Were You Hoping for Something? (1)
“Bangjang.”
Beop Jeong did not answer the call. There had once been a time when he wore a gentle smile as a matter of course, but now he kept his silence with a face so cold it was as if he had forgotten how to smile altogether.
And how could he not?
He had left with grand promises, only to return from Mount Hua with nothing to show for it. For him, there could scarcely have been a greater humiliation.
He could not even bring himself to face the people at Shaolin who had been waiting for his return.
“Namgung has been surrounded.”
The news he heard in the midst of all that left Beop Jeong utterly speechless.
No—perhaps dumbstruck was the more accurate word. His mind had gone completely blank in an instant.
Of every possible outcome he had imagined, the worst one had now been thrust before him.
“Tsk.”
Ja O-gae clicked his tongue as he watched Beop Jeong.
It was hardly an act of malice, just one of those habitual sounds people made, but that brief click twisted painfully through Beop Jeong’s chest.
“It would have been better not to waste time and gone straight to the Yangtze.”
“…….”
It was unclear whether that was meant as a subtle jab at Beop Jeong. But did that really matter to him now? At this moment, nothing in the world felt more shameful or frightening than having his mistake pointed out before everyone else.
“……Amitabha.”
After a long silence, all he could finally manage was a short Buddhist chant.
At last, Pung Yeop, who had been waiting quietly for a response, spoke up in an irritated voice.
“This is no time to stand around like this. If the retreat route has been cut off, they can do little more than hold out, and if the Four Hegemons Alliance reaches them first, the Namgung Family’s name may vanish from the martial world altogether.”
“Mm.”
A heavy murmur of agreement rose in response.
“We need to head to the Yangtze immediately.”
Even Jong Ri-hyeong, who had argued against Pung Yeop until now, did not object to that. It was proof of just how urgent the situation had become.
“Bangjang.”
Beop Jeong, who had been closing his eyes, opened them at Pung Yeop’s urging.
“……We will do that.”
Blue light seeped from Beop Jeong’s eyes.
“Now that matters have come to this, there is no room left for hesitation. I will lead every warrior of Shaolin to the Yangtze. So I ask all of you to mobilize every available force from your own sects as well.”
Jong Ri-hyeong blinked in surprise. “B-Bangjang. Do you intend to wage a full-scale battle?”
“……If necessary, is there any reason to avoid it?”
“But…….”
It was obvious what Jong Ri-hyeong wanted to say.
Fighting the Four Hegemons Alliance head-on with only the sects gathered here would be no different from suicide. Even if they somehow won by sheer luck, they would only be doing someone else’s work for them.
And yet Beop Jeong, who should have understood that perfectly well, seemed unwilling to retreat this time.
“I will send another letter requesting support from the sects.”
“……And you think those who already stepped back will change their minds because of that?”
“The situation has changed. Now they must choose.”
“…….”
Jong Ri-hyeong fell silent.
There was something about Beop Jeong’s tone that felt different from before. It was not especially forceful, and yet for some reason, it had become difficult to exchange words with him.
“……If the Tang Clan were to step forward, it would make things easier.”
When Jong Ri-hyeong muttered the complaint in frustration, Beop Jeong’s brows twitched.
“What good does it do to look for those who are not here?”
“That is true, but…….”
“You should all understand this now.”
Beop Jeong snapped coldly, his eyes like ice.
“The reason I have restrained myself until now was to resolve matters in the proper order. It was never because Shaolin lacked strength. But when events take such a disastrous turn, there are times when one must force the proper order into existence.”
Perhaps those words were not wrong.
But because the situation was what it was, they also sounded painfully hollow. If only he had made the decision sooner, things would never have come to this.
Beop Jeong said in a cutting voice, “We depart for the Yangtze without delay. Above all else, speed is what matters.”
He no longer had the luxury of choice. This entire matter had begun with the Namgung Family’s reckless decision, but if Shaolin truly wished to call itself the North Star of the world, then it had to accept that everything that followed was also its responsibility.
If Namgung were trapped along the Yangtze and driven to defeat, public sentiment toward the righteous sects would plummet into the abyss. After all, Namgung had at least fought the evil sects; if the righteous sects abandoned them, the whole world would see it that way.
“Please hurry. We must arrive before that villainous army does, no matter what!”
“Is it possible?”
When Jong Ri-hyeong asked anxiously, Beop Jeong nodded without hesitation.
“More than possible. It is much closer from here than Guangxi, where Maninbang is based. Even if the villainous army hears the news and moves at once, they will not arrive before us.”
Jong Ri-hyeong nodded as though there was logic in that.
“If you think about it the other way, it is much the same as the Namgung Family pinning down the Water Bandit Sect. It is difficult to sweep away the Water Bandit Sect while they are scattered all over the Yangtze, but if they are gathered in one place, then this is the perfect opportunity. If we can join with Namgung and strike the Water Bandit Sect from both sides at once, the momentum of this war will turn in our favor immediately.”
Beop Jeong cried out firmly in a booming voice, “So let us move at once.”
Pung Yeop responded immediately. “We will.”
Jong Ri-hyeong still looked faintly displeased, but he could not withdraw from this situation now, so he ended up agreeing as well. Even so, he did not forget one warning.
“Bangjang. I will follow your lead, but you must also account for the possibility that things may not go as planned. I trust you will be able to draw support from the other righteous sects.”
At that, Beop Jeong turned and looked at Jong Ri-hyeong.
“…….”
A pause. Then, an emotionless voice slipped into Jong Ri-hyeong’s ear.
“I will.”
The answer was unmistakably affirmative, yet Jong Ri-hyeong could not shake the feeling that the reply he had just heard had sounded more like a refusal.
