Better to Die Than Fail to Obtain It (2)
The faces of those seated around the hall tightened oddly, as if they had taken a blow.
Seeing their expressions, Hong Dae-gwang was first puzzled, then suddenly realized something and gaped in shock.
Normally, when a sect shut its gates, it did not completely cut itself off from the outside world. Or rather, to be more precise, it could not.
They would have to open those locked gates again someday, so how could they simply turn their backs on everything and block their ears? That was why most sects, even while training in seclusion, quietly gathered news from the outside.
But the Mount Hua disciples in front of him all looked as though they had never heard a single thing.
These guys are the real deal. They’ve got no opening at all.
It seemed they had really holed themselves up in the mountains and trained like maniacs without caring whether the outside world lived or died.
Thinking that, he could suddenly appreciate just how incredible that weasel of a man had been. Without that weasel, wouldn’t they have been swinging swords in total ignorance even if Xi’an had been smashed to pieces?
And that, in turn, made him painfully aware of just how hopeless Mount Hua was as a sect.
“Anyway, so,”
Hong Dae-gwang scratched his head hard.
“Jiangnan Unification ended a while ago, and right now even the Sapa factions that were in the north are crossing the Yangtze and gathering under the banner of the Four Hegemons Alliance.”
Hyun Jong’s expression grew grave.
The weight carried by the word “gathering” made him draw in a quiet breath.
“So it has come to that after all.”
It had been expected. But confirming that expectation had come true was hardly pleasant.
“Then should we consider the Four Hegemons Alliance stabilized now?”
At Jo Gul’s question, Hong Dae-gwang scratched his head again.
“Well. I’m not sure how to answer that.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
Hong Dae-gwang let out a faint groan, choosing his words carefully before speaking.
“This is a more complicated matter than it looks. Outwardly, the Four Hegemons Alliance has achieved total unification. There’s no longer any force in Jiangnan resisting them, and even the Sapa factions in the north are acknowledging the alliance as the representative power of the Central Plains’ evil sects and coming under its command, aren’t they?”
“That’s true.”
“The problem is what comes next.”
“What?”
When Jo Gul tilted his head in confusion, Chung Myung asked lazily, “What do you do when the hunt’s over?”
“Cut the dog loose? Boil the dog?”
Chung Myung’s eyes went wide as he stared at Jo Gul.
“What the hell are you talking about? If the hunt’s over, you divide the spoils. Why the hell would you boil a perfectly good dog? Are you insane? Have you no pity?”
“…….”
Jo Gul stared blankly at Chung Myung, then looked around at his fellow disciples. Immediately, a torrent of heartwarming advice came pouring down on him.
“Bad guy.”
“Disgusting.”
“A total degenerate.”
“…….”
In an instant, Jo Gul had become irredeemable trash. He leaned his forehead against the wall with a gloomy face, mumbling to himself, but Chung Myung ignored him and went on.
“Now that they’ve grown the body big enough, they’ll want to start carving it up. No one knows for sure, but the leaders of the Five Hegemons of the Jianghu aren’t the type to just bow their heads obediently under Jang Il-so.”
“That’s what the Beggars’ Sect thinks too.”
Hong Dae-gwang nodded, agreeing with Chung Myung.
“They’ve been too quiet. It’s strange, really. They’re not the kind of people who’d stay so compliant. No matter how much the alliance leader is Jang Il-so, this is still too much.”
Then Baek Cheon asked, looking genuinely puzzled, “May I ask one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“If that’s how you see it, then isn’t it strange that a problem is breaking out now?”
“Hm? And what do you mean by that?”
Baek Cheon looked at Hong Dae-gwang and spoke clearly. “Now that the Four Hegemons Alliance has unified Jiangnan, war with the Nine Sects in the north is inevitable.”
“Yes.”
“Then wouldn’t it be difficult to spark internal conflict before that war? Even if they have ulterior motives, wouldn’t it be more reasonable to cause trouble after taking control of the north? If they stir up infighting now and suffer a defeat, everything would be lost.”
Hong Dae-gwang nodded hard, as if that were exactly right.
“You’ve got a sharp head on you.”
“……You flatter me.”
“He’s right. That would be the reasonable course. Unless you take one factor into account.”
“One factor?”
“The Tyrant Lord.”
“…….”
