Go Ahead and Try to Swallow This, Then. (1)
As soon as it seemed the decision had been made, Im So-byeong finally opened his mouth.
“There’s no need to think about it so seriously.”
“Hm?”
When Chung Myung asked back, Im So-byeong wore a wicked smile.
“A person may feel gratitude when helped once, but if you help them ten times, they start to take it for granted. And then they boldly begin expecting an eleventh favor.”
“……”
“And if they don’t get that eleventh favor, they criticize you and curse your ancestors.”
“……What do you take people for?”
“What else? It’s only natural. Isn’t that how everyone is?”
Im So-byeong looked around as if asking for agreement. What he met instead were only cold, condemning stares.
“So you really can’t hide your background.”
“As expected of a bandit.”
“……The Orthodox Faction really is the Orthodox Faction.”
Im So-byeong’s eyes twitched.
“A-am I the only one? Just me? Am I really the only piece of trash here?”
“Yes.”
“Huh.”
“Seems like it.”
Im So-byeong’s head dropped like a stone.
They could faintly hear him muttering, “Damn those Taoist bastards. I really can’t get along with them. They act more like bandits themselves, but when it matters they have to be like this….” But Mount Hua’s disciples ignored it with the clean efficiency of people who had suddenly gone deaf.
“Anyway, so?”
“Ahem.”
Im So-byeong cleared his throat and spoke again.
“The important thing is the method, the method! We don’t just back off; we declare our intention properly and then withdraw.”
“……Declare?”
“Yes. What happens if we don’t give that eleventh favor?”
“They curse us, didn’t you say?”
“Exactly! If we don’t help them, they curse us. But what if we change the approach? What if, from now on, we boldly declare that we will not be helping you, and then step away?”
“……Wouldn’t they curse us all the same?”
“Heh-heh-heh. You’re thinking too small. Wrong!”
“Then what?”
Im So-byeong answered with a broad grin.
“They curse us even more. They’ll try to kill us over it, in fact….”
“Hey, you bastard!”
Bang!
Chung Myung shot through the air and drove a kick straight into Im So-byeong’s chest. As Im So-byeong let out a strangled scream and flew backward, the Five Swords and Tang Gun-ak hurriedly moved to restrain Chung Myung before he could tear the Green Forest King apart.
Chung Myung, eyes gone wild, snarled like a guard dog that had spotted a thief.
“No, I’m just pissed off! Are you running a protest here just to make people mad? A protest? Want me to show you how hard a bandit’s skull is?”
“C-calm down, Chung Myung!”
“He’s the Green Forest King! You can’t just kick him!”
“Now, now, Chung Myung. He may be from the Evil Faction, but he does have a position. You must show him proper respect.”
But the Green Forest King was still the Green Forest King. Kicked flat, Im So-byeong sprang up like a coil and staggered back to his feet.
“Oh?”
Just then, as Mount Hua’s disciples nodded as if to say, as expected of the Green Forest King—
“L-let a man finish speaking… cough! Cough! Khhk… Why am I suddenly coughing… cough!”
Shuddering violently as he coughed, Im So-byeong suddenly spewed a spray of bright red blood from his mouth.
“Mother of—!”
“Eek?”
After everyone’s horrified cries, silence fell over the room.
Im So-byeong stared blankly at the blood soaking the front of his robe. Then he lifted his eyes weakly toward Chung Myung. Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
“What are you, some kind of glass-house fish? You get kicked once and start spitting blood?”
Is he even human?
He’s a demon.
How is something like that even allowed to exist in this world? Jang Il-so would be kinder than him. Jang Il-so!
“……Are you all right, Green Forest King?”
At Tang Gun-ak’s question, Im So-byeong nodded weakly.
“……Yes, don’t worry. I’m fine… cough! Cough!”
“……”
“More importantly… let a man finish talking. Finish talking….”
Chung Myung tilted his head, deadpan.
“Fine. Go on, then.”
“Where was I…? That… cough. Anyway, they’ll resent us. But, cough! We just have to make sure they know the ones they should resent aren’t us.”
“……So we point the arrow at the Nine Sects?”
“Ahem. That’s an odd way to put it. Why would you say… cough! Cough! Ahem! ‘point the arrow’ when that’s exactly how it should be done in the first place?”
Im So-byeong grinned.
His face was smeared with blood, and the sight of him smiling brightly was less triumphant than downright creepy, but no one dared say it aloud.
“This actually works out better. Thanks to Mount Hua reopening its gates in Shaanxi and holding Xi’an, we now have leverage on our side.”
“Leverage?”
“Yes. What better justification is there than returning to defend one’s own territory? The Evil Faction has already spread its claws through Hubei and Henan and even into Shaanxi and Sichuan, so all we have to say is that we’re going back to our ancestral home to protect what is ours.”
“……”
Chung Myung looked at Im So-byeong with a face that said, Oh?
“Once that happens, the direction of the resentment changes. We’re not leaving because it’s hard or troublesome; we’re leaving to defend the place. Then who will the people look at?”
