A Feral Scramble (3)
News that the Water Bandit Sect had seized Maehwado and finally set foot in Jiangbei swept across the world in an instant.
What spread at the center of that rumor was not Maehwado, but the word Jiangbei itself.
For those who lived along the Yangtze River and the merchant houses of the Central Plains, the name Maehwado carried tremendous weight. But to the people of Jiangbei, who had little reason to leave the land where they were born and die, it was still an unfamiliar place.
“You’re saying those Water Bandit bastards have entered Jiangbei?”
“So they say! They’ve occupied the cities in the Yangtze and are acting as if the whole place belongs to them!”
“H-how can such a thing happen? Weren’t they supposed to stay on their own side of the river for three years? There should still be a little time left before those three years are up, shouldn’t there?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. What nonsense. Was that ever a mutual noninvasion pact? It was a noninvasion pact for Jiangnan! The righteous sects of Jiangbei can’t cross the river, but the Four Hegemons Alliance in Jiangnan can cross it whenever they please.”
“Hah…….”
And that crisis was enough to remind the world just how one-sided the old treaty had been, the one the Wudang Sect had once stood at the center of and signed with Saperyeon.
“So? They’re just standing there and watching?”
“As if! That treaty only said they wouldn’t invade Jiangnan. It didn’t mean they couldn’t lay a hand on those who came over to Jiangbei, did it?”
“Exactly! Of course that’s how it should be!”
“No matter how much the Nine Sects and One Gang have been humiliated, they’re still the Nine Sects and One Gang, and the Five Great Families! To be blunt, if they had avoided battle in the Yangtze from the start, would they really have suffered at the hands of those evil scum?”
“Right! And besides, it wasn’t even a defeat! It was just an agreement, wasn’t it?”
Some people had the words rising all the way to their throats—that the process and terms of that agreement were no different from defeat. But in the end, they swallowed them back down without speaking.
The mood simply wasn’t right for pointing out the truth.
“Anyway, this is Jiangbei. Even if the Nine Sects and One Gang are being treated these days like tigers with their teeth knocked out, a tiger is still a tiger, isn’t it? Would they just leave a wolf that wandered into their territory alone? They’ll try to tear it apart somehow.”
“Exactly! Of course they will! How dare those Four Hegemons Alliance bastards set foot in Jiangbei?”
Even those who had once joined the chorus of condemnation against the Nine Sects and One Gang for abandoning the righteous faction’s pride in the Yangtze now rose to defend them.
The Water Bandit Sect—Saperyeon’s advance into Jiangbei—was that terrifying a piece of news. No matter what shame the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Families had brought upon themselves, they could never be compared to those Sapa monsters.
“A beast is always more dangerous when it’s wounded, you know. Those Nine Sects and One Gang, those Five Great Families—weren’t they all just waiting these past three years for a chance to take revenge on Saperyeon?”
“Of course. Of course they were. That Jiangnan noninvasion treaty kept them tied up until now. If not for that, they’d already have marched into Jiangnan and taken Jang Il-so’s head!”
“Tsk, I don’t understand it. Why should some treaty matter that much? They could’ve just ignored it and attacked Saperyeon. Nobody would have blamed them.”
“Hey now, that’s enough! If you can’t keep the word that came out of your own mouth, how can you call yourself righteous? How is that any different from those shameless Sapa bastards?”
“I’m just saying, that’s all. Just saying.”
“Anyway, the Nine Sects and One Gang, and the Five Great Families, will absolutely not sit still. Absolutely!”
Everyone believed it. The Nine Sects and One Gang, and the Five Great Families who had been humiliated by Saperyeon and had their pride crushed, would naturally take revenge this time.
Even after showing such disappointing behavior, they still had the lingering trust of being the great sects and noble families that had once been everyone’s pride.
And there was also the fear that if those great sects failed to stop Saperyeon, life itself might be turned into hell.
So everyone north of the Yangtze wished for the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Families to step forward once more and set this chaos right…….
But things did not unfold the way they wanted.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A cold chill settled over Beop Jeong’s face.
“……What did you say?”