Thinking of Jang Il-so made Baek Cheon’s face stiffen on instinct.
“Over the past three years, the Tyrant Lord has built his position as the alliance leader perfectly. The forces now flocking beneath the Four Hegemons Alliance, if you think about it carefully, are practically submitting at Jang Il-so’s feet.”
“You mean he’s become strong enough to crush the other factions of the Five Hegemons?”
“If that were all, then infighting wouldn’t even be possible. But think about it. If a great war were to break out, one that decides the fate of the north and south, and Jang Il-so were to lead the Four Hegemons Alliance to victory as its leader?”
“Ah….”
Baek Cheon nodded as he understood.
In that case, it would truly become impossible to ever challenge Jang Il-so’s authority again.
“I understand. So if there’s a problem now, then rather….”
“Right. It means now.”
Hong Dae-gwang muttered with a hard face.
“This is what people mean by the calm before the storm. It wouldn’t be strange if war broke out tomorrow, and it wouldn’t be strange no matter where that war begins.”
Hyun Jong, who had been listening quietly, let out a low groan and asked, “What of the Nine Sects? They cannot be unaware of this.”
“Of course the leadership of the Nine Sects knows. But right now, they’re barely holding themselves together just dealing with the chaos. Especially Henan—just covering for the absence of Mount Wudang and the Namgung Family is already….”
“Henan?”
“…….”
Hong Dae-gwang shut his mouth and slowly turned his head.
That voice carried a familiarity that immediately filled him with dread. And, sure enough, Chung Myung was staring at him with round eyes.
“Where?”
“……Did I say something wrong?”
“No. Where did you say?”
“Henan, I said.”
“Ah, Henan?”
Chung Myung smiled brightly.
“Shaolin is in Henan?”
“O-of course Shaolin is in Henan. Mount Song is in Henan….”
“Not on the Yangtze?”
“…….”
Hong Dae-gwang closed his mouth.
In truth, guarding the bend of the Yangtze River—the place where the Sapa factions might burst through at any moment—was the responsibility of the orthodox factions. The entire disaster of the Yangtze River Tragedy and the treaty of the Yangtze River’s Impregnability had happened because of Mount Wudang’s useless meddling, after all.
But now the orthodox factions had pleaded lack of manpower and pulled out of the Yangtze entirely, leaving the poor Tang Family to slog through the misery of managing the river.
And now that Chung Myung had jabbed right into that sore spot, Hong Dae-gwang, despite being from the Beggars’ Sect and thus one of the Nine Sects, couldn’t help but feel his face burn.
“W-well, right. For now, they’re in Henan….”
As Hong Dae-gwang tried desperately to wriggle out of the situation, he clearly saw Chung Myung’s neck tilt sharply to the side.
“In Henan.”
“……Yeah. Right. In Henan….”
“And yet they just sat there licking their fingers while those Sapa bastards stormed in here?”
“…….”
Hong Dae-gwang shut his mouth.
It felt as if a racing cart had suddenly swerved sideways and smashed straight past him.
“So not some far-off place on the Yangtze, but right in the next county over, and even then they just stood around reciting sutras while the Sapa bastards burned Shaanxi, tore it apart, ground it down, and tried to farm it with the remains?”
“W-well… Shaolin was badly short on manpower too….”
“And those freeloading beggar bastards were just rolling around in Hubei, begging and collapsing all day too?”
“…….”
“Haa….”
“Hahaha….”
“Hahaha.”
Chung Myung smiled broadly. But it was not the smile of someone amused. The blue veins on his forehead were already bulging vividly.
“Has that bald monk gone crazy?”
Chung Myung shot to his feet.
Sensing trouble, the Five Swords lunged like lightning and seized him.
“W-where do you think you’re going!”
“Where else? To Shaolin, obviously!”
“What are you going to do at Shaolin?”
“You even have to ask? You damn bald monk! No matter what excuse they make, how the hell do they play games with people’s lives? If Avalokiteshvara herself had seen this, she’d have smashed their heads with the lotus she was holding right then and there! Since Guanyin can’t do it personally, I’ll do it for her!”
“N-no, even so, he’s the Shaolin Abbot, and that’s a bit too….”
“What abbot? Are Shaolin abbots born with iron helmets on their heads? Hit them and they break just the same!”
“You little bastard! Calm down!”