“Who?”
“Tsk, tsk. Not at the people traveling far to protect other common folk, of course, but at those Taoist bastards who’ve locked their gates and gone to live like immortals. Everyone else is suffering like dogs, and they’re hiding behind closed doors, not showing their faces—those carefree Taoists… no, put that fist down. The fist. Cough! Cough! Look, blood, blood!”
Im So-byeong hurriedly thrust out the bloodstained front of his robe, and Chung Myung reluctantly lowered the fist he had half-clenched. But the look in his eyes was still as irritated as ever.
Swish.
Im So-byeong snapped open his fan, now damp with blood.
“All we have to do is remind the world that, in the past, each region was defended by its own sect. Sichuan was Tang Family territory, Shaanxi was Mount Hua’s, and Hubei was Wudang’s. Once that’s established, people will naturally be reminded that the Tang Family left its own territory and came all the way out here to do something it didn’t need to do in the first place.”
Hyun Young nodded as if he liked the sound of it.
“I see. So that’s the sort of method. It’s much better than simply pulling out.”
But Baek Cheon seemed to think a little differently.
“Still, if the true members of the Evil Faction aren’t actually targeting Sichuan, isn’t that a bit like covering your eyes and pretending not to see?”
“Hoho. What are you talking about, Baek Cheon Dojang? Sichuan is already being infiltrated by the Evil Faction.”
“What?”
Baek Cheon’s eyes widened in shock. But Tang Gun-ak was even more startled, and he hurriedly asked Im So-byeong,
“Is that true?”
“Yes. I don’t know their exact identities either, but there are definitely Evil Faction bastards hiding all over Sichuan’s mountains, threatening the lives of anyone passing through.”
Evil Faction bastards hiding in the mountains and threatening travelers…?
Er… so what do you usually call people like that?
“……Bandits?”
“Aha!”
Im So-byeong waved his fan.
“They’re unidentified Evil Faction members. Unidentified Evil Faction members! Anyway, those bastards are going to cause trouble at just the right time. To a degree that won’t result in actual deaths, of course—at the most convenient possible moment! Very conveniently, in fact!”
Baek Cheon’s jaw dropped.
So the Green Forest would disguise themselves as the southern branch of the Evil Faction and deliberately cause trouble in Sichuan, giving the Tang Family a reason to withdraw?
“No, who on earth would be fooled by that? The distinction is obvious….”
“They won’t go.”
“They won’t go.”
“……Yes. They won’t go. Right.”
If bandits are in the mountains, they’re bandits. If they’re on the river, they’re river bandits. If they’re on the plains, they’re horse bandits.
It wasn’t as if they wore a sign on their faces that said BANDIT. If you just changed their clothes, how was anyone supposed to know where those Evil Faction bastards came from?
“That does make sense….”
Tang Gun-ak nodded as if conceding the point.
If even a small rumor spread properly that the Evil Faction had stirred up trouble in Sichuan, no one would be able to blame the Tang Family for returning home.
After all, wasn’t this the Sichuan Tang Family? If the Sichuan Tang Family said they were going back to protect Sichuan, who in the world could tell them to ignore their homeland and keep protecting everyone else instead?
Everyone was left staring blankly in understanding, and Im So-byeong beamed with satisfaction.
“Heh-heh-heh. You seem to get it. Do you know what this is called?”
“A conspiracy.”
“Underhandedness.”
“Filth.”
“It’s a pla— a scheme! A strategy! A brilliant plan! Not filth, you damn Taoists!”
The lonely, bloodstained cry of a bandit, as always, never reached the ears of the Taoists.
Only Chung Myung looked at Im So-byeong with something like admiration.
“You were useless enough that I got a lot of flak for keeping a half-dead bastard around. Turns out you’re good for something after all.”
“Useless? I nearly broke my back making money at Maehwado!”
“You probably broke your wrist stealing it.”
“……If I’d known this would happen, I really should’ve just stolen it.”
“Then it wouldn’t be your wrist that broke—it’d be your neck.”
“……”
Chung Myung had also thought about spreading the rumor through Beggars’ Sect or the Green Forest to soften the blow and blur the question of responsibility, but he had never imagined the idea of disguising themselves as Evil Faction members in Sichuan and causing trouble directly.
“So the Evil Faction really is the Evil Faction. The level of your plotting is on another scale. Is that because of the kind of work you people do?”
“……I said it was a brilliant plan.”
“Tsk, tsk. Water is the same water, but if an ox drinks it, it becomes milk, and if a snake drinks it, it becomes poison. The same scheme, too—if it comes from an Orthodox head, it’s a clever plan; if it comes from an Evil Faction head, it’s a conspiracy.”
“N-no, but….”
“If you’re upset, why don’t you just become Orthodox? Who told you to be a bandit?”
“……”
Im So-byeong shut his mouth, feeling his vision go hazy at the edges.
Baek Cheon leaned in and quietly whispered to Chung Myung.
“But… isn’t that a bit much?”
