into the water, and that day will be a festival!”
“... ...”
Im So-byeong stared at Chung Myung in utter bewilderment, then turned his helpless gaze toward Baek Cheon.
Baek Cheon couldn’t bear to meet those eyes and lowered his head.
I’m sorry.
A bandit chief who lived off robbing commoners was lecturing a direct disciple of a renowned righteous sect on character. Naturally, it made no sense at all—but this was Chung Myung, and he was the one person who could force such nonsense into silence.
“Anyway, so... no, just let go of me first. Anyway... it seems those bastards abandoned the stockade and went out onto the Yangtze.”
“They can’t keep doing that forever.”
“By now, they’re probably... yes, they have to find somewhere to lean on, so they’ll be gathering toward Black Dragon Clan.”
“Huh? Black Dragon Clan?”
Im So-byeong nodded.
“It’s like the main fortress of the Eighteen Water Bandit Crews. Only, if Green Forest Main Fortress is like a mobile mountain camp that moves from place to place, then Black Dragon Clan is where the power of the Yangtze River Water Bandit Sect is concentrated. The Black Dragon King isn’t a manager-type leader like me—he’s more like an emperor.”
“So he’s calling them there?”
“No. That’s just how bandits and water bandits are by nature. Even when you tell them to survive on their own, they gather wherever they can find some support. I’m not sure whether that means they’re asking for help or just can’t die alone.”
“...Are they crazy?”
“Bandits are all like that. Tsk tsk. Uneducated brutes.”
Baek Cheon finally closed his eyes.
You’re the bandit here, you fool.
“Anyway, that means they’re all gathering at Black Dragon Clan now?”
“That’s our best estimate.”
“Shaolin and Wudang are headed there too?”
“Wouldn’t they be?”
Chung Myung loosened his grip on Im So-byeong’s collar and nodded.
“Then let’s go! Sahyung!”
“...Why?”
“Go tell the Sect Leader quickly and get the kids ready! We’re going to Black Dragon Clan!”
“And why would we go there...?”
“Why, why? If the water bandits and righteous bastards all gather at Black Dragon Clan, then there’s gonna be one hell of a huge fight!”
“...Stop calling them righteous bastards.”
Keep saying that and we’re the ones who sound like unorthodox scum, damn it!
“If a massive battle like that’s about to break out and we just stand off to the side with our arms crossed, what are people going to say? We set the whole damn stage, and if those bastards eat it all up, I won’t be able to sleep at night! Stop dawdling and get everyone ready!”
“So you intend to join the battle?”
Baek Cheon asked with a suddenly serious face. The word battle naturally stirred his fighting spirit. But then, at that very moment—
“No.”
“...Huh?”
“We’re going there to stand around and watch. Why should we get involved when those bastards are busy killing each other?”
Fssss.
Chung Myung doused Baek Cheon’s blazing heart with a bucket of cold water.
Baek Cheon, his shoulders slumping, asked weakly, “...Didn’t you just say we shouldn’t stand off to the side?”
“That’s fine once we get there. No one’s going to see it personally anyway. It’ll be enough if people just hear that Mount Hua was there.”
“... ...”
“We can just get that beggar bastard to spread the word that we fought hard too. Or hell, we can have the water bandits do it for us. If they say they got beaten, who’s not going to believe it?”
“We can spread that for you very well ourselves. Heh heh heh heh.”
“Exactly! Heh heh heh heh!”
Watching Chung Myung and Im So-byeong laugh together like they’d been born for each other was hell in its purest form.
“Make sure to prepare some pancakes and liquor too. Drinks taste best when you’re watching someone else beat the hell out of each other!”
“... ...”
“Ehehehehe! I hope they all die! Hehehehehe!”
Baek Cheon quietly looked up at the sky. Today, of all days, it was clear and peaceful.
Primordial Heavenly Lord.
We really need your help now.
Please do something about this bastard...
Please...