It was just then, as Baek Cheon bellowed and held Chung Myung back, that a furious voice rang out.
“Th-this… outrageous beyond belief!”
At the sudden outburst, the Five Swords all slowly turned their heads. A figure stood there trembling with rage, his face twisted with fury.
Of course, there was more than enough reason to be angry. If Hong Dae-gwang’s explanation was true, then Shaolin had clearly ignored Shaanxi.
No matter how short-handed they were, if Shaolin had moved, there was no way Gal Cheon-lip could have reached Shaanxi.
So yes, this was something to rage over. Something for which no amount of swearing would be unjustified.
That is, if the person hurling the abuse hadn’t also had a dazzlingly shiny head.
“So you’re saying Shaolin didn’t send aid to Shaanxi? What kind of insane nonsense is that!”
“……W-well, monk…? Insane nonsense? Still, he’s the abbot.”
And you’re a member of Shaolin too.
You’ve been wearing Mount Hua robes for so long that you seem to be a little confused and mistaken….
But Hye Yeon’s face was overflowing with fury. His usually gentle features, never prone to anger, were twisted into something miserable.
“How can a temple that should save all sentient beings turn its back on suffering common folk! This is a grave mistake indeed! I will speak to the abbot at once….”
“Enough, you bastard!”
In that instant, Chung Myung broke free of the Five Swords and rushed at Hye Yeon, launching a kick.
He sent Hye Yeon flying like a ball, smashing him into the wall before stomping down on him mercilessly.
“So you’re pretending you’ve got no responsibility here, huh? Hey, you bastard! You’re from Shaolin, aren’t you?”
“Ack! Aah! Benefactor! I haven’t set foot in Shaolin for years…! Aagh!”
Hye Yeon desperately tried to defend himself, but if Chung Myung were the kind of person who listened to reason, he wouldn’t be Chung Myung.
“Once Shaolin, always Shaolin, you bastard! And you did talk a load of crap back at the martial arts tournament, didn’t you? You called us heretical, remember? Heretical? Say it again, you bastard! Come on, say it! Heretical?”
“Aagh! How long ago was that! Agh!”
Watching Chung Myung enthusiastically beat up Hye Yeon, everyone shivered.
That vicious bastard.
He still remembers that?
He’s relentless.
“Those bald monk bastards, honestly!”
Even after taking out his frustration on Hye Yeon, Chung Myung panted for a long while before rolling up his sleeves and starting toward Hong Dae-gwang.
Hong Dae-gwang’s face turned pale blue.
Am I going to get hit too?
Even if he was from the Beggars’ Sect, if he could beat up someone who’d merely been away from Shaolin for a few years like this, there was no reason he couldn’t immediately beat the hell out of a Beggars’ Sect man standing right in front of him.
But fortunately, Chung Myung seemed to have no intention of beating him up as well, and instead plopped down in front of him.
“They’re all over the place, doing all kinds of stupid crap.”
The sound of his teeth grinding rang clearly.
The Four Hegemons Alliance was running wild as it pleased, while the orthodox sect bastards were rolling their eyes and dithering even now.
“I never expected anything from them in the first place. Idiots.”
When Chung Myung’s blade-sharp glare swept over him, Hong Dae-gwang flinched.
“So where exactly is the Tang Family right now?”
“The Tang F-Family is currently defending the Yangtze….”
“……The Yangtze?”
“…….”
Hong Dae-gwang clicked his tongue as if he had nothing to say, and Chung Myung snorted.
“It’s a complete mess. A total mess.”
Just as it seemed the heat on Chung Myung’s face was about to rise further, Hyun Jong spoke.
“For now.”
“…….”
At Hyun Jong’s words, Chung Myung swallowed his curses, forced himself to calm down, and let out a rough breath.
“Let us go and see Clan Leader Tang first. And we should inform the sects of the Heavenly Alliance out beyond the frontiers that Mount Hua has broken its seclusion and returned.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
Hyun Jong let out a very small sigh and said, “The situation is not in the least bit easy. But then again, is that not exactly why we endured such long years of training?”
“Indeed.”
“Let us correct things one by one. Mount Hua now has the strength to do it.”
“Tsk.”
Chung Myung nodded, looking a little uneasy but clearly accepting it. Hyun Jong smiled gently.
Now, it was time to set everything that had gone wrong back in its proper place.