“What’s too much about it? Is there even a single coin left over after pretending to be some frozen-to-death Orthodox idiot? If we can grab anything at all, we should.”
“……”
It was true enough, but still….
At that moment, Tang Gun-ak, who had decided that if this went on Chung Myung would verbally beat Im So-byeong into the ground below ground, hastily brought the conversation back under control.
“If that can be arranged, then we’ll have a reason for the Tang Family to withdraw from the Yangtze. But I’m still troubled by the common people who will continue suffering there.”
At that, Chung Myung answered.
“Don’t worry. There’s a way to handle that too.”
“Hm? A way?”
“Even if Wuhan can’t be helped, among the people living along the Yangtze River, there’ll be some who would move to Sichuan if they were given enough support.”
Tang Gun-ak looked at him in surprise.
“To Sichuan?”
“Yes.”
Chung Myung nodded lightly.
“We should at least give them the option. If they move to Sichuan, the Tang Family can support them, and Mount Hua can too. We’ve got more than enough money after the last three years.”
This time, Im So-byeong slapped his palm against the fan in admiration.
“Indeed, money is overflowing. And even if we offer the chance, there won’t actually be many who move their homes, so it won’t cost much at all. Heh-heh-heh. To have planned all that while making it look generous—truly, it could make even a devil weep….”
“That bastard keeps getting worse and worse!”
“Hold it in, Chung Myung!”
“If you hit him again, he’ll die!”
After a brief bout of bickering, Chung Myung finally calmed down and spoke.
“That way, you’ll be able to rest easy.”
“Hmm.”
Tang Gun-ak looked at Hyun Jong as if asking for permission. Hyun Jong smiled gently and nodded.
“If the Family Head is thinking of the common people in such a way, how could one who walks the path of the Dao cling to mere wealth?”
“……You do cling to it, though.”
“He should be clinging to it, then.”
“We were poor, Sect Leader.”
“Y-you little—be quiet, all of you! We have an outsider here!”
Hyun Jong’s face reddened as he snapped at them, then he coughed loudly and resumed his dignified manner.
“So please do as you wish.”
“……Thank you, Alliance Leader.”
When Tang Gun-ak nodded, Im So-byeong smiled faintly.
“Then we’ll withdraw from Maehwado in step with the Tang Family.”
“Hm? Why Maehwado?”
“……Because Maehwado is farther out than the Tang Family’s position. If war breaks out, we’ll be the first to die.”
“Well, yes, but….”
Chung Myung scratched his ear with obvious indifference.
“It is a little annoying to leave before we’ve made all the money we can… maybe we should stay a bit longer?”
“……You’re the one who said people’s lives come first.”
“Exactly. But….”
Chung Myung blew on the finger he’d used to dig at his ear.
“Do bandits even count as people these days? They didn’t when I was young.”
For a moment, Im So-byeong was left speechless, looking at Chung Myung as if to say, Is this guy really human? But Chung Myung still looked thoroughly displeased.
“Anyway, if they’re just going to stay alive and not do much for the world, wouldn’t it be better to make a little more money instead?”
“We’ll withdraw!”
“Don’t rush into it.”
“Money aside, shouldn’t we at least stay alive first?”
“Honestly, these days’ people don’t know how precious money is. Tsk, tsk. That wasn’t how it was in my day.”
In your day, was the world only inhabited by demons?
“Ahem. I think that would be the right call, Green Forest King.”
“Thank you, Alliance Leader.”
Until now, Im So-byeong had believed that the true de facto leader of the Heavenly Alliance was none other than Chung Myung. But at this moment, he gave silent thanks to the heavens that it was Hyun Jong—not Chung Myung—sitting in the seat of the Alliance Leader.
If that fiend had been the Heavenly Alliance Leader, the world… no, maybe not the whole world, but the Green Forest would definitely have gone up in flames.
With the matter more or less settled, Chung Myung began to grin.
“We’ve laid the board out. That bastard should start moving soon.”
“……Laid the board out?”
“No, nothing. Just saying. Heh-heh-heh-heh.”
Seeing him laugh with the happiest face in the world without explaining a thing, everyone shuddered with creeping unease.
So you idiots think you can try to fuck us over, do you? Beop Jeong, you bastard!
The corners of Chung Myung’s mouth twisted slowly upward.
“I’ve been away for three years. Looks like he forgot who I am.”
“……”
“Go ahead and try to swallow this, then. Heh-heh-heh-heh! Hya-hahaha! Hya-hahahahahaha!”
“……”
At last, watching Chung Myung collapse into laughter by himself, Jo Gul quietly asked Baek Cheon,
“……What the hell is wrong with that bastard now?”
“What do you think? He’s probably cooking up some scheme again.”
Same water, what? If an ox drinks it, milk; if a snake drinks it, poison?
Then that bastard’s a snake. A vicious one at that.
The great evil dragon’s sinister gaze turned south.
Far, far south, toward the Yangtze River, where chaos that would shake the world was about to take root.