Beop Gye couldn’t bear to meet his eyes and bowed his head deeply. It wasn’t as if he himself had done anything wrong, and yet he still felt strangely guilty and ashamed.
Forcing open his lips, which seemed unwilling to move, Beop Gye spoke again in a weak voice.
“The replies have come in…… but very few sects say they will come to Shaolin.”
“Very few?”
“……Yes.”
Beop Jeong fell silent for a moment. Only the steady sound of the prayer beads rolling in his hand could be heard.
“Which sects refused?”
“Th-that…….”
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Beop Gye’s forehead.
“First, the Beggars’ Sect said they would attend.”
“…….”
“And…… the Kongtong Sect is also on its way to Shaolin. Kunlun said they would come as well, but…….”
“Kunlun is so far away that they won’t be able to arrive in time anyway.”
“That’s what I thought too.”
Kunlun Mountain, where the Kunlun Sect was based, lay on the border between Qinghai and Xinjiang. Even from Henan, the distance was an enormous seven thousand li. It was farther than the sects known as the Outer Four Palaces.
For that reason, Kunlun had long occupied the awkward position of being both one of the Nine Sects and one that was subtly left out.
“As for the South Sea Sect, as you know…….”
“I know. They won’t be able to come.”
Beop Gye nodded.
The South Sea Sect had become the most vulnerable of all now that Saperyeon ruled Jiangnan. Based on Hainan Island in the South Sea, they were currently unable to set even one foot inland.
“So…….”
As he listened to Beop Gye’s halting words, Beop Jeong’s face finally twisted.
“The Nine Sects and One Gang are not just those few! Stop dragging this out and answer properly!”
At his bark, Beop Gye jerked in alarm and quickly nodded.
“Yes, Abbot! The Pointing Cudgel Sect, Emei, and Mount Qingcheng all sent word that they would have difficulty coming to Henan.”
“……And why?”
“Th-they said…… if Saperyeon gathers to push into Jiangbei, Sichuan would become an empty territory…….”
Crack.
The prayer beads, which had been making only a regular tapping sound, were suddenly clenched tight and gave off a harsh scrape.
It wasn’t an unreasonable statement.
But what Beop Jeong had asked for in the first place was not those sects’ march north. It was a conversation with their sect leaders. What sort of law was it to refuse a dialogue on the grounds of something that had not even been discussed yet?
“And?”
“……There was no answer from the sects in seclusion.”
“Not even Wudang?”
“……Yes.”
Beop Jeong said nothing and looked up at the sky. He stared for a long while at the cloudless blue above, then let out a sigh and murmured in a self-mocking voice,
“The Nine Sects and One Gang should properly be called ten sects.”
“…….”
“And yet in this urgent situation, only three sects are willing to discuss matters. Only three…….”
“Abbot…….”
Seeing him unable to hide his emptiness, Beop Gye clenched his fist before he knew it.
The Zhongnan Sect could be understood.
They had entered seclusion before this crisis erupted and had maintained that stance all along. To speak plainly, they were not responsible for any of this.
Hainan could be understood too. Given their location, they likely had no choice either.
But the others were different.
Even Wudang, in seclusion, and the three sects of Sichuan bore responsibility for this matter. Especially Wudang and Mount Qingcheng, who had taken part in the war on the Yangtze, should not have been able to ignore such a plea.
That left only the Kongtong Sect, the Beggars’ Sect, and the Kunlun Sect too far away to be of any real use.
“And the Five Great Families?”
“……The Hebei Peng Family sent word that they would come to Shaolin. But the Namgung Family has still given no reply…….”
“…….”
“The Zhuge Family gave a somewhat positive answer, saying they would come to Shaolin depending on the situation…… but the Moyong Family likewise sent no reply.”
Beop Jeong shook his head.
Of the Five Great Families, the Tang Family was missing, leaving only four. Among them, only the Hebei Peng Family had clearly stated their intention to participate. The Zhuge Family’s “depending on the situation” could not be taken at face value. They were the most cautious family in the world.
“Beop Gye.”
“……Yes, Abbot.”
“I will not say that I am entirely without fault.”
“A-abbot.”
Beop Jeong spoke with a face as rigid as ice.