But how could he possibly confirm that? In the end, he had no choice but to answer with unease still gnawing at him.
“……The Beggars’ Sect will join as well.”
Beop Jeong’s gaze turned to Ja O-gae. Ja O-gae gave a silent nod.
“Then let it be so. We have no time, so return to your sects at once, make your preparations, and gather at Jiujiang.”
“Yes, Bangjang.”
“There is no time! Hurry!”
“Yes!”
“Then.”
The seated men sprang to their feet and hurried outside. Ja O-gae, the last to rise, moved off with obvious reluctance, then turned back over his shoulder.
His eyes fell on Beop Jeong, seated in the main chair with his eyes closed.
When he should have made a decision, he hesitated endlessly. But when caution was truly required, he moved as though he had already settled on the answer.
He did not think poorly of Beop Jeong. As Shaolin’s Bangjang and an elder of the martial world, the man had done his role well enough until now. It was true that, with his naturally gentle disposition, he had smoothed over conflicts between sects with no small measure of skill.
But.
The benevolent ruler in peaceful times can become a dark king in times of chaos, they say.
As the world began to change so abruptly, Beop Jeong’s strengths seemed entirely unable to function.
If Ja O-gae were being honest, he wanted to stop him.
But there was only one reason he could not ultimately oppose Beop Jeong’s judgment.
It would be hell.
He could picture, all too clearly, the horrors the Namgung Family was enduring.
Please hold on, Namgung Family Head.
With the two characters for righteousness carved deep into his heart, Ja O-gae sprinted like the wind toward the Beggars’ Sect headquarters.
Namgung Myeong looked down at the body lying before him. His face twisted little by little into something demonic.
The dead man, eyes still wide open, was someone he knew all too well.
All the retainers of the Namgung Family were like kin to him. And now, among those family-like companions, the first sacrifice had appeared.
“You……!”
He ground his teeth, fury boiling in him.
The poison blade lodged in the dead man’s side seemed to stab at his own eyes.
Nine times. That was how many times they had been attacked over the past three days.
And the casualties?
None.
No one had been injured. No one had died. The attackers had leapt out from the river, tried to strike at those guarding the perimeter, and instead died in droves themselves.
It was pathetic beyond words—so ridiculous it was almost laughable. It was proof enough that Namgung Hwang’s words had been true: on land, there was no reason to fear the Water Bandit Sect.
But that was only if one looked at the results.
If everything had truly gone that smoothly, Namgung Myeong would not have been driven into such a rage.
When they had repelled the first attack, everyone had grown bold with courage and lifted their morale to the heavens. After they stopped the second assault, some even suggested that they should dive into the water and try to approach the enemy ships from below to launch a counterattack.
And then, after they finally repelled the third attack, Namgung Myeong realized something.
For two days of continuous assaults, not a single person had properly slept.
And the attacks had continued.
They came under cover of night, and they came brazenly in broad daylight.
They came when the morning dew had settled, when the deep sunset stained the river red……
Regardless of time, the assaults went on without end.
The swordsmen of the Namgung Family bravely repelled each attack in succession, but in the latest assault just now, the first death had finally occurred.
“……Clear one of the storehouses and move the body there.”
“Commander. Perhaps we should bury him temporarily first…….”
Namgung Myeong shot the man a sharp look.
“Do you think this bastard can rest in the land of river bandits?”
“……I’m sorry.”
Namgung Myeong clenched his jaw and said, “Hold out for just a few more days and we’ll be able to leave this island. Then we can recover the body and take him with us. So do as you’re told.”
“Yes.”
Watching his comrades carry the corpse away, he pressed a hand hard against the corner of his eye.
Damn it.
The enemy was not strong. No, they were nothing more than trash, pathetic in the extreme.
And yet there had been a casualty.
Pushed to the limit by repeated attacks, they had made a mistake they would never have made under normal circumstances.
This island was large. Large enough for several hundred people to live on at once without issue.
But at the same time, the island was small. Once the river bandits set foot on it, they could sprint across to the opposite side in less than a single moment.
In other words, they were trapped in a castle whose walls had already fallen, forced to defend against invaders in the open.
No, that would be a hundred times better.
At least in that case, they would know where the enemy was.
But here, they had no idea where the attackers would come from. The river bandits might even now be lurking beneath the water he was staring at, waiting for their chance.
Because of that, no one could truly rest. They never knew when the bandits would storm in, or when their defenses would be broken and the river bandits would pour into their quarters.
Even though they knew in their heads that they needed to sleep, the tension stretched to its limit gave them no chance for even a moment’s relief.
And on top of that…….
Kwaaaaaaang!
“Damn it!”
“Why the hell do they keep firing uselessly like that? Bastards!”
The river bandit ships that had surrounded the island would occasionally creep closer and launch their cannon fire. Of course, the trained swordsmen of the Namgung Family would not be hit by cannonballs flying from such a great distance.
But this was an island with nowhere to hide.
With enough caution, the shots could be avoided—but if one failed to react, death would not be surprising at all. Cannon fire came at them unpredictably, every so often, without warning. Under such circumstances, how could anyone possibly relax completely?
At this rate, we’ll destroy ourselves before we ever get the chance to swing our swords.
Those river bandit bastards were gnawing not at their bodies, but at their minds. They knew better than anyone exactly how to make a person suffer most.
“Hold on just a little longer. Support will definitely come!”
“……Yes.”
The answer was weak. The morale that had soared beyond the heavens when they first repelled the attacks had long since crashed to the ground.
All that remained now was endurance.
Before they knew it, the sun was setting. Namgung Myeong clenched his fist without realizing it.
Once again, the endless night was creeping toward Maehwado.