“As Shaolin’s Abbot, I surely bear grave fault as well. But…… what kind of situation is this? Do none of you truly understand what could happen if the Water Bandit Sect sets foot in Jiangbei?”
Of course they understood.
Anyone who couldn’t anticipate even that much was unfit to be the leader of a great sect. Absolutely unfit.
“And yet, in the midst of this, they choose to look after only their own interests! In the midst of this!”
That was what enraged Beop Jeong the most.
The sects that had agreed to participate were either directly connected to Jiangbei or too far away to influence the outcome regardless.
Those close enough to stand beside the firestorm that would break out in Jiangbei were all watching the situation, weighing their options, and pulling their heads in.
“And how can they still dare speak of righteousness? How can they!”
Beop Jeong suddenly cut himself off. It was as though he had been about to say something he could not bring himself to speak aloud.
For a long time, his shoulders heaved as if he could not settle his emotions. Then he bit his lip hard and said,
“Beop Gye.”
“……Yes, Abbot.”
“Tell me. Do you think their conduct can be forgiven?”
“……Abbot.”
“Their opponent is Sapa, is it not? How can they speak of preserving their own interests in a situation like this?”
Beop Gye hesitated, then bowed his head.
The answer he needed to give was too humiliating and guilt-ridden to say aloud on his own.
“Abbot…….”
“Speak.”
“The thing that should not have been broken…… we were the first to break it, weren’t we?”
“…….”
Without being able to bear Beop Jeong’s gaze, Beop Gye squeezed his eyes shut and continued,
“It was…… my doing. I should have…… at the very least been prepared to die there…….”
Beop Jeong fell silent.
Because he realized he had spoken in anger words he should never have said.
“I too put the safety of my disciples and Shaolin above what I should have done. By what right, then, could I possibly condemn them?”
“That is……!”
Beop Jeong started to object, then shook his head.
He knew well that no words could comfort Beop Gye, and no words could wash away the stain.
“Even so, wasn’t it far too short-sighted? Once Jiangbei burns, who comes next? The answer is obvious, isn’t it? Amitabha. Amitabha…….”
But the end of Beop Jeong’s heated rebuke soon blurred away.
He knew that the power behind his own words was fading.
Beop Gye glanced at him and spoke carefully.
“Abbot. If it had only been the Yangtze crisis, there would surely have been many more sects willing to say we should deal with Sapa first. But…….”
“……What are you saying?”
“You know, don’t you…… the matter of Mount Hua.”
At the mention of Mount Hua, Beop Jeong’s face visibly stiffened.
Beop Gye continued in a self-mocking tone.
“No one wants to be the one standing in front. They’ve all realized by now what the price is for staking one’s life on the alliance and on the Central Plains, haven’t they?”
For a moment, emptiness crossed Beop Jeong’s face.
“Heh…… heh.”
What finally escaped his lips was a bitter laugh. After laughing like that for a short while, he said quietly,
“……A primordial sin.”
The words landed with heavy force. Beop Gye looked at Beop Jeong with worry.
“……Abbot.”
“Yes, you’re right. Who can we blame……?”
It was something that should never have been done.
Something that should not have been done.
That act had left deep scars not only on Mount Hua, but on the Nine Sects and One Gang, and the Five Great Families as well. And those wounds had continued ever since, making everyone groan under their weight.
Neither Wudang nor Shaolin had escaped that ghost.
They had seen with their own eyes what came from discussing cooperation and standing at the very front of the battle: destruction and abandonment.
Perhaps the true cause of the Yangtze tragedy had been there all along.
“……Send word to the Heavenly Alliance.”
“A-abbot?”
“We have to hope. Even if it’s shameful and guilt-ridden.”
Beop Gye nodded at once. He understood that adding anything here would only make Beop Jeong suffer more.
“I will do so.”
As Beop Gye carefully withdrew, a deep regret settled over Beop Jeong’s face.
How did they endure it……?
With his eyes closed, a faint Buddhist chant slipped from his lips.
How did they bear such a painful time……?
The name of Mount Hua throbbed in his chest like a branding iron seared into the flesh.